Image Credit: Green Queen

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

In recent headlines, the UK explores a potential game-changing deal with Israel to fast-track cultivated meat approval, addressing food security and sustainability concerns. Meanwhile, the expiration of the Farm Bill in the US has prompted questions about the future of agricultural policies. Additionally, a new global framework aims to revitalize regenerative agriculture practices in response to the alarming degradation of farmland worldwide, emphasizing the need for transformative changes to ensure food security.

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

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

1. UK: A Bilateral Deal with Israel Could Fast-Track UK Cultivated Meat Approval – Green Queen

UK ministers and regulators are looking to accelerate the approval of cultivated meat to boost food security, ease the cost of living, and provide alternative, planet-friendly meat sources for a growing population.

2. The Farm Bill Expired. What Happens Now? – Modern Farmer

Congress did not pass this critical omnibus bill by the September 30th deadline. Here’s what to expect.

3. New Global Framework Seeks to Streamline Regenerative Agriculture Practices – GreenBiz

The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform warns that half the world’s farmland is degraded and only a major transformation will ensure food security.

4. Blue Apron to Be Acquired by Wonder Group for $103M, Capping Tumultuous Post-IPO Ride – CNBC

The sale caps years of ups and downs for Blue Apron, once a leader in at-home meal deliveries.

5. UAE Plans to Create $10B Food Sector & 20,000 Jobs – What Does It Mean for Alt-Protein? – Green Queen

The seven pillars of growth focus on localization, regulatory advancements and empowering farmers – what does this mean for alt-protein?

6. Paine Schwartz Partners Closes $1.7B Fund – Food Business News

The fund is aimed at investing in the food and agribusiness value chain.

7. True Cost of Food: Food is Medicine Case Study – Tufts University

This report features two national case studies evaluating the health equity and economic benefits of medically tailored meals and produce prescription programs, providing the first “true cost” analysis of implementing Food is Medicine programs across the country.

8. Digesting GenZ-eitgeist – Snaxshot

A guest interview with Snaxshot’s Communications Intern, Anja Westhues, who shares her perspective on industry trade shows she’s attended as a Gen Z consumer.

9. The Economy of Desire – MAD Feed

Is this the moment when restaurants finally adopt dynamic pricing? And if so, what does it say about us?

10. Big Food vs. Big Pharma: Companies Bet On Snacking Just As Weight Loss Drugs Boom – CNBC

Food companies are making big bets on snacking, but the rise of Wegovy, Ozempic and similar drugs could pose a threat to future sales growth.

The post UK to Fast Track Cultivated Meat Approval, Global Framework For Regen Ag, US Farm Bill Expires + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Toast

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.

Retail news made headlines this week – Blue Apron is exploring strategic options including putting itself up for sale. Ahold Delhaize USA announced it is shutting down the Midwest division of its online grocery business, Peapod.

The valuation of Boston startup Toast has climbed to $4.9 billion with its $400 million Series F funding. The company plans to expand its offerings to include financial products to fund restaurant business growth.

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. Payments Tech Provider Toast Raises $400M at $4.9B Valuation – Wall Street Journal

The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners and TPG, in addition to Tiger Global Management and Greenoaks Capital. The company plans to expand its offerings to include financial products to fund restaurant business growth.

2. Blue Apron Eyes Options Including a Sale – Wall Street Journal

The company is exploring strategic options including putting itself up for sale, after the meal kit maker reported more customer defections and another quarterly loss.

3. Peapod Shutting Down Online Grocery Shopping and Delivery in the Midwest – The Spoon

Ahold Delhaize USA announced this week that it is shutting down the Midwest division of its Peapod online grocery business. The operation accounted for $97m of the company’s overall $1.1b in revenue.

4. Liquid Death Raises $9M to Make Canned Water Cool – TechCrunch

Velvet Sea Ventures led the round. The startup is expanding its lineup with a sparkling water can.

5. China: HungryPanda, a Food Delivery App for Chinese Communities, Raises $20M – TechCrunch

83North and Felix Capital led the round. Funding will be used on hiring, product development and global expansion, particularly in the US.

6. Israeli Seed Breeder Equinom Closes $10M Series B – AgFunder

BASF Venture Capital led the round. The company will be releasing a high-protein pea variety in 2021.

7. Green Queen Releases First-Ever Asia Alternative Protein Report – Green Queen

From market trends to the latest “2.0” alternative protein startups, accelerators and potential areas for further innovation, the report is the most comprehensive look at the alternative protein industry in Asia to-date.

8. Singapore Budgets $215M to Support Deep-Tech Startups – E27

This will include emerging technologies such as biopharma, medtech, advanced manufacturing and agrifood tech and will help them gain better access to capital, expertise and industry networks.

9. Los Angeles-Based ‘Deep Tech’ Investment Firm Riot Ventures Is Raising a $75M Fund – TechCrunch

The fund invests in startups applying innovations in automation, artificial intelligence, computer vision, computational biology, material sciences and robotics to industrial products and processes.

10. This Bacon Looks Like the Real Thing As It Sizzles – but It’s Made from Fungus – Fast Company

Prime Roots has launched limited sales of its first product – a fungi-based bacon – online today.

11. Walmart to End Jetblack Shopping Service – Wall Street Journal

The retail giant is shutting down its personal shopping unit, which offers fast product delivery on orders placed through text message, and laying off most of its roughly 350 staffers after abandoning plans to find investors for the unprofitable operation.

12. Bayer, BASF Ordered to Pay $265M in Weedkiller Crop-Damage Suit – Wall Street Journal

A jury ruled against Bayer and BASF in a crop-damage case, awarding $265m to a Missouri peach farmer who claimed the companies encouraged farmers to irresponsibly spray a hard-to-control weedkiller.

13. US Watchdog to Investigate Trump’s Farm Bailout Program – New York Times

The Government Accountability Office will review how the $28b farm bailout aimed at cushioning trade-related losses was spent.

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

The post Toast Raises $400M, Blue Apron Eyes Sale + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Agriland

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.

There were a number of interesting reports released this week. Soil Wealth, a report published by Croatan Institute, finds that 70 investments in U.S.-based regenerative agriculture-related projects have been made worth $47.5 billion. The Good Food Institute and Plant Based Foods Association’s most recent figures found plant-based food market value to hit $4.5 billion, with sales growing 11% in the past year. The World Resources Institute released Creating A Sustainable Food Future, which proposes a 22-part plan on how we can feed the world by 2050.

MIT Solve has launched an investment fund to back small, for profit ventures taking on global issues. Perfect Day’s $20 cultured ice cream sold all 3,000 units in a matter of hours. Beyond Meat has partnered with Blue Apron, causing its shares to surge as much as 78%. The world’s first underground micro-fulfillment center has been built in Tel Aviv by CommonSense Robotics.

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

_______________

1. Regenerative Agriculture Is Having a Moment and 70 Investments Worth $47.5B Are in It – AgFunder

A new report called Soil Wealth details the level of investment in regenerative agriculture-related projects.

2. Plant-Based Food Market Value Hits $4.5B, with Sales Growing 11% in the Past Year – Food Dive

Sales of plant-based yogurt saw the highest growth at 39%, while conventional yogurt sales fell 3%. Refrigerated plant-based meat increased 37%, while sales in the conventional meat category grew by 2%.

3. This 22-Part Plan Is How We Can Feed the World by 2050 – Fast Company

We need to slash emissions from agriculture while at the same time feeding billions more people. It’s a difficult task, but there’s a path forward to make it work.

4. Why MIT’s Social Tech Incubator Is Launching an Investment Fund – Fast Company

MIT Solve is now going to start backing small, for-profit ventures taking on global issues, from access to clean water to the need for a circular economy.

5. This $20 Ice Cream Is Made with Dairy Grown in Lab – and It Sold Out Immediately – CNBC

Perfect Day Foods debuted its cow-free real dairy ice cream online and 3k pints sold out within hours.

6. Blue Apron Surges Most Since IPO on Beyond Meat Partnership – Bloomberg

Blue Apron will begin introducing products from Beyond Meat on its menus in August. Shares rose as much as 78% on Tuesday.

7. Sweetgreen, Pointing to Its Own Past, Hatches New Model – Wall Street Journal

The company says it’s so much more than salad—and wants to change the way it serves up both food and new ideas, its three founders say. Inside their “Sweetgreen 3.0” project.

8. Israel: AquaMaof Fishes New Markets After $230M Investment – Food Navigator

The company is currently constructing the world’s largest indoor salmon farm in Canada. It plans to build more than a dozen aquaculture facilities in locations including Japan, Russia, Norway, Germany and Poland.

9. Months After Significant Layoffs, Joule Cooking Device Maker ChefSteps Acquired by Breville – GeekWire

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

10. Health-Ade Lands $20M Coke Equity Investment – BevNet

Along with Coke, Health-Ade investors included CAVU Venture Partners.

11. Everytable Raises Fresh Funds to Make Healthy Fast Food Affordable – Bloomberg

The restaurant chain bringing healthy meals to underserved communities has closed a $7m round to expand its subscription service and SmartFridge business and open 13 new stores by the end of the year.

12. 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.

13. China Produces Loads of “Black Gold,” But Will Caviar Lovers Bite? – Quartz

By 2020, China is projected to consume 100 tons of caviar every year. The global caviar market will be worth $1.55b by 2021, up almost 75% from 2016.

