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August 21, 2019

DoorDash Acquires Autonomous Vehicle Startup Scotty Labs

Tele-operations platform Scotty Labs announced this morning via a blog post it has been acquired by DoorDash. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Scotty Labs’ current platform allows humans to operate autonomous vehicles via remote control. According to the company’s LinkedIn page, advancing autonomous driving isn’t about removing humans from the equation completely, but letting them instead play a more virtual role in the process. The company previously partnered with Voyage to help them deploy autonomous vehicles around retirement communities. It has also tested a self-driving truck on a California freeway, which you can watch here.

This isn’t DoorDash’s first time working with an autonomous vehicle company. At the beginning of 2019, the delivery company partnered with General Motors’ Cruise Automation to test autonomous vehicles in San Francisco. Going even further back, DoorDash worked with Starship in 2017 to test delivery via semi-autonomous wheeled bots.

The Scotty Labs acquisition comes at a time when DoorDash faces significant scrutiny from the industry. The company received a storm of bad press over its tipping policies, which skim from drivers’ tips to pay their base wage. Although DoorDash said it would change that policy, the company has yet to act on those words.

DoorDash is also rumored to be chasing an IPO, and should that happen, the company will likely face the same struggles around profitability its competitor Uber Eats has experienced.

One way to get closer to actual profitability and avoid controversial tipping policies is to not have to pay human drivers. Only yesterday, The Spoon team was internally discussing the future of third-party delivery, wondering aloud if controversial tipping policies, proposed caps on commission fees, and horror stories from the drivers themselves wouldn’t quickly spur companies towards a more autonomous future. It seems DoorDash is already headed in that direction.

August 19, 2019

SKS Q&A: Atomo’s Founder on Why He’s Creating Coffee Without the Beans

At the Smart Kitchen Summit {SKS}, we’re all about exploring the future of food. But what about the future of drink — specifically the future of our favorite morning beverage, coffee?

That’s exactly what Jarret Stopforth, founder and CTO of Atomo, is trying to brew up (sorry, we had to). Atomo is reverse engineering coffee to make a beverage that tastes just like your favorite cup of joe — but is made without a single coffee bean. And they just raised a tidy $2.6 million to jumpstart their mission.

Stopforth will be at speaking about his vision for the future of coffee at SKS this October. To give you a little advanced taste, we asked the him a few questions about the catalyst to create Atomo and his mission to forge a more sustainable way for people to get their morning caffeine fix. Check out the answers below, and don’t forget to grab your ticket to SKS!

At Atomo, you’re making coffee without any coffee beans. Tell us a little more about how that works.
We looked at green beans, roasted beans and extracted (brewed) coffee samples and through advanced analytical procedures studied the volatile and non-volatile compounds present. By evaluating the individual compounds in coffee we were able to map the most significant ones contributing to the characteristic aroma and flavor of coffee. Once we identified the most significant compounds we evaluated upcycled and natural plant-based material with high sustainability indices as a source for extracting and generating the blend that enables us to create a coffee “dashboard” – with this we can make coffee without the bean and tweak our dashboard to create different flavor and aroma profiles.

What’s your go-to-market strategy?
From our Kickstarter campaign in February, we pre-sold 64,000 cups of coffee to nearly 700 people around the world. We plan to fulfill those backer’s orders by the end of this year/beginning of next with a public product launch in 2020.

Where did you get the idea to make coffee without beans? What was your motivation?
I am an avid coffee drinker and always look for a consistently enjoyable experience that I can rely on. Having my doctorate in food science I am also always looking at food and beverage with an eye on how things are made and how to disrupt or improve them. After having a lot of lousy coffee I said to myself one day that there must be a better way to enjoy one of my favorite beverages and to create it from the ground up where we can control for consistency and quality. I was working on this when Andy approached me to see what I was working on in the background and wished I could be doing full time. And after sitting together to talk through the idea, Andy was motivated to join the quest based on the threats we were seeing with the sustainability and future of coffee – we wanted to create a consistently great cup of coffee that was also good for the environment.

