Upstream Ag Professional - September 24th 2023
Essential research and analysis for agribusiness leaders
Welcome to the 10th Edition of Upstream Ag Professional!
The Instacart for Agriculture and What AgTech Can Learn from the Instacart IPO
Follow up on Indigo Ag: CEO Comments and Brazil
Here’s What’s Driving Growth in the Micronutrients Market
SwarmFarm Robotics Launches “Dock and Refill” Technology
Food Sector Making “More Promises Than Progress” on Regenerative Agriculture: The Need for Unbundling the Term.
The Story of The Climate Corporation
Sollio Agriculture Inaugurates New Fertilizer Coating Plant
Strategy and Integrative Thinking
Thank you to all Upstream Ag Professional members for your continued support! Please reach out to shane@upstream.ag if you have any questions or comments.
1. The Instacart of Agriculture - Upstream Ag Professional
Key Takeaways:
A recent presentation from GROWERS CEO Steve Valencsin comparing their APP business to Instacart had me dig into the similarities and differences between the businesses and what that ultimately means for GROWERS prospects.
An overview of the Instacart business and why it is relevant to agriculture.
Five reasons for challenges of Instacart-like businesses in agriculture, including Customer Acquisition and Retention, Search Functionality and Product Recall, and Economic Viability
In the mainstream finance world, there has been sentiment that the IPO window is open.
This has led to many traditional technology companies either releasing an S-1 or being rumored to release one.
One of these players is InstaCart.
Instacart is a delivery company that operates a grocery delivery and pick-up service in the United States and Canada. The company offers its services via a website and mobile app, allowing customers to order groceries from participating retailers, with the shopping being done by a personal shopper.
Recently, I watched a presentation from Steve Valencsin, CEO of GROWERS, talk about the similarities between their GROWERS App business and Instacart.
He’s right, there are similarities. If the Instacart S-1 is any indication, this also points to the challenged success of GROWERS (an ICL-owned entity) efforts that compound on the agricultural nuance that already challenges any marketplace-esque business.
For the complete Upstream Ag Professional member-only Instacart of Agriculture article highlighting what we can learn from Instacart about aggregator ag marketplaces in agriculture and what that means for the prospects of GROWERS, check out the link above.
2. Follow up on Indigo Ag: CEO Comments and Brazil - AgFeed
Key Takeaways:
Indigo has large aspirations for Brazil with its biological business.
Indigo has plans to breakeven by Q4 2024.
There are plans to expand globally with the carbon business.
Please note this article out of Brazil was translated from Portuguese to English, so some vocabulary might not be exactly as quoted.
There has been a lot of buzz and talk about Indigo over the last few weeks, stemming from an Israeli article on the valuation drop.
I highlighted the challenges with Indigo’s business in Indigo Ag: Analyzing What Went into their $3.5 billion Valuation and What Went Wrong.
Last week, Indigo officially announced their $250 million raise and shared some numbers that gave insight into their carbon revenue and Market+ footprint, which I broke down into revenue and acres for them.
Now, Indigo CEO Ron Hovsepian was recently interviewed in an AgFeed article out of Brazil, where he shared a few interesting comments that included the following:
New Raise Will Enable the “Conditions” to Reach Breakeven by 2024
There will be a focus on biologicals in Brazil, with a manufacturing expansion being looked into there.
“Indigo has 14 biological ingredients, while most start-ups have 1 or 2.”
Indigo Carbon will expand globally.
Below I dive into each of these.