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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

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Food Recycler Startup Mill Hits $20M in Revenue as It Launches Mill for Workplace

Today, food recycler startup Mill disclosed (via Axios, scoop by my ex-Gigaom colleague Katie Fehrenbacher) that it has reached $20 million in trailing 12-month revenue. It also announced it is launching a new product line extension in Mill for Workplace.

The company, which makes a home food recycler, made headlines when it launched over two years ago, thanks to both its pedigreed founders (the CEO co-founded smart home startup Nest) and its upcycling service that turns processed food scraps into chicken feed.

Since then, Mill has continued to check off key milestones—an achievement worth noting, especially in today’s tough startup climate and in a niche category like home food waste management. Today, they hit another couple of big ones with the launch of a new product line and positive revenue growth.

The move into the business market makes sense, particularly since, as founder Matt Rogers shared in a LinkedIn post, Mill’s food recyclers are already in use at offices like Duolingo and Bristol Myers Squibb. The company’s Mill for Workplace landing page emphasizes how it will help businesses meet their sustainability goals and highlights Mill’s fleet management software.

As for revenue, while $20 million in sales is impressive, the analyst in me wants to know how much of that is hardware vs. recurring subscription revenue, and what their year-over-year growth rate looks like. My concern for any hardware company right now isn’t just the tough funding environment (though I expect Mill will look to raise another round), but also how their bill of materials and overall costs will be impacted by Trump’s new tariffs.

That said, Mill’s management has proven savvy from the start, offering a digestible monthly rental plan ($35/month as of today). I’d also expect they can command a higher monthly rate for business customers. Given their track record, I expect them to continue to navigate this space relatively well.

If you want to hear more about Mill’s business and their new business line, Mill President Harry Tannenbaum will be at Smart Kitchen Summit in July.

How DIY Solar and Fractionalized Battery Backup Could Accelerate Change in the Home Power Stack

Last week, weather forecasters warned of something rarely seen in the Seattle area—a tornado—which could have meant widespread power outages and property damage across the Pacific Northwest.

The first place my mind goes during extreme weather is power outages. The second? Whether it’s finally worth investing in a whole-home battery backup system.

Thankfully, the tornado never materialized, but that didn’t stop me from revisiting the question. It’s not like I haven’t thought about it before, but the harsh reality is that installing a home battery backup system can cost anywhere from $9,000 to $20,000, depending on the size of your home and the complexity of the installation.

That steep price tag doesn’t make much sense for someone like me who doesn’t have solar panels, especially since I’m primarily interested in keeping the food in my fridge from defrosting and spoiling during an outage. But now, there’s a new option that might be a better fit: a backup battery made specifically for appliances.

That’s what I discussed on my most recent podcast with Cole Ashman, the CEO of Pila Energy. Pila debuted their appliance battery system last month at SXSW and is part of a growing wave of startups reimagining home energy storage by breaking it down—fractionalizing it—across individual appliances.

Over the past year, I’ve spoken with Sam D’Amico of Impulse and Sam Callisch of Copper, two startups building battery-powered induction stoves. So when I heard that Pila was developing a backup battery that could work with any large appliance, I was intrigued. Even more compelling was Pila’s vision for a mesh power network, where multiple Pila batteries can coordinate via software to optimize and distribute energy across the home.

“We’re taking the battery out of the garage and into the future,” said Ashman on the podcast. He explained that Pila’s approach is to fractionalize and virtualize what you’d typically get from a Tesla Powerwall or other whole-home backup system. That means creating smaller, more affordable batteries—each powering a single appliance—that work together as a virtual battery system. This lets users skip the five-figure investment and electrician, while still gaining insights into energy usage and unlocking cost savings through time-of-use optimization.

Ashman, who previously worked on Tesla’s Powerwall and led product at Span (makers of the smart electrical panel), sees Pila as a more accessible alternative. “Only about a quarter to half a percent of homes in the U.S. have smart batteries,” he said. “We want to make energy security something anyone can afford.”

According to Ashman, Pila’s battery can power a standard refrigerator for up to 32 hours. It plugs directly into the appliance and automatically kicks in during an outage. The company is also planning for future support of bidirectional power, meaning the battery could one day feed energy back into the home or grid—much like the latest EVs.

