Plant-based beverages player Minor Figures has received a major investment from Danone’s venture capitalist arm and Hong Kong-based social venture player Green Monday Group.
Danone Manifesto Ventures and Green Monday have secured minor investments in Minor Figures for an undisclosed sum.
Companies House documents show Minor Figures has this month issued two tranches of preference shares, worth £16.15m and £5.5m respectively, while Danone Manifesto Ventures’ chief investment officer Clemence Delcourt has joined the board.
“The team at Danone Manifesto Ventures – the first corporate venture unit to be independently certified as a B Corp – shares our core vision to create a sustainable future for humanity,” said Stuart Forsyth, CEO and co-founder of Minor Figures.
“We are confident they are the perfect partner to help us optimise and grow our multi-geo, multi-channel business. Their vision, knowledge and deep experience across the globe cannot be matched.”
He said Green Monday Group was also “a like-minded partner” focused on “constructing a multi-faceted global ecosystem of future food that combats climate change, food insecurity, public health crises, planetary devastation and animal suffering”.
“We look forward to building on our distribution relationship across Asia as Minor Figures works to meet the increasing needs of plant-based consumers globally,” he added.
Minor Figures, which was founded in 2015 and boasts a portfolio of barista oat milks and a range of ready-to-drink coffees and teas, in 2019 secured a £7.5m investment for a minority stake to underpin a push into the US market.
It now has offices in the UK, US and Australia, and sells its plant-based beverages in 16 countries.
Just this week Minor Figures announced its first launch into the chilled category, with a range of two fortified oat-based milk alternatives.
The new range is available now in 250 Waitrose stores, and will be rolled out into all Holland & Barrett locations later this month.
Earlier this year it also made its debut in Tesco, rolling out a trio of oat-based SKUs in March.
Danone Manifesto Ventures’ Delcourt commented: “We believe Minor Figures is a unique brand that strongly resonates with consumers in the fast-growing plant-based space”
“Minor Figures is fully aligned with our goal to partner with mission-driven food and beverage companies that are creating a healthy and sustainable future. Stuart and the whole Minor Figures team have done a tremendous job producing high quality, innovative products for customers and consumers around the world and we look forward to working with them to help accelerate their growth and impact.”
“We are inspired by the passion and vision of the Minor Figures team,” said David Yeung, co-founder and CEO of Green Monday Group.
“Their positioning and brand identity really resonate with many new-generation consumers. Our strategic partnership will certainly catalyse further impact and change both in Asia and globally.”
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