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Category: Alt Protein

  • ‘Lack of Demand’ Keeps India’s Restaurants Away From Plant-Based Meat – Here’s How to Solve It

    one8 commune
    6 Mins Read

    India’s foodservice sector is a major opportunity for plant-based brands, but better education and menu integration are needed to increase consumer demand for meat analogues.

    Low awareness and common misconceptions contribute to a lack of demand for plant-based meat in India, leaving a big foodservice opportunity gap for vegan brands.

    That’s the conclusion of a new report by the Good Food Institute (GFI) India, which addresses the challenges hindering the potential of meat alternatives in India’s restaurant industry, and what companies need to do to overcome them.

    Titled ‘The Next Course: Reimagining Smart Protein’, the report was unveiled at an event featuring representatives from McDonald’s, the National Restaurant Association of India, and hotel group InterContinental, as well as plant-based brands like Blue Tribe, GoodDot, Plantway, and others.

    Following in-depth interviews with chefs, restaurant owners, marketers and industry leaders, GFI India found that plant-based meats need to be integrated into local cuisines to help position them as tasty and indulgent offerings on foodservice menus, and recommended strategies such as chef collaboration and consumer education initiatives.

    “The food service industry has always played a key role in introducing newer cuisines and ingredients to Indian households and holds immense potential to drive the adoption of plant-based proteins among consumers as well,” said Sneha Singh, managing director of GFI India.

    “India’s rich culinary heritage and dynamic dining out market make it uniquely positioned to lead a transformative shift in the way we eat and pave the way for a more sustainable and inclusive food ecosystem,” she added.

    Cloud kitchens, cuisines and labelling in focus

    plant based meat india
    Courtesy: GFI India

    By 2028, India’s foodservice industry is set to trail only the US and China, a growth fuelled by the rise of urbanisation, the demand for convenience, and lifestyle changes.

    The GFI India report suggests that Mumbai is the vegan capital of India, home to 37% of restaurants serving plant-based meat across eight metropolises. Bangalore (20%) and New Delhi (19%) round up the top three.

    Meanwhile, casual dining eateries account for 35% of all restaurants serving meat analogues, followed by cafés and cloud kitchens (21%) – the latter particularly offers enormous potential thanks to the rise in food delivery.

    Cloud kitchens also serve more plant-based meat dishes on average (5.3) than casual dining establishments (4.9) and cafés (4.4), and represent the cheapest price for dishes with meat alternatives (₹357/$4.21 on average). In contrast, these dishes have a price tag of ₹665 ($7.85) in fine dining establishments.

    vegan restaurant india
    Courtesy: GFI India

    Notably, the most popular ways to incorporate these proteins into dishes skew Western and snacky. Burgers and wraps alone make up 43% of these items, with pizzas and hot dogs accounting for another 26%. “Foodservice establishments can expand their appeal by integrating plant-based meat into local and regional Indian cuisines and dishes, thereby tapping into a broader consumer base,” the report suggests.

    Similarly, labelling is a critical opportunity too. Half of these dishes are labelled as ‘vegan’, while under a quarter (23%) feature the term ‘plant-based’, despite research proving that consumers prefer the latter.

    “Increasingly, positioning dishes as ‘high-protein’ and ‘plant-based protein’ is resonating with consumers,” the report states. “Taking the route of deprivation with terms like ‘meatless’ doesn’t appeal to consumers, particularly meat-eaters who are seeking taste and indulgence when dining out.”

    What’s holding restaurants back?

    gooddo vegan
    Courtesy: GoodDo

    The research identified two main barriers to the adoption of plant-based meat in the Indian foodservice landscape. The first is a “lack of consumer demand”: few locals are asking about or requesting these options when dining out, part of a larger consumer awareness issue in the country.

    Even among those aware of these foods, there are questions about their relevance in their lives. Previous research by GFI India and Kantar has found that Indians over 45 feel alternative proteins are not relevant to them, adding to population-wide concerns about perceived ‘unnaturalness’, lack of clarity on health benefits, and taste and price.

    Meat-eaters are already choosing conventional meat dishes, while both vegetarians and vegans have sufficient options available on restaurant menus, and so many foodservice establishments don’t see an incentive in educating diners and adding new meat alternatives to their plates.

    Pranav Rungta, vice-president of the National Restaurant Association of India, noted: “The real barrier is not the lack of awareness but the need for a mindset change. With the foodservice industry growing and becoming more organised, educated restaurateurs who understand the impact of health, nutrition, and alternative proteins are also growing.”

    The second hurdle is within the kitchens. While most chefs are familiar with the category, not everyone is well-briefed on the production process of meat alternatives, or their associated health benefits. Restaurants prioritising local and seasonal ingredients consider plant-based meats processed and not in line with their ethos or their target consumers.

    “Busting myths around the processed nature of plant-based meat, along with creating awareness about the ingredients, processes, and health benefits, can help dispel some of the misconceptions,” the report reads. It further points to tie-ups with culinary schools and chef forums as a means to educate and improve awareness.

    How plant-based meat brands can appeal to restaurants

    rollin plantz
    Courtesy: Rollin’ Plantz

    There are a host of ways for Indian vegan meat manufacturers to land on restaurant menus. Prioritising taste as the main selling point and co-creating recipes with chefs should help, but so too will the understanding that each restaurant is different – customising products, recipes, pricing, and positioning to suit businesses’ needs is crucial.

    For example, products that can be used as ingredients in their recipes are preferred over ready-to-cook formats. Chunks and minced meat tend to be the favoured products, as they can be used nearly as efficiently as their animal-derived counterparts in creating multiple menu items.

    Leveraging the price premium at fine dining and specialty restaurants over QSRs could also be a winning strategy. That said, vegetarian dishes are usually always cheaper than meat-based options in India, so pricing plant-based meat on par with other vegetarian dishes at foodservice establishments is more prudent, both from a customer and restaurant standpoint.

    Foodservice operators that have used plant-based meat have also taken issue with consistency in product sourcing, with some brands stopping supply without much notice, which needs to be addressed. Additionally, marketing these dishes together with the restaurant through on-table and in-store displays helps spread the word further.

    “Plant-based brands have to look at themselves not as product suppliers but as solutions providers,” said Romil Ratra, CEO of Graviss Hospitality and co-founder of vegan company Plantaway. “Brands and food service businesses both have their own unique visions, and decisions on these partnerships often come down to price.”

    The post ‘Lack of Demand’ Keeps India’s Restaurants Away From Plant-Based Meat – Here’s How to Solve It appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Swiss Food Giants Open Facility for Cultivated Meat, Animal-Free Dairy & More

    the cultured hub
    4 Mins Read

    Migros, Givaudan, and Bühler Group have opened The Cultured Hub, a biotech facility to speed and scale up the production of cellular agriculture foods.

    Three years after announcing the partnership, some of Switzerland’s largest food companies have opened the doors to a factory that will churn out next-gen foods like cultivated meat, cow-free dairy, and cell-based chocolate.

    The Cultured Hub, situated in The Valley in Kemptthal, is a biotech plant and scale-up platform that aims to revolutionise the alternative protein sector by speeding up the development and commercialisation of cellular agriculture products.

    It is a joint venture between retail giant Migros, flavour specialist Givaudan, and equipment manufacturer Bühler Group, combining “centuries of collective experience” in food processing, product development, manufacturing, marketing, and commercial launches.

    “The Cultured Hub represents a paradigm shift in how we approach food production,” said Matthew Robin, CEO of dairy company Elsa Group, a subsidiary of Migros Industries.

    “Our jointly developed facility embodies the collaborative spirit of the Swiss food ecosystem,” The Cultured Hub CEO Yannick Gächter said at an event to mark the centre’s opening.

    “By bringing together the right partners, our technology platform also enables startups to tap into centuries of experience in food processing, product development, production, marketing and market launches, allowing them to scale up faster and minimise capital investment.”

    lab grown meat facility
    Courtesy: The Cultured Hub

    Tech capabilities for food and beyond

    The hub is equipped with advanced production development labs, as well as cell culture and fermentation capabilities and equipment. Its host of partners allows the centre to empower startups to scale up the development of market-ready products that are better for the environment, and at a faster rate.

    The tech platform offered by the hub can support the development of cultivated and fermentation-derived products like meat, fish, dairy, pet food, and cocoa. But it’s not just restricted to food – companies can also innovate with materials like cosmetics and select pharma applications.

    The Cultured Hub can host three companies at a time, which can work simultaneously in fully separated suites. This helps accelerate market entry by saving time and resources, and allowing the entities to focus on creating the optimal food products at competitive costs.

    Additionally, it allows Migros, Givaudan and Bühler Group to expand their sustainability efforts and make the hub a “unique access point” for knowledge, skills, tech, and retail and consumer education.

    “As a global leader in flavours, taste, functional and nutritional solutions, with deep expertise in biotech, Givaudan is committed to unlocking new opportunities in the cellular agriculture space and contributing to the transformation of the global food system,” said Fabio Campanile, head of science and tech at Givaudan.

    “Through the Cultured Hub, and the ecosystem we are building with start-ups, partners and customers, we look forward to co-creating new, game-changing solutions that meet consumer demand for healthier, more planet-friendly products,” he added.

    lab grown meat switzerland
    Courtesy: The Cultured Hub

    Startups can scale up without taking financial hits

    It’s not just that companies will be able to ramp up their processes from small-scale lab experiments (like shake flasks) to 1,000-litre pilot operations – they’ll be able to do so without investing in expensive assets or diluting equity.

    This is critical at a time when money is hard to come by for alternative protein startups – VC investments dropped by 44% last year, with cultivated meat startups alone seeing a 75% decline. And while a recovery was looking likely by the first half of this year, companies in the latter segment only raised $3M in the third quarter, making another annual decrease likely.

    alternative protein investment
    Courtesy: GFI

    The Cultured Hub’s model is said to bridge the gap between research and commercial production, allowing companies to demonstrate and refine their processes efficiently.

    One such startup is Switzerland-based Sallea, which spun off from ETH Zurich late last year and recently closed a $2.6M pre-seed round for its plant-based scaffolds for cultivated meat.

    “Setting up in Switzerland has helped us to position as a leading scaffold provider for cellular agriculture,” Sallea co-founder and CEO Simona Fehlmann said at the event. “Switzerland is not only home to global companies like Nestlé, Bühler and Givaudan with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the food sector, it also has a strong pool of talent, which is essential to any startup’s growth.”

    Gaechter believes the hub is a “pivotal moment” in the global protein transition. “The opening of this facility is not just an achievement for our team, but a landmark moment for the industry,” he said. “We are excited to open a facility that will enable start-ups to scale up without heavy capital investment and contribute to global food system improvements.”

    Ian Roberts, CTO of Bühler Group, added: “The Cultured Hub is designed to bridge the scale-up gap for companies, enabling them to retain equity, protect intellectual property, and fast-track their journey to market without high capital investment.

    “We are thrilled to bring together industry players and create a collaborative environment that will drive significant advancements in the industry.

    The post Swiss Food Giants Open Facility for Cultivated Meat, Animal-Free Dairy & More appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • India Hosts First Public Tasting for Cultivated Meat in Bid for 2025 Launch

    biokraft foods
    5 Mins Read

    Mumbai-based startup Biokraft Foods hosted India’s first formal tasting of cultivated meat last week, presenting a hybrid chicken it hopes to launch next year.

    Amid a welcoming biotech environment and increasing regulatory clarity, Indian startup Biokraft Foods signalled the country’s appetite for novel foods at a showcase for its cultivated chicken.

    Over 30 sector leaders, sustainability advocates, and members of industry groups attended what was India’s first public tasting for cultivated meat, marking a milestone development for the future of food in the world’s most populous country.

    The event was a precursor for Biokraft Foods’s market launch, which it indicates could come as soon as next year. The company is “optimistic” about the timeline since it’s already working closely with the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

    “Currently, cultivated meat will go through the novel and non-specified product route, as recently clarified by FSSAI officials. We are preparing our regulatory dossier to par with the available data from regulatory approved companies,” Biokraft Foods founder and CEO Kamalnayan Tibrewal tells Green Queen.

    “We understand the ball has to be rolled by being the first company in India to start the work by regulatory officials in this space,” he adds. “Also, officials have clarified if the company and product meet all the standards, the approval process won’t take more than six to eight months.”

    Combining chicken cells with plants and algae

    fssai lab grown meat
    Courtesy: Biokraft Foods

    Tibrewal is an alum of the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) in Mumbai, as well as the Good Food Institute’s (GFI) Smart Protein Project in the city. He established Biokraft Foods in 2023, supported by leading incubator programmes from ICT Mumbai, SP-TBI, and iCreate.

    At the tasting, members of GFI India, Peta India, the Chamber for Advancement of Small & Medium Businesses (CASMB), Brinc, the Youth Organization in Defense of Animals India, and India Animal Fund (among others) tried Biokraft Foods’s cultivated chicken as part of slider burgers and chilli chicken, an Indo-Chinese classic.

    The startup employs an advanced 3D bioprinting technology to make its cultivated chicken, marrying it with precision engineering and cellular biology to replicate the structure, taste, texture and nutritional profile of conventional chicken.

    “We have developed our in-house proprietary bioink that contains all the ingredients required to achieve chicken meat’s essential sensory and physical properties. We use 3D bioprinting to fabricate the final chicken breast structures,” explains Tibrewal.

    Asked about the product’s composition, he adds: “We are primarily working on chicken breasts made from certain plant-based and algal-based biopolymers in addition to chicken cells.”

    Biokraft Foods will soon validate more SKUs, according to Tibrewal. “We are beyond thrilled to host this landmark event and introduce cultivated chicken meat to India. This is not just a milestone for Biokraft Foods, but a leap forward for sustainable food innovation in the country,” he says. “The overwhelmingly positive feedback we received fuels our commitment to redefine how meat is produced.”

    The firm is to organise more tasting events to reach a broader audience and expand external validation, allowing both consumers and industry professionals to experience cultivated meat and provide valuable feedback to refine the product.

    Priced the same as premium chicken

    india lab grown meat
    Courtesy: Biokraft Foods

    India may be known as a meat-free haven, being home to the world’s largest vegetarian population, but even so, at least 60% of its citizens eat meat. And chicken is by far the most popular among those people.

    But as a nation whose food habits are increasingly being dictated by health, its residents seem open to novel foods. Nutrition is already driving greater consumption of plant proteins, but they’re also receptive to cultivated meat, as a survey showed in March. It found that over 60% of Indians are willing to buy cultivated meat, with 59% identifying it as an alternative to conventional meat that promotes nutritional security.

    One key barrier, as is the case in other countries too, will be the cost of cultivated meat. This has been a major bottleneck for startups around the world, and is critical to wider adoption of these proteins.

    “Our product would be competitively priced to meet the demands of the Horeca [hotels, restaurants, and catering] sector,” Tibrewal reveals. “For a general Indian consumer market, chicken meat is available for around ₹150-250 ($1.75-2.95) per kg, and for a B2B market, it is priced between ₹300-600 ($3.50-7) per kg, given the premium involved.

    “So, our target pricing is between ₹300-350 ($3.50-4.10) per kg, which will be good to go for the B2B market,” he says. This could be viable, considering that 46% of respondents to the aforementioned survey are willing to pay a 10-30% premium on cultivated meat.

    The startup is also planning to set up an independent R&D and production facility by the end of 2025, which will further help streamline its costs.

    Biokraft Foods to close pre-seed funding round soon

    lab grown meat india
    Courtesy: Biokraft Foods

    Progress for India’s cultivated meat sector has sped up this year. The FSSAI has reportedly been looking to develop a regulatory framework for cultivated meat and seafood products, confirming that it would work with the government’s Department of Biotechnology and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council on the same at a regulatory conclave in April.

    India’s health minister, JP Nadda, stressed the importance of setting up the framework at a food safety summit in September. And last month, the government was urged to set clear regulatory guidelines for these alternative proteins.

    Government bodies have invested in this space, too, with multiple research grants for cultivated meat from the Ministry of Science and Technology. Meanwhile, ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute and New Delhi-based startup Neat Meatt are co-developing cultivated seafood, and Biokraft Foods itself is working with the ICAR-Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries Research on a similar project.

    The opportunity for cultivated seafood has also attracted Singaporean pioneer Umami Bioworks, which has established R&D and commercialisation partnerships with two research hubs in India. One of them, the Centre for Smart Protein and Sustainable Material Innovation, was opened in May in Bengaluru, the same week the Alternative Proteins Innovation Center was launched in the city,

    Biokfraft Foods, which has been backed by several government grants, is now in the middle of a pre-seed funding round, which is expected to close “very soon”, says Tibrewal.

    Speaking after the tasting, CASMB president Nilesh Lele – a strategic advisor to the company – said: “Biokraft Foods is at the forefront of cultivated meat innovation, and this event underscores their potential to revolutionize the industry. I’m confident that Biokraft will not only lead in this space but also put India on the global map for sustainable food technology. This is just the beginning.”

    The post India Hosts First Public Tasting for Cultivated Meat in Bid for 2025 Launch appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • From the Impossible Burger to A Carbon Ranch, Film Spotlights Pat Brown’s Bid to Save the Planet

    pat brown impossible foods
    5 Mins Read

    Impossible Foods founder Pat Brown is the subject of a recent episode of the Wild Hope documentary, which details his dedication to fighting climate change, and his new Carbon Ranch.

    After decades spent in labs, Pat Brown is taking to the field.

    The founder and former CEO of Impossible Foods, one of the most seminal companies in the alternative protein ecosystem, is leveraging his experience in academic and corporate America to tackle the biggest issues in the heartland.

    On a 1,000-acre Carbon Ranch in Arkansas owned by the Poland-based Impossible Foundation, Brown and fellow scientist Michael Eisen are creating a model to show farmers how carbon-intensive cattle ranches can be transformed into carbon-capturing forests.

    Brown’s journey from biochemist to food CEO to land restorer was detailed in a recent episode of the Wild Hope docuseries, titled Mission Impossible.

    Problem one: cattle farming

    The work on the Carbon Ranch is built on research by the two colleagues in 2022, which suggested that a phaseout of animal agriculture over the next 15 years would have the same effect as reducing emissions by 68% through the rest of the century.

    The study was published in PLOS Climate, a journal owned by the Public Library of Science, an open-access publisher co-founded by Brown at the turn of the century. Since then, he took a sabbatical that led to the establishment of Impossible Foods.

    “What I wanted to do on the sabbatical was to figure out what was the most important thing I could do to make the best possible world,” Brown says in the documentary. “The environmental impact of the animal ag industry was completely unacceptable, and no one was seriously trying to make it go away completely. So that’s what I decided I was going to do.”

    Figuring out what makes meat taste the way it does, and finding the necessary components to deliver an animal-free alternative, was “the most important scientific challenge in the world”, he says.

    impossible foods ranch
    Courtesy: Wild Hope

    The documentary details Brown and his team’s bet on heme, the iron-rich red molecule that is said to give animal products the meaty colour and flavour they’re known for. Brown recalled that heme is also carried in soy leghemoglobin, a protein present in high concentrations in soy root nodules.

    To produce it at scale though, the team turned to precision fermentation, inserting the DNA from the soy plants into a genetically engineered yeast strain called K. phaffii, which is then fermented in a similar way to how Belgian beer is made. The soy leghemoglobin is then extracted from the yeast and added to the plant-based ingredients that make up the Impossible Burger.

    It formed the base of Impossible Foods’ success, which soon partnered with Burger King to launch the first vegan Whopper, in a distribution deal that still runs today.

    Beef is the most polluting food on the planet, and as a whole, livestock farming emits a fifth of the world’s emissions. According to the Californian firm, the Impossible Burger generates 89% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, consumes 87% less water, and uses 96% less land than conventional beef.

    But 11 years after establishing the company, Brown turned to the next stage of his quest to safeguard the planet and undo the harms of the animal agriculture economy.

    Problem two: land restoration

    wild hope documentary
    Courtesy: Wild Hope

    “If you get rid of the demand for meat products, you have two problems you need to solve,” Brown told Wild Hope in an interview. “Number one, what happens to the people who make their living raising animals for food? Obviously they’re not the bad guys. They’re just trying to make a living, doing an incredibly hard, dangerous job. So, what happens to them?

