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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Ashlen Wilder

Beverage Tech Company Cirkul Raises $30M in Series B Funding

Cirkul, a beverage technology company, raised $30 million in a Series B round this week according to a press release sent to The Spoon. The round was led by AF Ventures and also saw participation from SC.Holdings, Siddhi Capital, and several other private investors. This brings the Cirkul’s total funding to $41.6 million.

Founded in 2018, Cirkul produces flavor cartridges that can be inserted into its patented water bottles to create a customized drink. Once the cartridges are inserted into the top of the bottle, the consumer can adjust the amount of flavor that is released during each sip. By adding flavor to water, the company’s goal is to encourage people to stay hydrated. The flavors, created from added “natural flavors” range from different fruits to coffee, and some include added electrolytes, vitamins, and other nutrients.

Cirkul’s objective is to offer a wide variety of beverage options while simultaneously reducing the shipping weight, costs, and materials used by beverages packaged in plastic bottles. It is still very common for Americans to drink bottled water and beverages, but there are a plethora of environmental issues associated with plastic packaging. The production of plastic bottles releases harmful pollutants into the air, and unfortunately, more bottles end up in the landfill than at recycling centers. In the landfill, these bottles can take hundreds of years to decompose.

It is estimated that 75 percent of all Americans are chronically dehydrated, so it’s no surprise that tech companies are focused on finding solutions to this. Elkay launched the Smartwell Touchless Countertop Beverage Dispenser earlier this year, a countertop beverage dispenser with 70 custom flavor options to encourage hydration. This past March, Pani launched a crowdfunding campaign for its water filter that also allows the user to add in different flavors.

Cirkul will use this most recent round of funding to accelerate its growth plan and focus on innovation in its product lines. The company’s bottles and cartridges are available as a one-time purchase or as an auto-ship plan on its website.

Too Good To Go Partners With Waze to Fight Food Waste

Too Good To Go is an app that connects users to stores and restaurants with unsold surplus food and offers it at a discounted price. This week, the company announced that it has partnered with Waze, a GPS navigation software app, to fight food waste.

The partnership is called Waze for Good initiative, and it will last throughout the month of August. On the Waze app, the map will feature 100 Too Good To Go partner businesses in the metro areas of Washington D.C., Seattle, New York, Philadelphia, and Portland. Some of the featured stores will include Just Salad, Auntie Anne’s La Colombe, Juice Press, PLNT Burger, Café d’Avignon.

Waze users will see dropped pins on the map for Too Good To Go business partners. When selected, these pins will give information about the business and the initiative. The participating partners will offer “surprise bags” of surplus food, costing around $3.99-$5.99 each, that users can pick up. Earlier this month, Too Good To Go partnered with JOKR, a ghost grocery store chain to offer similar $5 surprise bags of surplus products.

Approximately 40 percent of food waste in America comes from restaurants, grocery stores, and food service companies. A few other food rescue apps like FlashFood and Food Rescue Hero are focused on saving food from grocery retailers. Online grocers Misfits Markets and Imperfect Produce rescue products that aren’t visually fit for retailers. While Too Good To Go also works with grocery retailers, it is one of the few companies to focus on preventing food waste from restaurants.

Both the Too Good To Go and Waze app is available for free on iOS and Android phones.

Food Tech News: The Science of Chewing, Food Personality Platform, and Cell-Based Rainbow Trout

Welcome to the first Food Tech News round-up of August! To kick off this month, we have pieces on Bluu Biosciences, a new platform called Foodqu!rk, Motif partnering with dental experts, and Good Catch’s new distribution partner.

Bluu Biosciences ramps up the production of various cell-based fish species

Berlin-based Bluu Biosciences produces cell-based seafood, and this week the company announced that it would be increasing production of three popular fish species: Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, and carp. According to the article on Food Ingredients First, the company is currently working on optimizing its cell lines for ideal nutrition, fat content, and Omega 3s. Bluu Biosciences aims to offer its cell-based seafood at a price comparable to conventional seafood, with a future product range that will likely include fish balls, sticks, and fillets.

