FoodTech Weekly’s Post

Some highlights from FoodTech Weekly #206 (https://lnkd.in/dxdZ9hse) sent Friday morning: 💰🇺🇸 NovoNutrients of California has brought home $18M in Series A funding, led by Woodside Energy and CM Venture Capital. The company uses microbes to upcycle industrial CO2 waste into a sustainable protein used for food as well as animal feed 💶 🇫🇷 French startup Nutriearth — which uses insects to enhance flours and oils for human consumption as well as ingredients for animal feed with vitamin D3 —has scored €8M (appr. $8.7M) in fresh funding (h/t DigitalFoodLab)   💰🇺🇸 Biotech startup Digestiva of Davis, California has hauled in a $18.4M Series A funding round led by (global sugar cane processor) Magdalena, and joined by UC Investment, The March Fund, and Astanor. Digestiva’s innovation enhances protein bioavailability, allowing people and animals to ‘maximize nutritional benefits from existing diets without increasing protein consumption’. 💰🇺🇸 Mitti Labs (HQ’ed in NYC and with a subsidiary in Bengaluru, India) has harvested $3M in funding from e.g. Lightspeed Ventures Partners and Voyager Ventures, to help rice farmers in India improve farming practices while cutting methane emissions 🐈✅ U.K. based Meatly will begin selling its cultivated chicken meat to manufacturers as early as this year, after the U.K. just became the first country in Europe to provide regulatory approval for cultivated chicken for use in pet food. 🪦🇸🇪 Swedish mycoprotein producer Mycorena has filed for bankruptcy, after facing financial headwinds. It aims to restructure under new ownership. The company had raised €35M (appr. $38M) in several subsequent rounds of funding 🐛✅ Singapore just approved 16 insect species for human food and animal feed consumption, a boon to the country’s insect as food and feed ecosystem. 💰🇨🇦 Canadian vertical farming company Fieldless Farms (which previously had raised $20M+) has secured funding through the Southern Ontario Fund for Investment in Innovation (SOFII). While the amount is unknown, SOFII program funding ranges from CAD $150K to CAD $500K 💰🇦🇪 Natural Ventures of Abu Dhabi and the Netherlands has closed its inaugural fund with $100M in commitments, aiming to invest to advance sustainability in global food and water. Meanwhile, VC firm Cultivation Capital has launched a new $20M AgTech investment fund 💰🇨🇦 Canadian AgTech startup Ceragen has raised CAD $2.7M (appr. $2M) in Seed funding; the company develops soil microbes that are supplied to the roots of plants to help boost crop yields 💡 Conversation with Niyati Gupta  of Fork & Good, Inc. 🤩 New jobs at New School Foods (Canada) @and Good Food Institute Europe (BE/FR/DE/NL/ES/UK) ...and much more! Subscribe now at: https://lnkd.in/d8mUXXH5 #foodtechweekly #FoodTech #agtech #startups #funding #tech #innovation

Some highlights from FoodTech Weekly #194 (https://lnkd.in/dZca9VjT) this morning: 💰 U.S. indoor ag company Vertical Harvest Farms has secured $59.5M in project financing from the USDA and others to develop and operate a 51K sq. ft (appr. 4,700 sq. m) hydroponic vertical farm in downtown Westbrook, Maine. In related news, Canadian modular vertical farm startup Growcer has clinched $3M in funding 💶 German FoodTech startup Cultimate Foods, a B2B cultivated fat supplier for the alt protein industry, has scored €2.3M (appr. $2.5M) in a round led by HTGF | High-Tech Gründerfonds and joined by Big Idea Ventures, Kale United, Life Science Valley Wachstumsfonds, and b.value AG. The startup produces a a fat that it says elevates the taste and texture of plant-based meat 💰 BioLumic of New Zealand has raised $5M from AgriZeroNZ to develop a high-producing, low-emissions farm pasture using ultraviolet light. The company targets a 2-3% increase in lipids (fat) in e.g. ryegrass; this cuts livestock methane emissions by over 12% 💶 Würzburg, Germany-based AIPERIA has hauled in €7.5M (appr. $8M) in Series A funding, led by ETF Partners and LBBW VC, alongside existing investor Earlybird VC. AIPERIA develops tech that optimizes fresh food ordering for retailers and suppliers, thus reducing waste 💰 Serve Robotics has generated $40M through an IPO on the Nasdaq and is now preparing to deploy 2,000 delivery robots on U.S. streets by the end of 2025, delivering restaurant items to customers 💶 AmphiStar of Belgium has pulled in €6M (appr. $6.4M) from the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), Qbic, and others, to turn agrifood waste into biosurfactants — a key ingredient for cosmetics, chemicals, and construction materials typically made from fossil-free fuels 💶 VitalFluid B.V. of Eindhoven, The Netherlands has bagged €5M (appr. $5.3M) in Seed funding from Future Food Fund and others for its sustainable alternative to pesticides and fertilizers ✅ Senoptica Technologies of Ireland has gained FDA approval for its tech that uses optical sensors created by food-safe ink, to measure oxygen levels inside packaged foods to predict spoilage before it happens 🇨🇮 Orange, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and the EU are committing €7.6M (appr. $8.2M) in funding to back AgriTech startups in Ivory Coast, specifically in sustainable cocoa ✅ Argentina-founded Moolec, which uses molecular farming to grow animal protein in plants, has received regulatory approval from the USDA for its plant-grown meat proteins. The company e.g. grows what it calls Piggy Sooy, bioengineered soybeans that produces porcine myoglobin. 🤩 New jobs at chunk foods (Israel) and Essential (Kenya) ...and much more! Subscribe now at: https://lnkd.in/d8mUXXH5 #FoodTech #foodtechweekly #agtech #startups #funding #tech #innovation #farming #technology #food #agriculture #science

