💸 Funding News
🎨🇮🇱 Phytolon, an Israeli startup, raised $23.6M to commercialise yeast-fermented natural food pigments, notably a red dye alternative to synthetic food colours.
🍄🇩🇪 Pacifico Biolabs, a German startup, raised €7M to scale mycelium protein production by repurposing idle German brewery fermentation tanks.
🍺🇨🇦 Terra Bioindustries, a Canadian startup, raised ~$0.8M USD to upcycle brewers’ spent grain into clean-label food ingredients.
🍠🇺🇸 Rootsii, a US startup, raised $1.82M to convert surplus sweet potatoes into plant-based dairy alternatives, such as milk.
🍪🇺🇸 Fields Good, a US startup, raised $1.8M for its brand of functional cookies targeting specific health outcomes (focus, sleep,…).
🥜🇺🇸 Smash Foods, a US startup, raised $5M for its brand of chia- and date-based spreads and snacks.
🥩🇺🇸 Campo Grande, a US startup, raised $4M to bring what it calls the “Wagyu of pork” (a premium Ibérico acorn-fed pork from Spain) to American grocery shelves.
🫙🇮🇳 Anveshan, an Indian startup, raised ~$17.5M for its D2C food brand focused on traditional Indian nutrition.
🧪🇪🇸 Mafer AI, a Spanish startup, raised €2M for its operating system for R&D teams in formulation-driven industries, notably food science.
🤖🇩🇪 Allo, a German startup, raised €12M to scale its AI operating system for restaurants across Europe.
✅🇫🇷 Certo, a French startup, raised $4M for its regulatory compliance platform for beauty and CPG companies.
♻️🇧🇪 Borro, a Belgian startup, raised €1.3M for its digital deposit system for reusable cups across Europe.
🐄🇳🇴 Monil, a Norwegian startup, raised $10M for its virtual fencing solutions for cattle.
🌱 🇺🇸 Contact Biosolutions, a US-based startup, raised $5.4M for its bioherbicides for weed management.
📊🇺🇸 Signos, a US startup, raised $20M for its continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) platform for weight management.
⭐ Acquisitions, Regulation, Bankruptcies & Partnerships
🍄🇩🇪 InfiniteRoots, a German biomass fermentation startup, has acquired Bosque Foods, another German startup. It adds an expertise in solid-state fermentation to its technology portfolio.
🍕🇺🇸 Picnic, a US pizza robot startup, has shut down after 10 years in business. The maker of automated pizza assembly machines is joining the (long) list of food robots that have not found their market.
🥇 Leading Companies
☕🇰🇷 Starbucks is facing a major boycott in South Korea, its third-largest market, after a “Tank Day” tumbler promotion fell on May 18, the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju massacre. The scandal triggered the departure of Starbucks Korea’s CEO, a government boycott call, and public protests.
🥤🇬🇧 Danone’s €1bn acquisition of Huel has been placed under review by the British competition authority.
🧪🇺🇸 IFF has agreed to sell its Food Ingredients business to CVC Capital Partners for ~$4.3B. The deal is part of IFF’s portfolio restructuring to focus on higher-growth, higher-margin categories.
🛒🇺🇸 Erewhon, the famous “ultra-expensive grocery store”, has launched a “Reserve” membership tier for customers spending over $15,000/year. Perks include priority checkout, free delivery, and a personal concierge.
📊 Macro Trends
💊🇺🇸 AG1, the “all-in-one supplement”, is facing growing competitive pressure from the “gummification” of wellness. The supplement market is shifting toward candy-like gummy formats that outperform on social media and retail velocity.
🍪🇺🇸🇰🇷 Oreo has launched a limited-edition BTS collaboration featuring hotteok-inspired cream flavour, purple wafers, and collectable packaging, available in 80+ countries from June 1.
🥔🇧🇪 Belgium, the world’s leading exporter of frozen fries, is facing a historic potato surplus. After record yields, Europe has a 5M metric-ton surplus of fry-variety potatoes; prices have stagnated at zero for months, down from €600/tonne three years ago.