Foodqu!rk launches “food personality” platform

With so many people living with dietary restrictions or having specific food preferences, a new platform called Foodqu!rk has been launched to help people identify what their food personality is. To sign up, users take a quiz about their eating habits, food preferences, and relationship to certain foods. The quiz result is generated through an algorithm that determines your FQ, or what Foodqu!rk calls your food personality. There are five categories that define your food personality: Naturalist, Striver, Creator, Enthusiast, and Guardian. After signing up and taking the quiz, users can access the platform to share quiz results, swap recipes, recommend restaurants, and connect with other community members. The platform is currently accepting users for early access on fooqu!rk.com.

Motif partners with dental scientists to understand the science of chewing

Plant-based meat and dairy products typically have a different mouthfeel than their traditional counterparts and can be challenging to create both realistic and appealing textures for alternatives. Motif Foodworks is a biotechnology company that develops alternative ingredients with the intention of mimicking properties of dairy, eggs, and meat. To understand the importance of texture in different foods, Motif is partnering with King’s College London and Imperial College London to study the mechanics of eating. The study will specifically focus on how chewing impacts the sensory perception of food. Mechanical engineers, oral biology, and dental experts will be working together with the company for this food science research.

Gathered Foods partners with Dot Foods to expand distribution

Gathered Foods, the parent company of alternative seafood brand Good Catch, announced Dot Foods as its new distribution partner. Dot Foods is the largest food distributor in North America, with 12 distribution centers and access to all 50 U.S. states. The partnership will enable Good Catch to expand its products to new businesses and food service accounts throughout the country. Good Catch products that will be available through Dot Foods include plant-based fish burgers, tuna flakes, breaded crab cakes, breaded fish fillets, as well as other appetizers and entrées.

Helaina is Developing Immune-Boosting Breast Milk Through Precision Fermentation

A new start-up called Helaina strives to support parents and newborns through its alternative breast milk developed through precision fermentation. The company is currently in its development phase, and to date, has raised $4 million in funding.

As Laura Katz, the founder of Helaina, explained to me this week, “Our goal is to replicate the immune equivalent proteins found in breast milk.” To develop its alternative breast milk, Helaina is not using cellular cultivation, but is using its own proprietary microbial platform. Through microbial fermentation, proteins are developed that the company says are 99% identical to those found in breastmilk. According to Katz, these proteins can act as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral agents, and can provide the same immunity for infants that is found in regular breast milk

Helaina is focused predominantly on developing the protein component of breast milk, but Katz said the company will work on the other important components as they grow. When the product is ready to launch, it will likely first be offered in powdered form, with other forms available later on.

A little-known statistic when it comes to breastfeeding is that only 13 percent of all mothers are able to exclusively breastfeed within the first six months of their infant’s life. Most mothers struggle with it at some point, while some parents cannot breastfeed their baby at all. That being said, a few other companies are focused on developing alternative products for infant nutrition.

BIOMILQ cultivates mammary epithelial cells, and grows them in a way that allows them to produce milk. At the beginning of this summer, the company announced it had successfully produced human milk outside of the breast. TurtleTree is using cellular agriculture technology to develop human breast milk, and recently announced its first commercial product would be a protein called lactoferrin.

Helaina is currently working with the FDA to develop a safe product that receives approval. After this step, the company will have a better idea of when it will be able to launch its first product.

Reciple Announces Pre-Launch of Ad-Free Recipe Platform That Supports Creators

One reason I dislike using recipes is how frustrating it can be to access them on certain websites. As soon as I click on a recipe online, I am instantly bombarded by ad pop-ups, auto-playing videos, and way too much backstory before I can access the actual recipe. Reciple wants to change this, and today it unveiled the pre-launch of its platform that makes it easier to access recipes while simultaneously supporting recipe creators.

Reciple partners with creators and food bloggers to host their recipes on the platform. Recipe creators are normally paid through ad platforms, but in this case, they will be paid directly by Reciple. According to an email from Annie Singer, the founder of Reciple, the creators will be paid up to 10 times more than traditional ad platforms.

To generate revenue, the platform will operate on a consumer subscription model. Users will pay a monthly or discounted annual fee for unlimited access to the recipes. Singer said that most of the revenue will be distributed to the creators.

