Robert Downey Jr.'s FootPrint Coalition Ventures Joins Motif FoodWorks 

Motif FoodWorks, the Boston-based food technology company making plant-based food better tasting and more nutritious, today announced an investment by Robert Downey Jr.'s FootPrint Coalition Ventures. Along with the investment, the companies will partner on the development of new-to-the-world plant-based food forms.

Separately, Motif also unveiled an expanded product portfolio—in addition to its food technologies—for foodservice providers, distributors, and retailers with private labels. The new products include finished alternative beef, pork and chicken formats that feature its breakthrough food-technologies...

Nowadays Closes $7 Million Seed Round to Accelerate Health-Focused, Plant-Based Chicken

Health-focused plant-based meat company Nowadays closed its oversubscribed Seed round, raising just shy of $10 million to-date to support commercialization of new plant-based chicken innovation, scale its proprietary whole-cut technology platform, and expand distribution.

Currently, the company offers crispy plant-based chicken nuggets that have a classic fried chicken taste and texture made with only seven simple and sustainable ingredients. Nowadays emerges from its latest round of funding with one of the highest valuations for a company in its category...

American Airlines Center Scores with Fully Integrated, Autonomous Food & Beverage Destinations

American Airlines Center today announced the opening of two new frictionless food and beverage experiences. In collaboration with hospitality partner Levy and its innovation studio, DBK Studio, The Center has opened a new Market To-Go shop on the arena’s Terrace Level, with a second location on the Main Concourse of the arena to open later this month.

Powered by autonomous retail technology from Standard AI and mobile payment technology from SpotOn, the markets are among the first food and beverage destinations at a North American sports venue that...

European Commission Approves JUST Egg's Key Ingredient as Brand Plans Fourth Quarter Launch

Eat Just, Inc., a company that applies cutting-edge science and technology on a mission to create healthier, more sustainable foods, announced today that the key ingredient in its popular plant-based JUST Egg products has received approval from the European Commission. The landmark approval for mung bean protein paves the way for the launch of JUST Egg in Europe in the fourth quarter of this year.

This decision means America’s fastest-growing egg brand can enter the market in countries belonging to the European Union and...

Marco's Pizza® Tests Automated Voice-to-Text Ordering Using Conversational AI

Marco's Pizza, one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, announced a 50-store pilot of its proprietary voice-to-text ordering system with the goal of a systemwide rollout by the end of 2022. The speech-enabled application uses conversational artificial intelligence (AI) which yielded 100% order accuracy in initial beta testing as well as increased employee and customer satisfaction.

The initial voice-to-order beta test started in Summer 2021 before moving into the pilot. Designed to provide a seamless interaction with customers, the system... 

Convenience, Technology and Engagement are the Changing Face of Grocery Shopping in India

Grocery shopping has entered a new era in India, influenced by factors such as the fast-paced changes in technology and evolving consumer behaviour. Here, we explore the key trends that are influencing Indian consumers’ online and in-store grocery shopping habits.

Engaging experiences, convenient delivery
The pandemic has given rise to a number of ordering and delivery services – bringing home-bound consumers everything from medicines to groceries. Two in five Indian consumers find using online grocery shopping apps convenient. At the same time, nearly two-thirds...

SpotOn Unveils Tools to Help Restaurants Boost Profit Margins in the Face of Inflation

Points of Profit” demonstrates how flexible, integrated technology can help restaurants break out of the 5-7% profit margin plateau.

- According to the Independent Restaurant Coalition, 42% of Independent Restaurants that did not receive RRF grants are on the verge of bankruptcy
- SpotOn challenges the restaurant industry’s single-digit profit margin standards, offering guidance and complementary tools for owners and operators to boost profit
- Calculator, whitepaper, and educational sessions offer real-world examples to help restaurants translate insights into action...

Tyson Ventures Launches First Open Innovation Call for Sustainability Solutions

Tyson Ventures, the venture capital arm of Tyson Foods, announced today its first ever pitch event for sustainability entrepreneurs and startups. Tyson “Demo Day” will be held virtually on July 11, 2022, and selected participants will be invited to demonstrate how their solutions could help create a more sustainable food system. The goal of the day is to identify and ultimately invest in breakthrough, sustainable technologies that can help Tyson Foods reach its sustainability goals.

At Tyson Demo Day, the selected companies will virtually pitch their solutions to a group...

