Image Credit: AgFunder News

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Agrifoodtech startups faced a significant setback in 2023 as their investment share plummeted by 50%, comprising only 5.5% of global venture capital funds, down from 6.7% in 2022 and 7.6% in 2021. Meanwhile, in a notable shift, the ‘anti-woke’ agenda in Florida, spearheaded by Governor Ron DeSantis and the state legislature, has taken aim at cultivated meat. As reported by Fast Company, this move has raised concerns within the cultivated meat sector, which relies on capital for expansion, cost reduction, and consumer appeal.

In other news, we’ve wrapped the first season of our podcast in partnership with AgFunder: New Food Order, a nuanced investigation into the business of tackling our climate and social crises through food and agriculture. Read all about why we launched the podcast, and be sure to subscribe and share!

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

1. Agrifoodtech Startup Investment Drops 50%, Accounts for Just 5.5% of Global VC Dollars – AFN

In 2023, agrifoodtech represented just 5.5% of VC dollars across all sectors in 2023 compared to 6.7% in 2022 and 7.6% in 2021.

2. Ron Desantis and the Florida Legislature Turn Their ‘Anti-Woke’ Agenda on Lab-Grown Meat – Fast Company

The cultivated meat sector needs capital in order to grow, drive down costs, and attract consumers. A ban in Florida could hurt those prospects.

3. How the Meat Industry Tapped Into Academia to Influence Climate Policy & Avoid Scrutiny – Green Queen

A new study digs deep into the sector’s reliance upon academics and universities to validate its pushback against research linking livestock farming to climate change, and influence government policies in their favor.

4. Meet Whole Food’s New Mini Shop, Coming to a City Near You – Fast Company

Whole Foods Market is rolling out its first quick-shop-format store in Manhattan’s Upper East Side later this year called the Whole Foods Market Daily Shop.

5. Vertical Strawberry Grower Oishii Clinches $134M Amid Indoor Farming Woes – Food Dive

An intentional choice to grow artisanal fruit rather than leafy greens has allowed the firm to avoid the financial difficulties facing others in controlled-environment agriculture.

6. The New Science on What Ultra-Processed Food Does to Your Brain – WSJ

Studies are finding links between these foods and changes in the way we learn, remember and feel.

7. What We’re Learning About Ozempic – Food Fix

GLP-1 drugs continue to drive headlines. Here’s a roundup of what we’ve learned so far, from calories to costs.

8. Liquid Death Valued At $1.4B After Latest Funding Round – Food Dive

The beverage maker, which is reportedly looking to go public this year, said the $67m in new financing will be used to grow distribution and accelerate product innovation.

The post Agrifoodtech Startup Investment Drops 50%, Ron Desantis and Florida Turn on Cultivated Meat + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image Credit: New York Times

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

In 2023, the cultivated meat industry faced a significant setback as preliminary Agfunder data revealed a staggering 78% decline in funding for startups within this sector. The funding trajectory tells a compelling story, with a peak of $989 million in 2021, a slight dip to $807 million in 2022, and a sharp drop to a mere $177 million in 2023. Investors attribute this decline to a pervasive ‘general risk aversion,’ compounded by a broader downturn of -50% in agrifoodtech investing throughout the same year. Meanwhile, in the realm of biopharmaceuticals, the success of Ozempic and Mounjaro is positioned as just the beginning in a burgeoning obesity drug arms race. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have pioneered innovations in weight loss and diabetes drugs, setting the stage for a flood of upcoming GLP-1 drugs that promise to reshape the landscape of this critical healthcare arena.

In other news, we’ve wrapped the first season of our podcast in partnership with AgFunder: New Food Order, a nuanced investigation into the business of tackling our climate and social crises through food and agriculture. Read all about why we launched the podcast, and be sure to subscribe and share!

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

1. Preliminary Agfunder Data Point to 78% Decline in Cultivated Meat Funding in 2023; Investors Blame ‘General Risk Aversion’ – AFN

Funding for cultivated meat startups peaked at $989m in 2021, dipped slightly to $807m in 2022 and then dropped off sharply in 2023 to $177m, against a backdrop of a -50% drop in agrifoodtech investing overall in 2023.

2. Ozempic And Mounjaro’s Smashing Success Is Just the Beginning for Biopharma’s Obesity Drug Arms Race – Fast Company

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have revolutionized the weight loss and diabetes drug space. Now a flood of other GLP-1 drugs are on the horizon.

3. The Revolution That Died on Its Way to Dinner – New York Times

Despite nearly a decade of work and a great many messianic pronouncements, it is increasingly clear that a broader cultivated meat revolution was never a real prospect, and definitely not within the few years we have left to avert climate catastrophe.

4. Impossible Foods Partners with US Army Central to Serve Plant-Based Options to Overseas Troops – Vegconomist

The US Army Central plans to introduce Impossible’s plant-based meat products into its dining facilities overseas in the coming weeks.

5. USDA Organic Changes Are Coming. What Will It Mean for Farmers and Consumers? – Food Dive

Large amendments aimed at enhancing recordkeeping and defining outdoor rules for livestock and poultry will take effect in March.

6. Estonia: Starship Technologies Raises $90M As Its Sidewalk Robots Pass 6M Deliveries – TechCrunch

The sidewalk delivery robot servicer aims to cement its position at the top of the category.

7. Restaurant Sales Forecast to Exceed $1.1T in 2024 – Food Business News

The restaurant industry also is set to add 200k jobs in 2024, with a sustained growth projection of 150k jobs created annually through 2032.

8. Why Your Groceries Are Still So Expensive – Forbes

Grocery prices are 30% higher than four years ago. Sustained higher prices are not only a burden on consumer budgets, but are also an ongoing policy failure by the Biden Administration.

The post Cultivated Meat Funding Dropped 78% in 2023, Obesity Drug Arms Race + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image Credit: Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Governments worldwide are taking significant strides towards sustainability by supporting the development of plant-based meat products, with Taiwan and Saudi Arabia recently announcing funding and startup initiatives. In contrast, concerns arise about AI’s potential negative impact, as research reveals how certain AI models might promote harmful content related to eating disorders, raising questions about tech companies’ responsibility in addressing this issue.

In other news, we’ve wrapped the first season of our podcast in partnership with AgFunder: New Food Order, a nuanced investigation into the business of tackling our climate and social crises through food and agriculture. Read all about why we launched the podcast, and be sure to subscribe and share!

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

1. With Bold Net-Zero Commitments, Governments Around the World are Developing Plant-Based Meat Products – Green Queen

The governments of Taiwan and Saudi Arabia have joined a growing list of countries backing the vegan industry, announcing startups and funding, respectively, to create plant-based meat.

