Image Source: LA Times

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

In the week following Trump’s executive order directing meatpacking plants to remain open, confirmed COVID-19 cases jumped 40% in counties with major beef or pork slaughterhouses, compared with a 19% rise nationally. Nearly 12,000 meat plant workers have tested positive, and 48 have died thus far. In response to the crisis, Democrats are renewing a push to phase out factory farming by 2040.

In the latest consolidation play, Uber has made an offer to acquire Grubhub at $6.9 billion, a move that many hope will hit a reset button on an industry that is both overpriced and unprofitable. Meanwhile, the New York City Council has passed a bill that caps delivery fees to 20%.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put more than 10 million independent restaurant workers at risk of losing their jobs for good. Across sectors, businesses are being forced to pivot their business models as consumers go on lockdown and change their buying habits. This round-up features many of the ways the pandemic is impacting all parts of the food industry.

In an effort to do our part and support the community we love so dearly, we have compiled a list of resources and organizations that are providing support to those in need. We are also offering free job postings to anyone who is looking to employ people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Resources: We have compiled a database of resources for those in the food industry impacted by the pandemic here. Please add your own resources as well.
Jobs: We need to band together to support everyone across the food system who has lost their job due to the pandemic. Use code “coronavirusfoodjobs” to post remote or remote-friendly food jobs on our job board for free.

We need your support as well. Producing our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources, and we need to change our business model to keep it going. To date, we’ve funded our work through our events, sponsorships and consulting, which are all on hold due to the pandemic. If you find our newsletter to be a valuable resource, we hope you will consider making a one time or monthly contribution, so we can keep the newsletter going and free for those who can not afford a subscription fee. Whether it’s $5 or $500 every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. Not able to contribute right now? You can help by sharing our newsletter with friends and colleagues.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Infections Near U.S. Meat Plants Rise at Twice National Rate – Bloomberg

Confirmed Covid-19 cases jumped 40% during the week following the order in counties with major beef or pork slaughterhouses, compared with a 19% rise nationally.

2. Uber’s Grubhub Play: A Desperate Bid to Save a Business Everyone Hates – Forbes

The offer, which could value Grubhub at $6.9b, would give Uber Eats 55% of the delivery market with the addition of 24m active users and usher in a new wave of consolidation that many hope will hit a reset button on an industry that is both overpriced and unprofitable.

3. Almost 12,000 Meatpacking and Food Plant Workers Have Reportedly Contracted COVID-19. At Least 48 Have Died. – Business Insider

The cases and deaths are spread across roughly two farms and 189 meat and processed food factories, according to the Food and Environment Reporting Network.

4. Booker Renews Push to Phase Out Factory Farming by 2040 After Pandemic Hits Meatpacking Plants – The Hill

On Wednesday, Elizabeth Warren announced she is co-sponsoring the bill and Ro Khanna is introducing a companion bill in the House. The legislation directly targets multinational meat producing giants, such as Smithfield Foods, Tyson Foods and JBS.

5. Meat Plant Closures Mean Pigs Are Gassed or Shot Instead – New York Times

Coronavirus outbreaks at meatpacking plants have created a backlog of animals ready for slaughter but with nowhere to go. Farmers are having to cull them.

6. As Coronavirus Spreads in Meat Plants, Nearly 200 USDA Inspectors Test Positive – Food Dive

The American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing 6,500 federal food inspectors, said three inspectors have died in Illinois, Mississippi and New York.

7. US Meat Plant Changes Signal End of the 99-Cent Chicken – Bloomberg

The human cost of producing 99-cent chickens and affordable burgers during a pandemic is pushing US meatpackers to eye major operational changes that will likely make American meat more costly.

8. As US Meat Workers Fall Sick and Supplies Dwindle, Exports to China Soar – Reuters

Trump is facing criticism from some lawmakers, consumers and plant employees for putting workers at risk in part to help ensure China’s meat supply.

9. Grocery Wars: A Natural Foods Reckoning

Elly Truesdell, partner at Almanac Insights and former global director of local brands and product innovation at Whole Foods Market, says a reckoning is coming for the natural foods industry as Big Food experiences a comeback. A movement that began with substance – offering new and better products for personal and environmental health – has lost its way and must do better, she argues.

10. $930M Invested in Alternative Proteins in Q1 2020 Tops Record-Setting 2019 Totals – Food Dive

Not only is this a record amount of funding, but investment in the first three months of this year exceeds the $824m invested in the segment in all of 2019 by 11%.

11. As Restaurants Struggle, Cities Look to Cap Delivery Fees – Politico

City councils in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston are considering commission caps as low as 5 percent. Washington, D.C., Seattle and San Francisco already adopted emergency orders that limit commissions to 15 percent.

12. City Council Doubles Delivery Fee Cap to 20% for Some Restaurants – Eater

The bill now stipulates a 5% baseline fee cap on all orders placed through the delivery platforms, preventing the third-party services from charging additional large fees for marketing services. Commission fees will now be capped at 15%.

13. Americans Keep Clicking to Buy, Minting New Online Shopping Winners – New York Times

Online sales in the United States have surged in recent weeks, after shelter-in-place measures enacted in March shuttered brick-and-mortar stores throughout the country. In grocery, the clear winner so far has been Instacart.

14. Reopening | The Impact of Rehiring on Unemployment Benefits – Oyster Sunday

Recommendations for employees and employers, including how to navigate unemployment insurance and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, potential implications on Payroll Protection Program loans and more.

15. After 30 Years of Being Shut Out, the Small Business Administration Just Allowed Farmers to Apply for Economic Disaster Loans – The Counter

Small-scale farmers are cautiously hopeful about this new funding source. They also worry it’s too little, too late.

16. Trump’s Executive Order Seeks Controversial Overhaul of Seafood Industry – The Fern

Offshore aquaculture, which has long divided environmentalists and commercial fishing interests, now has a pathway to approval.

17. Indonesia: Jay-Z, Serena Williams-Backed Kopi Kenangan Scores $109M in Sequoia-Led Series B Round – AgFunder

Sequoia Capital India led the round. The startup will use funds to launch new products, enhance its tech base and expand its operations in its native Indonesia.

18. Slice, an Online Ordering and Marketing Platform for Pizzerias, Raises $43M – TechCrunch

KKR led the round. New funding will go towards bringing on more pizzerias.

19. Tock Raises $10M to Help Fancy Restaurants Do Takeout – CNBC

Valor Siren Ventures led the round. In addition to restaurants, Tock is also now providing its technology to farms so they can sell bags of fresh produce directly to consumers.

20. Trump Says US Will Purchase $3B in Agricultural Products From Farmers – The Hill

The U.S. will purchase $3 billion of dairy, meat and produce from farmers and ranchers starting early this week, Trump announced on Saturday.

21. McDonald’s Workers in Denmark Pity Us – The New York Times

In Denmark, McDonald’s starting pay is $22/hour, including 6 weeks of paid vacation, life insurance, 1 year of paid maternity leave and a pension plan.

22. Amazon Has Quietly Started a Free Delivery Service for Restaurants Housed In Its Buildings – Eater

Drivers who used to shuttle corporate employees around are part of the program.

23. Target to Aquire Deliv Tech as the Last-Mile Startup Shuts Down – Grocery Dive

Target will acquire Deliv’s proprietary technology that assists in the batching and routing of orders.

24. Trump Says US Will Purchase $3B in Agricultural Products From Farmers – The Hill

The U.S. will purchase $3 billion of dairy, meat and produce from farmers and ranchers starting early this week, Trump announced on Saturday.

25. Alison Roman, the Colonization of Spices, and the Exhausting Prevalence of Ethnic Erasure in Popular Food Culture – Pajiba

An important look at a big, prevalent problem in today’s food culture. Learn more about the controversy here.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post Infections In US Meat Plants 2x National Rate, Uber Woos Grubhub + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Sanjeev Krishnan

This is a guest post by Sanjeev Krishnan, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at S2G Ventures

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global health and economic crisis like none we have seen in our lifetime. In the food supply chain this has impacted employees that ensure that food is planted, harvested and processed, grocery shelves are stocked and food is available to all people. It takes a global village to feed the world, and we have seen selfless sacrifice and silent grit to ensure the continuity of our food system. Because, if our food supply breaks down, this pandemic may move from a crisis to a catastrophe.

Over the past several months several cracks have shown up in the food supply chain. The pandemic is challenging the nature of our global supply chain, stressing logistics networks and reinforcing the importance of labor. There are concerns about food nationalism, continued access to labor and redefining the nature of food security from global to national systems. While now is the time for urgent action – from government and private sector – there is a need for longer-term investments required for building a more innovative and resilient future food system.

Our team at S2G Ventures spent several months researching and monitoring COVID-19 and its implications to better understand these questions, keeping a close eye on the news cycle, conducting extensive desktop research and speaking with various experts across many fields. We spoke to epidemiologists, healthcare professionals, farmers, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and other investors to gather insights and develop our perspective on the implications of COVID-19 on the world of food and agriculture. We have compiled our finding into a report that explores the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic to the food and agriculture industry and identifies the areas of innovation critical to building a healthier and more sustainable food system.

As an investor in companies across all stages of the food system, we believe our role in the recovery is to ensure we build a more stable, resilient, sustainable and healthy system. We will continue to invest in entrepreneurs and innovations that are the catalysts for meaningful progress. Below, we offer a summary of our report, which can also be downloaded in full here.

Pandemics 101: A History of Recovery & Innovation

Taking a look back in time, the world suffered a deadly pandemic in 1918. The Spanish flu, whose origin is believed to be a farm outside of Kansas City, spread quickly across the globe. Although the world was not as connected, World War I was still ongoing, and troops were being shuttled between the United States and Europe. Between 1918 and 1919, the Spanish flu is believed to have infected nearly a third of the global population and killed between three and 20 percent of those who were infected. In the end it killed between 40 and 50 million people. In the years following the Spanish flu, there was a bright period of innovation that included the adoption of the Bell telephone and modern medicine. It was an event that helped shape the future.

Between the Spanish flu and today’s pandemic, there have been seven major epidemics or pandemics. Each varies in mortality, duration and contagion, but ultimately all come to an end. The economic recovery period that follows a pandemic-induced recession is generally different from traditional economic recessions. Pandemic-induced recession recoveries have generally seen a V-shaped recovery, while traditional recessions have varied between V-, U-, W-, and L-shaped recoveries. The global financial crisis of 2008 saw a L-shaped recovery. Typically, economic recessions have a longer duration and deeper economic consequences.

The coronavirus pandemic is unique among prior events. While many events have temporarily shut down regions, none have had the same global shutdown that we are currently facing today. So, despite being able to draw comparison and insights to learn from pandemic economics, the situation is different due to a staggering rise in globalization, digitalization across many sectors and the rise of fiat currencies. Pandemic economic history teaches us that one of the hallmarks is that innovation plays a critical role in the future normal that emerges. As professor Katherine A. Foss notes, “disease can permanently alter society, and often for the best by creating better practices and habits. Crisis sparks action and response.”

While the direct effect of COVID-19 is on the population – with infection rates, social distancing and shelter-in-place restrictions and continued operations of only essential businesses – there are significant implications across many industries. The second order consequences of coronavirus are reshaping industries, catalyzing innovation and encouraging resilience in business planning. Although the lasting impact on many industries is unknown, we see exciting innovation accelerating across automation, telemedicine, virtual reality and transparency systems (i.e., blockchain or similar technologies).

Everyone Eats – Pandemic Proof Demand, but Supply?

While the food and agriculture sectors are generally more resilient in bad economic situations, there are several sub sectors that rely heavily on in-person labor and are currently strained due to the unique social distancing pressures placed on businesses. One significant pressure point is meat processors. Several large meat companies have been forced to shutter processing facilities due to COVID-19 outbreaks. Smithfield had to shut down one of its pork processing facilities that supplied roughly 5 percent of the U.S. pork supply, while JBS had to close a Pennsylvania facility that processed beef. The second-order consequence of these closures is the farmer, who may be forced now to cull their herds of cattle and hogs. The strain on this pressure point affects not only the farmer, but also the consumer. Wendy’s felt the effects of this during this past week, when nearly one-fifth of all 1,043 locations ran out of beef.

While it will take an extended period of time to fully understand the implications of consumer purchasing data coming out of the pandemic – more specifically if the duration of the consumer behavior shift will be a ‘fad’ or ‘trend’ – certain areas of the market are seeing a quick adoption of trends that were previously accelerating. As slaughter-house closures have increased, plant-based meats sales have jumped 200 percent. Plant-based meats remain a small portion of the market, but this is a significant and notable demand signal from consumers.

Coronavirus is notably changing how consumers shop, prepare and consume food. Between 2009 and 2018, out-of-home eating rose from 50.1 percent to 54.4 percent of the market. Now, with social distancing limited the ability to eat at restaurants, many are turning to preparing food at home or ordering delivery or takeout. And, despite food being a resilient sector, the bifurcation between grocery and food service has become clear.

