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🌿💶 NOPALM INGREDIENTS RAISES €5M TO SCALE PALM OIL ALTERNATIVE Dutch startup NoPalm Ingredients has raised €5M ($5.4M) in a seed funding round to accelerate production of its sustainable palm oil alternative. The investment round was led by Rubio Impact Ventures, and co-led by Oost NL, Fairtree Elevant Ventures, and Willow Capital Investments. There was participation from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and other private investors as well. It takes the total raised by NoPalm Ingredients – which makes a fermented yeast-derived alternative to palm oil – to €6M ($6.5M), following a pre-seed round in 2022. The capital will help the startup scale its technology up to industrial levels of 50 cubic metres and beyond, and prepare for its demo factory. “NoPalm Ingredients is a leading pioneer from the Foodvalley ecosystem that is shaping the Dutch and European alternative oils and fats landscape, to create a more sustainable food system,” said Maureen Haverkamp, investment analyst at Oost NL. “Their business model is innovative and appealing to both suppliers and customers and has a clear positive impact on the environment. We’re proud to invest in the innovative team of NoPalm Ingredients.” NoPalm Ingredients, which was founded in 2021 by Lars Langhout and Prof Dr Jeroen Hugenholtz, employs a proprietary fermentation process using non-GMO yeasts and low-capex technology, which can convert local agricultural waste – like potato peels and whey permeate – into yeast oils. NoPalm Ingredients is among a number of companies dedicated to tackling the problematic $70B palm oil industry. These include British firms PALM-ALT and Clean Food Group, New York-based C16 Biosciences, Estonia’s ÄIO, Dutch startup Time-travelling Milkman, and Bay Area company Kiverdi, Inc., among others. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/erg8Y9qM #GreenQueen #futurefoods #foodtech #sustainability #innovation

💸 Here are the 1️⃣2️⃣ #FoodTech news you should know for the past week: 🇫🇷🌱 LACTIPS, a French startup, raised €16M to expand the production and commercialisation of its biodegradable, water-soluble plastic alternatives made from dairy proteins.   🇩🇪🍫 Planet A Foods, a German startup, raised €30M to scale its cocoa-free chocolate alternative made of sustainable and plant-based ingredients.    🇺🇸🧪 Celleste Bio, a US-based startup, raised $4.5M, notably from Mondelez, to scale its plant-cell technology to create alternatives to cocoa. As mentioned in one of our recent insights, chocolate alternatives are among the hottest spaces in FoodTech right now, with a growing number of startups. What is really different from other alternative protein spaces is the very high interest large corporations have taken to the space with partnerships and investments.   🇫🇷🌾 Kapsera, a French startup, raised €5M to scale its microcapsule technology for sustainable agriculture. Its microcapsules are used to deliver active substances like biopesticides or fertilisers more efficiently.   🇬🇧 🌍 Everest Carbon, a UK-based carbon tech startup, raised $3M to scale its enhanced rock weathering (ERW) sensors for measuring carbon removal.   🇪🇸🌱 HEMAV, a Spanish startup, raised €8M for its platform for sustainable agriculture, enabling data-driven decisions for farmers to optimise yields and reduce environmental impact.   🇫🇷📱 Tabesto, a French startup specialising in self-service ordering kiosks, was acquired by Deliverect, a Belgium unicorn developing digital ordering solutions for restaurants.   🇨🇱🧪 Luyef Biotechnologies, a Chilean startup, raised $1.25M to create nutrients for cultivated meat using fermentation and agricultural by-products. 🇮🇱 🥛 Imagindairy, an Israeli startup, received regulatory approval to sell its precision fermentation whey protein in Israel.   🇨🇳 🍼 All G, an Australian startup has received Chinese regulatory approval for its precision fermentation-derived lactoferrin.   🇳🇱🥦 Unilever announced it would sell Le Boucher Végétarien Butcher, one of Europe’s leading plant-based brands, signalling a strategic shift away from plant-based meat alternatives.   🇺🇸 📉 Cargill, the commodity giant, is laying off 5% of its workforce as part of a larger restructuring plan following profit declines linked to volatile commodity markets and inflation pressures.     👉 All the links and more insights in the first comment #startup #foodtech #agtech #deal #fundraising