2. AI Is Acting ‘Pro-Anorexia’ and Tech Companies Aren’t Stopping It – Washington Post

New research shows how AI like ChatGPT, Bard and Stable Diffusion could fuel eating disorders with disturbing images and dangerous chatbot advice.

3. UK: Lab-Grown Meat Startup Seeks to Put Steak on British Menus – Bloomberg

Aleph Farms filed an application with the UK’s FSA to sell its beefsteak. The process may take years before the product gets approval.

4. Campbell Soup to Buy Rao’s Maker Sovos Brands for $2.7B – Food Dive

The purchase, the largest in five years for the CPG giant, allows the soup and snacks maker to expand its meals business with other brands such as Michael Angelo’s and Noosa.

5. Amazon’s Grocery Business Needs a Massive Makeover – Bloomberg

Six years after buying Whole Foods for $13b, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the company will need to spend a lot more to compete with Kroger and Walmart.

6. MrBeast Sues His Food Delivery Partner Over ‘Inedible’ Burgers – Bloomberg

James Donaldson, a YouTube star better known as MrBeast, has sued his partner in a food delivery business saying the company sacrificed quality in its bid for rapid expansion.

7. White Castle to Roll Out Voice AI to Over 100 Drive-Thrus – Restaurant Dive

The chain is automating its drive-thru order taking in partnership with SoundHound, which claims its technology can process orders within 60 seconds.

8. Climate Finance Gap: Only 4% of Global Funding Goes to Agrifood Systems, Says New Report – Green Queen

Only 4.3% of all global climate investment goes to agrifood systems, which are responsible for nearly a third of all greenhouse gas emissions. Components that are crucial for climate mitigation receive less than 1%.

9. The Biggest Names in Food Are Just Regular People on TikTok – Vox

How fancy chefs and the Food Network became the old guard of food media.

10. Ozempic, Other Weight-Loss Drugs Face Backlash from Companies, Lawyers. What You Need to Know – Fast Company

A lawsuit against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly alleges that the drugs cause gastroparesis, a stomach disorder, as a side effect.

The post Governments Develop Plant-Based Meat Products, AI Could Fuel Eating Disorders + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image Credit: Gregory Bull for Los Angeles Times

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

And this week, we are excited to announce launch of our new podcast in partnership with AgFunder: New Food Order, a nuanced investigation into the business of tackling our climate and social crises through food and agriculture. Read all about why we launched the podcast and check out our first two episodes:

#1: Introducing: New Food Order
#2: Is the world better with your business in it? With Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever
#3: Looking to Our Indigenous Past For a Regenerative Future, with Nathalie Kelley

And be sure to subscribe and share!

Chloe Sorvino rights about food as a human right, and the ways in which this concept has taken hold in different forms across the United States. She discusses the idea of a new public food chain, funded by the state or federal government, that could coexist with the current marketplace.

Fast food chains have experimented with plant-based proteins for years with limited success. The dream of its widespread adoption in fast food chains may as well be dead, reports the Business Insider.

Last but not least, global disruptions to our food supply chain caused by the pandemic and war abroad have resulted in more turbulent food prices.

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

1. Free Food for All? Absolutely. In This Age of Abundance, It Should Be a Human Right – Los Angeles Times

The US government already spends hundreds of billions of dollars on the food system. That investment should be transformative.

2. The Dream of Plant-Based Meat in Fast Food May Already Be Dead – Business Insider

Despite some exceptions like Burger King’s Impossible Whopper, plant-based fast food menu items have largely been featured as limited-time offerings. It is currently too expensive and complex for widespread adoption.

3. Globalized Supply Chain Brings More-Turbulent Food Prices – WSJ

Pandemic, war and other global disruptions have shown how the same complex supply chain that for decades has increased the variety and reduced the cost of food can also result in more turbulent prices.

4. California Farms Face $3B Loss From Historic Drought – Bloomberg

California’s worst drought has left growers in the top US agricultural state facing losses of $3b, just as producers brace for more widespread cuts to water supplies.

5. Beyond Meat’s Very Real Problems: Slumping Sausages, Mounting Losses – WSJ

Founder and CEO Ethan Brown has struggled to manage growth. His drive to roll out new products on rushed timelines led to missed deadlines, disappointed customers and wasted packaging and ingredients.

6. Unilever Calls Dairy ‘Problematic’ As It Explores Ice Cream Made From Microbes – Green Queen

The company is exploring precision fermentation as a means to address its portfolio’s climate impact.

7. For the Future of Meat, Food Tech Startups Look Under Mushrooms – San Francisco Chronicle 

The past three years have seen a surge in businesses focusing on mycelium. There are an estimated 40 to 50 companies working with mycelium-based foods across the country today.

8. Mood Shifts on Gene-Edited Crops As Droughts and Wars Bite – Financial Times

The European Commission is considering easing regulation on the technology. But critics say it is an untested risk being pushed by Big Ag.

The post The Beginning of a Food Revolution, Free Food For All + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image Credit: Bloomberg

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

And this week, we are excited to announce launch of our new podcast in partnership with AgFunder: New Food Order, a nuanced investigation into the business of tackling our climate and social crises through food and agriculture. Read all about why we launched the podcast and check out our first two episodes:

#1: Introducing: New Food Order
#2: Is the world better with your business in it? With Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever

And be sure to subscribe and share!

After becoming the world’s second approved cultivated meat, Vow raked in a record-setting $49.2 million to bring its cultivated quail to Singapore.

Meanwhile, the latest news on Beyond Meat has stirred trouble for the plant-based meat sector. Photos and internal documents from its plant in Pennsylvania show mold, unsafe use of equipment and other food-safety issues at a factory the company had expected to play a major role in its future. In late July, the company laid off 200 of its employees and several of its chief executives departed. Investors are now debating whether Beyond Meat’s struggles are specific to the company or a harbinger of deeper issues in the plant-based meat industry.

After Infarm announced its successful trials of wheat grown in its indoor vertical farm, critics questioned the viability of growing such a commodity crop at scale indoors. The news sparked a conversation around the realities of vertically-farmed commodities.

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

1. Australia: Vow Sets a Funding Record Ahead of Becoming the World’s Second Approved Cultivated Meat Brand – Green Queen

Vow has closed a record-setting $49.2m round to help bring its cultivated quail meat to Singapore. It expects approval from Singapore to begin selling its cultivated meat in restaurants later this year.

