US-based meat-free bacon company Hooray Foods has ceased operations after four years on the market.
The San Francisco-based business revealed in a statement on social media it would shut down, noting it had sold five million strips of Hooray Bacon.
The company said its faux bacon products should be available in stores for the next few months.
It added: “With your support, we reached our goal of national distribution in grocery stores and restaurants; however, the economics of running a company of this size simply do not match our revenue, and we are unable to continue producing our product for sale.
“We are incredibly grateful to each of our customers, business partners, employees, and investors who enabled us to bring a more realistic and delicious plant-based bacon to the table.”
Founded in 2019 by Sri Artham, who was chief executive, Hooray Foods made meat-free bacon using ingredients such as coconut oil, rice flour, mushrooms and beetroot, and it contains zero cholesterol.
In 2021, Hooray Foods said that it had received around $4m in total seed funding after a $2m investment from New York-based venture-capital fund Evolution VC Partners, which saw founder and CEO Gregg Smith joined the Hooray Foods’ board of directors.
The meat-alternatives category has seen sales come under pressure in some developed markets in recent quarters, including in the US.
Beyond Meat’s second-quarter sales for 2023 fell short of analysts’ expectations as its CEO claimed the category overall was suffering and that issues went beyond his company.
Ethan Brown said the US market was showing particular signs of slowing demand due to a misconception of the category on the whole and the environmental benefits of choosing plant-based meat-alternatives over animal-based counterparts.
In July, loss-making US plant-based food business Tattooed Chef said it was seeking a buyer after failing to raise funds to secure its future.
In the UK, there have been companies that have gone under. Last month, LoveSeitan, the plant-based business behind the Facon Bacon brand, had ceased operating.
The Meatless Farm Co., another UK start-up, went out of business in June. The loss-making alternative-meat company, set up in 2016, went into administration but its brand was saved when peer VFC Foods stepped in as a buyer.