What’s the advantage of making bean-less coffee? Economically, environmentally, etc.
The benefit of beanless coffee is that it is more sustainable by not requiring deforestation as well as using upcycled plant-based materials. Likewise, by using the upcycled ingredients we can create molecular coffee for a fraction of the price it takes to farm beans. We are delivering premium quality coffee that’s accessible to all.

How do you take your coffee?
Cortado.

Keep an eye out for more speaker Q&A’s as we ramp up to our fifth year of SKS on October 7-8 in Seattle! We hope to see you there.

August 15, 2019

WeWork Is Opening a Food Labs Location in San Francisco

Several months after the launch of WeWork Food Labs in NYC, WeWork is launching a second location of its food tech facility and accelerator program, The Spoon has confirmed via an industry source.

While WeWork hasn’t gone on record with information about this forthcoming San Francisco location, the company did leave a job posting on LinkedIn recently for a Food Labs Manager in San Francisco, CA whose role will be to help launch and manage the community of startups taking part of WeWork Food Labs.

WeWork, who officially rebranded as The We Company earlier this year, announced its Food Labs program in March of this year in NYC as an innovation hub for startups working across many areas of food tech, including alt-protein, robotics, supply chain management, new ingredients (e.g., CBD), and kitchen appliances. The Labs offers two different programs to which companies can apply: continuous programming, where chosen companies get access to the WeWork Food Labs space and a more traditional accelerator program that runs for five months per cohort.

The NYC program launched in a temporary space in May of 2019 in an existing WeWork location. It is slated to move to its permanent flagship space in Chelsea in October that includes an R&D kitchen for participating companies to use as well as a photo studio, a mock merchandising area, and a tasting table.

According to The Spoon’s source, the San Francisco Food Labs will follow a similar path, starting first in an existing WeWork location before moving to a permanent residence that includes the R&D kitchen and other features listed above.

In materials sent to The Spoon earlier this year, WeWork noted that future expansions of Food Labs will also focus on areas where the food gap is urgent, and could include areas such as Mumbai, Bangkok, and Barranquilla, in addition to more U.S. locations such as Denver and Seattle.

WeWork officially released its IPO prospectus on Wednesday. The company could go public as early as next month.

Disclosure: The Spoon is a launch partner with WeWork Food Labs. Read Mike’s Publisher’s Note to learn more about why we’ve teamed up with WeWork and the editorial standards we’ve put in place for coverage of WeWork Labs companies moving forward.

August 2, 2019

‘Office-Food-as-a-Service’ Startup Level Discontinues Hot Pantry Service

The Spoon has learned this week that Level (formerly known as Markov), a startup that offers a managed office-food-as-a-service offering combining both food delivery and an AI-powered smart oven, has started to pull out of customer installations.

According to our sources, Level employees have picked up the Level oven and fridge that combine to make the Level Hot Pantry service from customer locations this week, telling customers that things “haven’t worked out.”

I reached out to the company and was able to confirm the news.

“We are going to discontinue the Level Hot Pantry program,” cofounder and CTO Arvind Pereira told me via email. “We are working on a transaction and will have more to share in the future.”

Level is (or was) one of a number of different startups trying to rethink and innovate around the office meal. Other startups combining new cooking tech alongside food delivery include Genie and Kitchenmate, while a number of others like Byte and Chowbotics are offering up different spins on fresh food delivery and assembly.

Pereira indicated they are looking at selling the Hot Pantry offering (which presumably includes the food delivery business and the smart oven), but it’s yet to be determined if the company itself will continue as a going concern.

We will update this story as we learn more…

August 1, 2019

Startups, Take Note: Food Tech Accelerator Programs Taking Applications in August

August may be vacation time for many. But in the world of food tech accelerators, it’s business as usual, with a fresh offering of programs taking applications throughout the month. Some are courtesy of major corporations, others have sprouted from more local operations. All are in search of startups using technology to change the way we farm, transport, cook, and eat our food.

To keep you up to date on the many, many programs out there and what they offer, every month The Spoon picks a few of our faves and shares their basic details. Since this is never an exhaustive list, if you have a suggestion for a food tech accelerator or incubator you don’t see here, email us so we can be sure to consider it for future versions of this post.

Image via Brinc.

