1、Y EY E A A R R I I N N R R E E V V I I E E WW 18 I N V E S T I N G R E P O R T China AgriFood Startup See our portfolio companies: Our in-house technology enables us to invest globally and at scale and helps us make smarter investment decisions. Through our media and research platform, AgFunder hasb

2、uilt a community of over 60,000 members and subscribers, giving us the largest and most powerful network in the industry to help us support our portfolio companies and get them in front of decision makers. AgFunder is a global Venture Capital platform Are you a Corporate, Startup, or Investor? Learn

3、 how to get engaged We invest in bold, exceptional entrepreneurs transforming our food and agriculture system CHINA AGRIFOOD FUNDING REPORT: YEAR REVIEW 2018 | AGFUNDER.COM 3 Our China Report Partner Bits x Bites is Chinas pioneer food tech VC, investing in early-stage startups tackling global food

4、system challenges. It targets companies innovating across the food supply chain, from farming, production, distribution and logistics, to consumer goods and food services. CHINA AGRIFOOD FUNDING REPORT: YEAR REVIEW 2018 | AGFUNDER.COM 4 China Macro Trends 2018 INTRODUCTION Cooling Economy as Backdro

5、p After an impressive 30-year growth run, Chinas GDP growth rate dropped to 6.6% in 2018 down from a high of 14.2% in 2007. With the governments de-leveraging and the trade war with the US, total growth in retail consumer goods sales fell below 10% for the first time since 20031. Against this backdr

6、op, venture capital investment at the earliest stages decreased across industries 10.8% by number of deals and 3.4% in total investment year-over-year2. However, investment in agrifood technology startups in China continued to grow in 2018. Consumer Market Divides and Grows Middle class consumers in

7、 top tier cities continued to increase their consumption of premium food products and visits to premium restaurants, willing to pay higher prices for new and better quality products to meet their demand for taste, health, and hyper-convenience. In parallel, emerging innovators are targeting low-inco

8、me consumers looking for bargain food options and services, and are finding success in lower-tier cities. The IPO of Pinduoduo, a fast-growing group buy app for discount products provides proof. This divide between top- and lower-tier cities reflects a widening gap in the income and consumption patt

9、erns between these groups. As the expanding middle class continues to drive consumption and food product innovation, lower-tier citieswhich represent 77.73% of Chinas populationare too tempting to ignore. Growth by Building Ecosystems Alibaba, known for its enviable e-commerce platform, has redefine

10、d much more than Chinas retail landscape. It has evolved into a full-blown ecosystem that has transformed across supply chains through organic and inorganic expansions. This expansion model, built on evolution and aggregation, has made its way to food businesses as well. In food, Alibaba now encompa

11、sses eGrocery, restaurant marketplaces, food services, in-store restaurant tech, supply chain logistics, to name a few. As enterprises continue to expand to new segments, cross- sector cooperation is flourishing within an ecosystem and with new external allies to bring data capability to traditional

12、 businesses such as Starbucks and Alibaba; Tencent and Carrefour. The competitive landscape is constantly in flux, and startups may find exits in corporations with completely different core competencies. 1 National Bureau of Statistics 2ZERO2IPO Research CHINA AGRIFOOD FUNDING REPORT: YEAR REVIEW 20

13、18 | AGFUNDER.COM 5 INTRODUCTION 2018 in Review Despite a weakened macro-economic environment in China (see p4), 2018 was a good year for agrifood startups and innovation in the country. Total investment reached $5.8 billion with a 60% year- over-year growth in the number of deals underpinning the e

14、xpansion of the sector despite outliers such as Meituan- Dianpings $1.5 billion round driving up investment totals. All categories of agrifood innovation (which includes Premium Branded Foods & Restaurants in our China reports) showed growth, except In-Store Retail & Restaurant Tech. Investment in s

15、tartups operating downstream of the supply chain, driven by consumer demand for upgraded food experiences, continue to dominate the overall agrifood funding landscape, accounting for 81% of deal activity. But in 2018, investment in upstream startups closer to the farmer grew 806% year-over-year to m

16、ake up 16.6% of total funding raised. This is largely due to the rapid boom of Chinas eGrocery and food delivery services putting a spotlight on the urgent need for improving supply chain performance and giving farmers access to markets not previously available. While startup disruption in many cate

17、gories like innovative food ingredients may fall behind in China compared to other agrifood hubs like the US and Israel, Chinas food delivery groups continue to extend their lead as their user bases rapidly increase. These digitally-powered business formats have also given rise to newer commercial m

