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Online food delivery company Allplants is tapping into the flexitarian consumer market, worth an estimated £10bn in the UK alone.
VC firm Draper Esprit has led a £38m Series B funding round in Allplants, a UK plant-based ‘chef-to-customer’ online delivery service.
Draper Esprit typically invests in technology companies and its diverse portfolio includes Revolut, N26 and Irish drone delivery service Manna. The investment in Allplants is said to mark the largest raise ever in a Series B round for a European plant-based food business.
Other investors that took part include existing backers Felix Capital, the venture fund behind Oatly and Deliveroo, and Octopus Ventures, which was an early backer of Cazoo, Zoopla and Depop.
New investors include consumer-specialised fund The Craftory, venture finance experts TriplePoint Capital, international England footballers Chris Smalling and Kieran Gibbs, musician Zak Abel, and Cassandra Stavrou who founded snack company Proper Snacks.
The raise follows Allplants’ £7.5m Series A in 2018 and crowdfunding campaign last year.
The online food delivery platform has benefitted from the growing popularity of plant-based food with consumers since its launch in 2016. The flexitarian consumer market is worth an estimated £10bn in the UK alone and revenues for Allplants have more than doubled every year since its founding.
“In the five years that we have been cooking, we’ve seen the demand for plant-based food explode,” said Jonathan Petrides, founder and CEO of Allplants. “We’ve got a ton of exciting plans to bring the movement to even more people’s kitchens, and this investment will allow us to do just that.”
The company lets users build a box of frozen plant-based meals through a subscription service. These meals are made by a team of 140 chefs in a London kitchen and delivered across the UK.
It plans to use the funding to increase the size of its North London kitchen sixfold and expand its selection of meals. It will also expand its team across the entire business operation.
Commenting on the investment, Nicola McClafferty, partner at Draper Esprit, said it was an exciting investment as Allplants is “uniquely positioned at the intersection of some of the fastest growing areas in food consumption today”.
“Allplants has real potential to scale its direct-to-consumer business while expanding into new channels both in the UK and beyond. We believe it can be a global brand, bringing nutrition, taste and convenience to the plant-curious consumer and we are delighted to be supporting the team as they grow and thrive,” McClafferty added.
Updated, 12.25pm, 18 October 2021: A previous version of this story said that the company raised $38m. This was amended to the correct figure of £38m.
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