Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

GROW

Food Tech News: GROW Impact Accelerator 2021 Cohort, US Plastic Pact Sets 2025 Goals

Welcome to the weekend, and the weekly Food Tech News round-up. This week, we gathered news regarding GROW’s 2021 food and ag-tech cohort, the US Plastic Pact’s goals, Sonic’s international expansion, and Kind Healthy Snack’s free dietician program.

GROW Impact Accelerator accepting applications for 2021 Impact Accelerator Program

GROW is a Singapore-based agriculture and food tech accelerator backed by AgFunder, and it recently announced that it has opened its application for the 2021 cohort. Selected applicats will receive mentorship, funding of $200,000, and access to the accelerator’s network. The program is open to food tech and agriculture tech start-ups and will be held virtually for now. Applications close on February 28th.

Photo by tanvi sharma on Unsplash

US Plastic Pact sets goals for 2025

The US Plastic Pact, led by The Recycling Partnership (TRP) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), is comprised of 84 public and private sector stakeholders in the plastics value chain. The pact recently set forth its upcoming goals for the next few years, which includes ensuring all plastic packaging is 100% compostable or recyclable, taking action to compost or recycle 50% of all plastic packaging, and guaranteeing that at least 30% of plastic packing is comprised of recycled content or bio-based content. The US Plastic Pact aims to achieve these goals by 2025.

Screengrab via Sonic

Sonic unveils plans to expand internationally with new model

Sonic’s president shared that the fast-casual restaurant chain currently has plans to expand internationally with an updated restaurant design.Sonic didn’t say which countries will be on the list, but the expansion will roll out in the next few years. Sonic debuted an updated restaurant model last summer, which included wider car docks, different drive-thru formats, and an “order ahead” option through its app.

Image via Kind Healthy Snack

Kind Healthy Snacks launches Kind RD Connect to link consumers with local dieticians

Kind Healthy Snacks, known for its bars and granola, recently announced the launch of its new platform called Kind RD Connect. The platform aims to assist customers who are looking to improve their diet and will match them with local registered dieticians. Three thousand, 15-minute virtual call sessions where customers can ask nutrition-related questions will be offered completely free of charge. Kind RD Connect is currently available and will be running until February 18th.

GROW Accelerator Unveils the 12 Companies Picked for Its Singapore Food Bowl Program

Singapore Food Bowl, a food-focused startup program backed by AgFunder’s GROW accelerator, today announced the 12 startups chosen for its first-ever cohort. While those companies vary in terms of what they do and offer, all of them are working towards the same underlying goal: to build a more sustainable food system that’s more decentralized and able to stand up to unexpected, unprecedented crises like COVID-19. 

That’s an especially urgent goal in Singapore, a country that relies on imports for about 90 percent of its food. To address this, the Singapore government recently created the 30 by 30 initiative, where the city-state aims to have 30 percent of its food grown locally by 2030. Reaching that goal will require a substantial amount of food tech and alternative farming methods, since Singapore has very little in the way of arable land. 

Hence, programs like Singapore Food Bowl which is tied to the 30 by 30 initiative and also supported by Enterprise Singapore and Dole Packaged Foods. 

John Friedman, director at GROW and AgFunder Asia, said in today’s announcement that the program is “providing a platform not only to accelerate innovation in the local agrifood tech ecosystem, but also to raise awareness across broader society of the need for transformation and greater sustainability throughout our food system.”

AgFunder unveiled the 12 chosen startups this morning: 

  • Augmentus: A code-free robotics automation platform built for use in settings like urban farming
  • CocoPallet: Makes shipping pallets from byproducts of coconut farming for use in the global logistics industry
  • Crust Group: Uses leftover bread from hotels, restaurants, and cafes to create craft beers and other beverages
  • DiMuto: Uses internet-of-things and blockchain to digitize the supply chain for better visibility for both suppliers and customers
  • Fortuna Cools: Uses coconut husks to make a cheaper and biodegradable alternative to traditional iceboxes
  • Invertigro: A modular indoor farming system with specialized crop recipes companies can integrate into their existing business models
  • ListenField: An IoT-enabled app that gives farmers actionable data on crop and climate analysis
  • Lleaf: Developing a polymer film that can be applied to greenhouse panels to increase crop yields
  • Mi Terro: Turns spoiled milk into an odorless, temperature-regulating fabric that can be used for clothes, bedding, and food packaging.
  • Organic Technology Holdings: Repurposes organic waste for pet foods, aquafeed, flavor additives, and health supplements
  • SingCell: Provides biotech development and manufacturing services to help cultured meat companies get to market faster.
  • Smoocht: A “r’ice cream” maker that uses organic brown rice milk to make plant-based desserts

Given the state of the pandemic, the 12-week program is completely virtual. It’s in session right now and will run through mid-September.

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.