Meati Holdings—the new owner of alt meat brand Meati—says recent holds on its bank accounts reflected confusion over liabilities, but the issue has now been resolved, leaving it “debt-free.”
The news follows weeks of payroll glitches and mass layoffs at the Colorado-based firm, which entered the Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC) process, an alternative to bankruptcy, in the spring.
According to a press release issued by Meati Holdings Tuesday, the final asset purchase agreement was filed on October 30, officially transferring ownership of all Meati assets to Meati Holdings on October 31. “All issues or liabilities prior to that date remain the responsibility of the former entity, not Meati Holdings,” it explains.
Some creditors ‘continue to struggle with this transition’
After Emergy (the previous owner of Meati Foods) entered the ABC process in the spring, a court in Adams County, Colorado, approved a management order granting Meati Holdings operational control of the company, adds the release.
Since then, says Meati Holdings president Yasir Abdul (CEO at informercial company InvenTel) in the release, “Every expense to keep Meati operational, including payroll and production, has been funded directly by Meati Holdings.”
He added: “This court-supervised process resulted in Meati Holdings purchasing the business assets free and clear of all successor liability, alter ego claims, or previous debt.”
However, some creditors, he claimed, “continue to struggle with this transition.”
The firm missed payroll in recent weeks when “previous creditors levied the bank accounts of Meati Holdings instead of Meati Foods, which, under the rules of the ABC sale, is not to occur,” added the release. Meati Holdings has “since rectified this issue after going to court.”
Meati Holdings “also negotiated and satisfied the secured debt held by [lender] Trinity Capital, which was owed more than $14 million by the prior entity,” he said. “As a result, Meati Holdings now owns the business debt-free.”
‘We’re evaluating the viability of the Thornton, Colorado plant’
Since assuming operational control, Meati Holdings has invested $14.2 million in cash to sustain operations, settle secured obligations, and stabilize the business, says the release. “This includes satisfaction of Trinity Capital’s debt and assumption of $3.4 million in property tax liabilities. All payroll and state taxes are current, and Meati Holdings is working with the State of Colorado to reassess the facility’s valuation, previously over-assessed at $300 million.”
Why “many positions were affected by the restructuring, several team members have already been rehired at Meati Holdings’ sister companies, and additional staffing evaluations are underway,” claims the release.
Yasir Abdul has not responded to repeated messages and emails from AgFunderNews in recent weeks.
Renee Towell, Abdul’s director of comms, declined to provide further comment today, but is quoted in the release as saying: “Mr. Abdul gave Meati Foods a lifeline, and with that comes change. Not everyone will be happy, but his corporate restructuring is solely based on keeping the company going and creating jobs.”
Abdul added: “We’re evaluating the viability of the Thornton, Colorado plant. The facility is intact and operational, and we have sufficient staff to run and maintain it effectively while meeting production goals. If we determine it cannot produce profitably, we will consider alternatives, but either way, Meati’s mission continues.”
Rebranding in 2026
According to the release, Meati Holdings is extending the Meati product line, preparing for a rebrand in 2026 and planning to participate in upcoming trade shows.
”Once Meati Holdings begins leveraging InvenTel’s national ‘As Seen on TV’ and digital marketing platform, the company expects Meati to become a household brand,” said Abdul. “With InvenTel’s reach across television, e-commerce, and retail, Meati will be in every freezer in America.”
One employee who was laid off last week told AgFunderNews that some staff that had been laid off were being invited to come back under contract “for significantly less” to pack products for the firm’s direct to consumer orders.
He also challenged claims made in the release that all payroll issues had been resolved, and said some staff were still waiting for final paychecks.
Another said: “Those of us who were laid off last week have not been successful receiving back pay for PTO or hours worked. I’ve emailed the company several times for updates with no response.”
What went wrong?
Meati—which makes mycelium-based whole cuts via submerged fermentation—was founded in 2015 as Emergy by engineers Dr. Justin Whiteley and Dr. Tyler Huggins, raising more than $450 million from backers including Grosvenor Food & AgTech and Prelude Ventures.
Whiteley stepped down as CSO and CTO in early 2024 but worked with the company in an advisory capacity until April 2025. Huggins stepped down as CEO in late 2021 and was replaced by CPG veteran Scott Tassani, who raised eyebrows in 2023 after predicting Meati would generate $1 billion in retail sales in five years.
In early 2024, Tassani was replaced by former Patagonia executive Phil Graves, who acknowledged that the firm had “put some overly exuberant goals out there” and was resetting goals that were “grounded in reality.”
Speaking to AgFunderNews in September 2024, Graves said: “We had raised a large amount of capital and brought in a lot of uncommonly talented individuals, but ultimately, we were overstaffed and we were very siloed. Instead of behaving like a scrappy startup, we were operating more like a big CPG.”
According to some sources at the firm, things were looking up at the beginning of 2025, but went downhill in late February when Meati breached a financial covenant tied to revenue and gross profit and lender Trinity Capital swept two-thirds of its available cash.
It was then forced to issue a WARN notice to staff in March explaining that production would cease on May 6 unless it could secure additional funds.
Further reading:
Mass layoffs at Meati after weeks of payroll glitches
Meati in trouble again as firm misses payroll. ‘People are in group chats begging for answers’
Infomercial exec Yasir Abdul emerges as prospective buyer for Meati as firm navigates ABC process
Breaking: Meati plans “gut-wrenching” mass layoffs amid “bank-induced crisis”
