June 23, 2017

Nestlé USA announced it has partnered with global financial services provider and leading agriculture, food, and beverage investment bank, Rabobank, and San Francisco-based technology campus RocketSpace to foster food and agtech startups through the Terra Food + AgTech Accelerator.

Launched last summer, the Terra Food + AgTech Accelerator was created to combine RocketSpace’s global tech and startup networks with Rabobank’s leadership and expertise in the agribusiness and food sectors to create a first-of-its-kind program fostering open innovation between corporations and startups.

Housed in RocketSpace’s existing San Francisco location, the accelerator’s aim is to spark cross-industry innovation by bringing together disruptive startups with cutting-edge food and agriculture corporations such as Nestlé through its dedicated product validation program to create a “new standard for food and agriculture”, according to Terra.

Setting it apart from existing accelerators, Terra’s eight-week program was developed as a total immersion endeavor, through which participants will be able to witness their product evolve beyond a proof of concept to commercial viability with real-time feedback. Participants will have access to a commercial test kitchen, and exposure to corporate partners for potential investment opportunities, while the program’s production validation phase will provide pilot testing with collaborators.

“Rather than limit innovation to within their four walls, forward-thinking brands are building an ecosystem of collaborators – big and small,” said Duncan Logan, founder and CEO of RocketSpace upon Terra’s launch. “It’ll be fascinating to see this diverse group come together and build real-life solutions to address tomorrow’s food and agriculture needs.”

This partnership deepens Nestlé’s existing commitment to fostering innovation and disruption in the food industry. In 2013 the company launched the Silicon Valley Innovation Outpost (SVIO) in the San Francisco Bay area. This hub enables the company to tap into forward thinking from outside its organization through connecting a cross-functional marketing and technical team geared to work with promising early-stage entrepreneurs to quickly build, test, and commercialize value-added innovations.

“Our goals at the SVIO include providing entrepreneurs with access to the expertise and nutritional know-how that Nestlé has developed over its 150-year history,” said Mark Brodeur, vice president of digital innovation for Nestlé. “In exchange, Nestlé will have the ability to learn from and co-create with creative entrepreneurs. That’s why partnerships like ours with Terra make so much sense for both Nestlé and those with whom we collaborate.”

The move by Nestlé also follows days after the company led a $77 million Series C funding round for Freshly – a healthy meal delivery startup that caters to health conscious but busy consumers. Other investors in the round include Highland Capital Partners, Insight Venture Partners and White Star Capital, according to TechCrunch.

Terra Accelerator joins a field of other similar launches in the agtech space. Finistere Ventures, Cloud Break Advisors and an alliance of industry leaders that includes Bayer, DuPont, and leading Israeli venture capital firm OurCrowd launched the $15 million accelerator fund, Radicle, at Global AgInvesting’s AgTech Week in June 2016.

While May 2016 saw the launch of AgTech Accelerator™ with an initial close of $11.5 million, which was led by Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture arm of real estate investment trust, and Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. Other investors include some of the leading and most prominent agricultural firms and venture investors in the space such as Bayer, Syngenta Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures, Hatteras Venture Partners, Mountain Group Capital, Harris & Harris Group Inc., and Papas Capital.

Additional accelerators launched last year include the Startup Next Food & Tech program, started by a partnership between Land O’Lakes and Techstars; and a 10-week accelerator program launched by UK-based Just Eat.

-Lynda Kiernan

Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.