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FoodTech Weekly #80 by Daniel S. Ruben
News on FoodTech, food, and society
Daniel S. Ruben
December 17, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes
FoodTech Weekly #80
Hi there,
It's been another exciting year for anyone interested in FoodTech, food innovation, and the future of food. More VCs, more startups, more investments, more innovation, more of everything.
And it's been anintenseyear. We've all deserved a break-- so FoodTech Weekly will be back again in January. Thanks for being loyal readers -- I appreciate all of you, and wish you all a relaxing holiday season!
This week's rundown:
Growing up: German vertical farming startup Infarm raises $200M Series D
Also in Germany: A court rules that moving from your bed to your home office counts as a commute
Sustainable packaging: Dispatch Goods of U.S. secures $3.7M for circular packaging infrastructure
Let's go!
Conversations
I have had a lot of exciting conversations, that I just need to find the time to summarize and share with you. Have patience.
Noteworthy
Berlin-based vertical farming company Infarm announced a $200M Series D round. Investors in the round included Qatar Investment Authority, Partners in Equity, Hanaco, Atomico, Lightrock, and Bonnier. The company is now valued at over $1B. The new funding will be used to expand in North America, Europe, and Japan, as well as enter into new markets in Asia-Pacific in the Middle East. Infarm, which is currently available in 50 cities across 11 countries (including 1,400 in-store farms), plans to have 100 Growing Centers in 20 countries by 2030, growing 'the entire fruit and vegetable basket.' Over in the U.S. meanwhile, Houston-based vertical farming company Dream Harvest secured $50M in new funding, and Bay Area startup Hippo Harvest (which uses machine learning and robotics to optimize greenhouse growing systems) raised $11M from Congruent Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Energy Impact Partners, and Amazon Climate Pledge Fund.
Image: Infarm
Phytoform of the U.K. has raised $5.7M. The company uses CRISPR to improve traits in produce like tomatoes and potatoes. The round was led by Eniac Ventures, and joined by e.g. FTW Ventures, Pale Blue Dot, Backed VC and others.
Hier Foods, based in Berlin, has banked a €7M Seed round. The company is strengthening the supply chain between small food suppliers and large food retailers. Hier hopes that their solution can help advance a more local and resilient food system. The Seed round was led by Collaborative Fund, and joined by e.g. Speedinvest, Pale Blue Dot, Amplifier Labs and A* Capital.
Scotland-based sustainable seaweed company Oceanium, which develops products for health and nutrition, as well as personal care -- and soon as food ingredients fibre and protein -- has added $1M in financing during its Seed II fundraise (full disclosure: I'm an advisor to Oceanium). Oceanium has also been awarded over €2M in EU grant funding, for the KELP-EU project which aims to kickstart the European seaweed farming industry. In total, Oceanium has raised over $8M since its 2018 inception from investors such as World Wildlife Fund, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Builders Vision, Green Angel Syndicate, and Norfolk Green Ventures.
Image: Seagrove Kelp Co / Oceanium
Speaking about seaweed and the U.K., London-based Notpla has developeda seaweed-based wrapper that's tasteless and dissolves in hot water. It can be used for e.g. ramen noodles, a serving of rice, or as single-serve coffee sachets.
Finnish plant-based alternatives company Oddlygood has taken €25M in fresh capital from Mandatum Asset Management. Oddlygood was spun out of Finnish dairy giant Valio earlier this year, and Valio will remain the majority shareholder. Currently, Oddlygood products like plant-based drinks, gurts, cheese and cooking products, are sold in the Nordics, Baltics, U.K., U.S., and Russia.
Swedish insect-as-feed (and food) company Tebrito has raised SEK 30 million ($2.9M) in a new investment. In its most recent round in December 2020, the company took in €800K. Tebrito produces mealworms into a protein-rich powder, and also convert the insect poo (frass) into fertilizer.
Dispatch Goods, HQ'ed in San Francisco, has bagged $3.7M in fresh funding. The company has developed an infrastructure for reusing plastic containers, freezer packs, and packaging; after being used by restaurants and consumers, the containers are taken back to the company's facilities for washing and sanitizing, before sold back for reuse. Dispatch Goods currently processed 10K food packages per week, and work with customers like DoorDash and Imperfect Foods.
