Investments & Finance

DMK GROUP

© DMK GROUP

Europe’s Largest Dairy Cooperative Merger Could Open New Opportunities for Plant-Based Innovation

The DMK Group and Arla Foods have announced their intention to merge, creating Europe’s largest dairy-focused cooperative. The merger, which is subject to approval from both cooperatives’ representative assembly and regulatory authorities, will bring together over 12,000 farmers and achieve pro forma sales of €19 billion. While the merger primarily targets the dairy sector, it also has significant implications for the growing plant-based dairy market. Both companies have increasingly expanded into the plant-based space, and the merger may further accelerate this trend. Expansion of plant-based offerings Arla Foods, traditionally known for its dairy products, has been expanding its plant-based product range in response to the growing demand for vegan alternatives. One of its recent innovations includes the launch of the Arla® Pro soft serve mix, …

more

Organisations and brands:

Lantmännen

© Lantmännen

EIB Backs Lantmännen’s Pea Protein Facility in Sweden as Part of EU’s Sustainable Protein Strategy

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has committed a loan of EUR 50 million to Lantmännen, a leading Swedish agricultural cooperative, to support the construction of a pea protein processing plant in Lidköping, Sweden. This investment is designed to bolster food security and reduce the European Union’s reliance on imported proteins, aligning with the EU’s broader goals of enhancing self-sufficiency in plant-based protein production and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. The new facility, expected to be completed by mid-2027, will have an annual processing capacity of more than 40,000 tons of peas, primarily sourced from Lantmännen’s farmer members. The plant will produce pea protein isolate, a key ingredient for plant-based foods such as protein bars, drinks, dairy alternatives, and meat substitutes. The investment is also anticipated to …

more

Organisations and brands:

Investment Climate Podcast

© Investment Climate Podcast

Investment Climate Podcast: Govin Induchoodan of Glenntex, How to Get Funded in 2025

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist. Episode 24: Glenntex In this episode, we sit down with Govin Induchoodan, co-founder of Glenntex and COO, a climate tech startup spun out of academic research at Chalmers University. Govin shares his journey from PhD researcher to entrepreneur, detailing how he built a deep-tech packaging company with sustainability …

more

Organisations and brands:

fruit and veggie basket

Image supplied.

In the Wake of MAHA, Is 2025 the Year to Finance Food Fast?

Elysabeth Alfano is the CEO of VegTech™ Invest, an Advisor to a food innovation ETF. She is a consultant to multi-national companies focused on sustainability and an Advisor to C-Suite interested in understanding the growth and whitespaces in the food industry. She is also the host of the podcast, The Plantbased Business Hour on iTunes and vegconomist. In a recent Upside & Impact: Investing for Change podcast episode, Elysabeth Alfano explored the urgency of food system transformation with Ertharin Cousin, CEO of Food Systems for the Future and former Executive Director of the World Food Programme. The discussion highlighted the need for smart capital, policy alignment, and a patient investment approach in the wake of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative. In the Wake of MAHA, Is 2025 …

more

Steakholder Foods

© Steakholder Foods

Steakholder Foods Moves Toward US Expansion, Reports Solid Commercial Progress in 2024

Steakholder Foods Ltd. (Nasdaq: STKH) has published its financial results for the year ending December 31, 2024, alongside updates on key partnerships and commercial progress. The company, which specializes in 3D-printed and cultivated meat and seafood products, has made notable strides in its path to commercialization. Commercial growth and partnerships Steakholder Foods achieved its first commercial revenues in 2024, a significant milestone as it began executing its business model. The company signed agreements with Bondor Foods Ltd., for the sale of its SH™ – Fish premix blends, which will be used in Bondor’s new plant-based fish products. Another important partnership was with Wyler Farm, which placed an order for SH™ – Beef premix blends to create plant-based meatballs, burgers, and minced beef. These deals represent …

more

My Bacon

© MyForest Foods

MyForest Foods Secures $11M to Scale Mycelium-Based Bacon as Sales Outpace Competitors

