If you’re adventurous with your food, or just like to keep up with the fast-moving food tech industry, here’s a roundup of this week’s stories and some notable news we weren’t able to cover.
Supply Change Capital
The venture capital fund madness we’ve seen all year has made its way to the food sector. This week, I wrote about Supply Change Capital, which closed on $40 million in capital commitments for its first fund, targeting investments in the global food industry.
The female and Latina-owned firm is spearheaded by co-founders and managing partners Noramay Cadena and Shayna Harris, who met 14 years ago in business school.
The firm has already made 15 investments, including in allergen-free snack food company Partake Foods, ingredients startup Michroma and alternative seafood maker Aqua Cultured Foods.
Supply Change joins firms like Joyful Ventures, which debuted in June with $23 million, focused on investment in sustainable protein startups. Joyful was co-founded by Jennifer Stojkovic, Milo Runkle and Blaine Vess and has made two investments from the fund, including New School Foods and Orbillion Bio.
Global investment in food tech and agtech startups were 44% lower than in 2021, totaling $29.6 billion last year. Granted, 2021 had record-breaking investments into this space, but with all this dry powder on the sidelines, it looks promising for the next year.
As seen in TechCrunch
Brevel sprouts $18.5M to develop microalgae-based alternative proteins
Microalgae is everywhere, it seems. This week, Brevel announced a large seed round that will go toward developing microalgae into an alternative protein powder that can be used in foods.
What else I’m reading
Cultivated beef, it’s what’s for dinner in Europe: Israel’s Aleph Farms gears up to sell first cultivated beef cuts in Europe.
New to the aisles of Whole Foods Markets: Actual Veggies expands at the grocery chain amid over 300% growth in the past year. Meati Foods makes its national launch in 46 states (here’s more about them). And Konscious Foods debuts its frozen, plant-based sushi there.
Egg-citing growth: Yo! Egg makes its nationwide launch via a partnership with Veggie Grill. Read our coverage of the company, especially as it relates to the recent hike in traditional egg prices.
Smooth to the touch: MycoWorks unveils plastic-free leather alternative for luxury fashion brands. Read more about our coverage of this company making “leather” from mushrooms.
Gordon Ramsay likes ramen: Gordon Ramsay partners with vegan ramen brand. See who else has plant-based ramen.
Brewing up some M&A: RTD cold brew maker High Brew acquired by Beliv. Ready-to-drink is big; read more.
If you have a juicy tip or lead about happenings in the venture and food tech worlds, you can reach Christine Hall at chall.techcrunch@gmail.com or Signal at 832-862-1051. Anonymity requests will be respected.
https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/30/this-week-in-food-tech-new-fund/
