Eighteen94 Capital

A new wave of meat, fish, and poultry alternatives are driving this hyper-growth industry into the mainstream

Plant-based Meat

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 MycoTechnology is a startup specializing in functional ingredients extracted from mushroom mycelia via submerged fermentation. The company's primary products are 1) ClearIQ, a clean-label bitter blocker and flavor clarifier used in plant-based foods, energy drinks, and confectionery, and 2) FermentIQ, a high-quality protein source derived from plant protein fermented with shiitake mushroom mycelia, suitable for various applications including nutritional beverages, baked goods, protein-enriched snacks, frozen desserts, and dips. The company has a presence in over 100 countries through its distribution partners in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.
 
 
 The company also offers a fermentation-as-a-service (FaaS) platform, designed to help startups and companies facing challenges in securing fermentation capacity. It supports bioproducts such as proteins, enzymes, and probiotics and features 300-liter, 3,000-liter, and 90,000-liter fermentation vessels, particularly suited for low oxygen transfer rate (OTR) fermentation.
 
 
 MycoTechnology's facility spanned 86,000 sq ft and could produce up to 4,000 metric tons of FermentIQ protein annually (as of 2019). The company asserted that FermentIQ is 2.5x more soluble than unfermented pea and rice blends, 2x as soluble as pea protein, and over 8x as soluble as rice protein. The company held a total of 109 patents worldwide for both products, as of October 2023.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10147">
 May 2022
 </a>
 , MycoTechnology and the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) formed a partnership to produce a mushroom-based protein by upcycling locally sourced dates, which are in excess. The two parties will also work together to build a modern production facility in Oman, with a capacity to process 16,000 metric tons of dates annually, which is set to begin construction in H1 2023 and will be used for scaling up and commercializing the new protein. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14988">
 November 2022
 </a>
 , the company partnered with IFF to co-develop mycelia-based alternative proteins for the European market.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In March 2022, the company 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9467">
 raised USD 85 million
 </a>
 in a Series E funding round led by an affiliate of Oman Investment Authority, bringing its total funding to over USD 200 million. Proceeds will be used to accelerate the company&rsquo;s growth by capitalizing on its proprietary fermentation platform and expanding its global presence by launching products in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
 
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Based in California, Plantible Foods is a plant-based protein supplier. The startup produces plant protein by harnessing lemna, an aquatic plant commonly known as duckweed. Lemna is 100 times more rich in protein than soy and 40 times more than peas. The harvested lemna is processed to produce RuBisCo protein powder which is a neutral-tasting compound that contains all the essential amino acids and has been proven to mimic the functionality of egg white, dairy proteins, and even myosin, the meat protein, making it ideal for plant-based alternative applications.In October 2023, the company launched ROVITARIS. Made using Rubi Protein, the product claims to have a higher protein content than methylcellulose and offers comparable binding properties with a better texture, nutritional profile, and digestibility.Key customers and partnershipsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22980">October 2023</a>, the company partnered with ICL Food Specialties to develop ROVITARIS, a clean-label alternative to methylcellulose in plant-based meat and seafood.Funding and financialsIn its latest funding round in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5292">September 2021</a>, the startup secured USD 21.5 million in a series A funding round, led by Astanor Ventures and with participation from Kellogg. The funding were used to build its first commercial facility in the midwest of the US.

A booming food and beverage segment with a history as rich and varied as its present-day product offerings

Plant-based Dairy & Egg

Based in California, Plantible Foods is a plant-based protein supplier. The startup produces plant protein by harnessing lemna, an aquatic plant commonly known as duckweed. Lemna is 100 times more rich in protein than soy and 40 times more than peas. The harvested lemna is processed to produce RuBisCo protein powder which is a neutral-tasting compound that contains all the essential amino acids and has been proven to mimic the functionality of egg white, dairy proteins, and even myosin, the meat protein. These attributes make it applicable across a wide range of food applications including plant-based meats, dairy alternatives, baked goods, and beverages.Key customers and partnershipsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19731">June 2023</a>, the company launched its first commercial product, Rubi Whisk, a plant-based egg replacement ingredient. It can be used for the production of baked goods, gluten-free products, and pasta, among others, and claims to offer benefits such as fat-binding and oil-holding capacity, high-foaming capacity and stability, high solubility, moisture retention, and emulsification capabilities.Funding and financialsIn its latest funding round in September 2021, the startup secured USD 21.5 million in a series A funding round, led by Astanor Ventures and with participation from Kellogg. The funding were used to build its first commercial facility in the midwest of the US.