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗞𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗮'𝘀 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁. South Korea is not just famous for K-pop and dramas. It's making waves in farming and food technology, known as K-Agrifoodtech. From new food products to smart farming methods, it's becoming a major player globally. K-Agrifoodtech is part of the global foodtech market valued at USD554.2 billion, with Korea's share at USD 46.4 billion as of 2020, growing over 30% yearly since 2017. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 Korean culture has taken the world by storm, from beauty products to food. Between 2017 and 2021, export growth of these products was 13.7% per year, much higher than the national average. K-Agrifoodtech is following in these footsteps, bringing the latest farming and food technologies to the world stage. 𝗔𝗙𝗥𝗢 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰: 𝗔 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 In July 2023, Seoul hosted the first Agri-Food Technology K-Startup Expo (AFRO 2023). Over 250 companies showcased cutting-edge technologies in smart farming, advanced food tech, and eco-friendly biotechnology. This July, COEX will hold AFRO 2024, featuring startups and the latest trends and products that can transform businesses. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 Agrifoodtech combines farming with technology to tackle big challenges like climate change and food security. It aims to produce more food with fewer resources, making farming more sustainable and efficient. 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 The agrifoodtech sector in South Korea boasts a growing number of female entrepreneurs. Market leaders like Kim Seulah, Founder and CEO of Kurly, bring fresh ideas and energy. Kurly's dawn delivery service has changed food delivery, making it a major player. 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 South Korea's agrifoodtech industry is set to keep growing, driven by innovation and strong government support. With increasing challenges related to food security and sustainability, South Korea is well-positioned to lead with its advanced technologies and forward-thinking startups. If you're excited about this trend in Korea, DM me "AGTECH" and let's discuss how you can leverage this impact with your tech. P.S: This is part of The Newsletter The Meat Trader's Journal powered by @MeatTradinghub.

Some highlights from FoodTech Weekly #214 (https://lnkd.in/dA645NFQ) sent Friday morning: 🇺🇸 Pairwise , which gene edits crops to create e.g. seedless blackberries and less bitter mustard greens, has harvested $40M in Series C funding led by Deerfield Management and joined by e.g. Aliment Capital, Leaps by Bayer, and seed giant Corteva Agriscience 🇩🇰 Matr Foods, which uses fungi fermentation of local crops like lupin and peas to produce meat alternatives, has secured €20M (appr. $22M) in debt funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The company plans to produce 3K tons of products per year 🇳🇿 The government of New Zealand has set up a five-year NZ$9.6M (appr. $6M) scheme to develop cultivated seafood products 🇫🇴 Ocean Rainforest, which grows and processes sustainable seaweed on the Faroe Islands, has hauled in €2.5M (appr. $2.8M) in Series A funding, led by Triodos Investment Management and joined by e.g. The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Builders Vision, Katapult Ocean, Twynam and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) 🇫🇷 Standing Ovation, which produces e.g. casein for dairy products such as cheese through precision fermentation, has closed a €3.75M (appr. $4.2M) Series A extension round from investors including Astanor 🇮🇱 MNDL Bio has nabbed $2M in funding for its AI-powered gene optimization platform that helps companies across biotech, pharma, and food to streamline their R&D processes. The company claims it can increase protein production by up to 200x, cut development timelines by 1/3, and reduce costs by 90% compared to conventional methods. Funders in the round include Earth & Beyond Ventures, Israel Innovation Authority רשות החדשנות, and CPT Capital. 🇬🇧Plant-Ex Ingredients Ltd, which produces natural plant-derived flavors, colors, and extracts, has bagged £9M (appr. $12M) in funding from BGF 🛑 A U.K. ban on junk food TV ads before 9pm comes into effect in October next year. 💡 Conversation with Maya Sapir-Mir and Ido Eliashar Ⓥ of PoLoPo 🤩 New jobs at Cultivated Biosciences (Sweden) ...and much more! Subscribe now at: https://lnkd.in/d8mUXXH5 #foodtechweekly #FoodTech #agtech #startups #funding #tech

