Guest Post by Nicki Briggs, MS, RDN, Program Director of The Culinary Institute of America

In today’s ever-accelerating markets, there is often little time for new ideas to gain traction. As many readers of Food Tech+Connect can attest, the struggle to break through the noise of entrenched market trends and first movers is real–and often a distraction from doing the important work of rethinking our food system.

At The Culinary Institute of America, we’re committed to nurturing creativity and honing the skills of the next generation of chefs and culinary advancement, which is why we are constantly looking for ways to support and promote innovation in the technology, cultivation and production of food. This year, we’re launching the rTF Innovator Program at reThink Food 2016, taking place at the CIA at Greystone campus in Napa Valley, November 4-6, to give food startups access and exposure to some of the greatest minds in food innovation.

Along with our esteemed partners at the MIT Media Lab and IDEO, we’ve selected eight disruptive startups shaping the future of food and technology. Each one of them was selected for their ability to read and respond to shifts in food cultures and behaviors, and design brilliant business models and value-based connections with consumers.

The rTF Innovator Program honorees will be featured in a number of special sessions and sampling opportunities throughout reThink Food, the annual three-day conference that we co-produce with the MIT Media Lab that brings together a world-class group of thought leaders at the intersection of technology, behavior, design, and food.

This year’s rTF Innovator Program honorees reflect the freshest thinkers working in six experiential focus areas:

Brooklyn-based Afineur produces disruptive fermentations to naturally craft healthier, tastier, and more sustainable food.

1) Fermented Foods & the Microbiome

Afineur: Produces disruptive fermentations to craft better and healthier food.

Obvious Ventures-backed Miyoko’s Kitchen makes handcrafted artisan vegan cheeses with organic ingredients.

2) Back to Basics

Miyoko’s Kitchen: Makes handcrafted artisan vegan cheeses made with organic ingredients.

Indigo, which recently raised $100M in Series C financing, leverages plant microbiomes to strengthen crops against disease and drought to increase crop yield for farmers.

3) Urban Agriculture

IndigoAg: A startup using plant microbiomes to strengthen crops against disease and drought to increase crop yield for farmers.

Agralogics: Enables anyone to easily access and share information about the goods they grow, sell or eat: in the right place, at the right time and with the right people.

Dr. Nora Khaldi, founder and CSO of Nuritas, which combines artificial intelligence and DNA analysis to data-mine billions of molecules that can be used to improve the health benefits of food.

4) Food Science for Greater Good

Nuritas: Discovers ingredients from food sources in a completely unique way, providing natural, sustainable and scientifically proven health solutions.

Renewal Mill aims to decrease food waste by creating products using discarded material from industrial food production to deliver nutritious and wholesome ingredients.

Australis Aquaculture is pioneering climate-smart ocean farming of barramundi for consumers, schools, hospitals, and businesses.

5) Eating for the Eco-System

Renewal Mill: Leads the evolution of a circular food economy and creates products using discarded material from industrial food production to deliver nutritious and wholesome ingredients.

Australis: Creating a world where anyone can enjoy healthy seafood whenever, and wherever they want. Spearheading the global emergence of ocean-farmed barramundi for consumers, schools, hospitals, and businesses—and putting The Better Fish® in every home, for everyone.

Handpick helps eliminate food waste and avoid ingredient repackaging by designing affordable meal kits with groceries perfectly paired to cook 3 recipes.

6) Culinary Confidence

Handpick: An innovative food discovery platform that’s solving the universal problem of what to do with ingredients that consumers have on hand, and providing affordable, sustainable recipes and meal kits that leave zero food waste.

__________________________

Nicki Briggs, MS, RDN

Recognized as one of PRWeek’s 40 Under 40 Trailblazers to Watch, Nicki Briggs, MS, RDN, is a driven brand communications leader and passionate food and nutrition expert. She attended the first two reThink Food conferences and was tapped by The Culinary Institute of America to become the conference program director earlier this year. Nicki is the founder of Brooklyn-based NEAR BOIL, led global communications for Chobani, and also acts as a contributing writer in many trade and consumer publications. She earned her Masters Degree in Nutrition Communication from Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy (Boston, MA). She currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

About reThink Food:

A joint initiative of The Culinary Institute of America and the MIT Media Lab, this is the reThink Food conference’s third annual event. Held at the CIA at Greystone campus in Napa Valley, November 4-6, this year’s program will explore the tensions between old and new, novel and familiar, tradition and innovation, and abundance and scarcity in food, technology, behavior, and design. Additionally, the conference will delve into the intersection of food with some of the most exciting advancements in AI, robotics, virtual reality, big data, and genetics. The three-day event will feature more interactive sessions and food experiences than ever before while welcoming 300 food industry leaders, including academics and innovators in design, R&D, technology, consumer package goods, and marketing.

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You asked for it, and we heard you! Today we are thrilled to be launching the Food+Tech Job Board. Whether you’re a food startup, established company or job seeker, our goal is to make it easier for you to find the best tech, business, design, sales, marketing, operations and PR jobs and talent. 

Looking for a food job? Check out job listings from Ando, Foodkick, Magki Farms, OX VERTE and more below or at Food+Tech Jobs. 

Looking for talent? Post a job on our Food+Tech Job Board and get access to our 30k+ members. Posting a job is risk-free. If you’re not satisfied, we will happily refund you.

The food startup job board is still in beta, so please reach out to info [at] foodtechconnect.com if you find any bugs!

FOOD+TECH JOB LISTINGS

OPERATIONS:

Hydroponics Greenhouse Production Manager, Magki Farms – Washington, D.C.

Position: Magki Farms is seeking an innovative, highly qualified and driven hydroponic greenhouse production manager to oversee and lead day-to-day operations at its Washington, D.C. area farm. This key member of the team will lead the execution of our farm production plan by assuring best growing practices that will yield a high quality product.

About Magki Farms: Magki Farms is a growing company providing an innovative approach to supplying chefs and restaurants with fresh, local produce that is customized for their needs. Our operations are located in the Washington, D.C. area and leverages hydroponic farming techniques to grow a range of produce in a controlled greenhouse environment year-round.

VP of Operations, Hungryroot – NYC

Position: Hungryroot is looking for a solution-oriented, passionate and proactive Vice President of Operations to join its senior team and lead its national manufacturing operation. You are a problem-solver at heart with a highly analytical eye. You’re comfortable negotiating complex deals, implementing company-wide strategic initiatives and inspiring both internal and external teams. You take a customer-centric approach, have experience managing product quality and food safety, and are always looking for ways to plan ahead and optimize the operation. You’ve established a track record as a dedicated and positive team player, have a passion for health, wellness and craveable food, and you’re ready for your next challenge.

About Hungryroot: At Hungryroot, our mission is to unleash the flavor of vegetables, bring them to the center of the plate, and make them craveable. We believe it’s a problem that only 6% of Americans eat the recommended amount of vegetables. We’re out to solve that problem by developing fresh, vegetable-based food products that are quick and easy to cook, nourishing, and most importantly, irresistibly delicious. We’re passionate, fast-paced, and backed by some of the nation’s best venture capital investors.

Co-Founder, PetPlate – NYC

Position: As a co-founder of a new e-commerce company in the pet food space, you will be responsible for aligning with the founder and board on a strategic vision for the company and rapidly scaling operations to achieve a market leadership position.

About PetPlate: PetPlate is disrupting the $24BN pet food industry with a direct-to-consumer, subscription-based service that offers individual meals for pets made from human-grade food and developed by a leading veterinary clinical nutritionist for optimal pet nutrition.

Warehouse Team Member, Splendid Spoon – NYC

Position: The warehouse team member will work to ensure high quality inventory management and order fulfillment at Splendid Spoon’s Williamsburg warehouse. Your position is critical to taking the company through its next phase of growth.

About Splendid Spoon: Splendid Spoon believes that a few small changes can create lasting impact on your health. Every week, we deliver the prepared plant-based meals you need to make that meaningful change. And the support and mindful practices to make that change permanent. Vegan & Gluten Free. Ships Nationwide. Delivered Weekly.

DEVELOPMENT:

Full Stack Software Engineer, Ando – NYC

Position: Ando is looking for an experienced, full stack JavaScript engineer to help build the platform to power its mobile restaurant. Ando is building real-time kitchen and delivery management systems, backoffice management tools and consumer-facing APIs and interfaces.

About Ando: Ando’s goal is to serve restaurant-quality food that you can eat at your desk, in a park, or on the couch in your underwear.

Full Stack Engineer (Java), BlueCart – SF, D.C.

Position: BlueCart’s is hiring a full stack java engineer, a key position of its engineering team. You will be responsible for designing and developing all of the major functions of its web-­based product.

About BlueCart: BlueCart is a web and mobile ordering platform that connects food & beverage suppliers with their wholesale customers. We are in the best possible position for someone looking to work at a startup. We’re VC backed, have a clear vision of the future, and are in a new, untapped market landscape! Our culture is lively, our appetite is strong, and our ambition is unlimited.

SALES:

Catering Sales Coordination, OX VERTE – NYC

Position: Are you looking to join a young, ambitious food start-up on the ground floor? OX VERTE is looking for an all-star Catering Sales Coordinator to join its founding team and help it grow! You will act as the brand’s wellness ambassador, while delivering impeccable customer service and representing OX VERTE to new and existing clients.

About OX VERTE: OX VERTE is a forward-thinking food company returning seasonally fresh, locally-sourced food to the table for businesses and groups in the NYC community. Our current menu is based on the grain bowl, a simple, infinitely adaptable array of seasonal ingredients combined to suit each person. Over 80% of our menu is local or organic and we make everything fresh daily in our kitchen in Greenwich Village. We cater to offices and groups of 10-600 on a daily basis. 

Sales Representative With Restaurant Connections, Allset – NYC, SF

About the Position: Allset is looking for a passionate and high-energy Sales Representative. Your main responsibility will be new restaurant acquisition, so connections with restaurants are required.

About Allset: Allset allows diners to book a table, order all their food, and pre-pay ahead for meals which are served shortly after arrival. No more waiting to be seated, for your food, or your check! You are in-and-out in under 30 minutes.

Field Sales Manager, Wandering Bear – NYC

About the Position: Wandering Bear Coffee is looking for an enthusiastic, hungry and talented Field Sales Manager to help grow their retail grocery sales. You will be responsible for opening new store accounts, as well as managing and improving sales performance at existing store accounts.

About Wandering Bear: Since launching in 2014, Wandering Bear has been focused on bringing café-style cold brew to coffee lovers where they need it most: in the home and office. Our ready-to-drink cold brew is packaged in innovative, eco-friendly boxes that keep the coffee fresh and create a personal iced coffee tap in any fridge.

MERCHANDISING:

Ecommerce Merchandiser, FoodKick – NYC

Position: The Ecommerce Merchandiser is FoodKick’s shopkeeper, responsible for keeping customer-facing assortments timely, topical, and curated. As the foremost expert in its assortment, you will translate product knowledge into curated and compelling go-to-market themes that “nail the moment” for FoodKick’s customers.

About FoodKick: In 2015, FreshDirect expanded its portfolio with the launch of FoodKick, a mobile-first food business that connects consumers to the freshest, tastiest finds in food, drinks, and lifestyle essentials all delivered within an hour.

INTERNSHIPS:

Digital Food Editorial Intern, mise en place (mepNYC) – NYC

Position: Looking to break into the glorious world of food writing? mise en place (mepNYC) is looking for a Digital Food Editorial Intern to join its team in the heart of Flatiron as they test (and TASTE) countless recipes, brainstorm the latest food trends and develop content to bring more people around the dinner table.

About mise en place: mise en place (mepNYC) takes all of the hassle out of cooking, while still allowing home chefs to cook healthy meals for themselves and their families. By delivering ingredients pre-chopped, pre-diced, and pre-portioned, consumers are able to cook meals for themselves in a fraction of the time without sacrificing the healthiness of the meal.

Editorial Intern, Food+Tech Connect

Position: Food+Tech Connect is currently hiring part-time editorial interns. Interns will get a crash course in the food tech space, lots of writing and event production experience and exposure to industry leaders.

About Food+Tech Connect: Food+Tech Connect is the site of record and community for the food tech and innovation sector. We give innovators the tech and business insights, connections and skills you need to transform the food industry.

Want to get notified as jobs are posted? Sign up here.

Looking for talent? Post your positions on Food+Tech Jobs.

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It’s not easy being a food innovator. There’s no road map for reinventing an industry. So, in partnership with Force Brands: FoodForce | BevForce, we cooked up the Fail Friday series to celebrate failure in all its glory.

At our seventh installment of Fail Friday on THURSDAY, December 15 at 7 PM in NYC. We’ll hear from Green Seed Group, Heritage Radio, BRAMI, Be Mixed and Metcalfe’s Food Company. Startups will share their stories of failure and lessons learned from launching, growing and pivoting their businesses, followed by audience Q&A.

There will be holiday-themed snacks from Matt’s Kimchi, Brooklyn FoodWorks, Auria’s Malaysian Kitchen, Wangs and more, festive drinks from Swig + Swallow, Woodward Extracts and REBBL, plus lots of networking. Check out more info on our food and drink partners below.

Details

• Where: Force Brands – 6 Harrison Street – 6th Floor, New York, NY
• When: Thursday, December 15 – 7 -9:30 PM
• RSVP: Get tickets HERE.

Schedule

• 7:00 – 7:45: Networking, Snacks & Drinks
• 7:45 – 8:45: Failure Stories & Q&A
• 8:45 – 9:30: More Networking

Confirmed Speakers

David Wilson – Founder & Owner, Green Seed Group – David has nearly 30 years international marketing experience with global brands. He is a dynamic, board level, food industry, marketing leader with deep and extensive executive experience in marketing, general management and sales roles.

David has specialized with high-growth, private equity owned branded food companies targeting natural, health-oriented consumers. He currently holds three board seats with high growth food companies and also found and leads consulting business Green Seed Group. Green Seed provides seed capital and is a sales and marketing incubator for food start-ups. One company recently exited in a $800m plus deal, to an international strategic acquirer and another planning to exit for $400m plus in the near future.

