FoodTech Startups 2024: Who Is Growing This Year?
In this article, we look at one of the fastest-growing startup sectors – FoodTech. We explain what this industry is and which companies to watch in 2024.
FoodTech: what is it?
FoodTech startups are companies operating at the intersection of technology and the food industry. They seek to solve problems related to the production, supply, consumption and disposal of food. Their goals vary – from improving the efficiency and sustainability of food systems to creating new food products and improving eating habits. FoodTech startups cover a wide range of areas, which are listed below and have already gained momentum abroad.
Alternative proteins. The development and commercialization of non-meat protein sources, such as plant-based steaks, cell-cultured meat and insect-based products.
Agtech. Agricultural innovations aimed at increasing yields and sustainability, including precision farming, hydroponics and vertical farming.
Food technologies. Creating new foods and beverages with improved taste, nutritional and environmental characteristics through biotechnology and chemical engineering.
Packaging technologies. Packaging innovations aimed at reducing waste, keeping products fresh longer and reducing environmental impact.
Food delivery platforms and online retail. Developing solutions that make it easier to order, deliver and sell food and beverages online, including food delivery apps and online marketplaces.
Nutrition and health technologies. Startups developing personalized nutrition solutions based on consumers' health data and preferences.
There are also many trends, and they can apply across different FoodTech areas. These include, for example, sustainability and eco-friendliness – a stronger focus on reducing the food industry's carbon footprint and minimizing waste; personalized nutrition – using big data and artificial intelligence to create personalized dietary recommendations; and packaging innovation – developing biodegradable and recyclable packaging materials to reduce plastic waste.
Overall, the sector is developing rapidly, as consumers are increasingly looking for new food solutions, and companies for ways to improve production efficiency.
The role of FoodTech in Kazakhstan
In Kazakhstan, the development of FoodTech startups is most clearly seen in food delivery services. Back in 2021, the Kazakhstani outlet “Kursiv” noted that this market had grown fourfold in 2019-2021 – and that was not the limit.
“The arrival of three major international food aggregators in Kazakhstan, together with the restrictive effects of the pandemic, has changed the ready-to-eat food delivery market, increasing its capacity and level of service. Over the past two years, the volume of FoodTech services has grown almost fourfold,” the authors of the article write.
Then, as now, the market for digital ready-to-eat food delivery services in Kazakhstan is divided among four major players: one of them, Chocofood, has Kazakhstani roots, while the others are international projects, including the Finnish startup Wolt, the Spanish company Glovo and the Russian service “Yandex.Eda”, which decided to enter the Kazakhstan market almost simultaneously.
At the same time, more services emerged for delivering groceries from stores to customers' homes, such as “Arbuz”. They have noticeably changed the food consumption culture in Kazakhstan and the way cafes and restaurants approach their work. Their customer base has now expanded, which means additional revenue.
Who to watch in 2024?
2024 has only just begun, and many FoodTech startups have already managed to raise investment – their first round or the next one as they grow. Here are a few of them offering new technologies and solutions in food:
The Inari startup from the US raised $103 million and has already become the first FoodTech unicorn of 2024. The company is building a platform that uses “big data” to breed high-yield seeds that are resistant to dry climates.
UK-based MicroSalt Inc. is a startup developing salt-reduction technology. It went public through an IPO and raised £18.5 million.
Kenya's Apollo Agriculture secured a $10 million loan to develop its platform that empowers smallholder farmers. The service gives farmers access to new means of production, financing and training.
Polish company ZeroQs raised €457K in investment. It develops “smart” shopping carts and offers them to anyone interested.
Another startup from the United States, Voyage Foods, raised $22 million – the funds will go toward creating a line of food alternatives, such as peanut-free peanut butter, cocoa-free chocolate and more. The German startup Planet A Foods, which makes cocoa-free chocolate produced through fermentation, operates in the same market. It raised €14.2 million in investment.
Another interesting one is the UK startup Xampla, which develops eco-friendly technologies, including a plant-based biodegradable material that can replace plastic in food packaging. Since the start of the year, the company has raised £5.5 million in investment.
If you want to follow a startup that is geographically closer to Kazakhstan, take a look at Choice from the Czech Republic. It raised $2.5 million this year, and its founder Alex Ilyash plans to open a company office in Almaty.
The startup offers cafes and restaurants a platform where a food service business can create its own website and set up everything a restaurant needs, such as an online menu with QR payment, a table booking system or a CRM system. Cafes can also easily connect the platform to Glovo or Wolt to sell their products to a wide range of users.
More than 16,000 restaurants are now registered on the platform, including more than 180 from Kazakhstan. In 2023, restaurant websites on the platform received 100 million views, and more than 2 million restaurant orders were placed.
To sum up, the FoodTech startup sector is clearly developing rapidly and offers a wide variety of products. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of untapped niches – demand for eco-friendly products and new technologies for the agricultural sector keeps growing. This could be a great idea for a new startup.
