FoodTech Weekly #200 by Daniel S. Ruben

FoodTech Weekly #200 (👈 ❗)

Hi there,

This is the week of 200.

• It’s issue #200 of FoodTech Weekly. I started this newsletter almost exactly four years ago; who would’ve thought I’d have the discipline to do it for so long?

• Back in March, I kicked off the FoodTech Weekly Discord as a place for the community to post info on jobs, events, memes, and good reads — and much more. We just hit 200 members. You can join here.

• Last summer, I started Solvable Syndicate, a group of angels and family offices co-investing in early-stage impact FoodTech and AgTech startups globally. We’ve backed 7 fantastic companies so far — and we just hit 200 members! If you’re an accredited investor (e.g. angel or family office), you can apply to join here.

So let’s celebrate 200 for a moment 🎉

Next week I’ll be at HackSummit in Lausanne, Switzerland, moderating one of the two stages. Excited to see many old and new friends from the ecosystem there!

In this issue:

• Big week for WaterTech, with new funding for Lumo, Drupps, and Subeca

• Kokomodo emerges from stealth; will produce cocoa using cell ag

• A new high-iron potato variety may help combat anemia

Let's go!

Conversations

Spoke with Gil Ronen of NRGene / Supree earlier in May. Gil holds a Ph.D. in plant genetics and has worked for 25 years in the high-tech sector in Israel, focusing on software, AI, machine learning, algorithms, and agriculture. In 2010 he founded NRGene, an ag-tech AI genomics company, which was publicly listed three years ago. With nearly $30 million raised, the company changed its business model and started developing its own genetics. One of these projects became a subsidiary called Supree.

What problem is Supree solving? ‘Supree reinvents the dried fruits and vegetables category to make fresh fruit and vegetable nutrition accessible anytime and anywhere. In order to achieve this, we are developing self-drying varieties. Our first focus is on tomatoes, the most popular vegetable in the world’, Gil says.

For various reasons, about 40% of global tomato production is lost or wasted. The shelf life of fresh fruit is usually 2 weeks, with rapid ripening.

Through natural (non-GMO, CRISPR-free) AI breeding, Supree has created tomatoes that can self-dry on the vine, be harvested with reduced moisture content (up to 15%) and be frozen right after harvest. Vitamins and antioxidants are preserved this way, 5x more concentrated than in fresh cherry tomatoes (another Israeli innovation). It saves 80% of weight and volume in distribution when compared to fresh tomatoes. The tomatoes can be grown in the optimal season (summer) for their taste, color, and antioxidants, and can be consumed year-round since they have a shelf-life of 1 year when frozen (and up to 2 months refrigerated).

‘They’re delicious on pizza or pasta, and you can also add them to a fresh salad like you would with cranberries or raisins to boost the meal's nutrition—it's superfood’, Gil notes and continues: ‘Growing this premium product, farmers can increase their earnings, so everyone benefits.’

Gil believes that their technology will usher in a new wave of fruit and vegetable consumption - tastier, more convenient, and healthier.

Supree is looking at developing other self-drying fruits and vegetables, such as sweet pepper and raisins. Currently, Supree grows everything in Israel, but it has a pilot project in Morocco, is planning another in Dubai, and will do a third in Mexico next year: ‘Because of the high cost of labor, water, and energy in Israel, we’re exploring other regions.’, Gil explains.

Why not just sun dry tomatoes? The sun-dried tomato process is far from ideal; industrial tomato varieties are cut, then sun dried with sulfite to prevent fungal growth, losing many vitamins, flavors, and colors.

In order to commercialize the fruits, Supree partners with big players in the food industry. Seeds of proprietary varieties are supplied to farmers, and all produce is purchased by Supree for further distribution. As a first step, the product is marketed to large food service customers such as hotel chains, catering, and ready-to-eat food producers: "We can enhance the flavor and nutrition of any frozen or refrigerated meal, including salads, pastas, and pizzas, without compromising their shelf life," says Gil. Supree just started commercializing its products in Israel, the UAE, and Europe, and plans to significantly expand production in 2025.

Supree has 13 FTEs, mostly in R&D, and is now raising funds and looking for strategic investors like large tomato producers and growers. Supree is interested in talking with large players in the supply chain, food service companies, and food companies looking to add unique tomatoes to their product lines. Supree can be reached via Yana Voldman, VP Strategy & Growth.

Noteworthy

• Saudi AgTech company iyris (formerly known as Red Sea Farms) has raked in a $16M Series A round. Their flagship tech adds an additive to polyethylene manufacturing which blocks near-infrared radiation. This significantly reduces heat in greenhouses, while allowing photosynthetically active radiation that the plants need to pass through. The A round was led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund.