Erin Fairbanks – Executive Director, Heritage Radio Network – In 2005, Erin left the Midwest and her post at Zingerman’s Deli to try her hand at being a line-cook in New York City. She walked into the kitchen of Savoy offering to peel carrots and didn’t leave for two years. Next, she spent time at Gramercy Tavern, initiating their in-house charcuterie program. Then following her passion for pigs she moved north where she spent a year at Flying Pigs Farm, where she directed “Farm Camp at Flying Pigs Farm”. In 2011, she launched “No Goat Left Behind,” a national project of Heritage Foods USA. After completing her graduate degree in Urban Policy Analysis at The New School for Public Engagement she joined the HeritageRadioNetwork.Org team as Executive Director in the Spring of 2012.

Aaron Gatti – Founder, BRAMI – From Bitcoin to Beans; after working as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Lerer Hippeau Ventures with a focus on Bitcoin blockchain startups, Aaron Gatti pivoted to the food space, founding BRAMI Snacks. The son of an Italian from Rome, Aaron grew up surrounded by the simple, quality-ingredient focused cuisine of Italy as a kid and had a stint as a sous chef at a Michelin star restaurant.

In 2014, Aaron introduced his now wife Alenna to a childhood favorite snack, lupini beans, and together they realized the potential for reinventing this ancient Mediterranean legume. BRAMI started selling in NYC in January of 2016 and is now in 5 regions of Whole Foods, ShopRite and Independents across the country.

Cristina Ros Blankfein & Jennifer Ross – Co-Founders, Be Mixed – An innovative, natural line of zero-calorie and zero-sugar cocktail mixers. Blankfein and Ross, who is Type 1 diabetic, met at Harvard Business School.

Blankfein is a graduate of Harvard University where she received her Bachelor of Arts as well as her JD/MBA.  While still an undergrad, Ros Blankfein founded Circle of Women, a student-run 501c3 that has raised over $600,000 to build secondary schools for girls in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Malawi. After college, Blankfein spent three years at Citi’s Microfinance Group, where she helped develop cross-company products and programs that she marketed as part of the bank’s social platform, including savings programs for entrepreneurs.

Prior to Ross receiving her Master of Business Administration, Ross worked on marketing and operations at Fanvision, a sports entertainment technology company, and previously served as an Analyst at Goldman Sachs in the Merchant Bank’s real estate private equity group. Ross has long been an advocate for the advancement of diabetes research and a supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). She was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 6, and while still in high school, founded and organized Rock the Cure, a concert to benefit JDRF, which raised over $200,000.  Ross also serves as the secretary of Safefittings, a not-for-profit organization serving the parents of children with diabetes (since 2006). Ross holds a B.A. in Government from Dartmouth College.

Robert Jakobi – CEO & Co-Owner, Metcalfe’s Food Company – Robert is an entrepreneur in the health and wellness space. He is the current CEO and largest individual shareholder in Cyc Fitness and the former CEO and Co Owner of Metcalfe’s skinny and Metcalfe’s Food Company. He is also the Co-Founder of Bou and Beaux Fresh.

Robert is also the Co-Founder of two new businesses that will launch early next year called Bou and Beaux Fresh. Beaux Fresh is a revolutionary flower subscription service that involves the delivery (direct to home or office) of fresh cut stems that will be shipped directly from our farms in Colombia. Bou is a range of delicious bouillon cubes made with 100% natural ingredients. Bou will be the only brand in the market which is 100% all natural and gluten free and contain 30% less salt than all other bouillon brands.

Food & Drink Partners

Matt’s Kimchi is a new arrival to the burgeoning category of fermented probiotic foods made by a NYC-duo committed to making good food with culture. Matt found his love for kimchi while teaching English in South Korea, and since teaming up with his fiancé Fiona in March 2015, the duo has been handcrafting vegan kimchi at Hot Bread Kitchen’s Incubator. Matt’s Kimchi can be found at grocery stores and restaurants around Manhattan and Brooklyn. They’re on a mission to show the world how versatile and delicious kimchi is in everyday cuisines.

Brooklyn FoodWorks seeks to be the premier platform to prototype, launch and grow innovative food businesses. We aim to be a catalyst for economic development through holistic support of nascent food entrepreneurs.

Auria’s Malaysian Kitchen hand makes traditional Sambal and Kaya in Brooklyn. Staying faithful to family recipes, all products are made using only wholesome ingredients just as they were back home in Auria’s mum’s kitchen. Hot Chilli Sambal, Lime Leaf Sambal, Pandan Kaya and Salted Caramel Kaya – authentic Malaysian goodness and taste.

Wangs is a casual take out restaurant specializing in fried chicken, combining Southern soul food and east Asian flavor profiles to create a truly unique food experience. We use quality ingredients – from our spices to our produce, to our premium sourced organic birds from Paisano’s on Smith Street.  We use only earth friendly packaging and are committed to sustainability and our community.

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Apply to Pitch at FoodBytes! San Francisco in March!

After closing out 2016 with the biggest FoodBytes! yet in Boulder and our first international event in Sydney, we’re excited to work partner with Rabobank to continue that momentum into 2017. FoodBytes! will kick off in San Francisco in March, followed by New York in June, The Netherlands in May as part of F&A Next and Austin, Texas in October.

Part pitch competition, part networking event, FoodBytes! brings together the game-changing startups, investors and industry leaders pioneering the future of food and ag. Since launching in 2015, more than 700 companies have applied to pitch to over 1,000 attendees at FoodBytes! events around the world.

The exact date and location of FoodBytes! San Francisco in March is being finalized. Applications are due by 11:59 PM PT on Friday, January 20, and selected companies will be notified by Monday, February 1, 2017. 

Why Does Pitching Entail?

• Pitch to an audience of investors, industry leaders, media and entrepreneurs
• Have dedicated display space to showcase your product or service
• Be in the running to win the People’s Choice, Judges’ Choice or Highly Commended Award
• Take part in an invite-only session of networking and mentorship with industry experts and the FoodBytes! judges

Why Should You Apply to Pitch?

“FoodBytes! was an incredible opportunity to gain valuable exposure and connections while working alongside inspiring startups and receiving feedback from experts at Rabobank. From FoodBytes! we have secured a few new retail accounts in the USA and received valuable advice on to how tackle the U.K. market.”

– Eli Cadesky, Co-Founder & CEO, One Hop Kitchen – FoodBytes! Boulder 2016 Finalist

“FoodBytes! curated a fantastic community whose connections just keep growing stronger… long after the event. Through FoodBytes!, we met companies that we are partnering with to solve some challenges in our business and got media exposure that helped land us new retail accounts.”

– Jacqueline Claudia, Co-Founder & CEO, LoveTheWild – FoodBytes! Brooklyn 2016 Finalist

“FoodBytes! provided a high profile, high energy venue to put HarvestPort in front of industry professionals and investors. We generated several follow-up meetings with investors from the event, as well as a few very fruitful meetings with industry folks.”

– Tim Koide, Co-Founder, HarvestPort – FoodBytes! SF 2016 Finalist

Apply for the TERRA Food + Ag Tech Accelerator!

Looking for another way to take your food or ag business to the next level? Applications for the first cohort of Rabobank and RocketSpace‘s food and ag tech accelerator, TERRA, are now open! This first-of-its-kind accelerator brings the most disruptive food and ag startups together with progressive corporations to fuel cross-industry innovation. Food, food tech and agtech startups from around the world are encouraged to apply. Applications close on Wednesday, January 18.

Selected participants will take part in four month intensive program at RocketSpace’s campus in San Francisco designed to help you validate your products through pilot testing with collaborators, as well as meet corporate partners for potential investment opportunities. No financial equity is required to participate.

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Searching for the perfect gifts for all the food nerds in your life this holiday season? Have no fear, our 2016 Food Tech Holiday Gift Guide is here. We’ve culled together tons of food gadgets, books, subscription boxes, gift baskets, great organizations to support and more that are sure to satisfy everyone on your list. Got more kick-ass food tech gift ideas? Please let us know in the comments below.

For Kitchen Tech Nerds

Anova Precision Cooker: Anova’s new WI-FI and Bluetooth Precision Cookers make it even easier to cook the perfect meal—whenever and wherever. The sous vide devices connect to your smartphone, allowing you to cook the perfect meal with the touch of a button. They also come with a companion app that provides step-by-step recipe directions from professionals.  Available in Bluetooth for $146 and WI-FI for $149 here. 

Fagor LUX Multi Cooker: The Fagor LUX Multi-Cooker is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker and yogurt maker all-in-one. It also offers a variety of beneficial functions,such as brown, saute, simmer, steam and keep warm. Available here for $100-160.

Drop Wi-Fi Enabled Kitchen Scale: Drop is a Bluetooth-enabled kitchen scale that intuitively guides you step-by-step through finding, making and sharing delicious dishes with the help of a connected iPad app. With Drop, users can scale ingredients by weight or servings, replace missing ingredients with alternatives, measure their progress against helpful photo and video tips and share photos of their masterpiece when it’s done. Available here for $79.

KitchenAid Electric Stand Mixer: This is one of the ultimate cooking devices, sure to make anyone smile from ear to ear. Complete with whisk, paddle, and hook attachments, the mixer is great for anything from whipping up delicate creams to kneading bread. You can also buy a ton of attachments that allow you to turn the stand into anything from a pasta maker to a meat grinder.  Available as 6-QT. Professional Series for $440 and in 5-QT. Artisan Stand Mixer for $250.

Oliso PRO Smart Vacuum Sealer: No sous vide gift is complete without a vacuum sealer. Recommended by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, the Oliso PRO SmartSealer offers professional level sealing thats compact enough to easily fit in a drawer, making it perfect for your city dwellers. The vacuum sealer makes it easy to seal dry foods, liquids and marinades. It comes with a 12 foot 12V DC power adapter for use in vehicles while hunting, fishing, camping, or simply on the go. It also works with accessories for wine storage and canning jars. Available here for $150. Looking for a less pricey option? Check out the FoodSaver V2244 Vacuum Sealing System for $80.

Emeril Lagasse Slip Resistant Sneakers for Men and Women: Discover the work and safety shoes you need in the Emeril Lagasse’s new line of chef shoes.  These sneakers will keep you comfortable all day with a molded memory foam comfort insole, slip-resistant rubber outsole for superior traction on wet and greasy surfaces, and NeverWet® water and stain resistant system to repel liquid and food. Available here for $60.

Searzall Torch Attachment: The Searzall is perfect for your favorite food nerd. The attachment turns a blowtorch into a hand-held broiler that perfectly sears your food without the off-putting aromas that typically result when cooking with blowtorches. It’s great for searing sous-vide meats, pizza, cheese, foie, grilled cheese, s’mores and more. Available for $70 here. You may also want to order the Bernzomatic High Intensity Trigger Start Torch ($40) and Standard Propane Fuel Cylinder ($10) with this.

SodaStream Source Sparkling Water Maker Starter Kit: Your bubble-loving friends will thank you for this one. Powered by a reusable CO2 carbonator, SodaStream allows anyone to create their own sparkling drinks in just seconds. Best of all, you’ll be able to say goodbye to plastic waste. Available for $95 here.

Vitamix: Vitamix is the Cadillac of blenders. Worth every penny, the Professional Series blender allows you to chop, cream, blend, heat, grind, churn and more, with a single machine. You can make everything from a smoothie, to soup to almond milk. The 5300 Series is available here for $415 and the Professional Series for $600 here.

The Field Skillet: The Field Skillet is a new cast iron pan reminiscent of the best vintage American skillets—but with a modern twist. It’s lighter than a 13’ MacBook Pro and is made in the USA. Made from 75-90% recycled iron, The Field Skillet is a sustainable choice. All scrap iron they create is remelted for future pours and all sand from the castings is continuously cycled back into production with zero waste. The Skillet will go on sale any day now here. Learn more here.

Spinzall, The Culinary Centrifuge: Restaurants and bars use expensive ($8k+) laboratory centrifuges to meld fruits with spirits, make flavored oils, clarify juices, separate fats and perform other culinary feats. Now Dave Arnold’s Booker and Dax Equipment Company has launched Spinzall, the first centrifuge designed for smaller formats and home use. The Spinzall is available here for $699.

HAPIfork Bluetooth-Enabled Smart Fork: The smart fork coaches you into healthier eating habits. The It’s an electronic fork that lights up and vibrates when you are eating too fast. As it takes 15-20 minutes to feel satisfied, by simply slowing down your pace while eating, you will consume fewer calories. Pair with your smartphone or tablet over Bluetooth to see your eating stats in real time.  Available here for $64.

For Coffee Nerds

Counter Culture Coffee: A Counter Culture subscription is a great gift for your favorite socially and environmentally conscious coffee drinker. The company sources handmade coffees from farmers and cooperatives, which it roasts to order and ships the same day to maximize flavor and freshness. The company is also committed to food security and environmental sustainability in the communities where the beans are grown. It pays farmers above market price for their beans, conducts environmental impact studies and support local projects that improve the environment and promote education through its Seeds program. In November and December, a nickel from each bag of coffee sold goes to Seeds’ climate change adaptation program. Single bags start at $15 and subscriptions at $33.50/month here.

Craft Coffee: This coffee subscription box is the perfect is the perfect gift for your favorite coffee and data nerd. Craft Coffee has spent years evaluating and tracking customer ratings for thousands of coffees from around the world. They know every coffee lover wants something different in their cup, so they use technology to match people with exceptional, fresh-roasted coffee based on their taste preferences. Gift subscriptions start at $30 per month here.

Chemex Classic Wood Collar Coffee Maker with 100 Count Bonded Circle Coffee Filters: The borosilicate glass coffee maker has a polished wood collar with a leather tie and allows you to make coffee as strong as you like without bitterness. Made from durable paper, Chemex filters are 20-30% heavier than competitive brands and permits the proper infusion time by regulating the filtration rate to allow for uniform extraction since the water filters through all the grounds on its way to the apex of the cone. The 6-cup Chemex is available here for $63  and the 8-cup here for $61.

Bonavita Electric Kettle: The Bonavita Variable Temperature Electric Kettle is a 1.0 liter capacity stainless steel kettle with many unique features.The 1000 watt heater boils water quickly and will hold the set temperature for up to one hour. The kettle has a unique spout that allows for a very controlled water pour that is needed for manual brewing of coffee and great for tea steeping as well. Available here for $81.

