Week 10.2025
Food and climate highlights on my radar!
[one topic] Unilever
With so much happening, let’s pause on Unilever for a second.
Two weeks ago, the company announced that CEO Hein Schumacher is stepping down—after less than two years in the role. His mandate? To scale back Unilever’s focus on purpose and sustainability, a shift from Paul Polman’s era, where Unilever saw a 290% return over 10 years, outperforming competitors and the broader market. Yet, the narrative had taken hold that Unilever had leaned too far into purpose, and Schumacher was brought in to "course-correct."
Now, Fernando Fernandez steps in with a strategy that prioritizes "power brands," cuts underperforming food lines, and leans on social media influencers to rebuild consumer trust—a far cry from Polman’s approach. Knorr and Hellmann’s remain Unilever’s crown jewels, and the US and India are critical battlegrounds.
The real question for me here: what happens when purpose and financial value come into conflict? Polman proved they could be beautifully aligned, but once a company steps away from that balance, it’s painfully hard to rebuild. Unilever is in the middle of that struggle right now, and I personally doubt social media influencers will get us closer to that.
[one raise] Aleph Farms’ New Valuation
Aleph Farms is cutting its valuation by 73% in an ongoing funding round. The company is looking to raise $25M but is likely to close at $10M, bringing its valuation down to $80–100M—a steep fall from its $300M valuation in 2021. (Green Queen). Unfortunately, the cultivated meat industry is hitting a bit of a wall: investors are losing patience, regulatory approvals are slow, and the cost curve isn’t budging fast enough. Personally, I’m not too worried—this is just the market adjusting. Not every company will survive, but some will, and that’s what matters in the bigger picture.
[one product] Mission Barns’ Cultivated Pork Hits Bay Area Menus
On another note (!!) Mission Barns is bringing lab-grown pork to Bay Area diners. The company, which grows real animal fat from cells and blends it with plant-based protein, has received FDA approval to serve its cultivated pork meatballs and bacon at Fiorella, an upscale Italian restaurant. Sprouts Farmers Market is also set to carry the products later this year. (SF Chronicle)
In a category that has desperately been looking for a win, this is what we everyone needed.