There are a lot of things to consider when building a new startup - where to get funding, how to validate your idea, and what features should the product have.
One of the challenges, however, is finding a market that is willing to pay for your solution without even knowing what it is yet.
While some people say this makes your idea too vague and hard to monetize, there’s actually good news.
There’s more money in this space than ever before by angels investing in early-stage companies.
If you're building a Food Processing startup, you must check these 66 fast-growing companies.
66 Food Processing Startups 1) Impossible Foods Impossible Foods focuses on the development of plant-based meat, dairy, and fish alternatives.
Details of the startup:
Country: United States City: Redwood City Started in: 2011 Founders: Monte Casino, Patrick Brown Number of employees: 501-1000 Funding amount: $1,587,500,000 Number of funding rounds: 16 Number of investors: 53 You can find their website here
2) Lineage Logistics Lineage Logistics is a warehouse and logistics firm specializing in temperature-controlled logistics and supply chain management.
Details of the startup:
Country: United States City: Novi Started in: 2012 Number of employees: 10001+ Funding amount: $7,000,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 10 You can find their website here
3) Dodla Dairy Dodla Dairy processes and distributes milk and dairy products with added value.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Hyderabad Started in: 1995 Founders: D. Sunil Reddy Number of employees: 501-1000 Funding amount: $71,276,176 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 13 You can find their website here
4) Clara Foods Clara creates true animal protein without using any animals at all, beginning with the world's first chicken-free egg proteins.
Details of the startup:
Country: United States City: South San Francisco Started in: 2015 Founders: Arturo Elizondo, David Anchel Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $56,750,000 Number of funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 15 You can find their website here
5) NotCo NotCo is a food technology business that makes meat and dairy replacements from plants.
Details of the startup:
Country: Chile City: Santiago Started in: 2015 Founders: Karim Pichara Baksai, Matias Muchnick, Pablo Zamora Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $115,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 12 You can find their website here
6) Serenity Kids Serenity Kids is a baby food company that specializes on nutrient-dense foods that are both delicious for children and convenient for parents.
Details of the startup:
Country: United States City: Austin Started in: 2016 Founders: Joe Carr, Serenity Heegel Carr Number of employees: 1-10 Funding amount: $11,500,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 21 You can find their website here
7) Memphis Meats Memphis Meats develops meat made entirely from animal cells, eliminating the need for actual animals to be raised and slaughtered.
Details of the startup:
Country: United States City: San Francisco Started in: 2015 Founders: Nicholas Genovese, Uma Valeti Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $181,053,000 Number of funding rounds: 7 Number of investors: 29 You can find their website here
8) Eat Just Eat Just is a plant-based egg substitute that aims to give nutritious and healthful dietary options.
Details of the startup:
Country: United States City: San Francisco Started in: 2011 Founders: Josh Balk, Josh Tetrick Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $440,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 13 Number of investors: 35 You can find their website here
9) Opopop Opopop is a food manufacturing and processing firm that specializes in popcorn.
Details of the startup:
Country: United States City: Denver Started in: 2018 Founders: Alex McEvoy, Brad Roulier, Christopher Staley, Chuck Lepley, Jonas Tempel, Sarah McDowell Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $11,600,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 Number of investors: 5 You can find their website here
10) Rebel Foods Rebel Foods Services is a food delivery platform that delivers food right to your door.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Pune Started in: 2011 Founders: Jaydeep Barman, Kallol Banerjee Number of employees: 5001-10000 Funding amount: $342,349,901 Number of funding rounds: 20 Number of investors: 19 You can find their website here
11) Chobani Chobani is a company that makes and sells Greek yogurt.
Details of the startup:
Country: United States City: Norwich Started in: 2005 Founders: Hamdi Ulukaya Number of employees: 1001-5000 Funding amount: $750,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 Number of investors: 1 You can find their website here
12) Daring Foods Daring Foods is a startup company that makes plant-based chicken as a healthy alternative to meat.
