The Swedish plant-based brand Peas of Heaven is on its way to European expansion, driven by a late capital raising of 2.7 million euros. The Alt Meat brand will use the funding to further fulfill its mission of making it easier for more people to eat less meat.

Peas of Heaven has seen impressive growth during its first three years on the market, and has established itself as one of the category leaders with over 3,000 distribution points to date. The Alt-meat brand recently launched an online store to let customers buy its products directly, even though it had sold out within a day and had to pause to allow production to catch up.

Launched in 2018, the story of Peas of Heaven began when brothers Marcus and Lucas Karlsson took over the family’s 100-year-old sausage company and decided to become vegan. In addition to expanding into new European markets, the funds are intended for product development and optimization of existing production facilities.

Sweden’s plant-based economy

European food and beverage engineer VC Oyster Bay Venture Capital joined the Peas of Heaven financing round, having supported plant-based Swedish brands in the past, especially Oatly, which they invested in as early as 2018. The Swedish government also supports the country’s thriving plant-based economy with investments in local crops to supply the sector.

Getting a carnivore to switch to a plant-based diet is quite a challenge. We worked on our first recipes for three years before we even launched, but we realize that another key factor is availability. And it’s not just about logistics but also about price range, says Peas of Heaven’s CEO Marcus Karlsson.

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