We are in 170 stores right now andwe’d like to double this number by theend of the year

Aisling Cullen has already had approaches from retailers and distributors in Spain, Australia, France and Malaysia. Now, having secured funds from the Redesdale Food and Beverage Fund, she is expanding her meat-alternative start-up Thanks Plants here and overseas.

The Redesdale Food and Beverage Fund has made a seed investment in fast-growing meat-alternative start-up Thanks Plants. The company, founded by Aisling Cullen in 2020, has also added a number of experienced advisors.

Thanks Plants has developed a range of plant-based foods that are already available in 170 stores in Ireland.

Its new investor, the €75 million Redesdale Food and Beverage Fund, is part of the Redesdale group led by former Merrion Stockbroker co-founder John Conroy. The fund recently completed its first €27 million close with backing from investors including Enterprise Ireland, Musgrave, Coca-Cola, Monaghan Mushrooms, Tate & Lyle, Lochlann Quinn and Lord, Abbett.

Thanks Plants founder Aisling Cullen told The Currency: “The new funding gives us the ability to hire a senior team to scale the brand. We are in 170 stores right now and we’d like to double this number by the end of the year. We also have new products coming this year including a NoMoooo burger which will launch in two week’s time. We are also going to use the funding to start the export process, targeting to have our products in the UK by the third quarter of 2023.”

As part of the seed investment, Rose Hynes, the chair of the Irish Aviation Authority and Origin Enterprises, is becoming chair of the company. “I met Rose through an introduction with Redesdale and I am delighted to have a person of her calibre on board,” Cullen said.

“She’s very well connected as the chairperson of the Irish Aviation Authority and knows how to problem solve. She’s got a very strategic mind and I have no doubt that she will bring out the best in me.”

Hynes is also a non-executive director of Dole, the global leader in fresh fruits and vegetables.

Cullen said she was also adding other directors and advisors to help her start-up. Thomas Ennis, who has built a network of Spar stores in Dublin, and Jacquie Marsh, the ex-chief executive of Butlers Pantry, are both joining her board. “Sean O’Neill, ex-financial director of Strong Roots, has also been advising Thanks Plants over the past year and he’s going to continue on the board,” she said.

Cullen said she expected Thanks Plants to increase its team from 10 to 15 people following the investment, and would raise a series A round. “We are currently based in the Spade Enterprise Centre in a 2,500 square feet unit, where we have enough space to expand our brand throughout Ireland,” she said. “But for export, we will need to raise further funding if we are to have a large enough facility to expand throughout the UK and other European countries.”

Thanks Plants sells plant-based products like frankfurters, sausages and roasts for health and climate conscious consumers. “The USP of our products is that we pack as many wholefood ingredients into them as possible and use seitan (a high protein flour) to give them a meaty texture,”

Cullen said. “So, unlike other meat substitutes on the shelves, ours have got really great ingredients that our customers understand like cannellini beans, pearl barley, vegetables and spice.”

Lessons from Malaysia

Aisling Cullen began her career in property and retail, but she says she was always thinking about going into the food business.

“I was always attracted to the food industry and particularly the new trends in the food market,” she said. “I wanted to open a restaurant in Dublin in early 2019 but the competition was too high, and it was lucky that I didn’t with Covid developing towards the end of the year. An opportunity came up to be part of SuperValu’s Food Academy at the end of 2019 and that programme really opened my eyes up to opportunities within the FMCG market.”

Cullen previously worked in Malaysia where she was struck by the variety of non-meat based foods. “While based in Malaysia, I used to write for an online food magazine called The Yum List and I could see the number of vegan options popping up, plus it was one of the most searched terms for that website,” she said.

“But it was really when I started to study what was happening in the US with brands like Tofurkey, Field Roast and the Very Good Butchers that I saw the opportunity to create a more wholesome meat substitute that wasn’t available on the shelves in Europe.”

She said another influence was Beyond Meat, the stock market listed plantbased meat substitute maker. “I think Beyond Meat is hugely inspiring and I like to think big myself,” she said. “I have had messages from retailers and distributors in Spain, Australia, France and Malaysia, all looking to bring Thanks Plants over. So, the opportunity is there, we just have to develop it.”