Image: Andriy Bezuglov

This is a guest post by Elizabeth Tilton is the founder and CEO of Oyster Sunday

In this time of unprecedented crisis for the restaurant industry, many operators are turning to alternative revenue sources, like gift card sales and GoFundMe campaigns, to create relief funds for their employees, the majority of whom they have been forced to lay off of furlough in the past few weeks. While these are immediate solutions to immediate needs, restaurants should be aware of the tax implications on their business in order to help guide their decision making.

Below you will find resources we’ve compiled to help restaurants navigate these alternative revenue sources and their tax implications.

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Overview of Tax Implications

Gift Cards

Taxability of Gift Card Sales

Restaurants selling gift cards should review state laws [here] and the regulation of redemption (i.e. gift cards cannot expire within five years from the date they were activated). It is also critical for restaurants to ensure that they are appropriately recording income from gift card sales, and below are three options for doing so [source 1]:

• Cash basis method – Income is recorded on the tax return in the year in which it was sold.
• One-year deferral method – Income is recorded at the earlier of either the redemption of the gift card or one taxable year following the sale of the gift card.
• Two-year deferral method – Income is recorded at the earlier of either the redemption of the gift card or two taxable years following the sale of the gift card.

Taxability of Giving Gift Cards to Employees as a Form of Payment

If a restaurant gives a gift card to an employee as a form of payment, that is considered taxable under IRS code section 102 [source 2].

Redemption Terms

Restaurants should strongly consider creating redemption terms for gift cards, particularly as they start to think about reopening their doors because this will directly affect their cash flow. It may be wise to think about terms that explicitly state guests can redeem gift cards a certain amount of time after the purchase date (i.e. six months after).

GoFundMe Campaigns

Small Business Relief Initiative

GoFundMe.org recently created the Small Business Relief Initiative to help small businesses that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and will issue matching $500 grants to qualifying businesses that raise at least $500 on GoFundMe. There should be no tax implications for the GoFundMe Small Business Relief Initiative per the following statement on its website:

“There should be no tax implications because you have established that you are a small business negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. GoFundMe.org will not require any goods or services to result from the grant; instead it is provided to you as a gift. That said, we cannot provide you any tax advice as everyone’s situation is different and tax rules change from time to time. We recommend you speak to a financial advisor.” [source 9]

Beyond the Small Business Relief Initiative

Generally speaking, GoFundMe is required to file a Form 1099 for campaigns that receive over $20,000 in donations or more than 200 total donations.

There is conflicting advice from those who have received large donations via GoFundMe about how the IRS processes the amount, but to be safe it is always best to report amounts over $20,000 as a 1099 since GoFundMe will be reporting it as well. Restaurants should record the 1099 income as income, and then on another income line, report an offsetting reduction and add a short explanation, such as:

“All amounts reflected in the 1099-K are excludable from income under IRC Section 102. These amounts reflect the money the taxpayer received as the result of gifts from donors. Those gifts were used to pay [XX] of the taxpayer and are excludable from gross income.” [source 10]

The taxable amount is completely dependent on the donated amount.

501(c)(3) Organizations

A large number of restaurants are deciding to create or partner with 501(c)(3) organizations in order to accept tax-exempt donations that they can give directly to their employees. A 501(c)(3) organization is a corporation, trust, unincorporated association, or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code.

One of the primary benefits of being tax-exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(3) is the ability to accept contributions and donations that are tax-deductible to the donor. Additional benefits include, but are not limited to [source 11]:

• Exemption from federal and/or state corporate income taxes
• Possible exemption from state sales and property taxes (varies by state)
• Ability to apply for grants and other public or private allocations available only to IRS-recognized,
• 501(c)(3) organizations
• Potentially higher thresholds before incurring federal and/or state unemployment tax liabilities

More information about exemption requirements for 501(c)(3) organizations is available on the IRS’s website, as well as a step-by-step application which includes questions and answers that will help an organization determine if it is eligible to apply for recognition of exemption from federal income taxation under IRC section 501(a) and, if so, how to proceed. Please consult your CPA for additional information.

Allocation of Funds

What are the implications of distributing gifts to employees / individuals (both those who were laid off or furloughed) with the money donated by gift cards or GoFundMe campaigns?

If restaurants distribute gifts to employees and the money is in exchange for services, such as using these funds to pay employees who are helping with delivery or cooking, this money is counted as wages and needs to be documented and paid as such.

If the money is gifted to individuals with no return of services (i.e. those who were laid off or furloughed), this is seen as a true gift and is excluded from the regular rate of pay.

The annual gift tax exclusion is $15,000 for both the 2019 and 2020 tax year, which is the amount of money that an individual or company can give as a gift to one person, in any given year, without having to pay a gift tax.

Are income replacement payments excluded from qualified disaster relief payments, and if so, does this require a portion of funds to be withheld to pay as income tax?

President Trump determined that the COVID-19 pandemic warranted a nationwide emergency declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, thereby giving employers the opportunity to provide tax-free assistance to their employees under Section 139 of the IRS Code. 

However, this does not apply to income replacement payments, which is outlined in the below paragraph from an article entitled “COVID-19: Section 139 Employer-Provided Tax-Free Disaster Relief Benefits” from national law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney: 

“Section 139 provides that qualified disaster relief payments from any source reimbursing or paying an individual for certain expenses in connection with a qualified disaster are not subject to income or employment taxes (Social Security, Medicare, and federal unemployment taxes). For this purpose, a qualified disaster relief payment includes any amount paid by an employer to or for the benefit of an employee to reimburse or pay “reasonable and necessary” personal, family, living, or funeral expenses incurred as a result of a qualified disaster. Qualified disaster relief payments, however, do not include: (i) payments for expenses that are otherwise paid for by insurance or other reimbursements; or (ii) income replacement payments, such as the payment of lost wages, lost business income, or unemployment compensation [source 12].”

We recommend talking to your CPA to understand how to best track and categorize any such payments to employees so you can understand how to most effectively allocate relief funds to your team.

Full Report

You can view Oyster Sunday’s full report here. Please also visit our website for a list of consolidated resources from around the U.S. as we continue to provide relevant and updated information regarding the COVID-19 crisis.

Oyster Sunday is committed to supporting independent restaurants with in-kind consultations to ensure they have another resource in their corner during these unimaginably trying times. From communicating with your team to thinking through cash flow constraints, please contact us. Beyond our leadership team, we are connected with a remarkable community of professionals — lawyers, PR professionals, accountants, CPAs, copywriters and more —who have generously offered to donate their time and resources to restaurants that need help navigating this crisis.

Information Sources

(1) RSM Accounting: Retailers must be mindful of gift card tax pitfalls [Here]

(2) New York Governor Cuomo Signs New Protections for Consumers Using Gift Cards Into Law [Here] 

(3) National Governance of State Legislatures | Gift Cards + Gift Certificates Statutes + Legislation [Here]

(4) HR Daily Advisor: Ask the Expert: Are All Gift Cards Taxable Income? [Here]

(5) Washington State University: PayRoll: Taxability of Gift Cards [Here]

(6) BDO Tax Accounting: Five Common Myths that Lead to Tax Reporting Errors [Here]

(7) Apartment Therapy: New York State Just Passed a Law Making Gift Cards Easier to Use [Here]

(8) GoFundMe: Taxes for Organizers [Here]

(9) GoFundMe: Small Business Relief Fund Grant FAQ [Here]

(10) Pittsburgh Post Gazette: GoFundMe helps those who need it, but don’t forget about the IRS [Here]

(11) Foundation Group: What benefit does being 501(c)(3) offer my nonprofit and its contributors? [Here]

(12) Buchanan, Ingersoll, Rooney: COVID-19: Section 139 Employer-Provided Tax-Free Disaster Relief Benefits [Here]

(13) Forbes: Little-Known Tax Law Allows Employers To Make Tax-Free Payments To Employees To Cover Covid-19 Expenses [Here]

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About: Oyster Sunday is a hospitality group based in New Orleans and New York City with the mission to reevaluate and reimagine the business infrastructure necessary to support stable, progressive restaurants and culinary businesses. To bring this idea to life, we establish strategic partnerships across the food and beverage industry, providing consolidated branding and operational support for independent food and beverage companies with a point of view. We believe that if we pool resources across many operators—regardless of location or chef—we’re able to build an economy of scale that gives us all a seat at the table. Please visit our website and follow us on Instagram.

Elizabeth Tilton is the founder and CEO of Oyster Sunday. Elizabeth started her career as a pastry cook in New Orleans, and in 2012 moved to NYC to join David Chang’s restaurant group, Momofuku. There she helped manage public relations, marketing, and major partnerships for the restaurant group. In 2015 she became the Head of Brand at W&P, a vertically-integrated design and manufacturing company developing culinary products, where she managed the launch of over 300 products including product partnerships with Lucas Films, Williams-Sonoma, West Elm, and Food52. She launched Oyster Sunday in late 2019.

The post Will My Restaurant Get Taxed on Gift Cards & GoFundMe Campaigns? appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Discover Los Angeles

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.

Cultured meat, dairy and seafood made headlines this week. Animal-free dairy protein company Perfect Day has closed $140 million in funding led by Temasek. Cellular aquaculture startup BluNalu has unveiled a culinary demo of its cultured yellowtail. Amsterdam-based Meatable has raised $10 million to develop lab-grown pork.

Meanwhile, Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown has hinted at developing poultry in 2020. Kroger is trialing dedicated plant-based meat sets within its conventional meat department in 30 stores. JUST has acquired its first manufacturing facility to reduce the cost of producing its plant-based eggs.

In other news, Delivery Hero is nearing and agreement to acquire Woowa for $4 billion. Spain’s Glovo has raised $166 million for its deliver anything app. Uber is in talks to sell its India Uber Eats to Zomato.

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. Perfect Day Closes $140M Funding Round – Food Dive

The investment was led by Temasek. Perfect Day plans to use this money to bring its product to market and add to its product portfolio.

2. Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown Hints at ‘Poultry’ News In 2020 – Bloomberg

Beyond Meat is pushing further past its plant-based beef and pork into poultry, and CEO Ethan Brown says that product line will finally get more attention in 2020.

3. Korea: Delivery Hero Nears Agreement to Buy Woowa in $4B Deal – Bloomberg

Asia will become the German company’s biggest, fastest-growing market.

4. Spain’s Glovo Grabs $166M Series E for Its ‘Deliver Anything’ App – TechCrunch

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala led the round. The round has pushed Glovo’s valuation past $1b. Funding will be used to achieve profitability.

5. Kroger Begins Test of Plant-Based Meat Retail Concept in 60 Stores – Food Navigator

The retailer has started trialing dedicated 3-ft plant-based meat sets within its conventional meat department in 60 stores in Indiana and Illinois.

6. Cellular Aquaculture Startup BlueNalu Unveils Cell-Based Yellowtail in Culinary Demo – The Spoon 

The startup plans to introduce its cultured seafood to market within the next two years. It has also internally tested mahi mahi and red snapper.

7. Eggless Egg-Maker Buys First Plant in Bid to Crack Costs – Bloomberg

JUST has acquired its first manufacturing facility: a 30k-sq-ft in Minnesota that will make more plant-based eggs for less money.

8. The Netherlands: Unilever Opens $94M Plant-Based Food Research Center in Europe – VegNews

Unilever recently invested in The Hive, where it plans to develop new products, including plant-based meat and sustainable food packaging.

9. Uber Is in Talks to Sell Its India Food-Delivery Business to a Rival – Wall Street Journal

A deal would see Uber unload its costly Indian operations of Uber Eats to Zomato.

10. Snackpass Snags $21M to Let You Earn Friends Free Takeout – TechCrunch

Andreessen Horowitz partner Andrew Chen led the round. Funding will go towards hiring up with the goal of reaching 100 campuses in 2 years.

11. Bushel Wants to Enhance, Not Disrupt, Grain Trading with $19.5M Series B – AgFunder

Continental Grain led the round. The new funds will be used to create new product lines and complete additional hires to run the new products.

12. Roundup Suit Lawyer Accused of $200M Extortion Plot – CBS

Law enforcement officials have arrested a Virginia lawyer involved in litigation over the health risks of Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer product.

13. A Deal for DuPont’s Food Business Will Create a $45B Giant – CNN

DuPont is creating a new consumer goods giant by merging its food and nutrition business with International Flavors & Fragrances in a $26.2b deal.

14. ProducePay Closes $205M Debt Financing to Launch Aggressive Scaling Campaign – AgFunder

Coventure and TCM Capital led the round. New funding will allow the company to go aggressively after strategic markets like Peru, Chile and Guatemala. Its online marketplace allows farmers to seek higher pricing from distributors.

15. Consumer Sous Vide Startup Nomiku Is Winding Down Operations – TechCrunch

The company raised more than $1.3m over two Kickstarter campaigns. It was able to bring a cost-prohibitive cooking technology down to an affordable price point, only to see the market flooded by competitors.

16. Kraft Heinz Leads $12M Series A for Smart Checkout Startup Zippin – AgFunder

Evolv Ventures led the round. Funding will go towards enabling product innovation, technical team growth and expanding Zippin’s partnership and sales efforts.

17. Amsterdam: Dutch Startup Meatable Is Developing Lab-Grown Pork and Has $10M in New Financing to Do It – TechCrunch

The company has raised $7m from a slew of angel and institutional investors and a $3m grant from the European Commission. The new cash will be used to accelerate the development of its prototype.

18. Silicon Valley’s Psychedelic Wonder Drug Is Almost Here – Fast Company

MindMed could have the key to providing the upsides of psychedelic drugs for both focus and addiction treatment—while cutting out the downsides of tripping. The company has raised $6m thus far.

19. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

Over $1.45B was invested across 247 deals in 2018, according to the research in our second annual investment report produced in partnership with Ryan Willams.  Check out the report for a deep dive into the investor and investment trends. We also share a complete list of deals and acquisitions.

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!

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Image: Vivera

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.

We launched our 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report today, which finds that $1.45 billion dollars was invested across 200 reported deals in 2018. Read the full report here.

Plant-based news continues to make headlines this week – Europe’s leading meat company Vivera Foodgroup has converted its entire product offerings to vegan foods. In addition, Impossible Foods announced its venture into developing vegan fish.

In CPG news, Mondelez has acquired Perfect Snacks for an undisclosed sum. The Canadian government has approved some cannabis-infused products to be sold in grocery stores.

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

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1. Leading European Meat Company Goes 100% Vegan – Live Kindly

Vivera Foodgroup has become one of the first meat companies to remove meat from its lineup in favor of vegan foods. Vivera sells vegan meat across Europe.

2. Impossible Foods Is Exploring Realistic Vegan Fish – Live Kindly

Vegan fish could be next on the cards for plant-based food brand Impossible Foods, the creators of the “bleeding” beef-like Impossible Burger.

3. Mondelēz Acquires Perfect Snacks to Build Out Snacking Portfolio – Nosh

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In 2018, Perfect Snacks generated $70m in net revenue.

4. Walmart Grocery Is Now Offering a $98 Per Year ‘Delivery Unlimited’ Subscription – TechCrunch 

Walmart is taking aim at Instacart, Target’s Shipt and Amazon Prime Now/Whole Foods with a new grocery delivery subscription service called simply, “Delivery Unlimited.”

5. What Cannabis Edibles on Canadian Shelves Means for the US – Food Dive

Canada will allow some cannabis-infused products — edibles, beverages, topicals and extracts — to be sold in stores in December. Health officials said companies wanting to sell products containing cannabis can apply starting July 15.

6. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

Over $1.45B was invested across 247 deals in 2018, according to the research in our second annual investment report produced in partnership with Ryan Willams.  Check out the report for a deep dive into the investor and investment trends. We also share a complete list of deals and acquisitions.

7. Domino’s Pizza Plans Robot Deliveries with Self-Driving Minivans in 2019 – Fast Company

Nuro’s self-driving mini delivery vans will ply Houston streets with hot pizzas, as the company already does with grocery orders.

8. Israel: DouxMatok Raises $22M Series B to Commercialize Sugar Reduction Tech – AgFunderNews

BlueRed Partners led the round. The new funding will be used to help DouxMatok commercialize its product.

9. Ikea Is Now the World’s 6th Largest Food Chain, and It’s Testing Delivery to Your Door – Fast Company

The company is currently testing the service in Paris. If the pilot is successful, it may expand to Spain and other European markets.

10. Kroger Begins Construction on $55M Robotic Warehouse for Home Delivery – Cincinnati 

The facility will begin operations in 2021. Kroger and Ocado plan to build 20 similar facilities across America to expand home delivery of groceries.

