A vegan restaurant chain started by a former Zambrero CEO has collapsed less than two years after it announced plans to open 300 stores, blaming a shift in Australian attitudes to plant-based meat.

Flave, started by husband and wife duo Stuart and Samantha Cook in 2020, was a plant-based burger chain that raised more than $7.5 million, according to Australian Securities and Investments Commission documents. Investors in Flave included All G Foods’ Jan Pacas, Mirabela Nickel and Panoramic Resources founder Craig Burton, as well as John Iossifidis, the locally born CEO of one of the UAE’s largest diversified family businesses, Al Ghurair.