Due to the fact that recipe creators will be paid by Reciple, they will no longer need to depend on ad revenue. Therefore, the pop-ups and ads that make other sites run slowly can be fully eliminated from Reciple. On the websites and blogs of individual recipe developers, there is often a lengthy backstory behind the recipe. The purpose of this is to improve the SEO of the page in order to have it rank higher in Google searches. The new site will handle the SEO and marketing aspect, allowing creators to select how much backstory they desire to share.

Since the start of the pandemic, more people have turned to cooking at home, making recipe sites like Reciple more relevant. The trend of eating more meals at home is not expected to recede anytime soon: Research from Acosta recently found that 92 percent of surveyed families plan on continuing to eat together at home after the pandemic.

Reciple is now admitting a limited number of waitlist members to their platform. The site is also being accepting recipe creators, and the first 100 creators will get free VIP onboarding and exclusive benefits. The platform officially launches in November 2021.

Rens Original Announces New Climate-Neutral Sneaker Made From Coffee Waste

Finnish startup Rens Original successfully funded its first sneakers made from coffee waste and recycled plastic water bottles via a Kickstarter campaign. Today, the company announced it will be launching a second Kickstarter campaign for its upcoming climate-neutral sneaker.

The shoe is called NOMAD, and the company used feedback from its customers to design it. Climate neutral refers to reaching zero greenhouse gas emissions by reducing emissions released. The remaining emissions are offset through certain practices and projects. Rens aims to be climate neutral in every step of creating its sneaker, and will work with Climate Partner to achieve this.

NOMAD will use coffee waste and other undisclosed waste-free and low-impact materials. Rens’ first sneaker used 21 cups of coffee waste and six bottles of recycled plastic per pair. NOMAD will use coffee waste and other undisclosed waste-free and low-impact materials. The upcoming sneaker will be waterproof and designed for activities like hiking, walking, and trail running.

It is estimated that the fashion industry emits 10 percent of humanity’s carbon emissions. On top of this, sneakers are made from problematic materials like synthetic rubber, nylon, and plastic. If sneakers are thrown out and taken to a landfill, these materials take a long time to decompose.

Rens Orignal is not the only company trying to target both the issues of the fashion industry and food waste. MoEa recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for its sneakers that will be made from grape, pineapple, corn, cactus, and apple waste. At the beginning of this year, Adidas shared that it would be using mycelium leather from Bolt Threads to make shoes.

For its first Kickstarter, Rens raised over $500 million USD, and this time around it aims to double this with a goal of raising $1 million USD. Those interested in backing the project can purchase a pair of NOMADs for the super early bird price of $89 USD. Eight hours after the launch of the campaign, the price will rise to $109 USD.

Food Tech News: Food Waste Sneakers, Cell-Ag Children’s Book, and Bon Appétit’s New App

If you had a busy week and missed out on news in the food tech space, we’ve got you covered. In this round-up, we gathered some news on Bon Appétit’s recently launched app, HelloFresh’s new online marketplace, MoEa’s sneakers made from food waste, and a children’s book on cellular agriculture.

Bon Appétit launches ordering app for people with dietary restrictions

The Bon Appétit Management Company launched an app this week called Curated, which was developed by chefs and registered dieticians. The app was created to make ordering food from restaurant menus easier for those who have dietary restrictions and needs. Through the ordering system, diners can select from 12 different diets, including plant-based, low-carb, gluten-free, as well as dishes free from major allergens. Once a dietary preference is selected, Curated shows dishes and ingredients that are available and can accommodate. Diners can then customize their meal with ingredients, sides, and sauces that fit into their preferences. The app can be used at Bon Appétit cafes and dining service locations, and it is available for free through the Café BonApp mobile app on iOS and Android phones.

HelloFresh now offers an online marketplace

Meal kit company HelloFresh has now added HelloFresh Market to its online platform. The new market offer will offer a wide range of add-ons for customers’ weekly orders. The new options include snacks, fresh produce, desserts, sides, spices, breakfast items, and pantry essentials. HelloFresh offers predominately dinner meal kits, but the introduction of the market will provide customers with options for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and desserts. The offerings on HelloFresh Market will be rolling out to customers in the U.S. over the upcoming months.