In the grocery store, private label market-share gains are poised to accelerate, as consumers tighten spending and look for value-focused alternatives. However, we expect consumers to prioritize a balance of value and better-for-you brands instead of a complete tradeoff to value, consistent with the consumer megatrend towards better-for-you products.

Taking a step back, and observing the broader food value chain, we observed three primary delivery vulnerabilities in the food system:

1. Agricultural inputs to farms (e.g., seeds, animal feed, fertilizer, et al.)

2. Farm products to processors, packagers, spot markets and export markets

3. Food to retail distribution

This is important, because the global food system relies on a just-in-time economy, where inventory levels are intentionally kept low. Meaning, that regardless if there is enough supply in existence, it may not be able to reach its proper destination if the supply chain is disrupted.

China, which provides a good example because it is further along in the lifecycle of the pandemic, has been suffering from this problem the last several months. Upstream and downstream logistics are a major challenge; at the ports there are thousands of frozen meat containers piling up because the trucking has effectively collapsed. Meanwhile, ports are running out of power, stoking fears that much of the food currently stored there will go bad. There is also an American company that makes immunization equipment for chicken that said their containers had been docked at Chinese ports for four weeks. Although China is doing its best to ensure that the grain planting season is not missed, the logistics of this supply chain are making it increasingly difficult.

The Future of Food – COVID-19 and Calories

While we continue to watch the situation, and the strain it is placing on the food system, we view the common thread that could bridge the existing system to the future as technology. Consumer purchasing behavior coupled with innovation may drive changes in market share and pressure existing players in the market. Although we have not seen COVID-19 create a new trend, we have seen several trends that were in motion pre-coronavirus further accelerated by the pandemic, including alternative protein, indoor agriculture, digitalization of agriculture and grocery and food as medicine.

Although animal agriculture remains a large and growing market, the pandemic has exposed challenges with the industries long production cycles, centralized production and limited processing facilities. It has allowed for faster consumer adoption of alternative proteins, including plant-based protein, fungi, algae and other biomass concepts including cellular meat. Notably, some of these technologies are further along than other, for example plant-based protein has been a trend for several years, while cellular meat remains in a research and development phase. We continue to believe that whatever the next generation of protein is, it will be driven by production speed, price and taste.

A second trend we believe is accelerating is food as an immunity. The convergence of food, science and technology may unlock this sector and usher in a new era in microbiome, functional ingredients, precision and personalized nutrition and medical foods. Prior to COVID-19, this was largely driven by nutrition-related disease, but the pandemic has exposed at-risk populations, with approximately 90 percent of hospitalized patients having one or more underlying condition, with the most common underlying condition being obesity.

Beyond specific trend acceleration, several themes emerge throughout this research that we believe may be catalyzed and emerge in a post-COVID-19 world. Digitalization will likely be driven by dis-intermediation to allow for new relationships with the consumer and to reduce risk throughout the supply chain. Decentralized food systems allow for the automation of local (alternative protein and produce) and the reshaping of complex perishable supply chains to reduce shrink and waste. They are also more omnichannel congruent as e-commerce, specifically online grocery, adoption accelerates. De-commoditization in the food supply chain, coupled with technologies that place deflationary pressure on the industry, may help catalyze breeding for attributes beyond yield (taste, protein content, et al), a return to polyculture farming and a shift from a strict focus on yield to profit per acre. Lastly, food as an immunity has the potential to bridge healthcare and food production and consumption for treatment of specific nutrition-related chronic lifestyle diseases, as well as change the future of brands to focus on unique, functional ingredients. a

Our full report, The Future of Food in the Age of COVID, is available online.

_____________________________

Sanjeev Krishnan, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at S2G Ventures

Sanjeev has nearly 20 years of experience in sourcing, executing, managing and exiting venture and private equity investments, including a focus in agriculture and food companies. As Managing Director, Sanjeev is active in developing investments and managing portfolio companies including, serving on many portfolio company boards. His portfolio work ranges from genetics, crop protection, soil health, digital/IOT, crop insurance, merchandising, indoor agriculture, novel flavor and ingredients, new protein development, unique processors and brands that will feed this changing consumer.

He is passionate about the role of innovation, entrepreneurship, markets and system investing as a theory of change. Sanjeev has worked in the intersection of sustainability, technology and health in many regions, including Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. He has invested over $500 mm in venture and growth stage firms throughout his career.

Sanjeev began investing as a co-founder of the life sciences practice of the IFC, the $99 billion private investment arm of the World Bank. His previous investment roles include CLSA Capital Partners, Global Environment Fund, World Bank Group’s IFC and JPMorgan. Sanjeev is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

About S2G Ventures: S2G Ventures (Seed to Growth) is a multi-stage venture fund investing in food and agriculture. The fund’s mission is to catalyze innovation to meet consumer demands for healthy and sustainable food. S2G has identified sectors across the food system that are ripe for change, and is building a multi-stage portfolio including seed, venture and growth stage investments. Core areas of interest for S2G are agriculture, ingredients, infrastructure and logistics, IT and hardware, food safety and technology, retail and restaurants, and consumer brands. For more information about S2G, visit www.s2gventures.com or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn .

The post Pandemic Proof: S2G Ventures on Why Resilient, Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems are More Important Than Ever appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image Source: Eater

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

On Wednesday, May 20, a new bill – dubbed the RESTAURANTS Act – will aim to infuse $120 billion in grants to small- and medium-sized restaurants that have struggled to access and make use of the Paycheck Protection Program loans. The funds would not be accessible to publicly traded companies or chains with more than 20 locations doing business under the same name.

In a survey of 240 small farmers, Dan Barber and his team at Blue Hill found that roughly 40% of them predict that they won’t be able to keep up with increasing volume. As a result, they will lose the extra, essential revenue that always comes with a bountiful seasonal harvest and end in bankruptcy.

Resources: We have compiled a database of resources for those in the food industry impacted by the pandemic here. Please add your own resources as well.
Jobs: We need to band together to support everyone across the food system who has lost their job due to the pandemic. Use code “coronavirusfoodjobs” to post remote or remote-friendly food jobs on our job board for free.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. New Bill Proposes $120B in Grants to Support Independent Restaurants – Eater

Unlike the PPP, this bill is tailored to small restaurants, and would infuse them with the cash needed to stay open through the rest of the year at mandated limited capacity, with very few strings attached.

2. The Small-Farmer Boom Is About to Go Bust, and Dan Barber Knows Why: The Produce Box Model Can’t Keep Up with the Summer Harvest. – The Counter

Forty percent of small farmers predict that they won’t be able to keep up with the increasing volume. Where do they expect this to end? Bankruptcy, from which many will not recover.

3. Pandemic Proof: S2G Ventures on Why Resilient, Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems are More Important Than Ever

Sanjeev Krishnan, chief investment officer and managing director at S2G Ventures, shares highlights from the fund’s new report: The Future of Food in the Age of COVID. The report explores the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic to the food and agriculture industry and identifies the areas of innovation critical to building a healthier and more sustainable food system.

4. Noma Is an Outdoor Wine and Burger Bar, for Now – Eater

Starting on May 21, René Redzepi’s award-winning Copenhagen restaurant will reopen to the public as an outdoor wine-and-burger spot — no reservations required.

5. Trump Announces $16B in Direct Payments to Farmers – The Counter

The relief package allocates $3b for food boxes as well as $16b in direct payments to farmers impacted by Covid-19. The payments will go to farmers who have suffered price declines of 5% or greater or who have incurred losses due to supply chain disruptions.

6. Purdue Food and Agriculture Vulnerability Index – Jayson Lusk

In partnership with Ranveer Chandra, Chief Scientist for Microsoft Azure Global, we’ve conceptualized the extent to which Covid-19 related illnesses pose a risk to agriculture and food production. Today, we finally have a beta version of our dashboard ready for viewing.

7. A Guide to All the Restaurant Safety Guides – Eater

With CDC guidelines coming in at a slight four pages, independent restaurant industry groups are stepping in with their own guidance.

8. Congresswoman Introduces Bill to Protect Meat Processors from Liability During Pandemic – Meat+Poultry

The legislation expands liability coverage for meat processing facilities that were mandated to reopen after Trump’s executive order in April.

9. A Seventh Amazon Employee Dies of Covid-19 As the Company Refuses to Say How Many Are Sick – The Verge

Amazon’s process for notifying workers makes the true number difficult to determine. The e-commerce giant has repeatedly declined to say how many warehouse employees have been diagnosed with or died from the virus.

10. Singapore: Olam Secures $176M Financing to Foster Digital Adoption Among Asian Smallholders – AgFunder

The loans came from International Finance Corporation and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Olam will deploy the capital to boost the smallholder-dominated commodity crop sector across Asia and Africa.

11. Imperfect Foods Raises $72M to Expand Delivery of Ugly Produce and Pantry Goods – The Spoon

The round was led by Insight Partners. With its new funds, Imperfect will continue to bring its grocery delivery to more areas across the country and add on to its fulfillment centers.

12. Grubhub Rebuffs Uber’s Latest Offer As Merger Talks Continue – Wall Street Journal

Uber’s offer of 1.9 shares per Grubhub share was deemed insufficient.

13. Albertsons Sells Minority Stake to Private Equity Firm for $1.75B – Grocery Dive

Albertsons has sold 17.5% of its stock to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $1.75b, bringing the grocer a cash infusion as it prepares to go public.

14. Home Chef Confirms Breach After 8M User Records Found on the Dark Web – TechCrunch

Customer names, email addresses and phone numbers were taken in the breach, along with scrambled passwords. The hackers also took the last four digits of its customers’ credit card numbers and mailing addresses.

15. Autonomous Retail Startup Standard Cognition Acquires Competitor Checkout Technologies – TechCrunch

The startup has acquired a competitor based in Italy called Checkout Technologies for an undisclosed sum, bringing its talent, tech and partnerships to Standard Cognition.

16. Clear Labs Raises $18M to Expand Its Automated Food Safety Platform to Covid-19 Testing – VentureBeat

Investors included Alphabet’s GV, Redmile Group, Menlo Ventures and Khosla Ventures. Funding will be used to commercialize its product and reappropriate its technology for the clinical market – particularly for Covid-19 diagnostic tests.

17. House Votes to Double Coronavirus Payments to Agriculture – The Fern

The bill also calls for a temporary 15% increase in SNAP benefits and allots more than $4b for other nutrition programs. It would waive work requirements for SNAP recipients and block the USDA from narrowing eligibility for food stamps.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post New Bill Proposes $120B in Grants for Independent Restaurants, Dan Barber Predicts Small Farm Catastrophe + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image Source: TIME

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

As dozens of plants that closed because of coronavirus outbreaks begin reopening, emails show local officials received conflicting signals from state leaders and meatpacking companies about how much information to release about outbreaks in plants. More than 17,000 coronavirus cases are linked to meat packers, and 66 deaths have been reported since last week. The FERN updated its count to 18k as of today.

Amid mounting food waste and pressures on the global supply chain brought on by the pandemic, Apeel Sciences has just raised $250 million with the hope of preventing waste by keeping food fresh for longer periods on store shelves. The latest round attracted celebrity backers like Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry.

Resources: We have compiled a database of resources for those in the food industry impacted by the pandemic here. Please add your own resources as well.
Jobs: We need to band together to support everyone across the food system who has lost their job due to the pandemic. Use code “coronavirusfoodjobs” to post remote or remote-friendly food jobs on our job board for free.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. As Meatpacking Plants Reopen, Data About Worker Illness Remains Elusive – New York Times

While the CDC claimed there were nearly 5k workers infected with the virus, the Food & Environment Reporting Network estimated the number has climbed to more than 17k since last week (FERN updated its count to 18k as of today). There have been 66 meatpacking deaths, and the outbreaks may be even more extensive.

2. Preventing Food Waste Nets Apeel $250M from Singapore’s Government Oprah and Katy Perry – TechCrunch

The company will use its new capital to begin expanding its operations and working with the big farming companies and growers in Africa, Central America and South America. GIC led the round.

3. Reopenings, Resistance, and PPP Loans: How Food Businesses Nationwide Are Handling Coronavirus – Bon Appetit

Coronavirus continues to hit the food industry hard. Hear chefs, grocery store workers, activists, and more share their stories.

4. The Human Cost of Instacart’s Grocery Delivery – The Verge

Eight Instacart workers shed insight into the company’s failure to provide sick pay. By signing up a massive influx of new shoppers, it also made it harder for experienced shoppers to make any money.

5. Covid-19 Has Killed 100 Grocery Store Workers. Vitalina Williams, a ‘Bear Hug of Love,’ Was One. – The Washington Post

She was a cashier at grocery chain Market Basket and worked security for a Walmart.

6. EU Plans to Reduce Pesticides by 50% – Forbes

The plan would also reduce sales of antimicrobials for farmed animals by 50%, and the use of fertilizers by 20%, by 2030. The share of organic farming would also be increased by 25% by 2030 – up from the current 8%.

