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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Modern Farmer

Vienna’s LIVIN Farms Receives €6 million to Upcycle Food Waste Into Insect-Powered Protein

Turning food waste into a usable commodity might seem like magic, but it’s a reality for companies such as Vienna-based LIVIN farms. The company has announced a €6 million Series A round led by venture Investor Peter Luerssen, allowing it to expand its team and solution.

As a player in the alternative protein space, LIVIN Farms developed HIVE PRO, a modular system for fully automated insect processing. HIVE PRO allows waste management companies and large-scale food producers to upcycle organic waste and by-products into valuable proteins, fats, and fertilizers.

In an interview with The Spoon, Katharina Unger, Founder of LIVIN Farms, explained her company’s process. “Livin Farms customers are largely food and feed processing companies and agricultural players that have access to at least several thousand tons of organic by-products every year. They typically make a loss on it by having disposal costs. Generally used feed substrates include by-products, surplus production from the bakery, potato, vegetable, and fruit processing industry, and pre-consumer wastes from retail and grain by-products.”

One of the critical elements of the LIVIN Farms solution is the use of black soldier fly larvae in its “plug-and-play” solution. A module is set up at a customer site, after which, as Unger says, her company operates it as a Farming as a Service (FaaS) model. The first step is when the organic waste of the customer is recycled on-site by being processed and prepared as feed for the insects. After that is completed, using a robotic handling machine moves the feed made from the organic food waste into pallet-sized trays. The machine then inserts seedlings (baby larvae) and empties the harvest-ready larvae from the trays.

At this point, insect Larvae are fed on recycled organic food waste in a climate-controlled environment. The insects are then ready to be harvested within seven days only. The final step is processing the insect larvae into protein powder and oils. The end product is three animal feed types high in protein, antibacterial, and antiviral properties.

LIVIN Farms LIVIN farms recently opened a fully up-and-running 1,400 square meter pilot site in Vienna where the HIVE PRO is demonstrated to interested customers.

Unger began her journey to building LIVIN Farms in 2013, she said. “The idea for Livin farms started when I developed the first device to grow the entire lifecycle of the black soldier fly larvae in a kitchen device to turn kitchen scraps into proteins ready to harvest. This prototype was patented and then turned into a tabletop farm for mealworms (The Hive) later on that was sold in the hundreds to more than 45 countries worldwide. Since 2019, Livin Farms has used our years of R&D to focus on industrial insect farming technologies.”

The company is working on projects throughout Europe, Unger said. LIVIN Farms hopes to have several installations over the next several years.

LIVIN Farms has previously secured a Seed investment round, grants, and subsidies from the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), Austrian Promotional Bank (AWS), and the European Innovation Council (EIC) under the European “Green Deal,” totaling more than $4 million €. The company believes its latest investment will lead to the “further growth of the company and will be used for expanding the LIVIN farms team, standardization of the technical solutions, and driving the initial scale-up phase.”

Germany-Based Mushlabs Scores An Infrastructure Partnership with Bitburger Brewery Group

Hamburg-based biotech startup Mushlabs may have created the perfect storm in its approach to creating a clean, nutrient-rich plant-based meat alternative. The company can hit the ground running without worrying about costly infrastructure and potential distribution partners by applying its proven technology and a sound business approach.

Mushlabs has announced a relationship with Bitburger Brewery Group, a large private brewery in Germany. Bitburger will provide capacity and sidestream byproducts from its beer production as raw materials. Mushlabs intends to enhance and use these local byproducts to cultivate edible mushroom mycelium in a precision fermentation process. The mycelium will be used to produce nutrient-rich, minimally processed foods.

“(Bitburger) has a valuable sidestream that would otherwise get burned to produce energy or go to cattle, but is also not necessarily super stable,” Thibault Godard, Chief Science Officer at Mushlabs, told The Spoon in an interview. “So we are offering them a solution to upcycle in a way that is also better for the planet.”

Godard boils the complex process down to a simple example: “I like the example of coffee. For instance, coffee has 80 to 90% of waste from the crop to the cup. And this is also something where you have valuable nutrients there that you can recycle and produce food. So we are basically taking the leftovers and injecting them into the food system.”

The approach—that is, using mycelium, which has a property that acts as a natural decomposing agent in precision fermentation to create a healthy plant-based protein is what Mushlabs called fulfilling the goal of a “circular economy.”

