India appears to be a promising market for plant-based meat alternatives as 40% of Indians identify as vegetarians, willing to consume meat substitutes without eating the meat itself.
Plant-based meat and seafood market share was 1% of the total meat category in 2023. However, a report published by Global News Wire estimated that India’s meat alternative market will grow at a CAGR of 7.48% from 2021 to 2026, reaching the size of $47.57Mn by 2026.
Rising health concerns, protein deficiency, etc. will lead to significant growth in the number of vegetarians, resulting in fuel in the plant-based meat market shortly.
So, here in this article, we introduce 11 prominent startups driving growth in the booming plant-based meat industry.
1. Blue Tribe Foods
Blue Tribe Foods has gone completely carbon and plastic-neutral and stiffened its commitment to environmental responsibility in collaboration with The Disposal Company (TDC).
Endorsed and invested in by renowned personalities like Anushka Sharma and Viral Kohli, plant-based meat brand Blue Tribe Foods claims to give customers the taste and texture feel the same as meat-based products by offering plant-based chicken nuggets, chicken keema, and so on.
Mumbai-headquartered food tech startup Blue Tribe valued at $179K as of June 2022, has bagged its latest funding of $26.9K in an Angel round in February 2022, representing its total funding to date.
Established in 2020, this D2C firm generated revenue of Rs.395.6L in FY23, increasing by 98% from Rs.199.7L in FY22 though the firm faced a net loss surged by 97% to Rs.11.4Cr. in FY23 from Rs.5.78Cr. in FY22.
Vijay Makwana, Inderjit Paramjit Singh Arora, Nikki Arora Singh, and Sandeep Singh are the founders of Blue Tribe Foods owning the majority of its shares at 62.3%. Meanwhile, angel investors and other stakeholders own 15% and 21% of its shares respectively.
2. BVeg Foods
Reports by the Good Food Institute India confirm that the plant-based meat manufacturer BVeg Foods has exported 22 tons of frozen vegan beef chunks to the UK, marking its business expansion in the global arena.
Founded by Akanksha Ghai and Prateek Ghai, BVeg specializes in food contract manufacturing and private-label food production, providing packaging services for Indian and global plant-based food partners.
Every potential organization and individual in the plant-based protein industry is this D2C brand’s target market. BVeg also caters to both the B2B and B2C segments.
Founders hold 52.5% of this Delhi-headquartered firm’s stakes while others hold 45.9% of its shares.
3. Evo Foods
Established in 2020, plant-based egg pioneer Evo Foods is on its way to flutter the $200 billion egg industry with its plant-based liquid egg and aims to bring an alternative protein revolution to India.
Being the market leader in India, the USA, and SE Asia this Mumbai-headquartered firm is now targeting to be present on all continents to expand its portfolio.
Evo Foods, founded by Kartik Dixit and Shraddha Bhansali, has pocketed $845K in its latest seed funding round in April 2021, which brings this D2C brand’s total funding to $845K.
4. Greenest
New Delhi-headquartered startup Greenest Foods came up on the news when Burgill India in collaboration with Greenest Foods introduced the Green Meat Pounder, a plant-based meat burger in 2021. Burgill India became the first homegrown Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain to introduce such plant-based meat burgers for its customers in India.
Founded by Gaurav Sharma, Kannan Krishnamoorthy, and Dinesh Jain Greenest offers to replace animals with plants to get healthier proteins on its customer’s plates.
This D2C brand has a valuation of $3.25Mn as of August 2022 and it has secured $554K as its total funding, including its latest funding of $511K in a seed round in June 2022.
Incorporated in 2017, this firm showcased its revenue skyrocketed by 108% from Rs.162.7K in FY19 to Rs.339.2K in FY20 while filing a significant reduction in its net loss to Rs.57.1K in FY20 from Rs.408.7K in FY19.
Founders own 52.1% of this startup’s shares and other stakeholders of Greenest such as Better Bite, East Eight Six Advisors, angel investors, and ESOP Pool hold 15.2%, 18.4%, 9.1%, and 5% sequentially.
5. GoodDot
Established by Abhishek Sinha, Harish Joshi, and Sonia Parihar GoodDot promotes a more sustainable food system for the world by offering alternatives to animal meat without sacrificing the taste. It aims to create delicious plant-based products which are affordable and accessible to the customers.
Starting its journey in 2016, GoodDot mainly targets non-vegetarians and curious vegetarians who are eager to try plant-based food for extra protein sources.
Based in Udaipur, this firm raised a total funding of $5.3Mn to date, which consists of $4.57Mn in its latest funding series A round in July 2021 with a valuation of $39.8Mn.
GoodDot reported revenue declined by 31% to Rs.22.75Cr. in FY23 from Rs.33.02Cr. in FY22 but it also decreased its net loss by 23% from Rs.25.12Cr. in FY22 to Rs.19.32Cr. in FY3.
