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Category: Alt Protein

  • Future Food Quick Bites: Vegan Indian, EU Elections & Squeezy Mayo

    heura plant based butchery
    6 Mins Read

    In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers a new vegan restaurant in India, blended meat for kids, and Oatly’s climate election pledge.

    New products and launches

    Indian e-marketplace Vegan Dukan has opened Rollin’ Plantz, a plant-based restaurant in Bengaluru, which features Indian dishes and international favourites with a mix of whole foods and meat analogues.

    Singapore’s PetCubes has tapped Indonesian startup Green Rebel Foods‘ plant-based meat to launch a plant-based dog food SKU called Vegan Formula, which is high in protein and low in carbs.

    South Korean plant-based meat startup Unlimeat showcased its new line of Korean fried chicken at the National Restaurant Association in Chicago (May 21-27), featuring original, extra spicy, and Cheongyang Mayo flavours.

    The event also saw Tofurky unveil vegan hot dogs (a first for the brand) and new deli slices, which now contain 13g of protein per serving.

    The blended meat wave continues – and this time for kids. Colorado startup Teton Waters Ranch has rolled out its Taste Buds range, which combines vegetables with beef. The Meatball Buddies, Burger Buddies, Mini Corn Dogs, and Top Dog hot dogs are available at Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, Central Market, and New Seasons Market.

    In a similar vein, vegan chicken maker Rebellyous Foods will soon offer its products in public schools in Chicago, as part of its larger strategy to up plant protein presence in school lunches.

    Dairy giant Bel Group has introduced the vegan versions of its The Laughing Cow snacking cheese to the Canadian market, which will be available at major retailers like Metro, Loblaws, and Real Canadian Superstore.

    malk creamers
    Courtesy: Malk

    US alt-milk maker Malk Organics has added three creamers to its lineup, priced at $7.99 per 16oz bottle. The lightly sweetened SKU has an oat base, while the vanilla and caramel flavours are almond-based. They’ll be available at Sprouts and select stores of Whole Foods, Erewhon, Fresh Thyme and other retailers from mid-June.

    Speaking of milk, UK brand Oato is making its move onto the shelves of Waitrose, following a listing with northwest supermarket Booths for its fresh oat milk in February.

    Danish player Naturli’, meanwhile, has secured a listing with Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket, for its vegan block and spreadable butters.

    Months after acquiring La Fauxmagerie, UK plant-based pizzeria Purezza has opened the vegan cheesemonger in its Camden store, with over 40 cheeses and the cult-favourite cheese cellar in the basement.

    vegan ready meals
    Courtesy: Shicken

    Also in the UK, Shicken has updated its entire range of meat analogues from a soy and wheat protein base to an allergen-free pea recipe, with its existing products set to be phased out by the end of the month. The new iteration of its tikka kebabs is already out at Costco.

    As it aims to make half its menu meatless by next year, Wagamama has introduced four dishes with Australian startup Fable Food‘s pulled shiitake mushrooms – this entails gyoza, otsumami, soba noodles and a koyo bowl.

    In its efforts to address food waste, Unilever has redesigned its squeeze bottle for the Hellmann’s vegan mayo with an edible plant-based coating that prevents the spread from sticking to the sides and minimises the amount left over after use. The new packaging will be debuted in the UK and Ireland this year.

    In France, plant-based meat leader Heura is running a pop-up vegan butchery at E-Leclerc hypermarkets. It started at Saint-Brice-Courcelles (May 21-25), is now at the Levallois-Perret location (May 28 to June 1), and will end in the neighbouring Clichy store (June 3-8).

    happyvore
    Courtesy: HappyVore/Green Queen

    Fellow French startup HappyVore has introduced a first-of-its-kind plant-based meat range called Croq’Coulis. Inspired by chocolate fondants and mochi, these combine an outer crunchy layer of pea protein and vegetables with saucy fillings (aubergine-tomato, and carrot-sweet potato-coconut curry).

    And Swedish furniture giant IKEA has brought its vegan hot dogs to Australia. Made from rice protein, carrots, onions and apples, they cost A$2.

    Finance, research and company updates

    Australian plant-based meat maker Proform Foods, which retails under the Meet brand, has fallen into administration, appointing KPMG to manage the company. It continues to trade for now.

    Dutch cultivated meat producer Meatable, which recently hosted a public tasting of its pork in the Netherlands ahead of its impending regulatory approval in Singapore, has appointed Jeff Tripician as CEO, with co-founder Krijn de Nood continuing in his board position. The move comes as part of the company’s plans to expand in the US following its Singapore launch.

    meatable singapore
    Courtesy: Meatable

    Danish vegan cheese startup Færm has received follow-on funding through a €1.3M convertible loan from research firm BioInnovation Institute‘s Venture House programme.

    Canada’s alternative protein economic cluster Protein Industries Canada has invested C$2.6M in a project to expand the lupin protein market alongside Lupin Platform, PURIS Holdings and YOSO Canada, who will provide the rest of the funding in the C$6.2M initiative.

    Meat analogues will be the largest driver of the global incremental volume of protein ingredients, which are set to reach 860 kilotonnes by 2027, according to Swiss research company Giract.

    Analysis by Japanese news outlet Nikkei has revealed that the country has the second-highest value of alternative protein patents, behind only the US. It’s followed by Switzerland and China.

    crackd egg
    Courtesy: Crackd

    British plant-based liquid egg maker Crackd has launched a ‘love it or your money back’ guarantee to encourage people to try its product. The startup has sold the equivalent of three million eggs since its 2020 launch.

    Fellow British company Tate & Lyle has handed over its remaining 49.7% share in US plant-based producer Primient to KPS Capital Ventures, which will own 100% of the company once the transaction is completed (expected by the end of July).

    Policy and manufacturing updates

    Meat giant Maple Leaf Foods, which merged its animal and plant protein businesses in February, has announced the decision to close a production facility in Brantford, Canada to consolidate manufacturing in its existing network.

    Food giant GEA has broken ground on a new technology centre for plant-based, microbial and cultivated proteins. Scheduled to open next year, it aims to help food manufacturers meet the demand for alternative proteins, while creating future-resilient jobs and local economic opportunities.

    In India, the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology has signed a deal with Kerala’s Alter Wave Eco Innovations to tap its vegan leather manufacturing technology, using sources like pineapple leaves, banana stems, and rice straws.

    eu elections
    Courtesy: Oatly

    Finally, ahead of the EU elections from June 6-9, Oatly and Patagonia have joined forces to build voter engagement, imploring business leaders to encourage employees to vote. They’re giving staff time off to vote, providing them with informative resources, and giving parliamentarians a manifesto for climate-friendly policies.

    Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: Vegan Indian, EU Elections & Squeezy Mayo appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Ahead of EU Elections, Here’s How Parties View Plant-Based Policy Issues

    european vegetarian union
    5 Mins Read

    A survey of 60 Europarties and national parties outlines the political stance on plant-based policies ahead of the EU elections in June.

    Next month, people in the EU will take to the ballot in the bloc’s latest elections, at a time when it is cracking down on deforestation and greenwashing, but has questions over its caged farming, green fertiliser and alternative protein policies.

    To make things a little clearer, the European Vegetarian Union (EVU) polled 60 parties from the EU and its member states, asking them about the common agriculture policy (CAP), the promotion and development of plant-based analogues, VATs and financial incentives, and their views on environment and health.

    The most universally supported policy recommendation was the implementation of binding targets to improve the climate impact of the CAP, with nearly 79% of parties in favour. The implementation of a ‘polluter pays’ principle to agriculture (such as a carbon tax) was also popular, with 69% of parties indicating their support. Introducing binding targets to enhance health within the CAP was the third-most policy, with 65% in favour.

    But it seems the most polarising policy for EU lawmakers is the VAT on plant-based proteins. While 30% say they would support a lower tax for these products than their animal-derived counterparts, 26% are against this, while 38% have no position on the issue.

    The mandatory inclusion of plant-based meals in public canteens also divided opinion, with 42% for and 26% against the measure. Meanwhile, 23% of parties were against setting binding targets to increase plant protein consumption – though 46% supported this idea.

    EU parties show positive views on contentious issues

    eu plant based policy
    Courtesy: European Vegetarian Union

    The disproportionate amount of subsidies afforded to animal proteins has been a major source of criticism for the EU. Between 2014 and 2020, the livestock agriculture sector received 1,200 times more public funding in the region than alternative proteins, with 50% of cattle farmers’ income coming directly from subsidies.

    In fact, 82% of farmer subsidies under the CAP go towards animal agriculture – a fact that parties seem to recognise, with 54% expressing support for shifting subsidies away from the livestock sector towards whole foods and plant-based products. Such a transition has been encouraged by the World Bank on a global level, with multi-pronged benefits for food security and the planet.

    Meanwhile, 47.5% of parties say they recognise that plant-based diets are an essential tool to achieve climate targets. It chimes with research published earlier this month that supportive policies for alternative proteins in Europe could see the region achieve levels of self-sufficiency last seen 30 years ago, with major cost reductions for carbon removal and a significant expansion of nature restoration projects enabling the EU to surpass its Farm to Fork targets.

    Another thorny issue in the EU relates to the labelling of plant-based meat and dairy – while the bloc voted to keep allowing companies to use meat-related terms on the former, those producing milk and dairy alternatives were prohibited from using words like ‘milk’, ‘yoghurt’ or ‘cheese’ in 2020. But when the EVU asked if parties believe vegan products should be able to use labelling terms like ‘plant-based sausage’ or ‘soy milk’, nearly half (49%) said yes.

    Meanwhile, tax disparities on meat and dairy analogues are another hotly debated issue. But while there are differing opinions on whether the VAT on these products should be lower than conventional animal proteins, there’s much clearer support for an equal levy, with 56% of parties backing a levelling of the playing field.

    EU politicians are divided over other alternative proteins like cultivated meat or fermentation-derived proteins – while 39% are in favour, the same number have no position on these foods, and 21% are against them.

    Which EU parties are the most supportive of plant-based food?

    eu elections
    Courtesy: European Vegetarian Union

    The policy recommendations featured in the questionnaire were based on the EVU’s Plant-Based Manifesto, which sets out the climate actions needed by EU officials, which currently fall short. Released ahead of the elections, the manifesto asks for targets to increase the share of plant protein consumption by 60% by the end of the decade, 70% by 2040, and 80% by mid-century.

    Elected officials in the EU need to base the CAP on the One Health approach, lower VAT rates for plant-based alternatives, develop carbon pricing for agriculture and prioritise the scale-up of vegan products. They’re also asked to adopt a Sustainable Food Systems Framework, and ensure a just transition that supports farmers’ shift towards plant-based production.

    The national parties surveyed by the EVU mostly support its recommendations, though the percentage of ‘no position’ answers is significant (crossing 30% in 10 out of the total 16 questions), demonstrating the need for further internal discussions about these issues.

    France’s Parti Animaliste and Partido Equitable, and Spain’s Partido Animalista con el Medio Ambiente all displayed 100% alignment with the policies at hand. Zeleni in Czechia and the Danish Red-Green Alliance, agree with 15 of the 16 recommendations, not stating a position in just one recommendation.

    In terms of the Europarties, the prevalence of ‘no position’ was higher, but overall rejection was still low –it must be noted that while EVU approached 11 of these parties, the European Democratic Party, European People’s Party, European Conservatives and Reformists Party, and the Identity and Democracy Party did not respond.

    Of the remaining seven, the highest alignment was found in Volt’s answers, which agreed with all 16 policy recommendations. This was followed by the European Green Party (13 affirmative answers, and three with no position). On the other end of the spectrum was the European Christian Political Movement, which rejected seven policies and had no position on eight others; and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, which agreed with two, but had no position on the rest.

    June 6-9 are pivotal dates for the future of the EU, with its citizens deciding who will represent them in the European Parliament for the next five years. In a climate election year, when half the world is voting, supportive policies for the climate will go a long way.

    When asked if they would support the development of an EU-wide Plant-Based Action Plan or fund to increase R&D, production and consumption of alternative proteins – the way Denmark has done with its national plan – 55.7% of the parties said yes. But whether all this is purely words or actually translates into policy, we’ll find out soon enough.

    The post Ahead of EU Elections, Here’s How Parties View Plant-Based Policy Issues appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Molecular Farming Startup NewMoo Debuts Liquid Casein from Soybeans for Animal-Free Cheese

    newmoo cheese
    5 Mins Read

    Israeli startup NewMoo is using soybean plants to produce casein proteins in liquid form for animal-free cheese applications, with plans to partner with the dairy sector.

    As the molecular farming space continues to blossom, NewMoo has launched from stealth mode to debut casein proteins grown in soybean plants, which are turned into liquid form for animal-free cheese production.

    Casein proteins (which make up 80% of the protein content in milk) are considered the “holy grail” of milk structure, according to NewMoo. Its emulsification properties keep water and fats from separating in cheeses, and give them the sought-after melty and stretchy texture.

    While startups like New Culture, Change Foods, Fermify, Zero Cow Factory, and Standing Ovation are all producing casein via precision fermentation, and Alpine Bio and Finally Foods are doing so via molecular farming, what sets NewMoo apart is its final product, which is a liquid casein base, instead of a protein powder.

    “This allows us to be more cost-effective, as we avoid the complex and expensive processes of separation and purification of caseins,” co-founder and CEO Daphna Miller tells Green Queen. “It helps us minimise time and capital expenditure for new food development for dairy brands – by ensuring our product seamlessly integrates into their existing factories and processes.”

    Miller and her team have extensive experience in the dairy industry. “It was important for us to develop a strategy and product that is not only sustainable and great for the planet but also aligns with industry standards in terms of costs, scalability, and compatibility with existing infrastructure, so it can be a great choice for the dairy brands,” she says.

    How NewMoo turns soybeans into liquid casein

    molecular farming
    Courtesy: NewMoo

    Founded in 2021, NewMoo’s technology is built on research and IP from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, which developed both casein and whey proteins in one plant. After analysing the animal-free dairy market, the startup decided to focus on the former for cheese applications, starting with mozzarella.

    “Our technology is versatile and can produce any protein in almost any selected plant, it all depends on our strategy and the needs of the industry,” says Miller.

    “We researched many plant options, but came to the understanding that for our targeted end result, soy plants are the best host to start with,” she adds. “There are many reasons for this: the vast knowledge around soy, research and regulation as a GM crop, its price, the yield, the quantity of protein, and even the know-how of the soy milk industry.”

    Milk contains four types of casein proteins, which fold into a spherical structure known as a micelle – they are suspended in a highly hydrated solution and bound together with minerals like calcium. NewMoo’s tech can produce two or more bovine proteins in a single plant.

    “This approach incorporates novel cloning tools that allow us to introduce multiple proteins – specifically caseins – and their regulatory mechanisms into a single plant, targeting expression in the plant’s seeds,” explains Miller. But since it is targeting the dairy market with functional animal-free casein proteins, it is now developing all four caseins found in conventional cheese.

    NewMoo genetically engineers soybean seeds to express casein proteins, which are then sown in outdoor fields. After harvesting, they undergo a process that yields a hormone-free liquid casein base. “We developed a unique process that is based on well-known food technologies, processes, and machinery in the soy industry, to produce our liquid caseins,” says Miller.

    “Through this method and process, we take our NewMoo soy seeds, water, carbohydrates and special plant fats, and produce our NewMoo liquid base caseins that can seamlessly be used in the current cheese factories and manufacturing processes.”

    Creating a win-win-win solution

    animal free casein
    Courtesy: NewMoo

    A market tipped to reach $3.5B by 2029, molecular farming is advantageous as it relies on plants instead of expensive bioreactors – as is the case with cultivated or precision-fermented proteins – which makes it a more easily scalable and cost-effective process.

    “Precision fermentation is a well-known technology and its successful practice is mainly in pharmaceutical and cosmetics. While it’s super useful for certain types of products, it is also an expensive technology, not only because of the capex for building factories, but also because of the potential yield of proteins in the production,” says Miller.

    “In plant molecular farming, you don’t need factories – agriculture and fields are the production lines, and the potential yield is high enough to make this technology competitive and cost-effective even to the dairy industry, which requires a large amount of functional proteins,” she adds. The cost advantage also comes into play with the liquid format of the casein, which eschews the need for “the complex and expensive process of separation and purification”.

    NewMoo has previously raised $7M in seed funding to build its team, R&D tech, and downstream process for the liquid casein. It will initiate a new investment round next year to support the R&D process for genetics and food development, and grow its first seeds with all the required caseins inside them for cheese applications. As it progresses its path to market, it now also aims to finalise its genetic research to prove the potential of molecular farming and its unique approach for animal-free products.

    One major hurdle will be the regulatory landscape. “Most of the soy grown globally is genetically modified, so there is a lot of learning, know-how and regulation to learn from and follow,” says Miller. “The main challenge is how to control our production lines (our fields) and our supply chain, and make sure we are keeping the identity preservation of our crops, due to the fact that the seeds contain milk allergens.”

    It’s an important point – while this liquid casein is lactose-free, it’s bioidentical to bovine casein, making it unsuitable for people with dairy allergies. But it will appeal to the 73% of consumers who are unhappy with the texture of vegan cheese and want creamy products that taste and melt better.

    Miller reveals that as Newmoo is developing technologies for use throughout the production line, it has been in discussions with dairy manufacturers to learn and collaborate. “This has positioned us very close to large dairy organisations,” she says. “We intend to finalise our development and trials, and to provide the animal-free cheese industry with our NewMoo casein liquid base in a few years. As a startup, we have the ability to move fast, and that’s what we’re doing.”

    She adds: “At the end of the day, we want to create a win-win-win situation. Farmers don’t need to change a thing in the way they grow soy plants, dairy brands don’t need to change their production lines, and consumers can enjoy tasty non-animal dairy cheese at competitive pricing.”

    The post Molecular Farming Startup NewMoo Debuts Liquid Casein from Soybeans for Animal-Free Cheese appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Incubate & Commercialise: Two New Alternative Protein Centres Signal Industry’s Potential in India

    india smart protein centre
    5 Mins Read

    In the last week, two new centres dedicated to smart proteins have opened in Bengaluru, India, aimed at incubating alternative protein startups and helping them manufacture and commercialise their products.

    India has the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, but it’s also the third-most polluting country in the world. As its record population continues to grow, so do its protein needs – however, food accounts for a third of its GHG emissions, and the need for alternative proteins has never been more apparent.

    In fact, research suggests that by 2060, 85% of India’s protein production must come from novel and traditional plant-based sources, if the country is to decarbonise. Its current pledge of net zero by 2070 is wildly off-target, with emissions expected to double instead by 2040.

    To help the nation on its protein transition path and meet its climate ambitions, a wave of startups and facilities are innovating with alternative proteins, which represent a burgeoning industry in India. But these startups need help, as a report released last week by think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI) India and Bengaluru’s IKP Knowledge Park suggested.

    These players need specialised equipment and infrastructure, mentorship to scale up from lab production to commercial levels, and a heavier capital flow to realise their technologies. And now, two new smart protein centres have opened specifically to support these startups.

    Incubation hub combines modernised equipment and mentorship

    india alternative proteins
    Courtesy: IKP Knowledge Park

    During the unveiling of the joint report, GFI India and IKP announced the establishment of the Centre for Smart Protein and Sustainable Material Innovation in Bengaluru today. Located in the city’s southeastern tech neighbourhood, the facility was born out of an MoU signed by the two organisations last year, aiming to support startups with incubation and product development.

    The hub will provide plant-based, cultivated and fermentation companies with access to state-of-the-art equipment and expert mentorship to turn early-stage ideas into innovative protein products. The centre is equipped with biosafety cabinets, shaker incubators, freezers, homogenisers, and ISO7 ‘cleanrooms’ (utilised in the biotech sector for CPG manufacturing). It can support up to 20 startups, who will have round-the-clock access to the amenities.

    The GFI India-IKP report explained that an incubation ecosystem was imperative for Indian alternative protein startups across the value chain – as of 2022, at least 113 companies were working on novel foods in the country, in a market that was worth $42M.

    “This sunrise sector in India holds immense promise, and with the right support, it has the potential to emerge as a global leader,” said Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, chairperson and CEO of IKP Knowledge Park. “India’s exceptional scientific talent and manufacturing prowess give a headstart in building a transformative industry with the potential to ensure food security for all.”

    IKP is offering mentorship programmes across technical, IP, regulatory, marketing and business strategy domains, which will provide comprehensive support to incubated startups. The knowledge park is additionally raising funds to expand the centre’s capabilities, and has signed multiple MoUs to advance the project, including one with the Bühler Group.

    “We are grateful to IKP for recognising the sector’s potential and creating a robust platform to plug gaps in infrastructure, specialised guidance, and commercialisation,” said Sneha Singh, acting managing director of GFI India.” Together with the right partners, GFI India is committed to building pioneering smart protein technologies that can have far-reaching impacts on India’s agriculture, climate change adaptation, nutrition security, and economic growth.”

    R&D hub aims to help startups launch to market

    alternative protein innovation centre
    Courtesy: APIC

    Just a day earlier, GFI India signed an MoU to help launch the Alternative Proteins Innovation Center (APIC), an integrated facility for ingredient and product development situated on the outskirts of Bengaluru. APIC provides R&D services to help smart protein startups scale up, commercialise and even manufacture end products.

    This centre encompasses multiple stages of product development, from lab scale all the way up to pilot production – currently, it can support the commercialisation of plant-based products like dairy analogues. Milk is by far the largest segment of India’s alternative protein market, with nearly two-thirds (66%) of startups working on such products. Research by GFI India suggests that about half of the country’s residents are aware of plant-based milk, of which 23% have tried it.

    The partnership between APIC and GFI India will involve joint research projects, knowledge sharing, capacity-building programmes like workshops and information dissemination events, and training programmes to upskill and educate stakeholders.

    “We firmly believe that this synergy will not only accelerate scientific knowledge building and sharing but also pave the way for innovative solutions that can be readily commercialised, benefiting entrepreneurs, startups, and ultimately, consumers,” said Singh.

    Pranesh Sridharan, chief innovation officer of APIC added: “We have an impressive team of experts with the knowhow of plant protein extraction, isolation, application development in plant-based, fermented, and cultivated proteins, and a combined industry experience of over 125 years. We look forward to curating and developing sector-building programmes that can address current gaps in infrastructure access and knowledge transfer in smart protein processing and R&D.”

    APIC also intends to sign a deal with climate VC AltX Ventures to support startups in this space – Indian alternative protein startups saw a modest investment of $17M between 2021-22, a small share of the $562M total that was injected into APAC companies in 2022. But an investor survey by GFI India last year indicated that 99% of respondents remain optimistic about the sector’s potential.

    Government bodies have invested in this space too, with multiple research grants for cultivated meat from the Ministry of Science and Technology, and a joint project between the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute and New Delhi-based startup Neat Meatt to develop cultivated seafood. Meanwhile, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is reportedly drafting a regulatory framework for the commercial approval of cultivated meat.

    The post Incubate & Commercialise: Two New Alternative Protein Centres Signal Industry’s Potential in India appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • UK to Evaluate Novel Foods Based on Track Record of Regulatory Approval in Other Countries

    lab grown meat approved
    5 Mins Read

    The UK’s Food Standards Agency is set to announce plans to introduce a “sliding scale” mechanism for the regulatory approval of novel foods, which will take into account products’ track record internationally.

