We are over the moon to unveil to the world the official 2021 FoodTech 500 winners!

Download the white paper here and discover the entrepreneurial talent behind this year’s FoodTech 500

Introducing the official 2021 FoodTech 500

When we first set out to create the FoodTech 500, we wanted to develop the definitive list of the top 500 companies shaping the future of food. Thanks to an overwhelming amount of support, the FoodTech 500 was born with its first edition in 2019. Showcasing innovations from AgriFoodTech companies across the globe, it set the bar incredibly high for this year’s list. 

However, as we’ve developed this year’s FoodTech 500, the 2021 edition has gone above and beyond what we had anticipated. With 2052 applicants from over 85 countries, this year has revealed the incredible diversity of those tackling the food crisis.

It is our ambition that the FoodTech 500 becomes the Fortune 500 of AgriFoodTech, a list of top innovators and disruptors in the industry and also the go-to leaders of this emergent and ever-evolving sector. 

Yesterday, 15th February 2021, we proudly unveiled 2021’s FoodTech 500 finalists list.

Methodology

Our methodology for the 2021 FoodTech 500 blends human vetting with tech-powered data crunching to deliver the ultimate FoodTech 500 list. 

The 2021 FoodTech 500 Top 10

The Top 10 startups and scaleups of this year’s FoodTech 500 are highly promising and influential global companies working across the Agtech, Surplus & Waste Management, Next-Gen Food & Drinks and Food Delivery sectors. These 10 companies alone have cumulatively raised the impressive amount of $4.1B and served more than 50 markets since their founding date. 

The Unveiling Event

On February 15th, 2022, we held the official unveiling webinar of the FoodTech500 2021 list, hosting speakers representing some of the top-ranking companies. The speakers joined us to share their journey so far, their visions and objectives for the future as well as their insights on the AgriFoodTech landscape.

Watch the entire event on our Youtube Channel!

The event was opened by Alessio D’Antino, founder & CEO of Forward Fooding, who introduced the FoodTech 500 & unveiled the official ranking of 2021’s Foodtech 500.  

Next, our sponsors took the floor, with introductions by DOLE Sunshine Company represented by Barbara Guerpillon, Head of Dole Ventures, and Andrew Yip, Head of Technology & Innovation, Food Sector at NEOM.

Alessio went on to moderate the main session: an engaging discussion between six of the top ranking companies from the  2021 FoodTech 500, with areas of activity ranging from Agtech to Next-Gen Food & Drinks.

He started off by asking each of our speakers to introduce themselves and their companies, along with the personal stories from their entrepreneurial and impact journey. In the following paragraphs, we share how Suds, Matias, Matt, Alain, Jammie and Darren got into Food Tech and some of the personal insights they shared during the discussion.

Watch the official video of the FoodTech 500 2021 edition

The 2021 FoodTech 500 Official Sponsors

Barbara Guerpillon, Head of Dole Ventures at Dole Sunshine

Barbara Guerpillon

Barbara Guerpillon is Head of Dole Ventures at Dole Sunshine company. Passionate about innovation and collaborative culture, Barbara works at the intersection of corporate innovation, technology and sustainability. In October 2020, Barbara joined Dole to lead its corporate venturing arm.  Dole Ventures will collaborate with start-ups to support profitable growth and enable the realization of the Dole Promise, announced by the company in July 2020.  To achieve these ambitious goals, Dole Ventures wants to play a role in the complex innovation ecosystem, by breaking down traditional barriers and tapping into talent, science, and technology. For the last 15 years, Barbara has developed an exhaustive understanding of disruptive technologies, digital environments, and their commercial applications. A respected driver of innovation, Barbara has a track record of building successful collaboration between start-ups and corporate, engaging with tech communities, accelerators, and VCs, as well as building meaningful ecosystem relationships to accelerate growth. Prior to her role at Dole, Barbara built and led for 5 years Unilever Foundry, Unilever’s platform for start-ups engagement, which she then transformed into a cross-functional technology discovery platform, while designing and managing internal and external innovation networks.  A mentor for start-ups, Barbara speaks regularly on corporate innovation and the importance of inspiring entrepreneurial spirit within companies.

“At Dole, in the future we will be focusing on technologies for carbon capture, digitalisation of the relationship with smallholder farmers, elimination of fossil fuel-based packaging and against banana plantation pathogens.”

– Barbara Guerpillon

Read the full interview here.

