Better Food Ventures

Breedr is a productivity and marketing platform focused on transforming the livestock supply chain. It offers a comprehensive suite of digital tools tailored for livestock management, including the Livestock App, which serves as a central hub for monitoring and tracking essential data related to livestock. The platform facilitates efficient buying and selling through the Livestock Market, connecting farmers with a wider network of potential buyers and sellers. Breedr Tools also includes financial management features, such as a Cashflow tool that provides insights into income and expenses associated with livestock operations. Furthermore, it integrates various aspects of farming, including livestock, crops, and resources, enabling better decision-making through the Farm System. Specialized modules for different animal growth stages, including Suckler, Finisher, and Rearer management, as well as dedicated features for sheep farming, address the unique needs of farmers. Overall, Breedr empowers livestock farmers with data-driven insights and effective tools to enhance productivity and streamline operations.

Farm-ng is a robotics company based in Watsonville, California, founded in 2020. It specializes in developing general-purpose farm robots designed to promote sustainable farming practices. The company offers a fully configurable robotic platform that can be extended using the Amiga Development Kit (ADK), allowing developers and ag tech companies to create innovative products and services. Farm-ng's technology includes an open-source, low-cost, electric microtractor aimed at enhancing efficiency for farmers engaged in small-scale operations.

Four Growers, Inc. is a manufacturer of harvesting robots tailored for greenhouse environments, specifically designed to efficiently harvest tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, the company develops advanced robotic harvesting technology that incorporates customized computer vision algorithms and specialized robot grippers. This innovative approach not only allows the robots to identify and harvest ripe produce but also enables the analysis of plant health. By offering these solutions, Four Growers aims to help greenhouse farmers expand their operations, reduce production costs, and increase crop yields, thereby contributing to the availability of healthy, affordable, local produce.

Milk Moovement is a computer software company specializing in the dairy supply chain, established in 2018 and headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The company offers a cloud-based platform that connects all participants in the dairy supply chain, providing features such as transportation monitoring, production tracking, quality monitoring, and producer payment. This comprehensive milk management system serves as an Enterprise Resource Platform (ERP), allowing users to track milk pick-ups and production while facilitating the identification of process improvements. By delivering actionable intelligence and access to vital performance metrics, Milk Moovement aims to enhance efficiency, reduce waste, and maximize profitability for stakeholders throughout the dairy supply chain.

Afresh Technologies, established in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, specializes in AI-driven supply chain software for fresh food. Its platform, Afresh, uses machine learning to forecast demand and optimize inventory levels, enabling grocery stores to minimize waste, maximize freshness, and enhance profitability. The solution covers warehouse inventory optimization, procurement, markdown optimization, and pricing, catering to both brick-and-mortar retailers and wholesalers.

DecisionNext, Inc. is a San Francisco-based company that offers a cloud-based predictive analytics platform tailored for commodities-driven industries, including minerals, agribusiness, fishing, forestry, oil, and gas. Founded in 2013, DecisionNext's platform utilizes proprietary machine learning algorithms to deliver real-time forecasting, market scenario simulations, and decision validation. Its solutions encompass various optimization areas, such as commodity price forecasting, purchasing, product mix, capacity, and pricing strategies. By integrating these optimizations into a cohesive system, DecisionNext enables its clients to enhance their decision-making processes, maximize profit margins, and reduce uncertainties, thereby gaining a significant competitive advantage. The company also maintains an office in Brisbane, Australia.

Edifice Health is a company that emerged from a decade-long research initiative at Stanford University, specifically the Stanford 1,000 Immunomes Project. It has developed an innovative biomarker composite scoring system designed to assess immune health and determine an individual's Inflammatory Age®, which can predict the onset of various chronic diseases. This technology enables comprehensive health insights that guide individuals in altering their aging trajectory. Edifice Health's approach focuses on advancing testing methods for systemic chronic inflammation and enhancing immune health. The company's applications extend to personalized nutritional and immunological sciences, utilizing AI-driven technology to tackle chronic diseases globally. This empowers healthcare professionals to detect systemic chronic inflammation early, thereby promoting better immune health and facilitating healthier aging.

Gastrograph AI, developed by Analytical Flavor Systems, offers an innovative sensory analytics platform tailored for the packaged food industry. This AI-driven software helps food producers understand consumer preferences by analyzing human sensory perceptions and generating predictive flavor profiles. With an over 80% failure rate for new food products, Gastrograph assists companies in navigating the complexities of consumer tastes and market dynamics. By moving beyond traditional tasting panels, the platform enables businesses to assess how new offerings are likely to perform across different demographics and markets over time. This approach allows food and beverage companies to refine their product development processes, minimize flaws, and effectively align their brands with consumer expectations.

FarmOp Capital LLC is a St. Paul, Minnesota-based company that specializes in providing working capital to farm operators. Founded in 2017, it offers production-based lending solutions that empower farmers to invest in their businesses without the burden of additional credit sources. By leveraging the value of crops, FarmOp Capital facilitates operational credit services that enhance growers' independence and purchasing power. The company also integrates agricultural technology to assist farmers in making informed, profitable decisions, ultimately aiming to maximize their operational efficiency.

Gastrograph AI, developed by Analytical Flavor Systems, offers an innovative sensory analytics platform tailored for the packaged food industry. This AI-driven software helps food producers understand consumer preferences by analyzing human sensory perceptions and generating predictive flavor profiles. With an over 80% failure rate for new food products, Gastrograph assists companies in navigating the complexities of consumer tastes and market dynamics. By moving beyond traditional tasting panels, the platform enables businesses to assess how new offerings are likely to perform across different demographics and markets over time. This approach allows food and beverage companies to refine their product development processes, minimize flaws, and effectively align their brands with consumer expectations.

