Stephanie Downs

While other vertical farming companies have shut down, Oishii bucks the trend by focusing on taste, closing $150 million from Bloom8 Miyako Capital and several others. Oishii is best known for its strawberries, which the company has slowly but steadily expanded access to over the last few years via Whole Foods Market. As of now, berries are available predominately in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic US states, though Oishii just expanded to Chicago this month. Their success could be a signal for a second wave of vertical farming startups. Nutrition Capital Network

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"In the end, Bowery’s collapse is a quintessential tale of VCs flooding into a space to disrupt a centuries-old industry - only to find that’s often easier said than done."

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This is exciting! Prolific Machines, Inc. based in Emeryville, California, has raised $55 million in a Series B round led by Ki Tua Fund. The company, founded in 2020 by Deniz Kent, PhD, Max Huisman, and Declan Jones, focuses on using light to optimize cell growth for producing proteins used in food and medicine. Traditional methods of growing cells involve expensive and hard-to-control molecular processes. Prolific Machines believes light offers a cheaper and more precise alternative. Their bioreactors use light to direct cell growth, potentially reducing costs and improving consistency. The new funding will help Prolific Machines commercialize their technology and acquire customers. The company is already engaging with commercial partners and aims to make their bioreactors available for producing high-value bioproducts like nutritional proteins and antibodies. What do you think? https://lnkd.in/dkSbZ_wQ

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In black market days, cultivators used to have all the power. There was zero supply. It was a sellers market. In early legal market days, cultivators used to have all the power. There was zero supply. It was a seller’s market. M&A occured around cultivation canopy. In middle legal market days, retailers used to have all the power. There was ample supply. It was a buyer’s market. M&A occurred around retail footprint. In late market legal days. Brands (ie consumers) have the power. There is ample supply, and brands that drive throughput and deliver value in a hyper competitive market are the most valuable asset. It is a distributor’s market. M&A occurs around brand shelf space. The cultivators, retailers, and processors who think they are owed a piece of the market and a seat at the table becuase they either sold packs back in the black market days or invested in a license today, don’t understand the bottom line: You have to build products that provide value to consumers.

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🚨 Join the Food is Health Revolution 🚨 We have a bold vision: to eliminate the $1.9 trillion annual healthcare cost of poor nutrition. The pathway? A reimagined food system that prioritizes affordable, quality food over ultra-processed products—rooted in innovative policy, corporate action, and investment. Our Food is Health Substack is the definitive anchor point for this critical conversation, bringing together: ✅ Investors seeking transformative opportunities. ✅ Policymakers ready to champion better food systems. ✅ Industry leaders driving change toward affordability and health. We’re asking for your support to fuel this movement: 🌟 Subscribe for free, or $100/year to help us grow an editorial team laser-focused on educating the world. 🌟 Invite your network—because every voice counts in reshaping America’s food and health landscape. 🌟 Supply content—insights, research, and ideas that amplify the cause. Together, we’re building the foundation for a healthier America. 🌱💪 Join a network of people like you who care about reshaping our nation's health. Let’s build a future where food heals, taste rules, and sustainability thrives. Subscribe now and be part of the change. #FoodIsHealth #RegenerativeFarming #MAHA #HealthcareCosts #NutritionMatters https://lnkd.in/gC_EPBi3

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Beyonce uses a laundromat🫧? And LVMH was feeling spendy last week 💸. These are my top stories from last week: ♡ Women’s Health & Beauty ♡ • Perelel acquires Loom • Paul Schiraldi appointed as CEO of ILIA Beauty • 4am Skin is officially in Bloomingdale’s • Love x Money Ventures invests in Marlow • Lili Reinhart’s new brand aims to start the conversation about acne • The fertility revolution: How Dandi is transforming patient care ♡ E-Commerce, Retail & Social ♡ • Beyoncé launches Levi’s Reimagine campaign • Luxury fashion’s power sourcer, Gab Waller, is reinventing the job with AI • Off-White sold by LVMH to Bluestar Alliance • Laundromat bars are trending ♡ Tech, Business, & Investing ♡ • Port workers’ strike delayed • Eva, the entertainment booking platform, raises $2M and expands to more cities • LVMH and Formula 1 sign a 10-year global partnership • LVMH invests in non-alcoholic brand French Bloom • Adam Neumann’s new startup is reworking WeWork’s old business model You can read more in this week's issue of ICYMI: https://lnkd.in/gpEiANhM #consumernews #litrendingtopics

