Brazil's Fazenda Futuro raises $50 mln to expand into the U.S.
By Alberto Alerigi
SAO PAULO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Brazilian plant-based meat company Fazenda Futuro said on Wednesday it had raised about 300 million reais ($52.89 million) from investors to fund its expansion into the United States.
The U.S. is the world's largest market for plant-based products, with the sector generating sales of around $6 billion per year.
The Series C funding round takes the value of Fazenda Futuro to 2.2 billion reais, founder and chief executive Marcos Leta told Reuters.
"We entered the United States about one month ago. We're in the pre-operational period, closing contracts with distributors and retailers to start selling next year," he said.
Fazenda Futuro was founded in 2019 and sells products made from soy, peas and beetroot. It has had a presence in European markets since last year.
In the U.S. it will use the name "Future Farms," a translation of the Portuguese.
The company said the latest funding round included previous investors like Monashees, Go4it Capital, BTG, Turim MFO and Enfini Ventures. It also brought on board XP and specialized European "foodtech" fund Rage Capital.
All of the company's products come from a factory in Rio de Janeiro state, with a capacity of 600 to 700 tonnes per month. The company has the possibility to expand that to between 1,200 and 1,300 tonnes per month, Leta said.
"This capacity supports our growth over the next two years," said Leta, adding that if the company takes off in the U.S. it would need another factory.
Asked about Asia, Leta said Fazenda Futuro was in talks with a distributor in China but that the current focus was on the U.S., Europe and Brazil. ($1 = 5.6722 reais) (Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr., writing by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
