This past December, we partnered with S2G Ventures and gathered over 370 entrepreneurs, executives, investors and industry professionals for an interactive discussion exploring the future of food retail with Walter Robb, former co-CEO of Whole Foods Market and Audre Kapacinskas, VP of S2G Ventures. The conversation explored how retailers might leverage cutting edge technologies and stakeholder-focused business models to build a 21st century food system.

Some of the key topics we discussed:

• What they learned in 2020 that transformed the way they think about food retail.
• If they were to start over, how they would design a 21st century grocery store to better serves all stakeholders.
• Overview of S2G Ventures’ thesis on content, commerce and community shape the future of retail over the next 5 years, and the most promising areas for investment.
• How automation, robotics, omni-channel and smart fulfillment will impact retail, as well as how retailers should be thinking about technology adoption.
• New opportunities that might be unlocked across the value chain by tapping into increased e-commerce data about people’s shopping behaviors and preferences.
• What leading with heart means for the food industry.

We also explored some great questions from the community, including:

• John Foraker, CEO of Once Upon a Farm: How do you see conflict between every store becoming an online distribution center and consumer desire for retailer theater and in-store experience playing out?
• Peter Droste, Independent Experience Designer: What do you do specifically to practice and cultivate your agility and curiosity?
• Mike Hotz, Business Developer of Carma Chocolates at Barry Callebaut: What chances do you see for small producers in micro fulfillment solutions bypassing traditional retail?
• Mike Lee, Co-CEO of Alpha Food Labs: Where do we find the sweet spot in our food system between large, consolidated production models and smaller, more decentralized production models?
• Harry Rhodes, Executive Director of Food Animal Concerns: How can farmers get their fair share by selling through retail? How can we make it worth it for them to work with retailers?
• Andrew Mayne, Senior Associate Director of Culinary Arts at Stanford University: Do you think the retail companies of the future need to have a different ownership structure, a move towards community based ownership or co-op based ownership?

Join us For the Reimagining Food Retail Conversation Series

This was the first in our new Reimagining Food Retail Conversations, a series of discussions exploring how this unprecedented moment in time will shape food retail over the next five years that we’re co-hosting with S2G Ventures. Our goal is to create a space for stakeholders from farm to fork to come together to discuss how we might fundamentally reimagine food retail to make it more resilient, equitable, accessible, diverse, delicious, healthful and climate-smart.

Join us for the rest of the series from January 21 – February 18 where we will be exploring how we might reimagine grocery for discovery, resilience and to better serve all stakeholders. For our conversation on January 21, we will be joined by Vanessa Pham, co-Founder of Omsom, Jeremiah McElwee, chief merchandising officer at Thrive Market, and Katie Marston, chief marketing officer at Once Upon a Farm, and Tonya Bakritzes, SVP of marketing at S2G Ventures, to explore the various new approaches retailers and emerging brands are taking for customer acquisition and discovery.

You will also be able to participate in ongoing conversation with the community through our slack group. RSVP for Reimagining Food Retail today!

Bonus: What People Are Reading to Self Educate Themselves

There was a great discussion in the chat about what people are reading right now to self educate themselves. Here are some of the books and articles mentioned:

• S2G’s The Future of Food: Through The Lens of Retail Report
• Audre’s Blog Post: S2G Ventures on the Future of Food Retail
• Conscious Leadership, by John Mackey
• On Food and Cooking – The Science and Lore of The Kitchen, By Harold McGee
• Let My People Go Surfing, by Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia
• We Fed an Island by Jose Andres
• The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success, by Albert-László Barabási (read community member Allison Geller’s summary)
• Salesforce acquires Slack, DeepMind’s AlphaFold breakthrough, Trust Fund Socialists & more
• Know when to fold ’em: How a company best known for playing games used A.I. to solve one of biology’s greatest mysteries

The post Walter Robb & S2G’s Audre Kapacinskas on the Future of Food Retail [Video] appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

We’re at the beginning of a new food revolution. COVID-19 has shone a light on the vulnerabilities across our food system and created an imperative to reimagine what is possible. In the face of the pandemic, eaters have begun demanding greater diversity, transparency, health, safety, convenience and accessibility in our food supply. This new reality is changing the relationship between retailers, brands and eaters, while also accelerating innovation and the adoption of technology across every part of the value chain.  

We are thrilled to be partnering with S2G Ventures to bring the best and brightest minds together to understand how this unprecedented moment in time might shape food retail over the next five years. Using S2G’s recently released The Future of Food: Through the Lens of Retail Report as a framework, we will be hosting a 4-part interactive conversation series exploring how innovations in commerce, content and community will transform the industry. Our goal is to create a platform for discussion and collaboration, a place for people from diverse backgrounds from farm to fork to come together to explore how we might create a more resilient, equitable, diverse, delicious, healthful and climate smart future.

How to Participate

We’re creating a platform for discussion and collaboration, a place for people from diverse backgrounds from farm to fork to come together to explore how we might create a more resilient, equitable, diverse, delicious, healthful and climate-smart future.

You can attend individual sessions or purchase an all access pass, which gives you access to our dedicated community Slack channel where you will be able to connect with others to discuss how to navigate the evolving grocery retail world.

All of our conversations are highly interactive and include 45 minutes of live Q&A with our speakers via Zoom.

Virtual Conversations

Walter Robb & S2G Ventures on The Future of Retail | December 10, 2020 |  2-3:30p ET [Free Event]

Join Walter Robb, former co-CEO of Whole Foods Market and executive in residence at S2G Ventures, Audre Kapacinskas, vice president at S2G Ventures, and Danielle Gould, founder of Food+Tech Connect, for a conversation about how retailers might leverage cutting edge technologies and stakeholder-focused business models to build a 21st century food system grounded in trust that better connects consumers to their food.

View the full video from the discussion here.

Content: Reimagining Discovery | January 21, 2021 | 12:00-1:30p ET

In response to the panic buying of March 2020, retailers began to rethink what they put on their shelves. They prioritized the essentials, and larger, established brands over smaller, emerging ones. In a pandemic era grocery store, demos and other tried and true in store marketing techniques no longer work, which has further hurt emerging brands. Today, brands are being forced to rethink how they find and attract customers. This conversation will explore the various new approaches emerging brands are taking for customer acquisition and discovery.

Speakers:

• Vanessa Pham, Co-Founder at Omsom
• Jeremiah McElwee, Chief Merchandising Officer at Thrive Market
• Katie Marston, Chief Marketing Officer at Once Upon a Farm
• Kelsey Formost, Director of Content Strategy at Tagger Media
• Tonya Bakritzes, SVP of Marketing at S2G Ventures

Community: Reimagining Grocery To Better Serve All Stakeholders | February 4, 2021 | 12:00-1:30p ET

The US’s top 20 grocery stores represent over 70% of the retail market. They are gatekeepers of our food supply chain and have had profound impacts on what food is produced and by whom, as well as the health and wellbeing of their staff and communities. This discussion will explore how retailers might better support all of their stakeholders (ie their customers / neighborhood, employees, brands, farmers, etc.) needs around transparency, equity, diversity, health and sustainability. We’ll also look at the ways digitization and digital storytelling are changing retailers’ responsibility to and their relationship with their stakeholders.

Confirmed Speakers:

• Errol Schweizer, Host of The Checkout Podcast, Co-Founder, Board Member For Natural Products Retail and CPG, Writer at Forbes.com and Former Whole Foods VP of Grocery
• Sam Polk, CEO at Everytable
• Gerardo Reyes Chavez, Key Leader at Coalition of Immokalee Workers
• Greg Asbed, Co-Founder at Coalition of Immokalee Workers
• Jessica Murphy, Business Development Manager at S2G Ventures

Commerce: Reimagining Grocery For Resilience | February 18, 2021 | 12:00-1:30p ET

The pandemic has expanded how and where we shop. Conventional grocery retail initially struggled to meet the demand shock caused by pantry loading. Consequently, many consumers turned to online grocers, meal-kits, farm e-commerce sites and other delivery services that were once seen as niche. In this discussion, we will examine how some of these food retailers have pivoted business models or adapted supply chains to enable them to be more resilient and better serve their customers’ needs around convenience. We will also examine what may have staying power as conventional retailers invest in omni-channel and smart fulfillment strategies to solve the last mile.