Andrew Yip, Senior Manager, Technology and Innovation, Food Sector, at NEOM

Dr. Andrew Yip

Dr. Andrew Yip is Senior Manager, Technology and Innovation within the NEOM Food sector, where he oversees key areas including digital infrastructure, data governance, innovation services and ecosystem building. Prior to NEOM, he held consulting roles in the public sector in advanced analytics and data governance, led business and digital curriculum design for regional talent development, and spearheaded technology and social entrepreneurship initiatives in Saudi Arabia. A Ph.D. graduate in Applied Mathematics and Computational Science from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Yip has been a NEOM pioneer since 2019, shaping the future of food through human-centric designs and partnerships.

​​“If you are interested in the Middle East, at NEOM we look forward to connecting with startups and co-create meaningful solutions to solve some of the challenges of our food system”

– Dr. Andrew Yip

Read the full interview here.

Speakers from the 2021 FoodTech 500 ‘Top 10’ pack

Suds Sarronwala, Chief Impact Officer at Infarm (#1 of the 2021 FoodTech 500)

Suds Sarronwala

Sudhanshu Sarronwala (Suds) is Chief Impact Officer at Infarm, the world’s fastest-growing urban farming network, harvesting and distributing more than 1,000,000 plants each month across its network in 10 countries.

A long-time advocate for environmental conservation, Suds leads Infarm’s Impact Division, created within the company to drive understanding of the tremendous health, sustainability and environmental benefits of Infarm’s urban farms and the industry at large. His team works with governments, NGOs, companies and other key partners to multiply Infarm’s impact and create positive change in our society.

Suds has spent more than 30 years in management, communications and as an internet entrepreneur. Prior to Infarm, Suds was Executive Director of Marketing and Communications with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), where he directed brand, media, digital communications and partnership efforts in service of the organization’s mission to help conserve natural resources; transform markets, societies and policies toward sustainability; and protect and restore species and their habitats. He was also responsible for Earth Hour Global and WWF-Singapore and was a member of both boards.

Suds, a Singapore national of Indian origin, holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Delhi University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management. Having lived in India, Hong Kong and Singapore, he has lived in Geneva, Switzerland for the past decade with his family.

“On the impact front, we are going through the BCorp process and are one of the first companies in the vertical farming industry to commit to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).”

– Suds Sarronwala

Alain Revah, Chief Marketing & Communication Officer at Ynsect (#3 of the 2021 FoodTech 500)

Alain Revah

Alain Revah is Chief Marketing & Communication Officer at Ÿnsect. Prior to his current role, he was Vice President of Business & Corporate Development at Poshmark, based in San Francisco. He started his career building digital communities for Amazon, Major League Baseball, and About.com. He co-founded Ulteo (acquired by AZ Network) and helped launch Telegroup (IPO Nasdaq TRGP). He also co-founded, invested and advised a number of startups including FreshPlanet, Stargazer and PhotoRoom, as well as conglomerates such as LVMH, Vivendi, and venture funds like Accelerator Ventures and Sunstone Capital. He holds two master’s degrees in Law and International Business from the University of Paris-Sorbonne and speaks 9 languages.

“The urgency is great so we are not competing with other companies but on the other hand, look to joining forces with anyone interested in beating the challenges of climate change and lack of nutrition.”

– Alain Revah

Matt Crisp, Chief Executive Officer at Benson Hill (#4 of the 2021 FoodTech 500)

Matt Crisp

Matt is an entrepreneur, executive and former venture capitalist who is passionate about connecting technology and business with a purpose to deliver global impact.

Matt is a lifelong learner who started his career in venture capital, where he grew into a partner role and worked directly with and within emerging companies across biotechnology and other technology-driven fields. His exposure to the broad workings of numerous companies has shaped a strong generalist perspective, which is particularly valuable in his current role. Matt has developed a passion for how different types of innovation can deliver unique and significant value creation opportunities and impact, particularly in food and agriculture. He most enjoys empowering his colleagues, partners and stakeholders to help realize the vision of a healthier, more sustainable and more accessible food system. Matt holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Radford University.

“Plant-based food consumption and flexitarianism are coming out globally and these are the types of trends that we feel like we are best positioned to help food companies satisfy.”

– Matt Crisp

Check out Benson Hill’s video here.

 

Darren Thompson, Chief Financial Officer at Bowery Farming (#6 of the 2021 FoodTech 500)

Darren Thompson

Darren Thompson is the Chief Financial Officer of Bowery Farming, the Modern Farming Company on a mission to reimagine farming from the ground up. Bowery is the largest vertical farming company in the United States, serving more than 800 grocery stores and major e-commerce platforms.

