Estonian startup Äio has secured a €1.2M ($1.4M) grant from the national innovation agency to produce its yeast-derived Flavoured Fat on a commercial scale.
Ahead of a year when it plans to enter the market and launch a Series A funding round, food tech startup Äio has received a €1.2M ($1.4M) grant from the Estonian government to scale up its microbial fat for the food industry.
The investment from Enterprise Estonia, the national innovation agency, will kickstart a three-year project called Ferm-Oil, through which the startup will take its fermentation-derived Flavoured Fat from lab and pilot scale to validated industrial production. The initiative’s total budget is €2.3M ($2.7M).
It comes months after Äio received €1M ($1.1M) in grant funding from the state-backed Applied Research Programme, which is organised by the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency. To date, the three-year-old firm has raised €6.8M ($7.9M) in seed financing and €3M ($3.5M) in grants from a range of sources.
“This grant is a strong signal that Estonia is serious about building a resilient, circular food system. It allows us to prove to the world that our process can work at an industrial scale, not just in the lab, and that novel lipids can become a reliable pillar of future food security,” said co-founder and CEO Nemailla Bonturi.
Bridging the gap between lab innovation and commercial production
Courtesy: Andrei Ozdoba
A spinoff from the Tallinn University of Technology, Äio is built on research conducted by Bonturi and co-founder Petri-Jaan Lahtvee. It leverages biomass and precision fermentation to turn byproducts from the wood, dairy and wider food industry into nutrient-rich alternatives to animal and plant-based fats.
These sidestreams are fed to a proprietary ‘red yeast’ microbe to produce the fats, with the whole process requiring 97% less land and 90% less water than palm oil production, and being 10 times faster.
One of its products is the Flavoured Fat, which Äio describes as “a lipid-rich yeast biomass with umami taste and functional mouthfeel”.
“With Ferm-Oil, we are tackling one of the hardest parts of food innovation, the jump from lab to factory,” said Mary-Liis Kütt, chief innovation officer at Äio and lead of the project. “We already know that our Flavoured Fat performs beautifully in prototypes, from replacing cocoa powder and brown sugar to adding a silky texture to broths and sauces.”
The project’s goal is to bridge the gap between lab innovation and real-world industrial manufacturing. It will optimise Äio’s fermentation process at lab and pilot scale, validate second-generation feedstocks, and transfer production to an industrial contract manufacturing facility.
Test batches will be used for downstream processing optimisation, quality analysis, shelf-life studies, and novel food safety assessment, the firm said, with the ultimate aim of reaching Technology Readiness Level 6 (TRL6), a key milestone signalling industrial readiness.
Through the project, Äio will test its Flavoured Fat in a range of savoury, bakery, and beverage applications, working closely with potential customers for feedback on taste, texture, and consumer acceptance.
Äio plans Series A and EU novel food dossier ahead of cosmetics launch
Äio’s team with Estonian President Alar Karis | Courtesy: Äio
Aside from Flavoured Fat, Äio’s portfolio includes Encapsulated Oil, a high-protein, high-fibre fat substitute for food and cosmetics; RedOil, which has a deep red hue and can be swapped for fish oil and seed oils; and ZymaLipid Complex, a texture-enhancing and emulsifying alternative to palm, coconut and soybean oils.
The startup will enter the market with the latter next year, debuting it in cosmetics formulations, which have a shorter regulatory pathway than food. It’s aligning its product development with EU regulations, ensuring full safety and compositional characterisation.
At the same time, Ferm-Oil will help it complete the safety assessments needed to submit a novel food dossier to the EU. “This project allows us to validate the process on real industrial lines, generate robust safety data for the novel food dossier, and understand how consumers respond to these new lipid ingredients,” said Kütt.
“Ultimately, this project is about making future foods real. We want a world where essential ingredients like fats and oils can be produced locally, from local resources. Flavoured Fat is our contribution to that future, and this grant helps us get there much faster.”
This year, Äio completed a one-tonne production run of Encapsulated Oil, representing a 300-fold increase from its lab capacity. This new project, it said, will lay the foundation for follow-on investments in a facility with an annual capacity of 4,000 tonnes.
Its Series A funding round is expected to kick off in Q3 2026, and will help it notch large-scale tech licensing deals. It’s already in talks with over 120 partners worldwide, including leading food manufacturers.
“Estonia and the wider region have a unique opportunity to lead in circular bioeconomy,” said Lahtvee. “With Ferm-Oil, we will demonstrate that second-generation feedstocks can be turned into high-value, scalable ingredients. The same facility that today produces commodities can, in the future, also produce next-generation lipids on-site. That is real circularity in action.”
Swiss food tech startup Yeastup has opened an industrial-scale facility to repurpose spent brewer’s yeast into proteins and functional ingredients. It’s now raising another Series A round.
Switzerland’s Yeastup has opened an industrial-scale facility to produce proteins from beer waste, a year after raising nearly $10M to convert what was formerly a dairy plant.
Located in Lyss, the factory can process 4,000 litres of spent brewer’s yeast every hour, enabling the startup to manufacture proteins and functional ingredients for a range of applications.
Its protein solutions, sold under the Yeastin label, can replace eggs in a suite of products, enhance the texture of plant-based meats, and boost protein bars and sports nutrition products with a collagen peptide alternative called Nutra. It also makes a dietary fibre ingredient called UpFiber.
“Our Yeastin Nutra enables the development of bars with a soft, candy bar-like consistency, without any animal ingredients,” said Yeastup co-founder Daniel Gnos. “This application showcases the technological potential and versatility of our protein fractions.”
How Yeastup turns beer waste into functional ingredients
Courtesy: Nik Egger
Gnos founded the startup with Urs Briner in 2020, having devised a patent-pending process that combines mechanical and gentle cell disruption with phase separation methods and advanced membrane technology to isolate protein, beta-glucan and mannoprotein in a single industrial process.
This removes unwanted fermentation byproducts, like bitter compounds, and produces soluble yeast proteins and high-quality fibres. Water is recovered and reintroduced into the process, which helps the company close the loop and contribute to the circular economy.
Its protein has a digestibility score of 1.0 (akin to that of eggs, whey or beef), is soluble, and has a neutral taste. Its production generates 81% fewer emissions than beef, and requires no farmland.
Yeastin Prime’s Yeastin Prime’s gelling, binding and emulsifying properties make it a suitable replacement for eggs in things like vegan mayo, creamy spreads, and baked goods. This will appeal to manufacturers scrambling for solutions to the egg crisis. Avian flu outbreaks have sent egg prices soaring to record highs, with hundreds of millions of chickens culled and supermarket shelves regularly devoid of eggs for large parts of this year.
Yeastin Nutra, meanwhile, has high solubility with 84% protein content, making it ideal for nutrition bars and ready-to-mix drinks. And Yeastin Umami is a functional protein that boosts umami notes, juiciness and bite in meat alternatives without any other additives.
As for its fibre solutions, these have advanced functionalities like optimal gelling and water-binding properties, along with low-temperature applications and gut benefits. These include UpFiber Beta-Glucan, ideal for dietary supplements, functional foods and skincare; a collagen blend with Gelita’s Verisol HST for functional gummies and beauty products; and Beta-Glucan BGV, an immune- and gut-boosting powder for pet food and supplements.
Yeastup confident of Series A raise
Courtesy: Yeastup
Yeastup began production of initial samples and pilot batches at the Lyss site earlier this year, and has since ramped up the capacity from 1,600 to 4,000 litres an hour.
The 1,700 sq m facility is now fully equipped and is operated by 16 employees, with regular production expected to begin in early 2026. The startup is looking to make it a round-the-clock operation.
At the facility’s opening, Yeastup showcased samples of its first vegan protein bars, with the spent brewer’s yeast protein replicating the functionality tasks of hydrolysate, a common ingredient used to improve the texture, moisture retention and mouthfeel of conventional products.
It has invested around $12.5M in venture funding to develop its patented process, alongside several years of research in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland.
Still in its growth phase, Yeastup is now preparing to raise an additional Series A round to accelerate production after the successful site conversion and capacity expansion, as well as accelerate international market development.
“Following the completion of Innosuisse funding and technology financing in 2025, we are now focusing on scaling, product development and building long-term strategic partnerships,” said Gnos. “With industrial readiness achieved and initial customer projects underway, now is a very good time for investors to get involved with Yeastup and help shape the next stage of growth.”
Solar Foods has teased Solein Cream as one of many applications for its gas-derived protein, with a three-ingredient solution that could solve the bottlenecks for non-dairy products.
An emulsion of water, oil, and carbon could usher in a new dawn for dairy-free ice creams, coffee creamers, and even yoghurts.
Finnish food tech firm Solar Foods produces a powdered protein by feeding microbes on gases like carbon dioxide, hydrogen and oxygen instead of sugar. The ingredient, called Solein, has a deep-yellow hue with high amounts of complete protein and a fraction of the environmental footprint of animal or plant proteins.
Now, Solar Foods is lifting the lid on Solein Cream and making its case for why the innovation can address some of alternative dairy’s most pressing pain points.
“It’s not from cows, and it’s not made of oats, soy or almonds either,” Solar Foods’s head chef, Miikka Manninen, pointed out. “But it behaves like cream. Even better.”
Solein Cream shines in coffee and culinary applications
Courtesy: Solar Foods
Solein is a neutral-flavoured powder with 78% protein, 6% fat, 10% dietary fibre, and a macronutrient profile akin to dried soy or algae. It has all nine essential amino acids, zero cholesterol or saturated fat, and is packed with iron and vitamin B12.
These properties are transferred into Solein cream, which has roughly three times as much protein as its dairy equivalent, while being significantly better for the planet.
The main raw materials needed to produce the protein are carbon dioxide and renewable energy, resulting in emissions equal to just 1% of those generated by conventional meat, and 20% of plant proteins. According to Solar Foods’s projections, replacing a kilo of whole milk with Solein could help save 20kg of CO2e.
Functionally, Solein Cream emulsifies, reduces and sets without gums or modified starches. It doesn’t curdle, sets cleanly when cooled, and cooks the same way as cream in culinary applications.
Remarkably, it does so with just three ingredients: Solein, water, and vegetable oil. The company suggests that plant-based creams often rely on long lists of stabilisers, emulsifiers, gums and modified starches to hold together and survive heat.
“If you read the label on many plant-based creams, there’s a lot going on to imitate what milk fat and proteins do. We don’t need that with Solein,” said Manninen.
This will appeal to consumers looking for cleaner labels. In the US, where Solar Foods is cleared to sell Solein, more than a quarter of consumers who buy plant-based milk want simpler ingredients, or at least ones they can understand.
The protein could be used to boost a variety of non-dairy products. A half-and-half blend of Solein Cream and espresso yields a rich iced coffee, and at a lower fat level (say, 2%), it becomes a smooth protein drink.
It works as a base for clean-label ice creams, béchamel for lasagna and pasta, and soups too. Manninen said Solein Cream can be cultured and turned into yoghurts and spreadable cheese for cheesecakes and savoury pies, and add moisture and structure to cakes and quick breads.
Majority of taste-testers pleasantly surprised by Solein Cream
Courtesy: Solar Foods
Speaking to Green Queen, Maria Rämö clarified that Solein Cream isn’t a ready-to-use product; rather, it’s more of an application for its protein, which is still in development.
“Solein is meant to be used as an ingredient by the food industry, who will then develop the final products that will be available for consumers. We work closely with our customers to support the development of final consumer products,” she said.
“Solein Cream is an application where we see a lot of potential, and we are still testing and exploring it to know more,” she added. “Our chef Miikka Manninen has observed that it’s able to endure things like acidity and heat, and it stays stable in such processing methods.”
Manninen highlighted that cream’s job in food is to make other flavours bloom. “Solein Cream behaves the same way, with a rounded, slightly umami undertone that flatters, for example, coffee, chocolate and roasted notes,” he said. “Nine out of 10 people are surprised by how familiar it tastes. They expect compromise and get cream.”
Could the vivid yellow colour hinder the cream’s appeal or adoption? “Solein’s yellow colour comes from carotenoids,” said Rämö. “It is completely non-GMO, and we have not wanted to modify our microbe in any way, instead keeping it as natural as it is.”
For his part, Manninen suggested that the yellow colour could be a key feature, or otherwise vanish into foods and products. Further, the microbial cream doesn’t have the off-notes that plant-based dairy is often associated with. Asked how it contrasts with products made from precision fermentation, Rämö said the company had not yet made any comparisons with that category.
“As Solein is a completely new ingredient, we continuously discover its many uses and develop applications and product prototypes showcasing how it can be used in end products,” Rämö outlined.
US Senator Adam Schiff has introduced a new bill to allocate over $500M in federal R&D funding and create a national strategy for alternative proteins.
A new bill calls on the US government to develop a national protein diversification strategy and deploy more than $500M in R&D funding for plant-based, fermentation-derived and cell-cultivated foods.
The Producing Real Opportunities for Technology and Entrepreneurs Investing in Nutrition (PROTEIN) Act, introduced by California Senator Adam Schiff, will seek federal support for alternative proteins over the next five years to “strengthen national security, improve supply chain resilience, and lower the risk of bioterrorism”.
“Right now in America, it seems all anyone can talk about is protein, but the exploding demand for it is not something our current food system will be able to meet,” Schiff said in a statement, first reported by Civil Eats.
How the government will fund alternative proteins under the PROTEIN Act
Courtesy: Tufts University
Endorsed by advocacy groups like the Good Food Institute (GFI), Food Solutions Action, and the Plant Based Foods Institute, the legislation states that diversifying America’s protein sources will increase domestic supply chain resilience, lower reliance on foreign commodities, and provide more choices to consumers.
The bill asks the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create three Centers of Excellence for Food and Agricultural Innovation at existing R&D hubs around the country, which would benefit from $15M in annual funding through to 2030.
These facilities would focus on R&D to support the quality, production and cost efficacy of alternative proteins and fats, as well as carry out training and education programmes for students to work in future food industries.
Moreover, the PROTEIN Act would create a national protein security programme under the USDA’s Agriculture Research Service, which would increase rural prosperity and farmer profits. This scheme would be supported by $10M in annual funding, focusing on bioprocessing, biomanufacturing, and converting under-utilised biomass into high-value ingredients.
The legislation directs the USDA to set up a grant programme to ensure the US’s biomanufacturing capabilities can meet global protein demand. These funds could be deployed to US-based non-profits, private companies, state governments, national labs, and universities.
Grantees can use the capital to carry out demonstration projects or bioprocessing of edible proteins and fats at scale, construct commercial-scale biomanufacturing facilities, and retrofit or expand existing sites for these purposes. Each grant needs to be worth at least $10M, with the USDA asked to invest $50M in this initiative every year through 2030.
Additionally, the bill would enable the establishment of a separate competitive grant programme for workforce development in the alternative protein sector, with $25M in funding each year.
Recipients can use the money to upskill employees on biomanufacturing processes and establish training centres, provide higher-education scholarships for students to pursue careers in this field, conduct local economic development planning to ramp up biomanufacturing, provide technical assistance to gain regulatory compliance, and facilitate investment and loan opportunities.
Bill calls for national alternative protein strategy
Courtesy: Fork & Good
Aside from the funding measures, the PROTEIN Act calls for a national protein security plan that considers the best available science about protein diversification and its strategic benefits, which include national security, agricultural opportunities, supply chain resilience, and future economic productivity.
When devising this strategy, the government must take into account existing federal and state policies that fund open-access R&D at educational and government institutes, incentivise private sector R&D, support farmers who produce crops and feedstocks for protein diversification, and pose as a barrier for the scale-up and regulatory progress of alternative proteins.
The national alternative protein strategy – reminiscent of measures introduced by Denmark and the UK – would use a “whole-of-government approach” to ensure the US’s biomanufacturing leadership. It will include objectives to fulfil intra-agency coordination, identify barriers to achieve these goals (and their solutions), and a plan to implement the strategy.
The PROTEIN Act also explicitly states that none of its provisions should support the production of insect protein or animal feed. Representative Julia Brownley, another Democrat from California, will introduce a companion measure in the House.
But the bill is expected to face pushback from the livestock industry, which spends millions lobbying the government each year, and has floated several attacks on alternative proteins over the years. Pressure from these groups led the Department of Defense to withdraw a call for funding applications to develop cultivated meat for military rations last year.
That said, some alternative protein policies are finding success. The FISCAL Act, which aims to expand access to plant-based milk in the school lunch programme, has been passed by both chambers of Congress, with President Donald Trump expected to sign it into law.
“Investing in protein innovation, which is already supporting thousands of jobs in California and across the US, will help us meet those needs, while investing in a climate-friendly food system and positioning the US as a global leader in a growing market that will create new revenue opportunities for American producers,” said Schiff.
Dutch-Belgian startup Those Vegan Cowboys has raised €6.25M ($7.3M) to scale up its cow-free dairy protein. It’s eyeing a 2026 US launch, having secured regulatory clearance.
Those Vegan Cowboys has taken a major step towards bringing its animal-free cheeses to the market, successfully closing its first fundraising round.
The food tech startup has secured €6.25M ($7.3M) to scale up and commercialise its precision-fermented casein protein. The effort was led by Pieter Geelen, founder of mapping tech pioneer TomTom.
The round also involved several impact-driven entrepreneurs, like ProductHero founder Wouter Veenboer, and two dairy majors, including Dutch cheese giant Westland Kaas.
“When animal-free and plant-based become the norm, the future of food looks incredibly promising. This funding round is a powerful step in that direction,” said Jaap Korteweg, who co-founded the startup with Niko Koffeman a year after they sold their plant-based meat brand, The Vegetarian Butcher.
Those Vegan Cowboys will now kick off a crowdfunding round in early 2026 to give consumers a chance to invest in the startup on the same terms.
Dairy industry takes a stake in cow-free casein
Courtesy: Those Vegan Cowboys
Precision fermentation involves inserting a specific DNA sequence into microbes to instruct them to produce desired molecules when fermented. Those Vegan Cowboys uses the tech to produce casein, the main protein group found in dairy.
Casein is crucial to the taste and functional attributes of dairy products like cheese – it’s what makes hard cheeses melt and stretch when they’re heated, allowing water and fat to emulsify and deliver the desired mouthfeel.
It represents a $2.7B market, but comes from a highly emissive, water-guzzling, land-hungry industry. Those Vegan Cowboys’s recombinant version requires just a fifth of the land and water, with up to 95% lower carbon emissions and no methane emissions. This can be mixed with plant-based ingredients to form a variety of dairy alternatives.
The company claims its microbial protein outperforms conventional casein on functionality too, stretching five times more and at a lower melting point. It also enables more efficient and cost-effective production of cheese, yoghurt, and even chocolate in the long term.
