Lost appetite: why investors have lost interest in vegetable meat

While plant-based MEAT producers lure buyers with tales of an overpopulated future and environmental disaster, investors are critical.There are several reasons to doubt the prospects of the artificial steak industry.

Neil Rankin's story is atypical for plant-based entrepreneurs. About ten years ago, he made a name for himself in the wake of the popularity of London barbecue restaurants. The Scot offered guests steaks, ribs and whole carcasses cooked over an open fire.

One day, Rankin decided that even the use of organic meat would not help reduce the negative impact of the restaurant industry on the environment. He switched to vegan burgers and sausages and invented new foods in his own kitchen. “Over the past ten years, I have created millions of steaks. I think I've reached a certain ceiling [in meat preparation]. And the world of plant foods is still unknown,” says the 45-year-old entrepreneur.

Rankin has ditched protein derived from legumes like soy or peas (preferred by many plant-based meat suppliers). The Scot was looking for a reliable alternative in vegetables and eventually turned to vegan meat, which is made using fermented onions, beets and mushrooms.

Rankin's Symplicity Foods now supplies British premium burger chains and restaurants. Her clientele includes acclaimed chef Gordon Ramsay's Street Burger, Soho House's private clubs and Dishoom's Indian restaurants. After raising £2m funding, Symplicity Foods opened a larger manufacturing facility in north London.

Bean patties and tofu burgers have been around for decades. However, consumer interest in a new generation of plant-based meat that mimics the taste, texture and smell of the real thing skyrocketed in 2019 after the launch of American startup BEYOND MEAT.