Was it better before?
Hi,
The wonderland of FoodTech startups is getting under some pressure. Entrepreneurs are used to be considered as world saviours battling against the forces of evil (understand the big bad food corporates). Media are often helping his battle, being wowed by startups full of promises. But (it’s a good “but”), some FoodTech startups have now reached a size were they become scrutinised by the same media. Let’s see a few examples:
– Beyond Meat’s plant-based meat alternatives have been generally considered as “good” but as it is now valued $10B, questions arise on the exact list of ingredients
– Impossible Foods is also questioned because of the use of “leghemoglobin” (heme) which is responsible for the “bleeding” effect of its burgers. However, this heme, produced by the way with genetically-modified yeast, is also identified by the World Health Organisation as a potential source of gut cancer. As said here, plant-based startups have to address these concerns.
– the naming battle (can I call a burger, an alternative protein burger) is still on inEurope
– Cooking Robots are even criticised for their lack of humanity and repetitiveness.
We can, however, be surprised by this recent intensity of criticism of these new products and services. It seems a bit too coincidental that this starts just at the same moment, traditional CPG companies discover that they have new, innovative competitors ;).
That being said, it’s still great news when FoodTech startups get attention. It’s a new step toward respectability and acceptance of new food products and services.
Have a great week!
Matthieu
Big Deals
$3.4M for Kencko, a new way to consume more fruits and vegetables. Juices are a good answer to the hardship to get the recommended 5 portions of fruits and vegetables every day. However, they are hard to deliver at your door. Kencko has developed an answer with a subscription plan to receive at your door dry and ready to mix juices, personalised to your needs.
Innovorder, a French ePOS raise $10M. Hospitality software startups are booming in Europe. Innovorder is one of France’s leaders in this market, helping 600 clients and 17,000 restaurants to restaurant managers to manage bookings, payments and many other issues. This additional cash will be used to grow the company, notably through acquisitions.
Wolt, the Finish delivery startup that you didn’t know about raised $160M.We knew at least four major (let’s say startups which have raised more than $100m) restaurant delivery startups (Deliveroo, Glovo, Delivery Hero, Takeaway). Now, there is a fifth player with Finland’s Wolt. Well developed in the Nordics, the company intends to develop in many more countries.
News
Perfect Day has released its first commercial product: ice-cream. The startup ($61M raised) is developing cow-free milk (yes milk proteins created through fermentation.
23andMe, the genetics company can now predict which ice-cream flavours you will like. With close to 1 million DNA tested, 23andMe is proving how your genome can influence your tastes. And as summer approaches, they are proving it with ice-cream. Their scientists have found hundreds of genetic markers, which combined with age, sex and ancestry make possible to tell if you will prefer vanilla over chocolate taste.
A new seed fund dedicated to alternative proteins in Germany. As we said in our report dedicated to Germany’s FoodTech (you can download it for free here), the country is putting in place a strong ecosystem dedicated to what seems to be one of the key ingredients to the future of food: plant-based and clean meat startups.
Cloud kitchens impact could be huge. A detailed article on the potential impact of an expansion of Cloud Kitchens businesses or the entrance of Amazon in the food delivery business. Impact on current restaurants could be huge.