From superfoods to bioplastics, spirulina is driving a green revolution. Learn how startups are leveraging its potential for a sustainable future. 🌱💡 👉 https://lnkd.in/e3H5kWSz #Spirulina #Innovation #Sustainability #Startups #SarayuShresthi

🌾📈 Accelerator in Australia announces chosen AgriFoodTech startups. SparkLabs Cultiv8, a cleantech AgriFood accelerator, has revealed the nine startups selected for its latest accelerator program. Founder Jonathon Quigley highlighted that these startups were chosen for their contributions to a more sustainable and efficient global food production system. The 2024 cohort includes a diverse range of companies: 👉 Alkiira Therapeutics - focuses on Australian-grown botanical extracts and nutraceuticals 👉 Bovotica - offers a probiotic/prebiotic feed supplement to reduce methane in cattle 👉 Carbon Friendly - provides carbon technology solutions for the agricultural industry 👉 Levur Pty Ltd - creates sustainable oil substitutes using yeast 👉 Nitronic - develops on-site, zero-carbon fertilizers 👉 NonTox - produces non-toxic herbicides and anti-pathogen solutions 👉 Invenios - explores microbial-based biological solutions 👉 PyxGlobal - ensures secure data exchange along supply chains 👉 Unibaio - formulates more efficient pesticides and fertilizers with natural microparticles. The accelerator program runs for six months and has supported over 50 companies, which have collectively raised more than $750 million, created 750 jobs, and now hold a total value of $1.75 billion. Unibaio is a FoodTech 500 alum. Learn more about this company here: https://lnkd.in/eJkrrciZ Read the full Startup Daily article here: https://lnkd.in/ewrwckBV #ForwardFooding #accelerator #startup #venture #foodtech #innovation

These startups just raised +$60 million between them 🍫 US-based cacao startup Blue Stripes secured $20 million Series B funding, in a round featuring Hershey’s and celebrity chef Nick DiGiovanni, to develop superfood chocolates and upcycled cacao products, including cacao water, granola, and chocolate-covered cacao beans. 🇳🇱 Tebi, based in the Netherlands, raised €20 million for its all-in-one financial platform for independent hospitality and retail businesses, which integrates point of sale, payments, inventory management, and bookkeeping. 🌾 Bioprime™ raised $6 million, in a Series A funding round led by Edaphon, to develop bio-fungicides, bio-insecticides, and biostimulants, leveraging its BioNexus technology and over 170 microbial strains. 🥬 Swiss startup UMAMI secured CHF 4.3 million Series A funding to expand its holistic indoor farming operations. Its microgreens are currently available in more than 450 Coop and Migros stores and supplied to 400 restaurants across the country every day. 🏭 US biomanufacturing company Liberation Labs raised $3.5 million through a Secured Promissory Note, including $2 million from Agronomics Limited, to fund the construction of its first fermentation facility in Richmond, Indiana, which is expected to be operational by Q1 2025. 🇩🇪 Infinite Roots® and the Hamburg University of Technology received a €2.6 million grant from the German government to develop technology that upcycles dairy industry waste, specifically whey, into a feedstock for mycelium fermentation. 🐜 Breakthrough Victoria has invested $2.5 million in Melbourne-based Viridian Renewable Technology Pty Ltd, which converts food waste into insect-based protein and fertiliser. It will use the funds to further expand what it says is Australia’s first large scale insect protein manufacturing plant. 🧫 Swiss startup sallea raised €2.38 million, in a pre-seed funding round led by Founderful, to accelerate the production of premium whole cuts of cultivated meat and fish using its innovative edible scaffolds. 🍳 California-based Terviva secured investment from Chevron Renewable Energy Group to scale its operations and promote pongamia oil as a sustainable feedstock for renewable fuels. 🥤 Functional beverage brand CURE, based in the US, raised funding from Santatera Capital. Cure is “shaking up the hydration game” with its plant-based electrolyte mix powder, featuring a WHO-standard rehydration formula and made with ingredients like coconut water powder and pink Himalayan salt. Congratulations 🎊 Mark Warner, Andrea López Jara, Lauren Picasso, John Williams, Denis Weinberg, Robin Bertschinger Naveen Sikka, Nicole Kleger, Simona F., Anna Bünter, Mazen Rizk, Anne-Cathrine Hutz, Thibault Godard, Renuka Diwan, Benjamin Hadad https://lnkd.in/ekCnEGUd

