Catalyzing Innovation in Food & Health
OUR MISSION
Create a healthier society by investing in much-needed innovations at the interface of nutrition, biology, and technology.
Why Invest Now?
THE OPPORTUNITY
Powerful trends are converging to create a transformative investment opportunity.
Metabolic Crisis
$1.1T
Annual U.S. healthcare costs stem from diet-related diseases. Only 6.8% of American adults have optimal metabolic health.
ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION (2021)
Market Demand
20M+
Americans taking GLP-1 drugs, creating massive new demand for foods that support metabolic health and personalized nutrition.
AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOC. (2024)
Breakthroughs
AI + Bio
Advances in AI and molecular food science now enable faster, lower-cost development of evidence-based health solutions.
Investment Thesis
Food & Health Angels invests in early-stage global companies that apply science, data, and technology to improve metabolic health, performance, and healthy longevity. We focus on commercially scalable innovations that deliver measurable human benefit and strong financial return.
Ingredient & Product Innovation
Next-gen bioactives, fermented ingredients, and AI-assisted formulation platforms turning molecular science into scalable foods.
Metabolic Health Solutions
Biosensors, data platforms, and "food-as-medicine" programs integrating nutrition into healthcare and daily decision-making.
Food & Health Angels was founded in Davis and shaped by the UC Davis and Sacramento food and health ecosystem. That foundation gives us access to world-class research, technical expertise, and a network of proven founders and advisors. While our roots are regional, our investment focus is not. We back food and health companies wherever they are building.
Rooted in Davis. Investing Globally.
FOR ENTREPRENEURS
Food & Health Angels provides swift capital that accelerates innovation. We invest in early-stage science and technology companies improving metabolic health and performance.
Seeking Catalytic Capital?
Who We Fund
Company Eligibility
Focus on health or food sectors defined by our thesis.
Formed as a C-corp (or B-corp) in the US.
Seeking seed investments ranging from $100K to $3M.
International companies must create a US entity.
Investment Criteria
Dedicated founding team (min. 2 Full Time).
Defined customer and market opportunity.
Demonstrated technical feasibility.
Scalable impact in food and health.
Ready to Apply?
Our monthly Screening Committee leads a rigorous due diligence process. Contact us to learn more about our intake process.
We are seeking passionate individuals to join us as charter members, with access to curated deal flow, opportunities to help build our network, and a role in driving the future of health.
Become a Founding Member
Membership Criteria
Accredited Investor
$1M+ net worth or $200k+ income
Annual Fee
$3,500 (Individual) / $20,000 (Venture Capital Firms)
Active Participation
Attend events, help screen, or source deals
Structure & Benefits
Access to a curated pipeline of high-quality startups.
Investment meet-ups & dinners with faculty/researchers/investors/start-ups.
Invest via SPVs (LLCs) per deal. Low minimums ($10K/deal).
Rigorous due diligence provided by the Screening Committee.
OUR PARTNERS
Angels
Our angels include entrepreneurs, CEOs, venture capitalists, and business leaders who have founded, funded and built world class companies in the food and health space. We either are, or have deep connections to, venture capital investors in this space as well as to the large companies that might represent exits for our start-ups. We advise, support, and connect the entrepreneurs who we invest in, assisting as needed with team building, strategic planning and financing.
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Director of Programs, Innovation Institute for Food and Health
Director of Programs at the Innovation Institute for Food and Health and a tech entrepreneur with a proven exit. Started and ran successful tech, biotech, and international business incubators.
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Faculty Director, Innovation Institute for Food and Health
Faculty Director of the Innovation Institute for Food and Health and serial founder of enzyme-based startups including Amplifye (recently raised $18M), Prism Bio, and PvP Biologics (acquired for $330M by Takeda Pharmaceuticals)
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Investment Advisor
David Hultman is a Partner and Advisor at Summit Trail Advisors, serving ultra-high-net-worth families. A UC Davis alumnus and Foundation leader, he connects university innovation with private capital in food and health.
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Managing Partner, Cornucopian Capital
Managing Partner of Cornucopian Capital, the family office and venture firm stemming from the sale of SlimFast Foods. Has deployed capital and built companies focused on personalized health and wellness, biosensing technologies, bioactives, and digital-health innovations.
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General Partner at Cornucopian Capital with over two decades of experience in global asset management and strategy at top-tier firms like TPG and Bridgewater Associates.
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Food innovation strategist who has developed thousands of products for global brands, founded DINE, and served as a judge on the TV show Supermarket Superstar.
