Technology promises to transform the restaurant industry. From talent management and personalization platforms to ghost kitchens and corporate catering marketplaces, startups are aiming to help restaurants improve operations and increase revenue. How do these technologies and new operational models work? What do they actually mean for restaurants?

Join us for What’s Next in Restaurant Tech at WeWork HQ for a deep dive into Zuul, Harri and HUNGRY’s business models, technologies, challenges and lessons learned. You’ll also be able to network with the community, demo cutting edge restaurant technologies and sample innovative food & beverages.

Explore cutting edge technologies from The.Fit, Plate IQ, ItsaCheckmate, BentoBox and OpenTable. Enjoy tasty bites and drinks from Hella Cocktail, Element Farms, Mosaic Foods and more.

Do you have a food or beverage product you’d like to sample at this event? Apply here!

SCHEDULE:

6 – 7:30pm: Networking, tech demos and food and beverage sampling

7:30 – 9pm: Presentations + Q&A

9 – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:

Corey Mancione, Co-Founder & CEO, Zuul

Corey is co-founder and CEO of Zuul, a turnkey solution for well-known restaurant brands, allowing effortless growth and new market share through access to a network of delivery only shared kitchen establishments. Before founding Zuul, Corey grew up in a family that owned and operated restaurants. In 2015 Corey was fortunate to be the first employee at Relay Delivery where he served as the Director of Sales and helped develop the optimal delivery playbook for restaurants in NYC. Today, Corey leverages his knowledge of the restaurant delivery scene and over-arching industry to help restaurants expand into new markets faster than they ever imagined possible.

Sean Fitzgibbons, Co-Founder & COO, Zuul
Sean worked in the food technology space, where he served as Director of Channel Growth with San Francisco based Zipongo, a digital nutrition platform that manages and reduces chronic disease by making it easy to eat well. Today, Sean acts as COO of Zuul, where he leverages his knowledge of the food tech space and experience in strategic partnership development to design initiatives that drive growth and ensure restaurant brand success.

Luke Fryer, Founder & CEO, Harri

Luke developed Harri to solve the hospitality industry’s greatest challenges: finding, hiring and managing great talent. Harri is an entirely new kind of software platform for HR and operations: Workforce OS. Broad in scope, narrow in vertical focus and deep in rich, industry-specific functionality as a result. Harri consolidates up to 30 fragmented point solutions into single, elegant, mobile first enterprise platform and massively streamlines the chore of daily operational challenges faced by employees, line managers and executives alike.

Eman Pahlavani, Founder & COO, HUNGRY

In 2017 Eman founded HUNGRY, a DC based food-tech platform that connects independent chefs to offices for corporate catering. HUNGRY recently closed an $8 million dollar series A with backing from Motley Fool Ventures, Sands Capital, and Marcy Venture Partners (Jay-z’s Venture fund). Today HUNGRY operates in 5 cities and will be in 20 cities by the end of 2020.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

WeWork Food Labs Logo

WeWork Food Labs is building a community of entrepreneurs, industry experts and investors to fix food, now and for the future. A workspace and global platform, Food Labs is dedicated to startups impacting the future of sustainable food.

OpenTable: We love what can happen around the restaurant table. Since 1998, we’ve been committed to empowering that experience. From helping restaurants grow and run their businesses, to enabling diners to discover and book the perfect table every time they dine, our story is one of connection—among diners, restaurants, and their communities. Every month, OpenTable diners write more than 1 million restaurant reviews. Our network connects diners with more than 51,000 restaurants worldwide and finds restaurants for more than 28 million diners each month.

James Beard Foundation: For more than 30 years, the James Beard Foundation has highlighted the centrality of food culture in our daily lives. Through the James Beard Awards, unique dining experiences at the James Beard House and around the country, scholarships, hands-on learning, and a variety of industry programs that educate and empower leaders in our community, the Foundation has built a platform for chefs and asserted the power of gastronomy to drive behavior, culture, and policy change around food.

METRO Xcel is a program for later stage startups in the restaurant and hospitality-tech sector. Run by METRO, Europe’s predominant club wholesale grocer, on a quarterly basis, the program provides later stage founders with the necessary tools to scale fast and sustainably while also unlocking access to several sales channels. Applications are open now. Learn more and apply: www.metroaccelerator.com

Brooklyn Brewery: Like our namesake borough, 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.

Edible Manhattan tells the story of how the city eats. Along with other Edible New York properties, we are part of a national network of Edibles across North America. We chronicle how the region eats. Through editorial and at events where our stories come to life, we celebrate the people who are building the sort of food culture we want—one that’s diverse, accessible, sustainable and delicious.

The post What’s Next in Restaurant Tech appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Yahoo

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.

Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown announced that the company is now developing plant-based bacon. The launch date has not been confirmed. In addition, the company has just partnered with Dunkin’ to offer Beyond Sausage breakfast sandwich at 163 restaurants in Manhattan at $4.29. Nationwide expansion will follow.

Eatsa has rebranded as Brightloom and announced $30 million in funding led by Tao Capital Partners and Valor Equity Partners. It has also inked new deal with Starbucks, allowing it to license aspects of the coffee company’s technology, offering a version on its own hardware and mobile platforms for other food companies to use.

After two decades of R&D, a new apple variety dubbed the Cosmic Crisp – a hybrid between the Honeycrisp and Enterprise, a late-ripening, long-storing apple – is landing this fall with aims to disrupt the apple industry.

And finally, Trump’s USDA has announced a proposal that puts 30 million SNAP recipients at risk of losing their eligibility. The rule could potentially rescind free school lunch from more than 200,000 children.

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. Beyond Meat Is Developing a Plant-Based Substitute for Bacon – Bloomberg

The company doesn’t have a launch date, but CEO Ethan Brown said the product is improving as it goes through development.

2. Beyond Meat’s Restaurant Reach Expands With Dunkin’ Sandwich – Bloomberg

Dunkin’ will offer Beyond Sausage breakfast sandwich at 163 restaurants in Manhattan at $4.29. The plan is to go national with the menu item.

3. Eatsa Rebrands As Brightloom, Inks Deal with Starbucks, Raises $30M – The Spoon

The round was led by Tao Capital Partners and Valor Equity Partners. Brightloom will integrate Starbucks customer engagement software in exchange for Starbucks taking an equity stake and joining its Board of Directors.

4. After Two Decades of R&D, The Cosmic Crisp Apple Lands This Fall. It Could Disrupt an Entire Industry – California Sunday

The Cosmic Crisp is the result of crossbreeding the Honeycrisp and Enterprise, a late-ripening, long-storing apple.

5. Retail’s Adapt-Or-Die Moment: How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Commerce – CB Insights

Traditional and new-school retailers alike are using AI and robotics to automate various parts of the retail chain, from manufacturing to last-mile delivery.

6. Self-Service Kiosk Market to Reach $30.8B – Restaurant Dive

Self-order kiosks are making an increasing appearance at QSR restaurants as different retailers look for ways to provide consumers with a tech-driven experience.

7. Is It Possible to Raise a Carbon-Neutral Cow? – Fast Company

Here’s why Stonyfield, Danone, Annie’s and other food companies are leading a regenerative agriculture revolution.

8. Japan: Lab-Grown Foie Gras Will Be in Restaurants by 2021 – Livekindly

Cultured meat company IntegriCulture wants to bring its cultured foie gras to restaurants by 2021.

9. New Trump Administration Rule Could Kick 3M People Off Food Stamps – Salon

The USDA is set to propose a rule that will redefine SNAP eligibility and potentially rescind free school lunch from more than 200,000 children.

10. OpenTable Now Offers Delivery with Help from Uber Eats and Grubhub – Engadget

OpenTable announced that it’s partnering with Uber Eats, Caviar and Grubhub to offer meal delivery from over 8k restaurants in 90 cities across the US.

11. Uber Is Testing An All-in-One Subscription for Rides, Food Delivery, Bikes and Scooters – The Verge

$24.99 a month gets customers discounted rides and free food delivery.

12. UK: Uber Is Launching a Restaurant “Accelerator” to Fill the Gaps It Sees on Uber Eats – Quartz

Uber plans to launch a restaurant accelerator program in partnership with Karma Kitchen in London. Restaurants selected for the 3 week program will work on everything from photographing food to streamlining delivery operations.

13. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

Over $1.45B was invested across 247 deals in 2018, according to the research in our second annual investment report produced in partnership with Ryan Willams. Check out the report for a deep dive into the investor and investment trends. We also share a complete list of deals and acquisitions.

14. Women, Women of Color & Gender Non-Conforming Innovator Database

We created this open-source list to increase representation, support and investment in women, women of color & gender-nonconforming innovators in food. Join the list & help us spread the word using #womxninfood

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 Beyond Meat Takes on Bacon, Cosmic Crisp Could Disrupt Apple Industry + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

PowerPlant Ventures Partners (from left to right) Dan Gluck, Mark Rampolla, Kevin Boylan, and T.K. Pillan – Photo courtesy of Tom Cocking (www.fmtsphotography.com)

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.

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. UK: Takeaway and Just Eat to Merge in $10B Deal to Take on Deliveroo and Uber Eats in Europe – TechCrunch

The deal would help them combine forces and take on more scale to compete better with Uber Eats and Amazon-backed Deliveroo.

2. PowerPlant Ventures Raises $165M Fund To Keep Betting On Plant-Based Nutrition – Crunchbase News

The firm plans to lead or co-lead Series A and Series B rounds in plant-based food technology companies with check size ranging between $4 million to $8 million dollars.

3. Brandless’ New CEO Is Dumping Its $3 Price Point, Hitting The Stores And Going Big On CBD – Forbes

The ex-COO of Walmart.com is employing new strategies to turn around the e-commerce startups money-bleeding operations.

4. Beyond Meat’s Q2 Earnings Highlight Stunning Growth and Investor Jitters – The New Food Economy

Shares of the company’s stock have risen 775 percent in the last three months, though analysts predict a bust to come.

