Last week during out New Food Media Clubhouse chat one of the hottest topics we covered was future foodtech hubs. Specifically, what makes a city or country an ideal place for food innovation, and where will the next hub emerge?

In order to understand that - let's take a look at 3 countries who today stand out when it comes to food innovation and foodtech startup density.

🇳🇱 The Netherlands:

Has become known as one of the leading plant-based hubs in the world with strong governmental support, home to the FoodValley i.e. the “Silicon Valley of food” and Wageningen University & Research, well-known for its foodtech and agtech capabilities.

Notable startups include:

• Mosa Meat, creators of the first cell-based meat products
• Those Vegan Cowboys, launched by the founders behind Vegetarian Butchers (acquired by Unilever).
• The Protein Brewery, which raised €22M last year for animal free-based protein rich ingredients
• And many more

🇸🇬 Singapore:

Has solidified its position as a leading foodtech hub, with a supportive government keen to push forward sustainable food solutions and the first country to grant approval for Eat Just’s cultured chicken bites, which were served to diners in December 2020.

Home to:

• Shiok Meats - pioneers of lab-grown seafood.
• TurtleTree Labs - creators of lab-grown 'mammal-free milk' who raised $6.2m in December.
• Zeemart - B2B procurement platform used by 1'500+ users.
• abillion - sustainability-focused community platform that closed $3 Million and partnered with Impossible foods.
• & tonnes more

🇮🇱 Israel: 

Has a forward-thinking government and a tech-focused business infrastructure. It invests heavily into education and has mandatory military service, during which soldiers are trained in fields such as technology and engineering. There’s also a sizeable government-sponsored Technological Incubators Program. 

Creators of: 

• Aleph Farms: who just unveiled the world’s first cultivated ribeye steak.
• Supermeat: cell-based food tech which opened its own restaurant in November 2020 for diners to try cell-based chicken.
• Zero Egg: creators of plant-based egg alternatives.
• Ukko: which raised $40M in January to tackle food allergies through technology.
• And more

🤷‍♂️ What's their secret sauce?

Take a look at some common ingredients that we believe have made these countries the ideal grounds to foster foodtech innovation:

• Government buy in - in all the above countries there is a real drive from the government to actively position themselves as food innovation hub - wether to become a world leader or ensure self-sufficiency. Singapore is on a mission to assure its own food security by 2030, Israel being a geo-political island that is had to make sure it had all the expertise for a self-sufficient food system and the Dutch government wants to speed up the development and the adoption of meat alternatives. 
• Startup infrastructure - from incubators, accelerators, research facilities, venture capitalists and more -  these countries have laid the groundwork to become a startup nation and innovation hub, years in advance. 
• Talent - from Israels educated workforce to Netherlands world-class universities, these countries are able to successfully foster home-grown talent and attract entrepreneurs and innovators from abroad.
• Culture: I can never forget my discussions Eschar of Redefine Meat or Fengru Lin of Turtle Tree labs. These entrepreneurs are ambitious, driven, and unafraid like nothing I'd seen before. And it's not a one-off. Speak with entrepreneurs from these countries and you'll find many of them have this same rare confidence and worldly ambitions that draws you in like a magnet. I assume it's due to a mix of a supportive entrepreneurial spirit, risk-taking culture and upbringing that's ideal for creating future leaders.

🤔 Which country is next? 

During the the Clubhouse chat - several names came up including China, India and Switzerland or in the US, North Carolina and Texas. 

But our guess: Sweden 🇸🇪‍

Sweden has dominated foodtech headlines and has been whispered on the lips of VC's and entrepreneurs around the globe. Just last week we read a great email by Digital Food Lab on how Sweden is becoming a global plant-based leader, and it's no surprise.

The country has all the ingredients we highlighted above - a mix of a strong tech scene, forward looking food and agricultural universities, leading accelerators, government adoption, growing interest for food in the investment sector and many, many startups. 

👀 Just look at the recent headlines:

• Nick’s, a sugar-free Swedish ice-cream maker, raised $30M last month to grow in the US.
• Sproud, the Swedish pea-milk startup, raised $6.6M to conquer North America.
• Oatly raised $200M last July and is now seeking a $10Bn IPO in May. Plus made waves with one the best/worst superbowl ads we've seen.
• And there's many more - from Noquo Foods, which raised €3.35M last year to reinvent plant based cheese or Budbee the Swedish last mile delivery marketplace which raised €52M last month.

💁 What do you think?

Do you agree with our prediction or did you have another country in mind?