In 2021, We’re Rising to the Challenges Ahead
Unovis Asset Management: Our FY2020 Investments, New Team Members, Portfolio News and More.
2020 was an unprecedented year, and U.S. politics and the global pandemic have gotten 2021 off to a trying start.
Among the many things on which Covid-19 has shed a glaring light is the world’s fragile, complex food system: the inequities to access, labor injustices, our escalating climate crisis and a direct relationship between the cruelty of animal agriculture and zoonotic diseases. It reminded us how fragile our sense of normalcy is and how reliant we are on the cogs that run our economy. Things as everyday as toilet paper became scarce, and our food supply channels shifted away from the luxury of dining out to direct-to-consumer in a matter of weeks.
In the U.S., our political divides deepen and it is unlikely we will find harmony on a national scale, but perhaps we can find common ground in pockets of ideals where science, compassion and equality are valued.
Through it all, our small but mighty team keeps working to weave a fabric of awareness and intention across our family of companies in which we invest. It all matters – anti-racism and racial justice, food justice, environmental justice, human rights, animal rights, indigenous peoples’ rights, marriage and LGBTQ equality, women’s rights and more – and we can all actively help advance these causes by paying attention and using the influence we have, collectively and as individuals.
Unovis specifically invests in those companies that are now coming to define the future of our food system in order to help people, animals, and the planet. We are thrilled to be expanding our resources with our second fund – the New Crop Alternative Protein Fund II, deepening our focus on early stage and growth investments around the globe. We welcome and look forward to working with our LPs on this rewarding journey.
Here’s a quick overview of what we’re working on at Unovis and, perhaps, a sense of where we’re headed with offerings that look closer to a menu than an investment portfolio. Plant-based foods are becoming globally mainstream, a growing number of traditional animal-ag companies are aligning with this trend, and novel new entrants will only make our food system better – and delight consumers in the process.
Our 2020 Investments
Abbot's Butcher: Premium, plant-based meats that celebrate craftsmanship and authenticity.
Aleph Farms: Real steak grown from real cow cells without any harm to the animals or the environment.
Artemys: Real meat that’s sustainable and animal-free.
Atlast Food Co.: Using mycelium to grow whole-cut “meats.”
Black Sheep Foods: Recreating heritage breed and wild meats using alternative ingredients.
Eat Virgin: A 3rd-generation chef and a nutritionist reimagine favorite comfort foods the plant-based way, delivering delicious ambient and frozen meals D2C through subscription.
Emergy Foods (Now Meati): Grillable, searable, cuttable fungi-based meat.
Foods for Tomorrow (now Heura): Revolutionizing the food system with sustainable, plant-based protein.
Gathered Foods (aka Good Catch): Preserving the oceans' natural resources with plant-based protein options that have the rich flavors and flaky textures of fine seafood.
Green Butcher: Developing and manufacturing healthy and delicious plant-based foods inspired by Southeast Asian flavors.
ImaginDairy: Real milk, no cows.
Matrix Meat: Developing and manufacturing nanofiber scaffolds to support the production of clean, healthy, tasty, and environmentally friendly cultivated meat.
Mosa Meats: Developing a cleaning, kinder way to produce beef.
Nova Meat: 3-D printing alternative proteins to mimic both the taste and texture of real meat.
NUMU: Making vegan mozzarella that offers the taste, texture and cooking performance of natural cheese.
Oatly: Producing alternatives to dairy products using oats.
The Protein Brewery: Leveraging fermentation technology to produce animal-free proteins.
Wicked Meaty: Fungi-based meats and heat-and-eat meals for retail and foodservice distribution.
Zero Egg: Plant-based eggs that scramble, bake, and fluff just like the real thing.
