Research unveiled this week revealed that just €79m ($86.2m) was invested into alt-protein companies in Europe in the first half of 2024, a figure that looks small compared to 2023’s €553m.
So, if Europe can be thought of as representative of the global picture, should we consider the era in which backers were queuing up to invest in plant-based ‘meat’ companies and alt-dairy businesses over?
It’s probably a bit too soon to draw that conclusion but what seems to be certain is that investors are being more choosy about the businesses they invest in and, inevitably, a lot of me-too businesses that piled into the market when the category was sizzling hot a couple of years ago may struggle to get further backing unless their sale figures can back up the claims made for their products.
Larger players still attract backing
The research, quoted in a report by the Good Food Institute (GFI) Europe, which champions alternative proteins, revealed fundraising by individual companies is still capable of having a major impact on the overall investment figures.
It suggested the €79m figure does not look that small when investments in Sweden-based plant-based dairy heavyweight Oatly are discounted from the 2023 total.
But in a way, that’s the point. Why are other plant-based protein businesses unable to attract the backing that the listed-business Oatly has received or Spain’s Heura Foods, which raised €40m?
GFI, which has a dog in the race of course, cited investment in Europe’s cell-based meat companies -which amounted to €45m in the first six months of this year - as a sign that investors are still keen to back innovation of this kind.
But recent job loss announcements and facility development cancellations in this sector reveal all is not well, with some market-watchers predicting investment will become increasingly hard to come by for businesses that will not be able to offer a return to backers anytime soon.
GFI Europe concluded: “It’s important to consider these [alt-protein investment] figures in the context of a difficult international investment picture that has seen investors become far more cautious over the last few years.”
Category softness
That’s true enough, but the fact even established businesses in this field have had a tough time of things of late must raise concerns of a sector-specific problem.
In May, Philippines-headquartered Monde Nissin, owner of the UK-based Quorn vegan and vegetarian brand, released its Q1 results and these showed “category softness” in meat alternatives in the three months to 31 March.
Its meat-free sales fell 2.8% in the UK, predominately reflecting the Quorn performance amid a “challenging retail market”, the company said.
No one is foolish enough to write off alt-protein in a world in which we are all trying to be healthier through our diets and when arguments linking mass meat and dairy production to environmental problems are to the fore.
There is still work to be done around taste, texture and, importantly, price, but plant-based meat alternatives are here to stay.
But, as with any newly emerging category, there will be winners and losers and some of those losers will be investors who backed the wrong horse.
