Novameat and Rubio: partnering to revolutionize the plant-based meat market
Novameat has secured a new follow-up round of 17 million euros. CEO and founder of the Spanish start-up, Giuseppe Scionti, and Rubio’s Food & Ag specialist Venture Partner Tijl Hoefnagels, reflect on the complexities of growing a business in the plant-based meat sector and they discuss the essential elements of team & genuine partnership.
This is the second edition of our ‘True Partnership’ series, in which we explore the importance of chemistry and alignment of impact values between investor and investee.
Giuseppe Scionti knew he was “destined” to be an inventor like his grandfather and to work in something meaningful, to help protect nature. But he wasn’t sure where these two boyhood passions would take him. While he was working as a researcher and assistant professor in the field of tissue engineering for more than a decade, Giuseppe patented a production procedure that converts natural ingredients such as pea protein and seaweed into wholecut meat replacements.
Giuseppe scraped together his savings to build a technology platform that “texturises” plant-based proteins into realistic meat forms tasting like beef steak, pork chops, and chicken filets. With a solid R&D and demo platform ready, in 2021 Giuseppe started shopping around for seed investment.
In the same year, Rubio was scanning the market for innovations in the plant-based meat sector, specifically focused on the “whole-cut” segment which was mostly unavailable in the market. They knew this market could create a powerful impact with a scalable commercial business. It was Novameat’s superior solution and distinctive B2B model – avoiding a “shelf-war” with consumer-facing brands with high marketing burn – that caught Rubio’s investor’s eye. And Giuseppe was a big part of the “package appeal” – a scientist with creative flair and clear entrepreneurial drive is a rare bird!
The dynamics of team success
“Team assessments and development play a crucial role in Rubio’s beliefs and investment decisions,” Tijl explains. “Rubio has included team assessments as part of all due diligence since the start of our fund, which is one of the reasons I became a Management Drives practitioner next to my Investment role, I wanted to really understand what motivates people and the dynamics of team success.”
The courting process between Novameat and Rubio was relatively short and sweet as the fundamentals were demonstrably well aligned. Novameat clearly matched Rubio’s core value – investing in scalable businesses that solves one of humanity’s biggest challenges – and had the best technology and vision to tackle myriad issues concerning meat production and market shifts. And Novameat had a stellar founding team that needed to expand.
Ritual in the (investor) board
Since the start of the collaboration the focus Tijl & Giuseppe was on building a strong team both within the organisation as between investors and management. Using Management Drives they came up with a ritual in the (investor) board to constantly remind the team on crucial development steps. As part of the common language, they established with the team, an analysis was made on what energizes the team and what is more likely to be postponed. Giuseppe: “In the exec summary we have a “blue slide” that keeps track of all processes we need to implement and a“red slide” for focus i.e the list of key decisions that are to be made. This helps us to be clear on commitments and hold ourselves accountable”.
That building the team has paid off has now been proven. Despite a downwards market in plant-based meat (investments in plant-based showed a 28% decrease since 2022*), Novameat has secured this new follow-up round of 17,4 million euros. And according to Giuseppe, this would not have been possible without the support of his existing investors.
Holistic approach
Giuseppe: “In the relationship between an investor and an investment, collaboration, trust, and open lines of communication are absolutely crucial. I believe that investors who provide more than just capital, who offer guidance and strategic insights, enable their investments to grow sustainably. This holistic approach fosters a sense of trust and mutual respect, which is essential for navigating the challenges of a rapidly evolving market. In our case, the support of Rubio made it possible for us to concentrate on pushing the boundaries of plant-based meat technology, confident in the knowledge that our investor has our back.”
Doubling down despite downturn
Confidence and support should be given according to Tijl. Rubio and its co-investors are confident that Novameat has the missing ingredients in what is likely to be a shake-out in years to come because only the best, most credible products and scalable processes will pass the ultimate taste/texture, nutrition/natural appearance, and price/production test. By further developing and producing whole cuts of meat Novameat will help to meet the protein needs of a growing world population. “Rubio is doubling down on Novameat’s ability to win over the global substitute meat market,” confirmed Tijl.
The new capital injection will fuel a powerful commercial and capacity push, extending the company’s B2B customer base of hotels, restaurants, big catering organizations, and food/meat producers and distributors.
More at stake than plant-based steak
The investment will also bankroll an expansion of pilot distribution deals within Europe (radiating out from Spain, Holland, and the UK), working together with partners to develop or adapt production facilities and further exploit Novameat’s patented solutions.
“Whatever the round of investment, when you have the right investor onboard and you’re able to talk through issues openly, the ‘fit’ works in both up- and downcycles,” Giuseppe stressed, adding that “well-aligned ‘purpose and profit’ survives death-valley cycles, trend-followers, and hype,” leaving true pioneers out on top.
Tijl added: “In any battle, the strongest survive so the relationship and setup need to be resilient to these forces. This big round is exciting and gives Novameat real ammunition to make a play for deep market penetration, and the stakes are much more than financial.”
On the same wavelength, Giuseppe concluded: “Humanity has an unparalleled opportunity here to work on something to save the planet and improve the health of society, and I’m happy to work hand-in-hand with my investors to make a bigger impact, solving major problems in the food system alongside climate and health challenges.”