7. UK: Cloud Canteen Startup Feedr Has Been Acquired by Compass Group for ~$24M – TechCrunch

Compass Group plans to utilize Feedr’s software across its portfolio of corporate clients in the UK and Ireland, with further potential applications of the technology in education and healthcare sectors.

8. Dishcraft Raises $20M, Adds Reusable Takeout Container Cleaning As a Service – The Spoon

Grit Ventures led the round. Funding will go towards expanding its daily dish delivery to include reusable to-go containers and utensils.

9. Good PLANeT Foods Raises $12M to Expand Its Plant-Based Cheese Empire – Food Navigator

Cleveland Avenue led the round. The cash injection will enable the startup to build its team and support its rapid growth.

10. Will Coronavirus Be What Finally Kills Factory Farming? – Newsweek

The animal agriculture industry is imperiled and increasingly precarious as an investment, while its competition has never been in greater shape. The factory farming divestment movement is here—and not a moment too soon.

11. Hunger Program’s Slow Start Leaves Millions of Children Waiting – New York Times

Child hunger is soaring, but two months after Congress approved billions to replace school meals, only 15% of eligible children had received benefits.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post 18K+ Coronavirus Cases Tied to Meat Packers, Oprah and Katy Perry Join Apeel Sciences’ $250M Round + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Dear Fam,

We at Food+Tech Connect stand in solidarity with the Black community against systemic racism and police brutality.

We are committed to using our platform to create systemic change and to end racial injustices, especially in our food system. We know that educating ourselves about anti-racism and dismantling systemic racism will be hard, ongoing work. We also know that the only way forward is together. Over the coming weeks, we will begin collaborating with organizations across the food system to start hosting conversations and creating resources that amplify the voices of Black, Indigenous and POC communities.

If you want to collaborate, please email Danielle at danielle [at] foodtechconnect.com.

In the meantime, we encourage you to support Black-owned businesses, donate, educate yourself about anti-racism and read some of Civil Eat’s 10+ years of social justice reporting.

With Love & Gratitude,

Danielle, Mike & Phoebe

__________________

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Resources: We have compiled a database of resources for those in the food industry impacted by the pandemic here. Please add your own resources as well.
Jobs: We need to band together to support everyone across the food system who has lost their job due to the pandemic. Use code “coronavirusfoodjobs” to post remote or remote-friendly food jobs on our job board for free.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Want to See Food and Land Justice for Black Americans? Support These Groups. – Civil Eats

Food justice is racial justice. As the nation rises up to protest atrocities against Black people, here are some organizations working to advance Black food sovereignty.

2. 21 Individuals and Organizations Building Stronger Black Communities and Food Systems – Food Tank

It’s time for people of all backgrounds to not only denounce violence, but to actively use their voices, dollars and power to demand change.

3. BLM Community Resources – Museum of Food & Drink

In solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, we have compiled a list of resources amplifying black chefs and food producers, black-owned businesses, and organizations helping the food insecure during protests and COVID-19.

4. What the Future of Restaurants Might Look Like: What You Need to Know – Bloomberg

The industry employed 15.6m people in America alone. Sales in 2020 were projected to be $899b, but no more. Estimates of how many restaurants will not be able to reopen range from 25% to 80%. The economic damage of a stunted hospitality industry ripples across the globe and across sectors.

5. Covid-19 Is Spreading Among Farmworkers, and It May Get Worse – The Fern

Health workers in Florida, the nation’s tomato-growing capital, have detected an alarming spike in Covid-19 cases: an average of 24 new positives a day.

6. 815 Workers at Iowa Plants – 591 in Storm Lake and 224 in Council Bluffs – Tested Positive for Coronavirus – Des Moines Register

The plant, which has about 2.3k workers, is scheduled to reopen Wednesday. About 75% of the employees testing positive had no symptoms.

7. Blow Up the Restaurant Industry and Start Over – The New Republic

A system that relies on exploitation isn’t one that should survive the pandemic. There’s a better way to feed people and care for workers.

8. Two-Thirds of Public Restaurants Are Seen at Risk of Bankruptcy – Bloomberg

The concern is higher for small companies and restaurants that specialize in dine-in. Large chains are likely to get bigger amid dining industry M&A.

9. Every Single Worker Has Covid at One US Farm on Eve of Harvest – Bloomberg

One farm in Tennessee distributed Covid-19 tests to all of its workers after an employee came down with the virus. It turned out that every single one of its roughly 200 employees had been infected.

10. As Groceries Board Up Amid Protests, Food Inequality Worsens for Communities of Color – Salon

The inaccessibility of limited hours means many people in the community can’t make it to the grocery store and don’t have another option close by, highlighting the deep inequality in levels of food access across the city.

11. The Pandemic Isn’t Easing Up, but Frontline Food Workers Are Already Losing Bonus Pay – Civil Eats

As parts of the US economy reopen and food demand remains high, some companies are ending ‘hero’ and ‘hazard’ bonuses.

12. Abrupt NYC Curfew Sparks Confusion for Restaurant And Food Delivery Workers – Eater

The lack of clarity and guidance from city officials has left workers and restaurant owners scrambling for answers.

13. ‘15 Percent Pledge’ Calls On Major Retailers To Support Black-Owned Businesses – Forbes

The 15 Percent Pledge asks businesses and individuals to commit 15 percent of their buying to black-owned businesses, potentially generating billions for the black community.

14. How Fostering Empathy for the People Who Feed Us Could Change Our Food System – Civil Eats

Experts weigh in on how we can best support food and agriculture workers during the pandemic—and beyond.

15. Contractors Selected for USDA Food Box Program Raise More Red Flags – The Counter

The agency came under scrutiny after it canceled a $40m contract with California Avocados Direct and awarded an event planning company a $39m contract that had made dubious claims about their clients and credentials.

16. House Passes PPP Bill That Gives Restaurants More Flexibility – Restaurant Dive

The bill would reduce the percentage of PPP funds restaurants are required to spend on payroll from 75% to 60%; extend the time period businesses have to use the funds from two months to six months; and more.

17. Tyson Reinstates Policy That Penalizes Absentee Workers – Bloomberg

Tyson will return to its pre-Covid-19 absentee policy, which includes punishing workers for missing work due to illness.

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The post Black Lives Matter, Support Black Food & Farm Businesses + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: NBC News

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

On Monday, a 2004 photo of Bon Appétit’s Editor in Chief Adam Rapoport and his wife, Simone Shubuck, posing in brown face surfaced on Twitter. Several members of its Bon Appétit’s staff took to social media to call for his resignation and for better compensation and treatment of people of color at the company.

After months of negotiations with Uber Eats, Grubhub has turned down the deal to combine its operations with Just Eat Takeaway in a $7.3 billion merger – creating a trans-Atlantic delivery giant at a time the industry is seeking scale.

Concerns of food shortages continue to loom as Covid-19 takes the lives of workers across 60 US plants. Those who have gone on strike demanding safety measures have died from the virus. As of June 8, at least 28.4k+ meatpacking, food processing and farm workers have tested positive for Covid-19 and at least 101 workers have died.

Resources: We have compiled a database of resources for those in the food industry impacted by the pandemic here. Please add your own resources as well.
Jobs: We need to band together to support everyone across the food system who has lost their job due to the pandemic. Use code “coronavirusfoodjobs” to post remote or remote-friendly food jobs on our job board for free.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Condé Nast’s Bon Appetit Allegedly Pays Only White Editors for Videos, Image of EIC Adam Rapoport in Brown Face Surfaces – Variety

Adam Rapoport, editor-in-chief of Bon Appetit, came under fire Monday with calls for him to resign or be fired after allegations that the Condé Nast food title pays white editors — but not people of color — for video appearances. In addition, a photo of Rapoport in brown face was posted on social media.

2. Bon Appétit Editor Adam Rapoport Resigns – New York Times

The move comes hours after a photo of him resurfaced on social media, drawing condemnations from the staff for a stereotypical depiction of Puerto Ricans.

3. Bon Appétit’s Editor in Chief Just Resigned – but Staffers of Color Say There’s a ‘Toxic’ Culture of Microagressions and Exclusion That Runs Far Deeper Than One Man – Business Insider

We spoke with 14 former and current Bon Appétit staffers and contributors about their experiences at both the magazine and its beloved Test Kitchen.

4. Just Eat Takeaway Confirms It’s Gobbling Up Grubhub in a $7.3B Deal – TechCrunch

The Dutch food delivery company beat out Uber to buy Grubhub, whose chief executive will oversee operations in North America. The combined operation will have over 70m combined active customers globally.

5. More Food Shortages Loom with Outbreaks at 60 US Plants – Bloomberg

Yakima, Washington, a hub of agricultural activity, has the highest per capita rate on the West Coast. More than 1k workers got sick, and those who went on strike for safety demands died from the virus.

6. Coronavirus Outbreaks Climb at US Meatpacking Plants Despite Protections, Trump Order – USA Today

The number of coronavirus cases tied to meatpacking plants has topped 20.4k infections across 216 plants in 33 states. At least 74 people have died.

7. Mapping Covid-19 Outbreaks in the Food System – The Fern

As of June 8, at least 28.4k+ meatpacking, food processing and farm workers have tested positive for Covid-19 and at least 101 workers have died.

8. BLM Community Resources – Museum of Food & Drink

9. In Apparent Rejection of Federal Court, EPA Allows Continued Dicamba Use – The Counter

A federal court ruling banned the controversial herbicide last week, but Trump’s EPA is pushing back. The administration announced that farmers will be able to continue to spray dicamba through July 31.

10. Louisville Barbecue Owner Killed in Police Shooting Fed a Food Desert – New York Times

David McAtee is remembered as a man who reached out to his black community through his cooking. He was shot amid a volley of bullets fired by two police officers and two National Guard members enforcing the city’s curfew.

11. Food Banks and Other Key Programs Have Received a Fraction of Allotted Coronavirus Money, Angering Some Lawmakers – The Washington Post

In some cases, agencies still have not released funds two months after passage of $2t Cares Act.

12. There’s Only So Much We Can Do’: Food Banks Plead for Help – Politico

In late April, more than 17% of mothers reported their children under the age of 12 were not getting enough to eat because the family couldn’t afford enough food – a more than 400% increase from when the government last measured hunger rates in 2018.

13. Black Chefs Have Overcome Countless Obstacles. This Might Be the Hardest Yet. – The Washington Post

Will black chefs, who rose the ranks to become inspirations to others, be able to survive the twin assault of a global pandemic and outrage over another police killing?

14. Eating at Black-Owned Restaurants Isn’t Going to Save Us – KQED

The harm doesn’t live in those dollars. It lives in the framing of temporary patronage as a viable solution to an enduring problem—or worse, as salvation. The harm is the capitalistic impulse that has distorted tragedy to resemble Black Restaurant Week.

15. Temasek Leads $46M Series B for Ascus Bio’s Microbe-Based Animal Feed Additives – AgFunder

The new capital will be used to help the company expand its customer sales and service teams, advance new products in the pipeline and refine its tech platform and IP foundation.

16. MycoTechnology Raises $39M in Series D to Expand Functional Ingredients Platform – Food Navigator

The funding was co-led by Greenleaf Foods, SPC, S2G Ventures and Evolution Partners with participation from Tyson Ventures, Kellogg’s eighteen94 Capital and others.

17. Starbucks to Close 400 Stores, Speed Expansion of Pickup Locations, Curbside and More – TechCrunch

The coffee chain will expedite the rollout of its new “Pickup” store concept, powered by mobile ordering, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It will also expand access to curbside pickup, drive-thru and walk-up counters in less dense, suburban markets.

18. Instacart Claims More Than Half of Online Grocery Market – Grocery Dive

Instacart’s share of the online grocery market reached a high of 57% in April. The growth puts it ahead of Walmart, which saw its market share drop 25% in March.

19. Struggling Farmers Are Selling Midwest Hogs Ad Hoc and Online – Civil Eats

An under-the-radar market has sprung up to prevent euthanizing pigs and help support farmers. But communities on the receiving end have limited processing capacity and big concerns.

20. Meal Kit Industry Expected to Hit $20B by 2027 – Grocery Dive

The sector is seeing a revival from the COVID-19 pandemic and is also expected to get a boost from culinary-minded millennials.

21. Farmers Get Billions in Virus Aid, and Democrats Are Wary – New York Times

As the administration sends up to $16b in additional subsidies, critics are concerned that the funds could be used to ensure that the president maintains the backing of one of his key voting blocs.

