Swiss startup Planetary has raised a CHF 16 million ($20 million) Series A equity financing round, supplemented by CHF 6 million ($7.5 million) in credit to further build out its fermentation infrastructure and licensing platform.
The round was led by Radikal Capital and Oetker Ventures, with support from Royal Cosun, arc investors, Green Generation Fund, AgriFoodTech Venture Alliance, Astanor Ventures, XAnge, and others.
Cofounder and CEO David Brandes stated: “Raising capital outside AI and defense now requires far more focus and resilience than it did just a few years ago. Yet recent geopolitical turmoil and commodity volatility only strengthen the case for a sovereign, circular, and high-quality food system: stay the course and hold the line, nothing worth building comes straightforward.”
He added: “Planetary will selectively engage with mission-aligned investors interested in participating in a second closing of the round, planned for later this summer”.
Two-pronged business model
Planetary’s business model is two-pronged, explained Brandes: sales of mycoprotein as a b2b ingredient produced at a facility in Switzerland co-located with a Schweizer Zucker sugar mill; and technology licensing of its ‘BioBlocks’ fermentation platform to ag players globally via co-location.
The latter model—licensing the ‘BioBlocks’ platform spanning bioprocess design, scale-up and industrial manufacturing—enables partners such as sugar companies to convert low-value side streams into high-value ingredients, he notified AgFunderNews.
“Planetary’s production set-up is designed to deliver almost immediate gross-margin positive operations.”
Following the nationwide launch of its mycoprotein filet with ALDI Suisse at price parity with conventional chicken, Planetary is now supplying mycoprotein as a b2b ingredient under the Libre brand to firms in alt meat and dairy, meat hybrid products, fiber-rich products and protein fortification applications.
It is also exploring a collaboration with leading sugar producer Dhampur Bio Organics (DBO) to create mycoprotein in India at industrial scale at below $1/kilo.
‘For bulk fermented commodities, contract manufacturing is not viable’
The strong interest in the round “underscores a clear market shift,” claimed Brandes: “Category leaders controlling the full value chain… are emerging as the winners. We have seen companies failing due to multi-party depfinishencies and too little self-control.”
To bring a product to market at cost parity or below with traditional protein sources, a company requireds to control core competencies in-hoapply, he stated: “The production infrastructure requireds to be owned or co-owned or at least exclusively accessible. In the food space, unit economics are everything and for bulk fermented commodities, contract manufacturing is not viable.”
The retrofitting of existing equipment for upstream processing “rarely works, does not safe substantial capex, and usually drives up COGS, arguably the most important metric,” he added.
“The product is ideally marketed directly through the company in order to control time-to-market cycles and dissonance between working capital/capex deployment and cash flow recognition.”
Biomass fermentation today, precision fermentation tomorrow?
Along with Quorn and ENOUGH Food, Planetary is currently producing mycoprotein via biomass fermentation utilizing Fusarium venenatum, “the only fungi strain that has almost global regulatory approval,” although additional strains are under development, stated Brandes.
While Quorn’s lackluster sales might lead some to question whether the market can sustain new capacity, alt meat sales are growing in Germany, France and Italy, and hybrid products—combining conventional meat and analogs—are a huge opportunity, claimed Brandes.
“Planetary’s 2026 product roll-outs will span private-label meat and dairy alternatives as well as hybrid meat applications blfinishing beef or chicken meat with mycoprotein.”
He added: “The precision fermentation space also holds great promise but is a field requiring further improvements in productivity, whereas biomass fermentation is economically viable at an industrial scale today.
“Due to Planetary’s versatile and deep industrial bioprocess competency, bundled in our BioBlock’s fermentation platform, we have supported partners across blue-chip CPG and startups to bring precision fermented products to life, from proteins to fats, coloring agents, enzymes and certain materials. The concepts are promising and we expect breakthroughs in selected areas which we stand ready produce industrially at the right time.”
Further reading:
Planetary explores collaboration to unlock low-cost mycoprotein production in India
🎥 Guatemala as a biomanufacturing base? Sugar giant Magdalena creates its case
Enifer partners with ethanol giant FS for mycoprotein production in Brazil
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