The Plant-Based Market – Why Invest?
This is a guest post from Kale United.
The plant-based industry has seen huge global growth in recent years but is this reason enough to invest? What other benefits are there to supporting this industry? Kale United Founder Måns Ullerstam breaks it down.
The idea for Kale United started when I tried to invest my retirement savings in ethical, plant-based companies and quickly realised it was not possible.
There just wasn’t an option for individuals to take an active investment role in the global plant-based growth market. The only investment opportunities I could find were for large funds.
The fact that globally plant-based industries are growing is undeniable. Barely day goes past without reading a headline about a new vegan or plant-based product launch, or a report on the impact of consumer demand for plant-based and sustainable sectors on markets around the world. Here are just a few examples:
sales of plant-based food in the US up 8.1% in 2017 to $3.1 billion
plant-based alternatives to milk forecast to be worth $34 billion by 2024
substitute meat market estimated to be worth $5.2 billion by 2020
faux leather industry set to reach $85 billion by 2025
There are many more growth statistics out there – and whether or not you accept the exact figures, it’s hard to argue against the general trend!
But aside from just being an interesting financial investment, why should we support plant-based growth?
People are making the shift in their consumption pattern from animal-based to plant-based products as the public grow increasingly more health and environmentally aware.
To my mind, there are three main categories of reasons why individuals make this shift:
improving human health – plant-based diets are proven to reduce the risk of diabetes and a myriad of other health issues
reducing and (hopefully) eliminating animal cruelty – increasingly individuals are opening the eyes to the unethical practices of the livestock and dairy industries and opting for alternatives as a result
tackling climate change – plant-based agriculture is more sustainable than livestock agriculture and produces fewer emissions, as highlighted in the recent landmark UN report on climate change
The growth of the global plant-based sector brings us closer to a world where we can eat, shop and work cruelty-free while improving the health of the planet.
Many companies in this market are already helping to achieve the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals; all while providing services or products that are high quality, well-sourced, healthy and in many cases delicious!
There are so many good ideas out there, and there are many more still to come. Thousands, more exciting new plant-based brands will launch in 2019, but without investment they may never get the attention and financial support they need to hit the mainstream.
We welcome member company applications from across sectors – food, beauty, healthcare, publishing, fashion and more – but our policy is that all companies in the Kale United ecosystem must be plant-based and looking to improve the world.
New concepts and businesses are launching every day, every week there are more vegan options in your local supermarkets, more recycled materials used in your packaging, increased focus on the ethics and sustainability of fast fashion and cruelty-free cosmetics.
A key part of this movement is that businesses like these almost always want to work with partners that share the same values and ethics – and this is where Kale United helps.
Kale United represents the next wave of plant-based businesses, helping consolidate the global ecosystem, and working together with like minded people to help the best ideas flourish.
I spent over a year developing the concept and strategy for the equity crowdfunding of Kale United, harnessing my experience as an investor and problem-solver to come up with the right solution.
I’ve successfully lead fundraising initiatives in the past, including raising US$ 6 million from prominent investors such as Google Ventures for my last technology venture, Resolution Games.
From individuals to companies, all are welcome to support the Kale United project. It’s not just for large funds, and it’s not just for individual crowdfunders. It’s a project for everyone.
The journey starts here. Are you on board?
Find out more about our crowdfunding on FundedByMe.
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