FH Ventures: Alt-Fats and Pet Food from Plants 🐕

Lots of talk about investment slowing and capital drying up. Our data says differently.

Here's our metrics from June:- 73 startups screened.- 8 startups diligenced.- 3 new investments closed.- 3 more in closing.- 29 new angels joined.- 87 intros between startups <> VCs.- 1k+ readers passed on this email 👋

If there is a decrease in capital allocation - it's not yet happening in the (pre)-Seed stage in the Food and Climate sector.

Maybe this is the difference between building nice to have's vs building necessities?

Let's check in again in a months time..

Find below are 4 new startups of the week, 1 new fund, and 5 good reads.

🧫 MEALA (Newly Opened)

HQ: IsraelRaising: $1.8M USDExisting investors: The Kitchen HubStatus: Soon to openCEO: Hadar Ekhoiz RazmovichPitch: "MEALA aims to revolutionise the plant-based protein industry by developing new ingredients and processes - creating a NON-GMO enzymatic treatment of plant based proteins which bring a super texture and juiciness to plant based while maintaining clean label."

+ Learn More / View Deck / Request Intro

🧫 NouBio (Newly Opened)

HQ: United StatesRaising: $1M USDExisting investors: Status: Just OpenedCEO: Samad AhadianPitch: "NouBio is a biotech company focused on the development of sustainable and animal-free products including a replacement for fetal bovine serum (FBS) in cell culture with significantly reduced cost. In addition, our microcarrier technology has enabled us to cultivate cells at large scale using biodegradable and edible materials."

+ Learn More / View Deck / Request Intro

🧀 Grounded Foods (Popular Last Week)

HQ: USARaising: $3M USDExisting investors: Nucleus Capital, Stray Dog Capital, Big Idea Ventures, Aperion Investment Group, Route 66 VenturesStatus: Just OpenedCEO: Veronica FilPitch: "Creating a platform for dairy alternatives using one of nature's most sustainable, nutrient-rich and immediately scaleable resources: hemp. IP is centered around a novel fermentation and manufacturing process that transforms low-cost hemp seed into a proprietary base 'cream',

+ Learn More / View Deck / Request Intro

🐕 THE PACK (Closing Soon)

HQ: United KingdomRaising: £635k GBPExisting investors: Veg Capital, Accel, Kale United, Simon Newstead, Akoleo, Mars Petcare (Leap Ventures Accelerator)Status: Just OpenedCEO: Damien ClarksonPitch: "THE PACK is innovating dog food one bowl at a time with highly nutritious and sustainable plant-based meals. We are obsessed with flavour creating unique plant-based and fermented products dogs love."

+ Learn More / View Deck / Request Intro

♻️ Yeasty (Closing Soon)

HQ: FranceRaising: €800k EURExisting investors: Asterion Impact Status: Closing SoonCEO: Nikola StefanovicPitch: "Yeasty is producing a sustainable and complete protein-rich ingredient for food manufacturers by reusing an industrial by-product : spent brewers' yeast. More than 20 major players from diverse markets have already shown interest and the first formulation tests on pasta and vegan patties shown excellent results"

+ Learn More / View Deck / Request Intro

🔥 Popular Last Week

🧫 Alt Atlas Ltd. (Just Opened) - AI-powered ingredients to make cultivated meat a reality. Creating a machine learning software platform that supplies functional ingredients and solutions for the alternative meat and dairy industry.Raising $500k USD

🧜‍♂️ Mermade Seafood (Closed) - Mermade is a seed-stage company in the cultured seafood space that developed a proprietary technology to upcycle and reuse growth media.

+ there's 60 other companies raising now - request an intro if you'd like to chat with their founders.

