Big Idea Ventures

Good Startup is a Singapore-based venture capital firm focused exclusively on the alternative protein sector. Its inaugural Good Protein Fund I is a US$34M global multi-stage venture capital fund with 21 investments to date. Portfolio companies include Impossible Foods, The EVERY Company, SuperMeat, Motif FoodWorks, VitroLabs and Avant Meats. Our investments span across technology stacks (plant-based, microorganism-based and cell-based) and product categories (eggs, dairy, meat, seafood, materials, equipment & technology, ingredients).

Sucden Ventures is a venture capital specialist formed by Sucden in 2020 to invest in innovative early-stage growth companies in the food and agricultural sector. Sucden Ventures aims to support disruptive and impactful technologies that can transform the food supply chain in the fields of sustainability, efficiency but also health and nutrition. Sucden Ventures will take advantage of the competitive benefits offered by the Sucden network of companies and partners, built over decades across many regions, and from Sucden’s industrial and agricultural assets. SPECIALIST AREAS We're looking to support innovation and development in three specialist and growing areas of the food tech and agri tech ecosystem. They are: alternative proteins, both cell-based and plant-based alternative or new ingredients plant and crop sciences. PORTFOLIO COMPANIES Sucden Ventures has already made, and currently maintains, several direct investments in new companies innovating in the field of new ingredients. Alongside its historical partner, Continental Grain, Sucden Ventures has also made co-investments in a dozen of companies. One of which uses natural fermentation of mushrooms to create novel plant-based ingredients and transformative technology, offering solutions for sugar reduction, food insecurity, sustainable protein, natural immune support and much more. Another company looks at leveraging plant and crop sciences to offer a clean alternative to synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. INVESTMENT APPROACH We make investments in relatively early-stage growth companies in the specialist sectors mentioned above, potentially anywhere in the world. We aim to be an active minority investor, looking to support our portfolio companies in: business development testing new solutions through our commercial, industrial and agricultural network growing internationally.

Nourish Ventures is on a mission to partner with and scale the industry trailblazers leading the food system of the future. Nourish Ventures is the corporate venture capital fund of Griffith Foods. Griffith Foods is an innovative, global, product-development company that has been solving problems in the food industry for more than 100 years. At Nourish we invest in, and partner with, innovative start-up companies that are shaping a healthy and sustainable food system. We are committed to forming partnerships with entrepreneurs who share our aspiration to blend care and creativity while nourishing the world. From smarter alternative proteins to safer ecologically-sound farming methods, it’s our mission to actualize and scale the development of tomorrow’s food system.

The world is entering a new era of food and agriculture transformation. Long-term consumer trends towards health and sustainability, along with a growing and more affluent population, are driving the demand for more efficient and sustainable food production methods. Fueled by recent technological breakthroughs, increasing government support, and a focus on resource allocation, the traditional agriculture industry is facing significant disruption and pressure to adapt. Lever VC backs the entrepreneurs creating the future of food and agriculture. What we look for Lever VC invests in companies creating the future of food and agriculture, encompassing anything that drives improvements in sustainability and ESG targets in the current food system. For novel ingredient companies, such as providers of sustainable commodity goods, nutraceuticals, proteins, flavorings, or fats, we look to invest in companies with significantly improved quality, price, sustainability, and functionality, that demonstrate product-market fit. For technology-driven companies across the food and agriculture supply chain, we look to invest as early as possible in global or regional pioneers of technologies that create ingredients, inputs, services, machinery, or products that generate significant improvements compared to state-of-the-art incumbents and have a clear path to market-accessible price points. For product-driven companies in the better-for-you, pet food, and plant-based space, we look to invest early in companies that are #1 or #2 in quality in their broad geographic region, in product categories with large total addressable markets that are not over-saturated, and that have demonstrated early sales traction and strong weekly unit turnover. In all categories, we look for reasonable deal terms and fantastic founding teams with the vision, work ethic, good judgment, intelligence, and self-awareness needed to build an incredibly successful company. Lever VC conducts robust, lead-level due diligence before every investmentSourcing Lever sources deals from our extensive personal networks in the sector, robust inbound cold contacts, incubator and accelerator partners, and trade media and sales channel monitoring. Tracking The Fund tracks and monitors over 5,000 companies in the protein landscape through its proprietary database, allowing for robust peer analysis and early detection of breakout growth. Scientific and Technical Review Lever utilizes its in-house scientific expertise to conduct extensive technical review on all relevant deals via interviews, data analysis, IP and academic literature reviews, and site visits. Due Diligence The Fund conducts lead-level due diligence before all investments, including financial modeling, returns analysis, taste panels, site visits, competitor analysis, and general financial and strategy reviews. Lever VC's deep sector experience allows it to provide portfolio companies with much more than just capital The Fund taps its extensive network of investors in the category to help portfolio companies raise follow-on rounds with value-add partners. It utilizes its connections with leading food companies around the globe to help portfolio companies secure product development, scale-up and sales partnerships. It draws on years of experience investing across scores of companies in the Food and AgTech sectors (and reviewing thousands more) to advise on commercial and marketing strategies. Lever VC prefers to lead or co-lead rounds and to take board or board observer seats when possible, although neither is required.

Our mission is to bring the Danone Manifesto to life by partnering with a tribe of disruptive entrepreneurs. We are a corporate venture group located in New York City and Paris that is part of a global food and beverage company with a unique manifesto and world-class expertise and resources. Together with our portfolio companies, we aim to create a healthy and sustainable future of food.

We partner with consumer food brands who have the ambition to become category leaders and sustainability champions. We have helped iconic brands navigate to the top of their category, fast. Pan-European Seed to Series B investors with tickets between €2 – €10m. Our ManifestoDeeply driven by a passion for food & beverage: Our knowledge and passion are cornerstones for deep and lasting relationships with founders. Rational over emotional: We build our conviction by understanding people, market, the product and the need it addresses, using data to support most decisions. Ambitious, squared: We back category-defining companies building the future of food. We think big and encourage our partners to think bigger. There to support, not interfere: We are in a number-driven world, and we trust the analytical process. Being thoroughly data driven helps us navigate problems and find more actionable solutions. In hustle we trust: We like entrepreneurs who hustle harder and smarter. We appreciate creativity in the engagement, fast and clear communications and relentlessness pursuit of objectives. Do good, be good and make good: We value honesty, integrity and trust in the way we operate and expect the same from our partners. Caring as an advantage: We care about the planet, people and above all the entrepreneurs. We invest in companies that take their impact on the planet seriously and have clearly defined impact goals. Alignment of interests is our mantra: We strive to preserve alignment between shareholders, management and other stakeholders. We allow our convictions to evolve: If we decide not to invest, we do our best to give the founders constructive feedback and keep the dialogue open, leaving the door open in case we build a stronger conviction down the line.