Rival Foods

Rival Foods, a spin-off from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, is a plant-based meat company that uses its novel proprietary shear cell technology to transform plant ingredients into culinary plant-based whole-cut meat and fish products. The company's shear cell technology uses a combination of heat and pressure to align plant protein molecules, producing fibrous textures akin to animal muscle tissue without needing binders​ 

Rival Foods uses soy, wheat, and pea proteins to develop its portfolio, including plant-based chicken filets, pulled chicken and pork, tenderloin, satay, and fish filets. It supplies to select foodservice outlets in The Netherlands and Germany, with plans to expand into the UK and France. The company intends to scale its annual production capacity to 400 tons by July 2024 and move into retail markets by 2025.

Key customers and partnerships

In February 2021, Rival Foods entered into a strategic partnership with LIVEKINDLY Collective, a plant-based meat group, to develop whole-cut plant-based chicken products.

Funding and financials

In September 2022, the company raised EUR 6 million (~USD 6 million) in a Series A funding round led by Peakbridge with participation from Roquette Ventures. The funding was planned for the development of new formulations utilizing next-gen protein sources, scaling of technology, and expansion of operational capabilities given the company’s plan to commercialize its first product by 2H 2023.