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A quick reminder for New York: BioTrack’s Seed-to-Sale (STS) system is a requirement for compliance in New York. On November 18, the OCM released its BioTrack API, complete with a sandbox environment, offering operators the opportunity to ensure integration readiness​. Additionally, December 9 marked the release of BioTrack’s first training schedule, providing 3rd Party Integrators, Cultivators, Testing Labs, Manufacturers, and Retailers with an invaluable resource to not only meet compliance requirements but also optimize system usage​. As we close out the year, it’s an opportune time to assess operational systems and compliance protocols—particularly for license renewals and audits. Identifying and resolving record-keeping discrepancies or ensuring inventory management systems are API compatible are key steps to staying ahead. For more details, check out the link below! https://lnkd.in/ePRdADK8 And as we reflect on tools that keep us efficient and compliant, what are your favorite inventory management and point-of-sale systems? Comment your favorites!

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The The Wall Street Journal covers the rapidly growing market for #pethealthcare medicines in large unmet needs like #osteoarthritis and the challenges Zoetis and others face in getting it right. "Librela and Solensia had $124 million in global sales last quarter. Zoetis, which had $8.5 billion in revenue last year, has described the franchise to investors as its “Next Big Opportunity” and projected yearly sales could surpass $1 billion." For those keeping score, in spite of the adverse events Zoetis is realizing a >$500M NTM run rate only 18 months after Solensia's September 2022 FDA approval and 1 year after the Librela's May 2023 approval. #animalhealth #pharma #biotech #therapeutics #pethealth Vetted Capital https://lnkd.in/ewgNzqhx

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The first founder to give us a long-awaited update was Capella Kerst, Ph.D. with geCKo Materials... Despite not receiving a commitment from the panel of investors that day (and pushing through food poisoning to give her pitch 😬), Capella left the show with overwhelmingly positive feedback and a long list of potential investors. After several followup conversations, she learned that Long Journey couldn’t make the valuation work, while Cyan Banister was unable to lead the round. But, those conversations led her to KittyHawk, a firm spun out of Singularity University at NASA Ames Research Center. The firm’s Managing Partner, Will Weisman worked with Capella to lead the round and price it at… drumroll… 🥁🥁🥁 $8M round at a $26M pre-money valuation! Want to watch the extended season 12 finale with the unscripted founder interviews? Check it out using the link in the comments below! 👇👇

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Over the summer, The New York Times' David Wallace-Wells put out an urgent notice around the need for a "food transition" at the speed and scale we've seen implemented around the energy transition that could deliver "better nutrition more equitably and more affordably to more people, all without devastating ecosystems or polluting local environments or pushing the planet further into climate disarray." This food transition won't happen without heavy innovation and heavy investment (like we've seen in the energy transition). The statistics Wallace-Wells cites are shocking: - About three-quarters of all global agricultural land is vulnerable to substantial climate disruptions. - The effects of climate change have reduced the growth of overall global agricultural productivity by between 30 and 35 percent. The climate threats to come loom even larger. - According to the World Resources Institute, we may need to add almost two Indias to the world’s existing farmland to meet food needs in the second half of this century. — but adding that farmland means cutting down forests, which store carbon, in order to graze more animals, which produce carbon. -Over a 30-year time horizon, the insurer Lloyd’s recently estimated a 50 percent chance of what it called a “major” global food shock. If you are passionate about the opportunity to innovate within food systems to mitigate climate risk and you are in our hometown for #NYClimateWeek, please come by the event we are co-hosting with FoodxClimate on Wednesday at the C16 Biosciences HQ. Link to register below. Article: https://lnkd.in/eYQ_Hh9P

