In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Impossible Foods’s Mufasa Lion King appearance, new Veganuary products, and Wow Burger’s deal to enter India.
New products and launches
At the world premiere of Mufasa Lion King in Los Angeles, celebrities and guests were served the new Lion King nuggets by Impossible Foods.
Courtesy: Peter McGuinness/LinkedIn
Plant-based milk leader Califia Farms has launched single-serve matcha latte and chai lattes (made from a base of almonds), which contain 40% less sugar than average coffee and tea blends on the market.
Vegan sneaker and apparel brand LØCI has opened a physical pop-up in Future Stores, a retail theatre for immersive shopping experiences in London’s Oxford Circus.
Courtesy: LØCI
UK vegan food producer Moving Mountains has rolled out a new superfood range to complement its meat analogues. It includes burgers, sausages, crispy dippers, crispy burgers, and falafel, which will be available at wholesale supplier Brakes from January.
The Tofoo Co, meanwhile, is bringing out Tofu Dippers, Sweet Chilli Cubes, Italian-Style Veggie Balls, and a Stir-Fry Block ahead of Veganuary 2025.
Courtesy: Aldi
Also in the UK, discount retailer Aldi has released its biggest-ever vegan Veganuary lineup under its Plant Menu brand, ranging from vegan liquid eggs and ‘gut health’ chicken smash burgers to kimchi koftas and pizza slices. They’re available from December 30, and – true to form – the prices start at £1.49.
French vegan chain Green Farmer’s has teamed up with influencer Mélanie en Véganie to create a limited-edition Frosty menu (featuring a burger, fries, brownie and winter sauce) for its Paris and Amsterdam locations and delivery menu until March 6.
Israeli alt-dairy startup Better Pulse has introduced an allergen-free yoghurt made from black-eyed peas.
As part of its Blue Green Project, Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart has launched four new products under its plant-based product range, a Mont Blanc, a soy latte financier, a keema curry, and a bibimbap-style rice ball.
Company and finance updates
Hong Kong-based vegetarian fast-casual chain Wow Burger is entering India through a partnership with FranGlobal, the international business arm of Franchise India. They aim to open 100 outlets in the next five years, starting with metropolises like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.
Courtesy: Wow Burger HK/Instagram
Also in India, Sterling Biotech, the precision fermentation company co-owned by Perfect Day and Zydus Lifesciences, has broken ground on a 27-acre facility for recombinant dairy proteins in Bharuch, Gujarat. It’s set to be operational by early 2026.
In Europe, New Wave Biotech has secured €1.5M ($1.6M) in a funding round that included EIT Food and Innovate UK. Having launched an AI bioprocess simulation software to scale up alternative proteins last month, it will use the funds to expand its team and customer base.
Courtesy: Planted
Swiss meat analogue maker Planted has received a media-for-equity investment in the “mid-single-digit millions” from SevenVentures, the VC arm of ProSiebenSat.1 Media.
Danish startup Unibio, a fellow fermentation player, has unveiled a fresh brand identity to focus on its mission of full-scale commercialisation.
Courtesy: Orbillion Bio
Californian cultivated meat from Orbillion Bio has successfully called the production of its beef muscle cells in North America, Europe and Asia, added former Nestlé and DSM executive Dr Thomas Beck to its board of directors.
Policy, research and awards
Californian startup The Every Company, which produces precision-fermented egg proteins, has received a patent from the European Union for its recombinant ovalbumin ingredient, extending its IP portfolio in a major market.
University of Adelaide PhD candidate Mel Nguyen has been awarded the institute’s Trending on VYT (Visualise Your Thesis) honour for her research into turning food waste into durable bioplastics.
Finally, in Europe, vegan pork maker La Vie has won the Top Launch of the Year award from The Grocer.
In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Impossible Foods’s Mufasa Lion King appearance, new Veganuary products, and Wow Burger’s deal to enter India.
New products and launches
At the world premiere of Mufasa Lion King in Los Angeles, celebrities and guests were served the new Lion King nuggets by Impossible Foods.
Courtesy: Peter McGuinness/LinkedIn
Plant-based milk leader Califia Farms has launched single-serve matcha latte and chai lattes (made from a base of almonds), which contain 40% less sugar than average coffee and tea blends on the market.
Vegan sneaker and apparel brand LØCI has opened a physical pop-up in Future Stores, a retail theatre for immersive shopping experiences in London’s Oxford Circus.
Courtesy: LØCI
UK vegan food producer Moving Mountains has rolled out a new superfood range to complement its meat analogues. It includes burgers, sausages, crispy dippers, crispy burgers, and falafel, which will be available at wholesale supplier Brakes from January.
The Tofoo Co, meanwhile, is bringing out Tofu Dippers, Sweet Chilli Cubes, Italian-Style Veggie Balls, and a Stir-Fry Block ahead of Veganuary 2025.
Courtesy: Aldi
Also in the UK, discount retailer Aldi has released its biggest-ever vegan Veganuary lineup under its Plant Menu brand, ranging from vegan liquid eggs and ‘gut health’ chicken smash burgers to kimchi koftas and pizza slices. They’re available from December 30, and – true to form – the prices start at £1.49.
French vegan chain Green Farmer’s has teamed up with influencer Mélanie en Véganie to create a limited-edition Frosty menu (featuring a burger, fries, brownie and winter sauce) for its Paris and Amsterdam locations and delivery menu until March 6.
Israeli alt-dairy startup Better Pulse has introduced an allergen-free yoghurt made from black-eyed peas.
As part of its Blue Green Project, Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart has launched four new products under its plant-based product range, a Mont Blanc, a soy latte financier, a keema curry, and a bibimbap-style rice ball.
Company and finance updates
Hong Kong-based vegetarian fast-casual chain Wow Burger is entering India through a partnership with FranGlobal, the international business arm of Franchise India. They aim to open 100 outlets in the next five years, starting with metropolises like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.
Courtesy: Wow Burger HK/Instagram
Also in India, Sterling Biotech, the precision fermentation company co-owned by Perfect Day and Zydus Lifesciences, has broken ground on a 27-acre facility for recombinant dairy proteins in Bharuch, Gujarat. It’s set to be operational by early 2026.
In Europe, New Wave Biotech has secured €1.5M ($1.6M) in a funding round that included EIT Food and Innovate UK. Having launched an AI bioprocess simulation software to scale up alternative proteins last month, it will use the funds to expand its team and customer base.
Courtesy: Planted
Swiss meat analogue maker Planted has received a media-for-equity investment in the “mid-single-digit millions” from SevenVentures, the VC arm of ProSiebenSat.1 Media.
Danish startup Unibio, a fellow fermentation player, has unveiled a fresh brand identity to focus on its mission of full-scale commercialisation.
Courtesy: Orbillion Bio
Californian cultivated meat from Orbillion Bio has successfully called the production of its beef muscle cells in North America, Europe and Asia, added former Nestlé and DSM executive Dr Thomas Beck to its board of directors.
Policy, research and awards
Californian startup The Every Company, which produces precision-fermented egg proteins, has received a patent from the European Union for its recombinant ovalbumin ingredient, extending its IP portfolio in a major market.
University of Adelaide PhD candidate Mel Nguyen has been awarded the institute’s Trending on VYT (Visualise Your Thesis) honour for her research into turning food waste into durable bioplastics.
Finally, in Europe, vegan pork maker La Vie has won the Top Launch of the Year award from The Grocer.
Arborea has closed a €5M ($5.2M) investment round to build a facility for its Biosolar Leaf system, which industrialises photosynthesis to create high-value microalgae proteins.
Anglo-Portuguese startup Arborea is building a commercial-scale facility for a microalgae protein system that uses sunlight as an infinite feedstock, sequesters carbon, and releases breathable oxygen – all while feeding a global population set to approach 10 billion by 2050.
To supercharge these efforts, the firm has raised €5M ($5.2M) as part of an investment round led by Indico Capital Partners, with participation from Banco Português de Fomento.
It takes the 2015-founded startup’s total VC funding to $9.5M, in addition to grants worth $4.5M by several bodies, including the European Innovation Council.
The fresh capital injection will allow Arborea to scale up its Biosolar Leaf platform, which can cultivate any of the 50,000 microscopic plants discovered – including microalgae, blue-green algae and diatoms – without the need for fertile farmland or agricultural feedstocks, resulting in a fraction of a climate footprint compared to not just livestock, but even plants like soy.
“The investment in Arborea will have a transformative impact on the food industry, particularly in replacing animal protein,” said Stephan de Moraes, managing general partner at Indico Capital. “The Biosolar Leaf cultivation system from microalgae enables the production of a higher quantity of protein compared to any other food production method, including agriculture and animal production.”
Biosolar Leaf system industrialises photosynthesis
Courtesy: Arborea
Arborea was founded by Imperial College alum Julian Melchiorri nearly a decade ago, and makes a range of proteins for applications in food and drinks, nutrition products, supplements, as well as cosmetics.
They’re made from what the startup describes as the “only carbon-neutral plant biomass on the market”. The Bisolar Leaf technology is inspired by photosynthesis, using one acre of units to absorb carbon and release oxygen 100 times more than an average forest of the same size.
The modular, soil-free system can sequester CO2 directly from air, making it suitable to be sited on any surface, even barren land and rooftops. It can also be co-located with carbon-producing processes without the costly compression of CO2 required by many other cultivation technologies.
The way the food system uses land today is highly inefficient. To feed the current population, we’ve had to convert land from nature to agriculture, which accelerates biodiversity loss. But forecasts show that we’d need to convert an area the size of Africa – in addition to the land we’re currently using for food – to feed the global population by 2050.
That is unsustainable, and dangerous for the future of the planet. Most of the world’s agricultural land (80%) is used to feed livestock, or produce meat and dairy. Arborea claims that its platform requires 5,000 times less land and 40 times less water than livestock, while generating a mere fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions of beef.
Moreover, the Biosolar Lead system is also said to use 100 times less land and five times less water than soy, the majority of whose supply is reserved for animal feed. In fact, it only requires an area of non-fertile land the size of the New York metropolitan area to meet the proteins demand for 2050.
Plus, by minimising freshwater use, Arborea helps balance the difference between freshwater withdrawals and replenishment. It also ensures there are no nutrient runoffs, which can build up in lakes, rivers, and coastal waters, affecting natural ecosystems.
Protein ingredient for a range of applications
Courtesy: Arborea
Arborea’s current range includes a line of functional proteins, a Pure Blue powder, and an Ultra Pure Spirulina. Among the former is the Novo functional protein, an egg alternative that has the same emulsifying and binding properties, but without the food safety and price volatility issues. It can be used in baked goods, vegan egg formulations, and plant-based meat.
Its Amino Water is an ultra-soluble ingredient to deliver the right amount of all essential amino acids into liquid products like milk alternatives and functional waters.
Meanwhile, the Pure Concentrate contains at least 75% protein with a full amino acid profile, alongside iron, vitamins and minerals to deliver optimal nutrition in food and beverage products.
Outside the functional protein lineup, the Pure Blue powder is a blue pigment protein with superior antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, such as the reduction of free radicals and oxidative damage, immune system support, and detoxification. The high purity results in a vivid blue hue that can add functional health attributes and naturally colour products like ice cream, confectionery, dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, beverages, and more.
And the Ultra Pure Spirulina is a deep-green powder with at least 70% complete protein and essential micronutrients. It helps control blood glucose levels, lowers LDL cholesterol, aids weight regulation, and reduces skin ageing, among others. The ingredient can be used in both human and infant nutrition applications, as well as nutraceuticals, supplements, and cosmetics.
Arborea’s fresh funding will help it scale the Biosolar Leaf system that these products are extracted out of. Separately, it’s also working with the UK’s Natural Resources Institute and Imperial College London on a two-year project to create microalgae proteins with a superior taste profile.
“This funding marks a pivotal step in our mission to revolutionise food production through our Biosolar Leaf technology,” said Melchiorri, who is the CEO. “By sustainably and carbon-negatively producing multifunctional protein – clean in taste, colour, and adaptable to diverse food applications – we are tackling two of the world’s most pressing challenges: food security and climate change.”
French consumers are eating more legumes, vegetables, and vegan meat and dairy – but concerns about prices and health are major barriers to the latter.
Veggie burgers have been at the centre of a fierce debate in France, where legislators have been trying to ban companies from using meat-related terms on plant-based products. Their efforts are proving to be unsuccessful, with the proposal being reprimanded by the EU’s highest court.
But while meat analogues continue to divide opinion in the republic, whole foods like legumes and grains enjoy a more favourable perception among the French.
Having grown up on boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin, meat still remains king in France. But more than a third (35%) of its residents now rate legumes and pulses among the richest sources of protein, and two-thirds (66%) eat foods like beans, grains, lentils and wheat weekly, according to a new survey.
This is driven by a perception that these foods are healthy (a view shared by 73% of respondents), natural (67%), and contribute to a balanced diet (66%).
While separate research suggests that meat intake has fallen over the last two decades, this poll reveals that nearly a quarter (23%) of French nationals have been eating more legumes recently, with 34% citing their nutritional benefits as the key consumption driver. That said, 27% of them are unaware of these health gains, and 44% are not familiar with the environmental advantages of these foods over animal proteins.
Courtesy: Tijana Drndarski/Unsplash
It’s reflective of a larger challenge facing the plant protein ecosystem – six in 10 people in France aren’t familiar with vegan alternatives to meat and dairy, and two-thirds view them as trendy. Crucially, 44% feel they don’t taste as good as animal proteins.
“French consumers often lack sufficient knowledge about nutritional recommendations. The benefits of plant-based proteins, while significant, remain underappreciated and misunderstood by the broader public (daily protein intake, how to combine them, etc.),” says Alice Meullemiestre, CEO of plant-based consortium Protéines France, which conducted the survey in collaboration with vegetable oil and proteins association Terres Univia.
The 1,000-person poll is the seventh edition of their joint Consumer Barometer project, which aims to analyse the knowledge, perceptions, and practices of French consumers around traditional plant proteins as well as novel sources.
Why the French are swayed by cost and nutrition
The survey revealed that 65% of French consumers still identify as omnivores, but the number of flexitarians is growing and now makes up 31% of the population.
A quarter of respondents say they’ve changed their eating habits. For 45% of this section, rising costs have been the primary motivator for this shift. Health and nutrition concerns have pushed another 41% to do so, while 11% have changed how they eat to reduce their environmental impact (diets are responsible for 22% of France’s emissions).
At the same time, French people’s dietary priorities revolve around balanced nutrition (cited by 59%), diversity in food products (47%), and seasonality (43%). And over a third of them are eating more vegetables now.
Meullemiestre believes the importance of cost and nutrition is driven by both economic and societal factors. “Many consumers are facing an economic context of inflation, making affordability a key consideration in their food choices,” she says.
Courtesy: Swap
“Simultaneously, there is growing attention to the quality of diets, with individuals prioritising nutritionally balanced foods that contribute to their health and carefully considering the origin and sustainability of the products they consume. This has brought plant-based proteins into focus, as they are often perceived as healthier, more sustainable, and cost-effective options.”
France’s citizens eat about 1,600g of meat per week, much higher than the current dietary guidelines, which recommend a maximum of 500g of red meat and 150g of processed meat weekly.
The French Nutrition Society (SFN), a group that comprises public and private sector nutrition experts, has called on the government to suggest cutting meat consumption by at least 25% each week – a total of 450g – in the forthcoming update to the national guidelines.
But the poll suggests that French consumers generally remain poorly informed about nutritional guidelines, with three in four not knowing the daily protein recommended.
Meeting labelling expectations can drive plant-based consumption
Interest in plant-based products is growing, with a quarter of people eating meat and dairy alternatives weekly, and 14% doing so several times a week – a three-point increase from the 2022 and 2022 Consumer Barometers.
French consumers seem to have a sweet tooth, with 31% consuming vegan desserts at least weekly. This is followed by meat analogues (28%), ready meals (22%) and plant-based milk (22%).
The respondents also showcased an interest in newer protein sources, albeit with some caution. Half would be willing to try products derived from algae, while four in 10 say the same for mycelium or yeast-based proteins.
But as indicated above, there’s a knowledge gap around the nutrition and sustainability of plant proteins, combined with a perceived inferior taste. So how can brands overcome this barrier?
One way would be to meet consumers’ expectations on product labelling – though, with the legislative battle around meaty terms, this remains a thorny subject. The survey found that France’s population places high emphasis on ingredient lists, with 47% of respondents calling them key purchase drivers.
Courtesy: La Vie
Similarly, the origin of products and ingredients is important for 41%, and vegan labels and certifications like Nutri-Score are key for another 37%. Nutritional information, meanwhile, on food products influences a further 35%.
“Consumers need transparency and to be informed,” says Meullemiestre. “Addressing this gap is a priority for Protéines France and Terres Univia. Together, we are working to improve consumer education through enhanced communication, awareness campaigns, and broader initiatives to promote plant-based proteins, aiming to engage and better inform the public.”
She adds: “We are investing in educational initiatives to raise awareness of the nutritional, environmental, and economic benefits of these solutions. Diversifying product offerings and improving their accessibility in terms of taste, affordability, and availability is a critical focus. Significant efforts are being made to innovate in taste and texture, which remain vital factors for gaining broader consumer acceptance.”
Sustain-a-bite, a project funded by the EU and Switzerland, aims to develop minimally processed plant-based products from whole grains and food waste.
As ultra-processed food (UPF) takes over people’s apprehension about the way they eat, and plant-based meat gets caught in the crossfire, Sustain-a-bite is a new initiative aiming to turn the industrial food system on its head.
“Since the Industrial Revolution, we’ve focused on stripping nutrients (e.g. dietary fibre, vitamins, and other health-promoting compounds) from grains to improve taste and texture,” says Nesli Sözer, coordinator of Sustain-a-bite.