14. Israel: CommonSense Robotics Announces ‘World’s First’ Underground Micro-Fulfillment Center – VentureBeat

The center will be a full-service grocery site with three temperature zones, supporting on-demand fulfillment that will allow CommonSense’s grocery partner to fulfill delivery orders in less than an hour.

15. City Pantry, the UK Corporate Catering Marketplace, Has Been Acquired by Just Eat for £16M – TechCrunch

The premise of the acquisition is to enable Just Eat to further expand into the UK corporate catering market by leveraging City Pantry’s brand, technology and sector knowledge.

16. 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!

The post $47.5B Invested in Regenerative Ag, Plant-Based Food Hits $4.5B + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image source: Matt Edge | New York Times

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

Blue Apron president and CEO Brad Dickerson has stepped down and will be replaced by Linda Findley Kozlowski, effective April 8. Kozlowski most recently served as COO at Etsy, where she helped grow sales to more than $3.9 billion.

The CBD space keeps heating up. Following last week’s news of CVS’s decision to sell CBD products, Walgreens announced this week that it will also be rolling out cannabis-based products in 1,500 stores. Now, the FDA has scheduled a hearing for May 31st to discuss how it might regulate cannabis in food and beverages.

In restaurant news, Burger King announced a test run of the Impossible Whopper in 59 restaurants in the St. Louis area. Restaurant management platform Toast has raised $250 million to expand outside of the US. Online catering marketplace ezCater has raised $150 million, making the first foodtech catering unicorn.

And finally, a new study published in The Lancet has found that 11 million deaths annually are linked to diet-related diseases, making it the leading risk factor for deaths around the world.

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. Blue Apron Taps Former Etsy Executive as CEO Replacing Brad Dickerson – Bloomberg

Linda Findley Kozlowski will replace Brand Dickerson as CEO. Blue Apron shares soared as much as 24% in early trading Wednesday after the news.

2. Burger King Tests Plant-Based Meat With an Impossible Whopper – Bloomberg

The chain announced a test run for the Impossible Whopper in 59 restaurants in the St. Louis area.

3. FDA Sets First Hearing on CBD in May As the Agency Looks at Legalizing the Cannabis Compound in Food and Drinks – CNBC

The agency wants data on CBD’s safety in food products and feedback on how it might regulate manufacturing, marketing and labeling. The public hearing will take place on May 31.

4. Plastic Bags to Be Banned in New York; Second Statewide Ban, After California – New York Times

State lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have agreed to ban most single-use plastic bags; counties will have the option to impose a 5-cent paper bag fee.

5. European Parliament Votes to Ban Single-Use Plastics – The Guardian

The vote paves the way for a ban on single-use plastics to come into force by 2021 in all EU member states.

6. Kellogg Sells Keebler, Snacks to Ferrero for $1.3B – Bloomberg

Kellogg agreed to sell its cookies and fruit snack brands including Keebler and Famous Amos to Ferrero as the cereal maker refocuses on the fast-growing parts of its business.

7. Walgreens to Sell CBD Products in 1.5k Stores – CNBC

The drugstore chain will sell CBD creams, patches and sprays in Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vermont, South Carolina, Illinois and Indiana.

8. Toast, the Restaurant Management Platform, Has Raised $250M at a $2.7B Valuation – TechCrunch

TCV and Tiger Global Management led the round. New capital will be used to invest in building technology to help restaurants with marketing, recruitment and operational efficiency, as well as start to think about expanding to more territories outside the US.

9. Plated Scales Back Retail Distribution – Supermarket News

Plated meal kits are no longer sold at stores in the Boise, Idaho area, where Albertsons is based. The company is shrinking its retail distribution as the company reassesses its in-store market strategy.

10. French Buyout Firm Eurazeo Infuses $40M Into Cocktail Mixer Brand – Wall Street Journal

Eurazeo has invested in Q Tonic, representing its first foray into the food and beverage sector.

11. ezCater Raises $150M to Expand Global Catering Marketplace – The Spoon

The round was co-led by Lightspeed VenturePartners and GIC. The latest raise will help it expand its global operations.

12. GrubMarket Raises $25M More for Its Farm-to-Table Food Delivery Service – TechCrunch

The investment is being led by WI Harper Group and Digital Garage. The startup is continuing its expansion in the US and en route to an IPO filing, potentially as soon as this year.

13. Bad Diets Are Responsible For More Deaths Than Smoking, Global Study Finds – NPR

Some 11m deaths annually are linked to diet-related diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Researchers say that makes diet the leading risk factor for deaths around the world.

14. States Sue Trump Administration Over Rollback of School-Lunch Nutrition Standards – Wall Street Journal

As USDA seeks to ease Obama-era rules on whole grain foods and sodium content, Democratic attorneys general challenge on administrative grounds.

15. 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!

The post Blue Apron CEO Steps Down, Burger King Tests Impossible Whopper + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image source: Cooks Venture

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.

Blue Apron co-founder and former COO Matthew Wadiak has launched Cooks Venture , which will sell pasture-raised, heirloom, slow growth chickens, offering distribution both direct-to-consumer and in-store starting July 2019. The company is focused on regenerative agriculture and transparency in food production.

Starbucks is investing $100 million in a new $400 million  food-focused fund in partnership with private equity firm Valor Equity Partners.

Finally, Sweetgreen has partnered with FoodCorps to launch Reimagining School Cafeterias, which will allow kids in 50 schools to design their own fresh, locally sourced lunches.

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. Starbucks Will Anchor the New $400M Food-Focused Valor Siren Ventures Fund – TechCrunch

Starbucks will provide a $100m cash commitment to anchor the new fund, which will focus on companies developing new technologies and products for the food and retail industry.

2. Blue Apron Founder Launches Next-Gen Food Company – Food Dive

Blue Apron co-founder and former COO Matthew Wadiak has launched Cooks Venture, which will sell pasture-raised, heirloom, slow growth chickens, offering distribution both direct-to-consumer and in-store starting July 2019. The company is focused on regenerative agriculture and transparency in food production.

3. Sweetgreen Is Redesigning School Lunches to Make Them More Healthy — and More Fun – Fast Company

Sweetgreen and FoodCorps have partnered to launch Reimagining School Cafeterias. By next year, kids in 50 schools will get to design their own fresh, locally sourced lunches, Sweetgreen-style.

4. Online Grocery Sales Surge Through Digital Platforms as Consumers Crave Convenience – Forbes

Online grocery shopping in the US will more than double from $14.2b in 2017 to $29.7b in 2021 led by retail giants Amazon and Walmart.

5. Amazon Meal Kits Surface at Whole Foods – Grocery Dive

The retailer is doing more than just stepping into a growing category. It’s seizing an opportunity to strengthen its in-store visibility and build its brand affiliation as a grocery provider.

6. Postmates’ Newest Feature Is Like Uber POOL for Food Delivery – TechCrunch

The new feature lets customers within the same neighborhood pool their orders. In return, these customers get the food delivered for free.

7. Trump Crackdown Unnerves Immigrants, and the Farmers Who Rely on Them – New York Times

It has long been an open secret that some farms survive by relying on an undocumented labor force. Now, tough immigration enforcement has caused a crisis.

8. Silicon Valley Startups Backed by Celebrities Like Bill Gates Are Using Gene-Editing Tool Crispr to Make Meat without Farms — and to Disrupt a $200B Industry – Business Insider

New Age Meats and Memphis Meats are both experimenting with this technique to culture animal tissue using Crispr.

9. Singapore: Shiok Meats Takes the Cultured Meat Revolution to the Seafood Aisle with Plans for Cultured Shrimp – TechCrunch

The company has raised pre-seed financing from investors like AIIM Partners, Boom Capital and Ryan Bethencourt and is now part of the Y Combinator cohort presenting next week. Financial terms were undisclosed. The company estimates it can make a kilogram of shrimp meat for $5k.

10. China: Pet Food Brand Mollybox Gulps $13M In Series B Funding – Entrepreneur

The round was co-led by DCM and Mars backed venture capital Digitalis. The company now has a total of 30k customers who are receiving its products.

11. 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!

The post Blue Apron Co-Founder Launches New Food Company, Starbucks Invests $100M in Startup Fund + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

From January 7 – February 8, Food+Tech Connect and The Future Market are hosting Biodiversity: The Intersection of Taste & Sustainability, an editorial series featuring interviews with over 45 leading food industry CEOs, executives, farmers, investors and researchers on the role of biodiversity in the food industry. See the full list of participants and read about why biodiversity in food is important here. 

Institute for the Future (IFTF) is a non profit organization that helps companies understand and plan for the future. Its frameworks and reports aim to demystify complex topics and enable people to think strategically and creatively about how to design organizations that thrive in the future. Biodiversity is a key part of its future foresight work, because it is critical to designing for resilient futures.

Below, Sarah Smith, research director of IFTF’s Food Futures Lab, talks to me about IFTF’s research envisioning future scenarios and looking at how biodiversity creates new opportunities for human and planetary health, flavor and business. She also highlights a number of great resources and initiatives, like The Earth Bank of Codes, an open platform aiming to map the genetic sequences of all living things, apply AI and systems analytics for novel discoveries and record the provenance of biological IP assets.

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Danielle Gould: How does your organization define and think about biodiversity?

