← STARTUPS
Alternative ProteinsFounded: 2018HQ: Sacramento, California, USAFunding: $31M Series A (Aug 2025), co-led by Future Ventures and Resilience Reserve; $43M total

The Better Meat Co

What Happened

The Better Meat Co pivoted from plant-protein blends to fermentation-derived Rhiza mycoprotein, and is now scaling production tenfold with the explicit goal of beating commodity ground-beef pricing — a rare concrete cost target in an industry known for vague promises.

Why It Matters

A specific, public cost target — beating commodity ground-beef pricing — is unusual candor in an industry known for vague sustainability promises instead of hard numbers manufacturers can actually plan around.

A public commitment to beat ground-beef pricing, not just talk about sustainability.

FET's Takeaway

The pivot from plant-protein blends to fermentation-derived mycoprotein is worth noting as a pattern — several companies in this space have made the same move, suggesting blends alone weren't hitting the cost or texture targets needed.

Verification source: AgFunderNews ↗