11. Offering Robot Chefs That Can Serve 5 Million Types of Pizza, France’s Pazzi Raises Over $11M Series A – AgFunderNews

Funding was led by Qualgro. The company will offer concession and license models and seek out partnerships in ghost kitchens.

12. Finland: Finnish Food Delivery App Wolt to Hire 1K After New Funding – Bloomberg

Food delivery startup Wolt Enterprises has landed $130m in new investment to increase its European expansion and fund a hiring spree. The investment was led by Iconiq Capital.

13. Vestaron Closes $40M Series B for Peptide-based Biopesticide with “Proven Modes of Action Unlike Microbials,” says CEO – AgFunderNews

Funding was led by Novo Holdings alongside Anterra Capital, Cultivian Sandbox, Open Prairie Ventures and Pangaea Ventures. It will be used to help the company commercialize its Spear family of products.

14. Women, Women of Color & Gender Non-Conforming Innovator Database

We created this open-source list to increase representation, support and investment in women, women of color & gender-nonconforming innovators in food. Join the list & help us spread the word using #womxninfood

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!

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This post is sponsored by TERRA

Is your food or agriculture startup ready to scale? Are you looking for corporate partners to help you get there? Then TERRA, Rabobank and RocketSpace’s scaling program, is calling your name.

TERRA, the sister program to FoodBytes!, helps forward-thinking corporates collaborate with cutting-edge startups. Together, startups and corporates co-develop new products, adapt technologies to new industries, build commercial partners and much more. Unlike other similar programs, startups do not need to give up equity to participate, and they work directly with corporates to co-create the parameters of their partnership.

What are some examples?

Who’s involved & who should apply?

From a leading sugar manufacturer, to global ingredient companies, to a livestock association, learn more about TERRA’s Cohort IV corporate collaborators here. They are particularly focused on the areas below and startups in these sectors are especially encouraged to apply.

1. Food safety

2. Supply chain tech

3. Novel ingredients

4. Precision agriculture

Application Deadline: Sunday, May 12

The post Applications Are Open For the TERRA Agrifood Accelerator Cohort IV appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

After a successful launch in Europe, PepsiCo is bringing its Nutrition Greenhouse to the US and Canada. The initiative is designed to discover and support emerging food and beverage brands that are helping to transform the industry.

Via an online application process, PepsiCo will select ten food and beverage change-making start-ups in North America and Canada.

The program builds on the European version of Nutrition Greenhouse, launched last year, which saw eight start-ups grow their sales fourfold during the six-month program. It is now into its second year, with 10 start-ups currently in the program.

Accelerator Benefits

•  One-on-one mentorship program with PepsiCo executives and brand accelerator experts, whose expertise will work with start-ups to overcome challenges in marketing, distribution, manufacturing, supply chain, packaging, label claims, fundraising or other elements of their business.
• $20,000 in grant funding and will participate in a six-month business optimization program designed to accelerate growth.
• Personalized mentorship with executives from some of PepsiCo’s brands, including Quaker, Naked, KeVita, Stacy’s, Red Rock Deli and Off the Eaten Path.
• At the end of the program, one start-up will be awarded an additional $100,000 in funding to continue its expansion, and an opportunity to continue partnering with PepsiCo to further its growth.

Apply Today

Start-ups hoping to be considered for the program should have sales between $250,000 and $5MM and must apply by the October 12, 2018 deadline.

For more information and full details go to www.nutritiongreenhouse.com 

The post Apply to PepsiCo’s US Nutrition Greenhouse Accelerator by Oct 10 [Sponsored] appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

This is a sponsored post from the PepsiCo Nutrition Greenhouse.

Only 1 Week Left to Apply For PepsiCo’s Nutrition Greenhouse Incubator

Applications are now open for the 2nd cohort for PepsiCo’s Nutrition Greenhouse incubator programme.

PepsiCo is seeking to identify up to ten emerging brands in the nutrition space with products aimed at European consumers to take part in its Nutrition Greenhouse programme.

The selected companies will receive €20,000 in funding as well as the opportunity to work alongside experts from some of PepsiCo’s leading brands, including Quaker, Alvalle, Sunbites and Tropicana.

In addition to the initial €20,000 grant, each of the entrepreneurs selected will benefit from a six-month mentorship programme, featuring one-on-one pairing with PepsiCo executives. At the end of the scheme, one winning company will be awarded a €100,000 prize to continue its expansion and, in partnership with PepsiCo, will have the opportunity to explore potential collaborations with leading retailers and/or possible trials through e-commerce.

Applications are now open, and brands currently delivering sales of €5 million or less are invited to submit their entries by June 11. To find out more and apply, visit www.nutritiongreenhouse.com.

About The PepsiCo Nutrition Greenhouse

The PepsiCo Nutrition Greenhouse programme is part of PepsiCo’s commitment to open innovation and to collaborating with the food and beverage changemakers of the future. The programme, which launched in 2017, saw eight companies achieve estimated combined growth of over €10 million – a fourfold increase in sales over its duration. Year two will include a broader focus on nutrition beyond health and wellness, towards brands that tap into key lifestyle trends, enable personal performance or are purpose-driven.

The post Apply To PepsiCo’s Nutrition Greenhouse Incubator appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

This is a sponsored post from the Chobani Incubator. 

The Chobani® Incubator is launching a residency for food tech startups in our ongoing mission to bring better food to more people. In addition to helping emerging natural food and beverage product companies grow, we want to solve challenges all along the food and agriculture value chain: from waste reduction to food safety to supply chain traceability and more. We will bring tech entrepreneurs to the front lines of food manufacturing to enable them to tap into our operations, supply chain, logistics and quality assurance expertise to build innovative solutions to the industry’s biggest challenges.

We give growing companies access to our network and expertise in order to scale up their operations and achieve significant growth. We’re looking for early-stage startups with technical expertise eager to iterate and improve their products and services based on Chobani’s input. If that’s you, we encourage you to apply.

We are also accepting applications for the Fall 2018 class of our Chobani® Incubator program.

The Chobani Incubator will continue to focus on helping emerging food and beverage CPG brands. We’re looking for passionate founders shaking up the food industry with innovative solutions to help bring better food to more people. If you’re making a delicious, nutritious, natural and affordable product, we highly encourage you to apply.

If you’ve applied to the Incubator in the past and are debating whether to apply again, consider this: Over half of the companies in our current cohort (five out of nine) had previously applied to our program before being selected in the spring. We absolutely encourage you to apply again and demonstrate why now is your time to be a part of the Chobani Incubator.

We encourage you to visit the FAQ section to learn more about the program and application. For further questions, you can contact us at info@chobaniincubator.com.

The post Chobani Incubator is Launching a Food Tech Residency appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

This is a sponsored post from FoodBytes! by Rabobank.

Calling All Rising Star Food & Agriculture Startups!

Rabobank’s next-generation pitch competition FoodBytes! is coming to London on September 12 and 13. Cutting-edge CPG, food tech and agtech startups focused on the triple bottom-line are encouraged to apply by Sunday, July1. Get the connections and mentorship to help take your business to the next level. Learn more about the selection criteria and apply to pitch today!

Food+Tech Connect has been a proud partner of FoodBytes! since 2015 and is thrilled to support their first event in London. The FoodBytes! roster of Europe-based alumni includes Impact Vision, The Real Co, Koupe and many more. Will you be next?

How will FoodBytes! Benefit Your Business?

• Get one-on-one expert mentorship on key business development areas
• Pitch to a room full of investors, executives, media and potential partners / customers
• Join a global alumni community of 210+ cutting edge startups
• Check out what our winners and finalists have to say about their FB! experience

The post FoodBytes! is Coming to London – Apply to Pitch by July 1 appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Rabobank’s FoodBytes! is heading to Montreal on May 16. From data-driven apiary management and seafood by-catch reduction tech to sparkling superfood beverages and single origin pantry staples, you’ll see 20 cutting-edge entrepreneurs take the stage.

FTC is proud to be a supporting sponsor of FoodBytes! Montreal. As a member of the FTC community, save 15% on tickets by clicking the button below (discount will automatically populate).

Take the Stage During the Open Mic
Entrepreneurs in attendance will also have the chance to pitch during the open mic at 5 PM. Be one of the first 10 to sign up when doors open at 2 PM, and you’ll get 60 seconds on stage!

Can’t Make it in Person? Watch the Live Stream!
FoodBytes! Montreal will be streaming on Facebook Live. All you have to do is head to their Facebook page at 3 PM ET on May 16 to tune in. You’ll even have the chance to vote for the People’s Choice Award winner via the FoodBytes! app.

The post Snag Tix to FoodBytes! Montreal 🇨🇦 Pitch During Open Mic + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

We are thrilled to partner with

Editors Note: Please note this database relies on a variety of public sources of information such as industry publications, newsletters, social media mentions, and SEC filings to track investors and investments. While a best effort is made, no guarantee is given regarding its comprehensiveness or accuracy. The database covers the U.S. branded food and beverage category, which includes in-market products sold to consumers through e-commerce or traditional retail channels. Please see our 2018 report for updated 2017 data. 

$1.08B in Venture Capital Invested Across 99 Food & Beverage Deals

With acquisitions on the rise and more capital flowing into the industry, 2017 was a great year for U.S.-based food and beverage startups. The year saw $1.08 billion in venture capital invested across 99 deals, according to our research. This is an 87.8% increase from the 66 deals reported by Dow Jones Venture Source in 2016. There were 124 reported VC financings in 2017, however only 99 reported the amount of capital invested. The largest check size of the year was for $190 million to Brewdog, with a median check size of $4.25 million and average check size of $10.9 million. Despite a slight decline from 142 deals in 2016, M&A remained strong with 136 food and beverage deals closed in 2017, according to SDR Ventures.

Please see our 2018 report for updated data, available to us

Notable Trends Driving 2017 Food & Beverage Investment

1. Food is Hot: More people than ever are paying attention to, creating, and investing in food brands. What was once an overlooked, stodgy industry now has a “cool” factor the natural food pioneers of yesteryear could only have dreamed of. As food choices have become a manner of self-expression, categories ranging from craft beer to salty snacks have exploded to fulfill consumer demands, and celebrities and tech investors are taking notice. This is reflected everywhere from the growing number of investors and funds in the space (450+ last year alone), to the record number of attendees at events like Expo West (85,000 attendees), to the mainstream media coverage of food businesses.

2. E-Commerce is Here: For many, Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods validated food’s e-commerce future. While meal kit companies like Blue Apron have struggled, nascent digitally-native food brands like Daily Harvest and Soylent have shown great promise. The U.S. e-commerce food and beverage category is expected to grow from just $4 billion and 0.8% of e-comm market share in 2015 to $31 billion and 5.5% of e-commerce market share by 2022 and the events of 2017 are important markers on that trajectory.

3. Plant Power: The most innovative food and beverage startups, by and large, have focused on supplanting traditionally animal-based products with plant, nut and other alternative nutrition sources. Startups such as Ripple, which makes milk from peas, and Impossible Foods, which creates impossibly realistic plant-based “burgers,” are leading the charge in products that do not sacrifice taste for their environmental and ethical benefits.

4. Incumbents Try to Regain Market Share: As big CPG companies continued losing market share, there was again significant M&A activity in 2017 with 136 deals compared to 142 in 2016. As such, corporations continue to adjust their size expectations for targets, acquiring startups with lower EBITDAs as a strategic, defensive move to rebalance eroding market share.

Investor Trends

Increased participation of traditionally tech focused investors, a greater emphasis on data driven investing, celebrity participation, and a lopsided funneling of dollars towards the hottest deals and categories defined the major trends of the year.

Many deals reflected the increased sector interest from traditionally tech focused VCs, such as Greycroft (investor in Penrose Hill), GV (investor in Soylent, Blue Bottle and Ripple Foods), and Lightspeed Venture Partners (investor in Daily Harvest). Horizons Ventures, which primarily invests in bleeding-edge tech, helped lead both JUST’s $150 million round and the $75 million Series E for Impossible Foods. As CircleUp CEO Ryan Caldbeck argued in a TechCrunch article, “The uptick in tech VC dollars going to the CPG market is partly because tech investing is brutally competitive and saturated, and largely because these VCs are awakening to the strong historical returns in CPG, especially with the trend leaning towards small brands stealing market share.”

Traditional F&B investors focused on emerging trends and categories like cleaner labels, higher protein, better-for-you snacks and cold brew. Tech-first investors seemed to favor new models of distribution from startups like ALOHA and Daily Harvest, as well as startups with a heavy food science focus like  Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, and Perfect Day.

CircleUp brought data science to CPG investing in 2017 with the release of Helio, a proprietary machine learning platform that collects billions of data points on over 1.2 million consumer and retail companies in the U.S. to analyze the relative strength and likelihood of success of companies. Helio is designed to help investors make better bets and to inform investment decisions for its newly launched $125 million fund CirlceUp Growth Partners. Notably, CircleUp also launched CircleUp Credit Advisors, a credit platform that provides approved startup CPG businesses with revolving lines of credit to help businesses finance business growth.

The trendiness of food startups has garnered celebrity involvement and investment. Leonardo DiCaprio invested in Hippeas and Beyond Meat, Drake invested in MatchaBar, Serena Williams and Gwyneth Paltrow bought into Daily Harvest, and Olivia Munn took a stake in Chef’s Cut. Celebrities are also getting their hands dirty, with Jennifer Garner joining baby food startup Once Upon a Farm and Ayesha Curry debuting her meal kit startup Homemade. Expect to see more of this in 2018 as celebrities embrace the sales driving potential of their influence.

Notable Exits

As big CPG companies continued losing market share, there was again significant M&A activity in 2017 with 136 deals compared to 142 in 2016. Starting with Mars’s minority investment in KIND at a $4 billion valuation and continuing with the announced $1.6 billion SkinnyPop acquisition by Hershey’s and the $4.9 billion Snyder’s-Lance acquisition by Campbell’s Soup, the mega CPGs may be prioritizing stability and needle moving, immediate top line impact over lofty growth projections. Perhaps, some big companies fare best acquiring medium size companies, as there remains a more navigable cultural and operational philosophy between organizations of comparable size.

Still, incumbents are also acquiring earlier stage startups that are on-trend, clean label, and aligned to consumer demand. Unilever, for example, acquired Sir Kensington’s, a maker of “condiments with character,” for $140 million. Kellogg’s purchased RXBAR, a producer of clean label protein bars, for $600 million. Additionally, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. acquired plant-based cheese manufacturer Daiya for $325 million driven by its desire to capitalize on the growth of the plant based market.

In 2017, tech backed food had headline grabbing successful exits, like Blue Bottle’s $425 million majority acquisition by Nestle, as well as  flops like Juicero shutting down after raising $120 million. This begs the question of whether the additional capital entering the ecosystem will find its ROI from CPG incumbents who have essentially outsourced innovation to startup M&A or if valuations will need to decrease.

Investment Categories & Trends

2017 saw $1.08 billion invested in food and beverage startups. The majority of the funding went towards alternative protein focused brands, although other categories and characteristics, such as e-commerce and RTD coffee, also drew investor attention.

Top 20 Food & Beverage VC Investments

There were some mega deals in 2017. Occupying the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th spots were plant-based protein brands. The Top 20 deals (of 99 disclosed financings) accounted for over 72% of total VC funding.

 Food & Beverage VC Investments by Quarter

While there does appear to be significant quarter over quarter changes in deal activity, it’s usually the result of outlier investments skewing the trend in an upward direction. For instance, Q2, the largest quarter of the year, saw over $418,000,000 worth of checks went out in that period. Nearly half of those dollars, however, went towards just two companies: JUST ($150,000,000) and Soylent ($50,000,000). That said, investors and founders seem relatively likely to close a deal before year end but if not, are in no rush judging by January and February.

VC Funding For Alternative Protein Brands

VC’s invested $179.5 million in alternative protein brands developing everything from meat to milk. The top funders in this category include Horizons Ventures, Collaborative Fund, and Khosla Ventures. Tyson doubled down on its investment in Beyond Meat, which it already owned a 5 percent stake in. Consumer demand for plant-based food and investor activism are driving growth in this sector. A Nielsen study commissioned the Plant Based Foods Association and The Good Food Institute  the leading retail sales research company, found that the total market for the plant-based food sector tops $3.1 billion in sales in 2017, up 8.1 percent from the previous year. The Plant Based Foods Association also released new SPINS data indicating that the total market for the plant-based sector (excluding data from Whole Foods Market) tops $5 billion in sales.