“Now, Sustain-a-bite is flipping the script – bringing them back with natural, innovative processes for healthier, tastier plant-based foods, without relying on artificial ingredients or preservatives.”
Funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe programme and the Swiss government, the three-year project brings together 19 universities, food companies, and industry experts to develop minimally processed plant-based foods from whole grains and agricultural sidestreams.
It comes as 65% of Europeans remain concerned about the health implications of UPFs, and less than a third believe some of these products can be healthy – contrary to many nutritionists’ warning that the UPF classification has nothing to do with nutrition. Meanwhile, more than half of these consumers are avoiding plant-based meat because of their link to UPFs.
Courtesy: EIT Food Consumer Observatory
Sustain-a-bite to make minimally processed meat alternatives
The Sustain-a-bite initiative is targeting not just better nutrition and sustainability, but also a stronger economy and policy framework for a climate-friendly food system.
The project will look to create plant-based proteins using whole grains like barley, faba beans and chickpeas, as well as upcycled byproducts like apple, carrot and tomato pomaces. It will combine natural processes like fermentation and seed activation with non-thermal technologies to retain the natural attributes of the raw materials, and reduce waste, energy use and water consumption.
Its approach will focus on ingredients for plant-based meat, yoghurts, spreads, baked snacks and smoothies, which are rich in protein, fibre, vitamins and other essential nutrients and contain low levels of saturated fats, added sugars and “antinutritional factors”. Additionally, the use of predictive models would help enhance health and safety benefits by promoting satiety, digestibility, nutrient bioavailability, and a healthy gut microbiome.
“Our mission is to deliver technology solutions that enable healthier, more accessible and appealing plant-based food options, respecting European food traditions while promoting sustainability,” said Sözer, a research professor at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, which is coordinating the Sustain-a-bite project.
The effort is said to align with the EU’s Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategy, though these have been derailed over the last few years through intensive lobbying efforts from livestock interest groups.
By implementing its goals, it aims to increase access to wholesome plant-based options, which have been found to reduce the risk of chronic conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Boosting the availability of minimally processed plant proteins will also help lower greenhouse gas emissions, water use, nitrogen pollution, and land use.
Courtesy: Dimarik/Getty Image, Alessandro0770/Getty Images, Canva AI Composite by Green Queen
Agriculture in sharp focus in the EU
Sustain-a-bite will assess the circularity, environmental, health, and economic impacts of its approach and evaluate scenarios where diets rich in minimally processed plant-based foods replace less nutritious animal proteins.
Success would mean catering to what Europeans want from their food: flavourful, accessible, affordable, and tailored to cultural heritage. Currently, only 27% of them think meat alternatives are better for the planet, while 57% think the opposite – despite evidence showing that meat and dairy account for 84% of the EU’s agriculture emissions.
The EU is keen to highlight another dimension to the project. It uses domestic raw materials, and the processes to manufacture these foods are designed to be easily accessible and adaptable for use by both small local businesses and large companies. The idea is to leverage short food value chains to boost the region’s economy, while attracting investment and employment in the bio-based industry.
The Sustain-a-bite scheme, which will run until the end of March 2028, comes live just as agricultural sustainability is brought into sharp focus in the EU. The newly elected Commission is set to publish an agrifood vision within the first 100 days of the term, taking into account advice from farmer groups, food lobbies, and climate organisations published in the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture in September.
One of the key recommendations of the report was a transition to alternative proteins and the creation of an EU-wide plant-based action plan by 2026 – although agricultural commissioner Christophe Hansen has previously poured cold water on this advice.
And just last week, the EU Commission announced a €132M investment to promote “sustainable and high-quality agrifood products” both internally and in markets like Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore and North America. This includes money set aside to stimulate fresh fruit and vegetable consumption in the context of balanced diets, and programmes increasing awareness of organic and sustainable farming, along with higher animal welfare standards.
Tate & Lyle has collaborated with BioHarvest Sciences to develop plant-based sweeteners that are better for human and planetary health.
British ingredients giant Tate & Lyle – which manufactures the sugar substitute Splenda – has partnered with Canadian botanical synthesis specialist BioHarvest Sciences to develop planet-friendly, better-for-you sweeteners.
Through the collaboration, the two entities will create next-generation plant-based molecules that can help reduce the sugar content in food and beverage products, while addressing consumer demand for affordable, sustainable and nutritious sugar alternatives.
It is the latest effort in Tate & Lyle’s sugar reduction mission. A legacy sugar producer, the 165-year-old company sold its sugar business to American Sugar Refining in 2010, pivoting to produce health-forward ingredients for food and beverage manufacturers.
The company says it will leverage its years of research and applications, nutrition and regulatory expertise, to fuel the partnership, which forms part of its open innovation programme.
“Our open innovation programme is all about creating cutting-edge solutions for the food and beverage industry,” said Tate & Lyle CEO Nick Hampton. “By partnering with entrepreneurial innovators like BioHarvest, we aim to disrupt the future of food for the better.”
All the benefits of plants – without the plants
Courtesy: Tate & Lyle
For Yochi Hagay, co-founder and CTO of BioHarvest, the Tate & Lyle deal is a “major milestone” in the firm’s history. “It follows more than 15 years of intensive R&D and manufacturing scaling of our Botanical Synthesis technology process,” he said.
This Botanical Synthesis platform produces plant-based ingredients that are non-GMO, climate-friendly, and economically viable, allowing companies to scale up the production of botanical ingredients.
The process grows targeted plant cells that can mirror and magnify the phytonutrients contained in specific plants, delivering patentable molecules that present all the benefits of the plant, without having to actually grow it.
“BioHarvest provides the first and only fully validated industrial-scale plant cell technology platform for production of plant metabolites. Initial exploration will focus on our sweetener platform, but our partnership also provides for expansion into other areas,” said Victoria Spadaro-Grant, Tate & Lyle’s chief science and innovation officer.
Tate & Lyle will use BioHarvest’s technology to develop botanical sweetening ingredients that meet consumer desire for sugar-like flavours (with no aftertaste), and expand the availability of healthier and more affordable alternatives.
Ilan Sobel, CEO of BioHarvest, said Tate & Lyle’s “regulatory and nutrition expertise, industry knowledge and complementary research initiatives” will speed up the commercialisation of these future-friendly sweeteners. “We aspire to improve human wellness by availing our plant-derived molecules to hundreds of millions of people and Tate & Lyle represents an ideal partner,” he stated.
Tate & Lyle on track for sugar reduction target
Courtesy: Tate & Lyle
It might be a $66B market that employs over 100 million people, but sugar looms as a giant public health and planetary problem. Today, roughly 8% of our calories come from the ingredient, whose consumption has quadrupled in the last 60 years.
But added sugars are empty calories linked to a host of ailments, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and yes, obesity and type 2 diabetes. In the last three decades, the number of people with diabetes has doubled, and 95% of them have type 2 diabetes. And in another 10 years, half of the world could be overweight or obese.
Governments have been imploring their citizens to cut back on the sweet stuff – and not just for health. Sugarcane and sugar beets are the largest crops by mass, but their cultivation has caused massive land use changes, water uptake, and agrochemical runoffs. This, in turn, has resulted in significant biodiversity loss – but sugar’s impact on the climate has largely been overlooked.
Research suggests that keeping added sugar intake to the recommended value of 5% of daily calories (as prescribed by the WHO) would free up 483 million tonnes of sugarcane and 128 million tonnes of sugar beets, opening up opportunities for land rewilding, carbon sequestration, diversifying into non-sugar crops and increasing carbon efficiency.
According to Tate & Lyle, the sweeteners it will create with BioHarvest are set to use a “fraction of the land and water required in traditional extraction and land-based growing practices”.
And in 2020, the company set a goal to remove nine million tonnes of sugar from people’s diets by 2025 through its low- and no-calorie sweeteners and fibres. Using the volume sales of these products, Tate & Lyle calculates the equivalent amount of sugar and calories – so far, it has been able to cut out 7.9 million tonnes of sugar from diets, totalling 31 trillion calories.
Finnish food tech startup Onego Bio has submitted a formal notice to the FDA, asserting the safety of Bioalbumen, its precision-fermented egg protein.
Onego Bio is targeting the US as the first market for its recombinant egg protein, having notified the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the safety of its Bioalbumen ingredient.
The animal-free version of ovalbumin – which makes up 54% of the protein content in egg whites – is made from precision fermentation, which combines traditional fermentation processes with the latest advancements in biotechnology to produce a target compound (egg protein, in this case).
Just days ago, the company signed a letter of intent to purchase a 25.9-acre piece of land in Jefferson, Wisconsin. With an initial spend of $777,000, the agreement provides a 12-month due diligence period with two consecutive extensions of up to six months.
It comes months after Onego Bio – which currently works with co-manufacturers – received a $2M grant through the Department of Defense’s Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program, specifically to plan a facility to produce Bioalbumen in the Midwest.
“Our GRAS filing marks a significant milestone for Onego Bio, reinforcing our commitment to building a more resilient supply chain and sustainable food system,” said co-founder and CEO Maija Itkonen.
“By supplementing traditional agricultural inputs, we can help alleviate future supply chain risks and price fluctuations and provide significant benefits to human health and safety and the environment.”
How Onego Bio makes its egg protein
Courtesy: Onego Bio
Onego Bio uses a fungal strain called Trichoderma reesei to create a bioidentical version of ovalbumin, but without the chickens. It introduces the genetic blueprint of ovalbumin to the fungi cells through a scientific database that acts like a library, enabling them to produce egg proteins instead of their own.
The microbes are fed on sugar and – depending on the stage of the production process – are either starved with little food or allowed to “gorge on glucose”. This is because once they consume plenty of glucose and are then starved of it, they start sweating proteins.
The resulting Bioalbumin is then placed into a fermentation tank with water and fungal biomass. The latter is separated to procure a liquid containing the egg protein, which is then dried into a powder.
Described as a nutritionally complete protein, Bioalbumen has an identical amino acid sequence to its chicken-derived counterpart, and boasts the highest possible protein digestibility score (90g per 100g of egg white).
Meanwhile, producing the protein requires 95% less land and 97% less water compared to conventional eggs, while generating 89% fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Crucially, it protects against the rising threat of Avian flu on both public health and the egg supply chain, with frequent outbreaks amplifying the volatility of egg prices over the last few years. The startup has said that its “highly productive and scalable” tech will enable it to offer competitive pricing to chicken eggs.
Bioalbumen can be used in a variety of applications
Courtesy: Onego Bio
The GRAS notification is an important step in Onego Bio’s path to market, demonstrating that the recombinant protein complies with the FDA’s safety standards for its intended uses, which range from baked goods, snacks and confectionery to sauces, pasta, meat alternatives, and ready meals. The company has previously indicated that it expects to receive a ‘no questions’ letter from the agency in 2025.
After the purchase agreement of the Wisconsin facility (which is non-binding), a company spokesperson told BizTimes: “Onego Bio’s purpose is to advance sustainable solutions for the future of food. As we continue our mission to serve the world the perfect protein, we are focused on building world-class infrastructure that creates unmatched value for our customers and the marketplace.”
They added: “We are excited at the potential of expanding our footprint into the Midwest as the region offers logistical advantages, is close to our customer base, and provides direct access to the critical feedstock that supports our biomanufacturing.”
The startup has previously indicated that a single full-scale manufacturing unit will boast a fermentation capacity of two million litres, which can produce protein equivalent to what’s produced by six million hens.
Onego Bio recently secured $15.2M in a funding round, which itself followed a $40M Series A investment, taking its total raised past $70M. And it also has plans to submit dossiers for novel food approval in the EU, South America, and Asia.
While plant-based versions like Just Egg and Yo Egg are more commonplace, only a handful of companies are innovating with eggs through precision fermentation. California’s The Every Co has received three ‘no questions’ letters from the FDA and partnered with a host of brands for applications ranging from beverage mixes to meat analogues. And Germany’s Formo is set to launch a precision-fermented egg alternative, though that isn’t bioidentical.
Grace Dent, the Guardian food critic who describes herself as mostly vegan, will replace Gregg Wallace on Celebrity MasterChef UK.
MasterChef is getting its first vegan judge – almost.
Food critic Grace Dent is replacing long-time presenter Gregg Wallace, who stepped away from the role after facing multiple allegations of misconduct, which he denies.
Dent, who reviews restaurants for the Guardian and hosts its award-winning Comfort Eating podcast, has described herself as “mainly vegan” since the early 2010s (although has suggested that she doesn’t like to label herself as “flexitarian”). And last year, she appeared in a TV commercial for plant-based meat leader THIS.
She is no stranger to the cooking show, having appeared on a range as a guest on MasterChef, and participating as a contestant in MasterChef: Battle Of The Critics 2023. Last year, she was also a participant in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.
“I’m so excited that I can’t eat, which is severely detrimental to a restaurant critic. I feel very lucky to be stepping in for the next Celebrity MasterChef,” said Grace.
The 51-year-old will join fellow judge John Torode, who has been hosting MasterChef’s flagship show and its Celebrity spinoff with Wallace for the best part of 20 years.
“I have loved working with Grace on MasterChef over the years. She has been an excellent guest, an inspiring critic and also set some incredible challenges. Expertise is what MasterChef is all about, from the contestants to our wonderful production team, to us as judges,” Torode said.
Grace Dent the ‘perfect choice’ for Celebrity MasterChef
Courtesy: BBC/Shine TV
Dent wrote for the Evening Standard and the Independent before joining the Guardian in 2017, and is the bestselling author of over 20 books, including Hungry, Comfort Eating and the Diary Of series. She has presented a range of shows across TV and radio too, including the BBC Radio 4 series The Untold and BBC Four’s What We Were Watching.
“I’ve been watching MasterChef since I was a girl sitting with my dad on the sofa. My whole family watches it. It’s all about uncovering and championing talent and to have ended up in this position, is more than a dream to me,” she said.
Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment at the BBC, called Dent the “perfect choice” to judge Celebrity MasterChef: “Grace is not only an energetic and well-established member of the MasterChef team, but is also a world-renowned food critic, so she will certainly keep the next batch of celebrities on their toes.”
The development follows Wallace’s departure from the show, after a BBC investigation aired sexual allegations from 13 women who worked with him. And last week, the model Penny Lancaster – who is married to singer Rod Stewart and appeared on the 2021 edition of Celebrity MasterChef – said she witnessed and was a victim of Wallace’s bullying and harassment.
Kirsty Wark, former presenter of BBC Newsnight and a contestant in the show’s 2011 season, has alleged that Wallace used “sexualised language” during filming. Lawyers representing Wallace have denied any claims of sexual misconduct.
Torode has called the situation “truly upsetting”, but did not mention the controversy in his comments about Dent’s arrival on the show. “The love of food, the love of MasterChef, and that unquestionable expertise, makes Grace the perfect person to step in alongside me as judge for the forthcoming Celebrity MasterChef series,” he said.
Signing Dent as a judge carries a level of intrigue for MasterChef. The food critic says she sticks to an “almost vegan” diet, explaining that plants and vegetables form the base of her diet, alongside nuts and seeds.
“I say ‘mainly’ as there are caveats and slip-ups. ‘Plant-based’ is closer. ‘Flexitarian’ is a word people use for me (as well as much ruder things when I appear in their restaurant, I’m sure),” she wrote in a Guardian column in 2019. “But announcing you’re flexitarian is a bit like coming out as bisexual. You won’t get any prizes for picking your team and everyone on all sides will resent you for having your cake and eating it.”
She had been a “militant vegetarian” in the 1980s, before chicken crept into her diet in the 90s. But she grew exasperated at the “cloud-cuckoo-land phrases of modern farming” – think “respectful” nose-to-tail eating or “happy” pigs – that chefs began using.
“The truth is I love animals more than I love most humans,” she wrote. “I merely adore vegetarian food and have always preferred to eat things that didn’t ever have a face.”
In a separate interview with the Guardian, she added: “I eat like a wild animal – apart from the meat. I drive my man mad. His idea of joy is cooking half a cow three different ways. I’m more of an ape; I love vegan food.
And in yet another interview, she said: “In my own time, I eat vegan or vegetarian. I really abhor factory farming and its byproducts so I live a vegan lifestyle as much as I can. If you come to my house you are getting oat milk, vegan cheeses and things like that.
“I am always walking into restaurants and making them paranoid that they are not catering to people of different appetites and I think that I am a force for good in that way.”
Vegan chefs are ‘brave and exciting’
Dent appeared in a TV commercial for plant-based meat brand THIS | Courtesy: THIS
Dent has spoken about the pushback food critics can get for having dietary restrictions. “Whenever I talk about loving vegan food, it starts a backlash. The vegans aren’t happy with me because I’m not fully vegan, and the meat-eaters say I’m trying to destroy the farming industry. Any nuance seems to get lost, she told the Guardian. “It does seem to fascinate people, though, that I’m a food critic who doesn’t love foie gras. Stereotypically, those guys love a kidney, bone marrow, sweetbreads. Not me.”
She had addressed this in her column too: “Eating plant-based makes really no impact on my career as a restaurant critic. I see this as my special skill as a critic, not a hindrance.”
So what can MasterChef viewers expect from a plant-forward judge? Dent has already prophesied this. “When I sit on that table of gargoyles on MasterChef waiting to judge whoever comes through the door, I’m simply not that impressed by another plate of barely dead roe deer avec pommes noisettes all lying in a puddle of Bambi’s blood,” she wrote.
“Chefs such as Campbell are brave and exciting to me because to even pepper a menu with the term “vegan” is to bang up against decades of culinary prejudice. This is a word synonymous with worthy, difficult diners and glee-free abstinence.
