New fund for agrotech

Food Labs has launched a 100 million euro fund. 50 start-ups in the food industry could benefit.

Venture capitalist Food Lab s is launching a new fund, as the Handelsblatt learned in advance. 100 million euros are to flow into 40 to 50 start-ups in Europe that are working on intelligent solutions for sustainable nutrition and thus reducing CO2 emissions.

The money comes from institutional investors, family offices of large retailers, as well as beverage and food manufacturers. "They are all specifically looking for sustainable investment opportunities," explains Christophe Maire, who founded Food Labs in 2016 under the name Atlantic Food Labs, to the Handelsblatt.

Maire's aim is to build a platform that connects start-ups and established companies in the food industry. Together with eight experts, Food Labs supports young start-ups financially and advises them on business issues, "even if they don't make any sales for a few years", says founder Maire. Because: "What's missing is the supporting infrastructure".

The fund has already invested in ten start-ups from Germany, including the protein start-up Microharvest, the Klim app, Foodji, which develops food vending machines, and the digital platform Airfarm. In Europe, Maire sees EU regulation as a particular problem for innovations in the food industry, which are being slowed down "under the guise of consumer protection", as he told the Handelsblatt says.