Last Week’s Top 6 Food Tech Startup & Innovation Stories

Every week we curate and deliver the latest food tech news, trends and startup resources to our readers’ inboxes. We track the top technology and innovation happenings across agriculture, CPG, grocery, restaurants, cooking and health, so our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector.

From our first food business course announcement, to big funding news on the alternative protein and health tech fronts, these are our top 6 picks from last week in food tech. Like what you read? Feast your eyes on the full roundup here. Or better yet, sign up for our newsletter and get the latest and greatest in food tech delivered to your inbox every week.

1.) We’re serving up our first course!

Food is one of the most competitive industries out there, so creating a brand that stands out is essential for success. Which is why we are excited to announce our first course: Food Startup Branding 101. We’ll be offering the course in-person in NYC and online.

You’ll learn how to:

• Articulate your target market’s needs, behaviors and motivations
• Create your brand positioning statement
• Develop your brand voice guidelines and “About Us” copy
• Create a social media plan

Spaces are limited to ensure participants receive lots of personal attention, so reserve your spot today. 

2.) Infographic of the Week: The Rise of Gluten-free

What originated as a product category designed to meet the needs of those with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, has now become a behemoth $10.5 billion industry.

3.) Forget Scalability? VC Investors Put $146 Million into Food & Beverage Deals in 2013 – CB Insights

From coffee shops to food product manufacturers, venture capital investors are increasingly attacking an industry they’ve not traditionally gone after.

4.) Egg Replacing Startup Hampton Creek Foods Raises $23 Million From Asia’s Richest Man And Yahoo Cofounder Jerry Yang –Forbes 

Led by Horizons Ventures, the investment brings the San Francisco-based food startup’s total backing to just under $30 million.

5.) Former Monsanto Chief On Future Of Food: Rate Of Change ‘No One Has Ever Experienced Before…No One Is Prepared For It’ [Video] – Forbes

Forbes’ leadership forum on strategies and challenges in agribusines covered a wide range of topics, all of which boiled down to one thing: How do we use technology to feed the world’s population amid rising concerns about the safety of that technology.

6.) MindBody, a Salesforce-like CRM for Health & Wellness, Takes $50M More – Venture Beat

MindBody has pocketed an additional $50 million in funding to accelerate its global expansion. The new funding comes from Bessemer Venture Partners, Institutional Venture Partners and Catalyst Investors, among others.