Underpinning the alternative protein revolution; a new pathway to success
Uzwil (Switzerland), New York (US), Singapore, June 11, 2020 – Bühler and Big Idea Ventures are joining forces to accelerate the success journey of promising start-ups creating great tasting alternatives to animal-derived protein products.
Big Idea Ventures, the global venture capital fund focused on solving the world’s greatest challenges by supporting the world’s best entrepreneurs, recently launched the New Protein Fund. The Fund will invest in and accelerate up to 100 plant-based and cell-based companies globally. Big Idea Ventures runs four accelerator programs annually in New York and Singapore.
“We are glad to have Bühler join Tyson Ventures, Temasek and our other strategic investors in the Big Idea Ventures’ New Protein Fund. Together we can support the growth of the new generation of leading plant-based companies in North America, Asia and ultimately, the planet. Bühler and Big Idea Ventures will work together to build great companies responding to consumer demands for great tasting food that is good for them and good for the planet,” says Andrew D. Ive, Founder of Big Idea Ventures.
Bühler is a family owned, 160-year-old company, supplying processing solutions globally and playing a critical role in global food value chains. “Providing safe, nutritious, pleasurable and affordable food to a population of 10 billion people by 2050 and doing that within the planetary boundaries is a formidable challenge,” explains Ian Roberts, CTO at Bühler Group. “There is an urgent need for wide-scale collaboration if we are to make an impact on the climate and nutrition challenges within the next decade. Academics, start-ups, and established companies need to come together to innovate and find more sustainable ways to produce food. This is why we are partnering with Big Idea Ventures: to accelerate the journey for promising start-ups, to reinforce partnerships and start-up ecosystems in Singapore and the US, and to do this with a clear focus on creating a more sustainable food supply for the future.”
Bühler plays a key role in serving the fast-growing plant-based meat and dairy replacements sector, with value chain coverage from primary processing of pulses, peas and lentils, soy, oats, quinoa and, of course, traditional grains, through to the shaping, forming, texturing, fiber formation and cooling of meat analogues, be they dry or high moisture. “This new partnership benefits from our global network of Food Application Centers across Europe, Asia, and the US”, says Johannes Wick, CEO Grains and Food at Bühler Group. “However, it is particularly timely, given that we are opening our Food Application Center in Minneapolis on June 19 and introducing new technologies, such as the Filtrex solution, specifically for this sector, and will open our joint innovation facility with Givaudan in Singapore later this year.”
The new Food Application Center in Minneapolis provides a platform for developing new ways to transform peas, beans, corn, pulses, oats, ancient grains, and many other crops into new food solutions such as flours, snacks, pasta, cereals, and a myriad of extruded products, including plant-based meat analogues. The joint Givaudan Bühler innovation facility in Singapore focuses on sustainable protein-based products. Combining the flavor and formulation know-how of Givaudan with the process know-how and technological capabilities of Bühler, it provides a one-stop shop for development and first scale up of new products for market test.
“We will be pleased to welcome Big Idea Ventures start-ups to benefit from our facilities and capabilities,” adds Roberts. “We are excited about this partnership and believe that we can advance our goals for a sustainable food system with Andrew and his team.”
Image 1 to download: Ian Roberts, CTO at Bühler Group
Image 2 to download: Johannes Wick, CEO Bühler Grains and Food at Bühler Group
Image 3 to download: Andrew D. Ive, Founder of Big Idea Ventures
Image 4 to download: Bühler’s new Food Application Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Image 5 to download: Inside view of Bühler’s new Food Application Center
Media contacts:
Andrew D. Ive, Founder, Big Idea Ventures
Phone: +1 609 917 7055
E-mail: [email protected]
Burkhard Böndel, Head of Corporate Communications
Bühler AG, 9240 Uzwil, Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 955 33 99
Mobile: +41 79 515 91 57
E-mail: burkhard.boendel@buhlergroup.
Nick Manley, Chief Storyteller
Bühler North America, 13105 12th Avenue North Plymouth, MN 55441
Phone: +1 919 851 2000
Mobile: +1 727 458 5871
E-mail: [email protected]
Trade media contact:
Tracey Ibbotson, PR Executive
Bühler UK Limited, London, England
Phone: +44 (0) 1992 537 421
E-mail: tracey.ibbotson@buhlergroup.
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About Big Idea Ventures
Big Idea Ventures is a Venture Capital fund solving the world’s greatest challenges by supporting the best entrepreneurs. Big Idea Ventures launched the New Protein Fund which leverages their accelerator expertise to undertake deep due diligence in seed & growth stage companies and invest in their top performing companies. The New Protein Fund invests in plant-based foods, cell-based foods, technologies and ingredients. Big Idea Ventures combines capital and partnership to support entrepreneurs and grow compelling companies to change the world for the better.
About Bühler
Billions of people come into contact with Bühler technologies as they cover their basic needs for food and mobility every day. Two billion people each day enjoy foods produced on Bühler equipment; and one billion people travel in vehicles manufactured using parts produced with Bühler machinery. Countless people wear eyeglasses, use smart phones, and read newspapers and magazines – all of which depend on Bühler process technologies and solutions. Having this global relevance, Bühler is in a unique position to turn today’s global challenges into sustainable business. Bühler contributes to safely feeding the world and is doing its part to protect the climate, producing machinery that makes cars, buildings, and machinery more energy efficient. Its aim is to reduce energy, waste, and water in its customers’ value chains by 50% by 2025. Bühler’s purpose is creating “innovations for a better world.”
Bühler invests up to 5% of turnover into research and development. In 2019, some 12,800 employees generated a turnover of CHF 3.3 billion. As a Swiss family-owned company, Bühler is active in 140 countries around the world and operates a global network of 98 service stations, 32 manufacturing sites, and 25 application centers. In 2020, Bühler celebrates its 160th anniversary.
