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3F Bio
Founded: 2015
Based: Glasgow, UK
Employees: 15
Funds raised: £6.7m from various
investors; the EC awarded a €17m
grant in July 2019.
Key investors/backers: The
University of Strathclyde; the
Scottish Investment Bank, the
investment arm of Scottish
Enterprise; EOS, a Scottish based
investment syndicate; and DCVC, a
US-based venture capital fund.
What does it do? In a word:
mycoprotein. 3F Bio is a biotech
company that uses fungi and large-
scale fermentation to grow protein
using a zero-waste process. It’s
currently at pilot stage and plans to
be at industrial commercial scale
in 2021.
Why is it one to watch? The market
for mycoprotein is currently
dominated by one company:
Quorn. 3F Bio is planning to
change that. Once it launches
commercially, the startup can bring
mycoprotein into categories that
Quorn doesn’t play in – own label
and ingredients, first and foremost,
but also categories such as petfood
and the emerging market around
meat blends and extenders (as
represented by The Better Meat
Co, left). It may well end up being
cheaper, too. “As a B2B ingredient
supplier, our biggest opportunity is
to work with customers who have
great capabilities and who will use
their own expertise and recipes
to create great-tasting products in
their respective categories,” says a
spokesman.The Better Meat Co
Founded: 2018
Based: Sacramento, US
Employees: Five
Funds raised: Closed a
$1.6m pre-seed in January
2019; $5m seed round
opened in July.
Key investors/backers:
Angel investors as well as
Glenn Hickman, CEO of US
eggs supplier Hickman’s
Family Farms.
What does it do? The Better
Meat Co is an ingredients
company built on one
central insight: despite
the noise about veganism,
most people are not going
to ditch meat completely. A
growing number, however,
are looking to cut back.
This means there’s a
big opportunity to help
carnivores reduce meat in
a way that doesn’t feel like
punishment.
Enter the 21st century
meat extender. Not thecheap stodge that’s
traditionally been stuffed
into bargain bangers to
keep costs low, but a new
generation of blends made
from plants, formulated to
mix in with meat.
A 70:30 ratio of meat
to plant protein is typical,
resulting in a sausage or
patty that tastes and feels
just like the real thing but
contains a third less meat.
Founder Paul Shapiro
says: “Boosting meat
with our plant protein
formulas gives the
consumer an all-around
better product: same great
taste, less saturated fat,
less cholesterol, and fewer
calories.”
Why is it one to watch?
‘Flexitarianism by stealth’
is quickly gaining traction,
with retailers like Tesco and
Waitrose already offering
lines that mix meat and veg.The Better Meat Co takes
the trend to its logical
conclusion with blends
that make the addition
of plant protein almost
imperceptible. After all,
not everyone enjoys bits of
carrot in their burgers.
Extenders could also be
used to make better meats
more affordable, believes
consultant Mark Driscoll of
Tasting the Future. “There’s
an opportunity to use
extenders to make better
meat cost comparable to
standard products. That’s
what makes extenders one
of the most exciting growth
markets right now.”
In the US, chicken giant
Perdue Farms is now using
The Better Meat Co to create
nuggets that are part-meat,
part-veggie. No UK plans
have been announced, but
Shapiro says the company
is “certainly open to it”.