Revolutionizing Dairy: Miruku's Leap into Sustainable Molecular Farming In a bold stride towards a greener future, New Zealand's Miruku has secured a substantial $5M in pre-Series A funding, championing a molecular farming platform that's set to transform dairy production. With Motion Capital at the helm and support from investors like Movac and NZVC, this infusion of capital is a testament to the industry's readiness for sustainable innovation. 🔬 Disruptive Technology: Miruku's molecular farming is not just a scientific marvel; it's a beacon of hope for a planet under pressure. By producing bio-similar dairy proteins and fats, Miruku is slashing costs and environmental impact, offering a viable alternative to traditional dairy farming. Strategic Partnerships: The collaboration with Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization propels Miruku towards regulatory approval and market penetration. These alliances are crucial for navigating the complex landscape of food safety and consumer acceptance. 🌱 Eco-Friendly Impact: As New Zealand's dairy sector grapples with its environmental footprint, Miruku's planet-friendly processes are a breath of fresh air, promising to redefine the country's export narrative with sustainability at its core. Market Implications: 💡 Sustainable Shift: Miruku's alignment with eco-conscious consumer trends places it at the vanguard of the dairy alternative market. Its scalable solutions resonate with a global audience clamoring for planet-friendly dairy products. 💡 Regulatory Navigation: The journey through the regulatory maze is a critical one. Miruku's proactive engagement with food safety authorities underscores its commitment to compliance and consumer trust. 💡 Global Ambitions: With eyes set on international markets, including Israel, Australia, and the US, Miruku is poised to become a heavyweight in the global dairy alternatives arena. Investment Insights: 💰 Green Growth: Investors, take note. Miruku's trailblazing path in sustainable dairy alternatives offers a fertile ground for investments aligned with environmental stewardship and innovation. 💰 Market Expansion: The company's strategic geographic expansion signals robust market entry plans, presenting an attractive proposition for investment portfolios looking to capitalize on the dairy alternative boom. Miruku's journey is more than an investment opportunity; it's a chance to be part of a sustainable revolution in dairy production. Stay tuned with Market Unwinded for insights into how molecular farming is crafting the future of food. Dive deeper into Miruku's market-shaping moves: https://lnkd.in/gN2Rz3HB #Miruku #SustainableDairy #FoodTech #MolecularFarming #SustainableInvesting #MarketUnwinded #EcoFriendly #FutureOfFood #AgriTech