Baratza Virtuoso – Conical Burr Coffee Grinder: Uniformly ground coffee is the key to making great coffee. The Baratza Virtuoso does just that, which is why its a coffee nerd favorite. The Virtuoso’s 40 mm conical burrs grind coffee at 1.5 to 2.4 g/sec, resulting in a uniform grind, with a distinct lack of fines across its grinding range, making it great for espresso, drip, manual brewing methods and Press Pot. The Virtuoso is available here for $229. For a lower-priced,intro option, check out the Encore Model here for $129.

Blue Bottle Durable Basic Travel Kit: Blue Bottle has put together a great coffee travel bundle. A space-age contraption with gravity-defying aspirations, the AeroPress was invented by Aerobie just 38 miles from our Oakland roastery. Aerobie is responsible for creating the long-flying “superdisc” that broke Guiness World Records when it flew 1,333 feet. (Take that, frisbee!) The same mastery of aerodynamics comes into play here, with this peculiar a device for brewing coffee. Eminently portable, AeroPress delivers a cup of coffee that soars with focus and depth. With the Porlex Mini-Grinder as AeroPress’s level-headed and utilitarian counterpart, nothing can stop you on your way to expert brewing on the fly. Available here for $89.

For DIYers

Mama O’s Premium Homemade Kimchi Kit: This is the most complete and easy-to-use homemade kimchi kit you can buy. Using this kit, you’ll be able to make perfect kimchi again and again. Try all three varieties: Original, Super Spicy, and Vegan. Makes a great gift! The half-gallon size is perfect for small spaces also. Detailed, easy-to-follow instructions are included with each kit. Available here for $45.

Seedsheet: Seedsheet makes it easy to grow your own vegetables. Each biodegradable Seedsheet features a weed-blocking fabric embedded with dissolvable pouches that contain non-GMO seeds and a buffer of soil. Simply place the sheet on top of soil, add water and feast on your veggies. You can purchase remade sheets or custom design your own. The sheets come in a variety of sizes and run from $15 – $250 here.

Brooklyn Brew Shop Beer Making Kit, Everyday IPA: If you can make oatmeal, you can make beer. Brooklyn Brew Shop’s apartment friendly Beer Making Kits make it easy to bring brewing out of the garage and into the kitchen using only fresh, whole ingredients and traditional methods used in homes and breweries for centuries. By brewing with the same ingredients (cracked barley, hops, spices, and yeast) that the best craft breweries in the world use, making high quality and complex beers becomes possible on the stovetop in your very own kitchen, big or small. Available here for $47.

Back to the Roots AquaFarm:  Great for the DIY, sustainable food folks in your life. This apartment friendly, self-cleaning fish tank grows herbs and leafy greens. All you have to do is fill with water, add the fish and plant the seeds, and viola, you’ve got your own mini aquaponic farm going on. Available for $89.99 here.

Food52:Food52’s home and kitchen e-commerce site is a goldmine of one-of-a-kind kitchen finds and impossibly beautiful artisan kits, tools and products. From copper platters and porchetta salt to make your own bitters and DIY goat cheese kits, you can find something special for the cook, designer or beautiful-trinkets lover in your life here.

For Bibliophiles

Devoured: From Chicken Wings to Kale Smoothies–How What We Eat Defines Who We Are: A provocative look at how and what Americans eat and why—a flavorful blend of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Salt Sugar Fat, and Freakonomics that reveals how the way we live shapes the way we eat. Food writer and Culinary Institute of America program director Sophie Egan takes readers on an eye-opening journey through the American food psyche, examining the connections between the values that define our national character—work, freedom, and progress—and our eating habits, the good and the bad. Egan explores why these values make for such an unstable, and often unhealthy, food culture and, paradoxically, why they also make America’s cuisine so great. Available here for $19.

The Rooftop Growing Guide: How to Transform Your Roof into a Vegetable Garden or Farm: In this accessible guide, author Annie Novak’s passion shines as she draws on her experience as a pioneering sky-high farmer to teach best practices for raising vegetables, herbs, flowers, and trees. The book also includes interviews, expert essays, and farm and garden profiles from across the country, so you’ll find advice that works no matter where you live. Featuring the brass tacks on green roofs, container gardening, hydroponics, greenhouse growing, crop planning, pest management, harvesting tips, and more, The Rooftop Growing Guide will have you reimagining the possibilities of your own skyline. Available here for $16.

The Farm on the Roof: What Brooklyn Grange Taught Us About Entrepreneurship, Community, and Growing a Sustainable Business:
In their effort to build the world’s first and largest commercial green rooftop farm, the founders of Brooklyn Grange learned a lot about building and sustaining a business while never losing sight of their mission—to serve their community by providing delicious organic food and changing the way people think about what they eat. But their story is about more than just farming. It serves as an inspirational and instructional guide for anyone looking to start a business that is successful while making a positive impact. Available here for $20.

 
The Dirt: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Food and Farming: The award-winning Food and Environment Reporting Network (FERN) has just released anthology of their work celebrating five years of rigorous independent journalism in the critically underreported areas of food, agriculture and environmental health. With an introduction by FERN’s Editor-in-Chief Samuel Fromartz, a foreword by Michael Pollan and striking full-color photographs and infographics throughout this large format book, The Dirt showcases sixteen stories from FERN’s substantial body of work. Available here for a $100 tax-deductible donation.

Cherry Bombe: This sleek and beautiful bi-annual magazine celebrates everything women and food, including farmers, chefs, makers, stylers, eaters and more. Featuring interviews and stories about icons like Ruth Reichl and Chloe Sevigny, Cherry Bombe is all about nourishment for the mind, eye and stomach. You can gift a 1-year subscription for $40 or a 2-year subscription for $75 here.

Civil Eats: Civil Eats is the go-to resource for food movement journalism. Its stories dig deep into national food policy issues and profile food heroes from across the country. By supporting Civil Eats, you’ll be aiding it its mission to build more environmentally, economically and socially just communities. Subscribe for $25 here.

Edible Communities: No matter where your food-loving friends live, Edible Magazine subscriptions make for a prize gift. With local publications across the nation, the beautifully designed quarterly magazines tell stories of local farmers, growers, chefs and food artisans. You can give the gift of local food exploration for $24 for a 1-year subscription, $42 for a 2-year and $52 for a 3-year. Check them out here.

Food+Tech Connect: We’re biased, but we think a contribution to Food+Tech Connect is the perfect gift for your favorite food innovators. Your support will ensure your loved one is able to stay on top of the latest business, tech and investment trends in food. You can also feel really awesome about keeping Food+Tech Connect free for all. Learn more here.

Lucky Peach: Luck Peach, the irreverent food magazine from David Chang and the Momofuku team, offers the perfect gift for artists and foodies alike. Each issue focuses on a single food theme, and explores it through writing, art, photography and recipes. You can gift a 4 issue subscription for $28 or an 8 issue subscription for $50. Learn more here.

For Cookbook Lovers

Ingredient: Unveiling the Essential Elements of Food: Ali Bouzari is one of the leading experts in culinary science—a chef, consultant, and scientist who has worked with culinary icon like Thomas Keller and Daniel Humm. With ingredients, Bouzari paints a portrait of each of the fundamental building blocks of food, giving all cooks a way to visualize and respond to what’s really happening in the pan. Focusing on Water, Sugars, Carbs, Lipids, Proteins, Minerals, Gases, and Heat the book teaches you the personalities of Ingredients, where to find them, and how to put them to work. Available here for $19.

Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods, 2nd Edition: Sandor Ellix Katz, James Beard Award winner and New York Times bestselling author, returns to the iconic book that started it all, but with a fresh perspective, renewed enthusiasm, and expanded wisdom from his travels around the world. This self-described fermentation revivalist is perhaps best known simply as Sandorkraut, which describes his joyful and demystifying approach to making and eating fermented foods, the health benefits of which have helped launch a nutrition-based food revolution. Available here for $18.

Modernist Bread: The Art and Science: Created by the Modernist Cuisine Team, Modernist Bread is the most in-depth look at bread to date, capturing over four years of independent research and collaborations with leading industry professionals. Stunning photography brings the complete story of bread to life across five volumes—uncover its incredible history, loaves from every corner of the world, and the breath-taking beauty of scientific phenomena at work above and below the crust. In addition, you will discover innovative recipes and techniques developed by the Modernist Cuisine team that have not been published anywhere else. The five-volume Modernist Bread set is available for pre-order here for $554.

The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook: Artisanal Baking from Around the World: Hot Bread Kitchen is a bakery that employs and empowers immigrant women, providing them with the skills to succeed in the culinary industry. The tasty corollary of this social enterprise is a line of authentic breads you won’t find anywhere else. Featured in some of New York City’s best restaurants and carried in dozens of retail outlets across the country, these ethnic gems can now be made at home with The Hot Bread Kitchen Cookbook. The book is available here for $24.

Food52 A New Way to Dinner: A Playbook of Recipes and Strategies for the Week Ahead: Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, founders of the online kitchen and home destination Food52, shows you how to plan, shop, and cook for dinners (and lunches and desserts) all through the week. The secret? Cooking ahead. Starting with flexible base dishes made on the weekend, Amanda and Merrill mix, match, and riff to create new dinners, lunches, and even desserts throughout the week. Available here for $21.

The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem: When the James Beard Award-winning chef Marcus Samuelsson opened Red Rooster on in Harlem, he envisioned more than a restaurant. It would be the heart of his neighborhood and a meet-and-greet for both the downtown and the uptown sets, serving Southern black and cross-cultural food. It would reflect Harlem’s history. Ever since the 1930s, Harlem has been a magnet for more than a million African Americans, a melting pot for Spanish, African, and Caribbean immigrants, and a mecca for artists. In his cookbook, Samuelsson showcases southern comfort food and multicultural recipes, along with lyrical essays that convey the flavor of Harlem. Available here for $23.

Everything I Want to Eat: Sqirl and the New California Cooking: Jessica Koslow and her restaurant, Sqirl, are at the forefront of the California cooking renaissance, which is all about food that surprises us and engages all of our senses—it looks good, tastes vibrant, and feels fortifying yet refreshing. In Everything I Want to Eat, Koslow shares 100 of her favorite recipes for health-conscious but delicious dishes, all of which always use real foods—no fake meat or fake sugar here—that also happen to be suitable for vegetarians, vegans, or whomever you’re sharing your meal with. Available here for $28.

Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China: The lower Yangtze region, or Jiangnan, with its modern capital Shanghai, has been known since ancient times as a “land of fish and rice.” For centuries, local cooks have harvested the bounty of its lakes, rivers, fields, and mountains to create a cuisine renowned for its delicacy and beauty. In Land of Fish and Rice, Fuchsia Dunlop draws on years of study and exploration to present the recipes, techniques, and ingredients of the Jiangnan kitchen. You will be inspired to try classic dishes such as Beggar’s Chicken and sumptuous Dongpo Pork, as well as fresh, simple recipes such as Clear-Steamed Sea Bass and Fresh Soybeans with Pickled Greens. Available here for $26.

Sous Vide at Home: The Modern Technique for Perfectly Cooked Meals: Sous vide has been a popular cooking technique in restaurants for years, offering tender and succulent dishes cooked to perfection. Now, from the creator of Nomiku–the first affordable sous vide machine–comes this easy-to-follow cookbook that clearly illustrates how to harness the power of sous vide technology to achieve restaurant-quality dishes in the comfort of your own kitchen. Including over 100 recipes for everything from Halibut Tostadas, Grilled Asparagus with Romesco, and Chicken Tikka Masala, to Dulce de Leche, Hassle-Free Vanilla Ice Cream, and even homemade Coffee-Cardamom Bitters, Sous Vide at Home has you covered for every occasion. Available here for $25.

The Up South Cookbook: Chasing Dixie in a Brooklyn Kitchen: Georgia native Nicole Taylor spent her early twenties trying to distance herself from her southern cooking roots–a move “up” to Brooklyn gave her a fresh appreciation for the bread and biscuits, Classic Fried Chicken, Lemon Coconut Stack Cake, and other flavors of her childhood. The Up South Cookbook is a bridge to the past and a door to the future. The recipes in this deeply personal cookbook offer classic Southern favorites informed and updated by newly-discovered ingredients and different cultures. Available here for $22.

Payard Cookies: Third-generation pastry chef François Payard shares his favorite cookie recipes—the bestsellers at his popular New York City patisseries and cafés, the recipes he learned from his father, and the ones he makes at home. They range from the simplest sablés (butter cookies) to the most picture-perfect macarons, with everything in between: unassuming spice cookies, jam-filled linzers and other sandwiches, elegantly fluted and scalloped cannelés and madeleines, cakelike financiers, and beautifully iced cutout cookies for every holiday. All adapted for home cooks and tested in a home kitchen, these treats are easy to make yet offer a taste of “Paris-meets-Upper East Side” luxury to anyone, anywhere. Available here for $20.

The Food of Taiwan: Recipes from the Beautiful Island: While certain dishes from Taiwan are immensely popular, like steamed buns and bubble tea, the cuisine still remains relatively unknown in America. In The Food of Taiwan, Taiwanese-American Cathy Erway, the acclaimed blogger and author of The Art of Eating In, gives readers an insider’s look at Taiwanese cooking with almost 100 recipes for both home-style dishes and street food. Recipes range from the familiar, such as Pork Belly Buns, Three Cup Chicken, and Beef Noodle Soup, to the exotic, like the Stuffed Bitter Melon, Oyster Noodle Soup, and Dried Radish Omelet. Tantalizing food photographs intersperse with beautiful shots of Taiwan’s coasts, mountains, and farms and gritty photos of bustling city scenes, making this book just as enticing to flip through as it is to cook from. Available here for $21.

For Sustainable Artisanal Food Lovers

Thrive Market Membership: Thrive Market is a like a Costco for healthy, sustainable food products. This year, give the gift of membership, so your loved one can save 25-50% on their favorite organic and non-GMO products. When you join, you are also sponsoring a free membership for a low-income family. Become a member for $60 here.

Zingerman’s Gift Boxes: Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Zingerman’s is a cult favorite. The speciality grocer also has an exceptional online shop for Zingerman’s food, gifts and more.Featuring everything from kitchen starter kits, fresh breads and handmade cheeses to varietal coffee, estate bottled olive oils and sweet treats, their gift boxes are second to none. Check out Zingerman’s gift boxes, which range from $35-$300, here.