5. As Amazon Eyes Food Delivery in India, New Report Details Tech Giant’s Grocery Ambitions – GeekWire

Amazon is reportedly in talks with Uber to buy out the Uber Eats India business. It is also working with Catamaran to get its food delivery service off the ground.

6. Plant-Based Eggs Land Their First Major Fast Food Deal – CNBC

Tim Hortons is testing JUST Egg at locations in Canada, marking the first fast-food deal for the plant-based egg.

7. Impossible Foods In Full Scale-Up Mode With Burger Manufacturing Deal And FDA Approval – Forbes

Impossible is partnering with major food producer OSI Group to increase its production capacity. The company received approval from the FDA and is targeting a September retail release.

8. The Owners of Eleven Madison Park Are Ending Their Partnership – New York Times

Will Guidara and Daniel Humm, whose restaurant group includes the world-famous Manhattan destination, are splitting up in a major divorce for the industry.

9. PepsiCo Buys Stake in One of China’s Biggest Natural Food Companies – CNN

The company is buying 26% of Natural Food International for $131m as it seeks to capitalize on the global health food craze.

10. Cannabis Sales Could Hit $41B by 2025, Nielsen Predicts – Food Dive

The market for all legalized cannabis, including CBD, is expected to quintuple from $8 billion in 2018 to $41 billion by 2025, according to new data from Nielsen.

11. Amazon Wants to Rule the Grocery Aisles, and Not Just at Whole Foods – New York Times

Instead of Whole Foods being the answer to the tech behemoth’s grocery ambitions, it seems to have encouraged executives to pursue other ideas, too.

12. Trump Plan Failed to Note That it Could Jeopardize Free School Lunches for 500,000 Children, Democrats Say – NBC News

The administration failed to include its analysis of how many schoolchildren would be affected by food stamp changes in its formal proposal, according to a lawmaker who was briefed on the figures.

13. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

14. Women, Women of Color & Gender Non-Conforming Innovator Database

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 PowerPlant Ventures Raises $165M Fund, Takeaway and Just Eat Merge in $10B Deal + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Join 500+ entrepreneurs, investors, executives, advocates and more to explore strategies and tactics for reducing societal consumption of animal products and ending factory farming at the third annual Reducetarian Summit on September 27th – 29th, 2019 in Washington D.C. The theme of this year’s conference is “action.” In addition to several moderated panels, lightning talks, and fireside chats, a greater emphasis will be placed on skills building workshops and curated networking opportunities. This year’s Reducetarian Summit will also feature a full expo showcasing delicious plant-based food.

Whether you’re fully plant-based or simply practicing Meatless Monday, you’re a reducetarian! We each have different motivations, but we share one common goal: a better world. Being a reducetarian doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t eat meat, it just means you are at a minimum reducing your consumption of red meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy, especially from factory farmed sources. Together, we can protect the environment, improve human health, and spare farmed animals from suffering.

At the Reducetarian Summit, you will:

Hear from world-renowned speakers
Attend moderated panels and lightning talks
Participate in skills-building workshops
Enjoy networking opportunities
Learn about the latest plant-based and cell-based products and services

Headlined by best-selling author Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Eating Animals, this three-day conference + plant-based expo will feature 100+ speakers and exhibitors like:

Sandhya Sriram (Shiok Meats)
Michele Simon (The Plant Based Foods Association)
Lisa Feria (Stray Dog Capital)
Lou Cooperhouse (BlueNalu)
Brian Spears (New Age Meats)
Jessica Hochman (SPINS)
Greg Steltenpohl (Califia Farms)
Rachel Sylvan (Sodexo)
Annie Ryu (The Jackfruit Company)
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed (KBW Ventures)

Use code FTC15 for 15% off the ticket price

The post Join 500+ Startups, Execs & More at the Reducetarian Summit September 27-29 appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Leo Lintang / Adobe

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.

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. Climate Change Threatens the World’s Food Supply, United Nations Warns – The New York Times

The report, prepared by more than 100 experts from 52 countries and released in summary form in Geneva on Thursday, finds that we must transform our food production and land management if we have a chance of staying under 2 degrees Celsius of global warming.

2. We’re Leaving So Much Food on Farms To Just Rot in The Fields – Fast Company

Most of the reports you hear about food waste don’t even include the amount that’s left behind on farms, but new research shows it’s around 33%.

3. Square Sells Food-Delivery Service Caviar to DoorDash for $410 Million – CNBC

According a securities filing, Square bought Caviar five years ago for $44.3 million.
Square CEO Jack Dorsey, said the move will allow Square to double down on investments and focus in its core payments businesses.

4. Sodexo Is Launching an Impossible Burger Menu at 1,500 U.S. Locations – The Spoon

Sodexo will offer plant-based version of a sausage muffin sandwich, sausage gravy and biscuits, steakhouse burger and creole burger.

5. Subway Partners With Beyond Meat as Part of Its Comeback Bid – CNBC

Subway is partnering with Beyond Meat, starting with a meatball marinara sub made with plant-based meatballs. The sandwich chain has been struggling in recent years after rapidly expanding across the U.S.

6. The Bowls at Chipotle and Sweetgreen Are Supposed to be Compostable. They Contain Cancer-Linked “Forever Chemicals.” – The New Food Economy

Testing by The New Food Economy reveals an industry secret: Virtually all plant fiber bowls contain PFAS, troubling chemicals that don’t break down naturally in the environment. It gets worse from there.

7. ICE Raids Seven Mississippi Chicken Plants, in The Largest Single-State Action in Agency History – The New Food Economy

Immigration officials have raided multiple chicken plants in Mississippi, detaining 680 workers in what officials are calling the largest single-state sting in American history.

8. Stonyfield to Launch Smart-Farm Tech Initiative to Retain More Soil Carbon – Union Leader

Stonyfield Organic, the USDA’s LandPKS project and Foundation for Food and Agriculture (FFAR) are launching a new $10 million tech initiative to create smart farms, using predictive data models, spectral analysis and customized cover cropping techniques to reduce agricultural carbon emissions and help farmers maximize their profits. The initiative will work to develop a new open-source platform called OpenTeam.

9. Tyson Foods’ Raised & Rooted Nuggets ‘Made With Plants’ Are Rolling Out to 4,000 Stores – FoodNavigator

The pea-protein fueled nuggets will roll out by the end of September, with blended burgers combining pea protein isolate and Angus beef to follow.

10. Arizona Tea Maker Enters The Cannabis Market – CNBC

The maker of Arizona Tea is entering the market for vape pens and cannabis-infused gummies and drinks through a licensing deal with Dixie Brands.

11. Company Secures Millions To Make Compostable Food Service Products From Grass – Forbes

Biomass solutions company Genera Energy has procured an investment of more than $118 million to produce compostable food service items from locally grown grasses.

12. Inari Raises $89m Series C to Make Seeds Diverse Again – AgFunder

Flagship Pioneering lead the round alongside Investment Corporation of Dubai, EDBI and Acre Venture Partners. The company will use the funds to develop genomic tools including gene editing to improve global seed diversity.

13. New Farm Policy Proposal – Elizabeth Warren

Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren shares her plan for addressing farm issues, such as consolidation, conservation and more.

14. Cory Booker Wants to Pay Many More Farmers to Practice Carbon Farming – Civil Eats

The Climate Stewardship Act, which Booker plans to propose in September, aims to ‘dramatically scale up’ voluntary conservation incentives for farmers and ranchers.

15. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

16. Women, Women of Color & Gender Non-Conforming Innovator Database

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 Climate Change Threatens Food Supply, 33% of Food is Wasted in The Field + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Embark on an immersive journey through the latest trends and profound consumer realities that will challenge how you think about the future of food at Datassential’s FOODSCAPE. Top tastemakers, scientists, and marketers will reveal how to connect masterfully with consumers through flavor, health, technology, and human values

FOODSCAPE brings you more than 100 incredible eating and drinking experiences combined with new insights from the visionaries that are defining the future of food.

What You’ll Experience:

Attend the first public tasting of chicken nuggets created through cellular agriculture
Taste the latest food and beverage trends from around the world
Learn next-gen solutions for reducing waste and combating climate change
Delve into the psychology of what makes a great meal
Give your company a valuable head start in the personalized nutrition revolution
Discover why your future customer is an algorithm, and what to do about it
Gain contrasting views on hot button issues including cultural appropriation and meat consumption
Take home brand new consumer food insights from Datassential
Collaborate like never before as you experience new foods with your customers and peers

Join hundreds of top restaurant chains, retailers, CPG brands, chefs, and other food industry leaders. If your company makes or sells food, Foodscape is for you.

FOODSCAPE takes place September 24-25 in Chicago. Tickets are selling out fast, so register today to guarantee your spot.

Use code FOODTECH at checkout for $150 off.

The post Register For FOODSCAPE & Save $150 Today 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.

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. Atkins Owner to Acquire Protein-Food Maker Quest for $1B – Food Dive

Simply Good Foods Company, the maker of meal kits, breads, pizzas, frozen foods, shakes, bars and other products under the Atkins brand, is buying Quest Nutrition for $1 billion. The pairing of Atkins and Quest will result in a nutritional snacking company with combined net sales of more than $800 million annually, the companies said.

2. Target is Launching Grocery Brand Good & Gather in Bid to Boost Its Food Business – CNBC

The brand will include more than 2,000 items ranging from organic snacks to fresh salad mixes and frozen meals. Target expects Good & Gather to be a multibillion-dollar brand by the end of 2020.

3. Whole Foods CEO on Plant-Based Meat Boom: Good For The Environment But Not For Your Health – CNBC

“I don’t think eating highly processed foods is healthy. I think people thrive on eating whole foods,” says John Mackey.

4. Plant-Based Eggs Are Starting to Compete With the Real Thing – Quartz

JUST announced 2,100 Kroger-owned stores will sell its plant-based liquid eggs. According to IRI, the vegan liquid eggs are the second-best performing in the category.

5. The Banana is One Step Closer to Disappearing – National Geographic

A fungus that devastates banana plants has now arrived in Latin America, the Colombian government confirms.