    As regulation around cultivated meat progresses rapidly internationally, the UK doesn’t want to be left out. For a long time, it retained the pre-Brexit novel food regulations of the EU, but recent efforts have sought to speed up and simplify the process.

    In its latest move, it seems the Food Standards Agency – the country’s food safety regulator – is looking towards a system of international cooperation for novel foods like cultivated meat, precision-fermented foods, insect protein, and CBD products, according to the Grocer.

    Set to be announced next month, it will involve a “sliding scale of international engagement” to clear the highly congested docket of applications, which currently face a two-and-a-half-year waiting period. This would mean that the UK could approve cultivated meat and other novel foods based on their track records in other countries.

    “As the UK regulator, we’ve been in touch with colleagues in Singapore, colleagues in Australia, New Zealand, and all over the world,” the FSA’s deputy director of regulatory services, Peter Quigley, told a forum in Westminster.

    “We have to be careful about naming specific countries where we may have a free trade agreement with them or may not. And so we probably aren’t going to set up a shopping list of the top five people we want to pick up the phone to,” he added. “It’s more having a framework of how we’d engage.”

    UK proposal may not include EU regulator

    ivy farm meat
    Courtesy: Ivy Farm Technologies

    There are at least 470 novel food dossiers awaiting regulatory approval in the UK right now, which has made it nearly impossible for companies with new products waiting to go to market. But the FSA’s new proposal would allow for both regulatory agreements between countries, and for approvals to be written into trade agreements with other nations.

    However, experts say the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), is absent in the list of potential collaborators. The EU regulator has an infamously complex regulatory framework, which has driven companies away from the region to launch their products in more open markets.

    “Currently, EFSA is not open to discussions with the FSA. All of which would tend to suggest that while there might be greater recognition of international approvals, this will not, most likely initially, include EU approvals,” a source told the Grocer.

    Rich Dillon, CEO of British cultivated meat startup Ivy Farm Technologies, said: “The FSA seems to be trying to be more nimble and aligning with countries that have good regulatory practice, which would save a huge amount of time,” he said. “You’ve got brilliant scientists in different countries doing the same amount of work on the same products. It makes sense to cooperate, and it already happens in other industries.”

    Ivy Farm itself has filed dossiers for regulatory approval, but it hasn’t disclosed where. “Ivy Farm has high hopes to achieve regulatory approvals in a number of regions in the not-too-distant future,” Dillon told Green Queen last week, after the company co-hosted a public tasting of its cultivated beef in Iceland, following a manufacturing agreement in Finland.

    One source told the Grocer that the UK’s slow pace has left it trailing behind nations like Singapore, the US and Israel, all of whom have approved cultivated meat for sale. “This should have been done a while ago,” they said. “This could have been a way of outsourcing some of the resources needed and we wish it had happened directly after Brexit.”

    Novel food regulation high on FSA agenda

    vital meat
    Courtesy: Vital Meat | Composite by Green Queen

    The FSA’s work on novel food regulation has been accelerating of late, as the country aims to break away from the pre-Brexit framework and become a leader in alternative proteins. In August, a report by think tank Green Alliance suggested that with the right combination of targeted investments and regulation, the UK’s alternative protein sector could be worth £6.8B annually and create 25,000 jobs by 2035.

    Just last week, French cultivated chicken producer Vital Meat filed its dossier to the FSA and Food Standards Scotland. “British consumers’ pragmatism and environmental consciousness align well with the sustainability benefits of cultivated meat. Their receptiveness to innovation and health awareness further create a favourable environment,” Camille Chevalier, communications manager at Vital Meat, told Green Queen.

    “Additionally, the British FSA is very proactive in facilitating the process,” she added, citing the regulator’s launch of a survey earlier this year, which asked manufacturers when they plan to submit applications for cultivated meat products, and what technologies they may be using. A 2023 Deloitte commissioned by the FSA suggested that speeding up novel foods regulation could help the UK meet its carbon reduction plans (it aims to reach net zero by 2050).

    But while Vital Meat awaits approval (which will take 18 to 24 months), British startup Meatly may be on retail shelves within the next couple of months. It’s because, unlike Vital Meat, its product isn’t made for humans – it is selling tinned cultivated chicken for cats.

    In March, the FSA declared it would create a new public register of regulated products, replacing the current system that requires the parliament to pass statutory instruments before they can be placed on the market. This added up to six months to the process, but following this, it would take up to two years to approve cultivated meat and other novel foods.

    The food safety body will also remove the requirement for products that have already been approved to reapply for clearance every 10 years. “The board has been clear that overhauling the way we authorise new foods is an opportunity for the FSA to drive benefits for consumers by enabling new and innovative products that we assess as being safe to come to market more quickly,” said FSA chair professor Susan Jebb.

    ”One of the options we have asked officials to consider is the possibility of extending the way we work with regulators in other countries where we are aligned in the safety standards of foods,” she added. “This could involve greater sharing of information or technical expertise as we assess the potential risks, whilst maintaining autonomy over decision-making.”

    Israel’s Aleph Farms (already approved in its home country for cultivated beef) also applied for the UK greenlight back in August, while Dutch startup Mosa Meat is eyeing the UK too.

    The post UK to Evaluate Novel Foods Based on Track Record of Regulatory Approval in Other Countries appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Lidl Boosts Plant-Based Meat Sales by 7% by Putting Them in the Meat Aisle

    lidl plant based meat
    5 Mins Read

    Lidl Netherlands has completed a successful pilot experiment by placing plant-based analogues next to meat in stores. The results? A 7% sales growth.

    Discount retailer Lidl is continuing its recent efforts to ramp up its vegan product sales, following the lowering of prices from its private-label plant-based range in certain markets.

    In the Netherlands, Lidl partnered with the Wageningen University and the World Resources Institute to find the answer to a much-debated question in the plant-based world: does placement matter?

    There have been plenty of trials and studies to determine whether putting meat analogues in the conventional meat section has an effect on the sales of vegan products. Some have found that the move boosted purchases of plant-based meat but didn’t decrease the sales of conventional meat, others have discovered a smaller hike for the former, but no effect on the latter.

    So there’s been a slight lack of clarity, but the results of Lidl’s pilot couldn’t be much clearer. After placing plant-based meats next to animal-derived meats in 70 of its branches in the Netherlands for six months, the retailer saw a 7% spike in sales of the vegan products.

    Visibility, taste and volume were key factors, and Lidl is addressing each of them as it progresses towards its goal of having 60% of its protein sales sourced from plants by 2030.

    Lidl promises tastier, healthier meat analogues

    lidl vegan
    Courtesy: Lidl

    While the positive sales impact on meat analogues decreased slightly over time, the overall effect was still significant at the end of the trial, according to Monique van der Meer, a researcher at Wageningen University. “Sales figures for meat products also fell slightly, but this was not significant,” she said.

    “During the pilot period, customers were also interviewed in the store and customer cardholders could complete an online questionnaire,” added van der Meer. “This showed, among other things, that most customers generally think the placement of meat substitutes on the meat shelf is a good idea.”

    The pilot revealed a clear need for larger quantities of plant-based meat. “We immediately put this into practice. The large packages are now in all our 440 stores,” said Chantal Goenee, sustainability and health advisor at Lidl Netherlands.

    The retailer has promised an improvement in the quality of its plant-based meat products by the end of the year, both in terms of flavour and health, which were shown to be important consumption drivers. In fact, an EU-wide survey last year suggested that taste is the most influential aspect pushing people to eat plant-based, with 59% citing it. On the other hand, health is why most are reducing meat intake (45%).

    Lidl’s plant-based push has seen it reduce the prices of own-label vegan meat and dairy products to match their conventional counterparts in its German and Belgian stores. In the former, it now also places plant-based analogues in the meat and dairy aisles, following a trial that increased the visibility of its four bestselling meat alternatives.

    The results chime with previous research. A 2020 trial by US retailer Kroger and the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) revealed that when sold in the meat aisle, plant-based analogue sales rose by 23%, with one consumer explaining that their first thought is that these products will be in the meat section, while another said it makes buying vegan a lot easier.

    And in 2021, a UK-wide report by the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) found that 57% of respondents strongly agreed that moving plant-based products into the meat aisle would make it easier for them to follow healthier and more sustainable diets.

    Lidl to focus on in-store visibility of plant-based meat

    plant based price parity
    Courtesy: Lidl Germany

    The aforementioned poll also found that nearly half (49%) of Dutch consumers had reduced their meat intake over the previous year. The country comprises 53% meat-eaters, and another 38% who identify as flexitarians or pescetarians.

    Meanwhile, supermarkets are their preferred purchase point for meat analogues (59%), and a third of consumers say they’re cutting back on meat for environmental reasons. “If consumers choose more climate-friendly food in the supermarket, it makes a big difference,” said Stientje van Veldhoven, VP and director of Europe at WRI. “The question is how food producers and supermarket chains can respond to such a change as effectively as possible.”

    Dutch animal rights charity Wakker Dier has been facilitating this push. One of its campaigns is to get retailers to commit to plant-based proteins making up 60% of protein sales by 2030, in response to the national health guidelines. This is why Lidl has adopted that target. As part of the move, the nine supermarkets involved have pledged to have 50% plant protein sales by next year, and agreed to monitor and publicly report sales data.

    Plus, meat sales in Dutch supermarkets have plummeted by 16.4% since 2020, falling 2.3% last year. “This joint research project with Lidl Netherlands and Wageningen University is helping us build scientific evidence on what really works to shift consumer demand, and it’s encouraging to see Lidl responding to the findings,” said van Veldhoven.

    “We know from the research that visibility of our meat substitutes is an important factor in the customer’s choice to purchase or try a meat substitute, especially for customers who do not yet purchase meat substitutes,” said Lidl Netherlands’s Goenee. “That is why we will focus even more on this in our stores and marketing in the near future.”

    And it’s not just retail that such interventions have been shown to work. Last September, McDonald’s Netherlands began promoting plant-forward eating by listing its vegan offerings before beef on the menu. It came after a ProVeg International report on fast-food chains stated: “Integrate plant-based options with similar items and list them first, while repeating them in a separately labelled plant-based section. This will nudge consumers to choose more plant-based options while making it easier to navigate the menu.”

    And earlier this month, WRI published an updated version of its foodservice playbook. One of the 18 most promising strategies derived from its analysis of research involved integrating plant-based products into meat sections on menu displays. It received an expert score of 11.04 out of 15 (which was at the higher end), and a ‘promise ratio’ of 5 (the proportion of effective versus ineffective trials).

    The post Lidl Boosts Plant-Based Meat Sales by 7% by Putting Them in the Meat Aisle appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Business Guru Scott Galloway on the Four Things Plant-Based Meat Businesses Should Do

    scott galloway alternative meats
    7 Mins Read

    Speaking on his Prof G Pod, marketing expert and professor Scott Galloway laid out the steps plant-based meat brands need to take to secure their future.

    Scott Galloway is a man known for being right when it comes to the business world. He’s the face behind WeWTF, the famous critical report that accused WeWork of having an inflated valuation, and questioning if an IPO would actually happen. As he predicted, it didn’t, and WeWork’s stock crashed.

    He’s also the guy who prophesied Amazon’s takeover of Whole Foods Market, as well as where its new headquarters would launch. Oh, and he said Twitter would be sold in 2022.

    A founder and entrepreneur with several successful exits, Galloway knows a thing or two about business. He’s a professor of marketing at the New York University Stern School of Business, and his work on WeWork was a catalyst in the company’s fortunes, memorialised by the 2022 series WeCrashed.

    On the latest episode of The Prof G Pod: Office Hours, where he takes listener questions and provides them with advice and insights, he was asked by the founder of a plant-based dumpling brand what he would do to a plant-based meat company’s branding and marketing to take a bigger chunk of the overall meat market.

    Last year, meat analogue sales in US retail fell by 12% to $1.2B, on the back of a multitude of challenges for the sector, including high production costs and supply chain shocks, concerns over ultra-processed foods, misinformation about these products, and a loss of faith from investors. Several companies called it quits, some made employee cutbacks, and some withdrew products from the market.

    Currently, plant-based meat makes up only 0.9% of the overall meat market. Here’s how companies in this space can succeed, according to Galloway.

    1) Cut your losses – you’re in survival mode

      plant based investment
      Courtesy: GFI

      Galloway started off by recapping the challenges of plant-based meat over the last couple of years. “During the pandemic, more people bought alternative meat products due to health concerns, environmental reasons and meat shortages. Since, sales have plummeted and experts suggested the ‘plant-based bubble has burst’,” he said.

      He pointed to data that shows plant-based beef is twice as expensive as conventional beef, and vegan chicken is four times as high in cost. Investment in the overall alternative protein category, meanwhile, dipped by at least 44%.

      Galloway praised the founder’s startup (which is likely Sobo), saying it has good packaging, a nice website, and elegant branding. “And to be blunt, I don’t think it matters,” he said. “I think you’re in a nuclear winter, and you go… I think you cut costs like crazy.

      “If I was on your board, I’d… lay off 60% of my staff, cut my burn, and get through this nuclear winter. Because I would bet somewhere between 50% and 80% of alternative meat companies go away in the next 24 months, because they assumed that it was going to be the next big thing – and it might be, but ‘next’ is the dangerous word. When is ‘next’ gonna happen?”

      2) Don’t spend much on marketing, and focus on taste

      impossible burger
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      Galloway suggested that meat analogues will eventually work and be a viable part of our food ecosystem. But once companies have bought into that mindset, they’re going to “have to get to the other side”, where there will be “a valley of death”.

      “It’s got to be near impossible to raise money right now. So you want to, quite frankly, just hunker down. I wouldn’t focus on the sustainability of it, I’d focus on the taste of it,” he said.

      This was echoed by Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness in a recent interview with Bloomberg Television, where he suggested that the plant-based meat sector launched incorrectly. His company has moved away from highlighting its products’ planetary advantages, instead honing in on taste descriptors and health benefits. “It’s gotta be delicious… It’s gotta be nutritious… And then you gotta be price-competitive,” said McGuinness.

      In a similar vein, Galloway said: “I would not spend much money on marketing at all, and I’d keep my prices as low as I could. I would just try and extend my runway as long as possible and execute well, have really good relationships with my partners, do a lot of sampling a lot of earned media, try and write a lot, a lot of thought leadership.”

      3. Plant-based meat will be resurgent – but consolidated

      vegan food group
      Courtesy: Vegan Food Group

      “I would be really scrappy. I would not spend a lot of time on traditional branding here because I would be throwing nickels around like they’re manhole covers. Because the bad news is, I think this ecosystem is gonna lose a ton of players,” suggested Galloway.

      In the last year, startups like Nowadays, Ordinary Seafood, New Wave Foods and Sunfed Meats have all ceased operations, while others like Meatless Farm, VBites and Tattooed Chef have come close.

      “The good news,” Galloway continued, “is that when the market comes back, it should be champagne and cocaine for alternative beef, whatever that would be. Because there’ll be just much fewer players. And if you can survive, you’re gonna come out the other end really, really robustly.”

      We’re already seeing this happen – a host of businesses in this sector have merged or been acquired as part of the alternative protein industry’s consolidation era. “In the context of flat or declining category demand, consolidation, and M&As are vital for rapid growth in the plant-based sector,” Matthew Glover, founder of the Vegan Food Group, told Green Queen after the company acquired TofuTown. “These strategies allow companies to scale, innovate, and navigate through resilience challenges more effectively.”

      Food non-profit ProVeg International agrees with this take too. Hédi Farhat, investment manager at ProVeg Incubator, told Green Queen last month: “We expect to see the effects of consolidation, along with signs of recovery in the sector, between 2025-26, with more corporate investors driving innovation in the sector.”

      4) Animal rights (and TikTok) are major drivers of plant-based meat

      livestock farming climate change

      The business expert’s final point outlined that he still loved meat, and eats his fair share of it. But he’s starting to question his intake now, thanks to TikTok. He saw a video of a rancher playing ‘catch’ with his bull with a barrel, who is jumping up and down waiting to retrieve it. This reminded him of his Great Dane.

      “[It’s] just impossible for me to ignore the fact that these are mammals with big brains, very emotional, but subtle. They’re young, they give live birth, and want to be around other beings, and are probably at their core, you know, kind, wonderful beings,” said Galloway.

      “And when you have the unfortunate experience of learning anything about the industrial food production business, what we do to these animals is… ‘inhuman’ is the wrong word, because we would never treat humans this way. It’s just totally amoral… no, it’s not amoral, it’s immoral. And it’s starting to weigh on me for the first time that there’s more birds in captivity than birds in the wild because of chickens and the way they raise veal.

      “We should hope there’s not a hell. Because if there is a hell – or even if there is a heaven – and we have to reconcile our activities with animals, it’s going to be pretty fucking ugly.”

      Galloway concluded by telling the founder his work is important, and that we should all be thinking about plant-based alternatives. “I come at it from a humanity standpoint, or just, you know, having dogs has just changed my outlook on the industrial food complex.”

      As for the plant-based meat world, it’s “in survival mode”, but it’s “going to work” and “grow”. “You want to be one of the survivors and have your sales up, or at least have your sales and tax such that when the winds come back, you’re ready,” he said.

      “It’s not aspirational. Branding is not going to save you right here. This is about survival.”

      For a man who’s got so much right in his predictions, you’d bet on him being spot on about plant-based meat too.

      The post Business Guru Scott Galloway on the Four Things Plant-Based Meat Businesses Should Do appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    1. No Meat On the Riviera: Cannes Film Festival Bans Beef to Reduce Carbon Footprint

      cannes beef ban
      5 Mins Read

      Beef is on the chopping block (so to speak) at Cannes, one of the world’s biggest film festivals, whose organisers acknowledge it is the “biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions” in the food system.

      While there may be some beef over Sebastian Stan’s turn as a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice, there will be no actual beef served at the premier film festival of the EU’s largest beef supplier.

      As part of a list of environmental initiatives, the ongoing Cannes Film Festival has introduced a ban on beef from its meals and cocktail receptions. The initiative is slated to help reduce its carbon footprint, but goes contrary to the French government’s own stance on meat.

      This does not apply to events hosted by third parties in Cannes during the course of the festival (May 14-25), or non-accredited visitors of the event – but it’s a big move by one of the film industry’s most revered festivals, and a sign that climate change is finally creeping into the movies.

      Cannes beef ban important for meat-hungry France

      In its list of environmental guidelines, Cannes’ organisers explain that the festival’s caterers are respecting a “responsible” statement of requirements that include commitments to favouring local and seasonal products, short food supply chains, offering vegetarian options, tackling food waste, and limiting overall waste.

      “As a complementary measure, for the meals and cocktail receptions that it organises, the Festival de Cannes is committed to increasing the number of vegetarian options and to no longer serving beef, which is the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions,” it says.

      food greenhouse gas emissions
      Courtesy: Our World in Data

      Beef is associated with the highest amount of greenhouse gas emissions per kg, twice more than the next most polluting food (dark chocolate). The festival has cited research that suggests beef production releases 4.5 times more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere than white meat, prompting the Cannes organisers to implement the ban as an “effective and acceptable way of reducing the carbon impact of food”.

      But while the festival in southern France might be favouring beet over beef bourguignon, on the other end of the spectrum lies the national government. Last year, its agriculture minister promoted factory farming in the country so that it can produce more meat, and for cheaper. It went against the grain of the EU’s Farm to Fork policy, and was a regressive move for the climate targets of what is the bloc’s largest beef supplier.

      france plant based meat
      Courtesy: Flaggenwelt/Getty Images

      The industrial farming nod also came two weeks after it proposed an extensively restrictive labelling ban for plant-based meat companies, which barred them from using words like ‘sausage’ or ‘ham’ on their vegan analogues. That ban, which came into effect in March, has since been suspended by the country’s top court, which cited “serious doubts” about the move’s legality.

      French people are already eating more meat than recommended, with health and climate experts urging the national dietary guidelines to suggest a decrease in meat intake for both human and planetary health. This is why Cannes’ move is significant – it attracts the world’s attention during its 12-day run on the French Riviera.

      Cannes Film Festival’s sustainability initiatives

      The beef ban is one of a number of other climate-friendly initiatives at this year’s film festival – Cannes bosses want to align the event with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal, which states that entities should aim for at least a 21% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030, and ideally 43%.

      The Cannes Film Festival, whose emissions cuts have so far been marginal in the last five years, is guaranteeing a 21% decrease by the end of the decade (representing at least 10,300 tonnes of CO2e), and says it is working towards the 43% target too.

      cannes film festival sustainability
      Courtesy: Festival de Cannes

      Last year, more than 90% of its footprint came from the number of participants and their journeys into Cannes. To tackle that, the festival has been charging an “environmental contribution” of €20 per participant since 2021, all proceeds of which are donated to carbon reduction and sequestration programmes – these include marine restoration, rewilding land and reforesting initiatives (although any commitments around tree-planting and carbon offsets should be taken with a pinch of salt).

      Moreover, its entire fleet of vehicles comprises electric cars, while festivalgoers are encouraged to walk when and where they can. The event has also reduced the size of its red carpets and is changing it less frequently, saving 1,400kg of material (59% of the carpet’s traditional volume). There are also no plastic water bottles, with the festival setting up water fountains across its spaces.

      cannes emissions
      Courtesy: Mathilde Gardel/Festival de Cannes

      It must be noted that while yes, white meats have a much smaller environmental footprint than red meats like beef, lamb or mutton, poultry still pollutes the planet much more than plant-based meat analogues, and the Cannes Film Festival would do well to reduce all meat – not just beef – and increase the presence of alternative proteins. To its credit, it has committed to “making sure that our menus and buffets offer more and more vegetarian options”.

      The film festival has always implored celebrities to use its electric vehicle fleet, but many are still flying in from their private jets. In 2022, Tom Cruise landed in hot water when he arrived in a helicopter to promote Top Gun: Maverick. That said, Cruise’s 2023 film, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, was one of only three Oscar-nominated movies this year to pass the Climate Reality Check (which explores the visibility of climate change on-screen in the style of the Bechdel Test).

      climate change films
      Courtesy: Good Energy/Colby College

      In fact, less than 10% of movies in the last decade have passed both criteria of the test – climate change exists, and a character knows about it – according to climate story consultancy Good Energy and Colby College’s Buck Lab for Climate and Environment, which devised the test. They found that films mentioning climate change have incidentally made more money, but they also misrepresent the reality of the crisis.

      Beef bans like the ones at Cannes are a good first step towards a more climate-aware film industry. The question is whether Hollywood and other film festivals can catch up.

      The post No Meat On the Riviera: Cannes Film Festival Bans Beef to Reduce Carbon Footprint appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    2. PoLoPo Submits Molecular Farming Platform for USDA Approval to Grow Egg Proteins in Potatoes

      polopo usda
      5 Mins Read

      Israeli startup PoLoPo has filed for USDA approval of its molecular farming platform, which genetically engineers potatoes to produce egg proteins within the plant.

      PoLoPo is pursuing regulatory approval in the US for its molecular farming technology, which transforms potatoes into egg-protein-producing factories.

