🇺🇸 USA — EZ Bombs raises $25M [CPG]
EZ Bombs packs family Mexican seasoning recipes into shelf-stable “bombs” that dissolve while cooking birria, pozole, and tinga, among others. The brand went from zero retail presence at the start of 2025 to 8,000+ stores, including Walmart, Target, Costco, Kroger, Albertsons, and Publix, after selling 1M+ units on TikTok Shop.
Lead: CAVU Consumer Partners
Follows: Not named in available coverage

🇫🇷 France — CarbonFarm raises $7.8M [Agtech]
Paris-based CarbonFarm uses AI and satellite imagery to measure methane emissions, verify carbon credits, and help farmers adopt practices that can cut emissions by up to 50% and water use by 30%. Already active in 19 countries, CarbonFarm works with Mars Food, Diageo, Google, and the World Bank.
Lead: Colam Impact
Follows: Proparco, Suma Capital, elea, Working Capital Fund, Albo, Bpifrance; returning Serena and Techmind

🇸🇪 Sweden — OlsAro raises €5M ($5.5M) [Crop Inputs]
OlsAro uses AI-powered genomic screening and plant breeding to develop climate-resilient crops. Field trials of its salt-tolerant wheat in Bangladesh showed up to 41% yield gains. A commercial launch with Lal Teer Seed is targeted for 2027. Funds also support drought and nitrogen-use programs and expansion into rice.
Lead: Industrifonden and Nordic Foodtech VC (co-leads)
Follows: Future Food Fund, PINC, AgFunder, GU Ventures

🇨🇦 Canada — Molagri raises $5.8M [Crop Inputs]
Toronto’s Molagri (YC S26) develops biopesticides that can be “updated” as pests evolve resistance. The startup uses virus-like particles to deliver mRNA that kills targeted pests while sparing beneficial insects. Initial targets include pests affecting almonds, pistachios, and apples.
Lead: Convective Capital
Follows: Superorganism, Y Combinator, Julian Capital; angels including Paul Graham

🇺🇸 USA — Bare Beans raises $2.8M [CPG]
Idaho-based Bare Beans makes minimally processed, ready-to-eat beans. The startup grows and kettle-cooks its own beans, packaging them without preservatives or additives. Already supplying restaurants through Sysco and US Foods, Bare Beans has launched DTC sales and plans to expand into supermarkets.
Lead: Raven Indigenous Capital Partners
Follows: Not named in available coverage

🇺🇸 USA — BioConsortia raises $15M [Crop Inputs]
BioConsortia, based in Davis, California, develops microbial crop treatments designed to reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers and increase crop yields. Its portfolio includes nitrogen-fixing seed treatments and biostimulants that have boosted corn yields in field trials. The funding will support manufacturing, regulatory approvals, and global commercialization.
Lead: An entity affiliated with John Pasquesi of existing investor Otter Capital
Follows: Not named in available coverage

🇬🇧 Scotland — MiAlgae secures £2.5M (~$3.3M) [Biotech]
MiAlgae turns whiskey distillery byproducts into algae-derived omega-3 oils for aquaculture and pet nutrition. The funding will support commercial-scale production and expansion of its manufacturing capacity in Grangemouth, Scotland.
Lead: Scottish National Investment Bank
Follows: N/A — only single named investor in coverage

🇩🇪 Germany — Yara Growth Ventures backs Stenon (undisclosed) [Agtech]
Potsdam’s Stenon develops portable soil sensors that measure nitrogen and other soil properties in real time, using AI to help farmers optimize fertilizer use. Yara’s minority stake is the second close of Stenon’s Series B, following an €18M close earlier this year.
Lead: Yara Growth Ventures (this close); prior close led by Pymwymic
Follows: Not disclosed

🔬 Algiecel opens an industrial microalgae plant inside Novonesis’s Kalundborg site. The startup uses captured CO₂ to grow microalgae as an alternative to fish-derived ingredients for pet food and cosmetics. The new facility increases production capacity nearly 5x, with plans to produce 12 tons of biomass annually starting in 2027.

🧀 Mycofeast acquired New Zealand’s Daisy Lab, which develops animal-free dairy proteins using precision fermentation, with a focus on lactoferrin. The acquisition is expected to provide Daisy Lab access to industrial-scale manufacturing capabilities to accelerate production, regulatory approvals, and commercialization.