    “Secondly, you don’t realise the benefit of eliminating the use of land for animal agriculture unless you use that land to restore the native ecosystems and recover carbon from the atmosphere.”

    This is why Brown stepped down from his role as CEO in 2022 to focus on specific strategic initiatives at the company, including hands-on research, public outreach and technology progress.

    The Carbon Ranch he’s working on now had 800 cows when it was first bought, who were moved to a nearby land by the previous owner. “We’re so used to thinking of a cattle farm as… a part of nature,” Brown says in the documentary. “And it’s the destruction of nature.”

    Brown and his colleagues cleared the land to give it the opportunity to recover, and divided it into three sections. In the first, they did no intervention. In the second, they planted a mixture of 30 different native tree species, and in the third, they cultivated 330,000 fast-grown timber species.

    pat brown impossible
    Courtesy: Wild Hope

    “The product we want from this experiment is a playbook for farmers and ranchers that basically tells them how to do this, and how to make a living by doing this,” he said in the interview with Wild Hope. “Because they’re ultimately going to be the ones that are carrying out the transformation, and we want them to be able to make a really good living from it.

    “The best way for that to happen right now is through carbon markets. Because if you’re capturing carbon through reforestation, you can get paid a decent amount of money. And if it works well, a lot of farmers are going to opt to do that, so we need to figure out how well that works.”

    The post From the Impossible Burger to A Carbon Ranch, Film Spotlights Pat Brown’s Bid to Save the Planet appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Vegan Fat Startup & Disney Team Up to Serve ‘Piggy Baos’ at Moana 2 World Premiere

    moana 2 world premiere
    4 Mins Read

    Californian food tech startup Lypid has debuted its consumer brand via a partnership with Disney, serving vegan pork baos at the Moana 2 premiere in Hawai’i.

    At the world premiere of Disney’s latest record-breaking film, Moana 2, Pua wasn’t the only pig that stole the show.

    Stars, filmmakers, and attendees were among the first groups to taste the BBQ Pork Piggy Bao, a new retail product by Californian brand Lypid Kitchen, which centres around an innovative vegan pork fat.

    It’s the retail-focused arm of food tech startup Lypid, which is known for its plant-based animal-like fats. The baos – the brand’s first product line – were on the menu at the Lanikuhonua Cultural Institute in Kapolei (situated on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu), where people gathered to celebrate the sequel to Walt Disney Animation Studio’s 2016 hit, Moana.

    moana 2 premiere
    Courtesy: Lypid

    Since the premiere in late November, Moana 2 has turned out to be a Thanksgiving record-breaker at the box office, and banked $389M globally in its first weekend – behind only fellow Disney megahit Deadpool & Wolverine.

    “We are thrilled to collaborate with Disney for the Moana 2 World Premiere, a celebration of connection and harmony that aligns perfectly with our mission,” said Lypid co-founder Jen-Yu Huang.

    Lypid Kitchen celebrates Asian classics

    Lypid’s produces hard fats that have the taste and texture of animal fats and coconut oil, but without the environmental or health detriments. It is low in saturated fat, and contains zero trans fats or hydrogenation.

    Its patented microencapsulation technology incorporates and extends flavour delivery into vegan fats, and can retain them even through the cooking process. PhytoFat is a structured fat that is low in saturated fat and has a very high melting point, making it suitable for a range of applications, including plant-based meat, dairy and baked goods.

    disney vegan
    Courtesy: Lypid

    With Lypid Kitchen, the startup is focusing on Asian comfort foods with a better-for-you, plant-based approach. The BBQ Pork Piggy Bao is intended as a twist on the sweet and savoury char siu bao, a dim sum classic.

    “At Lypid Kitchen, we’re reimagining favourite Asian comfort foods to offer authentic flavours that everyone can enjoy, while also caring for the planet,” said Huang.

    The bao is now available for pre-order on Lypid Kitchen’s website, priced at $14.99 for a four-pack. Moreover, the brand will introduce the saturated-fat-free product on retail shelves in February 2025.

    Alternative fats solve major pain points

    Lypid, which has raised over $4M from investors, has several other products, which are all geared towards foodservice. These include pork belly slices in original and smoky flavours, which it debuted in March last year, braised pork belly, thick-cut bacon, and smoky BBQ crumbles.

    And earlier this year, it rolled out plant-based meatballs, which it said can be used in various cuisines, including American, Italian, and Asian fusion.

    lypid fat
    Courtesy: Lypid

    These products are available at over 500 locations globally. Burger patties made from PhytoFat have been served as part of several menu items at Louisa Coffee outlets in Taiwan since 2022. Its pork belly was part of a pasta dish at Ikea Taiwan for a limited time this year, and its offerings can also be found at Taiwanese airline company EVA Air.

    Fats are becoming increasingly important in the alternative protein space, as consumers clamour for more realistic taste and texture attributes in meat and dairy analogues, while improving health outcomes.

    lypid kitchen
    Courtesy: Lypid

    Edinburgh’s Palm-Alt is emulsifying non-tropical oils with proteins and water to give them more ‘saturated’ properties, while London-based vegan meat maker THIS has come up with an olive-oil-based emulsion to reduce the level of saturated fat in its chicken, beef and pork analogues.

    Several others are working on planet- and health-friendly hard fat alternatives, whether via a combination of plants, or through fermentation. These include NoPalm Ingredients, C16 Biosciences, PALM-ALT, Äio, and Melt&Marble, among others.

    The post Vegan Fat Startup & Disney Team Up to Serve ‘Piggy Baos’ at Moana 2 World Premiere appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Aleph Farms Files for Regulatory Approval in Thailand, Eyes 2026 Launch of Cultivated Beef

    aleph farms thailand
    7 Mins Read

    Israeli startup Aleph Farms has submitted the first application for cultivated meat in Thailand, and expects regulatory clearance by mid-2026.

    As far as regulatory progress for alternative protein goes, 2024 has been bookended by Israel’s Aleph Farms. The cultivated meat pioneer began the year with the greenlight to sell its beef in its home country, and is ending it in pursuit of yet another approval.

    The Rehovot-based startup has filed a dossier for its cultivated beef steak in Thailand, marking the first such application in the country. It was submitted to the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), the agency overseeing safety assessments for novel foods, as designated by the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

    “We chose Thailand because of its reputation as the ‘Kitchen of the World’, renowned for its rich culinary heritage, advanced food production capabilities, and strategic position as a gateway to key Asian markets,” Aleph Farms co-founder and CEO Didier Toubia tells Green Queen.

    “Thailand is also transitioning into a powerhouse for novel foods. Aleph Cuts align perfectly with Thai cuisine, and the country’s strong commitment to sustainability, combined with our trusted local partnerships, creates an ideal environment to drive meaningful innovation and growth in the region,” he adds.

    Upon approval, the company’s Blank Angus Petit Steak will be sold under the Aleph Cuts brand. Doubia indicates that a timeline is difficult to predict, but “in principle, we estimate the process will take around 18 months”.

    Aleph Farms working closely with Thai Union

    lab grown meat thailand
    Courtesy: Sakchai Lalit/AP

    Aleph Farms received “instrumental” guidance to navigate Thailand’s regulatory framework from local seafood giant Thai Union, which is an investor in the alternative protein firm. The two entities spent nearly a year conducting extensive preparatory work and collaborating with the country’s regulatory agencies.

    “This partnership was crucial in establishing the foundational regulatory framework needed to support this groundbreaking first submission for cultivated meat in Thailand,” says Yifat Gavriel, chief of regulatory affairs and product safety at Aleph Farms

    “This proactive engagement not only laid the essential groundwork but also paved the way for an innovative regulatory path forward,” he says.

    Doubia calls Thai Union a “key partner” for Aleph Farms. “We believe cultivated meat should be localised to fit into local markets and preferences, which we can achieve only through partnerships,” he says. “We also expect their expertise and infrastructure to accelerate the scale-up, market entry, and commercialisation of Aleph Cuts.”

    The development comes just over a month after Aleph Farms conducted a tasting for food industry professionals in Bangkok, consulting with several local chefs who were left impressed by the Blank Angus Petit Steak, which will be sold under the Aleph Cuts brand.

    In February, the startup partnered with biomanufacturer BBGI and synbio firm Fermbox Bio to initiate Thailand’s first factory for cultivated meat production. “We are currently finalizing plans for our facility in Thailand in partnership with BBGI and Fermbox Bio,” says Toubia. “As the project advances, we look forward to sharing more updates in the months ahead.”

    Thailand’s appetite for (cultivated) meat

    thailand meat consumption
    Courtesy: Madre Brava

    Over the last three decades, meat consumption in Thailand has skyrocketed by 180%, doubling the amount of land used for livestock farming. As things stand, the country would require 42% more land to meet the animal protein demand by 2050, which would also produce 15% more emissions.

    While pork and poultry appear most often on local plates, beef consumption is up by 11% from pre-pandemic levels, as dining out and tourism expand the food options on offer, and beef-heavy cuisines like Korean become more popular.

    More beef means more land, more water, more emissions, and more problems for the climate. And the problem is compounded by the fact that four in 10 Thai people don’t know a lot about the impact of animal agriculture, with only 13% believing industrial meat production is a major driver of climate change, according to a December 2023 survey.

    That poll also suggested that just a quarter of Thailand’s population is aware of cultivated meat, posing significant consumer education challenges for companies such as Aleph Farms. Toubia looks at it positively, though: “This gap is an opportunity to shape the perception of cultivated meat with real and transparent information about what cultivated meat is and is not.”

    In any case, two-thirds of locals are looking to put less meat on their plates, primarily for health reasons. A 2021 survey conducted by Aleph Farms and Thai Union offered more promising results for cultivated meat too, suggesting that nearly all (97%) of Thai consumers want to try these proteins.

    Leveraging international cooperation for regulatory wins

    cultivated meat thailand
    Courtesy: Aleph Farms

    Toubia suggests that the Thai application is “a significant milestone” in the firm’s operational roadmap for Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific region.

    The startup has already submitted an application in Singapore, where two companies are already selling cultivated meat, as well as Switzerland in the UK. It is additionally in “advanced pre-submission consultations” in several countries, including the US.

    In September, Aleph Farms revealed to Green Queen that it planned to eventually expand into Japan, South Korea, Australia, China, and Hong Kong. The latter became just the fifth region to clear cultivated meat for sale last month, using Singapore’s approval of Aussie startup Vow as a benchmark.

    This model of international cooperation is set to become increasingly popular among regulators and cultivated meat startups alike, both of which are hoping to speed up the approval process across geographies. The UK has been working on a collaborative approach like this too, and both Dutch cultivated pork maker plans to leverage it to get the nod in several Asian countries next year.

    Aleph Farms is hoping to do the same, says Doubia. “And we are adopting a similar approach in the EMEA region, where we have already secured approval from Israel’s Ministry of Health,” he adds.

    The Israel approval came about in December 2023, but Aleph Farms still needs to clear a Good Manufacturing Practices inspection for its production facility before it can sell its cultivated beef steak.

    “Our focus is on building the necessary production capabilities to ensure a reliable supply and sustainable revenue growth before launch,” says Toubia. “In the meantime, we are refining our product-market fit and continuing our cost reduction program.”

    The Petit Steak – a hybrid meat product comprising non-modified, non-immortalised cells of a premium Black Angus cow, combined with a plant protein matrix made of soy and wheat – will be priced similarly to premium beef, the company has previously confirmed.

    “By incorporating valuable market insights from our recent chef workshops, we aim to create a differentiated category in the animal protein space, ensuring Aleph Cuts are positioned for long-term success and acceptance,” says Toubia.

    Cultivated meat critical for ‘natural security issues’

    alternative protein investment
    Courtesy: GFI

    Aleph Farms has raised $118M from investors since it was founded in 2017, but it hasn’t been immune to the challenges faced by the cultivated meat category, which saw funding dip by 75% in 2023 (with a further decline looking likely this year).

    The sector-wide investment decline, combined with the geopolitical tension with the Israel-Hamas war, has reportedly impeded Aleph Farms’ efforts to secure more money, playing a part in its decision to lay off 30% of its local employees earlier this year, which the company described as part of its “asset-light” strategy.

    While 2024 has been a seminal year for cultivated meat regulation, and next year is set to witness more companies breaking through to market, daunting obstacles remain – not least politically. Italy has already banned cultivated meat, while France, Romania and Hungary have tried to.

    In the US, Florida and Alabama have outlawed these foods, while lawmakers in at least 12 other states have proposed similar measures. And things will only become more complicated when Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.

    Toubia, for his part, outlines the importance of alternative proteins to several critical national security issues, including food security and food sovereignty.

    “Amid growing consumer demand, we face a declining livestock population, rising feed costs, an ageing demographic of ranchers, labour shortages, market volatility, supply chain shocks, and significant environmental pressures,” he says. “Diversifying animal protein and fat production has never been more crucial for ensuring national security.”

    The post Aleph Farms Files for Regulatory Approval in Thailand, Eyes 2026 Launch of Cultivated Beef appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • UK Supermarkets ‘Way Off Track’ on Zero-Deforestation Food Goal, Warns WWF

    supermarkets deforestation
    6 Mins Read

    Food waste has increased in British retailers, which are selling twice as much animal protein than needed and off track on the zero-deforestation goal for 2025, according to a new report.

    Supermarkets in the UK are lagging behind crucial climate goals for dietary change, food waste, deforestation, and packaging, and their inaction is turning into a “recipe for disaster”, warns the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

    The annual WWF Basket report measures progress towards the goal to halve the climate impact on UK shopping baskets by 2030, a commitment adopted by seven supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Aldi and Waitrose. It found clear areas of concern – alongside gradual progress – across seven progress areas.

    It comes just a year before the first milestone of the initiative: to ensure a deforestation-free supply of key commodities like soy, palm, beef and cocoa. Retailers are “way off track” on this target (slated for the end of 2025), with only 4.5% of soy – mainly entering the UK to feed farmed animals – found to be verified deforestation- and conversion-free. That figure is even lower for cocoa, at just 0.3%.

    “Consumers should not have to worry about whether their food shop is fuelling the climate crisis or pushing precious wildlife closer to the brink,” said WWF CEO Tanya Steele.

    She added: “How we produce food remains one of the biggest threats to our planet. And while it’s positive that UK supermarkets have pledged to source their food responsibly, they must now follow through.”

    Failure in deforestation goal will have cascading effects

    wwf deforestation report
    Courtesy: World Wildlife Fund

    The third edition of the WWF’s report, titled What’s in Store for the Planet 2024, outlines the need for a “full system transition” across the climate, deforestation, agriculture, marine, diets, food waste, and packaging verticals.

    It features data from 10 out of 11 major UK food retailers, although some have no visibility of the farms they’re sourcing from, nor accurate assessments of their impacts. While good progress has been made on certain scope 1 and 2 emissions targets, action on reducing emissions from the entire supply chain (scope 3) is still lacking.

    The UK may be a leader in setting scope 3 goals validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, but actual progress has been slow: they’re only 11% of the way towards achieving their forest, land and agriculture (FLAG) scope 3 emissions, while their non-FLAG scope 3 emissions have actually increased.

    The deforestation target, meanwhile, is a “critical and urgent” worry. Since the WWF Basket was launched in 2021, the world has lost over 7.9 million hectares of tree cover (an area the size of Austria), driven primarily by the food system. It has led governments to set a target to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030, with bans on certain deforestation-linked commodities coming into place in the EU and the UK.

    But over 95% of soy needs to be verified as deforestation-free with just over a year to go under the WWF Basket target, and transparency is a major roadblock: on average, supermarkets have been unable to identify the first importer – companies that bring goods into a country from foreign entities for trade – for 59% of their soy supply.

    Similarly, virtually no cocoa entering the UK retail sector is verified to be free of deforestation, with only four retailers able to report their cocoa sourcing by first importer. Moreover, these four were only able to trace an average of 65% of their supply chains, and only one did so for their entire supply chain.

    To accelerate progress on the deforestation front, the WWF advocates for greater investment in scalable monitoring and verification for deforestation-free supply chains, farmer incentives to promote production without clearing forests, and effective market-wide regulations to increase transparency.

    “Failure in this key area will have cascading effects across broader agriculture, marine, and climate goals. Shifting consumer demand away from meat fed on forest-risk soy will be key to turning the tide of success in these areas,” the report notes.

    Protein split and food waste targets key for retailers

    supermarkets plant based
    Courtesy: World Wildlife Fund

    Despite certain wins, the WWF found that retailers are “consistently struggling to make progress” on factors for which “systemic change is necessary”. This is highlighted in the dietary change targets. Food production generates a third of all emissions and uses 40% of habitable land – to help the sector decarbonise, WWF-UK developed the Livewell Diet, which could reduce emissions by 36% by 2030.

    This diet involves a protein ratio of 40% meat, dairy and eggs, 30% seafood, and 30% plant-based proteins. But livestock-based products currently make up 79% of retail sales. Even among pre-prepared and composite products, only 25% are vegetarian and 7% are vegan.

    The protein split has been a major source of debate among retailers in Europe this year, with Lidl and Ahold Delhaize leading the way – but much more needs to be done, as a separate WWF report pointed out in October. “There is a need for a rapid shift in protein food sales away from livestock-based sources and rebalance towards plant-based sources,” the WWF Basket report states.

    “We know that without a major shift in UK diets towards plant-based sources of protein, we have no hope of meeting our 2030 climate and nature targets and keeping 1.5°C alive,” it adds. “As critical players in shifting consumer demand, grocery retailers must take immediate collective action to increase the uptake of plant-based proteins.”

    “All retailers will have to adapt their business strategies to enable and support healthier, more sustainable food environments and purchases if they are to meet their nature and climate targets,” it adds. “To help enable a level playing field and ensure prioritising healthy, sustainable food sales is less of a commercial risk, retailers should advocate, alongside other organisations, for updated national dietary guidelines.”

    supermarkets food waste
    Courtesy: World Wildlife Fund

    Another hot issue in UK retail is food waste, which the sector has pledged to halve by 2030. But progress has plateaued on this front, with six retailers reporting an increase. To turn things around, companies need to boost redistribution efforts, engage with suppliers and farmers for better monitoring, and address food waste and loss at the consumer level.

    “Supermarkets have a crucial to play in the sustainability of our food system and therefore the climate, but they are falling short of their climate and nature targets and missing them isn’t just bad for business – it’s a recipe for disaster,” said Dave Lewis, the WWF’s chair of trustees.

    “The UK government must now step in and urgently introduce the long-awaited due diligence regulations to prevent further destruction of our forests and natural habitats,” added Steele. “Without them, supermarkets will continue to pay lip service while the planet pays the price for their inaction – putting us all at risk.”

    The post UK Supermarkets ‘Way Off Track’ on Zero-Deforestation Food Goal, Warns WWF appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • No Longer A Has-Bean: Scientists Hail Legumes As the Best Meat & Dairy Alternatives

    beans meat alternatives
    5 Mins Read

    Beans and peas are the best-performing alternatives to meat and milk when it comes to health, environmental and cost benefits, a new analysis has found.

    2024 has been a seminal year in global history. More people voted in elections than ever before, temperatures are reaching their highest recorded levels, the US put a convicted felon back in the White House, electric vehicles outnumbered gas-powered cars in Norway, and the world put the humble bean back on the map.

    Beans have become the flagbearer of academic and research support for plant proteins, just as they have begun reappearing on restaurant menus, retail shelves, and on our Instagram feeds in new formats. Some even suggest it’s now a cult going by the moniker ‘Leguminati’.

    Now, a new multicriteria analysis by Oxford University is piling on the bean love, suggesting that legumes are the best alternatives to conventional meat and dairy products.

    “Unprocessed legumes such as peas and beans were the clear winner in our assessment. They performed well from all perspectives, including nutritional, health, environmental, and cost,” said Marco Springmann from the university’s Environmental Change Institute, who led the research.

    Out of a possible tally of 100, soybeans, peas, and beans racked up scores of 93 to 97 for replacing meat, with soybeans performing best on nutrition and costs, and peas best on mortality and GHG emissions. Soybeans were superior when it came to replacing dairy too, scoring 95 overall and having the greatest impact on mortality and land use.

