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Blue Horizon announces its first investment in India with Shaka Harry

Zurich, Switzerland, 19 July 2022 – Blue Horizon, a next generation impact investor accelerating the transition to a new Sustainable Food System, today announced a Seed investment in Shaka Harry, an Indian plant protein company with a meat alternative line. Blue Horizon led the round together with Better Bite Ventures and Panthera Peak.

Blue Horizon today announced a Seed investment in Shaka Harry. Shaka Harry is one of the fastest growing plant-based meat brand offering a range of meal and snacking products which are designed around the Indian cuisine and palate. The range includes snackables and meal accompaniments. The products have a distinct advantage with access to proprietary taste and flavour solutions coupled with the brand’s partnership with Chef Manu Chandra, one of India’s top chefs. 

Anand Nagarajan, Co-founder of Shaka Harry, said: “It is the most exciting time to launch a consumer brand on the smarter protein platform. We are already the best performing brand in the online stores where we have presence. Our products are doing significantly better than competition on taste and customer response. When we think about sustainability, we usually think about energy and transportation. Food is an area that can move the sustainability needle much more. Winning a consumer segment in the food space needs a well-designed product range, deep expertise in taste and flavour and consistent customer experience. The team at Shaka Harry, with in-house flavour and taste solutions coupled with an experienced team is poised to build the market leading brand in plant-based products.” 

Bjoern Witte, CEO of Blue Horizon, said: “We are very excited about our first investment in India. Shaka Harry is one of the first mover in a new sector offering a wide product range tailored to the Indian cuisine. This will work well not only in India but also internationally. In a very recent study, a large consumer survey conducted by Blue Horizon and BCG, we found that taste, nutritional value and health aspects rank highest when considering to increase the consumption of alternative proteins. Shaka Harry addresses all these points and we look very much forward to working together with this highly focused and impact-driven team.”

To date, Blue Horizon has raised funds of over $850 million and invested in 70+ companies with a focus on protein alternatives and food tech. Some of the firm’s recent investments include Tropic Biosciences, a pioneering agricultural biotechnology company focused on a crop portfolio of bananas, coffee and rice, Planted, one of the emerging leaders of plant-based meat alternatives and Mosa Meat, which is developing tissue engineering technologies to mass produce affordable, cultured meat and dairy formulation.

Blue Horizon announces its first investment in India with Shaka Harry (PDF)