6. How to Help the Amazon Rainforest: 9 Things You Can Do During the Fires and Beyond – Fast Company

7. The Barbaric History of Sugar in America – The New York Times

How sugar became the “white gold” that fueled slavery — and an industry that continues to exploit black lives to this day.

8. Diet Brand Whole30 Opens its First Delivery-Only Restaurant in Chicago – Eater

The company is partnering with restaurant group Lettuce Entertain You and GrubHub to launch the delivery only restaurants that offers items that adhere to the diet.

9. In The Largest Prosecution of Organic Fraud in U.S. History, Iowa Grain Seller Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison – The New Food Economy

After being sentenced, Randy Constant was found dead, apparently by suicide.

10. Rebranded Ginkgo Spinout & Ingredients Innovator Motif FoodWorks Raises $27.5M, Hones in on Animal-Free – AgFunder

General Atlantic lead the round with participation from CPT Capital. Motif FoodWorks will use Ginkgo’s fermentation technology to provide food companies with ingredients for alternative protein product lines in the plant-based and meat alternatives space.

11. The Rise of the Pea: How an Unassuming Legume Emerged as a Frontrunner in the Race to Replace Meat and Dairy – TIME

A look at how and why peas have become so popular

12. This Startup Created Compostable Plastic Wrap That’s Made From Shellfish Shells – Fast Company

The plastic films CuanTec makes out of shellfish shells that are left over from seafood production is naturally antimicrobial and lets people keep using plastic wrap without worrying about plastic.

13. McDonald’s Just Launched Its First New Type of Restaurant Since the Drive-Thru — Here’s What It’s Like to Eat There – Business Insider

McDonald’s recently launched its first “McDonald’s to Go” restaurant in London. It has no seating areas and serves only takeout.

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 Quest Acquired for $1B, Whole Foods CEO on Plant-Based Meat + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Our soil is in crisis. Nearly a third of our soil has already been degraded, and the UN estimates we only have 60 years left of topsoil left if we continue with current farming practices. With 95% of our food grown in soil, it’s clear that we need a radical change.

Enter Regenerative Agriculture, a farming approach aiming to rebuild soil health and farming communities, while also supporting carbon sequestration and reversing climate change. There is a lot of excitement about the potential for regenerative agriculture to transform our food system, with major industry players like General Mills, Applegate and Patagonia all investing in regenerative agriculture. Yet it is still very much the wild west.

Join us at Regenerative AgTech, in partnership with Applegate’s THE NEW FOOD COLLECTIVE, WeWork Food Labs and AgFunder, to learn about the current state of regenerative agriculture and how technology is helping farmers rebuild and nourish their soil. The Rodale Institute, Indigo Ag, PastureMap and OpenTEAM will give a deep dive into their business models, technologies and certifications.

PastureMap will share how their cattle analytics software can help reward ranchers who are growing beef more regeneratively, OpenTEAM will explain how their open data platform arms farmers with the best possible knowledge to improve soil health and Indigo Ag will show how they are working to improve grower profitability, environmental sustainability and consumer health through the use of natural microbiology and digital technologies.

You’ll also demo cutting edge technologies and sample innovative food & beverages from YOLÉLÉ FOODS, Plovgh and more.

Do you have a food or beverage product you’d like to sample at this event? Apply here: https://bit.ly/34394KD

SCHEDULE:

6 – 7:30pm: Networking, tech demos and food and beverage sampling

7:30 – 9pm: Presentations + Q&A

9 – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:

Alison Etheridge, Manager, Systems Innovation, Indigo Ag

Indigo Ag improves grower profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health through the use of natural microbiology and digital technologies. Utilizing beneficial plant microbes and agronomic insights, Indigo works with growers to sustainably produce high quality harvests. The company then connects growers and buyers directly to bring these harvests to market. Working across the supply chain, Indigo is furthering its mission of harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet. The company is headquartered in Boston, MA, with additional offices in Memphis, TN, Research Triangle Park, NC, Sydney, Australia, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and São Paulo, Brazil.

Christine Su, CEO & Co-Founder, PastureMap

Christine is the CEO and co-founder of PastureMap, a startup helping farmers and ranchers raise regenerative meat that heals people and the planet. Christine founded PastureMap to empower farmers and ranchers with the information they need to run their operations more profitably and resiliently. PastureMap is ranching software that helps ranchers implement regenerative grazing practices, and tracks soil carbon and biodiversity data so they can get rewarded for climate friendly practices. We are building the information backbone of a regenerative meat industry. At PastureMap, we have invested in statewide partnerships with the USDA, Point Blue Conservation Science, and Zero Foodprint to build soil carbon data into PastureMap’s software, to reward farmers for improving soil health.

Dorn Cox PhD, Research Director, Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment and Director of OpenTEAM

Dr. Dorn Cox serves as research director at Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment, a pioneer and leader in regenerative agriculture, a nonprofit research and education center, and a working organic farm on 600 acres of conserved land on the coast of Maine. Dorn also serves as the Director of OpenTEAM, or Open Technology Ecosystem for Agricultural Management, a farmer-driven, interoperable platform to provide farmers around the world with the best possible knowledge to improve soil health. Dorn is also a founder of the FarmOS software platform, the GOAT (Gathering for Open Ag Tech) and Farm Hack community, he is passionate about sharing open source agricultural tools, ideas information and inspiration to accelerate innovation and quantify environmental services from regenerative agriculture.

Jeff Tkach, Chief Growth Officer, Rodale Institute

Rodale Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to pioneering organic farming through research and outreach. For more than seventy years, we’ve been researching the best practices of organic agriculture and sharing our findings with farmers and scientists throughout the world, advocating for policies that support farmers, and educating consumers about how going organic is the healthiest options for people and the planet.

PARTNERS:

Presenting

For over 30 years, Applegate has been producing high-quality natural and organic hot dogs, bacon, sausages, deli meats, cheese and frozen products. Our products are made without GMO ingredients and we source our meat from farms, where animals are treated with care and respect and are allowed to grow at their natural rate, all part of our mission – Changing The Meat We Eat®. Natural can mean many things, but to us natural means that the meat inside our products are: From animals raised humanely without antibiotics, hormones or growth promotants; from animals fed a vegetarian or 100% grass diet; free of added chemical nitrites, nitrates or phosphates; and free of artificial ingredients or preservatives. In February 2019, Applegate launched THE NEW FOOD COLLECTIVE, a new premium brand that sources pasture-raised meats from farms using regenerative practices to create culinary-inspired food from small batch production methods.

Supporting

AgFunder is an online venture capital firm investing in transformational agri-foodtech entrepreneurs that uses technology, media, and network effects to support its investments. It also publishes AFN (AgFunderNews), a news site reporting from the front lines of the food revolution.

Friends

Like our namesake borough, 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.

Edible Manhattan tells the story of how the city eats. Along with otherEdible New York properties, we are part of a national network of Edibles across North America. We chronicle how the region eats. Through editorial and at events where our stories come to life, we celebrate the people who are building the sort of food culture we want—one that’s diverse, accessible, sustainable and delicious.

The post Announcing Regnerative AgTech appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Kellogg

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.

Big meat continues to place its bets on plant-based proteins with news this week of Kellogg launching a plant-based bleeding burger under its Morningstar line and Hormel launching plant-based ground beef. Tyson has invested an undisclosed sum into plant-based shrimp maker New Wave Foods. Cargill has poured $75 million into North America’s largest pea protein maker and Beyond Meat Supplier, Puris.

The leading US cultured meat companies – JUST, Memphis Meats, Finless Foods, BlueNalu, and Fork and Goode – have joined to form the Alliance for Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Innovation.

In retail news, Bellwether Coffee has raised $40 million to meet global demand for its electric coffee roasters. Meanwhile, Amazon is testing a fingerprint checkout technology called “Orville” that aims to roll out in Whole Foods early next year.

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. Kellogg Plans Bleeding Burger as It Catches Up on Faux Meat – Bloomberg

Early next year, Kellogg’s Morningstar Farms will begin selling the “Incogmeato” burger: a plant-based, refrigerated patty made with non-GMO soy that is designed to mimic meat’s look and flavor.

2. Tyson Foods Invests in Plant-Based Shrimp Company – CNBC

After selling its stake in Beyond Meat in the spring, Tyson Foods’ next bet is on plant-based shellfish. Tyson Ventures is investing an undisclosed sum in New Wave Foods.

3. Hormel Grows into Plant-Based Meat with Its New Happy Little Plants Brand – Food Dive

Hormel Foods is launching a non-GMO meat substitute made with soy protein that can be used in any recipe calling for ground meat under its new Happy Little Plants brand.

4. Cargill Makes Additional $75M Investment into Beyond Meat Supplier Puris – The Spoon

The new investment will allow Puris to more than double its pea protein production.

5. The Leading US Cell-Based Meat Startups Just Forged an Alliance – Quartz

JUST, Memphis Meats, Finless Foods, BlueNalu, and Fork and Goode have joined to form the Alliance for Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Innovation. The group will lobby on behalf of cell-based meat interests and drive efforts to educate the public.

6. Bellwether Coffee Raises $40M for Eco-Friendly Roasters – VentureBeat

DBL Partners and Lyndon and Peter Rive led the round. The funds will accelerate the company’s efforts to boost incomes for coffee farmers, eliminate roast processes harmful to the planet and meet global demand for its electric roaster.

9. Canada: Terramera Raises $45M Series B on Mission to Reduce Chemical Use in Ag by 80% – AgFunder

Ospraie Ag Science and S2G Ventures led the round. Funding will go towards advancing Actigate, its targeted crop protection technology.

8. DoorDash Picks Australia for Its First Move Outside North America – CNN

The six-year-old startup added its first city outside North America on Wednesday, launching in Melbourne and announcing plans to grow its business in Australia over the next year.

9. With Regenerative Agriculture Booming, the Question of Pesticide Use Looms Large – Civil Eats

Regenerative practitioners say that healthy soil eventually leads to reducing synthetic chemicals. But some advocates say those chemicals have damaging effects and should be addressed.

