Rich Products

Making meat sustainable over the long term

Cell-cultured Meat

lueNalu is a startup developing cultured seafood using fish cells. The company grows the cells isolated from the fish tissue in a bioreactor with culture media and assembles them into fish products. In December 2019, the startup hosted a culinary demo of its cultured yellowtail. In<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13555"> October 2022</a>, Blue Nalu announced two new technological breakthroughs–single-cell suspension and lipid-loading–which would enable highly scaled production of cultivated seafood. Further, the company plans to begin operations at its commercial facility–equipped with eight 100,000-liter bioreactors and an annual capacity of 6 million pounds of cultured seafood–in 2027.In February 2024, BlueNalu became the first cultivated seafood company to join the National Fisheries Institute, the trade association for the US seafood industry.Key partnerships and customersAs one of its go-to-market strategies and to accelerate the commercialization of cell-cultured meat, BlueNalu has entered into partnerships with several food manufacturers. The startup has<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22423"> partnered</a> with Mitsubishi Corporation, Thai Union, Pulmuone, and Food &amp; Life Companies to focus on the Asia-Pacific region, while the<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5473"> partnership</a> with Nomad Foods focuses on Europe. Under each partnership, the companies will collaboratively conduct market research on consumer insights in the regions, examine regulatory frameworks, and explore opportunities to accelerate the launch of BlueNalu’s cultivated seafood products across the regions.In<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17063"> March 2023</a>, BlueNalu extended its partnership with Nutreco to establish a cell feed supply chain for cultivated seafood. The partnership will entail initiatives to reduce cell feed costs by moving from a pharma-grade to a food-grade ingredient supply. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23369">November 2023</a>, BlueNalu signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NEOM, a futuristic city in northwest Saudi Arabia that follows sustainability practices, to commercialize and distribute cultivated seafood products and enhance food security.Funding and financialsIn its latest funding round in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22541">October 2023</a>, BlueNalu raised USD 33.5 million in series B funding with participation from Agronomics and other new and existing investors. Specific uses of the funds were not disclosed.

Based in Israel, Believer Meats (Future Meat Technologies prior to November 2022) develops hardware and cell lines for the manufacturing of cell-cultured meat, to commercialize its manufacturing hardware and techniques.Believer Meats uses fibroblast cells that can be triggered with small molecules to develop either fat or muscle cells. Fat and muscle cells are cultured in a unique bioreactor that removes the waste material from the media, allowing the company to recycle parts of the media to reduce feed media input by as much as 50%. The startup replaced FBS with molecules derived from Chinese hamster ovaries (CHO) to reduce production costs and plans to achieve price parity with animal counterparts.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12623">August 2022</a>, the company announced it has developed what it claims to be the world’s first cultivated lamb, using cell lines isolated from Awassi sheep.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15195">December 2022</a>, the company announced it has begun development of a 200,000 sq foot production facility in Wilson, North Carolina with an annual capacity of ~22 million lbs, which is claimed to be the largest cultivation facility in the world. Believer Meats plans to produce cultured chicken, pork, beef, and lamb for US, European, and Asian markets.Key customers and partnershipsIn March 2022, the company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9320">partnered</a> with Charoen Pokphand Foods to develop cultivated meat products for Asia.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17710">April 2023</a>, Believer Meats signed an MoU with Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) to collaborate on the development and commercialization of cultivated meat products. Further, ADM will offer its ingredient pantry and nutrition knowledge to enhance Believer's cell-cultivated meat process.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30520">June 2024,</a> Believer Meats partnered with Abu Dhabi’s AgriFood Growth &amp; Water Abundance (AGWA), to advance cultivated meat production in the MENA region.Funding and financialsIn its <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9252">latest funding round</a> in December 2021, the company raised USD 347 million in Series B funding, recording the largest investment in cell-cultured meat at the time. The round was co-led by ADM Ventures, while funds were to be used to accelerate its production plans in the US.

