June 2020

To thrive in this new environment, Brita Rosenheim asserts that restaurant operators will need to accelerate pre-COVID digital trends, embrace new notions of what constitutes a restaurant, and look to technology to strengthen their brand and relationship with customers. 

June 2020

The Spoon invited three food tech startups to pitch their product and get constructive feedback from our judges. Watch the pitches & feedback from judges Brita Rosenheim of Better Food Ventures and Scott Heimendinger, the founder of Sansaire and long-time food tech entrepreneur. 

April 2020

"On the other hand, an economic contraction could also beget opportunities for savvy businesses, according to Brita Rosenheim, a partner at Better Food Ventures. She said automation presents a compelling solution for restaurant owners who would feel even greater pressure to drive operational efficiencies—if the price is right."

April 2020

“The Gastrograph AI platform is an order of magnitude improvement to established methodologies. In-person panels provide snapshot data, the half-life of that data is short, and often is only project specific. Because CLT focus groups pre-screen for a certain type of consumer, they generate data that is only semi-predictive of other people like them, and thus end up having little future utility.” – Brita Rosenheim, Partner at Better Food Ventures.

February 2020

Brita Rosenheim to give Keynote Address to Hospitality 4.0 Congress in Madrid, Spain.

February 2020

Achieving sustainable solutions is no small task, especially with 10 billion people by 2050 to provide for.  Brita Rosenheim, a leading Food Tech expert and investor at Better Food Ventures, reminds us that to deliver on the vision of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, ongoing investment in technology is essential. In my discussion with Brita, she outlines where the global food system is today and why digital transformation is critical to create better data linkages and transparency across the value chain. 

January 2020

Meet the technology innovators on Nation's Restaurant News' 2020 Power List: Brita Rosenheim, partner in Better Food Ventures, backs the most innovative food technologies

January 2020

The decade also saw the emergence of a group of investors dedicated to investing in tech startups across food and agriculture. We asked a few of these dedicated investors what they’re expecting in 2020 and beyond. Here are some of their responses.

November 2019

After publishing our inaugural state-of-the-restaurant industry report in 2018, we are pleased to share an updated 2019 Restaurant Tech EcoSystem map, as well as highlight some of key shifts we’ve seen across the industry over the past year and our predictions for the year to come.  

Oct 2019

TechTable is not your average conference. From inspirational speakers, to food and drink activations, to meaningful networking - we take care to curate every aspect of the day so that decision makers across tech, hospitality and investing learn, connect, and experience hi-tech for hi-touch.

October 2019

Cashier-less checkout. Robotic fulfillment. AI-powered grocery shelves.

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The future of food retail has entered an era of unprecedented change. We've brought together a session representing both startups as well as some of the world's biggest food retailers to discuss the state of the market and where it is going over the next decade

September 2019

AgTech: seed through supply chain. Brita Rosenheim, who is well-known for the Food Tech & Media Landscape, and I call part of the supply chain “the messy middle of food” where agtech meets foodtech, and that’s included here alongside farmtech. 

September 2019

Technology may be the talk of the town, or at least the talk of Groceryshop, but it's not one-size-fits-all for grocers. From home delivery to in-store robots, four experts challenged the assumptions of today's biggest innovations in grocery during a rapid-fire session Monday. .

September 2019

In this rapid-paced session, three grocery experts will review a list of 10 significant technologies transforming grocery operations in a game-show style format. These experts will debate technologies such as delivery drones, microfulfillment centers, shelf monitoring robots, freshness and cold chain monitoring, blockchain-based supply chain tracking and more. The audience will have an opportunity to vote on the potential impact of each technology, with the results of the audience vote being posted at the end of the session.

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Phil Lempert, President & CEO, Consumer Insight

Gary Hawkins, Founder & CEO, Center for Advancing Retail and Technology (CART)

Brita Rosenheim, Partner, Better Food Ventures

Pano Anthos, Founder & Managing Director, XRC Labs (Interviewer)

July 2019

Increasingly, players in the food industry are embracing artificial intelligence to better understand the dynamics of flavor, aroma and other factors that go into making a food product a success.

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Brita Rosenheim, a food tech analyst and investor in Analytical Flavor Systems through the firm Better Food Ventures, said technology can help “digitize existing data” from human taste panels and speed up the development process.

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“The typical food product development process is long, and there are a lot of holes where there is no clear feedback on how the market is reacting, so this kind of technology can help,” Rosenheim said.

July 2019

The Basque Culinary Center (BCC) of San Sebastián, the first gastronomic university in Spain, opened a technological innovation laboratory called LABe, aimed at emerging companies that can test products and services.

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The laboratory has a committee of eight kitchen experts who will support entrepreneurial companies. These include Brita Rosenheim of Better Food Ventures; Amit Zoran, researcher in digital gastronomy at the University of Jerusalem, and Beatriz Romanos, of TechFoodMag..

May 2019

The SEEDS of CHANGE™ Accelerator team feels incredibly lucky to have found some fantastic partners who share the mission of creating better food today for a better world tomorrow.

April 2019

The next frontier in automated food could be coming to an office kitchen near you, complete with big, salad-making robots.

April 2019

Investors in food robotics have to be especially willing to take risks and play the long game. However, not all the VCs saw eye-to-eye on what it takes for a food automation startup to be successful. The panelists disagreed on whether or not startups need deep restaurant market knowledge to be successful, how high the capital investment has to be in food automation, and what sets one seemingly identical food robotics startup apart from another.

January 2019

Marketing is an essential part of the effort, said Brita Rosenheim, partner at the Better Food Ventures investment firm. “Whether it’s meal kits or prepared food, you still have labor costs and ultimately high distribution costs,” she said. “And even harder than that is customer acquisition and retention.”

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“Marketing is a two-way conversation,” Ms. Rosenheim added. “You have to be understanding what your customers are telling you.”

December 2018

Pizza Hut announced that its U.S. business has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire QuikOrder, a leading online ordering software and service provider for the restaurant industry. It marks one of Pizza Hut's largest acquisitions to date. Brita Rosenheim, Partner at The Mixing Bowl LLC, led the sell side efforts on behalf of client QuikOrder.

December 2018

Brita Rosenheim wrote in a recent article about restaurant tech that siloed data remains a limitation for restaurants to use the data they are collecting about their customers.

