Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Catherine Lamb

Recipes for Relief Sells Professional Chef’s Recipes to Quarantined Home Cooks

Though quarantine is forcing most of us to become more dedicated home cooks, few are making fancy, restaurant-worthy dishes every night. But that might change soon.

Recipes for Relief is a website where famous chefs and mixologists post recipes for meals and drinks. Each recipe features a title, the name of the chef who created it, and a short description. You can choose to purchase the recipe for $2, $5, or $10. All of the funds go directly back to the chefs or mixologists. 

The initiative grew out of meez, a recipe management tool that allows professional chefs and mixologists to digitize their recipes, make edits, scale it up/down to feed various amounts of diners, and share them with team members. Meez is currently in beta testing mode and was preparing to launch back when quarantine forced restaurants to shut their dining rooms. Since then, meez has pivoted to share the recipes with folks that are outside the professional kitchen — home cooks.

Recipes for Relief kicked off in mid-April and currently includes around 80 recipes from 20 chefs. I connected with Francine Lee, who does business development for meez, via phone to learn more about why the company decided to start Recipes for Relief. “Other than takeout and delivery, plus government aid, there’s no way to generate revenue for restaurants right now,” Lee told me. “We thought, ‘What can we do?'”

As a quarantined person who loves to cook, of course I had to give Recipes for Relief a try. I added two recipes to my cart that looked both delicious and achievable: Miso Biscotti and Cauliflower Mac and Cheese. Within 24 hours I got an email with a link to my meez account, which had the two recipes plus a dozen bonus ones. From my initial perusing, the recipes all seemed relatively easy to make and featured ingredients that the average person could actually find at a store.

Lee told me the company has also worked with the chefs to edit the recipes to make them doable for non-professionals — using more basic techniques, ubiquitous appliances, etc. “There’s also a lot of cool tips and tricks that happen in a professional kitchen that could be insightful for a home cook,” she told me. Recipes for Relief is also gathering data on what types of recipes people are buying most to curate their new offerings.

I was hesitant about the portion sizes of the recipes. Chefs obviously work on a much larger scale than home cooks. But meez has solved this problem by offering capabilities to scale the recipes (1/2x, 2x, 4x, etc) to accommodate any number of people. You can also manually enter the amount of any ingredient you have (e.g., 1 cup of cider vinegar) and all the other ingredients will adjust accordingly. You can even ask chefs about ingredient swaps in the comments. 

According to Lee, the conversions are actually one of the key selling points for both meez and Recipes for Relief. That could be especially useful in our quarantine kitchens, when we’re forced to work with what we have more than ever before. 

Recipes for Relief’s interface still needs some polishing. There were several grammatical errors and some of the instructions lacked detail. I’d also like allergy and dietary restrictions listed (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free) clearly on the recipes. If meez decides to add a permanent tool targeting home cooks, not restauranteurs, these changes could make it a lot more useful.

As someone who’s worked in a restaurant and knows how complicated recipes not developed for home chefs can be, I’d normally be skeptical of tackling a restaurant recipe at home. But now, with time on my hands and a hankering for a physical project, there’s no better time to try my hand at a complicated recipe — especially if those recipes are also helping to support restaurants.

Impossible Foods Accelerates Retail Rollout with Kroger, Now in 2,700 Grocery Stores

Impossible Foods is massively expanding its retail footprint. Starting today, the plant-based burgers will be available at an additional 1,700 Kroger stores and banners. According to a live press release from the company, this puts Impossible at more than 2,700 retailers total nationwide.

Impossible’s plant-based beef will be sold in 12-ounce packages and priced between $8.99 and $9.99. It can be found in the frozen, fresh, or plant-based sections of Kroger stores. The Impossible beef will also be available on Kroger.com.

This news comes just a few weeks after Impossible began selling its plant-based beef in 777 supermarkets in the Albertson’s portfolio in California, Indiana, Illinois and Nevada. That expansion put its retail footprint at roughly 1,000 grocery stores nationwide. Now, with the new Kroger news, Impossible has more than doubled that number.

Restaurant dining room shutdowns have been devastating for Impossible’s thousands of foodservice partners. Some restaurants are selling uncooked 5-pound bricks of Impossible Foods’ beef directly to customers to supplement their revenues, though it’s not clear if they’ll continue to do that as Impossible amps up its retail footprint.

