Image Credit: AgFunder News

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

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. Financiers Can Close the Regenerative Agriculture Funding Gap — and Unlock $4.5T in the Process – AFN

Closing the current financing gap in regenerative agriculture would unlock $4.5t in new investment opportunities per year and $5.7t of costs per year saved in damages to people and the planet

2. The Imitation Games – The Checkout

Store brands, driven by economic pressures and consumer demand for affordability, dominate the US grocery market, with retailers expanding and refining their private labels to maintain profitability and meet consumer needs.

3. Knockoffs No Longer: Store Brands Get Fancy in a Private-Label Revolution – WSJ

Private-label products are gaining in quality and share in the US, following a playbook mastered in Europe.

4. Digital Price Tags Can Change the Cost of Groceries 6 Times Per Minute – Popular Science

Electronic shelf labels bring Uber-style dynamic pricing to stores like Walmart. The retailer has announced plans to expand digital shelf labels to 2.3k of its stores.

5. European Food Tech Startups Overtook the US to Attract $2B in Investments in 2023 – Green Queen

Climate-focused food tech companies in Europe raised $2B last year, making up 58% of global investment in the sector and surpassing the US for the first time.

6. Israel: Ever After Foods Raises $10M for Scale-Up Platform That Make Cultivated Meat 90% Cheaper – Green Queen

Ever After Foods is starting with beef and poultry cells, but the latest investment has extended the licence to include seafood as well.

7. As American Express Acquires Tock, Who’s Winning the Reservation Wars? – Eater

What you need to know about the state of the reservations systems today.

8. The Chef Is Human. The Reviewer Isn’t. – New York Times

A new study showed people real restaurant reviews and ones produced by AI. They couldn’t tell the difference.

The post Closing the $4.5T Regenerative Ag Funding Gap, Private Label Revolution + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

TERRA, Rabobank and RocketSpace’s next-generation accelerator, kicks off its fourth Cohort next week, partnering 13 innovative startups with a consortium of corporates working across the food and agriculture value chain: Beta San Miguel, GrainCorp, Griffith Foods, OSI, Meat & Livestock Australia, and Tate & Lyle.

TERRA brings together cutting edge startups with forward thinking corporates to co-develop new products, adapt technologies to new industries, build lasting commercial partners and more. With their corporate partners, these startups will design and implement pilot tests over the next six months, each focusing on a designated business challenge.

Cohort IV will tackle rapid food safety testing, supply chain tech to reduce waste and novel ingredients like plant-based protein from upcycled carbon dioxide with newly selected startups who beat out over 300 applications spanning 50 countries.

The Cohort

Altum Technologies (Finland): Uses software-guided power ultrasound to remove fouling from industrial equipment with no production stoppages and no toxic chemicals.

Burlap & Barrel (USA): Sources unique, beautiful spices for professional chefs and home cooks.

ClearLeaf S. A. (Costa Rica): Designs and commercializes innovative pre- and post-harvest solutions that protect the environment and optimize farmer profits.

Corumat Inc. (USA): High-tech, biodegradable packaging.

DataFarming (Australia):  Aims to unlock the potential of Precision Agriculture products and farm data by putting easy-to-use, simple, automated and low-cost digital solutions in the hands of agronomists and producers.

Digested Organics (USA): Converts organic waste into clean water, concentrated co-products, and renewable energy.

Kiverdi (USA): Generates edible ingredients from air’s upcycled carbon dioxide.

Phyto Corporation (South Korea): Creates the future of food with Salicornia, a plant grown by seawater.

Shameless Pets, LLC (USA): Sources edible, safe, and nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste.

SnapDNA (USA): Executes rapid food safety testing through pathogen analysis.

SwissDeCode (Switzerland): Helps food and feed manufacturers transform contamination threats into sustainable opportunities.

The Better Meat Co. (USA): Provides innovative plant protein formulas for foodservice providers and meat processors to enhance taste and sustainability.

Yarok Microbio (Israel): Develops a fast microbiological testing system for the fresh food industry to protect consumers and safeguard producer interests.

How can startups and corporates get involved? Learn more here. 

The post TERRA Food & Ag Accelerator Announces 4th Cohort appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PARTNERS:

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Fast Company

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

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

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

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

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

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1. Join the Alpha Food Labs Community

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

2. Women Innovating Food

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Amazon to Open 3K Go Stores by 2021, Postmates Closes $300M Round + 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 US justice department has officially approved the $66 billion takeover of Monsanto by Bayer. The merger will create the world’s largest seed and pesticides maker.

JAB Holding Co has further broadened its control over the grab-and-go market with an acquisition of Pret A Manger, taking the chain nationwide. PepsiCo has swallowed Bare Foods for an undisclosed sum in a move to further increase its healthy food offerings. SnackNation has closed a $12 million round to scale its direct-to-consumer business and enter new distribution channels.