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“While the restaurant industry has laid the digital foundation for transactions and data capture, a significant portion of that data still remains silo-ed across separate systems. Thus while operators are now better able to measure and manage the “what” and the “why” related to operational efficiencies, they are often still limited in their ability to truly leverage those insights to optimize or automate efforts based on that intelligence,” she wrote.

October 2018

Some investors expect a wave of consolidation. “Investors are doubling and tripling down on their bets to fuel a front-runner,” said Brita Rosenheim, an investor and consultant to food technology startups. “Ultimately I don’t think there will be much room for small players to succeed.”

October 2018

Brita Rosenheim, Better Food Ventures; Christopher Payne, DoorDash; David Rabie, Tovala.

October 2018

Brita Rosenheim, Better Food Ventures; Gordon Foster, Evertron; Tal Lapidot, Silo; Nate Cho, Electolux.

October 2018

Brita Rosenheim, Better Food Ventures; Michele Smart, EZCater; Bill Billenstein, Guckenheimer; Luke Saunders, Farmer’s Fridge.

July 2018

Brita Rosenheim, a partner at the investment firm Better Food Ventures, said Grubhub traditionally had fewer options than its competitors in its integration with restaurants’ payment systems. Often, she said, a restaurant employee would have to enter orders received through Grubhub by hand.

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LevelUp is much stronger in that area; this is better for restaurants,” she said of the deal.

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“LevelUp has spent a ton of time thinking about user experience and loyalty and engagement, and the fact that they’re still around speaks to the fact that they’ve done a good job of that.”

June 2018

- As the rising global population puts increasing demand on quality, safe and sustainably produced food, how is technology enabling us to produce, manufacture and distribute food more efficiently?

- How is the traditional model of food distribution being disrupted and what are the market opportunities? What impact are e-commerce, direct-to-consumer, online delivery and localized food production having on food distribution models?

- How is the evolving role of technology impacting the food delivery space? How are big data, artificial intelligence and analytics being adapted to meet the demands of the future food value chain?

- How can we tackle food distribution in a way that is fair, democratic and sustainable – domestic as well as global? How are emerging solutions supporting the way we address food deserts and the practical logistics of supply chains?

Brita Rosenheim, Partner, BETTER FOOD VENTURES

Uwe Voss, COO, HELLOFRESH
Fabio Ziemssen, Director Food Innovation, NX-FOOD, METRO AG
Roberta Brewster, VP of Business Development and Corporate Strategy, 915 LABS
Chris Mallett, President, MALLETT CONSULTANCY

May 2018

In a collaboration between TechTable, a platform and annual summit dedicated to innovation at the intersection of hospitality and technology, and The Mixing Bowl, a platform to connect food, agriculture and IT innovators, we unveil the 2018 Restaurant Tech EcoSystem map, which represents a current view of the many layers within the restaurant technology ecosystem.

April 2018

Brita Rosenheim, of the investment firm Better Food Ventures, said Spyce’s business model sound promising, but will only succeed if people like the food the machine makes.

March 22, 2018

This year's topic, “The Full Stack”, will identify meaningful opportunities and short-term “sprint” developments which address challenges in adoption, implementation and engagement across the digitally-enabled food and agriculture landscape.

The Mixing Bowl’s annual NYC event with Forbes brings together food and ag thought leaders, start-ups, key industry players, investors and representatives from leading global food and agriculture innovation hubs in order to discuss Food & AgTech challenges and solutions in an innovative and interactive forum.

March 2018

Weight Watchers International, which counts Oprah Winfrey among its biggest shareholders, is getting into the meal-kit business.

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New York-based advisor Brita Rosenheim said about meal kits on the market currently. "It makes sense Weight Watchers is trying to get a piece of this."

January 2018

"From an investing standpoint, “food is just different,” said Brita Rosenheim, a food tech industry adviser and partner at the Better Food Ventures investment firm. “It’s not makeup, it’s not clothes. There’s a lot of tech investors that came in thinking it would be an interesting retail play and had the wrong expectations about growth.”

December 2017

"While most meal kit companies operate on a subscription-based home-delivery model, offering the products in stores allows meal-kit providers to test different recipes and offerings more economically than via a distribution model, Rosenheim explained."

October 2017

“A lot of investors have been burned by the on-demand delivery space or the meal-kit space or any of these hot categories that have been extremely active and had some crash-and-burn failures in the last couple of years,” Rosenheim said. “On a weekly basis I’m hearing anecdotes of investors that are telling [companies] , ‘I have PTSD in this space. . . . I can’t go back to my partners and advocate for a food tech deal.’ They’re done.”

October 2017

How do you build connected services for the smart kitchen?  Panel with Brita Rosenheim, Partner, Better Food Ventures; Lisa Fetterman, CEO, Nomiku; Mike Wallace, CEO, Perfect Company; Tony Ciepiel, COO, Vitamix.

July 2017

Brita Rosenheim has released an updated version of her Food Tech & Media Landscape Map and provided some thoughts on the latest industry trends. 

July 2017

Investors enjoy having plenty of options, and the food tech landscape certainly offers choices at the moment with approximately 3,000 companies vying for funding and customers, according to two prominent food tech investors. The explosion of new companies is fueling innovation in the field, but there are growing pains as well.

June 2017

Attendees joined the Center for Technology Licensing (CTL), leaders from industry, the investment community, and academia to explore current topics and trends in agriculture and animal production to meet the challenges of feeding 9 billion. Key topics included digital agriculture, biotechnology in plants, plant breeding, microbiome for food production solutions, and more. 

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Venture Capitalists investing at all stages of the pipeline will share insights from their experiences. 

Moderator: 
Ron Meeusen, Managing Director, Cultivian Sandbox and Managing Partner, Cultivian Ventures 

Panelists will include: 
Michael Helmstetter, Co-Founder, President and CEO, TechAccel; 
Bob Nordgren, Managing Director, The Yield Lab; 
Brita Rosenheim, Partner, Better Food Ventures

June 2017

When the news broke that meal-kit company Blue Apron was going to launch a $100 million IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (APRN), headlines emphasized the challenges the startup faces. Every news story mentioned the high-cost of customer acquisition and a recent uptick in losses for the five-year-old food tech company, which could make the decision to list look precarious.

