Plantible Foods

What Plantible Foods does

Plantible Foods is a US-based food technology company that develops and manufactures plant-based protein ingredients derived from Lemna (duckweed) for sale to industrial food manufacturers and consumer packaged goods brands. The company's core product is Rubi Protein™, a complete protein extracted from Lemna containing all nine essential amino acids, a PDCAAS score of 1.0, 85% protein content, vitamin B12, and an allergen-free, neutral-taste/color profile. The company has commercialized this base ingredient into two application-specific product lines: Rubi Whisk™ for egg and gluten replacement in bakery applications, and Rubi Prime™ for replacing methylcellulose in plant-based meat products.

The underlying technology is a proprietary, vertically-integrated supply chain in which Lemna is cultivated in controlled aquafarms — shallow, lined ponds enclosed in greenhouses — that use 95% recycled water, no arable land, and year-round production cycles. The biomass is processed through milling, filtering, and drying to isolate RuBisCO protein. The company has received both an FDA GRAS notification and an FDA "no questions" letter for its RuBisCO protein ingredient — the first such clearance for this protein category. Operations span a 2-acre site in San Diego, California (original headquarters and R&D) and a 100-acre manufacturing facility in Eldorado, Texas.

Plantible operates as a B2B ingredient supplier with a direct enterprise sales motion, targeting baked goods manufacturers, plant-based meat brands, dairy alternative producers, and sports/adult nutrition formulators. Revenue is generated through ingredient sales under multi-million-dollar agreements with large food and beverage companies, with ICL Food Specialties publicly disclosed as a customer and Series B investor. The company was founded in 2016 by Tony Martens and Maurits van de Ven, is headquartered in San Marcos, California, and has raised approximately $57 million across seed, Series A, and Series B rounds led by Astanor Ventures, Piva Capital, and Siddhi Capital, with a stated goal of reaching profitability in 2025.

Name

Plantible Foods

Legal name

Plantible Foods, Inc.

Website

https://plantiblefoods.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Plantible Foods is a B2B ingredient company that produces Rubi Protein™ from duckweed (Lemna) via vertically-integrated aquafarms in Texas, selling complete, allergen-free plant protein to food manufacturers and CPG brands in baking, plant-based meat, dairy alternatives, and nutrition applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plant-Based Protein Ingredients

NAICS

Food Manufacturing (311), Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing (3114)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Plant Protein Ingredients Manufacturing (Isolates, Concentrates, Flours) (AFAKAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Plant Protein Ingredients (Soy, Pea, Wheat/Gluten, Rice, Oat, Potato) (AFAJAHAA), Protein Blends & Systems (Multi-Source Blends, Functional Protein Systems) (AFAJAHAJ)

Keywords

• Plant-based protein ingredients
• Duckweed protein extraction
• Food ingredient manufacturing
• Egg replacement ingredients
• Sustainable aquafarming

Headquarters

HQ city

San Marcos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. B2B Ingredient Sales: Plantible sells Rubi Protein ingredients directly to food manufacturers, CPG brands, and industrial food groups. The company has multi-million-dollar agreements with large food and beverage companies for use in baked foods, beverages, dairy alternatives, protein bars, snacks, soups, and plant-based meat or dairy analogs. Revenue comes from ingredient sales to food companies looking to replace eggs, improve meat alternatives, or enhance allergen-free formulations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Plantible Foods produces sustainable plant-based protein ingredients derived from Lemna (duckweed). Its core offering is Rubi Protein (RuBisCO), a complete, allergen-free protein with PDCAAS of 1.0, sold to food manufacturers and CPG brands as an ingredient. The company extends this into two specialized sub-product lines: Rubi Whisk for bakery/egg-replacement applications and Rubi Prime for meat alternative applications as a methylcellulose replacement.

