The Food Tech Playbook: What Actually Scales

The Food Tech Playbook: What Actually Scales

Author: Hugo Rauch December 5, 2025 Duration: 45:42

This week on New Wave Weekly:

👉 Why food & ag still scare generalist VCs

Despite being a $8T industry employing more people than any other, exits are small, timelines are long, and the science is heavy. So why does capital hesitate? And what are they missing?

👉 Where the real opportunities are in food tech

From ingredients with 1% inclusion rates, to functional foods, to GLP-1 alternatives, to sugar-free sweet proteins, which models actually scale in venture timelines?

👉 Food as Medicine: the next multi-billion category?

GLP-1 drugs reshaped consumer behavior… but can food do the same? We explore peptides, functional mushrooms, sugar replacement, and why nutrition may beat pharma at its own game.

👉 The investment memo for food tech — across stages

What does “good” look like at pre-seed? Seed? Growth? Revenue thresholds, market entry strategy, brand vs B2B ingredients, regulatory cycles, and why biotech in food still needs ~15 years and $100M to get to market.

👉 Do brands or ingredients win? The great debate

Lavie, Beyond Meat, Oatly, challenger brands vs. enabling technologies, and why doing “both biotech AND brand” almost never works.

***

Wave Makers:

Nadine - World Fund

Gil - Flora VC

Fabio - Zintinus

Hugo - New Wave



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newwavenewsletter.substack.com

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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