June 2017

This event shines a spotlight on food-tech innovation from the contrasting perspectives of retailers, restaurateurs, product developers and investors. We’ll explore new frontiers in plant-based proteins, personalized nutrition and food safety, and hear how open innovation and collaboration are accelerating the pace of market adoption.

June 2017

Amazon announced an agreement to buy Whole Foods on Friday, a blockbuster deal that sank stocks across the grocery industry.

The acquisition comes just two weeks after meal-kit delivery start-up Blue Apron filed for a $100 million IPO.

June 2017

In the food system, technology is now enabling the consumer’s fork to become mightier than the producers’ farm.  This event will discuss discuss the shift in power caused by the rise of the tech-enabled food consumer, its upstream production and supply implications as well as downstream societal consequences.

April 2017

The once-promising Silicon Valley backed juice startup Juicero is now offering full refunds on their $400 luxury juicer, after a media report showed the device may not bring much to the table.

April 2017

Forbes and The Mixing Bowl gathered 140 thought leaders, investors and industry executives at Forbes on Fifth in Manhattan to explore how information technology can be harnessed to solve challenges in food and agriculture. 

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​The day kicked off with Paul Noglows, Executive Director of Forbes Live, setting the table by interviewing Brita Rosenheim and Seana Day, Partners at The Mixing Bowl and Better Food Ventures where they track more than 3,000 Food Tech and AgTech start-ups, illustrated through their through their Market Landscapes.

March 2017

Hosted by Google, Technomic's Consumer Direct Conference was developed to fill the “insights gap” that exists in understanding the size, structure and dynamics of the emerging Consumer Direct channel. Services within this channel do not fit into the traditional definitions of “retail” or “restaurants”.

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Industry experts Arjun Chakravarti and Brita Rosenheim outline the major changes coming to food sourcing, food technology and consumer demand.

March 2017

Panelists from leading food tech startups working on identifying novel flavor combinations, developing intelligent cooking appliances, and building personalized food discovery experiences will discuss the state-of-the-art in food-related AI — the problems being solved, the methodologies and algorithms being used, opportunities, and examples of successes and failures — and contemplate the future of food.

March 2017

In a panel conducted by Brita Rosenheim, Yummly's Greg Druck, Foodpairing founder Bernard Lahousse, and Innet's Ankit Brahmbhatt, the discussion was about the ways in which artificial intelligence and machine learning can help improve people’s culinary experiences. 

October 2016

The one and only event looking at the future of the connected kitchen, discussing business strategy with David Rabie, CEO, Tovala; Roland Verbeek, Founder, Spinn Coffee, Daniel Rausch, Amazon Dash

September 2016

In recent months, I’ve also observed long-time ag industry incumbents and tech sector leaders alike, making moves that signal validation for the potential of connected devices, sensors, systems and analytics in the Food and Ag value chain. If the flood of new technologies is overwhelming for growers, ranchers and food producers, one can only imagine how dizzying this for those outside the food and agriculture industry.

September 2016

The city is getting crowded with companies seeking to change the way we eat. There are indulgent ice cream brands and healthy beverage purveyors, “food-tech” entities using algorithms to track cattle or overhaul restaurant inventory systems, and high-minded food labs stealthily designing new recipes for major brands.

September 2016

The food tech ecosystem brought in over $665 million of capital in September, with a little over half attributed to the IPO of Dutch food delivery marketplace Takeaway.com. There were 17 private companies who announced funding during the month, raising close to $300 million in total private capital, half of which were U.S.-based. Within this, Fresh Direct’s private equity infusion of $189 million was the largest raise during the month.

September 2016

Food policy has gone mainstream. I know this because Summit at Sea 2016—a swanky three-day conference held on a cruise ship that hosts likes of Google CEO Eric Schmidt, skateboarder Tony Hawk and acclaimed poet Sonia Sanchez—is incorporating an entire series of talks under the umbrella “Corn and Soy,” curated by food activist Ellen Gustafson. This is a big deal..

June, July, Auguest 2016

While there were a number of interesting deals this summer, overall activity was relatively light. The last three months brought in approximately $758 million in funding; year-over-year total funding dollars during this period were down 56%.

July 2016

An industry that once looked like it was reaching its saturation point may yet have room for new entrants after all. Freshly, a New York City-based startup that delivers ready-to-heat meals, just secured a $21 million funding round and is on track to be available in more than 90 percent of the U.S. by early next year. 

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June 2016

But funding in the food-tech sphere isn’t drying up altogether. For one thing, the industry extends well beyond the cars that shuttle ready-to-eat food across the city. Plus, with rumors of meal-kit provider Blue Apron proceeding with a potential IPO in the next 12 months, it’s clear that there are still some appetizing opportunities. Investors are just being more careful with their dollars.​

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“Across the board, food tech is still at the beginning of a pretty long trajectory,” said Brita Rosenheim. According to Rosenheim, food safety, farming, restaurant automation, commerce and sourcing are just a few of the areas that should see growth and investment in the coming months.

June 2016

"Throw a dart," and you can find a company catering to just about any food preference, says Brita Rosenheim, founder of a consulting firm focused on food-related tech companies. 

May 2016

Brita Rosenheim, Strategist and Advisor, ROSENHEIM ADVISORS
Louisa Burwood-Taylor, Editor, AGFUNDER
Benzi Ronen, CEO and Co-Founder, FARMIGO
Venky Balakrishnan, Global Vice President – Digital Innovation, DIAGEO
Nick Taranto, Co-Founder & President, PLATED

May 2016

Both HelloFresh and Blue Apron, two leaders in the space, now have valuations of more than $2 billion. “The largest players in the space are saying their economics do work,” Rosenheim said. “It is believable because they are getting to a level of scale where they do have their own food-sourcing and distribution platforms.”

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But she said the market is also becoming increasingly saturated, particularly with the news out this week that Amazon.com will begin partnering with Tyson Foods to distribute “Tyson Tastemakers” meal kits, utilizing its logistics platform to extend the reach of its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service.

May 2016

Deal volume in May was in line with recent months, with six acquisitions and fifteen fundings, however deal sizes were significantly smaller as the total reported influx into the foodtech sector was just $155 million. In contrast to recent months where larger and later stage rounds represented a least a quarter of fundings, May was filled with a majority of Seed and Series A rounds and featured just one raise over $20 million.

