Startups have popped up in almost every industry as creative individuals seek out solutions to enhance our quality of life. Food is no different. Whether it’s making it easier and more cost effective to eat healthier, or creating a technology to better track the health of a farmer’s cattle herd, the food tech startups in Austin have found unique pockets to fill with their platforms.
Top Food Startups in Austin
- BeeHex
- Whole Foods
- Sysco LABS
- Bones and Co.
- Aspire Food Group
- Dinner Elf
- Snap Kitchen
Here are Austin-grown companies making improvements in our world of food, and in one case, your dog’s too.
Top Food Tech Companies in Austin
What they do: Whole Foods delivers fresh produce, foods, household products, and other essential items to consumers. Customers can browse the company’s website to explore local selections, receive recipe tips, and organize a delivery and pickup option for extra convenience.
How it’s changing food: To create a healthier world, Whole Foods maintains strict quality standards and develops programs that provide resources to communities in need. Not only can customers rely on products free of dangerous substances, but they also know their purchases at Whole Foods go toward higher wages, student scholarships, and other beneficial causes.
Founded: 1980
Founded: 2013
What they do: Aspire Food Group manufactures cricket-based protein products primarily for human food and pet food markets. In addition to its headquarters in Austin, the company built a 150,000-square-foot automated cricket farming facility in London, Ontario, designed to produce up to 12,000 metric tons of crickets per year at full capacity.
Founded: 2015
What they do: Beehex Automation develops 3D food printing and robotics technology that automates food decoration for commercial bakeries and food manufacturers. One of its founders developed NASA’s first food printer, and the company has since expanded to cookie and cake decoration systems to help reduce labor costs, increase food production and maintain food product consistency.
Founded: 2017
What they do: Sysco LABS is Sysco’s innovation office that develops e-commerce solutions where restaurants can order ingredients through the Sysco Shop app and portal. The platform enables restaurants to search the complete Sysco product catalog, place orders and track deliveries in real time while viewing account details, billing and order history.
Founded: 2013
What they do: The Bones & Co. handcrafts ketogenic raw dog food formulated with 95 percent meat, organs and bone and less than one percent carbohydrates to support metabolic health. Its frozen and freeze-dried meals are produced in micro-batches using responsibly-sourced ingredients with no preservatives, grains or fillers. The company’s products are available alongside supplements and treats through independently-owned pet stores across the United States.
Founded: 2010
What they do: Snap Kitchen offers heat-and-eat meals, salads, proteins, snacks and beverages through retail locations in Texas and Pennsylvania plus via delivery across multiple U.S. states. The company delivers to customers seeking convenient, high-nutrition options without diet-specific restrictions, and provides detailed nutrition information for every menu item.
Founded: 2014
What they do: Dinner Elf provides in-home personal chef services for busy families in Austin, Dallas, Denver and San Antonio. The service sends a chef to customers' homes to shop for groceries, prepare three family-size home-cooked dinners, and clean up for $149 plus the cost of groceries. Dinner Elf has become popular as a gift for new parents and people recovering from illness, with groups able to purchase multiple scheduled meals for recipients.
