Funviralpark Each month, the New Hope Network compiles must-see investments in the natural products industry.Use Nutrition Capital NetworkNew Hope Network editors follow investment news to see what financial moves could have a major impact on the industry and identify trends in funding. to see the latest investments that caught our attention.
Food technology — controversial or necessary for the future of food? This was the question everyone in the natural products industry pondered this year. It’s showing up and has the finances to support it. Food tech companies are raising millions of dollars in 2022 to invent new ways to produce food. Skeptics are calling for greater transparency around ingredients and ethics. From meat substitutes and precision fermentation to bee-free cell extraction and honey, there’s new science and technology to recreate foods that may be endangered by climate change. See our investments. This indicates that the push for food technology will be strong heading into the new year.
Big year-end investments show big boost for food tech in 2023
Black Sheep Foods Stands Out to Investors
Black Sheep Foods is a San Francisco-based food tech company that makes plant-based meats that taste like animal meat. The company uses patent-pending technology to isolate flavor molecules in meat and identify the same molecules in plants. The company has secured his $12.3 million in Series A funding. This brings his total funding since 2019 to $18 million. Unovis led the latest round, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, AgFunder and KBW Ventures.
Torr FoodTech Completes $12M Series A Round
Torr is an Israeli startup born out of Strauss Group’s food tech incubator, The Kitchen Hub. Torr uses a technology that combines mechanical pressure and ultrasonic energy to compress snack bar and other food ingredients together. The latest round saw him secure $12 million in funding for the startup, led by Harel Insurance Investment and Financial Services. Existing investors Mondelēz International, The Kitchen Hub and Straus Group also participated in the round.
Perfect Day Acquires Sterling Biotech Limited
Precision fermentation brand Perfect Day has completed the acquisition of Indian company Sterling Biotech Limited (SBL). SBL manufactures gelatin, dicalcium phosphate and pharmaceutical raw materials. The acquisition doubles Perfect Day’s production capacity from his and brings animal-free dairy proteins to the Indian market.
Julian Bruno raises £5 million
Julienne Bruno is a food tech startup developing vegan cheese and dry aged vegetables. The startup’s goal is to create delicious meat- and dairy-free products that are non-vegan people’s first choice for superior quality over traditional products. Last year Julienne Bruno raised £1m in a pre-seed fundraising led by Seedcamp. The primary investors in this round, including Seedcamp, were Cherry Ventures, Outsized Ventures and Nicoya.
MeliBio Raises $2.2 Million
MeliBio is a food tech startup that makes plant-based honey without the use of bees. Collaborative Fund, Siddhi Capital, The Greenbaum Foundation and Seaspiracy participated in the latest funding round. The round brings the company’s total funding to $9.4 million, with the new funding used to expand its development efforts.
NotCo Raises $70M in Series D Round
Food tech unicorn NotCo has raised $70 million to launch a new B2B AI platform, Giuseppe. NotCo has designed a platform that fosters innovation among CPG brands, ingredient suppliers and technology providers. Princeville Capital led the latest funding round, bringing NotCo’s total funding to his $400 million. Previous investors include Tiger Global Management, Union Square Hospitality Group, L Catterton, Trousdale Ventures, and Jeff Bezos through Bezos Expeditions. Additionally, the company has released a line of branded meat/dairy alternatives and is gearing up for his IPO in 2025.
Arkeon Biotechnologies Secures New €4 Million Investment
Austrian start-up Arkeon Biotechnologies has raised $6.5 million in seed funding in March, with a previous announcement to secure a further $4 million, bringing its total investment to nearly €10 million. This startup uses technology to convert his CO2 into protein for food. Arkeon can produce all 20 essential amino acids by fermenting specific microorganisms while using far less land and water than traditional agriculture. Arkeon’s new investors were CL, aws Gründerfonds, FoodHack and Tet Ventures. The new funding will help expand our proprietary technology and create new research and development centers.
EvodiaBio Raises $6.4 Million
Danish startup EvodiaBio has raised $6.4 million (45 million Danish kroner) for its sustainable beer flavor. The startup uses precision fermentation to give its non-alcoholic beer a more traditional flavor. Funding comes from Nordic FoodTech VC, Danish accelerator BioInnovation Institute, and Symrise, his house of flavors in Germany.
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