Next Gen Foods and SevenVentures Strike Media-for-Equity Deal Valued at Eight Figures to Increase Awareness of TiNDLE Across Germany
- The deal marks the first strategic media partnership for the food tech startup, which initially launched its plant-based chicken brand, TiNDLE, in Germany last summer
- As a new investor, SevenVentures will provide its expertise in TV and digital advertising to deepen TiNDLE’s brand awareness and broaden consumer education around the plant-based category in Germany
- The investment follows TiNDLE’s initial debut into grocery stores nationwide and recent price reduction as a result of growing economies of scale
Munich (June 22, 2023) Next Gen Foods – makers of TiNDLE and Mwah! – announces it has secured media advertising volumes in a media-for-equity deal with SevenVentures, the investment arm of Germany’s largest media and digital company, ProSiebenSat.1, and leader in the media investment space. The eight-figure EUR net value investment follows Next Gen Foods’ $100 million USD Series A fundraise in early 2022 and will enable the food tech startup to expand its marketing reach and broaden consumer education around the TiNDLE brand, its range of delicious and versatile plant-based chicken offerings, and the growing category of plant-based foods, in addition to category innovation.
The media partnership is a first for Next Gen Foods, which launched its flagship brand TiNDLE in Germany last summer. Earlier this year, the company debuted its line of retail products – beginning with Germany’s largest retailer, the EDEKA Group, and their expansive footprint of store locations across the country. Throughout EDEKA stores, TiNDLE can be found as Schnitzel, Nuggets, Tenders, Wings, and Popcorn. The startup recently introduced a 14% price reduction for all products – from EUR 3.49 to EUR 2.99 – as a result of increasing economies of scale and distribution of TiNDLE within the region.
The media-for-equity investment provides TiNDLE with a unique opportunity to increase its existing brand awareness and visibility in the German market – working closely with the SevenVentures team to find tailored solutions for media promotions and advertising. Additionally, the partnership will support long-term awareness-building around the emerging and evolving plant-based food category. This comes at a time when Germans are actively decreasing their overall consumption of animal meat – by approximately 4.2 kg per capita in 2022 – and over half of the population is self-described as ‘flexitarian’. SevenVentures’ flexible media-for-equity model allows for media integrations within the ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s portfolio of high-reach channels and platforms.
Andre Menezes, CEO and Co-Founder of Next Gen Foods, shares: “With a strategic partner like SevenVentures, there is potential to introduce TiNDLE to new audiences, but also unlock opportunities for consumers to better understand the broader role that plant-based foods play in fighting our global climate crisis. We are thrilled to introduce them as our latest mission-aligned investor and utilize their media expertise to bring greater awareness to our category and our efforts to create a more sustainable food system.”
Founded in 2009, SevenVentures’ investment model largely focuses on securing media partnerships for early stage to growth B2C companies in exchange for equity in their portfolio companies. The group primarily operates and invests in companies whose target markets are Germany and Austria.
Florian Hirschberger, CEO of SevenVentures: “With Next Gen Foods, we realized our first investment in the plant-based meat space, which suits our responsibility to use the reach of ProSiebenSat.1 to raise awareness for impact and sustainability. We are very much looking forward to further increasing the importance of plant-based food consumption and positioning TiNDLE as the leading brand in this category over the next few years. The quality and taste of TiNDLE’s chicken products are incredible, and we believe that our media-for-equity investment comes at the perfect time to accelerate and support a nationwide retail rollout, so all German consumers can experience their ‘ridiculously good’ chicken made from plants.”
About Next Gen Foods
Founded in 2020, Next Gen Foods is a food tech startup developing and commercializing delicious, innovative, and sustainable plant-based food brands – including TiNDLE, chicken made from plants, and Mwah!, creamy and indulgent dairy-inspired products. Next Gen Foods is backed by a team with proven experience in plant-based food technology, global brand development, and distribution scaleup. For more information, visit nextgenfoods.sg.
About TiNDLE
TiNDLE is the leading plant-based chicken – offering the distinct aroma, taste, and texture of chicken and made with non-GMO plant-based ingredients. TiNDLE is the first product by Next Gen Foods, a Singapore-founded food tech company that is developing and commercializing innovative and sustainable foods to make saving the planet easy, enjoyable, and delicious. For more information, visit www.tindle.com or follow @tindlefoods on Instagram and @tindlefoods on TikTok.
About SevenVentures
SevenVentures is the leading TV media investor and, as a subsidiary of the Commerce & Ventures segment of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, the ideal partner for high-growth consumer-oriented companies, particularly in the consumer goods, retail and services sectors, which have the potential to achieve sustainable success through the use of TV advertising: In return for shares in their equity (media-for-equity) or revenue shares (media-for-revenue), companies receive advertising time on ProSiebenSat.1 channels in particular. In the Commerce & Ventures segment, ProSiebenSat.1 bundles the Group’s minority and majority investments. In addition to SevenVentures with the SevenAccelerator, this also includes SevenGrowth and the companies of NuCom Group.
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About TiNDLE Foods
Founded in 2020, TiNDLE Foods is a food tech startup developing and commercializing delicious, innovative, and sustainable plant-based foods. TiNDLE Foods is backed by a team with proven experience in plant-based food technology, global brand development, and distribution scaleup. For more information, visit www.tindle.com.
Connect with TiNDLE Foods: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok
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Rachel Soeharto
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