Edito & top reads: testing products & services as way to understand what's happening

One of the best parts of working in the food ecosystem is that you just get the opportunity to experiment with so many new ingredients and products.

It may be not a pleasure for all. Actually, I am always surprised by the large share of people having opinions about alternative proteins, grocery delivery, etc., without experimenting with them. If you read this newsletter, it is obviously because you are interested in food and, more especially in FoodTech, so you may already be keener on experimentation than I am.

However, I can only encourage you to try more of the new products launched by startups. It can also be “structured”. You can try to eat a plant-based diet for a week (or to replace your meat with alternatives), switch all your small grocery items to Gorillas or Cajoo for some time (or forever), replace the alcohol at a party with no or low alcohol beverages, go to eat a pizza made by a robot, etc. It’s not a market study, but it really helps to understand the point of view of the entrepreneurs working on these projects. And when it is not conclusive (at least in terms of taste), it is often fun (let’s say that I remember more some cheese, meat or fish alternatives for the “experience” they provide rather than their taste).

SINCE YOU ARE HERE – Interesting reads to save for your weekend

🐟 A deep dive and a tasting of cell-based salmon. Interestingly, the article gives us a sense of where cell-based fish is in terms of profitability. A sushi plate made with their product and sold at $30-$40 would be profitable.

🧀 Stockeld Dreamery, a Swedish startup, raised €16.5M for its plant-based cheese made of legumes. It matters because most plant-based cheese until now was made of coconut oil or fermented nuts such as cashew (not so good environmentally).

🚴‍♂️ Cajoo raised $40M for its quick delivery operations. The deal includes Carrefour. It matters because more than being a “simple” minority investor, Carrefour will also become a major partner for the startup. This opens a whole range of questions on how to think about the business model of this growing ecosystem