The Time Is Ripe for Food Waste Solutions
The Signal: The food-tech sector raised $39B in VC in 2021, more than double what was raised the previous year. Among the firms attracting funding are several startups tackling food waste, from an online store peddling misshapen veggies to an AI digital labeling system that drops the price of produce as it ages. Other VC winners include:
- Apeel ($640m) — a plant-based protective “peel” that keeps produce fresh for longer
- Shelf Engine ($58m) — uses AI to predict demand for perishable groceries
- Too Good to Go ($45m) — an app that lets users buy unsold food from cafes and shops at a discount
The road to the trash is paved with good intentions but it’s easy to forget about a veg drawer full of healthy choices when there are delivery apps catering to our every whim.
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The signal: As meditation becomes mainstream, people may be surprised to find that searches for sleep apps double their meditation counterpart. As people invest in getting a better night’s rest, there’s opportunity abound, including physical products like weighted blankets or premium PJs, supplements, popular insomnia drugs having their patents expire, companies paying their employees to sleep better, marketing for sleep specialists, or online sleep education (ex: sleep apnea test has 27k searches per month).
The alternative milk market is getting frothy
The signal: As more people wave goodbye to dairy, alternative milk is slowly taking over; it has already cornered 13% of the market. With the exception of soy milk, all of the alt-milks have been on the up, with some of the newer entrants including hemp milk and pea milk. Other alt-products are getting attention, including cashew cheese, with 18100 searches per month.
Capitalizing on the Airpods market, making more money than Shopify
The signal: Since killing the headphone jack, Apple has graced the world with AirPods, which did an estimated 60m units in 2019. That means AirPods alone are bringing in approx ~$10b in revenue, more than Twitter, Shopify, or Spotify, to name a few popular tech giants. Opportunity lies in Apple opening up SiriOS or the wave of iPhone accessories (including cases, cleaning kits, hooks, and keychains) which have shown “hockey stick” growth alongside their hardware predecessor.
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