Plus, when cheesemakers replace animal fats with specific plant-based ones, they can do away with saturated fats, lactose, and cholesterol. It’s why Those Vegan Cowboys has attracted interest from the dairy sector.
In January, it began working with German dairy giant Hochland Group to test its recombinant casein in a variety of hard and soft cheeses on a larger scale. Now, it has welcomed Westland Kaas as an investor.
“We have always combined tradition with technology,” said Westland Kaas CFO Frank Fischer. “We continue to invest in innovation to reinvent cheese for future generations. Our investment in Those Vegan Cowboys reflects our commitment to open innovation and next-generation food technologies.”
Those Vegan Cowboys cleared to sell in US, will host tastings in Netherlands
Courtesy: Those Vegan Cowboys
In an interview with Green Queen in January, Those Vegan Cowboys CEO Hille van der Kaa had outlined plans to raise €15M in funding. However, the investment landscape for alternative proteins has been dire recently, and while fermentation bucked the trend last year, total funding for this category has receded in 2025.
With the fresh capital, Those Vegan Cowboys is gearing up to launch its casein. It’s already working with 10 industry partners on a range of applications for its casein, and has self-affirmed the ingredient as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) in the US.
The self-determined GRAS provision allows companies to sell novel food ingredients without formal review from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but is set to be scrapped next year. In response, many companies are vying to notify the FDA of their GRAS status to receive a ‘no questions’ letter. Those Vegan Cowboys is pursuing this too.
In parallel, the startup will begin public tastings with consumers in the Netherlands, which has become the first EU country to approve such events for precision-fermented foods before they’re cleared for sale.
The capital injection extends the company’s runway for the next two years. “This is where sustainability, technology and industry come together,” said van der Kaa. “Our partners recognise that animal-free casein is no longer a distant vision, but ready for commercial application. This investment allows us to move from development to market entry.”
Reflecting on his investment, Veenboer said: “This has the potential to be a major breakthrough/ As livestock farming continues to industrialise, the need to relieve the dependency on animals becomes more urgent. Cheese is one of the products consumers miss most when they reduce dairy.”
California-based New Culture is the only active startup with full FDA approval to sell cow-free casein, and Those Vegan Cowboys will hope to join it soon. Others innovating with precision-fermented casein include Standing Ovation, Fooditive Group, and Eden Brew.
The EU’s first Biotech Act has proposed to expand the support given to companies looking for novel food approval, but has kept these products out of the scope of regulatory sandboxes.
Despite promising a regulatory overhaul for novel foods like cultivated meat, the provisions in the European Union’s newly released Biotech Act are half-baked.
The much-anticipated strategy seeks to boost the region’s competitiveness in biotechnology by modernising its regulatory environment. And while the primary focus of this first strategy is the health sector, it also includes measures to commercialise the findings of researchers working on food technologies like precision fermentation.
Part of the life sciences strategy announced in July, the Biotech Act was designed to speed up the regulatory pathway for such novel foods, which has become a sticking point for the alternative protein space.
The legislation only achieves this partially. It will enhance pre-submission interactions between regulators and applicants by expanding the advice available to the latter, paving the way for improved dossiers and faster approvals.
However, novel foods are the only category left out of new food and feed regulatory sandboxes, which are controlled environments that let businesses and researchers design standards and guidance for new products with regulators.
“Experience has shown that certain types of novel foods trigger ethical or cultural concerns among various consumer segments regarding their acceptability,” the Biotech Act reads, adding that it is therefore “appropriate to exclude novel foods from the scope of regulatory sandboxes”.
The food industry, which welcomed the move to expand guidance, railed against the explicit exclusion of novel foods from the sandbox regime.
“The Commission’s decision to block novel foods from the sandbox rollout is a disappointing move that marks a missed opportunity to drive forward evidence-based regulation while providing a forum for open dialogue that can give consumers more confidence in new products,” said Seth Roberts, senior policy manager at the Good Food Institute Europe.
Food Fermentation Europe (FFE), a coalition of companies working in the novel fermentation sector, said it was “deeply concerned” about the move. “Properly designed sandboxes would not weaken safety standards; they would allow limited, tightly controlled testing and tastings in a more supervised, transparent and evidence-based way, keeping innovation, investment and jobs in Europe,” it remarked.
Novel food applicants can now request advice on scientific data
Courtesy: European Food Safety Authority
The Biotech Act will let startups request advice from regulators on the technical and scientific information they need to include in their dossiers, and provides details about additional staff to ensure this function is properly resourced.
The EU Commission expects the Biotech Act’s provisions to “significantly increase” the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) workload, since pre-submission advice will now also cover scientific guidance (such as the kind of studies, appropriate study design, and so on), which is expected to be taken up by a large number of businesses.
The EFSA anticipates around 200 submissions annually across multiple food domains, including novel foods, food additives, and genetically modified foods. The regulator will now be required to carry out a closer evaluation of requests and provide tailor-made advice covering both administrative and scientific aspects.
The scientific guidance will be “particularly demanding” as it will be specific to the needs of individual applications, with the EFSA needing to ramp up training programmes and coordinate with its working groups and expert panels, its legal department, and member state and other EU experts.
These measures will enhance clarity and consistency in the provision of pre-submission advice and maintain the uptake of this guidance to ensure the submission of high-quality dossiers, which would accelerate the risk assessment process.
The EU’s novel food regulation is fraught with delays and a lack of clarity, and costs up to €250,000. And despite a stipulated 18-month timeline, the average dossier takes around 30 months to be approved in the EU, and this can stretch to five years. The Biotech Act, however, can prevent lengthy authorisation delays, which are caused partly by the lack of clarity about the data needed, GFI Europe said.
“By expanding the regulatory guidance available to food innovators, the Biotech Act will play an important role in bringing new products to market in a way that meets the EU’s world-beating safety standards, helping to drive green growth, reduce our reliance on imports and boost competitiveness,” explained Roberts.
FFE labelled it a “concrete win” for the fermentation sector: “Early, structured dialogue on study design and testing strategies has been a long-standing ask from our sector and, if used proactively, can significantly reduce avoidable delays and improve dossier quality for advanced fermentation products under the EU’s rigorous safety framework.”
Sandbox snub ‘sends mixed signal’ from the EU
Parima’s Gourmey brand is part of the UK’s regulatory sandbox, and has applied for EU approval too | Courtesy: Sherry Hack/Parima
The EU Parliament had earmarked the introduction of sandboxes in the summer and has been developing a strategy that supports companies transitioning from the sandbox regime to full market access.
This was echoed by the Ministry of Future Affairs, a new think tank comprising regulatory experts across Europe, which recently published a framework for a novel food sandbox. “Member states that wish to support and benefit from the growing food biomanufacturing market should collaborate on setting up regulatory sandboxes,” the document read.
But the Biotech Act’s exclusion of novel foods comes as no surprise. As reported by Euractiv, an internal document seen ahead of the publication had already hinted at the move.
“This prevents advanced fermentation companies from generating controlled, real-world evidence under EU supervision, which would be a huge missed opportunity when it comes to improving commercialisation and economic growth,” the FFE said in its reaction.
“[It] sends a mixed signal at a time when the EU, the European Investment Bank, and major market players are investing heavily in advanced fermentation and other innovative food biotechnologies and biomanufacturing capacities.”
You only have to look at the UK to ascertain how effective these sandboxes can be. The former EU member state kicked off a cultivated meat sandbox in February with eight companies, which has resulted in the publication of the first set of safety guidance for novel food approval in the country.
The sandbox enables British regulators to “generate the information needed to answer outstanding questions and increase the efficiency of the regulatory process”, without compromising on existing food standards, according to its head, Joshua Ravenhill. “Sandboxes like ours facilitate innovation whilst ensuring citizens’ safety,” he said.
FFE said it would continue to work with the EU to improve the first Biotech Act during the legislative process, and ensure its bodies “fully recognise the strategic role of advanced fermentation” in the bloc’s bioeconomy agenda in part two of the act, which is focused on industrial biotech and will be released late next year.
GFI Europe, meanwhile, called on the Commission to build on plans to establish a pilot investment facility to scale up health biotech industries, by proposing ambitious new financing for food tech in the second Biotech Act. This, it said, would address commercialisation issues for fermentation startups caused by the lack of large-scale factories.
Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Emily in Paris’s creamer collab, Beyond Meat’s tenders, and Formula 1’s blended beef trick.
New products and launches
Ahead of the Season 5 premiere of Emily in Paris, non-dairy company Planet Oat has collaborated with the show to launch a white chocolate-raspberry oat milk creamer. It will be debuted on December 18 at L’Appartement 4F, a Parisian bakery in New York City, which will serve a Raspberet Latte between 8am and 4pm.
Courtesy: Viacom International
Plant-based giant Beyond Meat has expanded the availability of its Sun Sausage line, which is now available at Meijer stores across the US in the pesto and pineapple-jalapeño flavours.
Across the Atlantic, Beyond Meat has also reformulated its vegan breaded chicken tenders in the UK, which will roll out in the freezers of 390 Tesco and 218 Sainsbury’s stores in January for £3 per 200g pack.
Courtesy: Beyond Meat
Also in the UK, discount retailer Aldi has announced a new range of plant-based products for Veganuary. It includes vegan cheeses, chicken, and burgers under its Plant Menu label, and non-dairy ice creams under its Gianni’s brand.
British cruise line P&O Cruises has partnered with vegan food brand Bosh! to introduce over 40 plant-based dishes across its fleet, with starters, mains, and desserts all available on the menus of its Freedom and Club restaurants on board.
Meanwhile, Estonia’s Mati Foods has expanded distribution for its Chickenless Fillets, which are now available at nine K-Supermarket stores in Finland.
And vegan and vegetarian certification body V-Label has expanded into Indonesia through a partnership with Jakarta Animal Aid Network.
Company and finance updates
To showcase the potential of blended meat in the Netherlands, Formula 1served 29,000 beef burgers blended with seaweed and vegetables at the Dutch Grand Prix in August without telling anyone, thanks to foodervice operators The Food Bookers and Watertanden. They repeated the trick at SAIL Amsterdam.
Courtesy: Food Brewer
Swiss cell-based cocoa playerFood Brewer has successfully scaled up its process to 6,000 litres, allowing it to run fully automated processes, support large-scale collaborations, and expand its brewing technology for cocoa plant cells and beyond.
Indian sustainable textile company Jiwya, which makes plant-based, biodegradable materials and operates a zero-waste model, has raised $350,000 to expand its production and global footprint, deepen its ESG initiatives, strengthen artisan partnerships, and accelerate R&D in plant-based fibres and dyes.
Courtesy: Solar Foods
Finnish gas protein company Solar Foods has appointed specialty ingredients veteran Godert Zijlstra as its chief commercial and product officer, taking over from outgoing incumbent Troels Nørgaard.
Research, policy and awards
Alternative protein think tank the Good Food Institute has announced the latest winners of its Research Grant Program, supporting five fermentation projects and seven cell line development efforts for cultivated meat.
Courtesy: Xiao Liu
Scientists in China have used CRISPR-based gene editing to modify Fusarium venenatum, a fungal strain commonly used to produce mycoprotein, and improve its production efficiency and lower its environmental impact. They’re presenting it as a cheaper alternative to chicken with an 88% faster yield, 70% less land, and 78% less water pollution.
Also in Asia, the University of Tokyo has collaborated with railway company JR East to open a 1,000 sq m cultivated meat campus at the Takanawa Gateway Station, which is equipped with labs for biological experiments and multiple meeting and collaboration areas.
Courtesy: Box Clever/Eat Just
Animal rights charity Peta has namedEat Just, the Californian startup behind Just Egg, as its Company of the Year for 2025, citing its rapid sales growth following the egg crisis in the US.
Finally, Hennepin County, the most populous in Minnesota, has adopted a policy requiring plant-based meals to be served as the default option at county-sponsored events and meetings, with meat and dairy only available upon request.
The Illinois Alternative Protein Innovation Task Force has released a report on how the state can build on its biomanufacturing leadership to strengthen its economy and food sovereignty.
Illinois can generate new income streams for farmers, create high-quality employment, and strengthen rural economies by incorporating alternative proteins into state policy, according to a report by lawmakers and industry stakeholders.
These foods include plant-based, fermentation-derived and cell-cultivated products, which can drastically lower the environmental impact of conventional meat and dairy, while offering better health outcomes too.
But the Illinois Alternative Protein Innovation Task Force – a 17-member committee established by Governor JD Pritzker in 2023 – suggests that investments in the sustainable protein sector can boost the state’s economy and food security.
“Representing a district in the greater Chicago area, I’ve seen firsthand how quickly Illinois’s food innovation ecosystem is growing,” said Representative Mary Beth Canty, co-chair of the task force. “Companies are choosing our great state to create good, high-paying jobs in our communities, partner with our universities, and work directly with farmers across Illinois.”
The group’s report highlights how alternative protein innovation can help the state solidify its position as a biomanufacturing leader, complementing its “deep agricultural roots with traditional animal agriculture, world-class research institutions, and a robust manufacturing base”.
“Alternative proteins are one of the most powerful tools we have to strengthen America’s food security, expand opportunities, and promote both local and national economic resilience – and Illinois is lapping the rest of the country as real leaders in this space,” said Pepin Andrew Tuma, VP of policy and government relations at the Good Food Institute, which supported the report’s launch.
Why Illinois is primed for alternative protein success
Illinois State Senator Mattie Hunter, co-chair of the alternative protein task force | Courtesy: University of Illinois/CC
The task force suggests that Illinois is “among the US states best suited” to host the core of the growing alternative protein sector, having demonstrated “nationally leading supportive policies” to propel these foods into the mainstream.
It’s home to 30 alternative protein producers, ranking third nationally (behind California and New York), with many others working across the value chain through research collaborations and innovation centres. Several of these companies have been found to boost employment in the Chicago and rural areas, and the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors.
These future foods can open up new markets for local crops like corn and soybeans, as well as sidestreams from protein production, offering a way for farmers to diversify their income and safeguard against price and supply shocks.
Illinois is particularly well-positioned to become a leader in the fermentation-derived protein category, which could reach $100-150M in value and make up 4% of all proteins produced by 2050. The state’s active company base, research facilities, and ongoing farmer engagement are driving its growth here. And last year, it committed $680M to the iFAB Tech Hub, which uses fermentation to turn crops like soy and corn into high-value commodities.
The state has a net-zero goal for 2050, and scaling alternative protein innovations can pose significant ecological benefits. “Illinois stands to gain new opportunities for conservation, regenerative agriculture, sustainable water use, and improved crop yields through topsoil recovery,” the report states, adding that upcycling byproducts for sustainable protein production can promote a circular economy.
The task force highlights the nutritional benefits of plant-based foods, which have zero cholesterol, low saturated fat, and high fibre (a nutrient direly missing from American diets). Crucially, it outlines that processing of plant proteins can increase their biological value, such as protein techno-functionality, antioxidant properties, and improved digestibility, in step with health experts who say not all processing is bad for you.
Meanwhile, one in eight Illinoisans faces hunger, rising to one in six among children. Plus, a quarter of its residents live in food deserts with limited access to healthy and nutritious food. The state’s food insecurity is compounded by rising food prices, but public investment in alternative proteins can drive down their production costs and offer a promising solution to this problem.
These foods require fewer inputs and supply chain links, and thus reduce the vulnerability to disruptions caused by disease outbreaks, climate events, and market fluctuations. “These products offer nutritious, accessible options that can help families meet their dietary needs while reducing pressures on our food system,” said Elvira de Mejía, a professor of food science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
What Illinois needs to do to lead the biomanufacturing race
Courtesy: University of Illinois/CC
According to the task force, Illinois has natural advantages to lead the alternative protein sector. It offers a strong university and research ecosystem, a slate of business-friendly policies, a robust entrepreneurship and labour infrastructure, and widespread access to capital and agricultural commodities.
It has made six recommendations for the state to truly realise its biomanufacturing potential:
Expand access to capital: Investment into infrastructure development remains a major barrier cited by companies across the spectrum, so the state can support this through state grants, loans and tax incentives for alternative protein facilities. This should include support for leasing equipment, building new infrastructure, and retrofitting existing facilities.
Invest in alternative protein R&D: Significant public funding for R&D is key to the sector’s growth, with such research serving the entire industry by addressing foundational scientific and technical questions. Illinois’s research institutions are at the forefront of the field, equipped with the expertise to tackle key technological and scaling challenges.
Build the workforce: The task force calls on the state to incentivise workforce development programmes, like apprenticeships, internships, or industrial graduate schemes, through industry-academic partnerships. Chefs must be trained to cook with alternative proteins, too, which can be supported through tax incentives and grants for institutions that develop plant-based cooking curricula.
Ensure policy and programme access: Illinois’s business-friendly environment and state incentives have attracted businesses to the state, and it must double down on this success. There are several biomanufacturing programmes that the legislature has authorised funding for, but haven’t received the capital yet – doing so could further incentivise alternative protein manufacturing in Illinois.
Boost demand through public procurement: Change starts at the public level. Illinois should incentivise the procurement of alternative proteins for state facilities and institutions by establishing targets and preferring or requiring bids for meals with these foods, including plant-based meat. The ongoing school lunch program could be expanded by requiring schools to offer plant-based meals to all students without the need for advance requests.
Maintain supportive regulation: Since cultivated meat and some fermented proteins require regulatory approval, the task force calls on Illinois to ensure a supportive regulatory environment by increasing staffing, resources and transparency for companies navigating applications. Crucially, it asks the state to reject any proposals to ban alternative proteins or impose labelling restrictions.
“Illinois has every ingredient needed to lead the future of food,” Beth Conerty, associate business development director at the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Lab and regional innovation officer for the iFAB Tech Hub. “With targeted investment and smart policy, we can strengthen the full protein landscape in Illinois and position the state at the forefront of this emerging area.”
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s de Meija, meanwhile, said expanding alternative protein production is ultimately an investment in public health and food security: “By supporting research, innovation, and workforce development, the state can accelerate a healthy, resilient, and more sustainable food landscape.”
Chinese startup Joes Future Food has built the country’s largest pilot plant for cultivated meat, after completing the world’s first scaled trial production run of its pork.
In a sign of China’s biotech prowess, Nanjing-based Joes Future Food has completed construction of the nation’s biggest production facility for cultivated meat.
The new pilot plant can churn out 10 to 50 tonnes of cell-cultured products every year, and comes shortly after the startup successfully completed the world’s first large-scale trial production of cultivated pork in a 2,000-litre bioreactor.
“This achievement marks a decisive leap from laboratory research to systematic engineering production, positioning China at the forefront of the global cultivated meat industry and laying a solid foundation for future commercialisation,” remarked Ding Shijie, co-founder and CEO of Joes Future Food.
