💩 Turning manure into millions

Everyone expected appetite-suppressing drugs to crush indulgence. Instead, Reuters reports that GLP-1 users (around 15% of US households) already account for 17.5% of chocolate sales, with premium chocolate growing nearly 3x faster among them.

What’s happening? Perhaps it’s what Tom Ellis is calling the “GLP-1 lipstick effect” in action. When people consume less overall, they don’t cut pleasure, they trade up.

GLP-1 users aren’t quitting treats. They’re trading up to fewer, better ones, in what Lindt’s CEO calls “small rewards with moments of bliss.” Is this the beginning of the micro-treat economy, where portion size shrinks, but expectations skyrocket?

This week in FoodTech:

🥃 Hydrogen whisky distillation becomes a reality
🧀 Kraft Heinz turns mac & cheese into functional food
💩 Solugen scoops $50M for manure-based fertiliser 

The Digest

✈️ Good Read: Here’s your guide to where the LP tailwinds behind climate hard tech are heading according to Partners at FoodLabs, Oyster Bay Venture Capital and more.

📊 According to AgFunder’s 2025 Agrifoodtech Investment Report, global agrifoodtech funding remained flat at around $16.2 billion, with investment shifting away from downstream sectors like food delivery toward upstream and deeptech areas such as farm innovation, climate tech, and robotics.

🫣 Interesting: Triggered by David’s ongoing lawsuit, Matteo Leonardi asks: Is it better to publicly admit that some food ingredients of your company’s products are not fully bioavailable or to “hide” to consumers the thruthful caloric intake of such product?

🎙️ Podcast Opportunity: Hugo Rauch of New Wave joins the HackSummit to sit down with investors and startups. Attending HackSummit? Book a slot by signing up here.

🎟️ Get your HackSummit pass and join us for 2 unmissable days surrounded by the Founders and Funders in Food, Agriculture and Cimate this April 22-23.

💃🏻 LOL: A restaurant robot meant to entertain diners went so hard on the dance floor it started smashing plates and had to be physically dragged away by staff.

New in Funding

💩 Solugen, based in Canada, secured a $50 million equity round led by Idealist Capital with participation from Canada Growth Fund. It will use the funds to scale production of its circular, manure-derived nitrogen fertiliser Azogen to meet rising demand for low-carbon farming solutions.

🚜 US-based AgZen raised a $10 million Series B led by DCVC Bio with participation from Material Impact and Astanor, plus a strategic investment from Syngenta Group Ventures. It will use the funds to scale its AI-powered smart spraying system that enables farmers to reduce chemical use by up to 50% without impacting yields.

🤖 Eternal.ag secured €8 million from Simon Capital, Oyster Bay Venture Capital, EquityPitcher Ventures, and Backbone Ventures to further develop its AI-powered autonomous robots that automate greenhouse harvesting. Its first commercial robot, Harvester, operates up to 22 hours per day.

🇬🇷 Greek B2B agtech startup Wikifarmer raised €7.1 million, in a funding round co-led by Brighteye Ventures and Piraeus Bank with participation from Point Nine Capital and Metavallon VC, to expand its AI-powered platform that connects food businesses directly with producers.

🍴Choice, a Prague-founded restaurant SaaS and QR ordering platform, secured $7.1 million Series A funding in a round led by Alea Capital Partners with participation from Reflex Capital, Smartlink, and J&T Ventures to expand its all-in-one operating system for restaurants.

New in Startups

🥃 Supercritical has successfully produced the world’s first direct-fired hydrogen-distilled whisky through the WhiskHy project, in collaboration with Suntory Global Spirits and the Manufacturing Technology Centre and backed by the UK government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, while also scaling its membrane-free electrolyser to an industrial-ready TRL 5 system.

🏭 Danish sustainable protein company Unibio is partnering with Saudi Industrial Investment Group to build the world’s largest single-cell protein plant in Saudi Arabia, using gas fermentation technology to produce alternative protein for animal feed.

🥔 Reagenics Research, a startup developing protein from potatoes using plant cell culture, is targeting the longevity market with its “Poteins” ingredient - shown to support muscle growth like whey while containing very low methionine levels linked to ageing - aiming to help maintain muscle health and support healthy ageing.

🍝 Swedish startup SMAQO launched its hybrid “Köttbullar” Swedish meatballs, made by blending conventional meat with fungi-based mycoprotein, into the ICA Gruppen retail network, as part of its strategy to bring hybrid protein products directly to consumers via supermarkets.

🍫 Endless Food Co is collaborating with Arla Foods to run scaled pilot trials using its THIC ingredient in chocolate milk to replicate the original Mathilde formulation, aiming to demonstrate its functionality and taste in beverages while supporting supply chain resilience and potential future commercial applications.

🥤 US-based coconut water brand Greater Than relaunched with a new recipe and packaging to reposition itself as a women-focused hydration beverage, featuring a coconut water base with added fruits, vegetables, fiber, and vitamins, aimed at addressing women’s specific health needs.

Big Food

🤝🏼 US-based ingredient giant Ingredion has partnered with AI protein discovery startup Shiru to develop and commercialise next-generation prebiotic proteins for gut health and GLP-1-related nutrition.

🍿 Proper Snacks launched the UK’s first pop-up microwave popcorn box, designed to transform from a flat pack into a ready-to-eat serving box.

🧀 The Kraft Heinz Co. unveiled its new PowerMac functional macaroni and cheese, which offers 17g of protein and 6g of fibre per serving.

From the Community

• Oatly is looking for someone to lead on events across the UK and Ireland. 

• Fabas Foods is on the hunt for a pulses-enthused Sales & Business Development Manager.

• Voltiris needs a Business Development intern to support horticulture’s energy transition.

• Bettaf!sh is searching for a Commercial Lead: Sales Retail + Food Service DACH and a Product Developer: Food Innovation & Ingredients to join the team in Berlin.

🇨🇭 Join the next FoodHack Meetup in Basel (24th March)

🚀 Nexture has opened applications for the 2026 edition of Generate, its startup innovation hub, to fast-track ingredient startups. 

👀 Applications are also open for the 2026 EIT Food Accelerator Network.

🐔 Here’s what happens when you take a chicken to Nando’s:

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Until next time - Stay Hungry