Startup news and deals
๐บ๐ธย ๐ย Wonder, a US-based startup offering delivery and dine-in with quality meals, acquired Grubhub, a restaurant delivery app, for $650M. Thatโs to be compared with the $7.3B that its previous owner, Just Eat Takeaway, paid three years ago to acquire it.
๐ฉ๐ช๐ซ KoRo, a German startup, raised โฌ35M to expand its healthy snacks. It is one of the fastest-growing food DTC brands in Europe, with more than 2 million customers across the continent.
๐บ๐ธ๐ฟ Plantible Foods, an American startup, raised $30M to scale up production of its duckweed-derived protein for plant-based meat and baked goods. Compared with other sources of protein, duckweed has some major benefits beyond being highly nutritional: it is one of the fastest-growing plants, and it is already authorised for human consumption in most regions.
๐บ๐ธ๐ Oishii, a US-based startup, raised $16M to expand its production of luxury strawberries grown through vertical farming.
๐ง๐ชย ๐ฆ BiocSol, a Belgian startup, secured โฌ5.2M for its microbial-based biopesticides, providing sustainable crop protection solutions for farmers.
๐ฎ๐ณ๐ HealthKart, an Indian startup, raised $153M for its omnichannel sports nutrition and wellness brand.
๐ฏ๐ตย ๐ฅฌ Secai Marche, a Japanese startup, raised $2.1M to expand its B2B fresh food e-commerce platform that connects producers with restaurants and retailers across Asia.
๐ฎ๐ณย ๐ธย Swiggy, one of Indiaโs food delivery giants, successfully completed its IPO with a $12B valuation while raising about $1.34B
๐บ๐ธย ๐ฝ๏ธ Permanent, an American startup, raised $6M for its food procurement platform, connecting buyers directly with local producers.
๐ฌ๐ง๐ฑ Naturbeads, a British startup, raised ยฃ7.8M for its biodegradable and sustainable alternatives to plastic microbeads.
๐จ๐ฆ๐ท InVintory, a Canadian startup, raised $2.3M to expand into its wine-management platform for the hospitality industry.
Regulation & public support
๐ญ๐ฐย ๐ฆย Vow, an Australian cultivated meat startup, became the first to be authorised in Hong Kong. It will be able to sell its foie gras made through cellular agriculture.
๐ช๐บย ๐ย Impossible Foods, the well-known American plant-based meat startup obtained a positive opinion from Europeโs food safety body. Impossible is getting close (validation by the commission) to be able to commercialise its products in Europe.
