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FoodTech Weekly #94 by Daniel S. Ruben
News on FoodTech, food, and society
Daniel S. Ruben
April 08, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes
FoodTech Weekly #94
Hi there,
I spent Tuesday this week at SLU, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, in the quaint city of Uppsala. Even though SLU is ranked third in the world for ag universities (after Wageningenand UC Davis) I'm embarrassed to say I had never been. SLU has 4,200 students (of which 500+ Ph.D. level) and 3,000+ staff (mainly in research) but hasn't yet produced many high-growth foodtech/agtech startups. A local ecosystem is now trying to change that. A few FoodTech startups there worth keeping an eye on are NitroCapt (a completely new chemical process for carbon-neutral fertilizer production), Optima Planta (resource-optimized aeroponic vertical farming system for vegs), Drupps (makes water out of air), Acanova (precision pasteurization for seeds, so that pesticides are not needed), and Deversify (B2C-sensor for ketosis, so that people trying to reduce weight can see exactly when they do lose weight and when they are not). I met some of these startups while in town.
Also, I gave a food systems / foodtech lecture at the SLU campus which was intimitading and amplified my imposter syndrome (I felt like Leo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can) but it actually went well.
Speaking at SLU
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Shifting topics: In 2021, all-female teams raised 25% less in VC funding than all-male teams. Teams with minority members raised 29% less than all-white teams.
Investors spent an average of 3:44 on the pitch decks of all-female teams, which raised an average of $1.5M. Investors spent about the same time, 3:46, on the pitch decks of all-male teams -- but these teams raised an average of $2M.
Investors spent an average of 3:23 on teams with minorities, and they raised an average of $1.7M. Investors spent an average of 3:57 (more time!) on teams with no minorities, and these teams raised an average of $2.4M.
These data, which are pretty depressing, are from DocSend. There are no quick fixes, but the problem is solvable. I'm proud that the May 12-13 FoodHack Summit (which I'll moderate, so get your tickets now) currently has a 55/45 male/female split for people who'll be on stage. (If you're ever hosting your own event or panel and need inspiration for high-caliber participants, here's a list of 350+ women in AgriFood).
This week's rundown:
Vamos: Nilus of Argentina bags $6M Series A round to rescue 'ugly' food and sell to low-income famileis
Food-as-medicine gets boost: Season Health raises $34M for nutritious, customized meal planner service
Time to pig out: Umaro and MyForest raise $3M and $15M respectively for alternative bacon products
Let's go!
Conversations
Exciting conversation coming up next week!
Noteworthy
U.K. mini-insect farm startup Better Origin has closed a $16M funding round led by Balderton Capital and joined by existing investors Fly Ventures and Metavallon VC. Better Origin develops automated containers that are deployed on farms; farmers can then grow their own Black Soldier Fly larvae on-site which are then given as feed to poultry.
Image: Better Origin
Argentinian food rescue startup Nilus, which procures food and groceries at risk of being wasted and then distributes them to low-income families in food deserts, has raised a $6M Series A round. The lead investor was family-office platform Respada. Don't miss the inspiring interview I did with Nilus' Co-Founder and CEO, Ady Beitler, back in FoodTech Weekly #65.
U.S. nutritious meal planner and food delivery service Season Health has nabbed $34M in Series A funding, in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Season pairs patients with dietitians to discuss food-related diseases, food allergies and food preferences; meal plans are then customized based on patient needs, and the ingredients and recipes are delivered to the patients' homes. Season Health works with health systems providers Geisinger and CommonSpirit Health (that want to push down healthcare costs), and is building out a food-as-medicine platform which connects meal prescriptions, delivery, and health reimbursement
Controlled Environment Agriculture startup Vanilla Vida of Israel, which grows vanilla in indoor growing facilties, aims to replace vanillin by boosting the global supply of vanilla.
Image: Vanilla Vida
U.S. company Pairwise, which uses CRISPR to improve the traits of fruits and vegetables (e.g. increased yields, improved taste and convenience, and longer shelf life), has announced the launch of a consumer-facing brand called Conscious Foods. The first product sold under this new brand will be mustard greens, that will be both nutritious and tasty. (We interviewed Haven Baker, co-founder of Pairwise, for The Appetizer podcast last fall).
Better Meat Co, which grows meat analogues using mycelium, will soon launch a foie gras analogue in U.S. restaurants. It will come as a mousse and a pate, and will be cheaper than animal-derived foie gras.
Swiss Blue Salmon is planning to build a 3,400 metric ton RAS (recirculating aquaculture system) salmon farm in Switzerland, ready for its first harvest in 2026. The country currently imports 98% of all fish consumed.