18、odels such as community-based eGrocery, and a new ecosystem built around online restaurants. Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent are writing some of the biggest checks. Their combined early-stage investments totaled $2.7 billion, just under half of the total in 2018. This demonstrates the high value

19、 they place on the data and traffic received from the food supply chain, as well as the ever-growing role they play in every aspect of Chinese lives. Exits gathered pace with five IPOs taking place in food and beverage in 2018, from zero in 2017. The IPOs ranged from plant-based protein beverage and

20、 ingredient companies to food delivery player Meituan-Dianping, which reached the highest valuation. Each of them reveal a different face of the rapidly evolving Chinese food innovation landscape. We hope you will enjoy this second edition of the China AgriFood Startup Investing Report! AgFunder & B

21、its x Bites CHINA AGRIFOOD FUNDING REPORT: YEAR REVIEW 2018 | AGFUNDER.COM 6 AgriFood Startup Category Definitions Farm Robotics, Mechanization & Equipment On-farm machinery, automation, drone manufacturers, grow equipment Novel Farming Systems Indoor farms, aquaculture, insect, & algae production I

22、n-Store Retail & Restaurant Tech Shelf-stacking robots, robotic cafes, POS systems, food waste monitoring IoT Home & Cooking Tech Smart kitchen appliances, nutrition technologies, food testing devices Midstream Technologies Food safety & traceability tech, logistics & transport, processing tech Bioe

23、nergy & Biomaterials Non-food extraction & processing, feedstock technology, cannabis pharmaceuticals Restaurant Marketplaces Online tech platforms delivering food from a wide range of vendors Farm Management Software, Sensing & IoT Ag data capturing devices, decision support software, big data anal

24、ytics Ag Biotechnology On-farm inputs for crop & animal ag including genetics, microbiome, breeding, animal health eGrocery Online stores and marketplaces for sale & delivery of food & ag products to consumer Agribusiness Marketplaces Online Restaurants and Meal Kits Startups offering culinary meals

25、 and sending pre- portioned ingredients to cook at home Innovative Food Cultured meat, novel ingredients, plant-based proteins Commodities trading platforms, online input procurement, equipment leasing Miscellaneous Upstream Downstream Upstream+Downstream Premium Branded Foods & Restaurants Premium

26、food experiences inc better product design, formulation, packaging, & thematic restaurants WHAT IS AGRIFOOD? CHINA AGRIFOOD FUNDING REPORT: YEAR REVIEW 2018 | AGFUNDER.COM 7 Sources & Methodology SOURCES Data Sources & Curation The raw data for the China AgriFood Funding Report comes from multiple p

27、ublic channels including AgFunder, Crunchbase, 36kr, , Zero2IPO Group, and crowdsourcing directly from the industry. Only startups falling into our defined categories are included in the database. International startups receiving Chinese investments are also included. The raw data is then heavily cu

28、rated to ensure that it is relevant, accurate, up-to-date, and categorized according to AgFunders proprietary tagging system for inclusion in the report. Although some deals are not disclosed which might affect some results, we believe our database reflects the overall situation of agrifood startups

29、 in China. While we are happy to share our findings, AgFunder and our China report partner Bits x Bites reserve all rights with respect to all material contained in this report, and require it to be fully and accurately cited when reproduced. Undisclosed Financings Of the 283 financings in our curat

30、ed data set, 125 had undisclosed financing amount, which could not be determined through research or direct sources. We included undisclosed financings when computing aggregate figures. The final result might be affected by the undisclosed financings. Multiple Financings In some cases, multiple fina

31、ncings were for the same company in the same year. In the case of distinct funding rounds (Seed, A, B,) or asset classes (debt v. equity), we counted these as separate rounds. Timelines In most cases, the details of a funding are recorded within a few days of its first public announcement. However,

32、there are times when these details are only shared months or even years after the deal has officially closed. CHINA AGRIFOOD FUNDING REPORT: YEAR REVIEW 2018 | AGFUNDER.COM 8 Sources & Methodology SOURCES Categorization AgFunders categorization system is designed to capture broad themes in the agrif

33、ood technology landscape (see page 6 for a list of categories). As the categories progress through the value chain from farm inputs to the consumer, the mapping becomes complex. The agrifood sector has a wide supply chain spanning industrials, farming, logistics, wholesale distribution, processing,

34、retail distribution, and the consumer. In many cases, technologies such as marketplaces connect different links in the supply chain and so in this report we have chosen to focus on the high-level themes. AgFunder and Bits x Bites manually review each company, often with significant research and deba