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Managing Partner of Friedman Bioventure Fund, specializing in funding and guiding early-stage biotechnology companies and life science innovation.
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General counsel for various start-ups. 25 years experience across a range of complex legal and business issues that require business-oriented problem solving. Extensive work in M&A, general corporate governance, contract negotiation.
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Angel investor, West Sacramento City Commissioner, and UC Davis alumnus with deep roots in regional economic development and food policy.
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Founder and CEO of AGR Partners, managing over $1 billion in equity capital focused specifically on the food chain and agribusiness sectors.
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Investor and Advisor to early stage companies. Advises on product development, marketing, and organization growth strategies concurrent with capital expansion. 35+ years of experience in life science companies and an active angel investor over the past 10 years.
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Experienced private investor and business leader with a focus on identifying and scaling high-growth commercial opportunities.
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Dr. Marrone spent her 30+ year career focused on discovering, developing, and deploying biological products for pest management and plant health. She started and led three companies, and took another public.
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Elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and founder of the One Health Institute, globally recognized for her work at the interface of planetary and human health.
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MD and Co-founder of the beverage brand Everyday Weekend and an experienced entrepreneur with a focus on brand building and scaling consumer packaged goods.
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Retired investment executive and current active board director for both financial and non-financial firms.
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Founder, chef, nutritionist, and sustainable food systems leader focused on advancing regenerative, circular economy, and nutrition-forward innovation.
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Dean of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management and co-founder of Angi (Angie’s List), bringing deep expertise in brand strategy and consumer behavior to the network.
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Former Chief Science Officer at General Mills, Founder of the Seeding The Future Foundation and its annual $1 Million Global Food System Challenge, Board Member for several US and European entities, bringing decades of executive leadership in innovation, science, and strategy.
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CEO of Oobli (sweet proteins) and founder of giggle. 25 years of experience in consumer goods, retail, and tech, focusing on brand growth and innovation.
Team
Food and health angels is led by a professional team ensuring timely response to entrepreneurs and providing our angel members with rigorously screened, high quality start-ups to invest in.
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Director of Programs, Innovation Institute for Food and Health
At UC Davis, Kim works to bring promising research to market for human impact. Kim also serves as Chair of Research on the board of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Kim is also on the deal f low vetting team for Astia Ventures and is a Chief Impact Officer at Start-Up Health. Kim has created several classes at UC Berkeley and served on the board of the Haas School of Business. She helped start and run the BioCube incubator in San Jose and Astia (formerly the Women’s Technology Cluster) in San Francisco, mentoring and supporting hundreds of start-up companies to successful growth and exit. She founded, ran, and sold her own software company AudioBasket after raising $26,000,000, and building and managing a team of 60 people. As a leading female CEO, Kim has been featured in five books and has appeared on the cover of US News & World Report. She has a BS in Marketing and Economics from Wharton, a BA in Psychology from U. Penn, and an MBA from UC Berkeley.
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Director of Operations, Food & Health Angels
Associate Business Development Project Manager at the Greater Sacramento Economic Council. Leads agriculture and food technology business development initiatives across the region. Supported companies to create over 170 jobs and generate millions in economic impact.
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Faculty Director, Innovation Institute for Food and Health
Justin’s scientific focus is on the design and discovery of enzymes of interest to modern society. He has engineered enzymes for a wide range of applications, including therapeutics, natural products, and nutrient bioavailability. Justin is a co-inventor on more than 100 global patents, published over 50 scholarly articles, co-founded eleven companies, as well as five major consortiums. Many of Justin’s companies have had great success. For example, PvP Biologics was acquired by Takeda Pharmaceuticals for $300,000,000, and Digestiva recently raised $18,000,000 and is on track to change the world by enhancing protein digestibility. Dr. Siegel was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2023. Justin studied chemistry at UC Davis before obtaining his PhD at University of Washington, where he worked in the protein design lab of Nobel Prize winner, David Baker.
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Entrepreneur & Investor
Dr. Brock Siegel brings a wealth of experience at the intersection of life sciences, innovation, and strategic investment to FHA. He was chair of Life Angels, the #1 biotech angel investment group in the world, with many successful exits. With a PhD in BioOrganic Chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where his research notably included work on enzymes that metabolize food, Brock has a foundational understanding of the science driving the food for health sector. His career is distinguished by significant leadership and entrepreneurial achievements. Brock was the COO of Solexa, which was later acquired by Illumina, a pivotal player in genomic sequencing. He is also a Co-Founder of Swan Genomics, showcasing his commitment to building and guiding early-stage life science ventures and an early investor in “ZeroIn” an enzyme based sugar alternative. Brock's expertise extends deeply into investment and advisory roles. He has served as a Managing Partner at BioInfleXion Point Partners, specializing in early-stage life-science investments. His board memberships have included companies like Akadeum Life Sciences and Blueprint Genetics, highlighting his ability to identify and nurture promising companies in the biotechnology and healthcare sectors.