Sarah Smith: At Institute for the Future (IFTF) we see biodiversity — the variety and variability of life on earth — as an essential element of imagining and designing for resilient futures. Thriving ecosystems are a necessary precursor for supporting human life on this planet. Focusing on them is becoming increasingly urgent as we experience the impacts of anthropogenic climate-change.

This biological definition of biodiversity overlaps with many of the core reasons it’s so important to think strategically and imaginatively about a wide range of future possibilities (at IFTF we call this a foresight mindset). Just as a biodiversity rich ecosystem is better able to resiliently recover from disruptions, a diverse exploration of future possibilities makes us better able to see patterns and design resilient responses in our human systems. For example, by not simply assuming the future will be an extrapolation of the present, but instead systematically considering scenarios of growth, constraint, collapse, and transformation, we are increasing the variety and variability of possible futures, and can assess those to make better decisions in the present.

DG: What is your organization doing or planning to do to promote biodiversity?

SS: IFTF’s frameworks and reports are designed to create clarity around complex topics and enable people to think strategically and creatively about how their actions today can lead to building more resilient futures. They also push people to take a more systems-level perspective in order to inspire systems-level change. We work with stakeholders around the world across the food industry — multinational corporations, governments, foundations, and entrepreneurs — to identify strategic opportunities that promote a collective, long-term self-interest for people and the planet.

Biodiversity is core to envisioning resilient, long-term futures. Our Food Futures Lab report, Food Innovation: Recipes for the Next Decade starts with a chapter called “Scalable Biodiversity,” which looks at how promoting biodiversity at the macroscale (reviving the consumption of more diverse plant and animal species) can also lead to improved biodiversity at the micro scale (beneficial bacteria and microorganisms in the human gut and in the soil). Download the full report to read three forecasts about how Scalable Biodiversity creates new opportunities for human health, delicious flavor, and long-term planetary resilience.

To illustrate a possible experience in that future, we created an Artifact From The Future (part of a whole series of them, which you can see here). Check out this augmented reality microbiome diversity game called “Gotta ‘Eat Em All” – it could be coming to an app store near you by 2030!

Artifact From The Future: Microbiome Diversity Game

WHAT: Your microbial diversity score just hit the 95th percentile! Nice job! When you started playing “gotta eat ‘em all” you were only at 80 percent. An intestinal sensor transmits real-time information about your microbiome to the game, which then uses computer vision to identify foods–in your refrigerator, at the grocery store, or on a restaurant menu–that could help boost your gut health. The goal: maximize diversity. Every new microbe you “capture” in your gut adds to your score, and also helps build the world’s largest crowd-sourced database of microbiome data. This microbiome game craze has taken over cities around the world–kids in Singapore are begging to go hunt for rare microbiome-boosting foods at wet markets, and urban foraging teams in Seattle are mapping public fruit trees in search of polyphenols that help increase Bacteroidetes. Fermentation bars have opened up everywhere from Kyoto to Johannesburg with lines out the door for coveted krauts and misos. Prior to the launch of the game, the average person consumed just over 100 species. Now, the global average has jumped to over 500.

SO WHAT: Low-cost genetic sequencing will enable direct-to-consumer microbiome testing, which will usher in an era of discoveries about the intimate connection between our diet, our gut microbes, and our health. Using this new wealth of data, game designers and citizen scientists can join forces to create engaging ways to help people maximize their microbial diversity. Not only will this result in measurable improvements in lifestyle diseases, but it will actually drive demand for diversified agricultural systems – even in those areas where industrial monocrops once reigned supreme.

DG: How would you describe the current state of biodiversity? What are the key forces that are helping or hurting biodiversity today?

SS: The current state of biodiversity in our food system is dismal. I find it really crazy that out of an estimated 300,000 edible plants humans eat fewer than 200—and the majority of our calories come from just three. If nothing else, that is so much missed flavor opportunity! The FAO has studied this current state deeply, with findings such as “since the 1900s, ~75 percent of plant genetic diversity has been lost as farmers worldwide have left their multiple local varieties and landraces for genetically uniform, high-yielding varieties” and “30 percent of livestock breeds are at risk of extinction; six breeds are lost each month.” In his new book Eating Promiscuously, James McWilliams says it best: “We are stuck in a rut of limited choices, and the vast majority of what we eat is detrimental to our health and the welfare of the planet.”

A primary key force hurting biodiversity is climate change. The 2018 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change nicely outlines the complex interactions of what’s causing biodiversity loss and what happens because of it: Climate change results in ocean acidification, altered rainfall patterns, sea-level rise, and extreme weather. This then causes floods, heatwaves, droughts, and fires, which drive biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and increases in pests. This leads to reduced agricultural productivity, loss of habitats, poverty, mass migration, and violent conflict. This isn’t just about the biodiverse food sources. This year, IFTF and Climate Investment Funds joined forces at the Global Climate Action Summit to forecast A New Story to Spark the Future of Climate Action. This vision explores a range of opportunities to take meaningful action against climate change (and thereby biodiversity loss).

Climate change is only one of many forces that are leading to biodiversity loss. Others include increased adoption of large-scale industrial technologies and automation in agriculture and processing. These systems require plants and animals bred for standardization and optimized for transport. Consumer demands for consistent, always-available food drives genetically precarious situations, such as the ubiquity of the Cavendish bananas, the world’s most popular fruit, which is now facing extinction.

However, there are still reasons to be optimistic. First is the move toward a more plant-based diet. A recent study in the journal Public Health Nutrition found that 2/3 of people reported eating less of at least one type of meat. Terms like “Reducetarian“, “Flexetarian“ and “Plant-Forward” are gaining traction around the world.  According to the FAO, 33 percent of cropland around the world is used for livestock feed production. Reducing meat consumption could open up that land to grow crops other than corn and soy for animal feed. And for those who still want to eat meat,  the development of cultured meat creates a new production platform for meat and could relieve many of the stressors put on our ecosystems from animal farming.

A second reason for optimism is a growing recognition about the importance of soil health. We’re seeing the food industry act on this with initiatives such as Annie’s Soil Matters Campaign and Blue Apron’s agroecology team, which provides a free soil-testing service and works with farmers to build its menus around crop rotations that support health soils. This marks a growing recognition that those who farm the land won’t be seen as the only ones responsible for its health; everyone across the supply chain, including food entrepreneurs and restaurateurs, will become soil stewards. Finally, we’re seeing the commercialization of a more diverse set of “ancient” grains in products like Rollin Greens tots made from millet. We’re also seeing the development of “new” grains, such as Long Root Ale, a partnership between Patagonia Provisions and Hopworks Brewery that uses the perennial grain, Kernza, developed by the Land Institute.

DG: What’s at stake for our society if biodiversity is reduced? Are there examples where a lack of biodiversity has caused problems within an ecosystem or community?

SS: There are almost infinite cascading consequences of reduced biodiversity (perhaps most critically including bad tasting chocolate). That’s because biodiversity provides ecosystem services that have implications for social, political, economic, and environmental outcomes.

A recent example of anticipating this web of consequences comes from the US Forest Service’s report led by David N. Bengston, Anticipating Cascading Change in Forests: Seeking a Deeper Understanding of the Future Consequences of Forest Management Action or Inaction. They used a tool called a “futures wheel” to start with a specific change and think through the second and third order consequences. In this case, one of the scenarios they play out starts with the premise that “central hardwood forests lack age class diversity and will uniformly grow old.” One of the consequence threads that came from this was: “(1st order) Decreased resilience to many types of future forest disturbance; (2nd order) More uncertainty for industry re: timber supply (declining forest-based industry); (3rd order). Declining quality of local school districts where mills are located because of reduced tax revenues.” The fact that the US Forest Service is now thinking about school district quality is an amazing example of how to think strategically and tangibly about the unintended consequences of something big and abstract like “diversity loss.” This can lead to better strategies to mitigate the worst effects, or even better – action to prevent them from happening in the first place.

DG: What is the scientific and/or business case for a biodiverse food system?

SS: The long-term business case for biodiverse food systems is simply that businesses won’t be able to operate in a future where our planet is destroyed due to human-caused climate catastrophes. The focus on short-term business cases is part of what has caused this problem to begin with by incentivizing mass consolidation, monocultures, and cheap, nutrient-void foods.

Re-aligning business incentives to focus on biodiversity can provide some pragmatic, short-term benefits. For example, fewer supply chain disruptions when you aren’t reliant on a select few sources; more flavor, which is the message behind Row 7 Seed Co, led by chef Dan Barber to develop and distribute plant varieties focusing first and foremost on deliciousness; or eliminating expensive and laborious hand-pollination for crops like vanilla by restoring natural pollinators. Emerging microbiome science is connecting the dots between low fiber diets and irreversible depletion of healthy gut bacteria – and the reverse seems to be true: eating high fiber, plant-rich diets underpins a healthy gut microbiome.

However, rather than just focusing on the new market and profit opportunities that emerge from biodiversity, our strategies should also consider the harder-to-measure social and cultural impacts, such as strengthening identity, promoting culinary creativity, and nurturing a deeper appreciation of the connection between food and the land it comes from. What would it look like to design a food system based on the assumption that access to healthy food for our bodies and our planet is a right, not just a business case?

DG: What investments need to be made to create a more biodiverse food system?