      Its application for Regulatory Status Review (RSR) to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) marks the first step of the regulatory ladder for its SuperAA platform. This is expected within six months, and will establish that PoLoPo’s tech poses no agricultural or pest risk compared to conventional potato cultivation.

      Following the greenlight from the APHIS, the startup would be able to pursue commercial plans to grow its transgenic potato plants in the US via partners and local growers. It would also need to engage with the FDA as the next step towards commercialisation.

      The company says it’s the first Israeli molecular farming player to seek US approval. Asked why it chose to launch here, PoLoPo co-founder and CEO Maya Sapir-Mir told Green Queen: “Although our product does not contain any DNA, GMO-based technology and production (growth of transgenic plants) are still an issue in most geographies. The US is the most suitable market in terms of regulation and customer acceptance for GMO-based products, so we are starting there.”

      She added that the country’s potato growing and starch processing industry is big too, and the startup intends to use existing infrastructure for production.

      An egg protein suitable for alt-meat, desserts and snacks

      polopo egg protein
      Courtesy: PoLoPo

      Founded in 2022, PoLoPo’s Super AA platform grows target amino acids within a potato’s tuber, which are harvested when they reach sufficient size. The protein is then extracted and dried into a powder that can be integrated into existing food processing lines and formulations.

      Currently deployed at greenhouse scale, the technology can generate patatin (a group of native proteins found in potatoes) and ovalbumin (the major protein found in eggs) through proprietary metabolic engineering techniques. It inserts a DNA sequence into the potato to teach it to produce an egg protein that’s fully functional, and nutritionally and chemically identical to chicken eggs. While this means there’s no animal input and the egg proteins are – by definition – vegan, they’re not suitable for people with egg allergies.

      According to PoLoPo, the product has undergone rigorous testing and meets all the necessary food safety standards, deeming it safe for consumption after quality control assessments. USDA approval would set it on the path to actually sell the product to manufacturers, who can use the ovalbumin powder in baked goods, desserts, snacks, meat and meat alternatives, and ice cream.

      The highly functional protein can also be used for stabilisation, increasing the nutritional value, and prolonging the shelf life of CPG products. “Our first RSR is for the SuperAA platform itself and not for a specific protein. This step is crucial, as the SuperAA will be the background variety for all our future commercial varieties (for producing different target proteins),” explained Sapir-Mir.

      “Once we obtain this approval, we can relatively quickly approve every variety expressing any target protein that we will commercialise (starting with ovalbumin).”

      PoLoPo targets 2026 launch via B2B partners

      molecular farming usda
      Courtesy: PoLoPo

      PoLoPo operates as a B2B ingredient provider, instead of selling its own end products on the market. Sapir-Mir did not disclose whether the startup has signed any agreements with manufacturers, but she outlined that B2C is outside its scope currently, and its ingredient fits perfectly into a B2B model.

      “The food industry already uses egg proteins in powder, so working with our functional protein powder will be almost straightforward. Moreover, we want to improve the global food production system as much as we can and make it much more sustainable,” she said. “Therefore, the B2B model is the way to go, allowing for a wide range of possibilities and potential impacts.”

      PoLoPo closed a $2.3M pre-seed funding round at the end of 2022, and it’s now raising capital again. “This is the right time for PoLoPo to give another boost in R&D and commercial aspects,” said Sapir-Mir. “We are keen to work with strategic investors, from potato growers to potato processors and ingredient providers.”

      It’s targeting a market that is inundated with volatile, unpredictable prices and supply shocks due to frequent avian flu outbreaks. It’s also addressing the cruelty issue – in the US, most (if not all) egg-laying hens are part of concentrated animal feeding operations.

      Sapir-Mir is targeting 2026 for the rollout of the first products using PoLoPo’s ovalbumin, via collaborations with CPG companies and foodservice chains. Asked if it had global ambitions, she said the current focus is in the US, a huge market with a ton of opportunities. “Nevertheless, we are keen to see other parts of the world that will understand the opportunity to feed the growing population by using GMO methods, and hope to grow our potatoes in more parts of the world.”

      Molecular farming is emerging as one of the next frontiers of alternative protein, thanks to its ability to scale up fast and keep costs down compared to animal cell cultivation or precision fermentation – this is made possible by the use of plants to produce ingredients, instead of expensive bioreactors.

      Alpine Bio (formerly Nobell Foods), Mozza, Miruku, Finally Foods and Moolec are all using the tech to develop various ingredients through plants. The latter is publicly listed on the Nasdaq and is one of the industry’s leaders. Last month, it received APHIS approval for Piggy Sooy, which are soybeans containing pork proteins.

      The post PoLoPo Submits Molecular Farming Platform for USDA Approval to Grow Egg Proteins in Potatoes appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    3. Future Food Quick Bites: Vegan Doner Kebabs, Wild Salmon & Mayor Battles

      plant based news
      5 Mins Read

      In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Revo Foods’ new salmon analogue a new vegan doner kebab, and Good Eating Company’s impact report on plant-based nudges.

      New products and launches

      German startup Revo Foods has updated its plant-based smoked salmon. The new SKU, called Smokey Slices, has higher omega-3 fatty acid content than some conventional salmon products, and is said to be the first plant-based alternative to wild salmon on the market. It comes in original and dill-lemon variants.

      revo foods salmon
      Courtesy: Revo Foods

      In the US, frozen food giant Dr. Praeger’s will roll out two new snack SKUs – Southwestern Black Bean Crunchy Stars and BBQ Black Bean & Sweet Potato Slider Patties – at 475 Target stores. It has also added a Smoky Chipotle Sweet Potato Burger exclusively at Costco.

      California’s Oobli, which recently earned FDA approval for its Oubli-fruit-derived precision-fermented sugar alternative, has established its first B2B partnership, with Mexican food manufacturer Grupo Bimbo set to launch products with the sweet protein by the end of 2024 or the start of next year.

      At the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago, local startup Land Lovers showcased Land Lovers X, a concept born out of a link-up with AI-driven kitchen solutions provider Botinkit, which will use robotics to produce the company’s vegan steak.

      Ahead of World Ocean Month (June), The Plant-Based Seafood Co has expanded its collaboration with PLNT Burger to unveil a Crab Cake Sandwich using the former’s Mind Blown crab cake at locations in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

      Fellow US startup Barvecue has earned a listing at Whole Foods, which will see its vegan Pulled BVQ and Carnitas in the retailer’s freezers nationwide.

      rollingreens
      Courtesy: RollinGreens

      Shark Tank success RollinGreens has unveiled a line of shelf-stable vegan ready meals, all of which contain rice and plant-based meat in classic, teriyaki, Mexican or stir-fry variants. The startup received a $500,000 investment by Robert Herjavec for a 20% stake on the show in 2020.

      Dutch alt-dairy producer Boermarke has developed a new range of vegan cheese with added vitamins and 10% protein. Available in Gouda, Cumin, and Mediterranean flavours, the Vairy slices will be launched at select European retailers in June.

      In the UK, free-from brand Crave has introduced vegan and gluten-free frozen doughnuts that can be cooked in air fryers in five minutes. Called Dodoughs, they’ll be in Sainsbury’s and Morrisons freezers from June 2.

      London-based Better Nature has scaled up the distribution of its tempeh products at Tesco and Asda, reaching a total of 1,000 stores among the retailers after a 250% annual sales growth.

      german doner kebab vegan
      Courtesy: German Doner Kebab

      And fast-casual chain German Doner Kebab has launched its first plant-based option in the UK, in partnership with Nestlé Professional. The new product is called OV Kebab and replaces pulled chicken with a soy-based doner.

      Policy and finance developments

      In New Zealand, Daisy Lab has received approval from the country’s Environmental Protection Agency to build its first pilot facility for precision-fermented dairy proteins and scale up production to 5,000 litres.

      Also in the precision fermentation world, Chicago’s Hydrosome Labs has developed a natural, chemical-free process to customise yeast and/or bacteria to produce specific molecules for use in a variety of applications using the tech, helping address yield and cost bottlenecks.

      future food quick bites
      Courtesy: Lancaster University

      In the UK, the Lancaster University Students’ Union has voted for a transition to a fully plant-based menu on-campus dining services, with a 50% target for 2025, followed by a 100% shift by 2027.

      On the contrary, Worcester City’s new Liberal Democrat mayor Mel Alcott has reversed her predecessor’s decision to remove meat from the council’s receptions. In February, Green Party’s Louis Stephen had taken the measure to highlight the climate impact of animal agriculture.

      German alt-seafood company BettaF!sh has joined the EU-wide FunSea research project to advance the nutritional quality of cultivated brown and green seaweed and develop novel food products over a three-year period.

      actual veggies
      Courtesy: Actual Veggies

      Whole-food plant-based company Actual Veggies has brought in a seven-figure sum in a new round of funding, and will soon expand its products’ retail footprint, with the business now profitable.

      Research and company updates

      A major review of 49 studies spanning 23 years has shown that vegan and vegetarian diets have a robust link to better health, with reduced risk of heart disease, and gastrointestinal and prostate cancer. Plant-based diets were found to have significant health benefits.

      Israeli alternative protein startup Steakholder Foods has partnered with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute to develop and commercialise foods using the former’s 3D-printing tech and plant-based premises tailored for Taiwanese cuisine.

      steakholder foods
      Courtesy: Steakholder Foods

      Thailand-based CP Foods has received a Crystal Taste Award for its Meat Zero Chicken Nuggets, a recognition awarded for earning a three-star rating for three consecutive years.

      Contract caterer Good Eating Company and behavioural science firm Greener by Default have released an impact report for their initiative to nudge plant-based choices. Switching to an oat milk default decreased dairy consumption from 70-18% at one site, while 74% of Good Eating Company’s menu is now meatless.

      Speaking of health, Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown has called for more unity in the plant-based meat sector, suggesting the divide between whole foods and ultra-processed foods is hurting the industry and further driving the meat sector’s misinformation campaign against it.

      ethan brown
      Courtesy: Beyond Meat

      Finally, Beyond Meat has also suffered setbacks in its foodservice footprint, with Carl’s Jr taking the Beyond Burger off the menu from its 1,000+ locations, and Del Taco removing the meat analogues from its nearly 600 sites, citing low sales. However, the latter is exploring other plant-based dishes with Beyond Meat.

      Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

      The post Future Food Quick Bites: Vegan Doner Kebabs, Wild Salmon & Mayor Battles appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    4. In Israel, Alternative Proteins Could Create 10,000 Jobs & Contribute $2.5B by 2030: Report

      israel alternative protein
      7 Mins Read

      Israel is becoming a major hotspot for alternative proteins, accounting for 10% of the sector’s investments last year, and expected to net $2.5B to the national economy by 2030, according to a new report.

      A robust research landscape, strong private and public investment pedigree, exceptional infrastructure and high consumer acceptance – these elements have propelled Israel’s alternative protein sector to new heights, according to a new report outlining the country’s food tech potential.

      Published by the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), the World Economic Forum, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) network led by C4IR Israel and the Good Food Institute (GFI) Israel, the research spotlights a remarkable few years for alternative proteins – home to a record 15 new startups (taking the total to 73), Israel attracted 10% of all VC funding ($1.2B) in the sector from 2014-23, trailing only the US.

      israel food tech investment
      Courtesy: GFI Israel

      But this growth isn’t just a one-off. By 2030, the industry is expected to produce 10,000 additional jobs (a third of which would be manufacturing roles), have more than 200 companies and over a dozen manufacturing facilities, and contribute $2.5B to Israel’s economy through exports, local wages, corporate taxes, and more.

      “Alternative proteins emerge as the leading solution to various challenges associated with current meat production methods, including climate change, food security, biodiversity, and antimicrobial resistance,” said Alla Vordman, VP of strategy and policy at GFI Israel. “We believe that ongoing technological innovation and the emergence of startups offering business-to-business solutions to address industry challenges will further accelerate growth.”

      Cultivated meat progress

      aleph farms regulatory approval
      Courtesy: Aleph Farms

      Israel made headlines at the start of the year after becoming just the third country to approve the sale of cultivated meat, greenlighting local startup Aleph Farms’ Black Angus Petit Steak. It highlighted the country’s fast-growing cultivated meat sector and favourable regulatory landscape.

      In 2022, the IIA established a research consortium for these proteins, investing $18M over three years and comprising 14 companies and 10 academic laboratories to develop cost-effective methods to produce cultivated meat. Meanwhile, contract development and manufacturing organisations that have traditionally served pharmaceutical companies have now begun to expand to the cultivated meat industry.

      Such has been the progress that in 2022, Israeli startups accounted for a quarter of global private investments in cultivated meat. “Israel has a strong venture capital community in the healthcare sector that deeply understands the science behind cultivated meat and provides essential investment, talent and support to these startups,” said Vordman.

      “Israel had an initial advantage with some of the first companies in the field, such as Believer, Aleph Farms, and SuperMeat. These companies benefitted from operating in a country renowned for its excellent infrastructure for entrepreneurship, known as the Startup Nation, and robust research in tissue engineering, biochemistry, biotechnology and relative food sciences.”

      Strong focus on research and academia

      lab grown meat israel
      Courtesy: GFI Israel

      Over 70 researchers are studying alternative proteins in Israel, 10 of whom began to do so last year. Additionally, there are almost 300 researchers working in adjacent areas like biotechnology, microbiology and pharmaceuticals, whose expertise can benefit the alternative protein industry.

      Last year, both the Hebrew University and the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) announced plans to establish dedicated research centres for food systems and alternative proteins. This is expected to significantly bolster the local research and business environment.

      “Alternative protein technologies represent deep-tech advancements driven by multidisciplinary academic research. In Israel, over 50% of startups in this field are rooted in prior academic research, showcasing the depth of academic contributions to industry innovation,” said Vordman.

      She added that the country’s commitment to applied research, the knowledge exchange borne out of the physical and social proximity of academia to business and industry, and efforts by the state and organizations like GFI to promote research have been instrumental. “GFI Israel, for instance, proudly participates in funding approximately half of the 70 active researchers in the field in Israel, demonstrating a collaborative approach to advancing academic research in alternative proteins,” she said.

      A supportive regulatory and public funding landscape

      remilk israel
      Courtesy: Remilk

      Food tech – specifically alternative protein – has been recognised by the Israeli government as one of its top five priority R&D areas, thanks to the country’s comparative advantages in certain sectors, its strategic needs, its R&D prowess and position as a global innovation hub, and the sector’s need for government support. A potential national security element, the diversity of human capital and talent development, and the possibilities for cross-sector collaboration were also key criteria.

      “The Israeli government has provided substantial support to the alternative proteins sector through a variety of initiatives with the consideration of the value chain of development. Research grants by the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology, are available for proof-of-concept projects for entrepreneurs, fostering early-stage innovation,” Vordman explained.

      Through the IIA, the state is developing a comprehensive approach to investing in businesses at various stages and with multiple stakeholders, according to the report. In 2022, the agriculture ministry and the ministry of innovation, science and tech together with GFI Israel published an open call to fund research grants up to $85,000 per project, totalling $1.2M. This resulted in 15 proposals receiving a grant – and last year, the initiative was renewed.

      The IIA also partially sponsors incubator programmes, with the aforementioned cultivated meat consortium one of the most significant initiatives. Plus, the government has set up a precision fermentation facility to address infrastructure challenges.

      “On the regulatory front, a pilot programme for the regulation of alternative proteins is being conducted in collaboration with the ministry of health and the IIA,” said Vordman. “These comprehensive support measures underscore the government’s commitment to advancing the alternative proteins sector.”

      Israel’s alt-protein limitations

      israel alternative proteins
      Courtesy: SuperMeat

      All the progress isn’t to say that there aren’t any constraints for the industry. There’s a major local supply chain gap, with the relatively small and geographically constrained market obstructing widespread industry adoption. Budget constraints – when compared to economies like the US and China – and the absence of major food and pharma conglomerates represent further limitations.

      “Like the global industry, many products have not yet reached the taste and price points that consumers expect. Addressing this challenge necessitates additional investment in academic research and venture creation to develop innovative solutions,” outlined Vordman.

      She added: “Scaling up manufacturing for Israeli startups is challenging due to infrastructure costs, mirroring challenges encountered by startups worldwide. Consequently, most new Israeli startups tend to focus more on business-to-business (B2B) solutions, aiming to fill these industry gaps and overcome scalability obstacles.”

      The horrifying ongoing conflict in Gaza is a more immediate, much broader challenge. “The geopolitical situation is heartbreaking,” said Vordman. “However, the Israeli entrepreneurs proved their resilience in ensuring their companies meet the milestones. We believe that the increasing need for food security solutions locally and across the globe will drive additional private and public investments in this sector toward innovative technological solutions.”

      Recommendations for stakeholders

      lab grown meat approved
      Courtesy: Aleph Farms

      The report suggests investors can take confidence from the IIA’s initiatives to pump significant capital into the sector, and double down on existing investments. This should encourage VCs to increase their financing in the sector.

      When it comes to policymakers, bilateral and multinational alliances – including joint R&D and harmonisation of standards – can be vital in creating a global network of expertise and resources to strengthen local stakeholders. Meanwhile, Israel and other countries could leverage proactive assessments of market failures hurting the private sector to devise strategic solutions collaboratively, which would aid the alternative protein category’s evolution.

      And what can food companies learn from this? Large conglomerates should kickstart or further explore collaboration opportunities with alternative protein startups as part of their growth strategies. Partnerships among farmers, pharmaceuticals, and food tech startups are also key to helping scale up the production of these novel foods.

      Meanwhile, leveraging agricultural sidestreams like corn, soy, wheat, sugarcane, barley, rice, canola and tomatoes can enhance sustainability and circularity in the food chain, which will optimise resources and boost agricultural resilience.

      “Israel possesses unique market characteristics and has emerged as a leader in the consumption of alternative protein products in recent years,” said Vordman. “With a considerable share of vegans, vegetarians, and flexitarians, alongside a population known for early adoption of food innovations, the plant-based market now commands approximately 18% of the milk market and accounts for about 6% of the meat market.”

      She added that public interest in developing bioeconomy engines and building a sustainable and resilient food system is on the rise, with alternative proteins recognised as a key tool: “Consequently, alternative proteins are poised to gain increasing support and momentum in the coming years.”

      The post In Israel, Alternative Proteins Could Create 10,000 Jobs & Contribute $2.5B by 2030: Report appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    5. In Germany, Plant-Based Meat Production Rose By 17% in 2023

      germany plant based meat
      4 Mins Read

      Germany – Europe’s largest vegan market – produced nearly 17% more plant-based meat last year than in 2022, according to federal data.

      Two months after the German Society for Nutrition updated its dietary guidelines to recommend halving meat consumption, it has emerged that the country’s annual production of plant-based meat grew by 16.6% in 2023, reaching 121,600 tonnes.

      That’s according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), which noted: “Whether veggie burgers, tofu sausages or seitan mortadella – the demand for vegetarian or vegan meat substitutes continues to increase.”

      When looking at longer-term trends, manufacturing of meat analogues has more than doubled since pre-pandemic levels, up by 113% from 2019. The growth has been constant with each passing year, and this is an indication that the adoption of plant-based meat remains unbroken, said Destatis.

      Value gap between animal- and plant-based meat shrinks

      It’s not just the amount of plant-based meat that has increased – the number of companies manufacturing these products has too. In 2022, 51 businesses were making these analogues, but last year, this jumped to 67.

      Moreover, the value of the plant-based meat produced in Germany also grew by 8.5% last year, going from €537.4M in 2022 to €583.2M in 2023. That said, this is still relatively low when compared to conventional meat, whose value grew by 5.6% year-on-year to reach €44.8B in 2023 – nearly 80 times higher than vegan analogues.

      But while still large, this gap has shrunk in almost half since before the pandemic. In 2019, meat products produced in Germany were worth €40.1B, 150 times more than plant-based meat (around €300M). This is a marker of the latter’s growth in the country, which is the largest market for vegan food in all of Europe. Sales of plant-based products grew by 11% from 2020 to reach nearly €2B in 2022.

      germany meat consumption
      Courtesy: Destatis

      Meanwhile, Destatis noted that the rising demand for meat alternatives was accompanied by a continuing decrease in both production and consumption of animal-derived meat. Despite the value growth, conventional meat production has actually fallen for seven consecutive years in Germany, reducing by 4% in 2023 compared to the year before. Since 2016, it has dipped by 21%.

      And preliminary data released by the Federal Institute for Agriculture and Food revealed that per capita consumption of meat had dropped by 12% compared to 2019, reaching 51.6 kg on average in 2023. Separate research backed by the EU has shown that 59% of Germans were eating less meat in 2022 than the year before.

      Germany’s support for plant-based food

      Germany’s increasing meat production will serve what is considered Europe’s largest flexitarian market – 55% of its population follows such a diet, according to the USDA. It has been supported by federal policies promoting plant-based foods too: the country’s latest nutrition strategy from 2022 spotlights vegan eating as one of its main focuses, particularly in government-run establishments like hospitals and schools.

      The German government has also set aside €38M in its 2024 federal budget to encourage the manufacturing and consumption of alternative proteins and a switch to plant-based agriculture, as well as open a Proteins of the Future centre.

      “Germany needs a roadmap for the transition towards more alternative protein sources and such a centre can be the first step in developing such a strategy with all relevant departments and stakeholders,” said Ivo Rzegotta, senior public affairs manager for Germany at industry think tank the Good Food Institute Europe.

      And in March, the country’s new nutritional guidelines suggested a 50% reduction in meat, advocating for a “health-promoting and ecologically sustainable diet” that is comprised of 75% plant-based foods. . “If we want to eat a healthy diet and at the same time protect the environment, we have to change our diet now,” the nutrition society’s president, Bernhard Watzl, said at the time.

      germany plant based
      Courtesy: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung

      But the dietary guidelines were criticised for not highlighting the benefits of plant-based meat. The society noted that the nutrient profile of plant-based meat, seafood and dairy “often differs greatly from that of animal foods”. “Based on the usual consumption habits in Germany, the complete or partial replacement – especially of milk and fish – with plant-based alternatives without appropriate substitution can lead to nutrient deficiencies,” it said.

      Writing on LinkedIn, Anna-Lena Klapp, senior nutrition and health specialist at ProVeg International, said: “Plant-based alternatives to popular animal products play an essential role for people transitioning to a more plant-based diet as these products often closely resemble the foods people are used to and like.”

      She added that the guidelines should identify which plant-based products can and cannot be part of a sustainable or healthy diet: “They should differentiate between plant-based alternatives that can be consumed frequently, and those that should be eaten in moderation or seen as merely for enjoyment.”

      The post In Germany, Plant-Based Meat Production Rose By 17% in 2023 appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    6. Vital Meat Files for UK Regulatory Approval of Cultivated Chicken, Targets 2025 Launch

      vital meat chicken
      5 Mins Read

      French startup Vital Meat has submitted a dossier to food regulators in England and Scotland for its cultivated chicken, a process that’s expected to take 18 to 24 months.

      France’s Vital Meat, which makes cultivated chicken as a B2B ingredient for hybrid meats, has applied for regulatory approval in the UK, making it one of only a handful of companies to do so.