Kraft Heinz and TheNotCompany Create Partnership to Accelerate AI-Driven Plant-Based Innovation

The Kraft Heinz Company and leading food tech start-up TheNotCompany, Inc. announced today a joint venture designed to reimagine global food production and advance toward a more sustainable future.

The joint venture, which will operate under the control of Kraft Heinz as The Kraft Heinz Not Company LLC (“The Kraft Heinz Not Company”), will leverage the inherent strengths of both companies. NotCo brings its patented, first-of-its-kind technology and proven artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, while Kraft Heinz offers its iconic brand portfolio and scale...

White Castle Expands Partnership with Miso Robotics to Install Flippy 2 in 100 New Locations

Today, White Castle – the world's first fast-food hamburger chain – announced plans to further expand its work with Miso Robotics and install Flippy 2 in 100 standalone locations. The announcement is the latest milestone for the partnership, which began in September 2020 with the deployment of the original Flippy to a White Castle in the Chicagoland area. Following an upgrade to Flippy 2 in November 2021, White Castle's commitment to Miso's technology was cemented after seeing an immediate positive impact on daily operations and the...

Lunchbox Raises $50M Series B Funding to Shake up the Restaurant Industry

Lunchbox, a collection of modern and creative online ordering solutions for enterprise restaurant chains and ghost kitchens, today announced the closing of a $50 million Series B funding round led by Coatue with participation from existing investors Primary and 645 Ventures as well as executives from DoorDash, Sweetgreen, and &pizza.

Since announcing their Series A in October 2020, Lunchbox has saved restaurants over $35 million that would have otherwise gone to third-party ordering platforms. Restaurants including Bareburger, Clean Juice, Fuku, Little Sesame...

Rabobank Announces New, Dynamic Structure for FoodBytes! Innovation Platform in 2022

Today Rabobank, a leading global food and agribusiness bank, announced pivotal changes to its FoodBytes! innovation platform to drive greater sustainable innovation, collaboration for speed-to-market, and market responsiveness. Starting this year, FoodBytes!, Rabobank's discovery platform that champions cross-industry collaboration between the most promising startups, corporates and investors, will move beyond its annual pitch competition and expand to a continuous scouting model, with fifteen startups selected to participate in programming every quarter.

Within the new model, FoodBytes! will also be streamlining the platform's sectors - agtech and food...

Deliverect Raises $150 Million in Series D Funding, as it Reaches 100 Million Orders Processed

Deliverect, a global scale-up that simplifies online ordering for more than 20,000 locations across 40 markets, today announced it secured more than $150 million (€130 million) in Series D funding. The funding, which is led by Coatue and Alkeon Capital as well as existing investors OMERS Ventures, DST Global, Redpoint Ventures, Newion and Smartfin, brings Deliverect to $240 million raised to date. This round marks the company's valuation at over $1.4 billion.

With this latest round of funding, Deliverect... 

C3 Appoints Former Overstock CPO as Chief Product and Technology Officer to Accelerate Innovation

C3 (Creating Culinary Communities), the leading global food tech platform founded by visionary Sam Nazarian, has today announced the appointment of Vikram Raghavan as Chief Product and Technology Officer. Raghavan's extensive expertise will bolster C3's product and technology departments, forging an exciting new path ahead by accelerating the company's prowess in data science, digital marketing, and eCommerce.

Conceptualized in 2019, C3 experienced accelerated growth this past year as the hospitality industry saw massive digital adoption. Raghavan was driven to C3 after observing the pandemic's...

Uber Eats' Head of Dark Kitchens Joins C3 as Chief Strategy Officer

Sam Nazarian, the innovative Founder and CEO of C3 (Creating Culinary Communities), continues to elevate the global food tech platform's talent roster by naming Pasha Mehran as Chief Strategy Officer. Mehran brings more than a decade of experience to C3's fast growing team where he will oversee joint ventures with celebrity chef-driven restaurants, top digital creators, culinary markets, and ghost kitchen partners, with the goal of expanding C3's footprint across Gen Z and millennial audiences, turning the brand into a household name...

Checkers & Rally’s and Presto Announce Largest Ever Rollout of Drive-Thru A.I. Voice Assistant

Presto, a leader in the restaurant hospitality technology industry, has been selected by Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., the operator of Checkers & Rally’s iconic drive-thrus, as the exclusive provider of automated voice ordering for all its corporate-owned drive-thru restaurants. Today’s announcement marks the largest and first of its kind rollout of an A.I.-based voice assistant solution in the hospitality industry.