10. Bioenergy DevCo Captures $106M to Digest Waste in a City Near You – AgFunder

Newlight Partners led the round. In addition to fueling the completion of its first US facility in Maryland, the new capital will be used to help expand into other metropolitan areas.

11. Cooks Venture Raises $12M to Promote Sustainable Agriculture – VentureBeat

Following on the heels of a partnership with FreshDirect, the round was led by Amerra Capital Management. The funds will lay the foundation for expanded processing capabilities and collaborative work with scientists to improve industry practices.

12. Yes, Give Your Fingerprints to Amazon for a Slightly Quicker Checkout at Whole Foods – Eater

The tech and retail giant is currently testing a system called “Orville” that allows Amazon Prime users to scan their hands to ring up a purchase. It’s currently being tested at its New York Office.

13. How the Trump Administration Limited the Scope of the USDA’s 2020 Dietary Guidelines – The Washington Post

The 80 topics that will be addressed exclude the health effects of consuming red and processed meat, ultraprocessed foods and sodium.

14. Regenerative AgTech Meetup

Join us at Regenerative AgTech on September 19th to learn about the state of regenerative agriculture and how technology is helping farmers regenerate their soils. RSVP here.

15. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

16. Women, Women of Color & Gender Non-Conforming Innovator Database

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 Kellogg Launches Bleeding Vegan Burger, Hormel Launches Plant-Based Ground Beef + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Food Navigator

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.

Investments abound in the CPG and retail sector. Blue Bunny maker Wells Enterprise acquired Halo Top for an undisclosed sum to Wells Enterprise. UK startup Strong Roots received $18 million in funding to expand its frozen vegetable products into the U.S. Plant-based dairy maker Kite Hill has raised $15 million, bringing total funding to $80 million. Simbe has raised $26 million to deploy its inventory robot. Swiftly is launching its supermarket OS system with its $15.6 million round. Caper has raised $10 million to roll out its smart grocery carts to more locations.

In the realm of alternative meats, Kroger announced the launch of its own plant-based line. Novameat and Redefine Meat both received funding to develop and finalize their 3D printing meat platforms. Just Salad has just announced that it will be removing its beef offering and replacing it with Beyond Meat nationwide. Impossible Foods is set to release a ground “meat” product soon, launching in a city like Miami or Los Angeles.

Lastly, a new report found that natural foods and beverages grew 5 percent within the same three year period, reaching $47.2 billion in dollar volume. Organic food and beverages outpace the total market at 2.8 percent growth.

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. Blue Bunny Ice Cream Maker Wells Enterprise to Buy Halo Top – Food Dive

Financial terms are undisclosed. While Eden Creamery was looking to sell Halo Top for the past couple of years for as much as $2b, Halo Top’s CEO showed little interest in the brand getting acquired by a multinational CPG company.

2. The Epstein-Funded MIT Lab Has an Ambitious Project That Purports to Revolutionize Agriculture. Insiders Say It’s Mostly Smoke and Mirrors. – Business Insider

The “personal food computer,” a device that senior researcher Caleb Harper presented as helping thousands of people across the globe grow custom, local food, simply doesn’t work.

3. UK: Food Tech Startup Strong Roots Raises $18M for Vegetable-Based Frozen Products – VentureBeat

Goode Partners led the round. Funding will cement the startup’s global expansion, particularly in the US.

4. Kroger Launches Plant-Based Collection – Food Dive

Kroger announced a new private label collection, Simple Truth Plant Based. The line will include fresh meatless burger patties and grinds along with plant-based products.

5. A Popular Salad Chain Is Ditching Beef for Good and Replacing It With Beyond Meat – Business Insider

Just Salad’s new Beyond Beef Meatball will be available nationwide as a topping for wraps and bowls. Just Salad will become the first chain to eliminate beef entirely from its menu in favor of a plant-based alternative.

6. Seattle Startup Swiftly Raises $15.6M, Launches Supermarket OS to Help Retailers Battle Amazon – GeekWire

Investors included Novel Private Equity, Mendacre, Ron Burkle, Sam McBride, The Ward Family and more. The funding round coincides with its debut of its checkout system for brick and mortar stores.

7. Simbe Raises a $26M Series A for Its Retail Inventory Robot – TechCrunch

The round was led by Venrock, and will go towards growing its headcount, exploring new markets and accelerating the deployment of its existing robots.

8. Kite Hill, Co-Founded by the Creator of Impossible Foods, Looks to Be Gaining Traction, Too – TechCrunch

The nine-year-old company is sealing up $15m in funding, bringing total funding to $80m.

9. Israel: Redefine Meat Raises $6M for 3D Printed Meat Alternatives – The Spoon

CPT Capital led the round. New capital will be used to finalize its alternative meat 3D printer and ensure that it hits its timeline release goal of 2020.

10. Magic Spoon Gets $5.5M in Seed Funds to Reinvent the Cereal Category – Food Dive

Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round. The funds will be used to expand the business, hire more people, increase marketing and create new flavors.

11. Impossible Foods Teases Location for Retail Launch, Reveals First Product – The Spoon

Its first retail product will likely be packaged around ground “meat” and launch in a city like Los Angeles or Miami.

12. SPINS Releases First State of the Natural Industry Report – Nosh

While overall food and beverage grew only 1.7% year over year, natural grew 5% within the same three year period, reaching $47.2b in dollar volume. Organic food and beverages outpace the total market at 2.8% growth.

13. SPINS Releases First State of the Natural Industry Report – Nosh

14. Regenerative AgTech Meetup

Join us at Regenerative AgTech on September 19th to learn about the state of regenerative agriculture and how technology is helping farmers regenerate their soils. RSVP here.

15. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

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 Halo Top Gets Acquired, MIT Allegedly Faked Food Computer Results + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Impossible Foods

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

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. You Can Finally Buy Impossible Foods’ Meatless Burger in Grocery Stores, Starting Friday – Vox

The meatless burgers will be available at 27 Gelson’s Markets in Southern California starting Friday. The company will announce more retailers later this month when its burgers are slated to debut at East Coast grocery stores. It also plans to make them available in supermarkets in every region nationwide by mid-2020.

2. Online Grocery Sales Grew 15% This Year – Grocery Dive

Online grocery sales have grown 15% this year and now account for 6.3% of US households’ total grocery-related spending.

3. Crisp Launches with $14.2M to Cut Food Waste Using Big Data – VentureBeat

FirstMark Capital led the round. Crisp ingests and analyzes data to help food brands forecast their food production requirements. Its open beta kicks off on October 1.

4. China Mengniu Dairy Makes $1B Bid for Australian Infant Formula Maker Bellamy’s as Beijing Pushes Self-Sufficiency – Fortune

China’s largest milk maker is expanding its presence overseas. The company expects a deal to be closed by the end of the year.

5. Denmark: Vegetarian Meal Delivery Startup Simple Feast Raises €30m to Take on the US – Sifted

US-based venture capital firm 14W lead the round in the on-demand organic, plant-based prepared meal delivery service. With operation in Denmark and Sweden, Simple Feast is hosting to expand to California now.

6. Never Mind Supermarkets, Zak Normandin Says The Future Of Beverage Is On Your Phone – Forbes

Dirty Lemon parent company Iris Nova has announced the first four beverage brands to be sold through its “c-commerce” platform, including Minna, Sanzo, Halo Sport and Vina. Brands will also receive up to $250,000 in investment from Iris Nova. The company plans to invest $100 million over the next three to five years to launch more upstart brands on the platform, in addition to creating a pipeline of private-label products.

7. Israel: Trigo Vision Raises $22M Series A for the Checkout-Free Future of Grocery – AgFunder

Red Dot Capital led the round. The new funds will be used to help the Trigo Vision scale its technology to meet the needs of larger store formats.

8. Whole Foods, Whose Owner, Jeff Bezos, Is Worth $115B, Is Cutting Health Care Coverage for Part-Time Workers – Eater

Up to 1,900 workers are losing medical benefits “to better meet the needs” of business.

9. Le Pain Quotidien Replaces Chicken Egg Frittata With Vegan JUST Egg Version Nationwide – VegNews

Starting September 18, restaurant chain Le Pain Quotidien (LPQ) will replace its original frittata (made with chicken eggs and other animal products) with a vegan version made with JUST Egg at all of its locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.

10. How a No-Deal Brexit Could Destroy the Irish Dairy Industry — and Threaten Peace – NPR

The lack of a border has contributed to a booming dairy business between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland – the types of dealings experts say helped make peace between the two a reality.

11. What Happens When Delivery Startups Use Employees Instead of Contractors – Quartz

Yesterday, California governor Gavin Newsom signed AB5, a bill that may force delivery companies to reclassify their contract workers as employees. Quartz examines the business models of delivery companies that already hire their drivers as employees.

12. FarmWise Raises $14.5M Series A to Expand Its Weeding Robot Service – AgFunder

The round was led by Calibrate Ventures alongside Wilbur Ellis, Xplorer Capital, and Alumni Ventures Group. Its AI-powered weeding robot provides personalized care to every plant it touches, according to the company, using machine learning modules, computer vision, and high-precision mechanical tools.

13. A Think Tank Predicts Beef and Dairy Will Collapse in 11 Years. Is it Right? – Food Dive

According to a forecast written by think tank RethinkX projects that demand for cow-associated products will fall by 70% in 11 years due to the speed and scale of cellular technology-driven disruption.

14. Cannalysis Raises $22.6M Series A to Automate Cannabis Compliance Testing – AgFunder

CanLab, a cannabis, hemp, and CBD testing laboratory network, led the round. The funding will be used to expand into new states and to invest in robotics and data-automation.

15. Consumers Are Confused About Sustainable Diets, Survey Finds – Food Dive

Four in 10 adults aren’t sure whether a sustainable diet is the same as an environmentally sustainable one, according to a study by the International Food Information Council Foundation. Still, two-thirds agreed that an environmentally sustainable diet can include protein from both animal and plant-based sources.

15. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

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 Impossible Burger Hits Retail, Online Grocery Sales Grow 15% + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: CircleUp

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

In honor of Climate Week, we’re revisiting our editorial series featuring 39 interviews with CEOs, execs, farmers and investors about the role of biodiversity in the food industry. Read our interviews with Danone, Starbucks, Impossible Foods, Aerofarms, General Mills, Kathleen Merrigan and more.

