Alt-protein focused food tech accelerator Big Idea Ventures announced this week it has launched the second cohort for both its New York City and Singapore programs, according to a press release sent to The Spoon.
Big Idea Ventures is a hybrid venture firm that has both a VC arm and the aforementioned accelerator program. It made headlines in 2019 when it launched the New Protein Fund, which at the time was the first and largest fund for plant-based protein investments. Also last year, the firm launched its first food tech accelerator cohort.
Like last year’s pick of companies, the 2020 cohort is split between New York City and Singapore and almost solely comprised of alt-protein companies — either those making actual products that will eventually go to consumers or those developing ingredients needed to make consumer-facing products.
Chosen participants receive a $125,000 investment and, over the course of five months, work with mentors, advisors, and potential investors.
Cohort II’s chosen companies are as follows:
New York City:
- Novel Farms, Inc.: A cell-based meat company currently working on an alt version of Jamon Ibérico
- Wild For: Healthy snacks made from ancient grain teff
- Evo: Working on a plant-based egg product
- Orbillion: A cell-based meat company developing bison jerky
- MeliBio: Growing clean honey through microbiology
- Actual Veggies: Veggie burgers made entirely from plants
- Biftek.co: Clean meat media meant to replace the controversial fetal bovine serum (FBS)
- Yoconut: Dairy-free yogurt made from coconuts
Singapore:
- Zhenmeat: A plant-based meat brand from China
- WTH Foods: Plant-based meat company in the Philippines
- Gaia: Singapore’s first cell-based meat company
- Fenn Foods: Australian plant-based foods company
For those interested, BIV is already taking applications for Cohort III, which will also be split between NYC and Singapore. Applications are open until September 4, 2020.