7 unicorns, 10 IPO’ed and 20 companies on the trajectory to going public among the international AgriFoodTech companies featured in the 2021 FoodTech 500.

Huckletree partners Forward Fooding have launched the latest edition of the FoodTech 500, the Fortune 500 of the AgriFoodTech world. This comes ahead of their London launch at Huckletree West on the 16th of March (join us!).

After sifting through over 2,250 applications, Forward Fooding has compiled and ranked the hottest scaleups and startups making their mark on AgriFoodTech innovation. Spanning 47 countries, this international list features everything from very early-stage startups, to businesses that have IPO’ed.

When it comes to investments, they cumulatively raised $9.6 billion in funding over time and among them can be found 10 publicly-traded FoodTech companies as well as 7 unicorns. 2021 marks a record-breaking year for AgriFoodTech and this year’s list reflects this investment trend with $50.4B invested in 2021 globally, representing a +67% increase since 2020, and a +55.3% CAGR between 2017 and 2021.

Forward Fooding went way beyond these insights and have even predicted which of the FoodTech 500 companies will go public in the next 12 months. They based these predictions on a number of common traits of publicly traded companies.

Three main indicators were pinpointed, based on proprietary financial data collected on over 7,000 international AgriFoodTech companies since 2011 by Forward Fooding and by deep-diving into the data related to a selection of over 30 publicly-traded International FoodTech companies. Through the analysis of the longevity of companies before IPO’ing, the velocity between funding rounds and their latest funding round it was then possible to identify 8 companies among the 2021 FoodTech 500 pack that seem to be on the path to file their IPOs within the next 12 months.

These findings are also confirmed by the fact that one of the above-mentioned companies has already filed for IPO in October 2021 and another 3 businesses have already joined the ‘Unicorn’ club. In addition, Forward Fooding has taken a step further to apply the same benchmarks over the rest of the 2021 FoodTech 500 list and has identified another 13 front-runner companies on the trajectory to file their IPOs within the next 24 months.

Catalysing the attention on the global AgriFoodTech entrepreneurial ecosystem, one of the most impactful industries in terms of bettering our planet, is what Forward Fooding work is all about. In this scope, the FoodTech 500's ultimate goal is to build a powerful platform providing global exposure to some of the most promising startup and scaleup companies around the world. While raising awareness and showcasing their breakthrough innovations, it facilitates connections between these companies, the global food industry and the international investor community.

Forward Fooding’s founder & CEO, Alessio D’Antino commenting on this year’s edition:

“We created the FoodTech 500 in 2019 to showcase the ‘underdogs’ of AgriFoodTech and shine a spotlight on the leading global innovators, from farm to fork, who are creating impactful solutions to enhance our food systems. Three years into the making, as we followed over 70+ IPOs of companies in foodtech, we saw the industry expanding remarkably. This year’s list, featuring 10 publicly-listed companies, 7 unicorns and another 20 businesses on the trajectory to join this pack, represents for us the testament that the entrepreneurial talent behind the global FoodTech industry is capable of doing great business - while, of course, doing good to the planet.”

The FoodTech 500 initiative is sponsored by NEOM, one of the most exciting and visionary urban projects on the planet, located in the North West Region of Saudi Arabia near the Red Sea, offering a glimpse of what the future will look like and Dole Sunshine Company, a world leader in delivering high-quality fresh and packaged fruit with positive impact on people, planet and prosperity.

We’re excited to be partnered with Forward Fooding as they will be powering up their London FoodTech innovation hub, based at Huckletree West in White City since 2018.

The Hub is a place for AgriFoodTech startups and F&B corporates to join as members and have access to the best innovation ecosystem, connect with relevant stakeholders via FoodTech focused events, and gather trends and insights about one of the fastest-growing and most impactful sectors globally, with the objective of generating meaningful connections across the ecosystem to foster food innovation locally and globally.

Currently based at the FoodTech hub is a mix of startups and scaling businesses including B-Corp business The Collective Dairy, sustainable insect-based pet food Beobia, and gelato creators Remeo.

Join us on the 16th of March from 6 - 7.30pm to hear more about the FoodTech 500 list and to meet some of the UK innovators that made it including PRESS, Kafoodle, and Eagle Genomics. Plus, a fireside chat on “What’s cooking in the Global Tech ecosystem” with Russ Shaw CBE, founder of Tech London Advocates & Global Tech Advocates.

Discover the FoodTech 500 list.

Sign up for the event.