Mudcake

We believe inclusive systems innovation, which enables all people and places to participate and benefit, is essential to a strong food system that is better for everyone. With teams on the ground across Europe, we bridge the gap between countries and regions with low innovation capacity and those leading the way. And we put consumers at the heart of our work, helping build trust by reconnecting them to the origins of their food, directly involving them in the innovation process, and working with the food sector to increase transparency. Collaboration is central to all our work, which spans the whole food value chain, and is vital to meet the big challenges we face. Together with our community, we will build an innovative and resilient food system that in turn creates a healthier society and planet.

We are the corporate venture capital arm of Paulig, investing in startups that contribute to a tastier, healthier and more sustainable planet. We seek financial and societal impact in our investments, as well as a strategic link between Paulig and the startups we back. As an evergreen fund connected to a 150-year-old family-owned business, we don’t have a determined time for exit and always act in the best joint interest of the startup and investors. Our investment focus PINC was launched as Paulig Incubator in 2018 to help Paulig stay in the forefront of relevant innovations, as well as to contribute to a tastier, healthier and more sustainable planet. Today, our ambition is the same, but we have developed into a corporate venture arm. We aim for strategic, financial, and societal impact in our investments, fostering a sustainable food system for tomorrow. We are investing across the agrifood value chain in three primary impact themes: Improve planetary health and diet within the current food system: This includes innovations in agriculture and food security, such as advanced crop breeding or green fertilizers, innovative ingredients and next generation healthy foods, as well as solutions for tracking and improving climate and nature. Novel technologies to feed 10 BN people by 2050: Technologies needed to sustainably produce enough food for our growing population. This includes food production without land use change, such as precision fermentation and cell-cultivation. A circular system for food & materials: Regardless of whether we grow our food in soil or in bioreactors, the system needs to be circular. Some examples are upcycled ingredients, food from unused sources, new coating and packaging solutions, as well as technologies to prevent or make better use of side streams. We are looking for entrepreneurs in an attractive market space with an intrinsic drive to find a solution to the problem they are addressing, a clear and scalable plan for success, a complimentary team and partners whom we can trust and work closely with. We value collaboration and are proactively working with building strong investment syndicates, in which we’re flexible in our role as co-investor, co-lead, or lead investor, if there is a strong strategic link. As a corporate venture capital and evergreen fund, we always act in the best joint interest of the startup and investors. Investment criteriaPre-seed & seed Entry ticket €200k-€1M Focus on the Nordics & Europe Strategic link to Paulig preferred Flexible in the role as co-investor, co-lead, or lead investor Our offer We’re a value driven team with financial, operational, and strategic experience and capabilities. We have a hands-on approach and support founders when needed or actively through board roles. Our extensive Nordic and European network of investors and innovation-enablers can help to accelerate development and scale-up efforts. Moreover, PINC serves as an entryway to Paulig for collaborations, consumer insights, expert guidance in brand and product development, and access to a vast European sales and distribution network.

