Protein Startups Thrive as Investors Abandon Fake Meat

Protein has emerged as the macronutrient of the moment. Food and beverage manufacturers across categories—from sodas to snack bars to pasta—now routinely highlight protein content as a standard selling point. Consumer appetite for protein remains strong even as attitudes toward carbohydrates and fat have shifted.

Venture investors have capitalized on this trend for the past decade, channeling billions into startups promising cheaper, more palatable and environmentally responsible protein sources. Yet many early bets have disappointed. Lab-grown meat investments from several years ago have failed to produce breakout successes, while once-celebrated plant-based companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have watched their valuations decline. Some ventures have closed entirely.

In response, capital has migrated toward a different strategy: infusing protein into an expanding range of packaged goods and beverages. This shift is evident in grocery aisles nationwide, where both emerging companies and established manufacturers aggressively promote added protein in noodles, pancakes, cereals, energy bars, popcorn and countless other products.

Deal flow looks robust

While protein-focused investment pales beside the sums flowing into artificial intelligence, funding activity in the protein space remains steady. Crunchbase data identifies several dozen protein-focused startups that secured funding over the past year. Several rounds have reached substantial sizes, including a $250 million Series B for Medici Brands, the maker of David Protein snack bars, completed in September.

Recent funding spans multiple categories: packaged foods, beverages, ingredients and processing technologies, and animal feed applications.

Protein snacks and packaged foods

Snack and packaged food companies have attracted the largest funding pools among protein-focused startups, collectively raising hundreds of millions in the past year.

Medici Brands, parent company of David Protein, received the largest recent allocation. Beyond protein-dense bars with protein levels comparable to cod, the brand has expanded into ice cream and milkshakes. Wilde Brands, which manufactures crackers from chicken breasts, drew $40 million in investor backing last month. Among earlier-stage ventures, Frozen One has gained momentum, raising more than $8 million for a high-protein ice cream line currently stocked at Target.

Protein drinks

Startups are also addressing demand for high-protein beverages. Ripple Foods, which produces vegan milk derived from pea protein, stands as the highest-funded example in this category, having raised over $300 million across its 12-year history, though it has not yet achieved unicorn status.

Clear protein drinks represent an emerging subcategory, with ventures like Juuz, a protein soda brand, and Protein2o, a sports drink maker, gaining traction.

Precision fermentation and plant protein ingredients

A significant portion of funded startups concentrate on developing novel protein-rich ingredients rather than branded consumer products. Many employ precision fermentation technology to achieve this.

The Every Co., which produces animal-free egg white proteins through fermentation, ranks as the largest recipient of funding in this segment and among the oldest companies in the space. Over the past decade, it has raised nearly $300 million, including a $55 million round from a year prior. Early-stage activity also includes startups like Edonia, which develops high-protein cooking ingredients from spirulina.

Animal feed and pet food

Several funded protein startups target livestock, aquaculture and pet food markets—segments with less saturated retail competition than human food products.

Two notable ventures focus on insects as protein sources. InnovaFeed has raised over $500 million to produce insects for livestock feed, pet food and aquaculture applications. NextProtein uses fly larvae as feedstock. In the pet food space, Meatly secured Series A funding this spring to develop what it describes as Europe's largest cultivated meat facility, with plans to supply pet food brands and launch its own product line as production scales.

Broad focus: Protein, not meat

A unifying theme across protein-related funding rounds is that startups have largely abandoned efforts to convince consumers that plant-based products replicate meat. Instead, the focus has shifted to protein as a standalone macronutrient—one that can be concentrated and incorporated into diverse flavors and formats. While these offerings may not match the taste profiles of higher-sugar, higher-fat and higher-carbohydrate alternatives, they deliver on the protein promise.