La Vie, the France-based firm that markets plant-based alternatives to pork products like ham and bacon, is to invest in NPD and marketing after a new round of funding.

The company, set up in 2019, has attracted €25m ($27.4m) from a group of backers including Berlin-based VC fund Zintinus and Portuguese food investor Sparkfood. The round means La Vie has now raised €50m.

“With the backing of our investors, we will continue our mission and keep innovating, without compromising on taste,” La Vie CEO and co-founder Nicolas Schweitzer said.

Alongside the news of the investment, La Vie said it had appointed Arnaud Bachelier, the former CFO of France’s MOM Group, as its new chairman.

Bachelier said: “They have the qualities to strongly contribute to the transition of making food more plant-based and to make La Vie an iconic brand in this journey. This new fundraising gives them the means to achieve it.”

France accounts for around half of La Vie’s sales. The company does business in ten countries in Europe, selling into retailers such as Tesco in the UK and Carrefour in France. La Vie has clients in the foodservice sector including Burger King and supplies its products as ingredients to food-to-go manufacturers like Greencore.

Speaking to Just Food in June, Schweitzer forecast the company’s net sales for 2024 to be “about” €15m. The company now sees sales this year hitting €19m.

La Vie is not yet profitable but he predicted the company would move into the black “in 2026” when he said the business is targeting sales of “at least €50m”.

“There is a plan [for] higher. The minimum is €50m,” Schweitzer predicted at the time.