Above Food Corp. (Above Food), a first-of-its-kind, vertically integrated, plant-based food company, announced that it has entered into a binding transaction agreement with Atlantic Natural Foods, LLC (“Atlantic”) — a global market leader in plant-based seafood alternatives, plant-based simple meals, and plant-based egg replacements. The agreement has been unanimously and enthusiastically approved by the Board of Directors of both companies and is expected to close in Q1 2022.
The partnership is designed to address the most critical issues in the plant-based market today by using Above Food’s seed-to-fork platform to sustainably produce affordable, densely nutritious foods that taste good utilizing Atlantic’s sophisticated, scaled global production facilities in North Carolina, USA, and Thailand.
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Available in more than 25,000 retail locations across 30 countries, Atlantic’s portfolio of brands includes: Loma Linda, America’s oldest plant-based brand and a leader in shelf-stable, ready-to-eat meals, Tuno, a scaled brand in plant-based seafood established in 1988, and Neat, an innovative egg replacer and plant-protein mix brand.
“Atlantic’s commitment to sustainability, nutrition, accessibility and social responsibility are all values that deeply resonate with our team,” said President and Co-Founder of Above Food, Martin Williams. “With five generations of agriculture experience at the helm of Above Food, we have a seed-to-fork mentality that shapes every product and partnership. We identified significant synergies between our two companies, and the decision to join forces was an easy one.”
“Above Food’s seed-to-fork approach in plant-based foods is something we were independently building towards, as we believe owning the entire value chain is the only way to drive the scale of change necessary in the food system and create a true long-term business model,” said J. Douglas Hines, chairman of Atlantic Natural Foods. “Feeding the global population sustainably with high quality, nutritious, plant-based foods is how we will drive true change to address healthier foods with a healthy planet.”
“We see an opportunity to help alleviate the environmental toll being taken on our oceans, as well as to provide consumers with alternatives they can feel good about,” said Lionel Kambeitz, executive chairman and CEO of Above Food. “Atlantic Natural Foods has done an incredible job responding to the need for sustainable and high quality plant-based meals and alternative seafood, and we look forward to continuing that work together.”