Latin America’s leading contender in the vegan dairy and meat alternatives market, NotCo, is about to reach a deal that will bring its value to $250 million.
The Not Company, or NotCo, as it’s commonly called, launched in 2015 in Chile and has expanded to other Latin American countries in the following years. Now, the plant-based meat company is closing in on an $85 million funding round, which would value it at $250 million, according to TechCrunch.
Based in Santiago, NotCo is known for using biotechnology and algorithms to develop its products. It has expanded its range beyond vegan mayonnaise, launching plant-based milk, ice creams and hamburgers. The report says the company is currently developing chicken substitutes as well.
NotCo is a market leader in plant-based food in Latin America, with products in Chile, Argentina and Brazil, its biggest market. It has signed a deal to become Burger King’s main supplier for vegan burgers. In the locations it currently supplies Burger King outlets in, the plant-based startup is responsible for selling 48 sandwiches per store every day, which is higher than Impossible’s per-store sales.
This news comes just days after Swedish oat milk company Oatly secured a $200 million investment by a Blackstone-led group of celebrities, which took the company’s value to $2 billion.
One of NotCo’s previous investors is Jeff Bezos’s personal investment firm, Bezos Expeditions. It’s begun selling its burgers in grocery stores in Argentina and Chile now. And while the startup is not break-even just yet, it could get there — and even be profitable — by the end of 2021, according to the report.