Funding For Digitally Native Food & Beverage Brands

Offsetting what The Atlantic dubbed The Great Retail Apocalypse of 2017 has been the meteoric rise of e-commerce across all categories, but especially food. According to Statista, the domestic Food & Personal Care e-commerce category will grow from roughly $47 billion in 2017 to $78 billion by 2022, a CAGR of ~10.7%. Riding this wave are numerous digitally native brands such as Soylent, Daily Harvest and Vital Proteins, who collected much of the $168 million in venture funding for e-commerce food and beverage brands in 2017.

VC Funding For RTD Coffee Brands

Cold brew has popped up in VC portfolios just as fast as it’s flown off store shelves.  The top four publicly disclosed financings brought in $41,000,000 million in 2017 alone. According to Euromonitor, cold brew, “is going to continue to be a double-digit value growth winner.” After growing by nearly 15 percent in 2017-2018 to over $3 billion, the category is expected to grow a further 10.3 percent in 2018-2019. By 2022, the category is expected to be over $4.8 billion.

2017 Food & Beverage M&A Deals

Bai

• Product(s): Antioxidant Infusion Drinks
• Acquirer: Dr. Pepper Snapple Group
• Date: 1/31/17 (closed)
• Price: $1,700,000,000
• Why It Matters: Because it was a big Bai that hasn’t quite panned out. Snapple quickly replaced founder Ben Weiss and downgraded its projections for the brand. Anyone familiar with Zico and Coke’s failed marriage would find this situation dejavu. A huge cult audience does not always translate into true, mass market appeal.

Blue Bottle Coffee

• Products: Retail Coffee Shops; RTD Cold Brew
• Acquirer: Nestle
• Date: 9/14/17 (announced)
• Price: $425,000,000 (for 68%)
• Why It Matters: Because it validates the retail first strategy. As La Colombe has done with its Draft Latte, the in person appeal of Blue Bottle’s beautifully designed retail stores, along with their loyal VC following, paved the way to launch one of the top performing ready-to-drinks on the market.

Casamigos Spirits

• Products: Tequila
• Acquirer: Diageo
• Date: 6/21/17 (announced)
• Price: $1,000,000,000 (including earnout)
• Why It Matters: Because it shows the power of influencer-led brands. From beauty with Michelle Phan’s IPSY to alcohol with George Clooney’s Casamigos, many successful brands are being built top down. Influencers can best turn their fame into fortune by monetizing their audience around packaged products.

Chameleon Cold Brew

• Products: Cold Brew Coffee
• Acquirer: Nestle
• Date: 11/3/17
• Price: Undisclosed
• Why It Matters: Because acquirers continue to adjust their size expectations for targets. Chameleon had approximately $18M in sales in 2016. These acquisitions are strategic and somewhat defensive in that they don’t move the needle but instead, rebalance eroding market share. Also, because the coconut water wars have given way to the cold brew battle and Nestle isn’t content to let JAB, who already owns Peet’s, Stumptown, Keurig, and Intelligentsia – and is rumored to be eyeing Dunkin – own the entire category.

Daiya

• Products: Alternative Dairy Food Products:
• Acquirer: Otsuka Pharmaceutical
• Date: 7/27/17 (announced)
• Price: $323,201,340 (converted from CAD)
• Why It Matters: Because it validates what many saw as the biggest trend of 2017: the adoption of plant based proteins. No longer limited to tasteless, hippy looking “fake” meats and cheeses, alternative proteins have rightly gained mainstream acceptance for their superior environmental, health and nutritional properties.

Hi-Ball / Alta Palla

• Products: Soft Drinks; Sparkling Water
• Acquirer: AB-InBev
• Date: 7/20/17 (announced)
• Price: Undisclosed
• Why It Matters: Because the world’s largest beer company, AB-InBev, clearly has non-alcohol aspirations. Coupled with what seems a better understanding of “craft” than its peers and its forward-thinking investments through ZX Ventures in Owl’s Brew, GoLive, and Canvas, Coke and Pepsi may have to fend off not just nimble startups but also, a massive third player.

Rao’s Speciality Foods

• Products: Tomato Sauce
• Acquirer: Savos Brands
• Date: 6/8/17 (announced)
• Price: Undisclosed
• Why It Matters: Because it shows strategic acquirers haven’t totally pushed out PE dollars. It’s also nice to see an iconic brand acquired by someone other than Metropoulos & Co. The strategics are buying fast growing, low-profit startups, leaving the legacy, stable cash flows of brands like Rao’s for PE.

RXBAR

• Products: Protein / Snack Bars
• Acquirer: Kellogg
• Date: 10/6/17 (announced)
• Price: $600,000,000
• Why It Matters: Because it does not always take massive amount of outside capital to build a brand. In a time where capital availability for food and beverage brands has skyrocketed, RXBAR hit a grand slam with just $10,000 raised. RXBAR also demonstrates how taking transparency to the extreme – their packaging is the nutrition label – resonates so strongly with Millennial consumers.

Sir Kensington’s

• Products: Condiments
• Acquirer: Unilever
• Date: 4/20/17 (announced)
• Price: $140,000,000
• Why It Matters: Because the brand epitomizes shifting consumer preferences and doing the opposite of the Heinz Ketchup playbook. This demonstrates how even the most iconic brands are not immune to disruption. Like new wave startup darling Hippeas, Sir Kensington’s managed to create both a differentiated brand and innovative products, especially it’s chickpea based mayo, Fabanaise. Read more about the acquisition here.

SkinnyPop (Amplify Brands)

• Product(s): Popcorn
• Acquirer: Hershey’s
• Date: 12/18/17 (announced)
• Price: $1,600,000,000
• Why It Matters: Because it’s personal. I attended the same high school as founder Pam Netsky and started my career in investment banking at Houlihan Lokey, which advised Amplify on its initial sale to TA Associates, a Chicago based private equity firm. This experience, along with witnessing the initial sale of Snack Factory to Snyder’s-Lance, is what drew me into the food industry and I couldn’t be happier!

Snyder’s-Lance

• Products: Salty Snacks
• Acquirer: Campbell’s Soup
• Date: 12/18/17 (announced)
• Price: $4,980,000,000
• Why It Matters: Because Millennials don’t eat, they snack. This trend has taken a bite out of Campbell’s core soup business and the Snyder’s acquisition enables Campbell’s not only to capitalize on this shift but also amass a portfolio of brands including Cape Cod, Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps and Late July with a hipper image than its iconic tomato soup.

Thanasi Foods

• Products: Jerky; Seeds Snacks
• Acquirer: Conagra
• Date: 3/16/17 (announced)
• Price: Undisclosed
• Why It Matters: Because protein is still in and because Conagra apparently sees a brighter future in branded CPG. In 2016, it acquired Frontera Foods, a Chicago based salsa and Mexican foods company while selling off its lower margin, high volume private label division sale to TreeHouse.

2017 Food & Beverage VC Deals

BANZA

• Founders: Brian Rudolph, Scott Rudolph
• Product(s): Chickpea Pasta
• Investment Date: 6/12/17
• 2017 Funding: $7,500,000
• Total Funding: $9,400,000
• Known Investors: Beechwood Capital, Chobani Food Incubator, Strand Equity Partners, SWAT Equity Partners, Vayner/RSE, Rosecliff Ventures, DGNL Ventures
• Comments: Behold the power of the humble chickpea. Beyond its direct explosion when Sabra revitalized hummus, chickpeas have silently become the quiet kale, powering three major brands in distinct categories – Sir Kensington’s Fabnaise, Hippeas salty extruded snacks, and BANZA pasta.

Barnana

• Founder: Caue Suplicy
• Product(s): Upcycled Banana Snack
• Investment Date: 1/18/17
• 2017 Funding: $5,300,000
• Total Funding: $10,300,000
• Known Investors: Blueberry Ventures, Boulder Food Group (BFG), CircleUp, Finn Capital Partners, Trently Advisors, V3 Capital Partners
• Comments: Barnana is one of a handful of companies harnessing the environmental and economic advantages of would-be-wasted food. As Bai did with the frequently scraped coffee cherry husk or brands like Imperfect Produce and Misfit Juicery are doing with unaesthetic fruit, Barnana is doing – deliciously – with bananas.

Beyond Meat

• Founder: Ethan Brown
• Product(s): Plant Based Meat
• Investment Date: 1/18/17
• 2017 Funding: $55,000,000
• Total Funding: $150,900,000
• Known Investors: 301 Inc., DNS Capital, GlassWall Syndicate, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, New Crop Capital, Obvious Ventures, S2G Ventures, Stray Dog Capital, Tyson New Ventures, Cleveland Avenue
• Comments: Beyond Meat is a fascinating player among the truly believable meat replacement startups. Unlike Impossible Foods, whose go to market strategy has been to partner with premium branded on-premise chains where they guide distribution and preparation standards, Beyond Meat has been faster to mass market and is already in 12,000 stores and have sold over 11 million Beyond Burgers to date. It’ll be interesting to see if they can lock in brand loyalty from most customers before Impossible Foods, Memphis Meats and others can achieve similar scale.

Bhakti Chai

• Founder: Brook Eddy
• Product(s): Chai Tea
• Investment Date: 9/11/17
• 2017 Funding: $5,278,397
• Total Funding: $9,128,937
• Known Investors: 301 Inc., DNS Capital, GlassWall Syndicate, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, New Crop Capital, Obvious Ventures, S2G Ventures, Stray Dog Capital, Tyson New Ventures, Cleveland Avenue
• Comments: In 2010, Spark Capital’s Andrew Parker wrote a now famous blog post examining the “Spawn of craigslist.” As tech startups from StubHub to AirBnB have nipped away various functions with their own standalone platforms, similarly, food and beverage startups have begun to transform subsets of the largest categories into standalone brands. In the case of the massive $5.8 billion domestic RTD tea category, the obvious leaders are chai and matcha.

Bobo’s Oat Bars

• Founder: Beryl Stafford
• Product(s): Bars
• Investment Date: 3/2/17
• 2017 Funding: $8,000,000
• Total Funding: $8,000,000
• Known Investors: Ridgeline Ventures, Boulder Investment Group Reprise (BIGR Ventures)
• Comments: In what is arguably the most competitive category in food and with brands like RXBAR already chosen as the acquisition worthy winners, it’ll be interesting to see just how many more, however delicious, can succeed.

Bonafide Provisions

• Founder: Sharon Brown
• Product(s): Bone Broth, Vegetable Smoothies
• Investment Date: 8/8/17
• 2017 Funding: $4,500,000
• Total Funding: $4,500,000
• Known Investors: AccelFoods, Boulder Investment Group Reprise (BIGR Ventures), Ridgeline Ventures
• Comments: A recent Washington Post expose noted, “acolytes say the resulting collagen-rich liquid reduces inflammation, cures leaky guts, nourishes the immune system, strengthens bones and promotes radiant hair and skin. Detractors think it’s a ridiculous rip-off.”  Will bone broth live up to its lofty expectations or will it bust like an over-hyped draft prospect? The verdict is out.

Bulletproof

• Founder: Dave Asprey
• Product(s): Butter Coffee; Fat Water; Snacks; Supplements
• Investment Date: 5/24/17
• 2017 Funding: $19,000,000
• Total Funding: $31,300,000
• Known Investors: CAVU Ventures, Trinity Ventures
• Comments: Stemming from Dave Asprey’s audaciously titled 2014 book, “The Bulletproof Diet: Lose up to a Pound a Day, Reclaim Energy and Focus, Upgrade Your Life,” the brand offers, “high performance food, drinks & supplements to power your life.” It remains to be seen whether its current fanatical following will translate into long-term success, with one potential pitfall being that “Diets Do Not Make Good Investments.” Bulletproof’s core coffee line will also be competing with the other darling child of cold brew, nitro, which offers a latte like experience without calories, fat or other additives. Which do you prefer?

Celsius

• Founder: Janice Haley
• Product(s): Energy Drinks
• Investment Date: 3/14/17
• 2017 Funding: $15,000,000
• Total Funding: $34,000,000
• Known Investors: Horizons Ventures
• Comments: Legions of startups have attempted to dethrone the long-reigning Red Bull, but only Monster has landed a market share blow. And yet, Celsius and others bravely continue to charge forward alongside brands in adjacent categories like cold-brew who are attempting to sway energy drink consumers their way as a healthier option. Consumer preferences continue to shift away from unnatural ingredients, however, and Celsius’s significant capital backing and superior health positioning may just give it a fighting chance.

Core Hydration

• Founders: Lance Collins, Lukasz Gottwald
• Product(s): Water; Flavored Beverages
• Investment Date: 5/24/17
• 2017 Funding: $16,200,000
• Total Funding: $43,100,000
• Known Investors: Halen Brands
• Comments: Founder Lance Collins is the Elon Musk of beverage, having also successfully founded FUZE and NOS Energy. This goes to show the value of connections and experience in such a competitive field and the power of a rockstar CEO. The ability to access capital, distributors and high profile supporters such as Katy Perry and Adam Levine has put Collins well on his way to a third successful exit.

Daily Harvest

• Founder: Rachel Drori
• Product(s): Smoothies, Soups
• Investment Date: 6/8/17
• 2017 Funding: $4,000,000
• Total Funding: $4,900,000
• Known Investors: VMG, Brand Project, M13 Company, Collaborative Fund, 14W
• Comments: Daily Harvest deserves a ton of credit. First, Rachel Dori and her team have created a scalable, direct-to-consumer frozen supply chain in a category seemingly ill suited to e-commerce. And second, they have one of the most impressively curated feeds on Instagram with 195,500 engaged followers and counting. The ability to build a loyal audience without sampling and engaging customers at a retail level is a remarkable accomplishment. It paves the way for Daily Harvest to enter brick and mortar with pre-existing demand and velocity as other consumer brands such as AWAY with luggage and Casper with mattresses have begun to do.

DrinkMAPLE

• Founders: Kate Weiler, Jeff Rose
• Product(s): Maple Water, Melon Water
• Investment Date: 2/28/17
• 2017 Funding: $3,880,000
• Total Funding: $5,340,000
• Known Investors: FreshTracks Capital, Centerman Capital, Cleveland Avenue
• Comments: A potential challenger to the coconut water category, DrinkMAPLE shares many similarities with the incumbent: single ingredient, hydrating, and a polarizing flavor profile. It arguably takes better to flavors than coconut water and it’s primary source – maple trees – are available domestically, making it more sustainable to boot.

Farmhouse Culture

• Founders: Kathryn Lukas
• Product(s): Gut Healthy Chips, Vegetables, and Beverages
• Investment Date: 3/13/17
• 2017 Funding: $7,750,000
• Total Funding: $12,80,000
• Known Investors: Renewal Funds, White Road Partners, 301 Inc, Advantage Capital
• Comments: Instead of building a company around a brand or product line, Farmhouse has built it around the body, creating a line of products unified by their claimed digestive benefits. This appears to be a successful and unique strategy, allowing them to extend across different areas of the store naturally.

Fishpeople Seafood

• Founders: Duncan Berry, Kipp Baratoff
• Product(s): Sustainable Seafood
• Investment Date: 6/6/17
• 2017 Funding: $12,000,000
• Total Funding: $18,400,000
• Known Investors: 3×5 Special Opportunity Partners, Advantage Capital Partners, Blueberry Ventures, Collaborative Fund, S2G Ventures
• Comments: The seafood industry has been noticeably resistant to innovation compared to the snack aisle and beverage cooler. Fishpeople has brought transparency to one of the most environmentally threatened categories while making consumer facing products that are approachable for modern consumers.

Foodstirs

• Founders: Galit Laibow, Greg Fleishman, Sarah Michelle Gellar
• Product(s): Baking Products
• Investment Date: 7/31/17
• 2017 Funding: $5,000,000
• Total Funding: $4,000,000
• Known Investors: Beechwood Capital, Cambridge SPG
• Comments: Convenience? Check. All natural, organic and non-GMO? Check. Celebrity founder? Check. Direct-to-Consumer? Check. Foodstirs has all the checks modern, informed shopper are looking for.

good culture

• Founders: Jesse Merrill
• Product(s): Cottage Cheese
• Investment Date: 9/12/17
• 2017 Funding: $6,000,000
• Total Funding: $9,800,000
• Known Investors: 301 Inc., CAVU Ventures
• Comments: Good Culture has reawakened a stale but high potential category. High protein, low in fat and snackable, the well executed branding alongside creative flavors has transformed staid cottage cheese into an appealing option.