Excerpt from last week's FoodTech Weekly conversation Andrew Massaro of Stable Foods (https://lnkd.in/dvgr4a4b) I chatted with Andrew as he was walking home from work in Nairobi, Kenya. Andrew started out with a little reflection: ‘Like many upper middle-class suburban Americans I studied abroad during university and saw that the rest of the world was a very different place.’ Andrew wanted to fix the problems he saw through business, but had big student debts after school which led him to work for Big Auto in Detroit. ‘But after a few years it was clear that not only was I bored but I wasn’t contributing to meaningful change for people who need it, so I paid off my loans and went back into social impact’, Andrew says. After jobs in Rwanda and Kenya, he met a venture builder called Pyramidia Ventures which was looking for a CEO for Stable Foods — and Andrew got the job. Stable Foods works with smallholder farmers to increase their yield, targeting 10x output increases. In the process, the company transforms subsistence farmers into small scale commercial farmers and creates ancillary jobs in rural areas — in farming, logistics, packhouses, etc. Stable Foods’ innovation is their Irrigation-as-a-Service (IaaS) product where farmers pay a small monthly fee for irrigation on their plot, sort of like a monthly mobile cell contract. The irrigation increases annual yield (it increases the output per plant, increases the number of growing cycles, and allows for counter cyclical selling, which can give farmers a 3-4x higher price), and IaaS requires no CAPEX or up front purchase from the farmer. Andrew explains: ‘The farmers with whom we work are smart and industrious; they know they can make a lot of money from onions, tomato, and so on, they just lack the water access to enable the high yield sale of those high value products. IaaS provides them that opportunity, and the irrigation even acts as an insurance product for them since they don’t have to worry about drought.’ Once Stable Foods has ensured irrigation, they move on to providing seeds, credit, training, and guaranteed market off take, to further help the farmers. Some have seen output increases of more than 10x. This increased output could lead to farmers making 1M shillings ($7,000) per year, a substantial amount in rural Kenya. ‘By replicating IaaS all over, we can turn Kenya into a food exporting country within 10 years. We are trying to do something absolutely massive here. I don’t see any reason why this model cannot successfully transform rural agriculture’, Andrew excitedly states. Stable Foods currently has 44 FTEs (full-time employees), and in 2022, Acumen and Mercy Corps Ventures invested $600K. The company is currently raising a $2M Seed round to expand ‘beyond the point of profitability’. Andrew can be reached via LinkedIn.

In January I spoke at the prestigious Oxford Farming Conference on a subject that really excites us at European Food and Farming Partnerships – innovation! Here’s a summary! To be successful, our industry must be resilient, competitive, profitable and contribute to a sustainable world. Innovation can help deliver these aims by creating new ideas and through the wider adoption of existing ideas. Innovation can be a new product, process, or service (things we sell), or the way we work or how we think and it has a role in getting us ahead of our competitors and securing our global supply chains. During my time as Chair of Welsh Food & Drink Board, I’ve learnt that innovation in Wales is powered by an amazing collaboration between industry, academia and Government. In 2019, the Welsh Government establish several clusters – CEO, Drinks, Export, Fine Food, Honey, NutriWales and Seafood Clusters which bring like-minded people together to help businesses grow sales, profit and employment. This is an example of innovative ways of working. Another example, Wales has many innovation centres such as Zero2five in Cardiff. Aber Innovation is also a shining star in the innovation process because they bridge the gap between the academic stages of innovation and industry adoption where great ideas get lost or even worse, global competitors are quicker at picking up these innovation ideas. These highly innovative centres provide technical, operational, commercial, marketing, NPD and financial engagement support to enable businesses to grow. I believe these Welsh innovation centres are unique and I’d like to see more of them across the UK. Geopolitical instability is combining with climate change to disrupt global supply chains and threaten food security. This instability won’t go away so strategic geopolitical alliances with the countries that we trust and which have the scale and influence to make a positive impact on the UK will be crucial. Innovation is an important part of partnering with the right countries and it applies to both exports and imports. Exports because innovation adds value to the products we produce in the UK and imports because the innovation we source can be the enabler for our own value creation and secure the food we need. The UK is the first country in the world to include Innovation Chapters as part of the new Free Trade Agreements we’re negotiating. These help capitalise on opportunities as new technologies emerge and our trade relationships and economies grow. Innovation between international boundaries can be slow and laborious held back by regulations and rules so the FTA Innovation chapters will help identify and resolve innovation barriers to trade. Resolving barriers to innovation faster than our competitors will give us competitive advantage because we will gain faster access to FTA partner markets for our innovative products and services than our competitors. Innovation it crucial to our success in UK Food and drink.

Catch up on this week's FoodTech Funding headlines 🍼 ByHeart, which makes infant formula, secured $95 million to support its continued launch in the US, plus its plans for product development. 🧬 Prolific Machines, Inc. raised $55 million Series B1 funding for its photomolecular platform, which uses light to develop novel proteins for the food and medicine industries at significantly lower costs. 💰 The Bezos Earth Fund awarded North Carolina State University $30 million over the next five years to establish the first Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein, as part of its $1 billion pledge towards food system transformation. 🐟 Indonesian aquaculture company eFishery secured $30 million from HSBC Indonesia to accelerate the roll out of eFeeder, its automatic feeding product for small-holder farmers, which speeds up the crop cycle by up to 74 days. 🇧🇷 Brazilian accelerator Darwin Startups announced a $20 million fund to support pre-seed and seed-stage startups working across sectors including health, agriculture, education, and logistics. 🇲🇦 YoLa Fresh, based in Morocco, raised $7 million pre-Series A funding to further scale its platform, designed to directly connect the country’s small-holder farmers with fruit and vegetable retailers. 🍓 US-based IntelliCulture raised $3.5 million to expand its operations. Its farm management software helps growers plan equipment maintenance and labour, track activities such as sprays and harvests, and ensure compliance with industry and safety regulations. 🍫 Israeli startup Kokomodo emerged from stealth with $750,000 in funding from The Kitchen Hub and the Israeli Innovation Authority to produce cell-based cocoa and chocolate products. https://lnkd.in/eC9aX9Jn

