Watch #7 for Symrise - Q3 2026

Here are the key points identified in this watch covering the past quarter:

Funding for AgriFoodTech remains stable in 2026, with a potential increase for food science (ingredients and brands) and AgTech. Beyond the macro data, there are however positive signs indicating a potential recovery. The number of early-stage deals (investments in emerging startups) in H1 2026 nearly matched the total for all of 2025, an encouraging signal after several years of decline.

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Brands acquisition and funding: in the past quarter, the number of significant acquisitions of emerging food, beverage and supplement brands by leading companies has been impressive. These include notably Huel acquired by Danone, YFood by Nestlé, Goodles by Barilla and Purely Elizabeth by Ferrero. Beyond acquisitions, there is behind a whole set of fast-growing brands, which are raising very increasing amounts of funding (including recently IM8 and David Protein). All these players have a few things in common: fast growth, mostly highly processed offerings combined with health claims.
Scale-up and commercialisation through partnerships for egg proteins: white egg protein produced through precision fermentation is (finally) reaching the US market with multiple announcements. Also, the recent announcement by ADM of its partnership with Every Co, to support its industrialisation efforts through one of its facilities is quite significant.
Alternative fats are having a moment: while the past quarter has been light in terms of major deals, there was a series of announcements around alternative fats, with many players moving towards industrialisation. Interestingly, this space is still pointing towards very different directions: alternatives to tropical fats for climate concerns, improvement of plant-based dairy, health concerns, or calorie-reduction. This may indicate that this ecosystem is not yet clear on which message will resonate with its customers.