Confirmed Speakers:

• Jody Kalmbach, Group Vice President, Product Experience at The Kroger Co.
• Birgit Cameron, Head of Patagonia Provisions
• Rob Twyman, Executive Vice President at Whole Foods Market
• Moderated by Walter Robb, EIR at S2G Ventures

The post Introducing The Reimagining Food Retail Conversation Series appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Our soil is in crisis. Nearly a third of our soil has already been degraded, and the UN estimates we only have 60 years left of topsoil left if we continue with current farming practices. With 95% of our food grown in soil, it’s clear that we need a radical change.

Enter Regenerative Agriculture, a farming approach aiming to rebuild soil health and farming communities, while also supporting carbon sequestration and reversing climate change. There is a lot of excitement about the potential for regenerative agriculture to transform our food system, with major industry players like General Mills, Applegate and Patagonia all investing in regenerative agriculture. Yet it is still very much the wild west.

Join us at Regenerative AgTech, in partnership with Applegate’s THE NEW FOOD COLLECTIVE,  WeWork Food Labs and AgFunder, to learn about the current state of regenerative agriculture and how technology is helping farmers rebuild and nourish their soil. The Rodale Institute, Indigo Ag, PastureMap and OpenTEAM will give a deep dive into their business models, technologies and certifications.

PastureMap will share how their cattle analytics software can help reward ranchers who are growing beef more regeneratively, OpenTEAM will explain how their open data platform arms farmers with the best possible knowledge to improve soil health and Indigo Ag will show how they are working to improve grower profitability, environmental sustainability and consumer health through the use of natural microbiology and digital technologies.

You’ll also demo cutting edge technologies and sample innovative food & beverages from YOLÉLÉ FOODS, Plovgh and more.

Do you have a food or beverage product you’d like to sample at this event? Apply here: https://bit.ly/34394KD

SCHEDULE:

6 – 7:30pm: Networking, tech demos and food and beverage sampling

7:30 – 9pm: Presentations + Q&A

9 – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:

Alison Etheridge, Manager, Systems Innovation, Indigo Ag

Indigo Ag improves grower profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health through the use of natural microbiology and digital technologies. Utilizing beneficial plant microbes and agronomic insights, Indigo works with growers to sustainably produce high quality harvests. The company then connects growers and buyers directly to bring these harvests to market. Working across the supply chain, Indigo is furthering its mission of harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet. The company is headquartered in Boston, MA, with additional offices in Memphis, TN, Research Triangle Park, NC, Sydney, Australia, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and São Paulo, Brazil.

Christine Su, CEO & Co-Founder, PastureMap

Christine is the CEO and co-founder of PastureMap, a startup helping farmers and ranchers raise regenerative meat that heals people and the planet. Christine founded PastureMap to empower farmers and ranchers with the information they need to run their operations more profitably and resiliently. PastureMap is ranching software that helps ranchers implement regenerative grazing practices, and tracks soil carbon and biodiversity data so they can get rewarded for climate friendly practices. We are building the information backbone of a regenerative meat industry. At PastureMap, we have invested in statewide partnerships with the USDA, Point Blue Conservation Science, and Zero Foodprint to build soil carbon data into PastureMap’s software, to reward farmers for improving soil health.

Dorn Cox PhD, Research Director, Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment and Director of OpenTEAM

Dr. Dorn Cox serves as research director at Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment, a pioneer and leader in regenerative agriculture, a nonprofit research and education center, and a working organic farm on 600 acres of conserved land on the coast of Maine. Dorn also serves as the Director of OpenTEAM, or Open Technology Ecosystem for Agricultural Management, a farmer-driven, interoperable platform to provide farmers around the world with the best possible knowledge to improve soil health. Dorn is also a founder of the FarmOS software platform, the GOAT (Gathering for Open Ag Tech) and Farm Hack community, he is passionate about sharing open source agricultural tools, ideas information and inspiration to accelerate innovation and quantify environmental services from regenerative agriculture.

Jeff Tkach, Chief Growth Officer, Rodale Institute

Rodale Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to pioneering organic farming through research and outreach. For more than seventy years, we’ve been researching the best practices of organic agriculture and sharing our findings with farmers and scientists throughout the world, advocating for policies that support farmers, and educating consumers about how going organic is the healthiest options for people and the planet.

PARTNERS:

 Presenting

For over 30 years, Applegate has been producing high-quality natural and organic hot dogs, bacon, sausages, deli meats, cheese and frozen products. Our products are made without GMO ingredients and we source our meat from farms, where animals are treated with care and respect and are allowed to grow at their natural rate, all part of our mission – Changing The Meat We Eat®. Natural can mean many things, but to us natural means that the meat inside our products are: From animals raised humanely without antibiotics, hormones or growth promotants; from animals fed a vegetarian or 100% grass diet; free of added chemical nitrites, nitrates or phosphates; and free of artificial ingredients or preservatives. In February 2019, Applegate launched THE NEW FOOD COLLECTIVE, a new premium brand that sources pasture-raised meats from farms using regenerative practices to create  culinary-inspired food from small batch production methods.

Supporting

WeWork Food Labs is building a community of entrepreneurs, industry experts and investors to fix food, now and for the future. A workspace and global platform, Food Labs is dedicated to startups impacting the future of sustainable food.

AgFunder is an online venture capital firm investing in transformational agri-foodtech entrepreneurs that uses technology, media, and network effects to support its investments. It also publishes AFN (AgFunderNews), a news site reporting from the front lines of the food revolution.

Friends

Like our namesake borough, the Brooklyn Brewery is made up of a rich collection of characters from all over the world. In our Williamsburg home, these characters are dedicated to brewing and selling great beer and enriching the communities we serve. Together, these Brooklyners have assembled the skills needed to transform a home brewing hobby into an independent brewery with a brand that has become an international beacon for good beer.

Edible Manhattan tells the story of how the city eats. Along with otherEdible New York properties, we are part of a national network of Edibles across North America. We chronicle how the region eats. Through editorial and at events where our stories come to life, we celebrate the people who are building the sort of food culture we want—one that’s diverse, accessible, sustainable and delicious.

The post Announcing Regnerative AgTech appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Technology promises to transform the restaurant industry. From talent management and personalization platforms to ghost kitchens and corporate catering marketplaces, startups are aiming to help restaurants improve operations and increase revenue. How do these technologies and new operational models work? What do they actually mean for restaurants?

Join us for What’s Next in Restaurant Tech at WeWork HQ for a deep dive into Zuul, Harri and HUNGRY’s business models, technologies, challenges and lessons learned. You’ll also be able to network with the community, demo cutting edge restaurant technologies and sample innovative food & beverages.

Explore cutting edge technologies from The.Fit, Plate IQ, ItsaCheckmate, BentoBox and OpenTable. Enjoy tasty bites and drinks from Hella Cocktail, Element Farms, Mosaic Foods and more.

Do you have a food or beverage product you’d like to sample  at this event? Apply here!

SCHEDULE:

6 – 7:30pm: Networking, tech demos and food and beverage sampling

7:30 – 9pm: Presentations + Q&A

9 – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:

Corey Mancione, Co-Founder & CEO, Zuul 

Corey is co-founder and CEO of Zuul, a turnkey solution for well-known restaurant brands, allowing effortless growth and new market share through access to a network of delivery only shared kitchen establishments. Before founding Zuul, Corey grew up in a family that owned and operated restaurants. In 2015 Corey was fortunate to be the first employee at Relay Delivery where he served as the Director of Sales and helped develop the optimal delivery playbook for restaurants in NYC. Today, Corey leverages his knowledge of the restaurant delivery scene and over-arching industry to help restaurants expand into new markets faster than they ever imagined possible.

Sean Fitzgibbons, Co-Founder & COO, Zuul
Sean worked in the food technology space, where he served as Director of Channel Growth with San Francisco based Zipongo, a digital nutrition platform that manages and reduces chronic disease by making it easy to eat well. Today, Sean acts as COO of Zuul, where he leverages his knowledge of the food tech space and experience in strategic partnership development to design initiatives that drive growth and ensure restaurant brand success.

Luke Fryer, Founder & CEO, Harri

Luke developed Harri to solve the hospitality industry’s greatest challenges: finding, hiring and managing great talent. Harri is an entirely new kind of software platform for HR and operations: Workforce OS. Broad in scope, narrow in vertical focus and deep in rich, industry-specific functionality as a result. Harri consolidates up to 30 fragmented point solutions into single, elegant, mobile first enterprise platform and massively streamlines the chore of daily operational challenges faced by employees, line managers and executives alike.

