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FoodTech Weekly #124 by Daniel S. Ruben
News on FoodTech, food, and society
Daniel S. Ruben
November 25, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes
FoodTech Weekly #124
Hi there,
This year marked the first time that food, and food systems transformation, really became a key topic at the COP (UN Climate Change Conference). Given that food is likely at least 25% of total GHG emissions, it wasn't a moment too soon. Theresa Lieb of GreenBiz wrote some quick takeaways from COP in Sharm el-Sheik.
Wishing those of you who celebrate a Happy Thanksgiving.
This week's rundown:
Clarifruit of Israel bags $12M funding to boost its fruit and veg quality control platform
Say cheese: Julienne Bruno of U.K. lands $5M to expand range of plant-based cheeses
What's buzzing: Tunisian startup Beekeeper Tech nabs $640K for smart beehives
Let's go!
Conversations
Had a chance to chat with Hendrik Kaye of Esencia Foods. The company, which was founded earlier this year and is based in Berlin and Barcelona, is using mushroom mycelium to develop alternatives to fish and seafood. But let's rewind a bit. Hendrik was senior leader at a successful D2C e-commerce company during hypergrowth, but felt a growing urge to build a business on his own. One day, he read a book about the science of nutrition called The Diet Compass, and that led him on a journey to venture into food and meet his co-founder Bruno Scocozza, a chef from Argentina turned Ph.D. in Biophysics from the Max Planck Institute. 'When I changed my diet towards more flexitarian habits, mainly plant-based, I tried all alt products and felt they had so many shortcomings in terms of taste or texture. Whole cuts in particular are tricky', Hendrik says, and continues: 'Mycelium is a fibrous material, which helps in building a fish structure.' The company is passionate about preserving the oceans, as they're mostly overfished and are being destroyed. 'The oceans feel distant, and no-one sees what's going on, unlike terrestrial farming. But the problem is massive. Humanity needs to preserve our oceans to preserve ourselves', Hendrik notes. Esencia hopes to have its first product, scallops, on the market within about 12-15 months. The company successfully closed its pre-seed financing, but is keen on extending for select impact- and food-focused VCs and angels. It's also hiring for a number of roles. Hendrik can be reached via LinkedIn and email ([email protected]).
Founders + seafood prototype
Noteworthy
Dutch-Swiss startup Cradle Bio announced a $5.5M funding round. Cradle develops a platform that allows scientists to reverse-engineer proteins so that they have the desired properties for the intended task. The company hopes their technology will increase the success rate of biology experiments and enable a more sustainable manufacturing of e.g. food, clothing, and medicines.
U.K. grocery delivery startup Modern Milkman has bagged an almost £50m Series C round. The company uses data analytics to map out the optimal delivery routes, for delivering e.g. milk in reusable glass bottles tracked with RFID. Modern Milkman claims it has saved over 55M plastic bottles since its founding in 2018.
Clarifruit of Israel, which develops a software platform for automated quality control for fruit and vegetable supply chains, has scored $12M in Series A financing. The tech, which involves computer vision, Big Data, and analytics, helps retailers, wholesalers, growers and other stakeholders to make better decisions to reduce waste.
U.K. plant-based cheese startup Julienne Bruno has raised $5M in a round led by Cherry Ventures.
Torr FoodTech from Israel has secured $12M in funding. The company has developed a proprietary technology combining mechanical pressure and ultrasonic energy to press ingredients together in snack bars and other food products, eliminating the need for sugar binders and artificial ingredients.
Torr FoodTech
Manchester, U.K. startup Bright Biotech has snagged $3.2M in Seed funding, in a round led by FoodLabs and joined by e.g. Big Idea Ventures, CPT Capital, and FoodHack Syndicate. Bright Biotech produces growth factors, which are necessary proteins that promote cell differentiation, growth, and proliferation when producing cultivated meat. The company hopes that lowering the cost of the growth factors will help boost the entire cultivated meat industry.
Canadian companies Konscious Foods, Merit Functional Foods, and Canadian Pacifico Seaweeds have announced a partnership to develop a range of more than 20 alt seafood products to be launched in North American grocery stores. Some $13.5M has been committed to the partnership, including a $5.5M contribution from Protein Industry Canada.
New Zealand's first cultivated meat company Opo Bio emerged out of stealth with a $1.5M Seed round. The company's goal is to become the world's leading producer of cell lines for cultivated meat production at scale.
Tunisian 'precision beekeeping' startup Beekeeper Tech has banked a $640K Seed round. The company offers low-cost equipment to MENA beekeepers that help increase hive productivity. The SmartBee device records and transmits hive data such as temperature, humidity, GPS location, buzzing noise levels, and honey production.
Speaking about bees: MeliBio, which uses plant-based and ingredients and technology to produce a bee-free honey that looks, tastes, and functions like real honey, will launch its honey in European retail stores next year. Here's MeliBio co-founder and CEO Darko Mandich offering me some of their honey during the 2022 FoodHack Summit (it was good!)
MeliBio
How tech helped the Netherlands become an ag innovation and export powerhouse. Exciting read from WaPo.
South Korea recycles almost all of its food waste. What can we learn from that success story?
Spain has updated its dietary guidelines, so that they also take environmental outcomes into account. One result is that recommended meat consumption is now a maximum of three portions per week.
Italian researchers have found a way to extend the shelf life of pasta by a month, by working with a combination of new forms of packaging, a different packaging atmosphere, and the addition of 'good' bacteria.
U.K. scaleup Oceanium (full disclosure: I'm an advisor to them) has launched its first product, a one-to-one replacement for methylcellulose. Extracted from sustainably sourced seaweed, the new ingredient can be used for e.g. plant-based meats, gluten-free breads, and beverages.
Image: Oceanium
News from the FoodTech Weekly community
Rockstart (Denmark/Netherlands) is hiring an Analyst, Agrifood... Gelatex (Estonia) is recruiting a Microbiologist... Volta Greentech (Sweden) has a number of open roles... NitroCapt (Sweden) is looking for a COO.
Better Bite Ventures, an early stage alternative protein fund focused on Asia Pacific, has launched First Bite 🥢 offering $50k to new and aspiring founders in APAC at the very beginning of their startup journey. Apply here by Dec 16th, 2022.
GFI Israel has launched a directory of Israeli investors.
U.S. plant-based meat company Nowadays is looking for a foodservice advisory board member.
Red to Green podcast has released the first episode of season 6, which focuses on biotech in food -- e.g. biomass and gas fermentation, precision fermentation, molecular farming, and more. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you find your podcasts.
Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.
Random Stuff
A British angler named Andy Hackett recently went fishing in Champagne, France, and pulled in a giant orange goldfish that weighed 67 lbs (30 kgs). The huge fish, called 'the Carrot', was dropped in the lake about 20 years ago. Mr. Hackett returned the fish to the lake after taking photos with it.
Image: Facebook / Bluewater Lakes
Scientists fed dairy cows cannabis to see what would happen (spoiler: Increased yawning, salivation, and unsteady movements).
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.