Empowering sustainable food innovation through food engineering tech

Alternative Ingredients

MycoTechnology is a start-up specializing in functional ingredients extracted from mushroom mycelia via submerged fermentation. The company's primary products are 1) ClearIQ, a clean-label bitter blocker and flavor clarifier used in plant-based foods, energy drinks, and confectionery and 2) FermentIQ, a high-quality protein source derived from plant protein fermented with shiitake mushroom mycelia, suitable for various applications including nutritional beverages, baked goods, protein-enriched snacks, frozen desserts, and dips. The company has a presence in over 100 countries through its distribution partners in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.The company also offers a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23191">Fermentation as a Service (FaaS) </a>platform, which is designed to help startups and companies facing challenges in securing fermentation capacity. It supports bioproducts such as proteins, enzymes, and probiotics and features 300-liter, 3,000-liter, and 90,000-liter fermentation vessels, particularly suited for low oxygen transfer rate (OTR) fermentation.&nbsp;MycoTechnology's facility spanned 86,000 sq ft and had the capacity to produce up to 4,000 metric tons of FermentIQ protein annually (as of 2019). The company asserts that FermentIQ is 2.5x more soluble than unfermented pea and rice blends,2x as soluble as pea protein, and over 8x as soluble as rice protein. The company held a total of 109 patents worldwide for both products as of October 2023.In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/28621">April 2024</a>, MycoTechnology scaled the production of its honey truffle sweet protein from bench scale to 3,000-liter tanks. Following this, in&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/36552">November 2024</a>, the company commercially launched the product in North America, with plans of later expanding to Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. This sugar alternative is claimed to be 1,500x to 2,500x sweeter than sugar with a similar calorie content to other proteins.Key customers and partnershipsIn May 2022, MycoTechnology partnered with the <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10147">Oman Investment Authority (OIA) </a>to produce a mushroom-based protein by upcycling locally sourced dates. In November 2022, the company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14988">IFF </a>to co-develop mycelia-based alternative proteins for the European market. In December 2022, the company entered a supplier agreement with Brenntag, enabling customers in multiple European countries to access MycoTechnology ingredients for various food applications, including protein beverages, baked goods, and snacks.&nbsp;

Plantible Foods is a B2B food technology company producing sustainable plant-based protein to optimize the food industry. The company develops a proprietary and vertically integrated agricultural manufacturing platform to allow food companies to innovate while optimizing costs and delivering products with improved taste, texture, health, and environmental footprint.

MycoTechnology utilizes fungi-based food-processing platforms to transform the flavor and value of agricultural products. The platform can be used to solve a variety of challenges faced by the food, beverage, and flavor industries. MycoTechnology has released ClearTaste, an all-natural, GMO-free, organic bitter blocker that is Kosher and Halal certified. ClearTaste improves the flavor of various agricultural products. MycoTechnology also engages in fermenting agricultural products with strains of gourmet fungi. The company offers myceliated chocolate as well as robusta and arabica coffee beans. It develops and licenses technology to the industry to naturally improve the flavor of robusta and arabica coffee.  The company was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Aurora, Colorado.

Kuli Kuli produces nutritional moringa products in the United States. It offers moringa bars, moringa powders, green energy shots, herbal teas, and sampler packs.  Kuli Kuli sells its products through retail stores, as well as online. Anne Tsuei, Jordan Moncharmont, Lisa Curtis, and Valerie Popelka founded Kuli Kuli on September 21, 2011, with its headquarters in Oakland in California.

Cargo Systems is the creators of Cargo, the in-car service that allows rideshare passengers to order products on their phone, without downloading an app. Founded in 2016 by former Birchbox employees, Cargo launched in New York and Boston with thousands of driver signups in 49 states. Cargo works directly with rideshare companies, drivers and brand partners to distribute a variety of products to passengers in-car. A Techstars alumnus, Cargo is venture-backed by Techstars Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, Detroit Venture Partners, Rosecliff Capital.

UCAN provides energy, hydration, and protein products that deliver steadily over time, with no sugar or caffeine. It eliminates the spike and crash in glucose levels caused by sugar and other fast carbs and remains easy on the stomach.

Bright Greens is a maker of blender-free, plant-based frozen smoothies.

Eighteen94 Capital is Kellogg's venture arm, looking to take minority stakes in startups developing new packaging, ingredients, products and technology.

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