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The post Just Eat Acquires Grubhub for $7.3B, Bon Appétit EIC and Head of Video Resign Over Racism Allegations + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Vox

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

A slew of Big food brands have been called out once again to rebrand their racist stereotypes: PepsiCo’s Aunt Jemima, Mars’ Uncle Ben’s, Conagra’s Mrs. Butterworth’s and Cream of Wheat’s Rastus. Reparations have only just begun for food companies large and small in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The former CEO and President of Bumble Bee Foods, Christopher Lischewski, has been sentenced to 40 months in jail and charged a $100k criminal fine for his leadership role in a three-year antitrust conspiracy to fix the prices of canned tuna.

A recent survey by the Nation’s Restaurant Association has found that the industry has a whole has lost $120 billion since the coronavirus outbreak. About 55% of operators with temporarily closed restaurants said there are not enough customers to justify reopening.

Last but not least, the UN, WHO and WWF International are calling for legislation and trade deals worldwide to encourage a green and healthy recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, in particular by reforming destructive farming and unsustainable diets.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Aunt Jemima and the Long-Overdue Rebrand of Racist Stereotypes – Vox

The 130-year-old brand features a Black woman named Aunt Jemima, who is rooted in Jim Crow-era perceptions of black women, specifically the Southern “mammy” stereotype of a loyal and submissive servant.

2. Cream of Wheat Becomes Fourth Brand in 24 Hours to Revisit Packaging Over Racist Origins – Forbes

Cream of Wheat has been criticized for the chef character Rastus, whose name is widely considered derogatory to black men. The move follows rebrands of PepsiCo’s Aunt Jemima, Mars’ Uncle Ben’s and Conagra’s Mrs. Butterworth’s.

3. In a Rare Outcome, Former Bumble Bee CEO Will Be Sent to Prison for Price-Fixing – The Counter

Christopher Lischewski has been sentenced to 40 months in jail and charged a $100k criminal fine for his leadership role in a three-year antitrust conspiracy to fix the prices of canned tuna.

4. National Restaurant Association: 75% of Restaurant Operators Don’t Expect to Turn a Profit in a Near Future – Nation’s Restaurant News

About 55% of operators with temporarily closed restaurants said there are not enough customers to justify reopening. The industry has lost $120b since the onset of the coronavirus crisis.

5. Pandemics Result from Destruction of Nature – The Guardian

The UN, WHO and WWF International are calling for a green and healthy recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, in particular by reforming destructive farming and unsustainable diets.

6. Nestle to Acquire Majority Stake in Collagen Maker Vital Proteins – Food Dive

Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction will equip the Chicago-based collagen maker with the resources to scale its reach and innovation.

7. How the Colorado Potato Beetle Could Inspire a Covid-19 Vaccine – and $102M in Funding – AgFunder

Funding will go towards countering the ongoing global pandemic with a vaccine. Morningside Ventures led the round.

8. In Absence of Federal Action, Farm Workers’ Coronavirus Cases Spike – Politico

Florida, North Carolina and Washington preview further spread as harvest season advances.

9. OSHA Faulted for Not Doing More to Protect Workers from COVID-19 – Civil Eats

A record number of food and farmworkers are falling sick and dying from coronavirus. Advocates blame the federal agency for failing to set mandatory worker safety standards.

10. Instacart Raises $225M at $13.7B Valuation – TechCrunch

DST Global and General Catalyst led the round. Funding will be used to invest in shoppers and partners, build out its advertising and enterprise business and focus on customer experience.

11. New Regen Ag-Focused Fund Soilworks Makes Its Debut with PastureMap Acquisition – AgFunder

Soilworks Natural Capital, a public benefit corporation, invests in, incubates and acquires companies to help accelerate environmentally critical regenerative practices. Financial terms of its acquisition were undisclosed.

12. A New $3M City Fund Aims to Pay Staffers at Small Restaurants $20 Per Hour – Eater

The NYC program will distribute $3m to about 100 small restaurants located in 27 neighborhoods that have borne the brunt of the impact of the virus. Eligible restaurants can receive up to $30k to help with payroll.

13. Food Brands Tweet #BlackLivesMatter, but What’s Behind the Words? – New York Times

In addition to declaring solidarity, the fast food industry could make changes to protect the health and safety of black employees.

14. Racism Shaped Restaurants. Chef Aretah Ettarh Knows What Needs to Change – Matador Network

The Gramercy Tavern chef expands her thoughts about how performance can transform into action, the hard work white people have ahead of them, and why it’s time to rebuild the restaurant industry from the ground up.

15. Michael Twitty: Hunger Is a Form of Violence We Must Address – Huffington Post

The legendary food writer talks about the cost of hunger, the importance of growing our own food and much more.

16. BLM Community Resources – Museum of Food & Drink

17. Chinese Produce Platform Tongcheng Life Closes $200M Series C Round Led by Livestreaming Firm – AgFunder

Joyy and Engage Capital co-led the round. Funding will be used to enhance its supply chain and grow its presence in eastern and southern China.

18. China: ‘Instant Delicacies’ Brand Baijia Food Raises $28M in Series B Funding – AgFunder

GL Ventures led the round. Funding will be used for product research and development, expanding its production capacity, and marketing and brand promotion.

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The post Racist CPG Rebrands, Former Bumble Bee CEO Sent to Prison for Price-Fixing + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: New York Post

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

On Sunday, China’s customs authority suspended imports of poultry products from a plant owned by Tyson after the company confirmed a cluster of coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker questioned how companies could warn of pandemic shortages while exporting record amounts of pork to China. Despite receiving orders from the Trump administration to remain open, 30 to 50 percent employees were absent over fear of getting sick.

The global restaurant industry is teetering on the brink of collapse. An estimated 2.2 million restaurants are fighting to stay afloat. Meanwhile, US lawmakers are pushing for a $120 billion aid program for restaurants.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. China Suspends Imports of Poultry from Tyson Plant over Covid-19 – Reuters

The General Administration of Customs decided on the suspension after the company confirmed a cluster of coronavirus cases at the plant in Arkansas.

2. 2.2M Restaurants Worldwide Teeter on Brink of Collapse – Bloomberg

With demand plunging and costs piling up, these business owners talk about how they’re fighting to stay afloat.

3. Lawmakers Push for $120B in Aid for Restaurants Hit by Coronavirus – Wall Street Journal

The industry has lost millions of jobs as the pandemic forced shutdowns and restrictions on in-person dining.

4. The Problems With Palm Oil Don’t Start With My Recipes – Heated

Our ingredients do not all come from Whole Foods; they do not come with origin stories about founders trekking through far-off places to create a “more sustainable” trade. This is colonial language. Palm oil criticism is steeped precisely in this sentiment.

5. Brandless Is Back – Grocery Dive

Less than six months after going out of business, the online retailer is returning with new leadership that’s determined to correct its mistakes and finally deliver on its potential.

6. Warren and Booker Press Meatpackers on Exports to China – New York Times

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker questioned how companies could warn of pandemic shortages while exporting record amounts of pork to China.

7. A Historic Reckoning with Race Leaves Problematic Food Brands without an Easy Path Forward – Food Dive

Remaking Aunt Jemima or Uncle Ben, with characters baked into brand identity, will require heavy investments. A pandemic-related windfall could help.

8. Restaurants Are at the Mercy of Delivery Apps, but Can they Survive the Pandemic Without Them? – Civil Eats

Just four delivery app companies control 98% of all restaurant sales, with sky-high commissions and fees. Restaurants that have shifted to delivery-only are seeking solutions.

9. France: Swile Raises $78.7M for Its Corporate Lunch Card and Benefits App – TechCrunch

Index Ventures is leading the round. The company plans to expand to gift cards, turning its card into an all-in-one payment solution.

10. SevenRooms Raises $50M Series B Round with Providence Strategic Growth – RestaurantNews

Providence Strategic Growth led the round. This latest funding aims to support SevenRooms’ continued global expansion.

11. Trudeau Just Announced a $100M Investment into Plant-Based Food in Canada – Narcity

Trudeau explained that the money would be going to Merit Functional Foods, a Canadian company that specializes in plant-based proteins.

12. Trudeau Just Announced a $100M Investment into Plant-Based Food in Canada – Narcity

Trudeau explained that the money would be going to Merit Functional Foods, a Canadian company that specializes in plant-based proteins.

13. Restaurants Across the Country Are Closing After Workers Test Positive for Covid-19 – Eater

As states begin to allow restaurants to reopen, service industry workers are again at high risk of catching and spreading the novel coronavirus.

14. Roundup Maker to Pay $10B to Settle Cancer Suits – New York Times

Bayer faced tens of thousands of claims linking the weedkiller to cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Some of the money is set aside for future cases.

15. Grocers Fall Short on Worker Protections – Grocery Dive

Oxfam is calling on grocers, who have continued to profit, to adopt new worker-focused strategies to protect employees and give them a voice.

16. An Intergenerational Juneteenth Gathering Shows How the Black Food Sovereignty Discussion has Shifted – Civil Eats

Nearly two dozen Black farmers, chefs and advocates came together last week to share stories of resistance, resilience and the fight for land access.

17. Millions of Americans Can’t Afford Water As Bills Rise 80% in a Decade – The Guardian

America’s growing water affordability crisis comes as Covid-19 underlines the importance of access to clean water. The research shows that rising bills are not just hurting the poorest but also, increasingly, working Americans.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post Lab Grown Breast Milk, 2.2M Restaurants Anticipated to Close Globally + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

We at Food+Tech Connect stand in solidarity with the Black community against systemic racism. Built on the exploitation of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), our industry – from farm to fork – has an opportunity and imperative to chart a more equitable and diverse future.

We have compiled the following list of resources to help you learn about systemic racism in our food industry and how we might work to dismantle it. We have also featured lists of food and farm businesses and organizations for you to support. This list is by no means complete. We will be working to update it regularly, so please email us at danielle@foodtechconnect.com if you have any resources, organizations or initiatives you would like to see added.

Special thanks to Niyeti Shah MPH (Associate Director, Milken Institute Center for Public Health), Athena Roesler MPH (Associate Director, Milken Institute Center for Public Health) and Diane Kim (Associate, Milken Institute Center for Public Health) for their help with compiling this list.

Articles To Read

Battling Inequity in Food Systems with Entrepreneurship – Olivia Rebanal
Beyond Plant-Based: The Racial History and Future – Journey Foods
Dismantling Racism in the Food System – Food First
Entrepreneurs Share How Industry, Investors Can Make Good on Promises to ‘Do Better,’ Support Anti-Racism – Food Navigator
Food Media Must Work Harder to Fix Its Racism Problem – Grub Street
The Great Land Robbery – The Atlantic
How USDA distorted data to conceal decades of discrimination against black farmers – The Counter
Leaders of Color Discuss Structural Racism and White Privilege in the Food System – Civil Eats
People of Color are at Greater Risk of COVID-19. Systemic Racism in the Food System Plays a Role – Civil Eats
Reckoning with Racial Justice in Farm Country – Civil Eats
Restaurants Must Use This Moment to Change, Too – Eater
The Sugar That Saturates the American Diet Has a Barbaric History as The ‘White Gold’ That Fueled Slavery. – The New York Times
There were nearly a million black farmers in 1920. Why have they disappeared? – The Guardian
To Natural Products Industry Leaders: Let Us Act Now to Dismantle Systemic Racism – New Hope Media
Why Food Belongs in Our Discussions of Race – Civil Eats
Working Against Racism in the Food System – Bioneers

Videos To Watch

A Growing Culture’s Hunger For Justice Series – Multiple videos all worth watching!
Black Food Matters: Race and Equity in the Good Food Movement – Devita Davison
Farming While Black: African Diasporic Wisdom for Farming and Food Justice – Leah Penniman
Race Equity in the Food System – Michigan State University
Taste The Nation With Padma Lakshmi – The Gullah Way
The Underlying Racism of America’s Food System – Regina Bernard-Carreno
What Natural Products Industry Members Need to Know About Racial Inequity – Ijeoma Oluo

Media to Follow

Civil Eats: Website / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook
Black Food Folks: Instagram / Twitter
For The Culture Food Magazine: Website / Instagram
Pass The Spatula: Website / Instagram
Whetstone Magazine: Website / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter

Podcasts To Subscribe To

1619 Podcast (episodes 2& 5)
Point of Origin
Racist Sandwich
All of the 20 Food Podcasts by Black Women (compiled by soulPhoodie)

Books To Read (support Black-owned bookstores):

Check out Black Food History’s Black Food Studies Book Lists for more books to read!