Brinc’s Food Technology Accelerator Program
Hong Kong

Brinc operates its three-month-long Food Technology Accelerator Program twice a year in Hong Kong. The program has a very specific list on its website of areas it will invest in: plant-based alternatives, processed food or food ingredients, cooking aides, functional foods, sports performance foods, insect proteins, biodegradable food packaging, and animal/plant agricultural solutions. Startups who apply should have a product that fits into one of these areas. They should also have at least two co-founders and a scalable business model “with high growth potential.”

Brinc offers $80,000 in exchange for 10 to 15 percent equity. (Note that there is a separate $30,000 participation fee, which can be deducted from the investment amount.) Additionally, participants receive in-house mentorship sessions, customized curriculum, one-on-one office hours, and continued support once the program wraps. Startups are expected to be in Hong Kong for one month of the program for onsite training.

Applications close August 10.

Image via AgFunder.

GROW
Singapore

As we covered in-depth last month, GROW is a joint program from VC firm AgFunder and agri-food accelerator Rocket Seeder. It looks for early-stage companies working in the agtech space and using technology to either improve operations on the farm or in the food supply chain. The program also aims to bring more investment to Singapore’s still-nascent food tech space.

Participants receive up to $120,000 in equity funding, $80,000 in-kind benefits, coaching and mentorship sessions, and access to testing labs. They are expected to be in Singapore for at least part of the three-month-long program.

Applications close on August 19.

The first BSH Future Home Accelerator cohort.

BSH Future Home Accelerator
Munich, Germany

BSH hosted the first class of its Future Home Accelerator, powered by Techstars, this year, with ckbk, Pantri, and MealiQ among the participating companies. As BSH is a top appliance maker, the credo behind its accelerator is finding startups innovating on the future of the home — and in particular, the kitchen. The program also welcomes companies working on B2B-focused solutions.

For the three-month program, participants head to Munich, Germany to work with mentors at BSH across the company’s design, engineering, marketing, digital, and business engineering departments. BSH/Techstars will invest $20,000 in each company and receive a 6 percent common stock exchange. All companies participating in Techstars accelerators, including those for the BSH program, get offered a $100,000 convertible note upon acceptance.

Applications close October 13.

APPLICATIONS OPENING SOON

Image via The Food Foundry.

The Food Foundry
Chicago, IL

The Chicago-based program founded by Relish Works looks for early-stage startups across a range of areas in the food industry, including everything from third-party delivery to blockchain to vertical farming.

For the 16-week program, the Food Foundry provides participating companies with $75,000 of VC funding. They also receive mentorship opportunities with individuals from Relish Works and its program partners, Gordon Food Service and Chicago startup hub 1871. Actual programming is a mix of learning curriculum, mentor sessions, and visits to Gordon’s facilities. According to The Food Foundry’s FAQ, participants should be willing to relocate to Chicago for the program.

Applications open on August 14.

July 30, 2019

Techstars Gets a $42M Investment Aimed at International Growth

Techstars, which runs the Farm to Fork food tech accelerator (among many others), announced a $42 million investment in fresh funding today. The round was led by SVB Financial Group, with participation from existing investors including Foundry Group.

According to the press release and an article published on TechCrunch, the new funding will go towards helping Techstars further expand its business globally. Techstars founder and co-CEO David Cohen told TechCrunch we can expect to see the company grow its presence in Asia, Latin America, and Australia as well as Europe and North America in future. He said the new investment will also go towards further developing Techstars Studio, the Techstars Ecosystem Development, and Techstars Talent.

Right now, the company runs 49 startup accelerator programs across 16 countries in addition to backing hundreds of startups through its VC arm.

Some of those efforts are food related: In 2018, Techstars launched its Farm to Fork accelerator program, which works with early- and late-stage startups in areas like agri tech, manufacturing, and waste reduction. Its alumni include Renewal Mill, Spoonshot, and Big Wheelbarrow.

Techstars also teamed up with BSH for the BSH Future Home Accelerator, which is all about finding innovative appliance-makers and connected-kitchen companies. Meal kit company Plated and smart water cooler company Bevi are among the food-focused companies backed by Techstars’ VC arm.

While the funding news doesn’t specifically mention food-related companies, there will no doubt be at least a few new food tech startups landing on the Techstars roster in the near future as the company continues its expansion around the globe.