Fine Fields have launched a fully automatic, electric blueberry harvester. The ten solar panels on the harvester's roof provide energy for 10 to 13 hours of operation in semi-cloudy weather. Check out the video, it's pretty neat.
Singapore has provided regulatory approval for more cultivated meat products from EAT Just. Meanwhile in the U.S., cultivated seafood startup Wild Type has signed distribution agreements with sushi bar operators Snowfoxand Pokéworks, available in over 1,000 locations in the U.S.
Better Juice of Israel, which is supported by The Kitchen FoodTech Hub, has sealed its first commercial deal with a major U.S. fruit juice manufacturer. The company has developed an enzymatic technology which converts fructose, glucose, and sucrose sugars into prebiotic and other non-digestible fibers. This can help reduce sugar loads by up to 80%. Better Juice was recently granted a patent for its technology in Europe.
Image: Better Juice
The Netherlands has announced a €25 billion plan to reduce livestock numbers by about 1/3 for environmental reasons, but it's facing strong opposition from farmers. The government wants to buy out farmers to reduce levels of nitrogen pollution; the country has the highest density of livestock in Europe. Says Tjeerd de Groot, Member of Parliament from the Democrats 66 party, which is part of the coalition government: 'We can't be the tiny country that feeds the world if we sh*t ourselves.'
Swedish personalized plant-based nutrition app YOUR BEET has closed a SEK 6M (€0.6M) pre-seed round (link in Swedish). The app connects all stakeholders in the plant-based ecosystem, making it easier for people to transition to more plant-centric dietary patterns.
Seattle introduced a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages three years ago. Researchers now conclude the tax has reduced sales of such beverages with about 20%.
News from the FoodTech Weekly community
To Good To Go (Denmark/US) is hiring a Managing Director, U.S.... Mycorena(Sweden) is recruiting a Supply Chain Manager... Mylla Mat (Sweden) wants to bring on a Growth Marketing Manager... The Rockefeller Foundation(Kenya) is hiring a Senior Analyst, Africa Food Initiative... ClimateWorks (U.S.) is on the lookout for a Program Manager, Food and Agriculture.... Oceanium(UK) has two open roles, for a Corporate Affairs and Marketing Executive in the U.K., and a Business Development Director, USA... Sproud (Sweden) has open roles for e.g. an AD and a Copywriter... New Culture (U.S). is hiring a Senior Scientist, Fermentation... Shiru (U.S.) wants to hire a Head of Fermentation... Saveggy (Sweden) is recruiting a Project Manager for Food Coating Formulations... Arkeon Biotechnologies (Austria) wants to find a Senior Scientist, Downstream Processing... and Innoscentia (Sweden) is on the hunt for a Head of Product as well as a Head of Food Science.
Formo in Germany have released a mini-documentary on how they want to disrupt dairy.
Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.
Random Stuff
This humanoid robot from ROBOJuice can mix smoothies (h/t OttOmate). Almost with a smug look on his face (is it a he?).
Making smoothies all the whey
A study has found that supermarkets playing French music led to French wine outselling German ones, whereas German music led to the opposite effect (wouldn't be surprised if Viva Colonia drove German beer sales).
Sweden is now the leading impact hub of Europe, after having attracted $4.5B in capital for impact startups in 2021, according to Bloomberg.
Source: Dealroom/Bloomberg
A German court has ruled that journeying from one's bed to a home office counts as a commute. A plaintiff brought the case to court after slipping and breaking his back while walking down a staircase to his home office, and the employer refused to pay out workplace accident insurance. The higher federal social court said that 'the first morning journey from bed to the home office [was] an insured work route.
A poignant reminder why we need to eradicate energy poverty.
A Roman Catholic diocese in Sicily has apologized after Catholic bishop Antonio Staglianò told a group of children that Santa Claus didn't exist, and that his red suit attire was invented by Coca-Cola.
I love you.
Daniel
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This issue was produced while listening to Don't Cry Out by Shiny Toy Guns. 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.