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The Encounter Weekly

22-27 May, 2022

Stay up to date with the most recent news, investments and partnerships regarding the agrifood tech industry and sustainability.



IPOs, M&As & Investments:


Stable, the ‘home of hedging’ for the $5 trillion agricultural commodity industry, announced the close of a $60m Series B investment. The round is led by Acrew with Greycroft, Notion Capital, Syngenta and Continental Grain Company also participating.


UK-based ag biotech startup Moa Technology has raised £35 million ($44 million) for its latest funding round. The company aims to tackle the growing problem of herbicide resistance by introducing new, effective and sustainable alternatives.

Regrow, an Australian-based sustainable agriculture start-up, has raised USD 38m in Series B funding led by Galvanize Climate Solutions, Rethink Impact, and Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff’s Time Ventures.

Restaurant software platform Galley Solutions raises a $14.2 million series A round led by Astanor Ventures. The California based startup will use the capital to further product development and grow into new markets

Online ordering software platform Fresho has raised $14 million in a Series A funding round. The capital, will be used to relaunch in the US and further expand the team.

The San Francisco based food delivery platform Locale closes $14 million round. The company describes itself as a curated food ordering experience with a "strict vetting process" for what eateries and restaurants are let on the platform.


Mazen Animal Health raises $11 million Series A from AgFunder, Fall Line Capital, and others. The Iowa-based animal health startup makes an oral alternative to injectable vaccines for pigs and poultry.

Israeli food tech startup Yo! Egg, which has developed plant-based poached and fried eggs (also known as sunny-side-up) announced that it plans to launch in US restaurants later this year, following a recent seed funding round of $5 million.

Irish foodtech startup Sea and Believe has secured commitments for half of the $3 million sum it is planning to raise. Venture capital firm SOSV is among those who are set to provide funding.

Foodsteps bags $4.1 million to help food businesses calculate and label their carbon footprint. The capital will be used to improve its database and consolidate its market position.

Hyfé Foods nabs a $2 million pre-seed funding round led by The Engine to upcycle wasted sugar water from food and beverage manufacturing to produce low-carb, protein-rich mycelium flour.

Canada’s Evolved Meats, formerly known as CaroMeats, announces it has raised $2 million in a seed round led by meat giant Maple Leaf Foods Inc., joined by Big Idea Ventures amongst other investors, to accelerate product development and initial scale-up of production processes.

New Zealand biotech venture NewFish has emerged from stealth mode with an oversubscribed pre-seed round of $1.3 million. NewFish ferments microalgae unique to New Zealand to create new sustainable food sources in response to the climate crisis.

German startup Revoltech nabs a seven-figure seed round for leather substitute LOVR, made of hemp fibres from the leftover residues of CBD products. The funds will bring the 100% biodegradable, plastic-free and climate-neutral material to market.

J&J Snack Foods Corp. has entered into an agreement to acquire Dippin’ Dots, LLC for $222 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The transaction is expected to close by the end of June.


 

News & Trends:


London-based food technology and alternative protein investor Synthesis Capital, closed its first fund with over $300 million in capital commitments. Investors Costa Yiannoulis, Rosie Wardle and biologist David Welch will support startups leveraging high tech to solve global food system challenges across the food value chain.


UK-based tempeh manufacturer Better Nature is expanding its product range to include alternative seafood. Using traditional tempeh fermentation techniques with food industry by-products, the company claims it can replace conventional fish. To develop the product, Better Nature has been awarded a £350k grant from Innovate U.K.

Czech foodtech startup Mewery is developing cultivated pork on microalgae scaffolding. The company claims it is the first in Europe to be doing so. Using the regenerative plant base allows for significant production cost savings, reportedly of 70 percent.

On May 18, cultivated meat startup Ivy Farm Technologies and the Good Food Institute Europe (GFI) hosted an event at the UK Parliament to discuss cultivated meat regulations.

Forager Project, an organic plant-based creamery, announces the launch of Organic Kids Cashewmilk Yogurt, the brand’s first kids-specific product line.

British scientists are aiming to grow ‘real’ steaks in a laboratory within 12 months in a breakthrough global first.

Boston-Based Motif FoodWorks has announced a new range of plant-based meat products. Dubbed Motif MoBeef, MoPork and MoChicken, launches will be staggered from now through to 2023.

La Vie has launched a campaign asking Burger King France to add plant-based bacon to its Veggie Steakhouse burger, after discovering that the conventional Steakhouse contains bacon while the plant-based version does not.

Mermade Seafoods, a Jerusalem-based startup that is growing scallops in a lab as its first product, tells NoCamels the company has unveiled a way to cut the hefty price tag of lab-grown food and an innovative process to produce it for the masses.

Good Meat, the cultivated meat division of Eat Just, signed an exclusive multiyear agreement with biotech process engineering company ABEC to build 10 250,000-liter bioreactors for meat cultivation.

Ripple Oatmilk + Protein has launched in the US, providing consumers with a more nutritious alternative to conventional oat milk. The product contains 6g of protein per serving, compared to about 2g for most other brands.

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