💸 European FoodTech Raises $2Bn

If you logged in to LinkedIn this week, it would have been hard to miss the wave of positive energy, community spirit and can-do attitude rippling out from the HackSummit.

Still on a high, we recap 16 stand-out highlights from across the 2 days.

As well as how many reusable cups of coffee-free coffee were poured, how many vegetable crates it took to build the Summit and how many 1-1 meetings took place (hint, we’re talking 1,000s).

→ Feeling the FOMO or do you miss seeing everyone already?

We’ve got you covered. The first 50 tickets are already on sale and from just 200 CHF. Get ready to book your spot today for:

• HackSummit in New York - 12-13th Dec. Register here

• HackSummit in Lausanne - 15-16th May. Register here

Yes, the HackSummit is also heading to New York. It’s high time we come state side with a dedicated Climate DeepTech event.

And of course we’ll be back in Lausanne next May. Save the date(s).

This week in FoodTech:

🧬 $11M for protein spinning fibre tech
☕️ Is adaptation tech the future of coffee
🍮 Chocolate ravioli pasta-for-desserts

The Digest

📈 What’s up? A new report from FoodLabs and Dealroom.co presented live at the HackSummit shows that European FoodTech startups raised over $2 billion in 2023, outpacing the US for the first time. Get the TL;DR.

💡 Good Read: Kamil Węgliński, VC at Market One Capital and ClimateHack Ambassador in Poland, wrote this comprehensive analysis of the food waste prevention market, outlining the current state of climate change, its evolution, and the market’s future potential and implications. 

🎤 Exclusive: We spoke to the Winner and Runners Up of the FoodTech World Cup live in Lausanne. Here’s what they had to say.

🍜 Amusing: Denmark has recalled several flavours of South Korea’s popular instant noodle brand, Samyang, for being too spicy.

🎣 The Canadian government announced it will ban open-net salmon farms in British Columbia, but not until 2029.

New in Funding

🦀 US-based Tender Food Inc., formerly Boston Meats, raised $11 million in a Series A funding round led by Rhapsody Venture Partners. Its technology involves spinning plant protein fibres to create structured cuts of meat, and its range already includes beef short rib, pulled pork, chicken breast and crab.

🥓 British plant-based meat startup THIS secured £20 million in a Series C funding round led by Planet First Partners. Its meat alternatives are already available in supermarkets across the UK, and it will use the funds to further expand its range.

🧫 Israel’s Ever After Foods secured $10 million for its cultivated meat bioreactor platform, which it says will allow producers to scale up their manufacturing whilst reducing their costs by up to 90%.

🌾 Kilimo, based in Argentina, raised $7.5 million Series A funding. It uses its catalogue of 100,000 soil samples taken from 45 different crop types in a number of different countries to connect soil moisture to satellite imagery of farm fields, so it can then remotely monitor farm fields and advise farmers on their water use. Here’s why they were backed.

💰 Inside Scoop: Sifted reveals that the elusive world of family offices is showing a greater interest in ClimateTech. Freya and Sadia spoke to Nadim el Khazen of PeakBridge, Greg Michel of Ananke and other investors at the HackSummit.

💸 Check out all the latest AgriFoodTech Funding Rounds including $5.1M to find, fix, and report methane emissions and a $24.5M protein project.

New in Startups

🍫 Chicago-based Mez Foods is using mesquite to create sustainable chocolate alternatives, as cocoa prices continue to soar. The startup combines mesquite pods with illipe butter, chufa flour, fermented pea and rice protein, and a small amount of carob flour to create its ‘like chocolate but better’ bars.

☕️ David Klingen of Northern Wonder told Sifted why adaptation tech might save our morning brew. While also serving 30,000 (reusable) cups of his coffee-free coffee to the HackSummit attendees.

❌ Perfect Day has filed a $200 million counterclaim against its Italian contract manufacturer Olon, accusing it of “gross negligence and willful misconduct.” Will no one learn anything from the Meati x Better Meat Co debacle lawsuit?

🤝 Israeli cultivated meat startup Believer Meats is partnering with the AbuDhabi AgriFood Growth & Water Abundance cluster to develop its capabilities in the MENA region.

🌱 Two leading Swiss vertical farming companies, YASAI and GreenState AG, are merging, and will work together to provide fresh, locally-grown produce to the Swiss market.

🍝 US startup Pastazerts launched chocolate ravioli. Designed to be enjoyed as pasta-for-dessert (hence the company name), they feature a thin layer of chocolate dough with a cream cheese filling.

Plant Based

🥚 The “world’s largest” Spanish omelette producer, Grupo Empresarial Palacios Alimentación, is partnering with precision fermentation startup The EVERY Company to use its liquid animal-free eggs in its flagship products.

🧑‍⚖️ The US Patent Trial and Appeal Board has invalidated 23 out of 24 claims in an Impossible Foods patent following a challenge by competitor Motif FoodWorks over the use of heme proteins in plant-based meat alternatives.

🔬 Dutch Structuring Technologies has developed a novel technology called Continuous High Shear, which combines plant-based protein with oil and water at lower processing temperatures than extrusion, and that it says is ideal for producing whole cuts of plant-based meat or fish.

👎 A group of over 20 Spanish seafood companies and consumer unions are claiming that plant-based seafood producers are misleading consumers through their labelling, and stating that this “may lead to unfair competition”. And Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration has proposed a ban on meat- and dairy- related terms for plant-based products, to tackle what it says is a “dearth of supervision and guidelines”.

Big Food

🌾 Kellanova is partnering with Ahold Delhaize to develop Cheez-It crackers made with regenerative wheat, working alongside grain cooperative Bartlett to support North Carolina wheat farmers adopt regenerative practices.

🇹🇭 Suntory Holdings launched a three-year low-carbon sugarcane farming project in Thailand, in collaboration with the VIVE Programme and Kaset Thai International Sugar Corporation Public.

🛒 UberEats couriers will soon pick orders in supermarkets, marking a first in Europe for a delivery platform, in a bid to make the grocery shopping experience “effortless”.

🤝 PepsiCo is joining forces with AgMission™ to award $6.7 million across three grants to researchers in Australia, Mexico and Canada, to support evidence-based research on the effectiveness of climate-smart agriculture practices.

From the Community

🎧 Listen in to this week’s episode of Future Food Weekly to hear Sonalie Figueiras and Steve Molino chat about this week’s news - plus hear what it was really like to be at the HackSummit.

💡Opinion: Here’s what drives VC-style growth in Food and Agriculture startups.

🎙️ Have your say: Is there a way to balance the discussions on novel processed alternative proteins?

🙌 Join us at the next FoodHack Meetup taking place in Dubai, Berlin and Lisbon

🎧 The ‘most listened to’ science podcast right now covers Planet A Foods and cocoa-free chocolate.

📸 Your HackSummit Highlights in just 22 seconds

Back to the memes next week, I promise.
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Until next time - Stay Hungry