2. VCs Dish on Why Food Tech Investment Was So Light in Q3, While SAVRpak Bags Freshness Deal with Jüsto – TechCrunch

Both investment values and count were down 63% and 28.5% quarter-over-quarter, respectively. Despite  the decline, the investors have a positive outlook on what the next generation of businesses can bring in terms of taste, consumer trust, and brand experience.

3. Beyond Meat Is Struggling, and the Plant-Based Meat Industry Worries – New York Times

A few years ago, business was booming. That growth has slowed, with some wondering if the number of consumers has reached its limit.

4. Beyond Meat Plant’s Dirty Conditions Revealed in Photos, Documents – Bloomberg

Products from the plant tested positive for Listeria on at least 11 occasions during the second half of last year and the first half of 2022. The facility in Pennsylvania illustrates the alt-meat maker’s ongoing difficulties.

5. Germany: Infarm’s Indoor Wheat Suggests We Re-Examine the Realities of Vertically-Farmed Commodities – AFN

War and supply chain issues make indoor wheat an attractive concept. Can the vertical farming industry manage to grow that crop at scale?

6. Israel: Wilk Makes Yogurt Using Milk from Cultivated Cells – Food Dive

The Israeli company is the first to create a finished dairy product that has been produced by cells grown outside of an animal.

7. Australia: Food Tech Company Me& Has Developed the First Fortified Human Breast Milk – Green Queen

The company recently closed an oversubscribed $2.5m seed round. It’s the latest company to bring novel tech to the infant formula category.

8. China: The Untold Story of How Starbucks Has Cozied Up to the Communist Party in Pursuit of Explosive Growth – Fast Company

Starbucks says that China will become its biggest market by 2025. To get there, the company is contorting its values—and taking on significant risk.

9. Deliveroo Just Shut Down in Australia – Startup Daily

The company failed to gain traction and a path to profitability amid heavy competition from rivals such as Uber Eats, DoorDash and Menulog, alongside new competitors regularly entering the market.

10. Is Regenerative Agriculture the Future of Farming or the Next Greenwashing Fad? – Fast Company

To lower emissions, companies from Stonyfield Farms to Pepsi to Cargill are investing big money to change how farmers treat their soil. Can it succeed—or is it just an excuse to prevent more radical changes?

11. For Food Industry to Reach Climate Goals, COP27 Highlights Areas of Improvement – Food Dive

As companies work to improve sustainability goals, activist groups and world leaders call for more reductions in emissions and waste.

The post Plant-Based Meat Woes, Food Tech Funding Dips, Building a Regenerative Future + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image Credit: Courtsey

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Good Food Institute APAC, APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture, and more than 30 other key industry stakeholders came together and signed a nomenclature agreement that selected ‘cultivated meat’ as an industry-wide term. Despite a global decline in funding this year, Asia-Pacific agrifoodtech startups defied expectations. Investments reached just $5.3 billion in the first half of 2022, breaking records and defying expectations.

Last but not least, a study released Monday in the journal Nature Sustainability offers a new guide to weighing the total environmental impact of your diet, from crops to livestock to seafood.

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

1. Nearly Every Cultivated Food Startup in Asia Just Signed a Historic Nomenclature Agreement. – Green Queen

Cellular agriculture producers across the APAC region have come to a consensus: the preferred English-language term for the category is “cultivated.”

2. Here’s Exactly How Your Diet Affects the Planet, a Landmark Study Finds – Washington Post

A study released Monday in the journal Nature Sustainability offers a new guide to weighing the total environmental impact of your diet, from crops to livestock to seafood.

3. Asia-Pacific Agrifoodtech Startup Funding Defies Global Decline in 2022 – AFN

Investors poured $15.2b into Asia-Pacific agrifoodtech startups in 2021. In 2022, the region continues to break records.

4. Beyond Meat’s Plant-Based Steak Launches at More Than 5K Stores – Food Dive

The product, the first of its kind widely available in US grocery stores, could help turn the company’s fortunes, which have been mired recently by job cuts and slowing sales.

5. The Dutch Government Invests €60M in Cellular Agriculture – Green Queen

The Dutch government’s investment is now the largest government grant in the world. By 2050, it expects €1.25 – €2.0b in growth and a reduction of CO2 emissions by approximately 1.8m tons.

6. Reef Quietly Exists Houston As the SoftBank-Backed Ghost Kitchen Continues to Face Operational Issues and Loses Partnerships – Business Insider

The exit comes as the startup continues to face new violations, and after Jack in the Box and Burger King have ended partnerships with Reef.

7. Kraft Heinz Launches Plant-Based Cheese Slices Through NotCo Joint Venture – Food Dive

The product, which Bloomberg says will be in some Ohio stores next month, is the CPG giant’s first foray into new products made without animal-derived ingredients.

8. Solar Foods Earns Regulatory Approval in Singapore for Carbon-Captured Protein – Green Queen

Solar Foods is using a single-cell-based microbial tech to grow its protein with help from hydrogen and CO2 pulled from the atmosphere.

9. Israel: Trigo Nets $100M As It Eyes ‘Full-Sized’ Supermarkets – Grocery Dive

The Israeli frictionless checkout startup company plans to use the new funding in part to scale its computer vision-based technology for use in larger retail locations than it currently supports.

10. Workers at Trader Joe’s in Brooklyn Reject Union – New York Times

The loss raises questions about whether a national wave of unionization may be slowing. A union had won two previous votes at the grocery chain.

11. BioVeritas Gets $65M for Fermented Upcycled Ingredients – Food Dive

The company, which turns broken pasta and other food waste into ingredients commonly sourced from petrochemicals, plans to open a commercial-scale plant in 2025.

12. AquaBounty in Murky Water After Accusations of Safety Violations at GM Salmon Plant – AFN

A former employee shares evidence of violations ranging from mishandled chemicals to unsafe water at the genetically modified salmon factory.

13. Good Eggs Joins Forces with Momofuku on Fresh Meal Kits – Restaurant Dive

The online grocer has started selling kits that combine its produce, meat and seafood with the culinary brand’s sauces and spices.

14. Deranged Diners, Inflation and Staff Shortages: American Restaurants Are Struggling – The Guardian

Covid rules have been lifted – but things aren’t back to normal for staff or customers.

The post Asia Selects ‘Cultivated Meat’ As Industry Term, Landmark Study on Diet’s Environmental Impact + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image Credit: Carlos Bernate for The New York Times

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

The plant-based market has become crowded and noisy; the novelty has vaporized; and growth has slowed so much that Beyond Meat’s share price has cratered beyond belief, from a high of $109 to around $16. Brand strategist Adam Hanft discusses why plant-based meat is a branding catastrophe.

