Hi there,

Ilkka here: This week, I got lost studying the topic of managed grazing 🦣. It is a livestock feeding method where animals are intentionally moved between pasture areas to control how long and how intensively they graze each area, helping improve grass growth, soil health, and pasture productivity. This method is the most climate-friendly way to manage grasslands, better than planting a forest; a rare scenario where meat could be seen as a climate friendly food option. Chef Dan Barber wrote about the topic in his book The Third Plate, where he describes the Spanish Dehesa. There is so much more to it: Check out the excellent book Drawdown, this blog post by Keep Cool, or this video of a scientist’s plan to save the planet, The Pleistocene Park. Introducing bisons or even mammoths to the tundra is, at the moment, my clear favorite climate technology!

And here’s Daniel: We’ve had almost 10 upgrades to FTW Plus, our new platform that gives you full access to our exclusive databasecovering thousands of AgriFoodTech investors, pitch deck review and investibibility sessions with experts and more. Once we cross 10 subscribers for FTW FPlus, the price goes up (from the current $250 intro price). If you’re fundraising or planning to fundraise in the near future, now’s the time to upgrade.

This week's rundown:

💶 MicroHarvest gets €5.5M grant to turn ag waste into microbial protein
☕️ Koppie reaches €2M in funding for alt coffee after DOEN Ventures investment
💸 The $50 Piña Colada

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Jonathan Koifman’s shift from scuba instructor to clean-tech veteran was sparked by one insight: the industry moves far too slowly. Tired of the decade-long delays and bureaucratic hurdles facing mega-projects, he and co-founder Quinn Temmel launched FrostForge to make cooling as "plug-and-play" as solar. Using revived adsorption technology, FrostForge converts abundant heat into grid-free refrigeration and ice. Their modular systems aim to repair a broken cold chain responsible for massive food and vaccine waste. In today’s interview, Jonathan discusses bypassing failing grids to deliver sustainable cooling exactly where it is needed most.

🇩🇪 MicroHarvest, €5.5M ($6.5M), converting agricultural waste to microbial protein. Investors: Government grant.

🇨🇦 Brilliant Harvest, $4M, AI-powered helpdesk for ag dealers to streamline support and information for farmers. Investors: FTW Ventures, Alpaca VC, Automotive Ventures, SVG Ventures and NYA Ventures, plus existing backers Builders VC and AltaML.

🇬🇧 The Bland Company, $2.7M, converting agricultural waste into functional, soluble plant proteins. Investors: Led by Initialized Capital. Followed by Entrepreneur First, Transpose Platform, Behind Genius Ventures, Alumni Ventures and Vento.

🇧🇪 Koppie, €2M ($2.4M, total funding raised so far), blend of conventional coffee with a bean-free alternative. Investors (this round): DOEN Ventures.

🇺🇸 CryoBio, $1.3M, fermentation-derived antifreeze protein spray to protect crops. Investors: Marble, AgVenture Alliance and New York Ventures

🇸🇪 Karma, SEK10.5M ($1.1M), AI-based restaurant-platform for food waste and more. Investors: Toast and existing investors.

In this episode, I sit down with Kristian Bennetsen, General Partner of V5 Verde Equity and the newly launched V5 Food and Ag Bio Fund. With a target of €50M and a first close of €20M imminent, Kristian is targeting the often-neglected TRL 7-9 stage—companies with proven, operational technology ready to scale. Drawing on his experience founding Roslin Technologies (the UK’s largest ag-tech startup), Kristian breaks down his unique "Co-Investment" strategy, which unlocks up to €2B in infrastructure capital to help portfolio companies build factories in Asia and the Middle East. We discuss why he is betting on CDMOs (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations) rather than consumer brands in cellular agriculture, and why land-based aquaculture (RAS) is a core thesis for 2025.

🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to hear why Kristian puts his own personal capital into the fund to keep his "hand on the stove."

Alex’s Top Findings:

🍌 Chiquita has completed the Yelloway banana pan-genome with partner KeyGene to map the full genetic diversity of Musa acuminata and accelerate breeding for disease-resistant, climate-resilient bananas, and is opening the dataset to researchers to accelerate industry-wide innovation.

〽️ Weight-loss jabs help push sugar price to five-year low: “The drop in consumption, or the speed of it, has taken the sugar industry unaware,” said Gurdev Gill at broker Marex, adding that Mexico and the US have been the clearest examples, while demand data in Europe has also been “challenging” for sugar prices (Financial Times)

🍭 Amai Proteins received a US FDA “no questions” letter for its precision-fermented sweet protein Sweelin, clearing it for use as a general food and beverage sweetener and enabling commercial rollout.

📝 Calling all folks who have EVER tasted a cultivated meat/seafood/poultry food. Please take this survey, part of an international collaborative effort led by the University of Turin to document consumer experiences, the largest study to date.

🥇 The FoodTech World Cup is officially underway for 2026. Applications are now open for Founders pushing the boundaries of biotech in food. FoodHack and Nestlé Research are ready to uncover fresh talent and spotlight the most promising solutions. How it works: 15 top teams will advance through to the virtual Semi-Final before the 5 brightest go head-to-head at the HackSummit’s Grand Final in Lausanne on 23rd April. Already confirmed on the Jury are Bodil Sidén (Kost Capital), Celine Schiff-Deb (Mista / Givaudan), Gil Horsky (Flora Ventures), Eugenia Barcos (Nestlé Research), and Steve Molino (Synthesis Capital). Enter your startup today!

🌐 Forward Fooding has unveiled the 2025 FoodTech 500 finalists at Gulfood Dubai, marking a significant shift in the AgriFoodTech landscape. AgTech now dominates the ranking at 35.4%, while Surplus & Waste Management has grown to 13.4%. With 80% of companies generating revenue, this year’s list highlights a maturing sector focused on capital efficiency and fundamental supply chain challenges. Download the Finalist List.

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🍹Meet the $50 Piña Colada.

🐶 In case you’re trying to figure out why investors aren’t backing your startup right now, know that Traini — an AI-powered translator between humans and dogs — just raised $7.5M.

⛸️ PR stunt, but still kinda entertaining:

🔥 A Brooklyn high school will be heated entirely with vegetable oil.

🐴 American horses are still being slaughtered for meat.

😱 Fried chicken burger drenched in chocolate. Here’s how we’re picturing that night out ending:

🌲 In 2025, Kazakhstan’s Tiger Reintroduction Program achieved record results, planting over 37,000 seedlings across 10 hectares. This massive restoration of tugai forests in the Ile-Balkhash Reserve rebuilds vital ecosystems and wildlife corridors, laying the essential foundation for the tiger’s eventual return to the region.

We love you.
Daniel, Ilkka, and Alex

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🎵 This issue was produced while Ilkka listened to Soldier of Fortune by Opeth and Daniel listened to The Veldt by deadmau5 and Chris James.

By Daniel Skavén Ruben, Ilkka Taponen, and Alex Shandrovsky.
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