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Hi there,
Two exciting things this week.
First, I’ve redesigned the newsletter template a bit, trying to give it a cleaner look, and making it quicker for you to read. I’d welcome your feedback.
Second, I’m bringing on a wingman for FoodTech Weekly - Ilkka Taponen, based in Finland — the home of saunas, Moomins, and some pretty cool FoodTech. Back in 2017, I was doing research on insects as animal feed, and it turned out that some random guy in Finland had already built a very comprehensive public database on almost all global companies in the space. This was Ilkka, and we developed a friendship over the years.
For a long time I’ve felt that FoodTech Weekly could benefit from adding more writers, and I’m thrilled that Ilkka is joining to help out. Let’s see for how long he will put up with me 😀
Ilkka Taponen
Ilkka has a wide experience from startups (Carbo Culture, ICEYE, Gold&Green Foods, etc), ranging from satellites to insect protein and vegan alternatives.
He wrote his MBA thesis on how startups with physical production can scale their manufacturing. And of course, like any good Finn, he is a big metal music fan and has worked as a roadie for many international bands, like Ensiferum, Turisas, and Norther 🤘
This week's rundown:
💰The EVERY Company banks $55M Series D for precision-fermented egg proteins🤝 Fork & Good acquires cultivated-meat peer Orbillion Bio
🏷️ Walmart and Avery Dennison launch novel RFID tech to cut food waste in fresh aisles
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CONVERSATIONS
Henrik Burger of The Oater
The Oater team
[Daniel] A few weeks ago, while in Cologne for ANUGA, I took the chance to swing by The Oater to see what all the buzz was about. What started as a quick visit turned into a deep dive into the future of oat milk production — I geeked out in their lab, sipped some genuinely excellent oat drink, and spent a few hours talking with Henrik Burger, the company’s co-founder and CEO. The Oater’s premise is pretty straightforward: A “mini-factory” that turns oat mix and tap water into barista-quality oat drinks on-site. To get a glimpse of what localized food production might look like in the not-so-distant future, check out the full interview here.
FUNDING
The EVERY Company just hatched a $55M Series D
Arturo Elizondo, CEO & Founder of The EVERY Company
🇺🇸 The EVERY Company, $55M Series D, precision fermented egg proteins. Investors: McWin Food Tech Fund, Main Sequence, Bloom8, TO.VC, Minerva Foods, Grosvenor Food & Ag, New Agrarian, SOSV, and more.
🇳🇱 Source.ag, $17.5M Series B, AI software for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). Investors: Astanor, Enza Zaden, Harvest House.
🇫🇷 nextProtein, €18M ($20.7M) Series B, insect-based ingredients for food, animal feed, and fertilizer. Investors: Swen Capital’s Blue Ocean Fund and British International Investment (BII).
🇦🇺 Uluu, AU$16M ($10.3M) Series A, biodegradable seaweed-based alternative to plastic. Investors: Burda Principal Investments, Main Sequence, Novel Investments, Startmate, and a consortium of leading impact and family investors (including Fairground and Trinity Ventures).
🇸🇪 Millow, SEK 38M ($4M), next-gen meat made from mycelium. Investors: EIC, business angels.
🇺🇸 Atlantic Fish Co, $1.2M Seed, cultivated seafood. Investors: Katapult Ocean, Alwyn Capital, DMV Capital, and the Georgetown Angel Investment Network (GAIN).
INVESTMENT CLIMATE
Dimitris Karefyllakis of Time-travelling Milkman on how to get funded in 2025
This week, Alex Shandrovsky met with Dimitris Karefyllakis, co-founder & CEO of Time-Travelling Milkman, a Dutch startup redefining plant-based creaminess. The company recently closed a €2M pre-Series A round led by Puratos, a global bakery and chocolate giant who first became a strategic partner after years of R&D collaboration.
The conversation can be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Top three findings from this conversation:
Strategic Lead Came from Years of Technical Co-Development. The lead investor is a confectionery/bakery/chocolate corporation that had already been testing OleoCream for years. Familiarity with the tech and use cases made the investment discussion straightforward. ”We had already been testing with them for a couple of years, and we saw a good strategic fit as well. They saw it from their side, and it was an easier discussion because they know what we do, they know what we want to do in the future, and they were quite right to chip in and lead the round.”