Details of the startup:
Country: United States City: Los Angeles Started in: 2018 Founders: Eliott Kessas, Ross Mackay Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $48,762,288 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 10 You can find their website here
13) Journey Foods Journey Foods uses business software to tackle food science and supply chain inefficiencies, allowing enterprises to better feed the world's 8 billion people.
Details of the startup:
Country: United States City: Austin Started in: 2018 Founders: Andy Renaud, Riana Lynn Number of employees: 1-10 Funding amount: $2,505,000 Number of funding rounds: 6 Number of investors: 9 You can find their website here
14) Mosa Meat Mosa Meat is a company that makes a slaughter-free hamburger from cow cells.
Details of the startup:
Country: The Netherlands City: Maastricht Started in: 2013 Founders: Mark Post, Peter Verstrate Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $95,964,133 Number of funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 12 You can find their website here
15) Chai Point Chai Point is a multi-channel beverage company that offers a precisely brewed cup of chai.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Bengaluru Started in: 2010 Founders: Amuleek Singh Bijral, Gaganjot Kaur Number of employees: 1001-5000 Funding amount: $46,221,395 Number of funding rounds: 9 Number of investors: 6 You can find their website here
16) Wow! Momo Wow! Momo is a fast-food restaurant chain known for its momos.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Kolkata Started in: 2008 Founders: Binod Kumar Homagai, Sagar Daryani, Shah Miftaur Rahman Number of employees: 251-500 Funding amount: $37,996,690 Number of funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 6 You can find their website here
17) Nature’s Fynd Nature's Fynd is a food firm that produces a protein derived from a microorganism found in geothermal springs.
Details of the startup:
Country: United States City: Chicago Started in: 2012 Founders: Mark Kozubal, Matthew Strongin, Thomas Jonas Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $158,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 10 You can find their website here
18) &pizza &pizza is a pizza company that also sells craft beers.
Details of the startup:
Country: United States City: Washington D.C. Started in: 2012 Founders: Michael Lastoria, Steve Salis Number of employees: 251-500 Funding amount: $79,200,000 Number of funding rounds: 9 Number of investors: 6 You can find their website here
19) Meatable Meatable is a firm based in the Netherlands that produces authentic, guilt-free meat.
Details of the startup:
Country: The Netherlands City: Delft Started in: 2018 Founders: Daan Luining, Krijn De Nood, Mark Kotter Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $62,918,394 Number of funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 13 You can find their website here
20) RAW Pressery RAW Pressery is a clean-label beverage company that sells cold-pressed juices, smoothies, soups, and other products.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Mumbai Started in: 2014 Founders: Anuj Rakyan Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $41,255,467 Number of funding rounds: 12 Number of investors: 7 You can find their website here
21) Agricool Agricool recycles shipping containers into urban farms to cultivate local, flavorful, pesticide-free fruits and vegetables.
Details of the startup:
Country: France City: Paris Started in: 2015 Founders: Gonzague Gru, Guillaume Fourdinier Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $38,948,162 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 11 You can find their website here
22) FreshMenu FreshMenu is a food delivery service that serves high-quality fresh and flavorful cuisines.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Bengaluru Started in: 2014 Founders: Rashmi Daga Number of employees: 501-1000 Funding amount: $25,837,687 Number of funding rounds: 7 Number of investors: 8 You can find their website here
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23) Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters offers a dedicated online marketplace for the sale of roasted coffee.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Delhi Started in: 2012 Founders: Matt Chitharanjan, Namrata Asthana Number of employees: 1-10 Funding amount: $5,569,257 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 4 You can find their website here
24) v2food v2food is a plant-based meat firm that makes meat substitutes from legumes.
Details of the startup:
Country: Australia City: Sydney Started in: 2019 Founders: Nick Hazell Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: A$112,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 10 You can find their website here
25) Heura Foods Marc Coloma and Bernat Aaos, activists, developed Heura, a plant-based enterprise. They make Mediterranean-style plant-based meat.
Details of the startup:
Country: Spain City: Barcelona Started in: 2017 Founders: Marc Coloma Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $5,152,709 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 3 You can find their website here
26) Starfield Food & Science Technology Starfield Food & Science Technology is a plant-based protein producer based in China.