Two of the country’s largest supermarket chains, Kroger and Albertsons, announced plans on Friday to merge in a deal that could alter the food retail landscape but will also face intense scrutiny by regulators. Kroger said it would acquire Albertsons for $24.6 billion, creating a retail monolith with 5,000 stores across the country and $209 billion in combined revenue.

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

1. After Billions in Investment, Plant-Based Meat Is a Branding Catastrophe – AFN

There is zero differentiation or branding in the space; all the players are stuck in Motorola Land, going no further than saying “We are plant-based.”

2. Kroger and Albertsons Plan $25B Supermarket Merger That May Face Hurdles – New York Times

The deal, an effort to bulk up against deep-pocketed rivals Walmart and Amazon, is likely to invite serious antitrust scrutiny from regulators. Read why it might be a bad idea.

3. Beyond Meat to Cut 19% of Its Workforce As Sales, Stock Struggle – CNBC

Shares of the company fell nearly 10% Friday, dragging the company’s market value below $900m.

4. Line Man Wongnai Is Thailand’s Latest Unicorn After Series B Funding – Deal Street Asia 

The startup, which has raised $265m, offers food delivery, grocery delivery, taxi, messenger, restaurant reviews and restaurant solutions.

5. Soli Organic Secures $125M to Expand Soil-Based Vertical Farming Across the US – AFN

The company says it can grow leafy greens and herbs indoors via its soil-based vertical farming system for 30% less than it costs to grow outdoors.

6. The Climate Economy Is About to Explode – The Atlantic

A new report suggests that the Inflation Reduction Act could be even bigger than Congress thinks.

7. Reggaeton Star Maluma Bets on Colombian Cloud Kitchen Startup – Bloomberg

Foodology raised $50m with a roster of new investors. Money will help fund new locations and expansion in Brazil.

8. Spotted Lanternflies Are Feasting on US Grapevines and Putting Vineyards at Risk – CNBC

Fiore Winery in Maryland is among those experiencing the insect’s destructive effects, having already lost about 50% of its production this year because of the lanternflies.

9. Netherlands: Meatable Moves Closer to Becoming the World’s First Cultivated Pork Producer to Earn Regulatory Approval – Green Queen

Meatable says it’s poised to bring cultivated pork to Singapore through an exclusive partnership with the only approved contract cultivated meat manufacturer, ESCO Aster.

10. Inside the Global Effort to Keep Perfectly Good Food Out of the Dump – New York Times

Around the world, lawmakers and entrepreneurs are taking steps to tackle two of humanity’s most pressing problems: hunger and climate change.

11. Turkey: Delivery Startup Getir in Advanced Talks to Buy Gorillas – Bloomberg

The purchase will give Getir scale in key markets like the UK and Germany.

12. The Era of the Paywalled Restaurants Is Upon Us – New York Times

From private “clubstaurants” to NFT reservation tokens to concierge services, getting a table is a lot easier if you’ve got the money.

13. Carbon-Credit Surplus Could Soon Turn to Shortage – Wall Street Journal

Soon there might not be enough carbon credits to go around as hundreds of companies act to offset emissions they can’t eliminate on their own.

The post Plant-Based Meat’s Branding Catastrophe, Thoughts on the Kroger-Albertsons Merger + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image source: Upside Foods

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines. This month’s newsletter is sponsored by Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).

Upside Foods has raised the largest funding round to date in the cultivated meat space. A whopping $400 million will allow it to build a commercial-scale manufacturing facility with an annual capacity of tens of millions of pounds of cultured meat.

As web3 further permeates into the world of F&B, it holds promise of improving upon existing dynamics and being leveraged for good. Andrea Hernandez discusses empowering “consumer communes,” non-fungible tastings and the cannabis market after dark in her newsletter, Snaxshot.

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Upside Foods Gets $400M Investment for Commercial-Scale Facility – Food Dive

The largest single funding round in the cultivated meat space to date included money from Tyson, Cargill and Givaudan, and will help the company bring cell-based animal products to market.

2. Community Packaged Goods – Snaxshot

As web3 further permeates into the world of F&B, it holds promise of improving upon existing dynamics and being leveraged for good. Andrea Hernandez discusses empowering “consumer communes,” non-fungible tastings and the cannabis market after dark.

3. Starbucks Is Having an Identity Crisis. Can Howard Schultz Fix It? – Wall Street Journal

The former CEO is back for his third stint running the coffee giant. But the company is in a very different place than when he left it.

4. 2022 AgFunder AgriFoodTech Investment Report – AFN

Venture capital investors pumped $51.7b into agrifood technologies in 2021; an 85% increase over 2020. Agrifoodtech sectors that took off in response to the Covid-19 pandemic not only remained the most popular investment categories; they exploded with new deals.

5. Thank God, the Era of Goop-Style Snacks Is Ending – Bon Appetit

These are the scams, the stars and the shifts that are defining the meals we eat between meals, according to Snaxshot writer Andrea Hernández.

6. Motif FoodWorks Hits Back at Impossible Foods in Heme Patent Spat – AFN

Motif FoodWorks has petitioned the US Patent & Trademark Office to revoke the patent at the center of the dispute.

7. Chipotle Hopes New $50M Fund Will Continue Its ‘Technological Transformation’ – AFN

Cultivate Next, the new fund, will invest in early-stage restaurant tech startups developing solutions that enhance both guest and employee experiences.

8. Netherlands: Just Eat Takeaway Is Exploring a Sale of Grubhub Barely a Year After Buying the Company – CNBC 

The company bought the US food delivery platform for $7.3b barely a year ago. It’s faced calls from a prominent activist investor to sell Grubhub and refocus on Europe.

9. Netherlands: Land-Based The Kingfish Company Signs Up to $81M Debt Facility – Intrafish

Financing will allow for further development in the United States and Europe.

10. Leonardo DiCaprio Backed Climate Fund Regeneration.VC Closes $45M to Bring Sustainability Across Omnichannel – Forbes

The firm has so far closed six regenerative agriculture-focused deals, including Cruz Foam that uses shellfish waste to create styrofoam alternative, and CleanO2 which converts industrial emissions into fertilizers.

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The post Web3 and Community Packaged Goods, Upside Foods Raises $400M + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image source: Healthline

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

A major new report by IPES-Food, The Politics of Protein: Examining claims about livestock, fish, ‘alternative proteins’ and sustainability, sheds light on misleading generalizations that dominate public discussion about meat and protein, and warns of the risks of falling for meat techno-fixes.

In other news, the war in Ukraine has paralyzed harvests, destroyed granaries and crops, and brought potentially devastating consequences to a country that produces a large share of the world’s grain. It has created a global food crisis that will have the biggest impact in poorer countries such as Sudan, Afghanistan and Egypt.

