CAYMAN ISLANDS – Milltrust Ventures, a London, UK and Singapore-based venture investment arm of Milltrust International, launched the Smart Protein Fund.
Established in partnership with Earth First Food Ventures, a food tech venture capital platform with a presence in Switzerland, US, India, Brazil, and Greece, the fund will invest in the leading alternative protein companies of tomorrow focused on plant-based proteins, cultivated meat, and fermentation technologies, as well as the infrastructure that will help scale this growing industry.This fund builds on Milltrust’s first investment in alternative protein in 2016, when the firm provided seed capital and helped found Roslin Technologies, an Edinburgh-based food and ag tech company focused on disruptive biotechnologies with core capabilities in developing and commercialising research in the nascent global cultivated meat industry. Led by CEO Brian Ruszczyk, Earth First Food Ventures is a food tech venture capital platform focused on ESG/impact investing in food technologies, plant-based, fermentation and cultivated proteinsLed by CEO Simon Hopkins, Milltrust International offers a range of investment solutions seeking to address some of the greatest themes of our generation including the development of emerging economies, rising food demand, technological revolutions and climate change. Clients include pension funds, sovereign entities, family offices, entrepreneurs and HNWIs. The firm operates in a regulated capacity across multiple jurisdictions including the UK, Singapore, Ireland, and Cayman.Commenting on the news, Brian Ruszczyk said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Milltrust International for the launch of the Smart Protein Fund, following the firm’s decade of investing in sustainability across their portfolios. The benefits of alternative proteins are clear—healthier diets, lower carbon emissions, and fewer concerns about the ethics of intensive animal farming. By 2035, alternative proteins will very likely capture 11% of the global protein market through organic growth, as consumers, companies, and investors push the values of ESG and parity. And we predict the market for alternatives to meat, especially chicken and seafood, could increase significantly higher still, rising from 2% of total protein consumption in 2020 to more than 20% by 2035, with government support which we are beginning to see today.“Simon Hopkins added: “Few sectors offer the growth opportunity of a total disruption of the human food chain, as we seek to address the rapidly growing demand for a protein based diet across the globe, coupled with the need to scale in a way that doesn’t deplete the Earth’s finite resources”.24/01/2023