🇪🇺 The Ministry of Future Affairs launches New Foods RegLab, recruiting up to 10 startups to identify regulatory bottlenecks and explore ways to streamline EU novel food approvals.

🇨🇦 Canada commits $50M to food innovation. The federal government is investing in the Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) to support innovation across the country's food and beverage industry.

🍦 Scientists find a cheap way to turn ice cream waste into biofuels. More than 500,000 tons of ice cream are discarded by factories annually. Researchers have developed a process that recovers up to 95% of the fat from discarded ice cream for use in biodiesel, aviation fuel, and industrial solvents.

Full calendar: foodtechweekly.com/events.

🇺🇸 IC Meet Up SF: Longevity, Food & Planetary Health
📆 Wednesday 21 October 2026, 6–8 PM PT
📍 MISTA, 1069 Pennsylvania Ave, San Francisco
🎫 $30 including catering. Invite only: request a seat.
Format: short talks, 5-minute founder pitches, and investor reverse pitching.
Cohosts: me (Ayana Bio), Nathan Paumier (Solio Bio), Alec Lourenco (Tomorrow Inc.), Ricky Cassini (Michroma), Sina Albanese (Koralo), and Carla Brenner (Roots by Genetic Arts).

🇸🇬 IC Dinner Singapore
📆 Monday 26 October 2026, 7–9 PM SGT
📍 Paulaner Bräuhaus, 9 Raffles Boulevard #01-01 Millenia Walk, about a 5-minute walk from Asia-Pacific Agri-Food at Suntec
🎫 $9 reserves a seat and includes your first beer. You cover your own food. 12 seats.
Invite only, founders and operators only, Chatham House rules.
Cohosts: Ding Jie “DJ” Tan (Prefer) and Aaron Chua (Rules Bio). Reserve your seat.

🇳🇱 Also this week: Fireside chat with Thijs Bosch, CEO of The Protein Brewery. Monday 19 October, 5:00–6:00 PM CEST, online. Hosted by Ricky Cassini (Michroma).

📍 Want to host an IC Dinner or Meet Up in your city? Apply to host.

Two new episodes of the Investment Climate Podcast this week. I’m your host, Alex Shandrovsky.

🎤 Investing Is Not Enough with Cintia Nunes, General Manager & Head of Asia at The Mills Fabrica. Writing a check is not enough: she explains how The Mills Fabrica, a corporate-backed global innovation platform, backs techstyle and agrifood tech founders with far more than capital. We also talk about why investors need to support people, not just startups, and how to help portfolio companies scale in Asia.
💰 Check size: $200K–$3M into startups, seed to Series B; up to $5M into VC funds
🤝 Investor: The Mills Fabrica. Portfolio includes Circ, Colorifix, Mango Materials and Geltor; fund LP in AgFunder and SOSV
🌏 Geography: global mandate, ~70–80% of the portfolio in the US and Europe, with a growing focus on Asia
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

🎤 Why Germany Needed a New Olive Oil Brand with Julius Rüßmann, co-founder of Berlin-based OYL Foods. Olive oil is everywhere in German supermarkets, so why build another brand? Julius says that the oil market is full of corruption and open for disruption. He spent years as an investor before switching sides to found OYL with his longtime friend Nicolas Linsenmaier. They sold in 100s of farmer markets before getting investment and put in their own $50k to start the business.

💰 Round: €675K pre-seed
🤝 Investors (reported): IBB Ventures (€250K), a family office from Cologne and angels, including an experienced angel from Germany’s frozen-pizza industry
🌍 Geography: based in Berlin, selling into German retail, with olive oil production in northern Portugal (10.5 acres of farm)
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

🎥 You can catch both conversations on YouTube as well.

🥑 Avocado flowers switch sexes throughout the day. Some open as female in the morning and male in the afternoon, while others do the reverse. UC Davis researchers traced this reproductive rhythm to a single gene.

💩 Bird poop was once one of the world’s most valuable commodities. In the 19th century, massive deposits of guano off the coast of Peru sparked a global fertilizer boom, fueling agricultural expansion.

🐛 Scientists are eavesdropping on insects. Kansas State researchers developed a device that records faint plant vibrations caused by insects, potentially enabling earlier and more precise pest detection.

If you’d like to write a country or city guide for food founders, DM me at [email protected]

With love,
Alex Shandrovsky and Kat Tarasova

Disclosures | Boring disclaimer