Chipotle invests in company producing plant-based meat from duckweed

USA – Culture Next, the venture fund of multinational fast casual chain Chipotle has a minority investment in CH4 Global, which produces red seaweed-based cattle feed to reduce methane emissions by up to 90%, an innovative addition to the company’s supply chain.

Chipotle’s recent investments focused on reducing livestock emissions and developing plant-based alternatives that could eventually be introduced to its menu.

As consumer interest in plant-based meat declined, food companies began addressing the environmental impact of livestock production to enhance sustainability efforts.

Methane-reducing feed supplements emerged as a promising method to cut emissions from cattle, which significantly contributed to global warming.

Methane ranked as the second-largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide, with livestock production responsible for approximately 37% of methane emissions.

Christian Gammill, Chipotle Cultivate Next Fund manager, stated that investing in companies like CH4 Global, which developed scalable solutions to lower global emissions, was crucial in the broader effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to mitigating the environmental impact of conventional meat, Chipotle aimed to expand its plant-based protein options.

The company participated in Plantible’s USD 30 million fundraising round in November, supporting the startup’s efforts to scale Rubi Protein production from aquatic plants.

Plantible produced its plant-based protein at a 100-acre aquafarm in West Texas called “The Ranchito.”

Rubi Protein served as a clean-label alternative to existing plant-based ingredients and could replace synthetic emulsifiers and binders in food products.

Curt Garner, Chipotle’s chief customer and technology officer, noted that investing in ventures committed to transforming the global food supply could help the industry explore new plant-based menu possibilities.

Chipotle also invested in Plantible, which produced plant-based protein from the aquatic plant Lemna, or duckweed.

This protein was designed to replicate the taste, texture, and quality of meat while substituting synthetic emulsifiers and binders in food production.

Chipotle’s venture fund allocated millions toward innovations across its supply chain, ranging from autonomous farming robots to avocado processing machines.

The company heavily invested in automation to drive growth and began integrating robots into its restaurants, with plans to implement similar technologies on farms.

Kansas-based Greenfield Robotics provided a solution for crop maintenance without relying on fertilizers or pesticides.

Although practices like planting cover crops and cutting weeds could reduce chemical dependency, they remained labor-intensive and costly.

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