Beyond Meat Files for IPO, Kraft Acquires Primal Kitchen for $200M + More

Source: Beyond Meat

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.

The plant-based and cultured meat space is making moves. The Bill Gates-backed plant-based meat maker, Beyond Meat, has filed for a U.S. IPO with an initial offering size of $100 million. Meanwhile, the FDA and USDA announced the regulatory future of cultured meat.

In a move following the broader trend in Big Food consolidation, Kraft has acquired paleo food maker Primal Kitchen for $200 million. In other news, the New Food Economy published an expose on Epic Provisions’ origin story–how it took credit from a Native-owned business, built an empire on a foundation of misleading claims, promised ranchers investment that never materialized and left an industry struggling in its wake.

Last week, Deliveroo raised $500 million to strengthen its hand for prospective negotiations with Uber.

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. Bill Gates-Backed Vegan Burger Maker Beyond Meat Files for IPO – Bloomberg

Beyond Meat filed with an initial offering size of $100 million, which is a placeholder that’s likely to change.

2. Kraft to Acquire Paleo Darling Primal Kitchen for $200M – Bloomberg

Primal Kitchen has generated $50m in sales this year. The relatively small deal likely won’t satisfy investors, who have been waiting for Kraft to pursue a transformative acquisition in the wake of its failed attempt to buy Unilever in 2017.

3. Deliveroo’s Banker Boss Takes a $4B Uber Ride – Bloomberg

The $500m funding round is not because Deliveroo needs the cash–it’s an effort to strengthen its hand for prospective negotiations with Uber, by increasing Deliveroo’s valuation from $2b to as much as $4b.

4. FDA and USDA Lay Out Their Shared Regulatory Plan for Cell-Cultured Meat – New Food Economy

Cultured meat products will go through the FDA during its cellular growth process. The USDA will regulate the production and labeling of products.

5. Vegan Snack Market Value to Exceed $73B by 2028 – Livekindly

The plant-based snack industry will grow by a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% from its current value of $31.8b. The growing trend for veganism and vegetarianism is leading the demand.

6. Fail Friday (on a Thursday)

We’ve teamed up with ForceBrands to celebrate failure in all its glory at Fail Friday (on a Thursday). Join us to hear stories of failure and lessons learned from top food entrepreneurs.

7. Bison Bars Were Supposed to Restore Native Communities and Grass-Based Ranches. Then Came Epic Provisions. – New Food Economy

Tanka, a Native-owned business, invented the commercial bison bar. But Epic took credit, built an empire on a foundation of misleading claims, promised ranchers investment that never materialized and left an industry struggling in its wake.

8. China’s Geek+ Raises $150M to Build Robots for Warehouses and Logistics – TechCrunch

The Series B was led by Warburg Pincus. The company says its on track to grow its business five-fold and expand beyond China this coming year.

9. Cashierless Technology Startup Standard Cognition Raises $40M – Grocery Dive

The round was led by Initialized Capital. The company plans to use the funds for rapid global expansion of its AI-powered autonomous checkout.

10. New Zealand: Female Entrepreneur Raises $10M to Create Vegan Bacon and Chicken from Peas – Livekindly

Shama Lee has raised funding led by Blackbird Ventures to expand into Australia and beyond.

11. Africa’s AgTech Wave Gets $10M Richer As Twiga Foods Raises More Capital – TechCrunch

International Finance Corporation led the investment. The startup plans to add processed food and fast-moving consumer goods to its product line-up.

12. Corvus Insurance Lands a Fresh $10M to Turn Sensor Data into Actionable Info for Its Food and Pharma Customers – TechCrunch

Funding came from .406 Ventures and Hudson Structured, with participation from Bain Capital Ventures.

13. 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

14. 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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