    “A surprising runner-up was tempeh, a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans, which retains much of the nutritional properties of soybeans without much processing or additives,” said Springmann. “This and the relatively low cost gave it an edge over more processed alternatives such as veggie burgers.”

    But processed products like veggie burgers and non-dairy milks also resulted in significant health and climate benefits. “Our study shows that a range of foods and food products exist that would have multiple benefits when replacing meat and dairy in current diets,” said Springmann.

    best plant based meat alternatives
    Courtesy: PNAS

    Beans and peas provide outsized health and nutrition benefits

    The study – published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal – analysed 24 meat and dairy alternatives with a focus on high-income countries, which typically overconsume animal protein. Experts have long identified the necessity of populations to cut back on these foods to lessen agriculture’s impact on the planet, which ends up disproportionately affecting lower-income developing nations.

    Replacing all calories from meat or milk with alternatives can decrease nutritional imbalances by four to five percentage points (pp), thanks in large part to reductions in saturated fat (by 44%) and increases in fibre (20%) and potassium (12%).

    Among meat, the largest impact came from soybeans, peas and other beans (3.1-4pp), followed by processed plant-based burgers (2.5pp), tempeh (1.8pp), and tofu (1.1pp).

    Meanwhile, soybeans lowered nutritional imbalances by replacing milk more than any other food analysed (5.4pp). Almond milk (4.7pp) was a close second, while oat and soy milk reduced these imbalances by 3.4-3.6pp.

    All plant-based products were also linked to lower risks of chronic diseases, led by tempeh and soybeans (5-6%), and closely followed by peas, beans and veggie burgers (4-5%) on the meat front. For dairy, soybeans, almonds and oats led to a decline of 4-5%.

    Likewise, replacing meat and dairy with vegan products can lower the risk of early death by up to 6%, with the changes attributed mainly to an increase in fibre (44%) and a decline in cholesterol and heme iron (20% each). “Among the meat alternatives, the largest reductions were for peas (6.1%), followed by tempeh, beans, and soybeans (5.1 to 5.7%), veggie burgers and tofu (4.0 to 4.3%), and veggie sausages and veggie bacon (3.5 to 3.6%),” the study noted.

    And for dairy alternatives, soybeans offered the highest mortality risk reductions (5.2%). Almond milk (4.4%), soy milk and oat milk (4.3% each) weren’t too far behind.

    best plant based milk
    Courtesy: PNAS

    Plant proteins highly climate-friendly, but cost and policy overhauls needed

    A key reason why we hear scientists implore people to move away from meat and dairy is their impact on the environment. Animal agriculture produces up to a fifth of the world’s emissions, and 57% of agricultural emissions, while using up 30% of freshwater resources and 80% of farmland – but it only supplies 17% of our calories and 38% of our proteins.

    If a person in a high-income country switches from meat to plant proteins, their diet’s impact on the environment shrinks by as much as 40%, when accounting for greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and land use. Soybeans, peas, vegan bacon, veggie sausages, beans, meat-free burgers and tempeh all reduce meat’s impact by a similar amount. With dairy, too, the climate footprint of alternatives is up to 16% smaller, a reduction offered by soybeans, oats, and almonds.

    The researchers further conducted cost assessments based on UK supermarket prices, finding that meat analogues were more expensive than their conventional counterparts – in some cases, by as much as double – but unprocessed proteins like beans and peas were much cheaper.

    By replacing meat, beans and peas decreased costs by 36%, followed by tempeh (20%), while tofu and vegan burgers had similar prices. Swapping milk for vegan alternatives lowered costs by 6% if using soybeans, oats and rice, and by 4% for almonds. In contrast, turning to vegan bacon or almond milk over their animal-based versions led to cost increases of 37% and 26%, respectively.

    The study also investigated the impact of cultivated meat, arguing that its emissions and health impact would be as high as beef with current technologies, and is five to 40,000 times more expensive. On the overall scale, cultivated meat ranked similarly to other meat products, but the researchers stressed that these estimates were based on “high uncertainty”.

    These findings appear contrary to several life-cycle assessments conducted by organisations and companies that show cultivated meat to have a much lower climate footprint than animal proteins, and several startups claim to have reached close to price parity too.

    “Suitable alternatives to meat and milk exist and are available and affordable without necessarily requiring new technologies or product development,” the researchers stated. “This contrasts with discussions in high-income countries on the needs to develop novel replacement foods, especially those that would completely mimic meat and dairy.”

    What’s required, however, are “prudent public policies”, which could include awareness campaigns, an overhaul of national dietary guidelines, the redirecting of farm subisides, and a ‘true cost’ approach to incorporate the climate and health detriments of animal proteins (like meat taxes).

    “However, political economy issues could arise as the livestock sector holds considerable political influence in many markets and various interest groups aim to influence the political debate,” read the study.

    The post No Longer A Has-Bean: Scientists Hail Legumes As the Best Meat & Dairy Alternatives appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Future Food Quick Bites: Indian Vegan Nuggets, Airline Sushi & Non-Dairy Grilled Cheese

    virat kohli vegan chicken
    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 a vegan nugget campaign with Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli, Japan Airlines’s plant-based sushi offering, and a precision fermentation communication guide.

    New products and launches

    Indian plant-based meat brand Blue Tribe Foods has revamped its vegan chicken nuggets, accompanied by a new ad campaign featuring its celebrity ambassador couple, actress Anushka Sharma and cricketer Virat Kohli.

    Canadian startup Milk Depot Inc. is the latest brand in the at-home plant-based milk category, launching a non-dairy Milk Maker for $279.95 (currently on offer for $149) on its website.

    Belgian precision fermentation startup Paleo has teamed up with Austria’s Revo Foods on a trial to infuse the latter’s 3D-printed salmon with animal-free myoglobin.

    mr charlie's frowny meal
    Courtesy: Mr Charlie’s

    Vegan fast-food chain Mr Charlie’s has opened a pop-up in Melbourne’s CoConspirators Brewpub, which will run for two months.

    Korean startup Pensées has begun selling its first food-grade culture medium for cultivated meat producers, which has a similar cost to the industry standard when used on a development scale.

    lab grown meat culture media
    Courtesy: Pensées

    And Japan Airlines is serving up vegan sushi in the air, thanks to a partnership with local food manufacturer Azuma Foods.

    Company and finance updates

    Singapore-based precision fermentation player TurtleTree is raising a $15M round for its animal-free lactoferrin.

    Dutch vegan ingredient company GNT has set up a VC arm called GNT Ventures, which will focus on colouring solutions across the raw material and fermentation, processing, food ingredient, and upcycling verticals.

    A month after opening its Armored Grilled Cheese foodservice venture in Brooklyn’s Dekalb Market Hall, South Korean dairy-free cheese startup Armored Fresh has announced that 70% of visitors have been non-vegan. It also recorded a repeat customer rate of 24% in this period.

    armored fresh cheese review
    Courtesy: Armored Fresh

    Bangkok-based agrifood giant Thai Wah Public Company has teamed up with Japan’s Fuji Nihon Corporation to advance the manufacturing, sales and distribution of tapioca-based foods.

    Two months after entering voluntary administration, New Zealand hemp meat maker Sustainable Foods has been placed in liquidation.

    Denver-based vegan restaurant Meta Burger – once named the world’s best burger by HappyCow – has closed its two remaining locations, leaving the city with no fully plant-based eateries.

    meta burger closed
    Courtesy: Meta Burger

    Speaking of the world’s best, Qatar Airways has partnered with food waste digester company Power Knot to install a biodigester on its planes, which can process and convert up to 1,500kg of food waste into greywater.

    There’s change at the top at Israeli cultivated seafood startup Wanda Fish, where James Amihood is taking over as CEO from Dafna Heffetz, who will stay as a board vice-chairman.

    US cell-based collagen maker Jellatech has welcomed biotech experts Matthew Kane and Dr. Bill Polacheck to its advisory board.

    Research, policy and awards

    A judge in Los Angeles has ruled in favour of the USDA on a 2022 case brought by a vegan student who argued that her school was violating the First Amendment rights by blocking her ability to raise awareness about plant-based milk. The courts decided that the student lacked standing to sue because she has already graduated.

    In Sweden, the Chalmers University of Technology has established a four-year future food consortium with agrifood giants Lantmännen and Arla to advance fermentation research and develop hybrid foods.

    future food quick bites
    Courtesy: University of Waterloo

    At the University of Waterloo in Canada, scientists are feeding bacteria on food scraps to produce fully biodegradable bioplastics that break down in garden composts, agricultural fields, and both fresh and seawater, while causing no harmful plastic pollution or leaving any chemical residues behind.

    Spanish plant-based meat leader Heura has called on the national government to take a more urgent approach to climate action and “prioritise sustainability and global health over political interests” in a new awareness campaign.

    Students at the University of Reading have won the second prize in EIT Food‘s ‘Pea-Licious’ programme for their pea-based drink PeaChata and yoghurt YogiPot.

    all g foods
    Courtesy: All G

    Alternative protein think tanks the Good Food Institute APAC and Cellular Agriculture Australia have worked with several Asia-Pacific stakeholders to produce an in-depth communication guide for precision fermentation.

    Also in Asia, non-profit Charity Doings Foundation is hosting the first-ever Pakistan International Animal and Environmental Rights Conference in 2025 at the Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore (January 18-19).

    Finally, the state-owned Emirates Foundation has published a food waste guide for event organisers and food businesses, which can help them lower waste by up to 60%.

    Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: Indian Vegan Nuggets, Airline Sushi & Non-Dairy Grilled Cheese appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Is Unilever’s Sale of The Vegetarian Butcher A Turning Point for Plant-Based Meat?

    the vegetarian butcher uni
    6 Mins Read

    Unilever is planning an auction to sell The Vegetarian Butcher, its flagship plant-based meat brand. This news has sent ripples through the industry, prompting many to ask: What does this mean for the future of plant-based meat, and how did we get here?

    Back in 2018, Unilever made a daring move. Recognising the surging interest in plant-based diets, the global conglomerate acquired The Vegetarian Butcher, aiming to lead in a sector that was one of the fastest-growing in the food industry. Their ambitions were grand, with goals reportedly set to reach €1.5 billion in sales by 2025.

    Leveraging its extensive retail networks and relationships, Unilever propelled The Vegetarian Butcher to impressive heights in Europe, with significant achievements that included:

    • Major partnerships: Striking what could be the world’s largest plant-based meat deal with Restaurant Brands International (RBI) in Europe (the result of which was the brand’s patties in Burger Kings across Europe).
    • Retail expansion: Establishing a strong presence across European supermarkets, thanks to Unilever’s clout.

    Early on, The Vegetarian Butcher seemed poised for success. Yet, despite these strides, the brand has struggled to replicate this performance outside Europe. In the US, The Vegetarian Butcher couldn’t quite take off; in other global markets, it remained largely under the radar. It became clear that its focus was heavily European-centric, offering solutions for food services chains and a generic wide portfolio of products aiming to address the perceived opportunity for plant-based meat to simply mimic top-selling meat items. The company’s plans – like most other plant-based meat companies – rested on the premise that PTC (Price Taste Convenience) primarily drove food choice.

    The reality check

    the vegetarian butcher sale
    Courtesy: The Vegetarian Butcher

    So, what went wrong? To understand, we need to look at the broader market trends. Since 2021, the plant-based meat market has shown signs of stagnation and even contraction, especially in the US. This slowdown caught many by surprise, given the earlier optimism.

    Comparisons with plant-based milk offer some insights. Plant-based milk has captured nearly 15% of retail milk sales. Walk into any urban coffee shop in a developed country, and you’ll notice that plant-based milk options might account for about half of all milk used—far surpassing the adoption rates of plant-based meat alternatives in similar settings.

    Why the difference? It boils down to consumer perceptions and emotional connections.

    Emotional drivers and consumer behaviour

    For many, milk is a staple, but it is not necessarily an aspirational product. Additionally, lactose intolerance and milk allergies affect a significant portion of the population, making alternatives more appealing. Plant-based milks have successfully positioned themselves as not just substitutes but as trendy and varied options that cater to health, environmental concerns, and taste preferences.

    Meat, on the other hand, holds a different place in people’s hearts and on their plates. It’s often the star of the meal, rich in cultural significance and positive emotional associations. Unlike milk, few people have physical adverse reactions to meat, and vegetarians and vegans still represent a tiny minority in most societies. 

    When asked what it would take to choose plant-based meat, consumers often mention “price, taste, and convenience.” However, these factors, while important, may not override the deep-rooted preferences and emotional connections people have with meat. Simply put, many consumers don’t feel a compelling need to replace something they enjoy and have no issues with. This is a conclusion I first had sometime around late 2022 while experiencing first-hand the challenges beyond Price, Taste and convenience. While it is a topic I have written about a few times, this article from Jacob R. Peacock dives into it with more depth.

    Industry challenges and the path forward

    unilever plant based
    Courtesy: The Vegetarian Butcher

    The challenges faced by The Vegetarian Butcher aren’t unique. Many companies in the plant-based meat sector are grappling with similar issues:

    • Financial strains: With venture capital funding drying up since 2021, especially for early-stage and loss-making companies, many startups have shut down or are struggling to stay afloat.
    • Market saturation and consolidation: After seeing smaller companies closing down, we are entering a phase where companies with substantial revenues are becoming targets for consolidation. The Vegetarian Butcher, with estimated revenues between €50 million and €150 million, exemplifies this trend. On the bright side, this is probably where the winning companies will enter their phase of best returns on investment.

    Technological innovation, once seen as the key to unlocking mass adoption, hasn’t provided the silver bullet many hoped for. While advancements have improved the taste and texture of plant-based meats—particularly in products like burgers and nuggets—they haven’t significantly shifted consumer behaviour. At the same time, negative consumer campaigns have driven negative sentiment to a very high level against plant-based meat, boosted by narratives that the products are not healthy. Price reductions, another strategy employed by well-funded players, haven’t yielded the expected boost in adoption either.

    If technology and pricing strategies aren’t moving the needle, perhaps it’s time to reassess our understanding of the problem.

    Rethinking the approach

    The consistent hurdles suggest that the industry may have misread the consumer adoption curve. It’s not just about making plant-based meat as tasty or as affordable as animal meat. It’s about addressing the emotional and cultural significance of meat in people’s lives.

    We need to ask deeper questions:

    • What truly motivates consumers to change long-standing dietary habits?
    • How can plant-based brands create products that don’t just mimic meat but offer new, exciting culinary experiences?
    • In what ways can the industry engage with consumers on an emotional level, beyond the usual talking points of health and sustainability?
    • Realistically, how long will this really take? Are the companies and shareholders prepared for a much longer journey than initially anticipated?

    Unilever’s strategic considerations

    burger king vegan
    The Vegetarian Butcher has been supplying its meat analogues to Burger King since 2019 | Courtesy: Burger King Germany | Composite by Green Queen

    For a corporate giant like Unilever, the decision to potentially sell The Vegetarian Butcher likely comes down to strategic priorities. Managing a brand in a slow-growth, high-burn sector with an uncertain future may not align with its goals. The company’s resources invested could perhaps yield better returns elsewhere.

    However, this doesn’t spell doom for The Vegetarian Butcher. On the contrary, stepping out from under Unilever’s vast umbrella might offer the brand a chance to be more agile and focused. A smaller, dedicated team could steer the company with the nimbleness required in such a dynamic market.

    Looking ahead with optimism

    Despite the challenges, there are reasons to be hopeful:

    • Significant achievements: The Vegetarian Butcher’s success in securing major contracts, like with RBI in Europe, is no small feat. It demonstrates the brand’s potential to compete on a big stage.
    • Solid foundation: With an impressive distribution network and a diverse product portfolio, the brand has a strong platform to build upon.

    The plant-based meat industry is at a crossroads. While initial expectations may not have been met, this moment offers an opportunity to recalibrate and innovate.

    The potential sale of The Vegetarian Butcher is more than just a corporate transaction; it’s a reflection of the evolving landscape of plant-based meats. It challenges industry players to look beyond conventional strategies and delve deeper into understanding the consumer psyche.

    For the industry to thrive, it must embrace a more nuanced approach—one that recognizes the complex relationship people have with food. By creating products that resonate on an emotional level and by crafting narratives that align with consumers’ values and desires, plant-based brands can forge a path forward.

    Change is rarely linear, and the adoption of new food paradigms takes time. The journey of The Vegetarian Butcher offers valuable lessons for future innovators. As the brand potentially moves into a new chapter, there’s hope that it will continue to push boundaries and inspire others in the quest for a more sustainable and diverse food landscape.

    The post Is Unilever’s Sale of The Vegetarian Butcher A Turning Point for Plant-Based Meat? appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • What Are Employers & Jobseekers Looking for in Alternative Protein Careers?

    alt protein jobs
    6 Mins Read

    A new analysis of job posts in the alternative protein sector shows what kind of roles are most popular, where people want to relocate to, and the disconnect with remote work.

    With the right investment, the alternative protein industry – covering innovators of plant proteins, cultivated meat, and fermentation-derived foods – could support nearly 10 million jobs by 2050.

    That’s around the same time the world will be in touching distance with a population of 10 billion, a number the current food system simply cannot sustain as things stand.

    It’s why billionaires are pouring their wealth into research to make meat analogues so good, omnivores would willingly give up the conventional thing. It’s why companies are working across the breadth of food technology to find ways to close the gap between alternative and animal proteins – whether that’s with taste, nutrition, or price.

    Today, there are over 2,000 startups in this sector. And while they have had a tumultuous couple of years, innovation is rife, as is the need for talent. One place career hopefuls can go to is AltProtein.Jobs, an AI-led jobseeking platform by German firm Tälist that connects employers in the space with prospective candidates.

    To identify hiring trends in the sector, Tälist has analysed tens of thousands of data points from job postings and candidate profiles on its website, resulting in what it says is the first-of-its-kind data-driven analysis of the alternative protein talent and hiring landscape.

    Here are the key takeaways from the Alt-Protein Career & Hiring Report:

    Monthly job postings showcase fluctuations

    plant based jobs
    Courtesy: Tälist

    There were 16,100 jobs posted by Tälist between October 2023 and September 2024, but monthly analysis exhibited “dynamic fluctuations” – postings peaked in November and January, with another hike in August, but February and April were marked with lower activity.

    The jobs platform ascribed investment rounds and seasonal budget allocations as possible factors behind these variations, but noted that the exact reasons couldn’t be determined based on the available data.

    Meanwhile, company size does seem to influence hiring patterns, with larger firms showing more stability and growth in job postings throughout the 12-month period. Smaller businesses experience sharper fluctuations and tend to hire less, reflecting their more volatile funding and staffing needs.

    Alt-protein job market showcases resilience despite layoffs

    food tech jobs
    Courtesy: Tälist

    The report found fairly consistent monthly job postings with each job function category, with certain segments showing particularly strong demand. Jobs in business, biology and food science make up 52% of the total postings, while sales, marketing, and production account for another 39%.

    While some of the leading industry players – from Meati to Aleph Farms – have been forced to cut jobs of late, the sector as a whole has maintained a stable trajectory when it comes to job availability. “Although layoffs have occurred, they have largely been balanced by new opportunities emerging in the market,” said Tälist.

    That said, there has been no substantial increase in the number of jobs in the sector, which suggests that it is in a consolidation phase to enable future growth.

    Entry- and mid-level roles most popular

    alt protein careers
    Courtesy: Tälist

    Mid-level roles are the most desired positions for companies, making up a third of all postings, followed by entry-level jobs (30%). The share of internship positions has doubled in the last year, but junior-level roles have witnessed a sharp decrease.

    Interestingly, executive positions appear to be open for a longer number of days across biology and food science, production, and sales and marketing. In contrast, mid-level positions remain online longest in the engineering and business categories.

    Broadly, marketing/PR and business administration are among the job functions quickest to be filled, open for 35-37 days. On the flip side, positions with job functions like downstream processing, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and food safety face longer delays (43-51).

    Europe dominates – but Asia and Latin America show growth signs

    vegan jobs
    Courtesy: Tälist

    As a marker of the sector’s rapid global expansion, Asia-Pacific and Latin America witnessed a notable uptick in job postings – in fact, the latter region had twice as many roles open in 2024 compared to last year. The Middle East also had an 87% hike in job postings this year, going from 112 to 209 roles.

