Millions-Worth Funding for Bay Area Plant-Based Food Startups

Greener building backing for new sustainability options.

San Francisco-based food tech companies dealing with plant-based meat products are getting millions worth of funding needs, and many of them are using the opportunity to build new headquarters or lease one.

Since Innovation Property Group has successfully leased an 8,000 sqft lease for Hooray Foods at 582 6th Street, we have decided to look upon this industry and try to give you a closer look at how these plants fight the Covid crisis.

Business turbulences in the past year made many businesses give up their headquarters in San Francisco, but selected ones are determined to continue building their manufacturing facilities in the Bay area.

$161 million for Bay Area food startups

Memphis Meats raised $161 million to help finance plans to build a new Bay Area production facility. This is the largest funding round to this day and besides the new headquarters, it will support the production and marketing strategy for cell-based meat products, like their well-known duck alternative.

The round was led by SoftBank Group, Norwest and Temasek, but many independent investors such as Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Tyson Foods and Kimbal Musk (the brother of the Tesla CEO) gave their contribution.

A continuance in funding sustainable meat products

Cell-based manufacturers develop methods to produce meat without the need to breed or slaughter animals, and since 2015, only Memphis Meats have raised a total sum of 180 million dollars.

Memphis Meats started by producing beef-based meatballs but moved into poultry, becoming mega-popular for their plant-based chicken and duck products.

Today, there are about 30 cell-based meat startups around the world, and the competition continues to climb since the demand for plant-based meat products has risen by nearly 70% in the last five years.

Some of the most famous plant-based food companies are Beyond Meat (NYSE: BYND), Impossible Foods and Eat Just.

Eat Just lands a 30,000-square-foot manufacturing facility

San Francisco’s plant-based food company, Eat JUST Inc., formerly known as Hampton Creek, has been quick to expand its activities in the cell-based market, rolling out plans to become a major part of the global meat supply.

The Eat Just company plans on expanding its product offerings, reducing prices for both retail and foodservice channels and continuing building a new 30,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Appleton, Minn.

The company will be situated in two buildings on Atlantic Avenue and Wind River Way, sharing space with more than 25 life science and research tenants, in a 1.4 million-square-foot waterfront campus.

There’s a lot coming up – that’s the punchline. To know what real estate investments lie ahead, it is always helpful to look at where the dollars are flowing in an administration.

More money often means more leasing to carry out, and leasing options as greater vacancy rates have changed the economics; the role of the office and our space requirements will evolve in a hybrid work environment, as our own financial conditions are impacted by COVID-19v.