FoodTech Weekly #117 by Daniel S. Ruben

FoodTech Weekly #117

Hi there,

It's cotton candy grape season! I'm a big fan. What about you?

Thanks to all of you that have become Premium subscribers of FoodTech Weekly, since I opened up for this last week. It means the world to me.

FoodHack has put out a survey to find the best VCs in FoodTech and ClimateTech, measuring things like founder friendliness, diligence process, value-add, and more. Respond here.

John Seal, CFO at Oceanium, is looking for R&D pilot providers that can provide:

1. A shared test kitchen

2. Cold storage / freezer

3. Rented units with short rentals various sizes (anywhere from 50m2 to 300 m2)

4. Sufficient water and energy

5. Highest quality food safe building design, including 'wet floor' with drainage and zoned to take food effluents

6. Easy access – wide halls, shipping bays – to bring in rented equipment and supplies, and ship out finished product

Do these places/providers exist in the U.K. or continental Europe? Contact John at [email protected]

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This week's rundown:

• French hattrick: Gourmey, Javelot, and Invers all raise multimillion EUR rounds to advance cell-cultivated foie gras, efficient grain silos, and insect-based pet food, respectively

• New $150M fund is launched to build out cold chain to combat African food waste

• Kenya lifts its ban on GMO crops

Let's go!

Conversations

• Will be back soon!

Noteworthy

• Cell-cultivated meat startup Gourmey, from Paris, France, raised a massive $48M Series A round (claimed to be the biggest-ever A round in the cell-cultivated space). Gourmey focuses on foie gras, a product banned in many countries and cities. I spoke to Gourmey co-founder and CEO Nicolas Morin-Forest in Sept 2020 for FoodTech Weekly #18 -- read it here.

• French startup Javelot has secured a €10M round (h/t DigitalFoodLab); the company has built a platform for centralizing grain storage data, which allows customers to save money and reduce their environmental impact. For example, in-storage insecticides can be almost eliminated, and energy costs can be reduced by 30% to 70%.

• Auvergne, France startup Invers has banked €15M in fresh funding. The company grows insects that are turned into pet food (for e.g. dogs, cat, and fish). Invers' products are sold at 500+ locations in France.

• South Korean cultivated meat startup TissenBioFarm has raked in a $1.6M pre-Series A round. Meanwhile, Californian cell-cultivated seafood company BlueNalu says it plans to have a 75% gross margin, once it starts selling in 2027.

• A single-cell protein production plant using the technology of Danish company Unibio will be built in Qatar, and production will start in 2024 at the earliest. The protein will become aquafeed for local fish farms.

• U.S. company InsightTRAC will deploy robots that can shoot mummies out of trees. It's not ancient Egyptian mummies though; fruits and nuts left hanging in trees are called mummies, and pests love them.

• Russia has stolen Ukrainian grain worth at least half a billion dollar and shipped it to be sold abroad.

• A new $150M fund by Cape Town-based African Infrastructure Investment Managers (a PE firm with $2.4B in AUM) aims to fight food waste by investing in Africa's cold chain (e.g. trucks, storage, and related infrastructure). Due to fragmented supply chains, inadequate technology and unreliable power, almost half of all food produced in Africa go to waste. Examples of companies in the space include Kenya's Kwanza Tukule and Logistify AI, Egypt's OneOrder, Uganda's Solarchil, and Nigeria's ColdHubs.

• The Kenyan government has lifted its ban on GMOs, allowing for imports and cultivation of GMO crops.

• California-company PATH has nabbed $30M in Series A funding. The startup sells water in sustainable aluminium bottles. Americans currently buy 50B single-use plastic water bottles every year. In related news, L'Oreal plans to kill single-use plastic (h/t: Léon C).

News from the FoodTech Weekly community

• GFI (US) is hiring for several roles, incl. Corporate Engagement Director, Academic Community Manager, Scientific Partnership Manager, and Events Coordinator... Prose Foods (US) is also recruiting for a number of positions including scientists and technical functions.

• FoodHack is doing a meetup in Stockholm on Oct 26, 8:00am onwards. Hear from Norrsken VC and local FoodTech startups, network with other FoodTech geeks, and taste delicious treats. Register here for free.

• StrikeTwo is a non-profit year package for people who want to change the agrifood industry by solving a challenge they see. Every year StrikeTwo has between 5-9 tracks. By combining the right people, creating a 1-year-roadmap, and organizing a shark tank for funding, the solution is turned into reality. If you're an Agrifood or AgTech sector expert, join StrikeTwo to use your expertise for good! Mail Patricia with any questions or to register: [email protected]

• New research on the health benefits of insect fat, co-authored by companies Protix and petgood (full disclosure: I'm an advisor) and the Technical University of Munich show that fat from the black soldier fly, used a functional pet food ingredient, promotes antimicrobial health, can have a positive impact on the brain function of aging dogs, and has the potential to promote gut health.

Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.

Random Stuff

• I really liked this piece from Odin, on why indexing makes sense for angel investors.

• I can deny the rumors, Scandinavian pizza is not a thing. Never was. Never will be.

• A NYC Council Member is putting forward a bill that would allow civilians to report parking violations, and earn 25% of the $175 ticket. It's modeled after a NYC program in effect since 2018 where citizens can report idling trucks and buses in exchange for a quarter of the fine.

• Zero-gravity soccer at 20,000 ft. Pretty cool video.

• Nice visual of the world's population at 8B.

• A German court has ordered discount chain Lidl to destroy its supply of chocolate bunnies, as it has lost a years-long trademark dispute with Swiss chocolatier Lindt. The chocolate will now be remolded into other shapes. RIP, bunnies.

​I love you.

Daniel

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This issue was produced while listening to Only You by Steve Monite. 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.

Disclosures: I'm Head of Strategy and Special Projects at Stockeld Dreamery. I'm an operating advisor to VC/investment firms Nordic FoodTech VC, Trellis Road, and Blume Equity. I'm a mentor at accelerators Katapult Ocean, Big Idea Ventures, and Norrsken Impact Accelerator. I'm an advisor to BIOMILQ, FoodHack, Hooked, Ignitia, IRRIOT, Juicy Marbles, Lupinta, Oceanium, petgood, Rootically, Skira, Urban Oasis, VEAT, and Volta Greentech; in some of these startups, I have equity.

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Boring disclaimer: The newsletter content is intended only to provide general and preliminary information to folks interested in FoodTech, and shall not be construed as the basis for any investment decision or strategy. I assume no liability in regards to any investment, divestment, or retention decision taken by readers of this newsletter content.