Brazilian start-up Fazenda Futuro Raises US$21Million to Expand into the US

The Brazilian start-up Fazenda Futuro raisesUS$21 million to launch into the United States with its meat-free meat.

FREMONT, CA: Brazilian start-up Fazenda Futuro has announced that it raised R$115 million (~US$21 million). The leading companies in it were BTG Pactual and ENFINI Investments. They were joined by returning investors like Monashees and Go4it Capital.

With the money, the start-up has planned to make its first appearance in the United States with its meat-free meat. This investment will also help in developing more products like plant-based chicken and fish.

With the second round, it is estimated that the start-up’s market value has risen to almost R$715 million (~US$133 million).

Fazenda Futuro and food tech with animal-free diets 

Recently, the start-ups who are working with plant-based alternatives attracting several investments. Swiss Blue Horizon led a Series A for US$2 million in Mexican Heartbest for its vegan products, in June. In the previous month, Chilean The Live Green Co. closed around US$1 million, and the NotCo was believed to be raising around US$85 million to hit a US$250 million valuation. 

Similarly, in recent times IDB Lab and Syngenta Ventures channeled money into AgVentures II, which is a fund for start-ups in agriculture and food tech.

Since the entire world is considering a net-zero carbon environment, a transformation towards animal-free diets is becoming tastier for some consumers and investors.

However, it will take a while for Latin America to adopt this new type of diet because it is not known for its vast vegetarian or vegan markets the way Europe is. Moreover, meat is still just too cheap there, and alternatives can be expensive.

Another big challenge that the food tech companies are witnessing is making the substitutes tasty and affordable. 

However, start-ups are strategically helping consumers to embrace animal-free food. In NotCo’s native Chile, its NotMeat product is available at Burger King and on Papa John’s vegan pizza. In Brazil, it has partnered with iFood to provide its restaurant-prepared vegan burgers. Fazenda Futuro has also collaborated with Brazilian supermarkets Pão de Açúcar and restaurant chain Spoleto to position its meat-free meatballs.