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FoodTech Weekly #110 by Daniel S. Ruben
News on FoodTech, food, and society
Daniel S. Ruben
August 19, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes
FoodTech Weekly #110
Hi there,
While November isn't my favorite month of the year, I'm already excited for it, because I'll be attending FoodTech IL in Tel Aviv on Nov 7. Can't wait to immerse myself a little bit in one of the leading FoodTech and AgTech ecosystems in the world.
For now, I'm just enjoying the end of the summer.
Hanging out with friends in the Stockholm archipelago
This week's rundown:
Changing Biotech of China scoops up $22M Series A round to bring precision-fermented dairy to market
Australian scientists make 'dream discovery' that help plants limit their water losses
New food waste law requires Spanish supermarkets and others to formulate food waste reduction plans
Let's go!
Conversations
Iceland isn't perhaps well-known for foodtech and agtech startups. So I was pleased to recently connect with Chris McClure, CEO and Co-Founder of Loki Foods. Chris ended up in Iceland for his Ph.D. in Public Health and Epidemiology (following a Master of Public Health at Yale). Over time, he was drawn into the food space. 'The health of the planet requires a massive restructuring', Chris says, and continues: 'Our food system wasn't built for health, or ethics.' Being based in Reykjavík, the seafood capital of the world, Chris worked for a fish oil company before deciding to become an entrepreneur. He felt there weren't any serious, mature, plant-based options comparable to seafood. 'If people want oyster for dinner, they should be able to get plant-based or cell-cultivated oyster', Chris notes, and adds: 'We have the most demanding seafood consumers in the world in Iceland. If we can convince them to shift, we can convince anyone.' Together with Bjorn Aðalbjörnsson, Chris established Loki Foods earlier this year. The startup has already unveiled a plant-based cod fillet, and raised $650K from investors such as Sustainable Food Ventures, FoodHack, Kale United, and Lifely VC. Chris is looking for sustainably and ethically produced ingredients. And Loki will move into a Seed round pretty quickly, and want mission-aligned investors. Chris can be reached via LinkedIn.
Chris and the (Loki) cod
Noteworthy
Changing Biotech, a precision fermentation dairy startup in China, has scored a $22M Series A round. The company, which recently emerged out of stealth, has now raised more than $30M, making it the second best funded alt protein startup in China after plant-based meat company Starfield. Changing Biotech, which is using a fungi-strain to produce single-cell milk protein, is now constructing a 9,000 sq. m (90K sq. ft.) production facility. Speaking about China and alternative proteins, U.S. scaleup Eat JUST has raised $25M to support its business rollout in China of its plant-based egg and cell-cultivated meat. EAT Just has raised about half a billion dollars in total.
OATSIDE, Singapore's first oat milk brand, has secured $65.6M in Series A funding, led by Temasek and GGV Capital. The company's products are currently sold in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Sydney, Australia food rescue startup Good & Fugly has landed $530K in new capital from a crowdfunding campaign. The company purchases surplus and ugly fruits and vegetables from farmers, and then sell the produce to consumers via standalone and subscription boxes. Good & Fugly will now expand to more Australian cities.
U.C. Berkeley company Novel Farms has bagged $1.4M in SAFE funding. The company has developed a cell-cultivated pork loin. Novel Farms hopes to launch a product by 2025, and start mass production in 2027. Investors in the SAFE included Big Idea Ventures, Joyance, Sustainable Food Ventures, Good Startup, and CULT foods.
Canadian company Reusables, which provides reusable food packaging to reduce food waste, has raised $100K from Sustainable Development Technology Canada. The company plans to use the new funding to help more businesses transition towards a circular economy for packaging.
Swedish plant-based seafood startup Hooked Foods announced they've kicked off their Series A round (full disclosure, I'm an advisor to them). And California plant-based seafood startup Impact Food reeled in $500K in angel and VC funding. Alternative seafood startups (plant-based, fermented, and cell-based) have raised $178M thus far this year.
Image source: Pitchbook
MiAlgae of Edinburgh, Scotland has nabbed $2.7M in funding; the company uses food industry waste streams to grow microalgae rich in omega-3.
Robots are increasingly being used to restock store shelves in Japan, to mitigate a shrinking and aging workforce.
Interesting 5 min video report from Bloomberg on vegan eggs, featuring JUST Egg, The EVERY Company, and Yo! Egg.
Scientists have developed a new type of cassava using genetic modification that is resistant to cassava brown streak disease (CBSD), which cause significant food security issues in regions where cassava is a key staple crop. The research team hopes the new type of cassava will be deployed in Kenya.
Spain is introducing food waste legislation that will come into force next year. In 2020, Spaniards threw away 1,300 million kgs (2,866 lbs.) of food, equal to 31 kgs (68 lbs.) per person. Under the new legislation, food companies will have to formulate food waste reduction plans, and e.g. supermarkets will have to drop the price of food as it nears the sell-by-date.
Researchers in Australia have identified a natural mechanism that help plants limit their water loss. They hope their 'dream discovery' will help breeders develop more water-efficient crops.
A study was recently published, estimating the environmental impact of 57,000 foods products in the U.K. and Ireland, and pairing it with a measure of nutrition. The study e.g. found that alternative meats have 1/5 to 1/10 the environmental impact of conventional animal meat.
Source: PNAS
News from the FoodTech Weekly community
HackVentures (remote) is hiring a Brand Designer... Hoxton Farms (UK) is recruiting a Cell Culture Technician... FarmWise (U.S) is looking for a Senior Embedded Linux Engineer... SuperMeat (Israel) is on the lookout for a Scientific Team Leader... GFI (U.S.) has a number of open roles, in the U.S. and beyond... petgood (Sweden) is hiring a Head of Retail, Nordics... Ponderosa Ventures (U.K.) is recruiting an Investment and Operations Associate... East-West Seed (The Netherlands) is looking for a Public Affairs Specialist.
The Nordic-U.S. Food Summit will take place on Nov 1-4, 2022 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Business Sweden and Try Swedish plus partners are inviting the most promising Nordic FoodTech/AgTech companies ready to scale in the U.S. The Summit includes a packed program full of networking, site visits, and visibility to key Bay Area ecosystem players, and more. Applyby September 2.
Riccardo Astolfi is looking for new challenges. He's got strong experience from food and open innovation, in particular the landscape of plant-based and fermented products. He focuses on product development, brand positioning, market research, and everything leading from the idea to the shelf (or all the way to the consumer belly), with a preference for startups, contract manufacturing, and organic retailers. He's currently based in Italy and will consider opportunities (remote or partially remote) all over Europe. Riccardo can be reached via LinkedIn and email.
Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.
Random Stuff
Correlation does not imply causation...but I'll have some chocolate just in case, to improve my chances of winning a Nobel Prize: Chocolate consumption vs. Nobel Prizes.
Kampai! The Japanese government is launching a nationwide campaign to boost alcohol consumption among 20 to 39-year olds, The Guardian reports.
Cats in the German town of Walldorf have just been allowed outside again, after a 3-month lockdown. The animals were kept inside for most of the summer to protect the crested lark, an endangered bird species whose breeding season is in summer. Cat owners were threatened with a €50K fine if their cats attacked the birds.
Penguins and otters at a Japanese zoo refuse to eat the cheaper fish now offered to them (due to rising costs of their previous diet).
This penguin is not having it
I love you.
Daniel
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This issue was produced while listening to Hung Up by Madonna. Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter. And here's the Appetizer which I co-host. Did your brilliant friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.