Eman Pahlavani, Founder & COO, HUNGRY

In 2017 Eman founded HUNGRY, a DC based food-tech platform that connects independent chefs to offices for corporate catering. HUNGRY recently closed an $8 million dollar series A with backing from Motley Fool Ventures, Sands Capital, and Marcy Venture Partners (Jay-z’s Venture fund). Today HUNGRY operates in 5 cities and will be in 20 cities by the end of 2020.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

WeWork Food Labs is building a community of entrepreneurs, industry experts and investors to fix food, now and for the future. A workspace and global platform, Food Labs is dedicated to startups impacting the future of sustainable food.

OpenTable: We love what can happen around the restaurant table. Since 1998, we’ve been committed to empowering that experience. From helping restaurants grow and run their businesses, to enabling diners to discover and book the perfect table every time they dine, our story is one of connection—among diners, restaurants, and their communities. Every month, OpenTable diners write more than 1 million restaurant reviews. Our network connects diners with more than 51,000 restaurants worldwide and finds restaurants for more than 28 million diners each month.

James Beard Foundation: For more than 30 years, the James Beard Foundation has highlighted the centrality of food culture in our daily lives. Through the James Beard Awards, unique dining experiences at the James Beard House and around the country, scholarships, hands-on learning, and a variety of industry programs that educate and empower leaders in our community, the Foundation has built a platform for chefs and asserted the power of gastronomy to drive behavior, culture, and policy change around food.

METRO Xcel is a program for later stage startups in the restaurant and hospitality-tech sector. Run by METRO, Europe’s predominant club wholesale grocer, on a quarterly basis, the program provides later stage founders with the necessary tools to scale fast and sustainably while also unlocking access to several sales channels. Applications are open now. Learn more and apply: www.metroaccelerator.com

Brooklyn Brewery: Like our namesake borough, the Brooklyn Brewery is made up of a rich collection of characters from all over the world. In our Williamsburg home, these characters are dedicated to brewing and selling great beer and enriching the communities we serve. Together, these Brooklyners have assembled the skills needed to transform a home brewing hobby into an independent brewery with a brand that has become an international beacon for good beer.

Edible Manhattan tells the story of how the city eats. Along with other Edible New York properties, we are part of a national network of Edibles across North America. We chronicle how the region eats. Through editorial and at events where our stories come to life, we celebrate the people who are building the sort of food culture we want—one that’s diverse, accessible, sustainable and delicious.

The post What’s Next in Restaurant Tech appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Alternative proteins are increasingly becoming a staple of modern day diets. Consumer demand for ethical, sustainable and healthy sources of protein has fueled a growth in investment and innovation in meat and dairy substitutes. In the U.S. alone, sales of plant-based meats grew over 23%, exceeding $760 million in 2018. The global plant-based protein market is projected to reach $5 billion by 2020.

Meanwhile, startups are vying to get the first cell-cultured meat to market. Companies like Tyson and Cargill are investing in the technology that threatens to upend the $90 billion meat industry. Recently, the FDA and USDA announced a plan to regulate the nascent industry, which is poised to reach restaurants by the end of this year.

Join us to hear from Founders and CEOs of companies that are creating sustainable protein alternatives at our April Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models and technologies. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Ocean Hugger Foods, Sophie’s Kitchen, Nonfood, AKUA, Merci Mercado, We Are the New Farmers, Ulli’s Oil Mill, Brave, Kapka Foods and more.

SCHEDULE:
6 – 7:30pm: Networking + Company Showcase
7:30 – 9pm: Presentations + Q&A
9pm – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:
Courtney Boyd Myers, Co-Founder & CEO, AKUA
Courtney Boyd Myers (aka CBM) is the co-founder and CEO of AKUA, a modern brand on a mission to become a household name for sustainable, seagreens-based foods, starting with its first product “Kelp Jerky” – a vegan, high-protein, high-fiber, keto-friendly snack that’s free of soy and gluten. She also serves as an advisor to GreenWave, the Global Community Director at Summit, and a partner at Unframed Ice Cream. In 2018, CBM was listed as one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business”.

Gavin McIntyre, Co-Founder & Director, Ecovative
Gavin co-founded Ecovative in 2007 to solve environmental challenges through biology. Ecovative helps companies use its mycelium-based technology to create scaffolding structures for plant-based and cell-based food applications, biodegradable packaging materials, animal-free leather and more. Gavin oversaw research and development during the company’s early product launches, now he leads business development, growing a network of international mycelium-material partners. Gavin is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where his studies in mechanical engineering and social design led to his passion for building home-spun bioreactors in which he has cultivated everything from oysters to orchids.

Brian Rudolph, Co-Founder & CEO, Banza
Brian Rudolph is the co-founder & CEO of Banza. Banza is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of nutritious comfort foods. Banza’s first product, a pasta made out of chickpeas, is the fastest selling pasta in both Whole Foods and Target. The pasta was named one of TIME’s 25 Best Inventions of the Year, and has been endorsed by the New York Times, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and Good Morning America. Today, the product is available in over 11,000 stores. As a company, Banza has cultivated one of the most engaged social media followings in the industry. Brian received his BBA from Emory University and is an alumnus of the Venture for America fellowship. He is a member of the Inc 30 under 30 and Forbes 30 under 30 lists.

PARTNERS

WeWork Food Labs is a workspace and global platform dedicated to startups impacting the future of food. It supports innovators across the food ecosystem, including companies working in AI, robotics, kitchen appliances, supply chain, ag tech, distribution software, consumer goods, hospitality and beyond.

Thanks to the Brooklyn Brewery for keeping us hydrated

The post Rethinking Protein appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

As over 90,000 food industry professionals packed the halls of the Anaheim Convention Center last week looking for the next big thing in CPG, three leaders from General Mills, Applegate and Kuli Kuli came together on stage to discuss one of the biggest emerging themes shaping the future of our food: biodiversity.

Promoting biodiversity — defined as the variety and variability of plants, animals, and micro-organisms in a system — is a key priority for each of these companies, and it’s a key element within the broader regenerative agriculture movement.

In the panel, moderated by Danielle Gould, founder of Food+Tech Connect, and hosted by General Mills, Food+Tech Connect and The Future Market, the group dove deeper into what it means to support biodiversity, the benefits it has to people and planet, and the opportunities to help consumers recognize and support the value of a more biodiverse, regenerative agricultural system.

The Panelists (l to r): Danielle Gould, Food+Tech Connect; Gina Asoudegan, Applegate; Shauna Sadowski, General Mills; Lisa Curtis, Kuli Kuli.

Why Biodiversity Matters 

“Every meal we sit down and eat, we are making choices,” proclaimed Shauna Sadowski, Head of Sustainability for the General Mills Natural & Organic Operating Unit. ”So when you put your meal down in front of you, how diverse is your plate?”

Eating a more diverse diet can certainly make meals more interesting and nutritionally complete, but it can also send a message to food producers that there’s demand for more than just the 12 plants and 5 animal species that make up 75 percent of our world’s food. Our heavily consolidated food supply not only concentrates food security risk, but it also ignores a wealth of interesting and nourishing foods that can benefit eaters everywhere.

For Kuli Kuli, introducing Americans to the wonders of Moringa is one way to help diversify our food system. Moringa, a nutrient dense food grown in the tropics, grows readily in tough environmental conditions and is a crop that improves nutrition and livelihoods worldwide. The company’s Moringa-based products, which range from smoothie mixes to energy shots, make it easy for eaters to enjoy this green superfood, but it also brings a lot of value to the ecosystem and communities where it comes from.

“Most of the farmers we work with have never exported anything before,” said Lisa Curtis, Founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli. “We help them figure out the technical aspects in order to get [Moringa] up to American processing standards.”

Kuli Kuli sources its Moringa — which grows with minimal water and in hot, sandy soils — from places like Ghana, Uganda, and Haiti to name a few, and it has worked hard to make sure those who grow this food have sustainable economic growth and nutritional security. Creating demand for previously lesser known products like Moringa builds diversity in our diets while acting as a boon to developing communities where it has become a more dependable source of income.

For General Mills, biodiversity is both about ensuring healthy ecosystems and a healthy business and food supply. “Beyond mitigating economic risk associated with threats like crop disease, pests, and climate shocks, biodiversity benefits effective ecosystem functioning, and in turn, ensures sustained yields over time,” wrote Sadowski.

“As a food company, we rely on the stable availability of agricultural ingredients,” Sadowski continued. “Our efforts to foster biodiversity balance the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit.”

That triple bottom line benefit is the core of why increasing biodiversity is so valuable to the food system. In fact, General Mills is leaning in heavily to the idea, as it recently announced that it will be applying regenerative agriculture practices to 1 million acres of farmland by the year 2030.

