Tender Food Inc. is a four-year-old food tech startup looking to enter a market already crowded with big-name brands. The company is doing so well that it has already landed a deal with the Boston-area fast-food chain Clover Food Lab.
The Somerville, Massachusetts-based company, formerly known as Boston Meats, develops plant-based meat alternatives including beef short rib, pulled pork, chicken breast and crab meat.
The company's co-founder and CEO, Christophe Chantre, told TechCrunch that the company's technology spins plant-based protein fibers, including soy protein, into structured cuts of meat in a way similar to how cotton candy is made. Berlin-based Project Eaden also uses fiber-spinning technology to make alternative proteins.
Chantre believes Tender's technology has advantages over existing plant-based meat products like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat in terms of taste, texture, nutrition and cost — four areas that have traditionally been barriers to mainstream adoption in the food tech industry.
“Consumers have been very disappointed with the products on the market,” he said. “We're committed to investing in technology to make better products, and that's been difficult so far.”
Tenderfood's plant-based shredded “pork” products. Image courtesy of Tenderfood
Since Tenderfood was founded in 2020, the market has grown significantly. During that time, his company has evolved and matured. Two years ago, he would have described Tenderfood as a technology company focused primarily on research and development. The company is still a technology company, but its focus has shifted to commercialization.
“We're just starting to commercialize so revenue hasn't been a big focus, but it will be now,” Chantre said.
Some of Tender's products are sold at restaurants and universities in the Boston area, and with the new partnership, Tender products are now sold at more than a dozen Clover Food Lab locations in the region.
“We're a popular vegetarian chain, so as you'd expect, we're experimenting with a lot of new plant-based items,” Clover senior vice president Chris Anderson said in a statement. “Tenders stood out from the start – it's innovative, delicious and a great complement to our grain bowls and salads.”
The move comes on the back of a fresh $11 million in Series A funding. Rhapsody Venture Partners led the round, with participation from existing investors like Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital and Safar Partners, as well as new investors like Claridge Partners and Nor'easter Ventures. The company raised $12 million in seed funding in 2022.
As well as catering to demand from new restaurant customers, Chantre said the funding would also be used for further product development, as well as to expand manufacturing collaborations with other companies to produce multi-million pound quantities of the product.
The company continues to test its product in the market with foodservice companies and large food manufacturing companies. In the long term, Chantre envisions Tender Food becoming a technology driver for the entire food tech industry, working with companies across the value chain and even considering licensing its technology.
Meanwhile, Tenderfood recently added Mike Messersmith, Oatly's former North American president, to its board of directors. After joining Oatly in 2017, Messersmith led the company's expansion into the U.S. Chantre said he met Messersmith through one of its investors.
“As we evolve from a technology company to a dual technology and commercial company, we are hiring construction and operations professionals with experience like Mike,” he said. “We believe these people will be invaluable in the next step of our growth.”