Since their foodservice sales are no doubt taking a hit right now, it’s no surprise that Impossible is making a hard pivot to focus on retail. In fact, a press release emailed to The Spoon notes that the company plans to expand its retail presence “more than 50-fold” in 2020.

Coronavirus actually offers a prime opportunity for the company to roll out in grocery stores. As COVID-19 disrupts meat manufacturing and shortages loom, plant-based meat is experiencing a bit of a boom — making it a smart time for Impossible to accelerate its retail rollout.

Impossible has been adamant that, unlike traditional meat producers, the coronavirus will not affect their supply chain. In fact, the company announced a $500 million Series F round back in March at least partially intended to help them weather the volatility of the coronavirus pandemic. With its hefty warchest and robut retail presence, it seems like Impossible will come out of the coronavirus pandemic stronger than when it went in.

Will Bellwether Coffee’s Plug-and-Play Roasters Help Cafés Survive COVID-19?

Every Tuesday, before I make my weekly outing to grocery shop, I stop by my favorite coffee shop and get a black coffee and a donut. The shop used to be a hubbub of activity — freelancers hanging out on their laptops, friends catching up, kids running around — but now it’s quiet, with a masked barista serving up to-go coffees to patrons who line up outside to be served.

Like most other foodservice establishments, coffee shops are feeling the pain of COVID-19. To compensate some are cutting hours, reducing staff, or trying to incorporate new revenue streams, like selling local products, flowers, and emphasizing bagged coffee.

Bellwether Coffee, a company that makes electric, ventless zero-emissions connected commercial coffee roasters that can go into cafés, is trying to help coffee shops supplement their income by roasting their own beans. To try and get more partners during the pandemic, they’re offering to waive the first two months of roaster fees — provided the shop installs it between May and July. The roasters can be delivered in as little as a week.

On the one hand, coffee shops who are struggling to stay afloat probably aren’t able to commit to purchasing a pricey coffee roaster (the machines cost $75,000 to buy or can be rented for a monthly fee), even with the deal. On the other, Bellwether roasters could offer these shops a new revenue stream as they sell bagged beans roasted in-house. The coffee shops could also use their house-roasted beans in their drinks, so they don’t have to purchase coffee from other roasters.

The only reason this is actually feasible is because Bellwether’s roasters don’t require any special setup or expertise. The device, which is about the size of a standard fridge, is automated, so baristas or café managers don’t have to have any roasting experience to figure out how to use it. It runs on electricity and is ventless, so coffee shops don’t have to build out expensive ventilation systems to start roasting — something which would be especially tricky given the limitations around the pandemic.

The software that controls Bellwether’s roasters also features a marketplace where users can browse and purchase green coffee beans in 22-pound boxes. That way, shops don’t have to worry about setting up relationships with suppliers or buy massive amounts of beans if they’re just trying to set up a temporary roasting solution.

With all of that said, the roaster is still pricey. The Bellwether website notes that shops can lease the roaster for $1,150 a month for 60 months, but that’s still cost-prohibitive for small, local coffee shops — coronavirus or no.

Since coffee shops already have to-go infrastructure set up — takeaway cups and containers, etc. — they might actually have a better chance of surviving the pandemic than, say, full-service restaurants. They can also operate pretty easily with a bare-bones staff, since a single barista could take orders, make coffee, bag up pastries, etc.

That said, coffee shops, like all foodservice joints, still have a significant amount of overhead. Just like restaurants, we’ll continue to see cafés get creative to figure out new ways to cut costs and spark new revenue streams. Roasting their own beans could help coffee shops do both of those things. The question will then become whether or not cafés want to keep their Bellwether roasters after they’re able to reopen their doors post-pandemic.

Bug Ingredient Company Insectta Nabs Funding as Investors Flock to Alternative Protein

One foodtech area that seems to be chugging along nicely, despite the pandemic? Alternative protein.

And just not plant-based protein. The Trendlines Group, an Israel-based commercialization company, announced today that it had invested an undisclosed amount in Insectta, a Singaporean startup that extracts biomaterials from insects.

