March 12, 2020

The Livekindly Co raises US$200 million investment for plant-based chicken

The company, rebranded from Foods United and backed by Swiss investment firm Blue Horizon, raised money from investors for the development of alternate chicken meat, reported Reuters.

The company intends to construct a platform through purchasing majority stakes in other plant-based companies and providing them partners for production and distribution.

The Livekindly Co has already obtained a majority ownership in South African-based The Fry Family Food as well as German-based LikeMeat, and a stake in Puris, a plant-based ingredient manufacturer.

Bjoern Witte, Blue Horizon managing partner said the Livekindly platform is a new way for entrepreneurs involved in plant-based meats to expand their production. He adds that Livekindly works together with established meat companies for access to their infrastructure and capex, then adapts it for use in plant-based meats.

Livekindly has collaborations with poultry groups PHW Group from Germany and RCL Foods from South Africa to assist LikeMeat and The Fry Family Food with product production and distribution.

Witte said the company has already signed a partner in Asia and in the midst of signing with another partner in the United States, totaling five partners by end 2020. He said two or three additional acquisitions have been planned.

Blue Horizon primarily invests in plant based foods and was founded in 2015. Kees Kruythoff is the company chairman and chief executive, formerly of Unilever.

Data from the Good Food Institute showed plant-based foods developed to replace foods derived from animals increased 11% in sales to hit US$5 billion in 2019. This includes US$939 million in sales for meat alternatives that are made from plants.

-      Reuters