PARAMOUNT, CALIF. — Plant-based prepared foods manufacturer Tattooed Chef plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and pursue the sale of its assets, the company said June 30.

The company plans to continue operating as it goes through the bankruptcy process.

“I remain ever grateful to our colleagues at Tattooed Chef who helped to shape this remarkable journey and help to introduce plant-based foods and healthy eating to consumers across the country,” said Sam Galletti, chairman and chief executive officer. “Despite their commitment to our mission and our best efforts to maintain the operations of Tattooed Chef, our business has continued to be impacted by a challenging financing environment and an inability to raise additional capital. These factors, among others, in the view of the management team and board of directors necessitated the Chapter 11 filing.”  

This past March, Tattooed Chef   informed the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it would not be filing its 10-K annual report on time. When the report was published May 15, company management said the business’ “recurring losses and accumulated deficit have raised substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.”

For the year ended Dec. 31, 2022, Tattooed Chef recorded a loss of $141.8 million, up significantly from the year prior when the company incurred a loss of $87 million.

Annual sales rose to $231 million in fiscal 2022 from $208 million the year before.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2023, ended March 31, Tattooed Chef incurred a loss of $19.1 million, slightly better than the year before when the company recorded a loss of $20.2 million.

Sales for the quarter fell to $59.1 million from $67.7 million during the same period of the year before. During the quarter, branded product sales accounted for 54% of sales and private label accounted for 42%.