April 2016

Once the bot is launched, Slack users will be able to interact with it, placing orders and receiving suggestions based on their input. But the use of technology in this case may not lead to a significant increase in sales for the company, food consultant Brita Rosenheim said, because of the lack of delivery options, which have led to the success of companies such as GrubHub or Seamless.  

“It doesn't look like it's seamless; it's not being delivered to you," she said. "You still have to have somebody with the app on their phone to go drive and pick up the order, so it’s probably more of a novelty than opening up a wave of corporate lunchtime Taco Bell orders.”

April 2016

With succinct pitches from expert panelists and plenty of pointed queries from the audience, the recent conference’s discussions were full of insights..

March and April 2016

Many startups outside of the delivery sector that I speak with say they are feeling the implications of the delivery shakeout in their own quest for funding. This is unfortunate, as the recent shift in consumer demand, expectations and behaviors around food have created a foundation that will continue to foster tremendous opportunity through technology – whether purely direct to consumer or building B2B efficiencies and insights. While the delivery category is clouding the food tech narrative, the overall sector is still at the beginning of a long trajectory, and the current rightsizing will make it a stronger sector overall.

April 2016

A crowd of 200 listened to a great menu of international and Icelandic speakers at LYST, which is best described as a forum on the future of food. The President of Iceland opened the forum. Other speakers included Sarah Smith at The Institute of the Future, Jon Staenberg investor and wine maker, Tim West, co-founder of FoodHackathon, analyst and consultant Brita Rosenheim, Roger Berkowitz the President and CEO of Legal Seafood and many more.

April 2016

Anita goes on to perfectly sum up the current landscape by quoting Brita Rosenheim, an industry expert, “There will be consolidation, but also less players in the space. The main reason is in order to make the margins work on this model you really need to get to scale. You need the right funding to get there. Major larger players have funding to get them to scale at any cost.”

March 2016

As later stage investors like mutual funds enter the scene, they'll look beyond the novelty of an idea toward how it is being executed, especially since the barriers to entry in the food delivery industry are so low, Rosenheim said. 

"What is the lifetime value of your customer? What are your margins, and are your operating margins positive? What's the retention? How often are people ordering? What are your plans for growth of additional revenue streams? That would be what they look for," Rosenheim said.

March 2016

Rob LeClerc, Co-founder, Agfunder

Howard Fischer, Board Member, Gratitude Railroad

Ben Fishman, Managing Principal, Arlon Group

Brita Rosenheim, Strategist and Advisor, Rosenheim Advisors

Rob Trice, Founder, The Mixing Bowl 

February 2016

Investment and M&A activity in February was moderate, with over $265 million of reported transaction value during the month. With all but four financings sized at less than $10 million, there was an absence of later stage deals - a significant shift from January’s activity.

January 2016

The food tech industry typically refers to companies that use internet or mobile technology to make the preparation, assembly, or distribution of food products more efficient or profitable. One of the emerging areas of the sector is food analytics, which includes companies developing smart kitchen appliances such as devices that help consumers with food inventory management. Food tech has been dominated by U.S. companies during the past few years, but funding of companies outside the U.S.--particularly in India and China--exploded in 2015.

January 2016

It's the end of 2015, and many are using the occasion to look back on the major moments and trends of the last year. The more forward-thinking writers of the world, however, are bravely leading readers into the new year — making predictions involving everything from gravitational waves to craft beer. Here's what the uncertain fate of 2016 may hold for the human race, according to the Internet.

January 2016

This annual report looks at the financing and acquisition trends in the Food Tech & Media ecosystem, which encompasses digital content, social, local, mobile, grocery, e-commerce, delivery, ordering, payments, marketing and analytics.

December 2015

As has been typical the last couple of years, December funding activity in the U.S. was relatively light, however a bulk of international deals (mainly in Asia) spurred additional momentum in the food tech category.

In total, over $125 million was raised globally across sixteen private companies, with $67 million of the overall investment going to six U.S.-based startups. 

December 2015

Everybody eats—but we may not eat nearly enough to support the ballooning food-delivery tech category. Consulting firm Rosenheim Advisors counted 88 companies in the U.S. that offer either meal kits, meal delivery, food e-commerce, online grocery shopping, or online ordering. “In the next 12 to18 months there will be some reckoning,” says Brita Rosenheim, who runs her eponymous firm.

December 2015

Experts note that online food orders don’t necessarily represent new business, just business purchased in a different way. The amount of food consumed, overall, isn’t always boosted because of online ordering, said Phil Lempert, a food industry analyst and editor of the popular online trade publication SupermarketGuru.

Rosenheim agreed, adding that mergers are on the horizon. “There’s a lot of money going into this space, and there’s absolutely consolidation to come. And we’ll start to see that in (the next) 18 months,” she said.

November 2015

Together with more than $220 million raised in the global private markets through funding and acquisitions, and Square’s IPO totaling $279 million in primary shares, over $500 million was infused into the food tech landscape in November.

November 2015

And the money has followed. Rosenheim estimates that $733 million has flooded into such businesses over the past six months from U.S. private investors. Compare that to $697 million for all of last year.

The result? Lots of startups with valuations of at least $1 billion, those much beloved unicorns, in the food delivery sector. But there’s one area of the market that has yet to have a billion-dollar company: farm-to-table grocery delivery.

October 2015

The on-demand scene has big potential, and there's no better example than the proliferation of delivery apps that allow consumers to order great restaurant food delivered straight to their door. What’s going on behind the scenes? During this panel, representatives from some of the top online delivery services will talk through the current state of the industry.

October 2015

The month of October featured two mega-deals, with First Data’s $2.56 billion IPO (valuing it at $14 billion) and the merger of China’s competing firms Meituan and Dianping, reportedly valued at $15 billion.

On top of these deals, globally over $373 million was invested across 18 deals into the private food tech sector, with a majority of the cash influx going to companies in China and India. 

September 2015

"It's what separates the food industry from the fashion industry," said Brita Rosenheim of consulting firm Rosenheim Advisors — that is, it's much easier to deliver shoes than salads.

"Food is different — it requires more padding, requires temperature sensitivity, particularly raw food and raw protein," she said. "It's a big obstacle and a big cost for the premium you are paying for delivery."

Development of food-delivery technology has attracted an enormous amount of money. About $710 million was invested in the segment in the first half of 2015, more than the $681 million invested all of last year, according to data from Rosenheim Advisors.