Building a Farmer-Led Movement

Regenerative agriculture and biodiverse systems bring the farmer back into the forefront, especially in CPG where the brand has historically been the center of attention. Curtis emphasized that food biodiversity is not just about introducing a new ingredient to our palates, but about empowering communities around the world to actively participate in the global food system, thereby bringing them into the spotlight and diversifying the kinds of people who grow our food.

Gina Asoudegan, Vice President of Mission & Innovation at Applegate, added: “regenerative, biodiverse agriculture, to me, does not just mean the soil and the microbiology that’s there, but also the farm and the farming community.”

Supporting biodiversity and regenerative agriculture means giving a much louder voice to the farmers, who have a far more intimate relationship with the soil and environment in which our food is grown and can use that knowledge to guide product innovation.

Typically, manufacturers set the agenda on what is grown and how, with farmers having to follow their customer’s lead. This mentality is shifting at companies like General Mills, Applegate, and Kuli Kuli, and there’s been a stronger effort to elevate and tell the stories of farmers as the true innovators, entrepreneurs, and change-makers. In a sense, CPG is taking a page from the “farm to table” playbook that restaurants have been doing for decades, treating farmers more like partners versus mere suppliers.

“[Farmers should] tell us what’s good for the farmland and then we will take those foods and create products around them,” said Asoudegan, with a round of applause from the audience that followed.

This approach is evident in Applegate’s newly launched the New Food Collective, “a community of farmers, butchers, and eaters who champion real and delicious food.” The first product from that initiative is a line of sausages made from regenerative, pasture raised pigs. Letting those pigs roam and graze the woods and fields builds healthy soil, improves water retention, and builds biodiversity on the land, but also creates incredibly flavorful meat. So much so that the product line won a Nexty Award for Best New Mission-Based Product at this year’s Expo West show.

A key part of the General Mills approach to biodiversity and regenerative agriculture is forging closer ties with its farmers. “We want people to know that regenerative agriculture is a farmer led movement and we need to use our scale to amplify that message to consumers,” noted Sadowski.

The company has been hosting an ongoing series of farmer roundtables as one of the ways to listen more closely to its farmers. One outcome from this collaboration is a Regenerative Agriculture scorecard, which acts as a framework for how to reach key outcomes such as soil health, above ground biodiversity, and economic resilience in farming communities. General Mills designed the scorecard alongside farmers, scientists, and other experts and actively solicits feedback to iterate and ensure user-friendliness and value to farmers.

But while the farmer-manufacturer collaborations have largely been fruitful so far, there are still more opportunities at this stage to expand these types of relationships and make the transition to regenerative practices easier for farmers everywhere.

During audience Q&A, a farmer solemnly raised his hand to critique the move toward more regenerative, biodiverse practices spurred on by manufacturers. He mentioned that while he already knows how to grow food in a regenerative way, he isn’t always compensated for that additional effort and as a result, can’t farm that way right now.

While he didn’t state any official connection to any of the manufacturers on the panel, it was clear that there was still more work to further incentivize farmers like him to shift toward a more regenerative model.

The panel was quick to respond emphatically to the farmer with heartfelt reassurances that they are very focused on the needs of the farmer and building sufficient market demand so they can be appropriately compensated for cultivating a better product. There was a palpable sense of empathy for farmers and all that they go through to make our food.

“People are part of this system, so how do we change the economic models to make this way of farming viable for them?” said Asoudegan. “I am your people!”

75% of our food comes from just 12 plants and 5 animal species: Mike Lee of The Future Market introduces the panel.

Making the Case to Eaters

Listening closely to farmers and being attune to the needs of the land are only half the battle for food manufacturers. They still need to translate the value of biodiversity and regenerative agriculture to everyday consumers, which are critical to creating the financial incentives necessary to shift supply chains. These agricultural values are not yet recognized and valued by mainstream consumers on a large scale, so the industry has a lot more to learn and do to raise awareness.

“When we first started talking about crop rotations, integrated livestock management, and perennial systems…how many of our consumers understood what that meant?” said Sadowski. She also alluded to the fact that the way Annie’s communicated the regenerative benefits of some of its product lines has evolved, and will continue to evolve, as they find out what messages work and don’t work with consumers.

“We are still learning about how to talk about this,” said Sadowski. “We’re looking at the ways we are bringing the topic to people without overly beating them on the head with it. The package is one place where we can communicate, but we also have a lot of other areas.”

Similarly, Curtis recalled times when the environmental benefits of her main ingredient didn’t immediately translate into incremental sales for Kuli Kuli.

“We did consumer tests at farmers market around Moringa trees and how they’re great for soil and for the planet, but found that people would come talk to us for 30 minutes and then walk away without buying anything,” she said. “We found that we were putting people in this non-profit state of mind where they were interested at a high level but did not make the connection of ‘oh, I can make this impact if I buy this product.’”

And therein lies the crucial challenge and opportunity for the movement: how do manufacturers convince consumers at scale that biodiverse, regeneratively grown food is something they should prefer and likely pay a premium for?

It was evident that each company had a strong blueprint and much progress to show for how to create a biodiverse, regenerative production system. But as a still growing movement, there’s a significant challenge ahead to bring the ideas espoused by the panelists to the everyday eater who may not immediately understand how these agricultural methods translate into a differentiated food product.

Just down the hall from the ballroom we were sitting in, some of the more than 3,000 food brands at Expo West were evangelizing a litany of “on-trend” features of the moment: keto, CBD, probiotics, and more. Naturally, these products appeal first and foremost to tried and true needs of the individual: lose weight, ease pain, stay healthy, and so on. Whether those products can fulfil the promises they make is a whole other topic in and of itself, but regardless, it’s hard to ignore the fact that these selfish pursuits have created an enormous financial opportunity for food brands of all sizes.

Juxtaposed against this sea of products vying to meet the most visceral, highly personal needs, the challenge in the coming years for the regenerative agriculture movement is to build the case for the question that every consumer implicitly asks of their food: what’s in it for me?

The case is compelling for how biodiversity and regenerative agriculture can benefit the planet and the people who grow our food. But can the industry make a stronger connection between these methods and how they directly make more delicious, more nutritious food? Can they tell a story of how food grown this way can deliver on the trifecta of being better for people, planet, and palate? Or are the altruistic benefits enough, and the increasingly progressive food consumer will support the regenerative movement solely for the sake of the planet and farmers, with less regard for their own personal benefit?

These are significant questions, and how the industry answers them will set the pace of scale for biodiversity and regenerative agriculture in the coming years. But hearing from the pragmatically ambitious and accomplished panelists and the companies they represent, one is left with the confidence and optimism that the future of our food system is in good hands.

To learn more about the current and future state of biodiversity and what the industry is doing, read our ongoing editorial series and check out more info on the future of biodiversity at The Future Market.

The post Food Biodiversity at Expo West 2019 appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms promise to transform the food industry. Innovative startups are leveraging these technologies to change the way we produce, distribute and consume food — from early plant disease detection to streamlining product development and consumer insights. What is A.I.? How does it actually work? How are companies leveraging it and why?

Join us to hear from CEOs and COOs of companies that are building intelligence platforms from the farm to plate at our March Food+Tech Meetup, A.I. in Food. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models and technologies. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Bad Apple Produce, Artisan Revere, Silly Chilly Hot Sauce, Element Farms, Atina Foods, Halla.io, Culinairy Labs + More

Have an innovative product you’d like to share? Apply through our application here: https://bit.ly/2AXzYHa

SCHEDULE:
6 – 7:30pm: Networking + Company Showcase
7:30 – 9pm: Presentations + Q&A
9pm – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:
Alon Chen, CEO & Co-Founder, Tastewise
Tastewise leverages AI to tap into the culinary consciousness that drives the world’s freshest food and beverage insights. Our platform analyzes billions of food data points – including menus, home recipes and social media – to provide real-time insights for restaurants, hospitality groups, and food brands. Capturing food innovation and observed consumer needs, Tastewise equips industry professionals to identify target segments and competitors, understand emerging trends, and determine which dishes or products should be served next. A senior Google executive for close to a decade, Alon Chen has a wealth of experience in leveraging AI and big data across technology, business and marketing. During his time at Google, Alon initiated and launched the Google Partners channel program in 27 countries, on-boarding 60,000 partners worldwide. Alon also served as Google’s Chief Marketing Officer for Israel and Greece and led the company’s relationship with the World Economic Forum. As Chief Business Officer for Voyager Labs, an AI and cognitive deep learning company funded by Oracle, Alon developed and led their AI marketing-tech eCommerce solution.