In the same vein, Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber is leading a coalition of 19 companies with more than $500 billion in combined annual revenues to support biodiversity. Meanwhile, two hundred and thirty investors worth $16.2 trillion are calling for aggressive corporate action to combat deforestation.

In restaurant news, Sweetgreen has raised $150 million to roll out a delivery service through its app in 2020. McDonald’s announced that it will be testing Beyond Meat patties at 28 locations in Canada. Postmates has raised $225 million in funding ahead of its IPO. Disney World has added over 400 plant-based options to its menus.

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. The CEO of a $55B Company Reveals How Gen Z Is Forcing People to Take Stand on Climate Change – Business Insider

Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber is leading a coalition of 19 companies with $500b+ in combined annual revenues to support biodiversity. As part of the “One Planet Business for Biodiversity” initiative the companies have pledged to boost regenerative farming practices, revamp product portfolios to become less reliant on overused crops, and identify actions to eliminate deforestation and protect natural ecosystems.

2. 39 Food Industry Leaders Explore the Role of Biodiversity in the Food Industry

3. CircleUp Raises $200M to Woo Consumer Retail Startups with a VC Alternative: Loans – Forbes

Investors included Michigan’s state pension fund and Pacific Life. CircleUp’s credit unit draws on Helio to inform its commitments, typically backing companies that have between $500k and $5m in sales.

4. Salad Chain Sweetgreen’s Tech Focus Helps Push Valuation to $1.6B – Wall Street Journal

Investors are putting another $150m behind Sweetgreen, betting that the salad chain’s embrace of technology will deliver them an exit in a sector that has seen minimal venture activity in recent years.

5. Canada: Beyond Meat Stock Soars 12% After McDonald’s Announces Canadian Test of Its Plant-Based Burgers – CNBC

The new “plant, lettuce and tomato” sandwich will use Beyond Meat’s patties in 28 restaurants next week.

6. Cultivated Meat: Why GFI Is Embracing New Language – Good Food Institute

GFI offers a deep dive into the results of its nine-month project to explore, test, hone communication materials and find a name for the nascent cellular agriculture industry.

7. 230 Investors Worth $16.2T Call for Aggressive Corporate Action to Combat Deforestation – AgFunder

The statement calls on companies to tackle the financial risks associated with ongoing deforestation, as well as market and risks within their operations and global supply chains.

8. When Mac & Cheese and Ketchup Don’t Mix: The Kraft Heinz Merger Falters – New York Times

The company behind brands like a famous ketchup and Oscar Mayer meats is dealing with slumping sales, shareholder lawsuits, layoffs and questions about its accounting practices.

9. Food Delivery Startup Postmates Is Expected to Go Public Very Soon, But That Didn’t Stop It From Raising $225M in New Funding – Business Insider

GPI Capital led the round, valuing the company at $2.4b. Sources said the new funding had nothing to do with the planned IPO.

10. TouchBistro Lands $119M To Expand Restaurant POS Tech – PYMNTS

OMERS Growth Equity led the round. TouchBistro will use the money for the acquisition of complementary services and expansion into more global markets.

11. Bodega, Once Dubbed ‘America’s Most Hated Startup,’ Has Quietly Raised Millions – TechCrunch

The startup – now Stockwell – has raised $45M in funding from a number of investors including GV, NEA and DCM Ventures. It has used its latest infusion to explore shared ownership models.

12. Fifth Season Comes Out of Stealth with 60K Sqft Vertical Farm and $35M in Funding – AgFunder

The Pittsburgh-based startup, founded as RoBotany, is planning a staged expansion in other similarly-sized cities throughout the US. Drive Capital and private investors led the round.

13. Disney World Just Added Tons of Vegetarian and Vegan Options – Here Are the Highlights – Fast Company

The company is going to have more than 400 plant-based menu items at Walt Disney World and Disneyland.

14. USDA Expects ‘Significant Delays’ in Economic Research Reports – Politico

ERS conducts research into areas such as climate change, nutrition, export data and the farm economy. Farmers also heavily rely on its outlook reports to make planting decisions. Crop markets can swing on the results of the numbers.

15. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

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 19 Companies Worth $500B Form Biodiversity Initiative, CircleUp Raises $200M for Credit Division + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: AgFunder

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

A new report has detailed the female funding gaps in the Agri-FoodTech sector. Just 7% of agri-foodtech deals and 3% of the record-breaking volume of dollars invested in the sector 2018 went to female-founded teams.

Lifestyle brand and online retailer Food52 announced that The Chernin Group acquired a majority stake in the company for $83 million. A continued expansion into commerce and DTC brands propelled the deal.

Amazon is advancing plans to open a chain of US grocery stores in Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. It also announced plans to expand its cashierless technology to airports and movie theaters.

After years of public health warnings to reduce the consumption of red meat and processed meats, a remarkable turnabout concluded that the bedrock of all dietary guidelines is not backed by good scientific evidence. The news came as NYC public schools announced a ban on processed meat. Meanwhile, the growth in plant-based meat alternatives is coming into question on whether they can even uphold their health or sustainability claims when transportation and processing factors come into play.

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. Perception Is Reality: Data Reveal Gender Bias in Agri-FoodTech Investing – AgFunder

Female startup founders face more skepticism, loaded questioning, and smaller commitments from investors than their male counterparts. Just 7% of agri-foodtech deals and 3% of the record-breaking volume of dollars invested in the sector 2018 went to female-founded teams.

2. Food52, the Recipes & Cookware Site Founded by a Former New York Times Columnist, Is Gobbled Up – Vox

The Chernin Group is buying a majority stake in Amanda Hesser’s startup for $83m. The deal values F52 at more than $100m.

3. Amazon’s Grocery-Store Plan Moves Ahead With Los Angeles Leases – Wall Street Journal

Amazon is pushing ahead with a plan to open a chain of US grocery stores with early outposts in Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia.

4. Amazon Is in Talks to Bring Its Cashierless Go Technology to Airports and Movie Theaters – CNBC

Amazon is in talks to bring Go to OTG’s CIBO Express stores at airports and Cineworld’s Regal theaters.

5. Indoor AgTech Landscape: 1,000+ Companies Innovating Inside – AgFunder

Since the Plenty funding in late 2017, we have seen a surge of funding for both sunless and greenhouse approaches. We have recently seen the walls come down between sunless and greenhouse approaches.

6. Trump Farm Secretary: No Guarantee Small Farms Will Survive – Associated Press

Sonny Perdue told Wisconsin farmers that he doesn’t know if the family dairy farm can survive as the industry moves toward a factory farm model.

7. Paine Shwartz Closes Latest Sustainable Food Chain Fund at $1.4B – Pensions & Investments

Paine Schwartz’s fifth food chain fund will invest in agribusiness and food businesses. Investors include the Texas Teacher Retirement System and Rhode Island State Investment Commission.

8. Eat Less Red Meat, Scientists Said. Now Some Believe That Was Bad Advice. – New York Times

The evidence is too weak to justify telling individuals to eat less beef and pork, according to new research.

9. New York City Public Schools Ban Processed Meats – Grub Street

Under Resolution 238, there will be no more bologna, salami, pepperoni or bacon. There’s no word yet on when the new ban will begin.

10. Moscow-Based Lab Produces First Sample of Russian Cultivated Meat – Forbes

The Ochakov Food Ingredients Plant (OKPI) grew a 40-gram sample at the cost of $14k.

11. Canopy Growth Readies for CBD Sports Products With BioSteel Deal – Bloomberg

Canopy Growth has acquired a majority stake in BioSteel Sports Nutrition as the marijuana company seeks to expand its product offering. Financial terms were undisclosed.

12. Bankrupt Lab-Testing Startup UBiome Plans to Shut Down, Liquidate – Wall Street Journal

After raising more than $80m and sparking federal investigation over its billing practices, the startup will convert from chapter 11 to chapter 7 bankruptcy.

13. Is the New Meat Any Better Than the Old Meat? – New York Times

The Impossible Whopper and other plant-based burgers are a hit. But are they an improvement for you and the planet?

14. Canada: Renewal Fund Eyes Earth-Friendly Food for Its C$145M Forth Fund – AgFunder

Favoring organic, waste-conscious companies over “health food” brands is how Renewal differentiates its food thesis from other investors in the food scene.

15. José Andrés Is Raising $50M to Take His Revolutionary Post-Disaster Food Operation to the Next Level – Fast Company

The chef’s organization World Central Kitchen, which provides locally cooked meals to survivors in disaster zones, is scaling up to provide even more meals across the globe.

16. Food Delivery Service DoorDash Says Data Breach Affects 4.9M – Bloomberg

The company announced Thursday that a security breach exposed the personal data of 4.9m customers, merchants and delivery workers. Exposed data may include partial bank account numbers.

17. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

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 Gender Bias in Agri-FoodTech Investing, Food52 Sells Majority Stake for $83M, Amazon to Launch Grocery Chains + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Increasing demand for healthy, sustainable and personalized food is dramatically transforming the CPG industry. Startups are rethinking the status quo to make food more nutritious, delicious and accessible. Join us at Rethinking CPG SF to learn about the business models, technologies and strategies of some of the game-changers who are rethinking CPG.

John Foraker, co-founder and CEO of Once Upon A Farm, will be doing a deep dive into how the company achieved WIC approval for its organic, cold-press baby food bowls. Larissa Russell, co-founder and CEO of Pod Foods, will talk about creating a B2B marketplace and distribution network to connect emerging food and beverage brands to retail stores. And Livio Bisterzo, founder and CEO of Green Park Brands and co-founder of Buddy Nutrition, will talk about Buddy Nutrition’s approach to building a D2C personalized nutrition brand.

We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from AKUA, Blue Evolution, Burlap & Barrel, Kaibae, Kuli Kuli, The Teff Company, Eclipse Foods , Labra and more.

Interested in sampling your food, beverage or technology product at the event? Apply here.