The Color of Food by Natasha Bowens
The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty
Farming While Black by Leah Penniman
High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America by Dr. Jessica B. Harris
Black Food Geographies by Ashanté M. Reese
Building Houses out of Chicken Legs by Psyche A. Williams-Forson
Feeding the Other: Whiteness, Privilege, and Neoliberal Stigma in Food Pantries by Rebecca T. de Souza
Freedom Farmers by Monica M. White
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi
Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine One Plate at a Time by Adrian Miller
The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks by Toni Tipton-Martin
Working the Roots by Michele E. Lee
Land Justice: Re-Imagining Land, Food, and the Commons by Justine M. Williams

Educational Resources & Toolkits

The Young Farmers Racial Equity Toolkit
Studio ATAO’s Toolkit For Recognizing, Disrupting & Preventing Tokenization in Food Media
Michigan State University’s Annotated Bibliography on Structural Racism Present in the U.S. Food System
Food Solutions New England 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge
Building the Case for Racial Equity in the Food System by the Center For Social Inclusion
Racial Equity in the Food System Workgroup & Listserv
General Anti-Racism Resources Document compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker & Alyssa Klein

Training Programs For Dismantling Racism From Farming While Black

People & Organization to Follow on Social Media

Samin Nosrat has a great list of Black farmers, chefs, writers, historians and more to follow on Instagram.

Lists of Black-Owned Farms, Businesses & Organizations To Support

Black-Owned & Operated Farms + Organizations That Support Black Farmers by Shannon Lai and A Growing Culture
Black-Owned Farms in The US
Black-Owned Restaurants in The US
BIPOC in Agriculture and Food: A Comprehensive Resource Database (Spreadsheet / Google Doc)
BIPOC-Led How-to Videos, Gardening Projects & Online Learning Resources
EatOkra Black-Owned Restaurant Guide App
Equity at The Table’s database for food industry professionals featuring only women/gender non-conforming individuals and focusing primarily on POC and the LGBTQ community
Food & Land Sovereignty Resource List for COVID-19 (Compiled by Soul Fire Farm, Black Farmer Fund, and Northeast Farmers of Color)
Journey Foods’ Black Companies to Support

Campaigns to Support Black Farms & Businesses

Black Farmer Fund (NY): Black Farmer Fund (BFF) is an emerging community investment fund that invests in black food systems entrepreneurs in New York State. Beyond making investments in these communities, BFF also emphasizes in building financial and investment literacy and active involvement of the community when discussing and creating financing options

Black-Led, Regenerative Farm: As a Black, queer, woman land ownership has felt evasive for much of Kiley Clark’s life, not having the capital or the generational wealth to make this possible. She launched this campaign to build a regenerative, no till farm that pays homage to the traditional ecology knowledge of her ancestors, and the land’s original Indigenous caretakers.

Detroit Dirt: Detroit Dirt is raising money to support its composting operations and drive forward a low carbon economy by diverting waste and promoting materials management. Its campaign is supported by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), which will match all donations dollar for dollar.

EatOkra: EatOkra has a crowdfunding campaign to fund it Black-Owned business directory app connecting people to Black food and beverage.

For The Culture Magazine: The biannual printed food magazine celebrates Black women in food and wine. The stories in For the Culture will be about Black women throughout the diaspora, written by Black women and photographed and illustrated by Black women. It will be the first magazine of its kind.

Forty Acres & A Mule Project: Wisconsin-based restaurateur Adrian Lipscombe is raising money to purchase agricultural land. The land purchase will help guarantee farm-to-table resources for the food industry, serve to provide an outlet for Black foodways and establish a safe haven to secure the legacy of Black foodways.

Future Farm Fund: Farmer and activist Amber Tamm Canty launched this fund to buy a farm in upstate in New York. She is also working to secure land in New York City’s park systems for BIPOC communities to farm. Support the fund here.

Oko Farms: The only outdoor aquaponics education and production farm in NYC. The farm dedicated to both increasing food security for NYC residents and the promotion of ecological and humane food cultivation practices. Due to change in policy and licensing requirements, it can no longer operate sustainably at its current site. It is currently raising money to move the farm to a new location.

Reparations Map for Black-Indigenous Farmers: The food system was built on the stolen land and stolen labor of BIPOC people. Soulfire Farm’s map calls for reparations of land and resources for the farmers listed, so they can grow nourishing food and distribute it to their communities. Read more about the Reparations Map here.

Sylvanaqua Farm: The Farm is looking for gifts and low-interest loans to build a vertically-integrated, employee-owned cooperative of farms, nurseries, mills, processors, retail outlets and wholesale distributors.

Soul Fire Farm: A BIPOC-centered community farm in upstate New York fighting racism and injustice in our food system. Its food sovereignty programs reach over 10,000 people each year, including farmer training for Black and Brown growers, reparations and land return initiatives for northeast farmers, food justice workshops for urban youth, home gardens for city-dwellers living under food apartheid, doorstep harvest delivery for food insecure households, and systems and policy education for public decision-makers.

Round-Ups

Cherry Bombe’s List of Black Businesses (cookbooks, CPG products, chefs & creatives, restaurants & cafes, media & special initiatives)
Civil Eats: Want to See Food and Land Justice for Black Americans? Support These Groups.
Food Tank: 21 Individuals and Organizations Building Stronger Black Communities and Food Systems
A Reading List For Learning About Anti-Black Racism and Food – Epicurious
MOFAD BLM Community Resources

CPG Organizations To Follow & Support

Hotbread Kitchen: Website / Instagram / Twitter
Helps turn talents and dreams into financial security for women and entrepreneurs. Its workforce development program helps women get good jobs in kitchens and food manufacturers around the country. Its small business incubator provides emerging food entrepreneurs with wrap around support and connections to the food community to grow their enterprises.

JEDI Collaborative: Website / LinkedIn
The OSC² J.E.D.I Collaborative of CPG industry peers and experts is leading this project for the natural products industry to frame the business case for embedding justice, equity, diversity and inclusion into our entire food ecosystem.

La Cocina: Website / Instagram / Twitter
A nonprofit working to solve problems of equity in business ownership for women, immigrants and people of color. It provides affordable commercial kitchen space to entrepreneurs, as well as access to mentorship and market opportunities.

Hospitality Organizations To Follow & Support

Black Culinarian Alliance: Website / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook
This organization, founded as the Black Culinarian Alliance, works to advocate for Black people in the food and beverage industry, a demographic that has been largely left out of mid and upper management opportunities in the culinary sphere. Today, they work to “promote not only people of color but to increase diversity overall and develop women as industry leaders.”

Food Lab Detroit: Website / Instagram
FoodLab is a community of food entrepreneurs committed to making the possibility of good food in Detroit a sustainable reality. It designs, builds, and maintains systems to grow a diverse ecosystem of triple-bottom-line food businesses as part of a good food movement that is accountable to all Detroiters. It is currently accepting applications for its Fellowship for Change in Food & Labor, a six-month, stipend based fellowship opportunity.

Farm & Land Justice Organizations to Follow & Support

Black Family Land Trust: Website / Facebook / LinkedIn
The Black Family Land Trust is one of the nation’s only conservation land trust dedicated to the preservation and protection of African-American and other historically underserved landowners assets, utilizing the core principles of land conservation and land-based community economic development. BFLT provides families with the tools necessary to make informed, proactive decisions regarding their land and its use including their Wealth Retention and Asset Protection (WRAP) program.

Black Urban Growers (BUGS): Website / Facebook / Twitter
Black Urban Growers (BUGS) is an organization committed to building networks and community support for growers in both urban and rural settings. Through education and advocacy around food and farm issues, they nurture collective Black leadership to ensure they have a seat at the table. Check out their Facebook page for virtual events.

Family Agriculture Resource Management Services (FARMS): Website / Facebook / Instagram
FARMS is a legal nonprofit, committed to assisting Black farmers and landowners in retaining their land for the next generation.

Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund: Website / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram
A non-profit cooperative association of Black farmers, landowners, and cooperatives, with a primary membership base in the Southern States.

HEAL Food Alliance: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Linkedin / Instagram
HEAL brings together groups from various sectors of movements for food and farm justice to grow community power, develop political leadership, and exposing and limiting corporate control of the food system.

The Land Loss Prevention Project: Website
The Land Loss Prevention Project responds to the unprecedented losses of Black-owned land in North Carolina by providing comprehensive legal services and technical support to financially distressed and limited resource farmers and landowners.

The National Black Farmers Association: Website / Facebook
The National Black Farmers Association is a non-profit organization representing African American farmers and their families in the United States.

The Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust: Website / Facebook / Instagram
The Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust advance land sovereignty in the Northeast through permanent and secure land tenure for Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and Asian farmers and land stewards.

Southeastern African American Farmers’ Organic Network: Website
SAAFON is a regional network for Black farmers committed to using ecologically sustainable practices to manage their land and the natural systems on it in order to grow food and raise livestock that are healthy for people and the planet.

The post Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: The Verge

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Following the ousting of Bon Appetit’s former editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport, a series of tweets posted by Tammie Teclemariam led to Peter Meehan’s resignation as the LA Times Food Editor on Wednesday. The series of tweets alleged a pattern of verbal abuse and workplace harassment, both at his time at LA Times and as editorial director of Lucky Peach.

In other news, Uber has made an offer to acquire Postmates for $2.6 billion after its Grubhub deal fell through. Today, Fox News reported that Postmates plans to file for an IPO next week.

After restaurants across the US pivoted to grocery sales to save their businesses, Chipotle has take cues and launched its own virtual farmers market to help farmers in its supply chain sell meat, dairy and grain products directly to consumers online.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Peter Meehan Resigns from LA Times Food Section After Allegations of Creating a Toxic Workplace Culture – Eater

A series of tweets from earlier this week alleged a history of yelling, aggressive behavior and other issues.

2. Postmates Is Deciding Between Going Public and Selling to Uber or Special Purpose Acquisition Company – CNBC

Uber’s offer is valued at $2.6b. The name of the special purpose acquisition company couldn’t be immediately identified. A SPAC is a shell company that acquires private companies for the purpose of transitioning them to publicly traded entities. Today, Fox News reported that Postmates plans to file an IPO next week.

3. Chipotle Launches Virtual Farmers Market for Suppliers – Grocery Dive

The fast casual chain has partnered with Shopify to help farmers in its supply chain sell meat, dairy and grain products directly to consumers online.

4. Specialty Food Sales Hit $158.4B in 2019 – Food Dive

Specialty foods, which now make up a fifth of all retail sales, saw growth nearly tripling that of the entire food sector. Refrigerated plant-based meat alternatives saw the biggest growth of any category, up 70% in unit growth and 112% in dollar growth.

5. Families of Three Workers Who Died of Covid-19 Sue Tyson for Allegedly Lying About Outbreak – The Counter

The lawsuit could test the limits of the Defense Production Act. It could also be thrown out.

6. Billions of Dollars Are Left in the Paycheck Protection Program—What Happens Now? – Food & Wine

The deadline for the loan program is here, while many restaurants are still struggling to make ends meet.

7. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support

Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.

8. Where Restaurants and Bars Are Closing Again Across the US – Eater

Here’s how cities and states have re-closed as COVID-19 cases spike.

9. Beyond Burger Arrives in Alibaba’s Grocery Stores in China – Techrunch

Beyond Burgers will be sold on Freshippo, Alibaba’s supermarket chain. China’s “free from meat” market, including plant-based meat substitutes, is expected to be worth $12b by 2023.

10. Crop Sustainability Developer Indigo Ag Raises $300M – Axios

The Series F round total is expected to be around $500 million, including an initial $200 million announced in January. Return backers include Flagship Pioneering and Alaska Permanent Fund, while Riverstone Holdings is a new investor.

11. Enko Chem Raises $45M to Develop Crop Protections Solutions with AI – VentureBeat

Funding will be used to expand the startup’s tech platform and ready its pipeline of crop protection solutions for field testing and regulatory trials. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation led the round.

12. Startup Behind Super Coffee Gets Valuation Topping $200M – Bloomberg

Kitu Life has raised $25m led by Skyview Capital.

13. Scientists Say New Strain of Swine Flu Virus Is Spreading to Humans in China – New York Times

A new study warns that the strain of H1N1, common on China’s pig farms since 2016, should be “urgently” controlled to avoid another pandemic.

14. Beyond Plant-Based: The Racial History and Future – Journey Foods

Our plant-based history and future needs to think beyond burgers. Our lack of acknowledgment of our roots in food is killing all of us, and killing black people faster.

15. Covid-19 Is Eliminating Many Consumer Brands That Americans Love – Bloomberg

Companies are paring down their brand rosters to cope with the pandemic. Amy’s Kitchen once sold 228 products – now it’s down to 71.

16. White People Own 98% of Rural Land. Young Black Farmers Want to Reclaim Their Share. – Mother Jones

Since Emancipation, Black farmers have had to fight for a share of this country’s fertile ground, due to a history of racist policies and land theft. But modern sustainable agriculture owes much to Black agriculturalists.

17. Food Media Must Work Harder to Fix Its Racism Problem – Grubstreet

Now that BIPOC food-industry members have uncovered the problems, what does change look like, in a pro-transparency, post-Columbusing landscape?

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post Postmates to File For IPO, Chipotle Launches Virtual Farmers Market + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: New York Times

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

On Monday, Uber announced its acquisition of Postmates in an all-stock deal for $2.65 billion. The two companies now make up a 37% share of food delivery sales in the US. Cultured ice cream startup Perfect Day has expanded its Series C round to $300 million led by CPP Investments, reducing its cost of production two years ahead of expectations.

