FS6 2020 In Review

2020 was a year for the books. With the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, FS6 has come out on the other side revitalized, emboldened, and inspired by the work of our team, our entrepreneurs, and the ecosystem of supporters that rallied to build bridges, community, and resilience in a tumultuous year. Read on to learn more about what FS6 has been working on over the past 12 months:

COVID-19

As we all know too well, the arrival of the COVID-19 outbreak in the US turned the food and agriculture industry on its head. However, it was a time of learning and growing for FS6 and our portfolio companies, and this time further validated the FS6 hypothesis that a food system focused on the health and well-being of all is a stronger, more resilient system.

As the industry at large was seeing production stoppages, a drop in demand, and a general tightening of the belts, many of the FS6 entrepreneurs were seeing an unprecedented explosion of demand for their services, products, and expertise. The story of how COVID affected each of them could fill this full report so, suffice it to say, our firm belief is that the challenges of COVID-19 in the food industry are not materially different than those we were struggling with before. What the coronavirus has done is to shine a spotlight on the parts of our food system that were already broken, fragile, and extractive, and paint a clear picture of what the world could look like if we fail to support the solutions that are prioritizing the health and wellbeing of their employees; who are working hard to make diversified small-mid sized farms financially viable; who are rejuvenating regional economies; and regenerating our ecosystems.

** Read more: Supporting Small-to-Midsized Agriculture and Localized Food Distribution During COVID-19

---

FS6 Goes Digital

Due to the changes caused by COVID-19, FS6 made an early decision to pivot our 2020 programming to virtual. From pivoting our group learning sessions to Zoom, to creating ample opportunities for entrepreneurs to connect with mentors and each other, we are incredibly proud of our team for being nimble, responsive, and flexible over the past 9 months. Our team has created opportunities for authentic connection and team-building within our community and across the digital landscape and the learnings that have come from going digital are innumerable. While we are looking forward to the opportunity to meet in person again soon, there are many things that we learned through our pivot to virtual that we will likely keep as part of our program when the times to gather in person again.

** For a preview of some of the great virtual content that has come out of this year, check out our YouTube channel!

---

Cohort 5

The entrepreneurs we selected for Cohort 5 represent the farmers, ranchers, producers, and do-ers that are the foundation of any sustainable food system. As part of this year's program, we have been thinking more and more about the infrastructure necessary to implement and bolster sustainable solutions, and how to better take care of the employees that are on the ground running these businesses day-to-day. This inspiring group of farmers, ranchers, technologists, bakers, and change-makers gathered together for their first in-person session in Oakland, CA in February but, due to COVID-19, had to shift the remainder of the program online.

For the concluding Forum event, we partnered with the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum to showcase our entrepreneurs in a 2hr event that kicked off three days of online educational programming for investors. You can view the full event recording, as well as Cohort 5 Storytelling videos at foodsystem6.org/c5-forum.

"I felt that the FS6 commitment to Matriark began before the sessions started. That FS6 was already deeply invested in our success. I learned so much. About marketing, messaging, the camaraderie of the cohort and a feeling of shared purpose, not working in a vacuum, brainstorming, access to great minds, a rigorous plan for pitching and learning about different kinds of investment, the clarity and warmth of the FS6 team, knowing we have a braintrust for the coming year to ask any and all questions, the industry experts. ALL OF IT."

-       Anna Hammond, Matrark Foods

Meet Cohort 5

** Read More: Digging into Cohort 5

---

The Huhtamaki Circular Economy Startup Program 

2020 marked the debut of our newest program, the Huhtamaki Circular Economy Startup Program by Food System 6. The Huhtamaki Circular Economy Program (HCEP) supported an international cohort of 8 entrepreneurs, working across all business entity types, in their efforts to create a more circular economy. Participants received coaching and mentorship in lead-up to a three-day culminating event with the Huhtamaki global leadership team. During the program, founders engaged with and learned from subject matter experts from the FS6 and Huhtamaki community of industry leaders.

As part of the program, Food System 6 awarded $300k in equity-free grant funding across the eight participants. SoluBlue and AndesAg received $50k each to amplify their impact in the circular economy and Nafici Environmental Research received $100k and one year of support from FS6 to support them in achieving their upcoming milestones. Each of these entrepreneurs is doing incredible work across the circular economy - visit www.foodsystem6.org/circular_economy to learn more!

Meet the Circular Economy Cohort

**Read more: What’s Next in the Circular Economy?

---

FS6 Portfolio Updates

FS6 continues to track the success of our organization through the successes of our cohort companies. With over $40mil in blended capital funds raised and an 85% survival rate after 6 cohorts of programming, we are incredibly proud of the work that we have done and the companies that we support. Identifying metrics that can be used to quantify systemic impact is one of the greatest challenges of the work that we do, and we will continue to iterate on and adapt these measures as our portfolio grows. However, for a quick-glimpse at some of the metrics from our portfolio in 2020, see below.

In our current cohort of 42 companies: 

• 48% boast female founders
• 40% either have a BIPOC founder or were founded to specifically support BIPOC communities
• 24% are non-profits or have an alternative, employee or steward ownership model
• 16 US States are represented
• 6 countries represented

---

FS6 General Updates

Looking back, it’s hard to believe that our tiny team did so much this year! One of the biggest changes, which we are proud to wear on our sleeve, is the rollout of our rebranded visual identity. If you haven’t already explored our website, take a look around! Our design partner, Natalie Torkar Designs, has done an incredible job of designing a new look for us that feels fresh, forward looking, yet true to our history.