And finally, large and growing companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Foodshed.io and Walmart have been placing bets on blockchain in hopes of increasing efficiencies and safety measures in the food supply chain.

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. Bayer Wins US Approval for Monsanto After Two-Year Quest – Bloomberg

Bayer won US antitrust approval for its $66b takeover of Monsanto, clearing the last major regulatory hurdle to forming the world’s biggest seed and agricultural-chemicals provider after a nearly two year global review.

2. Why Panera Bread’s Parent Company Is Buying Pret a Manger – Eater

JAB Holding Co. which also counts Peet’s, Stumptown Coffee and Panera Bread among its brands, plans to expand Pret throughout the US in an effort to dominate grab-and-go.

3. PepsiCo to Acquire the Fruit and Veggie Snack Maker Bare Foods – New York Times

The deal is the latest move by the food and beverage conglomerate to increase its offerings of healthy snacks.

4. SnackNation to Expand Beyond Offices with $12M Investment – Project Nosh

The Series B round was led by 3L Capital and will be used to expand into new distribution channels, such as hospitality and transportation and scale its direct-to-consumer business.

5. Ben & Jerry’s Bets on Blockchain to Cancel Out the Carbon in Every Scoop – Forbes

The company is working with the Poseidon Foundation to use blockchain to break carbon credits into micro-transactions that can be attached to every scoop of ice cream.

6. Weather App Poncho Has Been Acquired by a Boutique Beverage Company, Dirty Lemon – Fast Company

The acquisition will allow Dirty Lemon to begin providing text message-based brand-to-user interactions that the weather app had been building out over the last few years. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

7. Collaborative Fund Raises $100M for Its Fourth Fund – TechCrunch

The fund includes LPs like Quora founder Adam D’Angelo, former Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson, Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow and former Sequoia partner Tom McMurray. It is looking for startups that will be able to accomplish social good while maintaining profitability.

8. ecoRobotix Raises $10.7M Series B Led by BASF, Capagro to Take Weeding Robot Across Europe – AgFunder

The startup will use the Series B proceeds to expand across Europe as it targets the multi-billion-dollar weeding market globally.

9. Food Delivery Drones Take Flight in China – Engadget

Alibaba’s online meal giant Ele.me has been cleared to use drones for delivering orders in Shanghai’s Jinshan Industrial Park. The move is said to lower operating costs and increase income for existing couriers.

10. Walmart Steps Up Its Commitment to Blockchain – Chain Store Age

The company has filed two patents that allow customers to resell products on a digital marketplace and another will help Walmart better facilitate customer deliveries.

11. Future of Food Distribution is Local: Foodshed.io Creates Transparent Supply Chain Using Blockchain – Food Navigator 

Demand for local food is climbing, yet the modern food distribution system is ill-equipped to handle small supply from local independent farmers. Foodshed.io is connecting producers to wholesale markets, streamlining ordering, payments and delivery.

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 Bayer-Monsanto Merger Gets Approved, JAB Acquires Pret A Manger + 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.

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.

Monogram Capital closed its debut fund with $152 million. Startups in the clean meat space raised seed rounds from industry players–with SuperMeat receiving $4 million and Future Meat Technologies raising $2.2 million.

In retail news, Amazon is reportedly offering more perks to its Prime members at Whole Foods, including 10% off already discounted products. Alibaba has launched a blockchain pilot for shoppers to see whether products are fake. Walmart is passing control of UK grocer Asda to Sainsbury in a deal worth $10b.

And finally, San Francisco startup ZeroCater has raised $12 million to expand beyond the Bay Area and take over office fridges and pantries.

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. 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. Monogram Capital Closes Debut Fund – Project Nosh

The first fund closed at $152m with commitments from family offices, foundations and institutional investors. Monogram has previously invested in Ellenos greek yogurt, Country Archer, Kidfresh and Dig Inn.

3. Clean Meat Startup SuperMeat Raises $4M with Backing from Traditional Industry Players – Food Navigator 

The seed round was led by New Crop Capital and Stray Dog Capital. The capital will fund SuperMeat’s clean meat development in cultured chicken and its efforts to mass produce it.

4. Lab-Grown Meat Is Getting Cheap Enough for Anyone to Buy – Fast Company

Israel-based startup Future Meat Technology announced a $2.2m seed round of investment co-led by Tyson Ventures. The startup aims to sell its first products later this year, though its costs are still at $363 a pound.

5. ZeroCater Raises $12M to Rule the Fridges and Pantries of an Office – TechCrunch

The round was led by Cleveland Avenue, with participation by Justin Kan, Romulus Capital and Struck Capital. It plans to expand beyond lunch catering to startups in the Bay Area.