Designed to help restaurants maximize labor efficiency, Presto’s next generation solutions help improve order accuracy, increase upsells, and provide a superior guest...

2022 IPPE Proceeding as Planned with Updated Safety Measures

The 2022 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) will be held inperson from Jan. 25 – 27 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta with updated safety measures in place. IPPE’s show management’s goal is to safely bring the industry back together to evaluate new products, technologies and services while reconnecting participants with their colleagues and friends.

IPPE is a critical part of the poultry, animal food and meat industry's continuing development, offering timely and important educational information and an efficient way for producers and processors to find...

NotCo Ushers in a New Golden Era of Chicken with the Launch of NotChicken™

NotCo, the fast-growing food tech company with a first-of-its-kind patented A.I. technology (named Giuseppe) that creates plant-based options that taste, feel, cook, and function just like their animal-based counterparts, today announced the debut of NotChicken™ to the Latin American market. A finishing touch to the year, the expansion into the booming plant-based chicken subcategory includes four deliciously juicy SKUs: NotChickenNuggets™, NotChickenBurger™, NotChickenBurgerCrispy™ and NotChickenFillet™.

Plant-based chicken is one of the hottest...

Cargill to Acquire Croda’s Bio-based Industrial Business, Expanding Natured-Derived Solutions

Cargill has reached an agreement with Croda to acquire the majority of its performance technologies and industrial chemicals business for EUR 915,000,000 (1.03bln USD) on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The investment would dramatically expand Cargill’s bioindustrial footprint to better serve industrial manufacturers searching for “greener” ingredient solutions.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in Summer 2022. Cargill will comply with applicable information and consultation requirements with our employee representative bodies.

“The bioindustrial space is a priority for Cargill, as we..."

Pure Prairie Farms Breathes New Life Into Midwestern Chicken Plant

New premium chicken integrator, Pure Prairie Farms Inc., completed its long-anticipated purchase of a former Simply Essentials chicken processing plant last week. The former plant, which previously closed in August of 2019, is a state-of-the-art retail tray-packaging facility and features air-chill technology, an under-represented and underserved attribute in the market. In addition to organic offerings, additional product features include all natural, highly trimmed products, made from chicken flocks in which antibiotics have never, ever been used, and that have been fed a...

Beyond Meat® to Strengthen its Global Innovation Capabilities with New R&D Center

Beyond Meat, Inc., a leader in plant-based meat, today announced that it has finalized the lease for a new, state-of-the-art R&D center in Shanghai, China as part of its larger global expansion strategy. With increased capabilities in science, technology and culinary arts, it will be the company’s first dedicated R&D facility outside of the United States. The facility will serve as a hub for innovation with a world-class team of scientists and researchers focused on developing high-quality...

Green Circle Foodtech Ventures Announces the Launch of Fund I with Participation from Hormel Foods

Green Circle Capital Partners is pleased to announce the launch of their venture capital division, having conducted a first closing for Green Circle Foodtech Ventures I (GCFV) with the anchor investment coming from 199 Ventures, the venturing company of Hormel Foods.

“Having a leading global branded food company in our corner, providing support and resources for portfolio companies, is incredibly exciting and opportune for us and for the companies in which we will invest,” said Stu Strumwasser, founder of Green Circle and Co-Managing...

People Love New Food Ordering and Pick-Up Tech, but it's Making Them Impatient

A new survey shows that Americans love new tech-driven options for ordering and retrieving food, but the flipside is that it is making them more impatient. Of those surveyed, 64% don't want to wait more than five minutes to order at the counter or drive-thru window, while 71% of in-house diners were upset if they had to wait more than 10 minutes. More than half (55%) said they were fed up after five minutes of waiting for food in a drive-thru...

Blix Partners with REEF on Delivery Order Locations

REEF Technology Inc. the largest operator of virtual restaurants, logistics and proximity hubs in North America, announced today its partnership with Blix Ltd ("Blix"), an integrated food technology system.

The partnership will allow REEF to offer Blix's wide range of nutritious meals through their delivery kitchens. REEF will blend Blix pouches using their smart food maker in their ghost kitchens and deliver orders through UberEats, Doordash and Grubhub. Whereas previously consumers would need to purchase the smart foodmaker from Blix to make and enjoy their products, this partnership will deliver their... 