MoEa is using food waste to make vegan leather sneakers

Companies have developed technology to make leather from mushrooms and prickly pear fiber, and now a company called MoEa is using food waste to craft alternative leather. Specifically, the company sources leftover grape pulp from the Italian wine industry, cactus leaves, non-edible corn, pineapple leaves, and apples that would otherwise be wasted. Customers can pick out what type of leather they want for the shoe, and each type of leather is offered in two colors. The company currently has a Kickstarter campaign for the shoes, and backers who pledge €86 or about $108 USD will receive a pair of shoes in September 2021.

A new book on cell-ag for children

Called “Where Do Hot Dogs Come From?“, authors Alex Shirazi and Anita Broellochs explain how cellular agriculture works through a story of a family barbeque. Geared towards children aged 3 to 7, the purpose of the book is to teach children about the sustainability of cell-based meat and inspire the next generation of scientists working on alternative protein options. There is currently a Kickstarter campaign for the book, and backers who pledge $25 or more will receive a copy of the book in October 2021.

Blume Aims to Invigorate Alternative Milk Space with New Adaptogenic Concentrate

The most developed category in the plant-based space is alternative dairy, which is estimated to be worth around $2.5 billion. There is so much development in the sector that it feels like a new type of alternative milk such as Táche’s pistachio milk or Take Two Foods‘ barley milk, pops up every week. You can now add Blume to that list as this week, the Vancouver-based superfood company launched a new concentrated nut milk paste filled with adaptogenic ingredients.

Blume’s Adaptogenic Milk Blend has a similar texture to smooth nut butter, and it comes packaged in a glass jar. The base ingredients include almonds, cashews, coconut, and oats. The concentrate is considered adaptogenic because it contains Reishi, Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, and Chaga mushrooms, which are supposed to help the body modulate its stress response and increase focus. Adaptogenic ingredients are defined as being able to increase the body’s ability to resist the damaging effects of stress and promote normal physiological functioning.

Many other plant-based milks contain some type of oil that acts as an emulsifier that ensures the milk won’t separate, and also helps it foam. The Adaptogenic Milk Blend does not contain added oil, but according to the company, still has the capacity to foam when used to create a latte. It is recommended to store the concentrate in the fridge after opening, where it will last three to four months.

Photo by Ashlen Wilder

Blume sent me a jar of their Adaptogenic Milk Blend to test out. To make milk, I followed the directions and blended one tablespoon of the concentrate with one cup of water for 20-30 seconds. The result was fresh milk that had a thick foam, and was an interesting light brown color. I took a sip and was immediately disappointed by the off-flavor and lack of creaminess. I tasted nothing like milk, or any type of plant-based milk I had before. Despite the thick foam on top, the rest of the liquid tasted closer to water. Separation occurred almost immediately after blending, and gritty sediment settled at the bottom.

A few other companies have products similar to Blume. JOI and Modest Mylk use various bases of coconut, almond, oat, and cashew to produce a similar nut milk concentrate. Daily Harvest now sells frozen almond milk cubes that can be blended into fresh milk. We have not tried the concentrates from other brands, so cannot attest to how these are.

I like the idea of these concentrated nut milk pastes, and see some of the benefits they offer over plant-based milks that come in cartons. However, if it doesn’t taste good, then it’s not worth it. On top of this, it is more money upfront: $24 for one jar of Blume’s concentrate versus a $4-$5 half-gallon carton of plant-based milk. A jar of Adaptogenic Milk Blend includes 20 servings, which equates to about $1.20 per serving. It’s also an extra step to blend the milk, and I (like most other consumers) are already accustomed to just reaching in the fridge for ready-to-drink milk.

I’ll personally be sticking to prepared plant-based milk for now. If you’re interested in trying out Blume’s Adaptogenic Milk Concentrate for yourself, it is now available for purchase on the company’s website. The company plans on selling it direct-to-consumer for the time being.

Olyns to Launch Recycling Solution in Safeway Locations

Recycling is a task that seems simple enough for everyone to participate in, but unfortunately, it is estimated that 79 percent of plastic waste ends up in landfills. A startup called Olyns aims to increase the convenience and incentive to recycle through its new bottle collection machine that launched today.

The Olyns machine can hold 1,000 plastic bottles, 850 aluminum cans, and 50 glass bottles. The company predicts that in a year, one machine can gather one and a half metric tons of recycled PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) plastic packaging. Using A.I. technology, the machine can sort the item by type, and then compresses it.