6. Amazon Plans More Prime Perks at Whole Foods, and It Will Change the Industry – CNBC

Whole Foods will begin offering Prime members an additional 10% off of already discounted products.

7. EU Agrees Total Ban on Bee-Harming Pesticides – The Guardian

The world’s most widely used insecticides will be banned from all fields within six months, to protect both wild and honeybees that are vital to crop pollination.

8. Hormel Mulls Bid for $600M Chinese Wasabi Maker – Bloomberg

Hormel is among suitors studying potential bids for Chinese condiment producer Jiahao Foods. An acquisition would bring products including soy sauce, chicken powder and abalone sauce carried in supermarkets across China.

9. Walmart Sheds Grow-Everywhere Plan in Refining Global Strategy – Bloomberg

Walmart’s plan to shed control of its UK grocery chain reflects a global strategy to emphasize faster-growing markets like China and India. Asda will combine with Sainsbury in a deal worth $10b as Walmart takes a loss of $2b.

10. Alibaba Rolls Out Blockchain Pilot to Tackle Fake Food Products – Tech in Asia

Shoppers can see whether their product is fake by scanning a QR code with their phones. The blockchain technology is being initially trialled with products imported from Australia and New Zealand.

11. This Court Battle Will Decide Who Will Make a Fortune From Gene-Editing Tech – Bloomberg

The University of California Berkley, MIT and Harvard University are facing off in an appeals court over the question of who invented and thus can profit from CRISPR technology.

12. Amazon Launches Own Pet Product Brand, Wag; Starts with Food – Bloomberg

The brand launched with dry dog food and plans to expand to include other pet supplies. It will only be available to Prime subscribers.

13. Nestle Buys Majorty Stake in British Dog Food Group Tails.com – Reuters

Nestle’s Purina PetCare division has acquired a majority stake in the British dog food company from Draper Esprit. Financial terms were not disclosed.

14. India: Amazon Reportedly Makes Offer for a Majority Stake in Indian E-Commerce Player Flipkart – CNBC

Amazon has offered to purchase a 60% stake in Flipkart. Its bid is a counter to Walmart, which is reportedly in advanced talks to become its largest shareholder.

15. Contain Inc Launches First Insurance Service for Indoor Farmers – AgFunder

The service enables vendors of various indoor agriculture equipment to come to Contain when a client needs financing to purchase their wares.

16. Yellow Fever Restaurant at California Whole Foods Sets Off a Debate – New York Times

The restaurant’s founders, who are Asian-American claimed they chose to embrace the term and reinterpret it positively for themselves.

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 2017 US Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report, Monogram Capital Closes $152M Debut Fund + 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.

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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.

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 Target and Kroger Mull a Merger, Sweetgreen’s Tech-Driven Menu + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Ocean life is at risk of collapse, yet the demand for seafood is increasing. More than 90% of seafood in the US is being imported from overseas, and 30% is sourced through illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing operations. Now, companies are cropping up to build a more sustainable, traceable and profitable seafood supply chain. From live tracking technology to converting pollution into fish feed, join us to hear from innovators in the space at our April Food+Tech Meetup. Presenters will do a deep dive into their business strategies, technologies, challenges and lessons learned in the aquaculture and seafood space.

Come network with the community and get a taste from emerging F&B startups: AKUA, Ocean Hugger Foods, Australis Barramundi, Oko Farms, ForaFoods, New Wave Foods, Yolélé Foods, Edenworks and Sixty South Salmon!

RSVP here.

SCHEDULE:
6:30 – 7:15pm: Networking
7:30 – 9:00pm: Presentations + Q&A
9:00 – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:
Trevor Swope, Director of Operations, Dock to Dish
Dock to Dish is a seafood cooperative that supplies fish directly from Montauk to restaurants in New York City and Long Island. In 2017, Trevor developed and implemented the first hybrid geospatial database system to feature live vessel and vehicle tracking integration at Dock to Dish. The system makes near-real time “end to end” monitoring of wild seafood supply chains available to the public.

David Tze, CEO, NovoNutrients
NovoNutrients’s disruptive technology platform profitably transforms carbon dioxide from industrial emissions into high margin products for voluminous aquaculture, nutrient, and other markets. In doing so, the company also addresses two global environmental challenges: climate change and depletion of fisheries. The total addressable market for NovoNutrients exceeds half a trillion dollars, including $100B in aquaculture feed, $350B in feed for agriculture and pets, as well as the growing, meat-free food ingredient space.

Sean Dimin, Co-Founder, Sea to Table
Sean Dimin is Founder & CEO of Sea to Table. Driven to fix the broken seafood supply chain, he founded the company in 2009 with his father Michael. As the preeminent better-for-you and better-for-the-planet seafood brand, Sea to Table delivers exclusively high quality traceable, wild-caught, and sustainable American seafood to restaurants, institutions, and home cooks across the United States.

