Food tech start-up gets US$2.7m funding for climate change fighting platform

13 Mar 2020 --- Planet FWD, a regenerative food platform that seeks to tackle climate change, has announced a US$2.7 million seed funding round led by BBG Ventures. The company is building a regenerative food platform to satisfy and grow consumer demand for climate-friendly food products and ensure that farmers are valued for their work as stewards of the land. Additional participating investors include Cleo Capital, Maveron, Kapor Capital, Incite Ventures, Precursor Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, Jane VC and F7 Ventures.

“Farmers are at the front line of the climate crisis and their practices have the power to not only reduce carbon emissions in the food system but also draw down carbon into the soil and the above-ground biomass. Decades of destruction to our ecosystems have placed the global community in a difficult situation: successfully limiting climate change while feeding the world. At Planet FWD, we believe both are possible. One of the most tactically viable and commercially scalable solutions lies in regenerative agriculture,” says Julia Collins, Founder and CEO of Planet FWD.

The industrialization and commodification of food over the last century have resulted in releasing carbon from soils, reducing nutrient density in food and depleting the ability of the land to continue to support agriculture.

“We believe that human beings, working together, have the power to limit if not undo climate change. While there is no silver bullet to the climate crisis, we are excited to stand with the regenerative agriculture movement, giving consumers the power to make climate-friendly food choices and ensuring that farmers are valued for their work as stewards of the land. That's why we are focusing first on soil, and how we can work with amazing farmers to restore and reshape farming to fix the food system. We're grateful to work with an esteemed selection of investors that recognize this and are aligned with our strategies to turn back the clock on climate change,” explains Collins.

According to the Special Report on Climate Change and Land from the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), agriculture emits about a quarter of global greenhouse-gas pollution every year, through soil depletion, deforestation and emission from fertilizer and fuel use. In addition to limiting these emissions, regenerative agriculture has the potential to sequester carbon in the soil.

Recognizing the role of soil in renewing the world's food system, Planet FWD is using regenerative agriculture – a set of principles that support and regenerate healthy ecosystems – bringing climate-friendly foods to market with a two-fold program:

Climate-Friendly Snacks: The climate crisis has become a primary catalyst in consumer outlook on today's food system as shoppers now covet products that are good for personal and planetary health. When it comes to consumption, snacking accounts for 50 percent of all eating occasions, with 94 percent of people snacking at least once a day. Acknowledging the enduring demand for snacks and interest in sustainably-sourced products, Planet FWD will introduce one of the first explicitly climate-focused snack brands. The product will be sourced from regenerative ingredients to reduce carbon emissions in the food system and promote carbon-capturing farming practices.

Regenerative Ingredients Platform: Planet FWD will closely monitor consumer response from the snack brand to inform their regenerative ingredient platform, which enhances visibility to the food system for companies who want to make climate-friendly choices. The platform does so by connecting brands and consumers hungry for climate-smart products to farmers and suppliers using regenerative or climate-smart practices.

“Julia has spent her entire career innovating in the food space – from food development to food service to food technology – with a goal to create better outcomes for people and the planet,” says Nisha Dua, General Partner at BBG Ventures. “At a time when even food giants like Whole Foods view generative agriculture as a huge opportunity, there's no one better positioned to bring the Planet FWD platform to market.”

Edited by Elizabeth Green

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