Plant-Based Foods Investor Says She Focuses More on Teams Than Taste

If you have been Seeing a slew of new alternative meat and animal products popping up in your grocery store, Lisa Feria is at least partially to thank.

Feria has spent the past seven years investing in industry startups. She and her partners at Stray Dog Capital have invested in more than 40 companies, from established Beyond Meat to newcomers No Evil Foods, Kite Hill and Yo! Egg.

Based in Leawood, Kansas, the company has been around since 2015. Feria, who is CEO and managing partner, has seen most of the ups and downs.

The big names have been struggling lately: Beyond Meat’s stock price has fallen 80% in the past year. Milk alternatives maker Oatly has been plagued by production problems. And consumers have generally cooled off on the products. As demand plummeted and businesses adjusted, McDonald’s rollout plans for its McPlant burger and meat giant JBS shuttered its plant-based meat division.

And yet Feria and others remain optimistic about the sector. TechCrunch sat down with her to see why she’s still bullish and what she’s saying to her portfolio companies during these uncertain times.