Jan 4, 2022

10 trends shaping future of food, agtech in 2022 eyed by S2G Ventures

In response to changing consumer preferences, climate change and shifts in the capital market landscape, S2G Ventures predicts that we are entering a global food transition, much like the global energy transition that has been a multi-decade effort of over $4 trillion of capital formation.

“The food transition is still in its infancy but is being propelled by seismic tailwinds: massive demographic change spurring new consumer demand, significant advancements in the biology, chemistry and physics of food production to create new choices and now capital markets anchored by ESG that want to fund high growth, disruptive companies,” Sanjeev Krishnan, S2G Ventures managing director and chief investment officer, said in a news release.

S2G Ventures’ report, “10 Trends Shaping the Future of Food in 2022”, explores the trends that are driving the transition to a climate-smart, healthy food system. The trends fall into three categories: The 4th Industrial Revolution Comes to the Farm, Supply Chain Disruption Accelerates Innovation, and Food Technology Advances Health and Consumer Choices.

The fourth industrial revolution comes to the farm

Countless challenges facing farmers in the U.S. today are straining operations but also creating the conditions for innovation and adoption of new technologies.

1. Robots will increase efficiency while reducing labor needs across the food system.
2. The rise of ESG will help to digitize the farm.
3. Fintech will transform opportunities in agriculture, just as it did for the student loan and mortgage markets.
4. RNA technology that saved lives during COVID-19 will be applied to farms to save soils.

Supply chain disruption accelerates innovation

The supply chain disruptions experienced over the past two years have created a sense of urgency to develop solutions that will make supply chains more nimble, sustainable, localized and less wasteful.

5. Fermentation will power the next generation of alternative protein products.
6. Cellular protein will provide consumers around the world with safe, sustainable food.
7. Adoption of food waste solutions will be recognized as both a good business practice and an essential tool for feeding the world.

Consumers demand better food choices and experiences

To address declining national health standards as well as consumers’ growing interest in adopting more holistic diets, food and nutrition startups are using cutting edge science as well as Ai and ML to develop nutrient dense, functional and personalized food products.

8. AI and machine learning platforms will unlock greater understanding of and use cases for plants and fungi.
9. Food will become central to the effort to prevent chronic disease and improve health outcomes.
10. Food brands and grocers will have to “personalize or perish.”

To read the full report, download it here.

S2G Ventures is a multi-stage venture fund investing across the food, agriculture, oceans and seafood markets. The fund’s mission is to catalyze innovation to meet consumer demands for healthy and sustainable food systems. S2G has identified sectors across the food system that are ripe for change, and is building a multi-stage portfolio including seed, venture and growth stage investments. Core areas of interest for S2G are agriculture, oceans, ingredients, infrastructure and logistics, IT and hardware, food safety and technology, retail and restaurants, and consumer brands.

For more information about S2G, visit s2gventures.com,