Speaking to Green Queen, he confirmed that the company is test-running the factory, which would be ready to operate in a month. The official opening, however, is subject to regulatory checks.
“We have applied to the Singapore Food Agency. We are also preparing the animal toxic data in China,” he said when asked about the firm’s regulatory plans. “China not only need normal safety assessment, but also needs animal toxic data, so we prepared 120kg of cultured pork biomass for animal data.”
He expects the safety assessment for the technology part to be completed before the end of 2026. “But whether China will approve cultured meat as novel food may still take some time,” he said, noting that it plans to file for approval in other geographies too. “We would try [launching] pork chops and dishes first.”
New facility provides blueprint for 10,000-litre production lines
Courtesy: Joes Future Food
Joes Future Food was spun out from Nanjing Agricultural University in 2019, after a team led by Prof Zhou Guanghong created China’s first cultivated meat prototype. This included Shijie, who co-founded the startup with other core team members to commercialise the technology.
The company has since raised more than $14M over multiple rounds, as it progressed its scale-up strategy and developed a slew of applications with its cultivated pork, from lard and pork skin to meatballs and pork belly.
In 2023, Joes Future Food completed what it said was the world’s first pilot-scale production of cultivated pork in a 500-litre bioreactor, with experts from the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology validating the tech on an internationally leading standard.
Now, the firm has gone further, manufacturing cultivated pork in a 2,000-litre tank with a serum-free medium (eschewing the controversial and expensive fetal bovine serum).
Its new pilot plant incorporates everything from cell line development and the low-cost serum-free medium to large-scale bioprocessing and a comprehensive food safety assurance system. This forms a closed-loop system covering core processes, large-scale production, and quality control.
The facility provides data support and engineering insights to optimise the key parameters of cultivated meat, model manufacturing costs, and design a scalable blueprint for future 10,000-litre production lines.
Cultivated pork for a variety of markets
Courtesy: Joes Future Food
As it expands its capacity to produce cultivated meat, Joes Future Food has also established a parallel R&D system of new products to showcase the versatility and quality of cultivated pork.
With the latter as the raw material, the startup utilised 3D-printing technology to create a structured pork belly that emulates the shape and texture of its conventional counterpart.
Its Honeycomb Meat, meanwhile, is a hybrid innovation combining cultivated pork with mycoprotein, providing a porous structure and tender texture.
Joes Future Food has been pushing the envelope with its prototypes too, leveraging molecular gastronomy to develop a cultivated pork consommé and create a clear jelly, which it pairs with crispy baked slices of its protein.
These innovations demonstrate the sensory and functional flexibility of cultivated proteins, while opening up diversified market paths, including mass catering, high-end restaurants, household consumption, and innovative dining experiences, the company said.
Its breakthroughs will help propel China’s push to lead the global cultivated meat race. The government’s current five-year agriculture plan (which runs until the end of 2025) encourages research on cultivated meat.
And at this year’s Two Sessions summit, top officials called for a deeper integration of strategic industries like biomanufacturing, shortly after the agriculture ministry highlighted the safety and nutritional efficacy of alternative proteins as a key priority.
The No. 1 Central Document (which signals China’s top goals for the year) underscored the importance of protein diversification, including efforts “to explore novel food resources”.
Meanwhile, the new $11M alternative protein centre in Beijing has been set up with part funding from the local administration. And in the Guangdong province, China’s most populous region, local officials are planning to build a biomanufacturing hub to pioneer tech breakthroughs in future food, including cultivated proteins.
China is home to eight of the top 20 patent applicants for cultivated meat, with Joes Future Food filing more patent families (25) than any company globally, barring Upside Foods. And 77% of people in the tier 1 cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen say they’re willing to try cultivated meat, with 45% suggesting they’re likely to replace conventional meat with these proteins.
“The era of cultivated meat is here. We are committed to shaping a more sustainable, secure, and resilient food system,” said Shijie. “Joes Future Food’s 2,000-litre breakthrough demonstrates China’s leading role in this global movement – particularly in cultivated pork – strengthening our position in the future of sustainable protein.”
James Petrie, co-founder and CEO of Nourish Ingredients, argues why the processed food discourse lacks nuance, and how the food tech industry can provide winning solutions.
The food industry is at a crossroads marked by confusion, corporate prioritisation of profits over health, and a lack of transparency that is troubling to consumers who are trying to understand how healthy their food is.
Processed foods have become a necessary cornerstone of feeding our growing global population (more on this later), but their complexity has reached undesirable levels. Today’s food labels often read like chemistry textbooks, leaving consumers increasingly wary of what they’re putting into their bodies.
However, a change is coming. Rather than abandoning processed foods entirely, innovative companies are taking a clean slate approach to food processing. This transformation isn’t about elimination, it’s about simplification and transparency.
Consider the current state of processed foods: manufacturers often rely on extensive combinations of artificial ingredients to achieve desired tastes, textures, and shelf stability. A single flavour component can contain more than 30 different synthetic chemicals, many of which are unrecognisable to the average consumer.
This complexity isn’t just a marketing challenge; it represents a fundamental disconnect between our food system and the natural ingredients it should be built upon.
‘Minimal intervention processing’ will shape the future
Courtesy: Nourish Ingredients
The future of processed foods lies in what we might call “minimal intervention processing”. This approach acknowledges that processing is necessary for efficient production but emphasises the integrity of natural ingredients while minimising artificial additions. It’s about finding the sweet spot between efficiency and authenticity.
New technologies are making this vision possible. At Nourish Ingredients, we are developing solutions that can replace dozens of synthetic ingredients with single, naturally-derived alternatives. This isn’t just about shorter ingredient lists — it’s about creating more honest, transparent relationships between food manufacturers and consumers.
The implications of this shift extend far beyond the label. When food processing becomes simpler and more transparent, it benefits the entire food system. Manufacturers can streamline their supply chains (and costs) and reduce their reliance on synthetic additives. Consumers gain clarity about what they’re eating. And perhaps most importantly, we move closer to a food system that can sustainably feed our growing population without compromising on health or environmental impact.
Ingredient innovation has always been a cornerstone of our food system. As we push for more sustainable alternatives, it’s time we move beyond synthetic flavour systems. Take insulin, for example. Not long ago, it was extracted from pig pancreases, a process with clear sustainable limitations. Then came a deep tech breakthrough: precision fermentation. The result? The exact same insulin molecule, but produced more efficiently and ethically.
This sets a powerful precedent. We’ve proven that we can reimagine outdated ingredients and manufacturing methods, preserving authenticity while dramatically improving how they’re sourced and made.
The problem with completely eliminating processed foods
Courtesy: Nourish Ingredients
Critics might argue that processed foods should be eliminated entirely. There is some merit in this argument, but it does overlook the important role that highly efficient food production systems play in nutritional security, consumer convenience and choice.
The real solution is to refocus our hugely efficient production systems on new ingredients that minimise processing while maximising nutritional value and transparency. Such a food system serves both human health and industry needs. Looking ahead, we can expect to see a continued shift toward “clean label” foods.
This transformation will be driven by consumers demanding greater transparency and companies developing innovative solutions to meet these demands. The future of processed foods won’t be found in longer lists of artificial ingredients, but in simpler, more natural formulations that maintain the convenience and accessibility we need while honouring our connection to real food.
The challenge ahead is significant, but the path forward is clear: processed foods must evolve to become simpler, more transparent, and more aligned with both human health and consumers’ rightful expectations.
It has been a big year for China’s future food economy – here are the 10 trends that defined the country’s alternative proteins space in 2025.
From regulatory wins and public investment to patent filing and a restaurant boom, China’s alternative protein industry has had a lot going for it in 2025.
The Asian behemoth has been angling to become a global biotech leader, having decisively conquered the green energy and mobility spaces.
People in China have already been eating more protein per capita than Americans since last year, a majority of which comes from plants. As the world’s largest market for meat (accounting for around a third of the world’s supply), its food industry needs faster solutions to decarbonise.
A transition to alternative proteins, whether plant-based, fermentation-derived, or cell-cultivated, can ramp up China’s emissions reduction drive, while also clearing up vast amounts of land.
The country’s reputation as an R&D and biomanufacturing powerhouse, combined with growing support from citizens and the government, outlines its future food potential, as evidenced by this industry’s biggest trends in 2025
1) Plant-based is defying China’s restaurant slump, but challenges remain
Courtesy: DragonImages
Restaurants have always been a tough business, though never more so than after Covid-19. Rising food costs and wages and shifting consumer behaviours meant that 70-80% of Chinese restaurants lost money in 2024. In fact, seven in 10 new eateries failed within three months of opening.
As highlighted by Toronto-based Dao Foods International, a China-focused impact investment firm, meat-free restaurants are bucking the trend. The number of vegetarian establishments has nearly tripled from under 5,000 to over 14,000 in the last five years.
That said, the category still maintains a small share of China’s eight million restaurants, with several challenges and opportunities to grow. Scalability is particularly a big challenge, with over 95% of meatless restaurants having fewer than three locations, in contrast to meat-serving chains that have dozens (or even hundreds) of sites.
2) Health is driving the Chinese vegan market’s growth
Courtesy: China Vegan Society
It’s well documented that health influences food choices in China more than any other factor, and this is true for consumers young and old.
In a market survey by the China Vegan Society, which kicked off the Veganuary-style V-March campaign this year, 36% of respondents said they choose plant-based diets for health reasons.
Data from Meituan, a Chinese app offering a wide range of lifestyle services, finds that people aged 25-35 make up two-thirds of vegetarian catering orders. And as vegetarianism has grown, the share of consumers under 30 who have embraced the diet has surged by 29% over the last three years.
At the same time, the country’s rapidly ageing population – 310 million (or 22% of the total) were aged 60 or above as of 2024 – is dictating the market shift too. These consumers tend to reduce meat consumption due to digestive issues and cardiovascular concerns. Vegetarian chain Sumanxiang reports that 35% of its diners are 55-plus, highlighting how seniors have also become a core meat-free group.
3) Prices still dictate future food adoption
Courtesy: China Vegan Society
Still, affordability is a major barrier to the shift towards alternative proteins. Beyond Meat, which has suspended its China operations, is a good example.
Its plant-based beef costs nearly twice as much as conventional beef mince in the country’s supermarkets. Even meat alternatives made by local brands are half as pricey as Beyond Beef. It’s not just beef, either – the company launched pork meatballs in February with a price tag over 10 times that of animal-derived counterparts.
And when you factor in the ubiquity of tofu and seitan in China, the price gap widens even further. “Tofu and traditional alternatives are cheap, widely available, and sold in bulk. Plant-based meats are often significantly more expensive,” Jian Yi, founder and CEO of the China Vegan Society, told Green Queen in June.
As Dao Foods pointed out, low-cost plant-based food can shift perceptions amid consumers hit by the cost-of-living crisis. Vegan buffet restaurants were initially not well-received by consumers, who associated them with religious veganism or low-income citizens and perceived the quality of the food to be poor.
After the economic downturn, vegan buffets priced around ¥30 ($4.25) have gained traction; meat-based versions typically cost around ¥100 ($14.15). The former options, roughly the price of a bubble tea, offer compelling value, and most diners aren’t even vegan.
4) China is going all-in on microbial proteins
Courtesy: Fushine Bio
Proteins derived from microbial fermentation are having a moment in China. In Angel Yeast, the country is home to the world’s largest producer of yeast protein. It began operating an 11,000-tonne production line earlier this year, with built-in expansion capacity to meet future market growth for yeast protein.
Meanwhile, Fushine Bio is the nation’s largest mycoprotein producer, and has become the recipient of China’s first regulatory green light for these foods. It can churn out 1,200 tonnes of product per year, and an industrial-scale line with an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes is under construction.
Overseas companies are recognising the potential. Australia’s All G received regulatory clearance to sell its recombinant bovine lactoferrin protein in personal care formulations, supplements, and more in China. It is now working with a local contract manufacturer ahead of a launch in early 2026.
Fusarium venenatum has been identified as a key opportunity to advance China’s alternative protein sector, with a group of leading scientists recognising its ability to “meet the stringent protein quality requirements of high-end markets such as medical nutrition, sports nutrition, and infant formula” in a recent blue paper.
Plus, the government’s current five-year agriculture plan (which runs until the end of the year) encourages research on recombinant proteins and cultivated meat. And President Xi Jinping has previously called for a Grand Food Vision that includes plant-based and microbial protein sources.
5) China’s innovation ecosystem is second to none
Graphic by Green Queen
The East Asian country’s research prowess is the bedrock of its future food potential. According to the Good Food Institute APAC, of the top 20 all-time patent applicants for cultivated meat, eight are from China. That’s twice as many as Israel, the next on the list.
The number of patent families – collections of applications related to the same invention – is significantly greater from Chinese entities than from other markets (totalling 160). Cultivated pork maker Joes Future Food leads the way in China with 25 applications.
China’s applicants include multiple universities as well, such as Zhejiang University, Jiangnan University, and Ocean University of China. Experts say this indicates “very strong” government interest and an intentionally collaborative approach to build a national cellular agriculture ecosystem.
6) The hospitality sector is leading the protein transition
Courtesy: Lever China
Though the research and manufacturing sectors are building China’s capacity to produce future foods, it will all be in vain if consumers don’t embrace them. It’s why the hospitality industry is critical, serving as a lever for greater adoption of alternative proteins,
In a scorecard compiled by Lever China, 11 large hotel operators received an A+ rating for their corporate policies on increasing plant-based food offerings. The score reflects public, time-bound targets to make at least 30% of all meals plant-based, or increase the percentage of non-animal foods served per guest by at least 20%.
Among the companies driving the industry’s protein transition are Accor Hotels, Marriott Greater China, Langham Hospitality, IHG Hotels & Resorts, and Dossen Group.
7) Consumers are increasingly open to cultivated meat
Courtesy: APAC-SCA/Marco Livolsi/Green Queen
As cultivated meat companies ramp up R&D and scale-up efforts, they will be buoyed by the public’s growing acceptance of these proteins. A survey by the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture (APAC-SCA) found that 77% of people in four tier 1 cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen – are willing to try cultivated meat and seafood.
Moreover, 45% of consumers say they’re likely to replace conventional meat and seafood with cell-cultured versions. There is a need for further education, though, as a third of respondents aren’t familiar with cultivated meat, and of the 63% who have heard of it, just one in 10 knows what the concept means.
Further, China’s consumers need more assurances about the safety of these foods. “As consumers place a strong belief and trust in food safety regulators, unified messages from government stakeholders and industry players would be most effective to provide assurance on health and safety,” Calisa Lim, senior project manager at the APAC-SCA, told Green Queen.
8) Global brands still find it hard to cut through…
Courtesy: Beyond Meat
Companies that may lead the market in other parts of the world aren’t guaranteed success in China. Oatly’s struggles are well-known, with the company restructuring its market divisions by separating Greater China from the rest of its Asian business.
As alluded to above, Beyond Meat has failed to gain ground, leading the plant-based meat producer to close its China operations and lay off 20 employees. Concerns around ultra-processing, high prices, and unsatisfactory taste all contributed to its middling performance in this market.
International firms need to home in on localised flavours and preferences, and they need to do so at an affordable price point. Beyond Meat did the former with its pork meatballs, but not the latter. In general, overseas brands find it difficult to break through the familiarity of established local companies.
For instance, Japanese food giant Glico (the producer of Pocky) has been a household name in China for over a century. And since launching its almond milk in 2021, the company now sells more of it than any other company in the category, thanks to a deeply localised marketing strategy leveraging identity, self-expression, and social media.
9) …but homegrown brands are going global
Courtesy: Starfield
The flip side of this issue is, Chinese companies are increasingly looking outwards for success, thanks in no small part to the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs on the country. They have pushed companies to relocate manufacturing to other countries and enter the market with their own consumer brands.
They’ve spotted it as an opportunity to drive higher margins, brand value, and market resilience in international markets, according to Dao Foods. The shift is also in response to expanding industrial overcapacity and a slowdown in domestic consumption.
Chinese plant protein brand Starfield, for instance, showcased a diverse range of products, including a Poki Salad Bar, vegan bacon strips, and dairy-free cheese, at the 2025 International Food & Drink Event (IFE) in London.
Meanwhile, alternative protein innovator Cellx relocated from Shanghai to San Francisco, pivoting to a licensing model for its cultivated meat platform, and launching a new brand of morel mycelium protein snacks for the US market.
10) The government is going all-in on alternative proteins
Courtesy: Fengtai District Media Integration Center
Perhaps the most significant future food trend in China is the continued support from the government. Building on its agriculture and bioeconomy plans, top government officials called for a deeper integration of strategic emerging industries (which included biomanufacturing) at this year’s Two Sessions summit.
This came shortly after the agriculture ministry highlighted the safety and nutritional efficacy of alternative proteins as a key priority. In addition, No. 1 Central Document (which signals China’s top goals for the year) underscored the importance of protein diversification, including efforts “to explore novel food resources”.
The policy support is translating into investment, too. China’s first alternative protein innovation centre was opened in Beijing in January, fuelled by an $11M investment from public and private investors to develop novel foods like cultivated meat.
And in the Guangdong province, China’s most populous region, local officials are planning to build a biomanufacturing hub to pioneer tech breakthroughs in plant-based, microbial, and cultivated proteins.
US cultivated meat startup Fork & Good has signed a strategic collaboration with Nutreco and Extracellular to scale up its beef and pork in a cost-efficient manner.
Weeks after acquiring fellow cultivated meat producer Orbillion Bio to strengthen its global footprint, Fork & Good has notched a new partnership aimed at scaling up its operations and keeping costs down.
The New Jersey-based startup has teamed up with animal feed company Nutreco and biotech contract manufacturer Extracellular to bring together their complementary strengths in future food R&D and scale-up processes and make alternative proteins more widely accessible.
Fork & Good develops value-added ingredients for B2B purposes, delivering cost-efficient cultivated red meat. Extracellular builds the biomanufacturing infrastructure and R&D necessary for industrial deployment of such proteins. And Nutreco advances scalable future food systems with next-gen nutritional solutions.
“Fork & Good already boasts one of the most efficient cultivated meat platforms in the industry,” said Fork & Good co-founder and CEO Niya Gupta. “With Nutreco’s food-grade cell feed innovation and Extracellular’s CDMO-scale R&D, we are building the supply-chain foundation necessary to deliver cost-effective cultivated beef and pork at scale to our customers.”
Media formulations, streamlined costs, and ingredient innovation in focus
Courtesy: Fork & Good
“Fork & Good’s headquarters in Jersey City includes our pilot plant, which is capable of producing several tonnes of cultivated meat per year at full capacity,” Patricia Bubner, co-founder and COO of Fork & Good, told Green Queen, without disclosing specific numbers. In addition, the company now maintains a subsidiary in Abu Dhabi.
