Plant-based meat company Fable Food has raised $6.5 million in a seed funding round just 18 months after it launched. The round was led by Blackbird Ventures, which had already invested in Fable via its initial $1.5 million capital raise in 2019.
Silicon Valley based agrifood tech VC AgFunder, sustainability and plant-based focused funds Aera VC and Better Bite Ventures, Singapore based Ban Choon Marketing and ex-Sequoia capital partner, Warren Hogarth, also contributed.
Fable’s founders were brought together by FIAL in 2019. Michael Fox was independently researching plant-based meat alternatives with mushrooms when FIAL connected him with mushroom farmer Chris McLoghlin and mycologist Jim Fuller.
Fable is made with shredded shiitake mushroom stems as the base ingredient (62 per cent), which the founders claim is superior in taste and texture to other vegetable protein products on the market. The product is minimally with other all-natural plant-based ingredients.
The company’s current manufacturing set-up uses a contract manufacturer in Singapore with capacity to produce 150 tonnes a month.
Fox said the funding would go towards R&D and the expansion of its manufacturing capabilities here and overseas.
“We’re continually developing meaty mushroom products to make it as easy as possible for people to eat less meat. We want to inspire people to make more healthy and sustainable food choices, and we believe that people shouldn’t have to compromise on taste or quality to do so,” said Fox.
Aera VC founding partner Derek Handley said Fable fitted the bill of the type of investment they were looking for.
“We’ve been backing founders with radical solutions to reverse climate change since 2017 and search the world for those who have what it takes to build a global icon,” Handley said.
Fable made a big splash from the outset. Co-founder and mycologist Jim Fuller’s decades of experience and reputation as a scientist as well as a fine dining chef saw Fable being launched by Heston Blumenthal.
COVID-19 saw its roll-out plans turn on its head, shifting from hospitality to a retail offering as lockdowns took effect.Within a year it had rolled out into Woolworths, Coles, Harris Farm Markets and signed a deal with meal delivery service Marley Spoon.
It has launched into Singapore and the UK, with plans for a US launch by the end of the year.
Fable recently announced a deal with burger chain Grill’d for its proprietary Meaty Mushroom Burger Pattie to be used on three plant-based burgers.
New Chief Growth Officer
Fable has appointed Dan Joyce as its chief growth officer to head up sales and marketing globally and play a key role in expanding its footprint in the UK, US and Asia. He was previously general manager of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for safety inspection company SafetyCulture.