SS: One investment strategy is to create cross-sector partnerships between government, philanthropy, and business in order to enable the food industry to take risks and transition to a more biodiverse future. My team at IFTF outlined specific strategies for how to do this in Good Food is Good Business, a report commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation about opportunities for the private sector to create affordable, delicious, nutritious, yet still profitable foods. Specifically, the chapter on “Traditional Wisdom,” which focuses on re-incorporating time-honored health practices and ingredients into food product development in order to make them more culturally appropriate and nutritious.

DG: How might we reinvent capital structures or create incentives to increase investment in biodiversity?

One signal of change featured in our Good Food is Good Business report is the The Earth Bank of Codes, an open digital platform that aims to map the genetic sequences of all living things, apply AI and systems analytics for novel discoveries, and record the provenance of biological IP assets so that communities can benefit from scientific breakthroughs derived from their local resources. At the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos, the bank announced a pilot project in the Amazon Basin to promote this new bio-based economic development path.

“It’s not only about creating new markets and new products, but importantly being able to share a portion of those revenues and specifying there should be fair and equitable benefit-sharing back to those countries that originated the biological assets in the first place.” — Juan Carlos Castilla-Rubio, chairman of Space Time Ventures and founder of Earth Bank of Codes

Other incentives include creating new visibility for traditional ingredients, such as the Smart Food initiative at International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). They’re developing ways to make nutritious and drought-tolerant foods such as millet, sorghum, and grain legumes attractive again in Africa and India through projects like a reality TV show in Kenya that challenges contestants to incorporate these ingredients, and support for companies that make appealing foods with these ingredients.

DG: What are some of the most important things food manufacturers, chefs, retailers, farmers, and other key parts of the supply chain can do to support biodiversity?

Anyone designing a menu or ingredient list is in a position to support biodiversity. For example, the Culinary Institute of America’s Menus of Change initiative sets a precedent for how to build an industry-wide movement to change what’s on the menu. This partnership with the Harvard school of public health creates guidelines to drive the food industry toward more plant-forward menus. It has helped launch things like the Plant Forward 50 chefs list to really create a movement and impact behavior change. We can build on this momentum by not just promoting the consumption of plants over animals, but also promoting the consumption of MANY diverse plants and celebrating the delicious flavor benefits that come from this. We see chefs like Alex Atala and Gaston Acurio are already leading the way to promote local biodiversity on their menus. Chefs are also leading a movement to elevate under-loved fish and change diner’s palettes toward more sustainable options. In this way, chefs are wonderful, trusted matchmakers between taste preferences and new ingredients.

Changing food standards and certifications is another way to incentivize biodiversity. For example, the EU LIFE Project “Biodiversity in Standards and Labels for the Food Industry” aims to support the industry in including biodiversity criteria in standards and label requirements, and encouraging food companies to consider biodiversity criteria in their sourcing guidelines. New standards and third-party certifications are popping up all the time. Including biodiversity requirements could go a long way to change industry practices.

What, if any, exciting products, technologies or services are you seeing that support a more biodiverse food system?

In addition to all of the signals of change already mentioned, I am particularly inspired by a few other creative projects related to biodiversity.

Adaptive Farms, Resilient Tables is cookbook by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), focusing on six regions around the world where climate change has already begun to exert pressure on agriculture. The book showcases recipes that support the resilience required to keep culinary traditions alive in the face of climate change, and it includes the personal stories of how people in those areas have coped with the changes.

Artist Allie Wist’s seaweed-forward, experimental post-climate change menu immerses diners in a scenario about what it might be like to eat in a future of continued global warming and rising sea levels. Experiential futures like this are a fantastic way to help people tangibly understand the impacts of an abstract concept such as climate change or biodiversity loss.

The Perennial Restaurant in San Francisco bakes their daily bread with Kernza, the perennial grain mentioned earlier, to support the shift from annual monocultures to perennial polycultures and educate diners in the process.

Attempts by companies like JUST to catalogue the diversity of plants and use technology to better understand how novel plants can be used in food formulation, like their use of the mung bean to create their JUST scramble.

DG: Anything else you want to share?

SS: Promoting biodiversity is a shared responsibility. It will come about through the combination of new technologies, old agricultural techniques, and creative human collaborations and business models. As we all engage in creating a vision for a more biodiverse future it will be critical to optimize for values beyond efficiency, productivity, and yield, and instead optimize for values such as regeneration, inclusion, equity, and cultural resilience. Remember, just as we need diverse future food sources, we also need diverse visions of what those futures could look like in order to make sure we are considering all our options and building resilience. If you’re a food entrepreneur or a chef: seize your amazing platform to promote delicious, diverse foods. If you’re an eater (probably most of us): try to intentionally seek out more biodiversity in your diet. Eating Promiscuously not only allows us to experience a wider range of tastes and nutrition, but also to reexamine assumptions about how we feed ourselves and take care of our planet.

Read all of the interviews here and learn more about Biodiversity at The Future Market.

____________________

Sarah Smith, Research Director of the Food Futures Lab at Institute for the Future

Sarah is a researcher, writer, designer, and strategic foresight practitioner specializing the future of food and technology. She works with many of the world’s largest food, tech, health, and CPG companies to challenge assumptions and inspire new possibilities for the future of food. She uses creative visual and experience design to inspire food changemakers with the foresight necessary to understand complex systems and start making more resilient futures.

Sarah is a frequent public speaker and workshop facilitator with both multinational executive teams and emerging food innovation entrepreneurs. She has been featured in National Geographic, The Washington Post, Vice Munchies, Business Insider, NPR, and many other food industry publications. She draws from her experience in a range of disciplines—international studies, graphic design, creative writing, permaculture, and the food service industry—to explore how emerging technologies and social practices will change the way people and communities seek and create well-being.

Sarah holds a BA in International Studies and Visual Communication from Loyola University Chicago.

The post Institute for the Future on Designing For Resilient Futures appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Blue Apron

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.

On Monday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stated he supported marijuana legislation and will make it a legislative priority in 2019. In addition to recent news of hemp legalization in the Farm Bill, food & beverage companies are gearing up for the CBD and cannabis boom. AB InBev just announced a $100 million research fund for cannabis drinks in Canada with Tilray.

In retail news, Blue Apron’s stocks have dropped to a record low at less than $1 per share, representing a 90% drop since the company’s IPO. Kroger has become the world’s first retailer to launch autonomous delivery as it moves into its next pilot phase with Nuro.

Plant-based and cultured meat are poised for a turning point in 2019. Sales reportedly exceeded $760 million in the last year. The global supplement industry has reached $128 billion, with the United States in the lead. And finally, Chew Innovation has pulled out of its plans to take over Pilotworks and launch the Nursery, leaving hopeful entrepreneurs without a home for the holidays.

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. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Just Made Marijuana Legalization a Top Priority – Vox

Cuomo named marijuana legalization as one of his priorities in the first 100 days of 2019.

2. Blue Apron Stock Drops Below $1. Could an Acquisition Be Next? – Food Dive

The stock has dropped more than 74% since July and has lost 90% of its original value since the company went public last year.

3. USDA Moves To Tighten Restrictions on Food Stamps – USA Today

The newly proposed rule would restrict the ability of states to exempt work-eligible adults from having to obtain steady employment to receive food stamps.

4. After Pilotworks’ Reopening Fails, Brooklyn’s Small Food Businesses Won’t Be Home for the Holidays – Edible Brooklyn

A new food incubator called Nursery announced it would open quickly and invite members back, but the plan fell through.

5. Global Supplement Industry Reaches $128B – New Hope Network

The US supplement market represents the largest country, but it has slowly been losing market share to China.

6. 2019 Could Be a Turning Point for Plant-Based and Cultured Meats – Forbes

Sales grew over 23% in the last year, exceeding $760m. In 2019, look for plant-based and cultured meat companies to navigate new partnerships, new markets and an evolving regulatory landscape.

7. The Hatchery, a $34M Food & Beverage Incubator, Opens in East Garfield Park – Chicago Sun Times

The 67k sf facility is a partnership between Accion and the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago. Celebrity chef Rick Bayless will offer a training program for aspiring chefs.

8. Kroger’s Driverless Delivery Pilot Enters Next Phase – Grocery Dive

The retailer and its technology partner, Nuro, have made more than a thousand grocery deliveries since June. The vehicle will now handle deliveries autonomously going forward.

9. Canada: AB InBev and Tilray Invest $100M to Study Cannabis-Based Drinks – Food Dive

The partnership, which combines AB InBev’s beverage insight with Tilray’s expertise in cannabis, will be limited to Canada. Each company will invest $50m in the venture.

10. Novamex Acquires Tio Gazpacho, Accelerating Distribution and Availability – Food Navigator

Financial terms were undisclosed. The beverage importer and marketer has a focus on tapping into the Mexican-American consumer audience.

11. UK: Unilever Buys Meat-Free Food Company the Vegetarian Butcher – The Guardian

Acquisition of Dutch brand highlights Unilever’s scramble to tap into meat substitutes market. Financial terms were undisclosed.

12. India: Food Delivery Startup Swiggy Raises $1B More from Naspers, Tencent and Others – TechCrunch

The company plans to use the capital for hiring machine learning and engineering talent, and further its AI technology to improve matching and discovery inside its service.

13. Omnivore Technologies Raises $10M in Series A Funding – Finsmes

The round was led by Coca-Cola and Performance Food Group. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate development and growth of products that minimize friction for restaurant brands, third-party technologies and POS companies.