Riana Lynn, Founder, Journey Foods
Riana is the founder of Journey Foods, an AI-powered platform that helps support new product development and nutrition precision. It is creating the future of nutrient consumption through software that supports smarter R&D and efficient, data-driven production of plant-derived snack foods. Its first product line focuses on re-imagining fruit snacks and adding functional ingredient complexes to target immunity, digestion, energy and brain function. A biologist turned serial entrepreneur, Riana has developed high-growth, nationally recognized technology, and food businesses. Her accomplishments have been featured on CNBC, Forbes, USA Today, Wired, TechCrunch, Entrepreneur Magazine, among others.

Chris Chan, Chief Operations Officer, Farmwave
Chris Chan is the COO of Farmwave, a company that is transforming the world’s agricultural information into AI data models to power decision-making and preserve the future of farming. As Farmwave’s human Swiss Army knife, Chris leverages his experience in nonprofit management, technology consulting, and startups to facilitate ideation, develop strategy, and support product development. His efforts support the entire company, but he works most closely with the marketing, design and business development teams.

PARTNER

WeWork Food Labs is a workspace and global platform dedicated to startups impacting the future of food. We support innovators across the food ecosystem, including companies working in AI, robotics, kitchen appliances, supply chain, ag tech, distribution software, consumer goods, hospitality, and beyond.

The post A.I. in Food appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Just 12 plants and 5 animals make up 75% of the world’s food supply. Almost half of our plant-derived calories come from just three foods: wheat, corn and rice. While estimates vary, it is believed that there are over 30,000 edible plants, and we only eat 150 of them. This is harmful to our planet, health and the communities that rely on them. While the conversation around sustainability typically focuses on how we grow our food, it’s time to focus on what we’re growing.

Biodiversity is crucial to the health and safety of our food supply. But to us, biodiversity in food means something even more. Biodiversity sits at the intersection of taste and sustainability, where we can simultaneously satiate an eater’s desire for new, interesting foods, while supporting a more diverse cornucopia of foods being cultivated in the world. As an industry, consolidation puts our food supply at risk and leaves a lot of opportunity – new flavors and food experiences – on the table.   

From building out supply chains with farming cooperatives abroad to partnering chefs and breeders to develop delicious plant varieties, companies are increasingly launching products and developing supply chains that support agrobiodiversity.

Join us to hear how game-changing startups are creating a more biodiverse food system at our February Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models, technology and supply chains. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Yolele, Kuli Kuli, Tender Greens, Kaibae, Rebbl + More

Check out our editorial series featuring interviews with 45+ CEOs, execs, farmers, investors and researchers on why biodiversity is the future of the industry: https://bit.ly/2FiaxCX

SCHEDULE:
6 – 7:30pm: Networking + Company Showcase
7:30 – 9pm: Presentations + Q&A
9pm – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:

Charlotte Douglas, Chief Operating Officer, Row 7 Seeds
Built by chef Dan Barber, breeder Michael Mazourek, and seedsman Matthew Goldfarb, Row 7 collaborates with chefs and breeders to develop, promote and sell new, flavorful vegetable and grain varieties. Prior to joining the team, Charlotte served as the Creative Director of Special Projects at Blue Hill Stone Barns, In her seven years at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, she helped spearhead research, writing and culinary projects that explore issues of agriculture and the environment through the lens of flavor.

Mike Lee, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Alpha Food Labs
Mike Lee is the founder of The Future Market, a futurist food lab that explores what our food system could look like in the next 5-25 years, through experiences and concept products. Mike is also co-founder of Alpha Food Labs, a food innovation company that helps companies create strategies and products that are better for people, planet, and profit.

Lisa Curtis, Founder & CEO, Kuli Kuli
Kuli Kuli is the first brand to introduce the green superfood moringa to the US market. Lisa founded Kuli Kuli after working with moringa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She has grown Kuli Kuli from a Peace Corps dream into a multi-million dollar social enterprise that sells delicious moringa products in over 7,000 stores. Through Kuli Kuli’s moringa supply chain, the company has planted over 1 million moringa trees, created 1,300 sustainable livelihoods and has put over $1.5M back into the hands of rural farmers across Africa and South America.

Erik Oberholtzer, Co-Founder, Tender Greens
Erik holds the title of executive chairman of Tender Greens and leads the board of directors with daily emphasis on supply chain integrity, culinary innovation, food justice and community cultivation. Erik’s thought leadership on the topics of regenerative organic agriculture, urban agriculture, food policy, health and wellness and social justice have earned him advisory roles with The Food For Ever Foundation, pttow!, The Crop Trust, Rodale Institute, Berkeley Food Institute, SEE-LA, California Restaurant Association, Farmshelf and Children Now. Erik is the founder of The Sustainable Life Project, a Tender Greens sponsored foundation with a mission to help foster youth find paths forward through food access and culinary internships. A member of Conscious Capitalism, Erik coaches young entrepreneurs on the journey of building a conscious brand to national scale.

Thank you to our partners Kickstarter and Brooklyn Brewery.

The post Food Biodiversity: Where Flavor and Sustainability Meet appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

As 2019 unfolds, nascent trends and paradigm-shifting innovations continue to rock the food industry. Fast-growing demand for plant-based alternatives are eating out sales of dairy and animal-based products. Recent trend reports claim 2019 is said to be the year plant-based meat goes mainstream. Functional foods have taken a more prominent role in the American diet. From personalization to direct-to-consumer models, startups are radically rethinking how food products are developed, packaged and sold.

Join us to hear from some of the game-changing startups who are rethinking CPG at our January Food+Tech Meetup. Speakers will do a deep dive into their business models, growth and technology.

We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Keetz & Co, Minna, Four Sigmatic, Sweet Dough, Swapples, Sir Kensington’s, Further Food + More.

Interested in sampling your product? Apply here: https://goo.gl/forms/xDlzomm0qpjeKapJ3

SCHEDULE:
6 – 7:30pm: Networking + Company Showcase
7:30 – 9pm: Presentations + Q&A
9pm – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:
Mike Messersmith, US General Manager, Oatly
Oatly was founded back in the 1990s and is based on Swedish research from Lund University. The company’s patented enzyme technology copies nature’s own process and turns fiber rich oats into nutritional liquid food that is perfectly designed for humans. Today, the Swedish company remains independent and dedicated to upgrading the lives of individuals and the general well being of the planet through a lineup of original oatmilks. Mike Messersmith has led all aspects of business and organizational strategy and execution for Oatly since its launch in the United States. Prior to his role at Oatly, Mike held senior roles at The Nature’s Bounty Company, Chobani and Frito-Lay.

Scott Norton, Co-Founder, Sir Kensington’s
Scott Norton is co-founder of Sir Kensington’s, the premier producer of all-natural ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard distributed nationwide. With a mission to bring integrity and charm to ordinary and overlooked food, Sir Kensington’s condiments have become an integral offering at leading retailers, restaurants, and hotels. Scott has been named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business” and as one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30.”

Kaitlin Holliday, Retention & Data Manager, Four Sigmatic
Founded in 2012 by a group of Finnish friends, Four Sigmatic is a mushroom, superfood and adaptogen company that believes in cutting through the hype to help people improve overall wellbeing. Their products taste delicious and are easily incorporated into a daily routine like mushroom coffee, hot cacaos, matcha, blends and more. Majority employee-owned, Four Sigmatic’s fully-distributed global team works together to bring their products to more than a million consumers in over 65 countries worldwide. Kaitlin joined the team early last year and manages online customer Retention, driving strategy and execution of programs to increase customer long-term value. She’s been working in the Natural Foods space for 5+ years. Before joining Four Sigmatic, she was Chief of Staff at Exo Protein, makers of cricket protein bars.

PARTNERS:
Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. We are an independent, founder-controlled company of 132 people working together in an old pencil factory in New York City. Over 10 million people, from every continent on earth, have backed a Kickstarter project from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology.

Like our namesake borough, the Brooklyn Brewery is made up of a rich collection of characters from all over the world. In our Williamsburg home, these characters are dedicated to brewing and selling great beer and enriching the communities we serve.

The post Rethinking CPG appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

As you may have noticed, it’s biodiversity month here at Food+Tech Connect. To raise awareness and spark a conversation, we’ve teamed up with The Future Market and invited over 45 industry leaders to help us explore the role of biodiversity in the food industry.