By combining his passion for environmental sustainability and business, Darren plays a critical role in building and scaling Bowery’s business model so that the company can bring fresher, safer produce to more communities. 

Darren brings with him more than 30 years of leadership experience in the financial services industry and building high-growth businesses. Before joining the Bowery team, he served as President of Spruce Finance, a leading tech-enabled consumer finance company working with the renewable energy industry. Darren was also a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where he raised more than $30 billion in capital for leveraged and emerging growth companies. 

In addition to his role at Bowery, he frequently speaks on the subjects of global capital markets and entrepreneurial management. He appeared as a guest lecturer on entrepreneurial management at Cornell University’s The Johnson School of Business and spoke on financial markets at George Washington University’s graduate economics program.

“We are focused on delivering financial results to attract capital and continue fueling our growth. It is crucial for any vertical company to find the right type of ‘patient’ capital and make the investors understand the reality of the market and how steep the innovation curve is, and will continue to be.”

– Darren Thompson

Jammie Crummie, Co-founder at Too good to go (#9 of the 2021 FoodTech 500)

Jamie Crummie

Jamie Crummie trained as a lawyer before pursuing his mission of fighting food waste. He is the co-founder of Too Good To Go, the world’s largest marketplace for surplus food. The app lets consumers buy unsold food from restaurants and retailers so that it doesn’t go to waste. Too Good To Go is now active in 17 countries and has 45 million users who have rescued over 100 million meals collectively. Jamie was named a Trailblazing Activist in the 50 Next class of 2021, One Young World’s Entrepreneur of the Year in August 2020, one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in Europe in February 2019 and was shortlisted for the Entrepreneur For Good Award at the Natwest Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2019.

“We measure our impact not just through the meals we save but also through the changes in the behavior of consumers and the results that we achieve through collaborating with other organizations.”

– Jamie Crummie

Check out Too Good To Go video here. 

Matias Muchnick, CEO & Co-founder at NotCo (#10 of the 2021 FoodTech 500)

Matias Muchnick 

Matias Muchnick is CEO and co-founder of NotCo, one of the fastest-growing food tech companies in Latin America achieving, in just 5 years, a valuation of 1.5 Billion Dollars. With a degree in finance and a business background working at JP Morgan in Hong Kong, he gathered a science-based team to build one of the most advanced companies in the food industry. Investors such as Jeff Bezos, Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone, Enlightened Hospitality Investments, Tiger Global, Lewis Hamilton, Roger Federer’s Team8, L-Catterton, Kaszek Ventures and The Craftory, among others, are currently helping the company take a quantum leap of experience. NotCo’s innovative way of creating tailor-made partnerships has opened doors for the company to become an essential ingredient in multinationals such as Burger King, Papa John’s and Starbucks. With operations in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and USA, and with four product categories on the market, NotCo is planning to continue conquering the world with mouthwatering products.

“One thing that has worked for NotCo is the culture that we created: we are ‘running out of time’. It doesn’t matter where you are. If you don’t have anything and time is running out, you can do amazing things.”

– Matias Muchnick 

We then wrapped up the event by opening the floor to our attendees for a Q&A session with our panelists.

At Forward Fooding, we are incredibly proud to have hosted these incredible speakers at the online unveiling event of the FoodTech 500 2021. 

A huge thanks go to all our speakers, for taking the time to share their insights and inspire other entrepreneurs to enter this space. Last but not least, a special thank you to all the attendants who joined us to celebrate this amazing pack of entrepreneurs who every day work to better our food system!

If you’ve missed this event, fear not,  you can watch the video here!

Want access to the full list?

Download ‘The Official 2021 FoodTech 500’, to see the full list, learn more about our methodology and get to know the top finalist with an amazing and exclusive interview with each founder!

Congratulations

So, finally, here’s to the innovators and disruptors, all startups and scale-ups tackling the food challenges of the modern world head-on. While sitting at the intersection of food, technology and sustainability, these entrepreneurs are powered by focusing their attention and efforts on a better future. All of the companies that have made it as 2021 FoodTech 500 finalists are, in our opinion, entrepreneurial success stories worth keeping an eye on. That is why we have made it our mission to share them with you.

 

Forward Fooding is the world’s first collaborative platform for FoodTech Data Intelligence and Corporate Startup Collaboration.