7 unicorns, 10 IPO’d and 20 companies on the trajectory to going public in the next 12 months. $9.6 billion cumulatively raised over time by this year’s FoodTech 500 winners. 47 different countries represented. Over 2,250 entries received. The strength of these numbers would be enough to describe the power of the latest FoodTech 500’s edition, unveiled today by Forward Fooding.

But let’s go deeper into the data behind it!

POWER TO THE DATA

The 500 International AgriFoodTech companies selected for the 2021 edition represent a rather heterogeneous group of international businesses spanning from very early-stage companies to IPO’d ones. All the information used by Forward Fooding to create the future IPO forecasts come from proprietary financial data collected on over 7,000 international AgriFoodTech companies since 2011 and by deep-diving into the data related to a selection of over 30 publicly-traded International FoodTech companies.

THE ‘FUTURE IPO’ INDICATORS

The data drove Forward Fooding to pinpoint three main indicators such as longevity of the company before IPO’ing, velocity between funding rounds, and latest funding round in order to identify another 7 companies among the 2021 FoodTech 500 pack that seem to be on the path to file their IPOs within the next 12 months. As a matter of fact, all of these companies show an average longevity (to date) of 9.9 years and an average velocity of 1.4 years between funding rounds and have completed their Series D. As a benchmark, IPO’ed companies show an average longevity of 9.2 years (from founding to IPO) and an average velocity between funding rounds of 1.2 years, while going public right after completing their Series D. 

WELCOME TO THE IPO CLUB

These findings are also confirmed by the fact that two of the above-mentioned companies have already filed/completed their IPOs respectively in October 2021 and February 2022. In addition, Forward Fooding have taken a step further to apply the same benchmarks over the rest of the 2021 FoodTech 500 list and have identified another 13 front-runner companies on the trajectory to file their IPOs within the next 24 months.

THE ULTIMATE FOODTECH 500’s GOAL

Catalysing the attention on the global AgriFoodTech entrepreneurial ecosystem, one of the most impactful industries in terms of bettering our planet, is what Forward Fooding work is all about. To achieve this objective, the FoodTech 500's ultimate goal is to build a powerful platform to provide global exposure to some of the most promising FoodTech startup and scaleup companies around the world. While raising awareness and showcasing their innovations, the FoodTech 500 facilitates connections between these companies, the global food industry and the international investor community.

THE TOP 10 OF THE 2021 FOODTECH 500

1. Infarm - Infarm is building a global network of urban vertical farms to grow and distribute fresh produce in cities – that’s good for people and the planet.
2. Plenty - Plenty, the flavor-first vertical farming company with a mission to improve the lives of people, plants, and the planet
3. Ynsect - Ÿnsect is the world leader in natural insect protein and fertilizer production.
4. Benson Hill - Benson Hill is a food technology company with a mission to deliver food made better from the beginning
5. Imperfect Foods - Imperfect Foods is reimagining grocery delivery and on a mission to eliminate food waste
6. Bowery Farming - Bowery, the largest vertical farming company in the United States
7. HelloFresh - HelloFresh SE is a global food solutions group that provides customers with high quality food and recipes
8. Pivot Bio - Pivot Bio is ensuring a more resilient, sustainable food supply by transforming our food system through microbial nitrogen fertilizer
9. Too good to go -Too Good To Go fights food waste primarily through an app, that connects users with stores and restaurants
10. NotCo - NotCo makes plant-based foods that taste, feel and function just like their animal-based counterparts

OVER TO FORWARD FOODING CEO

In the words of Forward Fooding’s founder & CEO, Alessio D’Antino commenting on this year’s edition: “We created the FoodTech 500 in 2019 to showcase the ‘underdogs’ of AgriFoodTech and shine a spotlight on the leading global innovators, from farm to fork, who are creating impactful solutions to enhance our food systems. Three years into the making, as we followed over 70+ IPOs of companies in foodtech, we saw the industry expanding remarkably. This year’s list, featuring 10 publicly-listed companies, 7 unicorns and another 20 businesses on the trajectory to join this pack, represents for us the testament that the entrepreneurial talent behind the global FoodTech industry is capable of doing great business - while, of course, doing good to the planet.”

Alessio D'Antino

THE GROWTH OF AGRIFOOD-TECH

Indeed, 2021 marks a record-breaking year for AgriFoodTech and this year’s list reflects this investment trend with $50.4B invested in 2021 globally, representing a +67% increase since 2020, and a +55.3% CAGR between 2017 and 2021. So, can we definitely say there's an interconnection between the growth of AgriFoodTech at global level and the growth of FoodTech 500? “Absolutely, - says Max Leveau, Forward Fooding COO - looking at the graph below extracted from the FoodTech Data Navigator,  we can see that the 2021 FoodTech 500 finalist companies and the global AgriFoodtech startup ecosystem are following a very similar path when it comes to investments - and 2021 marks a record year at the global level. As a matter of fact, more than 30% of the overall capital invested in the global startup FoodTech ecosystem since 2012 was invested in 2021 alone”.

AGRIFOOD-TECH EVER MORE MAINSTREAM?

Can some initiatives such as the FoodTech 500 help to make FoodTech innovations more mainstream and available to consumers?  “Yes, - says Alessio D’Antino, Forward Fooding CEO - this is one of the reasons why we have been doing the FoodTech 500 for three years in a row: raising awareness about the AgriFoodTech sector innovation and the challenges that our Food System is facing. The FoodTech 500’s mission is to shine a spotlight on the leading global innovators across the AgriFoodTech ecosystem, from farm to fork''. These entrepreneurs and the companies they have founded are creating impactful solutions to better our global food system. On top of raising awareness, one of the core objectives of the FoodTech 500 is also to generate meaningful connections across the ecosystem by connecting the entrepreneurs reshaping our Food System with our international investor and corporate community”.

Max Leveau

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT IN THE NEAR FUTURE FROM FORWARD FOODING?

“2022 is going to be a very busy year for us! - says Max Levau,  Forward Fooding COO - After releasing the full-ranked list, we are going on a 'European Tour' to talk reveal to the world the FoodTech 500 and showcase the local entrepreneurial talent from key European ecosystems. After Barcelona, we will land in Milan on the 3rd of March where we will be making some very exciting announcements with our partner-in-crime Talent Garden (stay tuned), before heading over to London on the 16th of March. Content-wise, we will be releasing a number of special reports in the coming weeks, including the official 2021 FoodTech 500 white paper and eight vertical deep-dives related to the key AgriFoodtech sub-sectors with exclusive content from the top-ranked companies within each of them.”

To learn more about the FoodTech 500 and Forward Fooding activities visit:  forwardfooding.com

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