Manuella is an entrepreneur and climate tech expert turned VC. She invests in early-stage startups fixing the food system at Mudcake. Manuella spent a decade working at the intersection of impact and technology and now regularly serves as a mentor and jury on startup programs. She previously co-founded Good Tech Lab and Climatescape. As CEO at Climatescape (Techstars’21), she led a data platform mapping 2000+ climate tech solutions. As COO of Good Tech Lab, she consulted for Fortune500 companies, foundations, and the UN. She co-authored “The Frontiers of Impact Tech”, interviewing 500+ leaders in 30 countries about the SDGs and scientific innovations. A Brazilian living in Paris, Manuella speaks 5 languages and holds a Master’s degree from SciencesPo.
Standing Ovation, which has previously raised €12 million in 2022 through a Series A led by Astanor Ventures and backed by Bel Group, has now secured an additional €3.75 million in a Series A+ round. This brings its total funding over the past four years to €23 million, aimed at accelerating growth and scaling production.
The French Foodtech company, specializing in precision-fermented protein, has also announced Yvan CHARDONNENS as its new CEO.
Idris in a nutshell: passionate about people, deep foodtech, agritech and sports. He works at Hello Tomorrow on the European Innovation Council Corporate Partnership Programme project, as well as in the BU Startups Programme and Innovation Engine. Alongside with Capucine Grandsir and Mikael Pereira, Idris serves as FoodHack Ambassadors in Paris, where he helps foster connections within the Parisian FoodTech community by organizing engaging events.
She resonates deeply with Josh Wolf’s quote: “I’m a voracious reader, absorbing all I can find, especially from rare or undiscovered sources.” Like those she admires, her curiosity drives her to seek knowledge from unexpected places, constantly exploring new ideas and perspectives. This passion for learning fuels her work as a business analyst, where she helps startups navigate the complex world of fundraising and growth.
Lucía Salas is a passionate professional working on solutions for the challenges of our era. In the search for a meaningful career, she co-founded Raiz Vertical Farms with the vision to grow and reconnect with the food we eat while following the principles of circularity and sustainability. Raiz Vertical Farms was selected by Techstars Sustainabily Paris as one of the most innovative startups to join their acceleration program in 2024.
Carlos Morales is the technical manager of the R&D Accelerator Network, enabling the teams to get new products to market in 6 months. He has 30 yrs of experience in the FMGC Industry working on innovation across more than 70 different countries and supply chains in P&G and Nestlé. Since 2019 he has been part of the team that develop and run the R+D Accelerator of Nestlé, he has coached projects to ensure they can bring ideas to shop in 6 months, and supported the establishment of accelerator network globally.
Capucine Grandsir is a biological engineer specialised in food science. She is often described as curious and stubborn. She can spend hours trying to understand a complex subject, especially if it deals with food. The projects she evaluates and the entrepreneurs she meets make her optimistic about the evolution of consumption patterns.
French, 28 years old, alumni of the Quebec University of Montreal (UQAM) and French Institute of Fashion (IFM). From his first job as Marketing & Communication assistant for the Chalhoub Group between Paris and Dubai, where he helped overseeing fashion shows, PR campaigns and content production for Ingie Paris, a luxury brand founded by Ingie Chalhoub. He is now the Head of Marketing & Communication at Bon Vivant, a French startup specialized in alternative dairy proteins production through precision fermentation, so a totally different world from my fashion and advertising background ! His work now consist in building a strong brand for Bon Vivant, reinforcing legitimacy and expertise as a B2B DeepTech company, while also making the brand and tech accessible to a broader audience, with a lot of pedagogical content.
Did you hear the news? French foodtech Gourmey have just submitted applications to UK and EU regulators for the authorisation of their cultivated foie gras. This groundbreaking move marks the first novel food application to the EU’s European Commission for cultivated meat. If approved, Gourmey’s foie gras could soon be available across all 27 EU countries!
