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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Startups

Consumer Sous Vide Pioneer Nomiku is Shutting Down

Nomiku, a pioneering kitchen tech startup that helped bring sous vide to the consumer market, is shutting down operations effective immediately.

In an email sent to customers this morning, Lisa Fetterman, Nomiku founder and CEO, wrote that the company will be shutting down all operations, including both its sous vide appliance business and its sous vide ready meal business, Nomiku Meals.

In an interview with The Spoon, Fetterman said that while the company saw strong growth in their meal delivery business after the company pivoted one year ago – she said they doubled revenue since the launch of the food business – it just wasn’t enough.

“We just couldn’t get the company to a sustainable place,” said Fetterman.

Fetterman indicated that for long term survival, the company would need to raise capital and that that was going to be challenging in today’s environment. She said that while being a hardware company made it hard to raise additional capital, it was going to be even tougher as a “food tech” startup focused on food delivery.

The demise of meal kit companies “have put a chill on the market when it came to raising funds,” said Fetterman.

The exit of Nomiku from the market marks the end of what has been a fairly rough of couple years for the first wave of startups in the connected cooking market. Sansaire, which started around the same time as Nomiku, shut down in February of 2018. Hestan Cue, maker of a guided cooking system, downsized its team in April, and just a few weeks later ChefSteps, another sous vide startup, had to layoff a significant portion of its team before it got acquired by Breville.

According to Fetterman, the company has been in discussions with potential acquirers, and while she hasn’t ruled out a potential deal, nothing has evolved to the point where she could move in that direction yet.

So for now, at least, Nomiku is no more.

I asked her what that means for existing customers, both for owners of the Nomiku sous vide circulator and of the meal delivery service, and this is what she told me: For food delivery, anyone who has been charged will receive their food. For any new orders in the last week or so that haven’t been charged, those will be cancelled. For those with a circulator, they will continue to support those still under a year warranty “as long as supplies last.”

Fetterman said that those with the circulator can reach out via email to info@nomiku.com for updates and continuing support.

For me, the news of Nomiku’s demise is a real bummer. Fetterman has been one of the industry’s most outspoken and innovative entrepreneurs, and her absence will leave the space just a little less interesting.

For her part, Fetterman is still sorting through how to feel as she shuts down the company she spent the last ten years building with her husband, Abe Fetterman.

“I started the company when I was 22,” said Fetterman. “I’m 32 now. I’ve grown up as an entrepreneur and a person, publicly. It is very easy to feel a huge of sense of defeat failing publicly as well. That’s par for the course.”

When Fetterman started her company a decade ago, she was among the first to see the opportunity in bringing sous vide to the masses. Over time, others entered the market and the competition wasn’t always friendly. At times, the elbow throwing between Nomiku and competitors even spilled into public view.

“When I started Nomiku, I always knew the tremendous risk it held to invent a category and then fight against really cut throat competitors,” said Fetterman.

Despite the outcome, Fetterman said she’s still very proud of what she and the team have accomplished, including centering the company’s manufacturing in the US.

“There were things I couldn’t control, but I feel proud of the way we have run the company, that we always tried to do the right thing and not cut corners. I feel proud that we moved the manufacturing back to the States.”

Fetterman doesn’t know what’s next for her and is planning to take a little time off after ten years of running a startup. When I asked her if she plans on starting another company in the food space, she said it’s too soon to say, but she did think there is still lots of opportunity for innovation in cooking.

“People will always need a simple solution for dinner. That is obvious to everybody. I think the next great food tech company is out there, even in the next year, but it’s hard to say what that looks like right now.”

JUST Acquires Facility to Expand Protein Manufacturing for Plant-based Egg

Alternative protein company JUST today announced it has acquired a new 30,000-square-foot facility in Appleton, Minnesota to expand its manufacturing capacity. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The plant, previously operating as Del Dee Foods, had already been working with JUST to manufacture proteins used as the building block of its JUST Egg, a plant-based liquid that scrambles just like real eggs. With the acquisition, JUST will be able to hire more workers, staff more shifts, and build out the facility to increase manufacturing capacity.

According to JUST’s Head of Communications Andrew Noyes, the startup had already invested millions of dollars in the factory. After the acquisition, they will be able to create an infrastructure for JUST Egg protein production that is “dependable, efficient and expandable as we plan for future growth.”

