Nongshim Invests 10 Billion KRW to Foster Food Tech Startups

Nongshim is accelerating the discovery and nurturing of food tech startups by investing a total of 10 billion KRW in venture funds.

On the 18th, Nongshim announced that it will invest 5 billion KRW each in startup investment funds managed by Stonebridge Ventures and IMM Investment, leading startup investment companies in Korea.

Through these two venture funds, Nongshim plans to focus on nurturing startups with technologies that can innovate the food value chain, such as cultured meat, smart farms, and digital transformation.

Amid the recent global eco-friendly trend, cultured meat is expected to become an alternative meat product most similar to conventional meat and is considered a field with great potential for growth. In particular, since Nongshim has been promoting the plant-based alternative meat business under the ‘Veggie Garden’ brand, it anticipates significant synergy effects through discovering and collaborating with startups possessing cultured meat technology.

Smart farms have also shown visible achievements, as Nongshim started a startup team internally, recently formed an official team, and is pushing for exports to Middle Eastern countries. It is expected that Nongshim will gain even higher competitiveness through startups possessing related technologies.

A Nongshim official said, “Until now, startup investments were reviewed and decided internally, but we have decided to invest in professional investment funds for broader exploration and in-depth evaluation. We expect that meeting startups with new technologies and ideas in the food tech sector will be an opportunity to discover new future food sources.”

Along with the fund investment, Nongshim has opened an ‘Open Innovation Homepage,’ a channel where startups can always propose collaborations and request investments. Food tech startups can apply at any time, and Nongshim along with professional venture capital investors will jointly review and decide on collaboration and investment.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.