Capitalize on animal-free industries with GFI’s investor resources
It’s no secret that the plant-based, cultivated, and the rest of the alternative protein industry is growing at an unprecedented rate into a massive market opportunity ($1.7 trillion according to McKinsey and the FAO). You might be wondering how you can invest in these promising market sectors and take advantage of the seismic shift happening in the global food system. How about doing this while also helping mitigate climate change, reducing environmental degradation, alleviating global poverty, supporting animal welfare, and promoting human health? (Yeah, you could say this is impact investing without sacrificing returns.)
If that sounds good, we’ve got you covered! GFI has everything you need to get started.
Once you get to our Investor Resources, your first stop might be GFI’s Company Database. This database contains information on hundreds of startups and can help accredited investors discover deal flow as well as get a pulse on the industry.
You might want to also want to find angels or institutional investors to partner with. That’s where the Investor Directory comes in. The Directory contains information about each investor, including what types of investments they’re looking for, at what stages they invest, how much they usually invest, and contact information. Fundraising startups can also use the Investor Directory to determine which investors might be the best fit for their current round and reach out directly. If you’re an animal-free meat, egg, or dairy startup that is currently fundraising, please fill out this form to request access to the GFI Investor Directory and our other fundraising support services, including pitch deck review and practice pitch sessions.
If you’re a proud investor in the future of food—or even if you’re not!—you’ll want to learn as much as you can. As documented in GFI’s State of the Industry reports, more than $17 billion has been invested in U.S. plant-based meat, egg, and dairy companies. $14 billion of that total sum was invested in 2017 and 2018 alone! We’re seeing a major acceleration of venture capital as more investment professionals recognize the opportunity, and we expect these trends to continue, driven by consumer tastes, new technology, and environmental imperatives. There are also ever more accelerators and incubators getting into the animal-free proteins industry, which can be a catalyst for startups and a great source for new deals.
The plant-based market continues to see massive revenue growth. According to SPINS data commissioned compiled by GFI, retail sales of plant-based foods grew over 30 percent in the last two years and exceeded $4 billion per year—and that’s not even counting the massive foodservice successes like the Impossible Whopper at Burger King. The largest and most developed plant-based category is plant-based milk, which accounts for $1.86 billion in retail sales and represents 13.5 percent of the total U.S. retail milk market. Once plant-based meat reaches market share parity with plant-based milk, the market will be worth more than $10 billion.
Although cultivated meat products have yet to hit the market, they are already attracting funds from top venture capital firms. In fact, $155.3 million has been invested since the field emerged as a commercial industry in 2015, including $50 million in 2018 and $82 million in publicly disclosed investments so far in 2019.
If these numbers are making you wonder how you can invest in animal-free food companies (for example, here are some pitches from the Good Food Conference), this is the moment to get plugged into GFI’s Investor Resources! Please note that you must be an accredited investor to join the GFI Investor Directory. If you’re not sure whether you’re an accredited investor, these guidelines from the SEC can help you find out. GFI is not providing any recommendation or endorsement of any startup. Any investment is done at the investor’s own risk.
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