While it’s unclear if she will replace Wallace on other MasterChef series too, the signs are all there that Grace is about to make a Dent in the franchise.
Australian biotech startup All G has received a second regulatory approval for its precison-fermented bovine lactoferrin in a month – this time in the US.
Just weeks after becoming the first company to be cleared to sell cow-free lactoferrin in China, All G has now received approval in the US too.
The Australian precision fermentation startup has obtained self-determined GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status in the country, paving the way for the market entry of its recombinant bovine lactoferrin, which is slated for the second half of 2025, founder and CEO Jan Pacas tells Green Queen.
All G will look to obtain a “no questions” letter from the US Food and Drug Administration next year, notifying the agency with necessary reports on the safety of the product. It’s a longer, more rigorous process that involves the review of both positive and negative studies on an ingredient, but it’s also viewed as more transparent and breeds market and consumer confidence.
The self-affirmed GRAS covers the whey protein’s applications in adult nutrition, but the company needs to clear additional hurdles to sell the ingredient for its dominant use case, infant formula.
“We can now engage with US food and beverage companies to bring a stable supply of an affordable, high-purity protein that can either be substituted into existing production processes, or used to open up new markets,” says Pacas.
In the meantime, All G is also working on human lactoferrin, targeting a commercial launch in 2025, as well as casein proteins.
A high-purity, low-cost, cow-free lactoferrin
Courtesy: All G
Lactoferrin is a highly prized whey protein found in human milk and bovine colostrum just after birth, and boasts many functional benefits, including antiviral, antibacterial, anti-carcinogenic, immunity-boosting, and gut-strengthening properties.
The ingredient has been named ‘pink gold’ – pink because it’s rich in iron and has a reddish hue, and gold because it’s in short supply. Lactoferrin is only available in small concentrations in cow’s milk, and current processes require 10,000 litres of milk to produce just 1kg of purified lactoferrin, driving up costs to hundreds or even thousands of dollars per kg (depending on the level of purity).
This confines the protein’s use to only certain applications, such as baby formula and supplements. But its functional attributes mean demand is ripe for other applications too, including functional foods and drinks, protein powders, plant-based milk, and oral nutrition support for the elderly.
To meet that demand while keeping costs low, All G is among a handful of startups growing the protein in bioreactors via precision fermentation – the technology combines traditional fermentation with the latest advancements in biotech to efficiently produce a compound of interest (in this case, a protein). It’s the same process used to make most insulin today, as well as rennet for cheese.
“We do an optimised upstream process with our production organism that secretes the lactoferrin into the fermentation media,” explains chief scientific officer Jared Raynes. “We then separate the biomass and purify the lactoferrin using chromatography – the same used by the dairy industry – and then remove the salt and dry [it].”
He adds that there are several technical challenges to overcome when producing lactoferrin this way: “Precision-fermented lactoferrin needs to exhibit high purity and bioactivity, equivalent iron saturation status, and have native-like glycosylation patterns to be considered bioequivalent. We have managed to meet these stringent requirements through our deep R&D expertise.”
The five-day process results in a nature-identical lactoferrin with over 98% purity, and at significantly lower costs. “We believe we have the world’s most efficient strain for bovine lactoferrin production,” Pacas told Green Queen last month. “We already have yields at pilot scale that would result in COGS [cost of goods sold] much, much lower than today’s lactoferrin prices. And we are continuing to optimise.”
All G working on human lactoferrin and casein proteins
Courtesy: All G
All G started off by selling plant-based meat products, but last year pivoted to solely focus on precision fermentation. It has so far raised $41M in investment, and is now in talks with multiple contract manufacturing facilities to scale up production both in the US and the EU.
Last month, the startup secured the greenlight to sell its bovine lactoferrin in China, though this so far doesn’t cover infant nutrition either. But to truly take on the bovine lactoferrin industry, targeting that category is key for animal-free players.
All G is working towards receiving approval for baby formula. Self-determining GRAS status isn’t enough for this application in the US, though – it will require a “no questions” letter from the FDA.
Specifically, this would need a Premarket Notification, which includes more extensive safety assessments tailored to infant populations. “This typically involves additional toxicology studies to demonstrate suitability and safety for infant consumption. We’re actively planning this pathway and gathering the necessary data to meet these requirements,” says Pacas.
The startup is in active discussions with global manufacturers and customers for its ingredient, and is also developing recombinant human lactoferrin – the protein is available in significantly larger concentrations in breast milk than in bovine colostrum.
All G is already producing human lactoferrin on a grams per litre scale, with a commercial launch planned for late 2025.
Moreover, it’s developing a patented IP portfolio around both bovine and human casein, as well as casein micelles (spherical building blocks for the functional and nutritional attributes of dairy products). Casein is the most abundant protein group found in cow’s milk, and gives cheese its melty and stretch properties by emulsifying water and oil.
“Our phosphorylated casein production [essential for micelle formation] is going well and we aim to move to a 1,000-litre scale in the first half of 2025,” Pacas says.
All G is the second company to achieve self-affirmed GRAS status for animal-free lactoferrin in the US, after Singapore’s TurtleTree. Several other precision fermentation firms are now working on this protein, including fellow Australian player Noumi, New Zealand’s Daisy Lab, and US startups Helaina, De Novo Foodlabs and Triplebar Bio.
A major UN report calls out governments for ignoring the connections between biodiversity, water, food, health and climate change – and suggests how best to address these crises.
Environmental, social and economic crises like biodiversity loss, water scarcity, food insecurity, health risks, and climate change are all deeply interconnected, rendering separate efforts to address them “ineffective and counterproductive”, according to a landmark report by the UN Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
The report – known as the Nexus Assessment – found that governments are prioritising “short-term benefits and financial returns for a small number of people”, while ignoring the costs to the five nexus elements: biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate.
Approved by almost 150 countries in Windhoek, Namibia, the analysis is described as “the most ambitious scientific assessment ever undertaken of these complex interconnections”, and argues that “fragmented governance” of these elements is causing unintended consequences and stands in the way of effective action.
Instead, tackling these issues can maximise co-benefits for each of the nexus points, according to the IPBES, which laid out 71 “response options” to address the challenges.
“We have to move decisions and actions beyond single-issue silos to better manage, govern and improve the impact of actions in one nexus element on other elements,” said Prof Paula Harrison, a co-chair of the Nexus Assessment.
Fellow chair Prof Pamela McElwee said that decision-makers have so far failed to hold climate-damaging actors to account. “It is estimated that the unaccounted-for costs of current approaches to economic activity – reflecting impacts on biodiversity, water, health and climate change, including from food production – are at least $10-25T per year,” she noted.
Analysing a variety of long-term climate outcomes
Courtesy: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
The Nexus Assessment suggests that for the last 30 to 50 years, 2-6% of biodiversity has decreased every decade, across every region. And today, more than half the world lives in areas experiencing the worst impacts of declines in biodiversity, water availability and food security, and increases in health risks and climate harms.
But while some regulations and research efforts have been partially successful in improving trends across the nexus elements, they’re unlikely to succeed without addressing the interconnections in a more rounded way, and tackling indirect drivers like trade and consumption.
The authors used 186 outcomes from 52 studies to assess how the elements would interact with each other this century, using the data to develop six nexus scenario archetypes. They found that a focus on trying to maximise the outcomes for only one part of the nexus in isolation will likely result in negative outcomes for the other nexus element.
The first two archetypes – labelled “sustainability scenarios” – concern nature-oriented and balanced nexuses. They focus on strong environmental regulation, effective protection of natural areas, sustainable agriculture, healthy diets and food waste reduction, resulting in positive impacts for all five elements.
Meanwhile, the conservation-first archetype has positive outcomes for biodiversity and climate, but negatively impacts the food nexus. The next archetype, climate-first, results in negative impacts for both biodiversity and food.
Business as usual will lead to ‘extremely poor’ outcomes
Courtesy: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
The final two archetypes – food-first and nature overexploitation – are described as “business-as-usual” scenarios, and have negative impacts on almost all elements. The food-first archetype focuses on unsustainable agriculture and positively affects nutritional health, but this arises from an “unsustainable intensification of production and increased per capita consumption”.
These business-as-usual archetypes are characterised by intensive material, energy and land use, greater greenhouse gas emissions, and unsustainable exploitation. This is a key message of the IPBES report: if things continue the way they are the outcomes will be “extremely poor” for biodiversity, water quality and human health, with worsening climate change and growing challenges to meet policy goals.
“The future scenarios with the widest nexus benefits are those with actions that focus on sustainable production and consumption in combination with conserving and restoring ecosystems, reducing pollution, and mitigating and adapting to climate change,” said Harrison.
The link between human health and the multiple crises is startling. Nearly six in 10 human infection diseases are likely to worsen during climate change, while 16% of all deaths in 2019 were caused by increased air and water pollution (numbering nine million).
It’s why the IPBES has come up with its response options, which can allow us to manage these crises and often at low costs. They’re divided into 10 broad categories, covering pollution, sustainable consumption, ecosystem management, planning and governance, and finance, among others.
These solutions include managing biodiversity to reduce animal-borne diseases in humans, improving integrated landscape management, supporting Indigenous food systems, and reducing pesticide and plastic pollution, as well as repurposing public investments.
IPBES advises replacing meat with novel foods and sustainable healthy diets
The IPBES roadmap for applying Nexus approaches | Courtesy: Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Today, 42% of the world’s population is unable to afford healthy diets, a figure that rises to 86% for low-income countries. Over a tenth of the world is affected by food insecurity in Asia and Africa, while in 2017, 11 million adult deaths were caused by unhealthy diets.
With the global food system accounting for 21-37% of all emissions, sustainable production and consumption are key to achieving goals across the five nexus elements. The response options therefore include a reduction in food loss and waste, a shift to planet-friendly, healthy diets, and a decrease in the overconsumption of meat.
The latter involves cutting back on red and processed meat in support of “sustainable healthy diets”, which the IPBES defines as those that promote individual health, have a low climate impact, and are accessible, equitable, affordable, and culturally affordable.
“Scenarios show that sustainable healthy diets and the reduction of food loss and waste decrease greenhouse gas emissions as well as benefiting other nexus elements; in addition, sustainable healthy diets also reduce human deaths,” the Nexus Assessment says.
Shifting to such eating patterns and reducing the amount of food that ends up in the bin will benefit food security and health, reduce emissions, and free up land, providing “co-benefits for nexus elements such as biodiversity conservation and carbon sinks”.
Additionally, among the food system transformations analysed in the nature-oriented archetype is the adoption of novel food sources like macroalgae and microbial protein. “Such transformations would enable the current agricultural land area to meet the calorific and nutritional needs of future generations in the medium to long term (e.g., through improved productivity), enabling positive outcomes for human health and for biodiversity as well as sustainability.”
The report further says it’s well-established that “the way food is produced, what foods are produced and consumed, where they are produced, and how much food is lost and wasted impact both nature and people”.
“Our current governance structures and approaches are not responsive enough to meet the interconnected challenges that result from the accelerated speed and scale of environmental change and rising inequalities,” said McElwee. “This can be addressed by moving towards ‘nexus governance approaches’: more integrated, inclusive, equitable, coordinated and adaptive approaches.”
Switzerland’s Yeastup has closed a $9.9M Series A round to turn a dairy factory into one that produces proteins and functional ingredients from spent brewer’s yeast.
Turning beer industry waste into high-value ingredients, Swiss startup Yeastup has received 8.9 million francs ($9.9M) in fresh funding to transform a former dairy factory as part of its scale-up efforts.
Investors in the Series A round included Beyond Impact, Gentian Investments, Newtree Impact, and Angel House, alongside participation from several renowned family offices from Switzerland and abroad.
The capital will be used to repurpose a former dairy factory owned by Cremo, Switzerland’s second-largest milk producer, to manufacture food, nutraceutical and cosmetic ingredients from spent brewer’s yeast, an often underutilised byproduct of the brewing industry.
The large-scale facility will have the capacity to upcycle 2,000 tonnes of brewer’s yeast annually, leveraging top-standard equipment while requiring limited capital expenditure.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Yeastup, whose innovative process not only brings new life to our facility but also demonstrates how existing dairy infrastructure can be successfully utilized for the alternative protein sector,” said Cremo CEO Ralph Perroud. “We see this as an opportunity to reposition ourselves and explore innovative pathways together with Yeastup.”
Making proteins and fibres to replace eggs and enhance vegan meat
Courtesy: Yeastup
Founded in 2020 by Daniel Gnos and Urs Briner, Yeastup has 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 byproduct, 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 products are branded as Yeastin, and are suitable for a variety of uses. They boast a protein digestibility score of 1 (akin to that of eggs or beef), are soluble, and have a neutral taste, with their production generating 74% fewer emissions than pea protein.
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, while the ideal protein-to-fibre ratio enables enhanced texture, structure, and moisture retention for meat alternatives.
The product – which is said to surpass pea, wheat and soy protein in biological value – is designed as a clean-label solution to E-numbers and additives in a bid to shorten ingredient lists, a key factor for Europeans amid growing concerns around ultra-processed foods.
Yeastup also makes a collagen peptide alternative for protein bars and sports nutrition, called Yeastin Nutra. This has a complete amino acid profile and a biological value on par with animal protein, and improves the texture, juiciness, and softness of high-performing bars for athletes.
Meanwhile, its fibre range is said to have advanced functionalities like optimal gelling and water-binding properties, along with low-temperature applications. This includes UpFiber Beta-Glucan, ideal for dietary supplements, functional foods and skincare, as well as UpFiber Mannoprotein, a high-purity, multifunctional ingredient for the food, beverage, wine and cosmetics industries.
Protein from beer waste on the rise
Courtesy: Yeastup
The startup has established several strategic supply and engineering deals to ensure cost competitiveness, including German gelatin and collagen peptide producer Gelita.
“Yeast-based ingredients have the potential to transform how alternative products are developed and produced,” said Martin Hahn, Gelita’s head of emerging platforms and tech. “Yeastup provides proteins and fibres, allowing customers to create tailored solutions and optimise ingredient lists and functionalities.”
The new facility will be a critical lever for Yeastup to meet the “significant market demand” and turning a profit, while also serving as a reference site for global scale-up plans.
“We have set a new standard in downstream ingredient extraction,” claimed CEO Gnos. “As a former food technologist in brewing and startup entrepreneur in the functional food space, it’s incredibly rewarding to see how our groundbreaking innovation has convinced consumers, partners, and investors.
“There are so many compelling reasons why this makes sense for all stakeholders. This support motivates me and the entire team to go the extra mile for Yeastup.”
Aside from the VC investments, Yeastup has been supported with 2.45 million francs ($2.75M) in grants from state investor Innosuisse and regional development funding from the canton of Bern. Additionally, it has won the SEIF Award and was honoured at the Tech Tour food tech event in 2023.
The company is one of several others making use of beer waste to produce functional ingredients. Germany’s ProteinDistillery uses biomass fermentation to turn spent brewer’s yeast into an egg-white-like ingredient called Prew:tein, while Dutch player Revyve is also using the byproduct to make an egg substitute to enhance plant-based meat.
Much like Yeastup, France’s Yeasty has discovered a way to remove the bitterness from brewer’s yeast, producing a flour for alternative protein, pet food, and nutrition products. Meanwhile, Budweiser and Stella Artois parent AB InBev – the world’s largest beer manufacturer – is developing alternative proteins from spent brewer’s grain.
But Benoît de Bruyn, managing director of Newtree Impact, believes YeastUp’s tech process makes it stand out, and is what made his firm invest in the startup. “Their upscaling process results in significantly better products and economics compared to others in this space,” he said.
In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers two Beyond Meat debuts in the UK, Oatly’s Christmas-themed ad campaign, and an alt-protein university course.
New products and launches
As Veganuary approaches, Beyond Meat is bringing its Beyond Smash burger to the UK. It will be available at Tesco from January 1, priced at £3.25 for a two-pack. Moreover, it’s also debuting its vegan steak in the Beyond Steak Chimichurri Burrito at fast-casual chain Tortilla, a promotion tat will run until February 6.
Courtesy: Beyond Meat
Also coinciding with Veganuary, UK plant-based food brand This will launch This Isn’t Chicken Kyiv and This Isn’t Chicken Wings SKUs. The former will be available at Sainsury’s for £4.25 per 250g pack from January 1, while the latter will be stocked in the freezers of Asda and Morrisons on January 6 and 13, respectively, for for £3.75 per 110g pack.
Spanish vegan fast-casual chain Plant Shack is eyeing a UK debut after signing an agreement with entrepreneur and investor Michael Vosc. The group is now on the hunt for a location in London.
In the US, vegan sushi chain Planta Queen‘s Atlanta outpost in Buckhead Village has been put up for sale, at a starting price of $3.3M.
Courtesy: Romain Buisson/Gourmey
Texas-based vegan snacking brand All Y’Alls Foods has added a new product to its Tasty Toppers lineup called It’s Big Crunchy Cheezy Bits Y’All. The gluten- and dairy-free cheese-flavoured product has 33g of protein per 2.9oz pack, which is available on its website now, with a retail and Amazon rollout by the end of the year.
Jumping on the Spotify Wrapped trend, UK hospitality tech partner Vita Mojo has produced its own foodservice industry version, revealing that orders for vegan food at chains like Leon, Gail’s, Wasabi, YO! and Subway rose by 56% this year.
French alt-milk brand Bonneterre has launched a no-sugar peanut milk that can be used in both cold and hot drinks, in cooking applications, as well as in cocktails.
Animal advocacy charity Viva! has launched a mythbusting guide to alternative proteins called Fake News About Fake Meat.
Finance and company updates
Luxembourg-based CSM Ingredients‘ innovation hub Generate has opened a global call for startups innovating with “breakthrough ideas” to reshape the ingredient sector and accelerate the food system transformation – think added-value plant proteins, for example.
