Source: Forbes

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 wildfires in the West Coast bring focus to the dire consequences of climate change, investment firms are bringing attention to the need to invest in land stewardship. rePlant Capital has announced a $250 million fund to tie interest rates to improvements in soil health.

From March to July this year, nearly one in six restaurants, or about 100,000, have closed permanently or long term. The industry is on its way to losing $240 billion in sales by the end of the year. New York City restaurants will soon be allowed to open for indoor service at 25% capacity, starting on Sept 30. In addition, the city has approved of a 10% surcharge as a Covid-19 recovery measure.

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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. Can Loans Tied to Soil Health Save Agriculture? A New $250M Fund Wants to Find Out. – Forbes

RePlant Capital aims to tie interest rates to improvements in soil health as a way to save farmers from the disastrous impacts of climate change.

2. Nearly 1 in 6 Restaurants Have Closed, Says NRA – Restaurant Dive

About 100K restaurants have closed permanently or long term, and the industry is on its way to losing $240b in sales by the end of the year. The segment has already lost $165b in revenue from March to July.

3. Germany: Infarm raises $170m in first close of Series C – AgFunder

LGT Lightstone led the round, bringing total funding to more than $300m. Infarm now has operations across 10 countries and 30 cities worldwide.

4. Indonesia: SoftBank-Backed Logistics Platform Waresix Raises $100M – AgFunder

Investment came from Emtek, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Pavilion Capital and others. Waresix provides a suite of solutions covering land and sea transportation, freight forwarding, warehousing and cold storage. Financial terms were undisclosed.

5. Chile: Competing with Both Perfect Day and Beyond Meat, NotCo Raises $85M to Expand to the US – TechCrunch

Funding came from L Catterton, Biz Stone and General Catalyst, bringing total valuation to $300m. NotCo makes a hamburger substitute that’s currently being marketed at Burger King  and Papa John’s restaurants in Chile as well as a line of dairy products.

6. Brightseed Secures $27M To Explore Phytonutrients – Crunchbase

Lewis & Clark Agrifood led the round. Funding will be used to deepen the company’s understanding of plant compounds, expand its operations and complete development and commercially launch its first phytonutrient discovery.

7. Virtual Kitchen, Founded by Ex-Uber Execs to Help Restaurants with Delivery, Raises $20M – CNBC

Founders Fund led the round. The company provides technology to set up commercial kitchens designed for delivery.

8. Denver Drinkware Company BruMate Lands First Investment, $20M from Bay Area PE Firm – Biz Journals

San Fransisco Equity Partners led the round. The company has reached more than 2m global customers since launching four years ago.

9. Beyond Meat Is Introducing Pre-Packaged Meatballs at Stores Across the US – TechCrunch

The company’s meatballs have 30% less saturated fat and sodium than real meat.

10. NYC Restaurants Will Soon Be Allowed to Add Up to 10% Surcharge to Diners’ Bills – Eater

Restaurants in the city will be able to tack on the extra charge as a Covid-19 recovery measure.

11. NYC to Allow Indoor Dining, in Milestone on Recovery From Pandemic – New York Times

Gov Cuomo announced that restaurants can open for indoor service at 25% capacity, starting on Sept 30.

12. Surplus Food Startup Hungry Harvest Closes Series A Round at $13.7M – The Spoon

The round was led by Creadev. Funding will go towards improving the customer experience.

13. Between the Pandemic and the Air Quality, Portland Restaurant Owners Are Trying to Hold On – Eater

Many restaurant owners tried to stay open this weekend, despite the worsening air quality. Some had to close after things got unbearable.

14. Cook’s Country Gets a New Editor, Toni Tipton-Martin – New York Times

Her appointment at the America’s Test Kitchen magazine comes as the food media addresses racial inequality.

15. Food & Ag Anti-Racism Resources + Black Food & Farm Businesses to Support

Check out our list of resources to learn about systemic racism in the food and agriculture industries. We also highlight Black food and farm businesses and organizations to support.

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