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- FoodTech Weekly #185 by Daniel S. Ruben
FoodTech Weekly #185 by Daniel S. Ruben
News on FoodTech, food, and society
Daniel S. Ruben
February 23, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes
FoodTech Weekly #185
Hi there,
Matthieu at DigitalFoodLab just pointed to a strong current trend; startups developing chocolate and coffee alternatives are popping up left and right. One of them, bean-free coffee startup Prefer, just announced a round — more on that further down. And I recently met one of the alt chocolate innovators, Endless from Copenhagen, and tried their products — see the conversation below.
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VCs returned 5.6% of their AUM (assets under management) to investors in 2023 — the lowest for 15 years. Yikes.
Speaking about VCs:
A friend of mine based in Europe (dual U.S. / EU citizen) wants to exchange ideas with some American GPs at European VC funds, to share best practices on how to set up a tax efficient structure (both for U.S. and EU tax regimes) for initial GP commitment and for potential carried interest later. Who should my friend chat with? Add your comment here.
This week's rundown:
Miruku lands $5M for its molecular farming platform that can produce e.g. dairy proteins and fats
WeedOUT harvests $8.1M for environmentally friendly way to fight weeds
The EU increases binding targets for food waste
Let's go!
Conversations
Met with Maximillian Bogenmann and Christian Møller Bach, co-founders of Danish startup Endless Food Co, when they visited Stockholm. Max and Christian have worked together for a decade, at the forefront of sustainable gastronomy and equitable dining, at influential Copenhagen restaurant Amass which closed in 2022. Maximilian was the Head Chef there for four years, and e.g. did many projects around mitigating food waste. Christian joined Amass as Comms manager in 2016, and eventually did work there in operations and business development.
Max’s and Christian’s interest in mitigating food waste didn’t end with Amass. They had already tinkered around with a prototype of a chocolate alternative made from low-cost, organic, plant-based, upcycled ingredients. Christian and Max explain that ‘global demand for chocolate continues to grow — this is a $100B+ market — as the same time as cocoa yields fall and prices surge. We wanted to address this.’ Their prototype turned into a product called THIC (This Isn’t Chocolate). ‘It went from dirt to delicious’, Max says. [note: I can confirm that it tastes pretty good! I obviously had to try the chocolate, for journalistic purposes.] About a year ago they got some funding from Innovation Fund Denmark, and Endless was off to the races, also with (former Amass owner and chef) Matt Orlando as co-founder. The startup now has almost ten B2B clients in Copenhagen, Lisbon, Stockholm, and more, and is continuously improving the product based on the feedback received from restaurants.
The raw material is cheaper than cocoa, and has a 80-90% lower footprint in terms of GHGs, land use, and water use. It’s also 50% lower in sugar content and higher in fiber and protein, but otherwise similar in nutrition as conventional chocolate. Endless plans to sell the ingredient B2B to relevant partners in baking, restaurants, and the chocolate industry, integrating itself into existing processes.
The company is now planning for €600K round to build inventory and expand the team. Max and Christian can be reached via LinkedIn and email (Max here, Christian here).
Christian and Max of Endless
Noteworthy
Soil analytics startup Trace Genomics of Iowa, U.S. has raked in a $10.5M Series B round led by S2G Ventures and Ajax Strategies, and joined by Rabo Ventures. By examining the DNA of organisms in soil, Trace Genomics helps farmers get accurate, personalized recommendations to improve crop health and yield — making farming more sustainable.
Miruku of New Zealand has bagged a $5M pre-Series A round led by Motion Capital and joined by e.g. Movac and NZVC. The company develops a molecular farming platform for dairy proteins and fats - meaning the company modifies plant cells into mini-factories that can replicate animal derived proteins, fats, sugars, and other molecules, which can then be extracted from the plant tissue.
Berlin-based Pacifico Biolabs, which develops fermentation-derived alternatives to meat and fish products, has reeled in $3.3M in pre-seed funding (led by Simon Capital and FoodLabs, and joined by Exceptional Ventures and Sprout & About Ventures).
Una Health of Germany has nabbed a $2.5M Seed round, co-led by FoodSparks and FoodLabs. The startup uses AI and advanced biosensor technology to provide personalized, real-time interventions for patients to manage metabolic dysfunction. Una Health’s current focus is to revolutionize type 2 diabetes care.