“In natural ecosystems, fungi recycle nutrients through a specific fermentation process that digests their surrounding biomass,” the company explained in a blog post. “At Mushlabs, we harness this process to produce food from agro- and food industries’ side streams (i.e., spent coffee grounds, fruit peels, and sugarcane bagasse). This is a unique form of food production with many potential applications for the circular economy, yielding tasty meat-alternative products.”

And then there’s the smart business angle. While other companies in similar adjacencies struggle to raise large sums of capital to scale out their facilities with large fermentation tanks, Mushlabs’ partnership with Bitburger will accelerate its growth. Using often underutilized brewing tanks, Mushlabs avoids the cost of new infrastructure. CEO and founder Mazen Rizk acknowledges collocating with Bitburger gives his company a giant boost.

“And not only saving the cost, but it’s also saving the time. Because if we now decide we want to build the facility, I think ordering steel would take you probably a year and a half because there are delays in even ordering steel. Then building a facility is very costly and takes time,” Rizk says.

“When you’re talking about food products. It would be best if you did it in the most economically viable way possible so we can find a sidestream that the mushroom can grow on,” Rizk says. “So part of it is understanding what kind of product you can do, what kind of taste, what kind of nutrition they provide. The other side is understanding which one is economically feasible. How can you produce it at a high yield and low cost to ensure that you have a food product that can go into the market at a price that people can afford?”

In June, the company also boasts a huge financial acknowledgment from the EU’s prestigious EIC Accelerator Program. More than 1,000 startups and small businesses from Europe applied to receive a share of €382 million in total capital. Seventh-four companies each will get funding of up to 17.5 million Euros, with Mushlabs receiving an eight-digit figure. Through the EIC Accelerator program, the EU aims to support technology startups that address societal challenges and drive breakthrough European innovations.

IKEA Tests Vertical Farms in Partnership With InFarm

Furniture retail giant IKEA is trialing vertical farm installations at three locations in Germany, according to an announcement made by Infarm. Customers at IKEA locations in Kaarst, Duisburg, and Munich-Eching will be able to watch the Infarm installation grow dill, curly parsley, and Italian basil in-store starting this week. According to the announcement, the herbs will be used in food served inside the store’s restaurant.

“Infarm’s concept convinced us because we can make the topics of sustainability and healthy eating tangible for our employees and customers in a prominent place in our furniture stores,” said Tanja Schramm, Country Food Manager IKEA Germany. 

It’s an interesting partnership given how much influence IKEA has in consumer furniture trends and retail. By showing off how they can use in-store farm systems to grow food for consumption in-store, IKEA could potentially encourage other retailers to embrace precision grow systems on-site.

That said, the news would be a lot more interesting if this signaled a potential push by the retailer to position vertical farming systems as a new category for consumers. The company has dabbled previously with its VÄXER/KRYDDA hydroponic systems, but unfortunately, the company has since discontinued those products.

But who knows? Maybe with others beginning to launch new kitchen systems designed around sustainable eating, this news signals that IKEA is starting to look for new ways to encourage consumers to embrace hyperlocal and tech-powered food production.

The Shrooly Lets Aspiring Mushroom Farmers Grow Fungi On Their Kitchen Countertop

While I’m not a mushroom eater – they’re slimy and weird-looking pieces of mold – I’m all for growing them at home because, well, mushrooms are slimy weird-looking pieces of mold.

And, from the looks of it, I (and the mycophiles among us) may soon have another option to become a small-scale mushroom farmer with a home mushroom fruiting chamber called the Shrooly. The new gadget is currently being offered up through a new Indiegogo campaign and is scheduled to start shipping to backers in December of this year.

The appliance, which is available starting at $299 on Indiegogo, is a countertop home growing chamber with light and humidity control. The appliance has on-device control knob and a small display screen that gives updates on the mushroom’s growth, temperature data, and how long until the mushroom is ready for harvest. The Shrooly will also have an app that allows the user to control humidity and monitor the growth of the mushroom.

The Shrooly Mushroom Growing Appliance

Shrooly users will grow mushrooms from pods that feature a variety of different types of shrooms, ranging from Maitake to Shiitake to Cordyceps. Once a user puts a pod into the chamber, the mushroom takes about five or so days to grow big enough to be harvested. Each mushroom pod will cost $12. Shrooly owners will also be able to use third-party growing blocks.

