Source: 3Dnatives
Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.
The race to bring cell-cultured meat to market has advanced this week with news of the first lab-grown pork belly and bacon strips, developed by UK startup Higher Steaks. KFC has also entered the race in partnership with 3D Bioprinting Solutions to create a lab-grown chicken nugget replacement in Russia.
A slew of fundraising rounds have made it into the headlines this week across all sectors. Chinese e-grocer MissFresh represented the largest raise, with $495 million to enhance the company’s “smart chain” technology and broader supply chain capabilities.
Last but not least, Yelp data has revealed that 60 percent of restaurants have permanently closed. The report was unveiled as Oakland and Berkeley abruptly shut down all outdoor dining earlier in July and New York’s Governor Cuomo threatened to roll back bar and restaurant openings.
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Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.
1. From Bioprinting Lab-Grown Meat in Russia to Beyond Meat in the US, KFC Is Embracing the Future of Food – TechCrunch
KFC has partnered with 3D Bioprinting Solutions to make chicken meat replacement using plant material and lab-cultured chicken cells. It has also expanded its Beyond Fried Chicken pilot to Southern California.
2. UK: Higher Steaks Brings Home the Bacon, Revealing Lab-Grown Pork Belly and Bacon Strips – TechCrunch
The products are made with a combination of cell-cultured meat, plant base, proteins, fats and starches.
3. China: Tencent, Goldman Sachs Pump $495M into Chinese E-Grocer MissFresh – AgFunder
A unit of investment bank CICC led the round. The new funds will be deployed to enhance the company’s “smart chain” technology and broader supply chain capabilities. The startup has built a network of 1.5k small-scale distribution centers across China.
4. Coronavirus Has Already Shuttered 16K Restaurants, Yelp Says – Restaurant Dive
A new report shows that 60% of restaurants have closed, a 23% increase since June 15.
5. Outbreak at Iowa Pork Plant Was Larger Than State Reported – Associated Press
The DOH announced that 221 employees at the Tyson Foods pork processing plant had tested positive for Covid-19. Days earlier, Tyson told Iowa workplace safety regulators that 552 plant employees had been infected.
6. Misfits Market Raises $85M Series B to Send You ‘Ugly’ Fruits and Veggies – TechCrunch
Funding was led by Valor Equity Partners. The company is also announcing a new warehouse in New Jersey that will allow it to double its capacity across the East Coast, the South and into the Midwest. It plans to continue to build out its team.
7. Cuomo Threatens to Roll Back Bar and Restaurant Openings – Grubstreet
Brik Astoria in Queens became the city’s first bar or restaurant to have its outdoor-seating permit stripped, after crowds failed to follow social-distancing rules.
8. Amid a Deadly Virus and Crippled Economy, One Form of Aid Has Proved Reliable: Food Stamps – New York Times
In the first three months of the coronavirus pandemic, more than six million people joined a program the Trump administration tried to cut.
9. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support
Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.
10. Dexterity Exits Stealth with $56.2M Raised for Its Collaborative Warehouse Robots – TechCrunch
Funding came from Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Obvious Ventures, Pacific West Bank, B37 Ventures and others. It announced its full-stack solution aimed at creating collaborative robotics systems.
11. Investors Drop Off $33M for Chowbus, a Delivery Service for ‘Mom and Pop’ Asian Restaurants – TechCrunch
Altos Ventures and Left Lane Capital led the round. Funding will be used to expand to more cities across the US and add new product features.
12. Taranis Banks $30M Series C with Tech Giants Hitachi, Micron Among New Investors – AgFunder
Vertex Growth and Orion Fund led the round. Funding will go towards identifying new pests or weed varieties for a widening range of crops, while increasing its percentage accuracy. Taranis also plans to expand across the Americas.
13. The Netherlands: PlantLab Nabs €20M to Open New Vertical Farming Locations – The Spoon
The round was led by De Hoge Dennen Capital. Funding will go towards opening more locations and improving its technology.
14. Cambridge Crops Rebrands As Mori; Secures $12M Series A for Food Waste Technology – Crunchbase
Acre Venture Partners led the round. Funding will be used to scale production of its protective silk coating product as well as develop commercial partnerships in multiple food categories.
15. Blue Apron Cofounder Raises $10M in Funding to Breed a Better Chicken – Forbes
Cooks Venture raised its Series A to further develop its new breed of chicken. SJF Ventures and Larry Schwartz led the round.
16. HumanCo Acquires Majority Stake in Vegan Ice Cream Coconut Bliss – Food Dive
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The partnership is intended to grow the Oregon-based ice cream producer into a global brand through furthering product innovation, increasing marketing efforts and expanding distribution.
17. Five Key Takeaways from the USDA’s 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Report – The Counter
The 835-page report lays the scientific groundwork for the five years of federal nutrition advice. Here’s what you need to know.
18. The US Is Headed for Climate Disaster – But Joe Biden’s Green Plan Might Just Work – The Guardian
Biden’s $2t energy plan promises to revive struggling auto towns in the midwest by building a new fleet of electric vehicles. Since most renewable energy projects require land, rural areas are positioned to win with a wave of investment in wind and solar.
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