Beyond Meat has closed a new financing round led by Cleveland Avenue, a venture capital firm founded by Don Thompson, former CEO of McDonald’s Corporation.
“We see Beyond Meat as a strategic and compelling consumer-focused investment,” said Thompson. “Customer response to Beyond Meat’s great-tasting products has driven its growth, and we’re excited about our investment as the brand continues to innovate for the future.”
Joining Cleveland Avenue is Tyson Foods, with the nation’s largest meat producer increasing its stake in Beyond Meat. “Global demand for all protein remains high and we’re passionate about meeting that demand sustainably,” said Justin Whitmore, executive vice president corporate strategy and chief sustainability officer of Tyson Foods. “Our investment in Beyond Meat provides another fantastic alternative for consumers as we strive to sustainably feed the world.”
This latest round of fundraising totaling $55 million, will be used to more than triple the size of the Beyond Meat’s production footprint, further fund the company’s R&D commitment to perfectly build meat from plants, and expand sales and distribution.
The brand’s high-octane growth and groundbreaking approach to merchandising, which includes the first plant-based burger to be sold in the meat case at the country’s two largest grocery chains, Kroger and Albertsons Companies, attracted such notable investors as Jack & Suzy Welch, Silicon Valley’s Thomas Middleditch, Seth Goldman (Founder of Honest Tea), and Candice Bergen, among others.
“We discovered Beyond Meat because its burger tastes delicious, in fact, even better than the ‘real thing,’ in our opinion,” the Welches explained, “and then we were thrilled to also learn that they are second to none in this space in terms of building and scaling operations. They own the future.”