👀 Fund Spotlight: Green Generation Fund

👋 Founders: Janna Ensthaler (founded Kaiserwetter and Event Inc.), Dr. Manon Sarah Littek (former CEO at Katjesgreenfood) 📆 Founded: 2021💰 Fund Size: €100M close💡 The idea: “Based in Berlin, GGF will invest across food tech and green tech backing outstanding entrepreneurs who want to achieve quantum leaps in the fields of alternative proteins, food as medicine, supply chain security, sustainable ingredients, climate protection, circular bioeconomy, resource protection, post animal consumption and biodiversity."👀 Portfolio inc: Libre Foods, BIOMILQ, Change Foods, Neggst, Lypid + more.

🥩 Funding Spotlight: Project Eaden

👋 Founders: Hubertus Bessau (co-founded mymuesli), Jan Wilmking, Dr. David Schmelzeisen, 📆 Founded: 2022💰 Round Size: €8M close💡 The idea: Creating whole cut plant-based meats, Project Eaden is fusing the science of textile engineering (and its focus on cost efficiency) and the creation of edible tissues designed to replicate, if not improve upon its animal-based counterpart. 👀 Investors inc: CREANDUM, Magnetic, Atlantic Labs, Shio Capital, Trellis Road.

💡 Good Reads & Posts

🚜  There’s a new host of startups dedicated to discovering new ways of farming with substitutes to toxic, traditional herbicides and pesticides - From those utilising the power of electricity to zap weeds, to the others relying on natural alternatives and the power of the bees…

With the global bioherbicides market valued at $43M in 2020 and is expected to reach $85M by the end of 2027, growing at a CAGR of 10.2% to 2027 it's a market thats attracting quite some attention from startups and VC's.

More on that here.

📊 TLDR of The Latest Data On Climate And Food: As populations have grown, more water has been pumped to residential areas as well as large-scale farms. Most affected are almonds, olive oil and other specialty produce from California’s Central Valley, as well as citrus, grape and salad farms elsewhere in the state and cattle. Ranchers are being impacted too - and at least 2,000 cattle in Kansas died this month during a heatwave. More on Forbes.

😅 Passing on billions: The emails exchanged between Paul Graham (YC partner) and Fred Wilson (MP of Union Square Ventures) just before Fred decided to pass on Airbnb's first round.

👀 EF is the European YC. And they just raised $158M Series C with $100 million earmarked for direct investments over the next 3 years.

Their model is similar to many other venture builders - they identify areas of interest for potential disruption, match co-founders together through cohort based programs, and give them their first check (while taking a juicy share). The model seems to be working with 22 portfolio company exits since 2011 in excess of $680 million.

I've long been bullish on this venture builder model - within the Food/Climate sphere there's FoodLabs, Nucleus Capital, EVIG and Marbles (founded by an ex-EF employee) all doing something similar and creating.

CTA: Let me know if I missed any? I'll make a list/report on venture builders soon.

📊 Interactive graph that looks at inflation over a 2 year period and it's impact on prices of goods - plus, a further good read by Mckinsey with a data-driven analysis on how inflation and the conflict in Ukraine are impacting European consumers.

🤔 Clima-bubble? Is there a ClimateTech VC bubble being formed in Europe? Some would say so. "similarly to the cleantech bust, this could end up hurting the funding of climatetech companies as it could poison the well so to speak. This is what happened after the cleantech bust. LPs wouldn’t touch the space for 10+ years."

😅 Bit of Fun

Listen to the full playlist here. Credit: Yurii Veremchuk.

Thanks for reading - here's one for the microbiologist geeks out there.

And please let me know what did you think of today's edition?

😁 Love It 😐 Meh 😕 Hate it

Arman Anatürk Co-Founder & CEO @FoodHack (HackVentures)

Disclaimer: ‍Investing in startups and early stage businesses involves risks, including illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution. This communication is intended for experienced investors, with sufficient experience and knowledge to understand the processes and risks involved. Do your DD, make your own decisions, invest aware, your capital is at risk.

Everything shared here is confidential. If you're caught sharing / forwarding this email, you will be banned 🛑