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FoodTech Weekly #78 by Daniel S. Ruben
News on FoodTech, food, and society
Daniel S. Ruben
December 03, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes
FoodTech Weekly #78
Hi there,
I was interviewed by Scandinavian MIND on FoodTech, Stockeld Dreamery and more. Here's something I apparently said, which I think came out good, so I'll share it with you:
We’re facing massive problems as humanity right now. But these problems are solvable. It’ll take bold legislation, breakthrough science and research, and a private sector that dares to think differently. Too many entrepreneurs are spending their time building meaningless things that don’t make a difference, and don’t matter — and too many investors choose to invest in them. We don’t need more online betting sites. So build what matters. Invest in what matters. And buy what matters. Everyone gets to make three choices every day on what world we want to live in, just by deciding what food to eat. Make these choices count.
I also recently joined podcast Karriärskontraktet (in Swedish), and discussed things like e.g. the future food system, what it takes to get consumers to change purchasing behaviors, and why we should feel more optimism about the future.
And if you speak Swedish, I'm delivering the keynote at the Dec 7 conference on the National Food Strategy for Sweden (followed by the Director Generals of The Swedish Board of Agriculture,The Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, and Sweden's innovation agency Vinnova). Sign up here.
This week's rundown:
Oh là là: Pyxo of France bags €7M round for reusable food containers for e.g. food distribution
Bringing home the bacon: Hooray Foods nabs $2.7M for plant-based bacon
Billion dollar frenzy: There are now 110 FoodTech unicorns globally; 85% from the U.S., China, and Europe
Let's go!
Conversations
I've been too busy...
Noteworthy
French startup Pyxo, which runs a marketplace for reusable packaging in the food industry, has announced a €7M ($7.9M) funding round, led by Eurazeoand Five Seasons Ventures. Pyxo connects all the key stakeholders to limit single-use packaging in catering and food distribution, instead opting for individually traceable reusable containers, using QR codes of RFID chips. Once a consumer returns a container, they'll get back their deposit, and the container is brought to a cleaning center before being returned to a restaurant.
Image: Pyxo
Boston, U.S.-based FoodTech company Spoiler Alert has bagged $11M in Series A funding. The company helps CPG (FMCG) brands sell surplus and short-dates inventory, to discount retailers, by making the entire experience digital and seamless. The round was led by Collaborative Fund, and saw participation from e.g. Acre Ventures Partners and Maersk Growth.
Brooklyn, New York synbio startup Aanika Biosciences has made a $12M initial close of its Series A round. The company develops traceable, edible, microbial tags for food items. The unique microbial tags are sprayed on, and tagged food item can be traced back from e.g. a restaurant throughout the supply chain.
General Mills, as the first major food manufacturer, is testing introducing a cream cheese (called Bold Cultr) produced using precision-fermented whey protein supplied by Perfect Day Foods.
U.S. AgTech company FarmSense has received $2.2M in funding from SBIR; the company has developed a device called FlightSensor that can help farmers detect harmful insects like Japanese Beetles in their fields in real time, allowing for quicker counteraction. The company plans to launch its first products next year, with a focus on the Navel Orangeworm, a pest harming the California nut farming industry.
Tensorbot from U.S. company Tensorfield Agriculture is killing weeds using microdoses of superheated vegetable oil. So yeah, vegetables killing other greens, essentially. The company claims their solution can reduce cost by 40% compared to hand weeding. Farm robotics companies raised almost half a billion dollars during the first 6 months of 2021, AgFunder data shows.
Only 18% of meat and dairy companies track methane emissions, accordingto a new report from sustainability investor group FAIRR. The worst performing meat category in the report was pork followed by poultry; both are marked by a lack of disclosure on their biodiversity, deforestation, water use and waste practices.
Hooray Foods closed a $2.7M round. Previous investors who joined this round included e.g. Evolution VC Partners, Gaingels, and Sand Hill Angels. Hooray Foods, which is based in the U.S., develops plant-based bacon and currently sells in 1,000 stores across the country, as well as in Canada.
Image: Hooray Foods
Alvar Pet of Finland, which offers D2C personalized meal plans using sustainable ingredients (e.g. oats, fava beans, and Baltic herring) raised a €2M Seed round from Maki.vc, VentureFriends, Tesi, and existing angel investors. The company expanded from Finland to Germany a few months ago.
Jupiter Ionics of Australia has secured a AUD$2.5M Seed round, led by Tenacious Ventures. The company is developing a novel method for carbon-neutral production of ammonia from air, water, and solar energy. This can potentially help the ammonia production industry go green (it currently generates about 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions).
Swedish FoodTech startup Generation Waste has raised a SEK 5 million (€488K) round. The company has developed a solution that enable e.g. hotel and restaurant kitchens to understand where the waste occurs (e.g. in preparation, buffets, guest plates, etc) so that interventions can be deployed to reduce the amount of food waste. I spoke with Generation Waste's founder/CEO Daniel Oddhammar in FoodTech Weekly #43.
There are now 110 unicorn (billion dollar valuation) FoodTech companies globally, according to Dealroom. Of these, 45 are from the U.S., 26 from China, and 22 from Europe. On average, it took the companies 7.5 years to hit unicorn status. These 110 companies have raised a collective $115B from investors; last year alone, they raised $24B, which was two-thirds of all FoodTech funding.
Paleo of Belgium has banked a €2M Seed round; the company uses precision fermentation to grow meat and fish alternatives -- and is already planning to raise a €40M Series A.
Rothschild Group is launching a $250M+ FoodTech fund together with PeakBridge VC. The fund will invest in 15-20 startups over the coming years, from Series A onwards, with checks ranging from $5M-$8M per company. This is the third fund launched by PeakBridge.
An Australian apple grower has reduced bird damage in its orchard in one year by up to 90% by using a bird laser repellent. [it sort of reminds me of Wall-E]
Pew pew!
News from the FoodTech Weekly community
Mosa Meat (The Netherlands) is hiring a Junior Scientist... BettaF!sh(Germany) is recruiting a food technologist... Plantish (Israel) is looking for a Mechanical Engineer and a Senior Materials Scientist ... SinGrow (Singapore) wants to bring on a Commercial Executive... Hooked Foods (Sweden) is keen to reel in a Trade Marketing Expert... Mycorena (Sweden) is on the lookout for a Technical Purchaser... Stockeld Dreamery (Sweden) has an open role for a Talent Acquisition Specialist... Bx (England) is hiring a Head of Marketing... eggXyt (Israel) is hiring a biologist.
IAFNS, the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences, is bringing on the IAFNS Science Innovation Showcase on Dec 14-15, 2021, a virtual event to convene a community of food companies, academic researchers, and government regulatory agencies to explore how food safety and nutrition are driving the innovation frontier across the food and beverage industry. More info and registration here.
Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.
Random Stuff
Last year, I asked you to send me this kitchen robot from Spyce as a holiday gift. This year, I want this dancing toy cactus, that Walmart pulled after discovering that the cactus was singing in Polish about doing cocaine.
BiteLabs wanted, ironically, to grow cultivated meat from the cells of celebrities -- in 2014. Maybe the world wasn't ready then - but when will this happen for real?
Important reminder that famines will soon be a thing of the past.
Cute traffic jam of delivery robots in Tallinn, Estonia.
The U.S. is releasing 50 million barrels of oil from reserves to curb rising gas prices; up north, the Canadians are releasing 50 million pounds from its strategic maple syrup reserves. Each country face a crisis of their own, I suppose.
I love you.
Daniel
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This issue was produced while listening to Gdzie jest biały węgorz? by Cypis. 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.