Brazil’s Typcal, a startup pioneering mycoprotein in Latin America and a 2024 EIT Food Accelerator Network programme participant, has been selected by the Paraná Anjo Inovador to receive R$250,000 in funding. State funding has been crucial in helping the startup navigate the challenging investment landscape and focus on technological development. The startup was founded in 2021 by bioprocess engineer Eduardo Bittencourt Sydney (CTO) and food industry entrepreneur Paulo Ibri (CEO) to leverage biomass fermentation to develop a mycoprotein ingredient for food applications. “We started Typcal to be the first in Latin America to develop mycelium fermentation with a circular process. The investment of the Government of Paraná greatly increases our competitiveness because it allows us to grow as an industry.” - Paulo Ibri, CEO Typcal uses a fungus strain with a history of human consumption in Brazil, simplifying regulatory approval and allowing it to bring its innovative products to market more quickly. The FoodTech World Cup finalist produces up to 100 kilos of fresh mycoproteins monthly, achieving product development in just 24 hours. The mycoprotein is high in protein and fibre, low in fat and calories, and neutral in flavour. This makes it ideal for vegan and vegetarian alternatives, as well as hybrid products. Typcal has a pilot facility in Curitiba, Brazil, with a 200-litre bioreactor. The company has raised around $3 million in seed funding from a mixture of AgTech and FoodTech investors and athletes and is looking to raise a series A round later this year. The startup aims to expand with a 5,000-liter bioreactor to a commercial scale and put the first products on the market in 2025, and then in 2026, expand again and reach around 60 tons a month for the local market with three 50,000-liter bioreactors. Typcal's production method is highly sustainable. It boasts 7,000 times higher productivity and 99% less water usage than traditional meat production. It also utilises agro-industrial by-products to reduce waste. #foodsystemtransformation #agrifoodtechinnovation #startupacceleration

Some highlights from FoodTech Weekly #218 (https://lnkd.in/diq9mUmk) which was sent this morning: https://lnkd.in/dCDRhCzc 🇨🇭 planetary has secured a CHF 3M (appr. $3.4M) investment from Royal Cosun; the company develops food ingredients through fermentation, and will collaborate with Cosun on e.g. commercializing mycoprotein 🇺🇸 In related news, biomanufacturing startup Liberation Labs announced $3.5M in new funding via a Secured Promissory Note, including $2M from the VC Agronomics Limited. The company plans to open a facility in Indiana Q1 2025 with 600K liters of fermentation capacity 🇺🇸 Biopesticides provider AgroSpheres has raised $37M in Series B funding, led by Zebra Impact Ventures 🇨🇭 sallea, which makes edible, plant-based scaffolds for e.g. the cultivated meat industry has bagged €2.4M (appr. $2.6M) in a round led by Founderful and joined by Kost Capital 🇺🇸 Blue Stripes, which upcycles cocoa sidestreams into e.g. cacao water, whole-cacao granola, and trail mix, has scored $20M in Series B funding, led by ZINTINUS and joined by e.g. The Hershey Company and Whole Foods Market. 🇪🇸 UOBO has snapped up €500K (appr. $540K) in Seed funding, led by Enzo Ventures, for its liquid plant-based egg replacer 🇲🇽 Sistema.bio has closed a $15M bridge round led by ElectriFi and backed by e.g. AXA Investment Managers, KawiSafi Ventures, and Blink VC. The company makes biodigesters that smallholder farmers use to recycle animal waste into biofuel for cooking, heating, electrification, and nutrient rich fertilizer 🇫🇷 moderato 0% 🍷 was just fois gras'd with €3M (appr. $3.25M) in funding from Eutopia, Groupe Coopératif Vivadour, Andromede, and Xinomavro Ventures. The company develops alcohol-free French wines 🤩 New jobs at BlueRedGold (Sweden), NitroCapt AB (Sweden) and Nutreco (The Netherlands) 💬 Conversation with Jaakko Kaminen of SuperGround 🎙️ Investment Climate podcast highlights (hosted by Alex Shandrovsky) with Dr. Arne Ewerbeck 🥓 of The Raging Pig Co. ...and much more! Subscribe now at: https://lnkd.in/d8mUXXH5 #foodtechweekly #FoodTech #agtech #startups #funding #tech

