Alt Protein Research Should be Open Access, Weed Is Coming to Gas Stations + More 

Image Credit: Fast Company

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

New Harvest and the Good Food Institute are calling for open access research as a means to advance the field of meat alternatives. Weed is coming to 10 Circle K gas stations in Florida next year. Last but not least, Instacart is pulling plans to go public this year amid market turmoil.

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1. The Future of Meat Requires New Intellectual Infrastructure. That’s What Isha Datar Is Building. – Vox

For meat alternatives to take off, we don’t just need startups — we need more research and new structures to advance the field.

2. Alternative Protein Research Should Be Open Access – AFN

Seren Kell from the Good Food Institute Europe speaks to AFN following a £20m pledge from two UK bodies to support the sector.

3. Weed Is Coming to Circle K Gas Stations in US Next Year – Bloomberg

Deal with Green Thumb Industries will begin with 10 stores in Florida. This could help marijuana go more mainstream.

4. Instacart Is Said to Pull Plans to Go Public This Year – New York Times

The food delivery company had been moving toward a public offering, but the window for such deals is shutting amid market turmoil.

3. V3 Ventures Launches to Put €100M into Startups in Health, Beauty and Food – TechCrunch

Verlinvest has previously funded a few well-known consumer brands like Oatly, Vita Coco, Tony’s Chocolonely and others. It now plans to target startups in the UK, Europe, US and India, focusing on pre-seed to Series A investments.

5. Regenerative Agriculture Is Anything but ‘Just Business’ – AFN

Capital holders are spending less time asking why they should deploy capital in the space and focusing more on how and where. But it could be a bumpy road ahead.

4. In-N-Out Burger, Del Monte & Kraft Files NFT & Metaverse Trademarks – The Crypto Times

The brands hope to expand their web3 presence with virtual restaurants and marketplaces.

4. Kevin Hart Details New Plant-Based Restaurant to Take on McDonald’s, Burger King – Yahoo!

This week, the actor and comedian opened his first Hart House in California, offering a menu of plant-based chicken and burgers.

6. How the Pandemic Has Forever Changed Restaurants (So Far.) – Grubstreet

Restaurants now have fewer workers and more seats, there’s an increased emphasis on sick days, and recipes are designed to be more malleable.

7. Robotics Use Growing “at Breathtaking Speed” As Food & Bev Industry Automation Increases 25% – AFN

The food and beverage industry in the US installed 25% more robots last year to reach nearly 3.5k units in 2021, according to a robotics report by the International Federation of Robotics.

8. 11 of the Best Food and Beverage Venture Capitalists in 2022, According to Deal Data and Other VCs – Business Insider

Investment in food-and-beverage startups has risen sharply over the past few years. Here are some of the top dealmakers in the space.

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