In and of itself, this isn’t especially remarkable news. But it does speak to the need for plant-based food companies to ensure that they have reliable, scalable sources for protein manufacturing — especially as consumer demand for flexitarian alternatives continues to skyrocket.

Players like Beyond Meat, Oatly and Impossible Foods have all experienced product shortages over the past few years. And consumers were not happy. For now, JUST Egg’s footprint is still relatively small, at least compared to plant-based giants like Beyond Meat and Oatly. It’s available in U.S. retailers like Kroger, Whole Foods, and Safeway, as well as over 500 foodservice locations. It’s also sold in Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada and parts of China.

However, the company is smart to start investing heavily in manufacturing infrastructure — before the demand outpaces their supply. Especially as it prepares to enter the European market.

Perfect Day Closes $140M Series C to Expand Animal-Free Dairy Production

Perfect Day, a startup producing animal-free dairy using microbes, today announced it has closed a $140 million Series C funding round. The round was led by Temasek with participation from past investors.

This more than doubles the total amount of funding for the Berkeley-based startup, which raised a $34.8 million Series B earlier this year. Its total money raised is now $201.5 million.

Perfect Day uses genetically engineered microbes to ferment the protein building blocks of dairy, like casein and whey. It then combines them with fat and water to create milk that’s genetically identical to the real thing. Since it’s neither made from plants (plant-based) or grown from animal tissue (cell-based), the startup has coined a new term for its products: flora-based.

Perfect Day will use its new funds to accelerate growth by upping its production capacity, deepening partnerships and developing new products. “We’re trying to scale the supply chain and bring this to the world in a big way,” co-founder and CEO Ryan Pandya told me over the phone last week. Their goal is to be making thousands of metric tons of the proteins by 2022 (right now they’re making tens of tons). The company currently works with food giant ADM to help manufacture its dairy proteins in larger quantities.

Photo: Perfect Day

It also debuted its first product earlier this year: a limited line of ice creams made with Perfect Day’s flora-based milk. (I tried them, they were delicious.) Based on photos sent to us by the company, Perfect Day has also developed animal-free cream cheese, feta, and cheese spread, in addition to straight-up milk.

Though its first product was branded by and sold by Perfect Day, the startup actually plans to sell its dairy B2B to large food companies. We won’t have to wait too long to find out whom that will be — Perfect Day will announce its first commercial partnerships early in 2020. The company is also developing animal-free milk fat which will allow it to create a wider range of flora-based dairy products using only its fermentation technology.

The flora-based dairy space is quite young (the only other player is New Culture). Once Perfect Day uses its sizeable hunk of new funding to scale up and establish a few big-name partnerships, however, flora-based dairy might not be such a niche anymore.

TurtleTree Labs is Creating All Kinds of Milk (Even Human Milk) in a Lab

When I first heard about TurtleTree Labs, a new self-described “clean milk” company based in Singapore, I assumed that the startup was creating milk proteins from genetically modified microbes, similar to alternative dairy companies like Perfect Day or New Culture.

Boy, was I wrong. “That’s very much not what we’re doing,” TurtleTree’s CTO Max Rye explained to me over the phone. Instead, their scientists are using cellular agriculture to grow mammary gland cells in a lab which actually lactate milk.

And by milk, we mean any kind of milk — not just cow milk. In fact, according to TurtleTree’s CEO Fengru Lin their first product will likely be human milk.

Yep, human. She said that they’ll focus on human breastmilk initially for a few reasons. One, it could sell at a much higher cost, so they could reach price parity more quickly than with, say, cow’s milk. For context, their cultured milk — any type — currently costs about $138 per liter to produce.

However, TurtleTree won’t be selling its cell-based milk directly to consumers. Instead, the company plans to license out its milk-producing technology, for which it has a provisional patent, to large dairy companies as a SaaS model.

Rye told me that since the milk is cell-based, there’s a huge amount of versatility to their product. Their scientists can play with the settings to create milk that’s lactose-free and has different cholesterol and fat levels. So, for example, they could make a healthier milk for those following strict diets, or an ultra-creamy options for gourmet chefs. 

The startup plans to have a media day in Q1 of next year to debut their first glass of milk, which will likely be human. It’ll be a while yet before they enter the market — two years, according to Lin. The startup has raised an undisclosed amount of funding and is in the midst of raising their seed round. 