In restaurant news, Yelp data revealed that 53% of restaurants across the US have permanently closed amid COVID-19. As of June 15, there were 140k total business closures on the website since March 1. On Monday, the Small Business Administration (SBA) made public a list of companies that were granted Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $150,000 or more. Several of them were large chains and big-name restaurants like French Laundry, TGI Fridays and PF Chang’s.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Uber Buys Postmates for $2.65B – New York Times

Together, Postmates and Uber Eats would have a 37% share of food delivery sales in the US, behind DoorDash with 45%. Postmates will continue to operate under its own name.

2. Perfect Day Expands Series C to $300M; Significantly Boosts Efficiency of Animal-Free Dairy Production – Food Navigator

CPP Investments led the round, with participation from Temasek and Horizons Ventures. The round is an expansion of a previously announced $140m round. It will enable Perfect Day to increase the efficiency of its production process.

3. 53% of Restaurants Closed Amid Coronavirus Have Shuttered Permanently, Yelp Data Shows – Restaurant Dive

As of June 15, there were 140k total business closures on the website since March 1.

4. Almost 90% of US Meat Plant Workers With Virus Are Minorities – Bloomberg

Of the cases that disclosed race and ethnicity, 87% involved minority workers – with employees identified as Hispanic accounting for 56% of infections despite making up less than a third of the overall workforce.

5. CDC Says 9% of Meatpacking Plant Workers Have Been Diagnosed with Covid-19 – CNBC

As of May 31, 86 worker deaths across 23 states can be tied to Covid-19. Nearly 240 meat processing facilities had at least one confirmed case among its workers.

6. Stark Racial Disparities Emerge As Families Struggle to Get Enough Food – Politico

Nearly four in 10 Black and Hispanic households with children are struggling to feed their families during the coronavirus pandemic — a dramatic spike that is exacerbating racial inequities and potentially threatening the health of millions of young Americans.

7. Uber Grocery Delivery Launches in Latin America and Canada, US to Follow Later This Month – TechCrunch

The initiative is a product of its acquisition of Cornershop back in late 2019. The launch covers 19 cities in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia and Peru, and is set to expand to the US at some point later this month – specifically to Miami and Dallas.

8. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support

Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.

9. Several Businesses Listed as Receiving Stimulus Loans Claim to Have Never Even Applied – Eater

Among newly identified businesses are restaurant chains and big-name restaurants including French Laundry, PF Chang’s, TGI Friday’s and Chop’t. There is more than $100b in loans yet to be granted.

10. After Grinding Investigation, Luckin Coffee Confirms $300M Revenue Fraud – TechCrunch

Starting around April 2019, around the time of its IPO, the company began inflating revenues. They were overstated by $35m in Q2, $99m in Q3, and almost $166m in Q4.

11. Cox and Bunge Back Growers Edge in $40M Series B Round – AgFunder

SG2 Ventures, Skyline Global Partners and Cox Enterprises led the round. The funding will mainly be used to build out its data analysis efforts. Growers Edge works with ag retailers and product manufacturers to crunch their data and produce a crop plan.

12. IntegriCulture and Shiok Meats Partner to Ramp Up Cell-Based Seafood Production – AgFunder

The two companies will develop inexpensive cultured serum for growing shrimp meat in the lab.

13. US Government’s Box Food Aid Promise Falls Short – Reuters

The program fell short of its target to deliver $1.2b worth of food to food banks, churches and other organizations in need by June 30. As of July 1, the agency verified 63% of the boxes pledged.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post Uber Acquires Postmates for $2.65B, Perfect Day Raises $300M + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: New York Times

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

The closure of restaurants amid the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to accelerate the development of ghost kitchens. The sector is projected to grow to $1 trillion by 2030. Meanwhile, the sale of plant-based products outcompeted the animal meat section by 23%. Oatly just sold a 10% stake for $200 million to Blackstone Group, which includes Oprah Winfrey, Natalie Portman, former Starbucks Corp. chief Howard Schultz and the entertainment company founded by Jay-Z.

Last but not least, worker groups are claiming that Tyson and JBS violated the Civil Rights Act. They filed a complaint alleging the companies’ failure to follow CDC guidance had a discriminatory impact on the Black, Latino and Asian workforce, which make up 87% of the meat-processing plants’ COVID-19 cases.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Ghost Kitchens Could be a $1T Global Market by 2030, says Euromonitor – Restaurant Dive

The firm predicts cheaper, faster and more reliable delivery could help this segment capture 50% of drive-thru service ($75b), 50% of takeaway foodservice ($250b), 35% of ready meals ($40b), 30% of packaged cooking ingredients ($100b), 25% of dine-in foodservice ($450b), and 15% of packaged snacks ($125b).

2. Oat Milk Company Oatly Draws Investment From Blackstone-Led Group Including Oprah – Wall Street Journal

The company has sold a 10% stake for $200m, valuing the company at $2b.

3. Plant-Based Products Sell 23% Better in the Meat Section, Study Finds – Grocery Dive

Kroger and the Plant Based Foods Association conducted the study, including an in-store set within the conventional meat section and targeted emails.

4. As Coronavirus Ravaged Meatpackers, Minorities Bore the Brunt. Now Worker Groups Say Tyson and JBS Violated the Civil Rights Act. – Washington Post

People of color make up 87% of meat-processing plant Covid-19 cases. Worker groups have filed a complaint alleging the companies’ failure to follow CDC guidance had a discriminatory impact on the Black, Latino and Asian workforce.

5. Food Prices Rose in June for Sixth-Straight Month – NBC

The higher prices come as businesses across the country are rolling back their reopenings and laying off staff, creating further pressure for families trying to put food on the table.

6. Brave Robot Ice Cream Launches As the First Brand from the Perfect-Day Backed Urgent Company – TechCrunch

The founders of Perfect Day have joined with a longtime product developer in the dairy industry to create a new sustainably focused consumer food company called Urgent Company.

7. Burger King’s New ‘Reduced Methane’ Beef May Be All Hat, No Cattle – Civil Eats

The company’s new ad campaign touts the climate benefits of reducing methane from cows’ farts and burps by adding lemongrass to their feed. But without peer reviewed science, it’s too soon to tell if their claims will hold water.

8. What It’s Like to Work in an NYC Restaurant During the Pandemic, According to Staffers – Eater

While some are eager to return to work, most say they feel trapped in a Catch-22 situation about their return.

9. How Food Media Created Monsters in the Kitchen – New Republic

Journalists bear a lot of responsibility for the rise of the toxic celebrity chef. But they’re still in a state of denial.

10. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support

Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.

11. Google Unveils $10B India Tech Fund for Sectors Including Agriculture, Small Businesses – AgFunder

The Google for India Digitization Fund will invest in equity fundings, partnerships, and infrastructure in ag, healthcare and education, among other areas.

12. UK: Cloud Kitchen Startup Karma Kitchen Raises $318 million for Expansion as Food Delivery Explodes During the Pandemic – Business Insider

Karma Kitchen wants to become Europe’s biggest kitchen space provider by opening 53 new sites across the UK and Europe in the next five years.

13. Tyson Turns to Robot Butchers, Spurred by Coronavirus Outbreaks – The Wall Street Journal

The pandemic is speeding meatpackers’ shift from human meat cutters to automated ones, but machines can’t yet match people’s ability.

14. Cox and Bunge Back Growers Edge in $40M Series B Round – AgFunder

15. Danny Meyer Is Turning His Restaurants Into Commissary Kitchens – Bloomberg

Using $1 million from Brookfield Properties, the Union Square Hospitality CEO is teaming up with Rethink to feed hungry New Yorkers.

16. Covid-19 Has Increased Online SNAP Purchases Twentyfold—and Amazon, Walmart Have a Lock on Virtually All Those Sales – The Counter

More than 750,000 households had used food stamps benefits online as of late June. That’s up from just 35,000 in March.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post Ghost Kitchens Could be Worth $1T Globally by 2030, Oatly’s $2B Valuation + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: 3Dnatives

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

The race to bring cell-cultured meat to market has advanced this week with news of the first lab-grown pork belly and bacon strips, developed by UK startup Higher Steaks. KFC has also entered the race in partnership with 3D Bioprinting Solutions to create a lab-grown chicken nugget replacement in Russia.

A slew of fundraising rounds have made it into the headlines this week across all sectors. Chinese e-grocer MissFresh represented the largest raise, with $495 million to enhance the company’s “smart chain” technology and broader supply chain capabilities.

Last but not least, Yelp data has revealed that 60 percent of restaurants have permanently closed. The report was unveiled as Oakland and Berkeley abruptly shut down all outdoor dining earlier in July and New York’s Governor Cuomo threatened to roll back bar and restaurant openings.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. From Bioprinting Lab-Grown Meat in Russia to Beyond Meat in the US, KFC Is Embracing the Future of Food – TechCrunch

KFC has partnered with 3D Bioprinting Solutions to make chicken meat replacement using plant material and lab-cultured chicken cells. It has also expanded its Beyond Fried Chicken pilot to Southern California.

2. UK: Higher Steaks Brings Home the Bacon, Revealing Lab-Grown Pork Belly and Bacon Strips – TechCrunch

The products are made with a combination of cell-cultured meat, plant base, proteins, fats and starches.

3. China: Tencent, Goldman Sachs Pump $495M into Chinese E-Grocer MissFresh – AgFunder

A unit of investment bank CICC led the round. The new funds will be deployed to enhance the company’s “smart chain” technology and broader supply chain capabilities. The startup has built a network of 1.5k small-scale distribution centers across China.

4. Coronavirus Has Already Shuttered 16K Restaurants, Yelp Says – Restaurant Dive

A new report shows that 60% of restaurants have closed, a 23% increase since June 15.

5. Outbreak at Iowa Pork Plant Was Larger Than State Reported – Associated Press

The DOH announced that 221 employees at the Tyson Foods pork processing plant had tested positive for Covid-19. Days earlier, Tyson told Iowa workplace safety regulators that 552 plant employees had been infected.

6. Misfits Market Raises $85M Series B to Send You ‘Ugly’ Fruits and Veggies – TechCrunch

Funding was led by Valor Equity Partners. The company is also announcing a new warehouse in New Jersey that will allow it to double its capacity across the East Coast, the South and into the Midwest. It plans to continue to build out its team.

7. Cuomo Threatens to Roll Back Bar and Restaurant Openings – Grubstreet

Brik Astoria in Queens became the city’s first bar or restaurant to have its outdoor-seating permit stripped, after crowds failed to follow social-distancing rules.

8. Amid a Deadly Virus and Crippled Economy, One Form of Aid Has Proved Reliable: Food Stamps – New York Times

In the first three months of the coronavirus pandemic, more than six million people joined a program the Trump administration tried to cut.

9. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support

Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.

10. Dexterity Exits Stealth with $56.2M Raised for Its Collaborative Warehouse Robots – TechCrunch

Funding came from Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Obvious Ventures, Pacific West Bank, B37 Ventures and others. It announced its full-stack solution aimed at creating collaborative robotics systems.

11. Investors Drop Off $33M for Chowbus, a Delivery Service for ‘Mom and Pop’ Asian Restaurants – TechCrunch

Altos Ventures and Left Lane Capital led the round. Funding will be used to expand to more cities across the US and add new product features.

12. Taranis Banks $30M Series C with Tech Giants Hitachi, Micron Among New Investors – AgFunder

Vertex Growth and Orion Fund led the round. Funding will go towards identifying new pests or weed varieties for a widening range of crops, while increasing its percentage accuracy. Taranis also plans to expand across the Americas.

13. The Netherlands: PlantLab Nabs €20M to Open New Vertical Farming Locations – The Spoon

The round was led by De Hoge Dennen Capital. Funding will go towards opening more locations and improving its technology.

14. Cambridge Crops Rebrands As Mori; Secures $12M Series A for Food Waste Technology – Crunchbase

Acre Venture Partners led the round. Funding will be used to scale production of its protective silk coating product as well as develop commercial partnerships in multiple food categories.

15. Blue Apron Cofounder Raises $10M in Funding to Breed a Better Chicken – Forbes

Cooks Venture raised its Series A to further develop its new breed of chicken. SJF Ventures and Larry Schwartz led the round.

16. HumanCo Acquires Majority Stake in Vegan Ice Cream Coconut Bliss – Food Dive

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The partnership is intended to grow the Oregon-based ice cream producer into a global brand through furthering product innovation, increasing marketing efforts and expanding distribution.

17. Five Key Takeaways from the USDA’s 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Report – The Counter

The 835-page report lays the scientific groundwork for the five years of federal nutrition advice. Here’s what you need to know.

