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FoodTech Weekly #136 by Daniel S. Ruben
News on FoodTech, food, and society
Daniel S. Ruben
February 24, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 15 minutes
FoodTech Weekly #136
Hi there,
I don't want to toot my own horn or anything, but before I got into a 40 ton airplane (CRJ900) consuming 1,500 liters of jet fuel per hour that took me to Amsterdam this week, I chose not print a paper boarding card. #ClimateHero #ThinkOfTheEnvironment #NotAllHeroesWearCapes
(I did climate offset the CO2 emissions via Trine though).
Amsterdam is always fun -- it's hard not to love it. And the Netherlands truly has some world-class food/ag innovation. This trip I spent most time in investor meetings but I did manage to squeeze in some FoodTech, see the conversation below.
This week's rundown:
SwarmFarm of Australia nabs $8.3M Series A round to expand farm robot offering
Alt protein investments fall from $5.1B in 2021 to $2.9B in 2021, new GFI data shows
Loliware raises $15.4M to turn seaweed into replacement for single-use plastics
Let's go!
Conversations
When in Amsterdam, I made sure to pay a visit to Yorán Meijers at Nom Nom Nom's* first permanent location. Yorán studied food technology at Wageningen University (with an exchange semester at UC Davis) and did food research at Columbia University, before joining leading Agtech VC Anterra Capital where he spent 5 years investing in innovative agtech and FoodTech startups. Explains Yorán, 'During this time, I felt a growing personal frustration with finding unhealthy foods on every street corner. The availability and affordability of nutrition-poor food is too big. I wanted something tasty, affordable, and convenient -- but healthy.' He kept looking for startups to invest in that could deliver on this when he was with Anterra, but couldn't find them, 'and the urge got too strong'. So in May 2022, Yorán teamed up with two co-founders and started Nom Nom Nom. 'We let go of the idea that it should taste exactly like animal-based foods. I feel plant-based alternatives have largely disappointed consumers with their taste and health profiles', Yorán says. Instead, the company creates products from ingredients that people underconsume, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes — and avoid ingredients that people overconsume, such as added sugar, sweeteners, artificial ingredients, and saturated fats. Nom Nom Nom is a digitally native fast food concept fully focused on delivery and takeaway; about 20% of business is from walk-in orders. The CAPEX to annual sales ratio is 1:10 vs 2:1 for a regular fast food restaurant, meaning the ROI is reduced dramatically. Yorán really sees the Nom stores as brand hubs more than restaurants, with the upfront investment in the store actually reducing customer acquisition cost compared to digital-only brands. He's passionate about the health impacts: 'If people switch to more nutritionally dense foods, the health benefits are enormous. You reduce healthcare costs and increase lifespans. Replacing just one unhealthy meal per week for a healthy one will give you 0.17 DALY's extra per year. Not to mention the CO2e savings of going more plant-centric.' Nom Nom Nom's ARR for a single store is already $0.5M and Yorán says the share of repeat customers keeps increasing, with a 4.5 / 5.0 satisfaction rating on all major platforms. Last year, the company took in a $1M pre-seed round, and now Nom Nom Nom is in the midst of a $2M-$3M Seed round. The money will be used to boost R&D, break into the breakfast category, and expand to more physical locations. Yorán can be reached via LinkedIn or email ([email protected]).
Yorán Meijers at NomNomNom
*Full disclosure, I invested a small ticket into Nom Nom Nom via HackCapital (the FoodHack Syndicate) last year. In total I've made 15+ angel investments into companies across the FoodTech sector, some of them mentioned in past editions of this newsletter. HackCapital has been a neat way for me to support founders that are building meaningful things that could advance a better food system. If you're accredited and want to start investing too, apply here to join HackCapital. (Not investment advice. Do your own DD. Keep in mind that investing in startups involve high risks including total loss of investment. It's for experienced investors only).
Noteworthy
Netherlands-based startup Source.ag has secured a $23M Series A round. The company's technology, powered by AI, helps greenhouse farmers to optimize their operations. The round was led by Astanor Ventures and joined by e.g. Acre Venture Partners.
Wild Microbes of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has banked a $3.3M pre-seed round. The company uses gene-editing to deliver perfect microbial strains that can enable higher precision fermentation yields of e.g. animal-free dairy proteins.
Paleo of Brussels, Belgium has fetched €12M ($12.7M) in Series A funding in a round led by DSM Venturing and Planet A Ventures. The startup uses precision fermentation to produce GMO-free heme proteins that can be used to enhance the color, taste, and nutrition profiles of plant-based meat products.