      The startup has submitted a novel food dossier to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland, whose scientists and experts will now assess the application in a process expected to last 18 months to two years.

      The development comes six months after the cultivated chicken player filed for approval in Singapore too, with the green light from its regulator thought to be imminent.

      “We can’t wait to start commercialisation in Great Britain; chicken is one of the most consumed meat over there,” said Vital Meat co-founder and CEO Etienne Duthoit. “We are now preparing our launch in 2025 and looking for food partners.”

      Why Vital Meat chose the UK

      lab grown meat uk
      Courtesy: Vital Meat

      Vital Meat, which uses pharmaceutical technology to transform cells from fertilised chicken eggs into cultivated meat, expects to receive regulatory clearance in Singapore by the end of the year. “We are going through the questions and answers process with scientific experts from SFA and so far, the discussion is very smooth and is going well,” said Claude Rescan, the startup’s regulatory expert.

      The company suggests this puts it “in the running” to be the first European startup to be approved for sale in the city-state, although Dutch cultivated pork producer Meatable is anticipating the go-ahead shortly.

      “We are very confident and are already collaborating with a Singaporean chef as well as food companies to prepare for the market launch as soon as the approval is granted,” said Duthoit. This year, Singapore has already granted approval to Australia’s Vow, whose cultivated quail is now being unveiled at restaurants. And just last week, Eat Just (the world’s first company to be allowed to sell cultivated meat back in 2020, also in Singapore) introduced its Good Meat chicken in the freezer at Huber’s Butchery, marking the global retail debut of cultivated meat.

      “The decision to expand into the UK swiftly follows our Singaporean endeavour. Asia, and particularly Singapore, is an important market for us with consumers that are open to new foods and a business ecosystem open to innovation,” said Vital Meat COO Olivia de Talancé.

      As it awaited the SFA’s decision, Vital Meat wanted to expand to another market. It chose the UK due to its citizens’ pragmatism and climate consciousness aligning well with the sustainability aspects of cultivated meat, alongside their receptiveness to innovation and awareness around health.

      But plenty of work needs to be done if manufacturers are to convince Brits to eat cultivated meat. A survey by the FSA in 2022 revealed that while 78% of consumers had heard of these proteins, only 34% would be willing to try them. Only three in 10 perceived cultivated meat to be safe to eat, and 42% said nothing would encourage them to consume these products. However, 27% would change their minds if they knew they were safe to eat, and 23% would do so if they could trust that they’re properly regulated.

      Rapid progress for cultivated meat in the UK

      vital meat
      Courtesy: Vital Meat

      Vital Meat’s UK application is the latest development in a fast-moving sector. For years, the FSA was criticised for having a slow novel foods regulation process, which it inherited from the UK post-Brexit. But lately, things have begun to shift, and fast.

      The regulator is seeking state investment to create labs for sandbox testing of novel foods, with an eye on the £5M scheme announced by UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt last autumn. In January, it was reported that the FSA has launched a survey asking manufacturers when they plan to submit applications for cultivated meat products, and what technologies they may be using. This followed a 2023 Deloitte study it commissioned, which suggested that speeding up novel foods regulation could help the UK meet its carbon reduction plans (it aims to reach net zero by 2050).

      In March, the FSA agreed on plans to fast-track the commercialisation of novel foods. It said it would create a new public register of regulated products, replacing the current system that requires the parliament to pass statutory instruments before they can be placed on the market. This added up to six months to the process, which at the time took up to two-and-a-half years.

      The FSA will also remove the requirement for products that have already been approved to reapply for clearance every 10 years. The reforms mean it will now take up to two years to approve cultivated meat for human consumption in the UK, as the new framework still requires thorough, evidence-based assessments of safety and nutrition.

      Around the same time, British cultivated meat startup Meatly said it was expecting to receive the greenlight from the FSA within three months – but this is a chicken product for pets, not human consumption. Of producers working on the latter, only Israel’s Aleph Farms has publicly announced filing a dossier to the UK regulator (back in August). Dutch pioneer Mosa Meat, meanwhile, has laid out its intention to do the same.

      “Health is of paramount importance to us. We are committed to not using antibiotics, or any other controversial ingredient, such as fetal bovine serum or any other animal product. That’s why we are confident that our commitment to safety and sustainability will be rewarded,” de Talancé said of Vital Meat’s UK application.

      lab grown meat approved uk
      Courtesy: Vital Meat

      The company partnered with cell culture media producer BioWest last year, whose customised serum-free media for Vital Meat allows the latter to manufacture its cultivated chicken in 250-litre bioreactors, capable of producing several kgs of product at a time. The collaboration has allowed the French startup to reduce costs, too, which is a crucial entry barrier for cultivated meat.

      Cost is also why Vital Meat is choosing the hybrid approach, making cultivated chicken for manufacturers that can mix it with plant-based ingredients, instead of marketing a fully developed cut itself. Investors say this approach is the only way cultivated meat can be commercially viable in the near term – it’s the same reason why Eat Just’s latest Good Meat chicken comprises 97% plant-based ingredients.

      In 2022, a 1,000-person poll suggested that 35% of UK consumers are open to trying a hybrid burger. Vital Meat, which plans to introduce white fish and pork in the future, will hope to build on these results soon.

      The post Vital Meat Files for UK Regulatory Approval of Cultivated Chicken, Targets 2025 Launch appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    7. Wanda Fish Develops Cultivated Bluefin Tuna Toro Sashimi, Plans to File Regulatory Dossiers in 2025

      wanda fish
      8 Mins Read

      Israeli cultivated seafood startup Wanda Fish has developed hybrid toro sashimi, the highly prized fatty cut of bluefin tuna belly, and plans to apply for regulatory approval next year.

      To battle overfishing, extinction threats, ocean pollution, and increasing prices of an already pricey product, Wanda Fish has created cultivated toro sashimi, the fatty underbelly of bluefin tuna known for its buttery, tender characteristics.

      Made from cultivated bluefin tuna cells developed with a 3D plant-based matrix, the hybrid product aims to take on the same sensory and nutritional attributes of its wild-sourced counterpart, which can go for as much as $100 for a 1kg serving.

      Armed with its patent-pending technology, whole-cut downstream manufacturing process, and a $7M in seed investment in October, Wanda Fish is now preparing to commercialise its cultivated seafood, with regulatory applications planned for 2025. These efforts will be supported by its upcoming Series A round, which will help the startup fine-tune its product and scale up production.

      “We are still at lab-scale production. Nevertheless, we are planning our manufacturing process, which will support our goals for this stage,” Wanda Fish CEO Daphna Heffetz, who founded the company in 2021 as a joint venture with The Kitchen FoodTech Hub, tells Green Queen.

      Tackling scalability and high costs is also why Heffetz and her team chose to develop a premium seafood filet – bluefin tuna is one of the most expensive seafood products, priced well above land-based livestock. “This would enable us to build a solid business model, start commercial activities without committing to large-scale and expensive operations, and grow with the growth of the category and product sales,” Heffetz explains.

      Why Wanda Fish picked bluefin tuna toro

      cultivated seafood
      Courtesy: Noam Priesman

      Bluefin tuna is a highly sought-after seafood delicacy, thanks to its velvety texture, buttery flavour and nutritional attributes. But this species represents the ocean’s fastest and longest-distance swimmers, which makes them difficult to raise in captivity, thus commanding a higher price and its use in high-grade sushi and sashimi.

      But its supply is limited and extremely variable in quality, and its stocks face declines due to overfishing and illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing. But continued demand is driving the species towards endangerment and has prompted governments to place strict quotas to limit its fishing. Plus, tuna is one of the most polluted fish in the oceans, often contaminated with plastic debris and extremely high levels of heavy metals like mercury.

      This is why cultivated seafood producers like BlueNalu (US) and Wanda Fish are hoping to provide a solution to the volatility and unsustainability of bluefin tuna toro. The latter combines the cellular mass of muscle and fat created from tuna cells, which are co-developed with a plant-based matrix.

      “An important element of our product, same as wild-caught fillets, consists of muscle, fat and connective tissues,” says Heffetz. “The tuna cell biomass is then mixed with a plant-based matrix to form a whole cut. As the product is aimed to be served raw, same as the wild-caught sashimi, we developed an easy-to-scale and cost-effective technology to create our 3D fillet, which allows us to serve the product raw.”

      The fatty part of the whole-cut bluefin tuna provides not just the textural characteristics it’s cherished for, but also essential nutrients like proteins and omega-3 fatty acids. Wanda Fish’s process induces native fat formulation in the tuna cells, with the team focusing on achieving the same level of fat marbling as conventional toro sashimi. The scalability of the platform will allow the company to get closer to price parity and maximise its profit margins for the premium product, according to Heffetz.

      “Cultivated bluefin tuna is one of those rare food products that make good business sense,” says Yaron Sfadyah, VP of business development and marketing. “It is in high demand, with limited alternatives that match the taste and texture of the wild fish, and at an ideal price point and distribution model. Alternative protein companies often contend with high manufacturing costs, coupled with the low price of animal-based products. It is a completely different story for cultivated bluefin tuna.”

      Going the hybrid meat route

      wanda fish tuna
      Courtesy: Noam Priesman

      One major way of reducing costs for cultivated meat currently is to simply use less of it in the product. Known as hybrid meat, this approach of blending cultivated cells with plant-based ingredients is favoured by several companies. Most prominently, Eat Just – the world’s first cultivated meat startup to be approved for sale – last week launched its latest Good Meat chicken product for retail in Singapore, which contained just 3% of cultivated chicken.

      “It’s no secret that the main challenge the entire cultivated food sector faces is high manufacturing costs at scale. And we don’t have time to spare, as demand for seafood products – specifically bluefin tuna – is constantly rising,” says Heffetz.

      “We believe hybrid products that include muscles, fat and connective tissue biomass grown from fish cells will offer a delicious and nutritional product to market and satisfy consumers. We are a food company, basing our food on cutting-edge technology, and as such our mission is to supply a delicious and wholesome product that will also do good for our world – and so the question is: ‘What formulation will result in the best product to satisfy consumers?’” she adds.

      While she hasn’t disclosed the exact composition of the product, Heffetz explains that the company aims to have a “significant percentage of cultivated vs plant-based” in its products. “We believe it’s a question of product viability, not science or the ‘race’ to reach a certain figure,” she suggests. “The aim in this first prototype was to develop the right technique of mixing the two components while maintaining the characteristics of the wild-caught. To test that, we did use a significant portion of mixed cultivated cells, but the majority is still plant-based.”

      Asia a key focus for Wanda Fish

      bluefin tuna toro
      Courtesy: Noam Priesman

      Wanda Fish will introduce the toro at high-end seafood restaurants, with a focus on Japanese cuisine, including sushi and sashimi. “When you look at the ideal distribution channels for cultivated bluefin tuna, premium seafood restaurant makes a lot of sense, which is one of the greatest market attributes of this product, and why we think we stand at a different potential and feasibility than other cultivated food products,” says Heffetz. “Thus, we are planning to start selling in limited quantities in 2026, reaching price parity soon after.”

      Its initial target markets are countries with the right combination of consumer acceptance, suitable regulatory frameworks, and government support. Heffetz earmarks Israel, the US and Asia as potential entry points. Within Asia, she pinpoints Singapore, South Korea and Japan as the most promising markets, both from a product perspective and in terms of their openness to novel foods.

      Singapore is already known to be a pioneer in novel food regulation – it was the first to allow the sale of cultivated meat, and approved another company earlier this year. South Korea, meanwhile, has established its regulatory process and created a regulation-free zone to accelerate commercialisation – one local company is targeting a launch next year.

      And in Japan, there is more clarity now about the regulatory framework, though it has become slightly more complex – this could be a crucial country for Wanda Fish, given it accounts for 80% of global bluefin tuna consumption.

      “We need to monitor these developments as we decide which country has a better path forward,” says Heffetz, who is especially excited about Asia. “Just look at the number of alternative seafood products that are being introduced to Asian consumers, many of which are introduced by Asian multinational, giant food companies, whether it is in Japan, Korea, Thailand, or elsewhere,” she points out.

      Sailing through financial and legislative pressure

      cultivated tuna
      Courtesy: Noam Priesman

      Alternative seafood has been facing its own headwinds recently – earlier this year, Germany’s Ordinary Seafood and San Francisco’s New Wave Foods both ceased operations, citing a bleak funding landscape and market challenges, while Californian cultivated seafood player Finless Foods reportedly initiated a second round of layoffs in less than 12 months.

      However, Heffetz remains upbeat. “When we look at the data, the deals and investments that took place in recent years, we actually see that seafood is keeping its pace, or is not as hurting as the alternative meat sector,” she suggests, adding: “The alternative seafood sector is much smaller than the meat sector, and thus its growth potential is huge. This is also why I feel strongly about this field – we have yet to showcase the real potential, and we are encouraged by the level of support and interest we are seeing from companies, CVCs and VCs around the world.”

      And speaking of challenges, the cultivated meat sector has been at the centre of legislative action recently. Italy has already banned the production and sale of these products – and this month, the US states of Florida and Alabama have done the same. Several other countries and American states are considering similar bans or restrictions.

      Heffetz believes these bans are more reflective of the local political climate than the industry or its potential. “Cultivated food will require additional research and work, and even then, it will take years to challenge the large animal-origin food companies. We can look at plant-based as an interesting case study,” she says.

      “At the end of the day, whether we like it or not, our world and our future are at risk, and this is a step to mitigate that risk. As I see it, we are developing another offering to stand side by side with plant-based, animal-based, cultivated, fermentation, and who knows what [else] the future may bring to our plates.”

      The post Wanda Fish Develops Cultivated Bluefin Tuna Toro Sashimi, Plans to File Regulatory Dossiers in 2025 appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    8. Ivy Farm Targets 2025 Cultivated Meat Launch After Deal to Produce at World’s ‘Largest’ Alt-Protein Facility

      ivy farm cultured meat
      5 Mins Read

      UK food tech startup Ivy Farm has inked a manufacturing partnership to scale up at a new alternative protein facility in Finland. After hosting a tasting of its cultivated beef yesterday, it’s aiming to launch its first sales next year.

      British cultivated meat producer Ivy Farm Technologies has announced a major manufacturing partnership with Finnish biotech firm Synbio Powerlabs Oy, which will see the former demonstrate the scalability of its mammalian cells in food-grade fermenters at the latter’s new production plant.

      Synbio Powerlabs is converting a large Finnish food-grade facility into a multipurpose hub for cultivated meat and fermentation-derived proteins, backed by a €2.99M government grant. Slated to go live early next year, it will feature pilot-scale equipment and production scales at 10,000 and 27,000 litres, with six 250,000-litre manufacturing vessels. This will make it the largest such facility in the world, according to the announcement.

      Ivy Farm will have exclusivity in the cultivated meat section of the hub, and will be able to gain a strategic advantage, reduce capital expenditure costs, and mitigate risks linked to scaling up. The next phase of the partnership will focus on tech transfer and expanding production to 10,000-litre fermenters, with further plans to increase manufacturing in the next few years.

      It would be a major step up in the Oxford-based producer’s plans to commercialise its cultivated beef – its current pilot plant can produce up to three tonnes of product annually, but this facility is used for process development rather than continuous production. “The partnership with Synbio is designed to progress the production steps to larger scales and test what is possible all done in a low capex way,” Ivy Farm CEO Richard Dillon told Green Queen.

      A ‘unique’ facility powered by renewable energy

      ivy farm synbio
      Courtesy: Synbio Powerlabs

      The new plant, located near Helsinki, is dedicated to helping alternative protein companies accelerate their routes to market. The Nordics are home to some of the most innovative players in this space. While these countries are high importers of meat, the abundance of renewable energy and tech expertise makes them primed to capitalise on the novel foods sector.

      “With the support of Clingate Oy and the Finnish government, we are proud to lead the charge in transforming our vision into reality, positioning ourselves as a global leader in food innovation,” said Synbio Powerlabs chairman Alejandro Antalich. “Together with Ivy Farm Technologies, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of what is possible and shaping the future of food.”

      Speaking about the partnership with Ivy Farm, he added: “By converging our cutting-edge technology and innovative thinking, we are not only revolutionising the way meat is produced but also paving the way for a more efficient, scalable, and environmentally friendly approach to mass-scale food production.”

      Dillon said the company was “committed to partnering with fermentation experts and licensing our technology” to speed up the commercialisation of cultivated meat globally.

      Asked why the startup chose Finland as a hub, he said: “There is no facility similar to this in the UK, so we were forced to look outside of the UK.” He called Synbio Powerlabs “real experts in fermentation”, explaining that Finland “has a strong track record in supporting technology and sustainability”.

      “Finland is second in Europe when it comes to renewable energy share [behind neighbouring Sweden]. The Synbio Powerlab facility is using power from a very efficient and sustainable Finnish energy system that is almost 70% renewable,” he said. “The facility and the tanks are multipurpose for different fermentation processes,” he added, outlining that the startup “has the possibilities to use all fermentation equipment in the future”.

      “Producing cultivated beef in this facility at the metrics expected would produce delicious and nutritious meat with potential savings of 92% GHG emissions, 90% less land and 66% less freshwater versus current industrial farming,” he added. The total production time from the cell thawing to harvesting tonnes of meat is two to three weeks, versus two to three years to produce the same tonnage of meat via current bovine pregnancy and farming methods.”

      Fellow British startup Eternal, which makes fungi-based Mycofood is one of the other companies that will be making use of the new facility, with other businesses to be announced in the future.

      Ivy Farm files for regulatory approval, targets 2025 launch

      ivy farm meat
      Courtesy: Ivy Farm Technologies

      The partnership was unveiled at Iceland Innovation Week yesterday, where Ivy Farm hosted the country’s second-ever cultivated meat tasting with local startup ORF Genetics, which produced recombinant growth factors for these proteins. In February, the latter co-hosted a public tasting with Australia’s Vow, whose cultivated quail is now approved and on sale in Singapore.

      Ivy Farm’s public tasting itself follows an event hosted by Fortnum and Mason in London, which previewed a scotch egg that featured the former’s cultivated Angus beef in the form of meatballs. The Iceland tasting was attended by government officials and food and tech leaders, with the beef cooked by Ólafur Örn Ólafsson, owner and head chef of fine-dining eatery Brút.

      “I couldn’t believe how enjoyable it was to work with cultivated beef, which is essentially just meat grown using new technology. In fact, it would be very difficult or even impossible for most foodies to distinguish between the cultivated beef and traditionally grown,” the restauranteur said.

      “Our primary focus is on premium cultivated beef, specifically Wagyu and Aberdeen Angus mince meat,” said Dillon. Ivy Farm is focusing on a B2B approach, which may mean its cultivated beef ends up in a hybrid product with plant-based ingredients, or even mixed with conventional meat.

      “We supply to food companies who already are experts in making and branding final meat products, such as burgers, meatballs and other delicious products from minced meat,” he explained. “Some may choose to combine with their existing meat products and some may combine with plant-based products. The food companies have the best consumer and customer insights, so will make good final product choices for their markets.”

      Dillon confirmed that Ivy Farm has filed dossiers for regulatory approval, though he remained tight-lipped about the timeline or country. “Ivy Farm has high hopes to achieve regulatory approvals in a number of regions in the not-too-distant future,” he said.

      In March, the company collaborated with BSF Enterprise (parent of cellular agriculture business 3D Bio-Tissues) to fundraise, launch and scale its cultivated meat in Asia. “We have engaged BSF, a technology specialist company, [which] is familiar and networked in Hong Kong, China and the broader Asia region to help us assess a number of enquiries from Asian companies to potentially license our technology and/or invest in the scale-up development work we have planned,” said Dillon.

      So when can we expect to see a product containing Ivy Farm’s cultivated beef? “2025 is going to be an exciting time for us as we look to scale and get first sales,” said Dillon.

      The post Ivy Farm Targets 2025 Cultivated Meat Launch After Deal to Produce at World’s ‘Largest’ Alt-Protein Facility appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    9. Can Plant-Based Meat Escape the Culture Wars?

      plant based meat woke
      6 Mins Read

      By S Marek Muller, assistant professor of communication studies, Texas State University; and David Rooney, doctoral candidate, University of Texas at Austin

      Increasingly, vegans, vegetarians and others looking for meat alternatives are seeing a new option on the menu: patties that look, taste and even appear to bleed like beef hamburgers, but are actually made of soy, pea protein and other ingredients.

      Now, a leading plant-based meat company called Impossible Foods plans to rebrand, in order to reach a wider audience.

      From now on, Impossible Foods says that all of its green cardboard packaging will be switched to red, in a bid to “appeal to the carnivorous cravings of meat eaters,” according to a March 2024 news release.

      Big-name, plant-based meat alternative brands like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat are losing revenue at an alarming pace. Multiple brands, like the vegan chicken nugget brand Nowadays, are going out of business. And Impossible Foods’ private share value has dropped 89% since 2021.

      impossible burger
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      Some of the plant-based meat substitute industry’s woes can be attributed to politics. Many consumers associate plant-based meat substitutes with veganism, animal rights activism and left-wing politics.

      Impossible’s CEO, Peter McGuinness, said in 2023 that his company has an elitist reputation and that the company’s rebranding is a rejection of “wokeness.” The so-called “wokeness” of Impossible and other plant-based meat substitutes shows the symbolic power that food can have in politics.

      As communication scholars, we study and teach our students about the persuasive power of symbols. Even innocuous items like the food we eat are symbols that come with attached meanings and values.

      Amid the highly polarized politics in the U.S., plant-based meat substitutes and their analog, “real” meat, have become weapons in a symbol-laden political battle between some conservatives and liberals, sometimes nicknamed the “Meat Culture War.” In other words, while an Impossible burger might literally be a soy patty, it is also a symbolic threat to the right-wing ideological order, a symbolic stand-in for the left-wing “villain of the week.”

      Food, politics and culture

      alabama lab grown meat
      Courtesy: Jack Williams/Facebook

      While costs vary, products made by the plant-based meat industry can cost two to three times more than animal-based meats.

      People who are higher income, younger and live in the suburbs are most likely to have tried plant-based meat substitutes, Gallup polling shows. A rural Mississippi corner store probably won’t sell Impossible sausages, but an urban California Whole Foods probably will.

      In some cases, conservatives have attached even more meaning to plant-based meat substitutes. Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, for example, produced a documentary in 2022 featuring the Raw Egg Nationalist, a prominent far-right influencer, who said that Impossible, Beyond and other plant-based companies are part of a “soy globalist” conspiracy to criminalize meat consumption and weaken citizens through poisoned food. The Raw Egg Nationalist also wrote in 2022 that plant-based meat substitutes and eggs are “perverted” products pushed by elites to bring civilization to “the brink of madness.”

      Food’s political symbolism is not new. Depicting East Asian men as “effeminate rice eaters” was used as a justification for European colonial rule in Asia in the 1800s and for later stoking anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. And during the Iraq War in the mid-2000s, some U.S. restaurants renamed french fries as “freedom fries” to protest France’s refusal to join the war.

      More recently, some people have derisively called men who consume soy-based proteins “soy boys.” In response to calls for meat reduction, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst has proposed banning the trend of Meatless Mondays to combat “the Left’s War on Meat.”