TurtleTree’s decision to operate out of Singapore is a very conscious one. Not only were two of the four co-founders already based there, but the local government is very supportive of food tech initiatives. The country has a goal to produce 30 percent of its own food by 2030 (they currently import over 90 percent). As a result, the Singaporean government gives more support to startups to get new products to market more quickly. 

That could give TurtleTree an advantage against other dairy disruptors. As I mentioned at the beginning of the piece, TurtleTree isn’t the only company trying to make milk without the animal. Perfect Day or New Culture are both using microbes to create the protein building blocks of dairy — casein and whey — to create milk that’s genetically similar to the real thing. However, Rye said that TurtleTree has an advantage over these competitors because they can make milk “without having to break it down piece by piece.” Their technology is also species agnostic, meaning they can create milk of any animal without having to rebuild an entirely new process.

I understand why heading to market with cell-based human milk makes sense from a cost perspective, but I’m not sure how well it’ll be received — at least at first. People are pretty skeptical about eating lab-grown food to begin with. Developing a product that normally only comes from humans has a distinctly Soylent Green-y vibe that could be very off-putting to consumers. Especially as something to feed to their babies.

However, as cultured meat and other products hit the market and become more commonplace, maybe that perception will change.

Yumi Raises $8M for Weekly Baby Food Delivery Service

Today Yumi, the organic food delivery service for babies and kids, announced it has raised an $8 million strategic round from the founders and CEOs of Warby Parker, Sweetgreen, Uber, and more. This brings the L.A.-based startup’s total funding to $12.1 million.

Founded in 2017, Yumi delivers weekly subscription-based shipments of baby food tailored to meet each child’s specific growth stage and any special dietary needs. The company works with doctors, nutritionists and chefs to develop each of their 70 blended and solid baby foods. Additionally, Yumi sends parents educational info and tips tailored to each kid’s age and developmental stage, as well as previous food orders via the service. Customers can choose subscription plans for one, two or three meals a day, which shakes out to around $5 per meal. Meals are shipped nationwide every week and shipping is free.

Yumi will use its new capital to expand nationally and further develop its proprietary personalized meal planning software.

The average baby food found on supermarket shelves is unappetizing, shelf-stable mush, so it’s no surprise that Yumi is trying to shake up the space with fresh ingredients and D2C delivery. But they’re not alone. Little Spoon and Nurture Life also deliver personalized pre-made baby food. On the more DIY side, Raised Real and Thistle Baby deliver pre-prepped ingredients meant to be steamed and blended at home (though the latter is not currently accepting new customers).

I’m guessing that Yumi is hoping that its data-driven meal customization, as well as its supplementary educational content, is enough to help it stand (er, crawl) out from the crowd. Perhaps its new $8 million in funding will help them do so.

Foodmaven Harvests $15.3M Series B to Sell Imperfect Food to Restaurants

Today Denver, Colorado-based FoodMaven announced it had closed a $15.3 million Series B (via Forbes). The round was led by Tao Capital, who had previously invested in the startup’s Series A, with participation from the Fine Line Group. This puts FoodMaven’s total funding at $34.4 million.

Founded in 2015, FoodMaven sells cosmetically imperfect and oversupplied food to foodservice providers, like restaurants and hotels, at a steep discount. Up to 50 percent, in fact. Purchasers can go onto the FoodMaven marketplace to shop for over 500 products to have delivered directly via FoodMaven drivers.

FoodMaven is far from the only company trying to make a buck off of surplus or “ugly” food. Imperfect Foods and its competitors Misfits Market or Hungry Harvest deliver boxes of costmetically flawed produce directly to consumers. On the B2B side, Full Harvest sells imperfect produce to food and beverage companies (like juiceries).

Though it may sound virtuous to keep food out of landfills, there’s some contention over whether or not the imperfect food should actually be resold. Some, like crop scientist Sarah Taber, argue that it subverts food which would typically go to people in soup kitchens or lower-income areas.

According to its website, FoodMaven donates all its unsold food to food banks — though the Forbes article put that number at 20 percent. It also works with local producers, some of which don’t produce enough volume to merit donating to hunger relief organizations.

That controversy aside, FoodMaven’s business plan seems like an all-around win. Foodservice establishments get access to discounted produce and meats, while farmers and ranchers are able to make some money off of products that would otherwise be a total loss.