The Future Market is also launching Biodiversity: The Intersection of Taste and Sustainability, a digital and physical biodiversity exhibit debuting at The Winter Fancy Food Show in the What’s Next in Food room January 13-15, 2019. The exhibit will feature:

• The Biodiverse Shelf: Explore what a more biodiverse grocery aisle might look like, including 9 new biodiverse concept products.

• Rediscovered Foods: Discover a selection of unique foods that promote biodiversity.

• Action Items: Gain practical solutions for how you can help improve biodiversity.

• Crop Stories: Learn about two major crops that are at risk due to shrinking biodiversity.

• Digital Experience + Concept Products: Explore the Future Market’s digital shopping experience and full catalog of concept products of the future.

• Featured Biodiverse Brands: Taste samples from five biodiverse food brands, including Believe in Bambara, The Jackfruit Company, KAIBAE, Kuli Kuli and Yolélé Foods.

What’s Next in Food, produced by the Specialty Food Association, in partnership with The Future Market and Seeds&Chips, presents a diverse ecosystem of innovators and entrepreneurs building a food system that’s better for people, the planet and profit. We hope you will come visit us!

SNEAK PEAK: NEW CONCEPT PRODUCTS

Here’s a sneak peak at three of the nine concept products The Future Market is launching at the show. The products are meant to demonstrate what a more biodiverse grocery aisle might look like. You can check out all of the concept products here.

Fonitos

Fonitos are the crunchy puffs made from Ancient Grains that are fun for all and great for the planet! Fonio is one of the oldest and most important foods grown in Africa and has been sustainably feeding people for centuries. Now, all the magic of 100% West African White Fonio can be had as a cravable, nutritious, and convenient snack puff.

Fonio is a cereal that’s highly nutritious, with great amounts of amino acids like methionine and cysteine. It’s also low in calories, fat and sodium.Not only that, but it’s one of the fastest growing crops on the planet, maturing in as little as 8 weeks, and well-suited to thrive in challenging conditions with poor soil and water.

Fonitos is a product entirely grown and processed in Africa, with independent, small hold farmers growing all of the crop used in this snack. So the more you snack, the more you’re helping the communities that produce Fonio build a market for this deliciously nutritious food. READ MORE

Banana B-Sides

Did you know there are more than 1,000 types of bananas in the world? We all know and love the mighty Cavendish banana, which has been the standard banana we see in our grocery stores and is current under attack by a fungal disease called Panama Disease. But there’s also ultra-sweet bananas like the Lady Finger or the Senorita, the tart tasting Silk banana, or the giant Rhino Horn banana which can grow up to two feet long.

Banana B-Sides includes all of these bananas and more in our signature blended and frozen recipe that’s not only deliciously indulgent, but also supports the biodiversity of bananas and the communities that grow them.

Banana B-Sides is a product built on lessons learned from the dangers of putting all your bananas in one basket. Instead of supporting Cavendish banana monocultures, we source 31 different banana cultivars from around the world. Each has its own unique taste and shape, but more importantly, we are supporting their existence which makes the entire banana species more diverse and resilient to a single threat like Panama Disease. LEARN MORE

Discovery Box

Across the globe, there are scores of foods that lie outside of the mainstream, especially in Western culture. These foods not only represent new opportunities for flavor discovery, but immense value to the local communities and natural ecosystems where they originate.

Discovery Box is a monthly subscription box filled with foods from the Rediscovered Initiative’s 25 crops list and more. With your subscription, you’ll receive an assortment of both fresh and processed ingredients each month. We’ve scoured the planet for these foods so you don’t have to. After sampling foods from Discovery Box, you’ll also be able to reorder your favorite items and future support those crops and your enjoyment.

The Lexicon of Sustainability created the Rediscovered initiative as a way to increase awareness and consumption of some of these underutilized crops. The organization published a map of over 25 key crops that have the power to combat hunger, respond to climate change, promote biodiversity, and support healthier and more secure food systems. LEARN MORE

MEET THE BIODIVERSE STARTUPS SAMPLING

Believe in Bambara (BiB) is a supplier dedicated to introducing the bambara bean to the plant-based protein market. With a warming climate and a growing population, we need to continue to diversify our food sources if we hope to meet the demand of a global population that is expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050. Bambara beans are an effortlessly sustainable plant-based protein as they are climate-smart, drought-tolerant, and versatile. Believe in Bambara aims to promote the widespread adoption of the bambara bean to alleviate and reverse agriculture’s strain on our finite resources.

The Jackfruit Company’s mission is to make a positive impact on farmers’ livelihoods, humanity’s eco-footprint, health and wellbeing by mainstreaming the planet’s meatiest plant – jackfruit. The company was founded by social entrepreneur, Annie Ryu, and today works with more than 1,000 farming families in southern India to source organically-grown jackfruit to bring delicious meal starters, frozen entrees, and shelf-stable meals to the US market.

The Jackfruit Company products are available nationwide at more than 9,000 retailers including Albertsons-Safeway, Fred Meyer, HEB, King Soopers, Meijer, Publix, QFC, Raley’s, Ralph’s, Roundy’s, Shop Rite, Smith’s, Sprouts, Target, Von’s, Walmart, Wegman’s, Whole Foods and independent natural food stores.

Kaibae: Founded by Dr. Luc Maes, N.D., and African Agricultural Development Specialist Thomas Cole, KAIBAE works directly with indigenous communities to bring value to plants such as Baobab, Cacay, and Seaweed. These Lost Crops are untapped natural resources that grow freely and abundantly in the wild. Once lost to the world, they have been found and harvested by KAIBAE for their powerful benefits to wellness and skin health. Our work brings value to these underutilized plants, improves livelihoods of the local communities, protects the biodiversity of the environment, and delivers healthy, effective ingredients to market. Along with our retail line, KAIBAE baobab powder, baobab tea, baobab oil and cacay nut protein powder can be purchased wholesale from gokaibae.com.

Kuli Kuli is the world’s leading moringa brand with the highest quality moringa on the market. Moringa is a leafy green more nutritious than kale that provides powerful anti-inflammatory benefits rivaling those of turmeric. Our Moringa Superfood Bars, Pure Organic Moringa Powder, Moringa Green Energy Shots, and Organic Moringa Green Smoothie Mixes are made in the US with moringa sourced directly from women’s cooperatives and small family farmers around the world. By importing a portion of the moringa to the US for our products, we’ve created an international market for moringa and a sustainable livelihood for our farmers. Over 60% of Americans say incorporating more vegetables into their diet is their #1 priority but only 4% of Americans are getting our recommended serving of veggies per day. Kuli Kuli’s delicious moringa products make it easy for Americans to get their greens on the go. To date, Kuli Kuli has planted over 2.5 million moringa trees, partnered with over 1,300 farmers, and has provided $2M in income to women-led farming cooperatives, nonprofits, and family farms. You can find our products in over 7,000 stores across the US, including Whole Foods, Sprouts and Safeway.

Yolélé is a revolutionary African food company, focused on traditional crops. Yolélé’s mission is to improve the economy and strengthen communities in West Africa by celebrating and introducing its ingredients to the world. Our first ingredient– fonio– is a tiny, nutritious, quick-cooking ancient grain that has been cultivated and celebrated for thousands of years. Fonio is grown exclusively by smallholder farmers and its cultivation helps to combat the effects of climate change. To the Dogon people of Mali, fonio is known as “”the seed of the universe”… the grain at the root of all existence.

The post Introducing The Future Market’s New Concept Products & Biodiversity Exhibit appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

The supplement industry is ridden with cheap, synthetic chemicals. Ora Organic was founded in 2015 to rebuild trust in the category by creating nutritional supplements made from organic, plant-based and sustainable food ingredients. But building trust is difficult, so Ora relied on a number of digital and marketing tactics to gain consumer trust.

The direct-to-consumer supplement startup first gained notoriety in 2017 when it appeared on Shark Tank and turned down a $375,000 investment in front of millions of viewers. CTO and Head of Growth Sebastian Bryers set up lead capture devices on its website, allowing the company to obtain more than 15,000 emails and thousands of subscribers in a month. Through the show, the company was able to earn the attention of investors and gained an overwhelming response from people looking for premium, organic supplements.

While Ora Organics found its first customers through personal networks, Bryers relied on his background in data analysis to help grow the brand. He performed sentiment analysis on top blogs to understand the key questions people were asking, which provided data for the company to create relevant content. This data-driven approach to content allowed the brand to build trust with its audience. Now, the collection of data is automated and used to optimize its advertising as well as ensure the right audiences receive its content.