When it was founded in 2017, Insectta was originally focused on cultivating insects for use in animal feeds. However, recently the company pivoted to extract an element from insects, called chitosan, for use in industries like food, packaging and pharmaceuticals. Insectta is currently developing a way to turn black soldier flies into both protein and probiotic, specifically for animal feed.

According to a press release from The Trendlines Group, Insectta will operate out of Trendlines’ Agrifood Fund offices. The startup is aiming to have its first products on the market by the end of the year.

Since we don’t know the exact amount of funding at play here, this is a piece of news we might normally gloss over. But in the past thirty days, we’ve seen an eye-catching amount of investment in not only bug-based protein, but alternative protein in general.

Last month Hargol FoodTech, an Israel-based company making commercial grasshopper protein, raised $3 million. In the plant-based protein space, the past month has seen alternative chicken startup Rebellyous raised $6 million, Singaporean alt-meat company Growthwell Group grab $8 million, and Israeli chickpea protein producer Innovopro raise $25 million.

New funds, like Eat Beyond Global and Big Idea Ventures’ Generation Food, also show that COVID isn’t slowing investment in alternative protein. In fact, if anything it’s accelerating it. Outbreaks at meat processing plants and corresponding shortages have pushed investors to channel their funds into other protein sources — ones with more sustainable supply chains. Insects, with their low environmental footprint and high protein output, are clearly one of the spaces that investors think could have potential in our post-pandemic world.

Food Tech News: Strella Biotech Raises $3.3M, Ocado Lands in North America

As we continue into week who-knows-what of quarantine, time is beginning to lose its meaning. It’s hard to remember what day it is, and weekends can start to feel basically the same as weekdays.

Except, of course, weekends are when we release food tech news! This week we have stories on Ocado’s first automated fulfillment center in North America, Chick-fil-A reintroducing their meal kits, Strella Biotech’s fundraise to fight food waste and more.

Ocado to open first fulfillment center in North America
Ocado, the company that makes robot-powered automated grocery fulfillment centers, announced this week that it had completed construction of its first North American location in Vaughan, Ontario. The fulfillment center will work with Canadian grocery chain Sobey’s and its e-commerce service Voila, which caters to the Toronto area. Ocado and Sobeys are currently doing a limited pilot of the fulfillment technology. Next up, Ocado plans to build another center in Quebec and has 20 centers in the works for the U.S. with partner Kroger.

Photo: KFC

Cargill to expand plant-based meat offerings in China
Following a successful pilot of plant-based chicken at KFC in China, U.S. agribusiness company Cargill stated that it will expand its meat alternative offerings in China (h/t Reuters). Cargill trialed its plant-based nuggets at three KFC locations in China from April 28 to 30 and, according to the company, they quickly sold out. Following the successful trial Cargill plans to release more plant-based products via foodservice partners. It’s also set to release a consumer-facing brand of meat alternatives called PlantEver at the end of June.

Photo: Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A to reintroduce meal kits
Fried chicken chain Chick-fil-A first started testing meal kits featuring its signature — you guessed it — chicken at select stores back in August 2018. The kits didn’t stick around. Now, almost two years later, the fast-food chain is reintroducing meal kits to cater to people seeking convenient food during the coronavirus pandemic (h/t CNN). This time around, there’s only one option, chicken Parmesan, which costs $14.99 and feeds two. Starting May 4, the kit will be available via delivery or for drive-thru pickup at all locations that opt-in to offer them.

Strella Biotech gains $3.3 million in seed funding
This week the investment arm of Yamaha Motor Co. and Catapult Ventures announced they had co-led a $3.3 million seed funding round for agtech startup Strella Biotech (via BusinessWire). Additional funding was provided by Union Labs, Art Mesher, Mark Cuban, and Red & Blue Ventures. Strella Biotech uses IoT-enabled sensors placed on shipping palates to track the freshness of produce as it journeys through the supply chain, sometimes taking as long as a year to make it from the farm to consumers’ plates (ew). Using their insights distributors can decide how best to allocate the produce, hopefully cutting down on food waste. The new funding will help Strella Biotech expand distribution and improve its technology.