September 2015

This month brought in $420 million of private capital across twenty two global companies, half of which were based in the U.S. There were some sizable deals moving the needle, with ten companies raising more than $10 million and of those, six raising more than $35 million. The five M&A deals hinted at increasing consolidation in the restaurant technology sector, while the funding activity also skewed towards restaurant tech and (of course!) delivery concepts ranging from meals to logistics.

August 2015

Global food tech investments dominated August, with two thirds of the funded companies based outside of the U.S. (representing 95% of the total capital raised), rounding out to a total of $950 million across 26 global companies for the month.

July 2015

July was exceptionally active on the fundraising front compared to last year, with 23 deals totaling $318 million in 2015 compared to just $75 million over 10 deals last year during the same month. This cash influx continued to fuel the progression towards a maturing industry, with about a third of all the deals (globally), and half of U.S. deals, sized at least $20 million.

July 2015

A separate report by the consulting firm Rosenheim Advisors found food tech and media investment hit $460 million in the month of June. The report includes companies in areas such as food delivery but also restaurant recommendation and review websites.

"As we have been seeing for a while now, delivery and online ordering were represented in spades, but we also saw an influx of digital content deals -- ranging from recipes to restaurants," founder Brita Rosenheim said.

July 2015

These companies are all the rage in recent years in the United States, with investments valued at several hundred million dollars last year, as reported by Rosenheim Advisors, the phenomenon is still relatively emerge in Europe. 

June 2015

There were a ton deals in June, with eleven acquisitions (mainly small) and sixteen fundraises (all shapes and sizes), rounding out to over $460 million of global investment into the food tech and media space.

The average size between the Series A and Series B rounds was $9.4 million, and, signaling that sectors within this industry are increasingly crossing the threshold into the growth equity category, there were five deals sized over $20 million.

May 2015

These are heady times for the intersection of food and tech. Brita Rosenheim of Rosenheim Advisors reported in December that foodtech and food media industries have doubled in the last three years, investing $2.4 billion in 2014. Companies gathered even more than that — $3 billion — in the first quarter of this year alone. 

While there’s been talk of a foodtech bubble, Rosenheim thinks we’re at the beginning of a long uptrend. The space has just begun to attract interest from large players in food, not to mention completely different industries considering leapfrogging into food through tech. 

May 2015

With two monster acquisitions in the restaurant delivery space (totaling $1.3 billion) and 21 fundraises (totaling $549 million), capital continues to flow into the global food tech and media sector. Close to half of all the deals were based outside of the U.S. and there was a fair amount of early stage capital this month, with over three quarters of the deals Series A or earlier. In particular, meal delivery and e-commerce were dominant themes in the private funding sector with two thirds of the deals within those categories.

April 2015

In New York City, a town that loves takeout, apps are replacing the telephone and paper menus as a way to place an order. The biggest app around is Seamless. That company so dominates online ordering that many restaurants feel they’re forced to do delivery by Seamless’ rules. But that could be changing, as billions of dollars are invested in new online ordering systems. Rosenheim Advisors reports $2.4 billion in private capital flowed into food tech and media in 2014, a 42 percent increase from 2013.

April 2015

Join us April 27-29 in Chicago. Welcome to the new food economy. Consumer demand for transparency, accountability, and sustainability are forcing the food industry to revisit everything from ingredient sourcing and supply-chain sustainability to packaging and labeling.

The Food Leaders Summit is your opportunity to look closely at the transformative changes impacting every asect of the food industry -- and work collaboratively with your industry peers to succeed in this new environment.

April 2015

A lot of companies are trying to be the "next Uber" – the app-based car service so popular with consumers, it’s reshaping the taxi industry. In New York, Seamless wants to be the “Uber” of food delivery. Already, the company so dominates online ordering that many restaurants feel they’re forced to do delivery by Seamless’ rules.

April 2015

The food tech and media industry was quite active in April, especially as consolidation continued to heat up in the restaurant and food delivery sector; with eight of the eleven acquisitions within that category. With over $250 million invested across 15 private funding deals during the month, there was a solid mix across all stages but a heavier concentration of Series A deals (averaging $9 million in size). Notably, three quarters of the funding deals were international, with a majority of them in India.

March 2015

Another thing about millennials: They may want to avoid the store entirely and have their groceries dropped off.To keep them and other online shopping enthusiasts as customers, grocery chains are partnering with tech companies like Instacart, Google Express, Amazon and Uber, which send couriers to stores to pick up groceries and then deliver them within an hour. And while most consumers will continue to go to the store to select their tomatoes and bread themselves, Rosenheim Advisors reported in December 2014 that the food tech sector is booming. "More than $1.6 billion was invested [in 2013] into food-related tech companies, up 33 percent from $1.2 billion in 2012," it noted.

February 2015

February was an exceptionally lucrative month for the food tech and media industry, with a reported $1.8 billion invested into the sector through 19 acquisitions and thirteen private capital raises (worldwide). For some context - although not apples to apples - in all of 2014, $2.4 billion of private capital was invested into the food tech sector in the U.S. (not including acquisitions).

February 2015

Underscoring an ongoing enthusiasm for investor-funded technology start-ups that intersect with the food space, the news that Instacart recently closed on $220 million in venture capital funding was perhaps not too surprising given the overall scope of investment in food technology start-ups: Brita Rosenheim, of Rosenheim Advisors (which tracks investment in food technology), reported in December 2014 that "venture capital funding is pouring into the space.

January 2015

The new year kicked off with over $525 million pouring into the food tech & media sector through 4 acquisitions and 12 capital raises primarily in the restaurant and delivery sectors. 

Not surprisingly, Instacart’s monster valuation, which I reported on in the December report but was confirmed by the company in January, has gotten everyone weighing in on the home delivery sector, and what’s next for the grocery industry. It’s clear that as the digital/mobile pathways towards online discovery, ordering and delivery mature, consumer adoption and behavior will continue to blossom.

January 2015

Quelles sont alors les raisons de ce boom actuel de la food tech par rapport aux années 2000 qui ont vu naître les premiers services de livraison rapide ? En premier lieu, ce sont les technologies ubiquitaires et l’usage presque organique des smartphones aujourd’hui qui favorisent la croissance de ces business models de livraison de nourriture.