18. The US Is Headed for Climate Disaster – But Joe Biden’s Green Plan Might Just Work – The Guardian

Biden’s $2t energy plan promises to revive struggling auto towns in the midwest by building a new fleet of electric vehicles. Since most renewable energy projects require land, rural areas are positioned to win with a wave of investment in wind and solar.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post KFC Develops Lab-Grown Chicken, 16K Restaurants Have Closed Due To Covid + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: The Spoon

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

In the first two quarters of 2020, 20 faux meat startups raised about $1.4 billion. Total agtech investment reached $2.2 billion, while food tech investments reached $4.8 billion.

As lawmakers in Congress work to finalize a second economic stimulus package, Republican leaders are pushing for legislation that would discontinue the $600 unemployment benefits in place of a “return to work” bonus. This puts restaurant workers gravely at risk, especially if liability protections would prevent people from suing their employers if they contract Covid-19 on the job.

While some New York City lawmakers are pushing to make outdoor dining permanent to save struggling restaurants, Hong Kong has banned restaurant dining as it battles a new wave of COVID-19 cases.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Food Tech Investment Reached $4.8B in the First Half of 2020 – The Spoon

For the first two quarters of 2020, total agtech investment reached $2.2b compared to the $2.7b raised for the entirety of 2019. Food tech investment reached $4.8b during the first two quarters of 2020 compared to $7b for all of 2019, and that number will continue to rise rapidly.

2. How the Latest Republican Stimulus Would Hammer Jobless Restaurant Workers – Eater

New York hospitality workers could see their monthly earnings slashed by $1.7k or more under the current proposal.

3. Venture Investors Double Their Bets on Faux Meat Startups – Bloomberg

More than 20 faux meat startups raised about $1.4b from venture investors in the first seven months of 2020 with the hopes of finding the next Beyond Meat.

4. The Republican Stimulus Plan Lets Restaurant Owners Who Endanger Workers Off the Hook – Eater

Liability protections would prevent people from suing their employers if they contract Covid-19 on the job.

5. Hong Kong Bans Restaurant Dining As It Battles New Wave of Coronavirus – Reuters

Hong Kong banned gatherings of more than two people on Monday, closed down restaurant dining and introduced mandatory face masks in public places, including outdoors.

6. Why Hunger Can Grow Even When Poverty Doesn’t – New York Times

The two issues are linked, but during the coronavirus pandemic the relationship is not always simple.

7. Almost 30M in US Didn’t Have Enough to Eat Last Week – Bloomberg

Food insecurity for US households last week reached its highest reported level since May.

8. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support

Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.

9. Investments in Bioproducts Surge As Geltor Nabs New Money – TechCrunch

The manufacturer of vegan collagen has raised $90m from an undisclosed investor. The company aims to make animal-derived proteins used in cosmetics and food products cheaply, efficiently and animal-free.

10. Nice Tuan Nets Another $80M Amid China’s Fresh Food Group Buying Hype – AgFunder

CDH Investments led the round. Nice Tuan will use the new funds to enhance its warehousing and distribution capacity and strengthen its supply chain.

11. James Beard Employees Demand More Diversity in Leadership, Salary Transparency in Internal Letter – Eater

Among other demands, the letter calls to diversify the board of trustees, and make events more equitable.

12. The Great Climate Migration Has Begun – New York Times

Today, 1% of the world is a barely livable hot zone. By 2070, that portion could go up to 19%. An estimated 50m to 300m people will be displaced as a result.

13. 7 Ways the Trump Administration Has Deregulated the Food System During the Covid-19 Pandemic – The Counter

Chickens processed at unsafe speeds, fishing in protected waters, and fewer protections for workers: Experts say the pandemic has made our food system significantly more dangerous.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post Food Tech Investment Reached $4.8B in First Half of 2020, HEALS Act Would Hurt Restaurant Workers + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Arab News

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Tuesday’s massive explosion in Beirut destroyed Lebanon’s main grain silo at the port, which held tons of Lebanon’s food stocks. The nation is now left with just six weeks worth of grain reserves.

In other news, Vital Farms raised $200 million in its public offering last Friday, valuing it at $1.3 billion.

One-third of U.S. restaurants, or 231, 000, are expected to permanently close this year as a result of the hardships caused by COVID-19. In New York alone, 80% of restaurants weren’t able to make rent in July and 40% didn’t pay rent at all.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Lebanon: Fear of Food Shortages After Beirut Explosion Hits Grain Reserves – Arab News

Lebanon’s main grain silo at Beirut port was destroyed in a blast, leaving the nation with less than a month’s reserves of grain. Beirut port silos had capacity for 120k tons.

2. Vital Farms’ Blockbuster IPO Proves Wall Street Has an Appetite for Sustainable Farming – Forbes

The company raised $200m in its public offering on Friday, valuing it at $1.3b. Its shares soared 60%, closing at $35. The company’s success proves that more ethical standards are appealing to consumers and investors.

3. One Third of US Restaurants Face Permanent Closure This Year – Bloomberg

As many as 231k of the nation’s roughly 660k eateries will likely shut down this year.

4. Getting Covid Gets You Fired When You’re a Food Worker on a Visa – Bloomberg

As coronavirus cases explode at US farms and food factories, foreign migrants who pick fruit, clean seafood and sort vegetables are getting trapped in tightly packed bunkhouses where illness spreads like wildfire. Often, they can’t leave – unless they’re willing to risk deportation.

5. Farmers Business Network Raises Funds at $1.75B Valuation – Bloomberg

The $250m round was led by BlackRock. FBN plans to expand its agritech platform with new funds.

6. The US Food System Is Killing Americans – CNN

Among the most significant risk factors for hospitalization and death in Covid-19 are the presence of diet-related chronic diseases. Nearly three out of four American adults are overweight or obese. Half have diabetes or pre-diabetes.

7. In Trying Times, Americans Look to Our True Leaders — Chain Restaurants — for Guidance – Eater

Starbucks, McDonald’s and Chipotle all have in-store mask policies and guidance, which is more than the federal government can say.

8. Nearly 40% of NYC Restaurants Didn’t Pay Any Rent in July – Eater

The NYC Hospitality Alliance recently surveyed 471 establishments in the city and found more than 80% did not pay full rent.

9. A Few Farmers Get Huge USDA Relief Payments While Many Struggle for Pennies – The Counter

While a handful of farmers received hundreds of thousands of dollars, more than 300 received less than $10.

10. How Essential Food Workers Are Fighting Back – Civil Eats

With lawsuits and the civil rights complaints, advocates are taking concrete steps to prevent risking workers’ lives for the sake of company profits.

11. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support

Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.

12. Beyond Meat’s US Grocery Sales Nearly Triple, Offsetting Restaurant Losses – CNBC

Sales soared 194.9% during the quarter ended June 27.

13. DoorDash Launches a Convenience Store – TechCrunch

The digital storefronts are available in eight cities throughout the US and plans to launch in additional cities over the next few months. They are essentially micro-fulfillment centers for delivery workers.

14. Trader Joe’s Defends Product Labels Criticized as Racist – New York Times

Weeks after admitting that some of its international-themed product labels might have fallen short of an “attempt at inclusiveness,” the grocery store chain is rejecting criticism of the labels.

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Source: New York Times

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

To no surprise, the Trump administration has left behind small farmers in its multi-billion Covid relief package. The funding distribution is stark – the top 10% got over 60% of the pot, while the bottom 10% got just 0.26%. Meanwhile, Bayer and Temasek have partnered to form a new venture, Unfold, with $30 million in funding to begin selling seeds to vertical farms.

Joblessness in the hospitality industry remains at Depression-era levels, and Black, Asian, and Hispanic people are still having a harder time finding work than white people.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Small Farmers Left Behind in Trump Administration’s Covid-19 Relief Package – NBC

The uneven distribution of funds is stark. The top 10% got over 60% of the pot, while the bottom 10% got just 0.26%.

2. Restaurant Jobs Growth Sputtered in July as Republicans Still Hold Out on $600 Checks – Eater

Unemployment in food and drinking places fell more slowly last month to 21.8%, while the overall jobless rate dropped to 10.2%.

3. S2G Ventures to Invest Up to $100M in Ocean and Seafood Firms – FoodBev

It will focus on areas including seafood and alternative protein sources, aquaculture and supply chain innovation, ecosystem services, traceability and transparency, as well as algae and seaweed.

4. Temasek, Bayer Form New Company to Sell Seeds to Vertical Farms – Bloomberg

Unfold has raised $30m in an initial funding round and entering into an agreement for certain rights to germoplasm from Bayer’s vegetable portfolio.

5. Takeout Sales Are Way Up. Will Profits Follow? – Bloomberg

This earnings season saw sales soar. But Uber and Grubhub lost $837m and $45.4m for the quarter, respectively. Delivery Hero is expected to lose more than $800m for the year.

6. Walmart and Instacart Partner for Same-Day US Delivery in Fight Against Amazon’s Whole Foods – CNBC

The partnership is in a pilot phase in four markets across California and in Oklahoma.

7. Beyond Meat Lags Conventional Companies in Sustainability Disclosures – Food Dive

The analysis gave Tyson 98% on its weighted environmental disclosure ratio. This looks at how much the company tells about its complete operational environmental impact and costs. Hormel got a 99% in this category. Beyond Meat scored a 0%.

8. Black-Owned Food Businesses Are Seeing a Surge in Publicity and Customers – and Hope That Investors Are Next – Fortune

A 2016 study reported that all startups raised on average $1.14m during their first funding round. Black startups only averaged $42k. The recent surge in interest and initiatives to support Black-owned businesses offers hope for the future.

9. Canada: Catering Startup Platterz Raises $43.8M CAD, Rebrands as Thriver – The Spoon

The round was led by Viola Growth. New funds will go towards expanding into new markets, building more capabilities into its platform and growing the Thriver team.

10. Vegan Cheesemaker Closes $12M Funding Round – Food Business News

Cleveland Ventures led the round. Good Planet Foods plans to use funding to accelerate product development, sales and marketing.

11. Diseased Chicken for Dinner? The USDA Is Considering It – Bloomberg

A proposed new rule would allow poultry plants to process diseased chickens. That’s the last thing Americans need.

12. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support

Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.

13. The Eater Guide on How to Help Your Community During the Crisis – Eater

The projects, groups, and organizations that are addressing food insecurity in light of COVID-19.

14. Multiple Bon Appétit Stars Resign From Appearing in Test Kitchen Videos [Updated] – Eater

Six members of the BA Test Kitchen will no longer host videos following Condé Nast’s alleged failure to adequately address inequities.

15. The Future of Food Media Is in Your Inbox – Taste

Indie newsletters are booming, and they are home to some of the most exciting food writing today.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post Small Farmers Left Behind in Covid Relief, Hospitality Industry Unemployment Remains at Depression-Era Levels + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Impossible Foods

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Impossible Foods has raised a whopping $200 million to fund its development of new products like pork, steak and milk, as well as expand its internationalization efforts and build out its manufacturing capacity. In other plant-based news, JUST said it aims to turn an operating profit before the end of next year and then will consider an initial public offering.

In restaurant news, Dan Barber has officially announced that he will pivot his two restaurants to a chef-in-residence program. Neither will reopen in their current format in 2021, nor will they continue to be called Blue Hill. Meanwhile, nearly 60% of hospitality industry workers out of jobs in NYC, and many have been forced to turn to a patchwork of food relief to survive.

In other news, mid-year investments in agrifoodtech have totaled $8.8 billion between January and June across 798 deals. E-Grocery ventures continued to be the best funded category.

And finally, Kamala Harris is bringing her years-long focus on hunger, worker rights and protections, and environmental justice to the Democratic ticket.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Impossible Foods Gobbles Up Another $200M – TechCrunch

The new round values the company at $4b valuation. Coatue led the round. Funding will be used to increase R&D efforts and work on new products like pork, steak and milk, as well as expand internationalization efforts and build out manufacturing capacity.

2. Blue Hill at Stone Barns to Pivot to Chef-in-Residence Program – New York Times

Neither of the chef Dan Barber’s two restaurants will reopen in their current format in 2021, nor will they continue to be called Blue Hill. Barber will be stepping away from kitchen duties to focus on the chef-in-residency program.

3. Company Fined for Importing Sweetener US Says Was Made with Chinese Prison Labor – Wall Street Journal

Pure Circle has been fined $575k for importing stevia that was made by prison labor in China, in violation of federal trade laws.

4. Upstream and eGrocery Win in AgFunder’s 2020 Mid-Year Investment Review – AgFunder

In total, $8.8b in investments were counted across 798 deals in the January-June period. EGrocery ventures continued to be the best funded category.

5. Plant-Based Egg Maker JUST Sees Profit Next Year, Then Will Look at IPO – Reuters

This is the first time the company has indicated when it could turn profitable and possibly list.

6. Kamala Harris Brings Food Justice to the Democratic Ticket – Civil Eats

As vice president, experts say Harris would be able to advance her years-long focus on hunger, worker rights and protections and environmental justice.

7. NYC Restaurant Workers Pushed to Food Pantries and Homelessness While Jobs Remain Scarce – Eater

With nearly 60% of hospitality industry workers out of jobs in NYC, many have been forced to turn to a patchwork of food relief to survive.