Grainful

• Founders: Jeannine Sacco, Jan Pajersk
• Product(s): Oat Centric Frozen and Prepared Meals
• Investment Date: 6/13/17
• 2017 Funding: $3,300,000
• Total Funding: $6,010,000
• Known Investors: Advantage Capital Partners, CircleUp, Rand Capital
• Comments: Grainful has been a fantastic, differentiated addition to prepared meals. They demonstrate the eureka possible in food and beverage – the brand started when the founders wanted to make dinner but didn’t have traditional grains like rice and pasta on hand and still managed to make a delicious meal using steel cut oats.

High Brew

• Founders: David Smith, Elizabeth Smith
• Product(s): Cold Brew Coffee
• Investment Date: 5/30/17
• 2017 Funding: $17,100,000
• Total Funding: $28,400,000
• Known Investors: Boulder Investment Group Reprise (BIGR Ventures), CAVU Ventures, Tasty Ventures
• Comments: High Brew has seen some high growth as the cold brew category continues to explode. Its affordable, straightforward, right-sized cans have won over consumers from convenience to conventional and things show no sign of slowing. They’ve also dipped their toes into the protein and coffee subset, which brands such as Sunniva are focusing on full time. It’ll be fascinating to see which areas under the cold brew umbrella, from butter to protein to alternative dairy, perform best.

Hippeas

• Founder: Livio Bisterzo
• Product: Chickpea Puffs
• Investment Date: 10/10/17
• 2017 Funding: $10,000,000
• Total Funding: $10,000,000
• Known Investors: CAVU Ventures, Green Park Brands, Strand Equity Partners
• Comments: Hippeas has a visionary founder who has created one of the most successful launches in industry history. From starting in mid-2016, Hippeas has closed two rounds from top tier firms and with participation from the likes of Leo DiCaprio, presciently built its snacks using the deservedly on-trend chickpea and was generating monthly revenue of nearly $1,000,000 barely a year post launch. Part of their success has been understanding The ROI of Surprise and Delight.

Humm Kombucha

• Founders: Jaime Danek, Michelle Mitchell
• Product(s): Kombucha
• Investment Date: 6/5/17
• 2017 Funding: $10,000,000
• Total Funding: $17,600,000
• Known Investors: VMG
• Comments: Next to cold brew, kombucha remains one of the hottest areas of beverage and Humm is well positioned to meet the demand. The company announced it’s opening of a new plant at the end of 2016 capable of producing 36,000,000 bottles per year. Traditional CPG startups have looked to co-packers to handle production, but those at the forefront of innovation seem to be increasingly consider keeping production in house. This strategy, however operationally demanding, enables more rapid innovation, fuller control and a more compelling brand story than employing a third party producer allows.

ICONIC

• Founders: Billy Bosch
• Product(s): Protein Drinks
• Investment Date: 9/13/17
• 2017 Funding: $8,000,000
• Total Funding: $9,000,000
• Known Investors: AccelFoods, KarpReilly
• Comments: In keeping with the social issue zeitgeist of 2017, ICONIC’s success is due in large part to creating a healthy, high-protein drink void of the hyper masculine branding which characterizes Muscle Milk and others. Everyone needs food and ICONIC’s success serves as an important reminder for new products and innovations to not overlook the diversity of consumer wants and needs.

Impossible Foods

• Founders: Patrick Brown
• Product(s): Plant-Protein Meats
• Investment Date: 7/28/17
• 2017 Funding: $75,000,000
• Total Funding: $313,000,000
• Known Investors: Collaborative Fund, Horizons Ventures, Khosla Ventures
• Comments: As an avowed carnivore, my first bite of the Impossible Burger was the most memorable food experience of my life. Beyond multi-star Michelin hauts or the fantastic pizza of Brooklyn, the likeliness of Bareburger’s rendition to the real deal cannot be overstated. Goldman Sachs recently declared “meatless meats” as one of “8 Huge Trends That Are About to Change the World” and companies like Impossible are turning the future into reality.

Just, Inc. (formerly Hampton Creek)

• Founders: Josh Tetrick, Josh Balk
• Product(s): Vegan Cookies, Eggs and Sauces
• Investment Date: 5/26/17
• 2017 Funding: $150,000,000
• Total Funding: $373,000,000
• Known Investors: Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Radicle Impact, Collaborative Fund, AME Cloud Ventures, Horizon Ventures, Ali Partovi, Hadi Partovi, Ashvin Patel, Scott Banister, Kat Taylor, Mustafa Salesman, Far East Ventures, Tao Capital Partners, Demis Cassabas, WP Global Partners, Jean Piggozzi, Eduardo Severin, Velos Partners, OS Fund, BlackPine Private Equity Partners, Marc Benioff, Brian Meehan, Uni-President Enterprises Corporation
• Comments: JUST has continued to push forward on its mission driven path, overcoming product and personnel hiccups along the way. Despite its board walking out, accusations of deceptive buy back practices and inappropriate work relationships, the company closed one of the largest financing rounds of the year and launched a new egg free ‘scramble’ product to glowing reviews.

JUST Goods

• Founders: Grace Jeon, Ira Laufer
• Product(s): Bottled Water
• Investment Date: 9/29/17
• 2017 Funding: $2,010,000
• Total Funding: $15,700,000
• Known Investors: Cranberry Capital, DGNL Ventures, HDS Capital, Raptor Consumer Partners
• Comments: Often, the intersection of two superior qualities creates disruptive mass appeal. In the case of JUST Goods, the maker of a sustainable bottled water, they are price and eco-friendliness. The specially designed Tetra Pak paper-based packaging allows the brand to stand out on a crowded shelf, is more economical at scale than plastic and is 82% recyclable. Given the threats of climate change, economically viable improvements to our global consumption of one million plastic bottles per minute ought to be applauded.

Kidfresh

• Founders: Matt Cohen, Gilles Deloux
• Product(s): Frozen Kids Meals
• Investment Date: 5/9/17
• 2017 Funding: $10,300,000
• Total Funding: $10,300,000
• Known Investors: AccelFoods, Emil Capital Partners, Monogram Capital Partners
• Comments: There are few areas where consumers are less price sensitive than the their children’s health. Despite this, frozen and refrigerated kids meals has been stagnant for some time and Kidfresh has placed itself at the nexus of a general shift towards healthier, all natural food preferences and modern, highly informed parents seeking to provide their kids with superior nutrition.

Kill Cliff

• Founders: Todd Ehrlich
• Product(s): Energy Drinks
• Investment Date: 8/10/17
• 2017 Funding: $13,500,000
• Total Funding: $24,700,000
• Known Investors: Sherbrooke Capital, Sunrise Strategic Partners
• Comments: In the notoriously competitive energy drink market, Kill Cliff has found its niche within the CrossFit community. The brand also donates a portion of its sales to a foundation benefitting Navy Seals, in which founder Todd Ehrlich previously served. By combining a loyal niche and a genuine mission, they are successfully attacking the well defended territory of Red Bull and Monster.

koia

• Founder: Chris Hunter
• Product(s): Plant Protein Beverages
• Investment Date: 7/13/17
• 2017 Funding: $7,500,000
• Total Funding: $8,180,000
• Known Investors: AccelFoods, KarpReilly
• Comments: In his second beverage startup act, Chris Hunter has demonstrated a remarkable degree of entrepreneurial versatility. Formerly of Four Loko fame, Hunter has since adopted a healthier lifestyle as reflected in his new company, koia, which makes fresh, plant protein based smoothies. They’ve come a long way since their initial MVP and in a short period, have earned national distribution at Whole Foods with no signs of slowing.

Kuli Kuli

• Founders: Lisa Curtis
• Product(s): Moringa Bars and Powders
• Investment Date: 7/13/17
• 2017 Funding: $4,250,000
• Total Funding: $5,350,000
• Known Investors: Eighteen94 Capital, InvestEco, Radicle Capital, S2G Ventures, Terra, Village Capital
• Comments: It’s always exciting when a new food is introduced domestically. From matcha to quinoa to, in Kuli Kuli’s case, moringa, a nutrient dense leaf common in parts of Africa, the Americanizing of ingredients popular in other cultures and countries can be a tricky balancing act between approachability and respect for the original. Kuli Kuli is doing a great job, especially in its impact efforts: to date, it has planted over 1,000,000 moringa trees and provided more than $1.5 million in income to women-led farming cooperatives and nonprofits in Ghana.

nona lim

• Founders: Nona Lim
• Product(s): Bone Broth; Soups; Noodles
• Investment Date: 6/5/17
• 2017 Funding: $1,950,000
• Total Funding: $2,100,000
• Known Investors: AccelFoods, Cambridge SPG, CircleUp, Echo Capital Group, Harbinger Ventures
• Comments: Originally founded as a meal kit company, nona lim successfully pivoted away from what’s proven a problematic business model even for public companies like Blue Apron to zeroing in on asian inspired broths and noodles. The willingness to adapt without losing the incipient brand flavor is an important lesson for all early stage startups, but particularly those, like nona lim, attempting to create new categorizes such as bone broth.

Once Upon a Farm

• Founders: Jennifer Garner, John Foraker, Cassandra Curtis, Ari Raz
• Product(s): Baby Food
• Investment Date: 2/8/17
• 2017 Funding: $3,100,000
• Total Funding: $3,100,000
• Known Investors: Cambridge SPG, Harbinger Ventures, S2G Ventures
• Comments: If anyone can muscle their way into the crowded baby food category (eg. Kidfresh, NuturMe, etc.) it’s a dream team including John Foraker, who sold Annie’s to General Mills for in excess of $800 million and grounded A-lister Jennifer Garner. The brand also deserves bonus points for its supply chain transparency and excellent e-commerce design, the later an increasingly vital channel in the Age of Amazon.

Owl’s Brew

• Founder: Jennie Ripps
• Product(s): Mixers, Alcoholic Beverages
• Investment Date: 1/4/17
• 2017 Funding: $4,080,000
• Total Funding: $4,520,000
• Known Investors: Cambridge SPG, ZX Ventures, Crimson Seed Capital
• Comments: Not only has Owl’s Brew been a leader of the mixers category, they also debuted one of the most creative offerings in beer – the Radler, a part beer, part tea combo which pairs perfectly with outdoor summer evenings. The brand has justifiably earned the attention of ZX Ventures, the investment arm of AB InBev and it will be exciting to see if they have a third creative, category defining creation in the pipeline for 2018.

peeled snacks

• Founder: Noha Waibsnaider
• Product(s): Dried Fruit Snacks
• Investment Date: 5/17/17
• 2017 Funding: $4,460,000
• Total Funding: $7,230,000
• Known Investors: Fireman Capital Partners, Hammerstone Capital, Seurat Group, Avondale Ventures, TFIC
• Comments: The company is attacking the snack aisle from two angles: healthy fruit snacks and, more recently, extruded, plant-protein rich puffs. Upon closing their latest round, Noha Waibsnaider remarked, “one thing I learned from the dried fruit category is that when we started we didn’t really have strong competitors and it made it really hard to disrupt a category alone.” This touches on a fascinating, broader debate within food and beverage circles: is it wiser to “create” a category (eg. coconut water) or “disrupt” an established one (eg. cold brew coffee)?

Penrose Hill

• Founders: Erik Steigler, Philip James
• Product(s): Wine
• Investment Date: 2/27/17
• 2017 Funding: $5,000,000
• Total Funding: $7,250,000
• Known Investors: Prehype, Greycroft
• Comments: There is a clear lack of innovation in alcohol compared to the overall food and beverage industry. Beyond Smirnoff Ice, Fireball, Spiked Seltzer and Underwood canned wine, precious few truly differentiated alcohol brands emerge. The three tier system and generally tight TTB regulations explain most of the industry’s conservativeness, yet innovative businesses like Penrose Hill have nonetheless emerged. Using structured data and customer feedback, they’ve adopted a decidedly modern approach to product development in a craft characterized by its long standing traditions. It’s a unique, Millennial minded approach that’s won over both investors and customers alike.

Perfect Day

• Founders: Ryan Pandya, Perumal Gandhi
• Product(s): Alternative Dairy
• Investment Date: 5/3/17
• 2017 Funding: $20,500,000
• Total Funding: $26,700,000
• Known Investors: Horizons Ventures
• Comments: The majority of science focused food startups have come from Silicon Valley and Perfect Day is no exception. A self described “cellular agriculture company making milk from cell culture,” the company underwent a rebrand from Muufri to Perfect Day in August 2016, marrying their high growth worthy technology with a high growth worthy brand identity. Perfect Day is also among a growing number of startups backed by Hong Kong based billionaire Li Ka-shing, whose portfolio also includes Impossible Foods, JUST and Celsius.

Powerful

• Founders: Carlos Ramirez
• Product(s): Protein Enhanced Yogurt and Oatmeal
• Investment Date: 11/7/17
• 2017 Funding: $4,000,000
• Total Funding: $7,500,000
• Known Investors: CircleUp, River Hollow Partners, Reason Venture Partners, SWAT Equity Partners
• Comments: Powerful gained initial traction by launching a well covered irreverent marketing campaign targeting male consumers. Since then, they’ve toned down the bravado and expanded their product line while growing to $11 million in annual sales. Clearly the protein trend has enough capacity to support both female focused brands like Iconic and, albeit less than at its outset, male geared companies like Powerful.

PRE Brands

• Founder: Lenny Lebovich
• Product(s): Beef
• Investment Date: 2/24/17
• 2017 Funding: $1,120,000
• Total Funding: $2,120,000
• Known Investors: BRJ Ventures
• Comments: PRE Brands continues what has been a more and more common trope – food companies describing themselves as technology startups. From Sweetgreen to JUST, the technology startup image presumably connotes open-minded innovation and helps justify a tech company valuation multiple. Unlike some other meat suppliers, PRE Brands outsources production to partner farms, allowing it to focus on the brand experience. That said, essentially using a co-packer does not a tech startup make. Apart from that, their introduction of high quality beef and well designed packaging to a generally staid category deserves plenty of praise.

Protein2o

• Founders: Bob Kral
• Product(s): Protein Enhanced Water
• Investment Date: 11/16/17
• 2017 Funding: $4,00,000
• Total Funding: $11,480,000
• Known Investors: CK Capital Management Corporation
• Comments: Capitalizing on the ongoing protein trend, Protein2o has created a unique concept in the enhanced waters space. One potential pitfall may be the name, Protein2o, which could hamper line extension possibilities and comes across a bit unnatural and scientific. Founded and run by a team of CPG veterans, however, they have both experience and differentiation working in their favor and saw sales grow 300% in the first half of 2017 alone.

Purely Elizabeth

• Founders: Elizabeth Stein
• Product(s): Granola, Snacks and Grains
• Investment Date: 4/3/17
• 2017 Funding: $3,00,000
• Total Funding: $3,000,000
• Known Investors: 301 Inc.
• Comments: Like RXBAR, Purely Elizabeth has successfully taken the approach of avoiding dependency on venture capital. Only after generating $12 million in sales did they decide to accept outside funding, further proving the best brands attract outside capital but are not built on it.

Rhythm Superfoods

• Founders: Scott Jensen, Keith Wahrer
• Product(s): Vegetable Snacks
• Investment Date: 1/1/17
• 2017 Funding: $6,00,000
• Total Funding: $17,200,000
• Known Investors: 301 Inc., Blueberry Ventures, CircleUp, M13 Company, Tasty Ventures
• Comments: Founded in 2009, Rhythm seems to have really hit its stride nearly a decade in with its proprietary, all natural, crispy yet unfried vegetable chips, Following in the footsteps of successes like Popchips who offered crunch with less calories and timing their growth with rising consumer adoption of plant centric and vegan diets, Rhythm has a great future ahead.

SAFE + FAIR

• Founders: Dave Leyrer, Pete Najarian
• Product(s): Grains, Snacks and Deserts
• Investment Date: 5/3/17
• 2017 Funding: $10,00,000
• Total Funding: $14,000,000
• Known Investors: Acre Venture Partners
• Comments: Allergy friendly foods is a formula that’s had success in the past. Enjoy Life Foods, also founded in Chicago, went on to be acquired by Mondelez in 2015 and clearly Acre, the V.C. arm of Campbell’s, sees an equally bright future for SAFE + Fair.

Sipp

• Founder: Beth Wilson-Parentice
• Product(s): Flavored Beverages and Mixers
• Investment Date: 3/21/17
• 2017 Funding: $1,250,000
• Total Funding: $2,650,000
• Known Investors: Emil Capital Partners
• Comments: Considering its seemingly widespread distribution, Sipp has expanded remarkably well on relatively little disclosed funding. From upscale independents throughout the metro NYC area to, more recently, expansion into Costco and Safeway, the high margin, high class line has national appeal and potential. There have even been rumors of a potential Coca Cola acquisition in recent months and it wouldn’t be shocking to see Sipp in the M&A section of next year’s report.

