July 3rd 2022
Stay up to date with the most recent news, investments and partnerships regarding the agrifood tech industry and sustainability.
IPOs, M&As & Investments:
UK ag gene-editing startup Tropic Biosciences has raised $35 million for its latest funding and will use the capital to accelerate and expand its go-to-market plans.
Oxbury Bank, a UK-based start-up bank focused on the agriculture sector, has raised £20 million in equity from new and existing investors.
US-based agtech startup Fyto has raised $15 million in Series A funding for its specialized aquatic “superplants”. Fyto will use its funding to scale commercially, HR, and develop its plants for applications.
Israeli biotech startup Phytolon has secured $14.5 million in funding for its fermentation-based natural food colors. The capital will accelerate their international expansion and commercialization.
Chinese biotech firm Avant has raised $10.8 million in its Series A funding round. The company intends to use the funding to commercialize cultivated seafood.
Foodtech startup Project Eaden just snapped up €8 million in fresh funding to ramp up operations.
UAE-based B2B food marketplace Supy, has raised $8 million in a Seed round The company will use the capital to further bolster its technology, strengthen its offering, scale and launch its new payment solution.
Canada CEA startup Vision Greens announces it has raised $7M. With the investment, the company will expand its operations and scale distribution to leading grocers and meal kit companies that currently include Metro, Pusateri’s, and Goodfood.
Set on tackling an escalating food waste crisis, French startup Hors Normes has just raised €7 million to save rejected fruit and vegetables.
Agtech startup Virridy recently announced the close of its $5.5 million Series A funding round, the proceeds of which it’ll use to accelerate the development and adoption of its sensors.
Steeped Coffee reaches $5 million in its crowdfunding campaign goal in less than 48 hours.
Mumbai-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) bakery brand The Baker’s Dozenhas secured $5 million in a pre-Series.The capital will be used for product innovation, team building, brand marketing, distribution expansion and in ramping up its tech play.
Israeli foodtech startup Maolac has raised $3.2 million in a Seed funding round to develop technology to harness the benefits found in breast milk to create a plant-based colostrum.
Diageo has purchased the flavor-matching service Vivanda. This acquisition will enable Diageo to expand FlavorPrint technology to other categories and will support the development of the startup’s advanced analytics and digital marketing capabilities.
Verdino Green Foods, a plant-based leader in Central and Eastern Europe announces it has taken over the Unfished® and Green Course® brands from Prefera Foods, consolidating the entire portfolio and adding alt seafood products.
New Funds:
Climentum Capital announced the first close of its inaugural €150 million ($157 million) fund, which is designed to help curb CO2 emissions and “accelerate Europe’s green transition”
Matthew Glover, co-founder of Veganuary, VFC, and Veg Capital launched Sentient Ventures, a new £30m UK fund to invest in alt-protein early-stage startups globally.
Female-founded F&B-focused Simple Food Ventures has closed $6 million of its $15 million fundraise. The fund invests in consumer products companies “with a natural and organic ethos and a mass-market appeal.”
Entrepreneurs Manon Littek and Janna Ensthaler have launched the alt-proteins €100 million Green Generation Fund. The fund has already invested in eight startups, including Biomilq and Change Foods.
Private equity firm Shore Capital Partnersannounced the closing of its second Food & Beverage fund totaling $291.75 million.
News & Trends:
Hazel Technologies, Inc. announces a partnership with produce distribution company, Divine Flavor.
Ingredient supplier Ingredion has expanded its offerings with new dietary fruit fibers in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, with availability in other regions expected later this year.
FoodTech Israeli startup ChickP introduces its protein isolates customized for trendy dairy-alternative barista-style coffee drinks.
In Chile, Burger King continues to grow its meatless options by introducing NotCo’s new plant-based chicken sandwiches and nuggets.
Danone has announced the launch of what it claims is the first-ever Dairy and Plants Blend baby formula, in response to parents’ desire for vegetarian and flexitarian options for their babies.
Premium plant-based meat brand Abbot’s Butcher announces a new partnership with Protein Bar and Kitchen, a healthy fast-casual chain based in Chicago.
Wilk Technologies, a bio-food tech company based in Israel, announced the launch of its new project to develop the world’s first yogurt using cell-cultured milk fat.
ReFED added the Capital Tracker to its collection of online tools for generating data-driven solutions to food waste.
On July 8, Maciel’s Plant-Based Butcher & Deli is opening in LA’s Highland Park neighborhood, becoming the city’s first-ever plant-based butcher shop.
Amazon.com has secured the right to buy a 2% stake in Just Eat Takeaway.com's Grubhub and will offer no-fee access to the service to U.S. Prime members to boost subscriptions.
Human insect consumption has received another boost as the lesser mealworm becomes the fourth insect to receive a positive assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for human consumption.
A looming hunger catastrophe is set to explode over the next two years, creating the risk of unprecedented global political pressure, the director of the UN World Food Programme has warned.
£4m initiative to drive a reduction in greenhouse gases for agri-food industry.
The Food Industry Association’s (FMI) newest report explores the main disruptions around how people eat, what they eat and how they get food. Some of the key insights and future predictions are outlined in this article.