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

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.

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