SomruS

• Founder: Pankaj Garg
• Product(s): Liqueur
• Investment Date: 10/16/17
• 2017 Funding: $3,600,000
• Total Funding: $3,600,000
• Known Investors: Cleveland Avenue
• Comments: SomruS, an Indian liqueur similar to Baileys, is entering the surprisingly large global liqueurs and cordials market, estimated at $111 billion as of 2016. As the “craft” movement slows down, the smart VC money seems to be flowing to “weird” concepts with a true chance of disrupting large, established categories.

Soylent

• Founder: Rob Rhinehart
• Product(s): Meal Replacement Shakes
• Investment Date: 5/4/17
• 2017 Funding: $50,000,000
• Total Funding: $71,500,000
• Known Investors: Andreessen Horowitz, GV, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, TAO Capital
• Comments: Soylent has many of the markings of a brand set for success: true differentiation, support from an A list roster of VCs and some to be expected hiccups along the way – in particular, multiple product recalls this year. Nonetheless, Soylent is selling close to two million bottles per month despite extremely limited retail presence. The company is yet another example of how matching a creative go-to-market distribution strategy to a product weird enough to stand out can be a recipe for success.

Spindrift

• Founder: David Kimmell
• Product(s): Fruit Juice Beverages
• Investment Date: 5/12/17
• 2017 Funding: $13,100,000
• Total Funding: $23,500,000
• Known Investors: KarpReilly, New Ground Ventures, Prolog Ventures, Revelry Brands, RiverPark Ventures, VMG Partners, Warbos Venture Partners
• Comments: No commentary needed other than declaring Spindrift (apart from RISE Brewing Co., of course!) my favorite beverage on the market today. The branding, nutrition and taste are all exceptionally well executed and I’m proud to count myself as a loyal supporter.

Temple Turmeric

• Founder: Daniel Sullivan
• Product(s): Turmeric Beverages
• Investment Date: 2/28/17
• 2017 Funding: $2,400,000
• Total Funding: $5,680,000
• Known Investors: Boulder Investment Group Reprise (BIGR Ventures)
• Comments: The latest two editions Google’s Beverage Trends report identified turmeric as something to, “keep an eye on.” Undermining its great health benefits, turmeric’s insolubility and color degradation under heat make it technically challenging to work with. It may turn out that brands like REBBL, which also raised a large funding round from BIGR, have the wisest approach – deploying certain superfoods and spices in supporting roles rather than as standalone stars.

Vital Proteins

• Founder: Kurt Seidensticker
• Product(s): Collagen Products
• Investment Date: 11/1/17
• 2017 Funding: $19,000,000
• Total Funding: $19,000,000
• Known Investors: CAVU Ventures
• Comments: Mansome, a collagen focused beverage, is popular throughout Southeast Asia, so why can’t a collagen forward brand do well here? That’s at least part of the calculus behind CAVU’s decision to lead its latest round. If Vital can continue its rapid, category creating ascent – the four-year-old brand has achieved 240%+ consecutive year-over-year-growth for the past three years and has grown its retail presence into over 8,000 retail stores – it’ll be nearly $20 million well spent.

Wandering Bear Coffee

• Founders: Matthew Bachmann, Ben Gordon
• Product(s): Cold Brew Coffee
• Investment Date: 4/6/17
• 2017 Funding: $2,400,000
• Total Funding: $2,450,000
• Known Investors: AccelFoods, M3 Ventures, RCV Partners
• Comments: Wandering Bear has built a spot for itself in the red hot cold brew category with a straightforward cold brew paired with innovative bag-in-box and Tetrapak serving options. The former is especially well suited to office environments where Millennial workers at top tier firms expect better offerings than K-cups and burnt, stale pots of day old coffee. As the cold brew category matures, the ability to offer both attractive flavors and serving mediums will help separate the pack .

Waterloo

• Founders: Daniel Barnes, Brandon Cason
• Product(s): Flavored Sparkling Water
• Investment Date: 8/7/17
• 2017 Funding: $3,200,000
• Total Funding: $3,200,000
• Known Investors: CAVU Ventures
• Comments: Most founders can only dream of being able to secure significant funding from a top tier investor pre launch. Waterloo’s team of seasoned execs was able to make that happen and is making a push into the zero cal sparkling water market, starting in Texas. It’ll have some catching up to do with Spindrift, but it’s on trend flavor and nutrition, well designed packaging, established network and capital backing should give it more than a fighting chance.

The post 2017 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

This is a sponsored post by FoodBytes! by Rabobank.

Calling all food innovation nerds! FoodBytes! by Rabobank is making its Canadian debut on May 16, and today, we’re psyched to share the 20 startups selected to pitch.

From data-driven apiary management and seafood by-catch reduction tech to sparkling superfood beverages and single origin pantry staples, the innovators below are pioneering a more sustainable future.

Meet the 3.5 minute pitch companies

Here (Carol Stream, IL) brings people closer to food, through food, by making locally-sourced, locally-produced, and locally-distributed foods and beverages in the Midwest.

Impactful Health Research (Montreal, QC) develops biomaterial-based solutions for the food and health industries.

IOK Labs (Moon Township, PA) is building an AI+ML based solution- Klove, that will change the way we cook at home with a vision to bring back home cooking for a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

Motorleaf (Montreal, QC) is a Proven Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning for controlled environment agriculture; if you can Monitor, Control and Predict – you can redefine crop automation for the world.

Nectar (Montreal, QC) offers a data-driven apiary management platform to assist beekeepers in keeping their honey bees healthy and productive to answer the rising need for pollination services, using sensors and AI.

Oatbox (Montreal, QC) is a breakfast subscription company founded in Montreal in 2014 that handcrafts and delivers nutritious and healthful breakfast products in a convenient monthly box to its subscribers across North America.

Partake Brewing (Calgary, AB) makes craft non-alcoholic beer that’s “alcohol free and beer lover approved”.

Pod Foods (San Francisco, CA) is the first software-enabled food distributor designed to bring good food to retailers across the nation at a fraction of the current cost.

Smart Catch (Woodside, CA) provides sustainable seafood technologies to reduce by-catch waste, combat Illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing and promote global sustainable seafood markets.

Ukko Agro‘s (Toronto, ON) ecosystem enables farmers to optimize pesticide usage to achieve better crop yield, while integrating with on-farm tools to track, analyse and quantify sustainability achieved.

Meet the 1.5 minute pitch companies

AmazStev Lifestyle Brands (Montreal, QC) (“AmazStev”) is a food ingredient company focused on the development, production and commercialization of AmazStev® UltraDulce, a portfolio of novel, natural, calorie-free and bitter-free Stevia extract sweeteners that enable food and beverage manufacturers to develop clean- label, great-tasting, sugar-free products for health conscious consumers.

Evive Smoothie (Montreal, QC) empowers people to prepare healthy and complete plant based food with innovative and accessible products.

Feedback Inc. (Toronto, ON) is a mobile platform that applies dynamic pricing to the restaurant industry in order to reduce food waste and create a win-win-win solution for vendors, diners and society.

Natur+L XTD (Sainte-Hyacinthe, QC) is a new “Game Changer” staple in the food business, providing longer shelf life to fresh products of almost any kind. XTD uses HPP (High Pressure Process) technology to help food processors lower their wastes at every level of the supply chain

Ocean Executive (Halifax, NS) is a sales and procurement software tool for the global B2B seafood industry. Its software solves supply-chain inefficiencies by streamlining the sales process for seafood professionals working within the aquaculture farm, wholesale, distribution, restaurant, retail and grocery chain sector.

PowCow (Boston, MA) is one the world’s first Greek Style, high protein, low sugar frozen yogurt.

SAP! Beverages (Burlington, VT) makes sparkling superfood beverages out of maple tree sap and birch tree sap.

Snacklins (Washington, DC) makes puffed Veggie Crisps at under 80 calories a bag.

StirItUp (New York, NY) is creating a stir in the food industry with an innovative uniquely-packaged authentic-tasting fresh hummus that has no preservatives, a 15 month shelf life, and no need for refrigeration.

The Real Co (Wilmington, DE) is the world’s first single origin food company.

Save 15% on Tickets Today!

As a member of the FTC community, snag your tickets for just $126.65 (regular price $149).

Why Should You Attend?

• Investors / Executives / Media: Get an inside look at the most cutting-edge food, food tech and agtech startups
• Entrepreneurs: Connect with investors and potential partners, plus have the chance to take the stage during the open mic

The post Meet The FoodBytes! Montreal Startups + Save 15% on Tix appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

This is a guest post written by consulting firm Rosenheim Advisors; it highlights the most interesting acquisitions, financings and partnerships within the Food Tech & Media ecosystem – digital content, social, local, mobile, grocery, e-commerce, delivery, ordering, payments, marketing and analytics – to give you insights into the latest funding and growth trends.

While there were a number of interesting deals this summer, overall activity was relatively light. The last three months brought in approximately $758 million in funding for 51 private companies across the global food tech sector, broken down into $165 million, $170 million and $423 million for June, July and August, respectively.

Year-over-year the number of funded companies during this 3-month period was down 21% while total funding dollars were down 56%.  Excluding later-stage deals from the data ($100+ million), the average funding amount per deal during the three month period was ~$8 million versus ~$14 million the previous year.

There was a clear narrative around organic, clean eating and health, with half of the acquisitions in this category and a third of the funding dollars supporting the theme. Building upon that, the online grocery sector dominated the headlines this summer with a variety of cash infusions, consolidation, and rebirth. The delivery category (which includes grocery) continues to maintain momentum representing 80% of the capital and over half of the deals during the three months.

Year to date (tracking the first eight months of the year), overall M&A activity was down by about 18% versus the same period last year, a trend which was definitely reflected this summer as there were no M&A deals in July and only eleven deals in June and August (versus 21 during the same 3-month period last year).

Perhaps reflecting a shift in corporate strategy towards investment over full-on acquisition, there have been a number of strategic investments in recent months.  For example, while Yelp has made five acquisitions to build out its platform, it decided to make its first and only (publicly announced) strategic investment in NoWait this summer.

Among the various global food/restaurant ordering rollups, there were a couple of geographic deals in play as Takeaway.com scooped up Just Eat’s and Netherland/Belgium operations, Foodpanda merged hellofood with Hungerstation in Saudi Arabia, and ifood was further funded by Just Eat and Movile to expand deeper into Mexico. Separately, a new acquirer in the U.S. online grocery space, Direct Eats, made two acquisitions since May, promoting speculation that it may continue to acquire smaller regional players for scale.

M&A

Direct Eats Acquires Wholeshare. The San Francisco, CA-based sustainable and organic foods online marketplace will augment Direct Eats’ customer base. While Wholeshare was able to build a strong offering and loyal customer base, the company struggled to scale. Wholeshare is the second acquisition for Direct Eats this year, as the company acquired Abe’s Market, a similar online marketplace, in May.

Announced: 08/29/16  Terms: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: $2.0m  Founded: 2009

Waitr Acquires Requested. The Sacramento, CA-based restaurant booking app will provide Waitr, a Lake Charles, LA-based restaurant management system focused on delivery/takeout service, with in-restaurant dining and booking options. According to Street Fight, Requested’s key innovation is a “dynamic pricing system that allows restaurants to offer deals and negotiate directly with customers on slow day”. Waitr will incorporate these elements into its present, flat-rate restaurant delivery app. Currently, Waitr operates in over 1,000 cities, and will expand to Roseville, CA with the acquisition. In addition, Requested’s team will continue in Sacramento, while co-founder Sonny Mayugba will become Waitr’s chief marketing officer.

Announced: 08/26/16  Terms: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: 2014

Tripadvisor Acquires CityMaps. The New York, NY-based map app will allow Tripadvisor to enhance its mobile map features and deepen its location-based activities marketing. CityMaps functions as a travel guide within a real-time navigation map app where users are able to view restaurants, attractions, and events around them, and create a personalized map based on their interests. With the acquisition, CityMaps will continue as a standalone business.

Announced: 08/26/16  Terms: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: $12.0m  Founded: November 2010

Hooch Acquires Tipsy. The Tempe, AZ based nightlife app offers discounted drinks and other perks to members, with over one third of their premium members being active subscribers for over a year. According to Phoenix Business Journal, in addition the userbase, Tipsy has a venue dashboard Hooch is interested in taking advantage of.

Announced: 08/25/16  Terms: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: None  Founded: 2015

Cooked Chicago Acquires Chefmade. The Chicago, IL-based meal delivery services will join to offer weekly meal delivery. Both companies provide consumers with a menu from which they can select meals for the week. Deliveries are made once a week. Cooked will continue to offer Chefmade meals as menu options along with their own menu items. In addition, half of Chefmade’s team will join Cooked, and co-founder Sarah Arel will become Cooked’s director of creative growth.

Announced: 08/24/16  Terms: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: 2015

Foodpanda Acquires Hungerstation, Merges it with Hellofood. The Ad Damman, Saudi Arabia-based online platform for meal ordering and delivery will allow FoodPanda, Rocket Internet’s on-demand food delivery company, to expand its current Middle East operations (Hellofood). Foodpanda also operates two other food delivery companies in the region– 24h in the UAE, and Otlob in Egypt. Together, the combined company will reach 2000 restaurants in 30 cities. HungerStation will continue standalone operations.

Announced: 08/09/16  Terms: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: March 2012

Takeaway.com Acquires JustEat’s Netherlands and Belgium operations. The London, UK-based online meal ordering service has sold its Belgium and Netherlands businesses to Takeaway.com. an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based online meal delivery service. The deal was priced at €22.5 million ($25.3 million USD). Just Eat sold the businesses due to less profitability in those countries and will focus on its other operations. This comes as Takeaway.com is gearing up for an IPO in September, potentially valuing the company at over a billion dollars.

Announced: 08/02/16  Terms: $25.3m  Previous Investment: $89.0m  Founded: October 2000

PaidEasy Acquires Happy Any Hour. The New York–based mobile app, which helps bars and restaurants solve excess capacity through time-based, localized happy hours, was acquired by PaidEasy, a New York-based mobile payment app for restaurants. As TechCrunch reports, the new product and technology will add “an element of discovery” to the PaidEasy platform.

Announced: 08/02/16  Terms: Not Disclosed (Cash and Stock)  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: November 2014

Door to Door Organics Merges with Relay Foods. The Louisville, CO-based Door to Door Organics will merge with the Charlottesville, VA-based Relay foods to create an online grocery store delivering to 63 markets in 18 states, focused on natural, organic and locally sourced products. The company will maintain offices in Louisville and Charlottesville and will continue to operate as separate, customer-facing businesses until the integration is complete; the new brand is expected to be announced later this year. The merger also includes a $10 million equity financing deal from The Arlon Group (a previous Door to Door Organics investor).

Announced: 06/08/16  Terms: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: Door to Door Organics – $38.8m; Relay Foods – $13.3m  Founded: Door to Door Organics – 1997; Relay Foods – 2007

Jugnoo Acquires SabKuchFresh. The Chandigarh, India-based fresh produce delivery startup will allow Jugnoo, a Chandigarh-based ride hailing app, to expand its grocery delivery options and improve logistics, and quality of the deliveries. SabKuchFresh has a relationship with over 100 farmers and has built a network of B2B and B2C users. Earlier this year Jugnoo relaunched its hyperlocal grocery delivery business ‘Fatafat’ in a bid to strengthen and diversify its delivery business. Jugnoo plans to expand delivery to Guragon in the next month and 30 other cities in the next year.

Announced: 06/01/16  Terms: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: 2013

Direct Eats Acquires Abe’s Market. The Chicago-based natural foods marketplace will expand the brand offering and userbase for relative newcomer Direct Eats, which is focused on building a leading ecommerce venture featuring better-for-you products in both the food and health and beauty categories. Abe’s Market will be rebranded as Direct Eats, moving the new website and platform. In contrast to competitor Thrive Market, Direct Eats does not charge shipping and does not require a membership fee.

Announced: 05/18/16  Terms: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: $19.1 million  Founded: 2009

FUNDING

FoodByUs Raises $2m. The Sydney, Australia-based online platform allows users to buy and sell local, homemade foods. Home cooks can apply to be makers on the platform, which allows them to sell their food products with business and ecommerce support from FoodByUs. Consumers can view items listed by makers on the platform and place orders, which can be picked up or delivered. Since launching in August, the company has 80 makers offering 500 meals. FoodByUs will use the funds for marketing and sales. The company also plans to expand to other cities in Australia.