"Les consommateurs, et surtout les millenials, sont de plus en plus à la recherche de produits de qualité et veulent savoir d’où ils proviennent. À l’heure de "l’économie à la demande", les attentes concernant la restauration en ligne grandissent, allant de pair avec le niveau de confort attendu." commente Rosenheim Advisors. En effet, l’économie à la demande a émergé avec les services tels que Uber, Lyft ou AirBnb, prônant l’immédiateté afin de se procurer un moyen de transport, un logement, ou bien un plat cuisiné.

2014 Annual Report

Private capital investment for the U.S. food tech & media industry grew 42% in 2014, with a total of $2.4 billion, while an additional $6.1 billion of public market capitalization (at offerings) was realized through the IPO of four food tech companies.
 
Overall, the year rounded out with 43 U.S M&A deals in the sector, which was slightly less than 2013, however the acquired companies were better capitalized than their 2013 counterparts, pointing to fewer straight “acqui-hire” deals in 2014.

December 2014

Instacart is just one of many delivery start-ups that have cropped up in recent years to cater to time-strapped shoppers who will pay for convenience. This year, GrubHub, the owner of food delivery service Seamless, raised $192 million in its initial public offering. Amazon.com just launched a one-hour service in Manhattan that will fetch more than 25,000 "essentials" to customers within 60 minutes.

Venture capital funding is pouring into the space. More than $1.6 billion was invested last year into food-related tech companies, up 33% from $1.2 billion in 2012, according to a report by consulting firm Rosenheim Advisors.

December 2014

The last month of 2014 rounded out with a reported $230 million+ invested into the food tech sector, with funding activity relatively in line with last December, although the Instacart megaround and Baedaltong funding are examples of later-stage bets that were quite rare in 2013. On the M&A front however, activity was very light, especially compared to last December’s seven acquisitions versus three deals this year (with only one deal in the U.S.).

November 2014

More than $545 million has been invested in the U.S. food delivery space since April 2013, according to Rosenheim Advisors, a strategic consulting firm focused on the food-related tech industry.

November 2014

November saw a lot of international investment into the food tech space with almost half of the funding flowing to other continents (both in terms of deal and dollar volume) and ten of the twelve M&A deals occurring abroad.  Overall, more than $260 million was invested into the food tech and media ecosystem, with a heavy leaning towards ordering and delivery (particularly in the restaurant space).

November 2014

Naturally, venture capital funding is pouring in. Where there’s a market, there is money to be made. In 2013 more than $1.6 billion was invested in U.S. food-related tech companies, up 33% from 2012, according to the consulting firm Rosenheim Advisors. Expectations for food start-up funding are even bigger for 2014, with $1.2 billion in private equity raised in the first six months alone.

October 2014

Nearly $4 billion was invested in food-related tech companies in the first half of 2014, more than double the $1.6 billion invested all of last year, according to food consulting firm Rosenheim Advisors. Investments in 2013 were up 33% over the year before.

October 2014

Food tech funding, M&A and partnership activity was robust in October with eight acquisitions and twelve financings, however, with a majority of deals at the seed stage and all acquisition amounts undisclosed, the sector only reported an influx of $32.3 million for the month.  

October 2014

“There is room for a number of players in this space, ranging from fresh meals to meal kits to fresh foods to fresh-from-farm. However, there will absolutely be consolidation,” says the founder of Rosenheim Advisors in New York. “As the leading companies look to expand to new territories they will likely take stock of who owns substantial market share in that region.”

October 2014

Some recipe-box companies may evolve into marketing and product partnerships, Rosenheim said. They could sell, say, a Le Creuset pan that would be perfect for this week's poached fish recipe, or sign a deal with Jim Beam for the bread pudding's bourbon sauce.

"I do think this is a legitimate industry, but I think there will be consolidation. Just like daily deals or any area where there's a flurry, there will eventually be people who fall out," Rosenheim said. "It’s a landgrab situation at this point and companies need to stand out."

October 2014

In the US market, some $545 million was pumped into the food delivery space in the 18 months to September, according to Rosenheim Advisors, which tracks food tech startups. That includes the reported $90 million acquisition of food delivery group Caviar by Square.

"People are a lot more comfortable ordering online than they were 10 or 15 years ago, and that is important for something as personal as food," said Brita Rosenheim, who leads Rosenheim Advisors.

Correction Note: AFP incorrectly stated that the $545 million excludes restaurant delivery. The figure  does include restaurant delivery, but does not include online restaurant ordering platforms (like Grubhub Seamless), as they do not provide delivery services. 

September 2014

Over $800m poured into the food tech ecosystem in September, with close to half of the deals series B or above. As with recent months, it is clear the industry has begun to shift, with institutional investors participating more frequently, in larger and later-stage rounds, due to the strongest companies moving beyond simply establishing a scalable model, and pushing further towards expansion and growth.

A noticeable theme, in both the deal activity as well as headlines over the past month, has been centered around the digital grocery experience. From digital coupons and deals, to loyalty and mobile rewards through beacons, to new ordering and delivery formats, there has been a surge in innovation and partnerships aimed at transforming (and further monetizing) the grocery consumer’s experience.

September 2014

Venture capital funding is pouring into the space. More than $1.6 billion was invested last year into food-related tech companies, up 33% from $1.2 billion in 2012, according to a report from consulting firm Rosenheim Advisors. And 2014 is forecast to be an even bigger year for food start-up funding.

September 2014

"In context with the locavore movement, Farmigo is an interesting extension of the CSA model that's more attainable and approachable," said Brita Rosenheim, founder of Rosenheim Advisors, which does food-tech industry consulting. "It gives people the ability to control what they get, and also feel like they're supporting local farmers and getting high-quality organic foods."

August 2014

With six acquisitions and eight financings, August was slightly less active than July, bringing almost $510 million into the food tech & media ecosystem (versus $740m in July). There was a strong international presence with over half of the deals coming from companies headquartered outside the U.S. (counting for the largest raise), and a prominence of both restaurant-related technologies as well as subscription commerce companies.

July 2014

Caviar is one of dozens of food start-ups that have sprung up in the last few years, eager to take advantage of customers with refined palates who are too busy to grab takeout or go grocery shopping. This year, GrubHub, the owner of delivery service Seamless, raised $192 million in its initial public offering.

Venture capital funding is pouring into the space. More than $1.6 billion was invested last year into food-related tech companies, up 33% from $1.2 billion in 2012, according to a report from consulting firm Rosenheim Advisors. 2014 is forecasted to be an even bigger year for food start-up funding.

