Hi,

Following last week’s webinar on the trends shaping the future of food (you can watch the replay here) and the report’s release, we wanted to share some key learnings that point to structural shifts in the relationship between large agrifood companies and innovation.

1 – 2026 will be a pivotal year

After almost four years of consolidation, and a current preference of investors for artificial intelligence, the ecosystem is doing much better than we could have anticipated:

• It could be much worse: companies are still raising funds and are moving forward, and now that the AI hype is somewhat fading, a return to the companies trying to solve real-world issues could give a boost to the AgriFoodTech ecosystem.
• Corporate involvement has acted as a buffer through a rise of commercialisation and scale-up partnerships.

Even if we don’t expect a bounce back in terms of funding (you can view the full list of our predictions for the year here), 2026 will be decisive in many ways, with two broad scenarios:

• Negative: no products on the market, no significant price/scale updates on the most significant technologies => FoodTech put on « hold ».

• Positive: corporate x startup partnerships deliver concrete results, startups announce convincing price/scale data => new upwards cycle.

Implications:

• For startups: without surprise, the key theme of the year will be the ability to demonstrate industrial validation and consumer traction through corporate partnerships, small-scale product launches, clinical studies, field trials…
• For corporations: this year should mark a shift from exploration to execution. The window to secure strong partners at rational valuations will not stay open forever.

2. The hype cycle is resetting and that’s healthy

Several segments that experienced peak excitement (notably alternative proteins, vertical farming, automation) are now deep into the disillusionment phase of the innovation cycle. At the same time, other themes such as healthy ageing are boosted by the current GLP-1 hype and gaining visibility, but without yet translating into structured industrial engagement.

3 – Resilient farming: doing really well on almost all fronts

As shown in the trend curve, the components of the resilient farming megatrend  can be divided into two blocks:

• Post-disillusion trends moving forward and getting increasingly adopted by the industry, such as precision farming and farm robotics
• Hype trends such as sustainable livestock (reducing methane emissions) and bio-inputs, which have not yet validated from a business and technical point of view.

Both compartments are attracting increasing attention from large corporations, with the risk of some disappointment in the latter category, especially in regenerative agriculture, where companies are moving forward, but without the help of startups.

4 – Sustainable ingredients: a really decisive year ahead

Sustainable ingredients, the category of players leveraging technologies such as precision fermentation and cellular agriculture, are entering a critical phase. The core question is no longer technological feasibility but rather about profitable scalability. More precisely:

• From the point of view of both startups and corporates, it’s about which technology is best suited for which application.
• Who will finance the scale-up, and what will be the business model?
• Beyond niche functional ingredient applications, what would be the consequences of these technologies becoming economically viable at scale?

The coming 18 months will be decisive for:

• Startups: many are running out of money or just raising barely enough to sustain their commercial activity (with no funding for industrialisation efforts). They will need to prove commercial traction to regain the confidence of investors.
• Corporations: as the ecosystem consolidates, the number of players with whom to sign partnership deals decreases. It is now time to choose with whom to engage and to be clear on the goals.

5 – Healthy ageing: very limited engagement beyond the hype

Healthy ageing and longevity are increasingly important narratives in the era of GLP-1, rising health concerns, and global demographic changes. However, from an innovation perspective, the ecosystem is still in its early days; hence, corporate engagement remains limited.

6 – Now, are you prepared for the future?

Across all the themes covered in the report and in the webinar, the key takeaways and questions that need answers this year are:

• Follow what’s happening around product launches this year (and ideally, test and taste the products) and develop answers to the questions:
  • Which combination of technology and application is relevant to you now, tomorrow and in the long-term?
  • What’s the plan to secure that on these key elements, you will gain a competitive advantage over your competitors?
• GLP-1 and health: it’s now key to move beyond the hype and to define a clear healthy ageing strategy, both for startups and corporates, especially by answering the two following questions:
  • Are we aligned with the goal to promote health and longevity? If not, do we have sufficiently strong assets that will enable us to be increasingly against the tide?
  • Do we have a clear plan to accompany consumers increasingly seeking services and products promoting their health at different stages of their lives?
• M&A: as funding and valuation remain low, what are the opportunities to seize upon before an eventual bounce back?

Meanwhile, you can still download and share the trends report, and let us know if you have any questions or would like to have access to the slides used during the webinar.

Have a great week,
Matthieu