FOOD & BEVERAGE STARTUPSCENE – OBSERVATIONS

In our Startup Monitor, we look at food startups that are new to the market, are looking for investments, winning prizes, and even at those closing down their business to see trends in the food scene and how startups respond to food trends and changing demand.

At recent startup competitions (Gastro Startup Sessions, Hamburg, 30-31/01/2018; International Green Week, Berlin, 19-28/01/2018) there were many classic food & beverage startups, i.e. from the food or beverage sector with a focus on healthy eating, organic, vegan, superfood, premium or regional. The wave of new F & B startups is not breaking down, you could even speak of a “flood”. The market for healthy snacks, superfoods, functional drinks, regional and premium food is becoming increasingly differentiated and fragmented. That’s positive for the consumer, but also difficult for investors. They think very carefully about whether they can still make money in these segments, or which startup really has what it takes to compete in the market and to grow.

With the said startups you can find less and less about investors. We just assume that less is invested in these new, niche F & B startups. If they received money at all, these startups obtained it through incentives, crowdfunding, incubators or accelerators. It looks like capital in the food sector is increasingly moving towards FoodTech, FoodSafety and FoodServices, where scalability is easier and where there are fewer barriers such as placement in food retailing.