Some highlights from FoodTech Weekly #189 (https://lnkd.in/dvgr4a4b) sent this morning: 💰 Cauldron Ferm of Australia has bagged a $6.25M Series A in a round led by Horizons Ventures and joined by SOSV, In-Q-Tel and Main Sequence. The company develops continuous fermentation tech that cuts COGS by 30-50% for its customers, compared to traditional batch fermentation, the company claims. The company, which has 25K liter capacity, now plans for a 500K liter facility 💶 POSEIDONA of Spain has scooped up a €1.1M pre-seed round. The company uses algal sidestreams and invasive seaweeds to create cost-effective proteins. The round was led by VC fund Faber, and joined by e.g. Dozen Investments, Sprout & About Ventures, ProVeg International, and WA4STEAM (Women for STEAM) 💰 ANDFOODS of New Zealand, which produces legume-based dairy alternatives such as plant-based creams and milk, has banked $2.7M in a Seed funding round led by Icehouse Ventures 💰SOLASTA Bio of Glasgow, U.K. which develops products for green insecticides has won ‘the Radicle Natural Plant Protection (NPP) Challenge’ by UPL; this comes with a $1M grant 💰 Bear Robotics of Redwood City, California has secured a $60M Series C round led by LG Electronics. The company develops server robots that can augment or replace waiters in e.g. restaurants 💶 Guildford, U.K. startup NuKoKo, which develops cocoa-free chocolate by fermenting fava beans, has pulled in €1.3M (appr. $1.4M) in a round led by Oyster Bay Management GmbH and joined by SOSV and The Mills Fabrica, and supported by a Innovate UK grant 🇪🇺 A new European food innovation coalition has launched the Regenerative Innovation Portfolio, a €30M initiative aimed at advancing reg ag practices across the continent (h/t FoodHack) 💰 Acre Venture Partners of California has closed a new $140M agrifoodtech fund; it will invest from pre-seed up to Series B. The VC also announced that Lynda Deakin from IDEO and Chef David Chang will join as operating partners 🫒 Olive oil has become the most stolen supermarket item in Spain, as droughts and heatwaves have caused surging prices and shortages 🏆 Forward Fooding has launched this year’s edition of FoodTech500. Some 1,500 foodtech/agtech companies from 77 countries were nominated. The top 10 companies were Nature's Fynd, Bowery Farming, Ÿnsect, ProducePay, 80 Acres Farms, meati™ Foods, Heura Foods, CropX Technologies, Nobell Foods, and Planet A Foods 🤩 New jobs at Farmless (Netherlands) and Hoxton Farms (U.K.) 💡Conversation with Andrew Massaro of Stable Foods ...and much more! Subscribe now at: https://lnkd.in/d8mUXXH5 #FoodTech #foodtechweekly #agtech #startups #funding #tech #innovation #farming #technology #food #agriculture #science

"European food tech startups focused on climate change solutions attracted $2B in investments last year, overtaking the US for the first time. Despite a global downturn in VC funding, funding in this sector matched the levels of 2022, when European companies raised $2.1B." "European food tech startups focused on climate change solutions attracted $2B in investments last year, overtaking the US for the first time. Despite a global downturn in VC funding, funding in this sector matched the levels of 2022, when European companies raised $2.1B." Europe has surpassed the US in investments in foodtech startups for the first time, but this seems to be temporary. One reason is Europe's rightward shift and the gradually growing skepticism around the green agenda. Another reason is European regulation (surprise!), which hinders the development of #foodtech and #agtech startups... https://lnkd.in/gf7ragr3

ÄIO, an Estonian foodtech startup, has secured €6.1 million in venture capital to develop a demonstration plant for sustainable fat and oil production from wood and agricultural residues. Backed by prominent investors like Voima Ventures, 2C Ventures, SmartCap, and Nordic Foodtech VC, Äio is addressing significant environmental challenges posed by palm oil production. According to Äio’s co-founder, Nemailla Bonturi, this advancement could reduce land use by up to 97%. Read more about this innovative work published by Estonian World, authored by Silver Tambur. https://lnkd.in/g2YTFh-f #FoodTech