Louise Cullen of the ProVeg Incubator describes how investing in new food startups is helping to support the pioneering scientists and entrepreneurs transforming the global food industry.

In the past year, food and tech companies developing meat and dairy alternatives smashed investment records. Despite the financial challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, $3.1b1 in funding went to entrepreneurs working on plant-based and cultured-food solutions. The majority of the capital was snapped up by plant-based companies ($2.1bn), while biotech firms producing proteins via fermentation took around $590m. In the same period, more than $360m flowed into the cultivated meat sector.

By 2035, the global alternative protein industry is expected to be worth at least $290bn2, with cultured products poised to take on a substantial share of the protein sector, potentially constituting as much as 35% of global meat consumption3 by as early as 2040. An increasing number of companies and products, along with various diversifying technologies, are attracting more investors to this space.

Sustainable, high-growth investment opportunities are drawing the attention of an increasing number of Venture Capital firms (VCs), family offices and institutional investors — often from the IT, biotech and pharmaceutical industries. It is not just the behemoths of the food industry that are attracting investment either. A record number of fundraising rounds at all levels shows that investors are also interested in new innovative startups.

ProVeg Incubator 的 Louise Cullen 描述了对新食品初创公司的投资如何帮助支持改变全球食品行业的先驱科学家和企业家。

在过去的一年里，开发肉类和乳制品替代品的食品和科技公司打破了投资记录。尽管 COVID-19 大流行带来了财务挑战，但 3.1b 1美元的资金流向了致力于植物性和培养食品解决方案的企业家。大部分资金被植物公司收购（21 亿美元），而通过发酵生产蛋白质的生物技术公司则获得了约 5.9 亿美元。同期，有超过 3.6 亿美元流入养殖肉类行业。

到 2035 年，全球替代蛋白质行业的价值预计将至少达到 2900 亿美元2，养殖产品有望在蛋白质行业占据相当大的份额，最早可能占全球肉类消费量的 35% 3 2040. 越来越多的公司和产品，以及各种多样化的技术，正在吸引更多的投资者进入这个领域。

可持续、高增长的投资机会吸引了越来越多的风险投资公司 (VC)、家族办公室和机构投资者的关注——通常来自 IT、生物技术和制药行业。吸引投资的不仅仅是食品行业的庞然大物。各级创纪录的融资轮次表明投资者也对新的创新创业公司感兴趣。