Six Month Hot Bread Kitchen Subscription: What’s better than good bread? Good bread delivered to your door every month from an amazing organization that supports low-income New Yorkers and preserves traditional baking techniques from around the world. With this subscription, receive three of Hot Bread Kitchen’s signature breads every month. Subscriptions are available here for $175.

Farm to People: From pasture raised pork pâté to goat milk caramels, Farm to People makes it easy to discover and buy all kinds of products crafted by small-batch, artisanal producers. Buy individual products or select one of its scores of curated gift boxes, like Bringing Home The Bacon and Some Like It Hot, which range from $25 – $150. It also offers monthly tasting boxes which range from   $30-$50.  Check out Farm to People’s products here.

Mouth has a bevy of tasty treats for craft food lovers. The e-commerce marketplace showcases the best of the best in “indie” foods, from chocolate covered jalapeno corn nuts to organic chamomile bitters, and everything in between. And for the holidays the site is offering special gift packages, like 8 Nights of Hanukkah and Bring Home the Bacon. Prices range from $40 – $125. Dive in here.

For The Meal Kit & Subscription Box Types

Blue Apron delivers pre-measured ingredients and step-by-step recipes to your doorstep. It sources the best local ingredients for unique dishes – like braised Moroccan-style salmon and greens -which allows budding home cooks to spend more time in the kitchen honing their culinary skills. You can gift a 1, 2 or 4 week subscription at $9.99 per person per meal here.

HelloFresh delivers fresh ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes – like caramelized union shepard’s pie- to your doorstep weekly. Its recipe cards come complete with nutrition information and difficulty level rating and take roughly 30 minutes to prepare. Great for those living abroad, too, you can give the gift of one week (three meals for 2-4 people) for $69 – $79 here.

Love With Food: The snack subscription box is an awesome gift for any food explorer on your list. The company offers subscription boxes of unique, emerging natural and organic snacks for as little at $10 a month. And for every box you receive, the company donates a meal to a food bank. Additionally, you can buy or redeem points to get more of your favorite snacks on the site. Grab a gift subscription here.

Plated:  Plated delivers weekly changing recipes – like a quinoa, kimchi, and seasonal veggie rice bowl – along with all the fresh ingredients you need to prepare them directly to your door. Give your favorite person the gift of easy to make, extraordinary meals with a Plated gift certificate, which cost between $60 and $360 and can be purchased here.

The Fare Trade: The Fare Trade is the perfect gift for your favorite culinary adventurer. Each month, award-winning chefs assemble a box of their favorite American-made artisan ingredients and signature recipes, which they send to your door step. The boxes come with five ingredients and step-by-step video tutorials. Available for $65 per month here.

The Purple Carrot: The Purple Carrot’s plant-based meal kit subscription is great for anyone who wants or needs more veggies in their life.  The company ships pre-measured ingredients and recipes developed by author Mark Bittman right to your door, making it easier than ever to create ultra-fresh, plant-based meals. You can gift one of two packages: A three-night meal plan that serves two people for $68 or a two-night meal plan that serves four people for $74 here.

For Supporters of the Good Food Movement

Change Food: Change Food helps individuals change the way they eat by raising public awareness, educating consumers and motivating behavior change so that all people have access to nutritious, delicious food. With as little as $20, you can help cover the cost of research for its video library and other outreach. Learn more here.

Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN): FERN is the first and only independent non-profit news organization that produces in-depth journalism on food, agriculture, and environmental health. Donations help FERN continue to produce stories that inform and inspire, and make lasting impact on our food system. You can learn more and donate here.

Food Tank: Food Tank is a food think tank that offers sustainable solutions to the biggest environmental and social challenges facing our food system. Through its website and events, Food Tank facilitates collaboration between players across the entire food food chain. You can donate to its Sustainers Program here to help fund new research on hunger, obesity, food justice and sustainability.

Heritage Radio Network: HRN is a radio station and media company committed to archiving and advancing our food culture and giving a voice to our leading food professionals, farmers, policy experts and tastemakers. By donating to Heritage Radio, you’ll be supporting one of the most progressive voices for food and culture radio in America. Learn more and donate here.

Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD): MOFAD is a non-profit food museum in NYC. MOFAD aims to alter the way people think about food and inspire curiosity about what we eat. Donations will help the team plan launch the museum. The Museum currently has an exhibit focused on flavor. Learn more here.

National Young Farmers Coalition: NYFC supports, mobilizes and engages young farmers and works to ensure their success. It supports independent farms, sustainable farming practices and affordable land for farmers. Benefactors help cultivate the next generation of farmers, and additionally, they receive discounts on stuff like tools, seeds and fertilizers. Learn more here.

NY Sun Works: NYSW builds innovative science labs in urban schools. Its Greenhouse Project Initiative uses hydroponic farming technology to educate students and teachers about the science of sustainability. Its goal is to build 100 greenhouse project labs by 2020. By supporting New York Sun Works, you’ll be helping make that dream a reality. Learn more and donate here.

Real Food Media: Real Food Media aims to grow the movement for sustainable food and farming around the world through short films with big ideas. Its MythBusters series offer tools to counter food industry PR spin, including mythbusting movies, reports and a rapid response network of engaged followers. Its international short films competition, catalyzes creative shorts about food, farming and sustainability. Learn more about Real Food Media here.

Slow Food USA: Slow Food is on a mission to make good, clean and fair food accessible to all. It has 175 local and campus chapters that coordinate local activities, projects and events. By donating to Slow Food, you’ll help support school gardens and family-style community suppers and help strengthen local food culture. Learn more and donate here. 

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Looking for a sales, marketing or customer service job at an exciting food startup?  We’ve got you covered! Whether you’re an industry vet looking for an executive position or you’re looking to make a career switch, one these 10 jobs are sure to catch your fancy. 

Looking for a management, operations, development, design or food science position? Check out more exciting job openings at Food+Tech Jobs.

FOOD STARTUP SALES, MARKETING & CUSTOMER SERVICE JOB OPENININGS

1. Full-Stack Marketer at Mealmade – San Francisco, CA

Position: Mealmade is looking for a data-driven, creative, tech-savvy, experienced full-stack marketer to join our growing team. Our mission is to make exceptionally healthy eating as easy and delicious as possible. We deliver restaurant-quality, expertly crafted meals into the hands of those who value their time and health. We are a delivery-only restaurant for healthy, delicious food, and we’re growing fast. We’re looking for someone who can pour fuel on the fire and accelerate our growth. In this role, you will lead all aspects of marketing, with a focus on customer acquisition. You will work autonomously (and remotely much of the time), with oversight and guidance from the CEO.

About Mealmade: Mealmade is an on-demand delivery-only restaurant that cooks and delivers unique, delicious meals made for special diets, like gluten-free, paleo, low carb, etc. Customers order in a few clicks from a daily rotating menu and their food arrives hot and ready to eat in about 30 minutes. While 99% of restaurants and food delivery companies target the 60% of consumers who are “normal eaters”, the 40% of Americans with special diets or food restrictions are completely underserved, and this group spends over $7B every year on food in the Bay Area alone. Since launching in October 2015, Mealmade has seen consistent growth. Throughout 2016 the company has grown ~20% month-over-month.

2. Associate Manager of Brand Content at FoodKick – New York, NY

Position: The Associate Manager, Brand Content is a freelance position that will report to the Integrated Content Manager and be responsible for creating content to support FoodKick’s integrated marketing strategy. The candidate must consistently represent the brand’s tone and drive appropriate response in each marketing channel. The position requires approximately 20 hours per week and the candidate must be willing to work alongside the team at the FreshDirect corporate offices in Long Island City.

About FoodKick: FoodKick is a sister brand of FreshDirect, delivering fresh food + cold booze in as little as 1 hour. When all you have is a New York minute. When life happens (the good or bad, happy or sad!). When you want to make the most of the moment. FoodKick’s got your back. We deliver just what you need when you need it, like quick meal hacks, chilled wine, exclusive products from local partners, fresh fill-ins, and even TP. And because we’re powered by FreshDirect, you can trust our quality and convenience. We’re all about curating food + booze just for you. Our home feed changes every day, throughout the day–thoughtfully hand-picked by our team to fit with your life. (No scientific algorithm here). Did we just become best friends? YUP. FoodKick is ready when you are. And we’ll be there in as little as 1 hour.

3. Director of Sales at Little Spoon – Virtual; San Francisco, CA

Position: We are looking for an enthusiastic, high-energy go-getter to join our founding team and take on all aspects of retail and wholesale sales for Little Spoon. You are persuasive and have proven experience and success selling premium products. You are a fearless hustler who views every challenge as an opportunity – and you are undeterred by the challenge of pioneering a new category and building a brand from the ground up. You are detail-oriented but can effectively think and communicate at a high level. You are analytical and technically savvy.  You are a self-starter capable of working independently while wearing many hats. You have a passion for inspiring internal and external teams and helping people around you reach their potential. You intuitively roll up your sleeves and get sh*t done while managing to have fun in the process. You love good food and are passionate about health and wellness. You love a good challenge. And you’re ready for your next one.

About Little Spoon: At Little Spoon, we believe your baby’s food should never be older than your baby. We’re a rapidly growing startup set to revolutionize the baby food category and beyond. Our vision is to bring nutritious meals and snacks to babies and children everywhere through a convenient, direct-to-consumer subscription model and select retail stores nationally.

4. Customer Experience Associate at Little Spoon – San Francisco, CA

Position: We are looking for a savvy, people-loving problem solver to join our founding team and take on all aspects of customer experience for Little Spoon. You’ll be the voice of Little Spoon and communicate directly with our customers to solve real-time issues, answer questions and respond to feedback. You are detail-oriented, outgoing and an excellent communicator. You can multi-task and prioritize like nobody’s business. You have experience delivering outstanding customer support and inspiring others. You are constantly trying to find ways to hack life, organize the chaos and optimize the world around you. You intuitively roll up your sleeves and get sh*t done while managing to have fun in the process. You love good food and are passionate about health and wellness. You love a good challenge. And you’re ready for your next one.

About Little Spoon: At Little Spoon, we believe your baby’s food should never be older than your baby. We’re a rapidly growing startup set to revolutionize the baby food category and beyond. Our vision is to bring nutritious meals and snacks to babies and children everywhere through a convenient, direct-to-consumer subscription model and select retail stores nationally.

5. Area Sales Manager at Health-Ade Kombucha – San Francisco, CA

Position: The Health-Ade Area Sales Manager is responsible for managing and maintaining relationships with accounts in Northern California. This role is accountable for driving sales while translating Health-Ade’s philosophy and objectives.

About Health-Ade Kombucha: Health-Ade was founded by a husband, a wife, and a best friend—all looking to bring the best kombucha to the Southern California marketplace.Founded in their small apartment in Los Angeles—with a tiny credit card and a big dream—Health-Ade is made the “old-fashioned” way, as nature intended. They are fully dedicated to offering the highest quality and best tasting kombucha you can buy. They do this by committing to things like:pulling out all the stops to ensure the culture is healthy and strong, using only the best ingredients available (like organic and seasonal farmers’market cold-pressed fruit for flavoring), and keeping harmful plastic and UVs away from the entire fermentation and bottling process (yes, they make it all in glass!). Hand-crafted in small batches right here in Los Angeles, Health-Ade also works hard to support the local community, as demonstrated by their efforts in growing Farmers’ Markets and partnering with farms, their collaboration with regional non-profits, and their drive to increase understanding and importance of natural health and wellness(check out their blog).

6. Digital Marketing Manager at FreshRealm – Ventura, CA

Position: Our Marketing Team is ready to add an ambitious Digital Marketing & Growth Manager to lead growth marketing and conversation rate optimization for our fast growing startup.

About FreshRealm: FreshRealm is an early stage company founded 3 years ago.  We have substantial funding and strategic partnership agreements with two well respected publicly traded companies:  Calavo Growers, Inc. and Orora. Our mission is to bring healthy, fresh food to the masses in innovative ways that saves time and reduces waste.  We do this by offering the largest online marketplace with national delivery of fresh foods (lunches, snacks, salads, fruit, juices) and curated ready-to-cook DIY meal kits that are designed by celebrity chefs and prominent tastemakers. Because of our strategic partners, we are the only player that can operate a business like this at scale with a large variety of recipes and a large number of tastemakers, and no one in the U.S. can match our technology and food systems-infrastructure.

7. Business Development Representative at Toast – Boston, MA

Position: Toast is seeking a Business Development Representative to join our incredibly successful sales team.  Are you competitive, self-motivated and an overachiever? Do you have previous sales experience or are you looking to break into sales?

About Toast: Toast is more than just a restaurant POS system: it’s an all-in-one restaurant management solution. Thousands of restaurants have streamlined their front-of-house and kitchen processes, analyzed their customer base with our CRM, and saved millions of dollars with Toast’s restaurant POS system by their side.

8. Food Head (Head of Merchandizing) at Petrichor – New York, NY

Position: We’re looking for someone to help determine and manage the mix of 3,000 SKUs covering beverages, bakery, dairy, frozen, grocery, meat, produce, and personal care products that we’ll sell.

About Petrichor: A revolutionary new grocery store (think Amazon Go) targeted at Millennials and to be located in lower Manhattan.

9. Chief Marketing Officer at Seal The Seasons – Chapel Hill, NC

Position: Seal the Seasons’ Chief Marketing Officer will lead innovative marketing strategies and brand development, oversee revenue generation and data collection, and drive growth by overseeing customer acquisition and management. He or she will empower marketing staff on the ground, collaborate across departments to ensure consistent branding, and spread our food system nationwide.

About Seal the Seasons: We believe in a food economy that cares about farmers, employees and consumers. Seal the Seasons is a local food brand. Our first product line is locally grown frozen fruit and vegetables. We build transformative relationships with local farm partners, farmer-owned manufacturing, and retail partners, to sell local food year-round through retail and foodservice channels.

10. VP of Marketing & Sales – Farmer’s Fridge, Chicago, IL

Position:The Head of Sales & Marketing will be responsible for creating, strategizing, and implementing cutting edge growth plans and account management execution for the US market. This individual will work directly with the CEO, COO, and key stakeholders of Farmer’s Fridge to expand market share from the local Chicago marketplace to the east coast, and eventually expand on a national level.  S(he) will continue to build out both the sales & marketing teams that will optimize Farmer’s Fridge unique product offering to established & future clients.

