Siete Foods Raises $90M, Viome Acquires Habit’s Personalized Nutrition Platform + More

Source: Siete Foods

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.

As part of biodiversity month here at Food+Tech Connect, we’ve launched an editorial series featuring interviews with over 45 CEOs, execs, farmers and investors. Join us on Tuesday, February 19th to hear from CEOs and COOs of Row 7, Alpha Food Labs, Kuli Kuli and Tender Greens as they take a deep dive into their supply chains and business strategies.

Grain-free tortilla maker and Siete Family Foods has landed $90 million from Stripes Group, allowing the brand to expand into conventional grocery stores. Microbiome Testing startup Viome has acquired Habit from Campbell’s Soup Co for an undisclosed sum, promising to become the undisputed leader in personalized health.

In retail news, Finland-based Relex has closed a $200 million round to expand its retail technology platform into the US. UK-based snack box startup Graze has been acquired by Unilever to expand its better-for-you offerings.

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. Introducing Biodiversity: The Intersection of Taste & Sustainability

We interviewed 45+ CEOs, execs, farmers and investors about the role biodiversity plays in our food industry. Read this week’s published responses from FoodShot Global, Bowery Farms, rePlant Capital, Slow Food USA, Yolele Foods, Health Warrior and Farm.One.

2. Food Biodiversity: Where Flavor & Sustainability Meet

Join us to hear how game-changing startups are creating a more biodiverse food system at our February Food+Tech Meetup. CEOs and COOs from Row 7, Alpha Food Labs, Kuli Kuli and Tender Greens will do a deep dive into their business models and supply chains.

3. Why Grain-Free Tortilla Maker Siete Family Foods Just Raised $90M – Forbes

Stripe Groups’ investment will expand Siete’s sales team, which currently consists of just three employees, in order to launch in more conventional supermarket chains. The company will also use funds to hire an R&D team.

4. Naveen Jain’s Wellness Startup Viome to Acquire Habit Nutrition Service from Campbell Soup Co – GeekWire

Financial terms were undisclosed. Viome makes personalized food recommendations based on a person’s microbiome, while Habit develops nutritional recommendations based on biology, metabolism and personal goals.

5. Finland: Retail Technology Platform Relex Raises $200M from TCV – TechCrunch

The investment is the first public investment from TCV’s new $3b fund. It will be used to give the company’s sales a boost, especially in the US, and to develop more services on its current platform.

6. Unilever Acquires UK Snack Brand Graze to Accelerate Growth in the Better-For-You Sector – Food Navigator

The retail giant bought the company from The Carlyle Group for $194m. Graze offers a variety of snacks with no artificial ingredients. The company started with a snack box delivery service and is now also available in retail stores, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer.

7. Ritual Raises $25M for Its Subscription-Based Women’s Daily Vitamin – TechCrunch

The Series B is led by Lisa Wu at Northwest Venture Partners. Ritual plans to launch two new products, a postnatal and post-menopausal vitamin, in 2019.

8. Little Spoon Gets $7M for Its Organic Baby Food Delivery Service – TechCrunch

Funding was led by Vaultier7, with participation from the likes of Kairos, Tinder founds, Interplay Ventures the San Francisco 49ers and SoGal Ventures. New capital will be used to expand its line of baby meals.

9. Do These Tiny Organisms Hold the Key to Lab-Grown Food? – Bloomberg

Chicago-based Sustainable Bioproducts has raised $33m to accelerate its research into microbes in Yellowstone National Park. 1955 Capital led the round with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

10. Mushroom Tech Company Lands $30M for Vegan Protein – Live Kindly

MycoTechnology’s investment was led by S2G Ventures Fund II, with participation from Tyson Ventures, Kellogg’s and others. The company plans to further develop its second product, PureTaste, a plant-based protein made from fermented shiitake mycelium.

11. 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

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