Drake Invests In Organic Chicken Company, Daring Foods

Aubrey Drake Graham, popularly known as Drake, has included organic meat in his investment portfolio. The rapper, who announced in March 2018 that he was going vegan has revealed that he recently purchased a stake in a Los Angeles-based organic chicken company, Daring Foods - putting his money where his mouth is.

The company has been able to raise $40 million from investors despite launching just over a year ago. Apart from Drake, there are numerous other investors including D1 Capital Partners, Palm Tree Crew, and Maveron, who led the series B funding round. 

Over the past years, there has been a rise in the number of people who are making a conscious effort to drop meat, whether for health or ethical reasons. With chicken being the most popular meat in the United States, organic meat manufacturers have identified an opportunity for faux chicken or plant-based chicken.

This plant-based industry has grown significantly in the past years and is even projected to reach about $8 billion in 2030.

According to Daring's CEO and co-founder Ross Mackay,

“The first wave of plant-based was really focused on taste and texture, but then you had the sacrifice of other elements, like health. Unlike other plant-based meats, Daring highlights its low calories and short ingredient list.”

Some of its notable competitors include Kellogg’s new Incogmeato line which just debuted two “Chik’n Tenders” products and Nestle’s Sweet Earth brand which includes multiple faux chicken items with distribution in more than 26,000 stores in the United States.

Daring Foods is expected to use the funding to triple retail distribution this year to over 4,500 stores in the U.S.

The company's long-term goal is to remove chicken from the global food system as a whole, noting that the industry’s unethical treatment of animals harms the environment.

Apart from Drake, other celebrities who've expressed their support for the plant-based meat market include tennis star Serena Williams and rap icon Jay-Z.