NEEDHAM, MASS. — Purple Carrot is getting into the venture capital space. The plant-based meal kit company announced the launch of The Garden Incubator, a new service aimed at scaling up early-stage plant-based companies.

The Garden will serve as an investor, incubator and launch pad providing a range of services to confirm product-market fit and establish confidence for future investments, Purple Carrot said.

The company will support entrepreneurs through strategy, branding, marketing, e-commerce, operations, fulfillment and data analytics services. It also will provide participating companies with up to $250,000 in seed funding.

The Garden is sponsored by Unovis Partners, an investment firm focused on start-ups developing plant, fungi and cell-based animal protein alternatives. Its portfolio features more than 30 brands, including Beyond Meat, New Wave Foods and Zero Egg. Funding will be provided through the firm’s evergreen New Crop Capital fund.

“It’s such an exciting time in the plant-based world,” said Andy Levitt, founder and chief executive officer of Purple Carrot. “There are new products coming to market with better flavors and textures, new ingredients and better ways to deliver on the promise of a plant-based future. It only made sense for Purple Carrot to give entrepreneurs the chance to enter the plant-based space.”