JStories ー Just a few years in the past, meals tech was seen as one of many brightest areas in the complete tech business. Plant-based meat startups like U.S.-based Past Meat, the U.Ok.’s THIS, and Singapore’s Mottainai Meals Tech raised hundreds of thousands and launched revolutionary merchandise. Alongside them, different corporations sought to innovate in areas like fermentation, protein manufacturing, food-waste discount, and even lab-made alternate options to meat, espresso, and palm oil.
In recent times, nevertheless, the shine in meals tech seems to have worn off. Many inventions have discovered scaling pricey, disillusioned client tastebuds, and confronted regulatory challenges. Even plant-based meat, as soon as the poster baby of meals tech when it comes to security and development, has stalled, in response to the Good Meals Institute. The outcome – a drastic world slowdown in funding in meals tech.
Based on a report by world enterprise capital agency AgFunder, financing for agrifoodtech startups dropped nearly 50 p.c in 2023 from a 12 months in the past. However there may be an exception, mentioned the San Francisco-based meals and agriculture tech investor. Japan was considered one of simply 5 international locations on the planet to see a rise in funding for meals tech in 2024. Based on business specialists on the World Startup Expo in Osaka, held alongside the Osaka-Kansai World Expo, the reason being collaborations with established manufacturers and energetic assist by the federal government. With quite a few Japanese meals and agtech startups taking a singular, measured path towards world growth, resembling EF Polymer, Fementation, TOWING, and Sagri, there may be hope that they could be a mannequin for world meals and agritech startups to revive development.
Nobu Morita (NEC X), John Hartnett (SVG Ventures|THRIVE), Hiro Ueda (Kagome) and Narayan Lal Gurjar (EF Polymer) talking at an Agrifood Panel on the World Startup Expo in Osaka, Japan in September 2025 Pictures by Moritz Brinkhoff | JStories (Similar beneath)
“Japan has a bonus as a result of Japan has so many world corporations in meals and beverage areas,” mentioned John Hartnett, CEO of SVG Ventures|THRIVE, a Silicon Valley-based agrifood investor, on the Osaka Startup Expo in September 2025. “They will help Japanese startups go to the worldwide market.”
As a rustic that has traditionally handled meals insecurity, Japan’s meals system is exclusive with strict tips for security, well being, and imports. Established meals, beverage, and agriculture manufacturers like Kagome, Meiji, or Glico typically take pleasure in excessive ranges of belief with each shoppers and in addition farmers.
U.S.-based Affect Meals presenting on the World Startup Expo. The corporate has chosen Japan as their first worldwide marketplace for their plant-based seafood alternate options
In truth, a lot of the funding that startups have obtained in Japan hasn’t come from conventional buyers or enterprise capital, however from present corporations. One chief on this house is Kagome, which launched the Dawn Agrifood Tech Fund in 2024, utilizing its world information and community to assist startups to reach agriculture.
“Agriculture could be very native, and the applied sciences that farmers use are very totally different,” mentioned Hiro Ueda, an govt officer with Kagome World. “Co-creation is essential to accelerating farmers’ adoption of latest applied sciences.”
Hiro Ueda, who leads Kagome’s world agri analysis group, shared why investing in world startups is a rising focus for the corporate
In simply over a 12 months, Dawn Agrifood has collaborated with SVG Ventures|THRIVE and different corporations to spend money on Japanese and overseas startups in Jordan, Turkey, Italy, Japan, and the U.S. An instance is EF Polymer. It was based by an Indian entrepreneur in Okinawa to handle a problem widespread in Japan, India, and different components of the world – water insecurity, a problem solely anticipated to develop as a result of local weather change. The corporate has discovered a solution to convert agricultural waste, like citrus and banana peels, into absolutely biodegradable super-absorbent polymers that assist farmers preserve water and vitamins.
After creating and commercializing their super-absorbent polymer with farmers in India and Japan, EF Polymer noticed potential in increasing to the U.S., which additionally has extreme water challenges, notably in arid areas. Kagome, together with JETRO Startup, offered funding through Dawn and helped construct these connections.
“Collectively, the investor facet, company facet, startup facet, and the federal government, JETRO, can come collectively and assist us remedy a much bigger drawback,” mentioned Narayan Gurjar, founder and CEO of EF Polymer. “We’re presently working with possibly 40,000 farmers. With this funding, we will attain possibly 1 million within the upcoming years.”
Narayan Lal Gurjar (EF Polymer), the founding father of EF Polymer, an Okinawa-based startup
Intrinsic need for agricultural and meals waste discount
Japan solely produces a few quarter of the meals it wants domestically, counting on imports for the remaining. This meals insecurity creates an incentive and openness to revolutionary agricultural and meals waste discount efforts, which clearly profit Japan.
It additionally implies that for startups like Chiba-based Fermenstation, which makes use of fermentation and biotechnology to remodel unused sources into high-value substances via proprietary fermentation know-how. In flip, they will then be utilized in a wide range of functions. That has helped the corporate shortly discover clients for his or her options within the meals, beverage, and beauty industries.
“We aren’t getting an enormous diploma of funding but,” mentioned Lina Sakai, founder and CEO of Fermenstation. “However we’re making income, however it’s truly coming from the company clients.”
Lina Sakai, CEO of Fermenstation, and Asier Alea of the Basque Culinary Middle, at a foodtech panel held on the World Startup Expo in Osaka, Japan
Fermentation is beginning to get world recognition too. Earlier this 12 months, Fermenstation gained the Grand Prize on the Kering Era Award Japan, which comes with a ten million JPY prize and a visit to Kering’s France headquarters.
More and more, world meals and agtech financiers and buyers, like SVG Ventures|THRIVE, AgFunder, and Kering, are eyeing Japan’s rising startups.
In November 2024, Spain’s food-focused college, Basque Culinary Middle, opened its first worldwide hub in gastronomy science in Tokyo. The Gastronomy Innovation Campus goals to domesticate expertise, promote native tradition, broaden Japan’s culinary heritage globally, drive innovation, and advance pioneering options in gastronomy and meals know-how.
“In locations the place we predict the way forward for meals goes to be born, we attempt to co-create globally, with native companions,” mentioned Asiel Alea, director of worldwide improvement on the Basque Culinary Middle. “And we definitely assume Japan is a kind of locations.”
Edited by Kwee Chuan Yeo | JStories
High picture: Moritz Brinkhoff (Collage made by JStories)
For inquiries concerning this text, please contact [email protected]
Click on right here for the Japanese model of the article
Tokyo Updates provides in-depth insights into the newest improvements, developments, and initiatives shaping Tokyo as a number one world metropolis. JStories...