Umaro Foods of California has banked $3M in fresh funding. The company turns ocean-grown red seaweed into meat analogues. The company's first product, a plant-based bacon, may hit restaurants by the end of Q2 this year. Also in the alt bacon space, New York-based startup MyForest has secured a $15M venture loan from Horizon to bring its mycelium-based bacon to market.
Image: Umaro
U.S. restaurant chain Chipotle is testing out RFID tags at its Chicago distribution center and 200 stores to improve food traceability. The pilot is part of the company's efforts to improve its food safety and quality.
Food waste nonprofit ReFED has relaunched its Food Waste Policy Finder. The tool provides a comprehensive database of U.S. regulatory policy at the federal, state, and local levels as it comes to food waste prevention, recovery, and recycling.
Mogale Meats of South Africa has unveiled Africa's first cultivated chicken breast. It looks pretty tasty. In related news, Primeval Foods is working on cultivating meat of exotic animals such as Siberian tiger, white lions, and zebra.
Argentina is growing the first genetically engineered, drought-tolerant wheat (called HB4). The drought-resistance gene comes from sunflowers. Compared to similar wheat varieties without the HB4 trait, HB4 wheat showed an average yield increase of 49% under poor growing conditions. In related news, the EU just approved four GM crops for use in feed and food.
Good Idea is launching its first products in Sweden and the U.S. It's a naturally flavored sparkling water with amino acids and chromium, that helps balance the blood sugar, when consumed just before, and with a meal (as shown by repeated clinical studies). Good Idea is a result of research at the Antidiabetic Food Centre of Lund University in southern Sweden, and is a subsidiary of Aventure AB (the company run by Richard and Björn Öste, the brothers behind Oatly).
Image: Good Idea
Dutch sustainable aquaculture fund Aqua-Spark has invested an undisclosed sum into the Series A round of Kuehnle Agrosystems of Hawaii. Kuehnle grows microalgae that contain astaxanthin, which can be used as pigments as well as in salmon and shrimp feed.
The Danish government has launched The Plant Fund, which will invest $100M in plant-based foods. The Plant Fund will provide support for business and product development, as well as for sales, exports, and education.
Omnivore VC, a large AgTech/FoodTech investor in India, has announced the launch of its third fund, which targets a fundraise of $130M. The fund will invest in early-stage startups developing 'breakthrough technologies for agriculture, food, climate, and the rural economy.' Omnivore has backed 35 startups in India over the last several years.
At least one-third of all recorded fishery offenses are associated with industrial fishing vessels -- specifically just 20 companies and 450 industrial fishing vessels. And 59% of the offenses in the industrial fishing sector are related to Chinese-owned vessels (15% were tied to Indonesian vessels, and 12% with South Korean vessels). Examples of offenses include under-reporting catch, but also labor and human rights violations.
News from the FoodTech Weekly community
+impact accelerator agrifood is hosting its in-person Demo Day on April 12 in Stockholm, Sweden. Startups present include e.g. Norbite (SE), Nordic Seafarm (SE), REBL Eats (FI), Venner (FI), NoMy (NO) and Kleen Hub (DK).
Mycorena (Sweden) has 12 open positions... Stockeld Dreamery (Sweden) is hiring a Senior Brand Manager... Chromologics (Denmark) is recruiting a Formulation Scientist.
Lyckegård, a Swedish innovative scaleup house with focus on crop production within sustainable farming, is building a group of companies offering machines, tools, services and concepts for the organic & regenerative farming sectors. Lyckegård is talking to startups and entrepreneurs who want to take their business to the next level – if you're a company based in North Europe working on reducing mineral fertilizers and chemical pesticides and is looking for funding or a distribution platform to scale up your business, please get in touch with Christian Bjärntoft, CEO.
Want to share some FoodTech news/project with other FoodTech Weekly subscribers? Hit reply.
Random Stuff
The Danes got their ducks (or geese) in a row (video):
About 8% of the human genome was 'missing' from prior sequences (about 200 million base pairs of DNA). Those gaps have now been filled in.
Monkeys routinely and intentionally consume fruit containing alcohol; scientists believe this could shed light on human taste for booze.
People are 10x more likely to recycle if a reward or prize is on the line, according to ZeLoop which gamified recycling for 12,000 users in 140 countries.
These strawberries (4 min video) seem so frigging delicious (h/t: Marie Dollé):
A man in Germany is being investigated by authorities after receiving 90 COVID-19 shots, which he did in order to sell fake vaccination cards with official batch numbers (to people unwilling to get vaccinated themselves). He was caught after visiting the same vaccination center two days in a row. It's unclear how the 90 doses have impacted his health.
I love you.
Daniel
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This issue was produced while listening to What's Poppin by Harrison feat. Sebastien Dior. 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.