One especially interesting part of our conversation focused on the rise of DIY solar. In the U.S., most solar installations are handled by professionals and often cost tens of thousands of dollars. But in countries like Germany, consumers are increasingly turning to “balcony solar”—plug-in solar panels that hang off a balcony and don’t require professional installation or massive upfront investment.

Utah’s recent passage of House Bill 340 may help kick-start a similar trend in the U.S. The bill allows solar systems up to 1.2 kW AC to plug directly into standard 120V outlets without needing complicated interconnection applications or paying utility fees, as long as they meet NEC and UL safety standards. Ashman believes H.B. 340 could lower the barrier to entry for both renters and homeowners, creating a more democratized approach to renewable energy—and accelerating the adoption of home battery systems like Pila’s in the process.

For now, Pila is accepting $99 reservations for its first battery, which is expected to ship in late 2025 at a discounted price of $999 (MSRP $1,299). “We’re starting with the fridge,” said Ashman, “but this isn’t just about food—it’s about resilience, safety, and putting energy control back into people’s hands.”

Bottom line, Pila, and others like Impulse, Copper, and BioLite, are changing the in-home power stack, and I’m definitely here for it, especially if it means I don’t need to take out a second mortgage to do it.

You can watch our conversation on YouTube, listen to my full conversation below, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Food Assembly Robot Startup Chef Robotics Raises $43M Series A as it Reaches 40 Million Meal Milestone

Chef Robotics has raised $43.1 million in a Series A round to accelerate deployment of its AI-powered food assembly robots, the company announced today. The funding brings the San Francisco-based startup’s total capital to over $65 million, including equipment financing. Avataar led the round, with participation from Construct Capital, Bloomberg Beta, and others.

Founded in 2019, Chef Robotics is building what founder and CEO Rajat Bhageria calls an “AI platform for food.” Rather than building a single-purpose robot, Chef’s system is designed to work in diverse food production environments—learning and adapting through software to new tasks like portioning, topping, or filling.

When I first got a peek at Chef’s system last year, I was intrigued because the company had struck a balance that seemed to elude many food robotics startups. While startups in this space seemed to make either high-volume solutions with limited customizability or use off-the-shelf robotic arms that aren’t made for true high-production, Chef has built a flexible and scalable robotics platform that can be customized for any number of high-volume food production environments.

That’s because while many robotics companies focus primarily on hardware, Chef’s approach centers on a software layer that enables “Embodied AI”—giving physical robots the intelligence to operate autonomously in real-world conditions. Chef’s system combines a robotic arm with AI models trained on millions of real-world examples. These models, powered by production data from early customers like Amy’s Kitchen and Fresh Prep, allow the robots to generalize across new ingredients and dishes. To date, Chef Robotics has helped assemble over 40 million meals.

From the company’s announcement: When we thought about starting with restaurants, we ran into the chicken and egg problem – to enable robots that are flexible enough to add value, we need a highly capable AI, but to get a highly capable AI, we need real-world training data from the customer sites…. Thus, we decided to initially deploy robots in high-mix (read as highly flexible) food production and manufacturing environments where Chef could partially automate a food operation and thus add value in production to customers without requiring 100% full autonomy from the get-go. We built Chef’s systems on modern advancements in AI to make them highly flexible and adaptable enough to “pick” and plate almost any ingredient, no matter how it’s cut, cooked, or grown; this makes them an ideal solution for assembling or plating food.  

The new capital will support scaling up deployments and building out Chef’s sales and marketing teams. The company is currently active in the U.S. and Canada, with plans to expand into the UK next year.

Why Ag Has a Unique Opportunity to Be a Solution to Our Climate Problem With TNC’s Renée Vassilos

What if the food system could be a climate solution instead of a climate problem? That’s the question Eva Goulbourne explores with Renée Vassilos, Director of Agriculture Innovation at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), in the debut episode of Everything But the Carbon Sink. Together, they unpack the role of agriculture in addressing the climate crisis—and why capital and innovation are key to unlocking its potential.

“Agriculture has a tremendous negative footprint in terms of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Vassilos. “But it’s also uniquely positioned to be a carbon sink.”

Vassilos explained that by focusing on soil health, reduced inputs, and practices like cover cropping and rotational grazing, farms can become drivers of climate resilience, biodiversity, and profitability. “At the core of how we think about regenerative agriculture, it is about soil health. It’s about rebuilding soil health,” she said. “Because as we think about the role agriculture can play in climate change mitigation, halting and reversing biodiversity loss, and improving freshwater systems, it all anchors around rebuilding soil health.”