In the US, Oatly‘s annual Update Milk campaign for Christmas is proposing a new Welcome Santa ritual, asking consumers to switch from milk and cookies to oat milk and croquembouche. It includes taste tests with Santas, as well as digital and out-of-home posters.
Courtesy: Oatly
In the US, mycelium startup MycoTechnology has appointed Jordi Ferre as its new CEO, taking over from interim chief Ranjan Patnaik, who will continue in his role as CTO.
Cashew milk maker Nutcase is hoping to leverage its connections with poker professionals and streamers to attract investors in its bid to raise $2.5M in seed funding.
Courtesy: Nutcase
Israel’s ICL Food Specialties has announced a follow-on investment in Californian duckweed protein producer Plantible Foods, a year after introducing the Rovitaris Binding Solution using the latter’s Rubi Protein. It adds to Plantible’s $30M Series B round announced last month, following ICL’s participation in the Series A round in 2021.
Ingredients giant Givaudan has partnered with Moonshot Pirates, a movement of young changemakers, for the Shape the Future Challenge, which challenges Gen Zers to imagine alternative protein solutions that don’t mimic meat or dairy, but instead address needs like affordability, nutrition and convenience.
As it awaits regulatory approval in five markets, French cultivated foie gras maker Gourmey has welcomed Michelin-starred chefs Claude Le Tohic (US), Rasmus Munk (Denmark) and Daniel Calvert (Japan) to its advisory board.
Courtesy: Romain Buisson/Gourmey
Israeli molecular farming startup PoLoPo, which is biohacking potatoes to grow egg protein and higher amounts of native protein within the spuds, has begun planting the tubers in fields, moving beyond greenhouse scale. It is expected to yield three tonnes of potatoes when harvested in spring 2025.
Cellular agriculture investor Cult Food Science has agreed to buy meat analogue players The Better Butchers, which is collaborating with fellow alternative protein companies to create hybrid meats, precision-fermented fats, and other ingredients.
Policy, research and awards
University College Dublin has become the latest institution to offer a course on future food, a micro-credential Level 8 programme titled Alternative Proteins for Sustainable Food Systems. It will focus on the technologies and materials used to make foods from plants, algae, fungi, precision fermentation, and cellular agriculture.
Colorado startup Meati has settled the class-action lawsuit alleging it falsely marketed its mycelium-based steak and chicken analogues as ‘made from mushroom root’. The case has now been voluntarily dismissed.
Courtesy: Meati
Researchers from King’s College London have been awarded £1.5M as part of a research grant from the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to investigate the impact of plant-based food diversity on gut health.
Vietnamese vegan charity Vive has welcomed over 30,000 attendees at two Vegfest events in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, delivering more than 15,000 plant-based starter kits.
Courtesy: Vive
Vegan seafood maker Bettaf!sh and upcycled apricot seed milk producer Kern Tec are among the winners of the Marketed Innovation Prize by EIT Food, the EU’s future food accelerator.
Plant-based meat leader Impossible Foods has been named on Fast Company‘s list of 66 Brands That Matter in 2024, thanks in large part to its partnership with competitive eater Joey Chestnut.
New Culture now needs much less animal-free casein to produce its mozzarella compared to conventional cheese, a critical step in its path to match the price of dairy.
Californian startup New Culture has achieved a significant cost breakthrough in its process to create melty, stretchy mozzarella without the cow.
The animal-free dairy company uses precision fermentation – which combines traditional fermentation with the latest biotech advances to efficiently produce a compound of interest – to make casein, the main protein found in milk, from microbes.
Its first product – a fermentation-derived mozzarella – combines the protein with water, plant-based fats, and minerals, and has dropped below a key cost threshold.
New Culture’s cow-free cheese now needs just 28% of casein, less than half as much as conventional mozzarella. Since its casein makes up the majority of its mozzarella’s cost, the low inclusion rate allows it to lower the markup considerably, and demonstrates the “superior functional properties” of its protein, the company says.
“When we started making animal-free cheese, we used the ingredient profile of conventional mozzarella as our recipe benchmark. Over time we developed a deep biochemistry understanding of our casein including the interactions of our casein and how to activate it. Based on these findings, we were able to drop the casein inclusion rate without taking a hit on product quality,” co-founder and CEO Matt Gibson tells Green Queen.
“What we didn’t do is load up on sticky, slippery starches or fillers that are common in plant-based cheeses. Instead, we’ve taken a holistic approach based on fundamental food science and the essential components that make up conventional mozzarella.”
Last year, New Culture suggested that it would be able to reach price parity with conventional cheese within three years, a timeline Gibson confirmed earlier this year. A survey conducted by the startup in January revealed that 80% of people are interested in buying its animal-free cheese, with early adopters happy to pay $4 more per pizza with the company’s cheese.
While he wouldn’t be drawn on the current price difference between New Culture’s and dairy mozzarella, he tells Green Queen: “This new inclusion rate further proves New Culture’s financial viability. With this reduction, we’ve hit an essential milestone on our path to achieving cost parity with conventional mozzarella and reaching positive net margins.”
Animal-free mozzarella outperforms dairy on top attributes
Courtesy: New Culture
Casein makes up 80% of the protein content found in bovine milk, and it’s what makes cheeses like mozzarella melt, stretch, bubble and brown. It does so by emulsifying fats and water, and it’s an ingredient commanding a $2.7B market.
But dairy is not an environmentally friendly food group, prompting many startups to work on animal-free versions using precision fermentation. While New Culture hasn’t conducted its own life-cycle assessment, analysis of publicly available data for comparable processes has led it to estimate that its animal-free mozzarella reduces emissions by 80%, land use by 95%, and water consumption by 95%.
The startup says it has combined sensory evaluations with analytical techniques to characterise mozzarella’s top 15 attributes, and assessed the priority properties for different applications, like pizzas or salads.
“The 15 attributes that we assess – through a variety of sensory approaches – span both cooked and raw cheese, and include flavour, melt, stretch, and other, more subtle properties that collectively give an authentic mozzarella experience,” explains Gibson.
“As we tried reducing the inclusion rate, it was imperative that each of the 15 attributes received a passing score. For instance, even if a formulation had great stretch and a bouncy bite, it wouldn’t pass if it left a sticky residue on a taster’s teeth or had a dry surface.
“In addition, attributes can be in tension with one another. Better bite resistance can mean worse melt. Better oiling off might mean a worse mouthfeel. So we had to find the space in between that satisfied all attributes of a delicious mozzarella.
“Ultimately, what enables us to make such a high-quality product is a detailed scientific understanding of what makes great mozzarella as well as a detailed biochemical understanding of how our casein plays a role in delivering on that experience.”
New Culture fundraising ahead of restaurant debut
Courtesy: New Culture
New Culture’s latest cost milestone comes months after it partnered with Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang to enable low-cost manufacturing, following a link-up with ADM to expand production two years ago. The firm has previously highlighted its capacity to produce enough mozzarella for 25,000 pizzas per batch, but scaling up further can help bring manufacturing expenses down by 80%.
“We’ve been extremely intentional about building strategic partnerships with two of the largest precision fermentation companies on the planet: ADM and CJ,” says Gibson. He explains that New Culture’s focus with these collaborations is on casein production – its cheese product development is all done in-house.
“Our partnerships with companies like ADM and CJ enable us to move faster in reaching the manufacturing scale necessary to achieve our mission,” he adds.
Having secured $25M in an oversubscribed Series A funding round three years ago, Gibson reveals that the startup is now fundraising again. And earlier this year, it became the first producer to obtain self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status for precision-fermented casein, allowing it to sell the protein in the US.
New Culture unveiled its precision-fermented mozzarella for a tasting at Nancy Silverton’s Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles last year, and will make its full market debut with the same eatery soon.
The startup had previously anticipated a launch by the end of this year. “Launching not only a new product, but an entirely new product category, isn’t a straight line. A few factors have been tough to anticipate, including securing certain permits as a non-conventional dairy company,” says Gibson.
“We can’t wait for our cheese to be on the menu at Nancy Silverton’s Pizzeria Mozza in LA,” he adds. “We hear truly every single day from consumers eager to try our cheese and we’re working as fast as we can to get it to them.”
The world loves chocolate, but the planet itself? Not as much. Industry giants like Mondelēz, Lindt and Barry Callebout understand that, and are backing startups changing the game with cocoa-free and cell-based alternatives.
Chocolate may be omnipresent in the food industry today, but that may not be the case a few decades down the line.
Thanks to climate change, cocoa trees are under threat, and a third could die out by 2050. The crisis has wreaked havoc on harvests over the last couple of years, particularly affecting West Africa, which caters to the majority of the world’s cocoa needs. That, in turn, pushed cocoa futures to their highest on record – and without mitigation, prices will continue to rise.
While fossil fuels and animal agriculture are the two main causes of the climate emergency, chocolate itself also has a sizeable impact on the planet. Apart from beef, no other food emits as much carbon as dark chocolate does. And one bar of chocolate requires 1,700 litres of water.
The widespread use of palm oil in the sector, meanwhile, has contributed to mass deforestation – in Ivory Coast, the leading producer of the crop, over 85% of forest cover has been lost since 1960. The UK and the EU have both announced bans on deforestation-linked chocolate – although the latter has now been delayed, in response to pressure from businesses and national governments alike. But the move was criticised by many, including Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest B2B chocolate distributor.
The reality is: cocoa farmers and chocolate producers are under pressure to lower both their impact on climate change, and climate change’s impact on them.
With Mondelēz International, a chocolate giant, exploring a takeover of its contemporary Hershey’s, the cocoa industry is going through a sea change. It’s already worth over $100B, and it will only continue to grow. But as things stand, current practices are simply not sustainable. We need alternatives – not necessarily to replace the cocoa trade, but to supplement and support it in the face of the climate crisis.
Several innovative startups are taking an axe to carbon-heavy production methods by using agricultural sidestreams and more sustainable ingredients to make chocolate alternatives – much like plant-based meat analogues – while some are culturing cocoa cells in bioreactors to make bioidentical products like cocoa powder and butter.
Leaders in the chocolate space – from Lindt and Cargill to, yes, Mondelēz and Barry Callebaut – recognise the need for change, and are supporting these up-and-comers with investments and partnerships
Here are nine alt-chocolate companies safeguarding both cocoa and the climate.
Voyage Foods
Headquarters: Oakland, California, US Founder: Adam Maxwell Total funding: $94M
Courtesy: Voyage Foods
The best-funded company in the space, Voyage Foods turns a base of grape seeds, sunflower protein, RSPO-certified palm oil and shea kernel oil into chocolate-like compound products that can reduce emissions by 81-84% compared to conventional chocolate. These form part of its B2B offerings, as well as its nut-free hazelnut spread (similar to a vegan Nutella).
The ethical pantry startup has additionally won a $25M loan from the USDA to help build a large-scale factory in Mason, Ohio. It has also tapped Cargill to be its exclusive B2B distributor globally, and plans to launch products in Europe soon. (Plus, it makes nut-free peanut butter and beanless coffee.)
Planet A Foods
Headquarters: Planegg, Germany Founders: Sara and Maximilian Marquart Total funding: $53.4M
Courtesy: Planet A Foods
Founded by siblings, Planet A Foods uses traditional fermentation and roasting methods to transform oats, sunflower seeds and shea butter into ChoViva, its cocoa-free chocolate alternative. The innovation has made it into 20 products available in 42,000 stores across Europe, and will soon appear in the UK and France, followed by the US and Asia later on.
These items are part of collaborations with Lindt, Piasten, Lambertz, Griesson-de Beukelaer, Peter Kölln, Lufthansa, and Deutsche Bahn (during Euro 2024). ChoViva has also made it into private-label offerings from Rewe (and its subsidiary Penny), Edeka, Lidl, and Aldi. The company is additionally working on a precision-fermented ChoViva Butter too, converting single-cell oils, agricultural sidestreams and local feedstocks like beet sugar into a fat resembling cocoa butter (slates for a 2026 launch pending regulatory approval).
Win-Win
Headquarters: London, UK Founders: Ahrum Pak & Johnny Drain Total funding: $5.6M
Courtesy: WNWN
Formerly known as WNWN Food Labs, Win-Win is modernising carob-based chocolate by combining the ingredient with barley, sunflower flour, and tiger nuts, alongside RSPO-certified palm oil and shea butter. The company also employs fermentation to produce its cocoa-free offering.
It has previously rolled out dark chocolate thins, a Daim-style Waim! bar, and copycat versions of Cadbury Wholenut, Terry’s Orange and Tony’s Chocolonely on limited runs, and trialled an ice-cream bar at the Häagen-Dazs Start-Up Innovation Challenge. Its current lineup for B2B clients includes dark, milk and white chocolate, and a vegan oat milk chocolate. These have been used at Toad Bakery and Lyaness bar in London, and Sem, a wine bar in Lisbon.
Celleste Bio
Headquarters: Misgav, Israel Founder: Hanne Volpin, Orna Harel, Avishay Levy, and Daphna Michae Total funding: $4.5M
Courtesy: Celleste Bio/Getty Images
One of the few startups developing cell-based chocolate, Celleste Bio takes one or two beans from a cacao pod just once, and grows them in controlled settings with water and nutrients. The continuous cycle allows it to create one tonne of cocoa butter, which usually requires four tonnes of pods.
It marries agtech and biotechnology with artificial intelligence to extract the cells from cacao plants, and has been backed by The Trendlines Group and Mondelēz International. It is currently accelerating its R&D efforts, expanding infrastructure, and advancing the tech capabilities needed to pilot and scale up the production of its cell-based cocoa ingredients.
California Cultured
Headquarters: West Sacramento, California, US Founder: Alan Perlstein Total funding: $4M
Courtesy: California Cultured
Using plant cell culture to make chocolate, California Cultured collects samples from a cacao plant with ideal organoleptic properties and extracts its cells, which are then cultivated in fermentation tanks that mimic the conditions of rainforests where cocoa thrives. Within three to four days, the cells are ready to be harvested, fermented and roasted.
The company requires novel food approval from food regulators in the markets it wants to sell in, and is in the middle of the process to self-determine its lab-grown cocoa as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) in the US. It received a capital injection from Sparkalis, the VC arm of Puratos, in September, and has struck a 10-year deal to supply its Flavanol Cocoa Powder to Japanese chocolate giant Meiji.
Foreverland
Headquarters: Bari, Italy Founders: Giuseppe D’Alessandro, Massimo Sabatini, Riccardo Bottiroli and Massimo Brochetta Total funding: $3.76M
Courtesy: Foreverland
Another carob innovator, Foreverland is leveraging Italy’s standing as the second-largest producer of carob for its cocoa-free alternative, called Choruba (previously Freecao). The startup addresses a key food waste problem: 90% of carob ends up being wasted, with only the seed being used to produce locust bean gum. Foreverland blends the byproduct with grains, sugar and vegetable fats to make chocolate that requires 90% less water and emits 80% fewer greenhouse gases.
Foreverland has previously launched limited-edition batches of Easter eggs, pralines and panettone, and recently brought out chocolate-covered almonds with nut producer Pioppo. It’s in talks with several other brands, and has plans to introduce additional products like vegan milk, dark, and white chocolate alternatives, as well as spreadable creams. And earlier this year, it won the inaugural FoodTech World Cup at the HackSummit in Lausanne, beating out eight other finalists.
Nukoko
Headquarters: Guildford, UK Founders: Ross Newton, Kit Tomlinson and David Salt Total funding: $1.5M
Courtesy: Nukoko
Founded by chocolate industry experts, British startup Nukoko is treating fava beans – the nitrogen-fixing, soil-friendly cover crop grown domestically in Europe – the same way cocoa producers process chocolate, turning the high-protein legumes into what they call a bean-to-bar cocoa-free chocolate. It is said to generate 90% fewer emissions, and contain high protein and fibre, as well as 40% less sugar.
Nukoko’s controlled fermentation process turns fava beans into cocoa powder, but is adaptable to different beans based on the climate of the local market. It won a place at the IndieBio accelerator programme in New York, and was named on Forward Fooding’s 2023 FoodTech 500 list. And it’s now working with fermentation giant Döhler to expand operations and co-develop new cocoa-free products.
Endless Food Co
Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark Founders: Matthew Orlando, Christian Bach and Maximillian Bogenmann Total funding: $1.05M
Courtesy: Endless Food Co
Danish startup Endless Food Co was set up by chefs from famous Copenhagen restaurant Amass, and is making use of brewer’s spent grain – a beer industry byproduct – to produce This Isn’t Chocolate (THIC). The company is hoping to create “a future for chocolate that isn’t married to palm oil or deforestation”, with its product associated with 80-90% fewer emissions.
Endless Food Co already has around 10 B2B clients in Denmark, Portugal, Sweden and more, which sold over 10,000 pastries with THIC in the last second half of 2023 alone. THIC has appeared at Il Buco, La Banchina, Kihoskh, and Kaf in Copenhagen, and Sem in Lisbon. It will next be seen at all 180 7-Eleven stores in Denmark, as part of a co-branded cookie under the Tim’s Cookies label.
Kokomodo
Headquarters: Rehovot, Israel Founder/parent company: Tal Govrin, The Kitchen FoodTech Hub and Plantae Bioscience Total funding: $750,000
Courtesy: Kokomodo
One of the newest players in the alt-chocolate ecosystem, Kokomodo takes the cells of premium cocoa beans grown in Central and South America, which are nurtured into a thriving cell culture. The production moves to advanced bioreactors as the biomass grows, after which the cacao is harvested and processed for different applications.
