💸 Startup Funding News
🇺🇸 🌿 Nitricity, a US-based startup, raised $50M to produce organic fertiliser using upcycled almond shells.
🇩🇰 🌋 Green Minerals, a Danish startup, raised $6.1M to scale its glacial rock flour for Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW), enabling carbon sequestration on farmland. Read our recent insight on the fascinating development of ERW here.
🇳🇴 🤖 Saga Robotics (Norway) raised $11.2M for the deployment of its Thorvald robots, used in strawberry farms and vineyards for disease treatment and weeding.
🇮🇸 🧬 ORF Genetics, an Icelandic startup, raised $5M to scale production of growth factors for cultivated meat, using plants as bioreactors (molecular farming).
🇫🇮 🧈 Perfat Technologies, a Finnish startup, raised €2.5M for its alternative fats through its technology that creates oleogels from liquid oils.
🇳🇱 🧠 Brainr, a Dutch startup, raised €11M to build AI-based insights platforms for food and CPG companies.
🇬🇧 🛰 Messium, a UK startup, raised £3.3M to develop hyperspectral crop imagery for precision agriculture.
🇸🇬 🍄 Greenitio, a Singaporean startup, raised $1.5M for its fungus-derived chitosan, a biopolymer used in skincare and food packaging.
🇯🇵 🌿 Nextage, a Japanese startup, raised ¥200M to develop automation tools for hydroponic wasabi cultivation.
🇩🇪 🍄 Pacifico Biolabs (Germany) received €680k in public funding to develop meat alternatives using biomass fermentation.
🤝 Acquisitions, Regulation & Partnerships
🇫🇮 🍄 Enifer, a Finnish startup, secured GRAS status (enabling sales in the US) for its mycoprotein ingredient produced through biomass fermentation.
🇮🇱 🧀 Strauss Group (Israel, leading food group) and Imagindairy (Israel, startup) launched a range of “cow-free” dairy products, leveraging the startup’s whey protein produced through precision fermentation.
🇫🇷 🇺🇸 Innovafeed, the “other” French leading insect startup (beyond Ynsect), is also facing some difficulties: it made only €5M in revenues in 2024 while the development of its US pilot plant has been paused.
📊 Leading Companies & Macro Trends
🇯🇵 🏪 A good read on the reasons behind the success of 7-Eleven, Japan’s leading chain of “konbinis” (convenience stores – and also my favourite food store in the world), which are known for their ability to stock freshly cooked (and delicious) meals and items.
🇬🇧 🍦 Unilever is selling its ice cream business through a separate listing of a new “Magnum” company. It’s a rare opportunity to have a detailed look at the state of the industry and its planned strategy (snacking, market expansion, premiumisation) through the deck shared for the occasion. In a time where many CPG companies are not doing so well, it looks like betting on indulgence is reasonably safe and should attract many investors.
🇺🇸 🍸 Gen Z drinks less alcohol, citing health, wellness, and fewer social occasions.
🇯🇵 🧂 Kirin developed an electric soup cup that enhances salt perception, enabling low-sodium dishes to taste saltier. Excessive sodium consumption and its many adverse health consequences are a top concern in Japan as in many other countries.
🇩🇪 ☕️ The Lap, a Berlin coffee shop chain which bets on low prices, is facing backlash, notably as it creates a very noticeable competition for established, more premium coffee shops.
