No Meat Factory, a Canadian co-manufacturer specialising in alternative proteins, is preparing to close its sole facility in the United States.
The Stanwood, Washington plant is slated to cease operations on September 16, which will affect approximately 123 employees, as indicated by a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing.
Earlier in 2023, No Meat Factory acquired the Stanwood operations from Twin City Foods, a frozen vegetable supplier that had shut down the site in 2017.
The company invested $20 million to renovate the plant, with a $200,000 grant from the Washington state department of commerce facilitating these upgrades.
Founded in 2019 by Dieter Thiem and Leon Bell, No Meat Factory manufactures a range of plant-based meat and seafood alternatives, including products like meatballs and crab cakes, catering to both retail and foodservice sectors.
Additionally, the company offers a variety of whole-food vegetable options, such as kale and quinoa burgers, as well as spinach and broccoli popcorn.
The Canadian firm launched its first production line in 2021 and established another facility in British Columbia the following year.
In January 2023, No Meat Factory secured $42 million in a Series B funding round led by Tengelmann Growth Partners, a family-run private equity firm based in Germany.
Emil Capital Partners, an early-stage growth investor from the U.S. that had originally backed the firm at its inception, also took part in this funding round.
