- FoodTech Weekly
- Posts
- FoodTech Weekly #89 by Daniel S. Ruben
FoodTech Weekly #89 by Daniel S. Ruben
News on FoodTech, food, and society
Daniel S. Ruben
March 04, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes
FoodTech Weekly #89
Hi there,
Witnessing the humaniarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine has made it harder to find the motivation to produce FoodTech Weekly. My mind has been elsewhere than FoodTech. Still, I do have some content for you, which I hope you'll enjoy. If you're able to, please consider offering your time and/or resources to support those affected by the war.
This week, I was profiled byKatapult, a Norwegian group running an investment company, accelerator, and Foundation. I'm a mentor at the Katapult Ocean accelerator -- here's why:
“What drives me is to advance a more sustainable and nourishing food system. Mentoring startups in Katapult Ocean that are working on food-related issues is extremely rewarding. It's like getting a glimpse of the future. And help that future come sooner. Many outstanding people have supported me throughout my career, so it's a privilege to take those learnings and relationships, and get to pay it forward by supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs and changemakers."
A friend of mine has a business idea involving mushrooms (nope, not the magic ones). Read on to find out more.
This week's rundown:
Big bucks for fungi: Mycorena raises record €24M A round for alt protein in the Nordics
Don't have a cow, man: Better Dairy secures $22M for cultivated dairy proteins
ICYMI: The tax implications of capturing a Russian battle tank
Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦
Conversations
Met with Adi Goldman, CEO and Co-Founder of Biotic. Adi, together with his co-founder Eran Perlstein, were part of the management team of a startup which was acquired by a U.S. multinational company. They wanted their next venture to do something radically good for the environment, and decided to tackle a huge problem: Replacing fossil-based plastics. Plastic is a fantastic material - cheap, lightweight, good-looking, durable -- but over 90% of the world's plastic is not being recycled. Adi, Eran, and the third co-founder Nofar Hod, together with their team, are developing a fully biobased, fully biodegradable PHBV (PHA) alternative to plastic, using Ulva lactuca, a green macroalgae. 'Algae is the ultimate carbon capture mechanism, and it can be harvested every 2 weeks', Adi says and continues: 'The microorganism we use produce the polymer as an energy source for themselves, and we extract the polymers.' As no heavy or harmful chemicals are used, the polymer can go directly into food, beverage, and biomedical applications, as well as many other industries such as textile, automotive, consumer goods, electronics, and more. Biotic target their product/ingredient to be cost-competitive to fossil-based plastics, scalable, and fitting with existing commercial production lines for plastics. The company, which was founded in 2020, has raised $500K and is in the process of raising a $2M Seed round (which will trigger a $2M grant). The goal is to scale up production to hundreds of kilograms of polymer, and eventually become a commodity ingredient. Biotic, which has already signed partnerships with global F&B corporates, is interested in doing pilots with large FMCG/CPG companies, and is also looking for co-investors for the Seed round. To get in touch with Adi, you can send him an email or a LinkedIn message.
Left: The Biotic material. Right: Eran Perlstein, Nofar Hod, and Adi Goldman
Had an opportunity to meet with Nathalie Berezina, CEO and CSO of Norbite. She started her career by pursuing a Ph.D. in organic chemistry and biotechnology, and then worked as a scientist for a decade on e.g. on bioplastics, followed by five years as CTO and Chief Scientific Officer at French scale-up Ÿnsect (which with $400M+ raised is the most well-funded insect-as-feed company on the planet). One day, Nathalie read an article about how a team of scientists had left some Galleria mellonella larvae in a plastic bag overnight; the next morning, the bag was full of holes -- the larvae had consumed the plastic. It was a random discovery, but it wasn't commercialized. Nathalie kept exploring, and G. mellonella larvae could digest 80% of the most commonly used plastics -- in e.g. textiles, packaging, and furniture. In mid-2020, she cofounded Norbite in Sweden together with Maxim Chapovalov. The problem to solve: Over 400 million tons of plastics are produced every year, and 90% of used plastic isn't recycled, so it's incinerated which creates GHG emissions. Norbite lets its larvae eat plastics (it takes 1 kg / 2.2 lbs of larvae to break down 3 kg / 6.6 lbs of plastics) and then converts these larvae into proteins, lipids (e.g. fats and oils), and biofertilizers. The proteins and lipids can then be used in e.g. petfood, aquaculture, for poultry and pig feed, etc. By 2023, Norbite plans to have a pilot plant up and running which can process 5,000 tons of plastic per year. The company is currently raising a €2M round, which is 50% committed. You can reach Nathalie via email or LinkedIn.