Spoon readers may remember a similar concept from GE’s innovation arm and microfactory FirstBuild, the Mella. The two chambers are similar, but the Shrooly has a bit slicker-looking design and what looks like smaller countertop footprint. The two appliances are similarly priced, with the Mella going for $419 compared with the Shrooly’s standard price of $440.

While we haven’t quite seen the same level of proliferation of mushroom home grow chambers as we saw with countertop leafy-green grow systems a few years ago, two in the span of less than a year might be the start of a trend. For those who actually want to generate food for consumption with a small footprint countertop appliance, I actually think mushroom chambers make more sense. Mushrooms can be quite large and they have fairly quick grow cycles, which similar-sized countertop veggie-grow machines really only produce herbs or leafy greens like lettuce.

As always, we have to caution that crowdfunded appliances have a history of delays and sometimes never showing up at all. But, the mushroom heads out there, the Shrooly might be worth taking a shot on.

Mill It Farms Finds A Plant-Based Whitespace in Alt-Buttermilk

As the name suggests, buttermilk was made from the cultured cream leftover from the butter-making process. Was, being the keyword. With little sacrifice in its taste, modern buttermilk is made through a fermentation process in which cultures are added to low-fat or whole-fat milk. The result is a versatile product that is not only a popular beverage but a key ingredient in salad dressings, baked goods, pancakes, and a laundry list of other food.

The brain trust at Mill It Farms with an accent on brains, blended art, and science to create plant-based, vegan-friendly buttermilk that uses the fermentation of ancient grains to create a standalone beverage and salad dressing line. Mill It Farms Bill Myers, a food scientist who combines practical knowledge with keen market awareness, has taken on the challenge of developing a buttermilk substitute with a universal appeal.

Bill Myers’s dad, a food scientist, was developing a plant-based yogurt for Califia Farms when the two men realized buttermilk represented a significant whitespace in the plant-based market. “It’s like a little bit crazy that no one’s done this yet,” Myers told The Spoon in a recent interview.” With all the plant-based growth, there hasn’t been buttermilk (especially given) how many things buttermilk goes into.”

Aside from the success Mill It has found with offering buttermilk as a standalone beverage, it has a role in the three salad dressings the company provides. A Classic Ranch, Creamy Italian, and Thousand Islands are emerging as competitors to long-standing brands such as Follow Your Heart and Daiya, which contain sugar, cultured dextrose, and natural flavors.

Myers points out that the aim of vegan products, such as salad dressings, that claim to offer clean, healthy alternatives often fall short. “A lot of the early plant-based dressings would take out buttermilk and replace it with hydrogenated oils high in calories and high in fat.”

Myers adds, “I think that’s one of the biggest problems in the plant-based space right now is, you know, people who want to eat plant-based typically are people who are trying to eat clean and trying to eat healthily. They also are trying to eat fewer calories because they’re really kind of monitoring their diet. But a lot of the early like alternatives in the space is high in calories, high in fat, and high in sugar”

To create a sustainable substitute for dairy, Myers went back to a college food science project involving baking and landed on ancient grains such as millet and sorghum. “With ancient grains, there’s a lot of benefits. One is that there are much more sustainable, and they can grow in arid climates. And so it makes sourcing a lot more efficient. “Our costs are lower because they don’t require as many resources, but it also allows it’s also a lot better for the planet.”

Grains also work well as a fermentation substrate, Myers said. With the proper fermentation process, the resulting buttermilk replicates the taste, consistency, and acidity of products made from a dairy source.

MIll It Farms’ vegan buttermilk and buttermilk dressings are now sold in hundreds of retail locations across the country, including Whole Foods, Krogers, and Sprouts.

Israel’s Remilk Heads to Denmark With Plans for Precision Fermented Milk Production Facility

The challenge for companies focused on developing fermented alternatives to milk-based products that come from cows is to replicate the scale of a dairy farm. A large farm can have up to 15,000 cows, while a small farm will have between 1,000 and 5,000 animals. Cows are milked two to three times per day, with each producing between six and seven gallons daily.

Do the math, and you understand the enormous task facing this new breed of innovators in the alt. dairy space. Among companies in this space, the race is on to build out giant fermentation facilities to meet the potential demand. Remilk, a Tel Aviv-based firm using yeast-based precision fermentation to create a non-animal milk product, announced it would go big in tackling future production needs by securing 750,000 square feet at Kalundborg Denmark’s Symbiosis Project. The company says construction will begin by the end of 2022.

