Fable Food Co has closed a funding round including stars from business, philosophy and media

TV star Osher Günsberg, animal rights activist Peter Singer and the former global head of Yum! Brands have backed Fable Food Co to the tune of about $12m.

Fable co-founders - chief science officer Jim Fuller and CEO Michael Fox.

Meat alternative company Fable Food Co has closed a star-studded $US8.5m Series A funding round backed by TV star Osher Günsberg, bioethics professor and animal rights activist Peter Singer and former Yum! Brands global chief executive Greg Creed.

Singapore’s K3 Ventures led the round, which follows on from a $6.5m seed funding round in August 2021.

Fable co-founder Michael Fox said the investment from Prof Singer came about as a result of the prominent animal rights activist inspiring Mr Fox himself to go down the path of first vegetarianism and then going fully plant-based.

“His book, Animal Liberation, is what helped turn me vegetarian and then vegan,’’ Mr Fox said.

“A couple of years ago I was watching one of his lectures online and after that I jumped on his website and wrote to him in the comments section just to say thank you.

“I never expected him to write back but we got chatting over email.’’

The Princeton-based professor also lives for part of the year in Melbourne, and Mr Fox invited him out mushroom foraging.

“We got on really well and I think he mentioned somewhere along the way that if we were raising money to let him know.’’

Peter Singer, professor of bioethics at Princeton University.

Mr Günsberg was also connected with Mr Fox through a mushroom foraging connection, and invited Fox on to his podcast Better Than Yesterday, after which they stayed connected, leading to the investment by Günsberg and his wife Audrey Griffen.

Mr Fox said it was “really humbling” to have both of the prominent investors on board.

Mr Fox said Fable, which was launched in late 2019 and in its early days did a deal with burger chain Grill’d to roll out across their Australian, was focusing on the food service and meal kit sectors to drive its international expansion plans.

“The food service space has been our big focus, ranging from chefs like Heston Blumenthal using our products in his restaurants through to Guzman y Gomez, Grill’d, Fishbowl, places like that, and meal kit services like Marley Spoon,” Mr Fox said.

“We love working with chefs and getting our product out to consumers in that way.

“We’ve also launched into Singapore, the UK and the US, and in those markets we

are also focused on food service and meal kits.’’

TV presenter Osher Günsberg.

In Singapore the company has a partnership with SaladStop!, whose founders Frantz Braha and Adrien Desbaillets are also investors, while in the UK it is carried by the Honest Burgers chain, meal delivery companies Gousto and Planty, and the UK’s first organic supermarket chain Planet Organic.

In the US it is in plant-based quick-service restaurant chain Beatnic and will soon go national with the launch of its mushroom burger slider patties at the high end STK Steakhouse chain.

Mr Fox said this would be the first plant-based meat substitute for STK.

Mr Creed. who led Yum! Brands from early 2015 until late 2019 when he retired, said he’d witnessed the changing demands of consumers over four decades, and had seen plenty of fads along the way.

“And I know one thing that consumers will never compromise on, is taste,’’ Mr Creed said.

“What Fable has nailed is the intersection of health, sustainability, and taste with their range of mushroom products.

“Their early success in retail and restaurants with the likes of Grill’d and Guzman y Gomez drew my attention, but it’s their team and mission that secured my investment in them.’’

Mr Fox said the company was close to break even with a few positive months recently, but was strongly focused on growth at the moment.

Fable’s meat alternative products are made from premium shiitake and white button and portobello mushrooms Mr Fox said.

Existing investors Blackbird, AgFunder and Aera VC also participated in the round.

Additional investors include Michael Simkin, executive producer of Netflix documentary series Down To Earth With Zac Efron, and alternative protein fund Better Bite Ventures.

Fable currently has 16 full time staff and is advertising for another three.

Originally published as Fable Food Co has closed a funding round including stars from business, philosophy and media