14. Middle East: Careem Launches Delivery Service, Expects to Close Funding Round Soon – Reuters

The company is planning to raise a total of $500m. It launched a delivery service covering everything from takeaway food to pharmaceuticals. Careem plans to spend $150m developing the delivery business, starting with services in Dubai and Jeddah.

15. Crew, a Workplace and Slack Messaging Rival for Shift Workers, Raises $35M, Adds Enterprise Vision – TechCrunch

Funding came from DAG Ventures, Tenaya Capital and previous backers. The company just launched Crew Enterprise, which helps businesses better manage messaging across large groups of these workers.

16. Trump Offering Farmers Extra $4.9B in Trade Relief – Politico

The second batch of payments is Trump’s latest effort to stem the pain inflicted on US agricultural producers by his trade feuds. Commodity groups are still concerned it is not nearly enough to offset the damage from retaliatory duties.

17. Chef-Focused Media Company Buys Leading Pop-Up Platform Feastly – Eater

ChefsFeed has purchased leading pop-up dining platform, Feastly. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.

18. 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!

The post Blue Apron Stock Falls Below $1, Legalizing Marijuana a NY Priority + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

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.

Big news dropped this week that Amazon will be opening its second headquarters in Long Island City, New York and Arlington, Virginia. Some in the tech world are excited about the talent the tech giant will attract to each city, while others are concerned about the large subsidies and impact on housing costs. Expects lots of debate on this in the coming weeks and months.

After a $200 million cash infusion from Fidelity Investments, Sweetgreen has officially reached unicorn status. Now, it’s setting its sights on becoming a platform. Expect to see the company venturing into new food categories and investing more heavily in its tech and supply chain.

In other news, food waste startups raised over $125 million since the beginning of 2018, according to a ReFED report.

Blue Apron and Starbucks had a tough week. Blue Apron’s revenue has dropped 28 percent since the same quarter last year, forcing the company to lay off 4 percent of its workforce. As a result its stock dropped 6 percent. Blue Apron’s stock has lost nearly 90 percent of its value since it went public last year. Starbucks laid off 350 of its senior executives in an attempt to boost profit.

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. More Than $125 Million Poured Into Food Waste Startups In 2018 – Forbes

Food Waste startups have raised $125m in the first 10 months of 2018 alone, finds a new ReFED report.

2. Why $200 Million Will Make Sweetgreen The Next Big Thing In Delivery (And, Yes, A Unicorn) – Forbes

Sweetgreen has raised a $200m financing round led by Fidelity Investments, valuing the company at more than $1b. Sweetgreen will use this funding to expand into other food categories, as well as to invest in its supply chain, technology and social impact.

3. Blue Apron’s Stock Falls 6% After the Meal Delivery Company Lays off 4% of Its Workforce – Fortune

As revenue fell 28 percent from the same quarter in 2017, the layoffs are an effort to push the company closer to profitability.

4. Amazon’s HQ2 Decision Proves Brick-and-Mortar Isn’t Dead. But after $2 billion in Tax Breaks, Affordable Housing Will Be – New Food Economy

Amazon chose the country’s two most powerful metro areas for its new headquarters. The choice signals the company’s vast ambition in policy, media, and physical retail. But what will residents of Arlington and New York get in return?

5. Brazil: Movile Raises $400 Million For Its iFood Delivery Business – TechCrunch

The Brazilian technology conglomerate has just raised one of the largest rounds ever recorded for a Latin American startup, pulling in an additional $400 million for its iFood subsidiary from existing investors, including Naspers and Innova Capital.

6. John Boehner-Backed Pot Stock Goes Public With $2.8 Billion Value – Investor’s Business Daily

Acreage Holdings joined the ranks of U.S. marijuana stocks trading in Canada Thursday, after completing a deal to go public that values the company at $2.8 billion and installs former House Speaker John Boehner and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld on the board.

7. Canadian Coffee Chain Plans to Partially Pivot to Cannabis – Skift Table

Second Cup Ltd. has identified more than 20 Ontario locations that it hopes to convert into pot shops as the coffee chain undergoes a strategic review.

8. What Went Wrong at Honeygrow? – Skift Table

Honeygrow, a fast casual stir fry and salad chain based out of Philadelphia, announced last week that it would be exiting the Chicago market, closing down several locations in New York and D.C., and pulling back on all expansion efforts in 2019.

9. Starbucks Cuts 5% of Corporate Workers – Bloomberg

In an attempt to boost profit and appease apprehensive investors, Starbucks is laying off nearly 350 corporate employees.

10. 3D-Printed Vegan Steaks to Debut in 2020 – VegNews

Jet-Eat creates whole cuts of vegan meat using 3D-modeling technology.

11. Daily Harvest “Experiments” with New Products and Retail Concept – Nosh

The direct-to-consumer brand launched a healthy cookie last week, and this week it is opening The Refueling Station, an interactive retail space

12. 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!

The post Food Waste Startups Raise $125M+, Sweetgreen Becomes a Unicorn, Blue Apron Lays Off 4% of Employees + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Go Dairy Free

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

The farm bill became a bargaining chip in the heated intraparty battle over immigration on the House floor Friday. A revote is set to occur on June 22nd.  The USDA revealed prototypes for GMO labels, which appear more like propaganda for the industry.

In CPG news, Rebbl has raised $20 million to expand into big box retailers. Campbell’s CEO Denise Morrison suddenly stepped down after her bet on fresher foods failed to revive sales.

Meal kits are moving in-store–Blue Apron is rolling out a national series of pop-up events, and Kroger is buying Home Chef for up to $700 million.

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. House Farm Bill Collapses Amid Republican Disarray – New York Times

A rebellion from conservative lawmakers sank a vast farm policy bill on the House floor Friday amid a fight over how to proceed on immigration.

2. USDA Unveils Prototypes for GMO Food Labels, and They’re…Confusing – NPR

The labels use the letters BE, for bioengineered, not GMO, which critics say could baffle consumers. One design features a smiling sun that a skeptic calls propaganda for the industry.

3. Herb-Infused Coconut Milk Rebbl Raises $20M from Cavu Venture Partners – CNBC

The company will use new funds for marketing, innovation and moving into more convenient retailers including Safeway and Stop N Shop. The new investment values it at close to $100m.

4. Campbell CEO Departs After Bet on Fresh Food Falls Short – Wall Street Journal

Denise Morrison stepped down on Friday, and the company said it might sell some brands, after a bet on fresher foods under her leadership failed to revive sales.

5. Amazon Go — a Cashierless Version of 7-Eleven — Is Expanding to San Francisco and Chicago– Recode

Recode previously reported that the company planned to open up to six new locations this year.

6. Blue Apron Goes All-Out on Brick and Mortar – Retail Leader

A week after announcing it would sell its meal kits at Costco, the company isrolling out a national series of pop-up events intended to bring communities across the country together in celebration of home cooking.

7. UK: Whisk, the Smart Food Platform That Makes Recipes Shoppable, Acquires Competitor Avocando – TechCrunch

Whisk is acquiring the tech, customer base, integrations and team for an undisclosed sum. The UK startup has a B2B data platform to power food apps.

8. PayPal Just Dropped $2.2 Billion to Compete With Square in Restaurants and Cafes – Skift Table

PayPal is buying Swedish small-business platform iZettle for $2.2b to expand in Europe and Latin America and increase its presence in brick and mortar stores.

9. Kroger to Buy Home Chef in Latest Move to Get Meal Kits in Grocery Stores – CNBC

The initial price is $200m and could go up to $700m over the next five years in exchange for Home Chef meeting certain milestones, including significant growth of in-store and online meal kit sales.

10. Crowd Cow, Offering Ranch to Table Meats, Picks Up $8M from Madrona, Ashton Kutcher – TechCrunch

Crowd Cow plans to use the funding to continue expansion into different proteins and new markets, as well as opening new distribution centers to speed up delivery to customers.

11. Deliveroo Announces £5M ‘Innovation Fund’ to Support UK Restaurants – CateringToday

The company aims to bring in new menus and measures that will be more compatible with the delivery app. It is also looking into ways to fund more ‘dark kitchens’ that allow chefs and restaurants to cook meals for delivery only.

12. High Brew Coffee Closes ‘ Non-Traditional’ $20M Funding Round – Food Navigator

The investment was led by Charles Street Partners and will go towards digital advertizing and furthering its Amazon partnership.

13. EAT Club Acquires Healthy Food Startup Farm Hill – TechCrunch

The corporate lunch service with a customer base that includes Flipboard, Mastercard and TaskRabbit has acquired Farm Hill, a lunch box delivery service, to solidify and expand its presence in the Bay Area. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

14. Denmark: Connecterra Raises €4.2M Series A for AI-powered Dairy Tech – AgFunder

The round was led by Sistema VC with new investment from AgFunder, 7 Percent Ventures, Acequia Capital, and industry veteran Henk Bles. Connecterra will use the funding to further develop its technology, expand into new markets and grow its team.

15. France: Algaia Raises €4M to Expand Algae Product Portfolio and Extraction Technology – AgFunder

Maabarot Products invested the additional equity capital to support Algaia’s expansion of its production facility and innovation center. The company manufactures algae-based products for agriculture feed, personal care and nutraceutical industries.

16. The Impossible Burger Is Officially Certified Kosher – Grub Street

Jewish people who keep kosher can finally sink their teeth into “bleeding” plant burgers.

17. Plastic Straws Might Soon Be Banned in New York City – Grub Street

A new bill even proposes $100 fines for violators.

