🗑️ 🇺🇸 Mill is a new startup created by the founder of Nest (a smart thermostat company acquired by Google). It raised more than $100M to create a smart food bin. Users throw food scraps into the bin, which reduces the compostable waste into a dehydrated powder, which is then turned (by the startup) into animal feed. Consumers have to pay a $33 fee per month to use the device and feel better about their waste. Beyond a reduced number of eco-conscious consumers, it seems that the business model will rely on public or corporate sponsorship.
🌱 🇺🇸 EarthOptics, a US-based startup, raised $27.6M for its soil measurement sensors. We observe a boom in this category of startups, enabling increased yields with quality insights and performing on-the-spot soil carbon sequestration performance.
3 deals to boost the digitization of the relationship between food suppliers, restaurants and other food businesses:
- 🇩🇪 🇪🇸 Choco, the German unicorn connecting restaurants to their suppliers via its messaging app, acquired its Spanish counterpart and Iberian leader, Katoo. Katoo was part of our recently released Spanish FoodTech top 20. You should have a look at it to watch for the other 19 startups!
- 🇫🇷 Lisy, a French startup, just raised $800k for its solution to help restaurants and corner stores to digitize their local network of suppliers.
- 🇺🇸 Zitti, a US startup, raised $3.5M to help restaurants make better buying decisions. It provides insights, notably price comparison.
While not directly competing with each other (even if Choco is active in many European countries and in the US), it shows the growing appetite for B2B marketplaces and tools to digitize the maze of the relationships between food suppliers and their clients, notably local stores and restaurants.
🥒 🇮🇱 Evigence, an Israeli startup, raised $18M for its freshness sensors. Put inside a sticker on a product packaging, the sensors can detect the temperature to estimate its freshness (and how long it will remain fresh).
🍅 🇫🇷 PourDemain, a French startup raised €4M, for its brands of soon-to-be organic products. It helps farmers to switch from traditional to organic by promoting their produce during the transition (during the years, their productivity is adjusting while they cannot use the organic label).