Sebastian Bryers joined us at our Rethinking CPG Meetup this past August to share insight on the company’s e-commerce strategy and plans for retail. You can see videos of other presenters at our Food+Tech Meetups here.

The post Ora Organic’s Data-Driven Growth Strategy appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

It’s not easy being a food innovator. There’s no road map for reinventing an industry.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with ForceBrands to celebrate failure in all its glory at Fail Friday (on a Thursday). Join us to hear stories of failure and lessons learned from top food entrepreneurs.

We will also have food from emerging brands Mademeals, Partake Foods, Brooklyn Delhi, Yumi, New York Shuk, Square Roots, Sanzo, Luke’s Lobster and Raaka Chocolate as well as festive cocktails from Pomp & Whimsy.

SCHEDULE:
6:30 – 7:30: Networking, Snacks & Drinks
7:30 – 8:30: Failure Stories & Q&A
8:30 – 9:30: More Networking

SPEAKERS:
Erin Patinkin, Co-Founder, Ovenly; Executive Producer & Co-Host, Start to Sale
Erin Patinkin is the co-founder of the award-winning bakery Ovenly and executive producer & co-host of Start to Sale on Vox. She has been recognized as one of the most “badass women” in food by Zagat and Thrillist and as “one to watch” by Conde Nast, among other accolades. Erin speaks about her work at national events, and her writing has been featured in Lucky Peach, Vice, Cherry Bombe, and in her cookbook, Ovenly: Sweet & Salty Treats from New York’s Most Creative Bakery. She has appeared in on Good Morning America, The Chew, Unique Sweets, and in Eater, Bon Appetit, Inc, Food & Wine, The New York Times.

Ben Conniff, President, Luke’s Lobster
Ben Conniff is co-founder of Luke’s Lobster, a Maine-bred lobster shack with over 30 locations across 9 US cities and internationally in Japan and Taiwan. Luke’s controls their catch all the way from the docks to the plate, meticulously preparing and handling every claw, knuckle, and tail to make the world’s best-tasting lobster roll. Ben is also the author of Real Maine Food, and has written for Saveur, GQ, Tasting Table, and more. He was named to the Inc. and Zagat “30 Under 30” lists and serves as an advisor to restaurant, fishery, and agriculture businesses. He splits his time between Brooklyn, NY, and Portland, ME.

Chitra Agrawal, Founder, Brooklyn Delhi
Starting in Brooklyn, Chitra has been cooking, teaching and writing about food inspired by her family’s recipes from India for ten years. She co-founded Brooklyn Delhi with her husband Ben Garthus in 2014 to bring the flavors she was creating to a wider audience. Chitra is the author of Vibrant India: Fresh Vegetarian Recipes from Bangalore to Brooklyn (Penguin, 2017). Prior to Brooklyn Delhi, Chitra held marketing roles at American Express and DDB and completed her MBA at NYU Stern. Brooklyn Delhi’s award-winning condiments can be found in Whole Foods nationwide and in Blue Apron meal kits and have been featured by food critics at the NY Times, Saveur, Food & Wine and more.

Dr. Nicola Nice, Founder & CEO, Pomp & Whimsy
Dr. Nicola Nice is a sociology PHD, researcher and brand consultant. She launched Pomp & Whimsy to take back the role of women as cocktail innovators overlooked by history. For Victorian women, who were the chief home distillers and recipe makers at the time, the infusion of additional fruits or botanicals into gin made for a richer sipping spirit. With Pomp & Whimsy, we set out to breathe new life into this long forgotten tradition, while simultaneously updating it for a modern palate. Bringing fancy, modernity, and dare we say it, even a touch of femininity, to this stuffy, old world spirit.

PARTNERS:

ForceBrands is the leading specialized recruiting firm for the consumer products industry — we build the teams that build the brands. Our industry-specific divisions BevForce, FoodForce, BeautyForce, and HerbForce offer executive search services, board of director assembly, and a digital job board to connect directly to qualified candidates.

We are ‘people for a hire purpose’ and strive to transform the way consumer product professionals of all levels identify employment opportunities and employers are connected to world-class talent. Go HIRE with ForceBrands.

Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. We are an independent, founder-controlled company of 132 people working together in an old pencil factory in New York City. Over 10 million people, from every continent on earth, have backed a Kickstarter project from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology.

The Brooklyn Brewery is made up of a rich collection of characters from all over the world. In our Williamsburg home, these characters are dedicated to brewing and selling great beer and enriching the communities we serve. Together, these Brooklyners have assembled the skills needed to transform a home brewing hobby into an independent brewery with a brand that has become an international beacon for good beer.

The post Join us at Fail Friday (on a Thursday) December 6th! appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Blockchain technology has the potential to transform the food industry. Ten of the world’s biggest food companies have already joined forces to transform how the industry tracks food worldwide through this network. At the same time, new companies are emerging to introduce these technologies into the supply chain, demonstrating the potential it has to improve food system operations in several ways – from preventing foodborne illnesses to combating hunger.

Join us to hear from some of the game-changing startups who are deploying blockchain technology in our food system at our November Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models, technology, challenges and lessons learned. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Ginjan, 82 Labs, Bowery Farming, Believe in Bambara, Scraps, Burlap & Barrel, Amazi Foods, Toast Ale, Nora Snacks and Ripple Foods!

SCHEDULE:
6:30 – 7:30pm: Networking
7:30 – 9:15pm: Presentations + Q&A
9:15 – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:
Nicolas Jammet, Co-Founder & Chief Concept Officer, sweetgreen
Nic Jammet is Co-Founder & Chief Concept Officer of sweetgreen, the destination for simple, seasonal, healthy food. Nicolas graduated from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, where he met fellow sweetgreen co-founders and co-CEOs, Nathaniel Ru and Jonathan Neman. He has been recognized as a key innovator in food and business, named to Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” Inc.’s “30 Under 30”, Forbes’ “30 Under 30” and Food & Wine’s “40 Big Food Thinkers 40 and Under”. In 2016, sweetgreen was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies.”

Jasmine Crowe, Founder & CEO, Goodr
In January of 2017, Jasmine launched Goodr, a sustainable food waste management company that leverages technology to combat hunger. Today Goodr redirects surplus food from convention centers, hotels, airports, and businesses to the millions of people who are food insecure. Under Jasmine’s direction the company now has clients that include: Turner Broadcasting Systems, Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport, Delta Airlines and more.

Phil Harris, Founder, Ripe.io
Phil is a founder at ripe.io that is deploying the “Blockchain of Food” that provides solutions to help answer what’s in your food, where it’s been and what’s happened to it. Our mission is to provide “Transparency in every Byte” from farm to fork to help our customers improve their intelligence and insights in to their food supply chain through our service of automation and business models through the application of blockchain and IoT. Phil has an extensive career spanning over 25 years in financial technology including roles at Nex, Nasdaq, CME Group, 360T and Blockstack.io an early blockchain start up.

Dr. Daniel Beckmann, Co-Founder, Foodshed.io
Dan Beckmann is a New Media developer and award-winning journalist whose career has spanned over a decade. He worked on the New Media team in Obama’s Chicago headquarters during the 2008 campaign. After the campaign he founded IB5k, a civically minded digital production agency that produces integrated new media solutions in the government, political, entertainment, marketing and journalism sectors. He is the co-founder of Foodshed.io, a blockchain technology company solving the inefficiencies of local food distribution by connecting sustainable producers to local wholesale markets.

HOST:

Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. We are an independent, founder-controlled company of 132 people working together in an old pencil factory in New York City. Over 10 million people, from every continent on earth, have backed a Kickstarter project from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology.

SPONSORS:

Like our namesake borough, the Brooklyn Brewery is made up of a rich collection of characters from all over the world. In our Williamsburg home, these characters are dedicated to brewing and selling great beer and enriching the communities we serve.

The post Blockchain of Food appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

This post is sponsored by FoodBytes! by Rabobank. 

Calling all food innovation nerds! Next-generation food pitch competition FoodBytes! by Rabobank is returning to NYC on Thursdsay, October 18 from 2-8 PM. Today, we’re sharing the 20 startups selected to pitch.

From food waste tech, to animal antibiotic-use reduction, to plant-based ingenuity, the new crop of pitch companies are pioneering solutions to major industry challenges.

Learn more about them below, and as a member of the FTC community, save 15% on tickets to see them pitch. Snag your discounted tickets today!

