Next Gen Foods raises $100M in series A funding round

Next Gen Foods announces today that its first product, TiNDLE, is now available in a range of iconic restaurants across the United States including some of the country’s leading ‘foodie’ cities and a $100 million Series A funding round – the largest Series A to date for a plant-based meat company.

The new funding supports the expansion of TiNDLE – and its chef-first approach – into U.S. food service and distribution, along with the research and development of new sustainable foods. 

Participating in the Series A round are new international investors Alpha JWC, the Southeast Asian venture capital firm; the Singapore-based global investment fund, EDBI; and UK-based  MPL Ventures.  

Returning from previous rounds are Temasek through its newly established Asia Sustainable Food Platform, GGV Capital, K3 Ventures and Bits x Bites. With the company’s plans to swiftly increase its global footprint this year, the fundraising comes from a broad mix of both Europe and Asia-based investors, following the seed round of $30 million that took place last summer. Total funding for the startup now exceeds $130 million. 

TiNDLE has seen rapid success across several culinary epicenters – including Singapore, Hong  Kong, Amsterdam and Dubai – and the new funding supports Next Gen Foods’ rapid acceleration  to bring TiNDLE to key markets around the globe like the United States. Starting today, American  diners can now taste TiNDLE in a range of delicious preparations at select eateries, these can be  found in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Napa, New York, Miami and Philadelphia. 

“There’s no question that the United States is home to some of the best food cities on the planet - and we’re excited to bring TiNDLE to this market and hear what consumers think,” said Andre  Menezes, CEO and co-founder of Next Gen Foods. “The U.S. has long been a target market for  us, and thanks to our lineup of fantastic investors who have participated in this funding round, this is only the beginning of our journey in delivering delicious and sustainable foods to reverse our  climate crisis.” 

TiNDLE is a versatile, easy-to-work-with, plant-based chicken that has caught the eye of all-star  chefs and culinary professionals due to its unique versatility and similarities in taste and texture  to chicken from birds. It features the distinctive flavor of chicken, thanks to Lipi™ – the company’s  proprietary emulsion of plant-based ingredients that mirror the aroma, cookability and savory  qualities that typically comes from chicken fat. 

Growth for 2022 and beyond 

The new funding will help to increase distribution of TiNDLE throughout all 50 states in the U.S. Beginning today, distributors nationwide can now exclusively order the product through DOT.

Foods – the largest food redistributor in America for over 60 years. Restaurants can order TiNDLE directly through their local distributor, or it is also available for purchase on Food Service Direct – the convenient online marketplace for quality food and supplies.  

In addition, the recent raise will support and increase Next Gen Foods’ R&D and product innovation capabilities at its brand-new research hub set to open in Singapore later this year. The  company’s state-of-the-art R&D and Innovation Center – developed in partnership with the Food Tech Innovation Center (FTIC), established by Temasek’s Asia Sustainable Foods Platform – will  act as a launchpad for the development and trial of new technologies, applications and products.  

Next Gen Foods also intends to expand its R&D team across Singapore and the United States to  include additional protein scientists and food technologists with ingredient and product  development expertise.

“Within a year, we’ve gone from launch to more than 200 restaurants on three continents. We will  continue this relentless momentum in 2022 thanks to strong demand from chefs, distributors and  consumers, who love TiNDLE for its great taste and tiny environmental footprint,” said Rohit  Bhattacharya, Chief Financial Officer at Next Gen Foods. “We are grateful to have mission aligned  and long-term global investors supporting us during such a critical phase for the company – bringing their expertise and visionary leadership.” 

“GGV is excited to deepen our relationship with the Next Gen Foods team with this Series A  funding round. We seek companies that can separate themselves from the rest of the industry  through technology, innovation and passion,” said Jenny Lee, managing partner at GGV Capital.  “Next Gen Foods’ growth in less than a year has been remarkable, as is their ongoing commitment  to being part of the solution for how global food production will play a significant role in addressing  the impact of climate change. We look forward to their next phase of expansion into the U.S. and  beyond.” 

Existing investors in Next Gen Foods include prominent personalities such as famed English footballer Dele Alli, who last year announced that he had teamed up with the business as an impact investor in their plant-based chicken, TiNDLE. Dele Alli’s attraction to TiNDLE came about from his passion to encourage fans to pick a more balanced diet with plant-based options. Fellow England footballer, Kieran Gibbs, is also an investor, as well as business guru and author Chris Yeh and global food and beverage companies, NX-FOOD and Yeo Hiap Seng. 

Rapid growth, global vision 

Next Gen Foods was founded in 2020 by Brazilian-born poultry exporter and food industry veteran  Andre Menezes, and German native Timo Recker, whose family business made schnitzel and  other meat products for three generations. After meeting through an introduction by Rohit Bhattacharya, who is now the startup’s Chief Financial Officer, they decided to work on products that reduce humanity's reliance on animal agriculture. 

The early leadership team – including Chief Marketing Officer Jean Madden – worked closely with  Chief Technology Officer and the brainchild behind TiNDLE, John Seegers, to develop a flagship  product through extensive research into what makes chicken taste and perform like chicken. They named their first product TiNDLE as a modern reference to 19th-century Irish physicist John Tyndall, who proved the connection between atmospheric CO2 and the greenhouse effect. 

On average, chicken made from plants uses less land, less water, and produces less CO₂ than chicken from birds. Based on a recent Blue Horizon report, choosing plant-based chicken over  avian meat saves 82% less water, 74% less land and 88% less greenhouse gas emissions.  

In less than one year, TiNDLE grew from being served in a handful of Singapore-based restaurants to now becoming available in over 200 restaurants across the United States, Asia, Middle East and Amsterdam.