AgTech startup WeedOUT of Israel has harvested an $8.1M Series A round, led by Fulcrum Global Capital, and joined by e.g. Bunge Ventures and Clay Capital. WeedOUT has developed an environmentally conscious solution to fight herbicide-resistant weeds; by making male pollen sterile, nonviable seeds are yielded, which impedes the growth of new weeds.
Orly Noivirt-Brik, Efrat Lidor Nili, Zeev Weiss / WeedOUT
Phycom of Veenendaal, Netherlands has scored €1.75M (appr. $1.9M) in funding from investors incl. ROM Utrecht Region, bringing total funding to €10.5M in six months. The company produces microalgae for food and for animal feed.
Simple Planet of Korea has fetched ₩8B (appr. $6M) in pre-Series A funding. The company develops powdered and paste forms of cultivated meat ingredients, using cell line sources from e.g. cows, chickens, pigs, ducks, and fish.
The EU is planning to increase its binding targets for food waste reduction. It now aims for a 20% waste cut (vs 10% before) in food processing and manufacturing, and a 40% waste cut (vs 20% before) in retail, restaurants, food services, and households. 60M tons of food waste is generated annually in the EU. In related news, KLM has wasted 60% less in-flight food thanks to AI (equal to 100K kg of meals).
Between 16-75% of seafood sold in the U.S. is mislabeled. Here’s how to spot seafood fraud.
Prefer of Singapore has scooped up a $2M funding round. Through fermentation, the startup upcycles surplus bread, soy pulp, and spent grain to create a coffee substitute that the company claims offers the same aroma, taste, and brewing experience as traditional coffee. The round saw participation from Forge Ventures, 500 Global, A*ccelerate, Better Bite Ventures, Sopoong Ventures, SEEDS Capital, Entrepreneur First and Pick Up Coffee.
Jake Berber and Ding Jie Tan / Prefer
The world’s first genetically modified banana has been approved by regulators in Australia and New Zealand. Scientists are trying to create a ‘safety net’ for the Cavendish bananas from TR4 (Panama Disease) which has knocked out Cavendish banana production in several regions of the world. Cavendish replaced the Gros Michel variety in the 1950s, which was destroyed by a different Fusarium fungus strain.
Startup Day 8 of Israel has clinched $750K in funding from The Kitchen; the company produces upcycled plant-based proteins from Rubisco (said to be the most abundant protein on Earth, found in green crops like duckweed).
Bluestein Ventures of Chicago, U.S. has closed on $45M in capital commitments for its Fund III. The firm invests in pre-seed to Series A, and has a portfolio of 50+ companies.
Can you build a brand around fruit? Yes! Apples is trying, selling seasonal and out-of-season apples through e.g. subscriptions and mystery boxes.
News from the FoodTech Weekly community
Beta Bugs (UK) is looking for a Salesperson… Eatable Adventures (Colombia) is hiring a Regional VP - Agrifoodtech Accelerator… Fermify (Austria) is recruiting a Strain Engineering Technician… Blue Nalu (US) has an open role for a Senior-Principal Bioprocess Engineer.
Vevolution is hosting a virtual AgriFoodTech Pitch Event on Feb 29, featuring companies working on synbio, aqua, biomass fermentation, regenerative agriculture, and hybrid precision fermentation solutions. Register to join alongside investors like Convent Capital, Kost Capital, and Supply Change Capital.
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Random Stuff
Perhaps we all should move to France (h/t Marie Dollé):
A lonely UK donkey gets to meet new companions after goat best friend dies.
Scientists have discovered a previously undocumented species of giant anaconda in the Amazon which they say can grow up to 7.5m and weigh close to 500kg. My reaction:
Armadillo catching a ball (sound on):
A long but good read: ‘Why is it so hard to know if you're helping? Even sending mosquito bed nets to Africa carries uncertainty.’
There’s an avatar cafe in Tokyo called Dawn, where humans with disabilities work from home, controlling the robots that serve the cafe guests.
I love you.
Daniel
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This issue was produced while listening to I Touch Myself by Scala & Kolacny Brothers. Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter. Did your brilliant friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.