“Remilk has already started high-volume production in several locations around the world. The Danish facility will be our first fully owned facility, and production at this facility, the largest of its kind in the world, will begin as soon as the build-out is complete,” Remilk CEO Aviv Wolff told The Spoon. “Remilk is committed to reinventing the dairy industry in a kind, sustainable way. Eliminating the need for animals is the only way to supply our world’s growing demand without destroying the process.”

While Wolff didn’t provide specifics, he said that Remilk is working with leading consumer brands to craft recipes made with Remilk and believes the end products resulting from those collaborations will be available to consumers soon.

Wolff points to Remilk’s ability to create sustainable animal-free products that do not compromise on taste. Rather than compare his company’s efforts to competitors such as betterland farms, Wolff thinks his competition is milk and milk products that have been around for more than 10,000 years.

“To a large extent, we benchmark ourselves against traditional dairy proteins because that’s what we are looking to replace,” Wolff said. “Remilk can seamlessly replace cow-milk-based ingredients in consumer products because Remilk has the same characteristics, nutrition, and flavor profile with the advantage of being non-animal, thus free of lactose, cholesterol, hormone, and antibiotic residues.”

Remilk is far from alone in the world of precision-fermented dairy. Others include Real Deal Milk, Change Foods, Imagindairy (also in Israel), Formo, and betterland foods. A list of plant-based milk startups would be run several pages.

Mikuna Foods Hopes Its New Funding Will Take Its Superfood Chocho To New Heights

If there’s a category of superfoods that has the potential to surpass super, Mikuna’s line of chocho protein products aspires to claim that title. The competition is intense, but the uses for a clean, gluten-free, low-glycemic, multipurpose powder-like food go well beyond juices and smoothies.

“Chocho is the future of plant-based proteins, and as we look ahead to the brand’s product and innovation pipeline, Mikuna is poised to lead the plant-based industry back to its clean, whole food roots,” company CEO Tara Kriese said in a company statement.

 Chocho is a lupin that, once milled, becomes a protein-rich powder. It is indigenous to South America in the Andes Region, particularly in Ecuador and Peru (where it is known as Tarwi). Mikuna’s founder, Ricky Echanique, is a fifth-generation farmer from Ecuador who suffered from digestive issues. He found the answer in his backyard, discovering that this plant provided solutions to his ailments. After discovering the power of this superfood, it became Echanique’s mission to bring chocho to the world.

 Kriese, a former SVP for plant-based meat company Impossible Foods, brings her market knowledge and personal passion to the company. In an interview with The Spoon, the CEO spoke about her daughter, whose multiple life-threatening childhood allergies took her to the plant-based, clean food world long before it was fashionable.

 After being introduced to Echanique in 2020 and learning of Mikuna and chocho, Kriese knew she was on to something big. “I couldn’t believe that no one was using this amazing crop,” she said. And it’s no one-trick pony, something borne out by the company’s relationship with Erewhon, which features the protein in juices that it features in its in-house Tonic Bar and in juices it sells in the store.

 The well-known Los Angeles-area gourmet supermarket’s use of chocho is part of Mikuna’s current multipronged strategy, which will evolve with its new investment dollars. The company sells its original or pure product along with vanilla and cacao varieties direct to consumers via its website. They also are available at Amazon and in retailers and foodservice locations across Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, and California.

Mikuna’s seed round investors include Olympians and World Champion athletes like Leticia Bufoni, professional skateboarder and six-time X Games gold medalist, professional surfer, and three-time world champion Mick Fanning; and professional snowboarder and Olympic gold medalist Sage Kotsenburg.

“I’ve always wanted a protein powder that’s clean, and Mikuna is as clean as it gets with just one simple ingredient, chocho,” says Professional Surfer Mick Fanning. “With Mikuna, I’m investing in both the future of nutrition and our planet, and to join such an impressive community of individuals to support Mikuna’s growth was a natural fit for me.”

Backed by more than hype, Kriese senses that, like her, when consumers learn of the power and versatility of this Andrean superfood, they will have a “chocho moment” just as she did.