The partnership will initially focus on high-performing media formulations, ingredient innovation, and dedicated workstreams to streamline cost drivers. It also lays the groundwork for a future supplier relationship for media manufacturing, supporting a resilient, long-term supply chain for cultivated meat.
“Working with Nutreco and Extracellular advances our ability to deliver a cost-effective, scalable manufacturing platform,” said Jon Lee, bioprocess director at Fork & Good. “We’re excited to solve together a major lever in our platform that delivers a highly efficient cultivated meat production process.”
The collaboration builds on Nutreco’s Innovation Roadmap, which stresses that progress in cell nutrition requires bold ideas, technical depth, and strong partnerships. As part of the deal, the company will advance cell nutrition, ingredient systems, and scalable feed strategies.
“This collaboration underpins Nutreco’s commitment to Feeding the Future. We’re very excited about this partnership and proud to work with our partners in the cultivated protein space,” said Vincent Krudde, head of Nutreco’s alternative protein division.
“This type of partnership is exactly what the cultivated meat industry needs to accelerate progress toward a viable commercial process,” added Lee. “By working together to solve shared challenges, we significantly de-risk manufacturing not only for Fork & Good, but for producers and vendors across the entire sector.”
Fork & Good is targeting a cost of $5 per lb of biomass at commercial levels, eventually bringing it to parity with commodity pork at $2 per lb.
Fork & Good teases blended meat and 2026 plans
Fork & Good co-founders Niya Gupta and Patricia Bubner | Courtesy: Fork & Good
According to Bubner, who founded Orbillion in 2019, the brand’s integration into Fork & Good is “going very well”. “Our teams have been working together for months already, delivering to our customers in a combined effort and expanding our offering,” she said.
“It’s been a smooth, productive integration that’s accelerating our roadmap. The expansion of the leadership team is commensurate with our commercial traction.”
Bubner remained tight-lipped on the firm’s regulatory plans, target locations, or timelines until there are more “concrete updates to share”.
Fork & Good was already working with customers in North America and East Asia, and has since brought Orbillion’s European and Middle Eastern relationships online too. “We are working on our partners who will be the ones launching products, as we are a B2B provider, focusing on providing value-added ingredients to them,” she said.
In 2024, it became the first startup to host a public tasting for cultivated meat in Europe, serving dumplings with 30% cultured pork in Davos. “We have tested, and tasted, a variety of product options, from dumplings and sausages to tacos, and our cultivated meat blended with conventional meat has always been a crowd pleaser, so maybe this will be one of the first products on the market,” Bubner said.
Looking forward to 2026, Fork & Good’s focus remains squarely on commercial progress. “We’re closing the commercialisation gap by continuing to drive down cost through our three-way partnership with Nutreco and Extracellular, while expanding strategic partnerships across the value chain,” she added.
“You’ll see us increasing revenue, deepening customer traction, and moving firmly into the early phases of market launch. It’s all about turning technical success into commercial scale while staying true to our approach of proving unit economics.”
Swiss manufacturing giant Bühler Group has collaborated with US firm Pow.Bio to launch an AI-led continuous precision fermentation technology.
Addressing a major bottleneck of food biomanufacturing, a new partnership seeks to advance industrial-scale precision fermentation with the help of artificial intelligence (AI).
It brings together Berkeley-based fermentation specialist Pow.Bio and Swiss equipment manufacturer Bühler Group, which have developed an integrated continuous precision fermentation platform to enable low-cost industrial-scale biomanufacturing.
Precision fermentation involves inserting DNA into microbes to teach them to produce desired molecules when fermented. It’s a technology that has been used for decades to produce insulin and rennet, and is now being used to create animal-free proteins, lipids and bioactives with minimal environmental impact.
“Our collaboration with Bühler sets a new benchmark for biomanufacturing: not just faster, but smarter and more robust,” said Pow.Bio co-founder and CEO Shannon Hall.
This partnership solidifies Pow.Bio’s position at the forefront of industrial biotechnology, enabling us to deliver enduring value for our clients and the sector as a whole,” she added.
A departure from fed-batch fermentation
Pow.Bio co-founder and CEO Shannon Hall | Courtesy: Pow.Bio
Pow.Bio helps synthetic biology companies commercialise faster and at competitive cost advantages through its AI-enabled continuous fermentation platform. This technology rapidly identifies better-performing process conditions for fermentation, helping increase outputs from existing infrastructure in a short time frame.
Now, it’s combining this technology with Bühler’s expertise in engineering, delivery, installation, and commissioning, supported by advanced model-driven control software. It has resulted in a platform that allows companies to establish precision fermentation capacity faster, with predictable performance, lower unit costs, and a direct path to scale.
According to the companies, traditional fermentation approaches rely on batch or fed-batch processes, which are stop-and-start methods that require the tank to be emptied and cleaned between runs. Companies using these methods face cost and scalability constraints, as well as inconsistent output.
Bühler and Pow.Bio’s platform, however, offers them an “ultra-efficient and streamlined solution” via a continuous, model-driven system. This enables customers to achieve significantly higher productivity, better process consistency, and more cost-effective manufacturing through an established, low-risk pathway from lab to pilot and full industrial scale.
“Clients can now capitalise on proven technology and global deployment expertise to unlock commercial-scale production with lower risk and unprecedented efficiency,” Hall explained.
Bühler and Pow.bio to onboard customers after successful scale-up
Bühler’s North American director of innovation, Thierry Duvanel | Courtesy: Bühler Group
The new platform is designed for a whole host of fermentation-derived products, from ingredients like enzymes and organic acids to novel categories like functional proteins, specialty lipids, and bioactive compounds.
Pow.Bio and Bühler’s partnership comes weeks after the former successfully scaled up its continuous fermentation platform to 3,000 litres at ATV Technologies’s facility in France, in an effort supported by Bühler. It showcased that Pow.Bio’s technology can deliver three times higher protein productivity than fed-batch methods and cut the projected cost of goods sold by over 50%.
The companies’ joint solution addresses obstacles that have long slowed scale-up in the sector. “With the technology validated and the full system in place, we are prepared to onboard customers and support them through deployment and scale-up,” said Adham Rizk, sales and commercial manager at Bühler.
“Precision fermentation has the potential to impact the food, feed, and specialty ingredients industries. Companies are already using it to produce dairy, meat, and egg substitutes, alternative oils and fats, and even novel pet food – and we are only at the beginning of what this technology can unlock,” said Thierry Duvanel, Bühler’s North American director of innovation.
“By joining forces with Pow.Bio, we take a clear step toward reducing unit production costs in biomanufacturing, combining complementary expertise to accelerate innovation and deliver a fully integrated system backed by experience, service, and reliability,” he added.
Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Treeline Cheesemakers’ cottage cheese, Veganuary’s participation for 2026, and the world’s best vegan restaurant.
New products and launches
US dairy-free brand Treeline Cheesemakers has launched a vegan cottage cheese made from cashews, which can be found exclusively on its website for $4.99 per 6oz pack.
Alcohol company Misunderstood Brands has won Walmart’s Golden Ticket programme, earning a listing with the retailer for its Oatrageous label of non-dairy liqueurs. It will first expand distribution in Florida, with plans to grow regionally in 2026.
NBA star Chris Paul’s vegan snacking brand, Good Eat’n, has introduced White Cheddar Popcorn and Spicy Nacho Cheeze Tortilla Chips, both made from organic corn and available at Gopuff, H-E-B in Texas, and its website.
Courtesy: Morrisons
And in the UK, supermarket chain Morrisons has relaunched its vegan strawberry trifle, sold under its Plant Revolution private label, for Christmas. It can be ordered from December 20, and is priced at £7 per 600g pack.
Company and finance updates
Singapore-based food tech firm Prefer has won an S$400,000 grant from Enterprise Singapore’s Startup SG to support the development of its fermented cocoa-free chocolate, PreferChoc.
Courtesy: Coa & Co
Still in Singapore, protein chocolate company Coa & Co has entered a research collaboration with Republic Polytechnic to enhance the bioavailability, sensory performance, and functional density of soybeans through advanced fermentation.
In another alt-chocolate development, cell-based cocoa makerKokomodo has teamed up with CSM Ingredients and Nexture through the Generate Program 2025 to co-develop next-gen ingredients with global scalability.
Courtesy: Believer Meats
Israeli cultivated meat startup Believer Meats, which received approval to sell its chicken in the US in October, has been sued by Gray Construction over an alleged $34M in unpaid bills for its North Carolina facility, deemed the world’s largest for such proteins. It has also laid off staff at its factory and executive level.
Global vegan discovery platform Abillion has crossed over two million active users, according to founder and CEO Vikas Garg.
Research and policy developments
A group of researchers have published guidelines for cultivated meat companies to conduct ISO-certified life-cycle assessments for their processes.
Courtesy: The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
The Polish health ministry has pledged to offer at least one plant-based lunch option in schools and nurseries starting September 1, 2026, following several years of advocacy from the Green REV Institute.
In contrast, the UK’s health minister, Ashley Dalton, has said the government currently has no plans to provide plant-based milk to students as part of the Nursery Milk Scheme, which only reimburses schools for dairy milk and infant formula.
Courtesy: Veganuary
Meanwhile, a new survey by YouGovsuggests that 12% of UK adults plan to participate in Veganuary in 2026, with a third expressing interest in whole foods, 23% preferring them and plant-based meat equally, and 37% likely to buy meat and dairy alternatives.
In Germany, eight out of 10 foodservice establishments expect a hike in demand for plant-based products over the coming years, according to out-of-home research by ProVeg International.
Courtesy: Sascha Walz/ProVeg International
The European Alliance for Plant-Based Foods has kick-started the Partners for Plant-Based Declaration, setting out actions the EU must take to unlock investment, support farmers, ensure fair market rules, and make healthy, sustainable diets more accessible. It has already been signed by over 75 organisations.
Awards and honours
Discovery platform HappyCow, which recently changed hands, has named Barcelona’s Asante as the number-one vegan restaurant globally, based on an analysis of millions of user reviews.
Courtesy: Asante
Swedish oat milk giant Oatly, US plant-based milk pioneer Califia Farms, and vegan cheese leader Violife have all been named in Fast Company‘s 121-strong list of Brands That Matter in 2025.
Speaking of honours, plant-based meat giant Impossible Foods has been recognised as the only vegan company on Inc Magazine‘s 2025 Best in Business list.
Courtesy: Impossible Foods
Likewise, plant-based business platform Vegpreneur has revealed the results of its 2025 awards, choosing 10 products after over 500 individual tastings by dozens of judges. Brands like Oshi, Redefine Meat, and Brown Sugar 1st were among the winners.
Across the Atlantic, the Spanish Vegetarian Union has announced the winners of the V-Label Awards 2025, with dairy-free cheesemaker La Carleta and plant-based meat leader Heura among the honourees.
Courtesy: Heura
Veg-forward meat alternative maker Symplicity Foodswon four awards at the Future of Food Competition in London, alongside a special commendation for its work with whole-food, non-UPF nutrition.
In yet more awards news, Kelly Pan, co-founder of vegan seafood brand Impact Food, has been named on Forbes’s 30 Under 30 list under the Social Impact category.
Strive Nutrition will be rolling out its Freemilk range, which contains 10g of cow-free whey protein per serving, at Walmart stores in 2026. Its co-founder lays out the startup’s challenges and future ambitions.
“Trying, frustrating and challenging” is how Dennis Cohlmia describes the last few years.
He is the co-founder and chairman of Strive Nutrition, the US startup behind Freemilk, a range of next-generation milks made from whey protein produced by microbes instead of cows.
The technology behind the products, called precision fermentation, has been around for decades, with companies using it to produce everything from insulin to rennet for cheese. It involves inserting DNA into microbes to teach them to produce desired molecules when fermented.
Strive first entered the space in 2022, launching a line of Freemilk products using whey from California’s Perfect Day. These offerings have been confined to a handful of cities, online stores, and limited-edition foodservice partnerships – until now.
The Kansas-based startup rolled out new 48oz bottles of its original and chocolate Freemilk this year, and has been rapidly expanding its footprint. The range is now available in more than 1,000 grocery stores across Kansas and New York City, and is the default cold foam option at Joe Coffee’s 24 sites across the Big Apple.
This is the springboard for its national launch into Walmart in early 2026, marking a pivotal step for Strive’s efforts to bring cow-free dairy to the mainstream. It’s a whole new chapter after several gruelling years.
For Cohlmia, though, it’s just what a startup should be like. “Scaling your business is not just [about] hiring people; it’s about staying lean, focused, and innovative while finding the right strategy for the market and staying true to your vision,” he tells Green Queen.
“At times, staying so disciplined and steady can be frustrating, but we prioritise great taste, nutrition and quality assurance.”
Inside Strive’s product development process for Freemilk
Courtesy: Strive
The base of the Freemilk range is the whey protein. By definition, this is vegan, since it contains zero animal input; however, it isn’t suitable for people with dairy allergies, because it is bioidentical to the whey found in cow’s milk.
The whey is then blended with water, cane sugar, sunflower oil, and small amounts of sunflower lecithin, gellan gum, guar gum, dipotassium phosphate (an acidity regulator), and stevia leaf extract. In addition, it is fortified with calcium and vitamins A, E, D2 and B12.
The result is a neutral-flavoured milk with 10g of protein per cup, 5g of sugar and only 1g of saturated fat. Since this is a microbial protein, it contains all essential amino acids. And compared to cow’s milk, Freemilk has 25% more protein and 50% less sugar, and cuts down emissions by 97%, according to the company.
While nutrition panels matter, Cohlmia notes that the first priority is to ensure it tastes great. “Don’t go to market if you can’t get that done,” he says. “The next steps are to create the essence of milk, which is a combination of flavour and mouthfeel.”
With those priorities identified in the product development process, Strive then looked to ensure it kept a clean label and ticked off all its attribute boxes: enhanced, complete protein; reduced sugar with no lactose; and monounsaturated, ethically produced fats.
“We tested multiple sugar replacers, but nothing could match granulated, non-bone-char cane sugar, and we will not use alcohol sugars or sucralose,” says Cohlmia. “We looked at several oils and fats, and chose the best supplier of high-oleic sunflower oil, which is expeller-pressed and is heart-healthy.”
Highlighting the brand’s philosophy, he says: “We make the products for our customers, but we first make them for us. We are our biggest fans. I drink Strive Freemilk every day. Our chocolate milk is the best on the market – lots of great Dutch Cocoa, and not ‘candy sweet’.”
After nailing the taste and textural ingredients, the last and “probably one of the most important priorities” for Strive is product stability over a 12-month shelf life. “No one likes to open a milk alternative and pour out water followed by solids. And no one wants a super slick product loaded with xanthan gums and carrageenan,” Cohlmia says.
“And honestly, [with] all of these plant[-based] products touting three ingredients at crazy prices, you better shake the heck out of them and are probably better off just making your own at home.”
Strive uses sunflower lecithin, which Cohlmia calls a safe, natural emulsifier that he has “never heard widespread concerns about”. “Similarly, guar gum and gellan gum are both natural stabilisers, and we’ve only ever heard issues about these ingredients in very niche natural and organic markets,” he says.
“We absolutely avoid xanthan gum, because it creates a slick product, and no one wants that in their milk alternative,” he adds. “Let’s be clear; you can’t just take three to five ingredients, process and pack a product, and expect it to work without certain essential components. Without crucial elements like natural gums, we simply would not have a stable, quality product.”
He continues: “If you’re thinking we can be like Malk, Three Trees, or other products like them, that is simply not our category or our customer. We are not a plant-based milk. Strive is a meticulously formulated, protein-based food.
“We are making a milk alternative that has the flavour, essence, and mouthfeel of conventional milk, while dramatically reducing emissions, water consumption, energy, and animal cruelty. This is far beyond what you get from basic plant products.
Perfect Day took ‘wrong approach’ with marketing
Courtesy: Strive
When it first launched, Freemilk exclusively contained Perfect Day’s recombinant beta-lactoglobulin (BLG), which comprises 65% of dairy’s whey protein content. Strive still uses Perfect Day’s version, though Cohlmia says it is also “working with others who produce non-animal BLG whey protein”.
Perfect Day is the pioneer of precision-fermented dairy, becoming the first company to be cleared to sell animal-free whey, which formed the base of products from a host of manufacturers, including Nestlé, Unilever and General Mills.
Things have been turbulent for Perfect Day, which sold off its consumer brands in 2023 and gave away half of its stake in Indian manufacturer Sterling Biotech last year. Co-founders Ryan Pandya and Peramul Gandhi left the company in early 2024, and TM Narayan (who took over from Pandya as interim CEO) exited earlier this year. So far, a new CEO has not been announced, and the company is currently facing a false marketing lawsuit.
Cohlmia says Perfect Day took the “wrong approach” to spread the word about animal-free dairy. “We wanted Perfect Day and their Precision Fermentation Alliance to spend money on consumer awareness, but spending went instead to industry awareness,” he explains.
Asked to expand on what Perfect Day could have done better, he responds: “The rise and fall of the value of Perfect Day speaks for itself. There has been a lot written about that.”
The Strive founder suggests precision fermentation’s obstacles can be addressed by great taste, nutrition, and consumer education. “All these new food tech products need to understand that consumers are not going to pay double or triple because you are sustainable,” he says.
“Get it competitive, or halfway competitive, and find a way. Then get people to taste and enjoy what you produce, and always make sure your products are consistent.”
Speaking of pricing, Strive is looking to compete in the specialty milks space, where companies like Fa!rlife and Lactaid are “generating pricing power”. “[This] helps us a lot. We shoot for $3.99-$4.99 in the dairy case,” states Colmia. “We will never be able to compete with conventional milk in the HDPE plastic jug. We are a speciality dairy product, and we are functional with our attributes.”
Strive ‘can be friends’ with dairy industry
Courtesy: Strive
Strive’s impending nationwide launch comes amid a turbulent time for milk alternatives in the US. According to market research firm SPINS, sales of plant-based milk fell by 3% in the 52 weeks to July 19, against a 5% growth for cow’s milk.
But, as Colmia points out, Freemilk is not a plant-based milk. “We have attributes of both plant-based and conventional dairy, but we are a category that sits right in the middle and offers the best of both,” he outlines.
“However, we are more aligned with conventional dairy because we have complete dairy protein. The only plant protein that is complete is soy, and it still has not recovered, but I hope it does come back. But pea protein, almond protein, oat protein and any other plant proteins are not complete and do not have the absorption and potential to build and retain muscle.”