Goulbourne believes that the concept of regenerative agriculture can feel messy and hard to pin down. “There are practices, there are values. It’s not one-size-fits-all.” Vassilos agreed, noting that what works in one region or operation might not work in another. “Each operation will have to anchor itself in rebuilding soil health, and the tools they’ll use will vary.”

They also discussed the economic realities farmers face. “It all comes down to economics,” said Vassilos. “The operations that are shifting to regenerative are doing so because it makes business sense, often because they’re producing higher-margin food crops.”

However, with high labor costs, land leasing complexity, and limited short-term ROI, adoption remains slow. To address this, TNC is investing in early-stage agtech solutions aimed at removing the so-called green premium. One example cited by Vassilos is SwarmFarm, an Australian startup building autonomous, lightweight farm equipment. “Their robots enable precise nitrogen application without the heavy soil compaction of traditional machinery,” Vassilos explained.

My favorite part of the conversation is when Goulbourne asked Vasillos what the “ugly baby” in this space is – in other words, the problem in ag that no one wants to touch.

Vassilos didn’t hesitate: “Addressing labor challenges is just absolutely critical,” she said. “These regenerative systems are more complex. That often means they take different kinds of labor, sometimes more labor. We have to be honest about that.” She pointed to emerging technologies in automation as promising, but noted it’s still an underfunded area given its significance.

It was a great conversation, one that really highlights Eva Goulbourne’s unique perspective on the different pathways for capital to help address the climate challenge through the food system. I would encourage you to subscribe to the podcast to ensure you get all of the future Everything But the Carbon Sink pods and check out the video below!

Farming for the Future

Keurig is Beta Testing Compostable Pods as Partner CoffeeB Blows Past 400 Thousand Customers

It was a year ago that Keurig announced it had begun working with CoffeeB to create its next-generation compostable coffee pod. The new pod, a puck-shaped consumable called the K-Round, features a fully compostable, plant-based container and was introduced alongside the company’s next-generation single-serve coffee brewer, the Alta.

So when the company announced last week that both the K-Rounds and the Alta brewer are currently undergoing beta testing in consumer homes, I was intrigued, as it looks like we may finally be inching closer to a post-plastic future in the world of single-use coffee. According to Keurig Dr Pepper, they are leveraging insights gathered during consumer testing to optimize the unboxing experience, brewer performance, and the taste and aroma of the beverages produced.

Keurig said it has launched operations at a new, proprietary pilot manufacturing line at its R&D center in Burlington, Massachusetts, where it’s producing the initial batches of K-Round pods for beta testing. This facility will serve as the foundation for refining the manufacturing process as the company scales toward mass production. Keurig also noted it has broken ground on a new roasting and production facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The company provided updates on the Alta’s variable pressure brewing technology, which allows for adjustments in brewing pressure to create different types of barista-quality coffee—including a golden, velvety crema (finally giving them the ability to rival Nespresso’s centrifuge-derived crema). Keurig says four varieties of K-Rounds have been developed and are currently undergoing testing, with plans to expand the selection in the coming months.

The company also disclosed it is undergoing third-party testing to certify that its K-Round pods are compostable in both industrial and home settings. They say they are on track to achieve certification ahead of the broader product launch, aligning with their goal to make 100% of their packaging recyclable or compostable by 2025 (and to further distance themselves from past criticism over unfulfilled sustainability claims).

While Keurig’s progress on a sustainable pod system validates CoffeeB’s technology (Keurig’s system incorporates CoffeeB’s tech along with some of its proprietary IP), the Swiss-based division of Delica AG has been experiencing rapid growth on its own, doubling the number of brewing systems in the field from 200,000 in September 2023 to 400,000 by early 2024.

The Food & Retail AI Rollup Continues as Crisp Buys Shelf Engine

Crisp, a New York-based retail data company, has acquired Seattle-based startup Shelf Engine. Founded in 2016 by Stefan Kalb and Bede Jordan, Shelf Engine specializes in using machine learning to optimize ordering processes for perishable goods, with the goal of reducing costs and minimizing food waste. The platform is now in use across more than 7,000 stores. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Shelf Engine was one of the earliest adopters of AI technology in food retail aimed at reducing waste and optimizing fresh food ordering. Kalb, who launched a food distribution business at 23 and holds degrees in actuarial science and economics, developed the idea during a 2014 ski trip with his friend and engineer Bede Jordan, a former Microsoft HoloLens developer. The pair questioned why food industry processes and systems remained outdated:

“Could we create a platform that enables retailers to buy food and eliminate significant waste? Could we create a platform that eliminates redundant busywork between vendors and retailers? Could we create a more perfect marketplace?”

