The FoodTech 500 is dedicated to celebrating diversity and inclusivity in all its forms. We are excited to reveal that out of the 500 finalists, 138 have been founded by women. In this feature, we spotlight these remarkable founders and gain insights from Mecca Ibrahim, Co-Founder of Women In The Food Industry. For over five years, Mecca has been building a community for women in the food industry here in the UK.

 

Women in the FoodTech

In recent years, there has been a growing focus on highlighting women in the Food Industry. A quick web search reveals numerous articles celebrating top female entrepreneurs like this article published by EU-Startups, titled "Top 60 European Women transforming the Agrifood Sector". This newfound emphasis on women in the food industry extends to top F&B companies like Unilever, Danone, and Nestle that have made it a top priority to reach the UN's Fifth SDG goal of gender parity by 2030. These companies have included diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) strategies and have taken part in gender parity initiatives, like the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), an index tracking public companies committed to disclosing efforts for gender equality through policy, representation, and transparency. Danone and Nestle have been featured in the Index for five consecutive years, a supposed testament to their commitment to fostering an equitable workplace culture. Danone also released a breakdown of female leadership roles from 2018 to 2022 – making the point that representation of women in these positions have gradually increased over the years: female executives from 26% to 33%, female directors from 40% to 43%, and female managers from 46% to 53%.

Despite various initiatives and objectives, there is a need to ensure that companies are truly fostering substantive change in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). As Mecca stresses, "It is easy for organisations in this space to say that they follow all laws on maternity and paternity leave, equal pay and do not discriminate in employment ads. However, DEI usually requires a cultural change and one that should be embedded and embraced into the whole DNA of the company, from recruitment, education and training right through to retention, promotion and boardroom decisions."

Female entrepreneurs face a particularly daunting challenge in the food industry, as evidenced by a recent report from Emerging Europe. According to the article, in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), women received only 1% of the capital deployed to entrepreneur in the region. In contrast, 5% of funding went to mixed-sex founder teams, while a staggering 94% was allocated to all-male teams.This funding disparity is especially concerning given that women account for 2.2 million entrepreneurs in the CEE region, with 20% of them employing staff.

A potential explanation for the funding disparities faced by female entrepreneurs in the food industry is the prevalence of gender biases, as documented in various studies. A report by Vegan Women Summit dating from 2022 revealed that 70% of women and 75% of Women of Color working in the plant-based and alternative meats sector experienced bias during fundraising. In 2020, an article based on 20 years of combined experience in entrepreneurial hubs like Silicon Valley and Singapore, found that pervasive gender bias was ingrained in the pitching process. These biases can manifest in subtle forms, like preferences for male-presented pitches or differences in the way in which males and females are questioned. These biases ultimately resulted in less or no fundraising for female entrepreneurs, even when their business proposals and qualifications were equally strong. Another study conducted by EIF in 2023 cited that homophily and gender perceptions were among the reasons why VC investors might be biased against women. These biases are further highlighted by the stark statistic that women represent only 7% of venture capital investors in the CEE region.

Despite efforts to promote inclusivity, the AgriFoodTech industry exhibits a lack of female representation, particularly in leadership positions, access to venture capital, and avenues for growth. Addressing these deeply ingrained biases will be crucial to creating a more equitable and inclusive funding environment for female entrepreneurs in the food industry and beyond.

In recent years, several programs and mentorship initiatives have been established to support women entrepreneurs in the food and agriculture sectors. For instance, The EIT Food Empowering Women in Agrifood project offers 80 female entrepreneurs the opportunity to participate in a six-month entrepreneurial program to develop new innovative solutions to address issues in the agri-food sector. The literature also suggests that increasing the presence of female venture capitalists (VCs) could be the key to boosting female entrepreneurship and closing the gender gap. Women VCs may be more inclined to invest in female-led startups, helping to address the biases and barriers that have historically hindered women's access to funding.

There are also encouraging signs of progress. AgFunder's data highlights a positive trend, with the percentage of companies having at least one woman founder or co-founder rising from 9% in 2002 to approximately 22% by 2020 among 1,061 companies. The FoodTech500 list is also a testament to this positive trajectory, with 28% of the companies listed having one or more female founders.

Before delving into the specific initiatives and programs aimed at addressing the gender gap in the AgriFoodTech industry, it is crucial to reiterate why increasing female representation in leadership roles is so vital.

"Diversity is vital for the future of AgriFoodTech, as women, who are often primary food preparers in households, can leverage their lived experiences to benefit the industry. Qualities traditionally associated with femininity, such as empathy and nurturing, are integral to business success. Moreover, since women are typically the primary household shoppers, their insights into product preferences and retail experiences are invaluable for feeding families", Mecca adds.

For more information, you can check out Women in the Food Industry.

You can access the full 2023 FoodTech500 ranking and global FoodTech ecosystem insights here.

Taxonomy: To learn more about Forward Fooding taxonomy click here.

AgriFoodTech reports: Explore all other AgriFoodTech-related reports here.

