WILDE, a Kentucky snack maker whose chips get all their protein from chicken and bone broth, announced a 40m dollar round led by S2G Investments, and Peter Schmetz would not have invested.
Schmetz says he avoids companies where conventional animal farming is a substantial part, and he doubts snack shelves have room for another brand.
Rügenwalder Mühle takes over Endori's consumer business as Endori shifts from meat substitutes to functional vegetable and pulse products, starting in early 2027.
WILDE Raises $40 Million for Chicken-Protein Chips
Funding and deals
WILDE. Kentucky maker of chicken-protein chips raised $40m led by S2G Investments, after a $20m Series A, with revenue above $100m.
Finches AI. Munich AI platform for sourcing agricultural raw materials raised €2m led by High-Tech Gründerfonds, with Vanagon Ventures and Bayern Kapital.
Guest interviews
Peter Schmetz, partner at Vorwerk Ventures. Calls WILDE's animal-protein chips an anti-movement selling well in conservative Midwestern states, yet says he would not have invested because he avoids conventional animal farming. He sees exits through buyers like PepsiCo and notes strong snack gross margins, but wants profitability data. He calls Finches AI a pre-seed or seed deal and asks whether it holds proprietary data that rivals lack.
Nadine Geiser, partner at the BioInnovation Institute. Says chicken is the most efficient protein source and hard to drop on climate grounds, yet doubts WILDE's chips are healthy and calls the protein claims a strong marketing game, since GUB 7 already sells chips with 40 percent protein. She calls Finches unique for its agricultural focus, unlike Prewave, which raised more than €60m on general supply-chain risk. She says food makers such as Planted need far more structured sourcing tools.
News
Rügenwalder Mühle takes over Endori's consumer business. Endori moves from meat substitutes to functional vegetables, with four new products in early 2027. Peter Schmetz calls it an internal reorganisation at Pfeifer & Langen, while Nadine Geiser suspects a shift to foodservice.
Pace Club's gym retail sales far exceed plans. Board member Peter Schmetz says protein bars, shakes and electrolyte drinks sell well above the team's assumptions, with roughly every second visitor buying something. Vorwerk Ventures invested when the boutique gym had one Munich site.
Cheap overseas sugar squeezes local producers' margins. Peter Schmetz says sugar revenue at Südzucker and Pfeifer & Langen is falling substantially, though he believes sugar is well below half of their sales.
Livekindly takes in insolvent Greenforce. Nadine Geiser notes that the plant-based meat alternatives company Greenforce became insolvent and has since been taken in by Livekindly.
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