Berlin-based VC FoodLabs has raised its third fund of €105m to invest in early stage food tech startups in Europe.
Founded in 2016, FoodLabs backs software and hardware startups working to create a healthier, more sustainable food industry. Its portfolio includes fermentation startup Formo, which makes animal-free cheese alternatives, regenerative agriculture startup Klim and mycelium startup Infinite Roots.
The fundraising environment for sustainability startups has grown harsher over the past two years, says Patrick Noller, general partner at FoodLabs, “but the problems haven’t changed, they’ve got bigger.”
“Obviously there are hype topics; it used to be scooters, now it’s AI and defence,” says Noller. “But we believe in focusing on the bigger aspects. Food is the second biggest…
Berlin-based VC FoodLabs has raised its third fund of €105m to invest in early stage food tech startups in Europe.
Founded in 2016, FoodLabs backs software and hardware startups working to create a healthier, more sustainable food industry. Its portfolio includes fermentation startup Formo, which makes animal-free cheese alternatives, regenerative agriculture startup Klim and mycelium startup Infinite Roots.
The fundraising environment for sustainability startups has grown harsher over the past two years, says Patrick Noller, general partner at FoodLabs, “but the problems haven’t changed, they’ve got bigger.”
“Obviously there are hype topics; it used to be scooters, now it’s AI and defence,” says Noller. “But we believe in focusing on the bigger aspects. Food is the second biggest industry in the world. It employs the largest chunk of people all around the globe, it’s not digitalised and it’s super unsustainable. But that also makes it an interesting area to be investing in,” adds Noller.
The investment thesis
FoodLabs will invest the money in three main areas: agriculture, food security and health. The firm will write first cheques of $100k-$2m roughly 30-25 startups. It declined to disclose what percentage of the fund it saves for follow-on investments.
In agriculture, FoodLabs is interested in solutions that “combine software and AI with machinery” to help farmers improve their yield or reduce the usage of fertilisers, says Noller.
The use of robotics in agriculture is also an interesting area to explore.
The firm recently invested in a Spanish autonomous tractor company called Voltrac, as well as an agri-fintech called DAF (Deutsche Agrarfinanz) which provides short-term loans to farmers.
Within food security, FoodLabs will focus on technology which can identify new classes of products, make use of underutilised plants or design new types of proteins.
The last bucket focuses on all manner of health products, from mood-supporting ingredients and adaptogens to supplements for immune support.
FoodLabs declined to give specifics on the new and existing LPs backing its new fund, but said its LP base is a mix of family offices, institutional funds and several strategic investors. These include beer manufacturer Bitburger Holding, Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank, a development agency for agribusinesses and rural areas, Red Bull and Nestlé.