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Fake Meat Won’t Solve the Climate Crisis – Civil Eats

A new report, “The Politics of Protein,” questions the dramatic environmental claims that alternative proteins can save the planet, disrupt the status quo or challenge the power of the corporate food industry.

2. War Hits Ukraine’s Farms – New York Times

Farmland covers 70% of the country and agricultural products were Ukraine’s top export. The country now has 13m tons of соrn and 3.8m tons of wheat that it cannot export using its usual routes.

3. Vertical Farms Expand as Demand for Year-Round Produce Grows – New York Times

The industry is expected to grow to $9.7b worldwide by 2026, but it faces challenges, including high energy costs, technological limitations and the ability to scale.

4. Putin’s War Has Started a Global Food Crisis – New York Times

The prices of commodities like wheat and corn are global, but their shocks are inequitable. These are the countries that will be most affected by rising food prices.

5. UK Becomes First Country to Regulate CBD Products As Food, ‘De-Risks Category for Investors’ – AFN

CBD products that are orally consumed, legal and cleared for sale in the UK will now appear the Food Standards Agency’s CBD List.

6. Australia’s Plant-Based Products Predicted to Reach Up to $9B Valuation by 2030 – Green Queen

Current figures suggest the sector is worth $140m. Key drivers will be domestic grocery partnerships, increased international exports and tech-driven innovation.

7. Jüsto Grabs New Capital As It Expands Grcoery Delivery in Brazil, Peru – TechCrunch

The company claims to be the first supermarket in Mexico with no physical store that enables customers to buy groceries directly from its website or an app. It has raised $152m to expand into new cities.

8. The World’s First Genetically Engineered Wheat Is Here – The Breakthrough

Argentina’s new genetically engineered, drought-tolerant wheat could have large environmental benefits.

9. House Passes Bill That Would Inject $42B into Restaurant Revitalization Fund – Restaurant Dive

If HR 3807 passes the Senate, the 177k restaurants that were approved for but didn’t receive RRF grants will be in a queue to receive funding.

10. NY Gov Hochul to Sign Bill Legalizing To-Go Cocktails Until 2025 – Restaurant Dive

The bill applies to restaurants and other retail license holders that sell alcohol on-premises, but requires customers to buy “a substantial food item.”

11. Four Million Dead Chickens Tell Grim Story of Ukrainian Farm – Wall Street Journal

War has hammered the country’s globally important farming sector, and left one poultry plant with a dangerous cleanup.

12. The $120B Global Grain Trade Is Being Redrawn by Russia’s War in Ukraine – Bloomberg

Across Ukraine’s farm belt, silos are bursting with 15m tons of corn from the autumn harvest, most of which should have been hitting world markets.

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The post Politics of Protein, War Hits Ukraine’s Farms + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image source: New York Post

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

At the G-7 Summit, President Biden warned that there could be global food shortages as a result of the Russian invasion, amid rising inflation and lingering supply chain issues.

Meanwhile, a new report found that agrifoodtech startups raised a record $52 billion in 2021, nearly doubling the previous year’s total.

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Biden Warns of ‘Real’ Food Shortage Risk Over Russia’s Invasion into Ukraine – The Hill

President Biden warned Thursday that there could be global food shortages resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and announced steps to prevent a potential crisis.

2. Agrifoodtech Ventures Raised Record $52B in 2021, Nearly Doubling Previous Year’s Total – AFN

That represents an 85% increase over 2020’s $27.8 billion total, indicating the accelerating — and increasingly urgent — demand from investors and consumers for technologies that can enable more sustainable and resilient food systems.

3. Beyond Meat Bets On Vegan Jerky As Initial Product Launch For PepsiCo Partnership – Green Queen

The move represents Beyond’s first foray into shelf-stable products.

4. Turkey: Getir Officially Announces $768M Series E Round, Now at Decacorn $11.8B Valuation – Tech.eu

Across Europe and the US, the company now boasts a network of over 1.1k g-stores and close to 40m app downloads across 9 countries, delivering almost one million orders daily.

5. Indonesian E-Grocery Startup Sayurbox Raises $120M in Series C Funding – Forbes

The startup was founded with the social mission of providing market access to local farmers through the digitization of Indonesia’s agri-supply chain. It currently works with more than 10k farmers.

6. As Sanctions Bite Russia, Fertilizer Shortage Imperils World Food Supply – Reuters

Western sanctions on Russia, a major exporter of potash, ammonia, urea and other soil nutrients, have disrupted shipments of those key inputs around the globe. Growers are scrambling to adjust.

7. To Raise a Fund, This Agtech Outfit Built a Content Company First (Now It Has $60M to Put to Work) – TechCrunch

The capital will go toward AgFunder’s new fund that it expects will reach $100m over the next couple months.

8. Instacart Just Gave Grocery Retailers the Keys to the Castle – Forbes

Instacart’s new offering will allow retailers to essentially white-label many elements of Instacart’s digital and retail operations capabilities – a boon for smaller retailers who lack the capital to invest in building their own omnichannel capabilities.

9. Sustainable Global Consumer Trends and What It Means for Farmers – Evoke

Alpha Foods co-founder and co-CEO Mike Lee observes the top four consumer trends and the opportunity areas for farmers to take charge in designing solutions that will help shape the future of food, which he believes is currently led by celebrity chefs.

10. US Farm Groups Urge Sowing on Protected Land As War Cuts Off Ukraine Supply – Reuters

Farm groups are urging the USDA to allow farmers the ability to plant on acres set aside for conservation, to help fill the absence of Ukrainian corn, wheat and sunflower oil amid Russia’s invasion of the country.

11. Sweetgreen to Open First Drive-Thru in Chicago Suburb – Restaurant Dive

The restaurant will also feature an observation window so customers can watch meal preparation from their cars as they wait to pick up their orders.

12. The Brave New World of Legalized Psychedelics Is Already Here – The Nation

Welcome to the strange new world of “psychedelic capitalism,” where dozens of startups have already raised millions to commercialize psilocybin, DMT, mescaline and LSD–despite the fact that all of these “classic psychedelics” are still ranked as Schedule I drugs.

13. Food Businesses Lose Faith in Instagram After Algorithm Changes – New York Times

Instagram’s choice to prioritize videos over photos creates unforeseen costs for small companies, leaving many owners disheartened.

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The post Ag and Food Tech Startups Raised $52B in 2021, Biden Warns of Food Shortage + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image source: Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

The Netherlands’ House of Representatives has just passed a motion to make cultivated meat samples legal, adding pressure to other countries to define their frameworks ahead of commercial approval.