In this D2C startup, the founders possess 54.5% of the shares while the remaining shares are distributed among Sixth Sense Ventures at 14.3%, angel investors at 16.8%, and others at 11.8%.
6. Imagine Meats
Coffee brand Tata Starbucks collaborated with plant-based food company Imagine Meats to offer vegan sausage croissant rolls, vegan hummus kebab wraps, and vegan croissant buns to its customers across India.
Led by the celebrity couple Genelia Deshmukh and Ritesh Deshmukh, Imagine Meats is an online platform based out of Mumbai, that offers plant-based meat products to customers.
This D2C brand aims to serve environmentally conscious people who want a better lifestyle without hurting an animal.
Founded in 2021, this firm recorded revenue of Rs.444L in FY23, increasing by 4.47% from Rs.425L in FY22 though it witnessed a net loss of Rs.86.8L in FY23 and achieved a net profit of Rs.28.3L in the previous financial year.
However, the founders own 100% of the startup’s shares exclusively.
7. Mister Veg
D2C brand Mister Veg caught everyone’s attention when it was selected in the fourth round of the Proveg incubator program for the ‘Future of Food’ theme.
Owned by Simarjeet Singh and Rupinder Singh, Mister Veg provides plant-based alternatives to both meat and seafood with the help of its special-purpose machine technology.
Founded in 2018, this startup secured its latest funding of an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round in March 2023, bringing its total funding to $583K. in FY22 the firm filed a net loss of Rs.22L spiking of a 9.5X from Rs.2.3L in the previous financial year.
The founders retain 54.4% of this startup’s shares while the Jubilant Ingrevia and ESOP Pool own 38% and 7.6% of its shares respectively.
8. Shaka Harry
India’s most loved cricketer MS Dhoni joined the the global investor to back the plant protein startup Shaka Harry and picked up equity in the company in 2022, marking a significant achievement for the startup.
Bengaluru-headquartered startup Shaka Harry is a plant protein-based food manufacturer specializing in rich and diverse flavors of Indian cuisine.
Owned by Anand Nagarajan, Anoop Haridasan, Sandeep Devgan, Ruth Renitha, and Hemalatha Srinivasan this food tech firm currently has a monthly customer base of 25,000 and it aims to increase the number by around 20% to 30% in the upcoming few quarters.
Founded in 2020, Skaka Harry commanded a valuation of $12.4Mn in June 2023 and during the same period, it bagged its latest funding of $595K in a seed round, bringing the firm’s total funding to $2.59Mn.
This food tech firm generated revenue of Rs.376.1L in FY23 which spiked by 284% from Rs.97.7L in FY22 but the startup filed a net loss of Rs.942.9L soaring by 116% from Rs.434.7L during the same time.
Founders of this D2C startup control 45.6% of the shares with Better Bite possessing 6%, Dexler Holdings owning 14.6%, angel investors holding 13.1% and ESOP Pool with a 14.5% stake.
9. Soft Spot Foods
Established by Anushi Patel in 2019, Mumbai-headquartered Soft Spot Foods is a vegan brand that serves in the D2C space, specializing in 100% plant-based cheese by producing a wide range of vegan cheeses made with cashew milk and coconut oil.
10. Vezlay
Delhi-headquartered food tech startup Vezlay focuses on manufacturing and improving plant-based meat alternatives with the help of their inventive technologies.
Led by Amit Bajaj, Laxman Das, and Sanjay Bajaj, Vezlay mainly targets customers who are willing to cut down on their non-veg consumption or people who are looking for a healthy diet.
Founded in 2006, this startup reported its revenue surging by 99% from Rs.345.1L in FY22 to Rs.695.8L in FY23 while showcasing its net profit of Rs.96.3L in FY23 which increased by 624% from Rs.13.3L in FY22.
Ownership of this D2C firm is divided with the founders possessing 62.2% of the shares and others with a 37.8% stake.
11. Wakao
Founded by Sairaj Dhond, a leading plant-based food startup Wakao Foods in June 2023 proudly announced its largest shipment of 13 tonnes of their famous jackfruit products to the United States of America, marking a significant milestone for the startup.
Wakao Foods based in Panaji, focuses on sustainability and aims to provide innovative and disruptive F&B product categories that can change the customer’s concept of plant-based meat. The brand is especially acknowledged for its jackfruit meat which is ethically sourced, hygienically manufactured, and hand-picked from farms.
Established in 2020, this food tech firm offers plant-based products suitable for vegans and vegetarians by manufacturing items that are low in calories, high in protein and fiber, and made out of natural ingredients.
In January 2022, Wakao pocketed $100K in its latest angel round, amounting to its total funding of $100K.
This D2C brand showcased revenue of Rs.1322K in FY21, a significant increase from Rs.0K in FY20 though it faced a net loss of Rs.1131.1K in FY21, an immense spike of 5X from Rs.223.7K in FY20.