Donna Lanzetta, Founder & CEO, Manna Fish Farms
Donna Lanzetta is an attorney and entrepreneur with a passion for sustainable seafood production. Motivated by a concern for our world’s growing population, our fixed/declining wild fish stocks, and the urgent need to feed our burgeoning numbers, Manna Fish Farms is awaiting permits to operate an open ocean fish farm, eight miles off the Eastern Coast of the United States.

John Ng, President, Hudson Valley Fish Farms
Hudson Valley Fish Farms is a land-based salmon/trout farm dedicated to producing the healthiest and most sustainable Steelhead Salmon available on the market today. Pairing artisanal craft with advanced Recirculating Aquaculture System technology, HVFF is breaking new ground on satisfying the demand for high quality, locally grown and environmentally conscious seafood.

PARTNERS:

Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. We are an independent, founder-controlled company of 132 people working together in an old pencil factory in New York City. Over 10 million people, from every continent on earth, have backed a Kickstarter project from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. To date, tens of thousands of creative projects — big and small — have come to life with the support of the Kickstarter community.

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

The post Join our April Food+Tech Meetup: Future of Seafood 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.

Agfunder has released their AgriFood Tech Investing Report 2017, posting a 29% year-over-year increase to $10.1 billion for early stage investments in agrifood tech startups. The number of deals fell 17% as investors made larger bets on fewer companies.

The retail war continues. Walmart has introduced meal kits to its stores and online grocery service. It is also developing a new technology that has the potential to save it $2 billion in food waste and was just issued a patent for robot shopping carts. Instacart has applied for a patent for a mobile self-checkout system. Meanwhile, Amazon has committed to $22 billion in future food purchases as it bulks up Whole Foods.

In CPG news, bone broth company Ancient Nutrition has closed a minority investment of $103 million led by VMG Partners. Exo has been acquired for an undisclosed sum by insect food company Aspire. Kraft Heinz has launched its own food innovation platform, and Unilever has officially entered the organic market with its own plant-based brand.

Flippy, Miso Robotic’s hamburger flipping robot, is finally joining the human crew at the fast casual restaurant’s Pasadena location. Ordermark has raised $3.1 million to simplify restaurant delivery orders.

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. AgriFood Tech Investment Surges to $10.1B Bringing in a New Normal – AgFunder

Early Stage investment in agrifood tech startups reached $10.1b in 2017,posting a 29% year-over-year increase and reversing the downward trend of 2016. The deal count fell by 17% to 949, with the most dramatic contraction at seed stage.

2. 100+ Investors, $103M in Ancient Nutrition Capital Round – Project Nosh

Bone broth company Ancient Nutrition closed a $103m minority investment led by VMG Partners, along with Hillhouse Capital, ICONIQ Capital and others. The investment will allow the brand to expand into Asia.

3. Meal Kits Come to Walmart Stores and Online Grocery Service – TechCrunch

Walmart’s affordable alternative to meal kit delivery subscriptions is now available at over 250 stores as well as its online grocery pickup service. The meal kits will be available to over 2k locations by the end of the year.

4. Amazon Has Committed to Roughly $22B in Future Food Purchases as It Bulks Up Whole Foods – CNBC

Big multi-year contracts are rare for the e-commerce giant. The disclosure reflects its long-term plan to turn Whole Foods into a major revenue driver.

5. Insect Food Company Aspire Acquires Cricket Protein Bar Maker Exo – Forbes

Aspire’s current line of Aketta cricket food products will be re-branded as Exo products. Exo’s supply chain will only be using Aspire’s cricket protein. Financial terms were undisclosed.

6. Instacart Is Thinking About a Self-Checkout System, Patent Reveals – Fast Company

Instacart has filed a patent for a mobile self-checkout system that would allow shoppers to bypass in-store checkouts, hinting at ways the retailer might speed up its delivery operations.

7. Walmart Issued Patent for Robot Shopping Cart – The Spoon

Walmart was just awarded a patent that it filed two years ago for what looks like a self-driving shopping cart.

8. Kraft Heinz Launches New Platform to ‘Shape the Future of Food’ – Food Business News

The Springboard platform seeks to partner and develop brands within one of four pillars: natural and organic, specialty and craft, health and performance; and experiential brands.

9. Walmart Is Unleashing a Weapon Worth $2B That Could Deal a Blow to Whole Foods – Business Insider

Walmart is developing a technology called Eden that inspects products for defects and can predict the date when it will spoil. The company states it will save $2b in food waste over the next five years.

10. Unilever Enters the Organic Snack Space with Mission-Based Brand – Food Dive

Unilever’s plant-based snacks, Growing Roots, will allocate half of its profits to urban farming initiatives.