Novameat Develops 3D-printed Pork Alternative to Feed Plant-based Meat Demand

Spanish startup Novameat announced today that it had developed a realistic plant-based pork product with the same texture as real meat. And it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

The coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc across all sectors of the food supply chain, but the hardest hit area might be the meat industry. Employee infections are forcing processing plants to shut down, which is spurring meat shortages. At the same time, some consumers are worried about the link between eating animals and infectious diseases.

But all these misfortunes for the meat industry mean that the plant-based meat industry could be at the cusp of its heydey. That’s especially true for pork. The pork industry was already struggling with the outbreak of African Swine Fever, which decimated the pig population in China. Now major manufacturing plants, from Tyson to Hormel, are facing a new enemy with COVID-19.

Novameat, which uses 3D printing technology to create realistic meat alternatives, sees this as an opportunity. That’s why they recently developed a plant-based pork prototype. The meatless pork is made with pea and rice protein isolates, olive oil, seaweed extract and beet juice and produced with Novameat’s signature micro-extrusion technology to mimic the texture of meat.

So far, Novameat has chiefly been focusing on developing 3D printed steaks, though it has yet to bring any of its products to market. The startup raised an undisclosed amount of funding last year and has plans to sell its plant-based meat to restaurants as well as to license out its printing technology to bigger companies.

Novameat’s 3D printed meatless pork prototype

In an email, Novameat CEO Giuseppe Scionti told me that they decided to create this pork prototype “in a moment of the need for flexibility and adaptability in the proteins market, and seen the global disruption in pork meat supply.”

But the new product isn’t just motivated by the coronavirus pandemic. Scionti also noted that Novameat is trying to demonstrate that their tech is versatile enough to create a wide range of plant-based meat and seafood products.

Scionti told me that, despite the pandemic, they’re still sticking with their original timeline to sell 3D printed plant-based steak to a few restaurants in Europe by the end of 2020. That might be ambitious depending on when restaurants reopen, and what they look like when they do. I’m not sure if high-tech vegan steaks (or pork) fit into that new normal, with restaurants operating at reduced capacity and slimmed-down staff numbers.

However, Novameat’s other sales channel could actually be nudged forward by COVID-19. The company plans to license out its 3D printing technology to plant-based meat manufacturers. Scionti told me in January that would be over the next two to three years, but considering how alternative protein companies gaining investment left and right, and Big Meat companies like Cargill are investing more and more in plant-based, I could see that timeline getting moved up.

One selling point for 3D printed meat in particular is that its production is largely automated. In fact, Scionti noted that they developed the pork alternative entirely while working from home. In a time social distancing orders are keeping many from their R&D labs, 3D printing doesn’t have to slow down. That could make it printed meat alternatives a more appealing option in the post-coronavirus world.

Plantible Raises $4.6M to Accelerate Production of Protein Made from Aquatic Plants

Plantible Foods, a San Marco, California-based startup making alternative protein from aquatic plants, has raised a $4.6 million seed round. The round was co-led by Lerer Hippeau and Vectr Ventures, with participation from FTW Ventures and eighteen94 Capital, the corporate venture arm of Kellogg’s.

Founded in 2018, Plantible processes lemna, also known as duckweed, to create a high-protein powder called Rubi Protein which it sells to B2B partners. As we wrote when we profiled Plantible earlier this year:

Plantible’s scientists developed a proprietary process to extract the grassy flavor from lemna, leaving a protein that’s on par with pea or soy nutrition-wise, but is completely colorless, odorless, and flavorless. The perfect blank canvas for a variety of animal alternative products. 

Speaking to me on the phone this week, Plantible’s co-founder Tony Martens said the company has now raised a total of $5.8 million in funding. He also told me he and the Plantible team had decamped to live out of trailers on their two-acre lemna farm as soon as California enacted its shelter-in-place measures. Despite the circumstances, the small team is continuing to produce the Rubi Protein and push forward with R&D.

The company plans to use the fresh funding to scale up production. Right now Plantible is only able to utilise about 4 percent of the lemna grown on the farm, which they process in a lab on wheels (“like something out of a Breaking Bad episode,” Martens said). The goal is to be able to invest in a larger processing facility so that they can start turning all of the lemna from the aquatic farm into Rubi Protein.