Over the past few years, we’ve been faced with the reality that the world as we know is changing. Whether it’s a shifting workforce dynamic, rising material costs and increased regulations or reframing business to a global mindset.‍ We acknowledge that growth and evolution are the status quo, and standing still is simply not an option. We took it upon ourselves to look to the future and imagine what our actions today may affect as we go about our daily lives. It is in our nature to question our decisions, our thought process, and to reconsider what our “normal” is in the pursuit of greater, better ideas. With that in mind, we are moving forward as venture builders, automation innovators, as Vebu Labs.‍ This new iteration of our operation is focused on many of the same things that Wavemaker Labs has grown to be known for, but with the added intention of focusing on the food supply chain, automation innovation, and improving access to quality food for everyone. At our core, we are venture builders We’ve always been a lab, we’ve always been builders. Whether that is big, broad sweeping changes to markets and industries ripe for change, or in smaller, intentional changes to problems we face, we’re here to build, and we do so with ventures and partners that have the same values that we do. What does this mean for our operations & partners? In a word, nothing. We are still the powerhouse of engineering, tech, and expertise that has propelled Wavemaker Labs to the status that we have today, but are refocusing ourselves in what we say, how we say it, and the core focus of our team. Though we’ve always been driven to build better, we are clear that our focus needs to be on automating the food supply chain and improving access across the board, whether that is through true partnership with technology and automation, intentional design with our brands and products, or by leveraging our tech stack to drive better options for the future.‍ To us, our brand is the overarching principle that guides our daily life. It is the spoken truth that informs all of the unspoken actions and activities that connect us as a team, to each other, to our partners, and to our overall purpose. Our intention, our purpose, is at the forefront of our minds at each step and is why we can feel confident we are all rowing this ship in the same direction. What is our purpose? We are here to Found, Fund, and Scale transformative ventures to enable better food production. This is true and prevalent throughout our work, but what does that mean on a daily, get out of bed in the morning, level?‍ Our operation is built on the development of a future that makes humanity more effective, that leverages technology in a way that is iterative and constructive, and that cooperates unselfishly to build what benefits the largest proportion of the world. We know the future of food is bright, and we are Venture Builders working to make that future a reality.

As a late-stage, growth equity-focused fund, we arrive in the sweet spot between seed/early-stage and the buyout phase, minimizing risk and maximizing value. We work with exceptional entrepreneurs to help scale their business with capital and resources. Our holistic investment approach to AgriFood realizes value across the entire value chain from pre-production to distribution. Growth and late stage investments are an underserved market need in Agriculture and Food, and we’re biased towards underinvested sub-sectors within these verticals. Much of our investing happens between the coasts. Our St. Louis location puts us within 500 miles of 70% of US agriculture production. Additionally, the highest concentration of plant science PHDs in the world live in the St. Louis area, giving us a unique position to scout, form relationships, and strike deals with this rich talent pool. Our exhaustive, metric-driven underwriting process ensures we invest in the best of the best. We lean towards tech-enabled, sustainable AgriFood companies in the late stage VC/growth stage with converging to positive operating cash flow. This limits risk and leads to outsized returns. We lead deals and work with entrepreneurs through active board participation. We create distinctive, highly effective Value Enhancement Plans for each of our investments to ensure our entrepreneurs reach scale.

Bluestein Ventures is a leading early-stage venture capital fund investing in the future of food. Our focus is game-changing, early-stage ventures across the food industry that redefine how consumers achieve their health and wellness. Our investments span the entire supply chain – both B2C and B2B – with a focus on four areas: high-growth consumer brands, proprietary foodtech, next-gen commerce, and digital technology. Our target stage is Seed to Series A. We’re active investors, going beyond capital to help our portfolio companies develop, iterate, and implement their go-to-market strategy to achieve product-market fit and set the foundation for scale. Since Bluestein was founded in 2014, we have invested in over 40 companies. Notable investments include Factor, the #1 prepared meal-subscription service that exited to HelloFresh in 2020; FourKites, a freight location intelligence platform for large shippers; Meati, a minimally processed fungi-based alternative protein; and Foxtrot, a new-age convenience store. Other investments include Mori, Vive Organic, New Culture, and Provi.

We embrace the unique perspective and energy that startups bring to the world. We complement those elements with our deep food industry experience to help emerging companies reach their goals faster. Areas of FocusFunctional: Better-for-you alternatives and nutritional powerhouses Sustainable: Takes care of people and planet Experiential: Next level indulgence, immersion, and engagement Value Add: How We Can HelpSales & Product Strategy: Support on channel & category strategy, portfolio planning, trade & marketing design to scale your brand. Supply Chain & Operations: Guidance on the product journey, from sourcing to manufacturing and distribution, to achieve efficient growth. Insights & Thought Leadership: Market analysis and corporate function advice leveraging Grupo Bimbo's global resources.