11. Flippy, the Robot Hamburger Chef, Goes to Work – TechCrunch

A year after announcing its partnership with Caliburger, Miso Robotics’ AI-enabled line cook is joining the human crew at the fast casual restaurant’s Pasadena location.

12. Ordermark Raises $3.1M to Simplify Restaurant Delivery Orders – The Spoon

The seed round was led by TenOneTen Ventures, with participation from Act One Ventures, Mucker Capital and others. Funding will be used to accelerate growth and integrate with more delivery services.

13. India: Zomato Confirms $150M Fund Raise from Alibaba’s Ant Financial – YourStory

The funds will be used to strengthen the team’s leadership position in its core markets by investing in product and technology. With this deal, Zomato’s valuation has been pegged at $1.1b.

14. Argentina: Syngenta and Bunge Ventures Back South American Agribusiness Marketplace Agrofy – AgFunder

Agrofy has raised a $6m Series A round led by Sao Paulo Ventures to build out the site’s capabilities and broaden the product supply. The marketplace offers farm machinery, financial services and consulting services.

15. Global Agtech Startup Investments Rise 29% in 2017 – Reuters

Global agriculture and food technology startups received a record $10.1b in 2017, up 29% from 2016. The number of deals fell 17% as investors made larger bets on fewer companies.

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 $10B Invested in AgriFood Tech, Amazon Commits to $22B in Future Food Purchases, Ancient Nutrition Secures $103M + 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.

Facebook users can now order food from local restaurants using its app. Food delivery is on the rise, fueling what is now the world’s fourth-most valuable startup: China’s Meituan Dianping. The company raised raised $4 billion in its latest round, reaching a $30 billion valuation.

Blue Apron recently announced its plans to lay off 6 percent of its staff as it approaches its next earnings report.

Sad news came to small farmers when the USDA announced it would withdraw the interim Farmer Fair Practice Rules. In better ag news, two new innovations were introduced in the field: cultured cannabis for future pharmaceuticals and fish feed produced from microbes fed carbon dioxide.

Finally, screen legend Leonardo DiCaprio has invested in plant-based Beyond Meat for an undisclosed amount, and Kimbal Musk wants to do for food what his brother has done for electric cars and space travel. He plans to create a network of business, educational and agricultural ventures big enough to swing the nation’s food system back to one based on healthy, local food grown on chemical-free farms.

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. Facebook’s ‘Order Food’ Feature Officially Launches Across the US – TechCrunch

Facebook is partnering with delivery services such as EatStreet, Delivery.com, DoorDash, ChowNow, Olo, Zuppler and Slice, as well as restaurant chains. Orders can be placed for take-out or delivery through its app, where users can read reviews from friends.

2. Leonardo DiCaprio Is Investing in the Plant-Based Food Startup Beyond Meat – Fortune

DiCaprio has invested an undisclosed amount to Beyond Meat as part of his growing investment in companies that aim to reduce our impact on climate change.

3. Kimbal Musk Wants to Feed America, Silicon Valley-Style – New York Times

Musk wants to create a network of business, educational and agricultural ventures big enough to swing the nation’s food system back to one based on healthy, local food grown on chemical-free farms.

4. The Future of Pharmaceutical Cannabis May Be Cultured, Not Cultivated – AgFunder

Hyasynth Bio, a Montreal-based biotech startup, has developed a way to produce the active compounds in cannabis without ever growing a plant.

5. Blue Apron is Laying Off Hundreds of Employees – TechCrunch

The company is letting to 6% of its staff as part of a company-wide realignment to support its strategic priorities, amounting to over 250 layoffs.

6. China: Here’s the $30B Startup You’ve Probably Never Heard Of – Bloomberg

Meituan Dianping just became the world’s fourth-most valuable startup, putting it ahead of high-fliers like Airbnb and Space X. The company delivers food, sells groceries and movie tickets, provides restaurant reviews and markets group discounts to customers.

7. This Startup Turns Climate Pollution into Fish Feed – Fast Company

NovoNutrients uses carbon dioxide, along with other emissions, to feed microbes that become protein for fish feed companies. It is also developing new microbes that can produce particular nutrients as an ingredient in feed.

8. Big Meat Just Won a 100-Year Battle. Wait, What? – New Food Economy

On Tuesday, the USDA announced it would withdraw the interim Farmer Fair Practice Rules, which were intended to protect small farmers against meat industry monopolies.

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

The post Leonardo DiCaprio Invests In Beyond Meat, Blue Apron Lays Off Hundreds + 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.

Innovation continues to drive the CPG space forward with the help of funding from Big Food acquisitions. Last Week, Kellogg announced its acquisition of “clean label” protein bar RXBAR for $600 million. And now it appears that Siggi’s is looking for a buyer. Dealogic also reports that there were 1,065global food and beverage mergers and acquisitions this year, totaling $78.4 billion.