      Impossible’s appeal to the political right likely won’t be solved with a quick repackage. That’s because their issue is related to a deep-seated conspiratorial ideology embraced by some people in far-right political circles.

      Sure, some studies in consumer psychology suggest that brand color impacts consumer preferences. For plant-based meats in particular, consumers’ perceptions of the product’s eco-friendliness and tastiness is somewhat affected by packaging color – in this case, typically green. A color shift may “nudge” a wayward carnivore to take a taste of an Impossible brat, but that’s a bandage, not a solution.

      You are what you eat

      methycellulose
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      The symbolic connection between consuming the “right” foods and U.S. political identity is strong.

      During the 2012 election, political analyst Dave Wasserman argued that who controls the Senate would come down to Cracker Barrel diners, who tend to favor options like chicken and dumplings, country fried steak and meatloaf, versus Whole Foods shoppers.

      He correctly noted that electoral districts that are also home to a Whole Foods were more likely to vote “blue,” while districts with Cracker Barrels were more likely to vote “red.” Ten years later, in the summer of 2022, social media went wild when Cracker Barrel offered an Impossible sausage patty on its menu.

      Some people then posted on Cracker Barrel’s Facebook page, lambasting the restaurant chain. As one person wrote, “We don’t eat in an old country store for woke burgers.”

      Plant-based meat substitutes are often used by conservative commentators as a symbolic stand-in for “Big Government” and are seen as a threat to individual liberty.

      At the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz declared his wish “to see PETA supporting the Republican Party now that the Democrats want to kill all the cows.” At a 2020 rally in Des Moines, Iowa, then-President Donald Trump cast the anti-meat conspiracy in even more nefarious and illogical terms, saying that “they want to kill our cows! You know why, right? … That means you’re next.”

      In 2021, a survey found that 44% of Republicans actively believe that there is a “movement in the U.S. to ban red meat.”

      A larger conspiracy

      meat culture wars
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      These fears overlap with the populist right-wing conspiracy theory of “The Great Reset,” meaning the belief that wealthy “elites” are weakening citizens – particularly white men – to subject them to tyrannical control and subjugation.

      A 2023 article in The American Conservative argued that Impossible was at the forefront of a “collective vegan madness that has seized our media and political classes … not to convince people but to compel them.” In the online backlash to Cracker Barrel’s new Impossible sausage item, some commentators similarly suggested that Cracker Barrel’s “5G sausages” were controlled by Bill Gates.

      Psychology and gender scholarship has found that “traditional” forms of masculinity associated with right-wing ideologies correlate with high meat consumption. Right-wing males consume red meats at higher volumes and with greater frequency than other demographics.

      As communication scholars, we’re confident that what Impossible can’t do is repackage in a way that will attract right-wing carnivores. The Meat Culture Wars won’t end because of red wrappers or meaty descriptors. They’ll only end when, collectively, other items become perceived as an identity threat and globalist conspiracy and people forget about fake meat.

      This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

      The post Can Plant-Based Meat Escape the Culture Wars? appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    10. Analysing Impossible Foods CEO’s Bloomberg Interview, and What It Implies for Plant-Based Meat

      peter mcguinness
      10 Mins Read

      Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness sat down with Bloomberg Television to talk about the struggles of plant-based meat, consumer preferences, and a potential IPO.

      The plant-based meat category was launched incorrectly, there are too many brands in the space, meat-eaters are key to their success, and someday, an IPO would be nice. These were some of the highlights of a wide-ranging chat between Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness and Bloomberg Television’s Alix Steele and Romaine Bostick.

      Over eight minutes, the head of one of the industry’s giants reiterated a lot of things he’s said over the past year, clarified a few others, and revealed a couple more. “We don’t like the sector and the category being where it is, and there’s a lot of reasons why,” he said.

      If you read between the lines, you see an executive confident in his company’s position, apprehensive about the wider sector and other brands, and comfortable about not being invited to the Met Gala.

      Jokes apart, there are hints that Impossible Foods is using Big Food and Big Meat’s playbook to beat them at their own game and displace those industries. Here’s what McGuinness said over the eight-minute interview, and what it all meant.

      “I think it was launched incorrectly from the beginning. It was very climate[-forward], it was very zealot, there was a lot of rhetoric, it was anti-cattle industry. So it got political, it got woke, it got bicoastal, academic, elitist – so that all has to stop.”

      McGuinness said something similar in an interview with AgFunderNews last September: “I think the category was not launched in the best possible way. It was launched against the cattle industry. And, you know, no one wants a civil war in America.”

      Speaking at the Adweek X conference a few months later, he said: “There was a wokeness to it, there was a bicoastalness to it, there was an academia to it… and there was an elitism to it – and that pissed most of America off.”

      Meat industry interest groups and cattle-protecting lawmakers have long been using words like ‘elite’ and ‘woke’ to describe alternative proteins – that rhetoric has become much more noticeable around cultivated meat in the wake of statewide bans in Florida and Alabama, but these phrases have been successful in driving a large portion of consumers away from plant-based analogues.

      pbfa report
      Courtesy: PBFA

      Particularly, the focus on sustainability hasn’t attracted customers the way meat analogue makers would have hoped, and that has led to a shift in their messaging. In March, Impossible Foods unveiled a major brand refresh that saw it switch from green packaging to red to appeal more to meat-eaters, and put a greater spotlight on flavour descriptors and nutritional points (like saturated fat and sodium content”.

      This is because these factors are much more important to consumers. According to a Mintel survey from 2023, the top two attributes discouraging Americans from trying plant-based meat are flavour (48%) and nutrition (35%). A poll of Kroger shoppers found that over half (51%) of people buy plant-based meat because they’re healthier, which is the top motivation for these purchases.

      “It’s gotta be delicious… It’s gotta be nutritious… And then you gotta be price-competitive.”

      This was perhaps the most succinct explanation of where plant-based meat marketing is headed. As alluded to above, Impossible Foods is already focusing on these factors, as is Beyond Meat. In the UK, too, THIS is doing the same.

      “Taste is the #1 reason why consumers will decide to purchase a product again or not,” an Impossible Foods spokesperson told Green Queen in November, after its Beef Lite product received the heart-check certification from the American Heart Association.

      impossible hot dogs
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods/Green Queen

      But while flavour is key to bringing consumers back and nutrition important to keep them long-term, in the cost-of-living crisis, price is what will decide whether they pick up these products in the first place. “We’re on average about $1-1.50 less than grass-fed, organic, but we are premium to what I would call ‘the well’, you know, the saran-wrap cellophane stuff,” McGuinness told Bloomberg.

      He revealed that the company has brought its prices down by 20% in the last year and a half, while conventional meat is up 18-22% because of higher input and labour costs, and the culling of herds due to famine, drought and diseases.

      “We’re in 48,000 foodservice locations, so we’re number one in foodservice in plant-based, but there’s 1.4 million, so we have a lot of work to do.”

      The statement outlined Impossible Foods’ intention to roll out its products in more foodservice locations – there’s a general consensus that the risk of chefs preparing a bad meal is lower than individuals cooking these products at home for the first time. This makes restaurants a great entry point.

      In fact, McGuinness hit back at Bloomberg’s suggestion that plant-based meat isn’t as “prominent” in fast-food chains anymore. “I just had one at the airport the other day, and it was pretty prominent on the menu board,” he said of the Impossible Whopper, which is available at all 5,500 Burger King locations in the US, as part of a collaboration that began five years ago.

      impossible whopper
      Courtesy: Burger King

      That partnership is one of a number of long-term foodservice deals cultivated by Impossible Foods over the years – the company, it must be said, has an outstanding foodservice record. Its eight-year-long link-up with American chef David Chang and his Momofuku restaurant group is just one example – it’s also present in 15,000 Starbucks stores (five years), Disneyland (four years), White Castle (six years) and Bareburger (seven years), among others.

      “What keeps me up at night is the opportunity, not the cynicism.”

      McGuinness underlined the company’s goals to increase retail distribution – it’s on under 1,000 store shelves (though it recently launched in Whole Foods). “We’re in first gear, it’s nobody’s fault. And we have 15% awareness, 85% of the country hasn’t heard of us… and 6% household penetration – so 94% of America is yet to try an Impossible product.”

      He added that the steps the company needs to take to grow aren’t “high math, crazy things”. “You can expand awareness through paid advertising. You can expand household penetration through more distribution. Food companies do this every day.”

      impossible foods ceo
      Courtesy: Bloomberg Television

      This is why Impossible Foods’ launched its first-ever campaign last summer, followed by what McGuinness described as “plant-based’s biggest” marketing drive ever earlier this month. Launched at the Met Gala, it will be a three-month campaign across TV, streaming, digital, social media and billboards – and focuses on “solving the meat problem with more meat” (plant-based, that is).

      It’s a forward-looking, optimistic statement by the company’s CEO, who looked visibly excited about the new marketing initiative. Whether it will translate into more customers, time will tell.

      “We want to encourage meat-eaters to try and eat our food… I’m not interested in stealing share from other plant-based companies.”

      This is a familiar but important assertion from McGuinness. “My job is not to steal share from Beyond Meat – then I’ve just moved the deck chairs around, and the category stays at the same size. We have to make the category bigger,” he said at Adweek X in December.

      The same week, after announcing the Impossible Hot Dog, the company told Green Queen: “We’re trying to reach meat eaters – not vegans, vegetarians or those already eating sustainable diets. That’s why we focus on making products that appeal to actual meat-eaters. Our goal is not to compete with fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods, but to offer meat-eaters products that are better for them and the planet.”

      impossible chicken nuggets
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      McGuinness echoed this sentiment in his Bloomberg interview, suggesting that appealing to non-meat-eaters is “not going to move the needle”, whether that’s from a value, revenue or mission perspective. “If you’re trying to have less water, less [deforestation], less GHG, it only works if you’re displacing animals,” he said.

      While vegans and vegetarians are obviously important to plant-based meat companies, the real value is bringing over the meat-eaters. “People might be surprised to know that 90% of Impossible consumers also eat meat, and more than one in two who try us for the first time intend to do so again,” Impossible Foods told this publication in March.

      McGuinness highlighted the importance of speaking to this target audience “in a respectful, inviting way, not an insulting way, which is what I think was done in the past”. Alienating meat-eaters won’t help – this is precisely why Starbucks’s Impossible Breakfast Sandwich has cheese and eggs, and the Impossible Whopper contains cheese and special sauce. They’re not vegan, but that’s not the target market anyway.

      “There are a lot of companies that are making food that’s not great food. There’s 200 plant-based companies in America – probably only need three, or two. So there’s a lot of small companies making not-so-great food and people are having bad first impressions.”

      You can look at this two ways. There is definitely a case to be made about oversaturation in the industry – 2023 saw several startups cease operations as they ran out of cash in a highly competitive market. But on the other hand, suggesting a monopoly of two or three companies in the entire category sounds a bit… Big Food?

      “Many consumers have unfortunately had a less-than-positive first impression of various plant-based products, and that casts doubt on the rest of the category as a whole,” the company has previously told Green Queen.

      McGuinness alluded to this in an interview with Food Dive earlier this month, where he took aim at what he labelled “the biggest ‘all other’ I’ve seen in any category”. “There are 100 of these little micro companies that are throwing out products that are not particularly good,” he said, particularly describing fungi and mycelium startups. “I think there are certain brands and products that are the problem,” he said.

      mycelium benefits
      Courtesy: Meati

      “Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat [are] the only true meat alternatives in the category,” he added. “You’re going to be left with a couple of brands and private labels, and that’s going to be the category.”

      We’re already seeing consolidation in the industry, but diversity and consumer choice are vital – that Kroger survey found that the range of options in supermarkets is the second-most influential purchase factor for plant-based meat (with 39% choosing it). Monopolies, meanwhile, are dangerous, especially in the food industry. It’s exactly what the meat giants have been doing for years, with National Beef, JBS, Cargill and Tyson owning a jaw-dropping 85% of the US meat market.

      It’s something the documentary Food, Inc. 2 highlighted. “Monopoly power is a threat to our freedom,” the film said in one of its calls to action. Take the case of Abbott Nutrition, which – along with Meat Johnson Nutrition – owns 80% of the baby formula market. When there were safety issues with its products, Abbott recalled its formula and shut its largest plant, sparking an infant formula shortage.

      impossible foods market share
      Courtesy: Bloomberg Television

      Things are more evenly split in the plant-based sector – according to Bloomberg, Impossible Foods leads the refrigerated space with a 9% market share, but is trumped by Kellogg’s (which owns MorningStar Farms), Beyond Meat and Conagra (the parent company of Gardein) in the freezer aisle, where it commands a 5% share.

      “We don’t need to go public in the near future… That said, it would be nice to go public at some point on our terms, to further capitalise and cement the legacy of the company.”

      An Impossible Foods IPO has long been rumoured, with speculation rife last month after McGuinness indicated to Reuters that the company is exploring a liquidity event that could result in a sale or a public offering. Green Queen understands that the company isn’t committing to this – it has maintained that it’s the fastest-growing brand in the category.

      Any liquidity event, if it were to happen, wouldn’t take place for another two to three years. And at present, expanding distribution and strengthening its portfolio are the business’s key priorities.

      impossible foods ipo
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods/Green Queen

      “We’re lucky enough to be pretty well-capitalised right now,” McGuinness told Bloomberg. Not needing to go public was a good position to be in, he explained as the IPO markets are not “great right now”. “We’ll go public when we’re prepared and we’re ready. I think things were rushed maybe in the past – we don’t need to rush, luckily.”

      The company will hope that this will put IPO rumours to bed for a while, as it ramps up its marketing efforts to meet the meat-eaters where they’re at, shrug off the elitist tag, and keep the price tag wallet-friendly. But would a monopoly make sense?

      The post Analysing Impossible Foods CEO’s Bloomberg Interview, and What It Implies for Plant-Based Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    11. Iowa Restricts Labelling & SNAP Purchases of Meat and Egg Alternatives – and Extends Tax Break for Livestock

      iowa meat labeling
      5 Mins Read

      Iowa governor Kim Reynolds has just signed a bill that restricts the labelling of meat and egg alternatives, as well as excludes them from federal food assistance programmes.

      Plant-based and cultivated meat and eggs can no longer be labelled that way in Iowa, after its governor Kim Reynolds signed SF 2391 into law. It makes the state the latest to impose a ban on the labelling of alternative proteins.

      But perhaps more concerning is a stipulation that prohibits people from buying meat and egg analogues through federal food assistance programmes like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for low-income families or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

      Meanwhile, a second bill signed by Reynolds extends a tax break for livestock producers who sell certain animals for breeding, which is expected to save them nearly $18M by 2030. “Today, we protect Iowa’s livestock industry for future generations,” she said.

      The same farmers were warned of health risks by a public health expert last year for working in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), which have caused life-threatening illnesses and contaminated the drinking water due to nitrate pollution in the state. This has meant that Iowans will spend $333M to treat their water over the next five years, and up to $167.5M to address the health impact.

      Yet, Iowa is doubling down on its CAFOs – last year, more than 250 of the 288 large livestock operations constructed in the US were in Iowa, according to the EPA.

      An ‘unnecessary’ and ‘disparaging’ bill

      iowa plant based restrictions
      Courtesy: Kim Reynolds/X

      The bill is far from the only legislation in the US that prohibits the use of meat-related terms on plant-based alternatives – many states have done (or are attempting to do) the same. But imposing these restrictions on eggs isn’t as common, and perhaps a sign that the industry is slowly encroaching upon the chicken sector’s market share.

      “This legislation prohibits companies from exploiting the trust consumers have with our livestock producers and misleading consumers into buying products they don’t want. This is about transparency,” said Reynolds. “It’s about the common-sense idea that a product labelled chicken, beef, or pork, should actually come from an animal.” 

      Under the law, anyone misbranding “fabricated egg products” or a plant-based, cultivated or insect protein faces a fine of up to $500, with each day that the violation occurs constituting a separate offence (the maximum limit for the penalty is $10,000).

      Dawn Driscoll, a Republican senator and cattle farmer, labelled it a “meat integrity” law. “Consumers deserve the truthful labelling on products, and our children deserve better than lab-grown protein,” she said.

      In response, the Precision Fermentation Alliance (PFA) – a trade group comprising 10 alternative protein startups – called the bill “unnecessary and duplicative of federal laws”. “Under current federal law, foods that do not meet an established standard of identity must be clearly labelled with appropriate qualifying terms so that consumers understand the nature of the foods they purchase,” it said in a statement.

      “SF 2391’s use of ‘fake’ and ‘imitation’ as the lead qualifying terms is inflammatory and disparaging to a wide category of foods that American consumers both understand and want access to.”

      Iowa restricts access to alt-protein to those in need

      iowa plant based meat
      Courtesy: Just Egg

      Restricting labels is one thing, but an amendment in the bill’s passage through the government committees means the state’s residents cannot use programmes like SNAP or WIC to buy these foods. It’s an abhorrent use of legislation that blocks people on low incomes, women and children in need from accessing healthier, more sustainable food options, and mocks their freedom to choose what they want to eat – all to line up the pockets of an industry that is destroying the planet.

      If the USDA approves the purchase of meat or egg analogues under one of these programmes, the new law directs the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to seek a waiver or exemption for people to buy these products under the nutrition assistance schemes. The bill completely disregards any concerns about meat or egg allergies – Iowans who suffer from these conditions are left in limbo.

      “Perhaps USDA will turn down the waiver request and things will be different, but it’s just bad legislation,” outlined House representative Monica Kurth, who said the bill takes away the rights of people dependent on SNAP or WIC. Last month, the USDA updated its WIC provisions to include plant-based milk, yoghurt and cheese, a move that recognised the importance of alternative proteins.

      “Let’s protect our people that need help,” added fellow representative Ako Abdul-Samad. “Let’s protect the babies that can’t eat eggs. Let’s not make it hard on our people. Why are we making it hard on people that we’re trying to help in Iowa?”

      “This law arbitrarily limits access to safe, nutritious foods through programs such as SNAP and WIC. Restricting consumer choice hurts both American consumers and the industries that employ them, whether at the silo or the many food processing facilities in the Midwest and beyond,” the PFA said. “This law is part of a troubling emerging trend of state legislation artificially constraining the free market and stifling the greatness of American innovation. This is particularly unfortunate today at a time when supply chain disruptions and persistent inflation are putting pressure on consumers’ pocketbooks.”

      At the signing of the bill, House representative Heather Hora took a shot at cultivated meat too. “Iowa’s farm families work hard every day to bring nutritious red meat to the market. Lab-grown products are not the same as high-quality pork or beef or other meats raised by Iowa farm families and consumers deserve truthful, transparent labeling on products.”

      It comes the same month Florida and Alabama banned the production and sale of cultivated meat within state borders. Iowa’s bill, which disproportionally affects vulnerable people, is the latest in a heightening trend of legislative meat-hugging that’s dampening the future of food ahead of this year’s elections. Let’s hope it doesn’t catch on.

      The post Iowa Restricts Labelling & SNAP Purchases of Meat and Egg Alternatives – and Extends Tax Break for Livestock appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    12. Simple Planet Eyes 2025 Regulatory Approval in South Korea After $8M Government Grant for Cultivated Meat

      lab grown meat korea
      4 Mins Read

      Korean food tech startup Simple Planet has received ₩11B ($8.1M) for a government project to boost food security, and targets regulatory approval for its cultivated meat ingredients next year.

      South Koreans could be eating cultivated meat as soon as next year, with Seoul-based Simple Planet gearing up to file for regulatory approval in the country, months after it began inviting applications for the same.

      “Simple Planet is applying for regulatory approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, aiming for approval in the first half of next year,” co-founder and CEO Dominic Jeong told Green Queen. The company will sell products under its Balboa Kitchen brand.

      “Consumers will be able to taste or receive prototypes in the second half of next year. The target markets include not only Korea, but also North America and Southeast Asia.”

      The development comes after Simple Planet was selected for a ₩11B ($8.1M) grant by the government, led by the Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (IPET), Korea Agriculture Technology Promotion Agency (KOAT), and Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion (KIMST).

      The funding is dedicated towards a project that aims to develop the food tech sector in South Korea to bolster sustainable and stable food production in the future. Simple Planet, which makes ingredients for cultivated meat like powders and fats, will use the capital to further expand its R&D and commercialisation processes.

      Simple Planet working on 13 cell lines

      simple planet
      Courtesy: Simple Planet

      The project durations differ based on the department. The KOAT initiative will focus on creating cultivated foods to replace animal-derived ingredients and last three years. Under the IPET, also a three-year project, it will work on establishing pluripotent stem cell lines and differentiation and developing mass culture technology for cultivated meat. The KIMST-backed project, meanwhile, is five years long and centres on R&D and production of high-value cultivated seafood.

      “Simple Planet’s expertise in cell separation, proliferation/differentiation, and large-scale production through suspension culture has been a key factor in the selection process,” said Jeong. The company was recognised for its cell acquisition technology and suspended cell development platform, the establishment of 13 different specialised cell lines, and the development of serum-free media for cultivated meat.

      Instead of making fully developed cuts of meat, Simple Planet is producing protein powders and unsaturated fatty acid pastes for cultivated meat products. “The focus is on cattle, pigs and chickens for livestock, and eel, halibut, rainbow trout, bluefin tuna, squid, pollack and lobster for seafood,” said Jeong. But he added: “There are plans to produce whole cuts in the future.”

      The company is also working on duck, flatfish, salmon, king crab and oyster cell lines, and has plans to create a fish cake and seafood powder in the future.

      “Our cell-cultured food ingredients can produce diverse customised ingredients including food and functional ingredients with excellent production efficiency, enabling a stable food supply,” said Jeong.

      Cultivated meat developments escalating in South Korea

      simple planet korea
      Courtesy: Simple Planet

      The startup has bagged over $7.5M in funding to date, following a $6M pre-Series A round earlier this year. It has six bioreactors of varying sizes, with a total capacity of 1,150 litres. It’s currently building an 18,000 sq ft facility in (expected to be operational by 2025) – but Simple Planet has massive scale-up ambitions, with plans to start producing in Singapore, Thailand, India and the US by the end of 2025, with a targeted capacity of 20,000 litres.

      Scaling up will help the company bring costs down, an effort that has been facilitated by its switch to food-grade media from fetal bovine serum. This could potentially reduce its production costs by 99.8%, from $430 to $1.5 per litre. “The current production cost is around ₩200,000/kg [$148] and the consumer price is set at ₩70,000/kg [$52],” said Jeong. “The plan is to reduce the cost through process technology development.”

      This is crucial if cultivated meat is to take off in the country, with only 12% of Koreans willing to pay ₩1,000-3,000 (74 cents to $2.2) more per 100g of cultivated meat. On the contrary, 57% would eat cultivated pork if it’s cheaper than its conventional counterpart, and 25% would do so for beef too.

      Speaking of taking off, cultivated meat has gained rapid momentum in the country. In February, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety established a framework for regulatory approval of these proteins. The process costs ₩45M ($34,000) and is expected to take up to 270 working days.

      And last month, the government created a regulatory-free special zone designed for the development of cultivated foods in the eastern province of Gyeongsangbuk-do. It harbours 10 startups that are working towards the commercialisation of cultivated meat.