Of course, our conversation quickly turned to the coronavirus pandemic. Martens said that for now, they’re still planning to plow forward with commercialization. For the past few months Plantible has been testing its Rubi Protein Powder with several corporate partners and they still hope to have a product featuring Rubi Protein out in the market by late 2020 or early 2021.

But Plantible isn’t immune to the effects of COVID-19. “Lots of plant-based foods are priced at a premium,” Martens told me. “Smaller brands might have a tough time surviving the recession that could result from the pandemic.”

Indeed, Plantible will be more costly than some other plant proteins, at least initially. But Martens is confident that they’ll quickly be able to undercut the price of egg whites — one of the ingredients that Rubi Protein can replace — and will eventually be cheaper than pea protein.

CPG companies are looking for ways to cash in on the plant-based foods craze. With this new funding, it looks like Plantible will have a chance to prove its worth in the canon of alt-protein ingredients — coronavirus or no.

Eat Beyond Global’s CEO on Why Now is Prime Time to Invest in Food Tech

With so much instability in the world right now, it may seem like a tricky time to be raising money for an investment fund. Especially in a burgeoning space like food tech.

But according to Patrick Morris, CEO of Eat Beyond Global, COVID-19 actually presents a ripe opportunity for investment in food innovation. Eat Beyond Global is a Canadian fund focused on food tech, particularly in the alternative protein realm. Morris told me that they plan to make 10-20 plant-based investments ranging in amount from $1 million to $10 million CAD over the next four years with a minimum ownership goal of 5 percent.

Right now Eat Beyond is raising the second half of its initial fund, which will be between $5 million and $7 million CAD. By the end of the year, Morris hopes to raise as much as $30 million CAD.

The fund has whittled down their initial potential investment companies to 5 options and will deploy capital over the next several months. They’re targeting early-stage companies, ones that are “just starting to make an impact,” according to Morris. He hopes the fund will be public on the Canadian stock exchange by Q2 of this year.

Morris wouldn’t divulge the names of the five companies they’re considering, but said that four were focused on plant-based foods (eggs, milk, bread, and ice cream), with one concentrating on cellular agriculture. True to its name, Eat Beyond Global isn’t limiting its investments to Canada; Morris named the U.S., Japan, and England as other areas it’s exploring.

Despite the looming economic uncertainty brought on by COVID-19, alternative protein is one area that has actually seen a lot of investment recently. Over the past month alone, plant-based chicken startup Rebellyous raised $6 million, Singaporean alt-meat company Growthwell Group nabbed $8 million, and Israeli chickpea protein producer Innovopro raised $25 million.

Venture funds are also taking notice. In the U.S. Big Idea Ventures (BIV), which raised $50 million for its New Protein Fund last year, is in the midst of raising a whopping $250 million fund for investment in new technologies throughout the food system.

Clearly, the global pandemic isn’t putting a damper on Tom Mastrobuoni, a Venture Partner at BIV, who told me last week that the coronavirus could actually shed some light on the shortcomings in our food system — and the need for sustainable, tech-driven solutions.

Morris agrees. “The fact that we could close the first half of our financing during COVID-19 — when all hell is breaking loose — shows the strength of the category.”

Singaporean Alternative Meat Co. Growthwell Group Raises $8M, Will Develop Chickpea Protein Products

The Growthwell Group, a plant-based protein company based in Singapore, announced today that it had raised $8 million (h/t Deal Street Asia). The investment was led by Singaporean sovereign fund Temasek with participation from DSG Consumer Partners, Insignia Ventures, Genesis Ventures, and others. Growthwell also announced it had made its own investment in ChickP, an Israel-based startup developing chickpea protein.

Founded in 1989, The Growthwell Group owns a portfolio of alternative protein companies aimed at Southeast Asian consumers, including OKK (plant-based meat), Su Xian Zi (vegan mutton), and gomama (ready to eat dishes made from plants). As of today, that lineup will also include ChickP, maker of super high protein chickpea powder for use in meat and dairy alternatives. It sells products to roughly 1500 retailers and 3000 foodservice establishments.

Growthwell plans to use ChickP’s proprietary protein isolate to develop new products for the Asia-Pacific market. According to AgFunder, the new chickpea-powered foods will include plant-based shrimp and squid meat, as well as a vegan crab burger. Next up, it’ll develop chickpea milk and ice cream.

