MRM Plant-Based: Investor Interest and Impossible Anniversary

Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine is launching a column for plant-based news.  Send news items to Barbara Castiglia at bcastiglia@modernrestaurantmanagement.com.

Record Pace for Plant-Based Investments The Good Food Institute (GFI) revealed that 2017 and 2018 were record years for investment in plant-based meat, egg, and dairy and cell-based meat companies. GFI’s State of the Industry reports analyze investment activity within these industries and show that more than $16 billion was invested in U.S. plant-based meat, egg, and dairy companies over the past 10 years, including $13 billion in 2017 and 2018 alone.

The flurry of investment activity in 2017 and 2018 also included a clear uptick in acquisitions. Since 2009, there were 19 acquisitions of plant-based companies and 10 of these occurred in the past two years. The biggest acquisition took place in 2017 when plant-based milk market leader WhiteWave Foods was acquired by Danone for $12.5 billion.

Although the…