July 29, 2019

Market Map: Booze Tech in 2019

From countertop devices used in the home kitchen to delivery services, the number of avenues in which companies can get booze to customers has expanded in recent years. And since it’s still the time of year when drinking on patios is a popular sport, we decided to focus our latest market map on all the tech out there currently changing the alcohol space.

In the U.S., alcohol consumption has actually stagnated, according to IWSR, but part of this is due to consumers now seeking quality over quantity when it comes to their drinking. Which might explain the rise in the number of companies offering recommendations apps that rate beers, wines, and spirits as well as at-home devices for the kitchen countertop that give the user a little more control over the quality of their drinks.

For The Spoon’s Booze Tech in 2019 market map, we divvied the market up into several categories where technology is making the biggest impact on the way people get, create, and consume beer, wine, and spirits. That’s everything from apps that update you on the best craft beers available to at-home bartending devices that let you release your inner mixologist to the many ways in which companies are making it possible to get the booze delivered right to your doorstep. We’ve narrowed the companies down to a collection of startups and major corporations alike. As with any post that outlines a market, this list isn’t exhaustive. So if you have thoughts and tips for who else you’d like to see here, feel free to drop us a line.

While we’re on the subject of maps, be sure to check out our 2019 Food Robotics market map and our Food Waste Innovation in 2019 map.

Booze Tech in 2019

July 25, 2019

Applications Are Now Open for AgFunder’s Singapore Agri Tech Accelerator Program

Calling all agricultural-focused startups. This week, agri tech VC firm AgFunder announced its forthcoming startup accelerator, GROW, is now accepting applications.

GROW is a joint venture between AgFunder and agrifood accelerator Rocket Seeder, and includes backing from the Singapore government through Enterprise Singapore and the Economic Development Bank. The program will work with early-stage startups in the agri tech space to help them fine-tune their business models, identify target audiences, and prepare to get further funding.

Though based in Singapore, the program encourages startups from around the world to apply. According to an AgFunder blog post, those chosen to participate will receive up-to $120,000 in equity funding, $80,000 in-kind benefits, coaching and mentorship sessions, and access to “experts, test labs and deep-tech expertise in GROW research partners.”

Participants are expected to be in Singapore for part but not all of the duration of the three-month program, which kicks off in September. According to GROW’s FAQ page, those who complete the program will also become eligible for the accelerator’s +3 GROW program, which includes an additional three months in the GROW coworking space in Singapore along with extra coaching during that time.

AgFunder’s current portfolio includes companies that cover a range of different technology solutions both on the farm and in the food supply chain. Trace Genomics, for example, uses a proprietary analytics engine to help farmers track soil health. ImpactVision’s technology assesses food quality and safety through hyperspectral imaging. Aerobotics uses satellites and drones for pest-control on the farm.

As to why Singapore is the chosen location for the accelerator, part of the reason is that agri tech in that country is still fairly nascent and therefore needs more investment. Quoting Openspace Ventures’ Nicole Tee, the AgFunder blog post noted that, “it’s still early days for agtech in the region and so creating an active ecosystem was important to drive further investment and create ‘credible players in the global markets.'”

Of late, Singapore has received much attention for its role in developing cultured meat, as well as its recent $535 million investment to boost R&D in areas like robotics, AI, and sustainable urban food production. And other accelerator programs already have a presence in Singapore, including HATCH’s aquaculture program and Big Idea Ventures, who’s mainly tackling alternative proteins right now.

According to AgFunder, GROW is the first agri tech-specific startup accelerator to be based in Singapore. Applications close on August 19.

July 23, 2019

Mayku FormBox’s DIY Mold Machine is Out to Democratize Manufacturing

Say you’re a chocolatier who wants to make candies in the shape of dolphins, or unicorns, or a customer’s name. You’d have to get your hands on a foodsafe mold, which usually means you either have to choose from limited selection in stores or pay a boatload to have a custom mold made.

That’s exactly the sort of restrictive problem that the Mayku (pronunced ‘Make-you’) Formbox is trying to solve. The machine, which is about the same size and height of an open laptop, works by softening a thin sheet of food-safe material and forming it around any object up to 200 mm squared (7.8 inches squared). Once the sheet sets it can be removed and used as a mold for everything from plastic to molten sugar.

