Heinz Launches $100M Food Tech Fund, IBM Food Blockchain Goes Live + More

Source: Fortune

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

A slew of Big Food industry players have launched VC arms to stay on top of the latest food trends, with the latest being Kraft Heinz. Dubbed Evolv Ventures, the VC fund is dedicating $100 million to invest in concepts that are shaking up the food industry, such as supply chain technology and e-commerce.

The IBM Food Trust has officially gone live, opening the door for companies large and small to integrate blockchain technology into their supply chains.

Finally, the FDA has banned the use of several synthetic flavoring compounds typically labeled under the term “artificial flavors” after environmental groups sued, citing cancer risks.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

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1. Kraft Heinz Starts Food Technology VC Fund with $100M – Bloomberg

Evolv Ventures will invest in food technology companies focused on concepts that are shaking up the food industry, such as supply chain technology and e-commerce.

2. IBM’s Food Blockchain Is Going Live with a Supermarket Giant on Board – CoinDesk

IBM has signed European retailer Carrefour to use its food-tracking blockchain technology. The launch of IBM Food Trust means that large players and SMEs can now join the network for a subscription fee ranging from $100 to $10k a month.

3. Blockchain of Food

Join us on November 5th at our November Food+Tech meetup to hear from Phil Harris of Ripe.io, Jasmine Crowe of Goodr, Nicolas Jammet of Sweetgreen and Dr. Dan Beckmann of Foodshed.io as they discuss how they are leveraging blockchain technology to improve the food system.

4. FDA Bans Use of 7 Synthetic Food Additives After Environmental Groups Sue – NPR

The FDA is banning the use of several synthetic flavoring compounds used to infuse flavors such as mint and cinnamon in foods. Environmental groups sued, citing cancer risks.

5. Jennifer Garner’s Baby Food Brand Closes $20M Investment – Bloomberg

The investment was led by Cavu Venture Partners and will help the company build distribution and develop new products.

6. Hu Founder Shuts Down Multibillion Dollar Fund to Focus on Health and Wellness – NOSH

Jason Karp, CEO and founder of hedge fund Tourbillon Global Master Fund, announced that he will be shutting down the multibillion dollar fund. Moving forward, Karp will look for those distinct advantages in the areas of food, beverage and wellness.

7. Thrive Market Enters the World of Wine – Food Dive

Thrive expects its new wine category to grow to eight figures within one year, and sees this as an opportunity to expose the more than 70 artificial ingredients and chemicals that are used in the conventional wine-making process.

8. Food Crops from Corn to Rice Are Seen at Risk from Warmer Change – Bloomberg

A United Nations panel of scientists warns that the global corn crop may shrink by 10% if temperatures rise 1.5 degrees, a threshold the panel expects may be reached by 2035.

9. Our Dirty Secret: Soil is on the Endangered List

FoodShot Global has launched a $30 million investment platform to transform the food system, starting with sustainable soil.

10. UK: Powdered Food Startup Huel Just Raised $26M in Its First Funding Round – Business Insider

Highland Europe led the investment. The company currently sells to 80 countries and its fourth year will see over £40m in turnover.

11. Plant-Based Yogurt Lavva on Reinventing Supply Chains [Video]

Victor Friedberg joined us at our Rethinking CPG Meetup to speak about plant-based yogurt Lavva’s business strategies and supply chain.

12. Shake Shack Founder Danny Meyer’s Nostalgia for Hometown Frozen Custard Leads to Investment in E-Commerce Site Goldbelly – CNBC

Goldbelly has raised $20m in Series B funding led by Enlightened Hospitality Investments. New capital will go towards scaling its operations and marketing.

13. GV Leads $10M Investment in Kitchen United to Help Restaurants Expand via Data-Driven Kitchens – VentureBeat

The startup that’s setting out to help restaurants open to new markets without investing in additional real estate has raised funding led by Alphabet’s VC arm GV. It plans to use new capital to expand into new markets by the end of 2019.

14. Women, Women of Color & Gender Non-Conforming Innovator Database

We created this open-source list to increase representation, support and investment in women, women of color & gender-nonconforming innovators in food. Join the list & help us spread the word using #womxninfood

15. Join the Alpha Food Labs Community

We’re rethinking the way food is made, starting with community. The Alpha Community. Join us to help develop, test, and get early access to food designed for your tastes and values.

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