Forward Fooding Reveals the 2024 FoodTech 500 Ranking

Explore the 2024 FoodTech 500 Ranking

The results are in for the highly anticipated 2024 FoodTech 500, marking our sixth annual celebration of innovation in the global food and agriculture technology sector.

Celebrating Six Years of Innovation

Since launching in 2019, the FoodTech 500 has evolved into the industry’s premier recognition platform, attracting over 10,500 applications across more than 180 countries. From our first edition to today’s global initiative, we’ve witnessed an incredible transformation that mirrors the rapid innovation in AgriFoodTech. With 360,000+ downloads of our comprehensive reports, the initiative has become an essential resource for industry stakeholders worldwide. (Read our analysis of the FoodTech 500 over the years HERE)

The evolution of the FoodTech 500 over these six years directly reflects the maturing AgriFoodTech sector itself—transitioning from initial excitement around consumer-facing innovations to today’s deeper focus on technological solutions and environmental impact.

Download the full list ranking in our latest WhitePaper and discover the entrepreneurial talent behind this year’s FoodTech 500.

2024 FoodTech 500 Finalists in Numbers

This year’s selection process evaluated 1,420 applications from innovative startups and scale-ups spanning 80+ countries. The final rankings feature companies from 52 nations, highlighting the truly global nature of food technology innovation. These pioneering businesses have collectively:

Secured $8.67 billion in investment funding
Demonstrated financial viability, with 370 finalist companies actively generating revenue
Filed 620 patents across 30 distinct technology domains
Out of 500 companies in the 2024 FoodTech 500, 497 companies secured investments

The selection process was powered by Forward Fooding’s data-driven methodology using algorithms within the FoodTech Data Navigator, the world’s largest AgriFoodTech data intelligence platform, evaluating companies based on business size, digital footprint, and sustainability impact metrics.

Top 10 Domains in 2024 FoodTech 500

The Forward Fooding taxonomy is organised according to eight macro ‘Activities’ across the supply chain, each of them divided into ‘Domains’. To learn more about our proprietary taxonomy and how we define the sector, visit our “What is FoodTech page“.

Industry Shifts: From Downstream to Upstream

Among the major activities in the supply chain, Agtech companies still dominated this year’s rankings (163 companies). Additionally, a clear industry transformation is evident between 2020 and 2024, with upstream verticals gaining prominence. Food Processing and Next-Gen Food and Drinks (particularly alternative proteins) have seen significant growth, while downstream sectors, including Food Delivery, Consumer Apps, and Kitchen and Restaurant Tech have declined to approximately one-third of their previous peaks.

While there is a slight decline in numbers compared to the previous year, Farm Management & Precision Farming and Plant-based categories remain prominent in the 6th edition of the FoodTech 500, represented by 52 and 49 companies, respectively.

Photos showcasing the top 4 companies in the 2024 edition: Apeel, ProducePay, Nature’s Fynd, and Plantible

Specific sub-verticals showing consistent upward momentum include:

Biotech/ Synthetisation, with 55 companies pioneering approaches that leverage biological systems to create novel food solutions.
Agricultural Biotechnology, represented by 42 companies. This sector focuses on biological solutions for agricultural challenges, including soil health, crop protection, and enhancing plant genetics without conventional genetic modification.
Protein Fermentation, with 41 companies developing fermentation-based protein alternatives. These companies are leveraging microorganisms to transform various feedstocks into protein and other ingredients with significantly lower environmental footprints.
Cellular Agriculture, with 32 companies signaling the evolution of this once-nascent technology. These innovators are developing methods to produce animal products like meat, dairy, and eggs directly from cells, eliminating the need for conventional animal farming.
Upcycled Ingredients & Food Waste Technologies, with 20 companies. These innovators are finding creative ways to transform by-products and waste streams into valuable ingredients, demonstrating the circular economy in action.

Conversely, Vertical and Indoor Farming has experienced a marked decline among finalists, reflecting broader market challenges in this sector.

