Hey,
I hope you are all doing well and not feeling too summery while at work. At least that’s not the case of many investors which are betting large sums of money on European FoodTech.
In the last couple of weeks, two startups have raised almost half a billion: Oatly, the famous oat-based dairy alternative ($200M from super famous peoples, see below) and Karma, a British ghost kitchens startup. Quite notably, Karma was looking for £3M and raised £252M. Who’s talking about a crisis in financing FoodTech startups?
Indeed, since January, significant deals have been numerous in European FoodTech, here a few:
- Karma Kitchens raised £252M in July
- Oatly raised $200M in July
- Wolt raised €90M in May to face the consequences of the crisis
- Gousto raised €38M in April to grow its meal kits
- Swile raised €70M for its benefits plan for workers in June
This assessment of a rather positive situation (compared to many gloomy articles) has led us to wonder how things looked at a macro level. Thus, we did a quick update to our report of the fundings in European FoodTech startups. As you can see in the graph below, European Foodtech is on a path to sustain the amounts raised last year, which was a record year!
From what we observe, the second semester will be at least as good as the first one, with many big deals in the making in Europe and elsewhere. Indeed if some FoodTech sub-categories are deeply affected (notably for startups working in the restaurant industry), many already existing trends have been bolstered by COVID-19. It’s particularly the case for grocery delivery and alternative proteins.
In the meantime, DigitalFoodLab will take some well-deserved vacations. We’ll be back in one month with more valuable content for you.
Have a great summer!
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TOP INSIGHTS FROM DIGITALFOODLAB
#1 – Karma, UK’s Ghost Kitchens leaders raises £252M
Karma Kitchen, a London-based Ghost kitchen startup just raised £252M. It was initially looking for “only” £3M. The startup intends to use this huge (and quite unexpected) financing to grow faster in the UK and in other European cities.
#2 – Oatly raises $200m and becomes Europe’s leading Foodscience startup
Oatly just raised $200m from various investors, including celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z and Nathalie Portman. The Swedish startup, known for its plant-based milk alternatives was founded in 2013 and is quite dominant in the US with $200m of sales there (on a $2B market).
#3 – Ready, set, food! Raises $3M to fight food allergies
Ready, Set, Food raises $3M from top investors, including Danone Manifesto Ventures (Danone’s CVC arm), AF Foods and Mark Cuban. The startup markets a product which helps babies to avoid developing food allergies As food allergies are growing, the product can help reduce the risk of developing an allergy to peanut, egg and milk up to 80%
As you can see, FoodTech is indeed moving faster than ever in 2020. But you are not alone. DigitalFoodLab is here to help you :
- Stay at the top of your domain. We prove exclusive insights and information through talks and our FoodTech watch
- Prepare for the future. We help you make plans for long term trends and their implication on your business and to identify the right startup to work on your current issues.
- Innovate faster. We work with you to define the innovation strategy fitted to your business means and needs.
No matter if you are a startup or a food giant, we are here to work with you and change the world of food! (contact us).