Israel’s Vanilla Vida Wants to Expand and Improve the World’s Favorite Flavor

Here’s a fun fact: Did you know that vanilla is the world’s most popular flavor? In addition, how about the idea that 95% of all vanilla sold is synthetic, generally made from an oil or lab-developed chemical compound. Sounds like a supply and demand issue for a real deal vanilla pod.

Vanilla Vida has done its homework and sees an opportunity to tickle the universal taste buds by using technology and data to produce large quantities of top-quality vanilla anywhere in the world. Madagascar and Indonesia are the top crop producers but face issues with uncertain weather, quality control issues, and a long drying process. With proof of concept completed, Vanilla Vida CEO Oren Zilberman is ready to expand beyond Israel and launch climate-controlled farms worldwide.

Zilberman’s experience as a VC is instrumental in the success of his new company. “When you are building a startup, you are always looking about what is the chance it can do a major impact and some change in the world and at the same time, have a really good business,” the company’s CEO said in a recent interview with The Spoon. He also explained that his experience led him not to want to develop something new or go into an unproven segment. By expanding the opportunity for a wildly popular product, such as vanilla, Vanilla Vida can hit the ground running instead of requiring a great deal of marketing to drive customer awareness.

Vanilla Vida’s approach uses technology in the form of climate-controlled growing centers along with data, including image processing, to ensure disease detection, quality control, and plant behavior pattern identification. Zilberman claims that Vanilla Vida’s technology can yield up to three times the volume of existing methods. Going beyond the farming aspect, the company’s IP allows it to alter the metabolism of vanilla beans in ways that increase and even enhance the end product’s flavor.

Founded in 2020, Vanilla Vida recently raised $11.5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Ordway Selections, a Swiss investment firm, and money manager for a number of private families. Other investors in the round include PeakBridge, a seed fund specializing in FoodTech, Kibbutz Maagan Michael, and Strauss, which has now made its second investment in the company.

“We are a vertically integrated company,” Zilberman said. Vanilla Vida’s strategy is to create joint ventures with farmers around the globe (although currently solely based in Israel) to place these climate-controlled centers close to flavor houses and food manufacturers.

Zilberman is quick to point out that the global need for vanilla is not a zero-sum game. If 94% of the worldwide supply is synthetic, by entering the market, Vanilla Vida will not endanger the business of existing vanilla producers in countries like Madagascar.

 “We are not here to take an existing piece of the cake from countries such as Madagascar and take food out of their mouths,” Zilberman says. “We are expanding the market for everybody, and we want to help the world use fewer synthetic products and more natural.

Zilberman says that the company is now focused on scaling its business with its proof of concept completed. Initially, that scale will be in Israel, but Europe, the U.S., and other regions are all part of the plan after that. That plan includes expanding the uses for top-of-the-line vanilla, such as creating a floral variety that could be used in the cosmetic industry and a flavoring to mask the taste of children’s medicine.

“There’s no real crop in the world like vanilla in the world in both the challenge and opportunity,” Zilberman adds. “It’s an industry with zero innovation, which is unusual when the product has the world’s most popular taste and smell.”

Three Tech Trends Helping To Save Water in the Food Industry

Between disappearing glaciers and groundwater and intensifying droughts, water supply pressure is on the rise in many regions, creating a great need to use water more efficiently.

The Spoon took a look at emerging technologies that are driving smarter use on farmlands and in food processing facilities. Here are some key innovations that could help the food system adapt to a water-depleted world:


Precision irrigation

Crop irrigation accounts for about 70% of water use worldwide, according to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. High-tech monitoring systems can help to ensure that irrigation water is being used as efficiently as possible.

California-based startup Ceres Imaging company captures aerial images of farmers’ fields, and then runs them through crop-specific data models to analyze plant health. Ceres can get an idea of how much water is in the soil using color infrared imaging — and can also use its proprietary Water Stress Index to detect irrigation issues. CropX of Israel takes a different approach, using a network of soil sensors to analyze moisture and other conditions.

Updated irrigation systems are also helping farmers to save water. Drip irrigation involves laying “drip lines” of tubing along crop rows. The drip lines are fitted with water drippers at intervals to apply a specific amount of water to each individual plant.

Wastewater management

At the processing stage, many plants consume large quantities of water to perform cleaning operations. Businesses must then decide what to do with the resulting wastewater, most of which flows back out into the environment.