3.5 Minute Pitch Companies

1. Ingest.ai (Food Tech – New York, NY): Software that integrates all of a restaurant’s fractured third-party systems. Ingest.ai automates previously manual finance and operations functions, food ordering and staffing to help restaurants eliminate waste on all fronts.
2. Afresh Technologies (Food Tech – San Francisco, CA): A Fresh-first supply chain software company that uses cutting-edge technology to massively reduce food waste, increase freshness and multiply the profitability of perishable foods.
3. Dexai Robotics (Food Tech – Boston, MA): Automating activities in commercial kitchens and the food industry using flexible robot arms. “Alfred” automates food assembly by using utensils to scoop and pick ingredients, exceeding human capabilities in speed and precision.
4. Winnow (Food Tech – London, UK): Developer of digital tools to help chefs run more profitable, sustainable kitchens by cutting food waste in half.
5. SomaDetect (Ag Tech – Buffalo, NY): Deep learning and AI dairy company that provides real-time, automated analysis of milk quality without any addition of chemicals or consumables.
6. Pheronym (Ag Tech – Gainesville, FL): Agricultural biotechnology company that uses pheromones from nematodes (microscopic worms) to control agricultural pests and provide safe and eco-friendly pest control for farmers.
7. MicroSynbiotiX (Ag Tech – Cork, Ireland): An algal synthetic biology company developing a new drug delivery system to help prevent costly disease outbreaks in the aquaculture industry.
8. Ocean Hugger Foods (CPG – New York, NY): Creates delicious, plant-based alternatives to popular seafood proteins, aiming to reduce stress on the world’s oceans by giving consumers a sustainable alternative that mimics the taste, appearance and texture of fish.
9. BrainJuice (CPG – Austin, TX): A liquid supplement shot packed with the highest quality brain nutrients that supports focus, clarity, memory and good mood.
10. Sweetie Pie Organics (CPG – Raleigh, NC): Organic functional food products that make pregnancy and motherhood easier.

1.5 Minute Pitch Companies

1. Wasteless (Food Tech – New York, NY): Dynamic pricing system that allows supermarkets to price and sell products based on expiration dates, thus reducing food waste and optimizing shelf management.
2. Agragen (Food Tech – Cincinnati, OH): Maker of plant-derived “fish oil” made from Camelina that will be used in human nutrition and in aquaculture, replacing marine-derived fish oil.
3. Spinn (Food Tech – San Francisco, CA): Quality on-demand coffee roasted and brewed at home via their proprietary app technology.
4. water.io (Food Tech – Nes Ziona, Israel): Technology that turns any package into a smart one that generates data.
5. dropnostix GmbH (Ag Tech – Potsdam, Germany): Maker of rumen sensor health monitoring system for dairy farmers, helping them reduce the annual losses caused by diseases of dairy cows.
6. RIND Snacks (CPG – New York, NY): Sustainable and better-for-you snacks focused on the ‘power of the peel.’ Preserving the peels on USA-grown, non-GMO dried fruit maximizes nutrition while minimizing waste.
7. Rise Brewing (CPG – New York, NY): Brews nitro cold-brew coffee kegs and cans for offices, bars, restaurants and cafes. Its coffee is organic, non-GMO, fair-trade, single-origin, non-dairy, kosher and zero calories.
8. Pulp Pantry (CPG – Los Angeles, CA): Transforms neglected low-cost, high-value resources like juice pulp into nutritious foods that make it easy for everyone to eat fruits and vegetables.
9. OneForNeptune (CPG – San Diego, CA): Sustainable seafood jerky made from undervalued and underutilized white fish that is traceable to clean, small-scale U.S. West Coast fisheries.
10. Finer Flavors (CPG – Geneva, Switzerland): Fresh vegetable nut butters in convenient pouches.

Rootwave, Mimica and Biokind Take Top Prizes at FoodBytes! London

FoodBytes! made its European debut in London last week. Breaking new ground with animal feed, herbicide and packaging alternatives, get to know the crowned winners. Read more about the winners.

The post Meet The Startups Pitching At FoodBytes! NYC + Save 15% On Tix appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Fast Company

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.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has announced plans to rapidly expand Amazon Go stores, opening up to 3,000 locations by 2021. The company is experimenting with the convenient store format that aims to meat the demand of the mealtime rush.

Food delivery service Postmates has closed a $300 million round led by Tiger Global to advance its technology and explore robots and automation.

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

Are you a female or gender non-conforming innovator? Add your name to the list: http://bit.ly/womxninfood

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1. Join the Alpha Food Labs Community

We’re rethinking the way food is made, starting with community. The Alpha Community. Join us to help develop, test, and get early access to food designed for your tastes and values.

2. Women Innovating Food

Join us for a discussion on the unique ways women are transforming our food system with Elly Truesdell of Canopy Foods, Valerie Christy of Almanac Insights, Jessamyn Rodriguez of Hot Bread Kitchen and Kimberly Chou of Equity at the Table & Food Book Fair. We’ll also have food and drinks from women-owned businesses.

3. Amazon Will Consider Opening Up to 3K Cashierless Stores by 2021 – Bloomberg

Jeff Bezos sees eliminating meal-time logjams in busy cities as the best way for Amazon to reinvent the brick-and-mortar shopping experience, where most spending still occurs.

4. Tiger Global Leads $300M Investment in Postmates Delivery – Bloomberg

The investment values Postmates at about $1.2b. With the new funding, Postmates plans to advance the technology its restaurant merchants use at point-of-sale. It is also researching ways to use automation and robots to make cheaper and faster deliveries.

5. Indigo Raises $250M, Launches Marketplace to Help Farmers Get Paid for Quality Grain – TechCrunch

Existing investors Baillie Gifford, the Alaska Permanent Fund, the Investment Corporation of Dubai and Flagship Pioneering participated in the round. Using Indigo Marketplace, buyers can purchase grain directly from farmers.

6. Coca-Cola Is Eyeing the Cannabis Market – Bloomberg

Coca-Cola says it’s monitoring the nascent industry and is interested in drinks infused with CBD. The soft drinks maker is in talks with Canadian marijuana producer Aurora Canabis to develop the beverages.

7. Walmart to Acquire Mexico & Chile-Focused Grocery Delivery Service Cornershop For $225M – TechCrunch

Cornershop is a startup that runs marketplaces, through an app, for on-demand delivery from supermarkets, pharmacies and other food retailers in Mexico and Chile. It recently raised $21m in a Series B funding round in 2017.

8. India: Walmart Got Flipkart but Amazon Now Has More – Quartz

Amazon has acquired a stake in food and grocery retail chain More. The deal is estimated at $582m.

9. Milk & Eggs Raises $6M Seed Funding for ‘Made-to-Order’ Online Farmers Market – AgFunder

Morningside Venture Capital led the funding, which will be used to fund its growth and improve on customer experience.

10. $3M Grant Program Plants Seed Money to Grow More Meat without Animals – Forbes

The Good Food Institute announced a grant program for universities and startups working on plant-based and cultured meat research with the goal of creating new technologies and ingredients used by all.

12. Treez Raises $11.5M Series A for Cannabis Point of Sale Software – AgFunder

The round was led by Intrinsic Capital Partners. It will be used to expand its team, explore and invest in beneficial partnerships as well as to bring more creative retail management solutions to the industry.

13. Aldi Is Rolling Out Grocery Delivery Across the US in a Direct Assault Against Walmart, Amazon and Kroger – Business Insider

Aldi is expanding grocery delivery nationwide through a partnership with Instacart. It is also launching a test of curbside pickup.

14. India: Ola Enters a Third International Market with a Bigger War Chest – Quartz

Just a month after its last funding round, Ola has raised $50m from Sailing Capital and the China-Eurasian Economic Cooperation Fund. The company will now enter its third foreign market—New Zealand.

15. UK: Vegan Meal Delivery Startup Allplants Is Served £7.5M Series A Funding – TechCrunch

The round is led by VC firm Octopus Ventures. It will use the investment to develop a broader range of ready-to-eat food, accelerate the growth of its community, further grow its team and expand the capacity of its production kitchen.

16. JUST Gears Up for Late 2018 Cell-Based Meat Launch, but Says More Meaningful Quantities Are 2-3 Years Out – Food Navigator

The ‘KFC-style’ ground chicken product will be tested at a restaurant outside of the US to test consumer reactions.

17. Amazon Launches Storefronts to Give 20K Small Businesses a Bigger Spotlight – TechCrunch

The portal celebrates mom-and-pop shops and other smaller merchants that sell through the platform.

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The post Amazon to Open 3K Go Stores by 2021, Postmates Closes $300M Round + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.