In the 10 states where bottle deposit laws exist, consumers will be refunded for each container deposited. The consumer must download the Olyns app and tap their phone to the NFC code, which will then pull up their account information on the machine’s screen. The refund is paid via PayPal, and the Olyns app keeps track of earnings from recycling. One consumer can contribute up to 50 items per day.

The company will employ gig workers to empty out the machine when full and drive the compressed bottles and cans to a recycling center. An Olyn app sends out an alert when this service is needed.

Earlier this year, Olyns partnered with PepsiCo to pilot its first machine in a Safeway store location, where the machine collected around 1,000 bottles per day. The plan is to place the collection machine in high-traffic, indoor locations, like grocery stores.

A plastic bottle takes up to 450 years to decompose in a landfill, so it’s no surprise that other companies are on a mission to provide solutions for recycling and single-use packaging waste. CleanRobotics came out with TrashBot, which sorts your recycling and waste through sensors and cameras. Loop aims to completely avoid all single-use packaging by offering name-brand products packaged in reusable metal and glass containers. And scientists from the University of Edinburgh discovered a novel method of converting plastic waste into vanillin, a common food flavoring.

A pilot program for Olyns bottle collection machines is launching in Milpitas and Santa Clara Safeway locations this month. Olyns will not be charging the stores for the pilot program and service, and plans on generating a majority of the income for the system through advertising on the machine’s 65-inch HD video display.

Bezos-Backed NotCo Raises $235M for Plant-Based Alternatives

NotCo, a Chile-based food tech company that produces various plant-based alternative foods, announced today that it has raised $235 million in its Series D round of funding.

The round was led by Tiger Global and saw participation from DFJ Growth Fund and ZOMA Lab, with individuals also joining including Jack Dorsey, Joe Gebbia, Lewis Hamilton, Roger Federer, and DJ Questlove. Existing investors include Bezos Expeditions, EHI, Future Positive, L Catterton, and Kaszek Ventures. This brings the company’s total funding to $360 million.

This new capital will allow NotCo to expand into new product categories in North America and scale its proprietary A.I. platform. Additionally, the funds will help the company accelerate its plans to launch in Europe and Asia. Currently, NotCo offers five products: NotMilk, NotBurger, NotIceCream, and NotMayo. The products are available in approximately 6,000 retailers and foodservice locations throughout the U.S., Chile, Brazil, and Argentina.

Something that sets NotCo apart from other plant-based companies is its use of its A.I. technology (the company has five patents in the U.S. for this). Called Giuseppe, the proprietary A.I. platform analyzes the properties of thousands of plants in a database and then creates unique combinations with the goal of replicating animal ingredients. For example, the ingredients in the NotMilk product include pea protein, pineapple juice, chicory root, coconut oil, and cabbage juice.

NotCo joins the ranks with other large players in the plant-based space that have successfully expanded internationally. Beyond Meat fortified its presence in Europe earlier this year, and around the same time announced that it had opened a manufacturing facility in China. Impossible Foods and Just Eat made major expansions to Asia in the fall of 2020. Oatly is currently building or planning future production facilities in Singapore, China, and the UK.

In the U.S., NotCo’s NotMilk is currently available in Sprouts, Whole Foods, Wegmans, and other retailers. All of the company’s products are available in Chile, Brazil, and Argentina. By the end of 2021, NotCo aims to have its products available in 8,000 retailers globally.

Food Tech News: Online Food Bank, Upcycled Cacao Fruit Bites, and $10M for Gluten-Free Snack Brand

If you feel like you’ve fallen behind in the fast-paced world of food tech, you’ve come to the right place. In this week’s Food Tech News roundup, we have stories on Feeding America’s new online platform, Costco’s partnership with Uber, a snack brand’s $10 million funding round, and one of the first companies to receive the Upcycled Food Certification.

Food bank launches online grocery ordering for those facing food insecurity

Feeding America is one of the largest food banks in the country, and this week the non-profit began offering online ordering. Called Order Ahead, food is ordered through a Feeding America network food bank or partner food on a smartphone, tablet, or computer. The order can then be picked up at schools, libraries, or a drive-thru distribution center. Certain markets will also be offering home delivery. Those requiring food assistance unfortunately might feel embarrassed or stigmatized, so offering an online platform allows for the option of being more discreet.

