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The Good
Food Institute & New Crop Capital Address the Problems of Animal
Agriculture By Supporting Groundbreaking Plant and Culture-Based Meat, Eggs,
and Dairy Washington, D.C. – Earlier this month, Memphis Meats stormed the food and tech worlds by announcing the world’s first cultured meatball—real beef, grown without animal slaughter. The same day, the company Gelzen announced their plans to completely take over the gelatin industry—with gelatin grown in fermenters, no animals required. Both companies are receiving support from the newly launched non-profit organization The Good Food Institute (GFI) and received investments from the VC firm New Crop Capital (NCC).
The Good Food Institute is focused on dramatically extending the pipeline of scientists and entrepreneurs interested in working on plant-based and cultured products via events at colleges and universities and contests at elite business and science schools. The organization is also providing regulatory, marketing, business, and other support to start-up companies in the good food space, including mentoring and business advice through our array of advisors. Finally, GFI is focused on increasing the amount of quality plant-based products in the marketplace by working with companies to expand their reach into more restaurants, grocery stores, and food service outlets.
New Crop Capital (NCC) is a $25 million venture capital fund that will invest exclusively in plant and culture-based alternatives to animal agriculture, as well as technology platforms that make plant-based eating easier. New Crop Capital is focused on angel, seed, and Series A investments, with a goal of creating as robust a plant and culture-based marketplace as possible.
Since its inception last month, NCC has invested in culture meat company Memphis Meats, which was founded by two of the world’s foremost experts on cultured meat; Software/Tech platform Lighter, a tech-based company that will make plant-based eating exponentially easier; Plant-based meal delivery service The Purple Carrot, which enlisted former New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman as co-founder, partner and Chief Innovation Officer; Plant-based dairy alternative company Lyrical Foods, which is the first and only company to create plant-based dairy alternatives using the exact same process as cow-based cheeses; Cultured collagen company Gelzen, a brand new company which will replace gelatin with synthetic gelatin, allowing thousands of products to become entirely plant-based; Up-and-coming plant-based meat company Beyond Meat, which currently offers superb plant-based chicken and beef options, with a variety of exciting products set for introduction in 2016; New Zealand’s first plant-based meat company, Sunfed Foods, which aims to introduce plant-based meats throughout New Zealand, Australia, and Asia; and Miyoko's Kitchen, which is creating award-winning artisanal plant-based cheese products.
Bruce Friedrich, executive director of GFI, explains: “We are committed to driving the future of food. Consumers choose what to eat on the basis of taste, convenience, and price. That’s where The Good Food Institute and New Crop Capital come in. Both are laser-focused on creating clean plant and culture-based alternatives to animal products that taste great, are available everywhere, and that are cost competitive with conventional animal products. Through market competition and food technology, we are speeding the global transition away from farming animals and toward much cleaner and better plant and culture-based meat, dairy, and eggs.”
For more information, visit TheGoodFoodInstitute.org and NewCropCapital.com.