Mayku co-founders Benjamin Redford and Alex Smilansky both came from design backgrounds. “To make a product in the digital world you just have to press a few buttons. Comparatively, the barrier to entry in the physical world is so high,” Smilansky, who also functions as Mayku’s CEO, told me over the phone. With the FormBox, he hopes to democratize manufacturing and make it easier for small companies or even home enthusiasts to make short runs of products.

Mayku FormBox - a desktop vacuum former that puts the power of making in your hands

The Mayku FormBox costs $699 and comes with 40 food-safe moldable sheets. You can order additional sheets for $1.30 each. Seven hundred bucks is certainly not nothing, especially if you’re a small-scale producer just starting up. However, Smilansky assured me that it’s miles cheaper than buying custom silicone molds, which he said can cost hundreds of dollars each and sometimes require a customer orders many multiples per order.

Mayju first launched the FormBox on Kickstarter in 2016 with a goal of getting 100 preorders. Within a month they had 1,300. They began shipping the summer of 2018 and are now being used by roughly 4,000 makers.

According to Smilansky, a surprisingly large portion of their makers are in the food industry. “We initially had no idea that the food industry would be interested in this,” Smilansky told me. “But it’s actually our fast-growing segment.” But when you think about it for a second, this type of product seems perfect for artisan food and beverage companies. It allows them to experiment with new products with relatively little investment and risk, and can also help them stand out from the competition.

Beyond the FormBox, London-based Mayku has plans to expand to a suite of products. Smilansky said that they want to build a family of integrated machines, including a 3D printer, laser cutter, and more. They also want to create an online platform where their community of creators can share designs and videos of themselves showing off their techniques the Mayku FormBox.

“It’s really about small-scale manufacturing,” Smilansky said. “We wanted to give creative makers without massive budgets access to the same kinds of tools that giant companies have.”

That’s an ambitious goal, especially for a 12-person company that’s raised 2.6 million pounds(~$3.24 million) on top of the initial $600,000 they pulled in on Kickstarter.

However, the Mayku FormBox is coming about at a very opportune time. There’s currently a growing movement towards the democratization of previously difficult/expensive tasks — including in the kitchen. Small companies and even ambitious individuals can now do everything from roast their own coffee to make their own chocolate. And now with the Mayku FormBox, they can take that chocolate and shape it into whatever their heart desires.

July 22, 2019

Mars Announces Startups for Inaugural Seeds of Change Food Accelerator

This morning, CPG giant Mars unveiled the six startups participating in the company’s first-ever cohort for its Seeds of Change accelerator program, which helps early-stage companies with health- and sustainability-focused offerings hit their next phase of growth.

As a consumer-focused brand, Seeds of Change has been in operation since 1989, initially selling organic seeds to farmers and gardeners before launching a food line in the late 1990s.

The new accelerator program, which was announced in March of this year, is an extension of the brand’s focus on health and sustainability.

Participants were selected this past weekend, when 10 finalists from the application pool headed to Chicago and presented their companies and ideas to a panel of judges. Each will receive a grant of $50,000 and participate in a four-month-long program that includes curriculum and mentorship sessions designed to help startups scale up their operations.

For this first cohort, the program looks to be focused mainly on ingredient innovation:

Fora produces non-dairy butter and is on track to release other yet-to-be-named plant-based dairy alternatives.
Prommus makes a protein-enhanced hummus, and also runs a program that provides meals to school children in food-insecure parts of the world
Brooklyn Delhi makes India-inspired condiments and sauces.
Tru Made Foods turns condiments like BBQ sauce and Sriracha into superfoods by replacing sugar with vegetables
NoBull Burger makes plant-based burgers.
Oxtale sells starter packs that let consumers cook traditional Asian meals in under 30 minutes.

The six companies chosen over the weekend were selected for Seeds of Change’s U.S.-based program. The company also runs an Australia-based version of the accelerator, for which applications just closed.