In retail news, Berlin-based HelloFresh revealed plans to IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, valuing the company at up to $1.8b in the public markets.

The first “distributed farming” startup, Smallhold, launched the first of its many Minifarms that it plans to install in restaurants across New York City. Agriculture Capital raised $548 million, which it plans to pour into sophisticated, sustainably operated farms growing perennial crops.

And finally, biotech firms have discovered a way to turn methane into protein. The product is already being used in animal feed, the first step toward readying it for human consumption.

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

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!

_______________

1. Here’s What a Chinese Takeout Menu Would Look Like If the Meat Was Grown in Labs – Quartz

Alpha Food Labs explores what a cultured meat future would look like through the lens of a Chinese Restaurant take-out menu.

2. Kellogg Broadens Snack Reach with $600M Purchase of RXBAR – Food Dive

Last week, Kellogg’s announced it was acquiring RxBar, the four year old maker of “clean label” protein bars. RXBAR will continue to operate independently, while leveraging Kellogg’s scale and resources to drive growth.

3. Cultured Meat Will Cost Startups $150M-$370M (and Take At Least 4 More Years) to Bring to Market – Agfunder

We may not see cultured meat on the market until 2021. The technology itself would cost $200m to scale and an additional $85-170m for packaging, marketing and regulatory work.

4. Instead Of Throwing Out This Plastic Wrapper, You Eat It – Fast Company

Indonesia-based startup Evoware converts sustainably farmed seaweed into food-safe, edible packaging. The company plans to use its seaweed packages for instant noodles and coffee, as well as edible wraps for burgers and sandwiches.

5. Startups Raise $206M to Meet Consumer Demand for Protein & Novel Ingredients – Food Navigator

Funding to innovative food startups is increasing with 17 deals raising $206 million in the first half of 2017, representing a 60 percent year-over-year increase. The whole sector raised $4.4 billion across 369 deals in the first half of 2017 with the most active investor being SOSV.

6. The Company Bringing the Farm Right to the Table – Bloomberg

This Wednesday, Brooklyn-based startup Smallhold launched its first Minifarm in Mission Chinese. The company is the first “distributed farming” network and has plans to install its growing units in restaurants across NYC.

7. Sustainable Ag Fund that Likes Oregon Blueberries, Hazelnuts Raises $548M – Washington Business Journal 

Agriculture Capital will pour capital into sophisticated, sustainably operated farms growing crops – trees and bushes – that don’t have to be replanted every year as well as “midstream processing assets.”

8. Landfill Gas for Dinner? Scientists to Cook Food From Waste – Bloomberg

California-based Calysta and India-based String Bio are among biotech firms that have discovered ways to turn methane into protein. The product is already being used in animal feed, the first step toward readying it for human consumption.

9. Germany: Blue Apron Competitor HelloFresh Planning to Raise Up to $353M in IPO – TechCrunch

The company is planning to IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, valuing the company at up to $1.8 billion in the public markets.

10. Owner of Siggi’s Icelandic Yogurt Taps Bank for Sale – CNBC

The Icelandic Milk and Skyr Corporation is in talks with JPMorgan on a possible sale of the company. While Siggi’s value is unclear, the corporation expects to generate sales of $200 million next year and is growing at the rate of 50 percent per year.

11. Slim Jim Goes Upscale with 100% Grass Fed Beef – Food Dive

Slim Jim is launching an upgraded line of meat products that will feature 100% grass-fed beef or 100% premium pork with contemporary flavors and 10 grams of protein per stick.

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 Kellogg Acquires RXBAR for $600M, Bringing Cultured Meat to Market Will Cost $150-$370M + 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 the latest headlines from last week and today.

Activist investor Jana Partners  reported that it acquired a 2 percent stake in Blue Apron as of June 30, 2017. Prompted by what analysts call the “Amazon effect,” which is creating bargain stocks in the grocery sector,  Jana Partners also purchased 593,000 shares of Sprouts.

Hampton Creek has seen a steady stream of articles alleging fraudulent product buyback schemes, boardroom squabbling, food safety issues and financial problems. While this led Target to pull the company’s products from its shelves, CEO Josh Tetrick refuted the media’s allegations in statements defending his company’s success in retail thus far. Other CPG news saw major acquisitions led by processed food giants, Hormel and B&G Foods. Ice cream sandwich concept Coolhaus shared its Cinderella story of how they went from a single food truck to 6,000 grocery stores.

For the inquisitive eaters, a deep dive into seafood’s lucrative and corrupt “dark web” reveals fraud, fish laundering and slavery. A cricket farm in Texas prepares to scale its farm tenfold in hopes of fulfilling its sustainable promise of supplying protein without the carbon and land footprint of beef. And lastly, an inside look into the complex breeding program of the world’s largest berry company, Driscoll’s.

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

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!