De-Risking Corporate Concentration: Two Strategics on the Cap Table. Bringing two strategic balances influences and broadens commercial pathways; it also reassures future investors that the company isn’t beholden to a single corporation. “ Try to have at least two corporates on the cap table. Because then, both of them will be pulling, let's say, from different directions. But then the average will still be good for the company. That's valuable. So you don't get, let's say, manhandled by only one partner. So if you get the valuable partners that really know what you do, and they can help you.”
Valuation Discipline Paid Off. Time-travelling Milkman avoided the “Gatsby years” hype. Lower prior valuations prevented painful flats/downs and enabled a fair step-up grounded in real progress and investor alignment. “ We never got the opportunity to have exaggerated valuations.”
NOTEWORTHY
The pineapple that already knows what you want
🍹 Based on 15+ years of research, Dole has unveiled the Colada Royale pineapple, a new non-GMO variety that has the flavor and aroma of a piña colada (h/t FoodHack)
🪦 Danish insect ag company ENORM, which had raised €50M ($57M), has been declared bankrupt after spending six months in a court-supervised restructuring process.
🤝 California-based cultivated meat manufacturer Orbillion Bio has been acquired by industry peer Fork & Good for an undisclosed sum.
🏷️ Walmart and Avery Dennison are launching a first-of-its-kind RFID technology for fresh categories like meat and bakery to improve inventory accuracy and reduce food waste; for example it’ll enable store workers to make better decisions around when to mark down prices, helping cut down on unsold food.
📋 The world’s largest environmental award, Food Planet Prize, has unveiled their long list of 35 initiatives from 19 countries for the 2026 Food Planet Prize — including a bunch of exciting companies like Sanitation 360 (🇸🇪) that turns human urine into dry fertilizer.
🏭 Angel Yeast of China has begun operating a 11,000 ton production line for its sustainable yeast protein, Green Queen reports.
💶 Amsterdam-based Rubio Impact Ventures has closed €70M+ ($80M+) for its third impact fund, which will invest in the themes circular economy, people power, and healthy systems. Rubio has previously backed e.g. NoPalm Ingredients.
💰 Astarte Capital Partners and Toesca Asset Management have announced the first closing of their target $360M regenerative ag fund, focusing on permanent crops in Chile and the LATAM region.
NEWS FROM THE FTW COMMUNITY
Top 50 Farmers and FoodTech500 now open for applications
🧑🌾 Applications are open for Top 50 Farmers — apply by Nov 23, 2025.
🎓 Claremont McKenna College is preparing the Spring 2026 International Climate Practicum in collaboration with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The course pairs four-student teams with European companies advancing a climate agenda to deliver data-driven projects at the intersection of economics/finance and data science. Last year’s partners included Almi Invest GreenTech, Northvolt, and Meadow Foundation. We’re inviting two companies to host a scoped project and join our on-campus symposium on April 9, 2026. To learn more, email Christopher Grahn.
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RANDOM STUFF
Diplomacy in pieces
𓀟 Boys will be boys. The Danish Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, presented his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, with a $130 LEGO set of the Great Pyramid of Giza — on the very day the new Grand Egyptian Museum officially opened its doors. The look on Abdelatty’s face says it all ❤
🌎 When emission cuts and carbon capture are not enough: A deep dive into the intimidating world of geoengineering by Paul Gambill.
🍮 Why thousands of Germans are meeting up to eat pudding in public, with forks.
🍷 A 77-year-old French cyclist on his way home from the supermarket fell into a 40m (130 ft) ravine in the mountainous Cévennes region, trapping him. He survived for three days by drinking the bottles of red wine he had just bought, before road workers could spot and rescue him.
🪙 The French city where you can eat gourmet food for €1
⚫ The chefs cooking with black food (The Observer)
❄️ [Ilkka] One of the world’s biggest startup events Slush is just around the corner. “The most founder focused event on the planet” takes place in Helsinki, Finland, November 19-20. If you are heading there, check out the Future of Food side event and the presentation by the Founder/CEO of Onego Bio, Maija Itkonen. You can find me (Ilkka) there as well! Please reach out through LinkedIn if you would like to meet.
🔐 The password to Louvre’s video surveillance system was 'Louvre', according to an employee.
We love you.
Daniel & Ilkka
- - -
🎵 This issue was produced while listening to Berghain by Rosalía, Björk, and Yves Tumor.
THE LEFTOVERS
Written by Daniel Skavén Ruben and Ilkka Taponen.
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THE LEFTOVERS
Written by Daniel Skavén Ruben and Ilkka Taponen.
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