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title: Regenerative agriculture
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This week: Regenerative agriculture startups and scaleups are tackling repairing the world's soil, the latest foodtech deals, and more.

| View in browser JUNE 21, 2022 Regenerative agriculture The loss of fertile soil poses a series threat to food production in the future. Soil erosion is already costing USA farmers as much as $100M per year. Startups and scaleups could provide a tech solution to a global issue by developing and innovating regenerative agriculture, which consists of farming practices that help rebuild organic soil and biodiversity.   The combined enterprise value of the regenerative agriculture market is $6.1B, 90% of which is contributed by the unicorns Indigo and Pivot Bio. VC investment in regenerative agriculture has been relatively small and volatile. However, Pivot Bio's $430M Series D last year is a sign of how much the opportunity could be. Some other companies within the sector include Agreena, which issues CO2 certificates to farmers who switch to regenerative agriculture practices, and  Loam Bio uses microbes to isolate carbon in farm soils. It increases the plants ability to store CO2 in the soil, making the capacity permanent. Even major food and beverage companies like Nestle, Mars and PepsiCo have also started initiatives on regenerative farming. On Dealroom.co, we've mapped 20+ regenerative agriculture startups developing and innovating farming practices that help rebuild organic soil and biodiversity. Discover these companies today by clicking the button below. 👇 20+ Regenerative Agriculture Startups   In the news 🍟 Wendy's former pricing manager explains food costs at fast food restaurants. Fast food restaurants do not actually get ground beef cheaper than it is in the store. Sandwiches and hamburgers are the least profitable category, while drinks and fries the most profitable one. If any fast food franchise makes a profit of ~10%, it is considered a really good one. - Twitter   🥤These could be the next big food and drink trends. The plant-based category goes beyond meat. It includes comfort foods such as plant-based cookies, cheese and crispy fava beans. Pasta is back in shapes and tastes the Italians have not thought before. - CNBC 📉 VCs have begun to doubt profitability in 15-minute delivery. Amid a drop in VC investment in grocery delivery and volatile economic environment, the grocery delivery service Gorillas is said to be working with JP Morgan on a merger or sale of the business. - Bloomberg   Latest foodtech deals Select deals from last week: 🇺🇸 Wonder, a next gen food delivery company, raised $350 million at $3.5 billion valuation. Wonder operates a network of truck restaurants that deliver to consumers. The food is prepared on-site to ensure maximum freshness.  🇺🇸 Little Leaf Farms, a US-based hydroponic greenhouse company, raised $300M with The Rise Fund and Back of America. Launched in 2015, Little Leaf Farms has become the country's number one brand of greens grown through controlled environment agriculture.  As we've said before, there are clear benefits of vertical farming such as pesticide-free produce, cleaner water, and proximity to customers.  🚜 We held a webinar on vertical farming trends with Kök Projekt CEO, Semi Hakim, and Mycelium Managing Partner, Jean-Patrick Scheepers.   Other notable foodtech deals from around the globe:    🇨🇿 Rohlik, a Czech Republic online grocery retailer, raised $231M in Series D funding. The company was valued at $1.2B a year ago. This year's valuation was not disclosed, so it could mean anything. For context, grocery delivery startups like Getir and Gorillas have reduced headcount.   🇺🇸 Magic Spoon, a NY-based direct-to-consumer cereal brand, raised $85M in Series B funding. 🇬🇧 Peckwater Brands, a UK-based dark kitchen operator, raised £15M in Series A funding by Stonegate Group, SoftBank and others.   Read up on all the latest foodtech deals in Dealroom.co   Tip of the week   Foodtech x Space Tech Startups   🚀 In a global first of its kind, Dealroom is excited to launch a comprehensive database of space tech startups and innovation. With over 24,000 space tech startups to explore, there is a vast array of industries and markets to dive into, including a landscape mapping the foodtech companies working within the space tech sector. Explore 140+ foodtech x space tech startups today. 👈   Dive in   🗺️ Foodtech investment heatmap 🎓 Foodtech university spinouts 🦄 110+ Foodtech unicorns and $1B+ exits     Ivan Draganov Senior Innovation Analyst Dealroom Not a subscriber yet? Subscribe here This is Dealroom's weekly Foodtech newsletter. Get more industry-specific intelligence on the evolving world of Foodtech, emerging trends, and game-changing startups. Delivered on Tuesdays. Dealroom.co, Cornelis Dirkszstraat 27-2, 1056 TP, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Manage preferences |
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