Big Idea Ventures’ Post

💡It's typically understood that more rainfall in a year would lead to a healthier plant ecosystem, but did you know that changes in rainfall patterns can lead to changes in photosynthesis, greenness and the overall growth of plants? ✅ A study done at the University of Maryland showed that if rainfall inputs varied, even if total amount of rain measured for the year remained the same, it could affect plants worldwide. Read more here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gKpB2RtP ✨ At Big Idea Ventures, we are supporting university-led IPs and research with the goal of commercializing the most relevant technologies through our Generation Food Rural Partners Fund (GFRP). ✈️ Our GFRP team will be in the University of Maryland area on May 1st, 2024. If you are interested in partnering with us, please reach out here: https://rfr.bz/l5mqqyg Find out more about GFRP here 👉 https://rfr.bz/l5k5tng #agrifoodtech #innovation #futureoffood #bigideas Andrew D Ive Tom Mastrobuoni Frank Klemens Elsa Swanson Sareen Bill Arnold Emily Linett Van N. Truskett

FHA-Food & Beverage is back in Singapore next week! Will you be attending? Here is how you can meet us and some of our founders: ✅ Catch our Singapore Program Director Karin del Rey who will be moderating 2 panels: 💡On Tuesday from 11am to 12pm on the future of APAC’s alternative protein ecosystem 💡On Wednesday from 14h15 to 15h15 on Halal considerations for novel foods ✅ At our ‘Embracing the food revolution’ showcase on Wednesday 24th from 4.30-6pm at Enterprise Singapore's Future of Food Pavillion (Hall 6 - 6L5-01) where you will be able to meet some of our amazing founders and taste some of their products. 🌟 KARANA Foods Mycosortia, Fattastic Technologies, Another Food, MAD 👉 Save your spot – register for your FREE ticket now: https://bit.ly/3PWaMax Pre-Registration closes on 22 April 2024 at 6pm (GMT +8). Onsite tickets will be priced at SGD 85. #FHA  #FHAFnB  #FHA2024 #Halal #AlternativeProtein #sustainablefood #foodforthefuture #novelfood #tasting #meetthefounder Andrew D Ive Henrietta Hearth

💡 The Alternative Fats and Oils Summit is taking place in San Francisco next week and out portfolio companies are going to be there! Here are some interesting discussions you won't want to miss if you're attending 👉 ✅ Fabio Valoppi from Perfat Technologies will be doing a deep dive into oleogels for development of healthy & functional fats and how to use mathematical modeling and computer simulations to speed up the research and development of lipid-based materials. 🗓 April 24th, 2024 | 9:30am ✅ Minami O. from Optimized Foods will be doing a talk on Edible Mycelium-Based Encapsulation and how it could unleash the full potential of sustainable innovation in fat and oil production. 🗓 April 24th, 2024 | 1:15pm ✅ Mihir Pershad from Umami Bioworks (who recently announced a merger with Shiok Meats) will be speaking about elevating technology & machine learning to facilitate the full automation of cultivated fish fats & oils production. 🗓 April 25th, 2024 | 2:30pm Find out more information here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dwwprqxd #innovation #alternativefats #bigideas Andrew D Ive Henrietta Hearth Tom Mastrobuoni

💡Rethinking Materials Innovation and Investment Summit London is one month away and our Generation Food Rural Partners team and companies will be attending. Here's the rundown - ✅ Scott Bolin will be pitching TerraSafe Materials, Inc. and DisSolves, while Joseph (Marc) McConnaughey will be pitching BioBond Adhesives, Inc. at the Technology Showcase featuring innovators addressing the performance and functionality of new, more sustainable materials. 🗓 May 14th, 2024 | 11:30am ✅ Frank Klemens, Managing Director of the GFRP Fund will be participating in a panel discussion talking about investment trends. This panel will deep dive into identifying high-growth innovations and the level due diligence required that will help investors understand what is “cool” verses what is commercially viable. 🗓 May 15th, 2024 | 3:15pm If you would like to meet and network with us at the event, register now to attend 👉 https://lnkd.in/g8YhFpg #innovation #bigideas Andrew D Ive Tom Mastrobuoni Elsa Swanson Sareen Bill Arnold Emily Linett Van N. Truskett