    However, Europe now dominates this trend, featuring the highest number of job postings this year. It overtook North America, whose share fell from 39% to 33% despite a rise in absolute numbers. “[This] may suggest a market adjustment as companies re-evaluate their positions in response to economic pressures or shifts in consumer behaviour,” the report noted.

    Meanwhile, 61% of candidates are willing to relocate for their jobs, whether domestically or overseas – of those, 78% are happy to move to or within the EU, and 60% would consider relocating to the US.

    Indians showcase the highest willingness to move, with 87% saying so, followed by Nigerians (84%) and Swiss consumers (81%). Among the preferred destinations, the US, Germany, and the Netherlands stand out as the top choices for relocation, all hubs for future food companies.

    Candidates prefer remote work and collaborative culture

    talist job board
    Courtesy: Tälist

    There’s a significant disconnect between the work models candidates and companies prefer. While 69% of businesses posted on-site roles, only 6% of jobseekers prefer this option.

    Instead, two in five are interested in hybrid roles (with 27% of companies advertising such positions), and one in five seek fully remote jobs, though only 4.5% of positions supported this option. But crucially, 35% of prospects indicate that they’d accept any of these arrangements.

    “Employers should anticipate the shift in remote work preferences among job seekers by emphasising remote and hybrid roles that could help meet candidate expectations for flexibility, therefore widening the talent pool and attracting candidates who might otherwise be less available due to geographic constraints,” the report read.

    Candidates also place a high value on collaborative work environments, with 54% stressing their importance. This is followed by openness to remote work (36%), ethics (34%), and innovation and creativity (also 34%).

    Plant-based roles lead the way

    alternative protein jobs
    Courtesy: Tälist

    Among the different pillars of alternative protein, there’s a clear emphasis on plant-based, which should come as little surprise given this is the most advanced category in the space, featuring the highest number of companies.

    These roles accounted for 70% of all job postings at Tälist. Next in line was the fermentation vertical, minus precision fermentation (19%), while one in 10 roles was in the cultivated meat space. The remaining segments, like molecular farming or hybrid technologies, took up a minute 0.6% share.

    These hiring trends will further be shaped by “regulatory decisions and investor priorities”, which will dictate which technologies receive regulatory and financial support. “Additionally, we might see more shifts in regional hiring trends as local political and economic factors influence the alternative protein market,” stated the report.

    The post What Are Employers & Jobseekers Looking for in Alternative Protein Careers? appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Redefine Meat Doubles UK Sales, Partners with 200-Year-Old Pub Chain for 3D-Printed Meat

    4 Mins Read

    Thanks to a collaboration with Greene King, Redefine Meat’s 3D-printed meat alternatives are now available at 1,000 UK restaurants, in a year when domestic sales have shot up by 100%.

    Israeli food tech startup Redefine Meat is capping off a “record year” with a listing at Greene King, a 225-year-old British pub chain, which will serve its premium vegan flank steak at 70 sites.

    It marks the 3D-printed meat innovator’s availability at 1,000 restaurant locations in the UK, where its foodservice sales have nearly doubled this year. At the same time, the company’s year-on-year revenue at Ocado – its first retail listing in the country – has grown by 150%.

    “Celebrating our 1000th UK site through our new Greene King partnership, we believe we’ve hit a major milestone for the UK foodservice industry – one where high-quality plant-based options that taste delicious, are increasingly becoming a mainstream consumer preference,” says Simon Owen, Redefine Meat’s UK managing director.

    Redefine Meat’s tech has left chefs and customers impressed

    3d printed meat
    Courtesy: Redefine Meat/Green Queen

    One of the best-known plant-based companies, Redefine Meat markets its 3D-printed products as New Meat, with a diverse range of beef, pork and lamb alternatives that are available in formats like pulled, mince, sausages, burgers, and whole cuts. They can be found at over 4,000 foodservice locations in 10 countries, plus retailers in several European markets.

    Its flagship product is the Beef Flank, positioned as a premium, chef-led whole-cut steak. It’s made from a base of wheat, soy and potato protein, complemented by soy and wheat flours, rapeseed oil, cornstarch, natural flavourings, maltodextrin, barley malt, salt, and colourings.

    Redefine Meat’s products undergo a patented additive manufacturing process – more commonly known as 3D printing – at a factory in the Netherlands, which gives them a meatier flavour and the fibrous texture so devoured by meat-eaters. It calls the process ‘Plant-Based Tissue Engineering’, a reference to how it disintegrates textured vegetable protein (TVP) into fibres and blends them with a dough made from soy or pea protein isolates.

    “This approach allows the projection of the meat-like texture of TVP, but in a flexible manner, and in a scalable manner,” the company explained in a white paper in February. “The muscle component is reassembled to mimic the anisotropic fibrous structure of beef, while the fat component is engineered through lipid encapsulation within a hydrocolloid matrix.”

    For Europeans, taste is the major driver of plant-based meat, with 53% saying so in a 10-country survey last year. And in the UK, 51% of consumers say flavour and texture are the main reasons why they’re cutting back on meat alternatives, with 66% feeling products from some brands taste much worse than others.

    But Redefine Meat’s plant-based flank steak has been endorsed by leading chefs like Marco Pierre-White and Ron Blaauw, and is said to have won plaudits from consumers of all dietary preferences.

    “We’ve found that chefs really value the ability to co-develop New Meat products with us, something we’re not seeing with other plant-based suppliers,” notes Owen. “This enables us to respond to their customer’s specific preferences, whether that’s elevating existing plant-based menus, or introducing foodservice locations to the category for the first time.”

    Capitalising on the foodservice demand for plant-based

    redefine meat
    Courtesy: Redefine Meat

    Redefine Meat argues that the whole-cut vegan steak offers Greene King a new market and key competitive advantages through product quality and service versatility. The Beef Flank alone is now featured on the menus of 200 UK restaurant sites, including Albion, Gusto, Dirty Vegan Burgers, and Stonegate Group, the country’s largest pub chain.

    “Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen an important shift in the global foodservice industry with many iconic brands transitioning their plant-based menus to more premium-quality options,” says Owen.

    In the Netherlands, for example, volume sales of meat analogues in foodservice increased by 111% between 2021 and 2023, against a 2% decline for conventional meat in the same period. And in the US, a market Redefine Meat is yet to enter, foodservice pound sales of plant proteins were 25% higher than pre-pandemic levels last year, with half of these attributed to vegan meats that replicate the taste, texture and experience of animal proteins.

    This is why whole cuts have been called the “holy grail” of meat analogues, a space crowded by startups like Juicy Marbles (Slovenia), Libre Foods (Spain), Green Rebel (Indonesia), Revo Foods (Austria), Project Eaden (Germany), and Planted (Switzerland), among others.

    “Having broken through the quality barrier of the plant-based industry, we began our journey in fine dining and Michelin-star restaurants ensuring a superior ‘eating’ experience,” says Owen.

    “In transitioning to retail, this top-down approach has also been crucial to ensuring our differentiation by bringing chef-quality New Meat directly to consumers. As is the ability to give foodservice leaders like Greene King access to a diverse product range beyond just minced-based products, but also pulled meats and whole cuts,” he continues.

    “In the UK, we’re ready to support this local growth thanks to our large-scale state-of-the-art facility in the Netherlands. For customers such as Greene King, this facility ensures that as the market grows, they know that we can meet their requirements.

    “While the overall plant-based market has gone through a challenging period of consolidation, 2024 has been a year of strong growth for Redefine Meat, and we’re excited for the year ahead.”

    The post Redefine Meat Doubles UK Sales, Partners with 200-Year-Old Pub Chain for 3D-Printed Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Industry Leaders Team Up to Fuel South Korea’s Protein Transition Ahead of Cultivated Meat Arrival

    lab grown meat south korea
    4 Mins Read

    Food tech organisations have signed a deal to advance the alternative protein industry in South Korea, where cultivated meat is set to make its entry soon.

    As South Koreans prepare to welcome cultivated meat to their plates, stakeholders from the novel food and biotech sectors have joined forces to propel the country’s future food industry forward.

    Industry group Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KoreaBio) and its Bio-based Future Food Industry Committee (BFFIC) – a coalition of 33 future food companies – have signed an MoU with alternative protein think tank the Good Food Institute Asia-Pacific (GFI APAC).

    The three organisations aim to advance market research and knowledge exchanges, increase policy coordination for novel food regulation, facilitate training, and host joint workshops and presentations about alternative protein innovation.

    “The association hopes that this agreement will create a domestic industrial ecosystem in line with global trends and enable many Korean companies involved in novel food to successfully expand their business globally,” said KoreaBio vice-president Seung-kyou Lee.

    The goals of the alternative protein partnership

    cultivated meat south korea
    Courtesy: GFI APAC

    The MoU contains a five-point plan outlining the purposes of the yearlong partnership, which will see the industry members meet once every quarter.

    The collaboration will seek to leverage GFI APAC’s research, resources and expertise in the sector to enhance BFFIC’s ability to develop and commercialise alternative proteins. The think tank itself will look to tap into the expertise of KoreaBIO and BFFIC members when providing support in the country.

    Sharing relevant research, data, reports, and market insights on future foods is a key goal of the partnership, helping speed up the development of South Korea’s novel food ecosystem via regular sessions and workshops, as needed.

    Equally important is an effort to work together on policy initiatives to create a favourable regulatory environment for alternative proteins in the nation, setting an example for other countries pursuing such regulatory frameworks too.

    The organisations also agreed to bolster international cooperation by connecting the South Korean ecosystem with global organisations and entities working in the future food space – this effort will be aided by GFI’s vast network (the think tank has seven offices across the world).

    Finally, the MoU mentions a need to foster industry growth by organising joint webinars, workshops and presentations, which will help raise awareness and drive interest in alternative proteins.

    Further highlighting how GFI APAC can provide support, the document notes that KoreaBio and BFFIC can benefit from its research on cultivated meat, fermentation, and plant-based proteins, its comprehensive market analysis, policy guidance, its international network, and educational material, reports and case studies to develop and scale novel food technologies.

    Policy progress for cultivated meat in South Korea

    lab grown meat korea
    Courtesy: Simple Planet

    “Global mutual cooperation is essential for the industrialisation of novel foods, including alternative proteins, which will be crucial for the future food supply system,” added Dominic Jeong, president of the BFFIC. “A partnership among GFI, KoreaBIO, and BFFIC will be the starting point for building a global network and facilitating a novel food industry in Korea.”

    Jeong is also the co-founder and CEO of Seoul-based startup Simple Planet, which is hoping to obtain the regulatory nod for its cultivated meat in South Korea by the first half of 2025. “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,” Jeong told Green Queen in May.

    His comments came months after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety established a framework for regulatory approval of these proteins, outlining a process that costs ₩45M ($34,000) and is expected to take up to 270 working days.

    The government has also created a regulation-free special zone for the development of cultivated foods in the eastern province of Gyeongsangbuk-do. The ₩20B ($14M) project harbours 10 companies to commercialise these proteins, including TissenBioFarm, Seawith and DaNAgreen, which are also members of BBFIC.

    Plus, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced an investment of ₩29B ($21M) in research funding for plant-based and cultivated seafood technologies. Plant protein giant Pulmuone and Singapore’s Umami Bioworks have both made moves to manufacture cultivated fish products in South Korea recently.

    Meanwhile, last year saw the opening of the $7M North Gyeongsang Cellular Agriculture Industry Support Center, a 2,309 sq m facility to fuel the development of biomaterials and support cultivated meat companies.

    Research indicates that interest in cultivated meat remains high among Koreans, 90% of whom are willing to give it a go. Two in five are also in favour of these products being sold at supermarkets and restaurants, but price is a significant barrier. While 57% would eat cultivated pork if it’s cheaper than its conventional counterpart – and 25% would do so for beef – just a sixth of Koreans would pay more for cultivated meat.

    “Reimagining how meat is made is one of humanity’s greatest untapped opportunities,” said GFI founder Bruce Friedrich. “As a world-class innovation hub, South Korea’s expansive R&D and manufacturing ecosystem will play a crucial role in supercharging cultivated meat development and pioneering the technological breakthroughs our planet urgently needs.”

    The post Industry Leaders Team Up to Fuel South Korea’s Protein Transition Ahead of Cultivated Meat Arrival appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Shifting Away From Meat is Crucial for the EU’s Food Security & Climate Goals

    eu plant based report
    5 Mins Read

    Experts at Wageningen University argue that livestock numbers need to be reduced while a transition to plant-based diets should be welcomed by the EU.

    Every year, academics from Wageningen University & Research (WUR), the EU’s top agriculture institution, present the Mansholt Lecture. Highlighting the dilemmas faced by the region’s farm sector, it’s inspired by Sicco Mansholt, a Dutchman who was the bloc’s first agriculture commissioner and architect of its Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).

    The CAP aims to tackle biodiversity loss, species decline, and planetary harm – but many of its current policies fail to do so. And of those that have promise, most are derailed by Big Ag’s big lobbies. Nearly 30% of the CAP’s budget is spent on agriculture, which is important considering the sector accounts for 12% of EU emissions.

    However, 80% of this expenditure is directed to livestock farming, with 44% alone going to crops for animals that humans end up eating. This makes little sense when you consider that animal proteins provide only 35% of the EU’s calorie supply, and generate 84% of its agricultural emissions. Plant-based farming, on the other hand, receives less than a quarter of the CAP’s money.

    And even though farmers themselves are calling on people to eat less meat and asking policymakers to draw up plans to transition to a plant-based food system, EU leaders seem hesitant in intervening.

    These are among the five major dilemmas that the WUR experts outlined in a new paper accompanying the Mansholt Lecture. The 80-page report contends with the EU’s pursuit for self-sufficiency, the future of animal agriculture, whether climate targets should be a shared responsibility among member states, the coexistence of food and non-food biomass, and policy interventions to reshape consumer behaviour.

    Reforming livestock farming means eating more plant-based

    eu plant based action plan
    Graphic by Green Queen

    WUR notes that the EU can be considered food-secure for now, but that it’s highly dependent on imports of fertilisers, energy and animal feed. And while the region can produce enough food for its population at current rates, this will only be possible if the production of protein crops and oilseeds is increased, and people begin reducing their meat consumption.

    Conversely, if Europeans continue to eat as much meat as they do now, reducing livestock’s impact on the climate and biodiversity will be a challenge, the author wrote. Addressing livestock numbers, therefore, is a priority.

    “Without reducing the livestock population, this would require major adaptations to technology and feed systems, including feed additives and new housing systems and forms of manure processing,” the report reads, adding: “In practice, the impact of many of these innovations is often disappointing.”

    Growing animal feed would also compete with the production of crops suitable for human consumption. An alternative approach would be to deindustrialise livestock farming, utilising grasslands, raw materials and waste streams that don’t compete with human food, as well as food waste – think retail products past their sell-by dates.

    “In this more circular approach, the primary role of animals would be to convert these non-human food streams, with the number of animals in a region determined by the availability of these resources, rather than global demand for animal products,” the report states.

    This will also only be possible if meat and dairy consumption is curbed – the EU already eats 80% more protein than is recommended, and 60% of this comes from animals. “A partial shift towards plant-based proteins in high-income countries could help to achieve this,” according to the WUR researchers.

    And in terms of nature and climate targets, a gradual transition to plant-based eating has been shown to reduce demand for animal products and reduce emissions, while also supporting the ambitions to improve public health – this combination of human and planetary health gains could be a catalyst for greater adoption of vegan diets.

    Meanwhile, land use has historically been the main driver of biodiversity loss in the EU. Now, though, 78% of this is attributed to intensive livestock systems. So neither land sparing nor land sharing strategies would be enough to meet biodiversity targets – reducing livestock populations, and thus shifting to plant-based diets, is critical.

    Policy intervention critical to changing consumption patterns

    meat tax
    Graphic by Green Queen Media

    The report comes on the heels of the confirmation hearing of Christophe Hansen, the incoming EU agriculture commissioner, who suggested that meat consumption was something policymakers shouldn’t get involved in.

    The experts at WUR, however, rejected that idea. “Interventions are needed to support consumer behaviour towards more healthy and sustainable diets,” they wrote. “The hesitation to intervene in our food choices stands in stark contrast to the commonly accepted use of pricing strategies to reduce demand for fuels, as well as tobacco and alcohol.”

    They added that there’s societal support for more active government interventions to stimulate healthier and more climate-friendly consumption behaviours. Adopting an interventionist approach to shift dietary patterns, the academics argued, is crucial for progress.

    But they acknowledged that the public steering of consumer behaviour is a “socially and politically delicate matter”. Price interventions like meat taxes (à la Denmark) can be effective, for example, but stir controversy too.

    Instead, a combination of different interventions – like information about the consequences of meat consumption, preparation tips, and price differences between different compositions of plant-based foods – can be much more impactful than one-off measures.

    The paper cites the Nuffield intervention ladder, where oft interventions like information move up to harder measures like restrictive legislation. The interventions on supporting more plant-based diets, it says, are currently mostly related to monitoring and informing. But the EU strategy for sustainable textiles is already moving up this ladder to curb fast fashion, an effort that could be replicated for animal agriculture too.

    Other interventions include “communication strategies, pricing incentives, informative labelling, regulations, and bans, or indirect strategies such as binding agreements with the agrifood sector and supermarkets”, says the report.

    “Although countries and regions are confronted with distinct challenges, in general, more sustainable and healthy diets are required,” it adds. “Sustainable diets, for example, lean towards more plant-based and vegetarian diets, and to more local and seasonal diets.”

    The post Shifting Away From Meat is Crucial for the EU’s Food Security & Climate Goals appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • California Judge Likely to Dimiss Investors’ Class-Action Lawsuit Against Beyond Meat

    beyond meat lawsuit
    5 Mins Read

    A judge in Los Angeles is poised to dismiss investors’ class-action lawsuit against plant-based meat maker Beyond Meat for good.

    The class-action lawsuit by investors of plant-based leader Beyond Meat is heading towards dismissal for the second time in three months.

    In a hearing discussing the vegan firm’s motion to dismiss, a judge in Los Angeles has indicated that a reworked complaint – filed by the plaintiffs a month after the original suit was tossed in August – is likely to be thrown out, for good this time.

    The case, first brought to court in May 2023, alleged that Beyond Meat misled investors about its manufacturing capacities, which led to artificially inflated stock prices that dropped by 92% when production hit a snag in 2022.

    Complaint accused Beyond Meat of misleading investors

    kfc beyond meat
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    The original lawsuit was led by the Saskatchewan Healthcare Employees’ Pension Plan, which claimed that Beyond Meat misrepresented the success of its collaborations with major quick-service restaurant chains, including McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

    According to the complaint, the company told investors and customers that it would “ensure manufacturability” via extensive testing, and assured that it had commercial-scale production capacities to meet the demand of these fast-food giants.

    But the firm instead suffered from “widespread scaling issues, particularly misalignment and delayed decision-making, which led to corresponding production delays”, the plaintiffs claimed, suggesting that these issues were made worse by Beyond Meat’s “disjointed production lines”.

    The plaintiffs said the “truth began to emerge” about the company’s alleged instability in October 2021, when it announced it was reducing its Q3 net revenue outlook by 25%, with expenses and inventories continuing to rise. They argued that Beyond Meat’s 2019 IPO had left things unstable, with stock prices falling from $234.90 in July 2019 to $14.11 in October 2022.

    Naming CEO Ethan Brown and former CFOs Mark Nelson and Phillip Hardin as defendants, the complaint claimed the firm “made materially false and misleading statements and omissions, and engaged in a scheme to deceive the market”, adding that “these misleading statements and omissions artificially inflated the price of Beyond Meat stock and operated as a fraud or deceit” on shareholders.

    In December 2023, the plant-based meat producer urged Judge Michael W Fitzgerald of the US District Court for the Central District of California to throw out the case, arguing that the plaintiffs’ complaint “does not support a claim for securities fraud”.

    And in August, the judge sided with Beyond Meat and dismissed the case, noting that many of the alleged misstatements were non-actionable as opinions or optimistic forward-looking statements, which don’t amount to securities fraud.

    He said that investors would need to be more specific about what Brown knew at the time he allegedly hyped up the foodservice partnerships, leaving the door open for them to amend their complaint and refile.

