Consumer interest in sustainability and organics are on the rise, so it's no surprise that investors and entrepreneurs are eyeing opportunities in food. Keeping an eye on the social media accounts of investors and firms involved with these startups is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of what's hot in food innovation today.
To save our readers time, we've compiled a list of 9 of the best food venture capitalists and firms worth following on Twitter:
1. BILL GATES
On Twitter: @BillGates
Aside from being the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates is probably best known for his philanthropic contributions to education and global health and development. What you may not know is that Gates is also among celebrity investors like Matt Damon and Tom Brady who are betting on the future of food. One such business Gates has thrown his support behind on Twitter is Beyond Meat, a start-up aiming to develop plant protein meat alternatives that look, feel and taste like the real thing.
Innovative companies like @beyondmeat are taking on the challenge of creating the #FutureOfFood. See more VIDEO: b-gat.es/16LH4sa
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) March 22, 2013
2. BIZ STONE & EVAN WILLIAMS
On Twitter: @biz & @ev
Bill Gates isn’t the only big tech industry name supporting vegan meat. Twitter founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams are Beyond Meat investors, as well, and both tend to Tweet about food and nutrition-related issues. If you weren’t already following the two guys responsible for making you display your thoughts in 140-characters-or-less, now is the time to do so.
Try the vegan 'chicken' that tastes like the real deal today.com/food/try-vegan… via @todayfood
— Biz Stone (@biz) April 23, 2013
Hmmm: “Everything I knew about food was wrong” by @peterhorvath medium.com/better-humans/…
— Evan Williams (@ev) April 17, 2013
3. TONY CONRAD
On Twitter: @tonysphere
Aside from founding about.me and co-founding Sphere (both of which were acquired by Aol), Tony Conrad is a founding member and venture partner at True Ventures. Among his investments is The Blue Bottle Coffee Company, an Oakland, Calif.-based coffee company dedicated to organic, pesticide-free, shade-grown beans. He’s been known to spread news about the company—which also has a small network of cafés, wholesale distributors and more—on his Twitter account, as well as the occasional food-related V.C. story.
@bizbrainintrptr @bluebottlealley you should sign up for their subscription service, fresh beans to your door every week!
— Tony Conrad (@tonysphere) April 19, 2013
4. VINOD KHOSLA
On Twitter: @vkhosla
Given the extensive sustainability portfolio of Khosla Ventures, it’s no surprise that founder Vinod Khosla frequently Tweets and re-Tweets some of the latest food industry developments. Whether he’s sharing Bill Gates’ thoughts on the future of food, a story about how to enforce industry ethics or a breakthrough like Hampton Creek Foods’ believable egg replacement, Khosla makes his Twitter account worth following.
Hampton Creek Foods Launches Beyond Eggs, A Genuinely Convincing Egg Replacer tcrn.ch/Y9RQ5A
— Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) February 20, 2013
5. ANDREW CHUNG
On Twitter: @achung
Speaking of Khosla Ventures, partner Andrew Chung also has investments in sustainable agriculture. In particular, he’s a director on the board for Biodiscovery NZ Limited, a sustainable agriculture start-up working to find plant productivity-enhancing microbes.
At Khosla, we're reinventing meat, cheese, eggs, candy @getunreal @karaswisher @evelynrusli: Tech Cash Pours Into Food dthin.gs/QrRW3Q
— Andrew Chung (@achung) November 27, 2012
6. STUART RUDICK
On Twitter: @mindful01
Stuart Rudick, the founding partner of Mindful Partners and Uplift Equity, has 30 years of investment, leadership and practical experience in the health and wellness community. Among Mindful’s investments are sustainable fishery developer CleanFish and premium packaged salad marketer Big Idea Holdings/organic girl. Compared to others on this list, Rudick’s Twitter account holds a surplus of information on food industry-related sustainability issues.
Hold Obama to his committment to label GMO foods # NO GMO action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/label_gmo…
— stuart rudick (@mindful01) October 9, 2011
7. KLEINER PERKINS CAUFIELD & BYERS
On Twitter: @kpcb
Though Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has several food-related investments, the individual investors involved either aren’t active Tweeters or don’t have a Twitter account that we were able to locate. Regardless, KPCB does regularly share news regarding these investments—which include Kaiima and Beyond Meat—through its own Twitter account, and other investors at the firm, like John Doerr, who aren’t necessarily attached to any of its food start-ups on its Web site have also been known to Tweet about the future of food.
"I tasted @beyondmeat's chicken alternative and was impressed" @billgates on the reinvention of meat #FutureOfFoodthegatesnotes.com/GatesNotesV2/F…
— Kleiner Perkins (@kpcb) March 21, 2013
8. DAVE MCCLURE
On Twitter: @davemcclure
500 Startups founder Dave McClure is arguably the most prolific Tweeter on this list. Among his firm’s food-related startups are ordering marketplace Chewse, ethnic cuisine promoter Culture Kitchen and online food lovers community Love With Food. Among McClure’s multitude of Tweets, you’re likely to find more than a few about 500 Startups’ food investments or commentary from food-related events.
#foodhackathon I'm eating bugs & worms. aaaand, *LOVING* it. tiny-farms.com twitter.com/davemcclure/st…
— Dave McClure (@davemcclure) April 8, 2013
9. MAVERON LLC
On Twitter: @Maveron
Potbelly Sandwich Works and Pinkberry frozen yogurt are among consumer-based business investment V.C. firm Maveron’s food investments. Perhaps of more interest, however, is their investment in NextFoods, maker of an organic, probiotic fruit juice named “GoodBelly” that has been distributed by Whole Foods and Safeway since 2008. Maveron’s Twitter feed is a good place to find the latest developments with these startups, as well as its others.
Congrats to Pinkberry CEO for reinventing Greek yogurt. ow.ly/izFdI
— Maveron LLC (@Maveron) March 8, 2013
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