Plantible is growing food and jobs in West Texas

On a cool Texas day in January 2025, Danny Hicks stepped up to the podium to face a skeptical panel of Texas Fish & Wildlife commissioners on behalf of Plantible Foods. He was there to make the case for responsibly removing a critical strain of duckweed from the state's banned species list, which would allow Plantible to significantly increase its protein production while protecting local ecosystems.

Danny is a resident of Eldorado, TX, which boasts a population of about 1,800. Like many who live there, Danny has spent his career in the oil fields, driving more than four hours each day to find work. That changed in 2023, when Danny joined Plantible Foods as a Downstream Processing Engineer, right as the company opened its first commercial facility nearby. Today, he helps cultivate lemna (also known as duckweed), an aquatic plant that Plantible transforms into Rubi Protein™, a versatile ingredient used in food and cosmetics.

Since Plantible opened their facility in Eldorado, they've hired 35 full-time employees who, like Danny, live and work in West Texas. This focus on hiring locally has driven a 62% increase in the median household income in Schleicher County since Plantible showed up. The economic impact was also a key reason that the Fish & Wildlife Commission approved Plantible's request for the new duckweed strain, allowing the company to stay in Texas as it scales.

The Opportunity

From cakes and whipped cream to dog treats and skincare products, protein is a widespread ingredient in food and cosmetics. It's used for texture and nutritional value and is generally sourced from animal products (like powdered egg), commodity crops (like soy), or chemical-based alternatives. With agriculture accounting for 72% of global freshwater withdrawals and nearly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, how we produce these ingredients matters.

At the same time, many rural U.S. communities-long supported by industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, and oil and gas-face population loss and uneven access to economic opportunity. Across rural America, the working-age population declined by 1.4 million people between 2010 and 2024, and those who remained saw earnings of nearly $10,000 less than their urban peers.

Plantible Foods addresses both challenges with Rubi Protein™, a duckweed-derived ingredient that can replace conventional proteins and binders. Duckweed cultivation uses one-tenth the water and yields seven times more protein per acre than soy. Its aquafarms require no arable land, allowing the company to bring production-and jobs-to rural communities like Eldorado hit hard by drought and economic disinvestment.

Elemental's Investment

Elemental invested in Plantible via our Project Track in 2024 with the goal of helping their facility in Eldorado become cash flow positive. Our funding supported the build-out of eight additional greenhouses and enabled Plantible to invest in a novel filtration system that Plantible co-founder and CEO Tony Martens describes as "the single most critical piece of equipment for optimizing our process and achieving profitability." These combined efforts led to a 50% reduction in cost of goods sold and enabled the facility to run profitably.

About midway through the project, Plantible hit an unexpected barrier. They had identified a strain of duckweed that produced 60% more protein than the strain they were currently using, vastly improving the economics of their facilities and creating an opportunity to double down on building greenhouses in Eldorado. However, the new strain was not approved for use in Texas. Plantible worked with Texas A&M AgriLife to review the research and safety measures necessary to mitigate risks and, once Texas A&M AgriLife had withdrawn its opposition, brought in Elemental to help them prepare for the deciding hearing with Texas Fish & Wildlife. After much preparation, and multiple hearings, Plantible came away with a victory-they could use the newly found strain.

Plantible's commitment to their community extends beyond the podium. With funding and coaching from Elemental, they have developed an internship program with Angelo State University, focused on training and onboarding talent from West Texas. We also partnered with them to host a ribbon cutting event that brought together 35 key stakeholders including major customers, representatives from the Texas State Senator's office, the Texas Department of Agriculture, local labor groups, and members of the Eldorado community to facilitate and deepen community relationships. Plantible is also the sponsor of Eldorado High School's football team-go Eagles!

"Plantible regularly uses our lodging facilities for staff and contractors. In 2025 alone, they booked over 450 room nights at our facility. Because of that demand, I am now considering expanding my operation, an investment that wouldn't otherwise happen." - Stan Meador, fifth-generation steward of X-Bar Ranch and Nature Retreat in Eldorado

Scaling Up

With demand from customers like Nestle and Griffith Foods already exceeding Plantible's 2026 production capacity, the company is scaling. The company recently announced it had secured a $25M loan from the USDA-the first step in unlocking project financing to 10x their capacity over the next three years and create a repeatable template for commercial scale.

This growth will allow Plantible to increase from 19 to 150 greenhouses and will pave the way for them to hire another 150 employees-many of whom will hail from West Texas.

"Since joining Plantible, I've received professional training I never would have had access to before, along with benefits and a 401k. This is how people build long-term careers in rural communities." - Danny Hicks