_______________

1. Speaking Broadly: The Future of Food Is Personal – Heritage Radio Network

To help us understand what lies ahead, and to accelerate the good food movement, Danielle Gould shares her thoughts about individualized nutrition, biomes, urban farms and more.

2. Blue Apron Rises on Jana Stake in Embattled Meal-Kit Maker – Bloomberg

Jana Partners, the activist investor that reaped a $300m windfall after selling its stake in Whole Foods, acquired 2% of Blue Apron and 593k shares of Sprouts. Blue Apron shares rose as much as 5.3% after the stake was closed.

3. Hormel Expands Foodservice Business with $425 Million Fontanini Buy – Food Dive

Fontanini makes authentic Italian meats and sausages, and other premium meat products, for the foodservice sector. Hormel plans to leverage company resources such as R&D, operations, supply chain and finance to grow the Fontanini business.

4. Target Ends Relationship with Troubled Startup Hampton Creek – Bloomberg

The retail giant decided to end the relationship after receiving what it described as “specific and serious food safety allegations about Hampton Creek products,” despite the FDA’s conclusion that their products are safe.

5. Hampton Creek CEO: ‘We’re Growing, and Not by an Insignificant Amount’ – Food Navigator

Tetrick refutes misleading reports made by Bloomberg, stating that their vegan mayo is outselling the biggest brands such as Kraft and the company is, in fact, in a good financial position with a great network of investors and operations team.

6. B&G Foods Gobbles Up SnackWell, Back to Nature Brands – Wall Street Journal

B&G Foods Inc. has struck a deal to buy SnackWell’s cookies and Back to Nature granola for $162.5m. The acquisition will give B&G more leverage with natural-foods retailers, such as Whole Foods and Sprouts.

7. From a Single Food Truck to 6,000 Grocery Stores and Millions in Sales – CNBC

When the co-founders of Coolhaus took their ice-cream sandwich side hustle to Coachella, their concept went viral. The company is now hoping to hit $25m sales over the next few years and become the Ben and Jerry’s of this generation.

8. How Seafood’s “Dark Web” Obscures Fraud, Fish Laundering, and Slavery on the High Seas – New Food Economy

Annual consumption is on the rise, and demand appears to be driven by seafood’s wholesome image alongside concerns about animal welfare, unaware of illegal practices such as seafood fraud and transshipment.

9. This Giant Automated Cricket Farm Is Designed to Make Bugs a Mainstream Source of Protein – Fast Company

Cricket Company Aspire studied how crickets respond biologically to intensive production, then began focusing on cost-effectiveness. Their growing system uses a robotic feeder, machine learning sensors, and AI monitors.

10. How Driscoll’s Reinvented the Strawberry – New Yorker

Driscoll’s relentless focus on breeding has helped shape the supermarket strawberry.

The post Jana Partners Acquires 2% Stake in Blue Apron, Hormel Buys Fontanini for $425m + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Boulder is the place to be for food and ag innovators this October! Together with Rabobank and SF New Tech, we’re bringing FoodBytes! to the Colorado city long known as the hub for natural food innovation on Wednesday, October 26. Certainly not your average food and ag conference, our pitch competition meets food innovation party gathers the game-changing startups, investors and industry leaders pioneering the future.

Apply to Pitch at FoodBytes! Boulder

We’re selecting 10 food, food tech and agtech startups to present a 5-minute pitch to the audience of investors, industry executives, media and entrepreneurs looking to discover the next big ideas in food. We’re also selecting 10 runner-up companies to give 60-second pitches to kick off the event.

Demo applications are due by 11:59 PM MT on Monday, September 12. Selected companies will be notified by September 14.

Snag Your Early Bird Ticket

Attend the event Bon Appétit says is the place to see the “future of food”. Be one of the first 30 people to sign up and snag your ticket for just $99 (regular price $149).

Why Should You Attend?

• Executives: Get an inside look at the up-and-coming trends and startups at the forefront of food and ag innovation
• Investors: Meet the most promising new food and ag startups
• Entrepreneurs: Connect with investors, potential partners and customers.

Photography by Kassie Borreson | kassie.info | Instagram: @hausfraufotografie 

Why Should You Apply to Pitch?

• Pitch your company to an audience of 200+ investors, industry leaders, media and entrepreneurs
• Have dedicated display space to showcase your product or service
• Be in the running to win the People’s Choice, Judges’ Choice or Highly Commended awards.
• Take part in an invitation-only afternoon of networking and roundtable table discussions with industry mentors, as well as pitch presentation rehearsal with feedback from our judges on Tuesday, October 25

Photography by Kassie Borreson | kassie.info | Instagram: @hausfraufotografie

The FoodBytes! Buzz

“We met with several people who are interested in helping us think through the next phases of our company. We’re meeting with a few of them now to see how they’re input as customers can help influence our product. We also connected with a couple potential investors who are now looking at investing in Imperfect.”