About Farmer’s Fridge: Our little company’s big idea? To make always-fresh, handcrafted salads & snacks available daily via automated fridges in office buildings, hospitals, schools and more.  Our passion is to make access to healthy, delicious food the rule, not the exception. With 60+ locations and counting, it is an exciting time to join our fast-growing team!
See it to believe it here.

Check out exciting management, operations, development, design and food science positions at Food+Tech Jobs.

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Photo by Rebecca Stumpf

Snag Your Early Bird Ticket to FoodBytes! San Francisco

Come mix and mingle with the most innovative people in food and ag at FoodBytes! SF on Thursday, March 16 from 2-8 PM at The Village. Attend the event Robyn O’Brien calls “an absolutely critical piece of solving the food problems that we are seeing in the world”.

Be one of the first 30 people to sign up and snag your ticket for just $119 (regular price $169). 

 Why Should You Attend?

• Executives / Media: Get an inside look at the up-and-coming trends and startups at the forefront of food and ag innovation
• Investors: Meet the most promising new food and ag startups
• Entrepreneurs: Connect with investors, potential partners and customers. Plus, have the chance to give a 60-second pitch during the open mic section.

Photo by Rebecca Stumpf

Last Chance to Apply to Pitch!

FoodBytes! pitch competition-meets-networking event invites food, food tech and agtech startups from around the world to apply to pitch hundreds of executives, investors media and entrepreneurs. 10 startups will be selected to give 5-minute pitches and 10 runner-up companies will be selected give 60-second pitches. Since FoodBytes! launched in February 2015, more than 750 companies from 19 countries have applied to pitch to over 1,000 attendees.

Selected Companies will have the Opportunity to:

• Pitch to an audience of investors, industry leaders, media and entrepreneurs
• Have dedicated display space to showcase your product or service
• Be in the running to win the People’s Choice, Judges’ Choice or Highly Commended Award
• Take part in an invite-only session of networking and mentorship with industry experts and the FoodBytes! judges. Check out our highlight video of our FoodBytes! Boulder mentorship day HERE

APPLICATIONS CLOSE THIS SUNDAY, January 22 at 11:59 PM PT.

Other Ways to Get Involved

Interested in discussing partnership or sponsorship opportunities? Get in touch with the FoodBytes! team!

The post Snag Early Bird Tickets to FoodBytes! SF + Last Chance to Apply to Pitch appeared first on .

Labor is one of the biggest challenges facing the food and agriculture industries. From minimum wage increases, to dwindling farms, processing and culinary talent, to a rise in automation, companies across the supply chain are being forced to rethink the way they do business.

Join us for a deep dive into some of the challenges and opportunities facing the industry. We will have presenters from across the food chain sharing their business models, challenges and lessons learned.

We’ll also have networking with the community and nibbles from Ripe, The Meatball Shop, Barney’s Bone Broth, Misfit Juicery,Greyston Bakery and more.

Do you have an innovative food product you would like to showcase? We have a few openings for dessert and beverage companies to sample products. Email nina[at]foodtechconnect[dot]com with more information about your company if you’re interested.

SCHEDULE:

6:30 – 7:15: Networking + Snacks

7:15 – 8:45: Presentations + Q&A

8:45 – 9:30: More Networking

CONFIRMED PRESENTERS:

Mona Safabakhsh, VP of Strategy at Dig Inn – Dig Inn serves American food, mostly vegetables, from farmers and partners as close to home as possible.

Smriti Keshari, Producer of Food Chains – Food Chains reveals the human cost in our food supply and the complicity of large buyers of produce like fast food and supermarkets. Smriti is an award-winning filmmaker, artist, and director.  Her work explores issues outside the mainstream and seeks to inspire social change.

Kerry Sesil, Marketing Coodinator at Greyston Bakery – A mission-driven food company and pioneering social enterprise, Greyston practices Open Hiring™ in its world-class commercial bakery, advances the Open Hiring™ Model at the Center for Open Hiring™ at Greyston and supports its employees and neighbors with innovative community programs. The cornerstone of Greyston’s success is its team of bakers preparing more than 35,000 pounds of brownies every day in the world-class Greyston Bakery, for customers like Ben & Jerry’s and Whole Foods Market.

Teofilo Reyes, National Research Director at The Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United – A national organization of workers, employers, and consumers seeking better wages and working conditions in the restaurant industry. Among other tech applications, ROC has worked with celebrity chefs and restaurateurs to develop a Diners Guide app that tracks how conscientious consumers are spending on restaurants that provide livable wages and working conditions, and a video game called Top Server that trains and provides certification for low-wage workers of color and immigrants in fine dining service and bartending, so that they can move up the ladder into livable wage jobs in the industry.

Seth Syberg, Founder & President at Cocoburg – Pioneers of “real food” innovation released the world’s first vegan coconut jerky in 2014. Cocoburg’s vision is to set the direction and lead the vegan snack industry to new heights of market reach, conscience production, and flavor without compromise. Cocoburg represents a unique opportunity to manifest meaningful change in the lives of farm and factory workers in SE Asia while at the same time creating a sustainable and fair farm-to-package production chain.

Chelsey Simpson, Communications Director at The National Young Farmers Coalition – building a sustainable future for American agriculture by ensuring all young farmers have the chance to succeed.

The post Explore the Future of Food Labor in NYC appeared first on .

Umi Kitchen Screenshot Via 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. Last week’s top news features more challenges and growth for startups rethinking restaurants, including Danny Meyer’s daughter  robot food delivery and what Trump’s secretary of agriculture pick might mean for the industry.

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

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1. 10 Rad Sales, Marketing & Customer Service Food Startup Jobs

Looking for a sales, marketing or customer service job at an exciting food startup? We’ve got you covered with jobs in NYC, SF, Chapel Hill, Boston & more.

2. The Food Startup Backed by Shake Shack Creator Danny Meyer Has Stalled Out After Just 4 Months – CNBC

Umi Kitchen let home chefs sell small batches of their recipes to eaters in their neighborhoods. Hallie Meyer, Umi co-founder and Danny Meyer’s daughter, said the pause in operations was caused by tricky delivery economics.

3. How Delivery-Only “Ghost” Restaurants Are Changing Takeout – Fast Company

“Ghost restaurants” like Green Summit, Maple and Good Uncle are popping up across the country. They have less overhead and are more nimble, but delivery economics are difficult. Can delivery-only restaurants succeed?

4. What’s at Stake for Ag Policy under Trump’s USDA Pick – Civil Eats

Food policy experts around the country weigh in, with hope and deep concerns, including Kathleen Merrigan, Wenonah Hauter and Chellie Pingree.

5. Products, Not Marketing, Are The Future of Big Food

If big food companies want to survive in the future, they need to completely rethink how they innovate by focusing on product, not just marketing.

6. The Robots Are Coming – to Deliver Your Dinner – San Francisco Business Times

Delivery robot maker Starship Technologies has partnered with DoorDash and Postmates for its U.S. pilot. The robots will begin food deliveries with DoorDash in Redwood City, CA and with Postmates in Washington, DC this month.

7. AgFunder Announces 2016 Innovation Award Winners – AgFunderNews

Biome Makers, AgBiome, Blue Rive Technologies, Farmers Business Network and Yield Lab top the list of winners nominated by AgFunder’s 25k person network.

8. Future of Food Labor Meetup – Thursday, Jan 26 in NYC 

From minimum wage increases, to dwindling farm, processing and culinary talent, to a rise in automation, get a look inside how eatsa, Dig Inn, Food Chains, Greyston Bakery and ROC United are reimagining the future of food labor. Plus, enjoy snacks from Ripe, The Meatball Shop, Barney’s Bone Broth and more. Snag your spot now!

9. Juicero Slashes Connected Juicer Price from $699 to $399 – Fortune

The Keurig-for-juice startup was also able to make the reduction because it was selling twice the number of juice packs than it expected. Additionally, Juicero will also start a self-serve juice pilot with Whole Foods, as the retailer looks to cut labor costs.

 10. Sorry, Wal-Mart, Amazon Wants Your Food-Stamp Customers Too – Seattle Times 

Amazon is joining a pilot program in which it will accept food stamps online, showing that it wants to appeal to lower-income shoppers, traditionally a key customer base for Wal-Mart.

The post Danny Meyer’s Daughter Stalls Startup, What’s at Stake for Ag Policy Under Trump & More Top News appeared first on .

Looking for a developer, design or product management job at an exciting food startup?  We’ve got you covered with opportunities in NYC, SF, LA,  Boston and Washington D.C.

Check out more exciting job openings at Food+Tech Jobs.

FOOD STARTUP DEVELOPER, DESIGNER & PRODUCT MANAGEMENT JOB OPENININGS

1. Full Stack Software Engineer at Ando – NY, New York

Position: Ando is looking for an experienced, full stack JavaScript engineer to help build the platform to power its mobile restaurant. Ando is building real-time kitchen and delivery management systems, backoffice management tools and consumer-facing APIs and interfaces.

About Ando: Ando’s goal is to serve restaurant-quality food that you can eat at your desk, in a park, or on the couch in your underwear.

2. Full Stack Engineer (Java) at BlueCart – SF, California and Washington D.C.

Position: BlueCart’s is hiring a full stack java engineer, a key position of its engineering team. You will be responsible for designing and developing all of the major functions of its web-­based product.

About BlueCart: BlueCart is a web and mobile ordering platform that connects food & beverage suppliers with their wholesale customers. We are in the best possible position for someone looking to work at a startup. We’re VC backed, have a clear vision of the future, and are in a new, untapped market landscape! Our culture is lively, our appetite is strong, and our ambition is unlimited.

3. Chief Technology Officer at Atraxis – San Francisco, CA

Position: You must be able to architect at the 30 thousand foot level as well as roll up your sleeves and closely manage coding. The company needs leadership in designing and building internal admin tools (website, CRM, email, ops tools, etc.) or determining if available offerings (e.g. cloud-based NetSuite, SAPOne, etc.) can be tailored to fit our needs as well as the SaaS tools that are customer facing. Each test for each customer will be loaded to the cloud for secure reporting, exception notification, product transparency and system traceability. A central focus will be on building and enhancing customer-facing capabilities (results reporting, dashboards for information & decision support, analytics, etc.). The test results data uploads will result in a “big data” repository that will need to be converted into valuable customer focused analytics to help customers run their businesses better and protect & enhance valuable brands. Additional analytics may provide insights that are valuable to customers beyond the data-generating group. This is a “build it from the ground up” IT effort in a start-up environment. The science is there, access to the customers is there, it’s a big and important market, we now need help executing on the IT (technical) infrastructure.

About Atraxis: Ataraxis is a venture backed company on the forefront of cleaning up our food system. Our simple, quick and inexpensive tests help retailers, restaurants and others offering Antibiotic Free or Organic beef, chicken, and pork to confirm that their suppliers are actually delivering Drug Free meats. Misuse and overuse of antibiotics in our food system has health officials worldwide warning about creating super bugs that reduce (or nullify) the effectiveness of one of mankind’s biggest human health advancements, antibiotics. We are helping to make sure that companies can quickly integrate testing into their supply chain to get peace of mind in the animals they are buying, protect the effectiveness of antibiotics longer term and provide transparency to consumers with what they are eating.

4. Senior Software Engineer at FreshRealm – Ventura, CA

Position: For the FreshRealm engineer, software is a practice in continuous evolution. This is not a place of heroics, death marches, and feature schedules. It is a place of experimentation and adaptation, and where competent people can and want to help you have an immediate impact. Working at FreshRealm means you get better at what you already do well. We set up regular retrospectives to figure out what we’re doing wrong so we can fix it, and what we’re doing right so we can improve on it. We consistently practice Test Driven Development, which results in high-quality, reliable and more maintainable code. And we believe that methodical, steady, relentless forward momentum drives consistent results.

About FreshRealm: FreshRealm is an early stage company founded 3 years ago.  We have substantial funding and strategic partnership agreements with two well respected publicly traded companies:  Calavo Growers, Inc. and Orora. Our mission is to bring healthy, fresh food to the masses in innovative ways that saves time and reduces waste.  We do this by offering the largest online marketplace with national delivery of fresh foods (lunches, snacks, salads, fruit, juices) and curated ready-to-cook DIY meal kits that are designed by celebrity chefs and prominent tastemakers. Because of our strategic partners, we are the only player that can operate a business like this at scale with a large variety of recipes and a large number of tastemakers, and no one in the U.S. can match our technology and food systems-infrastructure.

5. Full Stack Engineer at Spoiler Alert – Boston, MA

Position: We are looking for a Full Stack Engineer with a driving passion to ensure that our customers have the most pleasant experience using our platform. We want you to write software that makes repurposing food through our platform easier than throwing it away. You will be a foundational member of the engineering team, designing, writing, and testing core features of our platform, and are ready and willing to solve any development challenge that crosses your path. You will have a meaningful impact, working directly with our Chief Technology Officer and joining an early-stage startup led by a hard-working, dedicated, and passionate team. We don’t expect you to already be fluent in our current tech stack; technology choices change with time, circumstance, and business need. We do expect you to learn and grow with us as those choices change.

About Spoiler Alert: Spoiler Alert is a Boston-based technology company that helps organizations manage unsold food inventory. The startup offers a collaborative, online platform and value-added services that enable food manufacturers, distributors, retailers, farms, and nonprofits to create or recover value from surplus food and organic waste. Its technology platform facilitates food donations, discounted sales and organics brokering, and offers the relevant accounting and reporting systems to capture tax benefits and document important financial, environmental, and social metrics. It was a member of the 2016 cohort of Techstars Boston and a 2015 winner of MassChallenge. The company prides itself on its collaborative culture and mission-driven aspirations, and is excited to introduce 21st Century connectivity into the food industry and unlock sustained economic, environmental and social value for its customers.

6. Product Designer at FreshRealm – Ventura, CA

Position: 

We get to do it all – from research, concept, interaction design, user-testing, lean strategy, visual design, and development support. We listen and empathize with the users, share this knowledge, test a hypothesis, build prototypes, make it pretty, and support developers and the team. We’re constantly learning, and iterating on and improving our process. We define and deliver experiences to be simple, powerful, and delightful to use. We work directly with software developers, product managers, users, customers, and stakeholders to define, design, and ship. Our Lean UX and Agile approach ensures our pace is fast yet sustainable. Our commitment to quick feedback loops keeps us lean and focused.