Kokomodo obtains different varieties and genotypes, as well as cell lines originating from different parts of the cacao seedling, creating a cacao cell library and analytical capabilities to seek out the best cacao cells to produce. Its cell-based ingredient can be used across different CPG categories, including chocolate, beverages, spreads, and protein bars, and the startup has indicated that it will explore a US launch first, where the regulatory process is simpler and quicker than in Europe.
In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Upside Foods’s latest cultivated meat tasting, a new vegan restaurant in New York City, and THIS’s brand refresh.
New products and launches
South Korean vegan maker Unlimeat has expanded its presence across the US with a listing at 130 Raley’s stores, where consumers can buy its BBQ sliced beef in original and bulgogi flavours, and its pulled pork.
Courtesy: Upside Foods
In its latest tasting event, Upside Foodspartnered with New York City restaurant Wildair to showcase its cultivated chicken as part of a menu including crispy chicken, skewers, and a pithivier.
Speaking of New York City restaurants, vegan chain Le Botaniste has opened its sixth location in the Big Apple at Penn 11 in the Penn District.
Courtesy: Le Botaniste
In more restaurant news, San Diego vegan eateries Evolution Fast Food and Donna Jean have moved into a shared space in North Park to bring stability and fresh opportunities for both businesses.
Seattle-based vegan chicken startup Rebellyous Foods has teamed up with distributor Dot Foods, to expand its footprint to schools, restaurants, event venues, and institutions nationwide.
Back on the east coast, New Jersey-based Nature’s Bounty has introduced a Plant-Based Omega-3 dietary supplement. It features 1,000 mg of vegetarian algae oil to support heart, joint, and skin health, and is available at CVS, Walgreens, Publix, Kroger, and Amazon.
Across the Atlantic, London-based Multus has introduced Proliferum B, a four-strong line of affordable, animal-free alternatives to fetal bovine serum for cultivated meat production.
Fellow British startup ReRooted, which sells plant-based milk in glass bottles and collects them for reuse, has partnered with Panasonic to install a cold chain unit that lowers its carbon footprint while expanding its capacity.
Courtesy: ReRooted
And Andy Shovel, co-founder of plant-based meat brand THIS, has started an animal welfare charity called A Bit Weird, initially launching with three initiatives around chick culling, lamb castration, and “happy-clappy animal branding“.
Company and finance updates
Speaking of which, THIS has introduced a brand refresh, partnering with London agency Kuba & Friends to update its packaging, logo, typeface, and background.
Courtesy: THIS
Canada’s investment in legumes continues, with national cluster Protein Industries Canadainvesting in a project to develop high-protein ingredients using local fava beans. The collaboration involves Griffith Foods, BFY Proteins, Botaniline and Faba Canada, which will create a neutral-tasting faba protein, as well as processed ingredients for consumer goods.
US biotech company Sunflower Therapeutics, an alternative protein manufacturing specialist, has closed an oversubscribed $3M funding round by Clear Current Capital to launch its Daisy Petal and Dahlia Petal perfusion fermentation systems.
Courtesy: Farmless
Dutch fermentation startup Farmless has secured €1M as part of a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant, a year after it raised €4.8M for its ‘brewed’ microbial protein.
Speaking of grants, Chilean alternative protein player Luyef Biotechnologies has bagged $1M from the Chilean Economic Development Agency to scale up cultivated meat production, and another $500,000 from the Good Food Institute to develop a cost-effective fungi-derived culture medium. It’s now looking to close a $4M seed funding round.
Israel’s Steakholder Foods has made a major step towards its Asia expansion, agreeing to sell its MX200 3D printer and plant-based premixes to Taiwanese food company Vegefarm, which will commercialise plant protein products in the local market with support from the Industrial Technology Research Institute.
Policy and research developments
Sweet protein innovator Oobli has received a ‘no questions’ letter from the US Food and Drug Administration for its precision-fermented monellin sweetener, which can now be used in food and beverages. It is the startup’s second ingredient approved for sale, after its Oubli Sweet Protein in March.
Courtesy: University of Alberta
Researchers at the University of Alberta have developed a way to help pea protein hold its shape better after 3D printing: by activating water with cold plasma.
At Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute IVV, scientists have created an egg white foam alternative from pea flour under the LeguFoam project, which is backed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
Courtesy: Peta
Finally, University of Cambridge postgraduate student Callan MacDonald is the inaugural winner of PETA‘s $2,500 Future Without Speciesism contest. He has created AgriCell, a first-of-its-kind cell bank to archive and preserve the most advanced primary cells for cultivated meat production.
Copenhagen-based Endless Food Co has raised €1M and teamed up with 7-Eleven Denmark to launch cookies made from its upcycled cocoa-free chocolate.
Turning beer waste into a chocolate alternative, Danish startup Endless Food Co has secured fresh funding and a national listing with 7-Eleven for a new consumer product.
Founded by alums of leading restaurants Amass, Noma and The Fat Duck, the company makes cocoa-free chocolate from brewer’s spent grain (BSG), the solid residue from malted barley after beer production. Called This Isn’t Chocolate (THIC), it’s positioned as a scalable, stable solution to the volatility of the carbon-heavy chocolate industry.
The €1M funding round was led by Nordic Foodtech VC, with EIFO and Rockstart participating as well. It follows an investment from Innovation Fund Denmark in 2023, and will help the startup expand production, set up a pilot plant, and grow its team.
Its planet-friendly chocolate alternative is also part of a cookie made in collaboration with 7-Eleven Denmark, which will end up on the shelves of all its 180 stores across the country.
Taking on the chocolate industry with food waste
Courtesy: Endless Food Co
Endless Food Co, established in 2022, leverages the vast food industry experience of its co-founders. Matthew Orlando, touted as one of the world’s best chefs, was the owner of Copenhagen’s Amass Restaurant, which was revered for its sustainability efforts. He has previously worked at The Fat Duck, Aureole and Le Bernardin.
Christian Bach, who is the COO and has previously worked at Noma, was a colleague of Orlando’s at Amass (which closed in 2022) – as was CEO Maximillian Bogenmann.
The three were keen to create a solution that tacked chocolate’s climate issues while also making use of food waste, which accounts for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It’s why they turned to BSG.
The byproduct accounts for 85% of the waste produced by the brewing industry, with 36.4 million tonnes of BSG manufactured every year globally. However, 80% of this sidestream is repurposed either into animal feed or biofuel, with the rest ending up in landfill and letting gases like methane and carbon into the atmosphere.
The chocolate industry, meanwhile, is linked to mass deforestation (thanks to the widespread use of palm oil), a problem that has spurred lawmakers in the EU and the UK to ban imports of deforestation-linked cocoa (although the former’s legislation has been delayed).
Dark chocolate also emits more greenhouse gases than lamb or mutton, farmed fish and shrimp, coffee, cheese, pork, and even beef from dairy herds, while it takes 1,700 litres of water to create a 100g bar of chocolate.
Concurrently, climate change is threatening the industry’s future, with crop failures in West Africa already affecting yields this year, leading to all-time-high prices. In fact, scientists have warned that a third of cocoa trees could die out by 2050, leading to a global chocolate shortage.
With THIC, Endless Food Co says it’s looking to create “a future for chocolate that isn’t married to palm oil or deforestation”. The BSG-based cocoa-free product is said to deliver the same taste, texture and functionality as conventional chocolate, but with 80-90% fewer associated emissions, according to a recent life-cycle assessment.
”Our core mission is to provide a delicious, long-term, and price-friendly solution for the existing chocolate and food industries. Hopefully one day, we can help coat every Mars bar with our alternative chocolate solution,” said Bogenmann, as per EU-Startups.
7-Eleven partnership to involve multiple products
Courtesy: Endless Food Co
THIC can be used in pastries, ice creams, coatings, as well as in combination with conventional chocolate – allowing bakery, restaurant and chocolate industry partners to incorporate the ingredient into their existing processes.
Endless Food Co already has around 10 B2B clients in Denmark, Portugal, Sweden and more, which sold over 10,000 pastries with THIC in the last second half of 2023 alone. In Copenhagen, the cocoa-free chocolate has appeared at Il Buco, La Banchina, Kihoskh, and Kaf.
“Offering a flavour-first, sustainable alternative to chocolate on a large scale presents a huge opportunity to positively impact our existing food system,” Bogenmann said. “Partnering with a forward-thinking retailer like 7-Eleven gives us an amazing first step toward realising the Endless vision.”
At 7-Eleven Denmark, THIC will be part of a series of products, including a co-branded cookie under the Tim’s Cookies label, which will be available at its stores by the end of the year.
“In our eyes, THIC is a truly exciting product because it’s a more sustainable alternative to chocolate – without compromising on great taste,” said 7-Eleven Denmark CEO Jesper Østergaard. “We’re excited to offer our customers THIC in our cookies as early as next month – and without giving it all away, I’m quite sure they can look forward to more of this kind in our stores in the future.”
“Cacao is a climate-threatened crop that will become more expensive as supply becomes scarcer and demand continues to increase,” said Nordic Foodtech VC’s Louise Rørbæk Heiberg. “Endless Food Co is a great bet in the alternative cacao space. Their ingredients playbook aligns beautifully with our strategy around backing founders solving the deep underlying problems in our global food system.”
The development came during a big week for alt-chocolate startups, with Germany’s Planet A Foods banking $30M in Series B funding, while cell-based cocoa player Celleste Bio raised $4.5M in a round that included Mondelēz International.
Israeli startup Celleste Bio has raised $4.5M in a new funding round for its cell-based cocoa, with repeat participation from Mondelēz International.
This year has already seen cocoa prices rise to their highest levels ever, as climate change decimates corp harvests in West Africa. The chocolate industry itself exacerbates these effects, thanks to the mass deforestation and carbon emissions associated with it.
Decarbonising how we produce chocolate is critical if we’re to safeguard the industry. It’s the philosophy that drives companies innovating either with alternative ingredients or cellular agriculture, developing chocolate fit for the future.
Israel-based food tech player Celleste Bio is one of these startups. It marries agtech and biotechnology with artificial intelligence to extract cells from cocoa plants, which are multiplied in bioreactors to produce the same amount of cocoa butter and powder from one or two beans that traditionally calls for four tonnes of cocoa pods.
To supercharge its efforts, the firm has just closed a $4.5M seed funding round led by Supply Change Capital, with participation from confectionery giant Mondelēz International (via its SnackFutures Ventures), Consensus Business Group, The Trendlines Group, Barrel Ventures, and Regba Agriculture.
Courtesy: Celleste Bio
Mondelēz looking to improve climate record?
“Climate change is significantly impacting cocoa supplies, with prices reaching four times their historic highs this year, underscoring the urgent need for sustainable solutions,” said Shayna Harris, co-founder and managing partner at Supply Change Capital.
“As the chocolate industry grows over 10% annually, the supply-demand gap is widening. We see this as a pivotal moment for advancements in cellular agriculture and are proud to support Celleste as it leads the way in pioneering innovative, sustainable cocoa solutions.”
This is Mondelēz’s second investment in Celleste Bio, at a time when its climate commitments have come under increasing scrutiny. Despite having a climate target validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), the company’s goal has been found to be much lower than what’s required to limit global heating to 1.5°C.
Meanwhile, the confectioner only reduced its annual emissions between 2018 and 2022 by 0.7%, much lower than its target of over 20% for this period.
“As one of the world’s largest chocolate producers, we are acutely aware of cocoa supply chain challenges,” said Richie Gray, head of Mondelēz International’s SnackFutures Ventures.
“While still in its early stages, Celleste has great promise as a complementary technology to traditional farming practices. Combining Celleste’s technology with our unmatched capability and expertise will push the boundaries of what’s possible in building the cocoa supply chain of the future,” he added.
Courtesy: Pixelshot
Alt-chocolate fills investor appetites
Celleste Bio plans to use the capital to accelerate its R&D efforts, expand infrastructure, and advance the technological capabilities needed to pilot and scale up the production of its cell-based cocoa ingredients.
“This round provides us with the financial and strategic support we need to accelerate product development, scalability and commercial readiness,” said CEO Michal Beressi Golomb.
He added: “Climate change and conventional farming practices are depleting our rainforests, resulting in unprecedented environmental and financial challenges to grow enough cocoa to meet the needs of a $100B – and growing – chocolate industry.”
Nitza Kardish, CEO of The Trendlines Agrifood fund, suggested that Celleste Bio is an example of how the global agrifood system could be rebuilt.
“We have yet to feel the full scope and impact of climate change on how we grow and produce the world’s food supply,” she said. “That is why Trendlines is focused on finding and growing companies like Celleste that are pioneering technologies that can be applied and scaled to many critical crops in the future.”
Celleste Bio is one of only a few startups working with cell-based cocoa. Fellow Israeli player Kokomodo emerged from stealth this summer with $750,000 in funding, starting with a high-value cocoa powder, followed by cocoa butter. California Cultured, meanwhile, is supplying its Flavanol Cocoa Powder to Japanese chocolate giant Meiji, and Finnish food giant Fazer is also exploring cell-based cocoa.
The investment in Celleste Bio came the same week two other alt-chocolate companies secured funding, both for cocoa-free chocolate. Germany’s Planet A Foods brought in $30M in a Series B round, while Denmark’s Endless Food Co announced a deal with 7-Eleven on the back of a €1M raise.
Israel’s Gavan Technologies has closed an $8M Series A funding round to commercialise its plant-protein-based animal fat alternative in Europe.
To transform the taste, texture, and nutritional profile of vegan dairy and bakes, Gavan Technologies is banking on its zero-waste technology to extract plant proteins and turn them into a next-gen fat matrix.
And investors are now banking on Gavan, pouring $8M into its Series A round. The financing was led by MoreVC, with participation from Lever VC, DarkBoot Group, and the EU-backed EIT Food platform.
The startup, which has raised $10.5M to date, will use the capital to set up a new production facility in Cyprus and break into the European bakery and dairy sectors with its vegan fat solution, Fatrix. The manufacturing plant has a current capacity of 200 tonnes a year, and is set to become operational by April 2025.
“This facility allows us to produce Fatrix at a commercial scale while refining our processes to prepare for future expansions,” Gavan co-founder and CEO Itai Cohen tells Green Queen.
“As early investors in the alternative protein space, we’ve evaluated countless fat solutions aiming to replace butter or animal fats,” adds James Caffyn, partner at Lever VC. “Gavan’s platform stands out as the most compelling, offering a unique ability to partner with large corporates while achieving capital-efficient scaling and competitive unit economics. These qualities position Fatrix as a game-changer in the move towards healthier and cleaner-label foods.”
A zero-waste process with multiple products
Courtesy: Nimrod Saunders
Cohen and co-founder Allen Hazan established Gavan in 2018 to develop functional ingredients for the food industry through its plant protein extraction technology. Its flagship product is a multi-texture oleogel that requires 20 times less protein than other plant-based fat alternatives on the market.
Oleogels involve a combination of oil with gelators to form hard structures and give unsaturated oils some of the functional attributes of harder saturated fats. They’ve been recognised as an innovative alternative to animal fats, but regulatory restrictions and a lack of food-grade gelators have impeded their commercialisation.
Fatrix, though, is made from pea protein isolate, vegetable oil and water. None of these ingredients are new to the food system, meaning the fat doesn’t require novel food approval in the EU.
“We apply a proprietary no-waste protein extraction process that preserves the protein’s original structure,” explains Cohen. “This acts as a base upon which we add a plant oil and water, acting as a binder and carrier for the fat matrix. It is designed to be efficient, sustainable, and scalable to meet the demands of modern food manufacturing.”
Usually, up to 80% of the plant source goes to waste, or is relegated to compost or feed. And when byproducts are generated, they’re often too diluted or low in quantity. The multi-step process enables Gavan to isolate and extricate multiple proteins and other valuable components until the entirety of the plant is utilised.
The zero-waste approach enables the firm to use all sidestreams from its production process to create additional ingredients for human consumption. “Our protein extraction technology does not alter the natural structure of the protein or the remaining plant material,” says Cohen. “As a result, the byproduct is a pea powder with reduced protein content, which can be repurposed in various food applications.”
Targeting better nutrition and functionality
Courtesy: Nimrod Saunders
Fatrix is positioned as a one-to-one replacement for butter in a range of bakery products and dairy alternatives, enabling manufacturers to lower calories due to the high water content in the plant-based fat. “This innovative formulation maintains the rich texture and performance of butter but with fewer calories, aligning with consumer demands for healthier alternatives,” notes Cohen.
The fat can replicate the functionality of butter in baked goods like brioche and croissants, and enhance non-dairy whipping creams, cream cheeses, puddings, and more, without the need for additional thickeners, emulsifiers, or stabilisers. This gives products a cleaner label, which is increasingly important to consumers.
Additionally, Fatrix has a “very low content of saturated fats”, and since it isn’t hydrogenated, it has zero trans fats. This allows food producers to score better on the nutrition front, while also delivering efficiency in scale-up and costs.
“It is neutral in flavour, odourless, and highly versatile, making it possible to create any texture required,” says Cohen. “It maintains stability and water- and fat-holding capacity even under processing conditions of high heat and physical pressure.”
While Gavan is using pea protein isolate as the primary source for Fatrix, its platform is compatible with a diverse range of ingredients. “Our technology is versatile and allows us to extract proteins from any legume, giving us the flexibility to adapt to specific needs and raw material availability,” he explains.
“As a B2B company, we supply Fatrix to food manufacturers,” he adds when asked about Gavan’s plans for launch. “We anticipate seeing products containing Fatrix on shelves within a few months after production starts. These products will likely appear in categories such as baked goods and other dairy alternatives.”
The latest entry in the sweet protein space, X3 is a honey-like sweetener developed by German researchers to cut the sugar content in packaged food and beverages.