Announced: 08/31/16  Stage: Venture  Participating Institutional Investors: Kadima Group  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: February 2016

Velocity Raises $22.5m. The London, UK-based digital restaurant booking and payment platform is focused on premium restaurants worldwide. The app can also be used for payment at the restaurants. Velocity currently operates in London, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The company has made three acquisitions thus far and plans to use the investment to expand to 29 cities by 2020.

Announced: 08/29/16  Stage: Series B  Participating Institutional Investors: DIG Investments (lead) Previous Investment: $16.4 million  Founded: April 2014

Runnr Raises $7m. The Bangalore, India-based online delivery platform allows consumers to order restaurant meals for on-demand delivery. The company is the merged product of Roadrunnr and TinyOwl. Runnr currently operates in Bangalore and Mumbai, with plans to open in Delhi.

Announced: 08/29/16  Stage: Series A  Participating Institutional Investors: Blume Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners   Previous Investment: Not Disclosed (formed via merger)  Founded: February 2015

HappyFresh Raises Undisclosed Funding. The Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia-based online grocery store allows consumers to order groceries for on-demand, under an hour delivery. HappyFresh shoppers shop and make deliveries, while consumers can track the status of their delivery from the HappyFresh app. HappyFresh has closed its operations in Taiwan and the Philippines, but continues to operate in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The funding amount remains undisclosed, but is larger than HappyFresh’s $12 million Series A funding round from last year.

Announced: 08/29/16  Stage: Series B  Participating Institutional Investors: Samena Capital (lead), Sinar Mas Digital Ventures, Vertex Ventures  Previous Investment: $12.0 million    Founded: October 2014

Vivanda Raises Undisclosed Funding. The Baltimore, MD-based technology company, which was founded by group of McCormick employees and partners then spun out in 2014, uses FlavorPrint technology to create personalized flavor profiles based on a person’s preferences for different tastes, flavors, and textures. Companies can use the technology to understand consumers’ preferences and create personalized web content  based on their preferences. Customers such as Serious Eats already use the platform to help analyze recipes.  Notably, this strategic investment comes from software multinational SAP, which states the investment will “further enable food companies using solutions enabled by SAP HANA to leverage the FlavorPrint technology and data collected to engage and connect with consumers in more personalized and relevant ways”. Vivanda will use the investment for growth, including hiring, and aims to double its customers in the next 6 months.

Announced: 08/26/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: SAP  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed (Spun out of McCormick)  Founded: December 2014

Prepd Raises $2.78m. The San Francisco, CA-based company launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to create a lunchbox and mobile app pair which helps consumers eat healthily and track calorie and nutrient intake. Users prepare recipes from the app, which are designed to fit perfectly in the lunchbox. They can then use the app to record their exact intake and use their compiled personal data points to manage their health and weight.

Announced: 08/24/16  Stage: Crowdfunding  Participating Institutional Investors: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: 2016

Zzungry Raises Undisclosed Funding. The Bangalore, India-based online restaurant allows consumers to order chef-made Indian food for on-demand delivery. Zzungry operates out of 6 kitchens in Bangalore and changes its menu offerings weekly. At present, Zzungry delivers over 150 orders per day. The investment will be used for expansion and new kitchens, building revenue channels, and marketing.

Announced: 08/22/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: Madhusudhan Jujare, Satish Vasudeva  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: August 2015

Sample6 Raises $12.7m. The Cambridge, MA-based synthetic biology company uses its technology to detect unwanted and harmful bacteria in food. Their Listeria detector uses light and an illumination box to reveal contaminated bioparticles in food products. The detectors are simple to use and fast-detecting, with results in 6 hours. The investment will be used to expand technology to include detection of Salmonella and E coli. In addition, with the investment, Acre Venture partner Sam Kass will join the Sample6 board of directors.

Announced: 08/22/16  Stage: Series C  Participating Institutional Investors: Acre Venture Partners (lead), Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, Canaan Partners, Valley Oak Investments  Previous Investment: $14.8 million  Founded: March 2013

Announced: 08/18/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: Andy Murray  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: January 2014

Zero Cater Raises $4.1m. The San Francisco, CA-based catering service deliver meals to office employee groups. Meals can be ordered from local chefs, restaurants, and food trucks. ZeroCater currently operates in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Austin, serving over 1,000 companies tens of thousands of meals each day. The funding will be used to expand product and engineering teams.

Announced: 08/17/16  Stage: Series A  Participating Institutional Investors: Romulus Capital (lead), Struck Capital  Previous Investment: $1.5 million  Founded: 2009

Glovo Raises $5.6m. The Barcelona, Spain-based mobile app operates similarly to Postmates and Jinn. Consumers can use the app to order any item available in their city for on-demand delivery in under one hour. Users can place their order, track the status of their order, and rate service following delivery. Glovo currently has over 300 partners and 200,000 users. The investment will be used to consolidate the company’s presence in Spain.

Announced: 08/11/16  Stage: Series A  Participating Institutional Investors: Caixa Capital Risc, Bonsai Venture Capital SCR, Entrée Capital, Seaya Ventures, Antai Venture Builder  Previous Investment: $2.3 million  Founded: March 2015

Nowait Raises $8m. The Pittsburgh, PA-based mobile app allows users to get in line at restaurants before arriving. Users can view wait times and join waitlists from the app; the app notifies them when their table is ready. Nowait operates in 4,000 restaurants in all 50 US States. The strategic investment from Yelp will expand Yelp’s restaurant platform capabilities and make Nowait reservations available directly from restaurants’ Yelp pages.

Announced: 08/11/16 Stage: Growth  Participating Institutional Investors: Yelp  Previous Investment: $14.0 million  Founded: 2010

9KaCha Raises $10m. The China-based mobile app uses label recognition to provide users with information about their wine. Users take a picture of their wine bottle’s label, upload it on the app, and then receive information. The investment from Haier will incorporate 9KaCha’s recognition technology into Haier’s new smart wine cabinet. The cabinet will adapt conditions to the type of wine being stored.

Announced: 08/11/16 Stage: Series A  Participating Institutional Investors: Haier  Previous Investment: $1.8 million  Founded: 2012

Fruitday Raises $15m. The Shanghai, China-based ecommerce company for produce offers imported fruit for purchase. The company has visions of becoming a broader ecommerce platform for fresh food, and as such, according to Produce Report, in addition to the funding announcement, the company Fruitday declared that it would form a strategic cooperation with Lactalis, which is one of the biggest dairy companies in the world.

Announced: 08/09/16  Stage: Series D  Participating Institutional Investors: Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Fund  Previous Investment: $80 -$100 million  Founded: 2009

Deliveroo Raises $275m. The London, UK-based meal delivery service allows consumers to order meals from restaurants for on-demand delivery. Deliveroo currently operates in 12 countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Its competitors include UberEats, Just Eat, and Delivery Hero. The company will use the investment for expansion and new services, such as alcohol delivery and RooBox—a service that provides delivery-only kitchens for restaurants.

Announced: 08/05/16  Valuation: Over $1 billion Stage: Series E  Participating Institutional Investors: Bridgepoint (lead), DST Global (lead), General Catalyst Partners (lead), Felix Capital, Greenoaks Capital, Nokia Growth Partners  Previous Investment: $199.6 million  Founded: February 2013

GrubMarket Raises $20m. The Newark, CA-based online farmers market allows consumers to order organic, fresh food for delivery. GrubMarket offers meats, fish, and produce directly from farmers. Bulk ordering is also available for offices and restaurants. The investment will be used for marketing and expansion.

Announced: 08/04/16  Stage: Series B  Participating Institutional Investors: FJ Labs, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Riverhead Capital, Danhua Capital, GGV Capital, Global Founders Capital, Sound Ventures  Previous Investment: $12.1 million  Founded: February 2014

Drizly Raises $15m. The Boston, MA-based platform for alcohol delivery allows consumers to order beer, wine, and spirits for on-demand delivery. Consumers can also place orders with up to 48 hours for delivery by using Drizly Connect, which launched this summer. Drizly currently operates in 23 cities and has plans to expand to 30 by the end of this year. The funding will be used for marketing and to expand the team. In August it was also noted that spirits producer Diageo indirectly invested in Drizzly’s round last year via First Beverage Group.

Announced: 08/04/16  Stage: Series B  Participating Institutional Investors: Polaris Partners   Previous Investment: $17.8 million  Founded: July 2012

City Pantry Raises $1.46m. The London, UK-based catering platform allows users to order food for office groups, events, and meetings. Users can choose from two offerings—a one-time event order or a subscription meal plan for recurring events. Food can be ordered from chefs, restaurants, and street vendors, and is delivered by City Pantry. The investment will be used for expansion in the UK and Europe.

Announced: 08/03/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: Angel CoFund, London Co-Investment Fund  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: April 2013

Petoo Raises $500k. The Bangalore, India-based online restaurant delivers prepackaged Indian meals to consumers. The company also does food research to explore their food’s freshness and create methods for keeping food fresh without refrigeration or preservatives. Their food offerings include breakfast foods that stay fresh for 1 month, lunch and dinner products fresh for 3 months, and desserts fresh for 6 months. Petoo will use the funding for food research and implementing its new products.

Announced: 08/03/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: LetsVenture  Previous Investment: $1.0 million  Founded: 2015

Peek Raises $10m. The San Francisco, CA-based online platform allows users to find and book local tastings, activities and tours. The mobile-first platform features listings, reviews, and booking functionality for consumers, as well as Peek Pro, to help tour operators manage their business online and via mobile. The investment will be used to grow the company and team and to increase partnerships. In addition to the funding, Peek will partner with Yelp, so that companies can have consumers book directly from their Yelp pages.

Announced: 07/28/16  Stage: Series A  Participating Investors: Pete Flint, David Bonderman, Ray Lane, Gigi Pritzker, Michael Pucker, Eric Schmidt, Jack Dorsey, Carl Sparks  Previous Investment: $6.9 million  Founded: 2012

Shipt raises $20m. The Birmingham, AL-based online grocery delivery service provides on-demand delivery in under 1 hour. Customers purchase a Shipt membership which allows them to place orders online or through a mobile app. Shipt currently operates in 27 cities in the southern United States, including cities in Florida, Alabama, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,  Arizona, and Ohio. Shipt will use the funds to expand, develop grocery partnerships, and add alcohol delivery to its offerings.

Announced: 07/27/16  Stage: Series A  Participating Institutional Investors: Greycroft Partners, e.ventures, Harbert Growth Partners  Previous Investment: $5.2 million  Founded: 2014

Good Eggs Raises $15m. The San Francisco, CA-based online grocery delivery service delivers organic and local meats, dairy products, and produce to consumers. After having to shut down out of state operations and fire 140 employees late last year, Good Eggs has found a second life, currently operating solely in the San Francisco region. The investment will be used to expand Good Eggs in the Bay Area and subsequently expand again throughout the United States.

Announced: 07/27/16  Stage: Series C  Participating Institutional Investors: Index Ventures (lead), Obvious Ventures, S2G Ventures  Previous Investment: $31.5 million  Founded: July 2011

Sun Basket Raises $15m. The San Francisco, CA-based healthy meal kit delivery service offers organic meal kits with options for paleo and gluten-free diets. Kits come with simple recipes and ingredients that have been pre-portioned according to the recipe. Sun Basket aims to make organic products more accessible for consumers. The company currently serves 34 US states. They will use the investment to open a third distribution center, which will allow the company to reach 98% of the US—“more zip codes than the largest grocery store chain in the US.”

Announced: 07/26/16  Stage: Series B  Participating Institutional Investors: Accolade partners (lead), Baseline Ventures, Founders Circle Capital, PivotNorth Capital, Relevance Capital, Shea Ventures, Vulcan Capital  Previous Investment: $11.6 million  Founded: April 2014

Innit Raises $18m. The Redwood City, CA-based connected kitchen platform uses technology, nutrition, and food science to make cooking easier. Innit smart kitchen products identify and measure food ingredients and suggests recipes and cooking techniques. The investment will be used to accelerate growth. The company recently announced partnerships with Good Housekeeping, Pirch and Whirlpool Corporation to enable advanced automated cooking on their kitchen appliances.

Announced: 07/21/16  Stage: Venture  Participating Institutional Investors: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: $25.0 million  Founded: September 2013

iFood Raises $30m. The Sao Paulo, Brazil-based online platform for food delivery allows consumers to order restaurant food for on-demand delivery. Users can place orders online or via mobile app. At present, iFood makes about 1.7 million deliveries per month. The ongoing strategic investment from Movile and Just Eat will help iFood expand into Mexico through SinDelantal, the largest food delivery service in Mexico, which was acquired by Just Eat in February. As the press release notes, iFood recently acquired Hellofood Brazil from JUST EAT and also acquired US-based SpoonRocket‘s technology, with plans to harness its logistics backend to optimize delivery time and enhance the restaurant-to-consumer experience.

Announced: 07/20/16  Stage: Series F  Participating Institutional Investors: Movile, Just Eat  Previous Investment: $61.9 million  Founded: May 2011

Kiip Raises $12m. The San Francisco-based mobile rewards network, platform and app works with brands such as McDonalds and  Pepsi to engage their audiences by rewarding them with free samples, special offers, virtual currency and other items during in-app events called “moments”. The company will use the funding to expand its sales and marketing efforts.

Announced: 07/19/16  Stage: Series C  Participating Institutional Investors: North Atlantic Capital (lead), U.S. Cellular  Previous Investment: $20.0 million  Founded: July 2010

Zuppler Raises $300k.  The Conshohocken, PA-based software producer provides software for restaurants that can be used to manage ordering and delivery. Currently, Zuppler’s software is used by over 1600 restaurants in the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the UK. The investment will be used to further develop its technology, point of sale and loyalty integrations, sales and marketing initiatives.

Announced: 07/18/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: SRI Capital  Previous Investment: $1.6 million  Founded: November 2008

LifeSum Raises $10m. The Stockholm-based digital health startup tracks what users eat as well as their exercise. The company has 15 million users and according to TechCrunch, is seeking partnerships with organizations in other sectors, including food, fitness, healthcare, DNA and pharmaceuticals. The company will use the funds to build out the team and product development as it expands in Europe and the United States.

Announced: 07/18/16  Stage: Series B  Participating Institutional Investors: Nokia Growth Partners (lead), Bauer Media, Draper Esprit, SparkLabs Global Ventures  Previous Investment: $6.7 million  Founded: November 2008

Benchmark Intelligence Raises $500k. The Fresno, CA-based restaurant analytics startup aids restaurant and retail chain owners in understanding why certain locations perform better than others. According to Fresno Business Journal, Benchmark Intelligence collects data from three main sources — voice-of-the-customer SMS text messaging surveys, social media reviews and field study audits. The company will use the funds to build out the team.

Announced: 07/15/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: San Joaquin Capital  Previous Investment: $70k  Founded: August 2014

Twigly Raises $600K. The Guragon, India-based online meal delivery service allows consumers to order fresh meals for on-demand delivery.  The menu is updated weekly and all meals are prepared at Twigly’s own central kitchens. Presently, Twigly operates 2 kitchens in Guragon and delivers 150 orders per day. With the investment, the company plans to expand to Delhi and Bangalore and deliver 1000 orders per day.

Announced: 07/13/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Investors: Tracxn labs (lead), Gaurav Bhalotia, Hyderabad Angels, Kunal Shah  Previous Investment: $0.2 million  Founded: August 2015

Jumbotail Raises $2m. The Bangalore, India-based online food and groceries marketplace provides a platform for wholesalers to sell their products and services online. According to Deal Street Asia, Jumbotail works with wholesalers in India using technology, data science and design and employs approximately 50 people.

Announced: 07/13/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: Nexus Venture Partners  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: November 2015

Freshly Raises $21m. The New York, NY–based meal delivery service provides fully prepared healthy meals. Users create a weekly subscription and select meals from Freshly’s menu options. All meals are delivered at the start of the week ready to be reheated. Freshly currently delivers 250,000 meals per month to consumers in 28 states. The funding will be used to expand to all 50 U.S. states and to agressively grow its technology team.

Announced: 07/12/16  Stage: Series B  Participating Institutional Investors: Insight Venture Partners (lead), Highland Capital Partners, Slow Ventures, White Star Capital  Previous Investment: $9.0 million  Founded: January 2012

Holachef Raises $1.95m. The Mumbai, India-based mobile and web app allows users to order chef-cooked meals for on-demand delivery. Holachef’s menu is changed daily, offering about 50 choices each day. Currently, the company delivers 100,000 orders per month.