Our Growing Family
This year we have also welcomed several new members to the Unovis team, including…
Kristen Rocca, Senior Associate, Europe and Asia
Kristen is passionate about the future of food and working with innovative entrepreneurs tackling some of the biggest challenges in our food system. She has 8 years of experience in operations, strategy and sustainability working as a consultant for large international corporations and in an operations capacity. Kristen holds an MBA from IESE Business School and a Chemical Engineering degree from McMaster University. Learn More
Juliana Green, Senior Associate, North America and Israel
Juliana graduated from the University of California, Berkeley where she explored the fundamentals of health and food. Prior to joining Unovis, Juliana worked in mergers and acquisitions, supporting diligence, strategy, and integration activities in corporate development for a life sciences firm. Juliana earned her Masters in Accounting from UVa and has assisted in startups focused on dietary compliance to improve cardiovascular health. Learn More
Pete Speranza, Operating Partner
Pete is a passionate food industry business leader with 24 years of experience at General Mills. He has led a diverse career with extensive international supply chain leadership, strong corporate general management across major brands/P&Ls, and innovation thought leadership through 301INC, the venture arm of General Mills, as founder and leader which successfully deployed over $100M in capital during his tenure. His specific charge includes a focus on holdings in rapid growth phases, with particular concentration on companies in the CPG sector where operations and international expansion are at critical inflection points. Learn More
Maurice York, Operating Partner
Maurice is Chief Supply Chain Officer at Gathered Foods and has more than 20 years’ experience in the food & beverages industry, working with Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Conagra and others. He holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, Management and Operations from Gardner-Webb University. Learn More
News From Our Portfolio Companies
Abbot’s Butcher
Aleph Farms
Foodbev Media: Mitsubishi and Aleph Farms form Japan cultivated meat partnership
Israel21c: Cultivated meat is about to change our world
Alpha Foods
Mashed: Costco shoppers are obsessed with these plant-based chicken patties
Yahoo Finance: These 16 New Food Companies Are Changing the Way We Eat
Artemys Foods
MIT Technology Review: Your first lab-grown burger is coming soon—and it’ll be “blended”
Atlast Foods
BlueNalu
The Spoon: And Now a Moment for Culture(d Meat)
Green Queen: Alt Protein Startups MycoTechnology & BlueNalu Take Home Top Prizes In Radicle Protein Challenge
Evolution Meats
Gathered Foods / Good Catch
Business Insider: A plant-based seafood startup just got a big boost from one of America's biggest and oldest food companies (Closed $36.8M Series B with General Mills, Greenleaf and House Foods in the mix.)f
Bumble Bee partners for US distribution.
Opens state-of-the-art plant in the middle of Covid
Vegconomist: Good Catch Vegan Seafood Announces Home Delivery Service
Green Queen: Good Catch Foods Opens 42,500 Square Foot Plant-Based Seafood Facility
StrategyOnline.ca: Good Catch casts its net north of the border
Geltor
Vegconomist: Biotechnology Pioneer Dr. Doug Cameron Joins Geltor Following $91.3M Raise
FoodDive: Geltor raises $93.1M to grow animal-free ingredients platform
Heura
Imagindairy
Israel21c: Now you can drink milk from yeast, not beast
The Jerusalem Post: Israeli researchers working to produce affordable cow's milk from yeast
Kite Hill
Matrix Meats
Meati
FoodBev Media: Meati Foods secures $28m in Series A funding
Memphis Meats
Bloomberg: Lab-Grown Meat is Getting Closer to Supermarket Shelves
Grist: From Lab to Plate, Cultured Meat Finally Hits the Menu
FoodDive: From science to reality: What approval of cell-based meat means for the industry
Miyoko’s Creamery
Novameat:
Vegconomist: NOVAMEAT Gets Funding From Spanish Government, Launches Whole-Cuts into No.9 World’s Best Restaurant
Oatly
Business Insider: Oatly, the popular alternative milk company backed by Oprah, could go public this year amid red-hot IPO market
Sentient Media: What Oat Milk’s Rising Popularity Means for the Environment
Outstanding Foods
Food Business News: New Outstanding Foods Snack Doubles as a Meal
Food Navigator: Outstanding Foods lands $5m funding round, eyes more of sports and fitness snacking category
Sunfed
Vegconomist: Sunfed’s Boar-Free Bacon, Most Popular Product at Meatfest, Announces Retail Launch in NZ
Wicked Foods
Zero Egg
Podcast, Books, Events and more
Here’s what we’ve been reading, watching and listening to this month.
Podcasts
Eat for the Planet: Nil Zacharis’ podcast covering the people, ideas, and technologies shaping the future of food.
Economist Radio: Sound reasoning on current affairs, business, science and technology, and global issues from the experts at The Economist.
Freakonomics Radio: Every week Stephen Dubner, co-author of the Freakonomics books, tells you things you always thought you knew (but didn’t) and things you never thought you wanted to know (but do).
Future Perfect: Finding the best ways to do good, with the editors at Vox.
Girlboss Radio: Honest conversations with trailblazing women in media, business, the arts and more.
The Twenty Minute VC: Twice a week, host Harry Stebbings interviews the most successful and inspiring investors in venture capital, including the likes of Biz Stone, Bill Gurley, Howard Marks and others.
The PBN Podcast: Hosted by Robbie Lockie, the Plant Based News Podcast delivers vegan news and ethical views weekly.
WIRED Podcast: Pulling back the curtain on the ways technology is changing our lives—from culture, to business, to science, to design—providing meaning and context to the people and forces upending the world.
Books
“Meatonomics” by David Robinson Simon: The first book to add up the huge “externalized” costs that the animal food system imposes on taxpayers, animals and the environment. It’s more than $400B -- wow.
“Mastering the VC Game” by Jeffrey Bussgang: A VC and former entrepreneur goes inside the world of venture capital to reveal how start-ups can successfully finance and launch their venture.
Events
Vegan Women’s Summit: Pre-Covid, our own Kristen and Juliana participated in the first summit dedicated to inspiring, educating, and empowering rising female leaders across all plant-based industries. The organization is working on several online events this year.
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