Startup news and deals
๐ซ๐ท๐ ลธnsect, an insect farming company and the leading French startup (in terms of funding, at least), is facing financial difficulties and being placed in receivership. As discussed here, this situation would be harmful to the whole French FoodTech ecosystem as the startup was highly supported by the state. In the meantime, we should remember that this doesnโt mean that insects used as animal feed are over. There is still a substantial market opportunity, and many (relevant) players are moving forward quickly.
๐บ๐ธย ๐ถ Helaina, an American startup, raised $45M to launch its lactoferrin substitute produced through precision fermentation. It targets the infant formula and nutrition/health markets.
๐ฌ๐ง๐ฆ Notpla, a British startup, raised ยฃ20M to bring its seaweed-based single-use food packaging alternatives to the US market.
๐บ๐ธย ๐ชจ Eion, an American startup, raised $3M for its carbon removal technology. It has developed a patented approach to measure carbon removals through enhanced rock weathering. Alongside the investment, it signed a deal with Microsoft to remove 8,000 CO2 from the atmosphere.
๐ง๐ท๐ฆ Cayena, a Brazilian startup, raised $55M for its foodservice marketplace. It enables Latin American food businesses to source items from multiple suppliers and have them delivered quickly.
๐ฒ๐พย ๐ฑ Qarbotech, a Malaysian startup, raised $1.5M for its technology that enhances plant photosynthesis to boost crop yield and carbon sequestration.
๐ช๐ชย ๐งซ AIO, an Estonian startup, raised โฌ6.1M to develop alternatives to animal fats, and environmentally damaging vegetable oils such as palm oil. It will use the funds to develop a demo plant that will transform wood and agricultural byproducts into these new oils.
๐ฌ๐ง๐ฑ MiAlgae, a British startup, raised ยฃ18.5M to scale the production of omega-3s from microalgae for animal feed and aquaculture.
๐ณ๐ฑ๐ฑ Meatable, a Dutch cultivated meat startup, was awarded โฌ7.6M in credits from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency to increase productivity and reduce costs.
Regulation & public support
๐ฎ๐ณย โ๏ธย The Indian government is developing a regulatory framework for cultivated meat and other novel foods, showing a willingness to position the country as a potential hub for alternative protein innovation.
Industry news & trends
๐ธ๐ฌย ๐ชย Deliveroo shuts down its Singapore cloud kitchen due to high operating costs. This is quite noticeable as these cloud kitchens were once presented as a vision of the future. It also shows how hard ti can be to generate profit with this business model, notably by operating both the cloud kitchens and the delivery (in a highly competitive ecosystem such as Singapore with multiple well-funded players).
๐บ๐ธย โ๏ธย Interesting read on the โreal cost of foodโ, with an attempt to take into account the climate cost of the food products we eat on a daily basis.
๐ย ๐ย Last week, we talked about the challenges facing plant-based products. One answer was to have products with โbetter than the alternativeโ claims. This new study linking plant-based diets to longevity could help!
