💸 Funding News
🗑️🇮🇹 Ganiga, an Italian startup, secured €2.5M, including €1M in public financing, for its platform that identifies discarded food and helps caterers reduce waste.
🍦🇯🇵 Kinish, a Japanese startup, raised $3.1M to expand its rice-based ice cream business. It is also developing dairy casein produced in rice plants through molecular farming.
🌱🇺🇸 IMIO, a US startup, raised $12M for microbial products that release nutrients trapped in crop residues, reducing farmers’ reliance on fertilisers.
🇬🇧🤖 Opply, a British startup, raised $7.5M for its AI agents that automate ingredient sourcing, procurement and supply chain operations for consumer brands.
🧫🇺🇸 Pythag Tech, a US startup, raised $4.25M to use AI to optimise cell culture media and production processes, aiming to lower cultivated meat costs.
🌿🇺🇸 Electric Plant Company, a US startup, raised $11.2M to decode electrical signals emitted by plants and help growers monitor their health.
🍗🇺🇸 Wilde, a US startup, raised $40M for its protein snacks made from chicken, egg whites and bone broth. The brand reports more than $100M in annual sales.
⭐ Acquisitions, regulation, bankruptcies & partnerships
🥗🇬🇧 Allplants, a British plant-based food brand, was acquired by Fleury Michon. A former success story, Allplants, known for its plant-based ready-to-eat meals, had collapsed after uncontrolled growth. It had been acquired by the owners of Deliciously Ella (a brand which has been recently acquired by Hero, a Swiss group).
🤖🇨🇦 Lumi AI, a Canadian startup providing business analytics, was acquired by Newforma. Despite strong revenue growth, it struggled to raise a Series A and found a buyer outside the food industry.
🛒🇺🇸 Instacart, a leading US online grocery delivery platform, reportedly held acquisition talks with DoorDash and Uber. Uber has reportedly walked away, and no deal has been announced.
🧀🇺🇸 Goodles, a US brand of protein-enriched mac and cheese, was acquired by Barilla for $750M, according to Forbes. That is more than four times its estimated annual sales.
🥇 Leading companies
🥛🇺🇸 Abbott, a leading pharma company, plans to spin off its nutrition business into an independent company by the end of 2027. The division, which includes specialised nutrition brands Similac and Pedialyte, expects $8.5B in annual sales.
🛒🇫🇷 Carrefour cut its outlook following protests and looting in France, estimating an €80–200M hit to operating profit.
🤖🇺🇸 Walmart announced tools allowing AI agents to shop on customers’ behalf, with spending limits and purchase approvals. Another step towards making AI agents a new sales channel for food brands.
🍫🇨🇭 Lindt brought back former CEO Dieter Weisskopf as interim chief after two cuts to its annual growth forecast. Higher chocolate prices have tested consumers’ willingness to pay, particularly in Europe.
👀🇺🇸 Whole Foods released its eight food trend predictions for 2027, including legumes, shorter ingredient lists, beauty-focused nutrition and Japanese-inspired comfort food. Protein remains part of the story, but simplicity and flavour also feature prominently.