Meanwhile, the pandemic has  put the impacts of income inequality on stark display and galvanized a movement of farm and food workers to unionize.

Last but not least, Impossible Foods founder Pat Brown is stepping down as CEO, after a roller coaster two years for the plant-based meat industry and amid a recent slump in sales. He will be replaced with Chobani’s departing operating chief, Peter McGuinness.

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. The Netherlands Edges Closer to Cultivated Meat Approval with Samples Now Legalized – Green Queen

Formal acceptance of cultivated technology in the Netherlands adds pressure on other countries to define their frameworks ahead of commercial approval.

2. What a Surge in Union Organizing Means for Food and Farm Workers – Civil Eats

Amid historic protests, walkouts and union votes, the pandemic put the impacts of income inequality on stark display—and galvanized a movement.

3. Impossible Foods Taps Chobani Executive As New CEO, Founder Pat Brown Steps Down – CNBC

Brown will continue working at the company as chief visionary officer and will report to the board. Chobani’s departing operating chief, Peter McGuinness, will take the helm.

4. Sustainable Global Consumer Trends and What It Means for Farmers – Evoke

Alpha Foods co-founder and co-CEO Mike Lee observes the top four consumer trends and the opportunity areas for farmers to take charge in designing solutions that will help shape the future of food, which he believes is currently led by celebrity chefs.

5. Our 2022 Hospitality Forecast – Oyster Sunday

Key shifts that will influence independent operators in the coming year include smaller teams with better benefits, a more thoughtful approach to sourcing and the rise of secondary and tertiary markets.

6. Bowery, Plenty Announce Strawberry Plans on Same Day As Competition Heats Up – AFN

Bowery has started selling strawberries, while Plenty and Driscoll’s plan to commence production of the fruit for the Northeastern US.

7. Shake Shack Tests Bitcoin Rewards to Lure Younger Consumers – Wall Street Journal

Shake Shack is offering the cryptocurrency bitcoin as a reward for purchases made at the burger chain using Cash App, a digital wallet offered by Block Inc.

8. India’s Licious Raises $150M for Its Fresh Animal Protein E-Commerce Platform – TechCrunch

The startup has built a supply chain network across several Indian cities to be able to procure meat and seafood, keep them fresh and deliver within hours of the order.

9. Kenya: African B2B E-Commerce Platform Wasoko Raises $125M in Series B Round – AFN

Wasoko – formerly known as Sokowatch – enables informal grocery retailers to restock and finance their stores via its mobile app.

10. Bear Robotics Targets Restaurant Staffing Shortages with Another $81M Raise – TechCrunch

The company has seen some recent success in the deployment of its system into more restaurants in Japan. In the US, it has partnered with Chili’s, Compass Group, Denny’s, Marriot and Pepsi.

11. Bobbie Drinks Up $50M to Expand Infant Formula Product Line – TechCrunch

The company is currently the only DTC company in the infant formula market and touted as being the first in the US to include organic whole milk.

12. Mori Secures $50M to Advance Its Food Shelf Life Extension Process – Built in Boston

The company uses a process with salt, water and heat to slow the time in which food spoils.

13. Zomato and Blinkit Reach Agreement for Merger – TechCrunch

The acquisition comes at a time when Blinkit has been struggling to raise funds and compete with younger and heavily-based firm Swiggy.

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The post Netherlands Approves Cultivated Meat, Union Organizing Surges + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image source: TIME

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

A study has found that farms that used regenerative agriculture practices such as no-till farming, cover crops and diverse crop rotations produced crops with higher levels of certain vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals than farms using conventional practices.

In other news, President Xi Jinping has referenced alternative proteins in a speech during which he underlined his support for domestic food innovation – a potential boon for China’s alternative protein sector.

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Study Shows Nutritional Benefits in Regenerative Agriculture Crops – World-Grain

Farms that used regenerative agriculture practices such as no-till farming, cover crops and diverse crop rotations produced crops with higher levels of certain vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals than farms using conventional practices.

2. President Xi References China’s Alt-Protein Sector In National Food Security Speech – Green Queen

Speaking at a meeting with agricultural, social welfare and social security sector figureheads, he made statements that positively impact the country’s burgeoning alternative protein industry.

3. Food Companies, Long Symbols of the West in Russia, Pause Operations – New York Times

After years of cultivating the Russian market, McDonald’s, Starbucks, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola said they would temporarily close locations or stop selling products there.

4. Gene-Edited Beef Cattle Receive Regulatory Clearance in the US – Los Angeles Times

The FDA cleared the way for sale of beef from gene-edited cattle, bred to withstand warmer temperatures, in the coming years. Cattle that aren’t stressed by heat might pack on weight more easily, making for more efficient meat production.

5. Impossible Foods Sues Startup Motif FoodWorks for Patent Infringement – CNBC

Impossible Foods is suing Motif FoodWorks for patent infringement, claiming that the startup’s beef alternative that uses heme technology that too closely imitates its own version.

6. Indian Food Delivery Giant Swiggy Eyes $1B IPO – TechCrunch

Swiggy said in January that it had nearly doubled its food delivery business’ gross order value, and Instamart, its instant delivery service, was on track to reach an annual GMV run rate of $1b in the next three quarters.

7. Swiftly Quickly Gets Brick-and-Mortar Stores Set Up to Cater to Online Customers – TechCrunch

The company has raised $100m to expand into new verticals outside of grocery retail, such as beauty, home improvements and sporting goods.

8. AiFi Adds New Funding into Its Cart to Expand Autonomous Retail Footprint – TechCrunch

The startup has raised $65m to launch stores faster and more efficiently – a process that the company can execute within a week.

9. Once Upon a Farm Closes $52M in New Funding – Food Business News

The funding comes on the heels of its acquisition of Raised Reel, a DTC consumer baby food business. It plans to expand its innovation platform and fuel ongoing growth.

10. Finless Foods Bringing Plant-Based Tuna To the Masses, Ramping Up Cell-Cultured Plans with $34M in Series B Funding – Forbes

Next up is finalizing construction of a 11k-sq-ft pilot facility for Finless to scale up production of cell-cultured bluefin tuna for US regulatory approval and sales to consumers.

11. Groundbreaking UN Resolution Connects Animal Welfare and Environmental Sustainability for the First Time – Green Queen

The move is seen as historic and, potentially, a catalyst for widespread governmental action to protect animals and the environment.

12. Relocating Farmland Would Reverse 2 Decades-Worth of CO2 – Green Queen

New research suggests relocating farmland could increase carbon sequestration and biodiversity while reducing freshwater use and minimizing environmental impact.