The dairy industry, for its part, loves to legally challenge alternatives over their use of words like ‘milk’ on product packaging. Aside from having ‘milk’ in its name, Freemilk’s label has phrases such as ‘animal-free dairy milk’ and ‘dairy without the cow’. Is Cohlmia worried about a lawsuit from Big Dairy?
“I have always said we need to worry about both the natural/organic and the dairy industries. But what we are finding is [that] we can be friends of dairy,” he says, drawing on his 45 years of experience in the dairy industry.
“We have worked with the FDA on our labelling to ensure we meet their requirements, and we talk to the dairy Industry to make them understand [that] we are a new innovation and will not replace them. We understand both industries very well, and we do lean towards dairy and work very well in conventional supermarkets.”
Among the retail chains stocking Freemilk are Associated Supermarkets and Key Food, reflecting Strive’s focus on New York City. “We are in an exciting growth period right now,” says Cohlmia, nodding to the Walmart expansion next year.
Strive looking to raise funds for 2026 operations
Courtesy: Strive
Strive has always been looking to expand beyond just milk products. Last year, it teamed up with Singapore’s TurtleTree to use its precision-fermented lactoferrin in an immunity-support beverage and a ready-to-mix protein powder.
Lactoferrin is a fellow whey protein, known for its iron-regulating and functional benefits. But it’s in short supply and thus highly expensive, so most of its global stock is reserved for infant nutrition and premium supplements. Precision fermentation, however, opens up the ingredient to markets like functional foods and drinks, sports and elderly nutrition, and women’s health.
Strive’s products with TurtleTree’s lactoferrin (which were supposed to contain Perfect Day’s whey) were earmarked for a launch earlier this year. “But we were not ready and wanted to keep the focus on Strive Freemilk,” says Dohlmia.
“We stay in touch with TurtleTree, but wow, everyone is going into lactoferrin. We are talking to others in that category as well,” he adds. “This is a brave, new, dynamic market, and we’re always adjusting our plans to ensure we are doing the right thing for us. Sometimes you have to make adjustments at halftime to win the game.”
That said, Strive still has many products in development and plans to expand its portfolio and reach, which includes “going back to our roots in foodservice”. “We developed the best protein soft serve ice cream you will ever taste, and that is a category we know about. But it will come at the right time,” says Dohlmia.
He founded Strive back in 2017 with his wife JT, son Austen, and daughter Mikey and son-in-law David, putting in family money and bringing on some angel investors too. “We continue looking for the right VC and institutional investors who really understand our vision and our product,” he says.
The company is now looking to raise between $500,000 and $1M from angel investors for operating capital for 2026. “We are a great team and have great investors, and would love to have more involved,” says Dohlmia. “We have people who believe in Strive, and we all share the same vision.”
Spanish food emulsion producer Lasenor has introduced a new pea protein texturiser that can help bakery manufacturers reduce eggs amid supply and price shocks.
The latest company to join the egg replacement drive, Barcelona-based emulsifier manufacturer Lasenor has unveiled a clean-label solution for baked goods.
The ingredient, called VP-100, is a texturised protein from peas, designed specifically for commercial bakery applications. It was developed in collaboration with Israeli ingredient tech innovator Meala Foodtech, which introduced its own single-ingredient pea protein powder to replace eggs in September.
“Lasenor VP-100 responds to consumer demands for plant-based alternatives and allergen-free options,” said Viktoriia Kubrakova, product manager for the egg replacer at Lasenor.
She added: “Food manufacturers are actively seeking solutions that allow partial or full egg reduction, especially in light of the volatile egg supplies and price fluctuations.”
Lasenor bets on plant-based egg replacement boom
Courtesy: Patricia Ortin Blaya
Lasenor says its new ingredient is designed to enhance aeration, produce a softer crumb, and extend shelf life and freshness by slowing the staling process of baked goods.
It acts as a single-ingredient functional solution within bakery applications, which can replace 50-100% of the eggs in the formulation, all while maintaining stable texture, volume, and crumb structure. It allows manufacturers to reduce costs by 30-40%.
VP-100 is characterised as having superior water retention to help bakery products stay soft and moist longer, and supports consumer demand for simple, short and transparent ingredient lists. Plus, it has no off flavours and features comparable volume and dome formation properties, making it suitable for all sorts of bakery applications without impacting any organoleptic attributes.
The ingredient was created with the help of Meala’s proprietary texturisation technology, which was further optimised by Lasenor for aerated batter systems.
The innovation comes amid soaring egg prices globally, thanks to the latest bout of avian flu and Newcastle disease, which have led to the culling of millions of chickens and highly volatile supplies. Combined with a sharp increase in demand, egg prices reached a decade-long high in Europe this year, and broke all-time records in the US.
According to Lasenor, baked good categories (like muffins, sponge cakes, and sweet pastries) that boast plant-based claims are seeing double-digit growth in product launches, ascribing it to a demand for “more sustainable, ethical, and better-for-you products”. In the US, for example, Just Egg’s sales have skyrocketed.
It’s why many are coming out with functional vegan egg replacers for B2B applications, like Dutch firm Revyve, which is using fermentation to produce a yeast protein that can substitute eggs in various food and drink products.
Likewise, Spain’s MOA Foodtech unveiled a fermentation-derived ingredient that can reduce egg use in bakery, pastry and pasta formulations, and French player The Very Food Co introduced a powdered aquafaba product that can fit into the lines of artisan bakers and industrial manufacturers alike.
Pea protein replacer delivers strong performance in muffins
Courtesy: Lasenor
To showcase the capabilities of its pea protein ingredient, Lasenor debuted a line of muffins with 50-100% fewer eggs at Fi Europe 2025 in Paris (December 2-4).
“Lasenor VP-100 delivers strong functional performance in muffin formulations, helping manufacturers achieve the desired texture, moisture, and structure, even with reduced egg content,” said Kubrakova. “Our trials demonstrate that VP-100 integrates smoothly into standard cake recipes without requiring changes to the processing methods.”
The texturiser undergoes a controlled hydration and activation phase to optimise its functional performance, giving it the gelling, binding, and water-retention capacities critical for egg replacement. All the ingredients for the muffins are then whisked together for several minutes into an airy batter, where the activated protein enhances foam stability to maintain air retention during baking.
“Trials with Lasenor VP-100 produced soft, voluminous muffins with a uniform fine crumb and a stable structure,” said Kubrakova. “The ingredient also fully aligns with market demands, supporting on-pack claims such as ‘100% plant-based’, ‘egg-free’, and ‘clean label’.”
In kitchen lab tests, the egg replacer helped produce muffins that imparted volume, softness, moisture, and an “excellent consumer experience comparable to full-egg recipes”. This performance was seen in a broad range of other baked goods, like sponge cakes, pound cakes, and brioches.
Lasenor recently opened a new technical centre with a fully equipped bakery lab, dedicated toproviding on-site guidance to industrial manufacturers in formulating plant-based bakery concepts that tick all the sensory and functionality boxes.
“Our customers can test recipes, optimise processes, and validate product performance under real manufacturing conditions,” said Chiara Marinanza, marketing director for Lasenor. “In addition, customers will benefit from Lasenor’sapplications expertise, formulation know-how, and direct market access to the bakery industry.”
Swedish food tech startup Melt&Marble has secured $8.5M in Series A funding to scale up and launch its precision-fermented “designer fats” for use in food and personal care products.
The alternative fat category keeps sizzling, with Swedish player Melt&Marble closing an 80 million kronor ($8.5M) funding round to bring its first ingredients to market.
The Series A raise was led by Industrifonden, with participation from the European Commission’s European Innovation Council Fund, personal care giant Beiersdorf, dairy major Valio, Chalmers Ventures, and Catalyze Capital.
It adds to a €2.5M ($2.7M at the time) grant from the EIC Accelerator last year, taking the 11-year-old firm’s total raised to around $17.3M. Melt&Marble will use the capital to expand production and commercialise its fermentation-derived fats, starting with personal care applications in 2026.
“This investment marks a major milestone for Melt&Marble as we transition from R&D to commercialisation. With key scalability milestones already achieved and strategic partners onboard, we’re entering the market with the capabilities and confidence to deliver real impact, said Melt&Marble CEO Anastasia Krivoruchko.
“Our vision has always been to deliver more sustainable, high-performance ingredients, and this round brings us significantly closer to that goal,” she added.
How Melt&Marble uses yeast to create next-gen fats
Courtesy: Melt&Marble
Melt&Marble employs precision fermentation to create sustainable alternatives to animal and tropical plant-based fats. The process uses yeast as a cell factory, directing the microbes to convert sugars into fats instead of alcohol.
“We grow our specialised yeast strains (that we have engineered to produce specific fats) in fermentation tanks, much like brewing, feeding them sugars and nutrients. As they grow, they produce the fats we’re targeting,” Krivoruchko told Green Queen. “After fermentation, we collect the yeast and extract the fats using standard extraction steps. This gives us a clean, consistent, and sustainable fat.”
In food applications, its ingredients mimic animal fats with characteristics like slow melting and rich mouthfeel, making them ideal for improving the texture of meat and dairy alternatives, providing a cocoa-butter-like structure and melt profile in chocolates, and delivering desired textures in baked goods (from soft cakes to flaky pastries).
In addition, the team has developed Marble7 for personal care products. This is a functional bioactive lipid with a similar fatty acid composition to human skin sebum. It stays solid at room temperature but melts upon contact with skin to deliver long-lasting moisturisation, boosting skin barrier integrity, hydration, and elasticity.
“Our fats are currently positioned for higher-end specialty applications, where there is strong demand for locally produced, sustainable ingredients with novel functionalities. We expect to reach price parity with certain premium specialty fats over the next year, and we’re targeting broader cost competitiveness across the specialty fats category in the medium term,” said Krivoruchko.
“This approach allows us to enter the market where our differentiated functionality delivers the most value while we continue driving costs down with scale,” she added.
Melt&Marble plans 2026 personal care launch and US GRAS filing
Courtesy: Melt&Marble
Melt&Marble is currently manufacturing its fats through a production partner in Europe, where it has access to commercial-scale bioreactor capacity.
“This new funding will support our transition from demo-scale to full commercial production, enabling us to produce many tonnes of product and meet our projected sales needs over the next one to two years across both personal care and food applications,” said Krivoruchko.
Its process would first need to clear regulatory hurdles before the products can enter the market. “Our regulatory strategy is tailored to support an early market entry in personal care, while we progress our food clearances in parallel,” she revealed.
“For personal care, we’ve already secured the necessary registrations to commercialise our ingredients in Europe and beyond, and are preparing for a product launch at the beginning of next year. For food, we’re currently progressing through the GRAS process in the US and will have the necessary clearances in place to enable commercialisation by the beginning of next year.”
It has achieved an “impressive level of technical and commercial readiness” for a company at its stage, according to Tobias Elmquist, senior investment director at Industrifonden. “Their ability to engineer functional fats through precision fermentation addresses a clear and growing demand across industries,” he remarked.
The startup is already co-developing products with companies across various industries globally, including Beiersdorf and Valio.
“Melt&Marble’s designer fats, produced via cellular agriculture, are full of potential for developing new, interesting products for the store shelf and injecting dynamic new concepts into our food system,” said Susanna Kallio, VP at Valio, which owns plant-based dairy brands Oddlygood and Rude Health.
Sustainable fats continue to attract companies and investors
Courtesy: Melt&Marble
Alternative fats have become a focal point for planet-friendly food and personal care companies. They address consumers’ biggest pain point for meat and dairy alternatives, namely, inferior taste and texture, and allow beauty companies to shift away from unsustainable supply chains.
Animal-derived fats are sourced from an industry that accounts for up to a fifth of all global emissions, while using up most of the world’s farmland and freshwater resources. Tropical plant-based fats like palm oil are linked to large-scale tropical deforestation, wildfires, and threats to Indigenous populations and wildlife.
Within the EU, the upcoming deforestation regulation will ban the import of products with deforestation-linked palm oil, with manufacturers facing fines of up to 4% of their global turnover if they violate the rule.
“Fats sit at the intersection of large market demand and clear unmet needs. Many industries are looking for more stable, sustainable, and locally produced fat supplies, as well as improved functionality that conventional fats can’t always deliver,” Krivoruchko explained.
“On top of that, fats serve multiple sectors, from personal care to food to industrial uses, so the category is less exposed to the volatility seen in areas like alternative proteins. This combination of scale, necessity, and versatility is driving both interest and investment [into the category].”
“We’re entering a new era where fats and lipids are no longer seen as commodities alone, but also as precision ingredients that can drive performance, improve health, and support sustainability,” added Thomas Cresswell, its chief business officer.”
Melt&Marble is among several alternative fat startups that have attracted funding in recent months. Dutch player Time-Travelling Milkman raised $2.3M for its sunflower-seed-based oleosomes, and Singapore’s Terra Oleo secured $3.1M to scale up its waste-derived precision-fermented palm oil and cocoa butter substitutes.
In Australia, the state of Victoria has invested A$12M ($8M) to set up a new research hub and glasshouse to develop climate-resilient crops to meet the global demand for plant-based proteins.
Australia’s politicians are embracing the future of food with the opening of a multimillion-dollar hub to innovate with sustainable high-protein crops.
The SmartFarm in Horsham, Victoria, is backed by an A$12M ($8M) investment by the state government, which was first announced in its 2022-23 budget. Most of the funds ($9M) have gone into a Plant Protein Hub, and the rest has been used to build a glasshouse.
The project will fuel collaborations between farmers, researchers and businesses to develop climate-resilient, protein-rich crops to meet the growing global demand for plant-based food.
“Having fit-for-purpose facilities like the Plant Protein Hub at Horsham SmartFarm strengthens our research capabilities and opens the door to new opportunities across agriculture and food innovation,” said Jacinta Ermacora, a member of the Victorian Legislative Council.
How the Horsham SmartFarm will advance plant proteins
Courtesy: Agriculture Victoria
The Plant Protein Hub will provide collaborative spaces for growers, scientists and startups, alongside a fully equipped test kitchen, advanced analytical equipment and facilities to explore new plant-based products.
The facilities will help researchers and industry stakeholders discover and develop crop varieties with high protein content, such as lentils, chickpeas, and field peas.
According to the state government, this hub is already a leading centre for innovation, with PhD students working alongside researchers and industry. It has a capacity for up to 10 PhD students and three startups, and Victoria’s agriculture department has teamed up with the plant-based sector to shape future research opportunities.
Meanwhile, the glasshouse is designed to accelerate crop research, enhance pest and disease management, and boost climate resilience, helping farmers adapt to changing conditions and maintain productivity.
The construction of the Plant Protein Hub has helped create dozens of jobs across trades, suppliers, and professional and technical services. It will now keep generating opportunities for research, education and industry collaboration.
Moreover, students from primary school all the way through to post-graduate level will benefit from hands-on learning in a dedicated education space at the site, creating pathways for future careers in agriculture.
“This investment will help our communities reach new markets, drive local jobs, champion sustainable practices, and ensure a strong and resilient future for regional Victoria,” said Michaela Settle, parliamentary secretary for regional Victoria.
Government support crucial to meet Australia’s future food potential
Courtesy: Australian Plant Proteins
Victoria has emerged as a leading player in growing crops for plant-based protein products in Australia, with its pulse industry generating $638M in export income last year. “Victoria is leading the way in plant-based protein research, building world-class facilities and fostering collaboration that will transform agriculture and strengthen regional economies,” said Ros Spence, the state’s agriculture minister.
In fact, Australia produces around 59 million tonnes of protein-rich cereals, pulses and oilseeds every year, including a vast majority of the crops used for plant proteins. It’s the global leader in lupin production, and is a major producer of wheat, barley and canola.
Yet, it exports roughly 65% of its grain into global commodity markets. In 2023, Australia shipped out 41 million tonnes of protein-rich source crops, but imported 118,000 tonnes of plant protein ingredients.
That puts the country at risk of conceding its future market share in plant protein manufacturing to countries with better policies and an established national plan, according to Melbourne-based think tank Food Frontier, which recently published a report calling for a federal strategy to boost high-value manufacturing of protein-rich crops.
Uptake of plant proteins is hindered by limited awareness or understanding among food manufacturers and a lack of technical support, challenges compounded by high costs and supply chain gaps. Infrastructure and R&D are costly, and companies are financially constrained. However, financing is a challenge, as investors are cautious without catalytic public co-funding.
Among Food Frontier’s recommendations for the government were to build the workforce and regional supply chains, and scale up manufacturing by strategically investing in regional hubs, shared infrastructure and capital co-investment frameworks.
The Horsham SmartFarm is an example of such an effort. And to their credit, Australia’s politicians haven’t shied away from supporting future-friendly foods. For instance, Queensland is providing financial aid to help Cauldron Ferm build an industrial-scale hyper-fermentation facility, and New South Wales has unveiled a prospectus to attract plant protein manufacturers to the state. Likewise, the federal government granted A$100,000 ($62,800) to cultivated meat startup Magic Valley.
And Australia’s national research agency, CSIRO, works with a number of food tech startups, including Cauldron Ferm and precision fermentation player All G, as well as incubating firms like Eclipse Ingredients, which makes recombinant breast milk proteins.
In Australia, the state of Victoria has invested A$12M ($8M) to set up a new research hub and glasshouse to develop climate-resilient crops to meet the global demand for plant-based proteins.
Australia’s politicians are embracing the future of food with the opening of a multimillion-dollar hub to innovate with sustainable high-protein crops.
The SmartFarm in Horsham, Victoria, is backed by an A$12M ($8M) investment by the state government, which was first announced in its 2022-23 budget. Most of the funds ($9M) have gone into a Plant Protein Hub, and the rest has been used to build a glasshouse.
The project will fuel collaborations between farmers, researchers and businesses to develop climate-resilient, protein-rich crops to meet the growing global demand for plant-based food.
“Having fit-for-purpose facilities like the Plant Protein Hub at Horsham SmartFarm strengthens our research capabilities and opens the door to new opportunities across agriculture and food innovation,” said Jacinta Ermacora, a member of the Victorian Legislative Council.
How the Horsham SmartFarm will advance plant proteins
Courtesy: Agriculture Victoria
The Plant Protein Hub will provide collaborative spaces for growers, scientists and startups, alongside a fully equipped test kitchen, advanced analytical equipment and facilities to explore new plant-based products.
The facilities will help researchers and industry stakeholders discover and develop crop varieties with high protein content, such as lentils, chickpeas, and field peas.
According to the state government, this hub is already a leading centre for innovation, with PhD students working alongside researchers and industry. It has a capacity for up to 10 PhD students and three startups, and Victoria’s agriculture department has teamed up with the plant-based sector to shape future research opportunities.