    Judge signals dismissal in welcome decision for Beyond Meat

    beyond meat lawsuit settlement
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    A month after the August decision, Saskatchewan Healthcare Employees’ Pension Plan returned with a reworked complaint, claiming that Beyond Meat hid from investors the risks of its “reckless gamble” to scale up production.

    Counsel for the investor class highlighted the claim that the business failed to disclose the issues it faced when trying to mass-produce plant-based chicken and pepperoni for KFC and Pizza Hut, respectively at a Pennsylvania factory in 2021. “I think [investors] would want to know about the disaster that was happening, especially at the Pennsylvania plant,” the lawyer for the plaintiffs told the judge, as quoted by legal news outlet Law360.

    Beyond Meat, for its part, countered by outlining its repeated statements to shareholders that it could be difficult to disrupt the fast-food market, arguing that it was “forthright” in its risk disclosures. “What plaintiffs have done with their ability to amend is add next to nothing,” the company’s counsel said.

    Fitzgerald hinted at a decision in Beyond Meat’s favour when he said the amended complaint – while containing facts that make “perfect sense” – still doesn’t meet the pleading standard for securities fraud. He ended the hearing by stating that he wouldn’t want to see another complaint unless the investors could bring new facts after a likely dismissal ruling, according to Law360.

    The development ends an 18-month saga for Beyond Meat, and comes shortly after it settled a separate class-action lawsuit with consumers for $7.5M. The complaint alleged that the firm had overstated its products’ nutritional benefits, since the protein digestibility of its meat analogues was lower than that of conventional meat.

    The El Segundo-based company had also settled a suit in April 2022, brought by investors in light of two disputes with former co-manufacturer Don Lee Farms. Those cases were settled months later.

    If Judge Fitzgerald does end up throwing this latest suit, it would be an especially welcome decision for Beyond Meat, which is looking to turn the tide on several years of turmoil, with faltering sales and multiple staff cuts. In its latest quarter, it recorded a growth in revenue for the first time since 2022, posting a 7.6% hike in annual sales to reach $81M in what Brown termed a “pivotal quarter” in the company’s history.

    “Turbulence, much of it generated by a concerted campaign supported by incumbent animal protein and pharmaceutical industries, destabilised the slipstream within which we travelled, and we fell from considerable heights,” he told investors.

    “We responded by letting iron sharpen iron. We chose to get stronger, including moving our products along the continuum from relative to absolute health benefits, most notably in our Beyond IV platform and its broad endorsements from leading health institutions, and we got leaner and more focused.”

    The post California Judge Likely to Dimiss Investors’ Class-Action Lawsuit Against Beyond Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Future Food Quick Bites: Coconut Latte Pods, Vegan Lakers & Iowa SNAP Decision

    vegan cloud latte
    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 Coconut Cloud’s coffee pods, Better Balance’s Crypto.com Arena link-up, and the USDA’s rejection of Iowa’s plant-based purchase restrictions.

    New products and launches

    US coffee chain Peet’s Coffee has introduced the Everything Plant-Based Sandwich, which features Impossible Foods‘s vegan sausage, Eat Just‘s Just Egg, and dairy-free cheese.

    peet's everything plant based sandwich
    Courtesy: Impossible Foods/LinkedIn

    Oyamel, the Washington, DC restaurant owned by José Andrés, held a cultivated meat tasting featuring Eat Just‘s Good Meat chicken and Wildtype‘s salmon in several dishes, organised by non-profit Food Solutions Action.

    Foodservice distributor Performance Food Group has ventured into the blended meat space, launching a Beef & Jackfruit Burger under its FarmSmart brand in partnership with meat analogue maker The Jackfruit Company.

    Californian startup Renegade Foods has added three French-Hungarian vegan salami SKUs to its lineup. Available in Salami Lorraine, Salami Provence, and Salami Budapesti flavours, they can be found on its website for $42.75 per three-pack.

    coconut cloud latte pods
    Courtesy: Coconut Cloud

    Also in the US, dairy-free brand Coconut Cloud has launched single-serve coffee pods made with instant coffee, coconut cream powder, coconut sugar and MCT oil powder. The Coconut Cream Latte capsules are available on its website and Amazon for $24.99 for an 18-pack.

    Expanding its presence in the US market, plant-based food brand Better Balance has become an official partner with Los Angeles’s Crypto.com Arena, home to the Lakers; collaborated with PLNT Burger, owned by former Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn, to put its vegan hot dog on the menu; and expanded its retail footprint to select Giant and Martin’s on the East Coast.

    South Korea’s Unlimeat has launched two new vegan kimbap products in sausage and buldak variants in the US, which are available on its website for $8.99 per pack.

    unlimeat kimbap
    Courtesy: Unlimeat

    British plant-based meat maker Shicken has launched its Tikka Masala, Butter Curry, and Korma Curry SKUs at Albert Heijn stores in the Netherlands.

    In Canada, plant protein company Burcon NutraScience has partnered with Belgian bakery and chocolate giant Puratos to develop products using the former’s Puratein canola protein as an egg replacer.

    Chilean food tech unicorn NotCo has rolled out a line of functional chocolate snacks called NotSquares, as part of its $30M investment in the snack category over the next three years. The products contain a slow-releasing carbohydrate called Palatinose.

    Company and finance updates

    NotCo is also facing some controversy, though. Its NotMayo, marketed as vegan, has been found to contain the amino acid L-cysteine, which a company representative reportedly confirmed was sourced from bird feathers.

    lab grown meat tasting
    Courtesy: Meatable

    Ahead of its Series C round, Dutch cultivated meat startup Meatable has secured a strategic investment from Betagro Ventures, the VC arm of one of Thailand’s largest food companies. It comes weeks after the company told Green Queen about its plans to gain regulatory approval across Asia next year.

    Germany’s €34M Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is now operational, demonstrating DSM-Fonterra-owned Vivici’s precision fermentation technology for beta-lactoglobulin (a whey protein) at an industrial scale.

    In the UK, the demand for vegan options at public events has grown by 280% over the last five years, according to research by Togather.

    alternative protein center
    Courtesy: Pureture

    New York startup Pureture, which has developed a vegan casein protein, has teamed up with South Korea’s Kangwon National University to set up an Alternative Protein Research Center.

    In California, seaweed bacon producer Umaro Foods has received a $1.5M grant from the US Department of Energy to enhance the performance, production costs, and sustainability of bioplastics in collaboration with seaweed packaging startup Sway.

    After appointing insolvency advisors in an attempt to rescue the business, UK vegan ready meal startup Allplants has entered administration, making 65 employees redundant.

    Policy, research and awards

    The US Department of Agriculture has turned down a request by the state of Iowa that sought to block residents from accessing meat and egg alternatives via federal food assistance initiatives like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),

    The UK’s Food Standards Agency has put out a call for companies to join its cultivated meat sandbox programme. The deadline is Thursday, November 28, with five to eight companies set to be chosen.

    fsa lab grown meat
    Courtesy: Food Standards Agency

    Similarly, the Singapore Food Agency has issued a call for applicants to its Second Future FoodsMain Grant on Nutrition and Functionality, which is open until February 2025.

    Meanwhile, the Japan Association for Cellular Agriculture has submitted a request to the country’s Consumer Affairs Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, calling on the government to develop a clearer regulatory framework for cultivated meat.

    Plant-based meat has a climate impact 91% lower than beef, 88% lower than pork, and 71% lower than chicken, regardless of how these proteins are produced, according to a comprehensive life-cycle assessment published by the Good Food Institute.

    lab grown burger
    Courtesy: Bene Meat Technologies

    Czech cultivated meat startup Bene Meat Technologies, which is developing both pet and human food, has received the Industrie Award at the Czech Head Awards, which is accorded annually for significant contributions in the field of innovative research technology.

    In Australia, the University of Queensland‘s Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA) has released a white paper exploring the potential of precision fermentation, with recommendations for boosting the industry’s future.

    Finally, Peta India has named Ahmedabad, the capital of the state of Gujarat, as the country’s most vegan-friendly city.

    Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: Coconut Latte Pods, Vegan Lakers & Iowa SNAP Decision appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Unilever to Offload Plant-Based Meat Brand The Vegetarian Butcher: Report

    the vegetarian butcher
    4 Mins Read

    Unilever is in talks with investment bank Piper Sandler to host an auction of The Vegetarian Butcher, the vegan business it bought six years ago.

    As it continues to shake up its global food portfolio, Unilever has reportedly put its plant-based meat brand The Vegetarian Butcher up for sale.

    The consumer goods giant has hired Piper Sandler to run an auction for the sale of the Dutch vegan business, Sky News reported last night. Industry sources speaking to the outlet suggested that “a number of potential buyers” had already been approached for the deal.

    It comes just six years after Unilever first bought the vegan brand, and is the latest move in Unilever’s bid to streamline its focus on its international megabrands.

    The Vegetarian Butcher records sales growth amid industry struggles

    de vegetarische slager
    Courtesy: The Vegetarian Butcher

    The Vegetarian Butcher is one of the leading plant-based businesses globally. It was established in 2007 by Jaap Korteweg – a ninth-generation livestock farmer – and politician Niko Koffeman, selling meat alternatives out of a butcher shop in The Hague.

    Unilever had worked with The Vegetarian Butcher in 2016 to produce a line of vegetarian meatballs under the Unox soup brand, before purchasing the business two years later in December 2019, looking to capitalise on the boom in plant-based eating and consumers’ growing intent to cut back on meat. The terms of the deal remain undisclosed.

    Today, its products are available in 55 countries and over 40,000 retail locations, alongside a host of foodservice doors, most notably at Burger King in Europe and Asia. The brand has been recording strong growth in sales volume, according to insiders cited by Sky News, but its likely valuation in a sale is so far unclear.

    The development comes during a challenging period for meat alternatives in the Netherlands, whose sales shrunk by 2.5% last year, with volumes down by 7.3%. That said, the market has been showing signs of recovery this year, with data from the early part of 2024 suggesting that weekly average sales volume was 2.4% higher than in 2023.

    Even across Europe’s six largest markets, retail sales of vegan meat grew by 4% from 2022-23. But the global headwinds of the last couple of years, combined with a dip in investment, have led to several businesses in the space shutting down, or coming close to it. Just last week, the UK’s largest vegan ready meal brand, Allplants, entered administration after failing to find a buyer following mounting losses.

    Unilever’s move surprising, but not shocking

    hellmann's vegan mayo
    Courtesy: Hellmann’s/Green Queen

    The decision to put The Vegetarian Butcher up for sale follows comments from Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher to the Financial Times last week, when he said he wanted to “prune” the company’s vast food portfolio, identifying businesses that generate around £1B in annual sales.

    This is part of the Growth Action Plan 2030 he introduced when taking over as CEO in July 2023, described as a focus on “doing fewer things, better and with greater impact”. Schumacher wants to focus on the company’s “power brands”, which collectively represent over three-quarters of its turnover, and registered a 5.4% sales growth in the previous quarter (versus 4.5% overall).

    Unilever’s food business, meanwhile, is second only to its personal care segment, and has racked up €9.9B in turnover in the first nine months of the year. The two largest brands, Knorr and Hellmann’s, account for 60% of this total.

    The Vegetarian Butcher isn’t the only brand on the chopping block. Reuters reported earlier this month that Unilever was looking to sell a number of its Dutch food brands, including Unox and Conimex. The CPG behemoth has also begun demerging its ice cream units in India and Indonesia, and has been mulling a spinoff of its global ice cream division (which includes Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum) – though the latter could now be publicly listed instead of being old privately.

    But it is surprising that Unilever is choosing to do away with The Vegetarian Butcher when you consider its goal to reach €1.5B in annual sales from “plant-based products in categories that would have traditionally used animal-derived ingredients” by 2025.

    Then again, Unilever has scaled back a number of its key climate goals, so perhaps it isn’t altogether shocking that it’s looking to sell a plant-based company after all.

    The post Unilever to Offload Plant-Based Meat Brand The Vegetarian Butcher: Report appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Plant-Based Meat & Dairy On Par or Better for Health Than Animal Protein, Finds Analysis

    plant based meat nutrition
    7 Mins Read

    When it comes to health, plant-based analogues to meat and dairy have similar or better nutritional profiles, an 11-country study reveals.

    Vegan burgers, sausages and bacon are better for health than conventional meat, while dairy alternatives offer similar nutritional profiles to cow’s milk, according to an analysis of over 670 plant-based products.

    Conducted by food awareness organisation ProVeg International, the research evaluated products available in local supermarkets in 11 countries – Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, the UK, and the US – and used a scoring system based on internationally recognised nutrition guidelines from the WHO, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, and the European Food Safety Authority.

    “The report really highlights how much potential plant-based alternatives have to bring more diversity to people’s plates and replace vast quantities of animal-based products currently dominating the supermarket shelves,” said co-author Anna-Lena Klapp, who is ProVeg’s head of research.

    “Plant-based alternatives can build bridges between people’s current eating habits and a healthy, climate-friendly eating habit. Each stakeholder can play an important role in enabling the establishment of healthy and sustainable diets,” she added.

    Plant-based meat nutritionally superior

    plant based meat nutrition
    Courtesy: ProVeg International

    The report found that the average nutritional quality of all plant-based meat products analysed was slightly better, with a mean score of 5.32 versus 4.50 for animal-derived meat (the maximum score being 8.0).

    While the nutritional value varied by country, the average score for vegan products in each nation was still similar to or higher than conventional meat. The Netherlands has the highest score (6.67), with 22 of the 82 products achieving the maximum score. But on the flip side, in Malaysia, a lack of fortification (especially vitamin B12), high salt content, and inadequate protein and fibre levels took the average score down to 4.12.

    Vegan burgers and chicken breasts scored similarly to the comparative animal proteins, while plant-based bacon, chicken nuggets, and sausages performed particularly better. Only schnitzels performed worse in almost all countries.

    The analysis suggested that plant-based meats have between 11.2 and 19.6 of protein per 100g, compared to 15-19.5g for conventional products. To be classified as a protein source, at least 20% of a product’s calories should come from protein – in each country, more than 60% of vegan offerings fall under this category.

    vegan meat nutrition
    Courtesy: ProVeg International

    Similarly, in all countries bar the US, over 60% of plant-based meat products had 3g or more of fibre per 100g, the threshold to be considered as a source of fibre. Only 29% of American meat analogues contain as much fibre, but even so, the average content (about 2.5g per 100g) is much higher than conventional meat (less than 0.5g).

    Meanwhile, Malaysia’s use of coconut oil as a primary ingredient makes it the only country in the research where meat alternatives have an average saturated fat amount higher than the recommended level of 2.5g.

    ProVeg found that depending on the market, plant-based meats are generally fortified with iron and vitamin B12, but fortification still does not appear to be a common practice. “The three main barriers for plant-based manufacturers who wish to fortify their products were identified: regulatory restrictions, consumer acceptance, and technical challenges,” the authors wrote.

    But while the sugar content of 98% of the analysed vegan meat products was below the set maximum of 5%, the salt content exceeds the 1.1g per 100g limit in most countries. “Salt can be replaced with spices, herbs, and high-quality ingredients that are tasty in their own right,” the report stated. “Potassium salt (KCl) can also replace some of the added salt without altering the sensory characteristics of the product.”

    Milk alternatives on par with dairy

    plant based milk nutrition
    Courtesy: ProVeg International

    When it comes to non-dairy milk, their average score was 6.5 (out of a maximum of 9.0), higher than the 6.0 achieved by cow’s milk in the UK, but lower than the 7.0 score for dairy in the US (where these products tend to be fortified). In countries like the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, the UK, and Czechia, though, plant-based milk scored between 7.0 and 7.7.

    Cow’s milk also typically has a significantly higher amount of protein on average (3.5%), compared to 1-2% for vegan alternatives (although soy milk’s protein content is much closer to dairy). But, the research points out, milk is not categorised as part of the protein group, but as a source of calcium in most dietary guidelines worldwide. “Therefore, it is not necessarily a disadvantage if some plant milks contain only small amounts of protein as long as they are fortified with calcium.”

    plant based milk fortified
    Courtesy: ProVeg International

    To that end, the most common level of calcium fortification in dairy-free milks is 120mg per 100ml, which is comparable to conventional milk. Plant-based products in all countries also outscore cow’s milk on the average amount of vitamin D. The same goes for vitamin B2, except for the US, where the fortification levels are on par with dairy.

    Cow’s milk also contains a much higher level of saturated fat (1.5g per 100ml) than plant-based alternatives (which range from 0.2-0.8g per 100ml). In each country, at least 89% of vegan milk products have less than 1.1g of saturated fat.

    Crucially, plant-based milk is often criticised for its sugar content, but the analysis revealed that all the products examined had lower amounts of sugar (2%) than cow’s milk (4.8%). The majority of non-dairy alternatives fall within the maximum level of 2.5g of sugar per 100ml in every country except the UK. But the salt concentration was below the recommended limit in over 90% of products across all 11 nations.

    Recommendations for different stakeholders

    is plant based meat healthy
    Courtesy: Kroger/PBFI/84.51°

    “The report really highlights how much potential plant-based alternatives have to bring more diversity to people’s plates and replace vast quantities of animal-based products currently dominating the supermarket shelves,” report co-author Anna-Lena Klapp, who is the head of research at ProVeg.

    “Plant-based alternatives can build bridges between people’s current eating habits and a healthy, climate-friendly eating habit,” she added.

    Health has increasingly become the most prominent driver of plant-based food consumption. In the US, 60% of consumers are influenced by this, while 45% are cutting back on meat and dairy because of personal health concerns. Across the Atlantic, too, nearly four in 10 Brits eat plant-based meat for its health benefits. In the EU, too, half of consumers are reducing their annual meat intake, with health being the primary reason (47%).

    “It is essential for nations to shift to more plant-based diets as quickly as possible. Our report highlights the current strengths and limitations of plant-based products, allowing stakeholders like industry and Governments to further improve plant-based offerings on offer in their nations’ supermarkets,” said Valentina Gallani, health and nutrition manager at ProVeg and lead author of the study.

    The report calls on food producers to formulate healthier plant-based products by fortifying them where feasible and limiting saturated fat, salt and sugar. Providing transparency to consumers is crucial, as are collaborations between startups and conventional meat and dairy companies to develop higher-quality products.

    italy plant based
    Courtesy: Anay Mridul/Green Queen

    Retailers should increase the visibility of vegan products by placing them in the meat and dairy aisles, ensure price parity, make their promotions more plant-focused, and commit to a protein split ratio of 60% plant-based sales by 2030 (as Lidl has done).

    In terms of policy interventions, governments should include vegan alternatives in national dietary guidelines, develop regulations and plans for fortification and salt reformulation, reduce the VAT on plant-based products, and remove restrictions on the use of meat- and dairy-related terms on product labels.

    ProVeg suggested that scientists and researchers should investigate the long-term health effects of plant-based meat and dairy, facilitate population-wide dietary shifts, assess the bioavailability of micronutrients and the role of fortification, as well as explore salt reduction techniques.

    And for their part, consumers should prioritise a whole-food plant-based diet, reduce animal proteins to lower their climate footprint, recognise both the strengths and limitations of vegan alternatives, choose products with lower added sugars, saturated fat and salt, but not demonise ultra-processed foods.

    The post Plant-Based Meat & Dairy On Par or Better for Health Than Animal Protein, Finds Analysis appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • APAC Agrifood Tech Funding Up by 38%, With India Reclaiming the Top Spot

    asia food tech investments
    4 Mins Read

    Funding for alternative proteins has grown by 85% this year in Asia-Pacific, mirroring a larger sector-wide recovery, a new AgFunder report shows.

    Asia-Pacific’s agrifood tech sector is showing “remarkable” signs of recovery after two years of tumult, with VC investments increasing by 38% so far this year.

    By the end of October, companies in the sector had raised $4.2B, reversing a 52% decline from 2023. It has also beefed up APAC’s share in the global agrifood tech funding landscape, which now makes up 31% of the total, up from an average of 26% over the last decade.

    The figures come from a new report by AgFunder, in collaboration with Indian VC fund Omnivore and AgriFutures Australia, and signal some respite for businesses working to safeguard the future of food and agriculture.

