Black Sheep Foods Secures $12.3 Million in Funding to Develop Tastier Plant-Based Meat Alternatives

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Plant-Based Meat Pioneer Leaps Over Traditional Options

In a significant move for the food tech industry, Black Sheep Foods, a San Francisco-based company that uses plants to create meat-like flavors, has secured an additional $12.3 million in funding as part of its Series A round. This brings the company’s total funding to date to $18.05 million since its inception in 2019.

A Unique Approach to Plant-Based Meat

Black Sheep Foods is taking a unique approach to plant-based meat by focusing on scaling production for its lamb-flavored product, rather than traditional options like beef, chicken, and pork. The company’s patent-pending technology isolates flavor molecules that give animal meat its characteristic taste, identifies the same molecules in plants, and uses them to reconstruct the meat flavor, right down to mouthfeel and richness.

Growing Traction and Adoption

In January, we profiled Black Sheep Foods when it raised $5.25 million in seed funding. At that time, its lamb debuted in some San Francisco and Los Angeles restaurants, including at Ettan, Black Sheep Foods co-founder and CEO Sunny Kumar told TechCrunch. Today, that number has grown to 44 restaurants.

Restaurant Partnerships

Charles Bililies, founder and CEO of Greek restaurant Souvla, rolled out the product at six of Souvla’s restaurant locations this year and said the restaurant had been "thoughtful when selecting a plant-based meat partner." Since then, Black Sheep’s lamb has yielded an "overwhelmingly positive response from our many loyal guests," he added.

Venture Capital Trends

Venture capital into the food tech sector has been waning recently. However, by making flavors and using them, Kumar believes Black Sheep Foods’ new funding is the result of setting the company up for a vertical integration approach that puts it in a unique space done only by Impossible Foods thus far.

Key Milestones and Progress

Kumar added that the new round was planned and follows progress on some key things the company has set out to do in 2022, including the rate of product adoption and R&D milestones on its flavors. "We had these two approaches, and when we launched with our lamb, we began seeing really good traction and sales growth month over month of 22%," he added. "It was just this realization that we needed to go a little bit faster on this."

Funding Breakdown

The new funding is led by Unovis and includes Bessemer Venture Partners, AgFunder, and KBW Ventures. This brings Black Sheep Foods’ total funding to $18.05 million since its inception in 2019.

Capital Deployment and Expansion Plans

Kumar intends to deploy the capital into building up its product and R&D teams as well as sales and marketing. Black Sheep was also limited at its production facility, where it was able to make only 5,000 pounds per month. Some of the capital will go towards moving into a facility that will allow the company to make 16 million pounds per year.

Increased Production Capacity

That increased production will likely start in the first quarter of 2023, he added. This expansion will enable Black Sheep Foods to meet growing demand and further establish itself as a leader in the plant-based meat market.

Industry Expert Insights

The funding round is a testament to Black Sheep Foods’ innovative approach to plant-based meat and its ability to drive growth and adoption in the industry. As the demand for sustainable, plant-based options continues to rise, companies like Black Sheep Foods are well-positioned to capitalize on this trend.