Product overview

Plantible Foods is a biology company that produces next-generation plant-based protein ingredients derived from Lemna (duckweed). The core product is Rubi Protein™, a complete protein extracted from duckweed. This foundational ingredient powers two specialized product lines: Rubi Whisk™ for bakery applications (replacing eggs and gluten) and Rubi Prime™ for meat alternative applications (replacing methylcellulose). The company operates vertically-integrated aqua farms to cultivate Lemna, enabling a sustainable and traceable supply chain from aquatic farm to table.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rubi Protein™: Complete plant-based protein ingredient derived from lemna (duckweed), containing all nine essential amino acids, vitamin B12, with neutral taste and allergen-free properties.
• Rubi Whisk™
• Rubi Prime™

Products and services

• Rubi Protein

Quantifiable outcome

• Lemna yields 10x more protein per acre than soy
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ICL Food SpecialtiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial customer and partner purchasing Rubi Protein from Plantible for use as egg replacement and meat analog ingredients. Represents a key B2B customer relationship.
• University of NebraskaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted extensive allergen study confirming Rubi is free from 20 food allergens including the top 8 designated by the FDA.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Benson Hill: Benson Hill is a plant-based protein ingredient company selling soy protein ingredients and other crop-derived protein fractions to food and beverage manufacturers. Directly comparable to Plantible as a B2B ingredient supplier focused on alternative plant proteins with proprietary processing technology.
• Roquette: Roquette is the global leader in pea protein ingredients, supplying NUTRALYS pea protein to food manufacturers across baking, nutrition, and meat alternative applications. Comparable as a plant protein ingredient incumbent competing for the same CPG formulators that Plantible targets with Rubi Protein.
• Motif FoodWorks: Motif FoodWorks develops plant-based food ingredients (including heme and fat mimetics) for meat and dairy alternative applications, selling B2B to food brands. Directly comparable as a venture-backed alternative protein ingredient supplier targeting the same CPG development pipeline.
• Merit Functional Foods: Merit Functional Foods produces pea and canola protein ingredients for food and beverage manufacturers from a Canadian production facility. Comparable as a non-GMO plant protein ingredient supplier serving the same allergen-free and clean-label CPG customers as Plantible.

Broad incumbents

• Cargill: Cargill is one of the world's largest agricultural commodity processors and food ingredient suppliers, with extensive pea, soy, and specialty protein ingredient portfolios serving global CPG customers. Comparable as a broad incumbent against which Plantible must position Rubi Protein on functionality and sustainability.
• ADM: ADM is a global leader in plant protein ingredients (including soy, pea, and wheat proteins) through its Nutrition segment, supplying major food and beverage brands worldwide. Comparable as a broad incumbent with established CPG relationships and scale economics Plantible must compete against.
• Ingredion: Ingredion is a major global ingredient supplier offering plant-based proteins, starches, and sweeteners to food and beverage manufacturers. Comparable as a broad incumbent supplying alternative protein ingredients to the same bakery, beverage, and nutrition CPG accounts Plantible targets.

Emerging players

• Air Protein: Air Protein produces air-based protein ingredients using single-cell fermentation (hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria), selling meat alternative proteins to food manufacturers. Comparable as an emerging alternative protein ingredient supplier developing novel non-animal proteins for the same CPG customers.
• Perfect Day: Perfect Day produces animal-free whey protein via precision fermentation, supplying B2B to dairy alternative and nutrition brands. Comparable as an emerging alternative protein ingredient company that achieved regulatory first-mover status (GRAS) and now sells into major CPG accounts, mirroring Plantible's strategic trajectory.
• Hydrosol: Hydrosol is a specialist in plant-based protein systems and stabilizer blends for meat alternatives, dairy alternatives, and baked goods, supplying food manufacturers globally. Comparable as a smaller specialist ingredient supplier focused on functionality (binding, foaming, emulsification) in the same plant-based meat and bakery applications as Plantible.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/plantible
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plantible
• Instagraminstagram.com/plantiblefoods

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors21 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Plantible Foods