Investment in Foodtech 2021

The foodtech sector has experienced a boom in recent years, catalyzed by the coronavirus pandemic that accelerated the growth of many startups due to rise in demand.

The boom of the foodtech sector worldwide is also noticeable in Spain, a promising country to lead in food technology. Indeed, in the first half of 2021 foodtech startups raised $24 billion, which is very close to the total for all of 2020, breaking records with an estimated $30 billion in food tech investment.

The e-grocery category remains the best funded with 23% of the pie, followed by midstream tech at 15% and in-store retail & restaurant tech at 13%. The latter sector has seen an uplift this year following the deconfinement around the world, with restaurants and retailers using technology to adapt to a new environment. In global ranking, Spain fills the sixth position in investment, with a total of $700 million. This number includes the recent $15 million round of Biome Makers, and the $3.3 million of ZoomAgri. A couple of other examples of successful rounds of investment in Spanish foodtech are Heura, which earlier this year received 4 million euros in less than 24h, and Smileat with 1.8 million euros.

Additionally, according to the latest issue of fDi Intelligence, a publication of the Financial Times, Madrid and Barcelona rank 6th and 7th as the most attractive cities in Europe for technology startups and entrepreneurs in 2021. Spain’s capital has risen five places compared to the previous year and is home to more than 300 startups and 100 coworking spaces.