ST. LOUIS — It started as a mission-driven endeavor.
Siblings Todd and Jody Boyman had spent decades following a plant-based diet, and were confident that plant-based foods could provide an alternative to an existing food supply they saw as adversely impacting humans and the planet.
Building on that belief, around 2004 they began research into creating a plant-based foods company in St. Louis. It was a speculative effort, with few consumers even aware of plant-based meats. For this project to work, the Boymans figured they'd have to be patient and wait for the market to emerge.
"If you want to make a difference to personal and planetary health, you’ve got to figure out how to improve our food system. That’s really where it started," Todd Boyman said. "But at that point, there wasn’t anybody out there suggesting that plant-based meats would be a thing or that there was an even term for it."
Now, their patience is paying off.
The Boymans' company, Hungry Planet, which produces nine different types of plant-based protein products sold at retail and to foodservice customers, last month closed a $25 million funding round to expand operations and meet the explosive demand for plant-based foods.
In the past five years, more than $4 billion in venture capital nationwide has been invested into companies like Hungry Planet that are developing alternative protein products, such as plant-based meats, giving name recognition to high-profile brands such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. What’s more, U.S. plant-based product sales surged by 27% year over year in 2020.
And in the last several months, the movement has taken hold in St. Louis. In addition to Hungry Planet, corporate giants like Anheuser-Busch and Post Holdings, and agtech upstarts like Benson Hill, have begun to stake their own claims to what has quickly become a $7 billion industry sector.
In doing so, they're making the case for St. Louis as a focal point for the industry, given its cluster of agtech startups and crop science professionals, food and beverage manufacturing prowess, and proximity to agricultural producers.
"I think there's something super interesting and very exciting about playing a role in helping boost the city of St. Louis and helping look for new ways the city of St. Louis can shine," said Cesar Vargas, U.S. chief external affairs officer for Anheuser-Busch, which is investing $100 million in a Soulard plant to convert spent grains into food products. "If this emerging industry can kind of take hold and we contribute to building something in St. Louis that has impact even beyond the limits of St. Louis, that's exactly the role we want to play."
After years of plotting, the Boymans began quietly piloting their products to market about four years ago, scaling operations in recent years as plant-based meats gained visibility and market share.
Now, with a range of products that include plant-based burgers, chicken, sausage and pork, the 35-person Hungry Planet is in growth mode.
“When you’re based in St. Louis and you’re not participating in Silicon Valley’s ability to fund things with hundreds of millions, you’ve got to kind of choose when to enter the market," Todd Boyman said. "And that’s exactly what we’ve done."
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