As the race to replace sugar with better-for-you alternatives rages on, researchers at one German institute have developed a sweetener they claim outperforms conventional sweet proteins.
In a research project titled NovelSweets, scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology have teamed up with two companies to support the federal government’s efforts to reduce the sugar content in packaged foods and beverages.
Using microbial fermentation, they have developed a sweetener that’s about 10,000 times sweeter than table sugar, meaning just a few milligrams of the ingredient can achieve the same level of sweetness as the 106g of sugar found in a typical cola, replacing the high amount of calories without affecting the taste of the product.
A modified brazzein protein that tastes like honey
Courtesy: Fraunhofer IME
The ingredient, known as X3, is based on sweet proteins, a class of naturally occurring molecules derived from plants and fruits. Several companies are using these as a base to make protein-based sweeteners via biotechnological processes (like fermentation) for use as sugar substitutes that don’t affect blood glucose, insulin or the gut microbiome.
Like sugar, sweet proteins bond very readily to taste receptors on the tongue, through which humans perceive flavours as sweet. One of the best-known sweet proteins is brazzein, found in the West African fruit Oubli, and the focus of startups like Cweet, Sweegen, Novel Foods Group, and Oobli.
Brazzein is 500-2,000 times sweeter than sucrose, but supply is a major problem. The remoteness of its source locations makes harvesting from plants on a large scale a challenge, contributing to what is already a lengthy and laborious process with little yield.
It also feels scratchy in the throat, according to Stefan Rasche, a researcher at Fraunhofer IME. To counter that, he and his colleagues are developing protein varieties based on the protein sequence of brazzein, optimising them for pH and temperature stability, sweetness, and flavour.
“We’re changing the protein sequence to prevent these kinds of undesirable effects. The goal is a better sensory experience, without any unpleasant flavour or aftertaste,” explains Rasche.
The NovelSweets project relies upon microbial fermentation. The gene encoding the sweet protein (which contains a description of its amino acid sequence) is implanted into yeast cells, which then proliferate in a bioreactor to produce as much sweet protein as possible. The protein is then purified and dried to be used as a sweetener that tastes similar to honey.
“X3 is impressive for its improved taste compared to the artificial sweeteners that have been available to date, as our tastings with test subjects have shown,” says Rasche. “Since it is entirely sugar-free in addition to having practically no calories, our modified brazzein version does not cause cavities or increase people’s blood sugar levels.”
Germany looks to cut sugar as alternative industry gains popularity
Courtesy: Julia Manga/Green Queen
The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a recommended limit of 50g of added sugar per day, equivalent to about 12 tablespoons. But the omnipresence of sugar in packaged foods like cereals, smoothies, juices, sauces and soft drinks makes this a hard target to achieve. A single 330ml can of Coke alone contains 33g of sugar, for example.
Germany, meanwhile, is one of Europe’s largest consumers of sugar, which is a major contributor to chronic diseases. Around half of the country’s population is overweight, and nearly one in five people are obese. Meanwhile, 10% of its citizens have diabetes (mostly type 2), and these numbers are on the up.
In 2018, the federal government adopted a national strategy to reduce sugar, fats and salt in processed foods, as well as innovate with healthier solutions. It aims to cut sugar in children’s breakfast cereals by at least 20%, and in soft drinks and sweetened dairy products for kids by 15%.
And while there has been a voluntary commitment from the beverage sector to decrease sugar in soft drinks since 2018 too, progress on achieving significant reductions has been insufficient. Data from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) this year found little change in the amount of sugar in several processed foods and drinks, prompting the government to call on experts to develop new targets for manufacturers by the end of 2024.
The NovelSweets project has seen Fraunhofer IME work with nutrition company MetaX Institut für Diätetik and enzyme optimisation specialists Candidum. Their initial plan for X3 is to use it as a substitute for drinks.
MetaX is testing and developing the first range of products with the fermentation-derived sweetener, including a low-protein beverage powder made with cocoa. But before it can progress towards commercialisation, the manufacturing process needs to be optimised alongside further product validation measures to tap into the full potential of the protein.
The research effort comes amid a boom in sweet protein and sugar reduction startups, who are taking on a $7B sugar alternatives market that’s riddled with health controversies. Aspartame, for instance, was classed as a possible carcinogen by the WHO last year, while erythritol is linked to increased risks of heart disease and stroke.
Researchers have previously touted the benefits of a soft drink tax in Germany, which could prevent nearly 250,000 people from developing type 2 diabetes and save up to €16B in national economic costs over the next two decades.
Migros, Givaudan, and Bühler Group have opened The Cultured Hub, a biotech facility to speed and scale up the production of cellular agriculture foods.
Three years after announcing the partnership, some of Switzerland’s largest food companies have opened the doors to a factory that will churn out next-gen foods like cultivated meat, cow-free dairy, and cell-based chocolate.
The Cultured Hub, situated in The Valley in Kemptthal, is a biotech plant and scale-up platform that aims to revolutionise the alternative protein sector by speeding up the development and commercialisation of cellular agriculture products.
It is a joint venture between retail giant Migros, flavour specialist Givaudan, and equipment manufacturer Bühler Group, combining “centuries of collective experience” in food processing, product development, manufacturing, marketing, and commercial launches.
“The Cultured Hub represents a paradigm shift in how we approach food production,” said Matthew Robin, CEO of dairy company Elsa Group, a subsidiary of Migros Industries.
“Our jointly developed facility embodies the collaborative spirit of the Swiss food ecosystem,” The Cultured Hub CEO Yannick Gächter said at an event to mark the centre’s opening.
“By bringing together the right partners, our technology platform also enables startups to tap into centuries of experience in food processing, product development, production, marketing and market launches, allowing them to scale up faster and minimise capital investment.”
Courtesy: The Cultured Hub
Tech capabilities for food and beyond
The hub is equipped with advanced production development labs, as well as cell culture and fermentation capabilities and equipment. Its host of partners allows the centre to empower startups to scale up the development of market-ready products that are better for the environment, and at a faster rate.
The tech platform offered by the hub can support the development of cultivated and fermentation-derived products like meat, fish, dairy, pet food, and cocoa. But it’s not just restricted to food – companies can also innovate with materials like cosmetics and select pharma applications.
The Cultured Hub can host three companies at a time, which can work simultaneously in fully separated suites. This helps accelerate market entry by saving time and resources, and allowing the entities to focus on creating the optimal food products at competitive costs.
Additionally, it allows Migros, Givaudan and Bühler Group to expand their sustainability efforts and make the hub a “unique access point” for knowledge, skills, tech, and retail and consumer education.
“As a global leader in flavours, taste, functional and nutritional solutions, with deep expertise in biotech, Givaudan is committed to unlocking new opportunities in the cellular agriculture space and contributing to the transformation of the global food system,” said Fabio Campanile, head of science and tech at Givaudan.
“Through the Cultured Hub, and the ecosystem we are building with start-ups, partners and customers, we look forward to co-creating new, game-changing solutions that meet consumer demand for healthier, more planet-friendly products,” he added.
Courtesy: The Cultured Hub
Startups can scale up without taking financial hits
It’s not just that companies will be able to ramp up their processes from small-scale lab experiments (like shake flasks) to 1,000-litre pilot operations – they’ll be able to do so without investing in expensive assets or diluting equity.
This is critical at a time when money is hard to come by for alternative protein startups – VC investments dropped by 44% last year, with cultivated meat startups alone seeing a 75% decline. And while a recovery was looking likely by the first half of this year, companies in the latter segment only raised $3M in the third quarter, making another annual decrease likely.
Courtesy: GFI
The Cultured Hub’s model is said to bridge the gap between research and commercial production, allowing companies to demonstrate and refine their processes efficiently.
One such startup is Switzerland-based Sallea, which spun off from ETH Zurich late last year and recently closed a $2.6M pre-seed round for its plant-based scaffolds for cultivated meat.
“Setting up in Switzerland has helped us to position as a leading scaffold provider for cellular agriculture,” Sallea co-founder and CEO Simona Fehlmann said at the event. “Switzerland is not only home to global companies like Nestlé, Bühler and Givaudan with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the food sector, it also has a strong pool of talent, which is essential to any startup’s growth.”
Gaechter believes the hub is a “pivotal moment” in the global protein transition. “The opening of this facility is not just an achievement for our team, but a landmark moment for the industry,” he said. “We are excited to open a facility that will enable start-ups to scale up without heavy capital investment and contribute to global food system improvements.”
Ian Roberts, CTO of Bühler Group, added: “The Cultured Hub is designed to bridge the scale-up gap for companies, enabling them to retain equity, protect intellectual property, and fast-track their journey to market without high capital investment.
“We are thrilled to bring together industry players and create a collaborative environment that will drive significant advancements in the industry.
Mumbai-based startup Biokraft Foods hosted India’s first formal tasting of cultivated meat last week, presenting a hybrid chicken it hopes to launch next year.
Amid a welcoming biotech environment and increasing regulatory clarity, Indian startup Biokraft Foods signalled the country’s appetite for novel foods at a showcase for its cultivated chicken.
Over 30 sector leaders, sustainability advocates, and members of industry groups attended what was India’s first public tasting for cultivated meat, marking a milestone development for the future of food in the world’s most populous country.
The event was a precursor for Biokraft Foods’s market launch, which it indicates could come as soon as next year. The company is “optimistic” about the timeline since it’s already working closely with the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
“Currently, cultivated meat will go through the novel and non-specified product route, as recently clarified by FSSAI officials. We are preparing our regulatory dossier to par with the available data from regulatory approved companies,” Biokraft Foods founder and CEO Kamalnayan Tibrewal tells Green Queen.
“We understand the ball has to be rolled by being the first company in India to start the work by regulatory officials in this space,” he adds. “Also, officials have clarified if the company and product meet all the standards, the approval process won’t take more than six to eight months.”
Combining chicken cells with plants and algae
Courtesy: Biokraft Foods
Tibrewal is an alum of the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) in Mumbai, as well as the Good Food Institute’s (GFI) Smart Protein Project in the city. He established Biokraft Foods in 2023, supported by leading incubator programmes from ICT Mumbai, SP-TBI, and iCreate.
At the tasting, members of GFI India, Peta India, the Chamber for Advancement of Small & Medium Businesses (CASMB), Brinc, the Youth Organization in Defense of Animals India, and India Animal Fund (among others) tried Biokraft Foods’s cultivated chicken as part of slider burgers and chilli chicken, an Indo-Chinese classic.
The startup employs an advanced 3D bioprinting technology to make its cultivated chicken, marrying it with precision engineering and cellular biology to replicate the structure, taste, texture and nutritional profile of conventional chicken.
“We have developed our in-house proprietary bioink that contains all the ingredients required to achieve chicken meat’s essential sensory and physical properties. We use 3D bioprinting to fabricate the final chicken breast structures,” explains Tibrewal.
Asked about the product’s composition, he adds: “We are primarily working on chicken breasts made from certain plant-based and algal-based biopolymers in addition to chicken cells.”
Biokraft Foods will soon validate more SKUs, according to Tibrewal. “We are beyond thrilled to host this landmark event and introduce cultivated chicken meat to India. This is not just a milestone for Biokraft Foods, but a leap forward for sustainable food innovation in the country,” he says. “The overwhelmingly positive feedback we received fuels our commitment to redefine how meat is produced.”
The firm is to organise more tasting events to reach a broader audience and expand external validation, allowing both consumers and industry professionals to experience cultivated meat and provide valuable feedback to refine the product.
Priced the same as premium chicken
Courtesy: Biokraft Foods
India may be known as a meat-free haven, being home to the world’s largest vegetarian population, but even so, at least 60% of its citizens eat meat. And chicken is by far the most popular among those people.
But as a nation whose food habits are increasingly being dictated by health, its residents seem open to novel foods. Nutrition is already driving greater consumption of plant proteins, but they’re also receptive to cultivated meat, as a survey showed in March. It found that over 60% of Indians are willing to buy cultivated meat, with 59% identifying it as an alternative to conventional meat that promotes nutritional security.
One key barrier, as is the case in other countries too, will be the cost of cultivated meat. This has been a major bottleneck for startups around the world, and is critical to wider adoption of these proteins.
“Our product would be competitively priced to meet the demands of the Horeca [hotels, restaurants, and catering] sector,” Tibrewal reveals. “For a general Indian consumer market, chicken meat is available for around ₹150-250 ($1.75-2.95) per kg, and for a B2B market, it is priced between ₹300-600 ($3.50-7) per kg, given the premium involved.
“So, our target pricing is between ₹300-350 ($3.50-4.10) per kg, which will be good to go for the B2B market,” he says. This could be viable, considering that 46% of respondents to the aforementioned survey are willing to pay a 10-30% premium on cultivated meat.
The startup is also planning to set up an independent R&D and production facility by the end of 2025, which will further help streamline its costs.
Biokraft Foods to close pre-seed funding round soon
Courtesy: Biokraft Foods
Progress for India’s cultivated meat sector has sped up this year. The FSSAI has reportedly been looking to develop a regulatory framework for cultivated meat and seafood products, confirming that it would work with the government’s Department of Biotechnology and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council on the same at a regulatory conclave in April.
India’s health minister, JP Nadda, stressed the importance of setting up the framework at a food safety summit in September. And last month, the government was urged to set clear regulatory guidelines for these alternative proteins.
Government bodies have invested in this space, too, with multiple research grants for cultivated meat from the Ministry of Science and Technology. Meanwhile, ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute and New Delhi-based startup Neat Meatt are co-developing cultivated seafood, and Biokraft Foods itself is working with the ICAR-Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries Research on a similar project.
The opportunity for cultivated seafood has also attracted Singaporean pioneer Umami Bioworks, which has established R&D and commercialisation partnerships with two research hubs in India. One of them, the Centre for Smart Protein and Sustainable Material Innovation, was opened in May in Bengaluru, the same week the Alternative Proteins Innovation Center was launched in the city,
Biokfraft Foods, which has been backed by several government grants, is now in the middle of a pre-seed funding round, which is expected to close “very soon”, says Tibrewal.
Speaking after the tasting, CASMB president Nilesh Lele – a strategic advisor to the company – said: “Biokraft Foods is at the forefront of cultivated meat innovation, and this event underscores their potential to revolutionize the industry. I’m confident that Biokraft will not only lead in this space but also put India on the global map for sustainable food technology. This is just the beginning.”
An EU-funded research project is exploring how supermarket mushrooms and agricultural waste can be turned into proteins, vitamins and bio-based materials.
Combining mushrooms, food waste, fermentation and artificial intelligence can deliver alternative proteins and biomaterials fit for the future, according to researchers at the Danish Technological Institute (DTI).
The research centre is leading a four-year project called Zest, which has a budget of nearly €7.5M and is co-financed by the public-private Circular Bio-Based Europe programme. It aims to develop a fungi-based fermentation system to produce bio-based products like proteins, nutrients, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, and packaging.
“The result is a more sustainable and cost-effective method for protein production, which at the same time has a high level of food safety,” explains DTI director Anne Christine Hastrup.
Sidestream valorisation cuts both waste and costs
Courtesy: Danish Technological Institute
The project focuses on optimising fermentation processes and utilising low-cost agricultural waste streams as feedstock to produce upcycled mycoprotein for a variety of applications.
The researchers are taking edible mushrooms that you can find in supermarkets, and feeding them on farm byproducts like residues from sugar beet production, spent brewer’s grain from beer manufacturing, and fruit peels. These sidestreams are pre-treated before the fermentation process in bioreactors, where the fungi convert them into biomass.
“You can compare it to kombucha brewing, where you feed a fungal bacterial culture with sugar. In the EU project Zest, the culture consists of mushroom strains that convert agricultural residues into biomass, which we can use directly or extract mushroom protein and chitin from, which are used in medicine, food and bioplastics,” says Xiaoru Hou, senior project manager at DTI.
The resulting products can range from edible proteins and vitamins to bio-based materials and packaging, outcomes that startups can test and develop at DTI’s Biosolutions Technology Center.
The researchers claim the production method contributes to a zero-waste and circular economy, since the mushrooms are fed with agricultural residues that would otherwise go to waste. Valorising the sidestream additionally allows fermentation companies to reduce their media costs, lowering the final price for consumers too.
“At the same time, the process only requires small amounts of water compared to more traditional protein production, while the emission of greenhouse gases is also significantly lower,” says Hastrup.
Plus, DTI suggests that mycoprotein is easier to digest than plant protein, and is a source of vitamins B12 and D. It also has a neutral flavour profile due to its cell structure and different textures, which would help address the taste and texture demands of consumers.
Harnessing AI to optimise mushroom fermentation
Courtesy: Danish Technological Institute
Hastrup says DTI is specially designing new bioreactors for mushroom fermentation. “We will optimise the entire production process by screening the most suitable waste products from agriculture and food production together with different strains of fungi.”
This is a key objective of the EU-backed project, which is hoping to improve product quality through post-processing techniques, evaluate the functionality of extracted ingredients in food and pet food prototypes, and monitor waste production and energy use to meet sustainability goals.
The researchers are also creating an AI-based machine learning model to predict fermentation outcomes, using data from sensors in the bioreactors to implement control systems to correct parameters automatically, and monitor and adjust mycelium production conditions for optimal yield and quality.
“In the Zest project, we develop machine learning models based on parameters such as temperature, pH, oxygen levels and nutrient concentrations,” explains DTI’s Kristian Damlund Gregersen.
“We use hybrid models that combine traditional models of fungal growth with AI models trained on experimental data. The models can predict how the fungi behave on different agricultural residues and help fine-tune the bioreactor for optimal growth conditions,” he adds.
The AI-led approach further allows for a more sustainable production process, according to the researchers. The large database and ongoing adjustments allow them to optimise the yield, reduce waste, minimise energy consumption, and ensure high quality for the end products.
