Member News & Headlines Blog

Impossible Foods, which makes a meatless plant-based burger and is backed by celebrities like Serena Williams and Katy Perry, said on Monday it has raised $300 million in the latest round of funding ahead of a possible initial public offering.

The fundraising underscores the growing appeal in plant-based food that tries to taste like meat with fewer environmental or health risks. Shares of competitor Beyond Meat Inc, which debuted on Nasdaq on May 2, have more than tripled.

Read more from MarketScale here

Are you working on a truly innovative food or agriculture product or technology? Are you disrupting a large market with a focus on sustainability and / or social impact? Then FoodBytes! is calling your name!

The leading food and agriculture discovery platform and pitch competition is making its Chicago debut on September 18 and 19, and applications are now open. Startups focused on animal health, sustainable production, soil & water conservation, precision agriculture, robotics, food safety, food waste, food as medicine, sugar alternatives and novel healthy ingredients are especially encouraged to apply. However, global innovators working across the entire food value chain are always welcome. 

Learn more in the handy FAQ and apply here by Sunday, June 23.

Watch this short trailer, for a look inside FoodBytes - coming to Chicago September 19, 2019.

Click here to watch.

We’re kicking off Q2 with an overview of press from our recent FoodBytes! SF pitch competition, as well as a rundown of news across CPG, Food Tech, and Ag Tech. From in-depth profiles on startups like GEM and Hargol FoodTech, to seed round funding news from Augean Robotics, April’s roundup is full of fruitful news.

FoodBytes! San Francisco 2019

1. FoodBytes! SF 2019 mentors share tips on how to protect your IP, pick the right investor, and more (Food Navigator).
2. FoodBytes! SF sees winners in agtech app, upcycled beer and sustainably-sourced tea (Drinkpreneur).
3. BREAKING: Precision Grain Elevator Tech, Beer-Focused Food Waste Reduction, and an Innovative Beverage Startup Claim Top Prizes at FoodBytes! SF (AgFunder). 
4. Shaka Tea, Bushel, and Toast Ale Take Top Prizes at FoodBytes! San Francisco 2019 (Food Navigator).

CPG: Seaweed jerky startup Akua featured in The New York Times

1. Seaweed jerky company and FB! SF 2017 alum Akua is included in a NY Times article chronicling the myriad ways in which seaweed snacks are ‘filtering’ into the market (NY Times).
2. The Worthy Company continues to gain traction for their blendie bowl, a new on-the-go creation that combines fruits, veggies, legumes, and chia (Food Navigator).
3. GEM, the ‘anti-vitamin vitamin’ geared towards the modern millennial woman, is changing the way we think about the supplement industry. Learn more about their mission in this in-depth profile (Food Navigator). 
4. FB! NYC Alum Sweetie Pie Organics is selected to participate in FoodX’s 9th Cohort – one of 5 women-led startups in this cohort (AgFunder News).

Read the full article from FoodBytes here 

There’s an alarming dichotomy around food and waste in the US and statistics show the problem is escalating year-on-year.

In 2018, one in seven Americans – around 50 million people – used food banks to avoid going hungry. In the same 12-month period, almost 40 percent of food in the US was wasted, with 35 million tons of fresh produce and pre-packed foods going straight to landfill, 90 percent of which was thrown away while it was still perfectly safe to eat.

Food Tech innovators are working harder than ever to reduce food waste across the supply chain, targeting processes that are ripe for reinvention. From 2016 to 2019, the number of waste-related applications across Rabobank’s innovation platforms FoodBytes! and TERRA has tripled, from 8 to 22 percent of total applications. This year, we’ve been able to see which trends are gaining the most traction, from farm to fork.

Read the full article from FoodBytes here

FoodBytes! by Rabobank held its 15th edition in San Francisco yesterday, and 15 new innovators joined the alumni ranks, a community of 265 startups and counting Recognized for their positive impact on the food value chain, Bushel, Shaka Tea, and Toast Ale won awards for their efforts to increase agricultural efficiency, offer Hawaiian antioxidant beverages and fight food waste. 