RSVP for Rethinking CPG

SCHEDULE:

6 – 7:15pm: Networking, tech demos and food and beverage sampling

7:30 – 9:30pm: Presentations + Q&A

PRESENTERS:

John Foraker, Co-Founder & CEO of Once Upon A Farm

John is the co-founder and CEO of Once Upon A Farm, a company with the mission of providing yummy and nutritious “farm-to-family” foods to kids of all ages. Prior to his new start-up, John spent more than 30 years in the natural and organic food industry running businesses with a sharp focus on sustainability and social responsibility. John was the longtime leader of Annie’s, Inc., a leading natural & organic food brand, in the US from 1999 to 2017. As CEO of Annie’s, he took the company public in 2012 under the symbol BNNY before General Mills acquired the business in 2014 for $820 million. Foraker received a B.S. in agricultural economics from UC Davis and an MBA from UC Berkeley.

Larissa Russell, Co-Founder & CEO of Pod Foods

Larissa Russell is the co-founder and CEO of Pod Foods, a B2B marketplace and distribution network connecting emerging food and beverage brands to retail stores. Prior to co-founding Pod Foods, Russell had a cookie business called Green Pea Cookie, which produced cookies out of peas. She and her cofounder Fiona Lee experienced the challenges of the grocery supply chain first-hand. Russell graduated from Dartmouth in 2013, where she was a Senior Fellow and studied Government. She is excited about the impact of Pod Foods as a pathway for emerging brands to succeed and for consumers to access high quality food and beverage products.

Livio Bisterzo, CEO and Founder of Green Park Brands, Co-Founder Buddy Nutrition

Livio Bisterzo started his first venture in college when he launched an events business. Since then, Bisterzo has a proven track record of starting successful businesses. Over the last 12 years, he has built consumer brands globally. In 2015 Bisterzo created Green Park, a startup incubating platform. In 2016, Green Park launched its first brand, HIPPEAS. Their current portfolio includes other brands like UGLY DRINKS, MAVERICKS SNACKS, BUDDY NUTRITION, and REEL PAPER.

RSVP for Rethinking CPG

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNER

WeWork Food Labs Logo

The post Announcing Rethinking CPG SF With John Foraker, Livio Bisterzo & Larissa Russell appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Vox

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

Investment firm VMG Partners is moving from investor to manufacturer with the announcement of its acquisition of Popchips. It plans to continue acquiring and launching snack brands under Velocity Snack Brands.

In other news, the cannabis industry continues to grow despite the confusing state of its legality at the federal, state and municipal levels. Bolthouse Farms has announced that it will launch a line of CBD-infused beverages. Berlin-based Demecan has raised €7m to expand its production facility for medical cannabis, becoming Germany’s first medical cannabis startup.

With the rise of Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat at grocery stores and fast food chains, growing pushback against the meatless meat brands question the health and environmental impacts of the products.

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. VMG to go Retail with Velocity Snack Brands Launch, Acquires Popchips – Nosh

VMG is moving from investor to operator with the launch of a new corporate entity that will acquire, run and create snack brands. It has acquired Popchips for an undisclosed sum.

2. Meatless Meat Is Becoming Mainstream – and It’s Sparking a Backlash – Vox

The growing pushback against Impossible and Beyond burgers in fast-food chains, explained.

3. Postmates’ New IPO Delay Says Something Bigger: Wall Street Is Turning Against Silicon Valley – Vox

Postmates is just one of over a dozen startups worth over $1 billion that was expected to IPO in 2019. But as the end of the year approaches, a gloom is enveloping Silicon Valley.

4. Imperfect Foods Reinvents Itself in New York City – Grocery Dive

Previously known as Imperfect Produce, the subscription box retailer is entering one of the toughest grocery e-commerce markets.

5. Organic Grocer Erewhon Eyes Expansion After Private Equity Deal – Forbes

A new deal with Stripes Group will go toward opening more stores in Orange County while also bringing the chain to Northern California. The organic grocer and cafe has been growing more than 35% year-on-year since 2016.

6. Fruits You Probably Haven’t Heard of—but Might Soon – Wall Street Journal

Will baobab, breadfruit, monk fruit and jackfruit take off in the US like kale and quinoa? These entrepreneurs hope so.

7. Campbell Soup Missed Out on One Amazing Opportunity to Get Into the Surging Cannabis Industry – Yahoo!

BoltHouse Farms is poised to launch at least 25 CBD-infused products this January, including coffee and juice. Earlier this year, Campbell Soup unloaded the company for $510m to focus on soups and snacks.

8. Trump Administration Unveils More Cuts to Food Stamp Program – New York Times

The administration’s proposal, the third food-stamp rule change since December, would reduce spending by $4.5b over five years and cut benefits for one in five families.

9. Harbinger Ventures Closes Second Fund – Nosh

The fund is worth $21.7m. The firm invests in early-stage companies that are led by female or “mixed-gender” founder teams.

10. India: Three-Year-Old Startup Snags $585M From Tencent, Others – Bloomberg

Udaan has raised $585m from investors including Tencent Holdings, Altimeter Capital, GGV Capital and Citi Ventures. The e-commerce marketplace startup sources directly from small manufacturers, farmers and mill owners.

11. Israel: Lab-Grown Meat Startup Raises $14M to Build Production Plant – CNBC

S2G Ventures and Emerald Technology Ventures led the round for Future Meat Technologies. The company plans to use the proceeds to expand research and development efforts.

12. Wild Type Raises $12.5M Series A to Accelerate Production of Its Cultured Salmon – The Spoon

The round was led by CRV. Wild Type will use funding to continue improving the taste of its product and get it into the hands of talented chefs and taste-testers.

13. German Tech Investor Leads Series A for Germany’s First Medical Cannabis Startup – TechCrunch

Demecan has raised €7m to expand its production facility for medical cannabis and the wholesale trade in Germany. Btov Partners and a single German family office led the round.

14. 250M Children Worldwide Forecast to Be Obese by 2030 – The Guardian

Only one in 10 countries have even a 50% chance of meeting the World Health Organization target of no rise in child obesity from 2010 to 2025.

15. Scientist Who Discredited Meat Guidelines Didn’t Report Past Food Industry Ties – New York Times

The lead researcher, Bradley C. Johnston, said he was not required to report his past relationship with a powerful industry trade group.

16. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

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 VMG Acquires Popchips and Launches Velocity Snack Brands, Fast Food “Meat” Backlash Explained + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Gumpapa, Adobe

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.

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. The World Loses $400 Billion of Food Before It Reaches Stores – Bloomberg

Some 14% of all food produced is lost annually, with central and southern Asia, North America and Europe accounting for the biggest shares, according the UN FAO.

2. FreshDirect Shopping Itself After Move to the Bronx Fails – New York Post

FreshDirect is looking for a buyer after a “poorly planned and executed move” to its new distribution facility in the Bronx.

3. Uber To Buy Latin American Online Grocery Delivery Service, Cornershop – NPR

Uber is getting into the grocery delivery business, at least in Mexico, Chile, Peru and Canada. Details of the agreement were not disclosed.

4. Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar Raises Series B Funding Round to Expand Into the Grocery Aisle – Fortune

Sonoma Brands is the sole investor in the round. Milk Bar will continue push deeper into e-commerce with its “care packages” and keep expanding its physical presence, but it will use Sonoma’s expertise to expand into CPG.

5. The End of Big Food – Politico

The Grocery Manufacturers Association is rebranding to the Consumer Brands Association and pivoting to focus on representing all CPG companies. The rebrand signals the emergence of a new landscape for foodmakers, one in which there is no central, unified lobbying group representing the sector inside the Beltway.

6. M13 Closes “Founder-Focused” Second Fund – Nosh

M13’s $175 million fund will primarily invest in seed and series A rounds. M13 has already made 80 direct investments (including Daily Harvest, Ancient Nutrition, Union Snacks, Thrive Market and Good Catch) and has had 16 exits (including Kevita and Blue Bottle).

7. Pod Foods is Bringing Its Food Distribution Network to New York, LA – Built in NYC

Working with 600+ brands, Pod Foods is expanding its food distribution platform to Los Angeles and New York City.
Lear more about Pod Foods at Rethinking CPG SF on Nov 5.

8. The Growing Personalized Nutrition Market Has A Big New Contender: Nestlé – Forbes

Nestlé bought two-year-old startup Persona, a customized vitamins-pack subscription service, to expand into personalized nutrition and compete with the likes of Care/Of, Ritual, GNC and Vitamin Shoppe.

10. The Biggest Names in Food Delivery Are Getting into the Restaurant Business – Food&Wine

DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats all made ‘virtual restaurant’ announcements this month.

11. The Impossible Whopper is Driving Steady Traffic to Burger King, Data Shows – CNBC

Barclays used geolocation tracking to study traffic at Burger King restaurants in St. Louis during the company’s trial phase of its new Impossible Whopper. Analysts showed traffic grew about 18%.

12. This Startup is Ditching Plastic Waste by Bringing the Refills to You – Fast Company

Chilean startup Algramo initially used vending machines to sell refills of staple goods in stores. Now it’s expanding to include a mobile refill unit—and it’s coming to the U.S.

13. Ginkgo Bioworks Raises $350 Million Fund For Biotech Spinouts – Reuters

Dubbed the Ferment Fund, the investment vehicle will invest in two to three companies using its bio-engineering tech per year.

14. Pontifax AgTech Holds First Close of Fund II on $140M With $170M Committed – AgFunder

Pontifax is a growth equity fund focused on foodtech and agtech. It invests at Series B stage and beyond. Its first fund, a $105 million vehicle, has already had two exit events with the acquisition of robotics startup Blue River Technology by John Deere and the IPO of Precision Biosciences.

15. Provivi Raises $85M Series C to Combat Field Pests With Pheromones – AgFunder

Pontifax Agtech and Temasek led the round.

16. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

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 We’re Loosing $400B of Food Before It Hits Stores, Fresh Direct Reportedly Looking For a Buyer + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Whole Foods Market

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.

