Taste innovation in alternative meat

If alternative protein startups are to play an instrumental role in decarbonizing the agri-food industry, it will require innovation across the entire value chain. While the end product alternative protein space has become crowded with startups vying for consumers' broadening attention, we've dived upstream, looking at the enablers of alternative protein innovation.

We've identified  and analysed 160+ startups working on diversifying the ingredients supply, novel processing technologies, indigents optimization and  supply-chain management of the alternative protein industry. Examples include, InnovoPro who are launching a textured vegetable protein combining chickpea and pea protein concentrate that enables food manufacturers to develop better-tasting products. Rival Foods, a spinoff from Wageningen University and Research, has developed a process to transform plant-based ingredients into the world's first high-quality whole-cuts.  The company has entered into a partnership with LiveKindly Collective to create "the perfect plant-based chicken". Deep Branch developed a biological carbon recycling technology that utilizes CO2 and hydrogen to produce single-cell proteins. This is a sustainable alternative to fishmeal and soy for the feed industry. It is also an environmentally-friendly and price-stable solution.

Investors are increasingly betting on upstream alternative protein technologies.  VC investment has increased 18x since 2015, reaching €986 million in 2021 year-to-date. There is already 1 unicorns in the category - Nature’s Fynd. Motif FoodWorksalso raised $226 million Series B in June this year at an undisclosed valuation. And there are 10 startups valued between €200-800 million, who could well be on the unicorn track too.

Recent changes in consumer preferences and environmental concerns could be a catalyst for future growth in the alternative protein market. However, challenges around flavour and mouthfeel  remain. Explore 160+ startups working on it.

Latest foodtech deals

Select deals from last week:

🇨🇳 Meican, Chinese catering company, raised $100 million Series E to finance R&D, global expansion and supply-chain diversification.  The Chinese catering market has been hit hard during Covid-19 as employees were forced to stay at home. In the first half of 2021, the Chinese catering industry's revenues were down 33% year-over-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. However, as the pandemic has been contained, the industry is recovering accordingly. Dazhong Dianping (merged with Meituan to become Meituan Diaping) which has a food and grocery delivery service, is an early investor in Meican. 

🇮🇳 CureFit, Bengaluru-based meal kits delivery service, raised $50 million becoming  the latest Indian unicorn. The investment was made by Zomato, one of the largest delivery networks in India. Curefit started as an online workout platform in 2016. Following the acquisition of the healthy food delivery service Kristys Kitchen in 2017, it established its food vertical. CureFit also acquired Fitternity (a sports discovery platform) and Onyx (a workout app) to become a one-stop shop for healthy lifestyle.

🇸🇪 Matatos (ex-Matsmart), a Stockholm-based food waste redistribution platform, raised €24 million. A third of produced food is wasted. Matatos enables consumers to order food and groceries that would otherwise be wasted.

Other notable foodtech deals from around the globe: 

🇸🇬 Treedots, a Singapore-based platform for unsold grocery inventory, raised $11 million Series A. This round makes Treedots the 3rd most funded food waste startup in Asia.

🇺🇸 Dream Pops, a plant-based ice cream company in Los Angeles, secured $6 million to "double down on manufacturing".

🇪🇸 Wetaca, a Madrid-based healthy food delivery service, raised €2.5 million to grow its subscription service and differentiate its product from the likes of Glovo.

Read up on all the latest foodtech deals in Dealroom.co

Foodtech exits: 

🇺🇸🇫🇮 Doordash has acquired Helsinki food delivery service Wolt for €7 billion, in an all-stock transaction. DoorDash is seeking to expand into Europe's growing online grocery market. In 2014, Wolt launched as a pick-up only service. It added the delivery option later. Last year, it also launched grocery and medicine delivery. Its model has been to partner with supermarkets such as Spar and Carrefour to deliver groceries.

🇺🇸🇬🇧 DoorDash is not the only US-based food delivery service to have its eyes on Europe's online grocery market. Gopuff acquired Djia, an ultrafast delivery service in London.

Read up on all the latest foodtech exits in Dealroom.co

In other news

📱 Yelp’s new iOS home feed makes it easier to discover local restaurants via TechCrunch.

📉 Beyond Meat shares tumble after company reports lower-than-expected revenues via Fooddive.

🍔 Fast food prices keep rising at record rates and there's no end in sight via BusinessInsider.

🇫🇷 Deliveroo Expands in France With Picard Rapid Grocery Delivery via Bloomberg.
French grocery retailers embrace the digital transition to keep (and potentially gain) market share.

🎫  Semi Hakim, founder and CEO of Kök Projekt, and Ivan Draganov covered the latest trends in online delivery last Monday. The recording is available on YouTube.

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Tip of the week

Are you looking for the next big foodtech startup? Look no further. We've identified 141 startups launched since 2019 that have a promising founder.  Founders are detected and scored based on track-record and background using criteria including previous funding raised, previous number of people hired, work experience, university degree, and other criteria.

Dive in

🗺️ Foodtech investment heatmap

🎓 Foodtech university spinouts

🦄 108 Foodtech unicorns and $1B+ exits

📈 Fastest hiring Foodtech companies founded by serial entrepreneurs

Ivan Draganov

Senior Innovation Analyst
Dealroom

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