Multi Meats

With their R&D starting in 2004, Hungry Planet has been one of the leaders when it comes to pioneering plant-based meats for the public. With a multi-meat portfolio of 9 proteins, and an impressive recent partnership announced with Fortune 500 company Post Holdings, the business is set to bring their chef-crafted premium products into the mainstream. In this week’s episode we spoke with Todd Boyman, co-founder and CEO of Hungry Planet about the founding journey and the team’s mission statement. We also discuss why multiple meats, the process of adequately proportioning and prioritising product development, the role of taste, and what the future looks like given their new strategic alliance for scaling.

Image: Hungry Planet Beef patty in a burger. Sourced from website.

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The plant-based food sector has been accelerating quickly, with multiple meat companies producing facsimiles of conventional meat products. Some of these such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have gone down the root of re-creating America’s beloved beef burger, whilst others have chosen to devote their attention to others like chicken and pork. Hungry Planet on the other hand has gone down a different route altogether - creating a multi meat portfolio.

Todd: 'The vision we had from day one was to make sure we were creating meats that would work in any cuisine and in any recipe, anywhere in the world.’

This global perspective made Todd realise that it wasn’t going to be enough to tackle one single conventional protein.

Todd: ‘We wanted to build a solution that would work anywhere in the world, and that meant solving for all of these different protein types.’

And they’ve stood true to their vision with Hungry Planet currently having 9 different protein types in the market. But with such a wide range of products also come a number of challenges.

Todd: ‘The challenge for us was trying to figure out how and if we could simplify how we produce this food. Can we create a common platform from which we could build all of these different types of meat.’

That initial complexity then gradually developed into what Todd calls an ‘embarrassment of riches’, the challenge of thinking what to showcase and how.

Despite this, and the fact that it still seems to be something the company battles with, it seems that having a multi-protein portfolio has been appealing to industry members.

Todd: ‘When we’re out, particular in food service but increasingly in retail talking with chefs or buyers, their eyes just light up when they see that from a single source they can get industry-leading taste, texture and nutrition, across all of these different meat types.’

Todd also compared it to the growth and scaling of the conventional meat industry, where large restaurant chains often look for a single source for all of their proteins, their theory being that the plant-based market will similarly follow suit.

Todd: ‘They will be looking for people from companies like ourselves, who can provide at scale, complete solutions across all of these different protein types.’

Hungry planet’s products are also chef-crafted.

Todd: ‘Fundamentally food needs to be delicious.’

Todd: ‘At the end of the day if our culinary team feels like it doesn’t meet their requirement - it’s not something that goes to market.’

And this focus on taste isn’t surprising, as being one of the more mature plant-based meat companies on the market, the ability to mimic and re-create the conventional was critical if the startup was to have any success.

Todd: ‘It was a bit like being stranded on an island, and nobody knew you were even out there.’

Todd: ‘The benefit that we had though starting so early, was because at that point there wasn’t a flood of money going into this space and people weren’t clamouring saying they need it now. It gave us the opportunity to turn over iteration after iteration, rather than trying to quickly satisfy investors or anybody else who says they needed something, and needed it now.’

Whilst these benefits are to be recognised, the isolation of the process of pioneering what was perceived a ‘quixotic’ idea couldn’t have been easy. I was curious to hear how Todd stayed hopeful during those times of uncertainty and whether or not him and his team ever questioned the mission.

Todd: ‘All of us who were involved in pulling this together fundamentally believed that companies should solve real problems without creating new ones. So if that’s the construct with which you’re starting a business like this, I think it gives you a degree of fortitude to work through those times when people are looking at you thinking why are you doing this - because you understood that the purpose was grounded in something that was meaningful, and that it would take time.’

Todd also took to self-funding the business at the time.

Todd: ‘In our case I don’t think we would have a business had we not raised money 14 years ago.’

Todd argued that as an early business with no market to get into, for Hungry Planet it was essential that they grew the way that they did, without turning to outside capital.

Todd: ‘That wouldn’t necessarily be the case today though. This category does exist, it’s moving rapidly, and so if I was wanting to get into this category today, the way we did it wouldn’t work. You need to have something that’s differentiated, and you need to be capitalised appropriately to move quickly.’

This comes with the recent news that Hungry Planet has announced a partnership with Post Holdings, a publicly traded Fortune 500 food company in the United States.

Todd: ‘We’ve been looking for about a year and a half for the right partner to start doing all of these plant-based meats at scale. We’ve been courted by some really attractive companies out there, but ultimately decided that the relationships were a little too early, or for some reason wasn’t the type fit we were feeling would be successful here.’

Todd discussed their similar alignment in terms of where they believe this category of plant-based foods is going and how to get there, as well as how to combine the innovation and speed of an early-stage company with one that operates at an enormous scale.

Todd: ‘They’ve also chosen to make an investment in our company and together we will be accelerating across all 9 proteins, across food service and retail with more announcements to come over the next weeks and months.’

Like for many other mission-driven startups who are looking to create strategic partnerships however, how does one find the balance when working with a large conglomerate?

Todd: ‘I think a lot of it has to do with who you choose to partner with. Just as in life if you’re going to commit yourself to a life partner, you need to make sure that your values are aligned and that you are looking to the future in a way that is harmonious and will compliment each other’s skills.’

Todd: ‘Then you need to make sure that the agreements you put in place with investors or commercially haven’t put you into a position where you’re going to have to compromise those values.’

What does the partnership with Post look like for the future of Hungry Planet?

Todd: ‘I think what you’ll see is a lot of innovation, hitting the market really rapidly.’

A very exciting announcement for the team, and the industry at large.

To stay update with this innovation and Hungry Planet’s journey you can head to their website for more information, or follow them @hungryplanetfoods on social media.