New York-based biotechnology firm Ecovative has raised $11 million in funding to expand its mycelium-based product portfolio, with a primary focus on its spinout company MyForest Foods and its flagship product, MyBacon. The funding round includes $1.68 million in grants and loans from the Advance Albany County Alliance. MyBacon, a bacon alternative made from mycelium—the root structure of mushrooms—has recorded the highest sales velocity among plant-based breakfast items in North America’s natural retail channel, with performance reportedly three times above the category average. The product is now distributed in more than 1,200 retail locations across 45 states, including Whole Foods, Erewhon, Earth Fare, and Northwest Grocers. It is also available via direct-to-consumer platforms such as Hungryroot, Purple Carrot, and Good Eggs. The product contains five …

more

Organisations and brands:

Australian Plant Proteins facility

Image supplied.

Australian Plant Proteins Acquired by My Co. After Entering Voluntary Administration in 2024

Australian Plant Proteins (APP), a producer of high-quality protein isolates, has been acquired by My Co., the investment vehicle of the Paule Family Office. APP is known for its patented fractionation technology, which enables the production of protein isolates from faba beans, yellow peas, lentils, mung beans, and other pulses through a unique extraction process. The clean, non-solvent method produces a highly functional protein isolate containing over 85% protein. APP entered voluntary administration in July of last year after experiencing financial difficulties. My Co. says the acquisition is a strategic move that will support local farmers, protect jobs, and reinforce Australia’s status in the global plant-based food market. “This acquisition opens doors to numerous possibilities for APP,” said Vicky Pappas, CEO of My Co. “With …

more

Organisations and brands:

Vegan Egg White

© The Every Co.

UK Government Invests £1.4M to Expand Food Standards Agency’s Precision Fermentation Expertise

The UK government has announced it is investing £1.4 million in a new innovation hub that aims to expand the expertise of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in new technologies such as precision fermentation. Precision fermentation involves the use of microorganisms such as yeast to make ingredients like whey protein without the use of animals. The process has been used for decades to produce ingredients such as rennet for cheesemaking, and in recent years there has been increasing interest in its potential as a method of producing alternative proteins. No precision fermentation dairy products are currently on the market in the UK, but several applications are reportedly being evaluated by the FSA as part of the regulatory process. The new innovation hub, funded by the …

more

Organisations and brands:

farm

Image supplied.

What Do We Really Know About American Farmers? A Financial Perspective on Agriculture’s Future

Elysabeth Alfano is the CEO of VegTech™ Invest, an Advisor to a food innovation ETF. She is a consultant to multi-national companies focused on sustainability and an Advisor to C-Suite interested in understanding the growth and whitespaces in the food industry. She is also the host of the podcasts The Plantbased Business Hour and Upside & Impact: Investing for Change. In a recent episode of the Upside & Impact: Investing for Change podcast, former Deputy Under Secretary for the USDA, Sanah Baig, provided an in-depth look at the current state of American farming and the economic realities shaping its future. As impact investors, we at VegTech Invest see both challenges and opportunities in this evolving agricultural landscape, particularly as it relates to sustainability, food security, and the role of innovation …

more

Melhoramentos compostable packaging

© Melhoramentos

Melhoramentos Expands Stake in W-Cycle’s Compostable Packaging That Survives -40°C to 220°C

Brazilian forestry and publishing company Melhoramentos has increased its investment in Israeli clean-tech firm W-Cycle, extending a partnership focused on the production of compostable, plastic-free food containers. The move follows an initial strategic investment of $3.4 million in November 2024, which granted Melhoramentos exclusive distribution rights for W-Cycle’s molded fiber packaging products across Latin America. The ongoing collaboration involves the integration of cellulose fibers from Melhoramentos’ 80 million square meters of sustainably managed forests into W-Cycle’s food-grade packaging formulations. This shift repurposes a portion of Melhoramentos’ pulp output—traditionally used in paper and cardboard—toward the production of molded fiber containers designed for food contact. W-Cycle has developed SupraPulp™, a proprietary cellulose-based material that enables the manufacturing of compostable trays and containers. These products are engineered to …

more

Organisations and brands:

