Lever China Announces Investments in Six New Alternative Protein Companies

Shanghai, China - Lever China unveiled today early stage investments it has completed in recent months into six new alternative protein companies, expanding its portfolio to a total of 12 startups across plant-based meat and dairy, plant protein, precision and biomass fermentation, and cultivated meat.

The six latest  companies that have received early backing from Lever China are

• Blue Canopy: a Hong Kong-based fermentation protein technology company that uses biomass fermentation and precision fermentation technologies to produce animal protein ingredients that can be used to make human and pet food
• Marvelous Foods: a Shanghai-based plant-based yogurt and dairy products company
• iDAMA: a Guangzhou- and Hong Kong-based  plant-based ice cream and frozen desserts company
• Hyplant: a Shanghai-and Jiangsu- based soy protein ingredients company producing higher quality ingredients for plant-based meat and other foods 
• Good Food Technologies: a Shenzhen- and Hong Kong- based plant-based pork company using a proprietary fat technology to produce products catered toward  Chinese culinary applications
• NewDay Farm: a Jiangsu-based cultivated meat company with unique technology to significantly reduce ingredient and production costs 

“Lever China’s first batch of portfolio companies has seen excellent progress in  valuation, technology development,and growth in sales,” said Lily Chen, Program Director at Lever China. “As an organization focused on advancing the alternative protein sector, we  are excited to be helping support the development of cutting-edge technologies in the domestic alternative protein industry, and we will continue to support outstanding founders and build an empowering environment for entrepreneurs.”

China’s focus on food safety and environmental sustainability continues to grow. During the two sessions of the National People's Congress in March, President Xi Jinping highlighted the importance of diversifying the country's sources of protein, mentioning that “we should expand from traditional crops and livestock resources to richer biological resources, develop biotechnology and bio-industries, and cultivate plants, animals and microorganisms for calories and protein”.  The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in April 2022, also suggested increasing plant-based protein intake and developing fermentation, cell cultivation and plant-based technologies as an effective measure to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Lever China invests in cutting-edge companies in the field of alternative protein in China, helping to build an innovative, healthier, diversified and sustainable food system. In addition to the latest six companies, Lever China had previously completed investments in plant-based meat companies Herotein, Haofood, and Meat Fresh; cultivated meat companies Avant Meats and CellX, and fermentation company New Singularity. 

Lever China’s portfolio companies are popular among domestic and international investors: Haofood recently closed a $3.5 million seed round with investors including Monde Nissin CEO Henry Soesanto and Rich Products Corporation; Herotein has raised an additional $2.5 million from a range of local and international investors; CellX has gone on to raise $15m USD in additional capital from a range of investors including Zenith Fund and Cloud Nine Capital; and Avant Meats has gone on to secure $15m USD in additional capital as well from leading international AgriFood investors. 

ABOUT LEVER CHINA

Lever China is a Shanghai-based consultancy that helps leading food companies upgrade to a more sustainable, humane and healthy protein supply chain and focuses on early stage investment, incubation and consulting in alternative protein.