Photos showcasing GoodDot, GOURMEY, Vow, Winnow, xFarm Technologies, and Groundwork BioAg

Funding Evolution: Beyond the Hype

Recent developments demonstrate that significant funding doesn’t always correlate with long-term success. After reaching a striking peak in 2021-2022 with combined investments approaching $3.6B across finalists, the sector experienced a sharp correction with fewer ‘mega-funded’ companies through 2023-2024.

The sharp decline in Pre-Seed stage companies (from 85 in 2023 to 41 in 2024) suggests investors are becoming more selective, favoring companies with proven unit economics. However, healthy Seed stage numbers (209 companies in 2024) indicate that strong business models continue to attract funding despite economic headwinds.

The data reveals a maturing ecosystem, evidenced by a robust pipeline of Series A companies (171 in 2024) and relatively stable numbers in Series B and C+ stages.

Impact Through Innovation

The 2024 cohort demonstrates exceptional commitment to global sustainability objectives:

Environmental Impact

As global temperatures rise and weather patterns become increasingly erratic, climate change continues to threaten food security, biodiversity, and agricultural sustainability worldwide. This existential challenge has catalyzed remarkable growth in climate-focused innovation across the FoodTech landscape:

There is a dramatic focus on environmental initiatives, with companies tackling climate challenges multiplying significantly from 74 in 2022 to 243 in 2024 – a striking 228% surge that demonstrates the sector’s powerful pivot toward eco-conscious innovation in food production and distribution (SDG 13)
126 organizations dedicated to terrestrial ecosystem preservation (SDG 15)
265 ventures prioritizing responsible consumption practices (SDG 12)

Social Progress

300 businesses addressing global hunger challenges (SDG 2)
168 companies advancing health and wellness solutions (SDG 3)
171 of selected companies feature female founders

Welcome to the FoodTech 500 2025 Official Sponsor

Forward Fooding is also pleased to welcome pladis as Official Sponsor of this year’s FoodTech 500.

About pladis

pladis, headquartered in London, is a global leader in snacking, known for iconic brands like McVitie’s, GODIVA, and Ülker. Established in 2016, pladis brings together centuries of baking and confectionery expertise to spread happiness with every bite. Their innovative team of 16,000 operates 27 bakeries across 11 countries, delivering delicious products to over 110 nations, all with a shared purpose to bring happiness with every bite.

The Accelerator Programme

Having launched in 2016, pladis understands firsthand what it takes to start, scale, and succeed as a business. Now, through their Accelerator Programme, powered by Yıldız Ventures, pladis is looking to support early-stage companies tackling key challenges in food tech, health and sustainability – focusing on trends like an ageing population and sustainable food sourcing.

Selected start-ups will gain expert mentorship on global expansion, product design and commercialisation while collaborating with pladis’ R&D, procurement and business teams.

pladis is looking for all types of innovations but particularly things like functional food, nutrition for the over 50s and younger generations and future ingredients – like precision fermentation.

Apply now or email acceleration@pladisglobal.com.

Explore the Complete 2024 FoodTech 500 Landscape

Discover the full spectrum of innovations transforming our global food systems. Our comprehensive white paper provides in-depth analysis of all 500 groundbreaking companies, their technology domains, investment patterns, and sustainability impacts.

Download the complete FoodTech 500 Whitepaper now

Looking Ahead

We extend our deepest appreciation to everyone who contributed to this year’s success – from our dedicated participants and dynamic speakers to our valued sponsors and partners. Your involvement continues to strengthen the global food innovation ecosystem.

For deeper insights into the complete rankings and detailed analysis, explore our comprehensive white paper and interactive FoodTech 500 platform.

Forward Fooding is the world’s first collaborative platform for the Food & Beverage industry via FoodTech Data Intelligence and Corporate-Startup Collaboration – Learn more about our Consultancy and Scouting Services and our Startup Network.

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