July 2014

The food tech and media sector was infused with close to $740m in July, with a majority of the cash coming from M&A ($664m). Close to a third of all deals were for companies based outside of the U.S., and almost half of the funding announcements were for seed stage companies.

The "convenience economy" has increasingly been gaining traction across multiple industries and was a prevalent theme among most deals in this ecosystem in July.  From personal shopping and delivery, to personal coaching and premium restaurant reservations, both investors and companies large and small are positioning themselves to capitalize on the consumer's quest for luxury.

June 2014

The Mixing Bowl and the FEED Collaborative invite you to join us Friday June 20th at Stanford for a day-long conference that will bring together start-ups, investors, established players from the IT and Food & Agriculture industries-- as well as representatives from leading global food and agriculture innovation hubs-- to explore how information technology is changing the production, transportation and sales, marketing and consumption of food.

June 2014

The first half of 2014 rounded out with over $3.9 billion invested into private food tech and media companies through equity raises ($1.2b) and acquisitions ($2.7b disclosed). The big news in June was of course the acquisition announcements of two significant food tech incumbents: OpenTable and Micros Systems (by Priceline and Oracle, respectively).

Both acquirors are outside of what anyone would define as the food tech ecosystem, which is relevant because it signals that the sector is further evolving towards increased institutionalization and consolidation. This is why it is important to be in tune with the strategy of broader tech and media players: if they aren't already thinking about food tech as a source of increased market share and new revenue streams, it is likely they will be soon.

May 2014

The question of what’s for dinner can now be answered in millions of ways thanks to the countless recipes, content and food-related marketing available to consumers online. This panel will explore how our relationship with food is being changed by the Internet, and how the digital frontier will augment our cooking and eating behaviors and enable new ones. Will the future of food mean posting pictures to Instagram, or something entirely new?

May 2014

Three acquisitions and seventeen notable financings funneled close to $575 million into the food tech ecosystem in May. Restaurant technology and ecommerce were both dominant themes, and earlier-stage companies made a comeback with eleven of the fundraises at the seed or series A stage.

April 2014

The fundraise follows a wave of food startup investments. In the first quarter of this year, food startups pulled in $300 million in VC funding, according to Rosenheim Advisors.

April 2014

With two IPOs, fifteen private company fundraises and one acquisition, April brought a serious influx of cash into the food tech ecosystem totaling close to $1.1 billion. 

Delivery was a prominent theme as thirteen of the 18 deals involve direct-to-consumer delivery. Also notable was the lack of angel/seed rounds and substantial shift towards larger deals, with an eight of the fifteen private companies raising over $10 million, and an average raise of $19 million.

April 2014

As more technology works its way into the culinary experience at home and on-the-go, venture capitalists have taken notice. Food tech startups soaked up more than $2.8 billion in venture capital since 2012, according to Rosenheim Advisors.

April 2014

Technology and innovation are finally starting to flow into the food industry. So far in 2014, almost $1 billion has been invested, including IPO's, in food-tech companies. In 2013, VC's poured more than $1.6 billion into food-tech companies, up from $1.2 billion in 2012. Food-Tech encompasses digital content, social, local, mobile, grocery, delivery, ordering, payments, marketing, and analytics. 

March 2014

The first quarter of 2014 brought an infusion of over $300 million in private investment to the sector, with twelve notable acquisitions. Also, as expected, since the beginning of March four food-related tech and media companies have begun to trade publicly, representing a combined $6.1 billion of market capitalization (at offerings).

March 2014

Kitchensurfing owes its momentum a few big trends: For one, food-related tech startups are extremely hot with investors. In 2013, VC's poured more than $1.6 billion into food-tech startups, according to Rosenheim Advisors, a firm which tracks this sector (and publishes an elaborate, comprehensive logo landscape of all the startups). Venture-backed companies like Blue Apron, Plated and HelloFresh offer cook-at-home meal kits, while others, like Relay Foods, Boxed, Abe's Market and Instacart offer online grocery ordering.

March 2014

As more technology works its way into the culinary experience at home and on-the-go, venture capitalists have taken notice. Food tech startups soaked up more than $2.8 billion in venture capital last year, according to Rosenheim Advisors.  

February 2014

The momentum continues with six acquisitions in the month of February, and eight investments totaling $75.9m. Grocery was a dominant theme among the acquisitions, while restaurant ordering/delivery was overwhelmingly prevalent among investments (perhaps reflecting the anticipation of the upcoming public market debuts).

January 2014

We kicked off the new year with a flurry of private market investments in the food tech and media space, totaling $127.3m for the month of January across eleven deals, and two notable acquisitions. A majority of the companies were focused on the restaurant and hyperlocal sectors, joined by two commerce startups and two ag tech companies.

January 2014

On January 17th the Impact Hub in San Francisco was abuzz with 100+ of the top sustainable food producers, entrepreneurs & mentors from across the United States for the first Good Food, Good Business Day in conjunction with the annual Good Food Awards - an event that honored the deliciousness, community connection and environmental respect that makes truly good food. The Good Food Merchants Guild teamed up with Impact Hub & SOCAP to take a deeper look at the intersection of food + technology entrepreneurship.

January 2014

With increasing deal activity and deal sizes, the food tech and media space continued to gain momentum with $1.6b+ invested in 2013 through 148 investments (vs. $1.2b and 136, respectively, in 2012). Restaurant-related technology won the most attention from both investors and acquirors over the year with 54% of the investments (representing $453m across 76 deals), and 51% of M&A activity.

December 2013

Ending on a strong note, the deal activity for December was spread across many distinct industries, including food and meal distribution and delivery, mobile wallets and payments, hyperlocal marketing, content, indoor farming and even the connected kitchen. There were eight notable acquisitions – seven of which were early-stage startups) – six early-stage investments (totaling $11.7 million) and two later-stage investments (totaling $43 million).

November 2013

The deal activity in November picked up a bit from last month with four notable acquisitions, eight early-stage investments (totaling $36.7m) and one Series D (an Indian-based company, Zomato, which raised $27m). The deals represented a variety of categories including health, content, delivery, loyalty and commerce/restaurant technologies.

