Planted opens production facility for bio-structured proteins

Planted, the Swiss FoodTech pioneer for plant-based meat made from only clean ingredients, is celebrating the opening of its new production facility in Memmingen, Bavaria, as it strives to meet demand for environmentally friendly food across Europe over the past year.

The new plant in Memmingen is Europe’s most modern production facility for bio-structured proteins and will make it possible to produce over 20 tonnes per day in the mid-term. This quantity corresponds to the current capacity of the site in Kemptthal, Switzerland – Planted is doubling its overall production capacity.

Planted will produce in Memmingen mainly for Germany and other EU markets including the UK.

Lukas Böni, co-founder and member of the management board of Planted, notes that with an export share of 75% and Germany as our biggest export country, expansion into our largest EU market was the obvious choice.

“The new proximity to key target markets, combined with a state-of-the-art production facility, allows for more sustainable and efficient logistics and production, helping Planted meet growing demand and stay closer to our international customers,” Böni explains. “The Kemptthal site remains a central pillar of our production and is particularly important for the Swiss market. However, we have reached the limits of our capacity here.”

Around 50 technical and operational jobs will be created in the longer term at the Memmingen site, the former site of the Memmingen brewery.

Lukas Böni explains the choice of Memmingen further: “We benefit from qualified specialists and a long tradition of food production in the region as well as the advanced infrastructure in combination with very good transport links directly to the A7 motorway. We are also strengthened by an extensive network of partners who develop and distribute innovative and sustainable technologies. In addition, the proximity to our headquarters in Kemptthal brings major advantages in terms of technology transfer, which is essential for our innovative fermentation technology.”

Sustainability plays a key role in the new production facility of the B-Corp certified company. Together with the local Alois Müller Group, an expert in sustainable energy concepts, the plant is being designed to be environmentally friendly and energy-efficient, so that it can work towards CO₂ neutrality. Planted relies on groundwater cooling and the heat supply is provided by a sustainable energy system.

‘With the opening of our new production facility, we are taking another milestone towards more sustainable and scalable protein production. Our biotechnological expertise enables us to bring new innovative products to market faster and more efficiently – and even closer to our customers in the retail and gastronomy sectors,’ explains Judith Wemmer, co-founder of Planted and operational lead for both of the company’s production sites.