Actual Veggies has raised a $7 million Series A round led by Relentless Consumer Partners to expand its ‘veggie-forward’ frozen burgers and fries on the back of triple-digit growth.
The round, which will help the startup expand its team and support its expansion in retail and foodservice, was also backed by New Fare Partners, Sovos Brands founder Todd Lachman and Tom Brady’s business partner Ben Rawitz.
Founded by Hailey Swartz and Jason Rosenbaum in 2020, Actual Veggies caters for consumers that are looking for vegetables and beans, and other whole food ingredients that can be clearly seen when you bite into its burgers, rather than meat analogs made from extruded proteins, said Swartz.
And while these products are not going to displace meat any time soon, they represent a sizable market attracting meat eaters as well as vegans and vegetarians, she claimed.
“The true veggie burger market is big business and our top competitors do over $100 million in sales, but there’s a need for more innovation in the space. Is this going to be 50% of meat sales? I don’t think so. But even if it’s 5%, that’s still a huge market to go after. This isn’t going to be a $10 billion company, but if we hit that 100 million mark, we’ll be very happy.”
Rosenbaum added: “Our sales were up 125% year on year last year and we’re projecting revenues of more than $20 million in 2025. We’re right on the borderline of being profitable. The funds are mainly to allow us to make some more hires and spend a little bit more on marketing, especially in store.”
“We’re witnessing a fundamental shift in American eating habits, magnified by the projection that over 24 million Americans will be using GLP-1 medications in the next decade. This evolution presents a massive opportunity for Actual Veggies to meet the growing demand for better meal options made without fillers, preservatives, or artificial ingredients.” Elly Truesdell, New Fare Partners
Restaurant quality burgers
While veggie burgers have been around for years, Actual Veggies has tapped into consumer demand for bigger, “restaurant-quality” burgers with visible chunks of vegetables or beans, rather than small, mushy patties, said Swartz.
“Our burger looks and feels like a homemade veggie burger, which is why it’s also popular with chefs in the foodservice channel.”
Actual Veggies products are now listed in 7,000+ stores including Albertsons, Kroger, Whole Foods Market, and Sprouts, with a move into 82 Costco stores in the Southeast next month.
The brand, which has picked up traction with meal kit companies such as Purple Carrot and online retailers such as Hungryroot, has also secured a contract with Compass Group to serve schools, hospitals, and corporate clients including Amazon and Google.
Lean team
“It’s a challenging environment for companies trying to raise money, but we were fortunate as the two groups that led this round were already investors and on our cap table,” said Rosenbaum.
“What got our investors excited was the fact we are very lean – we’ve only got eight full time people, and we have the data showing we have great velocity [units/store/week] and great repeat rates. Our black bean burger is the number one seller in units and dollars across natural and conventional channels.
“The only reason we’re not doing a whole lot more yet is that we’ve been on the market less than four years and we don’t have nearly much distribution as some of these bigger companies [Kraft Heinz, Kellogg, Dr Praeger’s, Conagra Brands etc].”
As for pricing, said Swartz, “We’re probably $1 more than our competitors, but the serving size is also slightly bigger, which is a key selling point. And even in this economy, people are willing to pay that extra dollar so they don’t have to sacrifice nutrition or taste.”
“What sets them apart is their authenticity–they’re not trying to imitate meat; they’re celebrating real vegetables in a way that resonates with today’s health-conscious consumers and I believe they’re positioned to become a major player as dining preferences continue to evolve toward more mindful, vegetable-forward options.” David Grutman, founder, Groot Hospitality
‘Our brand tells its own story’
While the burgers currently have between 8-10g protein per patty, the company is developing some new lines with higher protein, although there is a balance to be struck, said Rosenbaum. “You don’t want to load it up with too much pea protein or other protein sources that might negatively affect taste.”
It’s early days, but the firm’s new line of veggie-packed fries featuring potatoes, chickpeas and cauliflower for extra fiber and protein, are performing well and picking up new distribution, said Rosenbaum.
According to Swartz: “We work with Instacart a lot, which has been a huge driver; our category over indexes in spending and shopping through Instacart. So we’re able to do ads on Instacart and drive awareness that way. But again, we’re lucky because our brand tells its own story. We don’t need to explain what that is. Every time people see our product, they say, I’m so glad this is actually veggies and it doesn’t taste like meat.”