8. Canada: Attabotics Raises a $50M Series C for Its Warehouse Fulfillment Robots – TechCrunch

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board led the round. Funding will be used to speed up commercial deployment and invest in the creation of new technologies.

9. TemperPack Raises $31M Series C to Meet Surge in Demand for Food E-Commerce – AgFunder

Wheatsheaf Group led the round. TemperPack has developed a curbside recyclable alternative to expanded polystyrene. One of its biggest partners is HelloFresh. New funding will be used to increase production capacity and explore expansion into Europe.

10. Hong Kong & Asian Investors Jump on First Lever VC Asia Alt Protein Fund – Green Queen

Lever VC has closed its $23m Fund I, which is dedicated to investing in early stage plant-based and cell-based protein food tech. Seventy percent of the backing comes from family offices.

11. Hong Kong’s Food E-Commerce Startup DayDayCook Raises $20M – TechCrunch

Talis Capital led the round. The company plans to expand its multifunctional food platform, which features an app, cooking classes and its own branded food product line.

12. Burger King, Cargill & WWF Team Up to Reseed Grasslands in the Northern Great Plains – AgFunder

The goal is to convert 8k acres of marginal cropland through Montana and South Dakota. Once established, cattle will be grazed throughout to maintain them.

13. USDA Moves Forward with Sweeping Plans to Prevent Fraud in Organics – Civil Eats

The Trump administration has let other changes to the label stall out, but advocates and farmers say the USDA should do more to support organic.

14. The 2020 James Beard Awards Are Effectively Cancelled – Eater

And no chef and restaurant awards will be handed out in 2021, either.

15. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support

Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.

16. Mystery Grows Over Virus Spread Via Food Packaging – Bloomberg

Contaminated items continue to grab the spotlight, deepening the uncertainty over whether the $220b cold chain industry could be implicated in the spread of Covid-19.

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The post Impossible Foods Raises $200M, Dan Barber Pivots Blue Hill to Chef-in-Residence Program + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: What Now Los Angeles

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Amazon has opened its first brick-and-mortar grocery store called Fresh in Woodland Hills, California. The supermarket combines elements of micro-fulfillment, contactless features, a curated assortment of premium and conventional products, and highly personalized service into one store.

As Covid-19 upends the industrial meat supply chain, the industry is estimated to face losses of more than $20b in 2020. Meanwhile, demand for vegan meat has soared, with sales up by 264% in the 9weeks ended May 2. Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat were slammed in an open letter from Lightlife Foods this week, positioning itself as a “real food company,” with products “developed in a kitchen, not a lab.”

Last but not least, wildfires across Northern California continue to devastate farms, with little containment in sight.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Inside Amazon’s New Fresh Grocery Banner – Progressive Grocer

Amazon has opened its first stand-alone supermarket banner in Woodland Hills, California, called Fresh.

2. Our Meatless Future: How The $2.7T Global Meat Market Gets Disrupted – CB Insights

As Covid-19 spreads across the globe, the meat supply chain is estimated to face losses of more than $20b in 2020. Meanwhile, demand for vegan meat soared, with sales up by 264% in the 9weeks ended May 2.

3. Wildfires Across Northern California Devastate Farmers and Farmland – Civil Eats

Dozens of lightning-sparked wildfires have hit some of the Bay Area’s most beloved farming communities, destroying farm structures and razing crops, with little containment in sight.

4. Impossible Foods Hits Back at ‘Disingenuous, Desperate Disinformation Campaign’ As Lightlife Attacks ‘Hyperprocessed’ Ingredients – Food Navigator

In an open letter, Lightlife Foods has attempted to distinguish itself from ‘food tech’ rivals in the plant-based meat arena by positioning itself as a “real food company,” with products “developed in a kitchen, not a lab.”

5. Amazon Go’s Cashierless Tech May Come to Whole Foods As Soon As Next Year – The Verge

Amazon may start implementing the tech in Whole Foods sometime during the second quarter of 2021.

6. Behind the Cancellation of James Beard Awards, Worries About Chefs’ Behavior and No Black Winners – New York Times

The decision to put the honors, the Oscars of American restaurants, on hiatus came amid concerns about a lack of diversity and allegations against some nominees.

7. Craft Spirits Revenue Plunges $700M As Pandemic Curtails On-Premise Operations – Food Dive

Craft distillers lost 41% of their sales due to the pandemic. In addition, 4.6m people that make up nearly 31% of the industry’s employee base have been furloughed.

8. How the UK Restarted Its Restaurant Industry: Paying Half the Bill – New York Times

For the month of August, the government has been paying for a 50% discount on all meals eaten in restaurants, pubs or cafes, up to $13 per person. In the first three weeks, 64m meals cost the government $441m.

9. Heat, Smoke and Covid Are Battering the Workers Who Feed America – New York Times

Climate change is piling on to the hazards already faced by California farm laborers, some of the country’s poorest, most neglected workers.

10. DoorDash Is Planning a Traditional IPO in Fourth Quarter – Bloomberg

The company is taking steps to go public in November or December.

11. Drizly Raises $50M As E-Commerce Alcohol Delivery Surges – Food Dive

Avenir led the round. The alcohol delivery platform said it has grown more than 350% compared to 2019. Funding will be used for both Drizly and Lantern, its cannabis commerce platform.

12. Asian E-Grocer Weee Charts Ongoing Expansion with $35M in Funding – Grocery Dive

The round was led by DST Global, bringing total amount raised to $100m. Funding will be used to support the grocer’s ongoing expansion efforts and recruitment process as it continues to grow.

13. Vegan Leather Industry Will be Worth $89.6B by 2025 – Vegconomist

Soaring demand for vegan leather includes mounting concerns over the impact of traditional leather on the environment and ascending demand for animal-free products. The Asia Pacific is projected to continue leading the market demand.

14. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support

Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post Amazon Opens First Physical Grocery Store, $20B in Losses Expected for Meat Industry in 2020 + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Forbes

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

As wildfires in the West Coast bring focus to the dire consequences of climate change, investment firms are bringing attention to the need to invest in land stewardship. rePlant Capital has announced a $250 million fund to tie interest rates to improvements in soil health.

From March to July this year, nearly one in six restaurants, or about 100,000, have closed permanently or long term. The industry is on its way to losing $240 billion in sales by the end of the year. New York City restaurants will soon be allowed to open for indoor service at 25% capacity, starting on Sept 30. In addition, the city has approved of a 10% surcharge as a Covid-19 recovery measure.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Can Loans Tied to Soil Health Save Agriculture? A New $250M Fund Wants to Find Out. – Forbes

RePlant Capital aims to tie interest rates to improvements in soil health as a way to save farmers from the disastrous impacts of climate change.

2. Nearly 1 in 6 Restaurants Have Closed, Says NRA – Restaurant Dive

About 100K restaurants have closed permanently or long term, and the industry is on its way to losing $240b in sales by the end of the year. The segment has already lost $165b in revenue from March to July.

3. Germany: Infarm raises $170m in first close of Series C – AgFunder

LGT Lightstone led the round, bringing total funding to more than $300m. Infarm now has operations across 10 countries and 30 cities worldwide.

4. Indonesia: SoftBank-Backed Logistics Platform Waresix Raises $100M – AgFunder

Investment came from Emtek, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Pavilion Capital and others. Waresix provides a suite of solutions covering land and sea transportation, freight forwarding, warehousing and cold storage. Financial terms were undisclosed.

5. Chile: Competing with Both Perfect Day and Beyond Meat, NotCo Raises $85M to Expand to the US – TechCrunch

Funding came from L Catterton, Biz Stone and General Catalyst, bringing total valuation to $300m. NotCo makes a hamburger substitute that’s currently being marketed at Burger King and Papa John’s restaurants in Chile as well as a line of dairy products.

6. Brightseed Secures $27M To Explore Phytonutrients – Crunchbase

Lewis & Clark Agrifood led the round. Funding will be used to deepen the company’s understanding of plant compounds, expand its operations and complete development and commercially launch its first phytonutrient discovery.

7. Virtual Kitchen, Founded by Ex-Uber Execs to Help Restaurants with Delivery, Raises $20M – CNBC

Founders Fund led the round. The company provides technology to set up commercial kitchens designed for delivery.

8. Denver Drinkware Company BruMate Lands First Investment, $20M from Bay Area PE Firm – Biz Journals

San Fransisco Equity Partners led the round. The company has reached more than 2m global customers since launching four years ago.

9. Beyond Meat Is Introducing Pre-Packaged Meatballs at Stores Across the US – TechCrunch

The company’s meatballs have 30% less saturated fat and sodium than real meat.

10. NYC Restaurants Will Soon Be Allowed to Add Up to 10% Surcharge to Diners’ Bills – Eater

Restaurants in the city will be able to tack on the extra charge as a Covid-19 recovery measure.

11. NYC to Allow Indoor Dining, in Milestone on Recovery From Pandemic – New York Times

Gov Cuomo announced that restaurants can open for indoor service at 25% capacity, starting on Sept 30.

12. Surplus Food Startup Hungry Harvest Closes Series A Round at $13.7M – The Spoon

The round was led by Creadev. Funding will go towards improving the customer experience.

13. Between the Pandemic and the Air Quality, Portland Restaurant Owners Are Trying to Hold On – Eater

Many restaurant owners tried to stay open this weekend, despite the worsening air quality. Some had to close after things got unbearable.

14. Cook’s Country Gets a New Editor, Toni Tipton-Martin – New York Times

Her appointment at the America’s Test Kitchen magazine comes as the food media addresses racial inequality.

15. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support

Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post rePlant Capital’s $250M Soil Health Fund, 1/6 of Restaurants Have Closed in the US + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Ecovative

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Alternative protein companies have raised a whopping $1.5 billion through the first half of the year, according to the Good Food Institute’s latest report. In other plant-based news, Green Monday Holding has raised $70 million to expand its plant-based pork and frozen meals into 10 new markets across Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America.

While the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted shopping habits, a new report reveals that online grocery sales will continue to grow in the long term, leaping to $250 billion by 2025.

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Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

1. Alternative Protein Companies Have Raised a Whopping $1.5B Through July of This Year – TechCrunch

Fermentation-focused startup companies raised 3.5 times more capital than cultivated meat companies worldwide and almost 60% as much as US plant-based meat, egg and dairy companies.

2. Online Grocery Will Leap to $250B in 5 Years – Grocery Dive

E-commerce will account for 21.5% of total grocery sales, worth $250b, within five years. Retailers can attract the growing number of consumer ages 45 and older who have recently turned to new shopping strategies.

3. Green Monday Holdings, Asia’s Answer to Beyond Meat, Raises $70M from TPG, Swire Pacific – TechCrunch

The company will use the money to expand into 10 new markets across Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America. It will add 20k new retail outlets for its products and launch new flagship stores in China and Singapore.

4. Canada: CDPQ and S2G Ventures Partner to Invest in Sustainable Food Businesses – FoodBev

CDPQ will invest up to $125m over the next three years, and S2G will invest up to $100m.

5. 87% of New York City Hospitality Owners Couldn’t Pay Full August Rent – Restaurant Dive

Of those businesses, more than 34% said they expected to pay no rent at all for the month, while 48% planned to pay partial rent.

6. Canada: CDPQ and S2G Ventures Partner to Invest in Sustainable Food Businesses – FoodBev

CDPQ will invest up to $125m over the next three years, and S2G will invest up to $100m.

7. France: E-commerce Startup Mirakl Raises Funds at $1.5B Value – Bloomberg

Mirakl has raised $300m led by Permira. The company makes software that helps build marketplaces and online stores for customers including Hewlett Packard, Kroger and others.

8. Wildfires Make Dangerous Air For Farmworkers: ‘It’s Like You Can’t Breathe’ – NPR

As fires ravage California, farmworkers are dealing with dangerous air in incredible heat. Hernan Hernandez of the California Farmworker Foundation says there’s “nowhere near” enough protective gear.

9. In a Year of Climate Reckoning, Where Does Joe Biden Stand on Climate and Agriculture? – Civil Eats

Fires rage in the West as storms, hurricanes and floods hit the rest of the country. Progressives are pushing Biden to transform the food system and manage and mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.

10. Cargill Wants to Help Farmers Turn Over 10M Acres to Regenerative Ag by 2030 – AgFunder

Cargill will focus on row crop rotations that include corn, wheat, canola, soybeans and other staple crops. It plans to provide technical and agronomic resources for farmers, training opportunities and data collection support.

11. Independent Watchdog Report Finds Inequity in Farm Aid Payments – New York Times

Big farms, along with Southern farmers, disproportionately benefited from the $23b trade assistance program. The top 25 big farms got an average of $1.5m each, while the national average was $16k.

12. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support

Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post Alt Protein Companies Raised $1.5B This Year, Online Grocery to Be Worth $250B by 2025 + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.