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

The post House Farm Bill Collapses, Blue Apron Goes Brick-and-Mortar, Rebbl Raises $200M + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image source: Tate’s Bake Shop

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’ve released our first annual Food & Bev Startup Investment report of 2017, which saw $1.08b in venture capital investments across 99 deals. Check out our report for a deep dive into the deals and trends.

Some major acquisitions took place in the CPG space this week. Nestle is betting $7.15 billion on Starbucks to revive its coffee sales, by paying the rights to market its branded products. Mondelez has purchased Tate’s Cookies for $500 million as it seeks to address changing consumer tastes.

Meal kit are getting a boost as they move in-store. Blue Apron announced a 30% reduction in price for its meal kits sold in Costco. Chef’d announced expansion to more than a dozen retailers nationwide, including Costco, Harris Teeter, Tops, Hy-vee, Weis and Gelson’s Markets. Purple Carrot closed $4m from Del Monte.

And finally, the USDA’s long-awaited GMO label is here–term “bioengineered” will be used to label foods instead of “genetically modified”. Calorie counts are now required at thousands of restaurants, grocery stores and movie theaters.

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. 2017 US Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report – Food+Tech Connect

Introducing our first annual Food & Bev Startup Investment Report by Ryan Williams. There were $1.08b in venture capital investments across 99 deals in 2017. Check out our report for a deep dive into the deals and trends.

2. Nestle Bets $7B on Starbucks to Revive Coffee Sales – Bloomberg

Nestle will pay $7.15b for the right to market Starbucks-branded products, marrying its international distribution network with the allure of the biggest name in coffee.

3. Beloved Tate’s Cookies Has Been Scooped Up by Oreo’s Parent Company – Fast Company

Mondelez purchased Tate’s Cookies for $500m. Tate’s sales have quadrupled over the past five years. It plans to expand its distribution as a standalone business.

4. Meal Kit Maker Blue Apron Turns to Costco as Customer Growth Slows – Wall Street Journal

Blue Apron is now selling its meal kits in select Costco stores at 30% off the normal price. The company has plans to expand distribution beyond San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest in the future.

5. Chef’d Selling Meal Kits at Costco, Gelson’s, Other Retailers – Biz Journals

Helping with the retail push is Smithfield Foods, which invested $25m in Chef’d last year. The meal kit will expand to more than a dozen retailers nationwide.

6. Soft Robotics Raises $20M to Expand Operations – TechCrunch

Funding came from Scale Venture Partners, Calibrate Ventures, Honeywell Ventures and Tekfen Ventures, along with existing investors. The new round will help push Soft further into the F&B categories, along with larger presence in retail and logistics.

7. Uber Plans to Test Food Delivery by Drone in Under 30 Minutes – Bloomberg

The company plans to deliver food by drone in San Diego as part of a wide-reaching commercial test program approved by the federal government.

8. Tom Brady’s Vegan Meal-Kit Maker Gets Del Monte Capital Infusion – Bloomberg

Purple Carrot has just received $4m from Del Monte, which gives it access to a national distribution network and supply chain.

9. Square Launches Restaurant Point-of-Sale Platform – TechCrunch

Square for Restaurants handles everything from menu updates, floor layouts, employee scheduling and performance tracking to tip splitting. Restaurants no longer need a separate tablet system for Caviar.

10. Israel: Rootility Raises $10M Series C Led by ADM Capital – AgFunder

ADM’s Cibus Fund was joined by GreenSoil Investments and Middleland Capital. The startup uses root-focused plant breeding methods to increase crop yields. It plans to use the funding to scale its operations and enter new markets in Asia.

11. Bushel Raises $7M for Farm Relationship Management Tool – AgFunder

Funding came from a syndicate of individual investors in the agriculture and software industries. Since launching in June 2017, it has expanded to more than 400 elevator and ethanol plants across the US and Canada.

12. IFF Joins M&A Rush in Flavorings With $7.1B Frutarom Deal – Bloomberg

International Flavors & Fragrances jumped into a rush of dealmaking in the food-flavoring industry, agreeing to buy Israel’s Frutarom. The company is tapping the fast-growing market for natural food ingredients.

13. India: Walmart Beats Amazon in $15B Flipkart Battle – Bloomberg

The deal will give Walmart a leading position in the growing market of 1.3b people and a chance to rebuild its reputation online.

14. Mandatory GMO Labels Are Coming to Your Food – The Washington Post

Food products may be exempted from labeling if they are made with some refined GM sugars and oils, or if it contains those ingredients in certain amounts. The term “bioengineered” will be used to label foods instead of “genetically modified”.

15. Obama’s Calorie Rule Kicks in Thanks to Trump – Politico

One of Barack Obama’s top food policy rules has escaped Trump’s war on regulations. Starting Monday, calorie counts will have to be posted at thousands of restaurants, grocery stores and movie theaters.

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

The post Mondelēz Acquires Tate’s for $500M, Blue Apron and Chef’d Expand Now Selling Meal Kits at Costco + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

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

The grocery industry is grappling with Amazon’s increasing hold on the market. Retailers are considering new alliances–just this week Target and Kroger discussed a merger. Smaller chains are at risk of casualty, and the thousands of workers they employ may lose their jobs.

In restaurant news, former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is entering the cloud kitchen market, with plans to head and invest $150 million into his company City Storage Systems. Deliveroo has plans to create its own personalized food offerings, half the cost of food as well as automate delivery and food production. Sweetgreen has announced its first major menu change in 10 years. Platforms such as blockchain and years of research have allowed the chain to stay sharp in the fast casual field.

And finally, Senator Mitch McConnell announced plans to legalize industrial hemp. If the bill passes, it could have major implications for the natural food industry.

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. As Grocery Wars Rage, Target and Kroger Mull a Merger – Fast Company

The two companies began conversations last summer about a partnership that could improve Target’s grocery business and give Kroger customers more access to merchandise and e-commerce. Last year, their combined revenue added up to $195b.

2. Blue Apron-Airbnb Partnership Offers Tastes from Around the World, But Is That Enough? – Food Dive

Blue Apron’s culinary team and Airbnb Experiences have partnered to bring six weeks of international cuisine to home cooks.

3. Food Traceability and Safety Software FoodLogiQ Raises $19.5M from Pontifax, Tyson – AgFunder

The round was led by Renewal Funds with participation from agrifood tech VC Pontifax AgTech, Tesco, Tyson Ventures, Greenhouse Capital and Nicola Wealth Management. Funds will be used to expand its product offering as well as its sales, marketing and customer service teams.

4. Grocery Wars Turn Small Chains into Battlefield Casualties – New York Times

The fate of thousands of supermarket workers is at stake, many of whom belong to labor unions and are owed pensions when they retire.

5. Mexico’s Grupo Comercial Chedraui Agrees to Buy Texas Grocer Fiesta Mart – Wall Street Journal

Fiesta Mart is valued at $300m, and its acquisition will position Modega Latina as one of the largest Hispanic food retailers in the US by revenue.

6. NJ Whole Foods Features an In-Store Mushroom Farm – Food Dive

The farm is operated by Smallhold, a startup with a distributed network of mini farms in restaurants across New York City. Whole Foods is the company’s first retail partner. Its farm will grow up to 120 pounds of mushrooms each week.

7. Former Uber CEO Lands in the Cloud Kitchen Market – The Spoon

Travis Kalanick will head and invest $150m into City Storage Systems, a new company that is repurposing non-performing real estate into kitchen facilities primarily for restaurants, shared-kitchen facilities, delivery services and other such establishments.

8. The New Era of Grocery Just Claimed Its First Victims – The Washington Post

Tops Markets and Southeastern Grocers both filed for bankruptcy. The filings of both long-standing retailers have fanned fears that some chains won’t make it through the industry’s current turmoil.

9. A Brooklyn-Based Startup That’s Building Cheaper Robots to Democratize Biotech Just Closed a $10M Funding Round – Business Insider

Khosla Ventures led the seed funding round for Opentrons. The Brooklyn-based startup is  building robots to automate the process of pipetting, a necessary task for getting DNA samples ready for sequencing. Funding has been used to develop and launch its robot.

10. Sweetgreen’s Tech-Driven Menu Shakes Up the Fast-Casual Food War – Bloomberg

Platforms such as blockchain have informed the company’s first major menu change in 10 years—a preemptive bid to to stay ahead of rivals in the fast casual field it helped create.

11. Deliveroo Plans to Make Its Own Food and Replace Chefs and Riders with Robots – Eater

The company has plans to create its own personalized food offerings, half the cost of food, automate delivery and food production as well as double its profit margins.

12. Your ‘Role Will Be Removed’: Whole Foods Fires Workers in 7-Minute Leaked Conference Call – Business Insider

Whole Foods just slashed its marketing staff as Amazon pushes the brand to cut costs. The cuts are company-wide and do not apply to only Whole Foods’ northeast region.

13. What Legalizing Industrial Hemp Could Mean for Food – Project Nosh

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell announced plans to legalize industrial hemp as an agricultural product. If passed, the bill could have major implications for the natural food industry.

14. Memphis Meats to Bring Clean Duck and Chicken Meat to Stores by 2021 – Live Kindly

The company recently premiered its cultured chicken and duck at a private tasting, announcing plans to launch several poultry products playing off classic American staples.