Meanwhile, the glasshouse is designed to accelerate crop research, enhance pest and disease management, and boost climate resilience, helping farmers adapt to changing conditions and maintain productivity.
The construction of the Plant Protein Hub has helped create dozens of jobs across trades, suppliers, and professional and technical services. It will now keep generating opportunities for research, education and industry collaboration.
Moreover, students from primary school all the way through to post-graduate level will benefit from hands-on learning in a dedicated education space at the site, creating pathways for future careers in agriculture.
“This investment will help our communities reach new markets, drive local jobs, champion sustainable practices, and ensure a strong and resilient future for regional Victoria,” said Michaela Settle, parliamentary secretary for regional Victoria.
Government support crucial to meet Australia’s future food potential
Courtesy: Australian Plant Proteins
Victoria has emerged as a leading player in growing crops for plant-based protein products in Australia, with its pulse industry generating $638M in export income last year. “Victoria is leading the way in plant-based protein research, building world-class facilities and fostering collaboration that will transform agriculture and strengthen regional economies,” said Ros Spence, the state’s agriculture minister.
In fact, Australia produces around 59 million tonnes of protein-rich cereals, pulses and oilseeds every year, including a vast majority of the crops used for plant proteins. It’s the global leader in lupin production, and is a major producer of wheat, barley and canola.
Yet, it exports roughly 65% of its grain into global commodity markets. In 2023, Australia shipped out 41 million tonnes of protein-rich source crops, but imported 118,000 tonnes of plant protein ingredients.
That puts the country at risk of conceding its future market share in plant protein manufacturing to countries with better policies and an established national plan, according to Melbourne-based think tank Food Frontier, which recently published a report calling for a federal strategy to boost high-value manufacturing of protein-rich crops.
Uptake of plant proteins is hindered by limited awareness or understanding among food manufacturers and a lack of technical support, challenges compounded by high costs and supply chain gaps. Infrastructure and R&D are costly, and companies are financially constrained. However, financing is a challenge, as investors are cautious without catalytic public co-funding.
Among Food Frontier’s recommendations for the government were to build the workforce and regional supply chains, and scale up manufacturing by strategically investing in regional hubs, shared infrastructure and capital co-investment frameworks.
The Horsham SmartFarm is an example of such an effort. And to their credit, Australia’s politicians haven’t shied away from supporting future-friendly foods. For instance, Queensland is providing financial aid to help Cauldron Ferm build an industrial-scale hyper-fermentation facility, and New South Wales has unveiled a prospectus to attract plant protein manufacturers to the state. Likewise, the federal government granted A$100,000 ($62,800) to cultivated meat startup Magic Valley.
And Australia’s national research agency, CSIRO, works with a number of food tech startups, including Cauldron Ferm and precision fermentation player All G, as well as incubating firms like Eclipse Ingredients, which makes recombinant breast milk proteins.
The UK’s Food Standards Agency has published the first of several pieces of guidance for cultivated meat regulation, born out of its ongoing regulatory sandbox.
The UK is finally breaking away from EU-era regulations on novel foods, with the government publishing two pieces of safety guidance to advance its cultivated meat industry.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) have been working with several industry members since February as part of a sandbox programme to overhaul the regulatory framework surrounding these foods.
Now, the first results of this collaboration are here, with two publications providing guidance on the classification, hazard analysis, and allergenicity and nutritional requirements for cultivated meat applications.
It marks a shift away from the EU’s novel food regulations, which the UK still followed post-Brexit. “Directly applicable EU legislation no longer applies in Great Britain,” the guidance states, though it will continue to be applicable in Northern Ireland.
“Our new guidance provides clarity for businesses, helping them to understand and correctly demonstrate to UK food regulators how their products are safe,” said Thomas Vincent, deputy director of innovation at the FSA.
“Specifically, this guidance ensures that companies have assessed potential allergenic risks and that they are nutritionally appropriate before they can be authorised for sale,” he added.
What does the UK’s cultivated meat guidance cover?
Courtesy: Aleph Farms
The first piece of guidance is designed to help companies understand and correctly apply hygiene requirements when producing cultivated meat.
It confirms that cultivated meat produced using animal cells is defined as a product of animal origin. This means businesses must apply existing food safety regulations during the manufacturing process. That said, these products don’t satisfy the legal definition of “meat”, which is defined as having edible parts of animals.
“We do not consider a final cell-cultivated product to be an edible part of any of the animals listed in that regulation,” the FSA and FSS wrote. Other legislations that relate to animal welfare or microbiological criteria can’t be readily applied to cultivated meat either. The regulators will give further thought to this issue in the future as part of the sandbox programme.
The guidance also outlines how cultivated meat startups can create and adhere to a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), a legal requirement that ensures all risks are identified and mitigated in the manufacturing process and the final product is safe for human consumption.
The second guide outlines the scientific requirements for evaluating the allergenicity and nutritional credentials of cultivated meat in regulatory filings. “Applications should demonstrate that a novel food is not nutritionally disadvantageous compared to any food it may replace,” the document reads.
Companies must provide data on the macro- and micronutrient profile of their proteins, alongside amino and fatty acid compositions, and proposed uses. The role of cultivated meat in the consumer’s diet – whether replacing meat completely, or adding cell-cultured ingredients at a low percentage to a pre-existing product – needs to be understood to evaluate its nutritional impact, the regulators said.
“It is expected that cell-cultivated proteins will be consumed by diverse and broad populations and may include exposure of individuals to allergens that they have not previously encountered,” they wrote. “Therefore, [they] require careful assessment to understand allergenicity risks, ensuring consumer safety.”
Cultivated meat sandbox will boost regulatory efficiency, says FSA
Courtesy: Ivy Farm Technologies
The sandbox programme, which runs until February 2027, is funded by the Department of Science and Technology. The FSA describes it as a “new approach to regulation” to allow the government to support innovation by giving companies clarity on how to prove their products are safe.
Since then, Uncommon Bio has sold off its cultivated meat business to Vow and Dutch firm Meatable, and Gourmey has acquired Vital Meat to form a new company called Parima. Though the latter remains part of the UK sandbox, its exact current makeup is unclear.
So far, only one cultivated meat product has made it to British shelves, but it was for dogs. When it comes to human use, Aleph Farms, Ivy Farm Technologies, and Parima (through both Vital Meat and Gourmey) have filed for approval, with the latter the furthest along in the assessment process.
The FSA said its sandbox will boost business confidence and its own efficiency in regulating cultivated meat. It used the learnings from the programme alongside expert elicitation and literature review to publish the two documents, and has outlined plans to release further guidance for these foods throughout 2026.
“The sandbox programme is allowing us to fast-track regulatory knowledge to reduce barriers for emerging food technologies without compromising on safety standards,” said Vincent. “Consumers can be reassured that these innovative new foods will meet the same rigorous safety standards as conventional foods.”
In its new Bioeconomy Strategy, the EU has outlined its intention to help “advanced fermentation” startups scale up and fast-track their novel food approval pathway.
Amid calls for it to modernise its novel food regulations, the European Union is showing some early signs of promise.
The EU Commission has published a new Bioeconomy Strategy that lays out a 2040 vision featuring a wide deployment of bio-based products, sustainable yield improvements that boost the resilience of food and farming systems, and biorefineries and advanced fermentation facilities that turn diverse feedstocks into food and feed products.
The strategy proposes plans to support fermentation startups with scale-up and regulatory efforts, highlighting technologies that use “innovative, high-performance microorganisms to convert carbon-sources such as sugar residues and other secondary biomass into high-value compounds”.
“The Commission will make technical support available for SMEs scaling innovative bio-based products to accelerate authorisations while maintaining high safety standards,” the strategy states.
“In particular, the Commission will support SMEs developing innovative products based on advanced fermentation, including for food and feed,” it adds.
The move has been welcomed by future food advocates, but only if the EU follows up on these proposals with concrete actions that help fermentation innovators escape the valley of death between lab breakthroughs and commercialisation.
Regulatory sandboxes and novel food approvals in focus
Courtesy: Onego Bio
Many proteins derived from advanced fermentation methods, which include biomass and precision fermentation, are subject to the EU’s novel food regulations. This applies to foods that were not commonly consumed in the bloc before 1997, and thus need approval from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to be sold on the market.
The process is fraught with delays and a lack of clarity, and costs up to €250,000, causing significant financial distress for startups, which cannot sell their products and generate revenue until the EFSA completes its authorisation.
The average time it takes for a novel food product to be approved in the EU currently is 30 months, far higher than the stipulated 18-month timeline – and this can stretch to as long as five years. For context, average timelines in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand are 12 to 24 months.
This process presents a huge barrier for future food companies, many of which turn their attention to North America or Asia, where regulatory processes are more streamlined. The Bioeconomy Strategy aims to nip this problem in the bud.
“There is a need to make approvals faster, clearer and simpler,” it states. “The Commission will provide guidance on how to classify new bio-based products and create a single online entry point so that companies only need to submit information once. Risk assessments will be better coordinated across EU agencies to avoid duplication and reduce waiting times.”
It nods to the forthcoming Biotech Acts, the first of which will be published this month, which are set to simplify regulatory requirements, speed up approvals, and introduce regulatory sandboxes. These are controlled environments that let businesses, researchers and regulators design standards and guidance for new products with regulators.
The EU Parliament has recommended the use of sandboxes to assess applications, and is developing a strategy that supports companies transitioning from the sandbox regime to full market access. This is echoed by the Ministry of Future Affairs, a new think tank comprising regulatory experts across Europe, which recently published a framework for a novel food sandbox.
That said, according to Euractiv, an internal document indicates that the EU’s regulatory sandboxes under this month’s Biotech Act would not apply to novel foods.
EU to mobilise investments for fermentation scale-up
Courtesy: The Protein Brewery
In July, a report by companies and organisations including L’Oréal, EIT Food, the Good Food Institute (GFI), and McKinsey suggested that the global advanced biotech sector could create $1T in annual economic value, but would require $500B in investments by 2040 to do so.
Capacity expansion alone would account for 85% of this capital, with the rest needed for regulatory filings, bridging talent gaps, and boosting consumer acceptance. Capacity bottlenecks plague the European sector too, thanks to a lack of large-scale facilities that are often too costly to fund with venture capital, according to GFI Europe.
In a nod to this obstacle, the EU’s Bioeconomy Strategy has proposed to help fermentation startups scale up their businesses and begin commercialising their innovations by expanding access to pilot and demonstration infrastructure.
It will also create a Bioeconomy Investment Deployment Group on finance and investment, combining research, demonstration and scale-up financing across national and EU levels. This brings together the EU Commission, the European Investment Bank Group, national promotional banks, and private investors to create a pipeline of bankable projects, share risk more effectively, and crowd in private capital.
“This coordinated approach should help mobilise public and private investment over the coming decade, particularly for first-of-a-kind biorefineries, advanced fermentation facilities and bio-based materials manufacturing,” the strategy reads.
The EU Commission has previously announced €350M in funding opportunities to boost food and biotech innovation, with fermentation a key focus. Now, it’s introducing blended finance schemes to de-risk investments into the sector. This will help attract more private finance for projects like modern fermentation facilities and first-of-a-kind biorefineries.
“It’s great to see the Commission recognise the crucial role that fermentation can play in driving green growth, reducing our reliance on imports and boosting Europe’s international competitiveness,” said Lea Seyfarth, policy officer at GFI Europe.
“For Europe to establish itself as a global leader in this technology, these proposals now need to be followed up with concrete actions,” she highlighted. “The upcoming Biotech Acts must build on this growing momentum with clear policies enabling startups to commercialise Europe’s scientific expertise and bring innovative food products to the market.”
China has granted its first approval of mycoprotein as a new food raw material, a move hailed as a “significant step forward” for the global alternative protein sector.
Chinese biotech firm Fushine Bio has received the country’s first regulatory green light for Fusarium venenatum, a source of fungal mycelium protein, as a novel food ingredient.
The approval was granted by the National Health Commission (NHC) alongside 13 other new food additives and ingredients, and marks a “turning point for fermentation-based proteins in one of the world’s most influential food markets”, according to think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI) APAC.
“This approval further validates the safety, potential, and future scale of mycoprotein, reinforcing our confidence in accelerating its adoption across the food industry,” Fushine Bio said in a statement.
Fushine Bio already Asia-Pacific’s largest mycoprotein producer
Courtesy: Fushine Bio
Mycoprotein is derived from mycelium, the root-like structure of filamentous fungi. Fushine Bio’s flagship ingredient, called FuNext, is produced via a biomass fermentation process with glucose and water as the primary raw materials.
Its specific strains, A3/5 or TB01, can double their biomass every five hours, enabling an output 1,000 times more efficient than livestock-derived protein, according to the company.
The ingredient is a complete protein with all essential amino acids and high digestibility. It’s rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals, low in fat, and has zero cholesterol. Beyond its nutritional benefits, FuNext offers environmental wins too, requiring far less land and water than animal proteins, with a fraction of the greenhouse gas footprint.
Fushine Bio sell the protein in wet, dry and whole-cut formats. The former has a light beige tint and a mild, natural mushroom aroma with a fibrous texture akin to meat. It can be used to create structured meat analogues like meatballs, nuggets, ham slices, and sausages.
The dry powdered form has an adjustable particle size and high dispersibility, and can be tailored for various processing needs. This is best-suited for functional nutrition products, protein-rich baked goods, meal replacement formulas, snacks, and nutritional supplements.
Finally, the off-white whole-cut mycoprotein has a meaty aroma and naturally fibrous texture, resembling animal muscle tissue. Fushine Bio describes this as a high-flexibility format that can be shaped into slices, strips, chunks, and more, and added to a range of dishes and next-generation meat alternatives.
The firm has earmarked several other applications for FuNext, including dairy-free cheese, pet food, medical supplements like low-sugar or condition-specific formulas, and food for consumption in space.
Fushine Bio said it would “continue collaborating with partners to bring high-quality, clean-label mycoprotein solutions to more food applications”. It claims to be Asia-Pacific’s largest mycoprotein producer, with the capability of churning out 1,200 tonnes of product per year. The company is now building an industrial-scale line with an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes.
Mycoprotein a key opportunity for the Chinese and global future food sector
Courtesy: Fushine Bio
Fushine Bio has already self-determined FuNext as a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) ingredient in the US, enabling its use in a range of food categories as a protein source, including meat alternatives.
Mycoprotein from Fusarium venenatum has been on sale in many countries for decades, thanks to Quorn’s suite of meat-free products. However, China’s approval of Fushine Bio’s version is unusual, according to GFI APAC, in that it provides explicit national-level specifications and guardrails, such as formal composition limits and labelling mandates for sensitive groups (like young children or pregnant women).
“With this level of detail, companies in China and abroad gain a much clearer understanding of what is required when they apply for approval in the future,” the think tank explained in a social media post.
The move provides a boost to China’s food security strategy, with the government looking to diversify its protein supply and support domestic future food production to reduce reliance on imports.
“This approval makes tangible progress towards achieving those goals, and also creates confidence and momentum outside of China, influencing ingredient demand, investment priorities, and manufacturing decisions,” said GFI APAC.
Expanding on why the decision has implications far beyond China, the organisation outlined its potential to expand the global market runway, supporting scale-up, cost reduction, and supply chains that can serve multiple regions.
Fusarium venenatum has been identified as a key opportunity to advance China’s alternative protein sector, with a group of leading scientists recognising its ability to “meet the stringent protein quality requirements of high-end markets such as medical nutrition, sports nutrition, and infant formula” in a recent blue paper.
But the fungus’s rigid cell walls can hinder protein release, digestibility, and functional and nutritional utilisation, the authors wrote, highlighting the need for CRISPR-based gene editing and multi-stage extraction processes combining high-pressure homogenisation with pH shift solubilisation.
“This systematic breakthrough in efficient cell wall disruption, separation, and extraction technologies will significantly enhance the product quality and industrial competitiveness of Fusarium venetum protein,” they said.
Australian food tech startup Eden Brew has submitted the country’s first regulatory application for a precision-fermented dairy protein, with a decision expected by November 2026.
Eden Brew, a company producing animal-free dairy proteins from microbial fermentation, has filed for novel food approval in Australia and New Zealand.
The countries’ joint regulator, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), has officially accepted the Melbourne-based startup’s application for assessment, a first for a precision-fermented milk protein.
The submission covers Eden Brew’s animal-free beta-casein protein preparation (BCPP1), a functional and nutritional ingredient that can be used in a range of applications in place of conventional dairy or plant proteins.
FSANZ has placed the application under its General (Level 5) Procedure, as opposed to the Major Procedure that some novel food filings have undergone. It means the process is expected to take less than a year, since it only requires one round of public consultation. Plus, it’s around A$40,000 cheaper.
Precision fermentation involves inserting a specific DNA sequence into microbes to teach them to produce the desired molecules when fermented. In Eden Brew’s case, the resulting ingredient is casein, which accounts for 80% of the protein content in cow’s milk.
Casein is crucial to the taste and functional attributes of dairy products like cheese – it’s what makes hard cheeses melt and stretch when they’re heated, allowing water and fat to emulsify and deliver the desired mouthfeel. It’s a $2.7B market, but comes from a highly emissive, water-guzzling, land-hungry industry.
Eden Brew genetically engineers a yeast strain called Komagataella phaffii (formerly Pichia pastoris), which has an extensive history of safe use in food products, including in alternative proteins, like the heme ingredient in the Impossible Burger.
The firm claims the milk made from its recombinant casein generates 70% fewer emissions, uses only 5% of the land, and lowers water consumption by 99%, in comparison to conventional dairy. Moreover, it emits no methane, the major source of greenhouse gas emissions from cattle.
Cow’s milk contains four kinds of casein proteins that self-assemble into micelles, which are highly hydrated spherical structures that serve as a building block for the functional and nutritional attributes of dairy products.
Eden Brew’s DeepForte platform enables micelle formation to match dairy’s nutrition delivery, sensory experience and heat stability. Micelles have an enormous carrying capacity for calcium, phosphorus, protein and other nutrients, which they release slowly. The startup can further fortify the micelles with iron, magnesium and zinc.
“The protein in the BCPP1 preparation is a composite, comprising approximately 25% A2 beta-casein and 75% co-purified host cell proteins,” the company stated in its application to FSANZ.
“While the overall composition differs from purified milk protein, analysis confirms the protein quality of the entire preparation (via PDCAAS) is equivalent to conventional beta-casein.”
‘Critical step forward’ for precision fermentation in Australia
According to FSANZ’s administrative report, the scientific risk assessment of Eden Brew’s application will be followed by a round of public consultation from early April to mid-May. This will then move to the board approval stage in August, before being discussed by ministers in both countries in June. The final green light is expected in mid-November.