Details of the startup:
Country: China City: Shenzhen Started in: 2017 Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $25,032,033 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 7 You can find their website here
27) Shiok Meats Shiok Meats is a corporation that specializes in cellular aquaculture and cell-based meat.
Details of the startup:
Country: Singapore City: Singapore Started in: 2018 Founders: Ka Yi Ling, Sandhya Sriram, Sandhya Sriram Number of employees: 1-10 Funding amount: $20,350,000 Number of funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 24 You can find their website here
28) Louis Dreyfus Company The Louis Dreyfus Company is a global commodity merchandiser as well as a major agricultural asset owner and processor.
Details of the startup:
Country: The Netherlands City: Rotterdam Started in: 1851 Number of employees: 10001+ Funding amount: $100,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
29) Next Gen Foods Next Gen Foods is a food-tech company that specializes in plant-based meat alternatives.
Details of the startup:
Country: Singapore City: Singapore Started in: 2020 Founders: Timo Recker Number of employees: 1-10 Funding amount: $12,200,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 4 You can find their website here
30) Lieferando Lieferando is a mobile app that allows you to order food from restaurants from the comfort of your own home.
Details of the startup:
Country: The Netherlands City: Amsterdam Started in: 2008 Founders: Christoph Gerber, Joerg Gerbig, Kai Hansen Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: € 19,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 7 Number of investors: 8 You can find their website here
31) Rotimatic Rotimatic is a product design firm that creates smart kitchen equipment that promote healthy eating by combining simplicity and automation.
Details of the startup:
Country: Singapore City: Singapore Started in: 2008 Founders: Pranoti Nagarkar, Rishi Israni Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $48,500,000 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 7 You can find their website here
32) Feed. Feed is a foodtech firm based in France that creates whole meals in formats that are suitable for busy individuals.
Details of the startup:
Country: France City: Paris Started in: 2017 Founders: Anthony Bourbon Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $33,697,979 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 8 You can find their website here
33) Biryani By Kilo Biryani By Kilo is a food service and delivery business that prepares and delivers authentic Indian cuisine.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Noida Started in: 2015 Founders: Kaushik Roy, Ritesh Sinha, Vishal Jindal Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $8,390,686 Number of funding rounds: 11 Number of investors: 17 You can find their website here
34) InVivo Agriculture cooperation can reclaim their proper place in the global food value chain with the support of InVivo.
Details of the startup:
Country: France City: Paris Started in: 1945 Number of employees: 5001-10000 Funding amount: € 265,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 4 You can find their website here
35) Yummy Corp Yummy Corp is an online catering and cloud kitchen management firm with a network of delivery-only kitchens.
Details of the startup:
Country: Indonesia City: Tangerang Started in: 2019 Founders: Edward Kumar, Juan Chene, Marbio Suntanu, Mario Suntanu, Marius Suntanu Number of employees: 501-1000 Funding amount: $19,750,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 13 You can find their website here
36) Veeba Foods Veeba Foods is a specialist food ingredient manufacturer.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: New Delhi Started in: 2012 Founders: Viraj Bahl Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $45,895,220 Number of funding rounds: 7 Number of investors: 4 You can find their website here
37) Holachef Holachef is a Mumbai-based food service firm that provides customers with chef-prepared fresh meals.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Mumbai Started in: 2014 Founders: Anil Gelra, Gaurav Srivastava, Saurabh Saxena Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $12,070,497 Number of funding rounds: 8 Number of investors: 8 You can find their website here
38) Eggoz Eggoz is a brand of fresh, chemical-free eggs produced from completely integrated farmers and delivered within 36 hours to the table.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Gurgaon Started in: 2017 Founders: Abhishek Negi, Aditya Singh, Pankaj Pandey, Uttam Kumar Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: ₹169,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 15 You can find their website here
39) Fazenda Futuro Fazenda Futuro is a food technology firm that specializes in flat meat.
Details of the startup:
Country: Brazil City: Rio De Janeiro Started in: 2019 Founders: Marcos Leta Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $29,800,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 5 You can find their website here
40) YFood Labs YFood Labs is a food-tech company that creates smart food solutions for today's consumers.