Up until now, FoodMaven has only been operating in Colorado. However, the Forbes article mentions it’ll soon begin serving the Dallas-Fort Worth area. With over $15 million in fresh funding, I bet we’ll see FoodMaven expand their marketplace to new regions.

Pepsi’s Greenhouse Accelerator Now Taking Applications for Its Second North American Cohort

Big food continues to seek big innovation by inviting younger, leaner startups to participate in food- and beverage-focused accelerator and incubator programs. This week, PepsiCo announced it will be holding a second North American cohort for its Greenhouse accelerator program, which works with small CPGs operating out of the U.S. and Canada.

According to the press announcement, Pepsi will choose 10 startups to participate in the six-month program. Selected companies will receive $20,000 in funding and work with PepsiCo personnel on product development, supply chain management, media relations, and sales and distribution, among other areas early-stage startups must address. At the end of the program, one company will be awarded an additional $100,000 in funding.

To be eligible for the program, companies must be based out of the U.S. or Canada, have a product or service currently available in the market, and have more than $1 million in annual revenue, according to the Greenhouse Accelerator website.

Pepsi says is also looking for what it calls “purpose-driven” brands — i.e., companies whose products or services address issues in the food system, such as plant-based protein, sustainable packaging, and finding more natural ingredients for food and beverage products. 

Greenhouse is one of a growing number of food-focused accelerator and incubator programs run by major CPGs, including those by Chobani, Barilla, Mars, and many others. Part of the motivation behind this trend is that programs such as these are simple ways for large food companies to access new products, service, and technologies without spending huge amounts of money on R&D — an area they typically only allocate about 1 to 2 percent of their budget to.

Pepsi launched Greenhouse in 2017 in Europe before expanding the program to North America in 2018. Past participants of the program include Hapi Drinks, who makes sugar-free kids’ beverages to fight childhood obesity; YoFit, a plant-based beverage company that makes high-protein “milk” out of chickpeas; and alt-seafood company Sophie’s Kitchen.

Applications for the Greenhouse Accelerator are open until January 6, 2020.

Mark Your Calendars to Apply to These Food-focused Startup Accelerators

Business may be winding down for the year, but it’s never too early to start planning for 2020. If that includes applying to a startup accelerator, there are a few programs to note this month either taking applications right now or in the very near future.

January normally brings a slew of new announcements and application deadlines, so be sure to check back next month for more details, dates, and programs geared towards food-focused startup growth.

FoodFutureCo
Remote/New York, NY

FutureFoodCo works with companies moving from early-product-market phase to early-majority stage (that is, having some mainstream appeal). Focus areas include CPGs, plant-based food (including seafood), agtech, and reducing food waste.

Four to six companies are chosen for each four-month-long cohort. Participants get mentorship opportunities as well as $10,000 and lifelong access to the FutureFoodCo network. Chosen startups don’t have to relocate to NYC but should expect to travel there at points during the program.

Applications are open until December 15, 2019.

TechStars Farm to Fork
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota

TechStars Farm to Fork accelerator works specifically with companies using technical and digital means to change parts of the food system, from agriculture to supply change to curbing food waste. It counts Renewal Mill, Spoonshot, and EIO Diagnostics among its alumni. 

Relocation is a requirement for this one. The program, which TechStars does in partnership with Cargill and Ecolab, is based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and participants are expected to be there for the three-month-long period. TechStars provides workspace, along with mentorship and networking opportunities, access to potential investors, and a $100,000 convertible note. 

Applications open on January 6, 2020.

Terra
Remote/San Francisco, CA

Terra is a joint effort by startup network RocketSpace and food- and agriculture financing company Rabobank. The program accepts companies up and down the food chain, whether you’re a CPG, agtech startup, or creating sustainable packaging.

At minimum, applicants should be in the seed to Series B stage, have a product, service, or technology already in the market, and have the ability to travel to San Francisco for the program kickoff and Demo Day. Participants spend roughly one month ideating on a pilot and four months executing that pilot, though actual time commitment is determined on a case by case basis with each startup.

Applications typically open in January. Stay tuned for specific dates.