In a social media post, Eden Brew called it a “huge moment” for both the company and the domestic precision fermentation sector. “Acceptance into assessment signals that FSANZ is satisfied our submission meets all high-level requirements, which is a major achievement and a testament to the depth of our science, our safety data, and our team’s relentless focus,” it said.
Trade association Cellular Agriculture Australia labelled it a “major achievement”. “A significant amount of work has gone into the development and acceptance of the application, indicating that FSANZ is satisfied that it meets the high-level requirements outlined in the Application Handbook,” it stated.
“This marks a critical step forward for the precision fermentation sector in Australia, and Eden Brew’s application will also serve as a test case.”
Eden Brew has raised nearly $19M in funding from private and public investors, and is scaling up with a contract manufacturing organisation with a view to achieving price parity with conventional dairy by 2029.
It will sell its casein proteins as a B2B ingredient for use in supplements, food fortification, sports nutrition products, and the GLP-1 market. The pivot aligns with several other precision fermentation companies, which began with a goal of producing animal-free milk but shifted towards higher-value markets for initial revenue generation.
Eden Brew is one of several Antipodean startups using precision fermentation to produce dairy proteins and fats, such as All G, Nourish Ingredients, Daisy Lab, and Cauldron.
Globally, only two companies – New Culture and Fermify – have been cleared to sell animal-free casein, both in the US (and the latter firm has since filed for bankruptcy). Others in the space include Standing Ovation, Fooditive Group, and Those Vegan Cowboys.
A group of scientists have identified 10 bottlenecks hindering China’s alternative protein progress, calling for policy and investment support to overcome the barriers.
Long heralded as a leader in the green energy and mobility spaces, China is well-positioned to spearhead the alternative protein race aswell.
Still, China’s alternative protein economy faces major constraints, from limited foundational research and technical bottlenecks to fragmented funding and weak links between industry and academia, according to a new blue paper.
Penned by 48 leading scientists from the NeoProtein Professional Committee of the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST) and ProVeg China, the report provides a system-level analysis of 10 technical gaps and several emerging opportunities in the East Asian nation’s “NeoProtein” industry.
It offers a strategic roadmap for aligning national R&D priorities, bolstering collaboration, and translating scientific breakthroughs into real-world applications to “drive China’s transition from a ‘follower’ to a ‘leader’ in NeoProtein technology” over the next decade.
“The Blue Paper is a powerful call to action for advancing the industry,” said Nicole Wu, executive director and chief representative of ProVeg China. “It will help scientists concentrate on the most impactful research areas, guide policymakers and funders on strategic resource allocation, and enable industry stakeholders to identify where collaboration can make the greatest difference.”
What’s holding back China’s alternative protein sector?
Outlining how existing plant protein extraction technologies suffer from high energy consumption and pollution, as well as protein denaturation issues, the report suggests prioritising the development of low-denaturation, green, and efficient extraction pathways, which would improve the functionality and sustainability of these foods.
Single-source plant protein still struggles to achieve good gelation, water-holding, and oil-holding properties simultaneously, so the experts advise combining biotech with physical field treatment to optimise protein structure and functionality, design specialised equipment to construct 3D protein structures, and implement structural engineering of plant-based fats.
For cultivated meat, the development of immortalised myogenic cell lines is central to scaling up, as is the establishment of serum-free culture media. The latter can be achieved through the development of plant-based or recombinant alternatives to animal inputs, integrating multi-omics data with AI algorithms, and bioreactor design with dynamic nutrient regulation tech.
The report places a major emphasis on fermentation-derived proteins. It calls for the construction of highly efficient cell factories for microbial biomass production, as well as the intelligent design of protein biomanufacturing reactors for high-density fermentation and yeast chassis cells for efficient expression of functional proteins.
Courtesy: Angel Yeast
Further, as low-carbon processing is integral to the fermentation industry’s success, for which the report suggests establishing AI-optimised control systems for solid-state fermentation, systematically optimising key elements like substrate formulation and aeration rates, and integrating non-thermal methods with enzymatic modification to improve proteins.
Further, the blue paper argues that China must optimise the processability and multi-scenario application of yeast protein, championing techniques like high-pressure microjet processing and ball milling to shrink protein particles and combining proteomics with bioinformatics methods to analyse multilevel structures and post-translational modifications.
Finally, it shines a light on Fusarium venenatum, a source of mycelial protein that is nutrient-rich but whose rigid cell walls can hinder protein release and digestibility. Companies should look to employ CRISPR-based gene editing to knock out genes linked to the synthesis of key cell wall components like chitin and glucan. In addition, they should develop a multi-stage extraction process combining high-pressure homogenisation with pH shift solubilisation.
How China can clear hurdles to lead the protein transition
“The research and industrial communities must work hand-in-hand to address these key challenges and drive the high-quality development of the industry,” said Jian Li, a professor at Beijing Technology and Business University.
The report calls for a “forward-looking strategic vision” to bolster top-level policy planning and direct science and technology investments towards high-impact areas to tackle the core bottlenecks of the NeoProtein sector.
The scientists proposed six actions to help achieve “a historic leap from ‘supplementation’ to ‘substitution’, and then to ‘expansion’ and ‘irreplaceability’ within the global food system”:
Develop a national alternative protein strategy: This roadmap should define the priorities and timeline for technological breakthroughs to guide researchers, industry, and other stakeholders toward shared objectives.
Expand collaboration, funding and R&D support: China should introduce a collaborative innovation platform for alternative proteins, ramp up fiscal support, set up a major science and tech project dedicated to these foods, and integrate the sector into the key national R&D programme.
Create an innovation-friendly regulatory sandbox: This system would help fast-track food safety approvals for new novel proteins and ingredients, and should be complemented with stronger certification standards to regulate market order and boost consumer confidence.
Encourage regional action on bottlenecks: Local governments should be incentivised to incorporate the 10 barriers in industrial planning and biotech initiatives through industrial guidance funds, specialised industrial parks, and preferential access to land, energy and data to foster globally influential clusters.
Mobilise industrial capital for future foods: It’s critical to invest boldly in R&D and pilot-scale platforms and support collaboration across sectors and disciplines. Long-term investments should accompany frontier technologies through the “valley of death” between lab discovery and commercialisation.
Spur researchers to overcome boundaries: China can boost the sustainable protein sector by actively promoting collaboration between industry and academia to encourage researchers to jointly tackle technical bottlenecks and ensure scientific advances drive industrial scale-up.
“Significant technical gaps still exist in plant-based and related fields,” said Xiaoquan Yang, a professor at South China University of Technology. “Future efforts should prioritise staple foods and alternatives to traditional animal proteins, so that novel proteins can genuinely become part of people’s everyday diets.”
Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Grubby’s vegan Christmas meals, ImpacFat’s cultivated egg yolk, and India’s most vegan-friendly city.
New products and launches
UK vegan meal kit startup Grubby has launched a limited-edition Christmas menu, featuring nine recipes that cost under £3.50 each with a subscription. These include Christmas Dinner and Trimmings, Miso Mushroom Wellington, and an Ultimate Christmas Sausage Roll.
Courtesy: Xiangliang Lin/LinkedIn
Swedish packaging giant Tetra Pak has launched a powdered sunflower protein for plant-based food and drink manufacturers, which boasts 53g of protein per 100g and a high digestibility score.
In Denmark, plant-based meat startup Tempty Foods has gained a listing for its Spicy Korean Stick in 57 7-Eleven stores nationwide.
Courtesy: Martina Lokajova/LinkedIn
Pacific Foods, which supplies plant-based products for the foodservice sector, has expanded its Barista Series lineup with a pistachio milk that can be used in both hot and cold coffee drinks.
Another plant-based milk company, Mooala, has refreshed its packaging to provide more transparent information about its ingredient sourcing, organic certification, and simple formulations.
Mr Charlie’s Told Me So, a fast-food chain dubbed the “vegan McDonald’s”, is opening two new locations in San Diego’s Pacific Beach and Hillcrest neighbourhoods, in parallel with a rapid expansion drive in Arizona.
Courtesy: Mr Charlie’s Told Me So
Plant-based oil supplier AAK has expanded its partnership with chemicals distributor Nordmann, which will manage the former’s marketing and distribution across Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Austria.
Company and finance developments
Singaporean startup ImpacFat has showcased a chicken-free egg yolk with cultivated omega-3 fat in tastings held in partnership with Fuji Oil.
Courtesy: Xiangliang Lin/LinkedIn
Californian startup Calysta, which makes proteins from gas fermentation, has closed its R&D labs and pilot facilities in the US and the UK after establishing its production process at commercial scale in China.
In some packaging news, Korean Air has announced that it will phase out its plastic meal containers in favour of plant-based versions made from waste materials like straw, sugarcane and bamboo. The transition is set to fully take effect by the end of 2026.
Courtesy: Immobazyme
South African startup Immobazyme has secured R25M ($1.46M) to accelerate the expansion of its precision-fermentation-based biologics platform and therapeutics programme, as well as set up a 1,800 sq m facility in Cape Town.
Dutch firm Time-Travelling Milkman, which uses sunflower seeds to replace animal fats, has received funding from the EU and EFRO Oost for a project to develop plant-based fats for dairy and meat alternatives, and a natural texturiser, in partnership with NIZO Food Research and Duynie.
At Finnish gas protein firmSolar Foods, co-founder and former CEO Pasi Vainikka has joined the board as vice chair, replacing Jari Tuovinen, who has left for personal reasons.
Also in the UK, a majority of consumers are waving goodbye to turkey for Christmas dinner, and 7% are planning a plant-based main instead, according to a survey by Gousto.
Speaking of holiday meals, a poll by Morning Consult and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicineshows that 59% of Americans would consider a vegan main if they had a convincing reason to do so, like knowing that it would taste good (28%), trying something new (22%), having something healthier, or accommodating family and friends (both 21%).
Courtesy: PCRM/Morning Consult
Nearly one in 10 Germans say they’re vegan or vegetarian, while 37% follow a flexitarian diet, according to a new report by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Meanwhile, 34% of consumers buy milk or meat alternatives, 77% say eating less meat is important for the climate, and 56% are in favour of carbon taxes on food.
Swedish oat milk pioneer Oatly has been recognised as the Plant-Based Supplier of the Year at the 2025 European Coffee Symposium + COHO Expo awards.
Courtesy: Bryan Carroll/LinkedIn
In more awards news, Boele de Jong, CFO of JBS-ownedThe Vegetarian Butcher Collective, has been named Changemaker of the Year Award 2025 by Change Inc.
Meanwhile, UK startup Grow with Iris, which makes free-from plant-based milk for toddlers, has been granted an Ethical Accreditation from The Good Shopping Guide, securing a 98% score on its criteria.
Courtesy: Grow with Iris
Regulatory and scientific experts from Singapore and South Korea have called for greater international cooperation on food safety regulation for novel foods like cultivated meat and precision-fermented ingredients, with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization participating in the events.
Researchers from China have authored a new study outlining how gene-editing tool CRISPR can enhance the properties of Fusarium venenatum, a fungal strain with meat-like characteristics. It’s the same microbe used to produce Quorn’s mycoprotein.
Courtesy: Peta India
Finally, Peta India has crowned Kolkata as the country’s most vegan-friendly city for 2025, ahead of seemingly more obvious candidates like Mumbai, Bangalore or New Delhi. It presented the award to Mayor Firhad Hakim.
To offer better-tasting, more affordable vegan options, Finnish startup Happy Plant Protein has unveiled a textured vegetable protein offering made from fava beans.
Usering in a new era for textured vegetable protein (TVP) – one without off flavours, chemical extraction, and heavy water use – Happy Plant Protein is taking the plunge with fava beans.
At Paris’s Food Ingredients Europe trade show (December 2-4), the Helsinki-based startup has debuted a fava protein texturate that scores high on the nutrition, environment and flavour fronts, thanks to its patented extrusion technology.
“To truly scale the plant-based market, protein needs to taste better, be produced more efficiently, and be easily adaptable to different end-products,” said Jari Karlsson, co-founder and CEO of Happy Plant Protein.
“Our technology makes all three possible: it improves the availability of high-quality plant-based proteins while giving manufacturers the flexibility to design exactly the textures they need.”
How Happy Plant Protein transcends existing processes
Courtesy: Happy Plant Protein
Founded in 2024 as a spinout of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Happy Plant Protein is looking to position itself at the centre of the protein boom by solving what it says is one of the biggest gripes of typical plant-based options: their bitter and beany off-flavours.
“Traditional protein isolates require chemical extraction, large amounts of water, and energy-intensive drying, producing wastewater and often leaving off-flavours,” noted Karlsson.
“Happy Plant Protein bypasses this entirely by using a chemical-free dry extrusion process to transform local flours directly into textured protein. This approach strengthens regional protein independence and reduces reliance on imported isolates.”
Its one-step process converts legume flour directly into textured protein using heat and pressure in a dry extrusion, without isolates, chemicals, or waste. It can be integrated into existing manufacturing setups with minimal investment, making it suitable for companies of all sizes.
The tech is highly flexible, as it’s compatible with a wide range of legumes and cereals, and has been tested across multiple extrusion systems and with various raw materials, demonstrating robustness and adaptability, according to the company.
The texture, bite and functionality of its ingredients can be adjusted directly during extrusion, allowing manufacturers to tailor the protein to their specific product requirements, from firm, meat-like structures to softer, more porous formats. So by simplifying the TVP production process, Happy Plant Protein says it can unlock a new wave of plant-based and blended proteins.
Fava bean TVP gains ‘highly positive’ industry feedback
Courtesy: Happy Plant Protein
The startup’s fava bean texturate outperforms pea protein on many sensory credentials. It has a neutral flavour and smell, and significantly lower bitterness and beany notes. Plus, the fava bean TVP has a light beige tint and low sodium content, lending itself to a host of applications.
It’s available in minced, granulated, and chunk formats, and can boost the structure and overall composition of vegan meat alternatives, blended proteins, ready meals, snacks, and more.
The fava bean ingredient scores high on the nutrition front, boasting 61g of protein and 9g of fibre per 100g, positioned as a rich source of two macronutrients that have become the centre of food conversations.
According to Happy Plant Protein, the tech has received “highly positive feedback and strong industry validation” from food and ingredient manufacturers, noting that this way of producing easy-to-use, highly adaptable ingredients is garnering increased interest.
The flavour, nutrition and functional benefits are also why Happy Plant protein has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Most Innovative FoodTech Solution category of the FiE Startup Challenge.
“It’s encouraging to see this category recognised since it shows how much our mission matters globally. We aim to make food healthier for both people and the planet,” said Karlsson. “Our long-term vision is to provide the food industry with a protein that enables the production at a fraction of the cost and complexity of existing solutions.”
Spain’s MOA Foodtech has launched a new fermentation-derived ingredient that can reduce egg use in bakery, pastry and pasta formulations amid price and supply challenges.
Characterised by empty shelves and high prices where supplies are available, Europe’s egg market is still reeling from this year’s disease outbreaks.
Egg prices reached a decade-long high in the region this year. According to the European Commission, the average cost of eggs rose by 20% in October, in comparison to the same period 12 months ago, and is currently nearly 50% higher than the 2020-24 average.
Prices have, in fact, shot up consistently this year, going from €237 per kg to nearly €275 between January and October (a 16% hike), with notable peaks in Germany, Poland, Spain, and the Netherlands.
The volatility is thanks to outbreaks of avian flu and Newcastle disease, which have led to the culling of millions of chickens across Europe and the globe. At the same time, the demand for eggs has sharply increased, but anticipated price corrections have led some producers of powdered eggs to delay purchases, causing a supply gap.
Combined with the wider impact of food prices amid Europe’s cost-of-living crisis, the situation has created a perfect storm. In response, many food tech startups have come up with innovative solutions to replace eggs, from pea protein to aquafaba powders.
Spain’s MOA Foodtech, though, is using AI to offer a fermentation-derived ingredient that can reduce the reliance on eggs across a variety of applications, while retaining functionality. The aim is to provide an alternative to the price and supply instability of the ingredient and help manufacturers navigate increasingly complex allergen protocols.
MOA Q5 replicates egg functionality with one-ingredient solution
Courtesy: MOA Foodtech
Founded in 2021, the startup uses its AI-directed fermentation platform, Albatros, to convert food industry byproducts into high-value ingredients. The tech results in a biomass boasting all essential amino acids, with a protein digestibility score of 0.9 (on par with soy, beef, eggs and casein).
MOA Foodtech is already producing an ingredient for use in pet food, meat analogues, and snacks at industrial scale – but it teased a new innovation last month. That has turned out to be the new egg reducer, called MOA Q5.
This ingredient delivers the functional performance of chicken eggs in a clean-label and supply-stable format, enabling companies to reduce or eliminate egg and eggshell declarations wherever full replacement isn’t required.
It offers equivalent emulsification, foaming, and coagulation capabilities in baked goods and pasta products, while maintaining volume, structure, elasticity, colour, and bite across a host of applications. According to the startup, it is ideal for R&D reformulation, large-scale bakery operations, pasta manufacturers, and companies making allergen-reduced premixes.
“MOA Q5 represents the next chapter in functional ingredient innovation: a fermentation-derived solution that matches egg’s performance while unlocking cleaner labels and far more predictable supply,” said Bosco Emparanza, co-founder and CEO of MOA Foodtech.
The egg-reducing ingredient will help food producers stabilise costs, simplify production and introduce circular sourcing without compromising technical performance. “Manufacturers want reliability without sacrificing quality. MOA Q5 delivers that reliability, while also offering a circular sourcing model that strengthens sustainability credentials,” he noted.
MOA Foodtech talks up ‘modern ingredient’ as egg alternatives sizzle
Courtesy: MOA Foodtech
MOA Foodtech showcased the single-ingredient egg reducer at the Food Ingredients Europe trade fair in Paris (October 2-4), which Emparanza called the “perfect stage” for its debut. The ingredient will be featured in baked goods like muffins and cakes.
“We’re excited to show manufacturers what’s possible when biotechnology, AI, and circularity work together: a truly functional, scalable alternative that performs like eggs, but behaves like a modern ingredient.”
The startup is among several startups that have come out with functional vegan egg replacers for B2B applications this year. Dutch firm Revyve, for instance, is also using fermentation to produce a yeast protein that can substitute eggs in various food and drink products.
French player The Very Food Co, meanwhile, introduced a powdered aquafaba product that can fit into the lines of artisan bakers and industrial manufacturers alike, and Israel’s Meala rolled out Groundbaker, a pea protein innovation that offers the same gelling, binding, emulsifying and foaming attributes of eggs.
MOA Foodtech’s innovation comes months after it received €14.8M from the European Innovation Council, €12.5M of which was contingent on matching funding from private investors. “We have planned the round for the end of next year, and we already have more than 50% of the required private investment committed,” Emparanza told Green Queen last month.