Mars, at this point, is better known for candy and pet foods than it is for sustainable eating. But like a growing number of major CPGs out there, the company is looking to double-down on food innovation by partnering with younger, leaner companies, and also align more with the growing consumer demand for things like health, transparency, and sustainability. Dairy Farmers of America, who works with some of the world’s largest food producers, has a new(ish) accelerator program that’s been getting attention as of late, and numerous other CPGs, from Kraft-Heinz to Nestle to BSH run programs.

July 16, 2019

Exclusive: The Spoon Talks With ChefSteps CEO Young About Breville Acquisition

Big news today in the world of the connected kitchen. As Chris Albrecht previously reported, Breville has acquired ChefSteps, maker of the Joule sous vide appliance.

I caught up with ChefSteps CEO Chris Young to ask him about the deal. Below is a transcript of our conversation.

Congratulations on the news. Can you tell us a little about how this came together? 

Young: When the bad news broke, Breville quickly reached out. They had been longtime admirers of what we have done. As we met with Breville team in Sydney, as I got to know their CEO Jim Clayton and talked about what we were doing with software, community and content, and we talked about what we accomplished with Joule, they saw a real opportunity to accelerate what Breville was trying to do by putting us together.

How do they plan to integrate the company?

They are keeping the Seattle offices. They are going to be investing more in our software team and capabilities. I can’t talk about future roadmap plans, but I think there will be a lot of opportunity with what we’ve done with Joule and how it might work together with Breville products in the future, and I think you are going to see a lot of investment in content and community from the Chefsteps side. In a lot of ways, this is a great outcome. Everything we want to keep doing is going to continue to happen and our community has a great steward in Breville so there’s continuity of our business and work.

Are you are going to stay on?

Young: Right now [I’m] involved in Breville, having conversations about how my role will evolve. We’re working it out. Grant [Crilly] is staying on, most of the team is staying on, and I expect be involved in Breville in some way going forward.

Can you tell us the acquisition price?

Young: No. Those terms are confidential. But I will say everyone who is involved, though it’s been a very challenging few months, feels very good about the outcome.

Why Breville?

Young: I’ve known Breville for a very long time. I had worked with them back when I was with the Fat Duck.

April was a very tough time. Had to let go a lot of my colleagues, stabilize the business, take time to figure things out. But when I made list of who I think was the right company to go forward with, Breville was at the top of my list. So when they reached out, I was really happy. It made it really easy. We have a shared DNA, how we think about products, how we think about innovation, that we’re fundamentally there to serve our community of cooks. We’re never just about doing a product at a particular price point and a set of features, that’s never how we approached things. I also think it’s real validation [that] what we built, what we shipped, was really one of a kind.

You had been working on a number of other products. Can you tell us what will happen to the ChefSteps product roadmap under Breville?

Young: This is one of the changes for me. Breville has to make a lot of decisions. We’ll absolutely see Joule go forward. There is a lot of eagerness to see our roadmap go forward. Will everything go forward? I have no idea, but I know there are several things we are very close I think we will be able to ship to our community later this year and I am quite excited about that.

You’ll be paired with precision cooking pioneer Polyscience under Breville. Thoughts about that?  

Young: We worked with Polyscience early on. They were a pioneer in the commercial space. With Joule, Breville was not only wanting to have a commercial offering, but also wanted to have the best offering in the consumer space with Joule.

The consumer sous vide market has been really competitive and some companies have struggled. Any thoughts on how it looks going forward?

The sous vide market is growing tremendously. The market is growing very fast, over 40% per year. Prime Day was fantastic for us. [I] think there has been a challenge in the industry. Some of it is a timing question. Some of the obvious strategic buyers that would give startups an exit, they’re maybe not ready yet to transform themselves with technology and they’re struggling out to figure out how they would benefit.

That is sort of the problem: there are not a lot of buyers that yet have the vision they need for the technologies that companies like ChefSteps pioneered. Breville gets it. They were already committing to a connected future and we just provided a great opportunity to accelerate it. I think until you get more companies recognizing they absolutely need this technology as part of their future, you’re going to see these companies struggle. But fundamentally, I think we’ve proven this technology is absolutely worthwhile and the relationships with their customers are invaluable.

Is the Joule Ready sauce business dead?

