Vegan meal delivery start-up Planty has secured seed investment from investment firm Veg Capital.

It is understood Veg Capital, run by Veganuary founder Matthew Glover, has invested around £150k into the brand as part of a £160k fundraising round.

The direct-to-consumer business launched in London in 2019 before expanding to the rest of the UK earlier this year.

Planty offers a range of plant-based fresh-cooked meals, which are frozen and sent to customers in boxes containing six to ten plates.

Veg Capital invests primarily in companies developing meat, dairy, eggs and seafood replacements with plant-based, recombinant and cultivated ingredients.

It provides early-stage capital to companies, with investments typically ranging from £50,000 to £250,000.

“We are delighted to have Veg Capital onboard, who shares strongly our values and vision,” said Planty co-founder and CEO Andrea Cavallo.

“With their support, we will be able to aggressively execute our production roadmap, alongside accelerating the growth of our social and environmental mission. We’ve had an exciting start in our venture and look forward to seeing what the future holds with Veg Capital championing us along the way.”

Veg Capital officially launched in June 2020 and vegan brands already in its portfolio of investments include Mighty Pea, Plantifull, Naked Snacks and One Planet Pizza, which previously counted Heather Mills as an investor through her VBites VC firm.

Glover added: “We’re delighted to be investing in Planty as we see huge potential for D2C frozen plant-based ready meals, with the growth of online grocery shopping, and people needing a quick, healthy meal while working from home or returning to the commuting lifestyle.

“We’ve tried the meals and think they’re extremely tasty. We were impressed by the ambition, enthusiasm and broad skillset of the founders. They’re a great team.”

Planty co-founder Joe Lovell, who is head of meal development, said the business is planning to expand the menu of meals offered, develop new ranges build the UK’s biggest plant-based kitchen.

Current meals in the range include mac ‘no’ cheese, yaki-miso udon noodles, BBQ banana blossom burrito and shepherd-less pie.

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