AI is becoming an increasingly popular tool for researchers and startups in the alternative protein space. The technology plays a central role in Bezos Earth Fund‘s $100M commitment towards three research hubs, while Shiru has an AI-powered platform to discover proteins and ingredients. And startups like Climax Foods, NotCo and Howw Foods employ AI to inform the development of their meat, dairy and egg alternatives.
Israeli startup Aleph Farms has submitted the first application for cultivated meat in Thailand, and expects regulatory clearance by mid-2026.
As far as regulatory progress for alternative protein goes, 2024 has been bookended by Israel’s Aleph Farms. The cultivated meat pioneer began the year with the greenlight to sell its beef in its home country, and is ending it in pursuit of yet another approval.
The Rehovot-based startup has filed a dossier for its cultivated beef steak in Thailand, marking the first such application in the country. It was submitted to the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), the agency overseeing safety assessments for novel foods, as designated by the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“We chose Thailand because of its reputation as the ‘Kitchen of the World’, renowned for its rich culinary heritage, advanced food production capabilities, and strategic position as a gateway to key Asian markets,” Aleph Farms co-founder and CEO Didier Toubia tells Green Queen.
“Thailand is also transitioning into a powerhouse for novel foods. Aleph Cuts align perfectly with Thai cuisine, and the country’s strong commitment to sustainability, combined with our trusted local partnerships, creates an ideal environment to drive meaningful innovation and growth in the region,” he adds.
Upon approval, the company’s Blank Angus Petit Steak will be sold under the Aleph Cuts brand. Doubia indicates that a timeline is difficult to predict, but “in principle, we estimate the process will take around 18 months”.
Aleph Farms working closely with Thai Union
Courtesy: Sakchai Lalit/AP
Aleph Farms received “instrumental” guidance to navigate Thailand’s regulatory framework from local seafood giant Thai Union, which is an investor in the alternative protein firm. The two entities spent nearly a year conducting extensive preparatory work and collaborating with the country’s regulatory agencies.
“This partnership was crucial in establishing the foundational regulatory framework needed to support this groundbreaking first submission for cultivated meat in Thailand,” says Yifat Gavriel, chief of regulatory affairs and product safety at Aleph Farms
“This proactive engagement not only laid the essential groundwork but also paved the way for an innovative regulatory path forward,” he says.
Doubia calls Thai Union a “key partner” for Aleph Farms. “We believe cultivated meat should be localised to fit into local markets and preferences, which we can achieve only through partnerships,” he says. “We also expect their expertise and infrastructure to accelerate the scale-up, market entry, and commercialisation of Aleph Cuts.”
The development comes just over a month after Aleph Farms conducted a tasting for food industry professionals in Bangkok, consulting with several local chefs who were left impressed by the Blank Angus Petit Steak, which will be sold under the Aleph Cuts brand.
In February, the startup partnered with biomanufacturer BBGI and synbio firm Fermbox Bio to initiate Thailand’s first factory for cultivated meat production. “We are currently finalizing plans for our facility in Thailand in partnership with BBGI and Fermbox Bio,” says Toubia. “As the project advances, we look forward to sharing more updates in the months ahead.”
Thailand’s appetite for (cultivated) meat
Courtesy: Madre Brava
Over the last three decades, meat consumption in Thailand has skyrocketed by 180%, doubling the amount of land used for livestock farming. As things stand, the country would require 42% more land to meet the animal protein demand by 2050, which would also produce 15% more emissions.
While pork and poultry appear most often on local plates, beef consumption is up by 11% from pre-pandemic levels, as dining out and tourism expand the food options on offer, and beef-heavy cuisines like Korean become more popular.
More beef means more land, more water, more emissions, and more problems for the climate. And the problem is compounded by the fact that four in 10 Thai people don’t know a lot about the impact of animal agriculture, with only 13% believing industrial meat production is a major driver of climate change, according to a December 2023 survey.
That poll also suggested that just a quarter of Thailand’s population is aware of cultivated meat, posing significant consumer education challenges for companies such as Aleph Farms. Toubia looks at it positively, though: “This gap is an opportunity to shape the perception of cultivated meat with real and transparent information about what cultivated meat is and is not.”
In any case, two-thirds of locals are looking to put less meat on their plates, primarily for health reasons. A 2021 survey conducted by Aleph Farms and Thai Union offered more promising results for cultivated meat too, suggesting that nearly all (97%) of Thai consumers want to try these proteins.
Leveraging international cooperation for regulatory wins
Courtesy: Aleph Farms
Toubia suggests that the Thai application is “a significant milestone” in the firm’s operational roadmap for Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific region.
The startup has already submitted an application in Singapore, where two companies are already selling cultivated meat, as well as Switzerland in the UK. It is additionally in “advanced pre-submission consultations” in several countries, including the US.
In September, Aleph Farms revealed to Green Queen that it planned to eventually expand into Japan, South Korea, Australia, China, and Hong Kong. The latter became just the fifth region to clear cultivated meat for sale last month, using Singapore’s approval of Aussie startup Vow as a benchmark.
This model of international cooperation is set to become increasingly popular among regulators and cultivated meat startups alike, both of which are hoping to speed up the approval process across geographies. The UK has been working on a collaborative approach like this too, and both Dutch cultivated pork maker plans to leverage it to get the nod in several Asian countries next year.
Aleph Farms is hoping to do the same, says Doubia. “And we are adopting a similar approach in the EMEA region, where we have already secured approval from Israel’s Ministry of Health,” he adds.
The Israel approval came about in December 2023, but Aleph Farms still needs to clear a Good Manufacturing Practices inspection for its production facility before it can sell its cultivated beef steak.
“Our focus is on building the necessary production capabilities to ensure a reliable supply and sustainable revenue growth before launch,” says Toubia. “In the meantime, we are refining our product-market fit and continuing our cost reduction program.”
The Petit Steak – a hybrid meat product comprising non-modified, non-immortalised cells of a premium Black Angus cow, combined with a plant protein matrix made of soy and wheat – will be priced similarly to premium beef, the company has previously confirmed.
“By incorporating valuable market insights from our recent chef workshops, we aim to create a differentiated category in the animal protein space, ensuring Aleph Cuts are positioned for long-term success and acceptance,” says Toubia.
Cultivated meat critical for ‘natural security issues’
Courtesy: GFI
Aleph Farms has raised $118M from investors since it was founded in 2017, but it hasn’t been immune to the challenges faced by the cultivated meat category, which saw funding dip by 75% in 2023 (with a further decline looking likely this year).
The sector-wide investment decline, combined with the geopolitical tension with the Israel-Hamas war, has reportedly impeded Aleph Farms’ efforts to secure more money, playing a part in its decision to lay off 30% of its local employees earlier this year, which the company described as part of its “asset-light” strategy.
While 2024 has been a seminal year for cultivated meat regulation, and next year is set to witness more companies breaking through to market, daunting obstacles remain – not least politically. Italy has already banned cultivated meat, while France, Romania and Hungary have tried to.
In the US, Florida and Alabama have outlawed these foods, while lawmakers in at least 12 other states have proposed similar measures. And things will only become more complicated when Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.
Toubia, for his part, outlines the importance of alternative proteins to several critical national security issues, including food security and food sovereignty.
“Amid growing consumer demand, we face a declining livestock population, rising feed costs, an ageing demographic of ranchers, labour shortages, market volatility, supply chain shocks, and significant environmental pressures,” he says. “Diversifying animal protein and fat production has never been more crucial for ensuring national security.”
In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers a vegan nugget campaign with Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli, Japan Airlines’s plant-based sushi offering, and a precision fermentation communication guide.
New products and launches
Indian plant-based meat brand Blue Tribe Foods has revamped its vegan chicken nuggets, accompanied by a new ad campaign featuring its celebrity ambassador couple, actress Anushka Sharma and cricketer Virat Kohli.
Canadian startup Milk Depot Inc. is the latest brand in the at-home plant-based milk category, launching a non-dairy Milk Maker for $279.95 (currently on offer for $149) on its website.
Vegan fast-food chain Mr Charlie’s has opened a pop-up in Melbourne’s CoConspirators Brewpub, which will run for two months.
Korean startup Pensées has begun selling its first food-grade culture medium for cultivated meat producers, which has a similar cost to the industry standard when used on a development scale.
Courtesy: Pensées
And Japan Airlines is serving up vegan sushi in the air, thanks to a partnership with local food manufacturer Azuma Foods.
Dutch vegan ingredient company GNT has set up a VC arm called GNT Ventures, which will focus on colouring solutions across the raw material and fermentation, processing, food ingredient, and upcycling verticals.
A month after opening its Armored Grilled Cheese foodservice venture in Brooklyn’s Dekalb Market Hall, South Korean dairy-free cheese startup Armored Fresh has announced that 70% of visitors have been non-vegan. It also recorded a repeat customer rate of 24% in this period.
Courtesy: Armored Fresh
Bangkok-based agrifood giant Thai Wah Public Company has teamed up with Japan’s Fuji Nihon Corporation to advance the manufacturing, sales and distribution of tapioca-based foods.
Denver-based vegan restaurant Meta Burger – once named the world’s best burger by HappyCow – has closed its two remaining locations, leaving the city with no fully plant-based eateries.
Courtesy: Meta Burger
Speaking of the world’s best, Qatar Airways has partnered with food waste digester company Power Knot to install a biodigester on its planes, which can process and convert up to 1,500kg of food waste into greywater.
There’s change at the top at Israeli cultivated seafood startup Wanda Fish, where James Amihood is taking over as CEO from Dafna Heffetz, who will stay as a board vice-chairman.
A judge in Los Angeles has ruled in favour of the USDA on a 2022 case brought by a vegan student who argued that her school was violating the First Amendment rights by blocking her ability to raise awareness about plant-based milk. The courts decided that the student lacked standing to sue because she has already graduated.
In Sweden, the Chalmers University of Technology has established a four-year future food consortium with agrifood giants Lantmännen and Arla to advance fermentation research and develop hybrid foods.
Courtesy: University of Waterloo
At the University of Waterloo in Canada, scientists are feeding bacteria on food scraps to produce fully biodegradable bioplastics that break down in garden composts, agricultural fields, and both fresh and seawater, while causing no harmful plastic pollution or leaving any chemical residues behind.
Spanish plant-based meat leader Heura has called on the national government to take a more urgent approach to climate action and “prioritise sustainability and global health over political interests” in a new awareness campaign.
Students at the University of Reading have won the second prize in EIT Food‘s ‘Pea-Licious’ programme for their pea-based drink PeaChata and yoghurt YogiPot.
Courtesy: All G
Alternative protein think tanks the Good Food Institute APAC and Cellular Agriculture Australia have worked with several Asia-Pacific stakeholders to produce an in-depth communication guide for precision fermentation.
Also in Asia, non-profit Charity Doings Foundation is hosting the first-ever Pakistan International Animal and Environmental Rights Conference in 2025 at the Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore (January 18-19).
Finally, the state-owned Emirates Foundation has published a food waste guide for event organisers and food businesses, which can help them lower waste by up to 60%.
A new analysis of job posts in the alternative protein sector shows what kind of roles are most popular, where people want to relocate to, and the disconnect with remote work.
With the right investment, the alternative protein industry – covering innovators of plant proteins, cultivated meat, and fermentation-derived foods – could support nearly 10 million jobs by 2050.
That’s around the same time the world will be in touching distance with a population of 10 billion, a number the current food system simply cannot sustain as things stand.
It’s why billionaires are pouring their wealth into research to make meat analogues so good, omnivores would willingly give up the conventional thing. It’s why companies are working across the breadth of food technology to find ways to close the gap between alternative and animal proteins – whether that’s with taste, nutrition, or price.
Today, there are over 2,000 startups in this sector. And while they have had a tumultuous couple of years, innovation is rife, as is the need for talent. One place career hopefuls can go to is AltProtein.Jobs, an AI-led jobseeking platform by German firm Tälist that connects employers in the space with prospective candidates.
To identify hiring trends in the sector, Tälist has analysed tens of thousands of data points from job postings and candidate profiles on its website, resulting in what it says is the first-of-its-kind data-driven analysis of the alternative protein talent and hiring landscape.
Here are the key takeaways from the Alt-Protein Career & Hiring Report:
Monthly job postings showcase fluctuations
Courtesy: Tälist
There were 16,100 jobs posted by Tälist between October 2023 and September 2024, but monthly analysis exhibited “dynamic fluctuations” – postings peaked in November and January, with another hike in August, but February and April were marked with lower activity.
The jobs platform ascribed investment rounds and seasonal budget allocations as possible factors behind these variations, but noted that the exact reasons couldn’t be determined based on the available data.
Meanwhile, company size does seem to influence hiring patterns, with larger firms showing more stability and growth in job postings throughout the 12-month period. Smaller businesses experience sharper fluctuations and tend to hire less, reflecting their more volatile funding and staffing needs.
The report found fairly consistent monthly job postings with each job function category, with certain segments showing particularly strong demand. Jobs in business, biology and food science make up 52% of the total postings, while sales, marketing, and production account for another 39%.
While some of the leading industry players – from Meati to Aleph Farms – have been forced to cut jobs of late, the sector as a whole has maintained a stable trajectory when it comes to job availability. “Although layoffs have occurred, they have largely been balanced by new opportunities emerging in the market,” said Tälist.
That said, there has been no substantial increase in the number of jobs in the sector, which suggests that it is in a consolidation phase to enable future growth.
Entry- and mid-level roles most popular
Courtesy: Tälist
Mid-level roles are the most desired positions for companies, making up a third of all postings, followed by entry-level jobs (30%). The share of internship positions has doubled in the last year, but junior-level roles have witnessed a sharp decrease.
Interestingly, executive positions appear to be open for a longer number of days across biology and food science, production, and sales and marketing. In contrast, mid-level positions remain online longest in the engineering and business categories.
Broadly, marketing/PR and business administration are among the job functions quickest to be filled, open for 35-37 days. On the flip side, positions with job functions like downstream processing, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and food safety face longer delays (43-51).
Europe dominates – but Asia and Latin America show growth signs
Courtesy: Tälist
As a marker of the sector’s rapid global expansion, Asia-Pacific and Latin America witnessed a notable uptick in job postings – in fact, the latter region had twice as many roles open in 2024 compared to last year. The Middle East also had an 87% hike in job postings this year, going from 112 to 209 roles.
However, Europe now dominates this trend, featuring the highest number of job postings this year. It overtook North America, whose share fell from 39% to 33% despite a rise in absolute numbers. “[This] may suggest a market adjustment as companies re-evaluate their positions in response to economic pressures or shifts in consumer behaviour,” the report noted.
Meanwhile, 61% of candidates are willing to relocate for their jobs, whether domestically or overseas – of those, 78% are happy to move to or within the EU, and 60% would consider relocating to the US.
Indians showcase the highest willingness to move, with 87% saying so, followed by Nigerians (84%) and Swiss consumers (81%). Among the preferred destinations, the US, Germany, and the Netherlands stand out as the top choices for relocation, all hubs for future food companies.
Candidates prefer remote work and collaborative culture
Courtesy: Tälist
There’s a significant disconnect between the work models candidates and companies prefer. While 69% of businesses posted on-site roles, only 6% of jobseekers prefer this option.
Instead, two in five are interested in hybrid roles (with 27% of companies advertising such positions), and one in five seek fully remote jobs, though only 4.5% of positions supported this option. But crucially, 35% of prospects indicate that they’d accept any of these arrangements.
“Employers should anticipate the shift in remote work preferences among job seekers by emphasising remote and hybrid roles that could help meet candidate expectations for flexibility, therefore widening the talent pool and attracting candidates who might otherwise be less available due to geographic constraints,” the report read.
Candidates also place a high value on collaborative work environments, with 54% stressing their importance. This is followed by openness to remote work (36%), ethics (34%), and innovation and creativity (also 34%).
Plant-based roles lead the way
Courtesy: Tälist
Among the different pillars of alternative protein, there’s a clear emphasis on plant-based, which should come as little surprise given this is the most advanced category in the space, featuring the highest number of companies.
These roles accounted for 70% of all job postings at Tälist. Next in line was the fermentation vertical, minus precision fermentation (19%), while one in 10 roles was in the cultivated meat space. The remaining segments, like molecular farming or hybrid technologies, took up a minute 0.6% share.
These hiring trends will further be shaped by “regulatory decisions and investor priorities”, which will dictate which technologies receive regulatory and financial support. “Additionally, we might see more shifts in regional hiring trends as local political and economic factors influence the alternative protein market,” stated the report.
German startup ProteinDistillery has begun construction of a large-scale plant for its yeast-derived Prew:tein ingredient, in a ceremony attended by the federal agriculture minister.
Politicians, artists and footballers were all present at the commencement ceremony of an upcoming factory in southwest Germany that will churn out 200 tonnes of protein made from upcycled beer waste.
Berlin-headquartered ProteinDistillery broke ground on its Protein Competence Center last week, which will produce Prew:tein, a yeast-based protein that can enhance the functional properties of meat and dairy alternatives, and act as an egg white replacement in several applications, including baked goods.
The startup’s patented technology allows it to use several food industry sidestreams, but it has started with brewer’s yeast, an often underutilised byproduct of beer production. This undergoes a fermentation process to turn into Prew:tein, which can act as an emulsifier, a gelling and foaming agent, and a binder to replace animal proteins and plant-based additives like methylcellulose in a host of products.
ProteinDistillery’s facility will be situated at Unilever’s Knorr Campus in Heilbronn, with the ceremony attended by German food and agriculture minister, Cem Özdemir, the city’s head mayor Harry Mergel, and member of parliament Zoe Mayer, alongside artist Tim Bengel and former VfB Stuttgart goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand (who jointly own vegan restaurant Vhy! in Stuttgart).