These questions led Kalb and Jordan to develop a product designed to drive the food industry towards greater efficiency through technology.

Kalb reflected on the deal on LinkedIn:

“What started as a side project with my good friend Bede turned into a platform that’s now in over 7,000 stores across the U.S., helping reduce millions of pounds of food waste. It’s been eight years of wild highs, humbling challenges, and so much growth.”

Crisp plans to integrate Shelf Engine’s advanced algorithms into its commerce platform. The company believes the integration will help its retailer customers optimize in-stock inventory, improve shelf management, and drive revenue in an increasingly margin-sensitive retail environment.​

“Joining forces with Crisp allows us to scale our proven technology and deliver greater value to retailers and their supplier partners,” said Kalb. “Together, we will set a new standard in forecasting and inventory management, helping our customers thrive even in challenging market conditions.”​

This news is yet another in a series of acquisition announcements for early pioneers who are building technology leveraging AI to optimize different parts of the food value chain. Earlier this month AI Palette was gobbled up by trend forecaster Global Data, and before that Spoonshot was acquired by Target. Like other buyers in these deals, Crisp provides predictive intelligence software and services and is buying Shelf Engine to improve their AI insights capabilities.

Unlike these previous deals, Crisp and Shelf Engine focus more on retail and supply chain commerce optimization, which is one of the areas that is seeing the greatest leaps forward in productivity and cost-reduction. My guess is Afresh, which is similar to Shelf Engine and remains independent following its $115 million in series B funding in 2022, may also be one of the next companies gobbled up as bigger software and supply chain players look to add AI capabilities to their products.

How Tariffs Are Impacting Canadian Food Companies (and What They’re Doing About It)

Last week, I caught up with Dana McCauley, CEO of the Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN), to discuss some of the challenges facing Canadian food manufacturers amidst the abrupt and surprisingly hostile stance taken by the Trump administration towards our northern neighbors.

CFIN is a national organization dedicated to helping Canadian food and beverage businesses enhance productivity, competitiveness, and economic potential through innovation and technology adoption, and in her position as president of the organization, McCauley had a bird’s eye view on how the Canadian food companies are navigating considerable uncertainty due to shifts in trade policies, tariffs, and antagonistic rhetoric from the U.S. administration

We discussed the disruption caused by sudden policy reversals on trade agreements previously established between Canada and the U.S., and what the imposition of tariffs has meant to Canadian food companies. According to McCauley, the uncertainty forces Canadian food companies to spend extensive resources on scenario planning, detracting from productivity and innovation. McCauley pointed out that these issues are magnified in the food business compared to other industries because of the food’s unique constraints compared to other sectors, such as limited shelf life.

Another struggle for Canadian food manufacturers under the new reality is figuring out how to move forward in a business that often involves complex products that historically have integrated cross-border ingredient lists. McCauley shared the example of organic dairy products, which traditionally have included American-sourced dairy components for value-added products. McCauley said that rising tariffs and trade barriers now render these business models economically unsustainable, prompting businesses to rethink their strategies drastically.

And then there’s the hostile rhetoric from an administration of a country that Canadians have long-seen as their biggest ally. McCauley has said that the result of this rhetoric has been a strong push among consumers to “buy Canadian”. The shift to Canadian and drop American products has been swift and one has to wonder about the long-term damage that Trump is doing to the American brand in Canada and elsewhere.

I asked McCauley how CFIN is supporting Canadian companies given all the sudden changes, and she said that CFIN is actively supporting Canadian food businesses through this volatile period by advocating for enhanced domestic innovation and accelerated regulatory approvals for low-risk food technologies. She emphasized the urgency for Canadian food manufacturers to diversify markets, embrace domestic technological solutions, and leverage Canada’s extensive international trade agreements to navigate ongoing trade uncertainties effectively.

We talk about lots more, so you won’t want to miss our conversation. You can listen to my full conversation below or on The Spoon Podcast.