Farmshelf Gets Angel Investment From Singapore’s she1K, Liberty Produce Launches UK Vertical Farming Project

Angel network she1K has syndicated an early-stage investment in Farmshelf, according to an article published today on AgFunder News. Singapore-based she1K, which is known for its global female executive leadership, did not disclose financial terms of the deal. Farmshelf is the third company to join its portfolio 

Whereas many companies in the vertical farming space right now have massive indoor facilities aiming to produce millions of heads of leafy greens, Farmshelf differentiates itself by staying focused on smaller spaces like supermarkets, offices, hotels, and restaurants. Its bookcase-sized farm grows leafy greens and herbs using a combination of custom LEDs, sensors, and software that deliver water, nutrients, and the optimal amount of light needed for each crop. The system, which can simply be plugged into a wall and connected to WiFi, is already at a number of restaurants, hotels, and other spaces, including NYC chain Tender Greens, Marriott Marquis Times Square, and the Condé Nast offices. 

The Farmshelf system is currently available to businesses in parts of Texas and California, and will be available to customers “in most major markets” in 2020.

Farmshelf isn’t the only indoor farming initiative kicking off December with big news. Across the Atlantic, agtech company Liberty Produce has finally launched its vertical farming project that looks to improve both crop yield and operational costs for vertical farming through improved, more automated tech.

According to a press release sent to The Spoon, Liberty Produce has partnered with several entities for the project. While most were not disclosed, a major one is Crop Health and Protection (CHAP), a network of scientists, farmers, researchers, academics, and businesses developing new ways to use technology to improve the farming system in the UK. Work on the Liberty Produce project is being done at CHAP’s Fine Phenotyping Lab at Rothamsted Research in the UK, with experts experimenting with plants’ responses to different light intensities and studying the best LED “recipes” for crops.

“There’s lots we don’t know about growing plants in this artificial environment and we’re not giving them optimal conditions,” Liberty Produce founder Zeina Chapman told The Spoon earlier this year. “With lighting, there isn’t an option to control it in a way that maximizes plant growth. So we might be putting plants under stress.”

Liberty also wants to use more automation to make the concept of vertical farming easier for the anyone, something Farmshelf also appears to be striving for with its plug-in-and-go system.

It’s an admirable goal to strive for, especially if it can get more locally grown produce into the hands of more cafeterias, universities, local businesses, and, eventually, individual homes.

The test — and something we’ll hear more about in 2020 — will be whether the vertical farming industry can find a way to do this cost effectively. There’s plenty of hype right now around the promises of vertical farming. As to whether it can actually become an everyday reality for the everyman, the jury is still out.

Purple Carrot Is Launching an Incubator Program for Plant-based Food Brands

Got an early-stage startup developing plant-based consumer packaged goods? Purple Carrot may be able to help. The plant-based meal kit company just announced a new incubator program called The Garden Incubator that aims to invest in plant-based CPG companies and help them scale up.

Each selected participant gets $250,000 in seed round funding provided by VC firm Unovis Partners and its New Crop Capital fund. Unovis specifically invests in companies developing plant-, fungi-, and cell-based protein replacement foods, and counts AlephFarms, Beyond Meat, and Good Catch among its portfolio companies. Purple Carrot is also a member of the firm’s portfolio.

In addition to the seed funding, Purple Carrot will work with companies on improving and growing strategy, branding, financial modeling, data analytics, operations, and fulfillment areas of their businesses. 

“The plant-based space is in the midst of a powerful transformation with a range of early-stage brands that are struggling for investment dollars, product-market fit, and distribution. With The Garden our goal is to accelerate the positive trajectory of qualifying brands, improve their focus and enable rapid and improved distribution in the U.S. and beyond,” said Purple Carrot founder and CEO, Andy Levitt said in the press release tied to the announcement.

Needless to say, the major criteria for joining The Garden Incubator is a focus on plant-based food products. According to the program’s website, the program looks for “early stage plant-based CPG companies with unique and scalable products.”

Unlike startup accelerators, which usually run for a set period of time, incubator programs typically have no set start and stop date, and take applications on an ongoing basis. As of right now, no deadline is affixed to The Garden Incubator’s program. Those interested in applying can simply fill out the application.

Purple Carrot was acquired by Tokyo-based Oisix, Japan’s largest meal kit and food delivery service, in May of 2019. For now, its focus on plant-based products remains somewhat unique in the world of accelerators and incubators, though given the popularity of plant-based foods, that will change soon.

SKS 2019: The Key to Sustainable Protein Might be Fermentation, not Plants

When you hear the term alternative proteins, your thoughts likely jump to plant-based foods, or maybe even cultured meat.

