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- FoodTech Weekly #76 by Daniel S. Ruben
FoodTech Weekly #76 by Daniel S. Ruben
News on FoodTech, food, and society
Daniel S. Ruben
November 19, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes
FoodTech Weekly #76
Hi there,
Philip Marthinsen is looking for co-founders for Juice (wine in aluminium cans, because they feel glass bottles are bad for the environment, for packaging efficiency, and for shipping weights).
On Dec 7, I'll be giving the keynote at the annual conference on the National Food Strategy for Sweden. So if you understand Swedish and want to hear me (and the Director Generals of The Board of Agriculture, The Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, and Sweden's innovation agency Vinnova),sign up here.
This is me preparing my remarks:
One more thing - Stockeld Dreamery, where I work, is looking for two Product Managers -- truly critically important roles. We hire from all over (team members have moved here from Argentina, Portugal, France, Italy, Turkey, Iran, India, etc). Join us.
This week's rundown:
Reducing food waste: Sufresca raises $3.5M for solution that extend produce shelf life
Electrifying: Monarch Tractor banks $61M Series B for its electric, driver-optional tractors
Cha-ching: Bits x Bites, Cooperative Ventures, and Ocean 14 Capital all launch new funds investing in e.g. food
Let's go!
Conversations
Yeah....still too busy to summarize all my recent conversations. I'll get to it, eventually :)
Noteworthy
JBS, the world's largest meat company, is acquiring Spanish cultivated meat startup BioTech Foods for $100M. The company was started in 2017 and had only raised about €5M to date.
Israeli AgTech startup Sufresca has raised a $3.5M Seed round led by OurCrowd VC and FEAT Investments, according to a statement sent to FoodTech Weekly. The company has developed an edible, biodegradable water-based emulsion which creates a breathable coating when applied to fresh fruits or vegetables. This extends shelf life by up to several weeks, saves plastic packaging, and reduces food waste.
The Sufresca team
Swedish plant-based alternatives startup Peas of Heaven has raised a €2.7M late Seed round to help fuel its European expansion, according to a press release sent to FoodTech Weekly. The round was led by VCs Oyster Bay and Nicoya. Peas of Heaven launched three years ago and is now available at 3,000 distribution points. The company targets meat eaters rather than vegans, and since their family company still produce some animal products under the brand Härryda Karlsson, Peas of Heaven is effectively competing with itself.
Imagindairy of Israel has raised a $13M seed round, led by MoreVC, and joined by e.g. Strauss Group, S2G Ventures, Collaborative Fund, New Climate Ventures, and others. The company uses precision fermentation to produce milk proteins identical to those found in cows.
SaladStop of Singapore, which aims to become Asia's leading personalized nutrition company, has banked $8.9M in fresh funding. The round was led by Temasek. Originally a grab-and-go salad chain, SaladStop has evolved into a offline/online retailer.
California-based Monarch Tractor, which develops a fully-electric, driver-optional tractor, has secured a $61M Series B round led by Astanor Ventures. The funding will be used to scale up manufacturing and sales, as well as launch international pilot test programs.
Image: Monarch Tractor
Big in Japan: A research team from Nagoya University has developed a tomato that is 30% sweeter than usual, using genetic engineering; meanwhile, a team at Okayama University have used CRISPR/Cas9 to improve barley, and potentially make beer better.
Two U.S.-based researchers have created a bioprocess (using naturally occurring and engineered microorganisms) that turns plastic waste into edible protein powder. And some other scientists have developed a way to turn bioplastics into urea, a key ingredient in many fertilizers.
A new review paper found that due to climate change, foods rich in micronutrients (e.g. vitamin A, zinc, and iron) will see decreased yields, threatening the nutrient supply of low- and middle-income countries.
The founders of Oatly, and the co-founder of Fiji Water, have relaunchedGood Idea functional sparking water. The company says their products have a scientifically proven ability to reduce blood sugar levels, thanks to a blend of five amino acids and chromium.
Some investor news: Chinese AgTech/FoodTech VC Bits x Bites has announced the final close for its latest fund at $100M; U.S. ag cooperatives CHS and Growmark have launched Cooperative Ventures, a $50M agtech fund; London-based Ocean 14 Capital has secured €60M for a 'blue economy impact fund', looking to raise €150M in total, for growth-stage investments in tech companies in sustainable. fishing, aquaculture, and alternative protein.
Katherine Sizov started Strella Biotechnology while in college; the company develops ethylene monitoring devices that can help tell when fruits and vegetables, such as apples in warehouses, are ripe. This helps reduce food waste. Now, just a few years later her company has raised $3.8M and her products keep watch of 15% of U.S. apples.
News from the FoodTech Weekly community
ClimateWorks Foundation (US/remote) is hiring an Associate Director for Food and Agriculture... ColdHubs (Nigeria) is recruiting an Operatings and Technical Officer... Geltor (US) is looking for a Market Research Analyst and a Sr. Fermentation Engineer... Umami Meats (Singapore) has several R&D positions open... GFI Europe is recruiting a Operations Specialist.
Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.
Random Stuff
The Curt Bergfors Foundation announced the 2021 Food Planet Prizewinners -- giving $2M in prize money to B4Plastics, and the same amount to GreenWave.
Why, and how, can venture capital be hacked? Interesting read in The Odin Times.
Kraft Heinz has launched a 'Marz Edition' ketchup made with tomatoes grown in soil conditions found of Mars. And the team of scientists behind this new product says that their achievement advances the possibility of long-term food production on Mars.
'The Great Organic Food Fraud' -- how e.g. non-organic grain is being passed off as organic grain -- important long-read in The New Yorker.
The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Center For Good Food Purchasing, have released a great new report on the True Cost of Food when it comes to school meals -- finding that while U.S. school meal programs cost $18.7B per year to run, they provide an additional net $21B in true value in human health and economic equity.
A Spanish ex-Bishop has been accused of being “possessed” after he left the clergy to be in a relationship with an erotic fiction writer and began working at Semen Cardona, a company that exports pig semen. Yeah. VICE (whose tagline is "original reporting on everything that matters") has the full story.
I love you.
Daniel
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This issue was produced while listening to My Baby Just Cares For Me by Nina Simon. 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.