Meati opens 100K SF ‘mega ranch’ production facility

THORNTON — Boulder-headquartered Meati Foods, a mushroom-based whole-food proteins producer, has opened a 100,000-square-foot production facility in Thornton that the company has dubbed its “mega ranch.”

The facility, which is expected to have production capacity in the tens of millions of pounds by the end of the year, was built with money raised last year in $150 million in a Series C round led by investor Revolution Growth LLC. The round elevated Meati’s total fundraising beyond the quarter-billion-dollar mark, according to Crunchbase data. 

“The next few years will see a seismic shift in how we eat, and Meati’s state-of-the-art, scalable production capabilities coupled with its focus on meeting consumer needs for clean, whole-food protein position the brand to lead,” Fazeela Abdul Rashid, partner at Revolution Growth and member of the Meati Foods board, said in a prepared statement.  Meat CEO Tyler Huggins “and the team have a vision for a new food category with pure ingredients and taste that doesn’t compromise. We are excited to continue working with them to reach the next level and bring Meati to more consumers across the U.S.”

Meati, a trade name used by Emergy Inc., creates high-protein, high-fiber and nutrient-dense meats using mycelium — the muscular root structure of fungi — as its single main ingredient. Unlike traditional meat alternatives, which typically attempt to mimic products such as chicken nuggets or ground beef, Meati’s products, some of which are still being developed, replicate whole cuts of meat such as chicken breasts, steak, jerky and pork tenderloin.

At the Thornton production facility, Meati is “able to grow a teaspoon of spores into hundreds of cows’ equivalent of whole-food protein in just a few days,” the company said. 

The Mega Ranch is expected to provide Meati with the products it needs for nationwide sales expansion. 

By 2025, the company expects revenues to reach $1 billion.

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