In addition to bringing ChickP’s protein to Asia, Growthwell will also use its new funding to open a new R&D center in Singapore with fully automated production lines. The facility is slated to open in 2021. The company is also working to bring its suite of plant-based foods to new markets, specifically China and Australia.

For its part, Temasek is all over the alternative protein space. This year alone they’ve already made investments in cultured meat startup Memphis Meats, Impossible Foods, and Califia Farms. In 2019 they put some major capital into Perfect Day’s flora-based dairy technology.

Asia is a burgeoning market for alternative protein, especially as the African Swine Fever decimated pork production and COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into meat manufacturing. Singapore in particular, with its goal to produce 30 percent of its food within its borders by 2030, has invested quite heavily in the plant-based food space.

At the same time, U.S. players are making their own play for the alternative protein market in Asia. Beyond Meat began selling at Starbucks in China last week and Cargill has a limited-time launch of plant-based chicken at KFC China. Impossible Foods isn’t far behind.

These three are peddling vegan beef, chicken, and pork, so Growthwell is focusing on less crowded markets like seafood and dairy. We’ll have to see if their new funding can help the company push through the challenges of COVID-19 and become a plant-based powerhouse on the other wise.

Food Tech News: Kroger to Accept SNAP for Pickup, KFC China Goes Plant-based

It can be a bright spot to think that even when everything is turned upside down in the food world, companies are still coming up with creative ways to stay afloat and help folks have access to healthy food.

In this week’s food tech news roundup we’ve got stories on just that. There are bits about Kroger ramping up SNAP acceptance for pickup, healthy meal services pairing up with fitness classes, and KFC in China dipping its toe into plant-based meat. Enjoy!

Kroger to accept SNAP payments for grocery pickup
Kroger will accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments at all 2,000 of its grocery pickup locations by the end of the month (h/t FoodDive). Consumers can select the “SNAP/EBT” option when ordering groceries online, then use their EBT card to pay for covered items when they pick up. Thus far, the service is only available at the chain’s Ohio stores. This comes as Kroger bulks up its pickup service, adding slots, hiring workers, and waiving pickup fees.

Photo: Trifecta

Meal service Trifecta partners with Basecamp Fitness
Trifecta, an organic premade meal delivery service, is teaming up with Basecamp Fitness to deliver healthy meals to their members’ doors. Per an email sent to The Spoon, Trifecta will offer subscribers six types of meals — keto, paleo, vegan, etc. — as well as an à la carte section that operates like a miniature online grocery store. Trifecta is already geared towards healthy, fit people looking to eat to sustain their workout, so it makes sense to partner with a fitness service that’s essentially a captive audience (literally and figuratively).

Photo: KFC

KFC to offer plant-based fried chicken in China
Yum China, the parent brand of KFC, announced this week that it would begin selling plant-based fried chicken at select KFC locations in China. The nuggets will come from Cargill, which only recently launched its own alternative meat brand, and will be available in three locations from April 28-30th. A five-pack of the nuggets will cost 1.99 yuan ($0.28 USD).

Israel: InnovoPro Snags $15M to Boost Chickpea Protein Production

Chickpea protein is bulking up. Today Israel-based company InnovoPro announced it had raised a $15 million funding round led by Jerusalem Venture Partners with participation from CPT Capital. This brings the total amount raised by the company to just under $20 million.

InnovoPro makes a chickpea-based protein powder for B2B use. Called CP-Pro 70, the powder is 70 percent chickpea protein (chickpeas naturally have about 20 percent protein). It’s also non-GMO and has the added appeal of being free from common allergies like soy, dairy and gluten. The company claims that CP-Pro 70 has a neutral taste and is versatile enough to be used to make a variety of hot and cold vegan products, from ice cream to burgers to mayonnaise.

So far, products using CP-Pro 70 have launched in Israel, Europe, and the U.S. Innovopro is also developing an organic version of CP-Pro 70 as well as a Chickpea Starch product.

InnovoPro isn’t the only chickpea protein peddler on the block. Last year ChickP, also based in Israel, unveiled a 90 percent chickpea-based protein intended to go into dairy alternatives like milk and yogurt. In the U.S., Nutriati and ProEarth are both making chickpea powder for a variety of food and bev use cases.