 

Meet the Women shaping the future of FoodTech

Tisha Livingston, Co-Founder at 80 Acres Farms

Jacqueline Heard, Co-Founder & CEO at Enko

Magi Richani, Co-Founder at Alpine (previously Nobell Foods)

Clemence Pedraza Co-Founder at Umiami

Marie Burrows, Co-Founder at Vertical Future

Cathy Ye, Co-Founder at Ivy Farm Technologies

Kelsey Tenney, Co-Founder at Voyage Foods

Dr. Kasia Gora, Co-Founder at SCiFi Foods

Taly Nechushtan, Co founder at Innovopro

Assoc Prof. Derya Baran, Co-Founder at RedSea

Laura Katz, Co-Founder at Helaina

Tsipi Shoham, Founder & CEO at GreenOnyx

Hamutal Yitzhak, Co-Founder & CEO at Else Nutrition

Dr. Sara Marquart, Co-Founder at Planet A Foods

Isabelle Botticelli, Co-Founder at Mootral

Heejung Kim, Co-Founder at Cellmeat

Dr. Leila Strickland CEO & co-founder, Michelle Egger, Co-founder at Biomilq

Dr Tal Zeltzer, Co-Founder & CTO at Phytolon

Melissa Snover, Co-Founder at Nourished

Hélène Briand, Co-Founder at Bon Vivant

Maxine Roper, Co-Founder at Connecting Food

Anat Halgoa Solomon, Co-Founder at Saturas

Emily Malina, Co-Founder at Spoiler Alert

Maija Itkonen, Co-Founder & CEO at Onego Bio

Shannon Willness, Co-Founder at SWAT Maps

Anne Palermo & Brittany Chibe, Co-Founders at Aqua Cultured Foods

Reka Tron, Co-Founder at Multus

Olga Dubey, Co-Founder at AgroSustain

Gali Yarom, Co-Founder & CEO at Better Juice

Dana Yarden, Co-Founder at BioBetter

Priyanka Srinivas, Co-Founder at The Live Green Company

Daphna Heffetz, Co-Founder & CEO at Wanda Fish

Nona Yehia & Caroline Croft-Estay, Co-Founders at Vertical Harvest Farms

Valeria Kogan, Founder & CEO at Fermata

Shannon Falconer, Founder & CEO at BioCraft Pet Nutrition

Valentina Rogacheva, Co-Founder at Verqor

Inga Jasiuvian & Caterina Racca, Co-Founders at Heaven

Ahrum Pak, Co-Founder & CEO at Winwin

Anastasia Krivoruchko, Co-Founder & CEO at Melt and Marble

Abigail Barnes, Co-Founder & CEO at Amulet

Giovanna Meneghel, Co-Founder & CEO at Nude.

Maddalena Zanoni, Co-Founder at Dreamfarm

Veronica Garcia-Arteaga, Co-Founder, Co-CEO & CTO at Neggst Foods

Moria Shimoni, Co-Founder & CTO at Forsea Foods

Anya Doherty, Founder & CEO at Foodsteps

Margarita Lopez, Co-Founder at Veloz Bio

Leonie Jahn, Co-Founder at MATR Foods

Adèle James, Co-Founder & CTO at Phagos

Elisa Bertini & Maria Eugenia Farias, Co-Founders at Puna Bio

Amanda Vargochik, Co-Founder & CIO at SinnovaTek

Parini Kapadia, Founder & CSO at Zero Cow Factory

Elin Roberts, Co-Founder & CMO at Better Nature Tempeh

Melissa Sharp, Co-Founder at Modern Baker

Tanja Bogumil, Co-Founder & CEO at Lovely Day Foods

Rafaela Gontijo Lenz, Founder & CEO at NUU

Lynette Kucsma, Co-Founder & CMO at Natural Machines

Allie Broddy, Co-Founder at Crush Dynamics

Sara Guaglio, Co-Founder & COO; Julia Streuli, Co-Founder & CEO, Cristina Prat, Co-Founder at FUL Foods

