Plant-based food business Wicked Kitchen has been acquired by Ahimsa Companies, a newly formed company intent on consolidating other startups in the sector.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Wicked Kitchen was founded in 2018 by sibling chefs Derek and Chad Sarno with an emphasis on selling plant-based meals through United Kingdom-based Tesco. Wicked now sells more than 150 products in the U.K. and about 50 in the United States, and has drawn backing from celebrities such as Woody Harrelson, Paris Hilton and Chris Paul.
The brand is led by Pete Speranza, who worked at General Mills Inc. for 24 years and founded the company's 301 Inc. unit to invest in food startups.
Ahimsa Companies, a newly formed holdings company owned by the Ahimsa Foundation, works with a mission to remove animals from the global food system while creating opportunities for vertical integration and scale. Ahimsa Companies plans on acquiring other brands, as well as manufacturing and sales enablement businesses, in the near future.
Matt Tullman, Group CEO of Ahimsa Companies, said in a statement that the goal will be to vertically integrate and leverage resources to build momentum.
"We've said all along that consolidation will drive success for the plant-based industry," Tullman said in a statement.
Wicked Kitchen acquired Current Foods, an alt-protein startup that makes plant-based, sushi-grade tuna and salmon, in 2023 and acquired Good Catch, a plant-based seafood producer in 2022. Both brands will also be under Ahimsa Companies.
Ahimsa Companies plans to expand Wicked Kitchen's products to additional retailers, add food service offerings, invest further in innovation and continue to bring one of the largest varieties of animal-free consumer packaged goods to the U.S. and U.K. markets.
The Sarno brothers will be stakeholders in the new brand business.