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The post Study Finds Regen Ag Improves Nutrition, Xi References Alt-Protein for Food Security + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image source: New York Times

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Food is becoming a growing presence in the world of NFTs and the metaverse. The Sims has evolved into a world where players can farm, forage, cook and learn about the many ways people experience food.

Chicago’s Back of the Yard Algae Sciences has developed a cell-cultivated alternative to psychedelics made from toad venom, whose popularity has exploded and had devastating impacts on toad populations and their habitats.

Last but not least, business has boomed during the pandemic for Kroger, but that success has not trickled down to its vast work force of nearly 500,000 employees – a number of whom have reported being homeless, receiving government food stamps or relying on food banks to feed their families.

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. How The Sims Became the Internet’s Most Exciting Place to Eat – New York Times

The 22-year-old life simulation video game has evolved into a world where players can farm, forage, cook and learn about the many ways people experience food.

2. Are Psychedelics the Next Big Trend in Cellular Agriculture? – Green Queen

Chicago’s Back of the Yard Algae Sciences has developed a cellular agriculture alternative to psychedelics made from toad venom from algae heme.

3. The Hidden Ways Companies Raise Prices – Wall Street Journal

Businesses are passing their rising costs on to consumers with new fees, truncated services and reduced contents in packaged goods, which don’t always show up in inflation data.

4. USDA Invests $1B in Climate-Smart Agriculture – Foodtank

The initiative includes cover crops, low-till or no-till farming, agroforestry, rotational grazing and reforestation, among others, as examples of possible climate-smart conservation practices.

5. Business Booms at Kroger-Owned Grocery Stores, but Workers Are Left Behind – New York Times

A number of the stores’ nearly 500k employees have reported being homeless, receiving government food stamps or relying on food banks.

6. Why Famous People Are Joining Food Tech Advisory Boards – Food Dive

Hollywood A-listers including Leonardo DiCaprio and Ashton Kutcher, former government officials and other household names are working with companies, lending their expertise and cachet.

7. 7Shifts Raises $80M in Funding Round – Fast Casual

The platform helps restaurant operators connect all aspects of their HR processes. Investment comes on the heels of a significant year of growth in 2021, adding over 10k locations and over 400k workers to its platform.

8. Endless West Raises $60M to Expand Its Molecular Spirits Technology – Forbes

The company is looking to work with spirits brands of all sizes, to help them cut back on production costs while boosting sustainability. Its investment will double its production capabilities.

9. Empty Shelves Sapped Food Retailers of $82B in CPG Sales Last Year – Food Dive

Lost revenue opportunities peaked during the fall, when surging Covid-19 infections depressed on-shelf availability and pushed unrealized sales to $1.7b per week.

10. It’s Time to Hold Agrifood Corporates Accountable for Their Climate Commitments. This List May Help – AFN

AFN has compiled an extensive list of agrifood corporate climate commitments and pledges such as net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and regenerative ag.

11. Insect Ingredient Producer Raises $57M in Investments – Pet Food Processing

The company develops its sustainable ingredients from the larvae of the black solider fly, which are fed organic waste from the food industry. It plans to use investment to expand internationally and further its R&D into insect-based ingredients.

12. Cooks Venture Announces $50M Investment from PIUS – Meat + Poultry

The investment will help underwrite its proprietary broiler breed, which will expand the genetics program and build out infrastructure.

13. Korea: Envisioning Partners Closes on $64M Fund for Climate Tech Startups – TechCrunch

The firm now has $140m in investments in companies including Novoloop, Circ, Green Li-ion, Reco and Mission Barns.

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The post Food in the Metaverse, Cell-Cultivated Psychedelics + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Forbes

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Alpha Food Labs, our sister company, was commissioned by Beef + Lamb New Zealand and New Zealand Winegrowers to understand the current state and future market potential of regeneratively produced food and wine within the United States, Germany and the UK. The research reveals consumers may be willing to pay more for regeneratively-produced food, especially if science can show it tastes better, is better for people’s health and better for the environment.

The instant grocery delivery space continues to heats up with news of Berlin-based Gorillas’ nearly $1 billion raise led by Delivery Hero. AeroFarms was set to go public after merging with Spring Valley in a SPAC deal that would have valued the company at $1.2 billion, but investors seemed to second guess its potential. Several companies announced substantial investments that will fuel their expansion plans, including plant-based meal service Allplants, frozen coffee startup Cometeer, specialty mushroom supplier Smallhold, QSR chain Blank Street Coffee and cultured breastmilk producer Biomilq.

For over six weeks, 420 workers at the parent company of Deep Eddy Vodka, Elijah Craig, and Evan Williams Bourbon have been on strike over healthcare cost hikes, schedule changes and overtime cuts. The food industry is at risk of another ransomware attack – BlackMatter ransom demands have ranged from $80k to $15m in cryptocurrency.

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Regenerative Agriculture Market Scan & Consumer Insights Report

Alpha Food Labs, our sister company, was commissioned by Beef + Lamb New Zealand and New Zealand Winegrowers to understand the current state and future market potential of regeneratively produced food and wine within the United States, Germany and the UK. The research reveals consumers may be willing to pay more for regeneratively-produced food, especially if science can show it tastes better, is better for people’s health and better for the environment.

2. Germany: Gorillas Grabs ‘Close to’ $1B, Series C Values the On-Demand Grocery Delivery Biz at $2.1B – TechCrunch

Since its founding in June 2020, Gorillas has scaled to operate more than 180 warehouses across its nine international markets.

3. AeroFarms Calls Off SPAC Deal After Funding Dries Up – Food Dive

The vertical farming company was set to go public after merging with Spring Valley in a deal that would have valued the entity at $1.2b, but investors appeared to second-guess its potential.

4. CISA, NSA, FBI Say BlackMatter Ransomware Group Is Targeting the US Food Industry – TechCrunch

An Iowa-based farm service provider and Minnesota-based farm supply and grain marketing cooperative were both hit with ransomware attacks within the past month. BlackMatter ransom demands have ranged from $80k to $15m in cryptocurrency.

5. Why Are Heaven Hill Distillery Workers on Strike? – Forbes

For over six weeks, 420 workers at the parent company of Deep Eddy Vodka, Elijah Craig, and Evan Williams Bourbon have been on strike over healthcare cost hikes, schedule changes and overtime cuts.

6. Eat Just Gets European Safety Approval for Key Ingredient in JUST Egg, Plans European Launch – Green Queen

The milestone sets the groundwork for an initial launch of the vegan JUST Egg in Europe after safety review approval.