Young: I don’t think any final decisions have been made. We’re not putting back into production immediately. These are assets that Breville has acquired. There was a lot of things we were developing behind the scenes our customers absolutely loved. To be candid, I wish that business had a little bit more time to mature because their growth numbers were tremendous. I don’t know if I would say its dead, it might just be a question of priorities before anyone can turn back to it.

July 11, 2019

Dairy Farmers of America’s Accelerator Program Looks to Advance Tech Innovation on the Farm

As more and more startup accelerators enter the food tech space, one trend on the rise is larger entities building out programs to keep a pulse on innovation. Several major CPGs already have programs in full swing around the world, and now, other organizations are starting to develop their own takes on the accelerator model.

One such organization is the Dairy Farmers of America (DFA). Started in 1998, the cooperative of family farmers now has 13,000 members from dairy farms across the country and works with some of the world’s largest food producers besides manufacturing its own brands.

It’s also home to a relatively new accelerator program that gives startups an entry point into the dairy industry and at the same time looks to bring more tech to the farm to help production, animal health, and safety, and other elements. And, of course, it’s a way for the DFA to connect with younger companies pushing newer, tech-driven ideas to the agricultural industry.

That’s especially important right now, as the U.S. dairy industry as a whole has seen a significant drop in numbers of late. The USDA reported that more than 2,700 dairy farms closed in 2018 in the U.S. The reasons for these closures are legion, politically complex, and partly based on changing consumer demands. Tech may not be able to solve all of them, but bringing more innovation to the farm could help with labor costs and shortages, product diversification, and measures to make farms more productive.

Speaking of DFA’s inspiration behind starting an accelerator, the program’s Director of Innovation, Doug Dresslaer, told me, “[We] needed a way to partner with someone who could [get us] on the right path and get in front of some new technologies.”

The program focuses on two areas, agtech and dairy food products, and on finding companies innovating in those realms. For example, ripe.io, who uses blockchain to improve supply chain transparency, was a member of the 2018 cohort. My Dairy Dashboard, one of the members of the original cohort, makes a cloud-based data analytics solution for dairy producers and their advisors.

The accelerator takes around six or seven companies per cohort, according to Dresslaer. The program itself is a combination of onsite meetings and virtual programming. Of the 90 days that make up the duration of the program, participants will usually spend four weeks of that time onsite in Kansas City (where DFA is headquartered), meeting with mentors and industry figures and attending sessions around business development, product development, marketing, and other aspects of startup growth. While there’s no requirement for companies to relocate fully to Kansas City, Justin McCarthy, a Public Relations Manager at DFA, says many of them hire locally anyway, to have a presence near headquarters.

As far as the types of companies DFA chooses for the program, it’s based largely on how their innovations can improve processes, reduce margins, and improve overall productivity on the farm. While McCarthy noted that DFA is staying current with topics like plant-based dairy, right now, the focus is more on helping the farmers through tech.

To that end, the 2019 cohort featured a mix of sustainability, like Bezoar Laboratories’ patent-pending probiotic for cattle that reduces methane production, and technology, such as Labby’s AI-powered smartphone app that tests milk onsite to save farmers the time and money from sending samples to the lab. The 2029 class also included a few smaller CPG companies making dairy-based goods and snacks.

McCarthy notes that on the farm, especially, adoption of tech is increasing. “Most farmers are very receptive to new tech developments,” he said, adding that nowadays farms are being passed down to younger millennial generations who “understand creativity in technology” and are “much more willing to entertain” conversations about adding tech to the dairy farming process.

Larger organizations may be getting into the accelerator game, but the dairy industry itself doesn’t have a huge presence there yet other than Land O’ Lakes’ program, which is currently on hiatus according to a recent email sent to The Spoon.

For its program, DFA typically looks at companies with a product already in market or, in the case of hardware offerings, close to manufacturing stage. Unlike many accelerators, there’s no hard stop for applications, which are instead accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year. And while they’ve yet to announce dates for the 2020 cohort, the program typically runs in springtime.

But as Dresslaer noted, the program itself is really just a jumping-off point to a longer-term relationship between DFA and the participants. “The goal of this type of program is that we only take companies that we see long-term relationships being built with them,” he explained. “We really want to help them and partner with them in some way.”

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