The food service sector in the Netherlands has seen a remarkable surge in plant-based meat and dairy sales, growing by 111% and 82% respectively over the past two years, driven by restaurants and corporate catering. According to Foodstep data, in 2023, the volume of meat analogs sold in Dutch food service channels doubled compared to two years prior, while conventional meat experienced a 2% decline in sales. This shift highlights a significant trend towards plant-based options within the Dutch food service industry. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e6RBxepm
Lever VC
Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals
Lever VC backs the entrepreneurs creating the future of protein.
About us
Lever VC is a leading FoodTech and AgTech specialist venture capital firm, investing globally in entrepreneurs creating the future of protein. Lever VC’s USD 80 Million Fund I has invested since 2019 in over thirty leading companies spanning alternative proteins, crop genetics, machinery, functional ingredients, pet, plant-based dairy and meat alternatives, packaged meals, bars/powders/supplements, cell cultivation, fermentation, and sector service providers. Lever VC's Fund II is continuing to invest broadly across these categories as well as into technologies in the animal protein sector that improve sustainability and welfare, in areas including feed inputs, machinery, genetics, disease detection, and similar. Lever VC invests globally, with a portfolio spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the GCC. Lever VC’s Fund I has consistently remained a top-decile performer for its vintage year (per Pitchbook industry benchmarks). Lever VC’s Fund II held a first close in early 2024 and is currently open to new investment. Over the years Lever VC has established a reputation as a top value-add investor in the FoodTech, AgTech, and future of protein space, closely supporting portfolio companies in areas including strategy, sales, fundraising, media, and more. This reputation as well as its sector expertise (including the expertise of its in-house scientific and technical team) provide added advantages to the Fund for deal origination, due diligence, market intelligence, and supporting its portfolio companies. Lever VC’s founding partners have been active investors in the alternative protein, animal protein, and broad FoodTech/AgTech categories for the past decade, backing a range of major winners across these categories in the US, Europe, and Asia and deploying over half a billion in capital (including investments made outside of Lever VC) across over 90 deals, with stellar exits and IRRs.
- Website
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https://www.levervc.com
External link for Lever VC
- Industry
- Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Headquarters
- New York City
- Type
- Privately Held
- Founded
- 2017
- Specialties
- plant-based, plant protein, plant-based meat, plant-based dairy, alternative protein, cultivated meat, venture capital, precision fermentation, future of protein, sustainability, investment, startups, animal ag tech, crop tech, animal health tech, synthetic biology, climate, food and ag, innovation, sustainable animal protein, aquaculture, poultry, and livestock
Locations
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Primary
New York City, US
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Hong Kong, HK
Employees at Lever VC
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Ramzi Schumann
Food | Alternative Proteins | Food Tech | Ag Tech | VC | Private Equity | Investments | Sustainability | Mentor | Consulting | Responsible Global…
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Nick Cooney
Managing Partner, Lever VC
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James Caffyn
Partner, Lever VC
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Jonathan Avesar
Bioengineer focused on solving large scale problems in welfare and sustainability
Updates
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The European Commission has approved a €700 million Dutch scheme to support the voluntary closure of livestock farms in environmentally sensitive areas, aiming to reduce nitrogen emissions and promote sustainable agriculture. Running until October 2029, the scheme targets small and medium-sized livestock farmers in the Netherlands who choose to close their farms in eligible areas. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/etUnwEMW
Commission approves €700 million Dutch state aid scheme to promote a more sustainable and environmentally friendly production in the livestock sector - EU Reporter
https://www.eureporter.co
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Lever VC's portfolio company, Mission Barns, has introduced a novel bioreactor designed to enhance the scalability of cultivated meat and fat production. This new technology optimizes for adherent cell growth, significantly improving efficiency and harvestability. The innovation represents an important step forward in advancing the quality of cultivated meat. Read more about the bioreactor here: https://lnkd.in/evTHNnrx