      Additionally, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced this month that it will invest ₩28.6B ($21M) in research funding for its plant-based and cultivated seafood tech. “Simple Planet’s view is that the high-value marine species will become easily accessible to consumers, and the project is seen as a necessary investment for the future, as it can replace endangered species,” said Jeong.

      The post Simple Planet Eyes 2025 Regulatory Approval in South Korea After $8M Government Grant for Cultivated Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    13. The Vegetarian Butcher to Use The Every Company’s Animal-Free Egg Whites for Plant-Based Meat

      vegetarian butcher the every company
      5 Mins Read

      Dutch plant-based meat startup The Vegetarian Butcher has teamed up with Californian precision fermentation pioneer The Every Company to use its animal-free egg whites in meat analogues.

      Unilever-owned The Vegetarian Butcher will make use of The Every Co’s microbial egg whites as a clean-label binder in some of its meat-free formulations, marking a major collaboration in the alternative protein world.

      The Vegetarian Butcher’s chicken, beef, pork and fish analogues are present in thousands of retailers and foodservice outlets across Europe and beyond. Its partnership with The Every Co – the only company that has commercialised precision-fermented egg proteins – is a step in its efforts to do away with chicken-derived eggs from its entire lineup.

      Incorporating the animal-free egg white into its meat alternatives will allow it to provide a clean-label option to consumers who are increasingly apprehensive about ultra-processed foods and long ingredient lists.

      “When on a mission, we love to work with the right partners to become even more impactful together,” The Vegetarian Butcher said in a statement. “This breakthrough, clean-label ingredient is a natural fit with The Vegetarian Butcher’s mission to release animals from the food chain.”

      Ditching methylcellulose for the Every EggWhite

      vegan butcher
      Courtesy: The Vegetarian Butcher

      Currently, The Vegetarian Butcher uses methylcellulose in its formulations, which is becoming less and less popular among meat analogue makers. While it’s widely used in the industry as a binder and gelling agent, its overprocessed nature, complex moniker, and use in laxatives has garnered it a bad rep – in 2022, Beyond Meat was sued for using the ingredient while putting ‘all-natural’ claims on its burgers (it no longer labels them this way).

      But it’s a highly functional ingredient – it is non-toxic and allergen-free, can dissolve in cold water, and forms a gel at high temperatures. One of its most unique properties is its thermoreversibility: methylcellulose can set when hot and melt when cold. This means it provides meat analogues with a juicy bite and meatier texture, making it hard to replace.

      Singaporean vegan chicken maker TiNDLE Foods uses methylcellulose to keep its plant-based meat together. On its website, it explains: “Think of it as a plant-based egg white.”

      This is where The Every Co comes in. It genetically engineers yeast strains called Komagataella phaffii and feeds them on sugars to produce proteins found in eggs. Its precision-fermented EggWhite innovation contains ovalbumin, the most abundant egg protein, and provides aeration, whipping, gelling, binding, and foam stability properties.

      Nick Toriello, The Every Co’s chief commercial officer, told AgFunderNews that The Vegetarian Butcher has been trying to get methylcellulose out of its formulations for “quite some time”. “What was key to them was that EVERY EggWhite was a relatively simple and straightforward product to work with as it could just serve as a drop-in replacement,” he explained. “The taste and texture of the end product is superior, and they get a cleaner label at the back end.”

      The Every Co files for EU & UK approval

      the every company
      Courtesy: The Every Company

      While its egg proteins are certified by The Vegan Society – as no animals are used or harmed to produce them – they must still carry an allergen warning. But the ‘animal-free’ or vegan message isn’t a priority for many of its partners, according to the startup.

      “After years of dedicated effort to further veganise our product range, this new collaboration aims to accelerate the final steps of this process, while preserving the delicious taste and texture of our products,” The Vegetarian Butcher said.

      As we reported in December, The Every Co has already been granted three ‘no further questions’ letters from the FDA in the US, but for The Vegetarian Butcher to sell any products featuring the Every EggWhite, the Californian startup will need regulatory approval in the respective countries. It has filed novel food applications in the EU and the UK.

      “We aim to have that regulatory approval in parallel with the launch,” Toriello said, in relation to The Vegetarian Butcher partnership. “So the main market we’re targeting for this is the UK specifically, but we’re actively exploring near-term opportunities in other regions.”

      The Dutch startup isn’t the first to use the Every EggWhite to fine-tune meat analogues – last year, Colombia’s Grupo Nutresa partnered with The Every Company to use its animal-free egg white as a binder for products under its Zenú and Pietran brands. The Silicon Valley startup has also collaborated with ingredients giant Ingredion and drinks conglomerate AB InBev in the past.

      The Every Co’s 2024 priorities

      precision fermentation egg
      Courtesy: The EVERY Company

      The Every Co is actively producing two other products: Every Protein, a nearly transparent protein bioidentical to glycoprotein (found in egg whites) for neutral and clear-looking foods and beverages; and Every Egg, a whole egg that contains the EggWhite, plant-based oils, natural colours and flavourings, fibre and water.

      These products make for viable options among the volatility of chicken eggs, which have always had unpredictable prices and are frequently affected by outbreaks of avian flu. This is a big attraction for the startup’s B2B clients. “Every customer is different. Some want to absolutely take animals out of their supply chain,” explained Toriello. “But the bigger thing we’ve noticed in the last two years is that they want stability on supply and price. And on price, we are competitive with cage-free egg white pricing today.” (The startup has raised $233M in funding so far.)

      And it delivers on taste too, having impressed the likes of Daniel Humm, who hosted a special dinner at his three-Michelin-starred eatery Eleven Madison Park with the Every Egg as the centrepiece. “In collaborating with chef Humm and his team at Eleven Madison Park, we successfully demonstrated that EVERY Egg’s quality delivers on the highest standards of culinary excellence,” The Every Co CEO Arturo Elizondo, who co-founded the startup in 2014 with David Anchel, told Green Queen at the time.

      Speaking to AgFunderNews, he labelled “onboarding additional manufacturing capacity and translating that into products in the marketplace” as the business’s two top priorities for the year. “We’ve proven that our technology works at scale; we’re producing regularly in 100,000-litre+ fermenters, making metric tons of product,” he said. “So it’s now a matter of continuing to dial up scale so we have enough capacity to ultimately bring the cost down.”

      Lance Lively, the company’s VP and general manager, added: “What we’re thinking the most about is how can we get to the point where we can supply 20% of eggs to the top five egg users on an annualised basis.”

      The post The Vegetarian Butcher to Use The Every Company’s Animal-Free Egg Whites for Plant-Based Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    14. Eat Just Debuts Cultivated Meat in Retail at Singapore’s Huber’s Butchery

      good meat chicken
      7 Mins Read

      Californian cultivated meat pioneer Eat Just has hit a major milestone in the sector, debuting Good Meat chicken in the freezers of Huber’s Butchery in Singapore – the first time these proteins are available in retail.

      You can now cook cultivated chicken at home, thanks to Eat Just’s landmark move into the freezers of Huber’s Butchery in Singapore, making it the first cultivated meat product to be sold for retail anywhere in the world.

      As the first company to ever receive regulatory approval to sell cultivated meat, the Good Meat chicken has been available at various foodservice points in the island nation since 2020. But moving into retail is a major breakthrough for an industry that has so far struggled to manufacture enough product and keep costs down for such a rollout.

      This has been enabled by the launch of the latest iteration of Eat Just’s chicken, titled Good Meat 3. It’s a lower-cost formulation comprised of fewer cultivated meat cells, going from 60-70% to just 3% of the product. The rest is made up of wheat and soy proteins, sunflower and coconut oils, natural flavours, modified food starch and soy lecithin, and comes seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper.

      Available in the freezer section of Huber’s Butchery – which previously sold the product as part of several dishes – the shredded chicken is priced at S$7.20 ($5.35) for a 120g pack. “This format gives the best texture and versatility for home chefs to prepare in a wide variety of dishes,” Eat Just CEO Josh Tetrick tells Green Queen when asked about the meat cut.

      “Giving consumers the opportunity to buy cultivated chicken in-store and bring it home to prepare and serve to their families is a huge step towards normalising this new type of food,” he says, revealing that a retail launch has been a goal from the start.

      Switching up the hybrid composition to lower costs

      eat just chicken
      Courtesy: Eat Just

      The retail launch marks the debut of Good Meat 3, a new product crafted by Eat Just that could potentially end up as a foodservice offering as well. It was produced at ESCO Aster (the world’s first regulator-approved contract manufacturer for cultivated meat), while the extrusion process was completed at Nurasa’s newly unveiled Food Tech Innovation Centre, another Eat Just partner.

      By retuning the composition to use a smaller percentage of cultivated meat, the startup is now able to sell its chicken at retail-friendly costs, which is a major step towards the commercialisation of the sector. Hybrid meats – which combine cultivated animal cells with plant-based ingredients – have been described by investors as the only way to make cultivated meat commercially feasible.

      Heather Courtney, general partner at Alwyn Capital, told Green Queen in December: “The chances of being able to economically produce 100% cultivated products that can compete on price with commoditised meat are slim to none in the next 10+ years.”

      But equally crucial to the success of these meats is the taste factor – it’s what attracted consumers to Good Meat too. A survey of diners at Huber’s Bistro suggested that buying and eating cultivated the cultivated chicken “significantly boosted” people’s acceptance of it. On a scale of 1 to 5, respondents displayed a strong willingness to try it again (a score of 4.41) and rated its flavour 4.21/5.

      Eat Just – which has reduced production costs by 90% since 2018 – promises that despite the change in formulation, Good Meat 3 does not compromise on flavour, texture or nutrition. According to sensory testing, consumers find the product exceptional in taste, texture, and appearance. “Our initial sensory data has yielded overwhelmingly positive feedback on taste and texture, and we’re excited to see how home chefs will use GOOD Meat 3 in their favourite recipes,” says Tetrick. This indicated that “consumers will agree that it tastes like conventional chicken”.

      The Good Meat chicken is also nutritionally on par with conventional chicken, and superior in some aspects. Per 100g, it delivers 28.6g of protein, 5.75 of fat (1.9g of which is saturated), 5.7mg of cholesterol, and 2.2g of fibre.

      The retail rollout – combined with the lower price – will effect a major propulsion of sales for the company. “To date, we’ve sold more than 2,000 servings of GOOD Meat in Singapore alone, and with the introduction of GOOD Meat 3, we will sell more than that in 2024,” outlines Tetrick.

      Cultivated meat gains ground in Singapore

      where is lab grown meat sold
      Courtesy: Eat Just

      The launch coincides with the reopening of Huber’s Butchery, which has undergone an extensive renovation. Starting today, Singaporeans can buy frozen cultivated chicken for the remainder of 2024. “Huber’s Butchery has been a true partner and advocate for Good Meat for over a year, and we are thrilled to continue working with them on this historic launch,” Tetrick says.

      “Having the latest version of Good Meat 3 cultivated chicken available for retail is another step in this journey to make cultivated meat available to a bigger audience,” says Andre Huber, executive director of Huber’s. “People will have the opportunity to prepare the product the way they want and experience how it can fit into their home-cooked meals.”

      Mirte Gosker, managing director at industry think tank the Good Food Institute APAC, adds: “The world will soon get its first look at what home chefs choose to do with cultivated meat when the choices are infinite. There’s no better place for this culinary exploration to happen than Singapore, which has a well-earned reputation as an epicentre of market testing thanks to its renowned food culture, multiethnic population, and outsize presence of world-class research facilities.”

      It means that at present, there are two different cultivated meat products available to Singaporeans. In April, the country’s food safety regulator cleared Australia’s Vow to sell its cultivated quail, which has since been doing the rounds at restaurants – it’s currently on the menu at Tippling Club. Later this year, Dutch producer Meatable also expects to get the greenlight and launch its cultivated pork into foodservice.

      But Eat Just, for now, remains the only company to put cultivated meat in retail freezers. “We know there is much more work to be done to prove that cultivated meat can be made at large scale, and we remain focused on that objective,” says Tetrick.

      Contending with legal and political threats

      cultivated meat retail
      Courtesy: Eat Just

      The retail milestone comes as the cultivated meat startup faces various challenges in its home country. It has been embroiled in a $100M lawsuit with contract manufacturer ABEC over unpaid bills. Earlier this month, the judge in Pennsylvania sided with Eat Just on some matters, and ABEC on others. The case is still ongoing.

      Meanwhile, the states of Florida and Alabama have banned cultivated meat this month, in a move widely panned by alternative protein experts, the press, and even the meat industry. This bill sends a terrible message to the investors, scientists, and entrepreneurs that have built America’s global leadership in alternative proteins,”  Tom Rossmeissl, Eat Just’s global marketing head, told Green Queen after Florida’s ban.

      “The law will not stop the development of cultivated meat,” he added. “And Good Meat remains committed to its mission: making real meat without needing to tear down a rainforest.”

      Despite its financial troubles (the company has faced at least seven lawsuits since 2019) Tetrick has previously outlined Eat Just’s plans to break even in 2024. The startup, which has raised over $850M to date, earned 99.9% of its revenue from its vegan Just Egg business, as of November. “we are focused on the daily execution of our zero-burn plan (i.e., cover operating costs through margin dollars) and serving our customers. If we execute, the company and its missions win. It’ll be challenging and hard – and it’s up to us to get it done,” Tetrick told this publication at the time.

      Now, he reiterates that target, explaining: “Eat Just is on track to achieve break-even by the end of 2024.” He adds that the company has no firm plans about foodservice at this point, but is “considering a variety of options to make our chicken available to wider audiences”. Its campaign-style production runs and rollouts have seen the Good Meat chicken appear on the menus of hawker stalls and fine-dining eateries in Singapore, as well as China Chilcano in Washington, DC.

      Asked about Eat Just’s plans for 2024, Tetrick says: “We look forward to hearing feedback from Huber’s customers about GOOD Meat 3, and will use this input as we continue to make our product better.”

      The post Eat Just Debuts Cultivated Meat in Retail at Singapore’s Huber’s Butchery appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    15. 2023 State of the Marketplace: 8 Takeaways for Plant-Based Brands from PBFA’s Latest Report

      plant based sales
      8 Mins Read

      Health, e-commerce and almond milk are vital in a sector that shows long-term potential despite recent headwinds, according to a new report by the Plant-Based Foods Association.

      In spite of a rough year for sales and investment in the vegan sector, if certain barriers are removed, plant-based food is here to stay. That’s the consensus of the 2023 State of the Marketplace report by US-based trade body the Plant-Based Foods Association (PBFA).

      Leveraging data from multiple insight firms, the analysis looks at the retail, foodservice and e-commerce sectors to find the challenges and opportunities for plant-based brands.

      “Despite inflationary pressures and economic challenges that have affected the entire food landscape, plant-based has held strong and established its faithful role in the shopping carts, shelves, and menus of a large and diverse group of consumers,” said PBFA’s VP of marketplace development, Julie Emmett.

      “The plant-based foods segment remains an important priority offering for our customers that continues to evolve with changing customer trends,” added Lee Robinson, VP of merchandising at Whole Foods Market, a PBFA partner. “Putting the ‘plant’ back in ‘plant-based’ through simpler, plant-forward ingredient decks, elevated sourcing, and reduced processing are areas of focus to usher the industry into advancing agricultural practices.”

      What can companies learn from the state of the plant-based marketplace in 2023? Here are the big takeaways.

      Gen Z doesn’t make up a large majority of plant-based shoppers

      gen z plant based
      Courtesy: PBFA

      The share of vegan consumers is evenly split across age and income demographics. Over-65s actually accounted for the largest share (23.5%), followed by the 18-34 age group (19.5%). So it appears that Gen Zers don’t represent a large majority of plant-based shoppers, although their purchasing power is predicted to grow when 2024 tax changes take effect.

      Meanwhile, over 41% of people who buy plant-based have high incomes, a trend that “aligns with unavoidable industry realities”, according to PBFA. Vegan food is still competing with the low prices of industrially farmed, government-subsidy-backed animal foods. But research has shown that plant-based consumers spend more overall, making them highly valuable to retailers and operators.

      Additional data shows that 62% of US households are buying plant-based foods, and 81% are repeating these purchases, indicating their strong faith in these products.

      Health over everything

      pbfa report
      Courtesy: PBFA

      The importance of health has skyrocketed in the post-pandemic and mid-Ozempic eras. Industry leaders are already repositioning their brands to be more health-skewed to meet these needs, and PBFA’s analysis confirms the vitality of health.

      The report outlines how health can mean different things to people, spanning personal illness, food safety or even specific nutritional requirements. Among primary US grocer shoppers, 80% consider themselves health-conscious, and 65% eat plant-based because they think these products are healthy.

      Similarly, 51% of Kroger shoppers said they buy vegan products since they’re healthy, and 38% do so because they want to reduce animal consumption due to personal health concerns.

      Only four categories actually declined in dollar sales

      pbfa state of the marketplace
      Courtesy: PBFA

      Despite concerns about the industry’s alleged downfall (if you’re to believe certain media outlets), only four product categories saw sales dip, while the overall sector held relatively steady (down from $8.2B in 2022 to $8.1B in 2023), suggesting that it was a year of flatlines instead of declines.

      From 2021 to 2023, meat and seafood (-6.6%), ready meals (-7.9%), ice cream (-7.4%), and cheese (-5.4%) were the only plant-based categories that witnessed a decrease. PBFA recommends that retailers merchandise meat or seafood analogues with products that are frequently purchased together, such as conventional meat/seafood or dairy cheese, as about three in 10 people who buy the former also buy the latter.

      Milk is still the plant-based leader

      oat milk vs almond milk
      Courtesy: PBFA

      Plant-based milk is still the leading category in the sector, making up over a third (36%) of all sales last year, and representing a 4.2% annual growth since 2021. In 2023, dollar sales grew slightly by 0.7%, but unit sales dropped by 7.5%, an indication of the higher cost of products (milk alternatives saw prices hike by over 8%).

      Still, this category represents the highest dollar share in the overall market (15%) across the plant-based sector. This is even higher (41%) in the natural channel, which entails supermarkets with over $2M of annual sales and at least 50% of sales from natural or organic products (excluding Whole Foods).

      Despite a 3.6% decline, almond milk is still the leader in the US, making up 55% ($1.6B) of the category’s total sales. Oat has held strong at second position with a 7.6% increase, while coconut milk saw the largest increase (24.8%).

      In foodservice, meanwhile, operators increased their spend on plant-based milk much more than dairy. While they bought 8.2% more conventional milk and spent 7.1% more than the year before, their purchases of plant-based milk grew by 18.3% in volume, representing a 20.9% higher spend.

      Watch out for the creamers

      non dairy creamers
      Courtesy: PBFA

      Non-dairy creamers are expanding rapidly in the US. It’s a market that has seen constant growth over the years, and saw annual sales increase by 16.2% (the highest in the industry) from 2021 to 2023 to reach $701M. Last year alone, dollar sales were up by 10.4%, and units also increased by 3.7%.

      Across the US, 15% of households bought plant-based creamers last year, and over 65% repeated their purchase. Among the 73% of Americans who drink coffee every day, a majority prefer to add creamers and/or sweeteners instead of drinking it black. Here, the preference for oat milk creamers climbed by 90% and almond-based options by 71% since 2022.

      “As long as the demand for coffee exists, consumers will search for creamers to go with it – and as environmental awareness grows, consumers may seek out more plant-based options,” the report stated. “Brands and retailers can emphasize plant-based creamers’ environmental benefits to help consumers make choices that are more aligned with their values.”

      Don’t sleep on e-commerce

      plant based foods association
      Courtesy: PBFA

      In the US, 33% of shoppers buy plant-based foods online – convenience, a wide array of options, and the absence of physical shelf space constraints make this channel attractive to brands. E-commerce plant-based sales reached $394M in 2023, with an annual growth rate of 16.4% over three years. They also occupy a larger share of online sales (6.8%) than brick-and-mortar retail (3.8%).

      And while animal-based foods outpaced vegan categories in dollar sale growth last year, plant-based products actually saw a higher increase in unit sales than their conventional counterparts, illustrating strong, sustained shopper interest and engagement.

      Restaurants are down on plant-based – other operators are not

      plant based report
      Courtesy: PBFA

      Dollar sales of plant proteins – including meat analogues and traditional food like tofu, tempeh, grains and nuts – in foodservice dipped slightly by 1% last year, with restaurants representing the biggest decline. Quick-service establishments spent 10% less on these foods, and full-service ones shelled out 7% less.

      But this was offset by other industry operators – mainly workplace cafeterias, which bought 25% more plant proteins and spent 13% more on them. Dollar and pound sales of plant-based food also increased in education, healthcare and government establishments.

      Rob Morasco, VP of innovation at Sodexo, which is aiming to make 50% of its food plant-based by 2025, outlined three main challenges for adding plant-based products to foodservice. “Our customers can be anywhere on the ‘knowledge spectrum’ on these products, especially those that don’t identify as vegan or vegetarian. Educating them on the choices available to them without ‘preaching or dictating’ is very important,” he explained.

      “Second, our operators and chefs also need the same education on plant-based overall – whether alt products or whole food plant-based, there is work to do to help our chefs feel more comfortable in this space. Lastly, cost and distribution are still a challenge – normalization compared to their ordinary alternatives and achieving price parity will be a pretty big deal.”

      Different forks, different strokes

      plant based sales foodservice
      Courtesy: PBFA

      The business, industry, government, healthcare, casino and lodging sectors all invested the most in plant-based foods, especially tofu, representing the growing focus on whole foods.

      “We do think, however, that the products that emulate the big ‘ordinary’ protein movers – beef, chicken, pork, seafood – are the most important to the non-commercial space,” said Morasco. “We sell a lot of hamburgers and chicken tenders and need plant-based alternatives to those that taste like the ordinary version.”

      But for restaurants, plant-based meat, egg and cheese analogues present a major opportunity. An analysis of 20 eateries over six months found that introducing these options increased the total sales of all plant-based orders by 112% and mixed orders by 35%.

      First-time guests placing vegan orders were twice more likely to return for a second visit than those who ordered animal-based foods. Moreover, plant-based orders boosted check averages by 8% (versus 1% for animal-based orders), indicating that higher-quality offerings justify the premiums on plant-based food.

      The post 2023 State of the Marketplace: 8 Takeaways for Plant-Based Brands from PBFA’s Latest Report appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    16. Future Food Quick Bites: Delicious Salads, Vegan Lidl & EU Support

      the salad project deliciously ella
      6 Mins Read

      In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers a vegan salad partnership, a plant-based cheese rebrand and EU funding for cultivated meat.

      New products and launches

      UK fast-casual chain The Salad Project has partnered with Deliciously Ella on a new limited-edition menu, which will feature a Miso-Maple Aubergine Bowl, a DE Classic, a Super Green Salad, and a Little Plants Bowl (for kids).

      sheese vegan cheese
      Courtesy: Sheese

      Scottish vegan cheese producer Sheese has had a complete rebrand – a new logo, new orange packaging, and a new recipe – to make its products look and taste more like their conventional counterparts.

      Fellow plant-based cheesemaker I Am Nut OK has secured its first nationwide listing, with its cashew-based parmesan, feta and buffalo mozzarella now available on online retailer Ocado.

