Green Monday Holdings, a provider of plant-based food headquartered in Hong Kong, announced that it has raised USD 70 million in a funding round led by TPG’s The Rise Fund and Swire Pacific.
New backers including institutional investors CPT Capital, US-based Jefferies Group, and Sino Group’s Ng Family Trust, as well as artist Wang Leehom and Room to Read founder John Wood, also participated in the round, which claims to be the largest of its kind to-date in Asia.
Supported by existing investors such as Happiness Capital, the venture capital unit of Lee Kum Kee Health Products Group, Green Monday Holdings has raised nearly USD 100 million in total funding rounds, CEO and co-founder David Yeung told Tech in Asia.
With the new funds, the company plans to boost research and development as well as production, according to a statement. It’s also looking to improve its distribution and supply chain capabilities, scale up its retail network, and strengthen partnerships with food and beverage brands.
Green Monday Holdings is the operational arm of Green Monday Group, which was founded in 2012. The parent company also runs investment-focused Green Monday Ventures and Green Monday Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates sustainable plant-based living through community initiatives.
What problem is it solving? “We’re trying to address climate change, food insecurity, and public health crisis. We have 8 billion people on the planet today, and very soon we’ll have 10 billion. We simply don’t have enough food to feed everyone,” explains Yeung.
Green Monday operates OmniFoods, a food tech business that produces alternative protein products, and Green Common, which provides a plant-based food retail, distribution and dining operation.
The company said it aims to “create a one-stop future food hub, from research and development to retail and distribution.”
What are its challenges? Compared to people in Western countries, Asians generally don’t have a plant-based diet and are less aware of climate sustainability, Yeung observes. “We need to develop products that fit the local taste profile. At the same time, we need to shift the culture.”
How much traction has it gotten? According to a statement, Green Monday serves 10 markets and has about 20,000 point-of-sale operations worldwide. In the next six months, it aims to expand to over 20 markets across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North America, as well as increase PoS operations to over 40,000.
It will also open Green Common flagship stores across China and Singapore and become a turnkey partner to offer more plant-based options in Asia and beyond.
Cathay Pacific has been serving OmniPork on board its planes, said David Cogman, development director at Swire Pacific, the largest shareholder of the airline.
Swire Pacific, which has a network of malls, hotels and F&B businesses in Hong Kong and mainland China, as well as associated supply chain operations across the country, is in talks with Green Monday about collaborating on the retail front, Cogman added.
Who are the team members? Green Monday was established by Yeung and Francis Ngai.
Ngai is also the founder and CEO of Social Ventures Hong Kong, a venture philanthropic organization that incubates and invests in social innovation projects.
Green Monday has over 400 employees across offices in Hong Kong, mainland China, Thailand, Canada, and Singapore, among others.
This article was originally published by Tech in Asia.