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Founders often feel alone, and have many questions without answers. To combat this, eQuo is creating Founder Circles. An eQuo Founder Circle is a closely knit group of 10 complementary companies that foster peer-to-peer support among CPG founders and industry professionals. These circles encourage accountability, networking, and resource sharing, helping you navigate the complexities of the CPG industry effectively. You can register at https://lnkd.in/gsrTTGPw. The system operates through intimate micro-groups of 10 members, ensuring meaningful interactions. Weekly meetings with structured agendas and a dedicated forum for continuous engagement, along with twice-weekly open office hours, foster community involvement. Members leverage shared industry knowledge, collaborate on projects, and stay informed on trends and regulations. Our goal is mutual support and reverse mentoring. It's free and we want to use it to really help CPG companies to grow, vent, learn and adapt to challenges along the journey. If you are a founder, register at https://lnkd.in/gsrTTGPw. If you know a founder who could use support, tag them. #founders #entrepreneurship #mentoring #support #eQuo

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In 2024, 736 AgTech startups raised a total of $5.7B. There were 37 AgTech exits last year, 36 M&A transactions and one IPO. This is up 32% from 2023. See all the data in my latest CropLife.com article.

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It's More Than Money Fundraising in the animal health space is as much art as it is science. It's more than money; it's an emotional decision influenced by the robustness of the relationship between the founder and the investors. At #CVC, we recognize that the longevity of these partnerships demands more than just a solid pitch. It requires aligning with investors who share your values and vision, who speak your language, and who believe in you. My advice: spend at least as much time understanding your investors' philosophies and building meaningful connections to/with them as you do perfecting your pitch. The right investors are not just funding your journey—they are joining you in it. #InvestorRelations #AnimalHealth

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What does science-based beauty mean and what should the requirements be to define a skincare product as “science-based”? It matters because you spend a lot of money on it so it’s important to know if the technology you are paying for is credible and valid.

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Last week, I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion on navigating FOAK in climate tech at the Greentown Labs Summit in Boston (which had >600 people!!). Here’s a quick rundown of what was shared by Katherine St. James of Spring Lane Capital, Paris Smalls, PhD of Eden GeoPower, and Hannah Friedman of Planeteer Capital: 🌱 What is the definition of FOAK? We discussed how the term can be controversial - it's almost too general because it doesn't identify what kind of "First" FOAK refers to - first team project? First geography? First of a technology in a sector? First time for the integration of a system? It's also too specific because it has the word "first" in it, which can be anathema to later stage / project finance investors. 💰 Partnerships for Funding FOAK Projects We discussed how important it is to build a blended capital stack & use off-balance sheet capital for a project so you're not using the most expensive equity dollars to fund an infrastructure project with low-ish IRR. We also talked through being creative about using corporate partners to provide in-kind services or ink some agreement (at least an LOI) to attract this funding. 🏛 Role of Government We talked about how government capital is seen by investors & how it can be catalytic for FOAK. Government capital can provide validation that a startup has passed a rigorous diligence process by a third party - and incentives like grants or credits can help improve returns for the first project- but it's important to be doing this in conjunction with getting customer validation and to be able to present line of sight to competitive economics without concessionary capital. 👥 Advice for FOAK startups The panelists offered some very specific pieces of advice for startups going through FOAK: how to get creative with things like revenue sharing agreements or convertible notes, getting smart with project development early on (like with DeveloperU), being careful about using FOAK too liberally with certain investor groups, getting the right commercialization / FOAK talent in and around you early Huge thanks to the panelists and the team at Greentown Labs (Jill Kirkpatrick, Julia Travaglini, Aisling Carlson, etc you rocked it!!) for hosting this discussion on bridging the FOAK gap. Also immensely enjoyed the rest of the agenda. Check out the full recap & videos here: https://lnkd.in/d9ApYe9Y #ClimateTech #FOAK #ClimateFinance #ProjectDevelopment #GreenTech #CleanEnergy

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