But there’s actually a third way to create high-protein meat alternatives without plants by leveraging a relatively old technology, and that is fermentation. At SKS 2019, Dr. Lisa Dyson of Air Protein, Perumal Gandhi of Perfect Day, and Morgan Keim of Motif FoodWorks discussed how their companies are using genetically engineered microbes to ferment sustainable, highly customizable proteins.

If you’re intrigued by all the buzz around the alternative protein space, it’s worth watching the whole video below. (You get to learn how Air Protein makes protein from air, c’mon.) Here are a few takeaways from the conversation:

Fermented protein is super sustainable
Plant-based protein is certainly more environmentally friendly than animal protein, but fermented protein has the potential to be even more sustainable. Dr. Dyson noted that their protein is made using only energy (which can come from solar or wind) and elements of the air. Bonus: unlike farming, it can scale vertically, is independent of weather conditions, and makes protein incredibly quickly.

It’s more efficient, too
One of the perks of fermenting protein is you can get really granular about which molecules you want to create, eliminating waste. “If you just want one part of, say, a dairy molecule, why create the whole thing?” asked Keim onstage. “Why not just make the one part you actually need?” Having that sort of control over the protein leads to more efficient R&D processes for all sorts of animal alternative products.

Fermentation isn’t *that* out of this world
Dr. Dyson noted that growing protein from fermentation “may sound like science fiction,’ but it’s actually quite close to our current standard methods of growing many staple foods — including yogurt and beer.

Gandhi echoed this sentiment. Perfect Day, which dubbed their proteins “flora-based” after the microflora used to create them, noted that fermenting protein isn’t anything new. “We’ve been using it for 40 years now,” Gandhi said. “We’re just applying [the technology] in a new way.”

Watch the full video below to learn more about what Keim called “the next generation of what non-animal foods will be.” It’ll make you rethink the protein on your plate.

SKS 2019: Growing Protein: The Emerging Food Tech Ingredient Market

GoSun Crowdfunds Reusable Cutlery Set The Size of a Credit Card

For those who give a fork about single-use plastic waste, there’s a new crowdfunding project with your name on it.

GoSun, maker of the eco-friendly battery-powered fridge and solar oven, just launched a Kickstarter campaign for its GoSun Flatware, a patent-pending set of reusable cutlery that’s so small it fits in your wallet. The stainless steel fork and spoon come in two pieces in a thin metal case roughly the size of a credit card. The pieces are dishwasher-safe and can be snapped together to make small (but functional) cutlery. The theory is you can keep the case in your wallet, so that whenever you go out to eat or pick up to-go food you can use it then and there and don’t need to take the single-use plastic utensils restaurants offer.

With the popularity of food delivery and our collective obsession with convenience, single-use cutlery has become a massive problem. According to National Geographic, more than 100 million plastic utensils are used every day in the U.S. alone. Since single-use cutlery varies in shape and material, they’re super difficult to recycle — which means that the vast majority of spoons, forks, and the like wind up clogging landfills or killing ocean turtles.

While there are plenty of other reusable cutlery options out there, GoSun’s convenience sets it apart. If you keep the set in your wallet, you can’t forget it when you go pick up your Chipotle burrito bowl. It’s self-contained, which means you don’t have to worry about cleaning your cutlery after use, lest you walk around with a dirty fork in your pocket until you find a sink

Clearly I’m not the only one intrigued by this credit card-sized solution to cutlery waste. The GoSun Flatware Kickstarter campaign has raised over $179,000, way more than its $2,500 initial goal, with nine days left in the campaign. Early backers can snag their own set for $20 before the price doubles as it heads to retail on the GoSun website.

The GoSun Flatware is set to deliver in February of 2020. As always, it’s good to be healthily skeptical towards crowdfunded hardware projects. However, this is GoSun’s seventh crowdfunded project, and several of its products are already shipping, so it seems like a relatively safe bet that backers will actually get the goods.

GoSun isn’t the only one thinking outside of plastic when it comes to single-use cutlery waste. Another notable company is Planeteer, which nabbed first prize at the SKS 2019 Future Food competition. The startup makes edible single-use spoons, so instead of ending up in the trash or recycling bins they truly leave no trace.

Single-use cutlery waste is an immense problem, so it’s refreshing to see companies developing creative solutions. I actually ended up backing GoSun Flatware myself, so hopefully that means at least a few plastic forks in the ocean.