Source: DoorDash

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.

Following on from a record-breaking 2018, Foodtech and agtech startups raised $20 billion in VC funding across 1858 deals, according to a AgFunder’s annual investing report.

DoorDash, Uber Eats and Postmates have discussed mergers between their businesses in an effort to remain afloat, though so far, no deals have been made. India’s Swiggy has raised $113 million to invest in new lines of business such as cloud kitchens and delivery beyond food items.

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. Food and AgTech Startups Raised $20B in 2019, Led By Meat Alternatives and Indoor Agriculture – Forbes

AgFunder’s annual report saw a 250% increase over five years. Funding to startups operating upstream raised $100m more in 2019, a 1.3% increase to $7.6b.

2. Food Delivery Services DoorDash, Uber Eats and Postmates Might Merge – Eater

The companies have discussed mergers between their businesses in an effort to remain afloat, though so far, no deals have been made. Postmates and DoorDash are also reportedly mulling public offerings.

3. Cargill to Challenge Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods With New Plant-Based Burger – New York Times

Cargill will launch plant-based hamburger patties and ground “fake meat” products in April, challenging Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods for sales in grocery stores, cafeterias and restaurants.

4. Launch of Eat Beyond Global Investment Fund Opens Doors for Retail Investors in Plant-Based Segment – Food Navigator

The fund plans to invest in 10-20 key equity-linked plant-based investments ranging from $1m to $10m Canadian in the next four years with a minimum ownership goal of 5%.

5. Grocery CPG Trends To Watch In 2020 – CB Insights

Fifteen emerging trends in food, beverage and household essentials categories, ranging from plant-based meat to tech-enabled vending machines.

6. India’s Swiggy Raises $113M Led by Prosus – TechCrunch

The new round values Swiggy at about $3.6b. The startup will use the fresh capital to invest in new lines of business such as cloud kitchens and delivery beyond food items.

7. Kraft Heinz Invests in $110M Series B for Cloud Retail Robotics Startup Fabric – AgFunder

The new round will be used to fuel Fabric’s US expansion, which began six months ago.

8. BlueNalu Raises $20M, Gears Up for Small-Scale Launch of Cell-Based Seafood in Late 2021 – Food Navigator

The Series A was led by Stray Dog Capital, CPT Capital, New Crop Capital and Clear Current Capital.

9. NewLeaf Symbiotics Raises $20M Series D to Expand Offerings to Broadacre Row Crops – AgFunder

Koch Agronomic Holdings, Leaps by Bayer, Otter Capital, S2G Ventures and RockPort Capital were participants in the investment round. The new funding will be used to enhance its R&D efforts while commercializing its product for broadacre row crops.

10. Kind Founder Invests $18M in Yogurt Brand Ellenos – Food Dive

Ellenos received an $18m investment from Equilibra Partners Management, the family office of Kind Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky. Investment will allow the company to scale the support it has built in the Northwest to further expand across the country.

11. Dahmakan, a Malaysian ‘Full Stack’ Food Delivery Startup Raises $18M Series B – TechCrunch

Investors include Rakuten Capital, White Star Capital, JAFCO Asia and GEC-KIP Fund, bringing total funding to $28m. The startup uses cloud kitchens to reduce delivery costs.

12. Kenya: Sokowatch Raises $14M to Digitize Africa’s Informal B2B Supply Chain – TechCrunch

Quona Capital led the round. With its Series A, the startup plans to broaden its client services and target new African markets.

13. Investment in Agritech Declines As Appetites for Food Delivery Wanes – Financial Times

Funding for food delivery services plunges amid pullback in venture capital industry.

14. Millions of Americans Have Moved Off Assistance. Does Trump Get Credit? – New York Times

The president has reveled in the declines in Americans receiving aid from several government programs in recent years, citing his economic policies as a catalyst.

15. Brazil: Meat Company Faces Heat Over ‘Cattle Laundering’ in Amazon Supply Chain – The Guardian

Brazil’s JBS says it can’t trace the origins of all stock, as concerns grows over deforestation linked to beef industry.

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