Image Credit: New York Times

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.

In 2023, the cultivated meat industry faced a significant setback as preliminary Agfunder data revealed a staggering 78% decline in funding for startups within this sector. The funding trajectory tells a compelling story, with a peak of $989 million in 2021, a slight dip to $807 million in 2022, and a sharp drop to a mere $177 million in 2023. Investors attribute this decline to a pervasive ‘general risk aversion,’ compounded by a broader downturn of -50% in agrifoodtech investing throughout the same year. Meanwhile, in the realm of biopharmaceuticals, the success of Ozempic and Mounjaro is positioned as just the beginning in a burgeoning obesity drug arms race. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have pioneered innovations in weight loss and diabetes drugs, setting the stage for a flood of upcoming GLP-1 drugs that promise to reshape the landscape of this critical healthcare arena.

In other news, we’ve wrapped the first season of our podcast in partnership with AgFunder: New Food Order, a nuanced investigation into the business of tackling our climate and social crises through food and agriculture. Read all about why we launched the podcast, and be sure to subscribe and share!

Our newsletter takes a lot of time and resources to produce. Make a one time or monthly contribution to help us keep it going. Whether it’s $5 or $500, every bit helps and shows us that you value our work. 

1. Preliminary Agfunder Data Point to 78% Decline in Cultivated Meat Funding in 2023; Investors Blame ‘General Risk Aversion’ – AFN

Funding for cultivated meat startups peaked at $989m in 2021, dipped slightly to $807m in 2022 and then dropped off sharply in 2023 to $177m, against a backdrop of a -50% drop in agrifoodtech investing overall in 2023.

2. Ozempic And Mounjaro’s Smashing Success Is Just the Beginning for Biopharma’s Obesity Drug Arms Race – Fast Company

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have revolutionized the weight loss and diabetes drug space. Now a flood of other GLP-1 drugs are on the horizon.

3. The Revolution That Died on Its Way to Dinner – New York Times

Despite nearly a decade of work and a great many messianic pronouncements, it is increasingly clear that a broader cultivated meat revolution was never a real prospect, and definitely not within the few years we have left to avert climate catastrophe.

4. Impossible Foods Partners with US Army Central to Serve Plant-Based Options to Overseas Troops – Vegconomist

The US Army Central plans to introduce Impossible’s plant-based meat products into its dining facilities overseas in the coming weeks.

5. USDA Organic Changes Are Coming. What Will It Mean for Farmers and Consumers? – Food Dive

Large amendments aimed at enhancing recordkeeping and defining outdoor rules for livestock and poultry will take effect in March.

6. Estonia: Starship Technologies Raises $90M As Its Sidewalk Robots Pass 6M Deliveries – TechCrunch

The sidewalk delivery robot servicer aims to cement its position at the top of the category.

7. Restaurant Sales Forecast to Exceed $1.1T in 2024 – Food Business News

The restaurant industry also is set to add 200k jobs in 2024, with a sustained growth projection of 150k jobs created annually through 2032.

8. Why Your Groceries Are Still So Expensive – Forbes

Grocery prices are 30% higher than four years ago. Sustained higher prices are not only a burden on consumer budgets, but are also an ongoing policy failure by the Biden Administration.