Nowadays Plant-Based Chicken Nuggets Launch Nationwide

Having gained a passionate and dedicated fan base with their initial launch in California, the plant-based meat company Nowadays is now bringing their craveable chicken nuggets nationwide for the first time. Nowadays nuggets are crispy, juicy and packed with flavor, closely mimicking real chicken, but thanks to the company's proprietary technology, are made with a simple list of only seven sustainably sourced and recognizable ingredients, including organic yellow peas. Nowadays nuggets are GMO-free, soy-free, and 100% plant-based. Nowadays also uses no binders, thickeners, or artificial ingredients in their...

Natural Grocers® Scales High-Quality Product Sourcing with RangeMe

Natural Grocers® is partnering with RangeMe, the industry standard online product sourcing platform for retailers and suppliers, to streamline the search for innovative products that meet their high-quality standards for customers.

"Our new partnership with RangeMe will help immensely in streamlining Natural Grocers' vendor submission program," explained Laura Perkins, Natural Grocers Vice President of Purchasing. "The digitization of the process means that before samples are even sent we can quickly see which vendor submissions meet our high-quality standards. The efficiency this brings to our process helps..."

Grubhub Launches Robot Delivery at the University of Arizona

Grubhub, the leading online and mobile food-ordering and delivery platform on college campuses, announced today that it's deploying Yandex Self-Driving Group's robot delivery technology, also called rovers, on the University of Arizona's campus. This will be the second campus rolling out this delivery option from Grubhub and Yandex this fall, following Ohio State University.

More than 35,000 Wildcats will be able to order their favorite foods from on-campus dining locations – including IQ Fresh, Einstein Bros Bagels, On Deck Deli and Sabor – via the Grubhub app and have it...

GrubMarket Raises $200 Million Series E to Accelerate Profitable Growth and IPO Readiness

GrubMarket, a San Francisco-based food technology company with a mission to digitally transform the American food supply chain industry, announced today that it has raised $200 million in a massively oversubscribed Series E funding round from Tiger Global Management, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Liberty Street Funds, Apeira Capital, Japan Post Capital, Celtic House Asia Partners, We Capital and Walleye Capital, among other unnamed participants. This round values GrubMarket at over $1.2 billion.

"GrubMarket has already achieved an annual run rate of..."

GrubMarket Acquires Oakport Transportation to Expand Transportation and Logistics Capabilities 

GrubMarket today announced it has completed the acquisition of Oakland, CA-based Oakport Transportation, a provider of comprehensive trucking and logistics services that stores and ships produce throughout California, the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and Nevada, plus selected routes throughout the rest of the U.S. for certain seasonal items. GrubMarket will leverage Oakport's facilities and logistics networks to address the supply chain challenges introduced by recent trucking shortages, route congestion and skyrocketing consumer demand for fresh food.

The timing of this acquisition is of paramount importance. The coronavirus pandemic has...

DoorDash Launches SafeDash™: New technology for Dasher Safety and Peace of Mind

Safety is extremely important to us, which is why we continue to invest in products, policies, and partnerships that enable us to lead the industry while better serving all members of our community. In 2019, DoorDash became the first in the industry to offer occupational accident insurance at no cost to Dashers and with no-opt-in required, helping support Dashers if they’re injured while delivering on our platform. We’ve also built out our 24/7 Trust & Safety team, a more transparent and...

Joint Statement from McDonald's and IBM

IBM, a leader in AI for business and AI-powered customer care, entered into an agreement with McDonald’s, the world’s largest restaurant company, to further accelerate the development and deployment of its Automated Order Taking (AOT) technology. Under the agreement, IBM will acquire McD Tech Labs, which was created to advance employee and customer facing innovations following McDonald’s 2019 acquisition of Apprente. As part of McDonald’s strategic growth plan, "Accelerating the Arches," the company is committed to innovation across Digital, Delivery and Drive Thru. This agreement will accelerate McDonald’s efforts to...

GrubMarket Raises $145 Million Series E to Accelerate Profitable Growth

GrubMarket, a San Francisco-based food technology company, announced today it raised $145 million in a heavily oversubscribed Series E funding round from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Liberty Street Funds, Japan Post Capital, Walleye Capital, Celtic House Asia Partners, INP Capital, Pegasus Tech Ventures, RIVC and Gaingels, among other unnamed participants. This round values GrubMarket at over $1 billion.

"We have experienced an incredible acceleration of growth in the last 12 months – revenues are up more than 300% over last year, reaching a $1...