Eat Just Inc., a San Francisco alternative protein startup known for its plant-based eggs, plans a major move into the Chinese market, raising $25 million from a private equity firm bankrolled by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
C2 Capital Partners, established in 2018 to provide growth capital and operational support for companies to scale in China, will assist Eat Just with sales, branding, consumer insights, hiring and regulatory compliance in China. It is C2's first investment and partnership in the alternative protein sector.
“We are excited to support alternative protein pioneer Eat Just’s mission and to accelerate the growth of their innovative products and technologies in China by leveraging the unique insights and resources of the C2/Alibaba ecosystem,” C2 Managing Partner Steve Lin said in a press release announcing the transaction.
China’s five-year economic plan for 2021-2025 emplaces food security as a priority for agricultural production, encouraging further research and development on food production technologies.
Eat Just launched its plant-based brand Just Egg in China on e-commerce platforms in 2019 and began selling lab-grown meat in Singapore in late 2020 with “wonderful” results, CEO Josh Tetrick said in the press statement. The company has raised nearly $900 million in funding.
China is the world's largest egg-producing country, accounting for more than 30% of the global market, in addition to being the largest consumer of meat on Earth.
“It is widely accepted that the alternative protein sector can play an important role in achieving China’s goal of carbon peaking and neutralization,” Lin told TechCrunch. “These ESG benefits resonate strongly with young Chinese consumers who are interested in trying innovative food with a good nutrition profile and align with their values.”
There has been an emergence of Chinese companies founding their own alternative protein products within the past few years as the meat demand in China continues to grow. Two examples are ZhenMeat and Haofood.
Other international players have been drawn to the Chinese market as well. Beyond Meat , another alternative protein producer founded in the U.S., now has a plant in China.
“As the plant-based market is still in an early stage of development, local and foreign companies are focused on consumer education and building awareness to scale the market opportunity,” Lin said to TechCrunch.