Alternative Proteins

Three California-based startup giants have catapulted alternative protein into the public eye. From Memphis Meats’ lab-grown patties to the meat-like plant-based burgers from Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, Silicon Valley is investing heavily into this area of food tech. It comes as no surprise then, that approximately half of our alumni working in alternative protein have pitched in San Francisco. Investment in the space is further encouraged by promising consumer data, as alternative protein sales are growing 8% year over year. At FoodBytes! SF we saw the alternative protein trend continuing to evolve. Hargol FoodTech developed a commercial grasshopper farm to produce sustainable protein on a large scale, with a greatly reduced dependence on land. Developing less resource-dependent methods of providing protein to consumers, Planetarians is utilizing the material left over after oil is extracted from sunflower seeds. These defatted seeds are 35% protein, higher than the concentration in beef, which the company then grinds into a flour. Additionally, Bond Pets extends sustainable protein practices to pet food. Through a fermentation process similar to craft brewing, Bond takes animal cells, feeds them a nutrient-rich mixture that promotes growth, and allows the cells to multiply into proteins resembling meat.

Read more from FoodBytes here

Stay in the loop on the next trends and news in food and agriculture innovation by signing up for the newsletter and following on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn or via #foodbytes.

For the third year in a row, FONA International, family-owned creator and manufacturer of complete flavor solutions, was named a Best Workplace in Chicago by Fortune magazine and consulting firm Great Place to Work.

Fortune magazine and Great Place to Work evaluated 55 companies in Chicago in a wide variety of industries and sizes.  Out of 25 small and medium sized companies, FONA was ranked eighth for Best Workplaces in Chicago as well as being the only company in the manufacturing and production industry within this category.

“We are honored that Fortune named us a top ten workplace in Chicago,” said FONA Human Resources Director Tonya Hubbartt. “This recognition signifies FONA’s commitment to the FONA family.  We know that together we can do great things.”

Read the full article here

Introducing our member, The Kraft Heinz’s Springboard Incubator Program -- a platform dedicated to nurturing, scaling and accelerating the growth of emergent brands within the food and beverage space – is preparing to launch it’s 3rd cohort.

To be navigated to the application click here.

The Springboard Incubator Program was created to accelerate local food and beverage start-ups with emergent, first-to-market products and brands into thriving companies. The Incubator Program offers a wealth of resources inclusive of dedicated learning, mentorship from Kraft Heinz leadership, infrastructure access (including state of the art pilot plants and culinary kitchens at the Kraft Heinz Innovation Center in Glenview, Illinois), and funding. Kraft Heinz wants to learn from start-ups who are solving consumer pain points in a world of fragmented needs.

The Springboard team is currently seeking applicants that fall within one of the following four consumer trend pillars: natural and organic; specialty and craft; health and performance; and experiential brands, are already in market or have at least a ready-to-order product and a hunger for growth. 

Before applications for this new cohort close on Friday, June 14^th, come meet White Space Platforms Head, Elizabeth Obbard, and the new Springboard Incubator Lead, Kelsey Courser at CFBN’s first Founders Series Event on Wednesday, May 15^th. 

Following that event, Springboard will also be hosting “Office Hours” on Wednesday, May 29^th.  Elizabeth, Kelsey - along with several members of the Springboard team and graduates of the 2^nd Incubator class – will be on hand to share their learnings, answer questions on the program, and assist with the application process.

So Save These Dates for opportunities to learn about this incubator making a splash in the Chicagoland food scene (more information and registration is coming soon, please send us an email if you’d like to be added to the invite list)!  In the meantime, learn more about The Springboard Incubator Program here from the first incubator class!

FoodBoss, a Chicago-based food delivery search engine, has secured more than $2 million in funding led by former McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson’s venture-capital firm, Cleveland Avenue.

FoodBoss aggregates food delivery services, including Uber Eats and Postmates, to help users find the cheapest and fastest delivery options. The service is available online and in an app.

The company will use this new round of funding to focus on several major metropolitan markets and expand its marketing, according to FoodBoss founder and CEO Michael DiBenedetto. FoodBoss currently serves about 50 markets.

Read the full article here 

At the start of their loose leaf tea business in 2010, Tiesta Tea founders Dan Klein and Patrick Tannous said they knocked on an estimated 500 doors within 20 days to sell their product.

The pair, friends since preschool, aimed for their business to capture their experience drinking loose leaf tea in a Czech tea house during a European vacation while college students. Like many Americans, they were not familiar with tea outside of bottles (even bagged tea significantly lags behind ready-to-drink tea).

Read the full article here