    While investment was still lower than 2020 levels in terms of dollar amounts, the number of deals in the first three quarters of 2024 (616) has already surpassed the full-year totals of each of the last three years, indicating that VCs remain interested in the category, but are more cautious in doling out larger amounts to single companies.

    India and China’s dominance complemented by Japan’s jump

    asia food tech funding
    Courtesy: AgFunder

    The Asia-Pacific AgriFoodTech Investment report found that India has leapfrogged China to the top spot, attracting $2B (or 48%) of the region’s funding this year – although $1B went to a single company, the three-year-old e-grocer Zepto, in two financing rounds.

    The world’s most populous country’s agrifood tech industry recuperated significantly from the 73% drop in investments it suffered in 2023. Despite Zepto’s dominant rounds, the number of deals (158) is already 46% higher than the whole of 2023. Green energy specialist Sael’s $299M debt funding ensured that the top three deals belonged to India.

    China isn’t too far behind, though, with companies securing $1.5B as of October 2024, 18% higher than this time last year. The country still leads the way in terms of deal count (230), dominating early-stage and Series A rounds. Pig breeding company Shiji Biotechnology Co ($232M) and alcohol producer Serata Moyun ($169M) raised the largest amounts.

    The two countries were followed by Japan, which climbed three places to become the surprise success story of the year. Agrifood tech startups in the country brought in $280M (a 58% year-on-year rise) via a total of 93 deals, led by Brewed Protein maker Spiber‘s $65M round. There were signs of this last year, when Japan was the only top 10 APAC nation to see a hike in investments (by 95%).

    Australia, however, wasn’t immune to the global downturn, registering a 78% decline in funding year-on-year, with deal count also down by 51%. This has halved its share in the overall APAC market to 1.2% – but in a positive trend, the majority of deals have been closed at the sees stage, indicating renewed activity.

    asia food tech
    Courtesy: AgFunder

    Alternative proteins and novel farm tech rebound

    Last year, upstream tech startups (which support farmers and primary production) overtook downstream players (which cover technologies closer to the consumers, like delivery and meal kits) in funding for the first time, but the latter bounced back this year, attracting $1.9B in VC investment.

    That said, the gulf between the two has been erased, with upstream companies raising a similar amount ($1.8B) – they also still account for half of the total deal count. Those working with midstream technologies, which connect farmers and food producers to retailers, agro-processors and other clients, secured $525M.

    Zepto’s funding success made eGrocery the most well-funded category (raising $1.5B), though deal count also nearly tripled. If you discount Zepto, the upstream categories of Bioenergy & Biomaterials ($475M) and Ag Biotechnology ($459M) were highly attractive to investors this year. The latter’s 30% year-on-year increase was driven by Chinese activity.

    apac food tech
    Courtesy: AgFunder

    Categories labelled Innovative Food (which includes alternative proteins like plant-based foods and cultivated meat) and Novel Farming Systems (covering indoor farms, aquaculture, and insect and algae production) have been the hardest hit on the global stage, but in APAC, they’re rebounding.

    Nover Farming Systems posted a small increase from last year with $75M raised over 25 deals. Innovative Food, meanwhile, attracted $204M by the end of October, an 85% increase from the same period in 2023, with deal count also growing from 49 to 59. Singaporean oat milk giant Oatside’s $35M round was the largest in this category.

    “APAC is seen as a leader in both of these categories, particularly in Singapore where the government has supported them in search of improved national food security,” the report notes.

    In bleaker news, leadership in the agrifood tech sector is still dominated by men, with male-only founding teams making up 92% of the total (from the companies where gender data is available). All-female founders only exist in 3% of businesses, and attract just 0.5% of VC investments (the same as last year). Meanwhile, firms with mixed founding teams saw a dip from 9.3% in 2023 to 8.2% this year.

    The post APAC Agrifood Tech Funding Up by 38%, With India Reclaiming the Top Spot appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Good & Humble: New Zealand Oat Milk Startups Otis & All Good Merge

    all good oat milk
    4 Mins Read

    New Zealand-based oat milk makers Otis and All Good have joined forces to form a new entity to champion local growers and expand globally.

    Otis and All Good, two of New Zealand’s best-known oat milk producers, have merged under a new business called Good & Humble.

    The entity, which will see the two brands continue to operate separately, aims to leverage each company’s strengths to scale up production, ramp up innovation, and support local oat growers.

    “By uniting our brands, we’re building a stronger foundation to deliver on these promises, advancing our shared mission of sustainability and local impact. This union strengthens our ability to deliver on those promises,” said All Good general manager Faye MacGregor.

    “We are very excited to grow Good & Humble for many years to come and see what plant-powered adventures we can have along the way.”

    Otis and All Good to target the globe

    good and humble
    Courtesy: Otis/All Good

    Otis was founded in 2018 by Tim Ryan and Chris Wilkie, and sells three flavours of its oat milk: Everyday, Chocolate and Barista. While it faced several manufacturing challenges at the beginning, pushing it to produce its oat milk in Sweden (with New Zealand-grown oats).

    But in June this year, the company partnered with Free Flow Manufacturing to establish the nation’s first state-of-the-art oat milk factory in East Auckland, with a capacity of producing 50 million litres of its products every year.

    All Good, meanwhile, has been around since 2008, established by brothers Chris and Matt Morrison and Simon Coley (who are also the founders of Karma Drinks). The company began as a Fairtrade banana business, before pivoting into plant-based milk in 2020. Its current lineup, sold under the Good Oat brand, includes Barista and Original oat milks, as well as a Barista coconut milk.

    Like Otis, All Good initially produced its milks in Sweden, but brought its operations to New Zealand earlier this year. Its sales have grown by 71% annually since 2021, and totalled NZ$8M ($4.7M) in the 12 months to November 2023.

    The merger will also pair Otis’s on-farm provenance and enzyme technology with All Good’s established export sales and distribution. One of Good & Humble’s key goals is to capitalise on both brands’ networks to expand internationally, particularly in Southeast Asia.

    Otis’s oat milks are available in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea, and Malaysia, while All Good’s products can be found in cafés in South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

    Addressing NZ dairy’s giant footprint

    otis oat milk
    Courtesy: Otis/All Good

    The merger will help All Good develop a wider range of plant-based products and grow its customer value, with Otis’s premium offering continuing to focus on oat milk that promotes South Island-grown oats.

    “As we come together under Good & Humble, we create a future where our shared values and capabilities work together, enabling us to set a new benchmark in oat milk quality, sustainability, and innovation and export that to the world,” said Wilkie.

    “We are playing against billion-dollar multinational brands; uniting with All Good means we can play smarter and harder. Our NPD engine will be market-leading,” he added.

    Aside from provenance, the two companies are tackling a significant environmental issue in New Zealand. At 102kg per year, the country has one of the highest per capita dairy consumption rates in the world. The country is also the world’s largest exporter of dairy, with the industry responsible for one in every four export dollars the nation earns, contributing $11.3B to the economy in 2022-23.

    But half of New Zealand’s emissions come from agriculture, three-quarters of which are a direct result of methane from livestock. In a 2022 survey, 51% of locals agreed that plant-based alternatives are better for the environment than dairy. However, 66% of consumers find dairy to be higher in nutritional value, with 78% calling it better value for money and 70% labelling it to be better for the national economy.

    That said, according to Otis, oat milk is by far the most popular plant-based milk in New Zealand, making up 41% of the local market. It’s followed by almond milk (27%), soy milk (23%) and coconut milk (5%). Other brands in the oat milk space include Boring, Vitasoy, No Ordinary Oat, and Oatly, among others.

    “We are very excited to grow Good & Humble for many years to come and see what plant-powered adventures we can have along the way,” said Wilkie.

    The post Good & Humble: New Zealand Oat Milk Startups Otis & All Good Merge appeared first on Green Queen.

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  • Alternative Protein Innovation Has Lost Some Momentum, A New Patent Analysis Shows

    meat alternative patents
    5 Mins Read

    Patents for plant-based meat declined for the first time in a decade in 2022, while innovation in cultivated meat slowed too.

    In the US, sales of plant-based meat alternatives dipped by 26% between 2021 and 2023, reflecting a wider downturn for the alternative protein industry, which saw investment fall by 44% last year.

    Against this backdrop, there has been a decline in innovation too, according to a new analysis of patent filings by IP firm Appleyard Lees. The fourth edition of its annual Inside Green Innovation: Progress Report examined global patent filings in the energy, transport and food sectors in 2022.

    The research revealed that priority filings (the first patent application for a unique invention) for plant-based meat dropped for the first time in a decade (down by 7% in 2022) – but the year still represented the second-highest number of patents (264) in this segment.

    “There was still significant funding in the plant-based meats industry in 2022, with over $1B of investment and a similar amount in governmental research funding announced through 2022 and 2023,” said Alice Smart, an associate at Appleyard Lees. “This shows that improving plant-based meats is still a topic that both investors and governments see as a potential solution to the problems of environmentally sustainable food production.”

    At the same time, the fourfold increase in patent filings for cultivated meat from 2019-20 and a further rise the year after shrunk to just a 3% hike in 2022, indicating a loss in momentum amid a fall in investment levels.

    “Global investment in cultivated meat and seafood companies fell from $922.3M in 2022 to $225.9M in 2023,” noted Appleyard Lees partner Chris Mason. “The top five cell-based meat manufacturers accounted for 46.9% of all funds raised and this has created a challenging environment for any new start-up firms entering the industry.”

    Plant-based meat patents remain strong despite setback

    vegan patents
    Courtesy: Appleyard Lees

    The report attributed the fall in plant-based meat patent filings to the sustained drop in sales, in part due to consumer concerns around ultra-processed foods and dissatisfaction with the taste and texture of these products. The 77% price premium for meat alternatives, and late filing activity due to the impact of Covid-19 could also have played a role.

    The numbers were still strong, though, indicating that confidence in the sector isn’t entirely lost. Patent applications for pea and soy protein lead the way, with wheat in third place. Tofu and tempeh patents, while representing a sixth of soy and pea, were the only ones that didn’t decline in 2022.

    While flavour took the edge over texture in terms of patent focus in 2020, applications focused on the latter slightly outnumbered taste-centric filings in 2022. And although Europe and the US saw the most patents filed for plant-based meat, South Korea emerged as the hotbed for innovation, with the number of applications increasing.

    plant based patents
    Courtesy: Appleyard Lees

    Nestlé was overtaken as the innovation leader in 2022, when its plant-based patent filings halved from 17 to nine, focusing on protein binders, connective tissue analogues, and texture improvements. Instead, French ingredient company Roquette Freres doubled its filings (10) to emerge as the leading patent applier, centred on texture and flavour enhancements for pea protein.

    “Plant-based meats offer a potentially more environmentally sustainable alternative to ‘real’ meat but reducing the cost of producing and retailing plant-based meats combined with improving the nutritional profile may be required to reinvigorate the industry,” said Mason.

    Scale-up and regulatory approvals key for cultivated meat innovation

    cultured meat patents
    Courtesy: Appleyard Lees

    With cultivated meat, stalled innovation may be a result of a shift in focus towards scaling up production, which remains the industry’s major bottleneck. A lack of investment may have also played a part: startups in this category received 75% less money from venture capitalists in 2023, and so far this year, they have only attracted half of last year’s total. In fact, in Q3, only $3M was poured into this sector.

    The US led the field by some distance, being responsible for over two in five cultivated meat patents filed in 2020. In terms of companies, California’s Upside Foods applied for the most patents (10), followed by British firm Ivy Farm Technologies (seven).

    The latest filings in this sector sought to protect equipment and methods to reduce production costs and increase capacity, like bioreactors and suspension cell cultures. They were accompanied by other applications surrounding culture media (comprising nutritional components and ingredients) and ways to better mimic the taste, texture and aroma of conventional meat.

    lab grown meat patents
    Courtesy: Appleyard Lees

    Appleyard Lees suggests that the hike in regulatory approvals this year (with four products being cleared for sale across four countries) is a marker of the industry’s progress. The UK greenlight for London’s Meatly, which makes cultivated pet food, is particularly noteworthy, as it could “pave the way for more countries to approve cultivated meat for pet food, leading to further innovation in this field”.

    “In the cultivated meat sector, scaling up is clearly the current focus and the biggest technological obstacle to further development faced by the more established companies in this sector,” said Smart. “The desire to create an affordable and sustainable product is driving innovations in high volume methods, accelerated production and ways to make the culturing process more efficient.”

    She added: “This push to scale up will need to move in parallel with progressive regulatory and funding environments to see this industry of high potential move to the next level.”

    The post Alternative Protein Innovation Has Lost Some Momentum, A New Patent Analysis Shows appeared first on Green Queen.

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  • Vegan Ready Meal Leader Allplants Seeks Buyer to Rescue Business After Mounting Losses

    allplants
    4 Mins Read

    British plant-based ready meal maker Allplants has moved to appoint administrators after recording continued losses, though one potential buyer is lined up.

    Allplant, the UK’s largest vegan ready meal brand, has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, following heavy losses over the last couple of years.

    The move is typically used to give companies a chance to assess options for saving the business from liquidation, including creating a rescue plan or creating a sale.

    The company is working with insolvency firm Interpath to explore “all possible options for restructuring, refinancing and ensuring the sustainability of Allplants”, founder and CEO Jonathan Petrides told the Grocer.

    The trade publication reported that there’s one potential buyer lined up to rescue the firm, but a failure to reach a deal would see Allplants’s remaining stock be traded to secure funds for creditors.

    Cocktail of factors led to a period of ‘choppy waters’

    allplants meals
    Courtesy: Allplants

    Allplants started off as a direct-to-consumer brand in 2016, and capitalised on the meal delivery boom a few years later during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

    Its lineup ranges from breakfast and mains to sides and smoothies, and it currently has a collaboration with cookbook author Melissa Hemsley. The meals include Protein Power Buddha Bowls, Queen Butter Bean Puttanesca, Okonomiyaki Rainbow Bowl, and Tiramisu Cheesecake, among others.

    The brand made its retail debut in November 2022, listing its meals at Planet Organic and several independent stores, as well as online grocer Ocado. It witnessed instant success, selling six million meals within the first three months and becoming the second-most purchased frozen meal brand on the latter platform.

    But behind the scenes, there were financial troubles brewing. It registered losses of £9.7M in the seven months to March 2023, with revenues declining to £4.1M, a period Petrides described as “the most intensely choppy waters we’ve ever sailed the Allplants ship through”, according to the company’s latest accounts.

    He ascribed the sales performance to the rampant inflation across energy, transport, ingredients and salaries, the cost-of-living crisis that “led to the lowest consumer confidence since the 1970s”, post-Brexit supply chain disruptions, rising global interest rates, and the sudden and fundamental shift from growth stage to the pursuit of profitability.

    Reflective of wider category decline, but hope persists

    vegan ready meals
    Courtesy: Allplants

    Allplants has raised £67M ($81M) across several financing rounds from investors including Molten Ventures, Felix Capital, Octopus Ventures, The Craftery, and professional footballers Chris Smalling and Kieran Gibbs.

    But during a £10M raise for a factory extension in June last year, Allplants slashed its valuation significantly, going from £54.5M to £17.5M, representing a 58% drop.

    “As board directors, we recognise the gravity of the situation. Along with our senior leadership team, we are working tirelessly to explore all possible options for restructuring, refinancing and ensuring the sustainability of Allplants,” Petrides told Sifted.

    “While we are navigating the best path through, our focus is on continuing to deliver the best possible service to our customers while protecting the interests of our creditors, employees, and shareholders,” he added.

    Allplants’s move to appoint administrators is indicative of the distressed vegan ready meal category in the UK. It was among the categories that have witnessed a drop-off in sales recently, falling by 20% between 2022 and 2023, according to Circana data commissioned by the Good Food Institute, which attributed it to cost-of-living pressures that led shoppers to cut back on non-essential and convenience items.

    It reflected a wider problem for the UK’s vegan market, where sales value was down by nearly 3%, and units decreased by 10%. The country’s largest meat-free company, Quorn, posted pre-tax losses of £63M in 2023, a fourfold increase from the £15M it lost the year before. But there have been positive signs too, with plant-based meat startup This closing a £20M Series C round in June, following a 47% hike in sales last year.

    Allplants isn’t the only British plant-based business to reach this point. Meatless Farm and VBites also came close to the brink, before being rescued by VFC (now the Vegan Food Group) and owner Heather Mills, respectively. Allplants will hope for a similar fate.

    The post Vegan Ready Meal Leader Allplants Seeks Buyer to Rescue Business After Mounting Losses appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Culture & Collaboration: How Italy Can Become A Plant-Based Food Leader

    italy plant based market
    5 Mins Read

    Italy’s plant-based market is bucking the global decline, but there are several missed opportunities for companies and the industry as a whole.

    It has been two months since Gruppo Tonazzo, an Italian company that had been producing meat for 136 years, announced it was pivoting to a fully plant-based business model.

    The move – described as “a gesture of great responsibility towards the environment and the nutritional wellbeing of future generations” – was a marker of vegan food’s strong foothold in Italy.

    While the plant-based sector has seen setbacks in several markets across the globe – sales were down in countries like the US and the UK, all the way to Australia. But Italy was among the nations that went the opposite direction, with retail sales of vegan food reaching €641M in 2023, an 8% jump from the previous year.

    In the first four months of 2024, too, Italians spent 6.5% more on plant-based food than the corresponding period a year ago, according to Circana data commissioned by the Good Food Institute.

    These trends were driven by Italians’ shrinking appetite for meat, with nearly six in 10 aiming to cut back on these products last year – driven mainly by health reasons. At the same time, meat alternatives make up a third of the country’s plant-based market share, behind only non-dairy milk.

    “Italy represents a unique gateway for companies looking to enter the plant-based sector, thanks to its culinary tradition and growing demand for sustainable solutions,” says Felippe Fontanelli, founder of the Virtuous Food Revolution Alliance and co-founder of Rethink Pasta.

    He is the author of a new report, titled ‘The Hidden Gem of Europe’s Plant-Based Market: The Rise of a New Made in Italy’, which explores the country’s potential to be a leader for vegan food, and the challenges the sector faces.

    “This report provides a detailed market overview and guides companies in navigating this complex landscape, aligning with Virtuous’s mission to strengthen the Italian plant-based ecosystem,” adds Fontanelli.

    Here are five measures Italy could propel its plant-based industry to greater heights.

    1) Look to the young

    italy vegan market
    Courtesy: Emma Rahmani/Corelens

    Young Italians are driving the adoption of sustainable diets, with 82% of 17- to 35-year-olds doing so on account of health and climate concerns, according to the 2024 Coop Report. This demographic, titled the Explorers, is leading the shift towards flexitarianism in the country, and three-quarters of them believe reducing meat is crucial to combat the climate crisis.

    The demand isn’t just for plant-based burgers, but innovative and familiar plant-based products that fit into their lives seamlessly. This is an opportunity ripe for Italy’s €81B out-of-home market, with fast-food chains like Burger King and KFC – frequented by youngsters – introducing plant-based versions of menu classics.

    2) Tap into specialised distributors

    Young and disruptive distributors, like Mr. Root in Milan, provide a crucial entry point for vegan food manufacturers. They cater to premium outlets and restaurants looking for unique, healthy, and delicious products to integrate into their menus.

    “Specialised distributors give innovative plant-based brands market access, focusing on premium outlets, while larger distributors stick to established brands,” writes Fontanelli. The lack of receptiveness from the bigger distributors isn’t due to low interest, but because it requires “significant focus” to convey the unique value of each brand.

    “Startups often face challenges, including high team turnover, unstable product availability, constant packaging revisions to meet local regulatory standards, and limited budgets, all of which make long-term continuity difficult in such a competitive market,” the report states.

    3) Retailers must amp up collaboration

    italy plant based
    Courtesy: Anay Mridul/Green Queen

    Fontanelli argues that Italy’s supermarkets are missing opportunities in the expanding vegan market. While centralised chains like Aldi, Lidl, Esselunga and Carrefour have expanded their plant-based lines, decentralised retailers that operate under regional purchasing models – such as Coop and Conad – have been slow to adapt. This has made it extremely difficult for startups and SMEs to get a foothold on their shelves, the report argues.