7. UK: Allplants Scoops $52M to Deliver More Plant-Based Microwave Meals – TechCrunch

Alplants credits its growth to a rapidly growing flexitarian consumer market — which it says is now worth £10b in the UK alone.

8. Frozen Coffee Startup Cometeer Raises $35M in Latest Funding Round – Food Dive

The coffee market has seen a variety of innovations in recent years, but Cometeer’s use of frozen capsules and its promise of sustainability from its sourcing and packaging could help it stand out as it hopes to expand on a wider scale.

9. Mushroom Boom Leads Brooklyn Grower to Plant Its Organic Farms in the West – Forbes

A $25m series A will help specialty mushroom producer Smallhold go beyond New York and Texas to build a farm in California. Since January, the company has increased production by more than 500%.

10. Blank Street Coffee’s $25M Raise Shows What Big Institutions Want From Food Service: Quality and Convenience – Forbes

The chain currently operates 15 tech-enabled locations throughout New York City, with a goal of expanding to 100 by the end of 2022.

11. Bill Gates Backs Lab-Grown Breastmilk Startup Biomilq Again in $21M Series A – Green Queen

The round will help Biomilq accelerate its plan to launch cell-cultured human breastmilk and disrupt the multibillion dollar infant milk formula industry within the next four years.

12. Instacart Acquires Caper AI, a Smart Cart and Instant Checkout Startup, for $350M, As It Moves Deeper into Physical Retail Tech – TechCrunch

Instacart is paying around $350m for the startup, as part of its expanding B2B2C retail tech strategy. It follows just weeks after the company acquired FoodStorm.

13. Vita Coco Cracks Open a Lukewarm IPO on the Nasdaq – Fast Company

The coconut water maker is battling a deepening field of healthy beverage competitors.

14. Portillo’s Stock Hits the Nasdaq in the Latest High-Profile Restaurant IPO – Fast Company

The fast casual restaurant chain headquartered in Chicago has its sights on Wall Street today. Here’s what to know.

15. McDonald’s Beyond Meat Test Could Be a Game Changer for the Plant-Based Category – Forbes

The test will take place in eight restaurants across the US beginning November 3. The fast food chain has gained a significant amount of momentum with younger customers in the past year thanks to its “famous orders” promotion.

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The post The Cost of Poor Pay and Working Conditions, Ransomware Attacks Target US Food Industry + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Ellen Macarthur Foundation

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

The alternative protein space continued to heat up with this week’s headlines. Impossible Foods is set to launch its plant-based pork product in the US, Hong Kong and Singapore restaurants this Thursday. Cultured meat firms Mosa Meat and Aleph Farms received funding from environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio. Dutch scientists have made cell-based caviar a reality.

Last but not least, the Ellen Macarthur Foundation has released a study explaining how food brands and supermarkets can make nature-positive food in a circular economy the norm.

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Impossible Foods to Launch Meatless Pork in US, Hong Kong and Singapore – CNBC

The ground pork product will first be available in restaurants in the US, Hong Kong and Singapore, with further plans for retail expansion in those markets in the coming months.

2. The Big Food Redesign – Ellen Macarthur Foundation

Food brands and supermarkets have the power to make nature-positive food the norm. The Foundation’s latest study, The big food redesign: Regenerating nature with the circular economy, explains how.

3. Ripple Foods Catches a $60M Funding Wave for New Dairy-Free Products, Global Expansion – Green Queen

Funding will allow Ripple to increase its offerings—vegan cheese and soft serve are in the works—as well as speed expansion plans. It’s currently sold in the US and Canada, but plans are to take it global.

4. Leonardo DiCaprio Invests in Cultivated Meat Firms Mosa Meat and Aleph Farms – Food Navigator

The scale of DiCaprio’s investment was not disclosed. The actor will also serve as an advisor to both companies.

5. Imperfect Foods’ CEO Is Out As the Company Sheds Half Its C-Suite and Faces Rounds of Layoffs – Business Insider

Imperfect Foods’ grocery sales skyrocketed during the pandemic. Now CEO Philip Behn has left as the company lays employees off.

6. Netherlands: Dutch Scientists Are Making Cell-Based Caviar A Reality – Green Queen

Researchers are developing what they will call Magiccaviar, a cell-cultured fish roe product made from in vitro grown oocytes.

7. Sunday Raises $100M for Its Fast Restaurant Checkout Flow – TechCrunch

The startup has developed a checkout system for physical restaurants using QR codes.

8. Robot-Powered Indoor Farming Startup Iron Ox Raises $53M, Gears Up to Open 535K-Sq-Ft Facility in Texas Later This Year – Food Navigator

The company worked on drone delivery at Google before exploring robot-powered greenhouses. Its new facility will become operational later this year.

9. Israel: Autonomous Farming Startup Blue White Robotics Raises $37M Series B Funding – AFN

Blue White Robotics’ platform combines robotic tractors with management software so that one human can control a fleet of autonomous vehicles to fulfill a number of different farming tasks.

10. HumanCo Gets $35M and Buys Gluten-Free Pizza Maker Against the Grain – Food Dive

The better-for-you holding company’s latest funding round is full of notable investors ranging from Indra Nooyi to Cindy Crawford.

11. UK: London’s Jiffy Scoops $28M for Speedy Grocery Delivery – TechCrunch

The grocery delivery startup operates a network of its own dark stores to do fulfillment, enabling it to offer groceries in 15 minutes. It currently has eight London stores–now with the funds to expand.

12. ‘Crowdfarming’ Platform Steward Raises $8.8M in Series A Round – AFN

The startup partners with sustainable farming enterprises and other food producers to help them access working capital for their businesses.

13. How Aqua Cultured Foods Plans to Own the Whole Cut Seafood Analog Space – Food Dive

The startup uses a combination of fermentation techniques to make products that have a look, texture and nutritional profile similar to those from animals.

14. White Striping Disease Hits 99% of US Supermarket Chicken – Bloomberg

The illness is driven by the extreme conditions of factory farming. Chickens with white striping have fat content that is 224% higher than those without the affliction, decreasing the meat’s protein content by 9%.

15. New York Passes Sweeping Bills to Improve Conditions for Delivery Workers – New York Times

A package of legislation from the City Council set minimum pay and working conditions, placing New York at the forefront of regulating a multibillion-dollar industry.

16. Asia’s Food Spending Is Set to Double to More Than $8T by 2030 – CNBC

Food spending in the region will hit more than $8 trillion by the start of the next decade–up from $4t in 2019–becoming the world’s largest food and beverage market.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post Leonardo Dicaprio Invests in Cultured Meat, Big Food Redesign, Cultured Caviar + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.