Details of the startup:
Country: Germany City: Munich Started in: 2017 Founders: Benjamin Kremer, Noel Bollmann Number of employees: 51-100 Funding amount: $22,600,000 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 6 You can find their website here
41) TOTEM Totem's objective is to improve workplace social connections by developing adaptable and customizable mini-cafeterias.
Details of the startup:
Country: France City: Paris Started in: 2017 Founders: Pierre Gallet, Rafael de Lavergne, Stefan de Lavergne Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: € 5,750,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 5 You can find their website here
42) Patanjali Ayurved Patanjali Ayurved Ltd is a non-profit organization. It's an idea that connects the aspirations of millions of rural people.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Haridwar Started in: 2006 Founders: Acharya Balkrishna, Baba Ramdev Number of employees: 10001+ Funding amount: ₹32,000,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 Number of investors: 4 You can find their website here
43) Charcoal Eats CharcoalEats FoodTech serves Indian cuisines to customers around the country at reasonable pricing during snack and meal times.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Mumbai Started in: 2015 Founders: Anurag Mehrotra, Krishnakant Thakur, Mohammed Bhol Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $1,602,101 Number of funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 10 You can find their website here
44) Fingerlix Fingerlix is a semi-cooked food delivery app that provides customers with a wonderful experience.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Mumbai Started in: 2016 Founders: Shree Bharambe Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $29,172,855 Number of funding rounds: 7 Number of investors: 7 You can find their website here
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45) Angie's Tempeh Manufacturer of plant-based proteins
Details of the startup:
Country: Singapore City: Singapore Started in: 2020 Founders: Andrew Goh, Angeline Leong Number of employees: 1-10 Funding amount: SGD530,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
46) KoRo KoRo is a fast-growing direct-to-consumer (D2C) foodtech firm. We are a leading brand for food that is healthy, long-lasting, and sustainable.
Details of the startup:
Country: Germany City: Berlin Started in: 2016 Founders: Constantinos Calios, Florian Schwenkert Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $9,631,410 Number of funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 1 You can find their website here
47) Sattviko Sattviko is a traditional culinary product line that combines traditional recipes with cutting-edge food technology.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: New Delhi Started in: 2013 Founders: Ankush Sharma, Prasoon Gupta Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $2,605,127 Number of funding rounds: 11 Number of investors: 24 You can find their website here
48) Sweetheart Kitchen Sweetheart Kitchen is a multi-brand virtual kitchen that produces and delivers meals using innovative cooking techniques.
Details of the startup:
Country: United Arab Emirates City: Dubai Started in: 2019 Founders: Peter Schatzberg Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: € 36,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 1 You can find their website here
49) JustSpices Just Spices is a spice blend and meal prep company that produces and sells food.
Details of the startup:
Country: Germany City: Düsseldorf Started in: 2014 Founders: Bela Seebach, Florian Falk, Ole Strohschnieder Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: € 13,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 5 You can find their website here
50) Picard Surgeles Picard Surgeles is a French frozen food manufacturer and distributor.
Details of the startup:
Country: France City: Fontainebleau Started in: 1906 Founders: Raymond Picard Number of employees: 5001-10000 Funding amount: € 2,146,600,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 3 You can find their website here
51) FAO The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized body that leads international efforts to end hunger.
Details of the startup:
Country: Italy City: Rome Started in: 1945 Number of employees: 1001-5000 Funding amount: $10,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 You can find their website here
52) Biobest Biobest is a company that creates and distributes natural crop care technologies.
Details of the startup:
Country: Belgium City: Westerlo Started in: 1987 Founders: Roland De Jonghe Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: € 20,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 Number of investors: 1 You can find their website here
53) MUNCH:ON With MUNCH:ON Pro, you can get 50% off and free delivery from the greatest restaurants, thanks to bundling, routing, and scheduling technologies.