    This is why the industry requires “a cultural shift towards more collaborative initiatives” between retailers and brands. This can be done by establishing strategic initiatives to reduce the operational barriers smaller companies face when trying to expand their reach, creating dedicated sections for plant-based products, supporting local supply chains, and developing marketing initiatives to highlight their benefits.

    4) Reinvent the classics

    dreamfarm ricotta
    Courtesy: Dreamfarm

    Despite the dominance of industry giants like Nestlé, Valsoia and Tonazzo, significant prospects remain for innovative plant-based brands, heralded by young entrepreneurs. These startups can capitalise by reimagining Italian culinary classics with a sustainable and health-forward twist.

    “This movement spans across the plant-based dairy, meat, and dessert sectors, blending modern innovation with culinary excellence,” writes Fontanelli. Among the challenger brands leading the charge are alt-dairy players Heaven, Dreamfarm and SQUP, as well as cocoa-free chocolate producer Foreverland.

    That said, despite Italy’s cuisine being one of the homes of the whole-food, plant-forward Mediterranean diet, the opportunity for larger food producers to fully integrate plant-based innovation into the Mediterranean diet’s global appeal is largely untapped – addressing it could help position Italy as a leader in the industry.

    5) Target the ready-meal vertical

    vegano italy
    Courtesy: De Angelis

    Building on the local context, Fontanelli highlights the popular trend of vegan food producers collaborating with ready-meal brands to expand their customer base. These companies regularly veganise Italian classics like lasagne, filled pastas, sauces, snacks, and pizza toppings, and this allows plant-based brands to leverage consumers’ familiarity with local cuisine.

    Successful examples include Beyond Meat’s partnership with De Angelis and Future Farm’s deal with Rethink Pasta. Even international cuisines are gaining in popularity, particularly among the Explorers. This is an area being tapped by brands like Planted, which has teamed up with I Love Poke, and Current Foods, whose vegan seafood is on the menu at Poke House.

    “The Italian market is not for the faint-hearted. It is a market for those who are in it for the long haul, willing to put skin in the game to transform the food system,” warns Fontanelli. “The players succeeding in Italy today recognise the long-term potential and are prepared to navigate its unique challenges to drive systemic change.”

    He adds: “For companies with vision and commitment, Italy represents one of the most dynamic opportunities in Europe’s plant-based landscape – a market with incredible growth potential for those ready to invest in its future.

    The post Culture & Collaboration: How Italy Can Become A Plant-Based Food Leader appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Wendy’s Partners with Beyond Meat to Launch Plant Burger in Georgia

    wendy's beyond meat
    4 Mins Read

    Beyond Meat and Wendy’s Georgia have announced a new menu item, the Plant Burger, a marker of the vegan giant’s European focus this year.

    Californian plant-based pioneer Beyond Meat has struck its latest QSR partnership with fast-food giant Wendy’s, which is launching a vegan burger in Georgia.

    The Wendy’s Plant Burger will be rolled out at all 19 of the chain’s stores in the Eurasian country on Saturday (November 23). It is unclear whether the bun or mayo used are vegan-friendly, but the menu item will be available for a limited time, while supplies last.

    The collaboration was facilitated by the Wissol Group, which is a Wendy’s franchisee in several markets in the region, and Gastronome, a Tbilisi-based food business that represents Beyond Meat in Georgia.

    “We’re proud to be partnering with Wendy’s Georgia to introduce our plant-based meat to a new market,” said Hameed Jagani, VP of global strategic partnerships at Beyond Meat.

    Wendy’s Beyond Meat burger aimed at meeting ‘local demand’

    wendy's plant based burger
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat/Wendy’s

    The Plant Burger, which was unveiled in a launch ceremony yesterday, features Beyond Meat’s signature beef patty at the centre, and is topped with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, ketchup and mayo.

    “The Wendy’s plant-based meat burger offers the same great taste and texture customers have come to expect, no sacrifice required,” remarked Jagani. “This partnership aligns with our mission to make plant-based eating more accessible for consumers around the world.”

    Wissol Group president Samson Pkhakadze added: “Wendy’s Georgia and Beyond Meat share a commitment and mutual passion for food quality and corporate social responsibility. We’re excited to deliver on Wendy’s Quality is our Recipe promise by offering customers a wider range of choices.”

    He noted the partnership “will allow Wendy’s Georgia to cater to the local demand for vegetarian and flexitarian options, providing even more choices for today’s conscious consumers”. According to one survey, six in 10 university students are interested in trying new plant-based foods.

    “By partnering with Beyond Meat, we can provide a plant-based meat offering that tastes great and can help make a positive impact,” Pkhakadze said.

    “Georgia is the first country in the world to offer this incredible product at Wendy’s, and we are so proud to be part of this milestone,” said Lika Shalikashvili, head of imports and logistics at Gastronome. “We look forward to seeing this project succeed not only in Georgia but as a model of success that can inspire the rest of the world.”

    Georgia launch a sign of Beyond Meat’s European focus

    beyond meat georgia
    Courtesy: Samson Pkhakadze/LinkedIn

    Entering the Georgian market is an extension of one of Beyond Meat’s top business priorities this year: investment into its European expansion. “We just don’t have that large of a presence out in Europe at the moment,” the company’s COO, Lubi Kutua, had told investors in its Q2 earnings call.

    One of its biggest successes has come through its deal with McDonald’s. The world’s largest restaurant chain has made waves with the McPlant burger, which has been a catalyst for Beyond Meat’s European growth. The McPlant (alongside several variants) is also available as a permanent menu item in Austria, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, the Baltics, the UK and Ireland.

    In Germany, Europe’s largest plant-based market, the McPlant was part of the Famous Order meal promotion, featuring on menus curated by Tokio Hotel members Bill and Tom Kaulitz. Meanwhile, has boosted its retail performance here by tweaking its product formulations to satisfy local shelf-life requirements. “With a clear caution that it is very early days, we are seeing encouraging initial sell-through in this important market,” CEO Ethan Brown said in the latest earnings call.

    In addition, it launched the Beyond Steak at retail in Belgium and for foodservice in the Netherlands (where it also rolled out the Beyond Smash and Beyond Burger Jalapeño), and expanded the availability of its signature burger at Coop stores in the UK.

    While Beyond Meat’s chicken hasn’t performed as strongly in Europe, the company is aiming to change that with the rollout of Veggie McPlant Nuggets at McDonald’s France last month. The vegan nuggets are also a permanent menu item in Germany.

    That said, Beyond Meat’s foodservice record is somewhat patchy. Its deal with Yum! Brands, for example, saw short-lived partnerships with Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell, while the McPlant famously failed to gain ground in the US. Meanwhile, international foodservice was the only channel where its revenues continued to slip last quarter, largely due to “decreased sales of burger and chicken products to a large QSR customer in the EU”.

    So by entering a new market and a new fast-food partnership, Beyond Meat is looking to turn its global foodservice sales in the same direction as the rest of its business, where year-on-year revenue grew for the first time in two years in the July to September period.

    The post Wendy’s Partners with Beyond Meat to Launch Plant Burger in Georgia appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • UK Startup Develops AI Software to Help Alt-Protein Industry Scale Up Faster & Lower Costs

    new wave biotech
    4 Mins Read

    London-based New Wave Biotech has launched an AI bioprocess simulation software to help alternative protein companies expand production faster and cheaper.

    To address two of the biggest challenges facing alternative protein startups – higher scale and lower costs – New Wave Biotech is enlisting the help of artificial intelligence.

    The British firm has created Bioprocess Foresight, an AI-led simulation software to help alternative protein and biomanufacturing companies design smarter and scale up more efficiently to accelerate their path to market.

    The platform gives biotech innovators access to techno-economic analyses, as well as data about output and environmental impact – and this is all tailored to their individual processes.

    “For too long, biomanufacturing innovators have been paying hundreds of thousands for R&D and thousands more just to understand where past experiments have failed,” said New Wav Biotech co-founder and CEO Zoe Law.

    “Now imagine if you’re developing a new bioproduct and can virtually test any process to predict its techno economics and sustainability when it scales. This gives you the foresight with quantified impact that you need for strategic decision-making.”

    How New Wave Biotech uses AI to help alt-protein scale-up

    bioprocess foresight
    Courtesy: New Wave Biotech

    Analysis by the Boston Consulting Group suggests that a third of global manufacturing can be produced with synthetic biology by 2030, replacing planet-harming animal-based foods, among other unsustainable products.

    However, the consulting giant warns: “Although they could be promising at the lab stage, more than 90% of synbio technologies fail because they can’t be scaled.”

    According to New Wave Biotech, this is because the optimisation of these bioprocesses is hard. There are more than a trillion possible combinations of processes, with the average cost of conducting an experiment ranging from $10,000 all the way up to $100,000. Cost insights are slow and expensive too, with techno-economic analyses costing between $20,000 and $40,000 and taking months to complete.

    Scaling from lab to commercial levels, meanwhile, takes anywhere from three years to a decade. With Bioprocess Foresight, the startup can simulate these processes to predict the quantified output, costs, and sustainability impact.

    The software, which improves as it learns from empirical data, is capable of conducting automated techno-economic calculations in hours instead of months, and understanding companies’ projected output, economics and sustainability impact from a monthly fee of £83 ($105), versus the tens of thousands mentioned above.

    Working through what New Wave Biotech describes as an “intuitive design” interface, food tech and biomanufacturing players can get a full picture of their process across commercial, technical and environmental areas, navigate trillions of interrelated options with analysis and visualisation tools, and virtually test unlimited scenarios by changing technical, market and production variables.

    New Wave Biotech argues that the AI-led software can help biomanufacturers make better decisions to speed up R&D and commercialisation efforts, and allow corporates to leverage historical experimental data to power future R&D efforts. It also enables processing tech companies to accelerate sales by letting customers test their technology virtually and see the impact on their bottom line.

    AI’s climate footprint is a concern

    new wave biotech ai
    Courtesy: New Wave Biotech

    “Biomanufacturing businesses today have to navigate a landscape of thousands of potential options so need to be able to make explainable predictions of technical, commercial and environmental impact and optimise accordingly,” said Oli Hall, co-founder and CTO of New Wave Biotech.

    “That’s why our bioprocess simulation platform is designed to enable biotech innovators to design better, commercialise quicker and scale greener,” he said.

    New Wave Biotech has previously partnered with growth media specialist Multus to create more affordable inputs for cultivated meat producers via the latter’s AI capabilities. And last month, it received a €20,000 grant as part of the EIT Food Accelerator Network Tech Validation Award. It will use the funds to test and validate its technology with research body CPI to help clients gain confidence in its system’s predictions.

    AI’s influence on the alternative protein industry is growing. Shiru has an AI-powered platform to discover proteins and ingredients, Climax Foods employs machine learning to reverse-engineer what makes cheese taste good, NotCo uses an AI platform to match thousands of plant-based ingredients and find the combinations best suited to replace animal proteins, and Singapore’s Howw Foods makes its vegan eggs with help from the tech.

    But AI comes with its own problems. The data systems these large language models run on mostly use fossil fuel energy, and emit 2.5-3.7% of global emissions. One estimate predicts that data centres and communication tech are set to account for 14% of global emissions by 2040.

    ChatGPT, the world’s most popular AI chatbot, has an estimated carbon footprint of 8.4 tons per year – although some say this is massively understated. And each query you make on ChatGPT generates 4.32g of carbon (nearly 22 times higher than a standard Google search).

    But while AI can help curb livestock emissions by propping up alternative proteins, the tech’s own climate footprint needs to be dealt with too.

    The post UK Startup Develops AI Software to Help Alt-Protein Industry Scale Up Faster & Lower Costs appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Finneato Fysh Foods Hooks Shark Tank Deal for Squeezable Vegan Tuna

    shark tank finneato fysh foods
    5 Mins Read

    Los Angeles-based food influencers Zoya Biglary and Alix Traeger landed a Shark Tank deal with Daniel Lubetzky for their vegan seafood startup Finneato Fysh Foods.

    Amid the rough waters for plant-based seafood, an up-and-coming brand has just earned the ultimate TV stamp.

    Zoya Biglary and Alix Traeger, an influencer couple from Los Angeles, won a deal on ABC’s Shark Tank with Daniel Lubetzky, who invested $150,000 for a 30% stake in their business, Finneato Fysh Foods.

    The company is aiming to disrupt the traditional seafood category with a clear message about its health detriments, thanks to the presence of mercury, microplastics and other harmful substances that end up in the human body.

    Why Finneato Fysh Foods is tackling raw fish

    finneato fysh foods
    Courtesy: Finneato Fysh Foods

    Finneato Fysh Foods was founded in 2021 by Biglary, a private chef who said she was the “very first gay Persian woman” to ever appear on Shark Tank. Traeger, meanwhile, is a Buzzfeed alum and wrote for its food-focused Tasty brand during its formative years.

    Seeking $150,000 from the Sharks for a 10% stake, Biglary and Traeger painted a tongue-in-cheek picture of a very real problem: imagine if your sushi restaurant serves you a plate of parasites, mercury and microplastics. It might sound crazy, but it is the sad truth about a “lot of raw fish that we consume”, Biglary noted.

    It’s true – seafood eaters consume up to 11,000 microplastic particles per year, which can lead to long-term health risks. At the same time, these foods often come in styrofoam plastic packaging, which has harmful effects on marine and human health. Biglary isn’t vegan, but it’s these issues that prompted her to move away from raw fish and establish a plant-based brand.

    The lure for the Sharks, the two entrepreneurs hoped, was that this was a vegan food company “made in the kitchen by chefs, and not in a lab by mad scientists”.

    Finneato Fysh Foods’s vegan seafood is made from a blend of root vegetables like tapioca, beetroot and konjac root, alongside pea protein, kappa carrageenan (which is derived from algae), and flaxseed oil. The startup employs age-old fermentation techniques to elevate the flavour of its range, which includes tuna, salmon and yellowtail.

    It also boasts 4g of protein and 3g of fibre per serving, zero saturated fat, and micronutrients like iron, potassium, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins A and B12.

    “Because it cuts and handles just like real fish, it’s easily adaptable for chefs to use in our favourite dishes, like sushi, ceviche, poke, salmon and lox,” said Biglary, “except that our fish is way cheaper and lasts way longer than the real thing.”

    Negotiation skills impress Daniel Lubetzky

    shark tank fysh foods
    Courtesy: Finneato Fysh Foods

    After hearing the pitch, the Sharks were presented with samples in the form of spicy tuna crispy rice, smoked lox, and ceviche. They were immediately impressed with the flavour and texture of the products, with particular praise for the ceviche.

    However, the pitch hit a snag when it came to the financials. Biglary revealed that the business had sold $50,000 worth of its seafood in wholesale deals with restaurants in Los Angeles since last year, at a price of $10-13 (the cost to produce is $4 per pound) – much lower than conventional sashimi fish.

    But the Sharks seemed concerned with their B2B model, since Biglary and Traeger have three million followers on social media between them. Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec dropped out quickly, followed by Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban, who said it was too early and too hard to scale, respectively.

    That left Lubetzky, the man behind the Kind snacks empire. Before his negotiation, the entrepreneurs were asked why they didn’t go the traditional venture capital (VC) route, as other brands in the space have. Biglary pointed out that women-funded startups receive only 2% of all VC money: “That number reduces to 1% if you’re a woman of colour, and that number reduces again if you’re a gay woman of colour.”

    Lubetzky again praised the product and acknowledged it addressed a major problem with the seafood industry, but stressed that the frozen foods space is difficult and it would take a lot of time and work for Finneato Fysh Foods to succeed. He first offered the $150,000 they asked for, but for 40% of the company.

    Biglary countered with 20%, explaining that a 40% stake would impede the company’s growth plans. After some conflicting advice from O’Leary and Cuban, Lubetzky brought his ask down to 35%. Biglary again said she couldn’t “shoot [herself] in the foot”, and countered with 25%. Her words were effective, with Lubetzky going down to 30%, valuing the company at $500,000. After some deliberation with Traeger, Biglary took the deal.

    “It was clear to me that this duo has the tenacity and passion to keep pushing forward towards their dreams. Did you see that negotiation?!” Lubetzky wrote on Instagram after the episode aired, hailing Biglary and Traeger’s “creativity, confidence, and grit”.

    His investment has helped the couple scale their business, and they heeded the Sharks’ advice of targeting the D2C channel with a squeezable vegan spicy tuna now, available on the brand’s website.

    Vegan seafood still makes up just 1% of the overall seafood and plant-based industries, and financial difficulties have prompted several startups to shut down over the last year. But Finneato Fysh Foods will hope to capitalise on the Shark Tank effect and Biglary and Traeger’s large social media presence to ride the wave.

    The post Finneato Fysh Foods Hooks Shark Tank Deal for Squeezable Vegan Tuna appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Future Food Quick Bites: Greggs x Nigella, Tyson vs Paul & A Whole Lotta AI

    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 new vegan parmesan products, an oat milk cocktail listing, and a bunch of AI developments.

    New products and launches

    French dairy giant Bel Group has rolled out a new iteration of its plant-based Boursin Garlic & Herbs cream cheese in the UK, swapping the plastic tub for the classic aluminium-wrapped packaging encased in a paper box. It’s priced at £2.99 for each 150g pack.

    UK fast-food chain Greggs has brought back its Vegan Festive Bake in response to popular demand, which features Quorn pieces in an improved recipe. It has launched an ad with chef and cookbook author Nigella Lawson to announce its Christmas menu.

    Oat milk liqueur company and Dragons Den alum Panther Milk will land on the shelves of 50 Co-op and Asda stores in the UK this Christmas.

    South Korean vegan brand Unlimeat has transcended beyond meat analogues to launch a chocolate spread made from soybeans, Stevia and xylitol.

    Fellow South Korean startup Armored Fresh has introduced vegan grated parmesan and kimchi parmesan SKUs. They’re available on its website and will be stocked at Walmart and on Amazon by the end of the year.

    armored fresh parmesan
    Courtesy: Armored Fresh

    Advocacy group World Animal Protection has released an AI chatbot to answer questions about cultivated meat. Called The Cultivator, it was created in partnership with PubTrawlr and is constantly updated with new studies and insights.

    Another virtual chatbot comes from tofu maker Nasoya, whose AI-powered assistant Tofie sits on its website to answer questions about the plant protein.

    pkn milk
    Courtesy: PKN

    Pecan milk maker PKN has launched a barista edition called PKN Joy, which is certified by the Upcycled Food Association. It’s available on the company’s website and select retailers across the US.

    And Californian giant Beyond Meat‘s veggie-forward Sun Sausages have expanded into Whole Foods Market stores nationwide.

    Finance and business developments

    Sustainability non-profit Food Systems Innovation‘s Nectar, a sensory testing initiative centred on the protein transition, has acquired the data assets of alternative protein discovery platform Taste Like.

    KP Snacks, the UK’s leading peanut supplier owned by Intersnack, is foraying into nut butter with the takeover of bestselling peanut butter brand Whole Earth Foods from Ecotone.

    whole earth kp foods
    Courtesy: Whole Earth Foods

    State organisations Innovate UK and Protein Industries Canada have announced two projects as part of a bilateral R&D partnership, which involve plant-based meat ingredient solutions and nutritionally superior vegan products.

    Another alliance on plant proteins comes from ingredient giant Ingredion‘s partnership with Sweden’s Lantmännen, which will focus on accelerating the development of pea protein isolates for the European market.

    oatly china
    Courtesy: Oatly

    Swedish oat milk giant Oatly recorded a 11% revenue growth in Q3 2024 compared to the corresponding period last year, with a positive sales performance in each of its markets (including Greater China, where it has struggled recently).

    University of Potsdam‘s centre for knowledge and tech transfer, the Potsdam Trust, has won a €1.8M grant from the German economic affairs and climate protection ministry and the European Social Fund Plus to establish an impact incubator for sustainable startups.

    vegan eel
    Courtesy: Steakholder Foods

    Israel’s Steakholder Foods has secured $270,000 in the second payment of its $1M Singapore-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation grant. It has so far received $490,000 as part of the funding.

    Dutch bottling giant Refresco has completed its acquisition of Spanish plant-based milk company Frías Nutrición, a deal that was first announced in July.

    plant based news
    Courtesy: Brevel

    Israeli microalgae protein firm Brevel has successfully implemented a first-of-a-kind model for building a facility for industrial-scale fermenters, completing construction of its first plant and securing offtake agreements with two leading food and drink companies.