Aleph Farms steak

© Aleph Farms

Aleph Farms Accelerates Global Growth with $29M to Expand Production and Improve Efficiency

Israeli cultivated meat producer Aleph Farms has raised $29 million in a funding round to expand production capacity and implement a revised biomanufacturing process. The round includes $22 million through a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) and an additional $7 million from existing investors. The company expects to raise a further $10–15 million in the coming months as part of the same round. The capital will support the expansion of Aleph’s pilot facility in Rehovot, Israel, and the development of intermediate-scale production sites in Europe and Asia. These new facilities are intended to operate under the company’s updated ‘1.2’ production platform, which combines cell proliferation and differentiation in a single bioreactor. The updated method removes the need for scaffolding and a secondary tissue bioreactor, …

more

Organisations and brands:

Differential Bio

© Differential Bio

Munich Startup Differential Bio Raises €2 Million to Transform Biomanufacturing With AI

Munich-based AI biotech startup Differential Bio has emerged from stealth to redefine biomanufacturing with its Virtual Scale-up Platform. The platform integrates advanced microbiology, lab automation, and artificial intelligence to eliminate bottlenecks in biomanufacturing. It aims to overcome one of the most significant hurdles in the industry — the slowness and expense of scaling bioprocesses from lab to industrial levels. Differential Bio has already raised €2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Ananda Impact Ventures and ReGen Ventures. Other participants included Carbon13, Climate Capital, Better Ventures, CDTM Ventures, and a prominent group of angel investors. The Virtual Scale-up Platform brings together three core innovations — advanced microbiology to miniaturize fermentation processes, robotics to automate lab workflows and generate high-quality data, and AI algorithms to …

more

Organisations and brands:

The Brevel team

The Brevel team. © Aviram Waldman

Brevel Expands Seed Round to $25M to Accelerate Commercialization of Microalgae Proteins

Climate food tech company Brevel has secured over $5 million in a seed extension up-round, taking the total amount of seed funding it has raised to $25 million. The capital will be used to develop microalgae proteins for food and beverage applications and accelerate the commercialization of the company’s products. The extension is based on exercises of warrants investors were granted in the initial closing of the seed round in June 2023. Notable investors who decided to increase their share in the company include NevaTeam Partners, Siddhi Capital, the European Union’s EIC Fund, Good Protein Fund, The Food Tech Lab, and PVS Investments. Additionally, several new investors were granted access to the extension under the same terms. With the help of the funding, Brevel will …

more

Organisations and brands:

canada soybeans

Created by vegconomist

Canada Launches Support Program for Domestic Reformulation Amid US Trade Uncertainty

Protein Industries Canada has introduced a $3 million program intended to support Canadian ingredient manufacturers and food processors as they adapt to shifting trade dynamics with the United States. The new initiative is designed to facilitate the development or reformulation of products using Canadian-grown ingredients for the domestic market. The Strengthening the Canadian Supply Chain Program will reimburse up to 75% of eligible project costs, with a funding cap of $200,000 per project. To qualify, projects must involve at least one of the following components: reformulating products with domestically produced ingredients, scaling up and commercializing Canadian food products for Canadian consumers, or scaling up domestically produced ingredients for use by Canadian manufacturers. Emphasis on Canadian crops Projects must use Canadian feedstocks or ingredients derived from …

more

Organisations and brands:

Grassa

© Grassa

Grassa Raises €3.6M to Further Develop Grass Protein Production Technology

Grassa, a Dutch company working to extract protein from grass, has raised €3.6 million to further develop its technology. Investors in the round included Perspectieffonds Gelderland (PFG) — a Gelderland province fund managed by Oost NL — along with existing shareholders Fransen Gerrits and Brightlands Venture Partners. The funding will be used to scale up Grassa’s technology, demonstrate its benefits to dairy farmers, and develop edible grass protein for humans. Grassa’s technology creates “unlocked grass”, which contains less unstable protein than normal grass, along with grass juice, from which protein can be extracted. The unlocked grass reduces methane and nitrogen emissions from cows when used as feed, while the grass protein provides a sustainable alternative to soy protein. Grassa has discovered that 50% of the …

more

Organisations and brands:

