Hong Kong ‘plant-based platform’ Green Monday raises $70m

Hong Kong’s Green Monday has raised $70 million in a funding round co-led by The Rise Fund — a unit of US private equity giant TPG Capital — and Swire Pacific, an arm of Hong Kong trading house Swire.

Other investors taking part in the round included CPT Capital, Jefferies Group, Sino Group-affiliated Ng Family Trust, and Happiness Capital – an investment arm of Hong Kong sauce and condiment maker Lee Kum Kee.

Room to Read founder John Wood, Taiwanese musician Wang Leehom, Canadian filmmaker James Cameron, photographer and vegetarian activist Mary McCartney, and conservationist Susan Rockefeller were among the individual investors that participated.

Starting out as a sustainability and vegetarianism-focused social venture in April 2012, Green Monday Group has since grown into a self-described ‘plant-based platform’ comprising a number of different verticals.

These include the Green Monday Foundation, which advocates for the adoption of ‘greener’ lifestyles, as well as Green Common, the group’s concept grocery store chain which stocks the latest in plant-based proteins and other ‘green’ food products.

The group also has several commercially oriented ventures, such as OmniFoods — the producer of plant-based pigmeat substitute OmniPork — and Green Monday Ventures, a VC fund which has backed other foodtech companies including Alpha Foods, Beyond Meat, Lavva, and TurtleTree Labs.

This diversified model helped convince The Rise Fund to invest in Green Monday, explained TPG China managing partner Chang Sun, who said the startup is among “the first movers in Asia” when it comes to plant-based protein.

“In addition to developing a diverse portfolio of versatile meat alternatives, Green Monday has become Asia’s biggest wholesale plant-based product distributor to retail and foodservice partners,” he added.

Swire Pacific is the majority shareholder of Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific, which has been serving OmniPork in its in-flight meals since last year.

“We look forward to working together further to develop new menus to suit the taste of our passengers, many of whom have a deep interest in health, wellness, and environmental sustainability,” said Swire Pacific development director David Cogman.

He added that the two companies will also be exploring opportunities to sell more plant-based products in Swire’s network of hotels, shopping malls, and food and beverage outlets throughout the Greater China region.

Green Monday said it will use the capital for research and development, to add new product lines, and to expand its supply chain, distribution and retail capabilities.

In the next six months it expects to be present in over 40,000 retail locations across 20 countries. It also plans to open flagship Green Common stores in Mainland China and Singapore within the same timeframe.

Co-founder and CEO David Yeung said he and his team are “delighted” to have the backing of “global leading institutions and investors who share our vision and are aligned in solving […] imminent challenges like climate change, public health, and food crises, not only here in Asia but also worldwide.”

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