Swiss agritech startup Farmer Connect has raised a US$9M in a Series A investment round.

An investment led by ITOCHU Corporation, a major Japanese general trading company, resulted in Farmer Connect securing US$9M. The Series A financing comes after significant growth in 2020 when the company’s revenue surged and its roster of clients and partners grew. Their partners include Cooxupé, the biggest coffee cooperative in Brazil, UCC Coffee, Beyers Koffie and The J.M. Smucker Company. Farmer Connect will use the money to develop new solutions for sustainability efforts in coffee and other agricultural sectors. They also plan to build new teams across the world like Geneva, New York City, Singapore and Brazil. ​

Launched in 2019, Farmer Connect offers a blockchain-based traceability platform for the safe storage and sharing of business data. Essentially, this technology connects producers to consumers to empower them and help their business grow. The blockchain-based tech was developed in part by IBM, based on the IBM Food Trust platform.

Investors from Europe and both North and South America participated in the round, along with Farmer Connect’s founding partner, Sucafina.

For more information:

Farmer Connect
Chemin de Blandonnet 8
Vernier, Geneva 1214, CH
Email : media@farmerconnect.com

Or you can also contact them here.

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Nestlé will soon launch bio-based lids and scoops made from sugar cane and its byproduct for its paediatric nutrition products.

A range of Nestlé’s nutrition products for infants and children will soon launch with a newly innovated packaging. This comes after the introduction of bio-based lids and scoops made from 66% and 95% sugar cane respectively. They also have similar properties and functionalities as conventional plastic without compromising the high level of hygiene and freshness required. The bio-based lids and scoops complement the metal-based tin can, which is the most recycled material in the world. These certified plant-based packagings are also recyclable in countries with recycling facilities for polyethylene (PE).

Nestlé Products with Bio-Based Packaging

In 2020, Nestlé Nutrition’s NAN infant formula in the new packaging materials was introduced in Hong Kong. These will be available in other markets globally from 2021, including for other brands such as BEBA and GUIGOZ.

Meanwhile, Wyeth Nutrition is launching the new bio-based packaging for its brands SMA, LITTLE STEPS, S-26 and ILLUMA.

Nestlé Health Science is also introducing the new packaging material for its Althéra, Alfaré, Alfamino, Modulen and Peptamen Junior brands. These brands are part of its global range of paediatric food for special medical purposes.

Commitment to Innovation and Sustainability

Thierry Philardeau, Head of Nestlé Nutrition, said, “Nestlé continues to push the boundaries of science to provide nutritional solutions for children, and we are putting that same passion into pioneering new packaging that is good for our planet.”

Meanwhile, Ryan Carvalho, Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer for Nestlé Nutrition, said, “The development of innovative sustainable packaging solutions plays an important role in our journey to net-zero… while ensuring that our products maintain a high level of safety and quality.“

Nestlé Health Science CEO Greg Behar said, “We are pleased that Nestlé Health Science’s paediatric range is our first product group to include the new bio-based lids and scoops: new solutions for a new generation.“

Nestlé is a founding member of the Bioplastics Feedstock Alliance. The association aims to encourage the production of bioplastic feedstocks in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable manner.

For more information:

Nestlé Suisse S.A.
Rue Entre-deux-Villes 10 1814 La Tour-de-Peilz Switzerland
Switzerland
Tel: +41 21 924 51 11

You can also reach them here.

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Nestlé and ETH Zurich establish a new research program that will explore climate change solutions while increasing nutritional quality and agricultural yield.

The program, coordinated by the World Food System Center at ETH Zurich, will focus on agricultural crops and dairy farming. The agricultural crop research will concentrate on the nutritional value of crops like fibres, proteins and micronutrients. It will also identify crops that are ideal ingredients for tasty and nutritious plant-based alternatives to meat, seafood and dairy products. Meanwhile, the dairy farming research will focus on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in dairy farming.

Stefan Palzer, Nestlé CTO, said: “We’re delighted to extend our long-standing collaboration with ETH Zurich – one of the world’s leading academic institutions – to the agricultural sciences, to reduce the carbon footprint of agricultural raw materials. The development of more climate-friendly ingredients and products is a key focus area for Nestlé to help reduce our global carbon footprint.” Nestlé is investing CHF 2.8 million in this comprehensive research program.

ETH Zurich President, Joël Mesot, added: “We are looking forward to continuing a long tradition of collaborations with Nestlé as a trusted partner. Only by working together across disciplines and sectors, we will be able to provide sustainable and secure food in the long term.”

The new research program complements existing collaborations with ETH Zurich and EPFL on food engineering, nutrition, and sustainable packaging. Nestlé and ETH Zurich co-founded The Future Food Initiative launched in 2019.

For more information:

Melanie Kohli
Head of R&D Communications
melaniececile.kohli@nestle.com

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