🔐 Go-To Guide for a Graceful Exit

From microbiome-targeting prebiotics to sustainable fat solutions and cultivated meat, one of FoodTech’s most active early-stage investors, Big Idea Ventures just announced its next 6 investments in agrifood startups.

Standouts include BiomeMega’s omega fatty acids, MEATOSYS’ on-farm cultivated meat systems, and Renew Food’s protein-based flavours for plant-based meats.

“With a 120+ strong portfolio these 6 up-and-coming startups have the potential to transform the future of food, as we back teams and their technologies to create a more resilient, nutritious, and sustainable food system,” Founder and Managing General Partner, Andrew D Ive told us.

Big Idea Ventures is just 1 of the 120+ US-based VCs we tracked this week who are actively investing in Climate. Head this way for the full list of investors and their funds.

This week in FoodTech: 
 🍉 ‘World first’ watermelon seed milk
🐶 Co-developing cultivated meat for pets
🏭 284,000 sqft cocoa-free chocolate facility

The Digest

📈 What’s up? Data from the Good Food Institute reveals that alternative protein companies raised $233 million in Q3 2024, marking a 37% decline from Q2 but a 25% increase year-over-year. And a report from GFI Europe shows that retail sales of plant-based food in six major European markets increased by 5.5% in 2023.

📉 What’s down? UK supermarket Asda warned customers that its pumpkins may be green, thanks to the second-worst harvest on record.

✂️ Healthtech company Zoe is undergoing its second round of layoffs within six months, primarily affecting its marketing and nutrition coaching teams as part of a broader restructuring effort.

🇭🇺 The European Commission has deemed Hungary's ban on cultured meat "unjustified" and warned that it could disrupt the EU's harmonised authorisation process for novel foods.

🍌 Anti-waste charity Wrap has urged the UK government to ban plastic packaging for 21 fresh produce items, including bananas, apples, and potatoes, in supermarkets by 2030 to promote more sustainable shopping habits.

🚪 Interesting: SciFi Foods’ guide to a ‘graceful exit’, via AgFunder.

📊 A graph of how chocolate is changing.

💯 Discover the AgriFood startups on Time’s Best Inventions of 2024 list including Shiru, Meatable, BeeHero, Brightseed and LifeStraw.

22 AgriFood Fundraises

🚜 Carbon Robotics secured $70 million in a Series D funding round led by BOND, bringing its total funding to $157 million, to expand its autonomous LaserWeeder platform internationally and support new product development.

💸 Agribusiness finance platform Agrolend raised $53 million in a Series C funding round led by Creation Investments and Syngenta Group Ventures, which it will use to expand credit offerings to industries, retailers, and cooperatives.

🍻 Best Day Brewing, a non-alcoholic craft beer company, raised $22.5 million to expand consumer awareness, reach a larger audience, and support its retail distribution growth plans.

🇫🇷 French startup Hubcycle, which specialises in transforming food industry by-products into affordable, sustainable ingredients, closed a €15 million Series A round.

🇬🇧 UK-based MicroLub raised £3.5 million for its plant-based microgels, which replace fats and oils in food products by mimicking the creamy mouthfeel of fats, potentially reducing fat content by up to 75% without compromising taste or texture.

🔦 Discover the full list of 22 recent fundraises including methane-inhibiting bolus, hemp animal feed and construction, and plant-based sweeteners.

Startup Milestones

🦑 Singapore's Umami Bioworks launched Arbiter, a biotech tool that uses nucleic-acid-based testing for fast, cost-effective pathogen detection in seafood, aiming to enhance safety, reduce economic losses from infectious diseases, and broaden its impact beyond cultivated fish.

🇫🇮 Finnish startup Enifer has filed for EU novel food approval for its Pekilo mycoprotein, and plans to pursue regulatory applications in Singapore, the US, and the UK.

🧫 French cultivated meat startup Vital Meat held its first tasting event for its flagship product, Vital Chicken, in Singapore, showcasing its versatility in a three-course menu at Hue Restaurant as it moves toward commercialising its product pending Singapore Food Agency approval.

🐈 Californian startups Friends & Family Pet Food Company and Novel Farms are co-developing cultivated meat for pets, aiming for a 2025 launch, and are already engaging with the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine to bring their products to market.

🥜 Peanut butter startup Manilife has invested £1 million in a new 13,500 sq ft factory in Derbyshire, set to begin production in early 2025, with the capacity to store up to six billion peanuts—enough for 15 million jars of peanut butter.

🍫 Voyage Foods is opening a 284,000 square-foot facility in Ohio, where it will work to fulfil demand for its cocoa-free chocolate and nut-free spreads.

🥑 Chosen Foods is launching avocado oil shortening, offering a clean, simple alternative to traditional shortenings for health-conscious consumers while retaining the functionality needed for classic recipes..

Plant Based

🍉 San Francisco-based Força Foods launched MILKish, which it says is the world's first watermelon seed milk.

🥛 Finnish vegan company Oddlygood, a spin-off of dairy giant Valio, has acquired well-known UK plant-based milk brand Rude Health, which reported a revenue of £23.8 million in March 2024 after experiencing significant growth.

🐟 AQUA Cultured Foods launched its fermentation-derived seafood alternatives into food service, with Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Mama Delia in Chicago featuring AQUA Tuna in its ‘Atún Crudo’ dish.

🦐 Catchfree, a spinout of Switzerland’s ETH, is developing a sustainable, nutrient-rich plant-based shrimp alternative made from microalgae and other plant proteins, using a proprietary process, to replicate the taste, texture, and nutritional value of conventional shrimp.

Big Food

🍒 Smoothie King launched a GLP-1 support menu, offering five nutrient-dense smoothies with 20+ grams of protein, high fibre, and no added sugar to “support hydration and ease side effects” for consumers on prescription weight-loss drugs.

🛒 Iceland Foods has entered the third round of an eight-year legal battle with the Icelandic government, appealing a decision that revoked its EU trademark protection for the word "Iceland". 

🎯 Lidl GB has pledged to make 25% of its meat and fish sales vegan and double its sales of non-dairy alternatives by 2030, making it the first retailer in the UK to set a protein split target, as part of its commitment to increasing plant-based food offerings and reducing its environmental impact.

🥛 As of next week, Starbucks will permanently scrap its surcharge on dairy-free milks across the US and Canada.

From the Community

💡 Why Regenerative Agriculture is on of the focuses of Nature House at COP16.

💚 Join us as a FoodHack Meetup in Tel Aviv, Boston, Lisbon, Paris.

📝 52 lessons learnt on venture capital.

📣 ProVeg Incubator is looking for alt-protein founders to apply for the 13th edition of their accelerator programme, starting in April 2025. Apply now.

5️⃣ Five reasons your pitch deck may be rejected, and how you can overcome them.

🍮 Serial Founder vs First Time Founder.

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Until next time - Stay Hungry