He was speaking after the launch of the MOA Box, a turkey service for manufacturers that uses its AI and fermentation tech to produce upcycled starch ingredients without the typical cost, time and regulatory barriers.
“With our AI platform and fermentation expertise, we can offer a fast, de-risked, end-to-end solution that transforms waste into new revenue streams,” the CEO explained. “It allows our partners to unlock value, improve sustainability performance, and differentiate their portfolios, while positioning MOA at the centre of a circular, scalable, and economically attractive ingredient ecosystem.”
The European Food Safety Authority has published a positive scientific opinion recognising The Protein Brewery’s Fermotein ingredient as safe for use, the penultimate step before it can enter the EU market.
Weeks after closing a Series B fundraise and stating its mycoprotein was in the “final stage of approval” in the EU, Dutch food tech startup The Protein Brewery is one step away from entering the European market.
The firm has received a positive opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which states that its novel food ingredient, Fermotein, is safe for use under the proposed conditions.
A whole-cell bioproduct derived from Rhizomucor pusillus, an extremophilic fungal strain that can deal with low pH levels and high temperatures, Fermotein is rich in protein and fibre, and is targeted towards the active nutrition, better-for-you snacking, and GLP-1 markets. It’s already approved in Singapore and the US.
The EFSA’s Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens concluded that the information provided by The Protein Brewery raised no safety or genotoxicity concerns, and confirmed its low allergenicity. Now, the European Commission and member states will prepare a draft based on the EFSA’s scientific output to integrate Fermotein into the novel foods catalogue, authorising it for sale across the bloc.
The development comes more than five years after the startup first filed for approval. “As we were pioneers, the process took maybe a bit longer than expected, but it paid off, and we would like to thank the EFSA for the collaboration throughout our novel food dossier process,” said Yvonne Dommels, its nutrition and regulatory affairs director.
The Protein Brewery eyes GLP-1 market with fibre-rich mycoprotein
Courtesy: The Protein Brewery
Founded in 2020 as part of a demerger of industrial biotech company BioscienZ BV, The Protein Brewery is working to commercialise low-cost, low-carbon ingredients that turn low-nutritive crops into nutritional powerhouse products.
Its first solution is Fermotein, which is grown in fermentation tanks under specific conditions, before being sieved and pasteurised, then de-watered and dried. The resulting biomass is milled to achieve the desired particle size and packed in bags to be shipped to its customers.
The powdered ingredient is rich in dietary fibre to support the immune system and healthy cholesterol levels, and has a complete amino acid protein profile. In fact, it yields 26 times more protein than meat, five times more than soy, and four times more than pea protein. On the climate front, compared to beef, it uses just 1% of the land, consumes 5% of the water and releases 3% of the emissions.
Moreover, Fermotein has a natural flavour, smell and colour, enabling food companies to use it without masking agents in a wide variety of applications – think high-protein drinks, nutrition bars, non-dairy milks and yoghurts, and protein-boosted pancakes, tortilla chips, muffins, and more.
It’s produced in The Protein Brewery’s pilot plant in Mijkenbroek, Breda, which can churn out 100kg of the mycoprotein daily. It is already working with several manufacturers to bring its ingredient to market in the US and Europe, including Nepra Foods and CK Ingredients.
Moreover, the startup is exploring the potential of Fermotein as a natural GLP-1 booster, targeting a lucrative space that has turned the food industry on its head. With its high fibre and protein content, it’s well-suited to users of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, who lose muscle mass much faster and place a greater emphasis on gut health.
Fermotein to deliver ‘significant revenue growth’ in 2026
Courtesy: The Protein Brewery
The Protein Brewery self-affirmed Fermotein’s status as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) in the US in 2021; with that rule set to be scrapped next year, it has notified the Food and Drug Administration in pursuit of a ‘no questions’ letter. This is expected in the first half of 2026.
The company has raised around $60M to date, thanks to a $35M Series B round in September, whose investors included Novo Holdings, the parent company of Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk.
Speaking to Green Queen at the time, CEO Thijs Bosch suggested that the startup was close to approval in the UK too. Additionally, it exhibited during the Agri-Food Tech Expo Asia in Singapore last month, where it’s working with a distribution partner to scale faster.
According to the firm, the EFSA’s scientific output reaffirms the potential of Fermotein, and is an “important step” in commercialising the fermented protein with its “new customers and partners in Europe”. Combined with the funding and two key board appointments, it expects “significant revenue growth in 2026 and a need to expand its fermentation capacity in the coming months”.
“The Protein Brewery sees tremendous potential to enhance the nutritional landscape of everyday food and drink choices for the busy and ageing European population,” said Bosch. “We recognise the trend towards convenience-driven food choices and a stronger reliance on healthy and sustainable nutrition, which are high in protein and fibre.
“By incorporating Fermotein into these and more traditional dishes, we will increase their nutritional value, enriching them with protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals without compromising on taste and texture,” he added.
“We are very pleased with this incredible milestone for The Protein Brewery and the EU food industry as a whole, for the first-ever fungal biomass to go through the novel food system,” noted Dommels.
Regulatory expert Stephen O’Rourke explains why the global future food industry could learn a thing from Dubai’s RegLab model.
If foodtech is going to scale globally, the next breakthroughs will not come from bioreactors or cell lines. They will come from regulation, and more specifically, from a shift in regulatory mindset. That was hard to ignore last week at the Dubai International Food Safety Conference (DIFSC 2025).
Dubai brought together an unusually diverse mix of voices: regulators, FAO leaders, innovators, scientists, municipal officials, and founders. In most countries, these groups orbit each other politely. In Dubai, they shared the same room and asked direct questions about what is required to deliver safe, scalable, and trusted food innovation.
One theme resurfaced repeatedly, not only in my talk but also during my panel with Dr Markus Lipp (FAO) and Andrew Wilson, and in countless conversations across the event:
Regulatory sandboxes are not shortcuts.
They are structured environments for shared learning, and one of the most important tools the future of food will rely on. Dubai has made the urgency of the topic unavoidable.
Food safety as soft power
Courtesy: Stephen O’Rourke
While Europe debates impact assessments and North America deals with fragmentation between federal and state responsibilities, Dubai is building something different: regulatory capability as national infrastructure.
Food safety here is not treated as a bureaucratic burden. It is positioned as a strategic asset and a form of soft power that signals the UAE’s intention to be a safe, trusted, globally connected food hub.
This matters because most regulatory delays in foodtech do not stem from the science. They stem from uncertainty over who decides what, how risk is interpreted, which evidence is considered relevant, and how predictable the pathway is.
Dubai is addressing these gaps directly, using tools that reduce uncertainty at the source.
In my talk, I used a line that drew an immediate reaction: “Innovators often feel like they are sprinting while regulators are walking.”
This was not criticism. It was a description of reality. Startups must move quickly. Regulators must move carefully. Without mechanisms to bring these two tempos together, the result is predictable: stalled dossiers, shifting expectations, avoidable rework, longer timelines, and frustration for everyone involved.
This is where regulatory sandboxes show their value.
What the UAE is doing: the RegLab model
A point that many outside the region overlook is that the UAE already operates a legally backed regulatory sandbox through the federal RegLab initiative.
RegLab flips the traditional model on its head. It allows regulators and innovators to test new technologies before the rules are written. Most jurisdictions legislate first and test later. The UAE is testing first and regulating with evidence.
Based on DIFSC discussions and insights from Dubai Municipality, RegLab provides three important advantages:
Early visibility for regulators: Instead of assessing novel technologies from a static dossier, authorities can observe them in controlled pilots. This reduces blind spots and accelerates understanding.
Less uncertainty for innovators: Founders can deal with strict requirements. What they cannot manage is unpredictability. RegLab allows companies to generate real-world data with government oversight, avoiding the mid-process shifts that often complicate the EU Novel Foods pathway.
Regulation informed by real conditions: RegLab is not about speed. It is about insight. Regulators learn what actually works and design rules around that evidence.
RegLab is similar to the way innovation is governed in sectors such as fintech and medical devices, where supervised pilots and early testing are considered routine.
It is particularly well-suited to foodtech. This sector combines biological uncertainty, population-wide exposure, and the need for public trust. In that context, supervised real-world testing is not optional. It is essential.
RegLab reflects an agile regulatory mindset. It does not lower standards. It reduces unknowns.
Sandboxes aren’t new – and that matters
Courtesy: Mosa Meat
It is positive to see more organisations, including at the EU level, acknowledging the value of regulatory sandboxes. Conversations about this have grown across the European Parliament and several future-focused think tanks.
But sandboxes themselves are not new.
The UAE introduced its federal RegLab initiative several years ago, applying sandbox-style regulation across multiple sectors.
Singapore has relied on sandbox-style early engagement from the beginning of its novel foods framework, even if it does not formally label it a sandbox.
Food tech innovation runs ahead of static regulatory structures. The system has been signalling the need for this shift for a long time. Only now is momentum catching up.
The EU novel food system is changing, slowly but meaningfully
While the UAE continues to test and adapt through RegLab, Europe is making adjustments of its own.
In late 2025 and early 2026, EFSA and the European Commission will introduce new measures for the Novel Food pathway, including a pre-publication notification process, stricter timelines (including “three strikes” for unanswered RFIs), limits on extensions, faster completeness checks, and reduced acceptance of late evidence.
These changes will not resolve Europe’s core issue of unpredictability. However, they do show that early alignment and consistent expectations are now recognised as essential.
It is also worth noting that updates like these are never purely technical. They reflect the political pressure on EFSA and the European Commission to demonstrate predictability, transparency, and tighter process control at a time when novel foods have become a policy battleground.
As one regulator in Dubai remarked: “Innovation slows not because the bar is high, but because the bar is not visible.”
Europe’s reforms are, in their own way, an attempt to make that bar more visible.
Courtesy: European Food Safety Authority
The role of early scientific advice
In both Europe and the UAE, one principle remains true: 20 minutes of early scientific advice can save a year of misaligned studies.
Early alignment is the difference between a dossier that moves and one that stalls. In systems like the UAE’s RegLab or Singapore’s early-engagement model, companies know what evidence regulators consider meaningful before they invest heavily in studies.
Europe often provides this clarity only after the data has already been generated. That timing gap explains much of the frustration that founders experience and much of the delay that regulators cannot easily prevent.
Europe’s structure adds to this challenge. EFSA evaluates safety, the Commission manages the process, and Member States approve the final step. With responsibilities split across institutions, early scientific advice is available in theory but difficult in practice. The result is a system where predictability depends as much on navigation skills as on science.
This is not a criticism of Europe’s expertise. It is a reflection of how its machinery works.
Europe’s challenges and opportunities
Europe has strengths that the UAE does not: long-standing institutions, deep scientific heritage, transparent review mechanisms, and strong legal safeguards. These are foundations that many countries would envy.
But Europe also has a persistent weakness: it still lacks simple, predictable early-entry pathways for innovators.
Dubai, Singapore, the UK, and the Netherlands have moved quickly to design systems that welcome innovators early. Europe still treats early engagement as the exception. That difference in approach slows innovation, not because Europe is less capable, but because its system expects alignment to happen late rather than early.
The lesson is not that one region is ahead of another. It is that mindset and tools matter.
Systems built around visibility, predictability, and early alignment consistently outperform systems built around late judgment. When innovators understand what regulators expect, regulators receive better evidence, and society receives safer, more thoroughly validated products.
Europe can do this too. The scientific excellence is there. What is missing is a structure that allows innovators and regulators to meet earlier, share understanding earlier, and close uncertainty earlier. The opportunity is enormous.
A global call to action
Courtesy: WAM
None of this is accidental. The UAE’s progress on regulatory agility, including the federal RegLab initiative and other sandbox approaches across the region, reflects sustained national investment in innovation governance.
At the DIFSC level, the work done by the Dubai Municipality Food Safety team deserves recognition.Their openness and willingness to connect innovators, regulators, and global experts is a major reason Dubai is becoming a regional reference point for more collaborative regulatory approaches.
It complements the UAE’s broader commitment to building a regulatory system capable of learning at the same speed as the technologies it governs.
Dubai demonstrated something important. The future of food will be shaped not only by science or investment, but by regulatory mindset.
Regulatory sandboxes are not experimental add-ons. They are practical tools that reduce uncertainty for regulators and innovators without weakening safety. They create shared understanding, build trust, and make regulatory decisions more predictable.
If foodtech is going to scale, we need regulatory systems that learn as quickly as the technologies they oversee. RegLab is one model. The UK is building another. More will follow. The direction of travel is clear. The question is who will act with intent, and who will wait.
Governments should not wait for perfect rules. They should create structured environments where rules can be informed by real evidence.
Innovation does not need lower standards. It needs fewer unknowns. If governments build systems that learn, adapt, and engage early, then innovation will not have to fight the system.
It will finally have a system designed to help it succeed.
France’s Edonia turns green spirulina into a brown mince with as much protein as beef and a much smaller environmental footprint than soy. Now, it will be part of 10,000 catering meals, having secured €15M worth of commercial deals.
Can microalgae really be the answer to the protein boom?
They’ve been under Big Food’s spotlight for some years now, thanks to a virtually abundant supply of raw materials and tremendous sustainability credentials.
Now, one startup is taking things up a notch, using these marine organisms to foray into the booming protein sector. Based in Paris, Edonia has developed a process to transform spirulina (the green microalgae that has made its name as a superfood) and chlorella (a single-celled source of protein) into a complete protein with more branched-chain amino acids and iron than beef.
The technology turns the spirulina into a soft-textured brown mince called Edo-1. It is minimally processed, free from additives, and has an ultra-low carbon footprint. In just a year, the startup has scaled up from lab to production and pre-sold several thousand tonnes of its ingredients, totalling €15M in pre-contracted revenue.
Now, as it gears up to raise its Series A round, it has partnered with Newrest, a global catering giant, to deliver over 10,000 meals made from its spirulina mince across multiple sites.
“Edo-1 is a ready-to-use ingredient delivered frozen to Newrest’s central kitchen. Chefs can easily integrate it into any recipe of their choice without hydrating, cooking, or thawing it – they simply add it directly to the dish,” Hugo Valentin, co-founder and CEO of Edonia, tells Green Queen.
‘We go beyond the idea of simply replacing meat: our mission is to build a more plant-forward, appetising, and nutritious food offering.”
Edo-1 tackles UPF and fortification concerns around plant-based proteins
Courtesy: Lilie Bedos
Valentin founded Edonia with Pierre Mignon and Nicolas Irlinger in 2023, aiming to reinvent the consumer experience of microalgae “through food science and deep technology”.
“Our patented Edonization process transforms microalgae biomass into a delicious, ready-to-use protein ingredient called Edo. Edonization changes the colour, taste, and texture of spirulina, turning it into a brown, fluffy grain with a natural umami flavour – without any of the typical algae off-notes. No one could tell it comes from spirulina,” says Valentin.
“We achieve this without using any additives: no texturising agents, no flavours. Unlike most plant-based approaches, we don’t use conventional fermentation, extrusion, or enzymatic treatments. Instead, we developed a proprietary clean process with AgroParisTech’s research lab, already scaled up at our pilot plant in France,” he adds.
“With this flavourful, textured whole ingredient (no extraction), made entirely from spirulina, we offer the cleanest and most nutritious ready-to-eat protein ingredient on the market, officially recognized under our ‘simple ingredient’ claim.”
Edo-1 has 27g of protein per 100g, with all essential amino acids and a PDCAAS score of 0.97. In addition, it boasts 20mg of bioavailable iron per 100g, much higher than beef or soy, with Valentin labelling it “the most iron-rich natural food ingredient available today”. Plus, it has a climate footprint of 1.95kg of CO2e, which is 27 times lower than beef and 2.5 times smaller than soy mince for the same amount of protein.
These attributes help fill a gap left by current plant-based protein options. More and more people are consuming protein now, and animal-derived options still tend to be the dominant sources, despite their negative impact on public and planetary health. However, meat alternatives have lost their momentum recently, with many consumers still wary about incomplete and/or insufficient protein content, as well as ultra-processing.
Most plant-based meats need to be fortified with iron, and that is a major pain point for these products, with one review suggesting that only a third of such offerings are fortified with the micronutrient. By harnessing spirulina, long recognised as a superfood, Edonia is rising to the occasion with its first ingredient.
“With Edo, we aim to make them practical for manufacturers and appealing to consumers,” says Valentin. “We are moving forward with determination to promote more plant-based eating, offering a natural and accessible alternative, far from the ultra-processed products that mimic meat.”
Edo plots Series A funding for industrial-scale facility
Courtesy: Lilie Bedos
The partnership with Newrest is part of its scale-up plans. Edonia notes that foodservice operators are increasingly looking to add alternative proteins to their menus, especially ones that offer a blend of enhanced nutrition, taste and variety, while being easy to use and in line with tight budgets.
So how will Newrest’s customers, which include students and leisure centre guests, experience Edo-1 in their meals? “The first recipe is a plant-based bolognese sauce served with pasta, soon to be followed by a hachis parmentier (a French-style shepherd’s pie),” says Valentin.
“Since Edo is not a meat look-alike but a new, versatile textured protein ingredient, the possibilities are endless. It can be used in stuffed tomatoes, ravioli, dal, curry, salads, pies, soups, purées, and more. Edo is also used in combination with animal proteins to create hybrid products, or even in chocolate cakes to develop delicious protein-fortified recipes for socio-medical food.”
The Newrest collaboration is one of several agreements Edonia has signed with leading food manufacturers. “With most of them, we’ve successfully moved from R&D to pilot-scale testing and product launch preparation,” says Valentin, noting that the launch details are still under wraps. “Most of our partners are based in Europe, and we’re now beginning to sign agreements in Asia as well.”
He adds: “Some of them are among the largest food manufacturers in the world, all stating that they’ve never seen such a flavorful microalgae-based product, nor this level of nutritional performance in a clean, whole ingredient. As a result, several of them are willing to sign offtake agreements to secure volumes from our upcoming industrial unit.”
Edonia has patented its production process and finalised the design of its upcoming facility this year, and is now planning a Series A fundraise for early 2026. “The amount is still to be confirmed, but the objective is to finance the next stage of our industrial scale-up,” Valentin says.
Given the funding challenges of alternative proteins in the last couple of years, how does he manage to attract investors? “We have managed to achieve significant milestones and momentum,” he says.
“[This includes] strong market traction, as the new generation of plant-based products shifts towards naturalness, authenticity, and clean nutrition; [a] breakthrough proprietary technology redefining industry standards and addressing these trends; solid commercial proof points with major food industry players validating our offering; [and] proven industrial execution with a clear path to profitable large-scale production.”