About FreshRealm: FreshRealm is an early stage company founded 3 years ago.  We have substantial funding and strategic partnership agreements with two well respected publicly traded companies:  Calavo Growers, Inc. and Orora. Our mission is to bring healthy, fresh food to the masses in innovative ways that saves time and reduces waste.  We do this by offering the largest online marketplace with national delivery of fresh foods (lunches, snacks, salads, fruit, juices) and curated ready-to-cook DIY meal kits that are designed by celebrity chefs and prominent tastemakers. Because of our strategic partners, we are the only player that can operate a business like this at scale with a large variety of recipes and a large number of tastemakers, and no one in the U.S. can match our technology and food systems-infrastructure.

7. 2 Product Managers at FreshRealm – Ventura, CA

Position: Our product managers embrace lean and agile practices. We work in a small, cross-functional, and co-located team. PMs work closely and continuously with FreshRealm leadership, designers, engineers, and customers to ensure the right product continues to be defined, prioritized, and built.  Working software — not slideware, prototypes or demos — is our measure of success. We have two open PM roles in our organization. Working at FreshRealm means you get better at what you already do well. We set up regular retrospectives to figure out what we’re doing wrong so we can fix it, and what we’re doing right so we can improve on it. We believe that methodical, steady, relentless forward momentum drives consistent results. The ideal candidate has experience integrating and building on top of back office, analytics, and HR tools.

About FreshRealm: FreshRealm is an early stage company founded 3 years ago.  We have substantial funding and strategic partnership agreements with two well respected publicly traded companies:  Calavo Growers, Inc. and Orora. Our mission is to bring healthy, fresh food to the masses in innovative ways that saves time and reduces waste.  We do this by offering the largest online marketplace with national delivery of fresh foods (lunches, snacks, salads, fruit, juices) and curated ready-to-cook DIY meal kits that are designed by celebrity chefs and prominent tastemakers. Because of our strategic partners, we are the only player that can operate a business like this at scale with a large variety of recipes and a large number of tastemakers, and no one in the U.S. can match our technology and food systems-infrastructure.

8. IT Technician, Operations at Good Eggs – San Francisco

Position: The Good Eggs operations and logistics team builds the platform that empowers our entire supply chain from the tools that help our producers know what and when to make products, to the software and hardware that manages the flow of food through our warehouse and delivery network. Our systems go beyond the screen and include mobile and hardware platforms that help our associates deliver food faster than anyone else in the industry. We’re looking for IT Technicians to help take our warehouse technology from scrappy to solid. We believe in open source, commodity hardware, short release cycles, and continuous improvement. You’ll be a member of the Operations Engineering Team, and the primary interface for folks on the warehouse floor that receive inventory, pack orders, and make deliveries to our customers.

About Good Eggs: Good Eggs connects you to local farmers and food makers, making buying and enjoying the freshest local food easier than going to the store. Our mission is to develop a way to help grow local businesses who enrich their communities, grow food using sustainable practices, treat employees fairly, and make their food with care.

Check out exciting management, operations, development, design and food science positions at Food+Tech Jobs.

The post 8 Exciting Developer, Designer & Product Food Startup Jobs appeared first on .

Looking for an operations or logistics job at an exciting food startup? We’ve got you covered with opportunities in NYC, SF and San Rafael.

Check out more exciting job openings at Food+Tech Jobs.

FOOD STARTUP LOGISTICS, OPERATIONS & SUPPLY JOBS

1. Director of Supply at Local Bushel – New York, NY

Position: We are looking for talented team members who are passionate about local sustainable food and want to be on the leading edge of the food industry. If you’re interested in joining a rapidly growing, close-knit team based in New York City, we’d love to hear from you! As the director of supply, you will lead the strategic expansion of Local Bushel’s network of farms and local purveyors and negotiating supply agreements with a wide network of farms and purveyors.

About Local Bushel: Local Bushel is a marketplace for wholesale buyers to source sustainable food from local farms. Local Bushel sells high-quality local food at a price and level of convenience that is competitive to commercially distributed food, empowering farmers and making good food accessible. Local Bushel’s goal is make transparently sourced ingredients the new norm and drive a fundamental shift in chefs€™’ expectations for quality.

2. Director of Operations at Little Spoon – San Francisco, CA

Position: We are looking for a passionate operations guru to join our founding team and take on all aspects of operations for Little Spoon. You are detail-oriented but can effectively think and communicate at a high level. You are analytical and technically savvy. You have a proven ability to manage projects through their full lifecycle, from idea to implementation. You are a self-starter capable of working independently while wearing many hats. You have a passion for inspiring internal and external teams and helping people around you reach their potential. You are forward looking and naturally curious – constantly trying to find ways to hack life, organize the chaos and optimize the world around you. You have a knack for finding simple and creative solutions to complicated problems. You intuitively roll up your sleeves and get sh*t done while managing to have fun in the process. You love good food and are passionate about health and wellness. You love a good challenge. And you’re ready for your next one.

About Little Spoon: At Little Spoon, we believe your baby’s food should never be older than your baby. We’re a rapidly growing startup set to revolutionize the baby food category and beyond. Our vision is to bring nutritious meals and snacks to babies and children everywhere through a convenient, direct-to-consumer subscription model and select retail stores nationally.

3. Logistics Operations Manager at Blue Apron – New York, NY

Position: We’re seeking an experienced Logistics Manager to join our rapidly-growing Operations team. In this role, you’ll oversee Blue Apron’s outbound shipping activities. You will be charged with managing Blue Apron’s complex logistics operations, working hand-in-hand with other members of our operations team and fulfillment centers. We are looking for a roll-up-your-sleeves operator who obsesses over delivering measurable results and thrives in detail, organization and analysis, with the ultimate goal of reaching our customers more efficiently. This person must have a strong sense of urgency and be ready to solve problems within a limited timeframe.

About Blue Apron: Headquartered in NYC with fulfillment centers in New Jersey, California and Texas, Blue Apron’s mission is to make incredible home cooking accessible to everyone—from the novice cook just getting started to the experienced chef. We send millions of meals to customers with all the pre-measured and perfectly proportioned ingredients they need to prepare delicious and healthy meals at home.  We introduce our members to new ingredients, flavors, and cooking techniques with seasonally-inspired recipes that are always delicious, fun and easy to prepare. We make fresher, healthier food available at better prices by rethinking the grocery supply chain from the table all the way back to the farm. 

4. Purchasing Manager at Bright People Foods – Woodland, CA

Position: Excellent opportunity to work in a great team environment at the home of one of the nation’s leading natural food brands. Use of the most current technologies and procedures in the food industry. Perfect position for a person interested in food business. This position requires excellent data interpretation and forecasting skills.

About Bright People Foods: Bright People Foods is dedicated to developing, manufacturing, and marketing foods that sustain the earth and sustain you. We are the owners of Dr. McDougall’s Right Foods among other brands and are a third generation family business based in Northern California.

5. Grocery Store Manager at Grounded – New York, NY

Position: We’re looking for someone to help manage our revolutionary new natural foods-oriented grocery store to be located in Lower Manhattan. The 3,500SF-large store will cover 3,000 SKUs across beverage, bakery, dairy, frozen, grocery, meat, produce, and personal care products.

About Grounded: A revolutionary new grocery store (think Amazon Go) targeted at Millennials and to be located in lower Manhattan.

6. Operations/Volunteer Manager at ExtraFood – San Rafael, CA

Position: This position is one of the Executive Director’s two key direct reports. One, the Manager of Food Donor & Recipient Relations, is responsible for creating new relationships with food donors and recipient organizations, identifying the needs of our recipient partners, and, most importantly, securing new food donations that meet those needs. The Operations Manager (OM) is responsible for the day-to-day operation of ExtraFood’s food recovery program, including relationship management with operational representatives at food donor and recipient organizations, volunteer program management, food trip scheduling, food safety practices, and spontaneous donation assignment. This is a full-time non-exempt position, initially home-based and ultimately office-based.

About ExtraFood: Founded in 2013, ExtraFood.org’s mission is to help end hunger and food waste in Marin County, where more than 49,000 people worry about where their next meal will come from. Our first step is our county-wide food recovery program: we pick up donations of excess fresh food from Marin businesses/organizations and immediately deliver the food to nonprofit recipient organizations that serve Marin’s most vulnerable children, adults, and families. In 3 years, we’ve recovered and delivered 900,000 pounds of food from 150+ businesses to 83 sites across Marin, including 13 new food programs we’ve founded with our partners – expanding the safety net in Marin.

7. Regional Buyer at Green Blender – New York, NY

Position: Green Blender is seeking a highly motivated self starter to play a key role in the company’s build out of the procurement team. This role has amazing growth potential. The Regional Buyer will work directly with our Director of Purchasing to execute buys of various goods across all three of our national fulfillment centers.

About Green Blender: Green Blender is a smoothie delivery service that makes it fun and easy to indulge in your health. Each week, our members receive 5 new and original smoothie recipes, and all the pre-portioned ingredients and superfoods to make 10 smoothie servings at home. We source only the best ingredients with a sharp focus on working with organic, local farms. We believe that small, healthy changes can make a huge difference. We empower our members to do just that by making it dead simple to start their day with a healthy decision.

8. Logistics Operations Manager (Material Handling Engineer) at Grounded – New York, NY

Position: We are seeking a material handling engineer to oversee the installation and running of our small (1,500SF) semi-automatic logistical center that’ll assemble customer orders into boxes ready for delivery. The center will consist of a (1) shelving system, (2) pick to light system, (3) conveyor system, and (4) sortation system. Responsibilities will include: identifying the best equipment manufacturers to purchase from, overseeing the logistical center’s buildout and installation, and managing the center’s ongoing operations and team of 5-12 workers.

About Grounded: A revolutionary new grocery store (think Amazon Go) targeted at Millennials and to be located in lower Manhattan.

9. POSITION FILLED: Part-Time Fulfillment Manager at Driftaway Coffee (20-30h per week) – New York, NY

Position: At Driftaway, fulfillment is the process of getting coffee the right coffee at the right time in the hands of the customer. This role has a direct responsibility for the quality and reliability of the service until each item has been delivered. We roast, pack and ship once a week on Friday mornings at a warehouse in Red Hook in Brooklyn. The Fulfillment Manager is responsible for the operations in our warehouse facility where we ship product to our eCommerce customers. This role enhances customer experience through the management of the order fulfillment process and the optimization of packaging and shipping processes. This role blends direct team management (temp / contract) and analytics-based decision making. It requires a strong interest in logistics & shipping, supply chain management and process improvement.

About Driftaway: Driftaway Coffee is a profitable and growing eCommerce company that delivers freshly roasted coffee personalized to the taste of their customers. We want everyone to drink better coffee at home. We offer a coffee subscription service whereby customers receive freshly roasted coffee based on their taste profile. We are well-funded by our customers, and have been covered in various publications like Gear Patrol, Saveur, Boston Globe, and Inc. magazine.

Check out more exciting tech, design, management, development and food science positions at Food+Tech Jobs.

The post 8 Food Startups Hiring Logistics & Operations Talent in New York & San Francisco appeared first on .

From reservations and dynamically-priced food ordering, to staff training and invoice automation, startups are developing new technologies to help restaurants streamline operations and improve margins.

Join us for a deep dive into some these innovations at our February Restaurant Tech Meetup next Thursday, February 23 in NYC. You’ll get an inside look at the business models, products, challenges and lessons learned from five up-and-coming startups.

We’ll also have networking with the community and snacks and drinks from Açaí of America, Burlap and Barrel, Silly Chilly Hotsauce and more.

Details:

• When: 6:30 – 9:30 PM

• Where: Primary (25 Broadway, NY, NY)

• RSVP: Snag your spot now!

Sample Your Products!

Do you have an innovative food or beverage product you would like to showcase? We have a few openings for food partners to sample products.

Email nina[at]foodtechconnect[dot]com if you’re interested in any of these opportunities. 

Schedule:

6:30 – 7:15: Networking + Snacks

7:15 – 8:45: Presentations + Q&A

8:45 – 9:30: More Networking

Confirmed Presenters:

Joel Montaniel, CEO of SevenRooms – An enterprise technology platform for the dining, nightlife and hotel industry. We offer top operators intelligent front-of-house capabilities, powerful CRM to track and capture guest data, multi-channel inventory targeting and distribution, point-of-sale integration, predictive analytics, revenue optimization tools, marketing capabilities and an open API platform. Every capability places the guest front and center, both online and offline, to make better service easier, build loyalty, streamline operations and increase revenue.

Founded in New York in 2011, SevenRooms is present in over 100 cities, serving premier dining, hotel and nightlife operations including LDV Hospitality, Corbin & King, Morgans Hotel Group, sbe, Jumeirah, LiveNation, TAO Strategic Group, Zuma, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and many more.

Andy Schwartz, Founder of xtraCHEF – A cloud based software platform that streamlines and automates the invoicing process for restaurants and hotels. xtraCHEF then provides a layer of analytics and dashboards to allow a better understanding of the day to day costs. xtraCHEF is 100% mobile because chefs like to be in the kitchen and not behind a desk. With our product, you simply take a picture of a vendor invoice using your phone (or scan it) and xtraCHEF does the rest: Technology reads the entire invoice, line by line, digitizes, and imports directly into your Accounting or Inventory Management System.

Mohamed El Hassen Merzouk, Founder & CEO of Gebni – The stock market app for restaurant takeout. We are the first food ordering software to apply a real time demand-adjusted approach to meal prices ordered online. Our app connects users to local restaurants offering dynamically-priced meals for pickup or delivery to save them money and make sure they always pay the best available prices. Gebni has officially launched 2 months ago and counts more than 160+ restaurants on its network covering half Manhattan.

Brandon Barton, Head of Ops / Sales at Resy -A complete restaurant reservations and waitlist system. We offer cutting edge software, fair pricing and 24/7/365 customer service. ResyOS, our restaurant facing app, includes table management, ticketing, web booking, CRM, mobile app, POS integration and more.