Mission Barns unveils ‘novel, scalable, adherent’ bioreactor for cultivated meat, fat
https://agfundernews.com
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According to a new survey by YouGov, nearly three-quarters (74%) of British citizens have now heard of cultivated meat, and a quarter of UK consumers say they’d try it, recognizing its animal welfare and environmental value. This reflects growing awareness and interest in sustainable food alternatives among the UK public. Read about the results here: https://lnkd.in/eR8bESfC #yougov #meatly #cellbased #cultivatedmeat
One in Four Brits Open to Cultivated Meat, But Taste & Price Remain Major Barriers
https://www.greenqueen.com.hk
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According to a new report from the Plant-Based Foods Association (PBFA), more consumers are seeking out plant-based sweets and snacks. Plant-based snacks grew nearly 20% in dollar sales from 2022 to 2023, highlighting the increasing demand for these alternatives. This growth excludes snacks that are traditionally plant-based. Read more about the analysis here: https://lnkd.in/gPaaHDgU
Plant-Based Sweets and Snacks Enjoying Significant Growth - The Food Institute
https://foodinstitute.com
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Germany's PHW Group, the largest poultry producer in the country, is launching a new subsidiary to focus on traditional and precision fermentation technologies for developing alternative protein and blended products, reflecting its commitment to innovation in the sector. Additionally, Nutreco, a global leader in animal nutrition, has opened the world's first food-grade cell feed production facility to support the cultivated meat industry. This signals the growing support of the traditional animal ag industry for alternative proteins. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e4c7HUGA and https://lnkd.in/ecC5p4tx
Nutreco Opens New Facility Dedicated to Food-Grade Cell Feed for Cultivated Meat
https://vegconomist.com
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Lever VC's portfolio company, Melt&Marble, has been selected as one of 68 European deep tech startups to receive a €2.5 million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator, chosen from 969 applicants. Additionally, the company has secured a €260,000 grant from the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. Melt&Marble uses precision fermentation and microbial engineering to create sustainable designer fats that can be used as alternatives to animal fats, cocoa butter, palm oil, and other agriculturally derived lipids. With this new funding, the female-led company will reduce production costs and accelerate the pre-commercialization of its first products: MeatyMarble and DairyMarble. Read more about it here: https://lnkd.in/deksd6-b Anastasia Krivoruchko, Thomas Cresswell, Florian David
Melt&Marble Lands €2.76M in EU Grants for Market Launch of “Designer” Fats in 2025
https://vegconomist.com
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The Biden-Harris administration has introduced a national strategy to halve US food waste by 2030, focusing on extending food shelf life, enhancing donations, upcycling waste, and boosting consumer education. The White House will fund research into technologies that could extend the shelf life of perishable foods, including new seed varieties and novel packaging solutions. The strategy cites successful efforts in other countries involving changes in packaging design, marketing promotions, portion sizes, and food date labeling. Read more about the decision here: https://lnkd.in/egKkkMtw #foodwaste #fda #usda #biden #harris
Shelf Life, Consumer Education Headline First US National Food Waste Strategy
https://www.greenqueen.com.hk
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Lever VC's portfolio company, Avant, has announced that its first go-to-market product powered by the Zellulin® Bio-Platform has received two patent grants and will launch in Q4 2024. Avant has successfully transitioned from a research-focused phase to a production and commercialization mode, running successful batches at their pilot plant and preparing inventories. The Zellulin® Bio-Platform utilizes cultivated fish cells to grow cell-identical functional proteins. Find out more about Zellulin and Avant here: https://www.zellulin.tech/
Nature Coded Peptides.
zellulin.tech
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Exciting news for cultivated pet food! The UK's Meatly has received regulatory clearance to produce and sell cultivated meat for pet food, marking the first approval of its kind in the UK. Additionally, Umami Bioworks and Friends & Family Pet Food Company are set to launch one of the world’s first cultivated fish cat treats in Singapore and San Francisco early next year. These advancements represent significant milestones in the growing field of sustainable and innovative pet nutrition. Read more about these developments here: https://lnkd.in/egX_xMDG https://lnkd.in/eNjGNcHT #cultivatedmeat #petfood
UMAMI Bioworks and Friends & Family Pet Food Co. to Launch Cultivated Fish Cat Treats in 2025
https://vegconomist.com