6 Foodtech spans multiple fields, among them nutrition, packaging, food safety, processing systems, cultured meat, alternative proteins, novel ingredients, retail and restaurant tech, health and wellness and more, while AgTech uses technology to drive farming efficiency and sustainability. The numbers speak for themselves. The global market for Foodtech is expected to reach a value of USD 342.5 billion by 2027, according to recent analysis by Emergen Research, while according to a forecast by the Barclays Group, the global market value of meat substitutes alone is expected to reach USD 140 billion for 2030. “According to a recent McKinsey study, recent growth in VC investment was particularly transformative for the Food and AgTech sectors,” points out Taylor Wessing’s London partner Josef Fuss. “Approximately 20 times more capital was invested in new Food and AgTech ventures in 2021 than 2012, whereas VC investment in the overall market grew approximately 11 times over,” he adds. While VC investments into AgTech and Foodtech start-ups plunged in 2022, according to a report in the Financial Times, investments were still higher than in 2020, and with the impact of climate change, the continued focus on food security, and demand for healthier, chemical-free food, analysts and lawyers agree that interest in Foodtech and AgTech will only increase in the longer term. As Fuss of Taylor Wessing adds: “In terms of VC funds, in the U.S., particularly active funds in AgTech are SVG Ventures, the Yield Lab, S2G Ventures, Cavallo Ventures and Ag Startup Engine – all invested in over 15 AgTech transactions in 2022. Meanwhile, in Europe, 2022 saw Paris-based Capagro, the first European independent VC fund dedicated to Food and AgTech, launching a €200 million fund. Other European prominent investing in this space includes Five Season Ventures, Astanor Ventures, Future Positive Capital and FoodLabs. There is also a rise in the number of specialized VC funds.” Foodtech set to reach over USD 340 billion by 2027
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