This year also marked the launch of our Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) Program, which allows us to bring on highly skilled, values-aligned entrepreneurs from across the FS6 community to support our cohort in their growth, our team in their programming, and the EIR in their most recent pursuits.

These short-term consulting relationships allow us to strengthen our bench in a variety of industry segments, expand our capacity to support our entrepreneurs, and open us up to learnings from a diverse range of industry verticals. Thanks to our Entrepreneur in Residence program, we now have deep-dive work happening in each of these segments: regenerative agriculture, circular economy innovation, open-source technology, food processing, and mental health and well-being. You can meet our first four EIRs - Christine Su, Andrew Falcon, Ethan Rublee, Doug Beacom, Rishi Nijhon – on our team page.

---

FS6 2020 Earned Media & Events

This year FS6 has seen spotlight features and interviews from publications like The Spoon, Food Tank, Food Navigator, and the Produce Marketing Association and has partnered with industry leaders like Huhtamaki and the USDA to support and educate stakeholders across the industry. Also in this time, FS6 CEO, Caesaré Assad was selected as a top 20 Emerging Leaders in Food & Ag and FS6 founder, Renske Lynde, had her article, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Driving Food System Transformation, published in Science Direct. Lastly, we launched a new newsletter series, Dig In, that provides a platform for diving deeper into the various topics of food systems change. The first of these newsletters featured an FS6 hosted article by industry leader, Robert Egger, and featured a deep dive into the complexity of Values-Based Purchasing in institutional foodservice.

Here is the full list of FS6 2020 Media:

• Caesaré Assad nominated as a Top 20 Emerging Leader Food & Ag Awards
• Food System 6 Announces Fifth Cohort, The Spoon
• Social Venture Institute Women Profile: Caesaré Assad, CEO for Food System 6
• Innovation & Entrepreneurship Driving Food System Transformation, by FS6 Founder Renske Lynde, Science Direct
• Food Talk Live with Foodtank
• Supporting Small-to-Midsized Agriculture and Localized Food Distribution During COVID-19, Food System 6 Blog
• Heat of the Moment Podcast: Food 2.0
• Feeding Frenzy: Berkeley Law Programs Help Launch New Foodtech Startups, Berkeley Law
• Soup-to-Nuts Podcast, FoodNavigator
• How Accelerators and Incubators Can Help Grow Natural Products Startups, New Hope Network
• Innovation for Food System Impact at The Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum
• Huhtamaki Circular Economy Startup Program by Food System 6
• Huhtamaki Circularity Report, Huhtamaki, featuring Caesaré Assad
• Circular Economy Start-Up Seeks Promising Future, Plastics in Packaging
• PODCAST: Food System 6, Huhtamaki team to launch Circular Economy Startup Program, FoodNavigator
• Food & Drink Industry Magazine (print feature)
• RFSI Interviews Caesaré Assad, Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum
• 15 Inspiring Quotes and Questions to Guide the Food System Forward, FoodTank
• Sustainability Summit Series: Circularity for a Sustainable and Secure Future, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Solving for the Sixth Food System, PMA Takes on Tech
• Agri Food Connect US Edition #1, Kök Projekt
• Press Release: Huhtamaki Celebrates Its 100 Year Anniversary by Donating EUR 3 Million to Circular Economy Initiatives to Address Global Sustainability Challenges
• Press Release: New Start-Up Program Launched to Support Entrepreneurs Building Circular Economy
• Press Release: Food System 6 and Huhtamaki Announce Circular Economy Startup Program Participants
• How to Navigate USDA Funding for your Food & Farm Business, FS6 and the USDA

2020 Portfolio Highlights

• PastureMap acquisition by Soilworks Natural Capital, AgFunder Network, (PastureMap, Cohort 1)
• Portland Startup Revives the Milkman Model for Farm-Fresh Produce, Bloomberg (MilkRun, Cohort 2)
• Renewal Mill Partners with Tia Lupita to Release First Line of Upcycled Tortillas, Perishable News, (Renewal Mill, Cohort 1)
• Rising Up with Wood-fired Bread,  Musings (Firebrand Artisan Breads, Cohort 5)

• FluroSat founder Anastasia Volkova recognized as a “35 Under 35 Innovator”, MIT Technology Review (FluroSat, Cohort 3)
• Paula Daniels of the Center for Good Food Purchasing is featured on the Food Talk podcast, Foodtank, (Center for Good Food Purchasing, Cohort 1) 
• MilkRun: An Innovative Online Grocer, Helping Farmers, Is Expanding, Forbes (MilkRun, Cohort 2)
• Matriark Foods- ReFED grant recipient- launches FarmPlus to People program, AeroFarms, (Matriark Foods, Cohort 5)
• AgLaunch Direct-to-Consumer Web Series, AgLaunch (Farm Generations, Firebrand, Central Grazing Company, Cohort 5)
• Investing in the Future of Food: Could co-ops hold a key to dismantling systemic racism in food system?, FoodNavigator-USA (CoFED, CE Cohort)
• Investing in the Future of Food: Matriark’s ‘nimble’ processing pilot upcycles food fast, offers potential production path for scaling companies, FoodNavigator-USA (Matriark Foods, Cohort 5 and CE Cohort)
• FoodCrunch Podcast:
  • Episode 3 (Ben Meyer & Jimmy Serlin, Cohort: Revel Meat Co.)
  • Episode 7 (Caesaré Assad)
  • Episode 15 (Mokhtar Alkhanshali, Cohort: Port of Mokha)
  • Episode 18 (Emma Weston, Cohort: AgriDigital)