Details of the startup:
Country: United Arab Emirates City: Dubai Started in: 2016 Founders: Dana Baki, Mohammad Al Zaben Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $6,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 3 Number of investors: 13 You can find their website here
54) DAIZ DAIZ makes and distributes 'Miracle Meat,' a plant-based meat made from germinated soybeans using the company's proprietary 'Ochiai Germination Method.'
Details of the startup:
Country: Japan City: Kumamoto-shi Started in: 2015 Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: ¥3,330,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 6 Number of investors: 20 You can find their website here
55) Benlai Benlai is an online marketplace for fresh food.
Details of the startup:
Country: China City: Beijing Started in: 2012 Founders: Huafeng Yu, Jerry Yue Number of employees: 1001-5000 Funding amount: $348,722,794 Number of funding rounds: 6 Number of investors: 10 You can find their website here
56) The Protein Brewery The Protein Brewery specializes in creating and producing sustainable animal-free protein.
Details of the startup:
Country: The Netherlands City: Breda Started in: 2019 Founders: Wim de Laat Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: € 22,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 Number of investors: 3 You can find their website here
57) 24 Mantra Organic 24 Mantra Organic is a specialized food store dedicated to supporting farmers' livelihoods, customers' sustainable lifestyles, and the environment's sustainability.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Hyderabad Started in: 2004 Founders: Rajashekar Reddy Seelam Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $17,294,061 Number of funding rounds: 7 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
58) xFarm Farm is a software-as-a-service platform for digitalizing farms and simplifying data collecting and analysis.
Details of the startup:
Country: Italy City: Milan Started in: 2017 Founders: Martino Poretti, Matteo Vanotti, Salvatore Ferullo Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: € 3,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
59) Chef's Plate Chef's Plate is a web-based service that delivers fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and chef-inspired dishes to users' homes.
Details of the startup:
Country: Canada City: Toronto Started in: 2014 Founders: Jamie Shea, Patrick Meyer Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $18,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 6 You can find their website here
60) La Ruche qui dit Oui La Ruche qui dit Oui is an e-commerce platform that allows users to create groups and buy directly from local farmers.
Details of the startup:
Country: France City: Paris Started in: 2010 Founders: Guilhem Cheron, Marc-David Choukroun, Mounir Mahjoubi Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $13,061,376 Number of funding rounds: 5 Number of investors: 9 You can find their website here
61) Smunch.co Smunch is a virtual canteen that delivers delicious and inexpensive lunches to offices for no cost.
Details of the startup:
Country: Germany City: Berlin Started in: 2016 Founders: Oliver Hüfner, Shivram Ayyagari Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: € 18,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 7 You can find their website here
62) GoodDot Good Dot is a food-tech firm located in India that is delivering plant-based meat to the country.
Details of the startup:
Country: India City: Udaipur Started in: 2016 Founders: Abhishek Sinha, Deepak Parihar, Shruti Sonali, Stephanie Downs, Taranum Bhatia Number of employees: 1-10 Funding amount: $1,940,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
63) Yonghui Fresh Food The core food management and supply chain integration platform is Yonghui Fresh Food.
Details of the startup:
Country: China City: Beijing Started in: 2015 Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: CN¥1,950,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 8 You can find their website here
64) Vesta Food Lab Vesta Food Lab is a plant-based meat enterprise that manufactures and distributes goods based on research and development.
Details of the startup:
Country: China City: Beijing Started in: 2019 Founders: Xun Jiang, Zihan Xie Number of employees: 11-50 Funding amount: $1,998,715 Number of funding rounds: 2 Number of investors: 2 You can find their website here
65) Hema Hema is a platform for meal delivery.
Details of the startup:
Country: China City: Shanghai Started in: 2015 Number of employees: 1001-5000 Funding amount: $150,000,000 Number of funding rounds: 1 Number of investors: 1 You can find their website here
66) Douguo Douguo is a Chinese social media platform that allows members to find, share, and discuss delicious food.
Details of the startup:
Country: China City: Beijing Started in: 2008 Founders: Yuxiang Wang Number of employees: 101-250 Funding amount: $44,544,637 Number of funding rounds: 4 Number of investors: 3 You can find their website here
