Last week, Purple Carrot, an American vegan meal kit startup raised 4 million $. You may wonder why this matters in a world of meal kits rushing for IPOs (Hello Fresh, Blue Apron), acquisition (QuiToque) or partnership with retailers.
It does, both because of the vegan focus and because of who is behind this meal kit. Purple Carrot is using the image of Tom Brady, a famous US football player. Together, they launched TB12, a dedicated meal kit focusing on performance and based on plants.
This could be some coincidence if it wasn’t the signal of something bigger. A few weeks ago, Queen B (or Beyoncé if you prefer) launched her own… meal planner:22 days. The singer is using her strong social media presence to promote the “startup”, the best PR ever with her 145 million followers (only on her Instagram account, to be precise).
And it’s not her first attempt in the FoodTech ecosystem. As Tom Brady and many other stars, she has also her meal kit or meal delivery platform. Even Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy), has her own company delivering DIY recipe kits.
Even if we have been used to chef partnering with brands, more and more tv stars, singers or sports players are launching or partnering with food startups. They bring communication and more important, the desire of many of their fans to live closer to them.
Matthieu Vincent
(should you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact me)
BIG DEAL
La Belle Vie just raised 5.5 m€
La Belle Vie is a Paris-based startup delivering fresh products. It competes with the main retailers in France, focusing on profitability (something too rare to be mentioned). Now it aims to grow in London and other french cities.
TOP NEWS
Is keto diet the solution for diabetes? At least, it’s what is saying a new startup. With the silicon valley diet fad (keto is basically a lot of fat and proteins and few carbs) and it’s meal planner it claims to reverse diabetes type 2. For $370/month, Vista gives you advice and monitors your diet, medications and activity.
Business Insider
If you have been following us for some time, you may have A.I. and food personalization: notice that personalization is one of our “strong conviction” about the future of food. This article dives into the promise of Analytic Flavor System, a startup that aims to replace taste panels with A.I (and a lot of your data) to enable you to find the perfect food for your taste.
NewFoodEconomy
Shares for employees, nothing for riders: The divide between Deliveroo’s employees and riders is going to get bigger. While the former will receive shares of the company, the last will receive… nothing more. This news illustrates the expansion of a gig economy with rewards only targeted to highly skilled full-time employees.
Techcrunch