15. Canada Wants Clearer Warnings on Junk Food. The US Is Using NAFTA to Stop Them. – Vox

Canada is poised to be the first high-income country to put warning labels on foods high in salt, sugar and fat. US trade representatives are seeking to override national food labeling policies in Mexico, Canada and the US through the NAFTA renegotiation.

16. Startup Using Deep Learning to Fight Food Waste Raises $2M Seed Round – AgFunder

AgShift’s seed round was led by Exfinity Ventures. It plans to hire more deep learning experts and prepare for full commercialization with more pilot studies.

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

The new Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) officially launched at the Natural Products Expo West trade show last week as part of a movement to bring sustainable agriculture beyond  organic, or, as some believe, bringing it back to its original meaning. The efforts have gone so far as getting CPG giant General Mills on board–the company announced plans to create South Dakota’s largest organic farm to supply the wheat for Annie’s Macaroni & Cheese line.

Two early-stage VC funds made news this week: France-based Five Season Ventures with €60 million for early-stage food and ag tech startups, and Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital closed $45 million for ancillary seed and series A investments for cannabis startups.

The Amazon Effect has analysts feeling concerned about the retail sector. Walmart has expanded its grocery delivery service to more than 100 metro areas. Aldi and Kroger have both expanded partnerships with Instacart. Amid increased competition and distribution problems, Blue Apron is hoping to give its struggling business a boost by selling meal kits in 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. General Mills Deal to Create South Dakota’s Largest Organic Farm – StarTribune

General Mills will work with Gunsmoke Farms to convert 34k acres to organic by 2020, where it will grow organic wheat for Annie’s Macaroni & Cheese line. The company also wants to cut GHG emissions 28% by 2025.

2. What Does the New Regenerative Organic Certification Mean for the Future of Good Food? – Civil Eats

The Regenerative Organic Alliance will oversee ROC certification, which aims to move beyond USDA organic. One of its primary goals is to require growers to focus on soil health and carbon sequestration.

3. Blue Apron to Sell Meal Kits in Stores to Buttress Sagging Deliveries – Wall Street Journal

The move comes as retailers like Walmart, Kroger and Amazon offer their own kits in fast-growing segment. It hopes to have its kits in store by the end of this year.

4. This Macaroni and Cheese Helps Fight Climate Change – Fast Company

Annie’s wants to highlight the fact that farmer Powell-Palm is using regenerative farming practices to grow the wheat used in its macaroni and cheese. Read more about the product here.

5. Five Seasons Ventures Is a New €60M European Early-Stage Fund Investing in Food and Agriculture Tech – TechCrunch

Backed by European Investment Fund, Nestlé, Fondo Italiano d’Investimento and Bpifrance, the VC plans to focus on early-stage companies developing tech innovations aimed at solving key challenges in the sector.

6. Snoop Dogg’s Venture Firm Just Closed Its Debut Fund with $45M – TechCrunch

Casa Verde Capital makes seed and Series A bets on ancillary businesses in the cannabis industry. Its biggest investment to date is Leaflink, a marketplace for retailers and brands.

7. Walmart Will Offer Grocery Delivery in More Than 100 Metro Areas Amid Pressure from Amazon, Target and Instacart – Recode

The move would make it available to more than 40% of the US population. The company plans to add more delivery partners beyond Uber and Deliv as it expands its service.

8. Boxed Rejects Kroger’s $400M Purchase Offer – Bloomberg

Boxed will pursue a new funding round to remain private, after also having preliminary talks with Amazon, Target and Costco.

9. Kroger and ALDI Jump on Instacart – PYMNTS

News of both expanded partnerships comes as Kroger’s fallen earnings last week raised concerns over the Amaozon Effect on the retailer and grocery segment at large.

10. Clorox Buys Natural Vitamin Maker Nutranext for $700M – The Mercury News

The deal is part of Clorox’s strategy to accelerate growth through acquisitions of brands with a focus on health and wellness.

11. Supervalu Selling Part of Its Farm Fresh Banner for $43M – Food Dive

The wholesaler-retailer has reached agreements with Harris Teeter, Kroger and Food Lion to sell 21 of its 38 stores. It is in discussions over the sale of its remaining stores.

12. Wefarm Raises $5M from Skype, WordPress Founders for Smallholder Farmer Network – AgFunder

The round was led by True Ventures and Silicon-valley angels, with participation from the founders of Skype and WordPress, Blue Bottle CEO and the Norrsken Foundation. The company will initially focus on financial products and marketplace capabilities.

13. New Zealand: BioLumic Raises $5M Series A to Commercialize UV-based Crop Enhancement Tech – AgFunder

The round was led by Finistere Ventures And Radicle Growth Acceleration Fund along with Rabobank Food and Agri Innovation Fund and existing investors. New capital will be used to commercialize its ultraviolet light-based seed treatments.

14. SG2 Leads $3M Series A for Food Waste Tech Hazel Technologies – AgFunder

Also participating in the round were Rhapsody Venture Partners, Serra Ventures, Valley Oak Investments and Climate Impact Capital. The company is working to move toward a lower-touch selling process and expand into the EU market.

15. That Organic Chicken Almost Got a Full Foot of Space. Now, USDA Has Withdrawn Its Animal Welfare Rules – New Food Economy

The USDA has withdrawn the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices, regulations that were years in the making. The rules would have clarified what access to the outdoors means for livestock.

16. Whole Foods Calls Meeting with Key Vendors as Tensions Flare – CNBC

Tensions between Whole Foods and some of its top brands will come to a head on March 19. A key issue discussed will be Whole Foods’ efforts to centralize its merchandising.

17. David Chang Launches Multi-Faceted Entertainment Group ‘Majordomo Media’ – Eater

Chang is teaming up with Ugly Delicious collaborator Christopher Chen, former Wired editor Scott Dadich and former editorial staff of Lucky Peach to launch Majordomo Media. The company will incorporate an editorial platform as well as podcast and video projects.

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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.

Wayne Pacelle, one of the most well-known animal rights advocates in the country, has stepped down as the CEO of Humane Society after facing a staff revolt and fleeing donors amid sexual harassment allegations.

Blue Apron shares rallied 7% when a Gabelli & Co analyst labeled Walmart as a logical buyer. Kroger has sold its convenient stores to British gas station operator EG group for $2.5 billion as it sharpens focus on its grocery business. Whole Foods has been making waves in retail news with the launch of its two-day Amazon Prime delivery and newly implemented rates for suppliers.

Tyson’s VC venture has backed the countertop smart oven startup, Tovola, for an undisclosed sum. Swiggy has garnered $100 million from Meituan-Dianping and Naspers. Yum Brands has purchased a 3% stake in GrubHub for $200 million.

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. Humane Society CEO Resigns Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations – Politico

Wayne Pacelle resigned Friday amid a staff revolt and feeing donors over sexual harassment allegations against him and a former top executive. News broke last week of an internal investigation dating back to 2005.

2. Blue Apron Shares Rally After Walmart Named ‘Logical Buyer’ of Meal Kit Brand – CNBC

A Gabelli & Co analyst labeled Walmart a logical buyer for Blue Apron, stating the deal would add another valuable e-commerce company to the retailer’s stable. Speculation helped stock raise shares of the meal kit company almost 7%.

3. Kroger to Sell Its Convenience Stores to UK’s EG Group for $2.15B – CNBC

The chain will sell nearly 800 convenience stores to the British gas station operator as it sharpens focus on its mainstay grocery business. It plans to use proceeds from the sale to buy back shares and lower debt.

4. Here’s How Amazon Prime’s New Whole Foods Delivery Will Work – Fortune

Amazon will be offering free two-hour delivery of Whole Foods products to Amazon Prime customers in select cities starting today. It plans to expand the service across the country over the year.

5. Getting Your Product on Shelves at Whole Foods Just Got Harder – Wall Street Journal

Whole Foods is asking suppliers of all sizes to pay new rates for prime shelf space as it tries to boost profits and better organize the exploding number of natural and organic products hitting the market.

6. Move Over, Chicken: Tyson’s Newest Venture Is Steamed Dinners – Bloomberg

Tovala, a company making countertop smart ovens that heat ready-to-cook meals, is the latest startup to receive backing from Tyson’s VC arm. No terms were announced.

7. India: Swiggy Garners $100M Series F Funding Led by Meituan-Dianping and Naspers – YourStory

The funding will primarily be used to strengthen their market position, new service and product offerings as well as increase investments in the ‘New Supply’ business line. The company has raised $255m so far.

8. Yum Brands Buys 3% Stake in Food Delivery Service GrubHub for $200M – Wall Street Journal

Yum will partner with GrubHub to add online ordering for pickup and delivery to its restaurants, increasing customers’ access to its KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hutt brands.

9. Soylent Looks to Shed Techie Image with 7-Eleven Store Expansion – Bloomberg

The company is trying to fuel growth by pulling in mainstream customers at 7-Eleven on the East Coast.

10. Singapore’s Sirius Venture Backs $3M Round in Israeli FoodTech Startup SuperMeat – Deal Street Asia

Sirius joined in the seed funding round led by New Crop Capital and Stray Dog Capital. The round also saw SuperMeat striking partnership with PHW, one of Europe’s top poultry producers. Funding will be used to further scientific research and work towards scalability.

11. Danone Manifesto Ventures Leads $30M Investment in Harmless Harvest – BevNET

Danone Manifesto Ventures joined Mousse Partners and AccelFoods in the round. The company will use the investment to enhance sustainable production capacity in Thailand, increase brand awareness and widen distribution.

