The Week in AgriFoodTech: Chromologics raises $7.5m, Next Gen Foods dabbles in alt-dairy, Amazon shutters Go stores

This week in foodtech, natural food color company Chromologics raised seed funding and Singapore’s Next Gen Foods acquired an alt-dairy startup. Agtech funding was all about ecosystem restoration projects, while down in Australia, a cultivated meat company is planning its launch.

Foodtech funding

🇺🇸 Gut health company BelliWelli raises $15.4 million. The Invus Group led the Series A, which will help BelliWelli grow its gut-friendly snacks brand. (FoodBev Media)

🇩🇰 Natural food colors company Chromologics bags $7.5 million seed round to accelerate commercial development. Doehler Ventures and Thia Ventures joined existing investors in the round. (PR Newswire)

🇧🇪 🇳🇱 Sparkalis, the foodtech venture arm of the Puratos Group, invests in vegan honey producer Fooditive. The funding is set to help Fooditive with international expansion. (Fooditive)

🇺🇸 Plant-based meat maker Barvecue closes opening capital raise for its seed round. The funding will strengthen operations of Carolina Smokehouse facility and will boost its retail and food service offerings. (PR Newswire)

Agtech funding

🇬🇧 Crop and livestock insights platform Hectare bags $20 million in Series A. The company will use the funding to boost product development and expand into new international markets. (AFN)

🇫🇷 Ecosystem Restoration Standard raises €5 million ($5.3 million) to launch the first standard for ecosystem restoration projects. The standard will certify ecosystem restoration projects in the voluntary carbon markets. (Tech.eu)

🇺🇸 Ecosystem restoration startup RenewWest lands $3.2 million seed round. Aspiration and One Small Planet led the round, which will partly go towards investing in land stewards. (FinSMEs)

M&A, IPOs & partnerships

🇸🇬 🇬🇧 Plant-based meat producer Next Gen Foods acquires plant-based dairy startup Mwah! The acquisition comes after Next Gen’s $100m Series A and is aimed at Next Gen’s portfolio expansion. (London Daily)

🇮🇳 Kitchens@ buys cloud kitchen vertical from food delivery platform Swiggy. The move comes amidst Swiggy’s scaling down efforts and will increase Kitchens@’s reach in 52 locations. (VC Circle)

🇦🇹 🇨🇦 Precision agriculture solutions company Pessl Instruments acquires METOS Canada. Pessl had earlier acquired 15% of METOS with the view that Canada’s agtech market is one of the most matured globally. (METOS)

🇺🇸 Crop health startup Texas Crop Science (TCS) partners with plant genetics company GDM. The two will develop high-yielding soybeans that can grow in a range of conditions. (AFN)

Other news

🇺🇸 Agrology launches ‘Arbiter Carbon Monitoring System’ to monitor soil carbon flux for farmers. US fresh food producer Braga Fresh is an early adopter of the system. (BusinessWire)

🇰🇷 Tuna producer Dongwon F&B releases plant-based tuna under its vegan brand My Plant.  The vegan brand, will offer five different tuna options and two dumpling options. (Vegconomist)

🇺🇸 8 Amazon Go stores to close in Seattle, New York and San Fransisco. The e-commerce giant says its convenience stores are evolving and it’s learning which features and locations resonate with consumers. (Techcrunch)

🇰🇪 The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) investigating online delivery platforms operations. The probe is set to help review consumer protection and competition policies for online marketplaces. (Techcrunch)

🇺🇸 Chocolate manufacturer Hershey says releases plant-based peanut butter cups under its chocolate candy subsidiary, Reese. The vegan chocolate will hit stores this month, followed by another vegan option in April. (The Guardian)

🇦🇺 Delivery platform Zoom2u launches driver marketplace. It will allow users to post jobs for food delivery drivers. trucks, refrigerated vans and private chauffeurs. (Startup Daily)

🇮🇩 Ag marketplace TaniHub Group’s subsidiary faces court hearing over debt. The startup’s debt payment obligations have been suspended for 45 days. (Deal Street Asia)

🇺🇸 Impossible Foods adds leaner alt-meat option to its portfolio. The company says it’s “Impossible™ Beef Lite” is a high protein alternative beef with even less fat. (BusinessWire)

🇺🇸 Bayer unveils smart corn management system. The “Preceon^™ Smart Corn System” will hit the US market in 2024 as Bayer is currently running field trials in 30,000 acres. (BusinessWire)

🇺🇸 City of Dallas, Texas approves first-ever Comprehensive Urban Agriculture Plan. CEA advisory firm Agritecture led development on the plan. (Agritecture)

🇦🇺 Vow starts regulatory process to launch cultivated quail in Australia by 2024. Vow says it has submitted an application with Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). (Vegconomist)