Margot Vandevoort, Co-Founder at Willicroft

Jenny Lemieux, Co-Founder & CEO at Vivid Machines

Tamara Leigh, Co-Founder & CEO at EIO Diagnostics

Jasmin Ravid, Co-Founder & CEO & Daria Feldman, Co-Founder & CTO at Kinoko-Tech

Andrea Jagodic, Co-Founder & CTO at Flybox

Katy Barfield, Founder & CEO Yume Food

Irene Rupert, Co-Founder at AgrigateOne

Ambra Milani, Co-Founder & IDO at Cynomys

Juliette Sabatier & Lise Mailliard, Co-Founders at Tinybird

Ninna Granucci, Co-Founder & President at Green Spot Technologies

Laura Knight, CEO at The Smarter Food Company

Daria Reisch, Co-Founder & CEO; Sharon Wulff, Co-Founder & CPO at Agrinorm

Racheli Vizman, Co-Founder at Egg'n'Up

Solveiga Pakštaitė, Founder at Mimica

Dr Rachel Evans, Co-Founder & Chief Science Officer at Senoptica Technologies

Martha Wenzel, Co-Founder & CEO at E-Terry

Jennifer Cote, Co-Founder & CEO at Opalia

Taly Feldman Sivan, Co-Founder & CBO at Meala Foodtech

Rozalin Aliramaei, Founder & CEO at Elenovations

Lucie Kriegshauser, Co-Founder & CTO at Amatera Biosciences

Ifat Hammer, Co-Founder & CTO, Ifat Peled Dinstag, Co-Founder & CEO at Liva

Aviaja Riemann-Andersen, Co-Founder & CEO at Agrain

Susana Sánchez, Co-Founder & CSO at Moa FoodTech

Marian Bolz, Co-Founder & CTO, Hannah Brown, Co-Founder & CMO at Organifarms

Rania Reda, Co-Founder & CEO at Brito Cloud Kitchens

Joni Symon, Co-Founder & R&D Scientist at De Novo Foodlabs

Luz Sanz, Co-Founder & CEO at Väcka

Coralie Hellwig, Co-Founder at Millow

Saskia Tersteeg, Co-Founder at Time Travelling Milkman

Netta Granot, CEO & Co-Founder at EXOSOMM

Sushma Shankar, Co-Founder & COO; Natalia Efremova, Co-Founder at Deep Planet

Florencia Salcedo & Daniela Caprile, Co-Founders at Unibaio

Kanitsanan Thanthitiwat, Co-Founder & CEO at Global Bugs Asia

Susan Payne, Co-Founder & COO at Sustainable Planet

Iga Czubak, CEO at Roślinny Qurczak

Malin Bruset, Founder & CEO at GroGro

Silvana Spinelli, Co-Founder & CEO; Carla Borini, Co-Founder & CTO, Daniela Teplitzki, Co-Founder & COO at Kresko RNAtech

Frankie Fox, Co-Founder & CEO at FoodSquared

Anouk Snelders, Founder & Co-owner of Health Food Wall

Françoise de Valera, Co-Founder at Pack2Earth

Antonella De Lazzari, Co-Founder at Naturannova

Adi Yehezkeli, Co-Founder at Fabumin

Jo Amit, Product & Brand Director of Hownd

Pratibha Aggarwal, Co-Founder at 9Growers

Kitiya Vongkamjan, Founder & CEO at UniFAHS

Yuly Galindo, Co-Founder at SiembraCo

Guiomar Sánchez Carrón, Co-Founder at BioProcesia

Yashaswini Balaraju, Co-CEO & CPO at Mycovation

Katarzyna Mlynarczyk, Co-Founder at Rebread

Vanessa Small, Founder & CEO at Alcheme Bio

Martina Lokajova, Co-Founder & CEO; Ana Pejic, Co-Founder & CPO at Tempty Foods

Antonieta Rodríguez de Olmos, Co-Founder & CEO at Food 4 You

Inge Meijs, Co-Founder at Gastronomixs

Lisa Laurell, Co-Founder & CEO at Oh Mungood

Rocio Espinosa Torres, Co-Founder & CEO at ByBug

Iria Varela, Co-Founder & CEO at ODS Protein

Cara Cooper, Co-Founder & COO; Lauren Branson, CEO at Calyx

Katarzyna Geiger, Co-Founder & CEO at Humati

Sofia Giampaoli, Founder at Alt Atlas

Jelena Pejic, CTO at Beehold

Alison Fagan, Founder & CEO at CF Foods Group

Jayat Gonzalez, Co-Founder; Ana Sofia Hillman, COO at Propel Foods

Carolina Aguila, Co-Founder & CEO; Liliana Kunz, Co-Founder at NanoInGreen

Priscila Silva, Co-Founder & CMO at Gundo

Elif Özcü, Co-Founder at Malty Foods

Maria Martinez, Co-Founder at Agrodit

Aygen Savas Alkan, Co-Founder & CEO at Kybele's Garden

Lisa Rita Magnaghi, Co-Founder at Safer Smart Label

Alejandra Allendes, Co-Founder & CEO at Quelp

Dhruvika Sosa, Co-Founder at AkoFresh

Lucia Marrocco, Co-Founder & CEO at Drype

Alejandra Omarini, Co-Founder & CTO at SomaTech

Klaudia Laczi, Co-Founder at Connecting Grounds

Lindy Hensen, Co-Founder at PeelPioneers

Deniz Ficicioglu, Co-Founder & CEO at BettaF!sh

Mariela Velasquez, Director of Strategy at Amevel

Alyson Schill, CEO at Careit

Shefali Vinod Ramteke, Founder at C.H.I.R.A.G.

Alcione Pereira Silva, Founder & CEO at ConnectingFood Brazil

Sylvine Wong, Co-Founder & CEO at BSF Innovation Limited

Ivonne Márquez, Co-Founder & General Manager at Optiprot

Alina Sartogo & Dini McGrath, Co-Founders at The Wonki Collective

Maria Cermeño, Co-Founder & CSO at Poseidona

Isabella D'Addeo, Co-Founder & Business Developer at Enismaro

Mariliis Mia Topp, Co-Founder & CEO at Raw Edge

Maria Caridad García, Co-Founder at Mundo Healthy

Kelly Pan & Stephani Claudino Daffara, Co-Founder & CEO at Impact Food

Anastasia Krivoruchko, Co-Founder & CEO at Melt and Marble

 

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