Dana A. Koteen, Managing Partner of Restaurant Reason – An intuitive system specifically designed to address the hospitality industry’s to quickly and effectively train their staff. Operators can easily create and deliver effective, high-quality training to their staff to increase sales and enhance the guest experience. The tools are simple enough for a newly minted line-level manager to use while also being robust enough to manage larger companies with multiple units and/or concepts.

Supporting Sponsor:

The METRO Accelerator for Retail powered by Techstars is a global mentorship program that fast-tracks startup solutions disrupting the retail experience through technology innovation. Applications are now open – apply today. 

Host:

Primary is the workplace for entrepreneurs who appreciate the perks afforded by shared office space with a community built around personal and professional mindfulness. Named one of the top co-working spaces in the world by Inc. Magazine, Primary offers a robust menu of amenities: on-site fitness + yoga studio with shower facilities; practitioners offering massage therapy, facials, and more; a full-service espresso bar; a nap room; and a diverse, thriving community. Get a free work day by mentioning the Food+Tech Meetup.

The post Join Restaurant Tech Meetup with Resy, xtraCHEF, SevenRooms + More appeared first on .

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.

We’ve released our first annual Food & Bev Startup Investment report of 2017, which saw $1.08b in venture capital investments across 99 deals. Check out our report for a deep dive into the deals and trends.

Monogram Capital closed its debut fund with $152 million. Startups in the clean meat space raised seed rounds from industry players–with SuperMeat receiving $4 million and Future Meat Technologies raising $2.2 million.

In retail news, Amazon is reportedly offering more perks to its Prime members at Whole Foods, including 10% off already discounted products. Alibaba has launched a blockchain pilot for shoppers to see whether products are fake. Walmart is passing control of UK grocer Asda to Sainsbury in a deal worth $10b.

And finally, San Francisco startup ZeroCater has raised $12 million to expand beyond the Bay Area and take over office fridges and pantries.

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

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1. 2017 US Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report – Food+Tech Connect

Introducing our first annual Food & Bev Startup Investment Report by Ryan Williams. There were $1.08b in venture capital investments across 99 deals in 2017. Check out our report for a deep dive into the deals and trends.

2. Monogram Capital Closes Debut Fund – Project Nosh

The first fund closed at $152m with commitments from family offices, foundations and institutional investors. Monogram has previously invested in Ellenos greek yogurt, Country Archer, Kidfresh and Dig Inn.

3. Clean Meat Startup SuperMeat Raises $4M with Backing from Traditional Industry Players – Food Navigator 

The seed round was led by New Crop Capital and Stray Dog Capital. The capital will fund SuperMeat’s clean meat development in cultured chicken and its efforts to mass produce it.

4. Lab-Grown Meat Is Getting Cheap Enough for Anyone to Buy – Fast Company

Israel-based startup Future Meat Technology announced a $2.2m seed round of investment co-led by Tyson Ventures. The startup aims to sell its first products later this year, though its costs are still at $363 a pound.

5. ZeroCater Raises $12M to Rule the Fridges and Pantries of an Office – TechCrunch

The round was led by Cleveland Avenue, with participation by Justin Kan, Romulus Capital and Struck Capital. It plans to expand beyond lunch catering to startups in the Bay Area.

6. Amazon Plans More Prime Perks at Whole Foods, and It Will Change the Industry – CNBC

Whole Foods will begin offering Prime members an additional 10% off of already discounted products.

7. EU Agrees Total Ban on Bee-Harming Pesticides – The Guardian

The world’s most widely used insecticides will be banned from all fields within six months, to protect both wild and honeybees that are vital to crop pollination.

8. Hormel Mulls Bid for $600M Chinese Wasabi Maker – Bloomberg

Hormel is among suitors studying potential bids for Chinese condiment producer Jiahao Foods. An acquisition would bring products including soy sauce, chicken powder and abalone sauce carried in supermarkets across China.

9. Walmart Sheds Grow-Everywhere Plan in Refining Global Strategy – Bloomberg

Walmart’s plan to shed control of its UK grocery chain reflects a global strategy to emphasize faster-growing markets like China and India. Asda will combine with Sainsbury in a deal worth $10b as Walmart takes a loss of $2b.

10. Alibaba Rolls Out Blockchain Pilot to Tackle Fake Food Products – Tech in Asia

Shoppers can see whether their product is fake by scanning a QR code with their phones. The blockchain technology is being initially trialled with products imported from Australia and New Zealand.

11. This Court Battle Will Decide Who Will Make a Fortune From Gene-Editing Tech – Bloomberg

The University of California Berkley, MIT and Harvard University are facing off in an appeals court over the question of who invented and thus can profit from CRISPR technology.

12. Amazon Launches Own Pet Product Brand, Wag; Starts with Food – Bloomberg

The brand launched with dry dog food and plans to expand to include other pet supplies. It will only be available to Prime subscribers.

13. Nestle Buys Majorty Stake in British Dog Food Group Tails.com – Reuters

Nestle’s Purina PetCare division has acquired a majority stake in the British dog food company from Draper Esprit. Financial terms were not disclosed.

14. India: Amazon Reportedly Makes Offer for a Majority Stake in Indian E-Commerce Player Flipkart – CNBC

Amazon has offered to purchase a 60% stake in Flipkart. Its bid is a counter to Walmart, which is reportedly in advanced talks to become its largest shareholder.

15. Contain Inc Launches First Insurance Service for Indoor Farmers – AgFunder

The service enables vendors of various indoor agriculture equipment to come to Contain when a client needs financing to purchase their wares.

16. Yellow Fever Restaurant at California Whole Foods Sets Off a Debate – New York Times

The restaurant’s founders, who are Asian-American claimed they chose to embrace the term and reinterpret it positively for themselves.

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 2017 US Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report, Monogram Capital Closes $152M Debut Fund + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image source: Tate’s Bake Shop

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.

We’ve released our first annual Food & Bev Startup Investment report of 2017, which saw $1.08b in venture capital investments across 99 deals. Check out our report for a deep dive into the deals and trends.

Some major acquisitions took place in the CPG space this week. Nestle is betting $7.15 billion on Starbucks to revive its coffee sales, by paying the rights to market its branded products. Mondelez has purchased Tate’s Cookies for $500 million as it seeks to address changing consumer tastes.

Meal kit are getting a boost as they move in-store. Blue Apron announced a 30% reduction in price for its meal kits sold in Costco. Chef’d announced expansion to more than a dozen retailers nationwide, including Costco, Harris Teeter, Tops, Hy-vee, Weis and Gelson’s Markets. Purple Carrot closed $4m from Del Monte.

And finally, the USDA’s long-awaited GMO label is here–term “bioengineered” will be used to label foods instead of “genetically modified”. Calorie counts are now required at thousands of restaurants, grocery stores and movie theaters.

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. 2017 US Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report – Food+Tech Connect

Introducing our first annual Food & Bev Startup Investment Report by Ryan Williams. There were $1.08b in venture capital investments across 99 deals in 2017. Check out our report for a deep dive into the deals and trends.

2. Nestle Bets $7B on Starbucks to Revive Coffee Sales – Bloomberg

Nestle will pay $7.15b for the right to market Starbucks-branded products, marrying its international distribution network with the allure of the biggest name in coffee.

3. Beloved Tate’s Cookies Has Been Scooped Up by Oreo’s Parent Company – Fast Company

Mondelez purchased Tate’s Cookies for $500m. Tate’s sales have quadrupled over the past five years. It plans to expand its distribution as a standalone business.

4. Meal Kit Maker Blue Apron Turns to Costco as Customer Growth Slows – Wall Street Journal

Blue Apron is now selling its meal kits in select Costco stores at 30% off the normal price. The company has plans to expand distribution beyond San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest in the future.

5. Chef’d Selling Meal Kits at Costco, Gelson’s, Other Retailers – Biz Journals

Helping with the retail push is Smithfield Foods, which invested $25m in Chef’d last year. The meal kit will expand to more than a dozen retailers nationwide.

6. Soft Robotics Raises $20M to Expand Operations – TechCrunch

Funding came from Scale Venture Partners, Calibrate Ventures, Honeywell Ventures and Tekfen Ventures, along with existing investors. The new round will help push Soft further into the F&B categories, along with larger presence in retail and logistics.

7. Uber Plans to Test Food Delivery by Drone in Under 30 Minutes – Bloomberg

The company plans to deliver food by drone in San Diego as part of a wide-reaching commercial test program approved by the federal government.

8. Tom Brady’s Vegan Meal-Kit Maker Gets Del Monte Capital Infusion – Bloomberg

Purple Carrot has just received $4m from Del Monte, which gives it access to a national distribution network and supply chain.

9. Square Launches Restaurant Point-of-Sale Platform – TechCrunch

Square for Restaurants handles everything from menu updates, floor layouts, employee scheduling and performance tracking to tip splitting. Restaurants no longer need a separate tablet system for Caviar.

10. Israel: Rootility Raises $10M Series C Led by ADM Capital – AgFunder

ADM’s Cibus Fund was joined by GreenSoil Investments and Middleland Capital. The startup uses root-focused plant breeding methods to increase crop yields. It plans to use the funding to scale its operations and enter new markets in Asia.

11. Bushel Raises $7M for Farm Relationship Management Tool – AgFunder

Funding came from a syndicate of individual investors in the agriculture and software industries. Since launching in June 2017, it has expanded to more than 400 elevator and ethanol plants across the US and Canada.

12. IFF Joins M&A Rush in Flavorings With $7.1B Frutarom Deal – Bloomberg

International Flavors & Fragrances jumped into a rush of dealmaking in the food-flavoring industry, agreeing to buy Israel’s Frutarom. The company is tapping the fast-growing market for natural food ingredients.

13. India: Walmart Beats Amazon in $15B Flipkart Battle – Bloomberg

The deal will give Walmart a leading position in the growing market of 1.3b people and a chance to rebuild its reputation online.

14. Mandatory GMO Labels Are Coming to Your Food – The Washington Post

Food products may be exempted from labeling if they are made with some refined GM sugars and oils, or if it contains those ingredients in certain amounts. The term “bioengineered” will be used to label foods instead of “genetically modified”.

15. Obama’s Calorie Rule Kicks in Thanks to Trump – Politico

One of Barack Obama’s top food policy rules has escaped Trump’s war on regulations. Starting Monday, calorie counts will have to be posted at thousands of restaurants, grocery stores and movie theaters.

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 Mondelēz Acquires Tate’s for $500M, Blue Apron and Chef’d Expand Now Selling Meal Kits at Costco + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

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 USDA has officially nixed the organic checkoff program due to a lack of consensus within the industry for a national research and promotion program for certified organic products. The agency also announced the requirement for retailers to release the amount of money they get through SNAP.

Good Eggs has bounced back from nearly closing in 2015 with a recent infusion of $50 million to take on the Amazon-Whole Foods behemoth. Kroger has exclusively partnered with Ocado to bring its automated fulfillment capabilities to America. Whole Foods has announced a 10% discount to Prime members.

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. USDA Nixes Organic Checkoff Program – Food Dive

The department said there wasn’t enough support to move forward on a plan that would have larger producers pay about $30m annually to fund a national research and marketing strategy.

2. How Good Eggs Came Back from the Brink – and Plans to Take on Amazon – Fast Company

The online delivery company came close to shutting down in 2015. Now it’s raised $50m and is planning to grow beyond San Francisco by offering an alternative to the Amazon-Whole Foods behemoth.

3. Kroger Partners with Ocado in a Bet on the Future of Online Grocery – Food Dive

The retailer has signed an exclusive agreement with Ocado to bring its automated fulfillment capabilities to America. Ocado’s technology offers online ordering, automated warehouse fulfillment and delivery logistics.

4. Next Up at Amazon-Run Whole Foods: Half-Priced Halibut Steaks – New York Times

Whole Foods will give large discounts for some products, and 10% off hundreds of sale items in stores for Amazon Prime members.

5. USDA Must Release SNAP Payment Data, Court Rules – Food Dive

The amount of money grocery retailers get through SNAP now must be released. Industry groups voiced concerns over unfairly singling out stores serving a poorer customer base.

6. Munchery Is Ending Food Delivery in Three Cities and Cutting Staff – SF Gate

The San Francisco startup is cutting 30% of its staff and ceasing delivery in Los Angeles, New York and Seattle as it focuses on San Francisco.

7. The New Global Plan to Eliminate the Most Harmful Fat in Food, Explained – Vox

For the first time, the World Health Organization wants to ban trans fats from the food supply by 2023. If successful, they say it could save more than 10m lives worldwide by reducing cardiovascular disease.

8. Let Them Eat Trump Steaks – New York Times

Some of the biggest victims of Trump’s obsession with cutting “welfare” will be the very people who put him in office.

9. Spacious Closes $9M Series A to Add 100 Locations + Retail Flagships – Think Outside the Office

The Series A funding was led by August Capital + Baseline, Redpoint, Lerer Hippeau and Box Group. The startup converts empty restaurants into workspaces during the day.

10. Cava Group Is Raising Tens of Millions of Dollars. Again. – Biz Journals

The fast casual restaurant chain raised a $35m equity offering from undisclosed investors. It has already raised $96m in the past few years to fuel its growth.

11. Hospitality Giant Buys Delivery Service Waitr for $308M – Skift Table

The Louisiana-based delivery company will be acquired by Landcadia. It currently has 540k active diners on its platform and partners with over 5k restaurants.

12. Hu Products Closes Round, 43 Investors Strong – Project Nosh

Maker of paleo-friendly, vegan, organic chocolate closed a round just under $10m led by Sonoma Brands. The new investment will allow Hu Kitchen to commercialize six new products already developed in its restaurant.

13. PetPlate Raises $4M in Seed Funding Round – Finsmes

The round was led by Dane Creek Capital with participation from Amity Supply, SWAT Equity, The Yard Ventures, Castor Ventures and BrandProject. PetPlate will use  the funds to scale operations to meet demand of its subscription pet meal service.

14. Belgium: BIGH Raises €4.3M for Largest Urban Rooftop Farm in Europe – AgFunder

The $5.1m investment came from LTFD, Fidentia Green Buildings, Finance.Brussels and ECF. The startup plans to build its first aquaponic farm on a site spanning 4k meters above a food hall in the center of the city.