      Also in the UK, plant-based food brand Squeaky Bean has launched a hoisin duck pancake meal kit and a new snack range – comprising Southern Fried Straws, Duck and Hoisin Style Bites, and BBQ Pork Style Rolls – at select Tesco scores this week.

      Starbucks UK has collaborated with Nestlé on its new Mexican-Style Wrap for the summer menu, which features the latter’s Garden Gourmet pulled fillet, alongside a chilli-tomato sauce, peppers, spinach and vegan mozzarella.

      Another British startup, Myco, will roll out the first 10,000 burgers and 20,000 sausages made from its Hooba protein (made using vertically farmed mushrooms). It has agreed listings with several suppliers, including artisanal and plant-based wholesalers.

      lidl belgium vegan
      Courtesy: Lidl

      Lidl Belgium has followed its German counterpart in lowering the prices of its own-label plant-based alternatives to match the rates of meat and dairy, in a bid to double its vegan sales.

      Across the Atlantic, US fermented protein producer Calysta has joined forces with German pet food startup Dr. Clauder’s to debut air-dried dog treats using the former’s vegan FeedKind Pet protein, which will first launch in Europe.

      Meanwhile, Next Level Burger and Veggie Grill have rolled out the second phase of their Birds & Bees pollinator protection campaign for National Egg Month, with two new vegan egg sandwiches featuring Just Egg and WunderEgg.

      future food quick bites
      Courtesy: Next Level Burger

      Fellow American company Mighty Yum has reformulated its vegan Munchables lunch kits in response to demand for more allergen-friendly options, with its Turkey and Cheese and Ham and Cheese varieties no longer containing soy or gluten.

      Seafood giant Thai Union will unveil two new vegan shrimp SKUs at the THAIFEX-Anuga Asia event in Bangkok later this month. These include breaded shrimp and a shrimp patty.

      alma resort vegan
      Courtesy: Alma Resort

      And in Cam Ranh, Vietnam, Alma Resort has introduced a vegan menu in its Asiana restaurant as part of its sustainability goals and in response to growing demand for meatless food. Highlights include chicken katsu curry, crispy California sushi rolls, and mushrooms and tofu in oyster sauce. Its other eateries have also expanded plant-based options.

      Finance and company updates

      Indonesian plant-based meat brand Green Rebel has temporarily suspended its D2C operations in South Korea to improve management efficiency amid ongoing financial losses.

      Canadian vegan hot dog maker Sensible Foods has launched a strategic review that could result in a change in the company’s business strategy, with Shawn Balaghi replaced as CEO by Chris Jackson (on an interim basis).

      Fellow Canadian company Else Nutrition, which makes vegan infant formula and cereal products, has closed a second tranche of a private placement worth $1M for clinical trials related to the FDA and general working capital.

      Also in Canada, plant-based seafood startup Save Da Sea has netted C$650,000 ($475,000) in seed financing – led by a state fund for women-led startups – to expand the distribution of its products.

      save da seafood
      Courtesy: Save Da Seafood

      Cultivated meat company ProFuse Technology has received a €2.4M grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Transition programme, a recognition of policy support for alternative proteins in the EU.

      Isreli alternative protein company Steakholder Foods has inked a deal with Wyler Farms, which will manufacture its 3D-printed burgers, meatballs and minced meat at commercial scale and drive the startup towards profitability.

      Research and policy developments

      Berlin-based food tech startup Nosh.bio has opened a new factory in Dresden that can produce 1,000 tonnes of mycelium protein each year, with its first production run expected in the next four to five months.

      US commercial kitchen equipment manufacturer Waring has launched the Planit POD Fermentation System, allowing chefs to ferment and pasteurise up to eight lbs of custom-built plant proteins within 24 hours.

      According to analysis of Circana data by animal rights charity Wakker Dier, meat sales in the Netherlands have fallen by 16.4% since 2020. Last year, supermarkets sold 2.3% less meat than in 2022.

      Czech startup Bene Meat Technologies released the first samples of its cultivated pet food at Interzoo 2024 in Nuremberg, Germany, and is now on the lookout for an industry partner to put the product on shelves by year-end.

      bene meat cultured meat
      Courtesy: Bene Meat Technologies

      There are concerns that the UN’s Bonn Climate Change Conference (June 3-13), an intersessional event that will lay the groundwork for November’s COP29 in Azerbaijan, will return to a meat- and dairy-heavy menu. But ProVeg International is urging the UN to keep two-thirds of the catering plant-based – similar to the predominantly meatless menu at COP28 – to continue progress.

      In the US, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors have slated a citizen-led petition to ban factory farms for the ballot on November 5, a move that could have nationwide implications – although the board is opposing the initiative based on an inaccurate economic evaluation of a potential ban.

      Over in the UK, a historic ban on live animal exports for slaughter or fattening has passed the final stage in parliament, meaning it will soon become law – 50 years after campaigners first started protesting the move.

      lee hsien loong may day
      Courtesy: Lee Hsien Loong/X

      The Singapore Food Agency and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment have proposed a bill outlining new requirements for the pre-market approval of novel foods, which may now be subject to additional provisions before being imported or sold in the island nation.

      Researchers in Singapore have developed a cultivated meat prototype by co-culturing pig muscle and fat cells in a decellularised asparagus scaffold, which could unlock large-scale manufacturing of these foods.

      Finally, ethical pantry startup Voyage Foods has won the food honour in Fast Company’s 2024 World Changing Ideas Awards for its peanut- and hazelnut-free spreads. Cultivated meat producer UPSIDE Foods, precision-fermented egg startup The Every Company, and home compost bin Mill were among the other finalists.

      Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

      The post Future Food Quick Bites: Delicious Salads, Vegan Lidl & EU Support appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    17. Policy Support for Alternative Proteins Could Free Up 44% of European Land & Boost Self-Sufficiency

      eu common agriculture policy
      8 Mins Read

      In the least optimistic scenario, alternative proteins could displace a sixth of meat and dairy consumption in Europe. In the best-case outcome, they could replace two-thirds of animal proteins by 2050 and make the region self-sufficient.

      Supportive policies for novel proteins hold the key to self-sufficiency and food security in Europe at levels last seen 30 years ago, according to a 10-country report by think tank the Green Alliance, commissioned by the Good Food Institute Europe.

      Covering Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the UK – 10 of Europe’s biggest agricultural countries – the research reveals that these nations collectively rely on twice as much foreign land for imports than the domestic land they use to produce exports. But a shift to alternative proteins, which require a fraction of the land needed for meat and dairy production, could enable nearly all of these countries to eliminate their reliance on imports to feed their citizens.

      If governments back plant-based, cultivated and precision-fermented proteins with suitable policies, there would be major cost reductions associated with carbon removal, a significant expansion of nature restoration projects, and a surpassing of the EU’s Farm to Fork targets.

      The authors of A New Land Dividend suggest alternative proteins can displace their conventional counterparts for two reasons. First, a large share of the latter are highly processed, in a market where businesses choose ingredients (not consumers), and this means a shift to alternative proteins could be made as soon as they reach price parity. Secondly, cost and convenience are key, and these novel foods offer like-for-like replacements more likely to displace meat and dairy than unprocessed plant-based foods.

      But in the era of ultra-processed foods and their connotation with healthfulness, does this go against the grain of what consumers want from their foods – cleaner labels, lesser processing, more nutritious ingredients? “Our experience is that plant-based producers are responding to the trend toward cleaner labels, and that the market for more established alternatives – like the vegan sausage roll – remains strong,” explains Dustin Benton, policy director at Green Alliance, tells Green Queen.

      The extent of displacement relies on three factors: price parity (which will speed up if inflation keeps disproportionately affecting animal proteins), policy (in terms of government funding, infrastructure and regulatory support), and taste (the report argues precision-fermented and cultivated proteins need to be successful to replace cuts of meats and cheese that plant-based products may not).

      The three scenarios for alternative proteins

      alternative proteins europe
      Courtesy: Green Alliance

      The analysis outlines three ways novel proteins could go. The first is a low-intervention scenario, where a lack of policy support means these foods will displace a sixth of meat and dairy consumption by 2050. Here, cultivated meat and precision fermentation don’t become profitable, but the authors outline that plant-based products can’t displace whole cuts of meat or cheese, so the substitution is limited to some processed meat and dairy products.

      “Our assumptions for the low-intervention scenario are that policy abandons or even actively deters precision fermentation and cultivated meat, and that only very marginal innovation occurs in plant-based foods. It is – in effect – a failure scenario,” says Dustin. “This is consistent with a future in which poorly thought-through bans, like that imposed by Florida governor [Ron] DeSantis [this month], become the norm.”

      Does this mean that without government backing, two of the three alternative protein pillars face a dead-end? “Cultivated meat and precision fermentation will need policy support to become successful – this is a common lesson from many types of new technology development,” says Dustin.

      “We’re confident this support will materialise somewhere in the world, so the question for Europe is whether it wants to be proactive and steer the development of these new foods for the benefit of European producers and consumers, or whether it prefers the products to be developed elsewhere, with the benefits potentially ending up abroad.”

      The second scenario is one of high innovation, where significant policy changes would drive the replacement of over two-thirds of meat and dairy sales by mid-century. Milk and eggs would be displaced by precision-fermented alternatives. This technology, alongside cell cultivation, can produce fats, enzymes and flavours to advance taste parity for plant-based products.

      For more complex cuts of meat, additional innovation is needed for cultivated meat to reach a competitive price, which would then displace some cuts of meat, as well as most processed animal products. Conventional meat and dairy production could continue, but only at higher values, lower volumes and in premium markets.

      “The high innovation scenario, by contrast, envisages supportive policy and continued technology improvement, but not radical breakthroughs that would – for example – make whole cuts of meat produced via cellular agriculture cheaper than their traditional counterparts,” says Dustin. “Even in the high innovation scenario, we see complex products like steak as mainly coming from animals.”

      The authors envision a third, mid-ambition scenario of intermediate displacement, where supportive policy sees the plant-based and precision fermentation markets grow, but renders cultivated meat too expensive to succeed.

      The fourfold benefits of alternative proteins for Europe

      eu alternative proteins
      Courtesy: Green Alliance

      The low-intervention scenario would see 21% of domestic farmed area and 9% of overseas land released for alternative proteins, while the high innovation outcome would free up 44% of domestic land (an area nearly the size of France), and 57% of the foreign land used for imports (more than the size of Spain).

      France, Spain and the UK have the greatest land dividend, thanks to their extensively grazed outdoor beef and lamb sectors. Denmark and the Netherlands, meanwhile, will have the smallest dividend, as their agricultural areas are dominated by export production.

      “Italy is the least supportive country, but – perversely – it could be a major winner,” Dustin says of the world’s first country that banned cultivated meat. “High innovation in alternative proteins could see Italy nearly double its food self-sufficiency rate, while increasing its share of organic food by 2.5 times: in effect, the sort of small-scale, high-quality, regionally specific agriculture that Italy is known for would benefit from a world where alternative proteins were more common.

      “What’s needed is an alliance between small, agroecological farmers and the new alternative proteins sector to ensure that the space that alternative proteins create allows for more of this traditional food production.”

      Upping the support and consumption of alternative proteins would bring about four key outcomes. First, there would be an increase in self-sufficiency as more land would be freed up, regardless of the scenario – a separate study has shown that replacing half of our meat and dairy intake with plant-based alternatives could reduce agricultural and land use emissions by 31%.

      Farmers would also benefit from the carbon removal market – whose demand would decrease by ninefold – by having the space to expand natural carbon sinks, which would forgo the need for engineered carbon removals, saving €21B each year by 2050 on the cost of meeting the continent’s carbon neutrality goals. That’s equivalent to nearly half the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget – 82% of which currently supports animal agriculture.

      The area of agroecological farmland would quadruple by 2050, which would exceed the Farm to Fork strategy’s goal of 25% of land being certified organic. Finally, alternative proteins could also make enough space for more wildlife habitats, which would restore the Annex I habitats (those most in need of conservation) required by the EU’s Nature Restoration Law.

      Europe needs to price out meat and dairy, and support farm transitions

      eu farming subsidies
      Graphic by Green Queen

      European governments need to invest more in alternative proteins to drive healthier formulations and price and taste parity, according to the authors of the report. Within the EU, they recommend member states openly discuss landscape and rural economic change with their citizens, with an aim to shift CAP payments to broader rural land uses.

      The impact of CAP payments is crucial to the future of alternative proteins. Between 2014 and 2020, livestock farming received 1,200 times more public funding in the EU than the novel protein sector. The report suggests that the CAP should avoid directly subsidising meat and dairy production. They explain how combining the current strategy with reduced domestic demand for conventional animal products would see European taxpayers pay once for production (which is often exported), and again to mitigate the resultant emissions and climate damage caused by high levels of livestock farming.

      “There are some powerful livestock lobbies, but their approach doesn’t always represent the views of most farmers,” says Dustin. Green Alliance’s UK-focused analysis found that upland livestock farmers could double their income by switching to a combination of nature restoration and much lower livestock production, versus a world where CAP-style subsidies are retained, so long as policy supports farmers to meet the UK’s environmental targets. “This approach would make much more sense for the taxpayer, and for the majority of smaller farmers or those who farm more marginal land.”

      Farmers should also be paid to convert land from animal protein production into habitats that store carbon and restore nature, which would be a cost-effective way to meet climate and nature targets, and guarantee rural livelihoods.

      Dustin further highlights how high-quality, responsive regulation is essential to the success of alternative proteins in Europe. The EU’s current novel foods framework is among the strictest in the world, and its rigidity has left many alternative protein producers looking outwards to Singapore or the US to enter the market. This was the same in post-Brexit UK, but things are on the mend as the regulation becomes more receptive – the first cultivated meat product in the country (for cats) is imminent.

      “There is a big prize for getting it right: new, environmentally friendly foods that meet the highest food quality standards in the world,” says Dustin. “The UK has retained equivalent food standards to the EU’s, but with the freedom to approve products according to those standards at a faster pace than has historically proved possible in the EU. This could form the basis of UK competitive advantage in alternative proteins.”

      The post Policy Support for Alternative Proteins Could Free Up 44% of European Land & Boost Self-Sufficiency appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    18. The Me(a)t Gala: Vegan Brands Shine at Fashion’s Biggest Night

      met gala food
      4 Mins Read

      This year’s Met Gala featured vegan products from Impossible Foods, Neat, Stockeld Dreamery and Tindle Foods, showcasing plant-based indulgence to the world’s most influential celebrities.

      The Garden of Time was this year’s theme for the Met Gala, and actors, artists, models, influencers and all kinds of celebrities showed up in attires that spanned from gorgeous, to curious, to wild.

      But true to the theme, the garden was also present in a way with the food served at the show. Hopes weren’t high when Anna Wintour banned garlic, onions and chives from this year’s event, presumably so everyone doesn’t have “bad breath”. “Those are three things I’m not particularly fond of,” she said ahead of the event.

      It’s been reported that high-end cuisine was the name of the game at the Met Gala on Monday, with a fancy spring vegetable salad to start with, followed by a beef filet for the main, and almond cremeaux shaped like an apple for dessert.

      But if you ask me, the best bits were before and after the actual gala. At fashion’s biggest show, some of the plant-based world’s biggest brands showed up too. It was out with haute cuisine, in with pure vegan indulgence.

      Here’s how vegan food made a splash at the 2024 Met Gala.

      Impossible’s indulgent sliders and BBQ nuggets

      impossible burger met gala
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      It was a big night for one of the premier plant-based meat producers, Impossible Foods, which kicked off its latest marketing drive at the Live from E! red carpet. Its new ads were aired during the pre-show broadcast at The Mark hotel, a smart choice given the Met Gala over-indexes on vegans.

      But it wasn’t just the ads – Impossible Foods was also serving food to attendees on the red carpet, and it was all about plant-based indulgence.

      The clue was in the name, with the brand showcasing its Indulgent Burger, its premium beef patty launched last year, which is thicker, juicier and meatier than its signature burger. Upon launch, the company said 82% of taste-testers found this burger as good as or superior to conventional beef – so it made sense to exhibit the product among some of the most influential people in the world.

      impossible indulgent burger
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      The Indulgent Burger was part of a slider that was lined with a brie and truffle aioli – it’s unclear whether this was plant-based, but since the brand’s target audience isn’t vegan anyway, that would be in line with its marketing strategy.

      Impossible Foods also served its famous chicken nuggets, but these were also dressed up – in a passion fruit BBQ sauce no less. Both the nuggets and burgers were served alongside what looked like edible flowers to honour the Garden of Time theme, but the former also came in a specially branded green box that read: ‘Garden of Meat’.

      impossible nuggets
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      After the event, Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness called it an “important opportunity to build awareness as we roll into the summer grilling season”.

      Stockeld Dreamery, Neat and Tindle turn it up at the afterparty

      Met Gala afterparties are some of the most exclusive in the fashion world, and three brands got together to satiate the cravings of the, erm, inebriated attendees at one of the many, many parties.

      At Casa Cipriani South Street, fast-food chain Neat was invited to hand out its plant-based cheeseburgers and hot dogs to the guests. Swedish brand Stockeld Dreamery joined in to help out, given its vegan Cultured Cheddar cheese tops the patty on Neat’s burger.

      neat burger
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      Another one of Neat’s collaborators, Singaporean startup Tindle Foods, brought out its vegan chicken tenders. “They went like crazy. We had to keep bringing out trays because they’d be gone in seconds,” the company said in a video montage.

      The vegan junk food was served at a party that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Camila Cabello, Lil Nas X, SZA, Lizzo, Jaden Smith, Cardi B, Usher, Serena Williams, and Offset.

      met gala 2024 menu
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      “This ended up being a huge win for the plant-based space as celebrities were spotted with Neat Burgers, Stockeld and Tindle flags all night long,” Stockeld Dreamery founder Sorosh Tavakoli said.

      “If there’s a better way to make plant-based foods sexy, let me know.”

      The post The Me(a)t Gala: Vegan Brands Shine at Fashion’s Biggest Night appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    19. Alabama Becomes Second US State to Ban Cultivated Meat with A Misinformation-Fuelled Bill

      alabama lab grown meat
      6 Mins Read

      Days after Florida enacted a ban on cultivated meat, Alabama has become the second US state to do so – just as food safety regulators announced plans to clarify the regulation of these foods.

      “Take your fake meat elsewhere. We’re not doing that…”

      You’d be forgiven to think that this was a verbatim statement by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who last week criminalised the production or sale of cultivated meat in his state.

      While DeSantis did say something like that in relation to Florida, add the words “in Alabama” at the end, and you’ve got yourself a repackaged quote from Alabama senator Jack Williams, who had proposed an identical ban with an identical rhetoric that has now had an identical outcome.

      The Cotton State has followed its neighbour by making it a Class C misdemeanour to manufacture, sell or distribute cultivated meat, after governor Kay Ivey signed the bill into law earlier this week. This means anybody in violation of this could face a fine of $500 and up to three months in jail, and have their license revoked (if it’s a food establishment).

      “This law will strengthen our livestock and poultry industry by preventing lab-cultured cells from being sold in Alabama,” said representative Jack Crawford, who carried the bill in the House. “To our consumers, the quality and safety of our agricultural products are of the utmost importance, and these lab-grown protein cells can’t be assured to be safe.”

      That last bit implies one of two things – either Crawford is intentionally spreading misinformation, or he genuinely believes that the USDA and FDA clearing cultivated meat as safe to eat is not enough of a confirmation.

      Built on dangerous misinformation

      alabama cultivated meat ban
      Courtesy: Jack Williams/Facebook

      The bill was first proposed in February by Wiliams, a cattle farmer, who said: “If you were on Mars, you have to grow what you have to grow to eat. The problem with this is we have plenty of food in the state. We have plenty of cattle and chicken. There’s no reason for us to bring this product in here.” That was a statement completely ignorant of the fact that Alabama is the fourth-poorest state in the country, with a sixth of adults and nearly a quarter of children facing food insecurity. But sure, there’s enough chicken.

      Although, is there? The state is home to a poultry farm that culled nearly 48,000 chickens due to a pathogenic avian flu just six months ago, a threat that continues to loom in animals that humans end up eating.

      “Anything that is artificial and not to do with our animals comes up on my radar. I don’t want Alabamians eating that,” Williams said, disregarding the fact that cultivated meat originates from animal cells, and overstepping boundaries to tell people what they can or can’t eat.

      These statements represent the widespread misinformation that has fuelled Alabama’s ban. When introducing the bill for a reading in the House, Crawford attempted to explain how these foods are made. “They throw a couple of animal cells in there, throw some chemicals in there, some ingredients and boom: You get a chicken leg out.”

      It got laughs, but nobody in the House questioned how it really works. Even if Crawford’s version of things is true – which, surprise, it isn’t – it just sounds like how most industrially farmed meat is made, really.

      But perhaps the biggest sign that misinformation is driving this ban is the support from Freedom Health Alabama, a group that has previously campaigned against vaccine mandates and masks, and refers to cultivated meat as “Franken-meat”. No more credible stamp than one from an anti-vaxxer, eh?

      The bill garnered overwhelming support throughout its legislative passage, with 31 senators voting for it, and nobody opposing it. In the House, the final tally was 85 in favour, 14 against. There was one change made before sending it to Ivey’s desk – the house decided against including a stipulation that would have prohibited government agencies and universities from conducting research on these products.

      Before being passed in the House, it did also reach a brief hiccup when House speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter declined to bring it to the floor for a vote, as part of a larger conflict between the Senate and the House. However, the impasse passed, and from October 1, you’ll be committing a crime if you sell cultivated meat in Alabama.

      ‘We don’t even do this with cigarettes’

      lab grown chicken
      Courtesy: Upside Foods

      “These folks are throwing a couple of animal cells in there with some chemicals and calling it meat. Alabamians want to know what they are eating, and we have no idea what is in this stuff or how it will affect us,” said Williams. “Meat comes from livestock raised by hardworking farmers and ranchers, not from a petri dish grown by scientists. We are protecting our farmers and the integrity of American agriculture.”

      Speaking to Green Queen after the Florida ban, Pepin Tuma, legislative director at alternative protein think tank the Good Food Institute, said: “American-made cultivated meat has been rigorously inspected and ruled safe by the USDA and FDA – so why are politicians with no experience in food safety interfering where they don’t belong?”

      The two regulatory bodies authorised California’s Upside Foods and Eat Just to sell their cultivated chicken last year, after a rigorous, months-long process. And they’ve now announced plans to “clarify and provide guidance on the regulation of cultured animal cell foods”, having had discussions about market and technical developments and the inspection of cultivated meat facilities. The USDA will now propose new labelling regulations for cultivated meat this year.

      “Some of America’s largest meat companies have been early investors in cultivated meat. They recognise cultivated meat’s potential to complement conventional meat production, improve supply chain resilience, and ensure American’s access to meat as global demand for animal protein is projected to double by 2050,” Sean Edgett, Upside Foods’ chief legal officer, said following the Florida ban.

      Upside Foods has subsequently launched a petition in response to Florida’s ban, asking people to “tell politicians that they should not control what you eat, and support food innovation for a brighter future”. Similar proposals are being debated in various other states, including Arizona, Wisconsin, Texas, Nebraska and Tennessee.

