Food Waste

Investment Climate Podcast Beans

© Investment Climate Podcast
Investments & Finance

Investment Climate Podcast: Ines Sánchez-Castillo Velge of Beans, 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 19: Beans In this episode, I speak with Ines, founder of Beans, a startup tackling food waste by buying unsold inventory from FMCG giants like Nestlé and Unilever and reselling it at deep discounts—helping consumers save up to 50% on groceries while turning waste into profit. We …

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Natural colors

© Lantana Bio
Startups, Accelerators & Incubators

Biotope Unveils Fifth Cohort Focused on Solutions for Leather, Food Waste, and Natural Colors

Biotope, a Belgian biotech incubator and early-stage investor, has revealed the three startups selected to be part of its fifth and latest cohort: Corium Biotech, I-Challenge, and Lantana Bio. Launched by the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), Biotope aims to bring agrifood startups to seed-stage readiness within 18 months, de-risking biotechnology investments to drive innovation in the biotech space. Annick Verween, Head of Biotope, shared: “Biotope focuses on potentially impactful solutions which can benefit from a dedicated biotech ecosystem to support them. Our new, fifth cohort is a perfect reflection of this mission – all of the startups represented are passionate entrepreneurs with groundbreaking biotech solutions that have the power to create lasting change for people and the planet.” Leather, food shelf life, and natural …

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CONSUMER by NONGZAO transforms ordinary plastic objects into eco-friendly items by using them as molds for mycelium grown on agricultural waste, such as coffee grounds and rice husks.

© NONGZAO
Fungi, Mushrooms & Mycelium

This Design Studio Shapes Mycelium and Coffee Grounds into Biodegradable Everyday Objects

Chinese design studio NONGZAO has launched a new project called CONSUMER that explores using mycelium and agricultural waste to transform everyday plastic objects into aesthetically unique biodegradable items. Designers Gang Xu, Yatu Tan, Lili Liang, and Zixin He started by using popular and widely available plastic stools, chairs, and lighting fixtures as molds for the mycelium to grow on coffee grounds and rice husks. Coffee grounds are rich in nutrients such as cellulose and lignin, which favor mycelium growth while allowing food waste to be turned into functional objects. Additionally, the process recycles waste and absorbs carbon, reducing atmospheric CO2 levels. Breaking from industrial waste Every mold infused with the biological material transforms into a unique and organic form, shaped by the growth patterns of …

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Apparo's sunflower protein

© Apparo
Ingredients

Apparo and Döhler Partner to Break Ground with Upcycled Ingredients for the F&B Market

Minnesota-based plant-based ingredients company Apparo Inc. has entered a joint development agreement with global provider of natural ingredients and solutions Döhler to formulate upcycled ingredients for the F&B market. Döhler, recognizing the growing consumer interest in healthy and sustainable products, is exploring the use of Apparo’s “Total Crop Utilization” system, to add sustainable ingredients that contribute to the circular economy to its toolbox of solutions for plant-based products. Leveraging further innovations in protein, Döhler and US biotech Superbrewed Food recently partnered to scale the production of a postbiotic protein ingredient. They plan to launch it in the US this year in healthy, high-quality products. Apparo CEO Ian Mackay expressed his excitement about partnering with Döhler, indicating that he anticipates the partnership will lead to the creation of …

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Saveggy raises funds to replace plastic around fruits and vegetables with its plant-based formula.

© Saveggy
Packaging

Saveggy Raises €1.76M for Edible Fruit & Veg Coating as Solution to Plastic Packaging

Swedish startup Saveggy has raised €1.76 million (SEK 20M) for its plant-based alternative to plastic packaging designed to preserve the shelf life of vegetables and fruits and prevent food waste.  The startup’s plant-based coating is said to be the only alternative available offering the same shelf life extension as plastic packaging. Additionally, it is the only edible coating for fruits and vegetables with edible skin, such as cucumbers, apples, and eggplants, approved according to EU regulations. Starting with a solution for cucumbers, Saveggy will use the newly raised funds to produce this innovative material at an industrial scale and successfully bring it to market The round was led by impact investor Unconventional Ventures. LRF Ventures, Almi Invest GreenTech, and industry angels also backed the startup’s plastic-free …

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Future Foods installs fermentations units near farms to transform food waste into high-protein food

