About | BERA

About BERA.

BERA is an investment research, data, consulting and advisory firm that helps global investors determine how and where to invest in alternative proteins and the future of food. As independent, sector-specific specialists, we assist clients in making investments that benefit their portfolios and support a healthy, just, and sustainable world.

Our model.

Investor Focused

BERA provides flat-fee, non-discretionary research, due diligence, data, analytical tools, and investment expertise to empower banks, asset managers, endowments & foundations, pensions, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and corporates to invest with confidence in companies and fund managers that are transforming alternative proteins and the future of food.

Sector Experts

Like renewables in the energy sector or electric vehicles in the transportation space, alternative proteins (meat, egg, and dairy products made from plants and microorganisms or grown directly from cells) are disruptive technologies poised to re-align multi-trillion-dollar categories.

Clear Alignment

As a public benefit corporation, our revenue model is transparent, aligned, and entirely flat-fee-based, allowing our research and analysis to remain independent and objective. We are structured as a cooperative partnership.

Learn more about our work with clients>>

Learn more about plant-based, fermentation-derived, and cultivated proteins>>

Learn more about the benefit corporation model>>

Meet the Team.

BERA's team leverages extensive industry experience and global networks in capital markets, investment banking, and the food & agriculture sectors to provide actionable insights and investment recommendations to institutional investors, corporates, and governments.

Zak Weston

Research & Client Advisory

Zak conducts research and client advisory for BERA, and works closely with both teams to structure solutions for clients. In his time at a leading alternative protein think tank, Zak has become an expert on the global food system, food supply chains, food production, foodservice, retail distribution, alternative proteins, and investor activity in the space.

Ben Happ, CFA

Client Advisory

Ben is focused on client advisory for BERA, and works closely with clients on their investment portfolios. He has invested as an angel in plant-based and alternative protein companies for over a decade. Previously, he worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, was an investment analyst at Allianz, headed marketing for a leading Asia hedge fund, and raised billions of dollars from institutional investors.

Francesca Meffert

Research

Francesca is focused on research for BERA, and works closely with the client advisory team on analysis of companies and funds. She worked in accounting, audit, investment banking, and due diligence post-college, and is preparing to start a masters degree in Applied Nutrition.

Sophia Retchin

Research

Sophia is focused on research for BERA, and works closely with the data team on analysis of industry structure and trends. She worked at the Good Food Institute and completed internships in investment banking and several alternative protein startups and was the Co-Founder of The Chapel Hill Alt. Protein Project with support from GFI.

Ellie Gallo

Data

Ellie is focused on data collection and analysis for BERA, and works closely with the research team on company and fund analysis. She started as an intern with BERA in the summer of 2022, and is currently a student at the University of Alabama.

Bishaka Dhamala

Data

Bishaka is focused on data collection and analysis for BERA, and works closely with the research team on industry analysis. She started as an intern with BERA in the summer of 2022, and is currently a student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Expert network.

We leverage a network of over 600 subject matter experts with experience across finance, regulatory, manufacturing, R&D, operations, CPG, and supply chains from the food, agribusiness, energy, construction, technology, and life sciences sectors.

Join BERA.

We are actively hiring for a Research Analyst and Head of Research, as well as accepting applications for our Winter 2022 Intern Cohort. If you're interested in one of these roles or would like to submit a general application, please contact jobs@berapartners.com.

If you'd like to join our Expert Network to contribute to our research and advisory projects, please email hello@berapartners.com or reach out via our contact form.

BERA