The possibility of applying technology in the service of industries that take care of the planet and promote responsible consumption is currently a good magnet for attracting new investments. This is the case of the Chilean food company (foodtech) NotCo, which meteorically transformed into a unicorn, which has just announces that it will receive a new injection of funds of US$ 70 million.
Investors include none other than Marcos Galperin, founder and executive director of the Mercado Libre e-commerce platform. Also, the signature Princeville Capital, focused on supporting fast-growing technology companies around the world.
On this occasion, the funds will go towards the expansion of NotCot’s D-series and includes leading industry investors such as Jeff Bezos through Bezos Expeditions, Tiger Global, L Catterton, Kaszek Ventures, Future Positive and The Craftory.
The new round of financing was concluded at the same value as the shares of the Serie D round for the month of July 2021, thus reaffirming the valuation of NotCo for US$ 1,500 million.
NotCo was born in Chile, in 2016, by the hand of Matías Muchnick, Pablo Zamora and Karim Pichara. c.it is grown through a patented technology to produce plant-based foods. In other words, they require less use of environmental resources (energy, water and soil) and emit less CO2 than a similar product of animal origin. Its best known brands are NotMilk, NotBurger and NotChicken.
In Argentina NotCo has been operating for only two years and has achieved exponential growth thanks to the alliances it has made with strong market players such as Mustard, Freddo, Burger King. Today it has more than 4,500 points of sale in the country.
According to studies conducted by the company, 78% of Argentines intend to consume more plant-based meat and more than half are attracted by the idea of experimenting with products that taste like beef or chicken but are made with plants.
As part of its expansion, NotCo has also obtained 12 US patents ecThe licensing activity of its patented technology begins (named Giuseppe) through a new joint venture, The Kraft Heinz Not Company, designed to transform iconic Kraft products into plant-based versions.
Specifically, the new capital received will boost the new B2B business unit (services between companies) which, according to company sources, will allow other consumer brands, ingredient suppliers and technology providers to exploit NotCo’s technology for their own innovation projects And accelerate the transformation of plant-based industry, growing sharply today.
Partnerships with other companies, according to Matias Muchnick, founder and CEO of NotCo, allow the company to “diversify and accelerate our impact by making delicious plant-based options more accessible to further advance the industry,” he said in a statement. .
From the vision of Joaquín Rodríguez Torres, co-founder of Princeville Capital, “the food industry desperately needs adopt the technology to dramatically speed up the product development process, reduce costs and address the challenges posed by climate change,” he said.
NS
Source: Clarin
