Fixing Food Systems with Deep Tech - Lauri Reuter (Nordic FoodTech VC)

Fixing Food Systems with Deep Tech - Lauri Reuter (Nordic FoodTech VC)

Author: Hugo Rauch May 22, 2025 Duration: 47:07

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

In this episode, I’m joined by Lauri Reuter, founding partner at Nordic FoodTech VC. We go deep into the mechanics of food tech. Not the kind you see on supermarket shelves, but the kind powering the supply chain, transforming ingredients, and reshaping global agriculture.

We talk about:

* Investing when consumers don’t care about sustainability

* The underestimated complexity of food innovation

* Case studies in ingredient and input replacement

* How biotech is redesigning egg whites, chocolate, and aroma compounds

* The food tech trends to ignore, and the ones to back

* … and more!

Watch this episode on YouTube. 👇

⌛TIMESTAMPS

* 0:00 Introduction

* 01:35 Why Food Tech?

* 05:22 Understanding the Food Tech Opportunity

* 09:51 Investing When There's No Appetite for Sustainability

* 15:59 Building Conviction in Food Tech

* 25:20 Investing in Deep Tech Startups

* 33:28 Nordic Innovation in Food Tech

* 37:15 Rapid Fire Questions with Lauri Reuter

📚 REFERENCES

* Endless Food (cocoa alternative)

* Evodia (aroma from engineered yeast)

* Chromologics (natural food colors through fermentation)

* Onego Bio (egg white via fermentation)

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Hugo Rauch hosts New Wave, a podcast that lives at the intersection of business ambition and scientific reality. This isn't about distant predictions or abstract science; it's a grounded exploration of the technologies and companies being built right now to address our environmental future. Each episode focuses on the practical journey, dissecting the models, the breakthroughs, and the hard decisions that define the climate tech landscape. You'll hear from founders, researchers, and investors who are actively shaping this space, getting into the specifics of what works, what doesn't, and why. The conversations move beyond hype to examine the tangible mechanics of creating viable solutions, from energy storage and sustainable materials to carbon removal and regenerative agriculture. It’s for anyone who thinks about the climate challenge not just as a crisis, but as a complex and urgent field of innovation. By tuning into this podcast, you gain a clearer understanding of the economic forces and scientific principles driving the next generation of environmental solutions. New Wave connects the dots between the lab, the boardroom, and the impact we need to see in the world, offering a sober yet optimistic look at where substantive progress is truly being made.
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