A handful of startups are developing high-tech systems that help businesses to find secondary uses for that wastewater. California-based startup Aquacycl has developed a microbial fuel cell (powered by bacteria) that both treats wastewater and generates electricity. According to a Forbes interview with company CEO Orianna Bretschger, the system removes 70% of suspended solids and high levels of carbon and sulfur from wastewater — and the cleaner, resulting water can be recycled for use in cooling processes and other industrial operations.

Indoor farming

Indoor farming systems allow growers greater control over evaporation and soil drainage. Growers can also recycle irrigation water using recirculating systems; and can precisely control the amount of water that is applied to each plant using automation systems. The budding industry also cuts water use at the produce processing stage: There’s no need for triple-washing, as indoor-farmed produce is grown in a clean and controlled environment.

So it’s no wonder that many indoor farming companies boast high rates of water savings. Gotham Greens, Freshbox Farms, and Infarm all estimate that their systems use 95% less water than conventional agriculture to grow the same amount of produce.

The U.S. Forest Service estimates that 50 years from now, about half of freshwater basins in the country will be unable to meet monthly water demand. Annual drought conditions as well as concerns about a water-scarce future are likely to continue driving tech innovation in the space. Food growers and producers alike may also find that increased transparency around water-saving practices appeal to consumers who are looking for sustainable options.

Gotham Greens Opens First California Greenhouse & Becomes B-Corp Certified

Gotham Greens operates greenhouses in New York, Rhode Island, Maryland, Illinois, and Colorado — a wide geographical range for a U.S. indoor farming company. Back in March, The Spoon reported on Gotham’s plans to open up growing operations in a new region: the West Coast.

Last week, Gotham officially opened the first phase of its new Davis, Calif. greenhouse. With the new facility, the company has cemented its title as the only nationwide controlled environment agriculture brand. Gotham also announced that it has become a Certified B Corporation™, reflecting the company’s emphasis on accountability and transparency.

Gotham Greens uses a climate-controlled, hydroponic system to grow salad greens and herbs. The company reports that its tech uses 95% less water and 97% less land to produce the same results as conventional farming.

Gotham Greens CEO Viraj Puri



The new California location will help Gotham to further expand its commercial footprint, reaching more retailers (including Whole Foods, Raley’s, and Sprouts Farmers Market) out west. “California is currently responsible for growing one-third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of its fruits, but has faced critical issues in the past years surrounding drought, food safety and worker welfare,” CEO and co-founder Viraj Puri told The Spoon via email. “Our approach is designed to cut down on food miles and bring our farms closer to you. Building greenhouses next to large urban populations and distributing our produce regionally allows us to reduce transportation time, fuel consumption and associated carbon emissions.”

Generally speaking, Gotham seeks out greenhouse locations that offer short delivery routes to retail locations. Aside from slashing emissions, the company’s regional hub model helps to cut transportation costs (one of the reasons why Gotham’s produce has achieved price parity with equivalent products).

“We’re also committed to adaptive reuse projects –– helping revitalize urban communities by transforming otherwise underutilized real estate into productive agriculture,” Puri said. The company built its Baltimore, Md. greenhouse on the site of a defunct steel mill; its Providence, R.I. greenhouse site was once home to a General Electric lighting factory.

Gotham purchased the land for its newest greenhouse from the University of California Davis. Puri said that the facility will help the company to step up its partnership with the university system. Gotham is a member of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources’ new controlled environment agriculture consortium, which is exploring crop optimization for indoor farming, automation and artificial intelligence in growing systems, and other topics.

In achieving Certified B Corporation™ status, Gotham has also committed itself to standards of social and environmental performance. The company already relies primarily on sunlight and renewables to power its greenhouses, and has plans to both cut its electricity use and reduce its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emission intensity by 5% by the end of 2024. According to Puri, the company’s investments in automation technology and LEDs will be key to achieving that goal.

In the next few years, Puri said, Gotham will also focus on expanding to more U.S. states and increasing operational capacity at existing greenhouses. The company will also seek out new partnerships with retailers to create salad dressings, dips, cooking sauces, and other products with Gotham Greens. (The company recently introduced a pesto sauce in Purple Carrot meal kits.)

So we’re sure to see Gotham expand and evolve in several different ways in the coming year. It’ll be particularly interesting to see what innovations the company’s partnership with the University of California might unlock, both in terms of building better indoor farming tech and advancing the agricultural workforce of the future.