It’s no wonder that chickpeas are having a bit of a moment in the alt-protein space. Most raw ingredients for plant-based meat and dairy — soy, wheat, and nuts — are major allergens. Chickpeas and pea protein, however, are not. They’re also cheap, plentiful, and a familiar product for consumers who might shy away from edgier ingredients, like air protein or grasshoppers.

InnovoPro will use its new funds to expand its B2B partners. We’ll see if it can establish a firm foothold in the alternative protein market before the other chickpea companies edge them out.

Big Idea Ventures Raising $250M Fund Targeting Later-Stage FoodTech Companies

Big Idea Ventures (BIV), the hybrid VC firm-slash-accelerator, first caught my attention last year when it launched the New Protein Fund, a $50 million fund targeting seed-stage companies in the alternative protein space, and made its first investment in cell-based seafood company Shiok Meats. At the same time, BIV announced a twice-yearly accelerator program for budding alt-protein startups with locations in New York City and Singapore.

Now the accelerator is seeking its second cohort — and BIV is preparing to launch its second fund. Called Generation Food, BIV’s newest fund will target later-stage companies, Series A and beyond. It will expand its focus to tackle sustainability across the food supply chain, not just in the alternative protein space. The target amount? 250 million dollars.

I hopped on a call with Tom Mastrobuoni, a Venture Partner at BIV and the former CFO of Tyson Ventures (which invested in the New Protein Fund), and Andrew Ive, the founder and Managing General Partner of BIV, earlier this week to learn more about Generation Food. Mastrobuoni said that this fund will take a step back to tackle some of the larger, underlying issues plaguing the food system. He named six target areas:

  • Alternative Protein. With the Generation Food fund, BIV will continue to invest in alt-protein. However, they’ll focus on companies that are enabling general growth within the sector instead of particular food brands.
  • Innovative Ingredient Options. Better-for-you ingredients for healthy products including salt and sugar replacements.
  • Breakthrough Manufacturing. Improved manufacturing processes for proteins, as well as more sustainable packaging and low-waste water solutions.
  • Food Safety Innovation. Technologies that are making food safer and last longer, e.g. hyperspectral imaging.
  • Traceability and Transparency. Supply chain enhancements — but not just blockchain, which Mastrobuoni pointed out can be cost-prohibitive.
  • Logistics Enhancement. Ways to get food from A to B more efficiently, without relying so much on old-school methods like trucks.

At the same time, BIV will continue to use its New Protein Fund to fuel the Accelerator program. Thus far BIV has invested in 12 seed-stage companies through its Accelerator Program — which is split between Singapore and New York — and are about to kick off another. Ive said that he plans to start raising for the second New Protein Fund when the current one’s capital is about 75 percent deployed — in two years or so. He also plans to add at least one more cohort location.

Generation Food is a big step up for BIV, both in terms of scope and size. Ive told me that they were inspired to start the fund after speaking with large corporates, many of whom are making significant commitments to shareholders and consumers about how they’ll reduce their environmental impact — be it through packaging, water usage, CO2 emissions, etc. “Large corporates want to make these changes,” Ive told me. “They just don’t necessarily have the technologies in place to deliver on them.”

That’s where BIV can come in. Instead of corporations having to re-engineer their businesses to meet these targets, they can integrate technology from mid-stage companies which will do it for them.

Considering the volatile economic climate right now, it might seem like an odd time to launch a venture fund. But for BIV, COVID-19 is actually proving the relevance of food technology more than ever. “The pandemic is shining a light on the cracks that have always been just under the surface of the food supply chain,” Mastrobuoni told me. With the Generation Food fund, BIV hopes to drive innovation into spaces that can enhance sustainability and make the supply chain more resilient, should something like the coronavirus strike again.

Indeed, one of the things to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic is a heightened awareness around our food — where it comes from, how safe it is, and how inconsistent our supply chain can be (just try to find flour at your grocery store and see what happens). If we want to ensure a more resilient supply chain — especially in case another catastrophe strikes — we have to make our food system more sustainable now.

That’s the kind of argument that could help BIV attract the full $250 million for Generation Food.