Announced: 07/08/16  Stage: Venture  Participating Institutional Investors: Kalaari Capital (Lead), India Quotient  Previous Investment: $3.4 million  Founded: 2014

Quickli Raises Bridge Funding. The Guragon, India-based mobile app allows consumers to place orders for delivery. Users can order food, groceries, and healthcare/pharmaceutical products. All orders are delivered on the same day they are placed. Quickli currently operates in Delhi and fills 2000 orders per day. The company will use the funding to expand to new locations, including Bangalore.

Announced: 07/07/16  Stage: Venture  Participating Institutional Investors: 500 Startups, AVG Group  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: April 2015

BevSpot Raises $11m.  The Boston, MA-based mobile platform allows businesses to easily manage liquor and alcohol sales and inventory. BevSpot is currently used by over 400 companies in over 40 of the United States. These include restaurants, bars, nightclubs and hotels. The investment will be used for product development and expansion.

Announced: 07/07/16  Stage: Series B  Participating Institutional Investors: Bain Capital Ventures  Previous Investment: $6.1 million  Founded: March 2014

Cookoo Raises $300k. The London, England-based meal delivery service offers healthy, home-cooked meals for delivery. All meals come ready-to-eat and microwave re-heatable. The investment will be used to add more cooks and expand Cookoo’s offerings.

Announced: 07/05/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: 2016

Grab Raises $2m in Debt Financing. The Mumbai, India-based logistics services platform provides delivery services for restaurants, food tech platforms, groceries, ecommerce platforms, and banks. To date, Grab has made over 5 million deliveries for over 12 thousand merchants in 10 cities. The funds will be used to further develop its technology and roll out additional service verticals.

Announced: 07/04/16  Stage: Debt Financing  Strategic  Investor: Aramex Ventures  Previous Investment: $1.0 million  Founded: 2012

ProducePay Raises $2.5m. The Los Angeles, CA-based online platform for payment solutions connects farmers with cash flow earlier in the farming and distributing process than other payment methods. Instead of having to wait for produce to be distributed and sold to receive payment, farmers are able to receive payment the day after produce is shipped. To date, ProducePay has financed $80 million of produce from farmers in the United States, Mexico, Chile, and Honduras.

Announced: 06/29/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: Menlo Ventures, Arena Ventures, CoVentures, Red Bear Angels, Social Leverage  Previous Investment: $1.4 million  Founded: December 2014

Ancera Raises $8.9m. The Branford, CT-based food safety technology company develops hardware and software to test food for contaminants such as salmonella and e.coli. Ancera’s product Piper is a small instrument that can detect salmonella a food sample within 1 to 8 hours. This contrasts with tradition testing methods which can take up to 5 days. The funds will be used for hiring, commercial production and distribution of products, and for research to create products to detect other food contaminants like e.coli.

Announced: 06/28/16  Stage: Series A  Participating Institutional Investors: Glass Capital Management (lead), Bulldog Innovation Group, Metabiota, Packers Sanitation Service  Previous Investment: $1.3 million  Founded: 2012

Farm Hill Raises $3m. The Redwood City, CA-based meal delivery service provides healthy meals to companies and office workers. Customers can order individually or as an office group, with a lower delivery payment rate for group orders. Farm Hill makes and distributes all of its meals, and includes options for all diets (including paleo, vegetarian, vegan options). Farm Hill currently operates in Silicon Valley. The investment will be used for expansion to San Francisco, as well as for new technology to make delivery and kitchen operations more efficient.

Announced: 06/27/16  Stage: Venture  Participating Investors: Eagle Cliff Partners, Liberty City Ventures, Soma Capital, StartX, Zalmi Duchman  Previous Investment: $1.0 million  Founded: June 2013

Thrive Market Raises $111m. The Los Angeles, CA-based online organic grocery store offers wholesale organic foods. Users pay an annual membership fee to purchase from Thrive, while the company offers a free membership to a low-income family for each paid membership on the site. The company plans to use the funding for growth—expanding infrastructure, marketing, and creating new written and video content.

Announced: 06/27/16  Stage: Venture  Participating Institutional Investors: Invus, Cross Culture Ventures, e.ventures, Greycroft Partners  Previous Investment: $58.0 million  Founded: 2013

FareWell Raises $8.5m. The San Francisco, CA-based online program for lifestyle and diet intervention seeks to help people with elevated body mass indexes or chronic weight-related diseases. The 16-week program includes a diet program with video tutorials, meal plans, shopping lists, and plant-based recipes. In addition, participants have access to health coaches, physicians, chefs, behavioral psychologists, and dieticians through the program. The funds will be used to launch the pilot program.

Announced: 06/23/16  Stage: Venture  Participating Investors: David Perry  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: May 2015

Eunoia Raises $800k. The Singapore-based restaurant tech platform, Ordr, allows food and beverage businesses to view information from 3^rd party apps for menus, ordering, and payment in one consolidated layout. The restaurant can easily process orders and update and sync menus. The technology serves both to combat labor shortage in Singapore with the use of automation and to make serving customers more efficient, mobile-friendly, and profitable.

Announced: 06/17/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: Golden Equator Capital  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: 2015

CaterWings Raises $6.7m. The London, England-based online catering platform connects businesses with caterers. CaterWings currently operates in Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, London, and Munich. The investment will be used to expand to additional cities in Europe as well as to expand CaterWings’ online presence and improve customer service.

Announced: 06/16/16  Stage: Venture  Participating Institutional Investors: Tengelmann Ventures, Rocket Internet, HV Holtzbrinck Ventures  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: 2015

Qloo Raises $4.5m. The New York, NY-based local and cultural discovery platform provides users with recommendations based on their personal preferences. Recommendations encompass 8 categories, including: dining, nightlife, fashion, books, music, film, television, and travel. The investment will be used to increase Qloo’s database and add clients.

Announced: 06/15/16  Stage: Series A  Participating Investors: Barry Sternlicht, Adriaan Ligtenberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, Pierre Lagrange  Previous Investment: $3.0 million  Founded: April 2011

Ava Raises $3m. The Boston, MA-based mobile nutrition coach app allows consumers to track food consumption and receive personalized nutritional feedback. Users take a picture of the food they eat and text it to Ava to receive health information. Caloric value is calculated using image recognition software. The investment will be used to develop technology and expand Ava’s nutrition science team.

Announced: 06/14/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: DCM Ventures (lead), Innovation Endeavors, Khosla Ventures  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: 2016

Khanagadi Raises Undisclosed Funding. The Jaipur, India-based mobile app allows train commuters to order food for on-train delivery. Khanagadi currently operates in 200 railway stations in India, and serves 100 to 150 orders per day. Khanagadi will use the funding for expansion, marketing, and hiring.

Announced: 06/11/16  Stage: Seed  Participating Institutional Investors: 50KVentures  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: 2015

Door to Door Organics / Relay Foods Raises $10m. In connection with the merger, the combined company received additional funding from Door to Door Organic’s previous investor, The Arlon Group.

Announced: 06/08/16  Stage: Growth  Participating Institutional Investor: The Arlon Group

Ordermentum Raises $2.5m. The Sydney, Australia-based B2B order management platform allows food and beverage retailers to manage and place orders with suppliers. Suppliers can also use the platform to receive and manage orders and payment. Currently, Ordermentum is used by over 3000 businesses in Australia. The investment will be used to grow the company.

Announced: 06/07/16  Stage: Series A  Participating Institutional Investors: Capital Markets Technologies  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: July 2014

SevenFifty Raises $8.5m. The New York City-based online wholesale platform for alcohol distributors is focused on modernizing and streamlining the wholesale alcohol supply chain by connecting the beverage alcohol industry with a platform that helps distributors and buyers interact.

Announced: 06/01/16  Stage: Series A  Participating Institutional Investors: Formation 8, Pritzker Group Venture Capital  Previous Investment: Not Disclosed  Founded: 2012

WISErg Raises $4m. The Issaquah, WA-based technology producer provides restaurants and grocery stores with a simple, sustainable method to recycle food scraps. WISErg’s Harvester machine uses collected scraps of food to make a liquid fertilizer for agricultural farmers. In addition to creating fertilizer, the machine collects and reports data on what foods are thrown away that stores can use to manage their products. The funds will be used to scale operations on the west coast.

Announced: 06/01/16  Stage: Series B  Participating Institutional Investors: Not Disclosed  Previous Investment: $44.6 million  Founded: September 2009

PARTNERSHIPS

Ibotta Partners with Button, Jet, and Doordash to offer in-app purchases.

Toast Partners With Chowly to integrate online ordering systems with restaurant point of sale systems.

Square Partners with TouchBistro and Vend to increase payment and point of sale options for restaurants.

Olo Partners with Conversable to offer online ordering through messaging apps.

Yelp Partners with Nowait (and invests $8m) to add restaurant wait times and waitlists to its offerings.

Square Partners with Upserve to offer loans to small businesses in the restaurant industry.

TouchBistro Partners with 7Shifts to simplify restaurant employee scheduling and management.

Google India Partners with Zomato and Swiggy to allow consumers to order from restaurants directly from their Google search or app.

Instacart Partners with Food Network to deliver groceries and recipe ingredients.

Publix Partners With Instacart to deliver groceries in Miami.

PlateJoy Partners with Instacart to make recipe ingredients available via delivery.

Sprouts Farmers Markets Partners with Amazon Prime to deliver fresh groceries in under one hour.

Marley Spoon Partners with Martha Stewart to deliver meal kits with ingredients and directions for Martha Stewart’s recipes.

RedBrick Partners with Monj to provide information about food and behavioral change for people with prediabetes and chronic conditions.

HookLogic Partners with Instacart, Fresh Direct, and Drugstore.com to increase digital sales and marketing of consumer packaged goods.

Uber Partners with Foursquare to allow users to find locations by name instead of street address.

Retail Control Systems Partners With Toast to provide an all-in-one software for a restaurant management and point-of-sale system.

Chowly and Revel Systems Partner to connect online restaurant orders with restaurant point-of-sale systems.

foodjunky.com Partners with Yelp to provide online ordering and delivery directly from Yelp pages.

Monsanto Partners with Microsoft to fund agricultural technology development in Brazil.

Stuart Partners with Just Eat to offer on-demand delivery services and drivers to restaurants.

Alibaba Partners with Menusifu to begin use of mobile payment app Alipay in the United States.

Zomato Partners with Helpchat to offer in-app online food ordering.

Peek Partners with Yelp to offer booking directly through Yelp platform.

Cisco Partners with H-FARM to launch a food tech accelerator.

INDUSTRY LAANDSCAPE

As the Food Tech & Media ecosystem continues to see rapid change, Rosenheim Advisors created The Food Tech & Media Industry Map to help entrepreneurs, participants and investors understand this quickly evolving landscape. Let us know about your recent or upcoming funding, partnerships or acquisitions here.

Check out the 2015 Annual Report and May’s round-up. 

The post Food Tech Media Startup Funding, M&A & Partnerships: Summer 2016 appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Guest post by Dr. Robyn Metcalfe, director/founder of Food+City

The digital revolution is on track to completely transform our food system.  We’re not the only ones who think so: technology companies such as IBM, entrepreneurs such as Jorge Heraud, and philanthropists such as Bill Gates all agree that we are only beginning to see big changes in how we produce and consume food.  We can’t wait to see what develops. Our 2016 Food+City Challenge Prize plans to witness the revelation of this new revolution.

In 1750, Scientific Agriculture in Britain launched the beginning of a dramatic increase in food production. It was scientific because it depended upon measuring, improving and creating new technology. Jethro Tull, the inventor of the seed drill was among those who optimized the use of land. By the mid-1800s,  another revolution occurred, the Industrial Revolution, when inventors applied new technologies such as steam power to enable humans to make things by machine rather than by hand. Food traveled to cities by rail, transforming food distribution throughout the world.  During the early 19th century, we felt the impact of the Technological Revolution when steam, electricity, other technologies made it possible to grow, process, and deliver food at scale. All three of these revolutions depended upon entrepreneurs who discovered new technologies and opportunities to improve our food system.

Now, with the Internet of Things and the digital revolution promising as yet undiscovered applications, we have a food revolution in the making.  We’re not the only ones anxious to see how technology, in the hands of smart entrepreneurs, will change our food system. Food+Tech Connect has plenty of food startup workshops and programs to launch enthusiastic food entrepreneurs. Food incubators and startup competitions are sprouting everywhere. Thought for Food, offers $10K in prizes for student and young professionals food startup teams; 33 Entrepreneurs from Bordeaux, France is actively supporting food entrepreneurs with a competition for a $100,000 prize; Bon Appetech hosts an event that awards prizes to 10 food startups, and in Italy, Barilla’s YES BCFN has an annual competition for food startups that rewards winners with 10,000 euros.

We suggest a fresh and bold perspective. One that’s out of the box: the big box grocery store, boxed food storage, and the boundaries implied by the structure of any box. Our food system is organizing a market-driven revolt from an older-technology-driven food system to one that is the Internet of Food. The production, storage, transport, processing, and preparation, design, and consumption of food is a network that begs for a systemic solution. We can’t fiddle with one end of our food system without feeling a ripple at the other end.

Our Food+City Challenge Prize encourages entrepreneurs throughout the system. Applications of technology to solve freight system management, testing of perishable commodities, payment and investing in food, delivery and distribution hardware and software, smart kitchens, storage lockers, light and energy systems for enclosed growing systems. The potential for systems integration is huge. And the requirement for ideas that scale is even more critical.

Everyone is moving to cities. We focus on cities as the place for innovation. Cities are dense, highly populated landscapes where improvements in our food system can have their greatest impacts. Cities are an agglomeration of interests that require mutual adaptation and cooperation. And standards. The home+work proximity begs for solutions that integrate life in the workplace and with personal space. High land values in urban centers demand a food system that optimizes small spaces with larger agricultural spaces.

The Food+City Challenge Prize invites all these ideas to compete on February 6th, 2016. The ecosystem of food startup incubators and competitions can work together, engaging entrepreneurs around the globe to think systematically, if not revolutionarily, to discover how this new food system will best serve our increasingly urban global population.

Submit your online application for the Food+City Challenge Prize by October 15. Learn more and apply here. 

Desert running and a PB&J sandwich—what connects these topics? A tenacious curiosity to see what you can learn by just jumping in! The same sense of wonder that called Food+City Director Robyn Metcalfe to run the great deserts of the world has led her to take on the task of mapping our current food supply. A historian, desert distance runner, and food futurist with a lifelong hunger to take on irrational challenges, Robyn Metcalfe marvels at what it takes to simply create a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The post Food+City Challenge Prize Supports the Good Food Revolution appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Update: And earlier version of this post stated that the Chicago contest would be held on July 18. It has been moved to July 17.

I am thrilled to share a new and innovative opportunity for food and beverage entrepreneurs to attract investors, raise capital and increase awareness. 33entrepreneurs has launched an ambitious food startup accelerator tour, taking place this summer across 9 U.S. and Canadian cities.

Focusing on leading innovation hubs across the US (full list/schedule below), we aim to detect, unveil and attract the most promising startups in food, wine, beverage, hospitality and travel. The winning startups in each city will get to display for free at the Bon Appétech Conference Startup Expo happening in San Francisco from October 2-4 and will also have the opportunity to pitch onstage at the Grand Finale on October 4. The two winners from the Grand Finale will be invited to join our 2016 accelerator class in Bordeaux, France and receive $100,000 in investment.

The startup tour will kick-off on July 8 in NYC, continue on to Boston, Chicago, Austin, Boulder, Los Angeles and other cities and end in San Francisco. In every city, startups who have applied will be given 5 minutes to present their products and platforms to a jury and receive critical feedback from panel members. Each stop on the tour will last an entire day and will provide local food startups the opportunity to demo and network with each other.

We’re incredibly excited about partnering with Bon Appétech on this project. Our aim is to highlight the innovative work of leading startups, foster their traction and accelerate their growth. And as the premiere global conference on good food innovation, Bon Appétech is an ideal venue for startups. It will attract food entrepreneurs, investors, producers, designers, global brands and partners and will explore novel ideas and showcase innovation from across the food ecosystem. 100 innovative food startups will demo their products at BonAppétech’s Startup Expo.

We will be sharing updates from our startup tour on Food+Tech Connect, including our insights on key projects. We also plan to include feedback from jury members including Greg Lambrecht, Robin Metcalfe, Lauren Abda and Ismo Rantala. So stay tuned!

Learn more about how 33entrepreneurs works, check out the tour schedule, and hear why we believe the U.S. is ripe for food startup innovation below. Startups interested in applying to the 33entrepreneurs startup tour can learn more here, and those interested in attending Bon Appétech can learn more and purchase tickets here.