November 2013

Startups are seeking to change the way we buy groceries, eat out, host dinner parties, pay for drinks, and cook our meals. OpenTable proved there’s a lucrative business in reservations, earning its investors a solid return. Now, with the Web 1.0 flameout Webvan a distant memory, a new, massive wave of food startups are seeking to cash in on the way we eat. Investors are paying attention.

October 2013

The deal activity in October was moderate with five acquisitions, five early-stage investments (totaling $25.5m) and two later-stage cash infusions (Pinterest and Yelp – totaling $514m). In other news, a powerful alliance was announced in October that will affect a number of startups (and incumbents) in the restaurant deals, loyalty and marketing space.

September 2013

Think the latest technology is in your smartphone?  Think again — it may be in what you just had for lunch!  From new agricultural models to ways to eat liquids with your hands, startups are changing the way we grow, prepare, consume, and conceive of food.  How do you start and scale a food technology business, and how are investors looking at the future of food?

September 2013

Companies focused on delivery, restaurant loyalty and mobile payments dominated the food tech news. These themes mirror overall consumer Internet trends, as both investors and consumers increasingly bet on new products that seamlessly merge an online-offline dynamic (think Airbnb, Uber).

August 2013

August was a surprisingly fruitful month for participants in the food tech & media space. Fifteen companies raised over $110m during the month, with a noticeable majority of the companies progressing beyond the Series A stage. There were also a number of high-profile deals among the established consumer internet companies.

July 2013

As a media capital and the home of world-famous restaurants and a thriving locavore movement, New York has become food-tech central, with entrepreneurs offering everything from sites that emphasize recipes to e-commerce enterprises selling easy-to-make "food kits" that save customers the work of buying ingredients.

"There's been an explosion of these companies in New York," said Brita Rosenheim, who heads Rosenheim Advisors, a Manhattan-based consulting firm that caters to the sector. She estimated that there are "easily over 150" in the city.

July 2013

July was a busy month as four prominent industry players – Apple, Dropbox, Yelp and OpenTable – acquired companies in the Food Tech & Media space, and ten companies raised over $315 million. There was a heavy focus on the restaurant vertical with 10 of the 17 deals highlighted in this report relating to recommendations, reservations and delivery, as well as marketing and analytics, payments and workforce optimization.

June 2013

Few announcements have had the potential to disrupt the entire delivery ecosystem – from grocery to restaurants to e-commerce – as Amazon.com’s plans for the expansion of AmazonFresh.

June 2013

Food+Tech Connect, in partnership with the GRACE Communications Foundation and Applegate, is bringing together technologists, entrepreneurs, creatives, policy experts, non-profit leaders and industry executives to develop technologies and tools that help create a better future for meat.

Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school)

Palo Alto, CA

June 2013

This special event focuses on the links between food, wine and spirits, technology and funding. Please join us as entreprenurs and investors talk about strategies, positioning, what works, and what doesn't in this exciting space.

FoodTECH: Industry and Startup Trends Panel

• Brita Rosenheim - Principal, Rosenheim Advisors

• Deepti Kapur - Founder and CEO, Foodtoeat.com

• Sam Klepfish - CEO, Innovative Food Holdings and Food Hatch

• Nick Taranto - Co-Founder, Plated

• Joanne Wilson - Angel Investor, Blogger

May 2013

There is an interesting race heating up in the payments and POS arena, with major players including Square, Paypal and Groupon unveiling new solutions to own the register of the local merchant.

May 2013

This discussion will tap into perspectives from both sides of the table, with both investors and recently funded food tech startups offering insights and advice on investment in the Food Tech industry. Featuring Amanda Hesser, Co-founder, Food52, Brita Rosenheim, Rosenheim Advisors, Adam Salomone, Harvard Common Press, Alain Bankier, Angel investor and CEO of Manischewitz, Ben Leventhal, Kitchensurfing.

April 2013

Delivery has become a major investment theme this year, said Brita Rosenheim, founder of the strategic consulting firm Rosenheim Advisors. "Investors and start-ups are betting that consumers will increase their reliance on the convenience of online ordering and delivery," she said.

April 2013

“Food Tech” investing has been a hot topic this past month. Bottom line: we have only begun to scratch the surface of the food tech opportunity and continued innovation will lead to increasing investment in the space.

April 2013

Join us for a full day of talks, panels and networking to discuss how tech has spurred innovation in the food industry. We'll discuss how new apps are revolutionizing the restaurant industry, lessons learned from successful food-tech founders, e-commerce trends, and best practices when curating online content.

March 2013

Digital media startups focused on expert and user-generated content hit the spotlight in March with investments, acquisitions and partnerships ranging from recipes to the restaurant experience.

February 2013

“Delivery” was a major investment theme in February. Ranging from restaurant dishes to subscription-based models to in-home chefs, investors and startups are betting that a huge number of consumers will continue to increase their reliance on the convenience of online ordering and delivery.

January 2013

We’re kicking off 2013 with this monthly column highlighting the most interesting acquisitions, financings and partnerships within the Food Tech & Media ecosystem – digital content, social, local, mobile, e-commerce, payments, marketing and analytics – to give you insights into the latest funding and growth trends.

​“The digital restaurant” was a major theme in January as technologies focused on loyalty, marketing and ordering/payments saw significant investments and acquisitions.

December 2012

Recent research by New York food industry consulting firm Rosenheim Advisors shows there's an appetite for this kind of innovation. The July 2012 report indicates that $1.5 billion has been invested in food tech and media companies since the start of 2011.

July 2012

“Whether through ‘Likes,’ ‘Pins,’ ‘Check-ins,’ Sponsored Tweets, group coupons, local ad spend, mobile payments, digital commerce or curated content – every major consumer Internet company is already focused on food as a vertical, and many have been actively acquiring start-ups with significant exposure to the space,” says Rosenheim. “As competition for consumer mindshare intensifies, maintaining a leading edge in this space will be integral to the growth strategies of tech and media giants.”

July 2012

Food Tech & Media Map Reveals Dynamic Industry with Consolidation Under Way.

Only 50% of U.S. households own a smartphone, but 100% think about what’s for dinner each day. As a central aspect of daily life, food is a driving force of consumer engagement in the technology and media industries, and an integral component to many digital trends and innovation in the space. From home cooking to neighborhood discovery to the restaurant experience, the increased digitization of the food world has spurred rapid change in how consumers interact with brands and businesses, and created notable opportunities for industry players.