• Swedish startup Drupps, which recycles airborne water, has raised SEK 9.6M (appr. $0.9M) at a SEK 75M (appr. $7.2M) valuation (h/t: Impact Loop)

• Researchers at the University of Helsinki say they’ve developed a technology that allows for cultivating meat without using a growth medium, calling it a potential game-changer.

• California-based AgTech startup Lumo, which develops connected smart valves for farmers, has harvested $7M in fresh funding from Active Impact Investments and Fall Line Capital. Farmers use Lumo’s solutions to automate irrigation and monitor flow rates remotely.

• Kokomodo of Israel, which produces cocoa and chocolate products via cellular agriculture, emerged from stealth with a $750K investment from The Kitchen FoodTech Hub and the Israeli Innovation Authority.

• Yola Fresh of Morocco, which connects smallholder farmers with food retailers, has banked $7M in a pre-Series A round led by Al Mada Ventures and joined by e.g. FMO and Algebra Ventures.

• Indian AgTech startup Fyllo has raised $4M; the company provides predictive analytics and productivity data for farmers. Fyllo says 8,000 farmers use the company’s AI-based prediction models, and that the solution helps bring about 25% higher yield and 30% higher farmer income.

• Texas-based IoT WaterTech company Subeca has scored a $6M Series A led by SUEZ, and joined by Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and Burnt Island Ventures. The company can retrofit existing “dumb” water meters and make them smart in less than a minute.

• Sustainable aquaculture investor Hatch Blue has secured $10M for its second fund (h/t ClimateHack).

• Israeli cultivated seafood startup Forsea Foods has hosted the first official tasting of its cultured freshwater eel, serving e.g. unagi kabayaki (grilled fresh eel on rice) to 40 guests in Tel Aviv.

• Kelpi of Bristol, UK, which creates sustainable bioplastic seaweed packaging from seaweed, has hauled in £4.3M (appr. $5.5M) in funding, led by Blackfinch Ventures.

• Factual inaccuracies in ChatGPT and other LLM gen AI tools may lead farmers to make the wrong decisions, leading to crop losses, scientists warn.

• Researchers at the International Potato Center in Peru have spent a decade to use natural cross-breeding to combine high-iron potatoes with those resistant to droughts and pests, and that also have enhanced absorption capabilities in the human body. The researchers hope the new potato varities can help combat anemia in Peru and globally.

• We won’t decarbonize agriculture without more government support, Breakthrough Institute argues.

News from the FoodTech Weekly community

• Hatch Blue (remote) is recruiting an Innovation Studio Director… Sobo Foods (U.S.) is hiring a Content Creator / Social Media Associate.

• Technology alone won’t suffice when it comes to transforming the food system, writes Valentina Tartari, Johan Jorgensen and Anders Sewerin in an AgFunder op-ed.

• Veris Wealth Partners has published a helpful ‘Overview of Investing in Regenerative Agriculture in 2024’.

• Startup The Oater of Cologne, Germany, which raised a €1.3M pre-seed and secured a new €700K EU grant, has launched a crowdfunding round (link in German) for its machines that produce fresh oat milk on-site.

• And Israeli company Holy Locust announced a crowdfunding campaign to start selling its products in the U.S. Christian market.

• Proveg is looking for aspiring or seasoned social entrepreneurs for its Kickstarting for Good program. Apply by June 9.

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

Random Stuff

• ‘Cattle used for cuddling therapy may prefer women over men’ (New Scientist)

• Global pre-seed and seed VC deals in generative AI declined by 76% in Q1 2024, Pitchbook reports.

• Police in the Finnish city of Espoo are blasting classical music at the local beach of Haukilahti to prevent young people from celebrating the end of the school term there. Says Mikko Juvonen of the Western Uusimaa police department: ‘For some reason, classical music doesn't appeal to young people, and young people stay away from places where there is classical music.’

​I love you.
Daniel

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This issue was produced while listening to Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter. Did your brilliant friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.

Disclosures: I'm founder of Solvable Syndicate. I’m an operating advisor to VC/investment firms Nordic FoodTech VC, Mudcake, and Blume Equity. I'm a mentor at accelerators Katapult Ocean, Big Idea Ventures, and Norrsken Accelerator. I'm an advisor to BIOMILQ, FoodHack, Hooked, Ignitia, Improvin, IRRIOT, Juicy Marbles, Lupinta, NitroCapt, Oceanium, petgood, Rootically, Stockeld Dreamery, Transship, VEAT, and Volta Greentech; in some of these startups, I have equity.

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.