This week saw two new investments in startups making alternative fat products: Australia’s Nourish Ingredients and UK-based Hoxton Farms. Kroger announced plans to buy fellow grocery giant Albertsons and precision spraying startup Smart Asset raised seed funding.
Foodtech funding
🇦🇺 Nourish Ingredients snags $28.6 million Series A for animal-free alternative fat. Horizons Ventures led the round with support from Main Sequence Ventures and Hostplus. (Startup Daily)
🇪🇬 B2B e-commerce platform MaxAB closes $40 million pre-series B round. MaxAB will expand its platform connecting suppliers and small grocery retailers across the MENAP region. (PYMNTS)
🇬🇧 Hoxton Farms raises $22 million to build a pilot facility for cultivated alternative fat. Collaborative Fund and Fine Structure Ventures co-led the Series A round, which also included participation from AgFunder, Founders Fund & others. (Reuters) [Disclosure: AFN’s parent company is AgFunder.]
🇺🇸 Bio-manufacturing finance and development platform Synonym secures $6.3 million pre-seed round. Andreessen Horowitz, Giant Ventures, Blue Horizon and others participated. (Green Queen)
🇮🇩 B2B catering service Waku bags $1 million seed round. Nasa Ventures led the round and was joined by 11th Space Indonesia. (Tech in Asia)
🇸🇰 Peelo raises undisclosed seed round from Rockstart and CB Investment Management. Peelo makes a natural, reusable, washable, and compostable alternative to plastic food wrap. (Rockstart)
🇺🇸 Wilkinson Baking Company raises $3 million for its commercial bread-baking robot. Ken Peterson of Columbia Ventures Corporation and Rich Product Ventures led the seed round. (Food Business News)
Agtech funding
🇺🇸 Nitricity closes $20 million Series A for its climate-friendly nitrogen production technology. Khosla Ventures and Fine Structure Ventures led the round. (AFN)
🇺🇸 Lithos Carbon captures $6.3 million in seed funding. Union Square Ventures and Greylock Partners co-led the round for Lithos to help farmers sequester more carbon on their farms. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Precision sprayer for orchards and vines Smart Apply lands $3 million. Serra Ventures led the seed round, which will go towards new hires and expanding manufacturing capacity. (The Silicon Valley Journals)
M&A, IPOs & partnerships
🇺🇸 Kroger acquiring Albertsons for $26.4 billion. With the deal, Kroger will solidify its position as the second-largest food retailer in the US behind Walmart. (Food Navigator)
🇧🇷 🇨🇱 🇵🇪 Inputs retailer Lavoro to acquire NS Agro as part of LatAm expansion plan. NS Agro is a holding company of agricultural inputs retailers in Chile and Peru. (BusinessWire)
🇨🇭 🇺🇸 Nestlé buys Seattle’s Best Coffee from Starbucks for undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year. (Food Dive)
Other news
🇺🇸 Beyond Meat cuts 19% of its workforce amid sales and stock slump. Several top executives are leaving in addition to about 200 employees. (CNBC)
🇬🇧 🇳🇱 Deliveroo will exist the Netherlands on Nov. 30. The food delivery service said that reaching a top market position there would require “unreasonable investment with an uncertain long return.” (Reuters)
🇺🇸 The United Soybean Board awards $1.1 million to Purdue University in partnership with University of Arkansas and the University of Missouri. The project seeks to build infrastructure for soy-based value-add products. (Vegconomist)
🇺🇸 Impossible Foods is working on a plant-based filet mignon. Founder and ex-CEO Pat Brown says the company has already completed successful prototypes. (Vegconomist)
🇺🇸 GM Ventures makes investment in biotech startup MycoWorks. The companies will use MycoWorks’ proprietary Fine Mycelium materials for “potential use in a range of applications within automotive design.” (PR Newswire) [Disclosure: AFN’s parent company, AgFunder, is an investor in MycoWorks.]
