Takeaways from Future Food Tech 2025

The Synthesis team spent last week at Future Food Tech in San Francisco. It’s a whirlwind conference and we loved getting to connect with companies, investors, and stakeholders across the value chain. Here are some of our key themes and takeaways.

Major Cost Improvements

We repeatedly heard from companies who are smashing through previous barriers in unit economics. These cost improvements are stemming from efficiency across all drivers including titres, cell density, media costs, expression rates, and more. The advancements are remarkable, showcasing the industry's commitment to optimizing production processes and making products affordable. We believe price parity will be essential for the widescale adoption of food technology. While there is still work to be done, we are seeing companies get closer and closer, with further benefits expected as they achieve economies of scale.

Food Tech is Tastier than Ever

Our team had the pleasure of trying many new products. We were impressed by both the quality and quantity available. Gone are the days of tiny bites for just a lucky few. Instead, companies are hosting large tastings with meal-sized portions, a real testament to their progress. A few products that stood out to our team are as follows (with photos scattered throughout this post).

New Culture’s mozzarella with casein made via precision fermentation made for an awesome margherita pizza. We tried Savor’s butter on everything from buttered popcorn to sauteed mushrooms and a chocolate tart, and all were incredible. Mission Barns served delicious cultivated meatballs at their launch party. New School Foods' salmon filet impressed (and we loved the scrappiness of their CEO Chris Bryson, who brought his own mini oven for taste tests on the fly). Finally, we loved attending NECTAR’s TASTY Awards which celebrated the plant-based meats which performed as well as animal meat in taste tests, with Redefine Meat’s slider being our favourite of the bites at the awards.

Innovation is Happening Across the Bioprocess

Every part of the process is being optimized. Continuous fermentation was a hot topic this year, a processing approach in which feedstock can be added while output is harvested, allowing for much longer fermentation runs and much more end product. This method promises significant cost savings, via capex and opex efficiencies. Strain engineering and cell line development also came up frequently, as companies race to engineer more productive cells and microbial strains. Additionally, advancements in bioreactor design, media formulation, and downstream processing are gaining more attention. At Synthesis, we are seeing exciting investment opportunities from both pure end-product producers and the enabling technology providers who aim to make production more efficient.

Leading Food Companies Remain Engaged (& Popular)

Many of the world’s largest food producers were in attendance. They are excited about the space and are looking for innovative solutions that can slot into their existing production processes. These companies are actively seeking out new technologies to improve their products, aiming to make food healthier, tastier, and more sustainable. Start-ups are eager to ink collaborations with established companies, as these partnerships hold the potential to scale quickly and build credibility with investors / stakeholders. Representatives from established food companies were some of the most sought after attendees at the conference.

Fundraising Markets are Still Dampened

It continues to be a challenging time for companies in our space to raise. Tourist investors have left and we’ve seen sluggish levels of investment over the past few years. Startups are doing more with less, reducing burn and still hitting key milestones. We are confident that there are great investment opportunities and hope that we’re beginning to see the tides turning. We have noticed companies with impressive technological progress are moving away from small bridge rounds in favour of large raises. While we still expect to see more consolidation in 2025, we believe the strongest companies will succeed.

Regulatory Approvals Spurred Excitement

Just a few weeks ago, there was uncertainty about whether the new US administration would allow for novel foods approvals. Recent FDA green lights for Mission Barns’ cultivated pork fat and Vivici’s whey made by precision fermentation spurred excitement. Attendees at FFT buzzed with hope that more of these products will be able to launch in the US in the near future.

We left the conference energized after speaking with so many smart people who are committed to changing our food system for the better.