Ben Simon – CEO of Imperfect – FoodBytes! SF 2016 People’s Choice Winner

“FoodBytes provided a high profile, high energy venue to put HarvestPort in front of industry professionals and investors. It is always great to be able to reach so many vested parties in one sitting. We generated several follow-up meetings with investors from the event, as well as a few very fruitful meetings with industry folks.”

Tim Koide – Co-founder of HarvestPort – FoodBytes! SF 2016 Demo Company

“FoodBytes! was fun, welcoming, and enthusiastic; we connected with creative teams and investors who were inspiring and supportive. It was wonderful sharing our hard work with a group that is equally dedicated to improving quality and awareness in the food industry and we left feeling more driven with strong connections.”

Lauren Brock – Marketing Manager of FreshTemp – FoodBytes! Brooklyn Demo Company

The post Apply to Pitch + Get Early Bird Tickets to FoodBytes! Boulder appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

FTC has been producing events left and right this summer. Last Tuesday, 100+ members of the food tech community joined us for our “How Nutrition Tech Personalizes Eating” Food+Tech Meetup. Five innovators who are leveraging technology to make food healthier, more transparent and personalized discussed their missions, business models and technologies, as well as their lessons learned.

Check out our recap of the evening below. We will also be publishing videos of the presentations in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. You can learn more about our Food+Tech Meetup and get notified about future events (don’t miss our Fail Friday Meetup this Thursday, June 25) here.

We’d like to thank our killer food sponsors Ox Verte, Meal Maison, Krunch Kitchen and Brewla and our host R/GA Accelerator. Learn more about R/GA’s new hospitality tech accelerator project Techstars METRO Accelerator here. 

Data-as-a-service startup Edamam sells access to real-time food and nutrition data to food, health and wellness companies including The New York Times, Nestle, Samsung and Epicurious. After launching as a B2C business, Edamam listened to its customers and pivoted to B2B. Founder Victor Penev told the group that his team built its product for consumers because it’s the easiest way to sell a product to other businesses. For other data-driven food startups, Penev says data is an asset and he advises owning it rather than selling it outright. Edamam has raised $1.9M in funding to date.

Ingredient1 helps shoppers discover healthy foods and empowers them to inform the market and make positive food change. Since launching in beta in April 2014, the startup has amassed a database of food product information that’s three times as large as the USDA’s; it contains 30k products and 20k ingredients. For brands and retailers, Ingredient1 offers data and analytics on new and relevant foods, as well as what shoppers care about and what products they are most likely to buy. “Ingredient1 focuses on ingredients now. Later iterations may focus on personalized wellness,” founder Taryn Fixel told the Meetup group.

Power Supply offers tasty and healthy meals made by networks of independent local chefs and delivers them via custom refrigerators at partner activated fitness and wellness communities (i.e CrossFit boxes, yoga studios, etc) in Washington DC and Los Angeles, CA. Its meals cater to people with specialty diets, chronic diseases and those who want to focus on clean eating. Co-founder and CEO Patrick Smith advised the group to have negative operating capital, because it allows your startup to fund itself until it finds product market fit. He also highly recommends focusing on a specific niche like Power Supply does because it limits the competitive field and makes customer acquisition easier. Smith encouraged the group to read Getting to Plan B by Randy Komisar, Zero to One by Peter Thiel, Effectuation.org by Saras Sarasvathy and Drive by Dan Pink. Power Supply raised $515K of debt financing in December 2013.

HowGood researches and rates the environmental and social impact of food products and partners with grocery stores to display its ratings in 26 states. Its app helps customers identify products that fit their values and its rating labels enable stores to showcase their commitment to transparency and sustainability. The startup spent 5 years researching and building its database of sustainable food using data from sources including the USDA, Animal Welfare Approved and Seafood Watch, co-founder and CEO Alexander Gillett told the group. Products that have a high HowGood rating have seen in-store sales increase by an average of 31%, according to Gillett. Customers upgraded an average of 3 products to more sustainable alternatives in stores that use HowGood’s ratings, which translates to a $2.31 sales bump per transaction, Gillet noted. HowGood raised $2 million in seed funding in September, 2014.

Meals to Heal offers personalized nutrition solutions for people suffering from chronic medical conditions. Its three tier approach includes personalized healthy food delivery, educational resources and nutrition counseling. Founder Susan Bratton had a lot of advice and lessons learned to share with the group. Regarding product development, she said “listen to what your customers want and build for them.” Bratton recommended following the Lean Startup Method; “Nothing is sacred, fail fast,” she said. When it comes to marketing, Bratton recommended testing in small dollar amounts to see what’s working and what’s not. Meals to Heal participated in Startup Health.

The post Nutrition Tech Innovators Share Business Insights & Lessons Learned appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.