Investment Climate Podcast

© Investment Climate Podcast

Investment Climate Podcast: Ali Wing of Oobli, How to Get Funded in 2025

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2025 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners; Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist. Episode 22: Oobli In this episode, I sat down with Ali Wing, CEO of Oobli, to explore how sweet proteins are revolutionizing the way we think about sugar reduction in food. Ali takes us through Oobli’s Series B1 fundraising journey, the importance of regulatory approvals, and how they …

more

Organisations and brands:

The Vegetarian Butcher

© The Vegetarian Butcher

Unilever Completes Sale of The Vegetarian Butcher to Vivera

At the end of last year, Unilever announced plans to sell off its plant-based meat brand, The Vegetarian Butcher, as part of its efforts to slim down its portfolio and focus on its core “power brands.” Now, less than 4 months later, Unilever has found a buyer—Dutch plant-based food brand Vivera. The Vegetarian Butcher, which was acquired by Unilever in 2018, has seen substantial growth under the multinational’s ownership. Since the acquisition, the brand expanded into over 55 markets, offering both retail and foodservice products. However, Unilever noted that the brand’s unique supply chain and research and development requirements made it difficult to integrate within the broader Unilever Foods portfolio. This divergence in operational needs was a key factor in the decision to sell. The …

more

Organisations and brands:

Hooked Foods

© Hooked Foods

Sweden’s Hooked Foods Raises SEK 8.4M for New Vegan Products and AI Integration

Swedish foodtech company Hooked Foods has secured SEK 8.4 million in a combination of equity financing, loans, and grants to support its expansion and new product launches. The capital will primarily be allocated towards the introduction of new plant-based items, slated to hit the market this month. The company has been focused on refining its product range, including the development of new recipes and improvements in production efficiency. These efforts have resulted in reduced operational costs and better profit margins. New offerings, such as Vegobitar Original, Vegobitar Kebab, Vegobitar Seafood Flavors, and Vegofilé Original, will be launching soon. These products are designed to deliver over 20g of protein per 100g, with simple ingredient lists that provide high nutritional value. In the past year, Hooked Foods …

more

Organisations and brands:

Elaniti

© Elaniti

Elaniti Raises Funding to Accelerate Soil Microbiome Intelligence, Enabling the Transition to Regenerative Farming

British agritech startup Elaniti has closed a funding round that aims to accelerate the development of its soon-to-launch flagship product, a digital tool enabling agribusinesses to decode the microbial composition of soil. Using AI and DNA sequencing, the tool enables farmers to optimise productivity in both the short term and long term while reducing reliance on synthetic inputs. This could be crucial in transitioning to sustainable, regenerative agriculture and a more plant-based food system. Participants in the funding round included biotope by VIB, Planetary Impact Ventures, and Paulig Group’s CVC arm, PINC. The round adds to non-dilutive funding received by the company from Innovate UK in January, bringing the total amount raised to €1.5 million. Elaniti will use the funding to strengthen its team and …

more

Organisations and brands:

TissenBio Farms

© TissenBio Farms

South Korea Invests $10M in New Cultivated Meat Research Center

South Korea is investing US$10 million (₩14.5 billion) in the construction of a new cultivated meat research center in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province. This includes around $3.6 million in state funding, with the remainder provided by the county and province. The capital will be deployed over a three-year period extending from 2025 until the expected completion of the facility in 2027. Claimed to be the first of its kind in the country, the three-floor center will span 2,663 square meters, providing resources to help companies with research, regulatory approval, and commercialization. This will include infrastructure for mass cultivation, prototype production, and full-cycle industrialization. There are plans for the facility to build a system capable of producing up to 100 kilograms of cultivated meat per …

more

load more