CaPao is one of the first companies to receive the Upcycled Food Certification

CaPao has created a snack product that is made from upcycled cacao fruit. The brand was developed in Mondelēz International’s SnackFuture innovation and venture hub, and this week announced that it is one of the first companies to receive the recently launch Upcycled Food Certification. After cacao beans have been extracted from the cacao pod, there is about 70 percent of the pod remaining goes to waste, and this remaining fruit is used in the snack product. CaPao sources this potential food waste from Cabosse Naturals, a food and beverage company that uses cacao pods to make various ingredients. Using the upcycled cacao fruit, CaPao produces three flavors of snack bites: mango cashew coconut, golden berry apricot chia, and cherry almond cocoa. The products are available for purchase on the company’s website and retailers in Southern California.

Photo by Henry & Co. on Unsplash

Costco partners with Uber to trial same-day delivery

Costco is currently trialing same-day grocery delivery with Uber at 25 Texas locations in Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Uber has announced that its drivers will be able to deliver groceries in minutes to a few hours. To use the service trial in Texas, customers must order at least $35 worth of Costco groceries and products. Costo currently also works with Instacart to offer same-day delivery.

Gluten-free snack maker raises $10 million

Quinn produces various gluten-free snacks, and this week the company secured $10 million in its Series B funding round. NewRoad Capital Partners led the round, and Echo Capital, Boulder Food Group, and Sunil Thakor also participated. The capital will be used for product innovation, company growth, and be put towards Quinn’s mission of supporting regenerative agriculture. Quinn uses gluten-free ingredients like sorghum, cassava, and corn for its pretzels sticks and chips, stuffed pretzels, and flavored popcorn. The company provides a map of where its ingredients are sourced and a list of farmers (who are taking steps to reduce their environmental impact) it buys from to provide transparency to consumers. Quinn’s products are available for purchase in approximately 10,000 retailers nationwide.

Uproot is Bringing Plant-Based Milk Dispensers to College Campuses

As a vegan, it is my dream to see plant-based milk options everywhere I go. Most coffee shops are hip to this, but there are certainly still some areas in the foodservice sector that lag behind in the alternative milk game. A start-up called Uproot, based in New York City, has the mission of distributing its alternative milk dispensers to college campuses and beyond.

Jacob Conway and Kevin Eve, the co-founders of Uproot, saw that plant-based dairy options we not accessible on many college campuses. Conventional milk is always an option for cereal and coffee in college cafeterias, but college students often have to ask the chef or cafeteria staff for a plant-based milk option. Dispensers for tea, coffee, and juice drinks already exist in college cafeterias, so it seemed like the logical option to have a dispenser for non-dairy milk.

The Uproot dispensers are given to college campuses, and then the schools must purchase Uproot’s bags of milk. The company produces its own plant-based milk blends, including oat, chocolate pea, and soy. The milks are shelf-stable and are good for 12 months. A 2.5-gallon bag of milk is priced between $28-$30, depending on the flavor and food distributor.

Uproot first launched its bulk dispenser program in March 2020, prior to the start of the pandemic, at Brown University and Wellesley College. The pandemic promptly shut the program down. During this time, Uproot transitioned to offer college campuses packaged 8 oz single-serving containers of its plant-based milks (which are still available for purchase).

College campuses have recently come into the spotlight for becoming a place for food innovation. Chartwells Higher Education announced earlier this year its plans for launching a plant-based dining program (called 100% Plant Forward) and ghost kitchens at colleges nationwide. At the beginning of the summer, Grubhub announced its plans for bringing food delivery robots to college campuses through its partnership with Yandex. Yo-Kai shared at the beginning of this year that it had installed its automated hot ramen vending machines at several college campus locations.

In addition to college campuses, Uproot plans on expanding to K-12 cafeterias, hospitals, and coffee shops. The company will relaunch its dispenser program this fall at Brown University, Roger Williams University, Wellesley
College, Villanova University, Wesleyan University, Bennington College, Bucknell University, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Connecticut College, Johnson and Wales University and Stonehill College.