© Future Foods
Agriculture / Agribusiness

Future Foods Reveals Protein Fermentation Units to Combat Food Waste

Future Foods, which has been working on a trade secret micro fermentation unit, has officially launched its website and services, revealing an innovative strategy to reduce food waste and develop high-quality protein food and animal feed. Dr. Darren Burke, a science-based entrepreneur and the visionary behind Future Foods, claims he has developed fermentation protocols that transform “cosmetically rejected” vegetables into valuable food products to empower the next generation of sustainable farmers. Calling its solution “from farm to ferment,” Future Foods provides farmers with micro fermentation units, installed in upcycled shipping containers, fully equipped with everything needed to turn discarded vegetables into alternative protein. The company describes it as a simple, convenient, and sustainable solution to address food waste, greenhouse gas emissions, and the economic struggles …

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Food pantry/ food bank/ charity/ donations/ volunteer

©Photo by Zoran Zeremski - stock.adobe.com
Society

How LA’s First Vegan Food Bank is Fighting the City’s Hunger and Food Waste

As rising inflation continues to push the cost of food, especially meat, to record highs, at least one Los Angeles organization is taking action to make fresh, healthy plant-based food accessible to those in need.   Launched in May 2022, the Vegans of LA Food Bank is the city’s first all-vegan food bank and provides fresh fruits, vegetables, grains and more to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. Created in partnership with the Hope on Union Food Bank, Vegans of LA has already fed thousands of people and received broad support from the local community and leading national businesses, reports VegWorld Magazine.  While it primarily focuses on serving whole plant-based foods, the food bank also supplies plant-based meaty and dairy products provided by Good Catch, Hodo …

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©Imperfect Foods
Food & Beverage

Hooray Foods’ Vegan Bacon Will Be Available at Imperfect Foods From September

From 2nd of September, Hooray Foods, the mission-driven, plant-based meat company known for its plant-based bacon – will be available via Imperfect Foods –  the leading online grocer at the forefront of building a less wasteful food system. Based in San Francisco, Hooray Foods launched its bacon to the US market on World Vegan Day last November, and has closed a $2 million seed financing round this June to scale production capacity to meet immediate demand from leading national retail and grocery chains. Imperfect Foods strives to eliminate food waste by working directly with farmers and producers to rescue and redistribute goods that might otherwise be thrown away across multiple grocery categories. Imperfect Foods delivers these goods directly to doorsteps through a customizable subscription service …

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Apeel

©Apeel Sciences
Investments & Finance

$2B Valued Apeel Raises a Fresh $250M to Accelerate Innovation and Reduce Food Chain Waste 

Food freshness innovation company Apeel Sciences has announced a Series E funding raise of $250 million. Backed by Oprah and Katy Perry amongst others, Apeel’s biotechnology adds an extra plant-derived peel to the outside of produce allowing it to double or even triple its shelf life.   “We can ensure people everywhere have a great experience with their fresh produce while increasing the sustainability of the global food system” Focused on reducing waste in the fresh food supply by creating longer-lasting produce, primarily in US, UK, and European markets, Apeel is recognized as a CNBC Disruptor 50 and one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies. The new funding brings the company’s total over $635 million, with a valuation over $2 billion dollars.  Founded in 2012 with a …

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Apeel mangos

©Apeel Sciences
Food & Beverage

Oprah & Katy Perry Backed Apeel Sciences Announces Launch of Apeel Mangos That Last 2X Longer

Apeel Sciences announces that, following the success of Apeel-protected avocados, which according to the company are driving a 50% reduction in food waste on average for food retailers, Apeel and Nature’s Pride today introduce Apeel-protected mangoes that last two times longer. “Apeel is the perfect example of how we can generate more impact to fight food waste together” Apeel has enjoyed a steady trajectory of investment success since its launch. In 2018, the company raised $70 million and announced that former CEO of Whole Foods Market, Walter Robb, was to join its board of directors. In May of last year, it secured a US$250m investment led by led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), along with celebrity investors Oprah Winfrey …

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© Beyond Leather Materials
Non-Food

Beyond Leather Materials Wins Climate Award, Can Produce a Square Meter of Vegan Leather From Just 5Kg of Apple Pulp

Beyond Leather Materials, a Danish startup creating apple-based clothing material, was recently announced as winner of the Clim@ 2020 competition, an event that rewards startups demonstrating climate impact. The finals were held online yesterday, 2nd June, with Beyond Leather Materials the winner of 15.

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Company News

Treasure8: Addressing Climate Change by Systematically Reducing Food Waste

Treasure8 is a technology company based in San Francisco “focusing on systemically transforming global food waste at massive scale, utilizing proprietary and regenerative methods to address climate change. Through a variety of sustainable and specialized techniques, Treasure8 says it can create ingredients and products that are better for the planet, for people, and often more affordable, too.

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