Left: Nathalie Berezina and Maxim Chapovalov. Right: G. mellonella feasting on plastic
Noteworthy
Mycorena of Sweden has raised a €24M Series A round; the company claims it's the largest-ever investment into an alternative proteins startup in the Nordics. Mycorena grows a fungi-based fermented ingredient, which is used to e.g. produce plant-based nuggets. The company, which is building a commercial facility slated to go online in 2023, did not disclose the names of the investors in their A round. I spoke with Mycorena's founder Dr. Ram Nair for FoodTech Weekly #1 back in May 2020.
Image: Promyc nuggets from Mycorena
U.K. FoodTech startup Better Dairy announced a $22M Series A round. The company cultivates dairy proteins in bioreactors, and plans to use those proteins to produce hard cheese. Investors in the round included HappinessCapital, Red Alpine, Vorwerk Ventures, Manta Ray, Acequia Capital, and Stray Dog Capital. Better Dairy will now boost its headcount from 8 to 35, and move into a 600 sq. m (6,000 sq. ft.) lab and office space in East London. Meanwhile down under, in New Zealand, local startup Daisy Lab which was founded in 2021 raised NZ$ 250K to do something similar to Better Dairy -- producing cheese from casein and whey grown using precision fermentation.
DSM of the Netherlands has received EU regulatory approval for Bovaer, DSM's feed additive that can reduce methane emissions from cows by 20-35%.
Estonian/U.S. Starship Technologies, which develops last-mile delivery robots, announced a €42M Serries B round, backed by NordicNinja VC, Taavet+Stenn, TDK Ventures, and Goodyear. The cash infusion comes less than a month after Starship secured €50M from the European Investment Bank. The company has now raised $202M in total. Starship says it has already done 3 million autonomous deliveries using its robots.
Canadian startup Flashfoods has banked a $12.3M Series A round; the company provides an app-based marketplace that allows food retailers to sell items with short expiry dates at heavy discounts to consumers. The round was led by S2G Ventures, and supported by e.g. ArcTern Ventures, General Catalyst, and Food Retail Ventures. Flashfood has already partnered with 1,200 stores across North America. Competitors in the space include e.g. Karma, ResQ Club, and Too Good To Go.
Image: Flashfoods
Givaudan has launched a new technology, PrimeLock+, which the company claims can reduce fat content in plant-based meat products by up to 75%, and calories by up to 30%, while improving taste. Just last week, California FoodTech startup Yali Bio raked in a $3.9M Seed round; the company produces plant-based fats (emulating animal fats) that can help improve plant-based meat products. The company will use the new funding to expand R&D, operations, and product development.
GrowUp Farms of the U.K. brought home $135M in new funding from Generate Capital, to set up a new vertical farm in south-east England. It's expected to become operational in the 2022-2023 winter season and start supplying salad greens to U.K. supermarkets.
PlantLab of the Netherlands secured €50M in fresh funding (bringing total funding to €120M), led by De Hoge Dennen Capital. The company develops technology for vertical farming, powering 15,000 sq. meters of vertical farming in locations around the world.
News from the FoodTech Weekly community
Reduced (Denmark) is hiring a Sales Director... Klimato (UK) is recruiting a Software Engineering Manager... Stockeld Dreamery (Sweden) is looking for a Product Manager... GFI APAC (Singapore) wants to bring on a Philanthropy Specialist and a Digital Marketing Associate.
The 4th edition of the Nutreco Feed & FoodTech Challenge was just launched. It's looking for early stage innovators in alternative food proteins, aquaculture, and livestock farming technooogy. Accepted startups will gain visibility, feedback from industry experts, and potentially validation in one of Nutreco's research centers. The application deadline is April 25, 2022. In case of questions, email the Nutreco Feed & FoodTech Challenge team here.
Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.
Random Stuff
OK, so a friend of mine recently brought me some snacks from Thailand made from Shiitake stems. They were weirdly addictive and cravable. He wants someone to build a business based on this, with our without him (there's a Swiss company called Forestly Foods doing something remotely similar with Shiitake mushrooms). Happy to make an intro to my friend.
Sort of like beef jerky, without that gas station feeling.
A Swiss team has developed a fondue robot, called Bouebot. The project's technical manager Ludovic Aymon says: 'I think I'll never be sick of fondue, but there are times when I just can't stand the smell of cheese in here any longer.'. Here's a 45 sec video of the robot in action. On the same topic, here's a Japanese food prep humanoid robot called Foodly.
Ukraine's National Agency for the Protection against Corruption (NAPC) has declared that captured Russian tanks are not subject to tax declaration: 'Have you captured a Russian tank or armored personnel carrier and are worried about how to declare it? Keep calm and continue to defend the Motherland! There is no need to declare the captured Russian tanks and other equipment, because the cost of this ... does not exceed 100 living wages (UAH 248,100)', the press statement read.
In case you already didn't think Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was epic, here's him doing Paddington's voice, dancing as Beyoncé (in leather pants and heels), and winning Dancing With The Stars.
Image: YouTube
I love you
Daniel
- - -
This issue was produced while listening to Rocket Brothers by Kashmir. 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.