35、te. Given the importance of consumption upgrade as a driver in Chinas startup ecosystem, AgFunder and Bits x Bites implemented the category “Premium Branded Foods & Restaurants” to reflect this influential trend in Chinas agrifood. CHINA AGRIFOOD FUNDING REPORT: YEAR REVIEW 2018 | AGFUNDER.COM 9 Yea

36、r End Overview 2018 CHINA AGRIFOOD FUNDING REPORT: YEAR REVIEW 2018 | AGFUNDER.COM 10 Invest with leading agrifood tech VCs Co-invest with AgFunder and other leading venture capitalists in the next generation of agrifood technology startups This does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation

37、 of an offer to buy any securities. Sign Up Now for Early Access to AgFundersCo-Investment Fund III Accredited Investors only. Spots are limited. Investors admitted on a first-come basis. China AgriFood Funding Breakdown 2018 Upstream Ag Biotech, Farm Management SW, Farm Robotics & Equipment, Bioene

38、rgy & Biomaterials, Novel Farming, Agribusiness Marketplaces, Midstream, Innovative Food Downstream In-store Restaurant & Retail, Online Restaurants, eGrocery, Restaurant Marketplaces, Home & Cooking CHINA AGRIFOOD FUNDING REPORT: YEAR REVIEW 2018 | AGFUNDER.COM 12 YEAR IN REVIEW Key Insights for 20

39、18 1. AgriFood Investing Expands, Upstream Deals Grow Total investment in agrifood startups in China grew to $5.8 billion in 2018 up 222% from 2017s $1.8 billion. While a couple of outliers drove much of the increase namely the $1.5 billion pre-IPO Series F raise for food delivery giant Meituan-Dian

40、ping there was considerable growth in the number of deals, 60% year-over-year to 283 deals. Only Seed stage deals did not experience growth. Funding activity to startups operating upstream in the supply chain and closer to the farmer increased 129% year-over-year accounting for 22.6% of the number o

41、f deals in 2018. The dollar value of upstream deals also increased to represent 16.6% of total funding from just 5.9% in 2017. The upstream growth can be attributed to the rapid expansion of agribusiness marketplaces as food delivery companies start to fix inefficiencies in the supply chain and arch

42、aic cold chain systems by connecting farmers more directly to consumers and markets. Meicai, the online platform that connects farmers to small and medium-sized restaurants, raised $450 million in Series E funding and was the biggest contributor to the Agribusiness Marketplace category. Cold chain s

43、upplier Jiuye completed a $14 million Series C. 2. Maturing But Increasingly Fragmented Consumer Market Compared to 2017 when Chinas exploding middle class was driving almost all of consumer spending and downstream investment activities, 2018 became more nuanced. Top-tier cities continue to see grow

44、th in the premiumization of ingredients and food experiences. From craft beer to tea and coffee, $769.8 million was invested in Premium Branded Foods and Restaurants deals, a 172% increase from 2017. But at the same time, consumers in lower-tier cities are also seeing innovations catering to their b

45、udget and convenience requirements. Emerging innovators are targeting low-income consumers looking for bargain food options and services, and are finding success in lower-tier cities. The opportunities now getting investors and entrepreneurs attention include consumer products that meet the lifestyl

46、es of lower-income cohorts and areas where data can be leveraged and technology can be scaled. Six Walnuts, a plant beverage company that has built strong sales in lower-tier cities, completed one of the five IPOs last year. The IPO of Pinduoduo, a fast-growing group-buy application for discounted p

47、roducts, is another example targeted at lower income consumers. CHINA AGRIFOOD FUNDING REPORT: YEAR REVIEW 2018 | AGFUNDER.COM 13 YEAR IN REVIEW Key Insights for 2018 (Continued) 3. New Business Models Stem From Chinas Ubiquitous Digital Ecosystem Universal digital adoption has paved the way for new

48、 business models that otherwise would have been impossible. Food delivery and e-grocery were the first wave. In 2018 we saw growth in new models such as community eGrocers where consumers group together to purchase food for their neighborhoods. Central kitchens for online restaurants also came onto

49、the scene providing entrepreneurs with the infrastructure they need to launch new online restaurants, exemplifying the rapidly evolving digital landscape in China. The community-based concept builds on WeChatthe “everything” app in China for digital payment, messaging, and travel booking. A community leader runs a Wechat community formed of neighbors, selects products, and sells at a bulk discount to members who then pick them up directly from the leader. By reducing delivery costs and enhancing consumer trust, the new group-buy eGrocery mo