Scaling out, not up: foodtech execs rethink growth in funding winter
We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalised ads or content, and analyse our traffic. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to our use of cookies. No cookies to display. In what at times sounded like a group therapy session, foodtech leaders assembled at the Tufts Future of Food Innovation Day in Boston spoke candidly about a “harrowing” year of funding pullbacks, painful pivots, and what comes next. For Tender Food, which recently rebranded as Lasso after raising $6.5 million to take its fiber spinning tech beyond alt meat into snacks and pet food, CEO Mike Messersmith said he faced a stark choice last year: “There was no money for me to continue raising on a sub small scale plant-based meat company in the year 2025. That path is over… and you’ve got to deal with that reality.” He added: “When you start an email [to an investor] with, ‘Hey, I’m Mike from a plant-based meat company in Boston,’ it’s like, ‘delete.’ No one’s putting $10 in today on the hopes of
Foodtech founders are attempting to forge new paths after a ‘harrowing’ year, said speakers at the Tufts Future of Food Innovation Day. Image credit: Tufts In what at times sounded like a group therapy session, foodtech leaders assembled at the Tufts Future of Food Innovation Day in Boston spoke candidly about a “harrowing” year of funding pullbacks, painful pivots, and what comes next. For Tender Food, which recently rebranded as Lasso after raising $6.5 million to take its fiber spinning tech beyond alt meat into snacks and pet food, CEO Mike Messersmith said he faced a stark cho
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