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How to leverage opportunities created by Foodtech?

Published on May 13, 2022

Today, I’d like to explain how we at DigitalFoodLab contribute to the advancement of the FoodTech ecosystem. Our methodology and our services may be relevant and useful for your business or your startup.

In the past five years, we have developed a complete methodology to help our clients (small and large agri-food businesses and retailers) to understand their innovation ecosystem and, more importantly, to build their long-term strategy accordingly. We break it into five steps which are as many different services:

1 – Build a common knowledge about your innovation ecosystem
Understanding what the words AgTech and FoodTech actually stand for and things that could be relevant for you and your company. The ever-growing ecosystem of startups is getting more complicated by the day.
Why: level up the knowledge about your innovation ecosystem and the types of technologies around you.
What: dedicated workshops/presentations about the FoodTech ecosystem and its trends with the same level of analysis, fun, and skepticism that we add every week in this newsletter.

2 – Identify opportunities and threats created by disruptive innovation
We often hear of people that are overwhelmed by the amount of information generated by the FoodTech ecosystem. Indeed, it is wide and is spreading fast with new technologies (just look at the number of companies working on alternatives to seafood). Beyond tech, new trends are popping up, some of them bearing real significance, others being just a fad. That’s why our second step is to help you map the “things that you should look at”.
Why: help you know which subjects are or may become relevant for your company, which are not, and how to approach each of these items.
What: an actionable and detailed list of the subjects/trends/technologies on which there is a significant startup activity and that could be either an opportunity or a threat to your business.

3 – Build an action plan
Next, from the insights on potential opportunities (or the will to explore an area) comes the need to deep dive into each of them to:

  • create a mapping
  • identify the key players (startups and corporations)
  • find the best way to address it from a partnership to an acquisition

4 – Act on the ecosystem
Finally, we all know that there is a gap between corporations and startups (and also VCs, accelerators…). We are here to bridge this gap by identifying the right partners and helping you start up the conversation.

We also build dedicated business intelligence tools to keep you and your team informed about what happens in your FoodTech ecosystem. Beyond information, we add the extra layer of analysis on why and how it is relevant to your daily business.

We have refined this method by applying it (from start to end or partially) with more than 50 agrifood businesses, from SMEs to the world’s largest companies. If you want to understand what lays ahead for your company, plan for it and find ways to leverage opportunities, contact us!

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Join the 60+ clients of Digital FoodLab: leading agrifood companies, retailers, banks, investors, startups, and public organisations.

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Use case: project for a global F&B company looking to map its AgTech innovation ecosystem and the best startups to partner with

What we did:

  • Mapping of the AgTech ecosystem: startups, research regulators, and other leading companies.
  • Discussion to select areas to focus on.
  • Analysis of the information to reveal the trends and a model to analyse eventual partners.
  • A workshop to validate the opportunities based on our recommendations.
  • Scouting of relevant partners followed by introductions.

Results:

  • Mapping the different categories of innovations in AgTech that should be considered now to create long-term benefits for the business.
  • Identification of key partners (an incubator and a couple of startups).
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Use case: project for a CPG company on the healthy ageing ecosystem

What we did:

  • Education of the board through a couple of workshops to define the perimeter
  • Identification of key opportunities and threats created by long-term evolutions (technologies, business models, behavioural changes).
  • Deep dives on each of the priority categories.
  • Co-construction of a vision on how the company should address these challenges.
  • Identification of partners (startups, incubators, funds) to move forward.

Results:

  • Creating a consensus on which categories to prioritise and how to address them.
  • Implementation of an open innovation strategy through the development of partnerships.
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Use case: project for a global CPG company to develop a strategy on the healthy ageing ecosystem

What we do (ongoing mission on a subscription model):

  • Kick-off where we present an overview of the AgriFoodTech ecosystem to select with the client the categories to cover and for each, the level of information required.
  • Monthly newsletter: each month we send a newsletter with the articles that we have gathered ranked by relevance, their summaries, and a layer of analysis.
  • Database: we set up a personalised database that will be filled month after month with the information gathered on the companies identified for the watch.
  • Workshops: twice a year with the client’s innovation team and other “innovation curious” team members, we present an overview of the evolutions, key trends and a dashboard of the topics followed by the watch.

Results:

  • A clear, regular and evolutive tool to follow what is happening in terms of innovation on key topics.
  • A forum (through the workshops) to discuss innovation trends and new opportunities.
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Use case: opportunity screening for an ingredient company

What we did:

  • Kick-off to define the perimeter of the ecosystem studied.
  • Mapping of the different trends shaping the innovation ecosystem of the client.
  • Analysis of the trends on DigitalFoodLab’s trend curve and other relevant frameworks.
  • Workshop to discuss DigitalFoodLab’s recommendations on key trends to prioritise

Results:

  • Shared view of the innovation ecosystem for the client with a view of the trends to prioritize.
  • Clear document (personalised trend curve) that can be easily shared internaly to explain the company’s innovation choices and which can be then updated each year.
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Use case: scouting for an agriculture coop

What we did:

  • Kick-off to define the perimeter of the client, the goals of the scouting (partnerships) and the criteria on which startups should be evaluated.
  • Set-up scouting: we selected the first batch of 20+ key startups following the criteria of the client.
  • On-going scouting: then we set up a quarterly scouting of about ten startups.
  • For each scouted startup, we created an ID card with key information such as the business and technological maturity, funding, and corporate partnerships. We also added an explanation of why we selected this startup.

Results:

  • An ongoing and evolutive scouting are matching the client's criteria and its capabilities in terms of deal flow.
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Use case: working on an acquisition process for a CPG company

What we did:

  • Kick-off to define what the client is seeking, notably in terms of maturity.
  • Workshop with the client based on a mapping of the different innovation ecosystems adjacent to its activities to select some priorities and discuss inspiring examples of startup acquisition stories.
  • Identification of 20+ targets.
  • Workshop to select the most relevant to engage with.
  • DigitalFoodLab worked as a sparing partner during the acquisition process, notably to help design how the acquired startup could be integrated into the overall company’s strategy.

Results:

  • Different results from traditional M&A processes with a focus on the client’s innovation strategy.
  • Identification of a good match for an acquisition.
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Use case: market due diligence on sugar alternatives

What we did:

  • Kick-off with the client to discuss its interest on this category, its expectations and existing level of information (notably on the target company).
  • Mapping of the ecosystem to analyse the different existing alternatives and technologies to compare them.
  • Interview (calls) with relevant startups made by our internal biotechnology expert.
  • Recommendation on whether to invest or not.

Results:

  • Clear view of the ecosystem and of the reasons to believe (or not) in each sub-category.
  • Enforceable recommendations based on facts and expertise.
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