ALAMEDA, CALIF. — Food technology company Eat Just Inc. has secured a $25 million investment and strategic partnership with private equity firm C2 Capital Partners to accelerate its growth in China.

The investment marks C2 Capital Partners’ first in the alternative protein sector. The relationship will support go-to-market strategies, sales, branding, consumer insights, hiring and regulatory approach in China for Eat Just’s plant-based egg and cultivated meat businesses. The firm’s anchor investor is Alibaba Group.

“We are grateful to partner with C2 to grow our business in China,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive officer of Eat Just. “Their unique market insights and know-how include logistics, branding, marketing omni-channel sales and distribution and last-mile delivery.”

Eat Just sells its Just Egg plant-based brand in China on e-commerce platforms including Alibaba’s Tmall.com. Additionally, street vendors in Shanghai use the egg substitute in plant-based jianbing, a popular breakfast food. Good Meat, Eat Just’s cultivated meat division, won regulatory approval in Singapore, and the company has had preliminary talks with Chinese officials to sell the products there. Good Meat also is preparing to enter the US market.

Plant-based egg alternatives and cultivated meat are part of China’s national blueprint for food security, a five-year agricultural plan introduced earlier this year. China produces more than 30% of the global egg market and accounts for about 30% of global meat consumption, per data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

“We are excited to support alternative protein pioneer Eat Just’s mission and to accelerate the growth of their innovative products and technologies in China by leveraging the unique insights and resources of the C2/Alibaba ecosystem,” said Steve Lin, managing partner at C2.