A report in Food Fix, the comprehensive industry website circulated by Helen Bottemiller Evich documented a decline in funding for food-related startups.  During the first quarter of 2021, there were 2,316 deals that raised $2.3 billion. For the corresponding quarter in 2022, 1,349 deals were concluded resulting in an investment of $1.3 billion. In contrast, during the first quarter of 2023 there were 1,030 transactions raising $1 billion.

Failures among food start-ups are now occurring and returns have not matched projections in the areas of plant-based meat substitutes and cell-cultured meat and seafood. This has restrained the number of recipients and the amounts invested. The current VC environment is characterized by tighter purse strings and greater scrutiny of business plans submitted by candidates to confirm technical and financial feasibility.