    Policy, research and events

    The APAC Regulatory Coordination Forum has released two white papers covering cellline development and culture media developments to help companies tackle safety assessment as part of regulatory procedures for cultivated meat.

    lab grown chicken meat
    Courtesy: Upside Foods

    Cultivated chicken maker Upside Foods has appealed a Florida judge’s decision to deny a preliminary injunction in its lawsuit against the state’s ban on cultivated meat. Green Queen revealed the firm’s intention to do so last month, but it does mean a planned exhibit at next month’s Art Basel fair in Miami is likely scrapped.

    Australian counterpart Vow, meanwhile, has now progressed to a second round of public consultation in its home country, after Food Standards Australia New Zealand updated its standards to allow the sale of any cultivated meat product that passes premarket approval (rather than authorising as a novel food).

    vow lab grown meat
    Courtesy: Vow

    Scientists at the Technical University of Denmark have collaborated with Alchemist, a two-Michelin-starred eatery in Copenhagen to show how nutrient-rich mycelium can grow on discarded coffee grounds and wood, serving it to customers in the restaurant.

    In response to the cow abductions in Mexico, Chilean vegan startup NotCo created a decoy NotCow filled with its burgers as part of a marketing campaign, resulting in the fake cow being abducted.

    During the Netflix fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, vegan burger chain Mr Charlie’s was serving up plant-based chicken nuggets and sandwiches in partnership with TiNDLE Foods. Tyson recently invested in the restaurant company.

    Nearly 2,000 students took to the streets in Taipei on Sunday to urge the Taiwanese government to introduce vegan meals at schools.

    In France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, Pessac has become the third town to ban foie gras from municipal events this year, joining Poitiers and Montpellier. Before 2024, 12 other cities had introduced this ban.

    berkeley factory farming
    Courtesy: Michelle Del Cueto

    Finally, speaking of bans, Berkeley has become the first US city to outlaw factory farming, with 60% of votes in favour of the move.

    Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: Greggs x Nigella, Tyson vs Paul & A Whole Lotta AI appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Stanford Researchers Are Using AI to Elevate the Texture of Plant-Based Meat

    plant based meat ai
    5 Mins Read

    Scientists at Stanford University suggest that machine learning and mechanical testing can deliver data that can speed up the development of better vegan meat alternatives.

    Sandpaper, a brain sectioning knife, and super glue. This assortment of tools might sound random and a little terrifying, but they can actually enable us to better test food products.

    In a new study published in the NPJ Science of Food journal, researchers from Stanford University combined these items with 3D-printing techniques and artificial intelligence (AI) to prepare food samples for sensory testing, all in a bid to close the textural gap between animal- and plant-based meat.

    The scientists noted that mechanical testing and machine learning can describe food textures with a striking similarity to human taste testers, a finding that could accelerate the development of vegan meat products that more closely resemble their conventional counterparts.

    “Instead of using a trial-and-error approach to improve the texture of plant-based meat, we could envision using generative artificial intelligence to scientifically generate recipes for plant-based meat products with precisely desired properties,” the authors wrote.

    A three-dimensional test for plant-based meat

    plant based meat texture
    Courtesy: NPJ Science of Food

    “People love meat,” said lead author Skyler St Pierre. “If we want to convince the hardcore meat eaters that alternatives are worth trying, the closer we can mimic animal meat with plant-based products, the more likely people might be open to trying something new.”

    His research grew out of a class project where she was looking for affordable materials to use in mechanical tests, turning to hot dogs and tofu. Undergraduate researchers joined in to test the foods and learn how engineers depict material responses to stress, loading and stretching. “These three loading modes represent what you do when you chew,” explained Ellen Kuhl, a senior author of the study.

    While food scientists usually characterise meat using a double compression test, which involves only one-dimensional behaviours, the team at Stanford debuted a three-dimensional test comprising tension, compression and shear tests. The aim was to automatically discover the behaviour of eight protein products: vegan and animal-based versions of hot dogs, sausages and turkey, and firm and extra-firm tofu.

    The researchers then designed a new type of neural network, which takes raw data from tests and produces equations to explain the properties of meat. To find out whether these equations can depict the perception of texture, they carried out taste tests where participants rated the products on a five-point scale in 12 categories, including softness, chewiness, moisture, fattiness, and likeness to meat.

    They found that the vegan hot dog and sausage (from Field Roast) behaved very similarly in the three tests to their conventional counterparts, and showed similar stiffness levels. On the other hand, Tofurky was found to be twice as stiff as turkey, and tofu much softer than the meat products.

    “We were surprised to find that today’s plant-based products can reproduce the whole texture spectrum of animal meats,” said Kuhl. “What’s really cool is that the ranking of the people was almost identical to the ranking of the machine. That’s great because now we can use the machine to have a quantitative, very reproducible test.”

    AI can help make our food better

    vegan meat texture
    Courtesy: Kurt Hickman

    St Pierre suggested that while food scientists analyse the texture of plant-based meat to improve upon them, traditional testing methods are not standardised and the results are rarely made available publically, making it harder for scientists to collaborate and create new recipes.

    “Historically, some researchers, and especially companies, don’t share their data and that’s a really big barrier to innovation,” he said. Without doing so, “how are we going to come up with a steak mimic together?” he added. That’s why the Stanford team is sharing its data online for researchers to view and contribute to.

    The scientists are continuing to build a public database and test foods, including the fungi engineered by Vayu Hill-Maini, who recently joined Stanford as an assistant professor of bioengineering. He was previously at UC Berkeley, where his work proposed the use of koji mould and Neurospora intermedia to produce better meat analogues and turn food waste into gourmet food, respectively.

    The Stanford research isn’t the only instance of AI being used to improve plant-based products, although the technology’s carbon footprint needs to be reckoned with. Last year, sustainability non-profit Food System Innovations and machine learning expert Noa Weiss set up the GreenProtein AI project to optimise the extrusion and texture of plant-based meat.

    Artisanal vegan cheesemaker Climax Foods also employs machine learning to reverse-engineer what makes cheese taste good, while Chile’s NotCo uses an AI platform to match thousands of plant-based ingredients and find the combinations best suited to replace animal proteins. The technology has helped it create its plant-based dairy and meat products, as well as the hot dogs, cheeses, and mac and cheese products it has co-developed with The Kraft Heinz Company.

    These efforts can go a long way in persuading consumers to buy more vegan food. In the US, 42% of people are deterred from trying meat analogues because they feel they’ll dislike their texture, while 22% have cut back their purchases of plant-based food due to their texture. In the UK, too, half of consumers say taste and texture are the biggest factors driving them away from meat alternatives.

    Globally, the texture of vegan meat products is as important as their animal-derived versions for 75% of consumers – but only about 60% are actually satisfied with it.

    “Our approach to automatically discover the mechanics of plant-based and animal meat with constitutive neural networks could be a starting point towards using generative artificial intelligence to reverse-engineer formulas for plant-based meat products with customer-friendly tunable properties,” read the Stanford study.

    The post Stanford Researchers Are Using AI to Elevate the Texture of Plant-Based Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

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  • Forged Gras: Vow Becomes First Company to Launch Cultivated Meat in Hong Kong

    vow cultured meat
    8 Mins Read

    Australian cultivated meat startup Vow has received regulatory approval in Hong Kong, where it will debut cultured foie gras at the Mandarin Oriental.

    Six months after rolling out its cultured quail parfait in Singapore, Vow is expanding to Hong Kong with its latest product, Forged Gras.

    It is the first cultivated meat company to earn regulatory clearance in Hong Kong, having satisfied the safety requirements set by its Centre for Food Safety (CFS), a feat confirmed by its approval from the Singapore Food Agency earlier this year.

    The Sydney-based startup is also the first to sell multiple cultivated meat products in multiple markets, with its versions of quail parfait and foie gras both available at restaurants in Hong Kong.

    Vow will debut the foie gras – sold under its Forged brand – at The Aubrey, an izakaya at the Mandarin Oriental, reveals co-founder and CEO George Peppou. “The Aubrey’s Japanese izakaya-style setting provides the perfect backdrop for showcasing our cultured Japanese quail products,” he tells Green Queen.

    “Forged Parfait will feature in a dish exclusive to Hong Kong, served within smoke and topped with citric, yuzu and chives alongside brioche and pickles,” he says. The dish is priced at HK$388 ($49.85), with the option to add caviar for another HK$198 ($25.45).

    For the launch month, a limited-edition cocktail will also be available to diners, costing HK$170 ($21.85). “Crafted by Devender Sehgal, the cocktail – titled ‘Senses’ – is a new take on an old fashioned, fat-washed with the Forged Gras to deliver a deep, rich flavour, complemented with herbal notes and a touch of nuttiness,” explains Peppou.

    cultivated meat hong kong
    Courtesy: Vow

    Vow’s cultured foie gras targets a new taste experience

    Forged Gras comprises 51% of Vow’s cultured Japanese quail, which lends the product a “rich umami and subtle gamey flavour”, Peppou says: “To achieve its luxurious texture and melt-in-your-mouth experience, we blend this with a thoughtful selection of ingredients – vegetable and herb-infused coconut oil, sunflower oil, and fava bean protein.”

    He adds: “These are then balanced with konjac, carrageenan, and yeast extract to perfect the structure and enhance flavour. Natural vegetable and fruit concentrates (beetroot, carrot, radish, and turmeric) are added for a subtle colour and depth.”

    Like caviar and bluefin tuna, foie gras is one of the world’s most exclusive and lucrative foods, but it’s also highly problematic. Traditionally, the French delicacy entails force-feeding a duck or goose to fatten their liver, which is then sold whole or as part of a mousse, pâté, or other similar preparations.

    The act of feeding these birds against their will and more than what they’d normally eat – frequently to 10 times their usual volume and in intensive farming settings – has spurred many cities and countries to ban foie gras production, including India, Argentina, Germany, Italy, and Turkey. In France, too, 15 cities have outlawed the food.

    lab grown meat hong kong
    Courtesy: Vow

    But Vow isn’t just targeting the cruelty aspect with its cultured foie gras. In a 1,000-person survey, it found that of the 92% of American meat-eaters who hadn’t tried the delicacy, only 5% cite ethical reasons for not doing so.

    So the company is hoping to offer a new flavour experience with Forged Gras, one that provides the gamey notes of Japanese quail with the texture of fatty liver. Its scalable production process, meanwhile, will make the product “accessible beyond the limits of scarcity”.

    “At Vow, we’re paving a new path for food by using innovative technology to address real challenges around foods that people want, but can’t access,” says Peppou. “The launch of Forged Gras continues our mission to bring scarce or never-before-seen foods to millions, but does so in a way that seeks to innovate, not imitate. By fostering culinary imagination, we aim to create something entirely new, unconstrained by the tradition of even the oldest delicacies.” 

    Singapore approval a benchmark for Hong Kong greenlight

    lab grown foie gras
    Courtesy: Vow

    In Hong Kong, food safety regulation is overseen by the CFS, which falls under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD). “The CFS has issued guidance outlining the safety assessments required for cultured meat to meet regulatory standards. Vow has met these requirements, with our approval from the Singapore Food Agency in March 2024 confirming that our products meet CFS safety standards,” Peppou tells Green Queen.

    Singapore was the first country to greenlight the sale of cultivated meat, granting it to Eat Just’s Good Meat brand in 2020, and its regulatory framework is welcomed as a benchmark by several other countries. The UK has been working on such a model of international cooperation too, and Dutch cultivated pork startup Meatable plans to use this approach to gain clearance in several countries next year.

    “We too are always looking at locations where our approval in one region would allow us to enter quickly,” confirms Peppou.

    “We are confident that Hong Kong’s regulatory framework will continue to support the safe introduction of cultured meat, and will continue to actively engage with CFS and FEHD to ensure these standards are maintained and supported across the industry,” he adds.

    Vow’s newest market has shown considerable interest in cultivated meat. In a 2021 poll, 96% of Hong Kong residents expressed interest in trying these proteins. A more recent survey suggests a much lower – but still sizeable – acceptance rate at 28%.

    vow cultivated meat
    Courtesy: Vow

    That said, Vow has its sights set globally. To celebrate the launch of Forged Gras, it approached Masa Takayama, the chef-owner of three-Michelin-starred sushi restaurant Masa in New York City, to design a new menu featuring Vow’s cultured quail.

    “We work with visionary chefs around the world, creating entirely new meats that inspire them to reimagine what’s possible in the kitchen,” says Peppou. “Chef Masa Takayama is a true innovator who immediately saw the potential of Forged Gras, and used both to craft exceptional dishes, showcasing its versatility and flavour in ways only he could.”

    He adds: “While we’re not approved for sale in the US, this exclusive preview was an opportunity to share Forged with top tastemakers and gather their feedback from those further away from Singapore and Hong Kong.”

    Vow has made progress in its application with Food Standards Australia New Zealand, which has opened a second round of public consultations, running until Christmas Eve. “As we expected, FSANZ confirmed that no new evidence had arisen from the first public consultation, or in the public domain since the first round closed, that altered their assessment that our cell-cultured quail was safe for human consumption,” notes Peppou.

    “Given the projected timelines shared with us by FSANZ, we anticipate an approval decision will be made in Q1 2025.”

    Vow’s ‘unique’ approach key to its success

    lab grown meat approved
    Courtesy: Vow

    Peppou established Vow in 2019 with chief commercial officer Tim Noakesmith. The company calls its production system “the most efficient and extensive operation” in the industry, allowing it to achieve regulatory clearance faster than counterparts like Upside Foods (which took eight years) and Aleph Farms (six years). It has done so with $56M in investment, much lower than the $270M raised by Good Meat, or the $608M secured by Upside Foods.

    “We attribute our success to a few key factors, all of which are unique to Vow. We deliberately started with an entirely new meat product, specifically the high-end market – a product that excited chefs and consumers because it offered something deliberately different to anything else, instead of just being an expensive replication of something they already know,” says Peppou. “That has allowed us to sell at higher margins from the outset, to a market that wants to experience new and different foods.”

    Vow owns one of the world’s largest cultivated meat facilities, Factory 1, which can produce 30 tonnes of protein per year. A sister site, Factory 2, is in development, boasting a capacity 100 times higher. “We took a different path to the cultured meat industry, which has used existing pharmaceutical manufacturing platforms that are ridiculously expensive and over-engineered for food production,” the CEO explains.

    “We have continuously vertically integrated wherever possible to reduce costs and iteration cycles, achieving now an end-to-end in-house scaled production system. We also borrowed talent from other cutting-edge industries (like engineers from SpaceX’s starship programme) to build our own equipment, including designing and commissioning the world’s largest operational food-grade cell-culture bioreactor built at less than 80% of the market estimate for its size.

    “The combination of both is Vow selling products that our customers selfishly choose, and being able to scale production and meet demand far quicker and cheaper than the competition.”

    vow forged gras
    Courtesy: Vow

    Vow will soon announce other Hong Kong venues where the Forged products will be available. But it’s not the only company making cultivated foie gras, with France’s Gourmey pursuing approval in five markets (including the EU).

    There may yet be more approvals for cultivated meat before the end of 2024, but either way, it has been a seminal year for the industry. Vow’s two greenlights join the successes of Aleph Farms (Israel) and pet-focused Meatly (UK) in the last 12 months, with several other startups poised to join the list next year.

    Peppou’s plan for Vow is to bring cultured meat to more plates. “We’ll be bringing more products to market, and hopefully see other markets open up, but our real priority is working with chefs in Singapore and Hong Kong to deliver incredible dining experiences with Forged Parfait and Forged Gras,” he says.

    Amid an uncertain future for food tech in the US, with the impending presidency of Donald Trump, more companies could be looking elsewhere to succeed. Vow’s foray into Hong Kong, in the wider context, could be a sign of the times.

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  • Oatly Whips Up Cake & Custard Giveaway with UK Rapper Giggs

    oatly giggs
    4 Mins Read

    Swedish oat milk giant Oatly has teamed up with British rapper Giggs for a limited-edition drop of dairy-free cake and custard kits.

    A ceramic plate, a steel spoon, a textile napkin, and some custard – all are on the table in a giveaway contest by the world’s largest oat milk company and the UK’s “rap landlord”.

    Oatly’s latest quirky marketing campaign features Giggs, the British rapper behind Walk in da Park and Landlord, and his love for the brand’s hard-to-find vanilla custard.

    Born out of “a shared inability to digest dairy”, Custard by Giggs involves 500 limited-edition dairy-free cake and custard gifts, featuring custom tableware, which will be dished out at Ayres Bakery in his hometown of Peckham in south London tomorrow. For those who miss the drop, 30 kits are available online too.

    The campaign intends to raise awareness about the prevalence of lactose intolerance in the UK, and calls on retailers to embrace Oatly’s custard much more widely.

    Catering to Brits’ lactose intolerance

    oatly vanilla custard
    Courtesy: Oatly

    The idea for the collaboration came from Giggs, who approached Oatly after struggling to find its vanilla custard in supermarkets. “I grew up on cake and custard, but when my lactose intolerance kicked in when I was around eight years old and started making me sick, the dessert I loved had to leave my life,” he said.

    Giggs is among the five million Brits who suffer from intolerance to this sugar, making up 8% of the population. And as is the case globally, its prevalence is much higher in Black, Asian and other ethnic minorities – twice more, in fact, than white groups in the UK, according to a 2,000-person survey commissioned by Oatly.

    The research further revealed that two-thirds of people who have lactose intolerance miss out on their favourite desserts, and over half (52%) have to overlook key food experiences due to a lack of alternatives. “When I found out my son was lactose intolerant too, we used to go all over the place looking for dairy-free alternatives so he wouldn’t miss out,” recalled Giggs.

    “There’s not a lot of options out there, but one day we found Oatly’s Vanilla Custard, and it tasted banging. Not enough people know about it, so I reached out to Oatly, and here we are a few months later,” he added.

    “When Giggs messaged us at the start of the year expressing his love for our Vanilla Custard, we knew this could lead to great things,” said Bryan Carroll, general manager of Oatly UK. “With more than five million people suffering some form of lactose intolerance, it’s actually mad that the default is still so often dairy and nothing else.”

    A series of films and a custard-finding tool

    To mark the partnership and giveaway, a series of Custard by Giggs films will be rolled out across Oatly and Giggs’s social channel over the next month, which depict several scenes where the rapper plays a bakery owner in south London.

    In one spot titled ‘The Queue’, Giggs skips the line outside his bake shop to open the giveaway, while he seems visibly perplexed that he’s served cake without custard in ‘The Doorbell’. And in ‘Cake and Custard Tasting’, viewers see the rapper struggling to decide how best to judge different cakes, before a pour of Oatly custard gets him (almost) going.

    “It’s rare to see Giggs lend his face to a brand, so we wanted these films to make this drop feel exclusive and also bring out a side of Giggs the world doesn’t see,” said Kelvin Jone, who directed and co-created the shorts.

    The campaign also plays on the lack of availability of certain non-dairy alternatives in the UK, despite the country’s vegan dessert market set to double by 2027 (from a 2022 baseline). Oatly’s research found that 68% of Brits encounter difficulties finding non-dairy alternatives in supermarkets, shops or restaurants.

    oatly custard
    Courtesy: Oatly

    Since Oatly’s vanilla custard is found only in select retailers in the UK – “I even sent my Mum on quests trying to hunt it down,” Giggs said – the company has launched a Custard Finder tool to help locate the product. “This collaboration aims to encourage retailers to think outside the dairy box,” noted Carroll.

    “Giggs has a big personality, so by combining this with the community feeling of bakeshops and the taste of Oatly Custard, we crafted films that build mouthwatering anticipation whilst calling for dairy-free foods like Oatly Custard to be much more widely available, given the prevalence of lactose intolerance in our community,” said Jones.

    The Custard by Giggs marketing drive comes shortly after Oatly’s Q3 earnings report, which saw the business’s revenue grow by 11% from the corresponding period in 2023. The UK has been at the forefront of its barista milk evolution, with Oatly rolled out 1.5-litre cartons as well as a Lighter Taste edition made specifically for light-roasted coffee.

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