- NotCo is expected to become a unicorn later in 2021;
- The startup said it was not seeking an investment round at the time it was approached by the founder of the Shake Shack chain;
- The new investment will support the consolidation of operations in the U.S. and Brazil.
The Chilean company NotCo, a plant-based food startup, announced on Wednesday that has received an investment from Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), which counts Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer as a partner.
EHI is a growth equity fund that invests in the hospitality, technology and consumer industries. The company did not disclose how much it received but said that the total raised so far is $130 million.
This investment will be strategic for the unicorn wannabe to increase its ability to expand in the US foodservice market and operations in other countries.
Danny Meyer now joins NotCo’s list of industry-leading investors, including Bezos Expeditions, Future Positive, and L Catterton.
NotCo founder and CEO Matías Muchnick said in a press release that EHI’s experience and network, along with Meyer’s insights, will help drive aggressive expansion in U.S. food service in addition to existing successful partnerships with QSR leaders in Latin America such as Burger King and Papa John’s.
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“Our goal is to accelerate the rapid advancement of products with plant-based ingredients, on the bet that consumers will easily adopt them, and Danny and EHI’s extensive industry experience will help solidify the core validation of our technology, especially in foodservice,” he said.