33entrepreneurs Food Startup Accelerator Tour Schedule

● New York – July 8
● Boston – July 10
● Montreal – July 13
● Toronto – July 15
● Chicago – July 17
● Austin – July 21
● Boulder – July 23
● Los Angeles – July 27
● San Francisco – July 30

More About 33entrepreneurs

Based in Bordeaux, France, 33entrepreneurs is a leading global accelerator and startup investment fund dedicated to the food, wine and travel industries. Having hosted over 25 pitch competitions across Europe, in locales as diverse as Munich, Milan, Lisbon and Barcelona, 33entrepreneurs provides promising startups with state of the art 3-month acceleration programs supported by a far-reaching network of mentors and investors. At the end of the program they can pitch our investment committee and be granted seed funding to develop their project. Today, we have a 2M€ fund and are opening a new 20M€ fund before the end of the year, making us the largest food and beverage accelerator. We have strong ambition for our projects and are proud to have been named as best European startup accelerator in our vertical.

Why We Are Expanding to the U.S.

We have analyzed a unique panel of 2,300 worldwide food startups and uncovered that 62 percent of them are based in North America. After meeting with the team behind Bon Appétech, we proposed that we co-organize the first ever global food and beverage startup contest. Ant it it was a go. Our team will step onto a bus on July 8 and tour all around the U.S. and Canada to discover the most amazing teams and projects. Then we’ll offer the best of them an acceleration program and access to the most passionate food experts in our 400sqm facility in Bordeaux, France.

The Future of U.S. Food Innovation

What is happening these days all across the U.S is a major shift in the definition of what food is. It’s no longer fuel, but health, tastes, chosen ingredients, culture and more. In fact, it is now much more like what we know as food in our “old” world. This change is not only creating a major shift in the U.S. food industry but also a unique moment of opportunity for entrepreneurs. 33entrepreneurs wants to be a part of this story. We want to bring our passion and our knowhow of centuries of “good food”, as well as the capital to help food innovators get off the ground.

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Funding for the food tech and agtech space is exploding. In 2014, a whopping 42 new funding opportunities launched (up from 26 in 2013) including 21 investment funds, 15 accelerators and corporate incubators and 6 crowdfunding platforms.

To help you stay on top of all the action, we published a funds list, an accelerator/incubator list and a crowdfunding list in early 2015. But over the past few months we’ve received lots of requests for a comprehensive list with everything in one place. So here it is. You’ll find more information on all 42 new funding opportunities below.

Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments section, and we’ll add it to the list.

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Food-Focused Angel Funds

Food Angels

This group of accredited angel investors invests in early-stage food, beverage and food tech companies based in the US. Investments rage from $25,000-300,000 in the form of equity or debt and royalties in C-Corps or LLCs. Its investments include Wine by Design and iJukebox.

Foodshed Investors NY

SlowMoney NYC’s network of angel investors funds local food businesses that are aligned with its principles. The network offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to borrow money from their neighbors, customers, and others interested in helping them succeed. Its investments include Blue Marble Ice Cream.  

US Food & Agriculture Investment Funds

AgTech Innovation Fund

This $50 million venture capital fund wants to transform our food system by supporting technology innovation from field to plate. It invests in early-stage, North American agriculture and life science startups that increase productivity and sustainability, as well as modernize distribution chains. It plans to invest $250,000 to $500,000 in initial seed rounds, with the possibility of follow-on investments in successful companies.

Boulder Food Group LP

Formed by venture capitalist and natural food executive Tom Spier, the group has raised $32.8 million for a new pooled investment fund. Spier’s Bolder-based company Spier Capital Management has already invested in ibotta and Evol Foods.

The Cascadia Foodshed Funding Project

The Project makes investments of $25,000 to $250,000 in Pacific Northwest social enterprises focused on improving health, social equity, family wage employment and rural community resilience. Slow Money North West’s project is a collaboration of foundations and individual impact investors who want to invest capital  in regional food and farm businesses, including Empire Health Foundation, JP Morgan Chase Foundation and Ecotrust Natural Capital Fund. The project combines a variety of capital sources, like grants, equity, loans and credit enhancements.

Farmland LP REIT

Farmland LP, an investment fund that acquires conventional farmland and converts it into certified Organic, sustainable farmland, announced an open call for investment in its $250 million real estate investment trust (REIT). The REIT will allow accredited investors to own part of the funds’s portfolio of farmland.

Made In Rural America

As part of the Obama Administration’s “Made in Rural America” initiative, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack created this $150 million fund to propel small businesses in rural America. The Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) enables the USDA to facilitate private equity investments in cutting-edge agriculture businesses. Advantage Capital Partners manages the fund, along with partners from eight Farm Credit institutions.

RSF PRI Fund

With support from the Surdna Foundation, RSF Social Finance (RSF) announced a new $750,000 investment in its Program Related Investing Fund (PRI). The fund provides support for foundations who want to participate in program related investing, but lack the in-house capacity to do so. Foundations invest a minimum of $100,000 with a five-year term and receive a 1 percent annual return. These investments provide loans of $50,000+ to companies that tackle food production, food access, value-added processing, distribution, retail and waste management.

Rural Infrastructure Opportunity Fund

This $10 billion investment fund will give pension funds and large investors the opportunity to invest in agricultural projects, including wastewater systems, energy projects and infrastructure development in rural America. The fund is a public-private partnership between CoBank, Capitol Peak Asset Management (CPAM) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It aims to work in tandem with existing government loan and grant programs by making debt investments in a wide range of projects. 

International Food & Agriculture Investment Funds

Agriculture Productivity Fund

Singapore’s Ministry of National Development, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority and National Parks Board announced a $63 million fund to help boost the country’s farming productivity. The fund is broken into two sections: $53 million for farm development to support productivity improvements in the farming sector and $10 million to support R&D in agriculture productivity tech.

“AgriHub”

New Zealand’s University of Waikato launched this agtech seed fund with a conglomeration of nine-institutions. Investments will range in size from NZ$5,000 to NZ$30,000 and will focus on projects that are tackling everything from sensing and automation to alternative energy and bio-materials.

Agri-Innovation Venture Capital Fund

Japanese venture capital firm Tsukuba Technology Seed (TTS) teamed up with the UK’s Adapt Low Carbon Group to launch this $13.6 million agricultural innovation venture capital fund. The fund focuses on investments in small- t0 medium-sized agtech businesses that focus on water and energy efficiency, precision farming, disease and pest control for crop production and irrigation.

Beijing Australia Agricultural Resource Cooperative Development Fund

This $3 billion fund invests in Australian agriculture. A joint partnership between state-owned Beijing Agricultural Investment Fund and the Shenzen-based Yuhu Group, the fund invests in Australian dairy, beef, lamb and aquaculture assets.

Dansk Farmland

AP Pension’s €11.9 billion commercial pension fund is focused on supporting Danish agriculture. The fund buys farms in Denmark and leases them back on long-term contracts to the individual farmers. It made its first investment in early 2014 with the completion of the purchase of a 190-hectare cattle farm.

India Agri Business Fund II

The $100 million fund is Rabo Equity Advisors‘ second fund. It will make $15 and $17 million investments in 10-12 companies beginning in January 2015. Through its first fund India Agri Business Fund I, it invested $120 million in 10 companies, including LT Foods Limited, Daawat Foods Limited and GeePee Agri Private Limited. India Agri Business Fund II will close in October 2015.

Investco Sustainable Food Fund

Canada-based Investeco, an environmental investment company,  launched the Investco Sustainable Fund to invest primarily in Canadian expansion-stage companies that focus on sustainable food and agriculture. The fund is led by Canadian investors, including The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, The Harbinger Foundation, the Inspirit Foundation, The Metcalf Foundation and Tides Canada Foundation.  Sun Select, a British Columbia-based sustainable greenhouse company, was its first investment.

Paine & Partners Fund IV

Paine & Partners closed $893 million in capital commitments for its fourth fund. The fund will focus on investing in the global food and agribusiness industry, into which the private equity firm has already deployed more than $1 billion over the last decade.

Rabo Farm Europe Fund II

Launched by Rabo Farm in January 2014, this 10-14 year closed-end fund is targeting €300 million of commitments to invest in agricultural assets in Central and Eastern Europe. The fund aims to increase agricultural efficiency by using less farm inputs per hectare of agricultural land, while producing more. Consolidation, water management, soil efficiency and infrastructure are its main focuses.

Romanian JV Fund

Agriinvestor announced the launch of the Cibus Farmland Club, a fund aimed at small- to medium-sized investors to complete a €50 to €100 over the next two years. The club was formed through a partnership between DLV Plant, Farmfield, Interfarms, Van Campen Liem and Ernst & Young.

Sustainable Food Fund

Pulsar Network Capital launched this €75 investment fund to invest in healthy and sustainable food. The Netherlands-based fund plans to invest in 15-25 innovative companies that have the potential to contribute to a healthier, more transparent and more sustainable food system.

The Small and Medium Agribusiness Fund

Managed by the EU and Uganda’s International Fund for Agriculture Development, the 10 to 15 year fund and makes €200,000 to €2m investments in agribusinesses. The €25 fund allows 35 private small- and medium-sized Ugandan agribusiness enterprises to take advantage of interest-free grants.

Food Startup Accelerators & Incubators

Dig Eat All

This five-week acceleration program is based in San Sebastian, Spain. It focuses on accelerating startups that are innovating the food, ag and health value chains. The intensive program offers mentorship, workspace, up to €250,000 in funding and strategic partnership opportunities.

FOOD-X

They New York-based business accelerator is focused on launching food-related businesses with a multi-stage evergreen fund SOS ventures. It partners with early-stage food, beverage and health food companies to help them successfully take their products and services to market. The program provides up to $50,000 in funding  in return for 8 percent equity, as well as regular sessions with food and tech luminaries. Food-X is currently seeking the best and brightest food innovators to join its second accelerator program beginning in Spring of 2015.

Farm2050

Launched by Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Innovation Endeavors and Flextronics Lab IX,  the Farm2050 collective is dedicated to advancing the future of food by supporting agtech startups. While not an incubator or an investment fund, it brings together researchers, farmers, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and distributors to help new disruptive AgTech ventures grow. Companies can pitch Farm2050 to gain access to its resources, which include capital, prototyping facilities, manufacturing capacity, distribution channels and more.

Forge: Food

This Portland, Oregon based 6-week accelerator program selects food entrepreneurs that are looking to scale their product regionally or nationally and helps them aggressively scale their business, grow their brand and develop a competitive business strategy. Participants pay $,1500 to participate in the program and leave with a growth plan, a brand positioning statement and a 30-second promotional video for their product.

Fund the Food

A partnership between Kirchner Group, The Hunger Solutions Institute Universities Fighting World Hunger, the program selects a group of students from top North American universities and provides academic training, business mentors and financial capital for them to invest in business that address global food security issues. The program aims to accelerate the global deployment of ground-breaking sustainable technology solutions. Ideal candidates for the fellowship should have strong academic credentials and an entrepreneurial spirit.

The Good Food Business Accelerator

Run by FamilyFarmed, the Chicago-based accelerator aims to give food and farm startups the skills to launch or scale their businesses. The intensive six month program is open to regional food and farm entrepreneurs, including food makers, processors and retailers, restaurants, farmers and food tech companies. The program does not take equity in the business it incubates. Instead, fellows will pay an annual fee to FamilyFarmed based on the increase in revenue their businesses experience.

NOFFN Incubator

The New Orleans Food & Farm Network (NOFFN), in partnership with St. Charles Parish, launched a commercial kitchen/business incubator for local food entrepreneurs. In addition to kitchen space, it offers training in food sanitation, equipment operation and kitchen protocols. Its goal is to lower the barriers to success for new food businesses and re-localize the food economy in the New Orleans area.

Reimagine Food Prometheus

The Barcelona-based accelerator selects 20 innovative food tech startups each year to take part in a three-and-a-half month training program which includes networking with leading global entrepreneurs, food companies and funding sources. It also offers a common working space, which brings food producers, entrepreneurs, investors and chefs together to experiment with the restaurant, kitchen and supermarket of the future.

RoyseLaw AgTech Incubator

The RoyseLaw AgTech Incubator provides 6 to 8 promising game-changing agtech companies with work space, mentorship, speaker programs, access to markets and venture funding. Applications just closed for its January 2015 cohort, but stay tuned for future application instructions here.

The Yield Lab

The Yield Lab is focused on bolstering new agricultural technology by supporting early stage AgTech companies. It provides St. Louis-based companies with $100,000 in funding, mentors and connections and selects four to eight companies each year for its 9 month program.

Corporate Food Incubators

Chobani Food Incubator

The program will invest in, support and help scale emerging food businesses that uphold Chobani’s belief in making delicious, nutritious, affordable food with natural ingredients. Based in NYC, the incubator will provide entrepreneurs with resources, workspace and support to launch their products. The six-month program will also provide entrepreneurs with access to its extensive network including to top chefs and industry leaders.

The Innovation Institute for Food and Health

Mars Inc. announced a $40 million, 10-year commitment to develop the institute at the University of California Davis World Food Center. It will focus on sustainable food and agriculture, as well as food safety and production.

Marriot Food & Beverage Incubator

Mariott is inviting food startups, chefs and bartenders to pitch their concepts to a small group of Marriott hotels. Over the first half of 2015, the number of hotels will grow 12 hotels internationally. Winning concepts will receive resources, space and support. And after a six month trial period those concepts will be evaluated based on popularity and return on investment.

Mobile Futures in Australia

Created by food giant Mondelēz, the program paired five of Australia’s biggest brands with five startups (Issue, Proximiti, Snaploader, SkyFii and MyShout) to help accelerate and scale its mobile innovations in just 90 days.The Company since reported that it surpassed its goals to innovate its brands and and deliver future opportunities for the startups.  Pervious iterations of the program took place in the U.S. and Brazil.  

Coca-Cola Founders Program

Coca-Cola’s new startup incubator gives experienced entrepreneurs up to $1 million in funding and connects them to strategic advisors and business opportunities within the 700,000 person company. The program aims to get innovative ideas off the ground and help startups raise Series A funding and beyond. Coca-Cola begins as the lead backer, and once a startup’s model is proven it becomes a minority shareholder. Participants in its first cohort included food startups Home Eat Home and iHydrate.

Food Crowdfunding & Investor Matching Platforms

Barnraiser

The California-based crowdfunding platform has an ambitious goal of helping the innovators who are creating a better future for food to raise $1 billion. Since launching in May 2014, 21 of the 28 campaigns run through the platform have been successfully funded, including projects for a chicken processing facility, an elementary children’s garden and a nut-free snack line. The platform takes a 5 percent cut of successfully funded projects, and its payment processing partners take 4-5 percent. Projects must be looking to raise at least $2,000.

CircleUp Circles**

By far the most popular and well-funded of the food crowdfunding websites, CircleUp connects accredited investors with consumer product good and retail companies. This year it launched Circles, which are managed funds that allow investors to access multiple investment opportunities at a lower investment minimum.

Crowdfooding

The platform aims to make the investment process easy for food entrepreneurs by connecting food startups and investors. It currently offers a matching making service tool, which features a commercial database of active food investors. The database includes information like the number of investments completed, average investment value, investment portfolio composition and investor location. Food entrepreneurs can test the product via a free trial. According to its website, Crowdfooding is building an equity-based crowdfunding platform for food startups.

EquityEats

The Washington D.C-based equity crowdfunding platform helps foodservice businesses like bars, restaurants and bakeries raise capital to build and sustain their businesses. Each project is limited to 100 investors, and those investors must be accredited. EquityEats is all-or-nothing, so if the project doesn’t meet it’s funding goal, the funds will be returned to the investors. Entrepreneurs have to pay a set a business support fee to raise money on the platform.

Farmers Funding

Symbid launched this online investment platform for the Dutch agricultural sector. It connects Symbid’s Funding Network of 28,000 active investors with food and agriculture entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs can present their business propositions privately to chosen investors or publicly to the entire network. It has launched 4 projects since launching in early January 2015.

fundafeast

In addition to helping food startups crowdsource capital, the NYC-based food crowdfunding platform offers mentorship and services from partners for things like website development, legal help and product design guidance. Unlike crowdfunding giants like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, the site has a“Keep It All” policy, which mean startups can keep anything they raise, minus the site’s 4 percent fee.

**CircleUp launched in 2012. And while Circles is a product rather than platform launch, we thought it was beneficial to include in this list.**

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