SwarmFarm of Australia has scooped up an $8.3M Series A round. The company develops and deploys lightweight autonomous robots that can work independently or co-operatively as a 'swarm' of units across a field.
Image: SwarmFarm
China is now the world's largest ag producer by value, with more than 25% of total global production. Its food system produced 1.9B tons of CO2 in 2019, fueled by a rise in red meat production and consumption.
Calysta of California produces a single-cell protein called FeedKind; it has now received a GRAS status, clearing the way for the use of FeedKind in salmon feeds. The animal feed industry is looking to diversify away from e.g. fishmeal and soymeal, and e.g. insect feed, algae feed, and single-cell proteins are all contenders in these efforts.
Australian alt meat company v2food will close its manufacturing facility in Victoria, Australia, as it hasn't 'really been successful' in running its own production plant. The facility, a $20M investment, was opened as late as 2020. The company will now instead use co-manufacturers to make their products.
The California city of Perris, east of L.A., has mandated that supermarkets must remove junk foods like soda and chips from their checkout lanes, instead stocking these areas with healthier grab-and-go items such as fruits, nuts, and seltzer (carbonated water). Meanwhile in Wales, the new government is considering placing restrictions on products high in fat, salt, and sugar.
Loliware of the U.S., which buys seaweed grown by farmers and turns it into materials that replace single-use plastics such as drinking straws, has raised a $15.4M pre-Series A round.
Image: Loliware
Future Gaïa of France, which designs and sells turnkey vertical farms, has clinched an €11M funding round. The money will be used to e.g. boost R&D.
Finnish dairy company Valio is working with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland to develop an eco-friendly way of breaking down methane in barn air, targeting a 90% methane reduction.
Mexico will scrap its planned ban on genetically modified corn for animal feed and industrial use.
Carbon Maps of Paris has grabbed €4M ($4.3M) in pre-seed funding; the company uses science-based, AI-powered solutions to provide climate assessments of e.g. consumer products, ingredients, and raw materials, at all stages of the food chain. This can help supply chain actors, from producers and distributors to food brands understand their climate impact. Meanwhile, Swedish climate intelligence platform CarbonCloud which does something similar -- helping food brands calculate and reduce their carbon footprint -- bagged a €7.5M round.
San Francisco, California-based Planetarians, which develops and sells clean label alt meat products while upcycling food waste, has harvested $6M in fresh funding.
Image: Planetarians
News from the FoodTech Weekly community
Stockeld Dreamery (U.S./Sweden) is hiring a Food Service Sales Manager, U.S... Volta Greentech (Sweden) is recruiting a Research Scientist... BIOMILQ (U.S.) is looking for a Head of Finance... Oceanium (U.K.) has an open role for a Materials Science Associate... Kaffe Bueno (Denmark) has open positions for a Bioprocess Technician and a Plant Manager... Nordic Umami Company (Finland) is hiring an Application Specialist... Higher Steaks (U.K.) is recruiting an EA to the CEO... Übermorgen Ventures (Switzerland) is looking for a Portfolio Manager... Finally, Zero Carbon Capital is hiring an Associate to join them as they expand their investments beyond the UK and into the rest of Europe.
Apply to pitch your fundraising startup at the HackSummit. Present in front of 100+ top Food and Climate investors. Plus winners receive $100K investment.
Norrsken Barcelona is now officially live and accepting applications! When the doors open in October 2023, the house will be the biggest hub for impact and entrepreneurship in Europe. Impact investors and startups in Barcelona, make sure to join the Norrsken ecosystem.
I liked this post from Danijel Višević at World Fund, and am glad it went viral:
Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.
Random Stuff
The number of 'zombie' VCs is expected to rise, as a result of tough market conditions. Venture capital, as Exponential View puts it, has had a terrible year, and venture fundraising has hit a 9 year low (WSJ).
An American couple loved Italy so much that they built a replica of an Italian street complete with cobblestones and cafe tables in their own backyard.
A British bargain hunter bought a £2 ($2.40) piece of porcelain in the 1990s. When he brought it in for valuation a few decades later, he learnt that the piece was 278 years old and worth £30K ($36K).
All five Nordic countries are in Europe's top 10 for VC capital raised per capita, a new Dealroom report says; the region has produced 78 unicorns including e.g. Spotify, Klarna, Northvolt, Supercell, Einride, Pleo, and Oura. And 35% of all VC funding in the Nordics went to impact startups last year, compared to 22% for all of Europe.
Dealroom
Per capita stuff, by the way, always reminds me of this hilarious Ari Eldjárn observation.
Image: Netflix/YouTube
I love you.
Daniel
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This issue was produced while listening to Riptide by Vance Joy. 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.