      Cathy Ballenger-Apolo, one of the petition’s supporters, wrote: “If there is a zero-kill way to provide meat to the population who consumes it, a way that is wholesome, natural, and healthy, why not utilise it?”

      Williams himself has recognised the potential of cultivated meat, previously saying: “If that’s what we have to survive, I would re-entertain looking at something,” said Williams. “But I think there needs to be a lot of test work done on it.”

      House representative Marilyn Lands – a Democrat in the Republican majority state – best summed up the idiosyncrasy of the law. “I thought conservatives, Republicans, were all about letting the free market do its work,” she said during a House session. “And I don’t believe we should be dictating what people can eat, or criminalise people who sell or service certain foods even when they’ve received approval from the federal government.

      “This makes no sense to me. We don’t even do this with cigarettes.”

      The post Alabama Becomes Second US State to Ban Cultivated Meat with A Misinformation-Fuelled Bill appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    20. MyriaMeat Develops Scaffold-Free Cultivated Pork Fillet, Plans Tasting Event Later This Year

      myriameat
      4 Mins Read

      German food tech startup MyriaMeat has unveiled a cultivated pork fillet made from 100% pork cells, without any scaffolds or plant proteins.

      Months after emerging from stealth, German startup MyriaMeat has announced the successful development of a cultivated pork fillet made entirely from pig cells.

      Showcasing the fillet at an event in Berlin, which was hosted by MyriaMeat investor SPRIN-D, the German innovation agency, the cultivated meat uses no scaffolds or plant proteins for shape. “Our meat is free from vegetable additives and genetic modifications,” said Malte Tiburcy, co-founder of MyriaMeat and head of research at the University of Göttingen.

      “The industrial revolution is coming, We have the technological knowledge to end the suffering of billions of animals while feeding humanity on the basis of a healthier, more sustainable product,” said managing director Florian Hüttner. “We have a responsibility to facilitate that change.”

      How MyriaMeat produces cultivated pork with 100% pig cells

      Founded in 2022 by researchers from the University of Göttingen, MyriaMeat transfers its founders’ patented medical technology to food applications. Developed over 25 years of research, it leverages pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and parthenogenetic stem cells, which allow it to grow functional muscle structures and whole cuts of meat.

      Typically, producing structured or thick meats can be aided by growing cells on a scaffold, which enables the attachment, differentiation and maturation of cells in a specific manner. But scaffolding has a high cost attached to it. iPSCs, meanwhile, possess self-assembling properties that can be utilised by organoids to reproduce features of in-vitro tissue organisation and mimic the characteristics of a variety of tissues.

      MyriaMeat believes only iPSC-derived pure muscles can recreate animal muscles as closely as possible, and notes that the muscles it has developed can contract.

      “Our unique iPSC pipeline allows us to obtain stable stem cell cultures from a single, harmless biopsy,” said Hüttner. “Our vision is to redefine meat consumption in line with the needs of a growing world population and environmental protection, significantly reducing the CO2 emissions of meat production

      Fellow cultivated pork producer Meatable, which is gearing up to launch in Singapore this year, also uses a technology based on iPSCs to make its product. The company has streamlined the process in a way that it now only needs four days to create fully differentiated cultivated meat – the fastest in the industry. UK startup 3DBT, meanwhile, has created a cultivated pork fillet without any plant-based scaffolding, fillers or blends either, forgoing the hybrid approach being undertaken by many in the industry (including Meatable).

      Companies like Mewery, Clever Carnivore, Uncommon, Ivy Farm Technologies, Joes Future Food Tech, CellX and Magic Valley are all working on cultivated pork too. They’re creating a solution to the intensifying concerns about pig meat – outbreaks of African Swine Fever have occurred in many parts of the world recently, with pig populations being culled in Russia, Hong Kong, the UK, the US and India. That has led to a shortage of pork and subsequently driven up prices, with the viral disease adding to the meat’s existing carcinogenic status.

      A tasting event for cultivated meat

      cultivated pork
      Courtesy: MyriaMeat

      “In our company, it’s now about implementation, no longer basic research, and we have demonstrated this with our prototype developed in Göttingen within just one year,” said Hüttner.

      “At MyriaMeat, we have built a platform not only for the production of high-quality and pure meat but also for a variety of other meat-based products and are an ideal partner for the development of innovative foods with alternative proteins,” he added.

      The company has already secured €43M in funding, which was the largest investment in a cultivated meat startup in Europe last year. Aside from pork, it has plans to create cultivated Wagyu beef and deer meat, and it’s in discussions with industrial partners and potential investors to facilitate its scale-up efforts and host a tasting event later this year.

      Last month, Meatable held the EU’s first public tasting of cultivated meat, showcasing its hybrid pork sausages to members of the media, government and industry.

      While MyriaMeat scales up, it will likely keep a close eye on consumer preferences and regulatory developments in its home country, where pork consumption fell by 19% from 2015 to 2022. A YouGov survey of 2,000 Germans published in March showed that 47% of Germans are willing to try cultivated meat – although two-thirds of consumers find plant-based meat more appealing.

      According to the poll, two-thirds of Germans also believe cultivated meat should be produced locally to benefit the economy if it were to come to market, and 47% think the government should advance the sector’s development and support farmers to capitalise on the opportunities presented by alternative proteins.

      For its part, the German government has committed €38M in its 2024 federal budget to promote alternative proteins, including the manufacturing and processing of cultivated meat.

      The post MyriaMeat Develops Scaffold-Free Cultivated Pork Fillet, Plans Tasting Event Later This Year appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    21. Beyond Meat Expects Turnaround with New Products After Mixed Start to 2024

      beyond meat sales
      7 Mins Read

      After a mixed start to the year, with both revenues and sales declining in Q1, Beyond Meat remains optimistic about the rest of 2024, pointing to the rollout of its healthier and costlier plant-based beef.

      As the fourth iterations of its burger and mince begin replacing their predecessors on retail shelves, Beyond Meat has reported an eight straight quarter of year-on-year revenue decline, which reached $75.6M in Q1 2024, dropping by 18% from the corresponding period last year.

      However, this was slightly higher than analysts expected ($75.2M), and in line with the company’s guidance for the quarter after a tough 2023. The net revenue was also up by 2.6% from the previous quarter. Moreover, the plant-based meat leader reported a gross profit of $3.7M (down by 41% from Q1 2023), meaning that its products made more money than they cost to produce.

      But operating expenses lead to a total net loss of $54.4M for Beyond Meat this quarter. Keeping with the mixed-bag theme of its earnings report though, its deficit actually narrowed by 8% from Q1 2023 – this was thanks to an 8% reduction in operating losses and losses from its Planet Partnership with PepsiCo, which saw the launch of the Beyond Jerky. The slow-selling SKU was discontinued last year, with the El Segundo company rechannelling its focus to the new Beyond IV platform.

      The new burger and mince, which are said to be meatier and healthier, are also more expensive – Beyond Meat is banking on these three factors to drive growth in the rest of the year. “Through this fourth-generation project, which we expect will be fully distributed by Memorial Day, we took a leap forward on a continuous improvement journey that is a rapid and relentless innovation programme,” CEO Ethan Brown said in a conference call with investors.

      “We really do believe that we are at the early stages of a terrific and pivotal year for Beyond Meat,” he added. “We’re doing the things you need to do to get through a period that is challenging and resume growth.”

      Sales down across channels, but McDonald’s deal to drive growth

      mcplant
      Courtesy: McDonald’s Germany

      Over the last year, Beyond Meat’s distribution points have declined globally, down from 146,000 in Q1 2023 to 130,000 today. This has coincided with a decrease in sales across both retail and foodservice. In the US, both channels saw a 16% decline in net revenue, which the company ascribed to a softening of demand despite discounts on its products, a dip in the volume of products sold, the discontinuation of its jerky SKU, as well as the loss of distribution.

      Internationally, it experienced a 12% decline in retail sales, but a much larger 29% drop in foodservice revenue. This meant its sales were down by 21.5% in non-US markets in Q1. In retail, this was due to softer demand for its beef and pork products in Canada and chicken SKUs in Europe. The foodservice performance proved to be a tough comparison with Q1 2023, when Beyond Meat had just finished a large order for McDonald’s as its vegan nuggets went on sale in Europe.

      Speaking of which, Beyond Meat reported its Q1 earnings the same day McDonald’s announced a campaign for its famous meals promotion, exclusively featuring the McPlant burger in menus curated by Tokio Hotel members and twins Bill and Tom Kaulitz. It’s similar to the Travis Scott, BTS and McJordan meals in the US.

      Beyond Meat’s partnership with McDonald’s has now expanded into Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, a marker of its plans to boost distribution and sales in Europe – one of its five key priorities for the year. The Beyond Burger has now expanded into more Co-op stores in the UK, while Beyond Steak has been launched into Dutch foodservice. And after satisfying local shelf life requirements, the company will expand its retail presence in Germany too.

      A new cookbook to showcase healthier Beyond IV products

      beyond meat ingredients
      Courtesy: Beyond Meat

      Despite representing a significant improvement from the previous quarter, the company’s gross profit and margin fell short of its expectations, owing to factors like including higher manufacturing and material costs, long-running discounts, and transitional costs related to bringing production in-house (which is also one of its priorities this year). But Beyond Meat is optimistic about its margin for the rest of the year, given that the Q1 figures don’t account for the price hikes attached to its more premium beef products.

      Brown said the consumer reception of the higher markups – another business priority for 2024 – is “too early to tell”, but noted that it’s not just a new pricing stricture, but also a new product altogether. “We did have long discussions with a lot of the main retailers we work with around why we’re doing this,” he added. “And with limited exception, most were accepting.”

      The new burger and mince represent the most significant renovation of its core product line to date, with a much more prominent focus on health and flavour – two of the most important factors to Americans. They have 60% less saturated fat and 20% lower sodium content than their predecessors, with more protein than most conventional 80/20 beef products.

      Brown explained the company’s product development process relies upon a framework called FAAT, “for flavour, aroma, appearance, and texture, while driving improvements in nutrition, cost, and other considerations”. He said the team “delivered a home run and improved sensory experience with a nutritional build – so impressive that it goes to market with a host of important validations”.

      The Beyond IV products meet the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) nutritional guidelines for its Better Choices for Life programme, and carry Good Housekeeping’s Nutritionist Approved Emblem. They also featured in a collection of ‘heart-healthy’ recipes by the American Heart Association (AHA), and Brown revealed that the latter and Beyond Meat are co-launching a cookbook to highlight the nutritional credentials of its products.

      He highlighted “getting leaner” as another of the company’s 2024 priorities, which almost serves as a double entendre. It referred to its operations becoming more efficient and a tightening of its focus on product portfolio and consumer messaging, but it ties in with the health-forward message emanating from the new products, which represent another key goal for this year.

      Heart-healthy product line set to expand

      beyond beef crumbles
      Courtesy: Beyond Meat

      The CEO also pinpointed “orchestrated misinformation regarding our product lines” as one of the brand’s biggest challenges – for years, Beyond Meat and its main competitor Impossible Foods have been the subject of a targeted campaign by the Center for Consumer Freedom, a meat industry interest group. In August, the company responded with a marketing initiative quashing the misinformation.

      This summer, Beyond Meat will launch an “impactful and significant” marketing drive to promote its fourth-generation beef. “We believe – as do the nutritionists, institutions and dietitians standing behind Beyond IV – that we offer consumers a delicious yet powerful choice that can help them and their loved ones with healthier lives,” said Brown.

      “My emphasis on the health side of things is simply because of the misinformation campaign. We would not make these changes at the expense of taste,” he added. “We want to bring back in that very close and early adopter consumer that maybe has been scared away.”

      In March, Beyond Meat unveiled a new product line in its Beef Crumbles, which were certified by the AHA and ADA. Brown revealed the alt-meat giant will introduce another heart-healthy product later this year. With these innovations, the company reiterated its full-year forecast of net revenues between $315-345M, and expects sales to reach $85-90M in the next quarter.

      “2024 is a pivotal year for change and progress for Beyond Meat. We began the year making solid strides along our 2024 strategy and correspondingly, our path to sustainable operations and a return to growth,” said Brown.

      “We believe that our determination to sharply reduce our operating expenses and cash use, consolidate our production network, implement pricing changes to help restore margins and launch our most significant renovation to date Beyond IV for purposes of reinforcing, as well as raising the bar on the health benefits of our plant-based needs, amidst sustained misinformation campaigns are beginning to pay off.”

      The post Beyond Meat Expects Turnaround with New Products After Mixed Start to 2024 appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    22. Tattooed Chef Returns to US Supermarket Shelves A Year After Filing for Bankruptcy

      tattooed chef
      5 Mins Read

      Meatless brand Tattooed Chef is back on retail shelves in the US under its new parent company Planted Ventures, 10 months after filing for bankruptcy.

      Nearly a year after its collapse, Californian meat-free producer Tattooed Chef has relaunched into US retail with a series of frozen ready meals and smoothie bowls under its new parent company, Planted Ventures.

      The products span four meatless (but not entirely vegan) categories – Entrée Bowls, Smoothie Bowls, Veggie Blends, and Veggie Commodities – and are available at select Costco stores in the US, with a broader rollout in club and retail stores expected later this year. Planted Ventures is also working on private-label offerings.

      “The return of Tattooed Chef reflects our belief that simple food is the best food, with ingredients that are honest and sustainably sourced,” said Tattooed Chef founder and executive chef Sarah Galletti.” We are reinventing the classics that people already recognize and are excited to eat and making it easy and accessible for them to do so.”

      Planted Ventures is helmed by founder Sam Galletti, who is Sarah’s father. “We are and always will be a family business that is all about food,” he said.

      How Tattooed Chef went into bankruptcy

      tattooed chef stock
      Courtesy: Tattooed Chef

      Tattooed Chef’s resurrection comes 10 months after it initiated a bankruptcy process, following increased costs and an unsuccessful attempt at raising funds to secure the loss-making business. The company was caught in the headwinds affecting the larger alternative protein industry, with several startups running out of capital and being forced to shut.

      The 2018-founded frozen foods producer suffered from a 12.7% drop in revenue and net losses of $19M in Q1 2023 due to increased labour, packaging, energy, equipment and raw material costs. But its financial troubles began at least a year before that, owing to inflationary pressures and falling sales in key retailers.

      Its collapse was ascribed to a variety of factors. Competing in a crowded market, it was adjudged to have a weak brand identity, and too many product lines. Much of its range was vegetarian and not vegan, and it was accused of misleading consumers with unclear labelling. Its CEO at the time, Salvatore Galletti, had also suggested that the company was considering selling meat products. “It opens up a lot more avenues and a lot more doors,” he told Forbes, arguing that profitability suddenly became much more important after the company was publicly traded on the NASDAQ.

      Sam and then-CFO Stephanie Dieckmann were also the subject of a class action lawsuit in December 2022, which alleged that in its account filings from March 2021 to October 2022, Tattooed Chef made false and/or misleading statements, downplayed issues with “internal controls”, and overstated revenue while understanding losses.

      In March 2023, a “derivative complaint” was filed against the company, which accused it of a “breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, [and a] waste of corporate assets”. A former employee – who was among a number of staff members laid off by the company in 2022 and 2023 – told AgFunderNews that the business was “poorly run” and “could not pay their bills, causing supply chain issues”.

      Its stock dipped under the minimum bid price of $1 per share required to be listed on the NASDAQ in June 2023. Tattooed Chef was given 180 days to comply, or risk being delisted. Despite a $12M unsecured loan from Sam, who was the president and chairman of the business, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in California a month later.

      Going back to the roots

      tattooed chef acai bowl
      Courtesy: Tattooed Chef

      Tattooed Chef’s insolvency came around the same time many of its counterparts were facing similar fates. Meatless Farm, Plant & Bean and VBites were in the same boat – but all three have been rescued in some way. Tattooed Chef is following that journey.

      Planted Ventures purchased part of the company’s assets in September 2023, and has now managed to revive the brand. “We are excited to commence this relaunch of the Tattooed Chef brand, establish and renew industry relationships, and to become part of the healthy eating journey of millions of plant-based intenders,” said Sam.

      “In my 40 years in the food industry, I have come to understand that success is defined by three things: surround yourself with good people, control the manufacturing, and have strong private label relationships,” he added. “At Planted Ventures, we have all that and more – we have a brand that consumers have embraced and, quite frankly, have missed.”

      The reinvigorated business has seen Sarah create a frozen line-up of plant-based and vegetarian products that blend her Italian heritage with Los Angeles culture. Among Tattooed Chef’s offerings are returning SKUs like the cauliflower mac and cheese, vegan beef burrito bowl and organic acai bowls, alongside new innovations such as vegetable lo mein and Mexican-style street corn.

      The company also offers prepped food like sheet pan or oven-baked vegetables, riced cauliflower and pre-cut zucchini and yellow squash. “With Planted Ventures, we have gone back to our roots as a company and are redefining the concept of better-for-you frozen food,” said Sam.

      Planted Ventures describes itself as a vertically integrated manufacturer, with operations based at a farm it has acquired in Prossedi, Italy. The majority of its produce is grown, prepared and packaged in the 100,000 sq ft fully automated facility. This, the company says, ensures a “dependable supply and end-to-end quality assurance” for both its Tattooed Chef-branded products and white-label offerings.

      The post Tattooed Chef Returns to US Supermarket Shelves A Year After Filing for Bankruptcy appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    23. Future Food Quick Bites: Cultivated Pepperoni, Odd Burger & A Vegan Pub

      mission barnes
      5 Mins Read

      In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Mission Barnes’ newest cultivated meat, Waitrose’s whole-food plant-based plunge, and Odd Burger’s new locations.

      New products and launches

      For the pizza lovers, cultivated meat producer Mission Barnes has announced its latest innovation, a hybrid pepperoni mixing combining pork cells with pea, fava bean and flaxseed proteins.

      vegan egg substitute
      Courtesy: Yo Egg

      Israeli food tech company Yo Egg, which debuted its vegan sunny-side-ups and poached eggs in Los Angeles retail in March, is now available nationwide in the US via PlantX.

      The Plant Based Seafood Co has partnered with supermarket chain Wegmans to place its Mind Blown range of vegan crab cakes and dusted scallops on the retailer’s shelves in 80 stores across the US.

      Tacotarian, the California-based vegan Mexican restaurant chain, has introduced a line of shelf-stable taco fillings made with Beyond Meat. The first products will be jackfruit barbacoa and jackfruit Birria, which will be available online and at various retailers.

      Bee-free honey maker MeliBio, which launched its Mellody plant-based honey through a collaboration with Eleven Madison Park last year, has renewed its partnership with the three-Michelin-starred plant-forward eatery, whose Tea and Honey Gift Box contains the brand’s vegan honey.

      US tofu giant Nasoya has launched two plant-based chicken products under its Plantspired range, available in Kung Pao and Bee-Free Honey Garlic (which uses agave) initially at Albertsons and Meijer.

      omami
      Courtesy: Omami

      Speaking of tofu, Berlin-based Omami has debuted a three-ingredient chickpea tofu range in Germany in Tasty Nature, Black Pepper, Sweet Chilli and Smokey Twist flavours.

      Vegan whole cut meat maker Chunk Foods will showcase two new SKUs – Chunk Cubes and Slabs – at the National Restaurant Association Show (May 18-21) in Chicago. The Cubes are meant for fast-casual restaurants, while the Slabs are touted to be the largest whole-cut plant-based meat to hit the market, weighing over 3 lbs.

      In the UK, Costa Coffee has extended its partnership with vegan influencer duo BOSH! with the launch of a vegan Falafel and Houmous Wrap and Gingernut Loaf Cake.

      British retailer Waitrose has expanded its private-label PlantLiving range with 12 new products that focus on flexitarians and whole foods over processed plant proteins, after sales for canned lentils, marinated tofu and vegan salad rose exponentially.

      waitrose plantliving
      Courtesy: Waitrose

      And in Australia, the iconic Chippendale Hotel (The Chippo, if you’re local), has opened the country’s first fully vegan pub in Sydney.

      Financial developments

      Canadian cellular agriculture company Cult Food Science has closed a private placement of C$800,000 ($585,000), which will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

      Fellow Vancouver-based startup Maia Farms has secured $2.3M in pre-seed and grant funding for its mycelium protein (which has 5.5 times the iron content of beef), which recently won NASA and the Canadian Space Agency’s Deep Space Food Challenge for its CanPro ingredient.

      Latin American startup Peruvian Veef has raised $320,000 to expand its foodservice and retail footprint across the continent.

      Swedish startup OMG Plantbased Food, which trades as Oh Mungood!, has secured an undisclosed sum in a funding round.

      plant based news
      Courtesy: Oh Mungood!

      New Zealand microalgae protein startup New Fish, whose first product is called Marine Whey, has rebranded to Nutrition from Water (NXW), and has received an investment from Olympic gold medallist sailor Pete Burling.

      Seitan startup Blackbird Foods, which makes vegan pizzas and wings, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine, with investment opportunities starting from $249. It follows a 60% year-on-year growth in sales.

      Brooklyn-based Caladian Bio, which is building next-generation, low-cost benchtop bioreactors for enhanced data capture and experimentation throughput, has raised $5M in seed investment.

      Manufacturing and company updates

      Alternative protein leader Eat Just has had an update on its lawsuit with contract manufacturer ABEC over unpaid bills by its cultivated meat arm, Good Meat. The judge in Pennsylvania has granted several of ABEC’s motions and denied others, while also dismissing some of Eat Just’s counterclaims. But it sided with the latter on one of its claims, which will now proceed to trial.

      Fellow cultivated meat pioneer UPSIDE Foods has launched a petition in response to Florida’s ban on the novel proteins, urging people to show lawmakers from other states that they don’t agree with the policy.

      Mush Foods, the mycelium meat startup making solutions for blended meat, has released the results of a life-cycle assessment, which found that its 50CUT product produces negligible GHG emissions (0.02kg per patty). This means blending it with conventional meat would halve its carbon footprint.

      E-learning platform GenConnectU has announced an on-demand course focused on impact investing in the plant-based sector, facilitated by VegTech Invest CEO Elysabeth Alfano.

      VC firm Big Idea Ventures has launched PlantSustain, its fifth portfolio company through its Generation Food Rural Partners fund, which will focus on commercialising bio-based research for more sustainable products and agricultural solutions.

      Danish bioproduction leader 21st.BIO has unveiled its pilot plant facility in its Copenhagen headquarters, which has a fermentation capacity of over 3,000 litres of fermentation capacity and will help companies scale up production of recombinant proteins and peptides for the nutrition, food, agriculture, biomaterials, and biopharma sectors.

      future food quick bites
      Courtesy: 21st.BIO

      US vegan fast food chain Odd Burger will open three new locations in Alberta and British Columbia this month (taking its total to 16), and has signed a consulting deal with the Ahimsa Foundation, which will receive 1.5 million stock options at a price of 15 cents.

      Finally, global vegan certification body V-Label has launched a new advisory board and is calling for applications from individuals with divser backgrounds and expertise in fields including sustainability, sales and finance, marketing, consulting, and business development.

      Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

      The post Future Food Quick Bites: Cultivated Pepperoni, Odd Burger & A Vegan Pub appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.