La Vie
La Vie specializes in the production of plant-based alternatives to traditionally pork-based products such as bacon and ham. La Vie owns a unique patented recipe which reproduces the pleasure of meat without resorting to animals.
Intensive animal farming is a huge contributor to climate change: 14.5% of total CO2 emissions, 27% of land use, and 77 billion animals culled in 2021. Drastically reducing the demand and supply of traditional meat-based protein could have a significant impact on the effects of climate change. But despite the progress of plant-based alternatives as meat substitutes, there was an essential element missing to replicate the taste and culinary experience of meat: fat. It gives meat its characteristic taste, one that’s been sought after for thousands of years.
Out of their Parisian laboratory, La Vie’s three years of R&D focused on taste, making it possible to develop a unique recipe that reproduces animal fat with plants. Their technology recreates ‘lean bacon’ without texturing agents before a proprietary process combines it with their plant-based fat technology to give their bacon a signature ‘crispy-yet-juicy’ profile.
Founders
Vincent Poulichet
CTO
Vincent holds a Master’s in Physics, having studied for one year at Umeå University, and another at Université Côte d’Azur. He completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering/Physics from Imperial College London in 2016. Vincent held posts at Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, Trinity College Dublin, UNSW Australia, and École Normale Supérieure.
Nicolas Schweitzer
CEO
Nicolas’ varied career has exposed him to different markets worldwide, notably in Africa and South-East Asia. He went on to found Inclusion, a company that distributed Fintech products and services across South-East Asia, and was acquired by Oradian in 2016. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from HEC Montreal and a Master’s in International Affairs from Sciences Po.
Milestones
Founded at Entrepreneur First
La Vie Bacon becomes national award winner
Series A ($28 million) led by Sevenventure Partners
Lead Burger Kings’s London Flagship restaurant fully vegan for a month
Every 12 seconds someone buys a La Vie product