The team at Bleu is very excited to share the recent close of La Vie’s Series A round, led by Seventure. With this round, we are entering a new phase: Giving European consumers access to a next-gen plant-based product that tastes great without compromising on its ingredients . La Vie’s focus is now to double down on distribution partnerships, while staffing up fast and continuing product development to build the European leader in plant-based food.
It's been a long time coming but after seeing two plant-based actors emerge in the US, we identified the need for a local european leader that understands food culture and the lifestyles of today's consumer. With a passion for natural health and the environment, La Vie's products are designed to give you a healthy choice with delicious taste that fits your lifestyle. Furthermore, it's La Vie's IP and state of the art R&D team that makes the company one of the leading players in Europe.
We joined La Vie in 2019 alongside Entrepreneur First and other angels, convinced by the team, but with a lot to be done. Ever since then, we have tripled down on our initial bet in each successive round of funding, convinced by the founding team, their ability to execute and magnetically attract talent, and the initial consumer feedback.
This investment also exemplifies the Bleu Capital approach to investing and active support. After meeting Nicolas Schweizer and Vincent Poulichet, we were blown away by the intensity of the vision and technical ability to deliver on it. But also their embodiment of the values we hold dear - Humbleness, ambition, and full transparency in both the good and the bad. In short, they deliver great products and do it with integrity.
While this investment is aligned with the fund’s general focus on the future of consumption and sustainability, there are some special characteristics that make it particularly exciting: Having spent 30+ years in the food industry, Bleucap’s founder Jean Pierre Chessé had a deep understanding of the challenges around food production and distribution. Our combined knowledge of the food space and the venture ecosystem has allowed us to contribute a different perspective to their decision-making process.
La Vie is surrounded by great investors to get to the next few milestones: Seventures (lead), Partech, Oyster Bay, Capagro and Entrepreneur First on the VC side, as well as key angels that will help develop the La Vie movement: Natalie Portman, Actress, Producer and Director; Thibaud Hug de Larauze, CEO Back Market; Eric Melloul Chairman, Oatly; Thomas Lodewijk Plantenga, CEO Vinted; Frédéric Mazzella, founder BlaBlacar.
