Beyond Impact aims for EUR 100m close for alternative protein fund

The Article 9 fund held a EUR 25m first close in early 2022 with funding from family offices in order to launch. It is now aiming to hold a EUR 100m-120m final close by the end of 2023, expecting to gather commitments from fund-of-funds set to hold their own final closings in the coming months, she said.

The fund has a EUR 160m target, but Smith said she would be happy with the lower final close following headwinds in the wider fundraising landscape.

Beyond Impact’s investment vehicle fund was a “micro fund” that had the backing of friends and family. Its first fund targeted alternative proteins and brands supplying these products, while its successor will take a step back from investing in the latter as it faces more competition from well-established groups. 

"At first brands were needed to introduce these products into the market but now even the large companies are launching their own plant products." 

Smith expects the fund to perform well as prices increase for animal products like meat and egg, putting them on parity with the plant-based alternatives. 

Investments
The fund has so far made around nine of 30 expected investments. Around 60% of that target will comprise investments in the science behind plant-based proteins and non-animal food ingredients.

The smaller portion will include testing solutions for the medical and beauty industries, partly so that the fund's portfolio companies can steer clear of animal-testing processes, as well as wider technologies in upcycling.

It will target Series A companies with enterprise values around EUR 15m-20m. At its current smaller size, the fund is deploying tickets of EUR 1.5m but, at full capacity, Smith hopes to increase that to EUR 3m-4m.

Food tech processes like cellular agriculture and precision fermentation, which can express protein via plants, will form a key part of the investment strategy, alongside tools that help to grow the capacity and manufacturing of these products.

In its most attractive positions, it will deploy up to EUR 7m in one or two follow-on rounds.

Beyond Impact will prioritise investments in Europe, but will also look at North America and developed parts of Asia. 

Its most recent investment is joining a EUR 12m Series A for Belgian precision fermentation company Paleo, alongside DSM Venturing, Planet A and Gimv. 

Six of the nine investments are follow-ons from Fund I, with three forming new platform deals.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Venture
• Consumer
• Industrials
• GPs
• Impact