How Tariffs Are Impacting The Canadian Food Industry

Bridge Appliances Deploys Egg-Making Robot at First Customer

Five years ago, the cofounders behind Bridge Appliances stood in line at a busy breakfast cafe. As minutes ticked by, frustration turned into inspiration. They wondered: What if the preparation of eggs could be automated? That simple question led to the creation of OMM, a countertop egg-making robot. Now, half a decade later, the Bridge team is back in a coffee shop, deploying their robot for their very first commercial customer, Beantrust Coffeebar in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Bridge cofounder Connor White recently described spending the past two months embedded at Beantrust, collaborating closely with owner Erik Modahl and his team. According to White, working alongside baristas, listening to customers, and absorbing the café’s unique culture and operational flow allowed Bridge to tailor OMM’s integration precisely to Beantrust’s specific needs.

As I wrote last year, OMM cooks two eggs in roughly two minutes, enabling Beantrust to serve around 60 eggs an hour. White notes they’ve already seen promising results, with the new sandwich lineup boosting average ticket values by 15%. Currently, one in five customers chooses to add a freshly made sandwich to their coffee order (and that number continues to climb).

This marks a significant milestone for Bridge, which raised $2 million in seed funding from Steve Papa, one of Toast’s earliest investors, in 2021. Moving forward, Bridge is likely to see more growth among small coffee shops or similar establishments that lack full kitchens or grill cooks but still wish to offer breakfast. However, they will need to raise considerably more funding to scale effectively, or they could be a potential attractive acquisition candidate for a company such as Middleby.

Soul to Table: Chef Ryan Lacy Talks With Thom Curry About How He Built Temecula Olive Oil Company

On this debut episode of “Soul to Table,” Chef Ryan Lacy sits down with Thom Curry, co-founder of Temecula Olive Oil Company, to talk about Thom’s journey that began 22 years ago when he and his wife decided to transition from wine to olive oil production.

Ryan joins Thom on location at his picturesque 26-acre property in Awanga, California, where Thom talks about key moments in their journey—such as Nancy’s decision to open one of the nation’s first olive oil tasting rooms—a move Thom initially doubted. Despite challenging beginnings in a remote location, their dedication paid off as consumers sought out their unique, high-quality olive oils.

Thom talks about the biodiversity of the farm, which features over 32 Mediterranean olive varieties alongside herbs and fruits, and his embrace of regenerative farming practices, including using livestock for land maintenance and recycling olive by-products as compost or even fuel.

Thom also shares how he developed California’s first mobile olive oil mill and discusses his company’s educational initiatives, including collaborations with local schools to promote regenerative farming and sustainable agriculture.

Make sure to watch the video below to see some great shots of Thom and Nancy’s farm, and subscribe to the podcast!

From Desert to Oasis

The Spoon Discusses The Current State of AI Workflows With AI for Humans’ Gavin Purcell

In this latest edition of the Spoon Full of AI Podcast – the podcast where I talk to leaders who are using AI to transform their business (in food and beyond), I catch up with AI for Humans host Gavin Purcell to discuss the rapid advancements and complexities emerging in artificial intelligence. We talk about Google’s new Studio AI platform and its potential as an all-in-one solution for content creation, and we both have reservations about Google’s use of an older image generation model (Gemini 2), highlighting its limitations compared to newer versions like Gemini 3.

AI Studios? with Gavin Purcell

Gavin talked about the transformative shift from traditional file-based computing to generative AI, as noted in Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s recent keynote. He make a great point talking about how this will be difficult for mainstream adoption, where users expect simplicity akin to social media sharing, yet AI tools remain complex and imperfect.

We both talk about our frustrations with current AI workflows, where we compared the cumbersome nature of local models like Comfy UI to more streamlined platforms such as Ideogram and MiniMax. In the end, we both want a unified, user-friendly AI platform but recognize that technical and creative challenges remain significant hurdles.

We also discuss who we predict will be winners in the AI platform space (no spoilers!), so make sure you listen to see who we pick!

You can watch the full video above or click play below, or find this podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts.

SKS Returns in 2025 With Global Virtual Summit

The Smart Kitchen Summit, the pioneering executive summit focused on the digital transformation of the food world, is excited to announce its return in 2025 with a brand-new format. This year, SKS is going fully virtual, offering an interactive experience over two weeks in July 2025 with 1-2 hours of daily programming and sessions.