12. Germany: Balderton Capital Leads $25M Series A in ‘Urban Farming’ Platform Infarm – TechCrunch

The round is led by Balderton Capital, bringing total raised to $35m. New capital will be used for international expansion and to further develop its 5k square meter R&D center in Berlin. The startup is targeting 1k farms to be operational across Europe by the end of 2019.

13. Wandering Bear Coffee Raises $8M – BevNET

Investors of the series A equity round were undisclosed. New capital will be aimed at scaling the company.

14. Agrilyst Adds Horizons Ventures to New Round with Eyes on China – AgFunder

Indoor farming software startup Agrilyst has raised an undisclosed strategic round, bringing in new investors iSelect Fund, Argonautic Ventures, Horizons Lab and Onlan Capital Ventures. It aims to expand its product offering and enter the Chinese market.

15. American Robotics Raises $2M to Bring Fully Autonomous Drones to Market – AgFunder

Investors included Brain Robotics Capital and unnamed angel investors. The new funding will allow the startup to add engineering and sales staff to its team.

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

The agtech sector drew in major investments this week. Gingko Bioworks led the way with $265 million, followed by Indigo, which raised $203 million. Uptake announced a $117 million series D round and Arzeda closed a $15.2m series A round. Lumen Bioscience, a biotech company, raised $13 million.

In CPG News, Nestle has made its fourth giant acquisition this year with its purchase of vitamin maker Atrium Innovations for $2.3 billion.

Blue Apron underwent a CEO shuffle this week, as Matt Salzberg announced he was stepping down after many disruptive changes and a 70% slump in sales since the company’s IPO.

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. Blue Apron’s Problems Are Too Big for Any CEO – Bloomberg

Co-founder Matt Salzberg stepped down as CEO, turning the job over to current CFO Brad Dickerson. The company’s sales have tumbled 70% since its IPO.

2. Nestle to Buy Vitamin Maker Atrium Innovations for $2.3B – Reuters

It hopes to expand its presence in consumer health care as it seeks to offset weakness in packaged foods. This is Nestle’s fourth purchase in recent months, following Sweet Earth, Blue Bottle Coffee and Chameleon Cold Brew Coffee.

3. Steve Case’s $150M Rise of the Rest Seed Fund Launches with an Impressive Roster of Investors – TechCrunch

The fund has secured backers including Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt. It plans to provide membership and financing to entrepreneurs located outside of Silicon Valley, NYC, Boston and other major business hubs.

4. Farming Startup Indigo Raises $203M with Help from Dubai Fund – Reuters

The agtech startup raised an addition $47m from the Investment Corporation of Dubai, bringing the the it’s total Series D funding to $203 million. The company is now valued at $1.4b and will use the funding to open or expand new offices in Australia, Argentina and Brazil, as well as continue to research.

5. Gingko Bioworks, ‘The Organism Company,’ Is Now Worth over $1B – Recode

The Boston-based startup has raised $265m from an unknown investor. The company creates fragrances and foods out of microbugs.

6. Uptake Raises $117m Series D for Machinery Data Analytics Software – AgFunder

Baillie Gifford led the round, which also included GreatPoint Ventures and Revolution Growth. The investment round brings Uptake’s total funding to $264m. It is now valued at $2.3b.

7. Hain Celestial Acquires Natural Sweeteners Company – Food Business News

The company acquired Clarks for an undisclosed amount. The natural sweetener company generated about $9.5m in net sales in 2016.

8. Maple Leaf Foods to Acquire Plant-Based Protein Company – Food Business News

The company will acquire Field Roast Grain for $120m to expand its alternative protein portfolio in the US market.

9. Nutpods Secures New Funding Ahead of Retail Expansion – BevNET

Plant-based creamer Nutpods has secured an undisclosed sum from CircleUp Growth Partners and has landed 3k new retail accounts.

10. In the UK, a Takeaway Company Is Now Worth More Than Almost Every Major Supermarket – Quartz

Just Eat, which specializes in the delivery of mass-market takeaway foods, is set to join the UK’s benchmark stock index just 3.5 years after going public. Its stock has surged 40% this year, giving it a market value of $7.5b.

11. Arzeda Closes Series A on $15.2m for Plant-Based Computational Protein Production, Led by OS Fund – AgFunder

With the new funding, Arzeda will ramp up its capacity to produce custom proteins and will double its staff.

12. Brazil: Naspers, Innova Capital Invest $82M More for Movile’s iFood Delivery Business – TechCrunch

The new capital infusion brings Movile’s total haul to over $250m. As of September 2017, the company reached 6.2m monthly orders and became the largest food delivery company in Latin America.

13. Feeling Blue? Biotech Startup Raises $13M to Create ‘Natural’ Color Pigments Using Algae – GeekWire

Lumen Bioscience raised funds from Avista Development Corporation, BioEconomy Capital and biotech investors along with a $1.8m grant from the Department of Energy. The funding will support its manufacturing of pigments made from spirulina.

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The post Blue Apron CEO Steps Down, Nestle’s $2.3B Wellness Acquisition + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

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.

Big investments were made in the this week, with Hormel Foods striking a $850 million dollar deal to acquire craft deli meat brand, Columbus. CircleUp also announced its $125 million venture capital fund that will incorporate the proprietary machine learning platform as a tool to help guide investment in early-stage consumer and retail companies. Big beer maker Constellation Brands invested $191 million in a Canadian marijuana company – cannabis beverages maybe on the horizon in the alcohol industry. Plant-based and cultured proteins are on the rise, and the niche market appears to be driven by vegan and generation Z consumers. Campbell’s has noticed this trend and taken action by joining the Plant-Based Foods Association.

In other news, Aerofarms absorbed a $40 million investment led by IKEA and David Chang. The company’s total funding is now at $130 million. ImpactVision, the software startup that uses hyperspectral imaging to determine the quality and ripeness of produce, has closed a seed round of $1.3 million dollars to further develop its technology.

After much anticipation, HelloFresh priced its IPO on Frankfurt, raising up to $369 million. It is now worth twice as much and has grown three times as fast as its competitor, Blue Apron. The company also announced that it will launch a healthy meal kit for kids with the help of Joanna and David Parker. Blue Apron’s meal kit sales and customer spending per order increased, despite losing customers for its second quarter in a row. 

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. Hormel Foods Strikes $850M Deal to Buy Premium Deli Meat Brand Columbus – Food Navigator

Columbus currently has annual revenues of $300m and is growing at about 5% year-over-year. Its acquisition will widen Hormel’s scale in the deli category and broaden its consumer base.

2. CircleUp Closes $125M Fund Powered by Machine Learning – BevNET

The new venture capital fund will be used as a tool to help guide investment in early-stage consumer and retail companies. It will be used to make at least 18 bets on consumer brands a year.

3. AeroFarms Brings in IKEA and David Chang to Close $40M Series D – AgFunder

Retired US Army General David Petraeus, ADM Capital, AllianceBernstein and Merass also joined the round, which brings the company’s funding to $130m. Some of its new investors are representative of its plan for global expansion. 

4. Blue Apron Competitor HelloFresh Prices IPO, Raises Up To $369M – TechCrunch

The cooking kit delivery company priced its IPO at €10.25 ($11.91), which would value the company at nearly $2b. The company received backing from Rock Internet, Insight Venture Partners and Baillie Gifford. 

5. Constellation Brands Hops into Marijuana Beverage Market with $191M Deal – Food Dive

The alcoholic beverage giant will acquire a 9.9% minority stake in Canopy Growth Corporation, a Canadian marijuana company, for $191m. Constellation can begin selling marijuana-based drinks in Canada and other nations that allow recreational marijuana use.

6. ImpactVision Raises $1.3M Seed Round to Determine Food Quality with Hyperspectral Images – AgFunder

The software startup uses hyperspectral imaging to help food supply chain companies determine the quality and ripeness of food products. Its seed funding was led by Acre Venture Partners and will be used to develop its technology further. 

7. Gen Z is Creating a Market for Fake Fish – Civil Eats

New Wave Foods and Ocean Hugger Foods are two companies rolling out plant-based seafood products to food service operators like college campuses, corporate cafeterias and large retailers. 

8. Vegans are Taking Over the Trillion-Dollar Meat Industry (Yes, Real Meat) – Organic Authority

In 2008, PETA offered up $1m to the first scientist who could create and bring to market cultured chicken grown from chicken cells. This laid the groundwork for the profound and lucrative shifts into the cultured meat industry.

9. Campbell Soup Joins Plant Based Foods Association – Food Navigator

It is the first major food company to join the PBFA, a new trade association dedicated to boosting consumption of plant-based foods. The company also recently launched a new line of plant-based milks under its Bolthouse Farms brand. 

10. Blue Apron Revenue Beats Estimates, Sending Shares Higher – Bloomberg

Sales increased 2.5% to $210.6m in the company’s third-quarter. Despite losing customers for the second quarter in a row, meal kit sales and customer spending per order increased. 

11. HelloFresh Co-Founder Is Working on a Prepared Meal Service for Kids – TechCrunch

Yumble has partnered with Joanna and David Parker to launch its new line of healthy meals for kids. It has raised $1.5m so far and is currently offered in 26 states on the East Coast.

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The post Hormel’s $850M Acquisition, HelloFresh Raises $369M IPO, CircleUp Closes $125M Fund + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.