Bountiful is an agtech company based in San Francisco, California, founded in 2015. It specializes in developing a platform that offers yield forecasting and actionable information for farmers. The company's tools provide real-time analytics and yield forecasts at various levels, from country to field-specific data, months before harvest. Bountiful utilizes machine learning along with weather, satellite, geographic, and historical data to deliver precise insights, helping farmers understand factors impacting crop production. Additionally, Bountiful Marketplace allows farmers to sell their products directly to vetted buyers through multi-year contracts based on unique forecasts. The company's technologies include crop classification via satellite imagery and hyper-localized weather modeling techniques, aiming to enhance agricultural sustainability and profitability.

Byte Foods, Inc. is a company based in San Rafael, California, that specializes in manufacturing automatic vending machines and refrigerators designed to serve food on-site at businesses. Founded in 2015, the company operates primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area and focuses on distributing food products for corporate clients. Byte Foods utilizes IoT-enabled fridges to enhance workplace dining experiences, offering a variety of fresh and healthy meals from local food brands. As of January 2020, Byte Foods operates as a subsidiary of Oh My Green, Inc., further expanding its reach in the food service sector.

LumiGrow, Inc. specializes in developing innovative horticultural LED lighting solutions aimed at enhancing plant growth and improving agricultural yields. Founded in 2008 and based in Emeryville, California, the company offers a range of products including LED grow lights and a smartPAR wireless control system, which allows users to manage lighting schedules, monitor energy usage, and control multiple growing zones via smartphones, tablets, or computers. LumiGrow's products are utilized in various commercial applications, including floriculture, propagation, breeding, and the cultivation of leafy greens, vine crops, and cannabis. The company serves a diverse clientele, including agribusinesses, produce and flower growers, garden centers, and academic institutions, providing them with the technology to achieve high-quality crops, increased yields, and operational efficiencies. Over the years, many leading horticulture and research institutions have adopted LumiGrow's lighting solutions, replacing traditional HID lighting with its advanced systems, resulting in significant improvements in crop performance.

Mavrx is a company that specializes in precision agriculture by utilizing satellite and high-resolution crop imagery to support the agriculture inputs supply chain, input manufacturers, and large farms. Its award-winning platform and mobile tool, Mavrx Scout, serve agriculture professionals worldwide across more than 30 crop types, including corn, soybeans, cotton, and sugarcane. The company employs advanced computer vision, data compression, and machine learning algorithms to identify various agricultural issues such as weeds, uneven crop emergence, nutrient deficiencies, and pest infestations. By offering actionable insights based on the collected data, Mavrx enables farmers to address problems promptly, ultimately helping them reduce costs and enhance crop yields. Furthermore, Mavrx employs a network of planes and unmanned aerial vehicles to gather and analyze imagery, thus providing comprehensive support to the global agriculture industry.

Nima is a company focused on creating innovative consumer products that empower individuals to understand the contents of their food. Its flagship product is a portable food sensor designed to identify allergens, particularly gluten and peanuts, in various meals. This device utilizes a combination of electronic sensing technology and antibody-based detection within a disposable capsule. It seamlessly connects to a mobile application that records test results, allowing users to share their findings and restaurant experiences with a community of fellow consumers. Nima's mission is to enhance the dining experience by alleviating concerns related to food safety, enabling those with food allergies to enjoy their meals with confidence.

Love With Food operates an online subscription platform that focuses on delivering healthier snack options, including organic, all-natural, and gluten-free products, directly to consumers. Targeting primarily female consumers aged 25 to 45, the platform allows users to explore new snacks through a monthly subscription service that includes free home delivery and no cancellation fees. In addition to providing a diverse range of snack choices, Love With Food also serves as a marketing platform that collects valuable product intelligence data for consumer food brands. This data helps brands effectively reach their target audience while significantly reducing marketing and research costs. The company has partnered with notable brands such as General Mills, Nestle, and Lindt Chocolates. A distinctive aspect of Love With Food's mission is its commitment to social responsibility; for every snack box delivered, the company donates a meal to feed a hungry child in America, having contributed over 250,000 meals to date.

Jiyo is a digital platform designed to support personal well-being by fostering self-awareness and encouraging healthy habits. The platform offers a variety of resources, including articles, videos, and reminders, which facilitate learning and interaction with experts and thought leaders in the field of well-being. By tracking user behavior and providing insights into their habits, Jiyo helps individuals connect with like-minded people and enhances their overall personal growth.

Agronomic Technology Corp. is a New York-based company that specializes in precision nitrogen management solutions for farmers and agronomists through its cloud-based platform, Adapt-N. Founded in 2013, the company focuses on enhancing growers' financial and environmental performance by leveraging independent data and advanced software models. Adapt-N provides tailored nitrogen rate recommendations for corn fields by integrating various factors such as soil variability, climate dynamics, and farm management practices. This platform aids farmers in making informed decisions regarding fertilizer, crop, and irrigation management, while also helping them anticipate nitrogen stress to minimize yield losses and optimize fertilizer use. Agronomic Technology's services extend to agricultural retailers and cooperatives, making it a valuable resource for enhancing nitrogen use efficiency and improving soil health across numerous states in the United States.

Dine Market is an online purchasing platform designed to streamline the procurement process for restaurants by connecting them with various vendors. This platform allows restaurants to maintain their existing purchasing habits while facilitating the ordering of products from multiple vendors through a single, simplified order form. By consolidating the purchasing process, Dine Market enhances efficiency and convenience for restaurant operators, helping them manage their supply chains more effectively.