This week, Whole Foods Market’s global buyers and experts revealed the most anticipated and innovative food trends for 2020. Regenerative agriculture, West African foods and meat-plant blends are among the food influences expected to take off in the next year.

Plant-based meat makers continue expand head-to-head with news of Beyond Meat’s nationwide roll out at Dunkin’ and Impossible Foods’ application filing its heme for approval in Europe. Morningstar Farm’s plant-based “Incogmeato” has launched as a pizza topping at Pizza Hut for one day only. The chain will be serving it a compostable round box.

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. 10 Food Trends Whole Foods Market Says Will Rock 2020 – New Hope Network

The natural retailer predicts less meat on consumers’ plates, less booze in their cups along, and eight other trends to watch.

2. Impossible Foods Seeks to Sell Plant-Based Burgers in Europe – Bloomberg

The company has filed an application with an EU food safety watchdog to seek approval for heme.

3. Beyond Meat’s Sausage Sandwich to Land in 9K US Dunkin’ Stores – Bloomberg

The nationwide launch follows a successful trial run in Manhattan’s 163 locations over the past three months.

4. Pizza Hut Is Testing Plant-Based ‘Incogmeato’ Sausage Toppings and Round Boxes – The Verge

The Garden Specialty Pizza is topped with MorningStar Farm’s “Incogmeato” Italian Sausage, available one day only in one Phoenix location. The new packaging is compostable.

5. The Present and Future of Food Tech Investment Opportunity – TechCrunch

A record $1.71t was spent on food and beverages in 2018 at grocery stores and other retailers in the US alone. In the same year, 9.7% of disposable personal income was spent on food — 5% at home and 4.7% away from home.

6. Harvard Researchers Grew Meat in a Lab from Cow and Rabbit Cells. It Looks a Lot Like the Real Thing – CNN

Researchers successfully grew cow and rabbit meat from an edible gelatin base for the first time, using a process similar to making cotton candy. They successfully created a substance that mimicked the texture of natural meat.

7. Israel: Fabric Raises $110M Series B to Expand Its Network of Automated Fulfillment Centers in the US – TechCrunch

The round was led by Corner Ventures, bringing total funding to $136m. The startup plans to expand its platform model into at least one other US city next year and grow its commercial, operations and tech support teams.

8. UK: Just Eat Rejects $6B Buyout Bid from Prosus – PYMNTS

This is the third time Just Eat rejected a takeover bid from Prosus, the South African investment arm of Naspers. The previous two bids were made privately.

9. By 2025, 43M Children Under the Age of Five Will Be Overweight – New Food Economy

A new UNICEF report highlights dietary challenges facing children around the world. A key takeaway? Industrial ag and climate change are compounding malnutrition.

10. FDA Warning Letters Shed Light on Enforcement Priorities for CBD-Infused Food – Food Dive

The FDA objected to a variety of specific claims — including anxiety, pain, arthritis and cancer — for CBD-infused products in its warning letters. Lawyers Allison Fulton and Sarah Blitz weigh in.

11. Why Discount Stores Are One of the Fastest Growing Retail Sectors – ModernRetail

Discount retailers like Dollar General are expected to grow an annual rate of 5.2% through 2024. Meanwhile, food discount stores like Lidl are expected to grow at 4.9%, while supermarkets are forecast at 4.4%.

12. For Young Farmers, Hemp Is a ‘Gateway Crop’ – Civil Eats

After the recent legalization of hemp production, new and beginning farmers are following the green rush, though obstacles abound.

13. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

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 Whole Foods’ 2020 Food Trends, Impossible Foods Seeks EU Expansion + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Fast Company

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.

Another meat alternative startup has emerged with a novel product: fungi-based steak. The brand, dubbed Meati Foods, was launched by Colorado-based Emergy Foods. On the plant-based front, Beyond Meat has debut at Denny’s in Los Angeles, with plans to roll out nationwide in 2020.

Good news for health-focused CBG brands came this week when the trade group representing the $25 billion vending machine industry announced that it has committed to substantially increasing the amount of healthy offerings in the nation’s vending machines.

Last but not least, Sweetgreen’s 3.0 location has opened its doors in Manhattan, where the chain is piloting what it calls “concierge ordering” in place of an assembly line.

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. A Startup Just Announced the World’s First Fake-Meat “Steaks” Made from Fungi. Are We Ready? – New Food Economy

Emergy Foods announced the imminent launch of Meati Foods – the world’s first line of fungi-based steaks.

2. Hold on to Your Honey Buns: American Vending Machines Are Getting Healthier – The Washington Post

National Automatic Merchandising Association, the trade group representing the $25b vending machine industry, announced it has committed to substantially increasing the amount of healthy offerings in the nation’s vending machines.

3. Denny’s Beyond Burger Debuts in LA Monday, Nationwide in 2020 – Bloomberg

Denny’s will start serving its meatless burger at 180 Los Angeles-area locations Monday, then at its more than 1.5k restaurants nationwide beginning in 2020.

4. Sweetgreen, Pointing to Its Own Past, Hatches New Model – Wall Street Journal

The company says it’s so much more than salad—and wants to change the way it serves up both food and new ideas, its three founders say. Inside their “Sweetgreen 3.0” project.

5. Amazon Now Offers Free Food Delivery for Prime Members – USA Today

Free delivery, as of today, is available only to Prime members who have ordered food delivery in the past. Others need to request an invitation, a process that can take some time.

6. Impossible Burger: Here’s What’s Really In It – The Washington Post

The product label is a long list of tough-to-pronounce ingredients – here’s a breakdown of its contents and nutritional value.

7. India: Prosus Ventures Leads $40M Investment in Indian Logistics Startup ElasticRun – TechCrunch

New capital will be used to on-board more neighborhood stores and deepen its presence in the country.

8. Germany: Choco Raises $33.5M to Bring Restaurants and Suppliers a Modern Ingredient Ordering Platform – TechCrunch

Bessemer Venture Partners led the round. By the end of next year the company hopes to grow its business by 15x. It is currently offered in 15 cities across Europe and the US.

9. Green Rabbit Raises $31M to Set Standard for Grocery, Perishable Food Fulfillment – Refrigerated & Frozen Foods

Guidepost Growth Equity led the round. Funding will be used to add talent to its workforce and further develop its supply chain automation capabilities.

10. Israel Chemicals Invests $20M in Plant-Based Ingredient Production – Food Dive

Investment will go towards expanding manufacturing capacity and R&D support for its Rovitaris protein technology for the meat alternatives market.

11. Myopic Misinformation About Organic and Climate Change – Organic Center

A recent study states that transition to organic would increase greenhouse gases. It ignores food waste as a primary contributor to shortages in productivity and glosses over the many mitigating effects organic has on climate change.

12. We Mapped How Food Gets from Farms to Your Home – New Food Economy

Researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind resource: A comprehensive, interactive map detailing our food’s enormous supply chain.

13. SoftBank Is Eyeing Burgers, Digital Pharmacy for Second Vision Fund – Bloomberg

The Japanese conglomerate is in the process of raising money for Vision Fund 2. It’s in talks to back a pharmaceutical delivery startup, a robotic burger-making company and a maker of lab-grown meat.

14. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

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 America’s Vending Machines Are Getting Healthier, Fungi-Based Steak + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: CloudKitchens

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.

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. Saudis Pour $400M Into Travis Kalanick’s Ghost Kitchen Startup – The Spoon

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth-fund invested $400 million in CloudKitchens. The fund’s agreement was completed in January and could value CloudKitchens at $5 billion.

2. McDonald’s Fires C.E.O. Steve Easterbrook After Relationship With Employee – The New York Times

Mr. Easterbrook will be replaced by Chris Kempczinski, who most recently served as president of McDonald’s USA. Mr. Easterbrook had been widely credited with turning around McDonald’s after it posted one of its worst financial performances in years, in 2015.

3. Paine Schwartz is Eyeing Plant-Based Revolution With New $1.5bn PE Fund – AgFunder

The fund aims to drive a sustainable food chain and will be proactive about environmental, social and governance criteria.

4. Bowery Raises $50M More For Indoor, Pesticide-Free Farms – Crunchbase News

Indoor farming startup Bowery raised an additional $50M in an extension of its Series B round led by Temasek and Henry Kravis. The company also announced a new indoor farm in Baltimore that will be 3.5 times larger than its last facility.

5. Uber Eats is Building Out an Ad Business – Restaurant Dive

Food delivery service Uber Eats is looking to sell advertising to restaurants and boost orders.

6. Cannabis Brand 1906 Closes $18M Funding Round, Launches Rapid Onset Cannabis Tablets – Benzinga

Navy Capital led the round. The company plans to use the funds to support its launch in Illinois, Michigan and Massachusetts. Its Drops tablets combine plant-based medicine and medicinal cannabis.

7. Microsoft Azure Gets Into Agtech with the Preview of FarmBeats – TechCrunch

FarmBeats is Microsoft’s project that combines IoT sensors, data analysis and machine learning. It aims to augment farmers’ knowledge and intuition about their own farm with data and data-driven insights.

8. Embattled WeWork Opens San Francisco Co-Working Space for Food Startups – SF Chronicle

Just days after an investor bailed out WeWork, the struggling New York company is opening a new space in San Francisco, its second WeWork Food Labs.

9. Green Rabbit Raises $31M to Set Standard for Grocery, Perishable Food Fulfillment – Refrigerated Frozen Food

Green Rabbit automates the entire distribution, fulfillment and delivery process. Investment came from Guidepost Growth Equity to add talent to the startup’s workforce and further develop its supply chain automation capabilities.

10. Barcelona-Based 0n-Demand Delivery App Glovo Launches in Poland, Acquires Pizza Portal for €35M – EU Startups

Barcelona-based Glovo, one of the world’s fastest-growing on-demand delivery players, has acquired Poland’s largest food delivery platform, Pizza Portal.

11. Impossible Foods Is Creating Plant-Based Pork as It Eyes China – Bloomberg

The company reportedly has a good prototype and is working on commercialization.