Helping restaurants become more safe, more profitable, and more interesting.

Restaurant Industry Robotics

<div>
 
 Botrista Technology offers an automated drink dispensing robot called “DrinkBot,” which can mix preset beverages in just over 20 seconds as per the company. The robots occupy a floor space of 5 5 sq ft and can pour a customizable array of drinks, including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic mixed beverages (mocktails, juices, fusion teas, etc.). The hardware is connected to its library of drink recipes in Botrista’s cloud, and restaurants can choose between 6–20 drinks to be served at a given time. Users can place orders via its touchscreen, upon which the robot starts preparing the drink.
 
 
 The robot is pitched as a method of offering drinks quickly with no upfront investment. The DrinkBot is offered free of charge; however, restaurants are required to buy the ingredients through Botrista at USD 1.40–USD 1.90 per drink. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, restaurants have been opting for the robot for its labor-saving function as well. The company had 20 customers across Northern California as of May 2020, with key customers including Goldilocks, Umai Hospitality Group, Crawdaddy Restaurant, and Old Port Lobster Shack. 
  As of June 2021, the company reported growing its revenue and deployments by 10x YoY.  In October 2021, the company partnered with the Middle Eastern fast-casual chain “The Halal Guys” to install DrinkBots in 91 of its restaurants. As of October 2022, the company has deployed its bots across 26 states.
 
 
 In October 2022, the company raised an undisclosed amount in a Series B funding round, bringing the company’s total funding to USD 55 million. 
 
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Botrista is a robotics company based in Silicon Valley. They provide an end to end beverage solution to F&B retail chains. They have the capability to automate drink menus and pour an array of drinks including delicious and high profitable non-alcoholic mixed beverages. The Robot Barista increases drink selection, quality, and consistency while reducing labor. It can also be modified to mix premium cocktails. The Botrista Team combines decades of robotics expertise and beverage industry experience to develop end-to-end automation solutions to help beverage retailers address the shifting demands from today’s health-conscious consumer. It leverages manufacturing techniques and integrates software to revolutionize the way fresh beverages are prepared and produced.

Good Eggs is a pioneering online grocer and meal kit delivery service with a mission to reinvent your food system, for good. The company is the only service that combines absurdly fresh local produce, meal kits for every occasion, grocery staples, and wine, beer, and spirits to wash it down.

Believer Meats is a Jerusalem-based biotechnology company aiming to transform global meat production through distributive manufacturing of fat and muscle cells, increasing food safety and reducing ecological impact worldwide. They aim to turn the timeless vision of animal-free meat production into a reality. Their cutting-edge cellular agriculture technology was developed by award-winning biologists and bioengineers and brought into reality by world-renowned innovative chefs at Jerusalem’s singular culinary scene.

BlueNalu is a cellular aquaculture company that satisfies the global appetite for seafood in a fresh, sustainable, and humane way. It offers consumers with great tasting, healthy, safe, and trusted seafood products, that support the sustainability and diversity of the oceans.

Rich Products develops food products. Their product portfolio consists of toppings, cakes, desserts, pizza, nut-free cookies, bread, rolls, shrimp, seafood, appetizers, meatballs, pasta, syrups, soaked cakes, and cooking creams.

Millennium Foodtech Partnership Announces Strategic Investment in Portfolio Company Phytolon from Rich Products Ventures to Help Bring Innovative Natural Replacement for Synthetic Food Dyes to Market

Convenience Foods

Creating snack products optimized for air fryers, ensuring even cooking and maintaining taste and texture when air-fried

Enhancing snack texture to achieve a satisfying, crunchy bite, elevating the sensory appeal of snacking experiences

Frozen meals that preserve fresh-like quality, maintaining taste and texture as if freshly made

Fully cooked meals or meal kits that are quick and easy to prepare, reducing preparation time and effort

Fully cooked meals that require no refrigeration and can be easily prepared by microwaving

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