A New Format for a New Era

“We’re excited to bring SKS to a global audience in 2025,” said Michael Wolf, SKS founder and publisher of The Spoon. “The reality is 2025 is a year of great change and uncertainty. Brands and professionals are looking for ways to navigate and collaborate over this rapidly shifting terrain, so we decided it was more important than ever to expand our reach via a virtual event.”

For two weeks, SKS 2025 will feature up to two hours of daily programming, including thought-provoking discussions, product showcases, and deep dives into the most significant trends shaping the future of food and cooking. This approach allows attendees to engage with the content at their own pace and fosters meaningful conversations and networking opportunities at SKS 2025, all while continuing to build their own companies.

Themes for 2025

SKS 2025 will focus on the most critical topics driving the innovation-driven transformation of how we shop, cook, and consume food. Some of the key themes and questions to be explored include:

  • The Future of Cooking – How is technology reshaping the way we prepare and experience food at home and in professional kitchens?
  • AI & Food – The impact of artificial intelligence on food innovation, personalization, and efficiency.
  • Personalized Nutrition – How data and technology are driving customized food solutions for better health and wellness.
  • Electrification & Sustainability – The role of electrification in the kitchen and its impact on energy efficiency and sustainability.

What to Expect

  • Live Presentations & Panel Discussions – Engage with industry pioneers, tech disruptors, and thought leaders.
  • On-Demand Access – Catch up on any missed sessions with full access to recorded content.
  • Community & Networking – Connect with professionals in food, tech, and investment through our dedicated online platform.
  • Exclusive Product Showcases – Discover the latest advancements in kitchen appliances, AI-driven food systems, and next-gen culinary experiences.

Join Us

Registration for SKS 2025 is now open! Whether you’re an industry professional, startup founder, investor, or food tech enthusiast, SKS 2025 is your chance to be part of the conversation shaping the future of food.

For those interested in speaking at SKS 2025 can apply here. If you are interested in sponsorships, let us know and we’ll be in touch!

Dispatches from Future Food Tech 2025: After the Alt-Protein Boom, a New Realism Takes Hold

Last week, I headed down to San Francisco to check out the Future Food Tech conference, one of the leading gatherings in food innovation, where investors, startups, and big food brands come together to share ideas, commiserate, and network.

I attended this year’s event to gauge the current state of future food and assess if the industry had rebounded from last year’s somewhat somber mood, marked by cash-strapped startups—primarily in the alt-protein space—focusing on extending their financial runways amid a venture investment “winter.”

The good news: the overall mood is improving despite a rapidly shifting regulatory and governmental landscape, particularly in the U.S. Also, the industry has pivoted, in a fairly significant way, away from a pretty substantial over-indexing on alt-proteins as the key investment focus.

Below are my key takeaways, featuring some quotes from some of the experts who were at the show.

Dialed Down Alt-Proteins and More Discriminating Investors

First off, let’s get something straight: Alt protein is still important and on everyone’s mind at FFT and across the future food industry, but it’s just not the singular dominating focus anymore. Investors and entrepreneurs appear increasingly aware of the substantial regulatory, economic, scaling, and consumer adoption hurdles that many alt-protein products face.

At the same, many of the big investment funds and venture investors who got pulled into food tech during the bubble in 2019 to 2022 have pulled away from the space. While it means less investment dollars to fund, say, a pilot plant for a cultivated meat company that may be years away from coming to market, it also means fewer investment dollars are chasing me-too business plans.

“Everybody outside this sector was excited about Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat and thought all this stuff was going to change the game,” said Brian Frank, founder of FTW Ventures. “When all of us that were rationalists were going, ‘No, guys, it’s food. It is this.’ And so we’re coming back to this, and a lot of the tourist investors are leaving.”

Differentiated Players in Cultivated Meat Keep Pushing Boulder Up the Hill

Despite these challenges, some companies continue to talk up their advances in cultivated meat. One such company was Forsea, a company specializing in making cultivated unagi.

After signing the standard legal disclaimer waiving future litigation rights (typical at cultivated meat tastings—one investor told me he’s signed about twenty-five of them), I sampled Forsea’s cultivated unagi. It was good! The taste was pretty spot on, and the mouthfeel was about 90% there.

Another company that was pretty visible at FFT last week was Mission Barns, which had just received its ‘no questions’ letter from the FDA for its cultivated pork fat and was inviting people to try it out at tastings. While I wasn’t added to their tasting invite list, attendees who I spoke to who sampled their meatballs spoke highly of them.

