Plant-based companies and investors

This database includes plant-based meat, milk, egg, and seafood companies and investors. For more extensive profiles and sms-notifications about career and investment opportunities, sign up here .

Plant-based meat, milk, eggs, and seafood consist of ingredients derived from plants including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds and/or legumes. Plant-based companies produce meat, fish, dairy, and egg alternatives as well as ingredients such as sweeteners

People commonly refer to non-animal-based foods as “plant-based”. The majority of plant-based foods are vegan (all Certified Plant Based foods are vegan). In some cases, the term “plant-based” refers to foods that are made primarily from plants but also contain animal-derived ingredients. 

Beyond Meat, JUST, Inc., Good Catch, Miyoko’s Creamery, and Oatly are examples of plant-based food companies whose products are also vegan. Morningstar Foods and Lightlife are examples of plant-based brands that sell both vegan and vegetarian products. The latter contain animal-derived ingredients such as milk and eggs.

Terms used to refer to plant-based foods include animal-free, slaughter-free, cruelty-free, vegan, vegetable-based, vegetable-derived, plant-derived, vegetarian.

Steadily rising since 2010, investment in plant-based meat, dairy, and eggs has dramatically increased in recent years. Between 2010 and 2020, U.S.-based plant-based meat, egg, and dairy companies raised $2.7 billion in capital. Of this total, $1.2 billion was raised between 2019 and Q1 2020. 

In addition to drastically reducing and, in many cases, eliminating the need for factory-farmed animal products, plant-based foods require far less water, land, and energy than their animal-based counterparts to produce. For example, according to the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems, Beyond Meat burgers require 99% less water, 93% less land, 46% less energy, and generate 90% fewer greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) than cow meat burgers. Similarly, the production of plant-based dairy alternatives requires far less land, water, and energy than the production of animal-based milk, butter, yogurt, and other foods and emits only a fraction of the GHGs. Research also indicates consuming plant-based meat, dairy, and egg alternatives can yield health benefits. A recent Stanford study found that consuming plant-based meat instead of conventional meat lowers cardiovascular risk factors.

Used in a sentence: I love grilling plant-based cheeseburgers for my family. They’re not only delicious but also better for all of us. The other day, my son asked what I was doing to help protect the planet for him and his sister, and I told him our family is working on it together—including by eating plant-based. 

“When you take the animal out, well you also take the greenhouse gas issues out, and you take the food safety issues out, you take some of the other externalities of food scarcity out.” -- Josh Tetrick, CEO, JUST, Inc. 

Pivot Food Investment encourages institutions to invest in plant-based meat, milk, and eggs. If you’re an investor, journalist, or researcher looking for more information about plant-based foods, or if you’d like us to add your plant-based company to our list, we’d love to hear from you.