Food Network Launches Meal Kits With Instacart, Meet The New Kale, Dig Inn Invests in Its Cooks & More

Does Dig Inn have the answer to the cook shortage plaguing restaurants? Why is Food Network partnering with Instacart to launch a meal kit service? What can you learn from the way Chick-fil-A got its app to number one in the app store? Get answers to these questions and more in our weekly round-up of last weeks top food startup, tech and innovation news.

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1. Announcing The 10 Startups Pitching at FoodBytes! San Francisco

We are thrilled to announce the 10 food, agribusiness, beverage and tech startups that will demo at FoodBytes! San Francisco.

2. Seaweed On Your Dinner Plate: The Next Kale Could Be Kelp – NPR

People have foraged wild seaweed off the Eastern Seaboard for centuries. But now a much more active effort to grow seaweed in the U.S. is afoot.

3. Can Dig Inn Create The Skilled Cooks It Lacks? – Edible Manhattan

Faced with a chef shortage, Dig Inn is rethinking the traditional restaurant labor model and training new cooks while providing a clear path for moving up the ladder.

4. Organic Food Company Back to the Roots Extends Series A Funding to $10M – Finsmes

The new funding came from Acre Venture Partners, S2G Ventures and Red Sea Ventures. The startup will use the funds to accelerate product development, scale distribution and continue growing its team.

5. Are Medical Foods the Next Big Trend for Packaged Foods? – FoodDive

Big food companies are making investments in R&D and products that meet medical and nutritional needs for people with certain diseases and conditions, a market that is worth an estimated $15B.

6. Why Is Chick-fil-A’s App Number One in the App Store? – The Atlantic

In three days, the app was downloaded over one million times. The chain promised a free chicken sandwich to people who downloaded the app and it saw huge success by targeting families.

7. The Periodic Table Of Food Tech – CB Insights

CB Insights charts the 100+ active food tech startups that have raised capital since January 2013.

8. Instacart and Food Network Join Forces to Launch Meal-kit Delivery Service – Business Insider

The personal grocery shopper and delivery service will integrate with the Food Network’s digital tools Recipe Box, which lets users plan meals, and Grocery List, which enables users to save shopping lists.

9. Microsoft Is Teaching Your Plants To Talk Back – FastCo.Design

How Project Florence, a sensor-loaded plant capsule that’s connected to a computer, could have incredible implications for the future of farming.