Meeting the MAHA Moment: A Focus on Better Health Outcomes Becomes Primary Driver

It shouldn’t be overly surprising that the event’s focus has shifted from sustainability alone toward creating better, healthier food inputs. This adjustment reflects broader regulatory and business climates in the U.S., where food companies are adapting to an FDA and USDA potentially influenced by the likes of RFK Jr.

This new direction acknowledges the increasingly challenging regulatory environment for cultivated meat—now banned in states like Florida—while recognizing heightened consumer and governmental interest in clean labels and nutrition-focused, less futuristic food categories.

One company that aligns well with this trend is Borealis. Founder Reza Soltanzadeh emphasized the concept of “stealth health”—enhancing familiar foods with added nutritional value, like with their protein-rich pastas.

“Changing consumer behavior, like ordering a plant-based Big Mac at McDonald’s, is incredibly challenging,” Soltanzadeh explained. “But stealth health means your child shouldn’t even notice a difference from their regular ramen.”

AI is Tablestakes Now, But Beware the AI-Washing

Artificial intelligence was everywhere, both in on-stage panels and in hallway side conversations. Longtime pioneers in the space held court in packed rooms while new startups tried to talk up their AI bona fides.

As someone who created the first dedicated event a couple of years ago to explore how AI will change food, I’m not surprised at just how fast it has permeated the entire consciousness of the food industry executive class. After all, most of us, just being a person living in society, find it nearly impossible to get away from the AI-is-changing-everything conversation.

Still, the sheer amount of AI-food conversation was perhaps even more than I expected, and I imagine the heads of many in attendance were probably spinning as they tried to determine what exactly is a true innovation in food AI and what is simply a form of AI-washing.

I interviewed Matias Muchnick, CEO of NotCo, who warned startups against overstating their AI expertise: “Ultimately, claiming AI capabilities you don’t genuinely possess is a short-lived lie. Like greenwashing, AI-washing will eventually catch up with you.”

That said, it’s still exciting to see the potential. AI applications demonstrated at Future Food-Tech ranged from toxin detection to personalized nutritional recommendations.

As Megan Thomas, podcaster and future food consultant wrote: “Distinguishing meaningful innovations from hype remains a challenge, but the real-world applications of AI in food—from health to supply chains—are undeniably compelling.”

Fiber is Having Its Moment as GLP-1s Grips The Food Industry

Outside of AI everywhere, the most interesting trend to me was the pervasiveness of the impact that GLP-1s is having on both startup investment and overall focus in the space.

Peter Bodenheimer, venture partner at PeakBridge, wrote that “fiber is everywhere and continues to have its moment, with startups focused on new functional elements, improved formats, and data-driven discovery.”

What’s interesting is the divergence in conversation that is happening societally and within the food space. Ozempic and other GLP-1s have become household names and a part of the larger cultural conversation as folks on social media try to guess which celebrity on the red carpet is taking GLP-1s, the food industry is moving beyond last year’s initial panic to proactively optimize products for GLP-1 compatibility.

A wave of startups, including One.Bio, SuperGut, and Carbiotix, have emerged, offering platforms enabling CPG brands to enhance their fiber content and position products as GLP-1-friendly alternatives to pharmaceutical interventions.

I spoke with Carbiotix chairman Kristofer Cook, who described the company’s efforts in helping major brands integrate gut-healthy fiber through on-premise food side-stream upcycling. This two-birds-one-stone approach sounded like a pretty nifty trick, particularly for those brands who didn’t want to become reliant on startup’s nutraceutical to fortify their food.

Companies using their platform are “extracting more value from a side stream, which is typically set the way for animal feed,” said Cook. “They’re making their products healthier. And they’re able to market themselves as being more sustainable as well.”

Looking Forward

The bottom line is it seemed like, despite the shifting terrain underfoot from a regulatory standpoint and the continued fundraising headwinds, that food startups are finding their way. Those remaining in ths space are becoming increasingly pragmatic about the realities of innovation adoption, investment sustainability, and regulatory navigation. The exuberance over cultivated protei has been tempered by a clear-eyed recognition of consumer behavior, economic constraints, and the long-term role of health-centric innovation.

Looking forward, if this year’s FFT is any indication, it seems food tech innovation is now being defined more by clear-eyed realism, a focus on finding practical food-driven health interventions, and an embrace around accelerating innovation through the use of technologies like AI.