🔥 76% of brands plan to invest more in New Product Development this year - a 12% increase from 2023. TraceGains’ latest report sheds light on the innovation game we at Big Idea Ventures witness every day! Key findings reveal that "healthy, better-for-you" formulations remain a leading driver for innovation. But other key themes include: 📦 Pursuing more sustainable packaging (48%) 🌏 Prioritizing sustainable ingredients (42%) 🎋 Developing plant-based alternatives (32%) 💧 Prioritizing water and/or carbon-neutral strategies (26%) 👉 Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/ezUipm2U ✅ 261 food and beverage leaders from small and large food brands worldwide participated in the survey conducted for the report. #sustainablefood #newproductdevelopment #foodinnovation Andrew D Ive Henrietta Hearth Tom Mastrobuoni

📈 Have you noticed the recent surge in chocolate prices during your recent purchases? Due to crop losses, cocoa is now trading at a staggering 400% increase compared to last year, all while demand remains high. 👉 Companies that pioneer sustainable alternatives for such crops are becoming increasingly crucial to support the sector, mitigate price hikes, and promote sustainable practices. 🎯 That's why mono-crop alternatives are a key focus area of our investment thesis. We've already invested in Another Food, a company that creates sustainable food from plant cells, starting with coffee. Stay tuned for more innovative companies making strides in this field! #sustainablefood #innovation #futureoffood #bigideas Andrew D Ive Henrietta Hearth Tom Mastrobuoni Stéphane Chen Szymon Kubiszewski-Jakubiak, PhD

📣 Our portfolio company, AQUA Cultured Foods is partnering with Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc.  to optimize an innovative fermentation technology that elevates the quality of “fish-free” seafood! ✨ The collaboration will leverage Ginkgo’s microbial characterization and analytics to tune Aqua’s proprietary strains and processes and aid the scale-up of its manufacturing process. Read more here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dwH2u7eF ✅ AQUA Cultured Foods has developed a novel new tech that creates an whole cut alternative seafood options through  the  use  of  fermentation technologies. #alternativeseafood #innovation #futureoffood #bigideas Andrew D Ive Henrietta Hearth Tom Mastrobuoni Caroline Mak Brittany Chibe

📣 MeliBio has teamed up with Pow.bio to scale up production of its bee-free honey made from precision fermentation! 🍯 MeliBio is tapping into the AI capabilities of biomanufacturing startup Pow.Bio to help scale up production for its bee-free honey. They have finished in-house validation work and produced a proof of concept for their fermentation-derived protein targets. The startup is now set to kick off scale-up projects with Pow.Bio this month! Read more here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dbzAdY7x #beefreehoney #sustainability #bigideas #futureoffood Darko Mandich Andrew D Ive Tom Mastrobuoni Henrietta Hearth Caroline Mak

🎙 The Managing Director of our Generation Food Rural Partners Fund, Frank Klemens, was featured on the Agbioscience podcast by AgriNovus Indiana! ✨ In this episode, AgriNovus CEO Mitch Frazier, spoke with Frank about how our GFRP Fund is operating at the intersection of university innovation and product creation. Frank touched upon - ✅ the importance of corporate partnerships and the growing list of universities partnering with GFRP to develop companies ✅ trends in IP across food and agriculture across rural America ✅ how to create technical companies in rural America that also attract investment Listen to the episode here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gQcSDUPY ▶ Spotify Link: https://lnkd.in/gjuDgmDP ▶ Apple Podcast Link: https://lnkd.in/g7q2n2wG #agrifoodtech #bigideas #innovation Andrew D Ive Tom Mastrobuoni Elsa Swanson Sareen Bill Arnold Emily Linett Van N. Truskett