In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
- Links to Relevant Content and Events
Food Venture Financing Trends
- Good Culture, a cultured foods brand, announced that it closed its $64 million Series C raise. The company plans to use the funds to expand its marketing and manufacturing processes.
- Wildtype, a cell-based seafood brand, announced that it raised $100 million in its Serie B round from notable investors such as L Catterton, S2G Ventures Ocean and Seafood Fund, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
- De La Calle, a probiotic beverage startup that sells Mexican tepache, announced that it closed its $7 million raise.
- THRIVE, a global agriculture investment and innovation platform, released its top 50 agtech companies list. The list primarily focused on agtech companies improving the sustainability space.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
This week's featured program is Pascual Innoventures.
- Pascual Innoventures is an innovation arm of Pascual, one of the largest Spanish food and beverage companies. It creates alliances with startups that share the same philosophy: anticipating global food needs and giving back to society.
- Pascual Innoventures launched the first global incubation program for cellular agriculture technologies in the dairy industry called "MYLKCUBATOR."
- The Mylkcubator aims to support highly innovative startups involved in the production of dairy alternatives using cellular agriculture.
- Mylkcubator launched its first cohort in 2021 with 4 startups: Real Deal Milk (Spain), Zero Cow Factory (India), De Novo Dairy (South Africa), and M2Factors (US).
- Ten startups are chosen annually to join this 6-month hybrid incubation program. The program details are available at https://mylkcubator.com/.
Links to Relevant Content and Events
ARTICLES
- Bowery Farming Adds Robotic Harvesting Tech
- Beverage Company De La Calle Secures $7 Million in Funding
- DishDivvy Closes $1.3 Million Pre-Seed to Serve Authentic Home-Cooked Food on Demand
- Encompass Technologies Receives Strategic Investment From Cove Hill Partners
- NourishedRx Raises $6 Million in Seed Funding to Accelerate Growth of the First Intelligent Food-For-Health Platform
EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
Naturally Network Meet & Greet @ the Expo West Pitch Finals Competition and Party
Wednesday, March 9, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. PST
Grand Ballroom F
Come meet and greet fellow members, sponsors, and board members across the Naturally Network community. No invite or sign-up required. See the Expo West site for more info.
Naturally Bay Area's 2022 Quick Bites Series:
How to Find Co-Manufacturing Success
Wednesday, March 16, 12:00 - 12:45 p.m. PST
Learn how to begin your co-manufacturer search and how to scale and grow with your partner.
Naturally Network Women in CPG Summit March 22 - 24
As part of the summit, we'll be hosting:
- The Path to Power: A Journey to the C-Suite
Thursday March 24 | 9:30 - 10:45 am PT
Registration opens February 14
- Women in CPG Networking Mixer with Naturally Bay Area + Naturally North Bay
Thursday March 24 | 4:00 - 6:00 pm PT
In-Person event
Join Whipstitch Capital for a LIVE release of our "Spring Healthy Living Industry Update"
Thursday, March 3, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EST / 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. PST
Learn about the latest food & beverage trends and what you should be looking for as you walk the aisles at Expo West. We will also recap interesting deals that happened over the last year, plus SPINS will dive into important industry data and share a comprehensive market update. All of this will be followed by a lively Q&A session.
At DWT, we are proud to have one of the largest Food + Beverage legal practices in the country, with over 40 attorneys representing food innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors at every level of the food chain, from Farm to Label.
The facts, laws, and regulations regarding COVID-19 are developing rapidly. Since the date of publication, there may be new or additional information not referenced in this advisory. Please consult with your legal counsel for guidance.
DWT will continue to provide up-to-date insights and virtual events regarding COVID-19 concerns. Our most recent insights, as well as information about recorded and upcoming virtual events, are available at www.dwt.com/COVID-19.