SKS 2021: Meet Culineer, an App That Connects Home Cooks With Local Food Producers

Time to meet our next startup for the Smart Kitchen Summit Startup Showcase: Culineer. Culineer is an app that helps home cooks find recipes and connects them to local farmers and food producers.

When asked why she created Culineer, company cofounder Jodi Frank said it started with her own challenges as a home cook.

“I wanted to solve my own frustrations with cooking,” said Frank. “Most home cooks share my frustration that it takes so much time and energy to decide what to make, find your recipe, get ingredients. By the time you get home, you don’t have any time to cook. So I wanted to make all that a lot more simple.”

As she started to focus on solving her own cooking struggles, it didn’t talk for the former industrial safety executive long to realize that so much of what you cook at home is rooted in your local community. “I really started to think about my own needs,” said Frank. “Food like super persona, and it’s inherently connected and communal.”

And because no one is more integrally connected to the local food community than farmers, Frank knew it was critical for Culineer to make that connection.

“Culineer helps bridge that gap between the farmers and what they are producing with the home cook.”

You can watch our conversation Frank in the video below. If you want to connect with Frank in person and see her pitch at the Smart Kitchen Summit, get your ticket today!

The Spoon Interviews - Culineer

Here Are All The Food Tech Innovators We’ve Spotted in David Chang’s New Hulu Show

There may be no one with more culinary street cred in America today than David Chang. Not only has the New York-based chef won multiple James Beard awards and seen his restaurant Momofuku called the country’s most important restaurant, but Chang himself is widely recognized as an astute observer of the food world who always has his finger on the pulse of the country’s culinary zeitgeist.

And what’s on Chang’s mind these days is a whole lot of food tech, at least if his new series on Hulu, The Next Thing You Eat, is any indication. While the six-episode series isn’t available until October 21st, we do have the video preview, which features shots of everything from food delivery bots to lab-grown meat to indoor robotic farms, so we thought it would be fun to play a game of ‘guess who’ and see how many people and companies we can recognize from the food tech revolution. Below is a list those we spotted in the video. Watch it yourself and see if you can identify the ones we could identify and help us ID those we couldn’t.

The Next Thing You Eat | Official Trailer | Hulu

Wild Type and its cell-based salmon: Chang talks about how climate issues will impact our food and we soon see Wild Type’s Justin Kolbeck saying, “we’ve come up with salmon without using animals” as Chang and others taste the company’s lab-grown fish.

Upside Foods: As we watch a meatball simmer in a pan, Chang states “we’re going to be eating lab-grown meat.” We then cut to a scene in which he turns to Upside Foods’ VP of product and regulation Eric Schulze and asks, “you could just recreate a geoduck?”. Schulze calmly responds, “you could go even further back and do its ancestor, the dinosaur.”

Serve, the delivery robot: While Chang doesn’t say anything specifically about robotics in the two minute video preview, we do get to see him jump in surprise as Serve Robotics sidewalk delivery bot, rolls up behind him.

Miso Robotics: We see Flippy the robot doing its thing, and then we see Miso’s Buck Jordan saying to Chang, “it can look at a piece of meat, it can know how hot that portion of the grill is. Perfect grilling, every time.” Chang responds that this technology is at least 5-7 years out, to which Jordan replies, “Oh no. We are installing into steakhouses this year.”

Jordan is probably referring to the machine vision technology that pairs with and helps direct Flippy’s robotic arm. While we’re not aware of Flippy currently being used in a steakhouse, it’s not a stretch for a robot that got its start flipping beef patties at Caliburger to move a higher grade of beef.

Impossible Burger: During the course of the video, we see a few shots of juicy alt-meat products, including an Impossible Burger. How do we know it’s an Impossible Burger? Because immediately afterward we have a shot of Danny Preston, owner of Malibu’s Burgers (which serves Impossible products), says, “it’s designed to make the meat eater say…” as Chang bites into a burger and exclaims “Oh God.”

There are a few mysteries in the video such as the children’s cereal as well as a robotic vertical farm, but there’s not enough visual info (for me at least) to confirm the companies behind them. If you can help us identify these or any other food tech innovators we missed, please let us know in the comments.

Either way, the mystery will soon be solved as Chang’s series drops on Hulu on October 21st.