Some highlights from FoodTech Weekly #199 (https://lnkd.in/devmbAeQ) this morning: 💰 Ohalo of California, U.S. has come out of five years of stealth with $100M in fundingfor its ‘boosted breeding’ technology, which ensures that the progeny of two plants will receive their parents’ entire genome — a potential game changer in the crop breeding world 💰 Chilean vertical farming startup AgroUrbana has harvested a $6M pre-Series B round to increase its production of leafy greens. The company now plans to expand its facility 5x, and incorporate new technologies to reach more customers 💰 Metrovate of New Zealand has raised a $1M round from Sprout Agritech for its precision biostimulants that aim to improve plant growth while being safe and biodegradable 💶 NUTRAMAMI of Denmark has bagged €450K (appr. $490K) in pre-seed funding led by Kost Capital and Planetary Impact Ventures. The company develops a plant protein powder designed to replace the nutrtients fround in animal meat products 💰Israeli FoodTech startup NewMoo has emerged from stealth with $7M in Seed funding led by lool ventures and ZORA Ventures. The company produces casein proteins using plant molecular farming; the casein can then be used to make e.g. genuine cheese 👩🔬 Scientists from Wageningen University & Research and Leiden University have developed a sticky substance that protects crops from pest insects like thrips, while reducing the need for pesticides. The scientists were inspired by nature, in particular the carnivorous sundew plant 📈 U.S. online retailer Misfits Market, which was started in 2018 and sells e.g. ugly produce, is on track to do $1B in sales. 🐶 BioCraft Pet Nutrition of Vienna, Austria has announced it has reached price parity with premium traditional meat; $2.00 to $2.50 per lb (0.45 kg) sale price of cultivated meat. The company plans to have their cultivated meat in brand name products on shelves in early 2026. 🐛 Australian insect meal producer GOTERRA has signeda partnership with aquafeed company Skretting to explore using Goterra’s insect meal in feeding local aquaculture species 🇬🇧 Phytoform Labs of the U.K., which uses CRISPR to improve traits in produce like tomatoes and potatoes, has been awarded £100K from the inaugural Manchester Prize, and is one of ten finalists to compete for the £1M grand prize next spring 💡Conversation with Corjan van den Berg of revyve 🤩 New jobs at Too Good To Go (Sweden), Farmless (The Netherlands), Nutropy (France), ProVeg International (Germany), and Essential (Kenya) ...and much more! Subscribe now at: https://lnkd.in/d8mUXXH5 #foodtechweekly #FoodTech #agtech #startups #funding #tech #innovation

A few days ago, I read a research article about the harms of ultra-processed foods, which recommended consuming minimal processed or natural foods. However, this current innovation is going in the opposite direction. Milk has traditionally been produced only from mammary glands, so this alternative can't be considered milk. While this innovation might be acceptable at a laboratory scale, it's not valid to use it just to validate your research. This approach is not focused on sustainability.It's important to consider that animals also play a role in the ecosystem, and while they do produce CO2 and greenhouse gases, humans also exhale CO2. This doesn't mean we should aim for a human-free Earth. Research serves different purposes, including understanding our surroundings, solving human problems, and improving human comfort. However, I believe that research aimed at human comfort often harms other species. Therefore, the trial period for such studies should be at least 20-25 years to ensure we understand the long-term impacts. Otherwise, we will continue in a cycle where we enjoy the benefits for 50 years and then spend the next 50 years trying to solve the problems we created.Some examples of this cycle include the issue of plastic (where we are now searching for biodegradable alternatives), AI (which has led to problems in animals' reproductive organs), and the use of pesticides in agriculture (which is now prompting a return to organic farming). While research and studies are valuable for innovation and knowledge, not all innovations are suitable for adoption, as they may cause harm in other ways.It's essential to remember that all research is human-oriented and can potentially disrupt the harmony between all species.