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 Good Eggs Raises $50M, Sayonara Organic Checkoff Program + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

It’s not easy being a food innovator. There’s no road map for reinventing an industry.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with ForceBrands: FoodForce | BevForce to celebrate failure in all its glory at Fail Friday (on a Wednesday). Join us to hear stories of failure and lessons learned from top food entrepreneurs.

We will also have food from emerging brands Seek Food, Lavva, HavenRow, PetPlate and drinks from Metabrew. And, as always, there will be lots of networking.

SCHEDULE:
7:00 – 7:45: Networking, Snacks & Drinks
7:45 – 8:45: Failure Stories & Q&A
8:45 – 9:30: More Networking

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
Rita Hudetz, CEO, Hu Kitchen & Products
Rita M. Hudetz is a 2009 Yale FES/SOM Joint Degree Graduate. Rita was recently promoted to CEO of Hu Kitchen/Hu Products, a high quality/ultra unprocessed restaurant and CPG business located in NYC. She joined Hu Kitchen as Chief Commercial Officer of Hu Products in 2016, to drive expansion of their retail product line. Since 2016 she has expanded the products business nationally, launched an ecommerce platform, increased sales by 5x and introduced new products following Hu’s “no weird ingredients” mantra.

Camilla Marcus, Founder, west~bourne
west~bourne, is a healthy-minded café and takeaway shop in SoHo founded by Camilla  Marcus, an artist and cook at heart with a background in business development, law, and investing. Camilla has helped bring to life some of New York’s beloved neighborhood restaurants, including dell’anima, Riverpark, and the reopened Union Square Café.  Formerly the Director of Business Development for Union Square Hospitality Group, Camilla has also worked in real estate investing for Colony Capital and CIM Group. With west~bourne, she is now both the investor and the entrepreneur, committed to rethinking what it means to be a good neighbor through the lens of hospitality. a portion of every purchase made at west~bourne will benefit a neighboring non-profit, The Door, to fund hospitality job training for youth in our community, and we are hiring from that very program to build our team.

Renaldo Webb, Founder & CEO, PetPlate
Renaldo Webb is Founder and Chief Product Officer at PetPlate. Inspired by his dog Winston, Renaldo founded PetPlate after deciding that he did not want to feed his dog anything less than real food. After making hundreds of batches of home-cooked dog food for Winston and his pup pals, Renaldo decided to launch a pet food brand that he could proudly call his own. Prior to PetPlate, Renaldo worked at LCatterton and McKinsey & Company as a lean manufacturing consultant, where he led operational turnarounds for public and private companies. He launched PetPlate as a nationwide subscription service in early 2017, following an appearance on the hit TV show Shark Tank.

Ravi Jolly, Co-Founder & President, I Heart Keenwah
Ravi Jolly, founded I Heart Keenwah, a brand that makes delicious, nutritious, plant-based food products using top quality quinoa. In doing so, he has made a mark on the world by making organic and Fair Trade quinoa accessible, introducing many to a health-supporting protein source and sourcing quinoa in a way that is equitable to farmers.

PARTNERS:

Force Brands is a boutique recruiting and staffing agency that specializes in hiring strategies and organizational design for food and beverage companies. Force Brands includes two divisions, the newly introduced FoodForce, which focuses on hiring for the food industry and BevForce, which focuses on hiring for the beverage industry. FoodForce | BevForce is a comprehensive hiring and job search platform providing staffing resources, including: executive recruiting, interim placement, board of director assembly and targeted industry job boards.

Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. We are an independent, founder-controlled company of 132 people working together in an old pencil factory in New York City. Over 10 million people, from every continent on earth, have backed a Kickstarter project from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology.

The Brooklyn Brewery is made up of a rich collection of characters from all over the world. In our Williamsburg home, these characters are dedicated to brewing and selling great beer and enriching the communities we serve. Together, these Brooklyners have assembled the skills needed to transform a home brewing hobby into an independent brewery with a brand that has become an international beacon for good beer.

The post Fail Friday (on a Wednesday): Food Startups Share Lessons Learned appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Go Dairy Free

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 farm bill became a bargaining chip in the heated intraparty battle over immigration on the House floor Friday. A revote is set to occur on June 22nd.  The USDA revealed prototypes for GMO labels, which appear more like propaganda for the industry.

In CPG news, Rebbl has raised $20 million to expand into big box retailers. Campbell’s CEO Denise Morrison suddenly stepped down after her bet on fresher foods failed to revive sales.

Meal kits are moving in-store–Blue Apron is rolling out a national series of pop-up events, and Kroger is buying Home Chef for up to $700 million.

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. House Farm Bill Collapses Amid Republican Disarray – New York Times

A rebellion from conservative lawmakers sank a vast farm policy bill on the House floor Friday amid a fight over how to proceed on immigration.

2. USDA Unveils Prototypes for GMO Food Labels, and They’re…Confusing – NPR

The labels use the letters BE, for bioengineered, not GMO, which critics say could baffle consumers. One design features a smiling sun that a skeptic calls propaganda for the industry.

3. Herb-Infused Coconut Milk Rebbl Raises $20M from Cavu Venture Partners – CNBC

The company will use new funds for marketing, innovation and moving into more convenient retailers including Safeway and Stop N Shop. The new investment values it at close to $100m.

4. Campbell CEO Departs After Bet on Fresh Food Falls Short – Wall Street Journal

Denise Morrison stepped down on Friday, and the company said it might sell some brands, after a bet on fresher foods under her leadership failed to revive sales.

5. Amazon Go — a Cashierless Version of 7-Eleven — Is Expanding to San Francisco and Chicago– Recode

Recode previously reported that the company planned to open up to six new locations this year.

6. Blue Apron Goes All-Out on Brick and Mortar – Retail Leader

A week after announcing it would sell its meal kits at Costco, the company isrolling out a national series of pop-up events intended to bring communities across the country together in celebration of home cooking.

7. UK: Whisk, the Smart Food Platform That Makes Recipes Shoppable, Acquires Competitor Avocando – TechCrunch

Whisk is acquiring the tech, customer base, integrations and team for an undisclosed sum. The UK startup has a B2B data platform to power food apps.

8. PayPal Just Dropped $2.2 Billion to Compete With Square in Restaurants and Cafes – Skift Table

PayPal is buying Swedish small-business platform iZettle for $2.2b to expand in Europe and Latin America and increase its presence in brick and mortar stores.

9. Kroger to Buy Home Chef in Latest Move to Get Meal Kits in Grocery Stores – CNBC

The initial price is $200m and could go up to $700m over the next five years in exchange for Home Chef meeting certain milestones, including significant growth of in-store and online meal kit sales.

10. Crowd Cow, Offering Ranch to Table Meats, Picks Up $8M from Madrona, Ashton Kutcher – TechCrunch

Crowd Cow plans to use the funding to continue expansion into different proteins and new markets, as well as opening new distribution centers to speed up delivery to customers.

11. Deliveroo Announces £5M ‘Innovation Fund’ to Support UK Restaurants – CateringToday

The company aims to bring in new menus and measures that will be more compatible with the delivery app. It is also looking into ways to fund more ‘dark kitchens’ that allow chefs and restaurants to cook meals for delivery only.

12. High Brew Coffee Closes ‘ Non-Traditional’ $20M Funding Round – Food Navigator

The investment was led by Charles Street Partners and will go towards digital advertizing and furthering its Amazon partnership.

13. EAT Club Acquires Healthy Food Startup Farm Hill – TechCrunch

The corporate lunch service with a customer base that includes Flipboard, Mastercard and TaskRabbit has acquired Farm Hill, a lunch box delivery service, to solidify and expand its presence in the Bay Area. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

14. Denmark: Connecterra Raises €4.2M Series A for AI-powered Dairy Tech – AgFunder

The round was led by Sistema VC with new investment from AgFunder, 7 Percent Ventures, Acequia Capital, and industry veteran Henk Bles. Connecterra will use the funding to further develop its technology, expand into new markets and grow its team.

15. France: Algaia Raises €4M to Expand Algae Product Portfolio and Extraction Technology – AgFunder

Maabarot Products invested the additional equity capital to support Algaia’s expansion of its production facility and innovation center. The company manufactures algae-based products for agriculture feed, personal care and nutraceutical industries.

16. The Impossible Burger Is Officially Certified Kosher – Grub Street

Jewish people who keep kosher can finally sink their teeth into “bleeding” plant burgers.

17. Plastic Straws Might Soon Be Banned in New York City – Grub Street

A new bill even proposes $100 fines for violators.

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 House Farm Bill Collapses, Blue Apron Goes Brick-and-Mortar, Rebbl Raises $200M + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

This is a sponsored post from FoodBytes! by Rabobank.

Calling All Rising Star Food & Agriculture Startups!

Rabobank’s next-generation pitch competition FoodBytes! is coming to London on September 12 and 13. Cutting-edge CPG, food tech and agtech startups focused on the triple bottom-line are encouraged to apply by Sunday, July1. Get the connections and mentorship to help take your business to the next level. Learn more about the selection criteria and apply to pitch today!

Food+Tech Connect has been a proud partner of FoodBytes! since 2015 and is thrilled to support their first event in London. The FoodBytes! roster of Europe-based alumni includes Impact Vision, The Real Co, Koupe and many more. Will you be next?

How will FoodBytes! Benefit Your Business?

• Get one-on-one expert mentorship on key business development areas
• Pitch to a room full of investors, executives, media and potential partners / customers
• Join a global alumni community of 210+ cutting edge startups
• Check out what our winners and finalists have to say about their FB! experience

The post FoodBytes! is Coming to London – Apply to Pitch by July 1 appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

This is a sponsored post from the Chobani Incubator. 

The Chobani® Incubator is launching a residency for food tech startups in our ongoing mission to bring better food to more people. In addition to helping emerging natural food and beverage product companies grow, we want to solve challenges all along the food and agriculture value chain: from waste reduction to food safety to supply chain traceability and more. We will bring tech entrepreneurs to the front lines of food manufacturing to enable them to tap into our operations, supply chain, logistics and quality assurance expertise to build innovative solutions to the industry’s biggest challenges.

We give growing companies access to our network and expertise in order to scale up their operations and achieve significant growth. We’re looking for early-stage startups with technical expertise eager to iterate and improve their products and services based on Chobani’s input. If that’s you, we encourage you to apply.

We are also accepting applications for the Fall 2018 class of our Chobani® Incubator program.

The Chobani Incubator will continue to focus on helping emerging food and beverage CPG brands. We’re looking for passionate founders shaking up the food industry with innovative solutions to help bring better food to more people. If you’re making a delicious, nutritious, natural and affordable product, we highly encourage you to apply.

If you’ve applied to the Incubator in the past and are debating whether to apply again, consider this: Over half of the companies in our current cohort (five out of nine) had previously applied to our program before being selected in the spring. We absolutely encourage you to apply again and demonstrate why now is your time to be a part of the Chobani Incubator.

We encourage you to visit the FAQ section to learn more about the program and application. For further questions, you can contact us at info@chobaniincubator.com.

The post Chobani Incubator is Launching a Food Tech Residency appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Image source: CNN Money

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 US justice department has officially approved the $66 billion takeover of Monsanto by Bayer. The merger will create the world’s largest seed and pesticides maker.

JAB Holding Co has further broadened its control over the grab-and-go market with an acquisition of Pret A Manger, taking the chain nationwide. PepsiCo has swallowed Bare Foods for an undisclosed sum in a move to further increase its healthy food offerings. SnackNation has closed a $12 million round to scale its direct-to-consumer business and enter new distribution channels.

And finally, large and growing companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Foodshed.io and Walmart have been placing bets on blockchain in hopes of increasing efficiencies and safety measures in the food supply chain.

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. Bayer Wins US Approval for Monsanto After Two-Year Quest – Bloomberg

Bayer won US antitrust approval for its $66b takeover of Monsanto, clearing the last major regulatory hurdle to forming the world’s biggest seed and agricultural-chemicals provider after a nearly two year global review.

2. Why Panera Bread’s Parent Company Is Buying Pret a Manger – Eater

JAB Holding Co. which also counts Peet’s, Stumptown Coffee and Panera Bread among its brands, plans to expand Pret throughout the US in an effort to dominate grab-and-go.

3. PepsiCo to Acquire the Fruit and Veggie Snack Maker Bare Foods – New York Times

The deal is the latest move by the food and beverage conglomerate to increase its offerings of healthy snacks.

4. SnackNation to Expand Beyond Offices with $12M Investment – Project Nosh

The Series B round was led by 3L Capital and will be used to expand into new distribution channels, such as hospitality and transportation and scale its direct-to-consumer business.

5. Ben & Jerry’s Bets on Blockchain to Cancel Out the Carbon in Every Scoop – Forbes

The company is working with the Poseidon Foundation to use blockchain to break carbon credits into micro-transactions that can be attached to every scoop of ice cream.

6. Weather App Poncho Has Been Acquired by a Boutique Beverage Company, Dirty Lemon – Fast Company

The acquisition will allow Dirty Lemon to begin providing text message-based brand-to-user interactions that the weather app had been building out over the last few years. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

7. Collaborative Fund Raises $100M for Its Fourth Fund – TechCrunch

The fund includes LPs like Quora founder Adam D’Angelo, former Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson, Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow and former Sequoia partner Tom McMurray. It is looking for startups that will be able to accomplish social good while maintaining profitability.

8. ecoRobotix Raises $10.7M Series B Led by BASF, Capagro to Take Weeding Robot Across Europe – AgFunder

The startup will use the Series B proceeds to expand across Europe as it targets the multi-billion-dollar weeding market globally.

9. Food Delivery Drones Take Flight in China – Engadget

Alibaba’s online meal giant Ele.me has been cleared to use drones for delivering orders in Shanghai’s Jinshan Industrial Park. The move is said to lower operating costs and increase income for existing couriers.

10. Walmart Steps Up Its Commitment to Blockchain – Chain Store Age

The company has filed two patents that allow customers to resell products on a digital marketplace and another will help Walmart better facilitate customer deliveries.

11. Future of Food Distribution is Local: Foodshed.io Creates Transparent Supply Chain Using Blockchain – Food Navigator 

Demand for local food is climbing, yet the modern food distribution system is ill-equipped to handle small supply from local independent farmers. Foodshed.io is connecting producers to wholesale markets, streamlining ordering, payments and delivery.

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 Bayer-Monsanto Merger Gets Approved, JAB Acquires Pret A Manger + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.