12. Consumers Say They Want More Sustainable Products. Now They Have the Receipts to Prove It – Fortune

Research from New York University’s Center for Sustainable Business finds 50% sales growth among sustainable CPG products between 2013 and 2018.

13. Mooala Closes $8.3M Series A Round – BevNet

Plant-based dairy maker Mooala raised $8.3 million in a Series A financing round led by Sweat Equities. The round brings the three-year-old brand’s total funding to more than $13 million.

14. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

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 CloudKitchens Raises $400M, McDonald’s Fires CEO + More Top Food News appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Source: Eater

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

America’s largest milk producer, Dean Foods, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The 94-year-old company is in “advanced discussions” on an acquisition by Dairy Farmers of America. Opponents fear a milk monopoly that would all but guarantee lower income for struggling farmers.

In retail news, Alibaba aims to raise $13.4 billion in its IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Albertsons has discontinued Plated’s subscription business and plans to take it over as its “in-house culinary brand.” The retailer plans to expand the brand with new product offerings across more store locations during 2020.

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. America’s Biggest Dairy Co-Op May Buy Dean Foods. Opponents Fear a Milk Monopoly – New Food Economy

After Dean Foods, America’s largest milk producer, announced it had filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, Dairy Farmers of America said it was in “advanced discussions” on an acquisition. A merger would all but guarantee lower income for struggling farmers.

2. Albertsons Cancels Plated’s Subscription Business – Grocery Dive

The company’s Own Brand marketing and product development team will take over management of Plated as an “in-house culinary brand,” and expand with new product offerings across more store locations during 2020.

3. Chickpea Pasta Startup Banza Raises $20M to Disrupt Traditional Comfort Foods – Forbes

The funding round was led Enlightened Hospitality Investments, and will go towards growing Banza’s sales team, expanding its marketing efforts, as well as improving and creating new products.

4. DoorDash Picks Up Another $100M at Nearly $13B Valuation – Bloomberg

The investment comes on top of a $600m funding round led by Darsana Capital Partners. The additional $100m comes from accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Group and is part of the same funding round.

5. Ex-Uber Team Starts a Kitchen Rental Business to Rival Travis Kalanick’s – Bloomberg

A new startup called Virtual Kitchen plans to announce a $15m investment and an expansion.

6. Ex-Uber Team Starts a Kitchen Rental Business to Rival Travis Kalanick’s – Bloomberg

A new startup called Virtual Kitchen plans to announce a $15m investment and an expansion.

7. New Study Shows the EAT-Lancet Diet Is Unaffordable for At Least 1.6B People – New Food Economy

The buzzy “Planetary Health Diet” can’t work for the vulnerable populations who need it most.

8. EPA to Limit Science Used to Write Public Health Rules – New York Times

A new agency rule would restrict the science that can be used in drafting health regulations by requiring researchers to turn over confidential health data.

9. UK: Glaxo Wants to Look Inside Your Gut to Discover New Vaccines – Bloomberg

The UK pharma giant is teaming up with Viome to gain a deeper understanding of the universe of bacteria that dwell in the digestive tract and the role they play in the body’s immune system.

10. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

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 Albertsons Cuts Plated’s Subscription Business, Dean Foods’ Bankruptcy Could Hurt Farmers + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

1. Beyond Meat Is Developing a Plant-Based Substitute for Bacon – Bloomberg

2. Beyond Meat’s Restaurant Reach Expands With Dunkin’ Sandwich – Bloomberg

3. Eatsa Rebrands As Brightloom, Inks Deal with Starbucks, Raises $30M – The Spoon

4. After Two Decades of R&D, The Cosmic Crisp Apple Lands This Fall. It Could Disrupt an Entire Industry – California Sunday

5. Retail’s Adapt-Or-Die Moment: How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Commerce – CB Insights

6. Self-Service Kiosk Market to Reach $30.8B – Restaurant Dive

7. Is It Possible to Raise a Carbon-Neutral Cow? – Fast Company

8. Japan: Lab-Grown Foie Gras Will Be in Restaurants by 2021 – Livekindly

9. New Trump Administration Rule Could Kick 3M People Off Food Stamps – Salon

10. OpenTable Now Offers Delivery with Help from Uber Eats and Grubhub – Engadget

11. Uber Is Testing An All-in-One Subscription for Rides, Food Delivery, Bikes and Scooters – The Verge

12. UK: Uber Is Launching a Restaurant “Accelerator” to Fill the Gaps It Sees on Uber Eats – Quartz

13. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

14. Women, Women of Color & Gender Non-Conforming Innovator Database

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!

1. UK: Takeaway and Just Eat to Merge in $10B Deal to Take on Deliveroo and Uber Eats in Europe – TechCrunch

2. PowerPlant Ventures Raises $165M Fund To Keep Betting On Plant-Based Nutrition – Crunchbase News

3. Brandless’ New CEO Is Dumping Its $3 Price Point, Hitting The Stores And Going Big On CBD – Forbes

4. Beyond Meat’s Q2 Earnings Highlight Stunning Growth and Investor Jitters – The New Food Economy

5. As Amazon Eyes Food Delivery in India, New Report Details Tech Giant’s Grocery Ambitions – GeekWire

6. Plant-Based Eggs Land Their First Major Fast Food Deal – CNBC

7. Impossible Foods In Full Scale-Up Mode With Burger Manufacturing Deal And FDA Approval – Forbes

8. The Owners of Eleven Madison Park Are Ending Their Partnership – New York Times

9. PepsiCo Buys Stake in One of China’s Biggest Natural Food Companies – CNN

10. Cannabis Sales Could Hit $41B by 2025, Nielsen Predicts – Food Dive

11. Amazon Wants to Rule the Grocery Aisles, and Not Just at Whole Foods – New York Times

12. Trump Plan Failed to Note That it Could Jeopardize Free School Lunches for 500,000 Children, Democrats Say – NBC News

13. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

14. Women, Women of Color & Gender Non-Conforming Innovator Database

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!

At the Reducetarian Summit, you will:

Headlined by best-selling author Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Eating Animals, this three-day conference + plant-based expo will feature 100+ speakers and exhibitors like:

Use code FTC15 for 15% off the ticket price

1. Climate Change Threatens the World’s Food Supply, United Nations Warns – The New York Times

2. We’re Leaving So Much Food on Farms To Just Rot in The Fields – Fast Company

3. Square Sells Food-Delivery Service Caviar to DoorDash for $410 Million – CNBC

4. Sodexo Is Launching an Impossible Burger Menu at 1,500 U.S. Locations – The Spoon

5. Subway Partners With Beyond Meat as Part of Its Comeback Bid – CNBC

6. The Bowls at Chipotle and Sweetgreen Are Supposed to be Compostable. They Contain Cancer-Linked “Forever Chemicals.” – The New Food Economy

7. ICE Raids Seven Mississippi Chicken Plants, in The Largest Single-State Action in Agency History – The New Food Economy

8. Stonyfield to Launch Smart-Farm Tech Initiative to Retain More Soil Carbon – Union Leader

9. Tyson Foods’ Raised & Rooted Nuggets ‘Made With Plants’ Are Rolling Out to 4,000 Stores – FoodNavigator

10. Arizona Tea Maker Enters The Cannabis Market – CNBC

11. Company Secures Millions To Make Compostable Food Service Products From Grass – Forbes

12. Inari Raises $89m Series C to Make Seeds Diverse Again – AgFunder

13. New Farm Policy Proposal – Elizabeth Warren

14. Cory Booker Wants to Pay Many More Farmers to Practice Carbon Farming – Civil Eats

15. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

16. Women, Women of Color & Gender Non-Conforming Innovator Database

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!

What You’ll Experience:

Use code FOODTECH at checkout for $150 off.

1. Atkins Owner to Acquire Protein-Food Maker Quest for $1B – Food Dive

2. Target is Launching Grocery Brand Good & Gather in Bid to Boost Its Food Business – CNBC

3. Whole Foods CEO on Plant-Based Meat Boom: Good For The Environment But Not For Your Health – CNBC

4. Plant-Based Eggs Are Starting to Compete With the Real Thing – Quartz

5. The Banana is One Step Closer to Disappearing – National Geographic

6. How to Help the Amazon Rainforest: 9 Things You Can Do During the Fires and Beyond – Fast Company

7. The Barbaric History of Sugar in America – The New York Times

8. Diet Brand Whole30 Opens its First Delivery-Only Restaurant in Chicago – Eater

9. In The Largest Prosecution of Organic Fraud in U.S. History, Iowa Grain Seller Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison – The New Food Economy

10. Rebranded Ginkgo Spinout & Ingredients Innovator Motif FoodWorks Raises $27.5M, Hones in on Animal-Free – AgFunder

11. The Rise of the Pea: How an Unassuming Legume Emerged as a Frontrunner in the Race to Replace Meat and Dairy – TIME

12. This Startup Created Compostable Plastic Wrap That’s Made From Shellfish Shells – Fast Company

13. McDonald’s Just Launched Its First New Type of Restaurant Since the Drive-Thru — Here’s What It’s Like to Eat There – Business Insider

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!

Do you have a food or beverage product you’d like to sample at this event? Apply here: https://bit.ly/34394KD

Buy Tickets on Eventbrite

SCHEDULE:

PRESENTERS:

PARTNERS:

1. Kellogg Plans Bleeding Burger as It Catches Up on Faux Meat – Bloomberg

2. Tyson Foods Invests in Plant-Based Shrimp Company – CNBC

3. Hormel Grows into Plant-Based Meat with Its New Happy Little Plants Brand – Food Dive

4. Cargill Makes Additional $75M Investment into Beyond Meat Supplier Puris – The Spoon

5. The Leading US Cell-Based Meat Startups Just Forged an Alliance – Quartz

6. Bellwether Coffee Raises $40M for Eco-Friendly Roasters – VentureBeat

9. Canada: Terramera Raises $45M Series B on Mission to Reduce Chemical Use in Ag by 80% – AgFunder

8. DoorDash Picks Australia for Its First Move Outside North America – CNN

9. With Regenerative Agriculture Booming, the Question of Pesticide Use Looms Large – Civil Eats