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- FoodTech Weekly #161 by Daniel S. Ruben
FoodTech Weekly #161 by Daniel S. Ruben
News on FoodTech, food, and society
Daniel S. Ruben
August 25, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes
FoodTech Weekly #161
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This week's rundown:
ENOUGH receives €40M Series C to expand production of its mycoprotein
Juicy Marbles launches world’s first plant-based ribs with edible bones
Why the U.S. government once banned sliced bread
Let's go!
Conversations
I’ve followed U.K. alt protein brand THIS for some time, not least because their often hilarious marketing — see this for example:
I first met Andy Shovel, co-founder and Co-CEO of THIS, in person at some London event last year (with a gender balance worthy of the Taliban) where he was on stage. Recently I had a chance to speak with him 1:1.
Andy is a serial entrepreneur who has started and sold everything from recruitment companies and restaurants to climbing centers. Says Andy: ‘My co-founder and Co-CEO Pete Sharman and I have an unusual genesis as plant-based food founders - because previously we founded, ran, and sold a restaurant business focused on selling animal-meat burgers.’
After selling that company, Andy and Pete made a commitment to go into sustainability in their next career move, and they had some wacky ideas like starting an electric car brand. Andy and Pete happened to look at Impossible Foods back in 2016 and were so excited that they flew to the U.S. just to try the burgers. They ended up working with some food scientists, making some prototypes, and four years ago THIS was born. ‘Existing brands in the U.K. were boring and configured for vegans, not for meat eaters and flexitarians’, Andy notes and continues:
‘I’ve become more mission-driven over the years. I gave up eating meat five years ago and became committed to the cause of animals. Livestock farming is unsustainable, it takes so many natural resources to rear a single animal — it’s a stupid way to deliver protein. On top of that, I lose a lot of sleep these days about how much cruelty there is in our food system.’
So how do you get people to give up something they love (animal-sourced foods)? Andy says there’s no secret sauce — it’s just about obsessing about high standards and quality, e.g. how to get crispy skin on sausages or the fatty part of bacon — ‘difficult problems’, he acknowledges.
The second part is to build a brand. ‘Branding is my baby; I have a natural skill set towards that area’, Andy explains. ‘The brand tone is a reflection of myself, so it’s authentic. I don’t believe in preaching and lecturing, that’s not going to convert anyone. Instead I wanted to amuse, to entertain, to shock. And I wanted to use guerilla tactics, like having a fake Ed Sheeran hand out our nuggets — people burst into tears when they saw him.’ (at this point in the conversation, Andy stops for a second and says: 'When I hear my own words around building a brand, it makes me seem a little god-complex'ey, doesn't it?')
THIS for example did a state funeral for bacon in London: ‘We had a coffin, a marching band, traffic was honking, but everyone thought we were a real funeral. I loved it but it didn’t get much press’, Andy laughs.
Andy says there’s been a lot of false promises from various alt protein brands, but that a lot of the criticism and claims against plant-based have also been untrue. ‘People argue that alt protein is a fad, but we’ll grow our revenue from £13.8M last year to £20M this year — that’s 45% up, and we think we can be profitable by the end of next year.’
THIS just turned 4 years old. The company has over 60 employees, and currently sells plant-based kebabs, bacon, sausages, chicken pieces, burgers, minced meat (ground beef), and bacon lardons, plus some frozen stuff and ready-to-eat products. Next year, THIS will launch in continental Europe. So far, Andy’s company has raised $46M+, and plans for a Series B extension later this year. Andy can be reached via LinkedIn.
Images: THIS (right, Pete Sharman and Andy Shovel).
Noteworthy
Glasgow-based alt protein company ENOUGH has banked a €40M (appr. $43.3M) Series C round led by World Fund and CPT Capital. This will enable ENOUGH to double the production of its ‘ABUNDA’ mycoprotein (a meat alternative made from fungi) to 20K tons per year at its Netherlands factory.
GroGuru of San Diego, U.S. has raised a $2.3M round led by Cove Fund and Impact Venture Capital. The company develops and sells precision soil and irrigation monitoring systems, that aim at increasing crop yields and e.g. reducing water use.
Norway-based Remora Robotics has reeled in €2.5M in a round led by Grieg Kapital and Momentum; the company develops underwater robots that clean and inspect fish farming pens.
