Source: Califia Farms

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.

Plant-based dairy maker Califia Farms has received a $225 million infusion to expand its oat-based products and launch new product lines. Meanwhile, the parent company of plant-based fish brand Good Catch, Gathered Foods, has just raised $32 million from Greenleaf Foods and General Mill’s VC arm 301 Inc. Spain-based NovaMeat has unveiled its 3-D printed plant-based beef muscle cut which rivals the look and feel of a steak.

In other news, Indigo Ag has raised $200 million to support the continued global development of Indigo Grain Marketplace.

And last but not least, the USDA has updated its calorie counts – by tracking consumption and waste, they now have a better measure of the calories we’re actually burning.

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

1. Plant-Based Milk Substitute Market Gets Frothy with $225M for Califia Farms – TechCrunch

Investors include Qatar Investment Authority, Temasek, Claridge and Green Monday Ventures. The company will use the money to increase its production capacity, R&D efforts and geographical expansion.

8. Indigo Ag Closes $200M Convertible + Debt Round with Fedex, a Potential Buyer of Indigo Carbon Credits – AgFunder

The bridge round takes the company’s total funding to $850m. The new capital will support the continued global development of Indigo Grain Marketplace and promote the adoption of Indigo Carbon.

2. Good Catch Nets General Mills in $32M Financing Round – Food Dive

Gathered Foods received $32m led by Stray Dog Capital and Rocana Ventures. The funds will be used to expand distribution in North America and Europe, enter Asia, open a manufacturing facility, launch new products and enter foodservice.

6. Spain: NovaMeat Develops ‘World’s First’ Meat Analogue with Look and Feel of Whole Beef Muscle Cut – Food Navigator

The company has developed a 3D-printed plant-based beef steak made from pea protein and algae. Moving forward, it wants to partner with top restaurants, space agencies and cultured meat companies.

3. Americans Hit Fresh Milestone in 2019 in Buying Stuff Online – Bloomberg

Nonstore retailers posted 2019 sales of $778.4b, up 13.1% from the prior year and squeaking by the individual totals for categories of food and beverage stores, restaurants and general merchandise vendors.

4. Argentina: Amazon for Ag? Agrofy Closes $23M Series B in LatAm’s Largest-Ever Agtech Deal – AgFunder

SP Ventures led the round. Part of funding will go towards introducing transaction-based fees and expanding to Mexico in 2020. The company matches buyers and sellers of agricultural products.

5. USDA Scientists Are Rethinking Calorie Counts. Good News: They’re Lower Than We Thought – New Food Economy

Certain ingredients like almonds, cashews, and walnuts are harder for eaters to digest than we realize. By tracking consumption and waste, USDA researchers now have a better measure of the calories we’re actually burning.

7. India: Zomato to Raise $150M from Ant Financial at $3B Valuation – Bloomberg

The capital is part of a $500m fundraising that’s likely to close in the next two months. The fund infusion also comes when Zomato is in talks to acquire UberEats in India.

9. Netherlands: Mosa Meat Gets Investment and Support to Bring Cultured Meat to Europe in 2022 – Food Dive

The company is receiving funds from Lowercarbon Capital and Nutreco, which also will help create the nutrients to grow the cells. It aims to get cultured hamburgers on the market in Europe in the first half of 2022. Financial terms were undisclosed.

16. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

Over $1.45B was invested across 247 deals in 2018, according to the research in our second annual investment report produced in partnership with Ryan Willams.  Check out the report for a deep dive into the investor and investment trends. We also share a complete list of deals and acquisitions.

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