LIVEKINDLY group raises $335 million to promote the acceptance in the world food environment of plant-based living and sustainability.
LIVEKINDLY Collective announced a successful capital raise led by The Rise Fund, the global impact investing platform managed by TPG. Rabo Corporate Investments, the investment arm of Rabobank, S2G Ventures, and other existing and new mission-aligned investors have joined this round.
This investment completes a $335 million growth funding round, including $135 million transferred from a previous round, taking the overall funds received by LIVEKINDLY Collective in the first year to $535 million. Thanks to this new funding, LIVEKINDLY Collective has now become one of the top three most-funded and fastest-growing plant-based food businesses in the world.
"Our mission is to make plant-based living the new norm, creating a healthier, more sustainable global food system through our international portfolio that meets local tastes."
The funding will be used to drive LIVEKINDLY Collective’s expansion into developing markets such as the United States and China and fuel acquisitions, main alliances, and developments in plant-based innovation.
"We are building a global pureplay in plant-based alternatives – which we believe is the future of food."
The Rise Fund invests in early-stage, high-potential, mission-driven companies generating meaningful returns while making progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Rise Fund’s second significant investment in the global plant-based ecosystem is in LIVEKINDLY Collective. Steve Ellis, Co-Managing Partner of The Rise Fund, has been appointed to the LIVEKINDLY Collective Board of Directors, with effect from March 1, 2021.
"We are excited to work with LIVEKINDLY Collective and its ecosystem of innovative companies and world-class leaders to meet the growing global demand for healthy, plant-based, clean-label options."
LIVEKINDLY Collective is made up of five businesses and employs 470 people worldwide. Suzy Amis Cameron, Barbara Kux, Shujun Li, Paul Polman, Walter Robb, and Gaby Sulzberger have also joined the board of directors, in addition to Ellis.
LIVEKINDLY Collective was founded by Blue Horizon Group on the belief that plant-based alternatives have the power to make the global food system sustainable. Its mission is to make plant-based living the new norm. As a collective of entrepreneurs and business leaders from across the globe, LIVEKINDLY Collective is uniquely positioned to create impact with speed, at scale. Through its portfolio of brands, Oumph!, The Fry Family Food Co., LikeMeat and No Meat, LIVEKINDLY Collective is providing consumers around the world with healthy, sustainable, delicious food options. Furthermore, the company is the voice of the plant-based movement, communicating informative, entertaining and inspiring content through its media and lifestyle platform, LIVEKINDLY, at www.livekindly.co and @livekindlyco on Instagram. LIVEKINDLY Collective has 470 employees and sells in more than 40 countries around the world. To learn more about living kindly, visit www.thelivekindlyco.com.
The Rise Fund is the world’s largest global impact platform committed to achieving measurable, positive social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns. With more than $5 billion in assets under management across its platform, The Rise Fund works with growth-stage, high potential, mission-driven companies that have the power to change the world. Headquartered in San Francisco, The Rise Fund was founded in 2016 by TPG in partnership with Bono and Jeff Skoll and offers deep expertise in business solutions to help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. As part of TPG, The Rise Fund offers investment resources, business-building skills, rigorous measurement and a global network to help portfolio companies accelerate growth and impact. With the ability to invest across a wide variety of sectors and countries at scale, The Rise Fund focuses on opportunities in education, energy, food and agriculture, financial technology, healthcare and technology. For more information, visit www.therisefund.com or @therisefund on Instagram.