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Yard Stick, which does soil carbon measurement tech, has closed a $10.6M Series A round, led by Toyota Ventures Climate Fund and joined by e.g. The Nature Conservancy, Lowercarbon Capital, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Juicy Marbles of Slovenia has unveiled its newest product, Bone-in-Ribs, which it says are the world’s first plant-based ribs with edible bones (full disclosure: I’m an advisor to Juicy Marbles). After eating the meat, the bones (made with plant proteins only) can be turned into snacks by e.g. baking, frying, or air-frying them. The ribs will be available for limited releases in Europe and the U.S., before launching for regular purchases on the company’s webshop in early 2024. According to Juicy Marbles, the steak texture comes from an ‘elixir of happy tears from the biggest cuddly teddy bear ever listening to ASMR of Keanu Reeves helping an old lady cross the street.’
Image: Juicy Marbles
Some 85 U.S. agrifood startups have filed for bankruptcy so far this year, including e.g. upcycling company Do Good Foods, vertical farming startup AeroFarms, and greenhouse company AppHarvest, once valued at more than $3.5M.
U.S. cell ag startup Jellatech has nabbed $3.5M in fresh funding for its technology that can produce e.g. bioidentical bovine, porcine, and human-cell based collagen. The round was led by byFounders and joined by e.g. Milano Investment Partners and Joyful Ventures.
The fraught modern history of fish meal - fascinating read in Hakai Magazine.
Welsh legislators are set to introduce a new law in 2024 that would restrict the in-store placement and price promotion of products high in fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS). Some 60% of adults in Wales are above a healthy weight (h/t AGFO).
Boston-based startup Foodberry creates shelf-life extending barriers for moisture-rich foods like coffee, icecream, yoghurt, and hummus via coatings of fibers, phytonutrients, and minerals. These products then become snackable.
Image: Foodberry
News from the FoodTech Weekly community
Nosh Bio (Germany) is on the market for a Sales Manager… BIOMILQ (U.S.) is hiring a R&D Specialist… The Rockefeller Foundation (U.S.) is recruiting a Managing Director, Food is Medicine… Aqua Cultured Foods (U.S.) wants to bring on a Director of Microbiology… Yeap (Israel) has an open position for a Head of R&D… Uncommon (U.K.) is on the hunt for a VP, Molecular Biology.
Marie Dollé has written an interesting piece on how macro trends are shaping our diets.
The Regulating the Future of Food Conference will be held at the Estrella Damm Brewery in Barcelona on Nov 23-24. The event aim is to discuss the challenges of getting innovative and sustainable food products to market, identify what is needed for science-based risk assessments to demonstrate food safety, and to provide guidance and insights to help delegates with their regulatory journey. Early bird tickets available until Sep 15.
Join more than 150 investors and startups at Aarhus Investor Summit on Oct 5 in Aarhus, Denmark. 10 fundraising startups will pitch on stage; meet 25+ more startups in the exhibition area. The event focuses on Danish startups within foodtech, healthtech and cleantech. Sign up for free here.
The Future of Protein Production LIVE takes place in Amsterdam this October. There you'll meet 400 participants, and hear from over 60 experts, at Europe's meeting place for commercializing alt-proteins. More info at: https://lnkd.in/dDeDQ3Rz
Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.
Random Stuff
In 1943, the U.S. government banned sliced bread, but the order was reversed after two months due to a public outry.
Italian researchers are looking at whether pizza brings certain health benefits.
Robot haircut (1 min video):
The life of a Long Island snail farmer.
Researchers are building machine learning-based systems that monitor farm animals and determine whether they’re happy or distressed.
Monumental Labs are building ‘AI-enabled robotic stone carving factories’, with the goal to create cities with ‘the splendor of Florence, Paris, or Beaux-Arts New York, at a fraction of the cost.’ (short demo video here - it looks pretty cool).
A supermarket chain in New Zealand used an AI-powered app to help consumers creatively use up leftovers. The app produced some interesting recipe suggestions, including poison bread sandwiches, mosquito-repellent roast potatoes, a bleach-infused ‘rice surprise’, and an aromatic water mix which creates chlorine gas (which the app called ‘the perfect nonalcoholic beverage to quench your thirst and refresh your senses.’)
I love you.
Daniel
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This issue was produced while listening to Push by Matchbox Twenty. 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.