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Managing Partner, Cornucopian Capital
Aryeh Ganz is the Founder and Managing Partner of Cornucopian Capital and co-founder (and Managing Partner) of Barnstorm Foundry—a venture studio focused on early-stage food, health and technology companies defining the “Medicine 3.0” era. He began his career as principal of the family office stemming from the sale of Slim Fast Foods and has since deployed capital and built platforms focused on personalized health and wellness, biosensing technologies, bioactives, and digital-health innovations. In his role with the angel network, Aryeh contributes his deep domain insight in metabolic health, his track record in investing, founding and scaling mission-driven companies, and his unique ability to bridge academic research with commercial venture outcomes. He is especially focused on backing teams and technologies that move the needle on preventive health and food innovation.
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Chief Innovation Officer, UC Davis
After a BSC and a PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, George enjoyed a 15-year international sales, marketing, and management career in industry. He then held many leadership roles in economic development with the UK Government and universities before moving to the University of Edinburgh in 2016 as CEO of Edinburgh Innovations Ltd., the University’s commercialization company whose staff of 150 lead on business development, consultancy, venture capital, spin-outs, start-ups and student enterprise. In April 2024 George became the inaugural Chief Innovation and Economic Development Officer at UC Davis, which includes leadership of the 1 million square foot Aggie Square center housing top researchers and start-up companies in Sacramento.
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Principal, Impact Venture Capital
Aaron teaches and mentors start-ups as well as providing them with access to capital and customers, as the Director of the Student Start-Up Center at UC Davis. In his role, he sees and has access to many promising start-ups. As Principal at Impact Venture Capital, Aaron actively invests in tenacious founders developing solutions to major global challenges. His experience includes guiding startups, teaching entrepreneurship at UC Davis, and a background that spans economics, political science, international affairs with the US State Department, and direct community work with Habitat for Humanity. Aaron's current work as an investor, evidenced by board seats in various tech companies, and his passion for fostering ideas, uniquely positions him to identify and assist impactful ventures within the food for health sector. Aaron has an MBA from Harvard and a BA in Economics from BYU.
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Investment Advisor
David Hultman is a Senior Client Executive and Relationship Manager with deep expertise in advising ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families, and foundation clients on investment strategy, capital allocation, and philanthropic impact. A proud alumnus of University of California, Davis (B.S., Agriculture & Managerial Economics), he has maintained strong ties to the UCD community—serving as Chair of the Audit Committee of the UC Davis Foundation and as a key connector between university innovation and private-capital channels. As a founding member of the angel-investment network, David leverages his investment advisory background, institutional-level fiduciary experience, and passion for translating academic research into commercial outcomes in the food & health sector. He brings strategic clarity, governance rigor, and a committed mission-orientation toward driving innovation in metabolic health and disease prevention.
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Attorney and Principal, Dellenbach Venture Counsel Ltd.
Rob is a Silicon Valley lawyer who has represented high-growth ventures and their investors since 1989, advising on venture capital and private equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic intellectual property transactions in Silicon Valley and worldwide. Rob was a partner at Fenwick & West LLP and Reed Smith LLP and founded Dellenbach Venture Counsel Ltd. in 2013 to serve startup and growth-stage ventures, entrepreneurs, and their investors. He is a founder and director of NorCal Venture Forum. Rob speaks frequently on business planning, venture finance, intellectual property, and acquisition strategies, including at Stanford Law School, UC Berkeley Haas, UC Davis, and e2i.academy. Rob is licensed to practice law in California and is a member of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of California. He received his J.D. from Stanford Law School and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. (Honors) from the University of Utah.
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John Schwab is an AI expert designing tools for Food and Health Angels due diligence.
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Innovation Institute for Food and Health Talent coordinator serving as the network's liaison to university talent, bringing a team of 15 PhDs and PostDocs to support FH Angel due diligence.
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IP and technology transactions attorney at Dellenbach Venture Counsel, specializing in protecting and commercializing deep-tech and life science innovations. Punita works on the FH Angels due diligence team, helping assess start-up intellectual property.