“With the Protein Competence Center in Heilbronn, we are taking an important step toward establishing sustainable and locally produced proteins that are resource-efficient and independent of agricultural land. This brings a real revolution to the food industry,” said ProteinDistillery co-founder and managing director Marco Ries.
“Turning what’s left from brewing beer into valuable plant-based protein is future-forward. And it hits the spirit of the times: while meat consumption is decreasing, demand for and variety in alternative plant-based proteins are increasing,” added Özdemir.
How Prew:tein addresses multiple alt-protein pain points
Courtesy: ProteinDistillery
The startup uses a process called biomass fermentation, which taps into the high-protein content and rapid growth potential of microorganisms to produce large amounts of food. This allows companies to use the entire biomass produced by the microbes as an ingredient. It’s the same way Quorn has been making its mycoprotein for decades.
ProteinDistillery works with suppliers to source its brewer’s yeast, which is turned into functional building blocks and then recomposed to meet consumer needs. The “gentle processing” involved ensures a clean, native protein that replicates the functionality of animal proteins without compromising on the taste or nutritional value.
The advantages of making food this way are manifold. There’s the environmental impact: relying on microbes instead of water-guzzling, land-intensive livestock means Prew:tein requires 400 times less land and 250 times less water than beef, while producing 80 times fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
But more crucially for consumers, Prew:tein offers functional benefits to enhance plant-based meat, dairy and bakery products. It has a protein content of over 75%, with a digestibility score of 1.0, the highest possible score and on par with egg proteins and milk proteins like casein and whey.
Its binding properties and ability to gel irreversibly even at low concentrations allow producers to give products like vegan burgers and schnitzels a more realistic flavour and texture, while its emulsification and solubility attributes make it ideal for improving consistencies in alt-dairy products, such as harder and better-melting vegan cheese.
Meanwhile, it can provide foaming and emulsion stability in baked goods like muffins and cakes, without the price and market volatility of eggs or the taste and moisture challenges of non-dairy whipping creams. Prew:tein is said to improve the texture, viscosity and firmness of bakery mixes, create stability at hot temperatures, and contribute to a longer shelf life too.
German food minister calls for EU-wide protein strategy
Courtesy: ProteinDistillery
To demonstrate these capabilities, Vhy! introduced Maultaschen (a dumpling filling) at the ceremony, which is the first consumer product made from Prew:tein. This will benefit from a streamlined production process, enabling faster production at lower costs and allowing Vhy! to begin supplying plant-base dishes to local canteens at companies like Porsche and Daimler.
The Protein Competence Centre will begin production in April, helping avoid nearly two million kg of emissions. “On a footprint of less than 1,000 square meters, we will be producing as much protein as found in 20 million chicken eggs,” revealed Christoph Pitter, co-founder and managing director of ProteinDistillery.
The startup, which raised €15M ($15.8M) in seed funding in March, chose Heilbronn as the region is known as a key research and production hub, and hopes to “promote exchange between science and industry” with the new facility.
“Our agricultural and food industries are full of innovative potential, as shown here at ProteinDistillery,” said Özdemir. “To promote such innovative approaches, we’re evolving our plant protein strategy into a broader protein strategy. I’m also advocating in Brussels for the Commission to strengthen local protein supplies with an EU-wide protein strategy.”
The next few months will see ProteinDistillery focus on installing the remaining equipment, with technical assembly and electrical installations scheduled for early 2025. It also plans to valorise its own sidestreams, with the new plant allowing these to be scaled up from the lab stage too.
These efforts will further strengthen what is already Europe’s largest market for vegan food, representing 40% of the continent’s trade as sales of plant-based meat and dairy reached €2.2B last year (an 8% annual increase). In fact, more than a third of households bought these products in 2023.
Other startups upcycling brewer’s yeast into sustainable ingredients include Dutch player Revyve, which recently unveiled its own egg replacer, and France’s Yeasty, which has discovered a way to remove the bitterness from brewer’s yeast, producing a flour for alternative protein, pet food, and nutrition products.
Hamburg-based Infinite Roots has teamed up with plant-based giant Pulmuone to debut its mycelium protein in a line of meat analogues in South Korea.
Armed with regulatory roadblocks in its home region, German startup Infinite Roots has debuted its mycelium ingredient in South Korean supermarkets with the help of tofu and vegan meat manufacturer Pulmuone.
Infinite Roots’s umami-packed protein is being rolled out as part of mushroom-led products under Pulmuone’s Earth Diet line, in an omnichannel test described as a significant step towards bringing novel foods to market readiness.
The meatballs and Hamburg steak contain “only a few ingredients”, according to Infinite Roots founder and CEO Mazen Rizk, who told Green Queen: “Both products have a very exquisite taste, rich in umami. We are not trying to imitate meat; instead, we focus on highlighting the natural taste of mycelium.”
He added that the products have received positive feedback, which “underscores the strong interest in mycelium and foods derived from this raw material, as they deliver on both taste and sustainability”.
Mycelium is the root-like structure of edible mushrooms, comprising a network of tiny thread-like cells that grow underground to form an intricate web of connections. It’s a fast-growing market, set to cross $6.5B by 2032, according to one estimate.
Infinite Roots, which was founded in 2018, employs a submerged fermentation process (where microbial cells are grown in a liquid medium) for its upcycled mycelium. It uses edible mushroom strains that are fed on brewers’ spent grain, which makes up 85% of the waste emanating from the brewing industry.
These roots are from the same mushrooms you can buy at the supermarket, and the startup has already achieved self-determined Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status in the US (it has since notified the FDA in pursuit of a ‘no questions’ letter).
It has also been in talks with the European Food Safety Authority, with the startup telling Green Queen last month that it was in the final stages of securing approval. This process is ongoing, but Infinite Roots – which has raised $73M in funding to date – is now suggesting that regulatory hurdles have prompted it to look elsewhere for now, building on a previous comment where the spokesperson said: “In Asia, we’re already set to offer our products to consumers.”
The move to enter the South Korean market is reflective of the struggle faced by European alternative protein startups when it comes to commercialising their products at home, according to the company.
“Our ingredients are derived from well-known edible mushrooms that have been consumed throughout history,” said Rizk. “Despite this, the Korean authorities independently tested our products and concluded that they are safe.”
He added that the mycelium ingredient is not going through a novel food process in South Korea, where the regulatory system is different from the EU.
“Both regions prioritise safety and efficacy, but differ in their regulatory frameworks, emphasis on health claims, and localised data requirements,” he said. “South Korea’s process can be faster but more localised, whereas the EFSA’s centralised system is more comprehensive but slower.”
Pulmuone’s bid to grow alt-protein empire
Courtesy: Infinite Roots/Pulmuone/Maksim Borzdov | Composite by Green Queen
Partnering with Pulmuone, a plant protein leader for over four decades, is a shrewd move. The South Korean firm recorded $2.1B in sales in 2023, with operating profit jumping by 135% to surpass $44M. And among its main global growth pillars are an expansion of its meat alternative portfolio, a strengthening of its ESG goals, and future readiness through food tech.
The company forayed into meat alternatives in 2021 with the Earth Diet label, which has a wide range of meat analogue products. It will provide Infinite Roots with an ideal platform for consumer acceptance through an established brand.
The prominent positioning of Earth Diet underscores the potential to make the products accessible to a broad audience, according to Infinite Roots. “It’s a brand with a very strong heritage in healthy quality food. Its reputation is excellent in Korea,” the spokesperson said of Pulmuone.
The products combine mycelium with mushrooms to create a rich umami profile that caters to local taste preferences, and are positioned to resonate with Asian customers who are familiar with mushroom-based dishes.
For Pulmuone, the partnership marks a step towards its sustainability goals – mycelium needs 500 times less land and 200 times less water per kg of protein than cattle, and its production is also 30 times more efficient than soy.
Alternative protein companies Umami Bioworks and Steakholder Foods have culminated their government-backed R&D project, and will now look to develop 3D-printed cultivated fish fillets at scale.
Singaporean cultivated seafood leader Umami Bioworks and Israeli 3D-printed protein producer Steakholder Foods are aiming to bring “commercial-ready” alt-seafood products to market after successfully completing a two-year-long R&D project.
The collaboration, backed by the Singapore-Israel Industrial R&D (SIIRD) grant, established the feasibility of producing 3D-printed cultivated fish fillets at scalable volumes, and will see the companies now team up with Singapore’s National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC) to commercialise these products.
It comes a year after the two firms created a 3D-printed cultivated grouper fish that formed the centrepiece of dishes in a public tasting attended by industry and political leaders.
A portfolio of prototypes
Courtesy: Steakholder Foods
Listed on the Nasdaq and Tel Aviv stock exchanges, Steakholder Foods has been around since 2019 and makes 3D-printing production machines and premix blends for plant-based and cultivated proteins, including beef steaks, white fish, shrimp, and eel. It’s also exploring the integration of cultivated cells.
Umami Bioworks, meanwhile, has used machine learning and bio-analysis to create a plug-and-play bioplatform for the discovery and development of cultivated seafood, and is working on a number of species with various partners. In March, it merged with fellow Singaporean startup Shiok Meats, establishing itself as a leader in the global cellular agriculture industry.
The two companies first came together on the joint project in July 2022, aiming to marry Umami Bioworks’s tech platform with Steakholder Foods’s 3D bioprinting capabilities to develop a scalable process for producing structured cultivated fish products.
Less than a year into the collaboration, they developed the grouper fish, a hybrid protein that was ready to cook, unlike fully cultivated meat products that still require incubation and maturation after being printed.
Now, the two have “laid the groundwork” for producing premium cultivated fish cuts, creating a portfolio of prototype designs to demonstrate the versatility of their technologies. To translate this effort into commercialisation in Singapore, they are working with NAMIC, a national platform hosted by the government’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).
“Partnering with UMAMI Bioworks allows us to further extend our longstanding expertise in 3D printing of plant-based seafood to the production of cultivated products,” said Steakholder Foods CEO Arik Kaufman. “By leveraging our collective strengths, we aim to quickly develop commercial products that meet industry needs while aligning with regulatory and sustainability goals.”
Opening up regulatory pathways
Courtesy: Shlomi Arbiv
Ho Chaw Sing, CEO of NAMIC, noted that the collaboration was timely, given Singapore’s push to achieve its food security goal of producing 30% of its food locally by 2030.
“With the aquaculture sector contributing significantly to this goal, we hope to bolster the cellular agriculture industry as an alternative to the agri-food industry by leveraging on Steakholder Foods’ proprietary 3D printing technology and Umami Bioworks’ cultivated bioproduct expertise to accelerate the development of alternative seafood products, with comparable taste and texture to natural seafood,” he said.
With NAMIC’s support, the companies will aim to develop product for both local and international markets. Their partnership also sets the stage for proactively navigating food safety standards and regulatory frameworks, which will ensure that these products can be rolled out swiftly when ready.
Singapore has a world-leading food tech ecosystem. It was the first country to clear the sale of cultivated meat back in 2020, and has a regulatory framework used by several countries and regions as a benchmark for novel food approval. But to date, no nation has given the go-ahead to a cultivated seafood product.
That may change soon, with Umami Bioworks pursuing approval in several markets, including Singapore, the US, and Europe. “Our partnership with Steakholder Foods is well aligned with our strategy to create a sustainable seafood platform with the scalability required for global impact,” said Mihir Pershad, founder and CEO of the cultivated seafood firm.
Over the last year, Umami Bioworks has been expanding its presence across the globe, setting up production lines in Malaysia and South Korea, collaborating with research initiatives in India, opening an office in the UK, and working with a pet food company to launch cultivated fish treats for cats in the US next year.
And last month, it launched a biotech tool for pathogen detection and quality assessments in the conventional seafood supply chain, expanding beyond alternative proteins to improve the efficiency of existing seafood production systems.
Food tech organisations have signed a deal to advance the alternative protein industry in South Korea, where cultivated meat is set to make its entry soon.
As South Koreans prepare to welcome cultivated meat to their plates, stakeholders from the novel food and biotech sectors have joined forces to propel the country’s future food industry forward.
Industry group Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KoreaBio) and its Bio-based Future Food Industry Committee (BFFIC) – a coalition of 33 future food companies – have signed an MoU with alternative protein think tank the Good Food Institute Asia-Pacific (GFI APAC).
The three organisations aim to advance market research and knowledge exchanges, increase policy coordination for novel food regulation, facilitate training, and host joint workshops and presentations about alternative protein innovation.
“The association hopes that this agreement will create a domestic industrial ecosystem in line with global trends and enable many Korean companies involved in novel food to successfully expand their business globally,” said KoreaBio vice-president Seung-kyou Lee.
The goals of the alternative protein partnership
Courtesy: GFI APAC
The MoU contains a five-point plan outlining the purposes of the yearlong partnership, which will see the industry members meet once every quarter.
The collaboration will seek to leverage GFI APAC’s research, resources and expertise in the sector to enhance BFFIC’s ability to develop and commercialise alternative proteins. The think tank itself will look to tap into the expertise of KoreaBIO and BFFIC members when providing support in the country.
Sharing relevant research, data, reports, and market insights on future foods is a key goal of the partnership, helping speed up the development of South Korea’s novel food ecosystem via regular sessions and workshops, as needed.
Equally important is an effort to work together on policy initiatives to create a favourable regulatory environment for alternative proteins in the nation, setting an example for other countries pursuing such regulatory frameworks too.
The organisations also agreed to bolster international cooperation by connecting the South Korean ecosystem with global organisations and entities working in the future food space – this effort will be aided by GFI’s vast network (the think tank has seven offices across the world).
Finally, the MoU mentions a need to foster industry growth by organising joint webinars, workshops and presentations, which will help raise awareness and drive interest in alternative proteins.
Further highlighting how GFI APAC can provide support, the document notes that KoreaBio and BFFIC can benefit from its research on cultivated meat, fermentation, and plant-based proteins, its comprehensive market analysis, policy guidance, its international network, and educational material, reports and case studies to develop and scale novel food technologies.
Policy progress for cultivated meat in South Korea
Courtesy: Simple Planet
“Global mutual cooperation is essential for the industrialisation of novel foods, including alternative proteins, which will be crucial for the future food supply system,” added Dominic Jeong, president of the BFFIC. “A partnership among GFI, KoreaBIO, and BFFIC will be the starting point for building a global network and facilitating a novel food industry in Korea.”
Jeong is also the co-founder and CEO of Seoul-based startup Simple Planet, which is hoping to obtain the regulatory nod for its cultivated meat in South Korea by the first half of 2025. “Consumers will be able to taste or receive prototypes in the second half of next year. The target markets include not only Korea, but also North America and Southeast Asia,” Jeong told Green Queen in May.
His comments came months after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety established a framework for regulatory approval of these proteins, outlining a process that costs ₩45M ($34,000) and is expected to take up to 270 working days.
The government has also created a regulation-free special zone for the development of cultivated foods in the eastern province of Gyeongsangbuk-do. The ₩20B ($14M) project harbours 10 companies to commercialise these proteins, including TissenBioFarm, Seawith and DaNAgreen, which are also members of BBFIC.
Plus, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced an investment of ₩29B ($21M) in research funding for plant-based and cultivated seafood technologies. Plant protein giant Pulmuone and Singapore’s Umami Bioworks have both made moves to manufacture cultivated fish products in South Korea recently.
Meanwhile, last year saw the opening of the $7M North Gyeongsang Cellular Agriculture Industry Support Center, a 2,309 sq m facility to fuel the development of biomaterials and support cultivated meat companies.
Research indicates that interest in cultivated meat remains high among Koreans, 90% of whom are willing to give it a go. Two in five are also in favour of these products being sold at supermarkets and restaurants, but price is a significant barrier. While 57% would eat cultivated pork if it’s cheaper than its conventional counterpart – and 25% would do so for beef – just a sixth of Koreans would pay more for cultivated meat.
“Reimagining how meat is made is one of humanity’s greatest untapped opportunities,” said GFI founder Bruce Friedrich. “As a world-class innovation hub, South Korea’s expansive R&D and manufacturing ecosystem will play a crucial role in supercharging cultivated meat development and pioneering the technological breakthroughs our planet urgently needs.”
Experts at Wageningen University argue that livestock numbers need to be reduced while a transition to plant-based diets should be welcomed by the EU.
Every year, academics from Wageningen University & Research (WUR), the EU’s top agriculture institution, present the Mansholt Lecture. Highlighting the dilemmas faced by the region’s farm sector, it’s inspired by Sicco Mansholt, a Dutchman who was the bloc’s first agriculture commissioner and architect of its Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).
The CAP aims to tackle biodiversity loss, species decline, and planetary harm – but many of its current policies fail to do so. And of those that have promise, most are derailed by Big Ag’s big lobbies. Nearly 30% of the CAP’s budget is spent on agriculture, which is important considering the sector accounts for 12% of EU emissions.
However, 80% of this expenditure is directed to livestock farming, with 44% alone going to crops for animals that humans end up eating. This makes little sense when you consider that animal proteins provide only 35% of the EU’s calorie supply, and generate 84% of its agricultural emissions. Plant-based farming, on the other hand, receives less than a quarter of the CAP’s money.
And even though farmers themselves are calling on people to eat less meat and asking policymakers to draw up plans to transition to a plant-based food system, EU leaders seem hesitant in intervening.
These are among the five major dilemmas that the WUR experts outlined in a new paper accompanying the Mansholt Lecture. The 80-page report contends with the EU’s pursuit for self-sufficiency, the future of animal agriculture, whether climate targets should be a shared responsibility among member states, the coexistence of food and non-food biomass, and policy interventions to reshape consumer behaviour.
Reforming livestock farming means eating more plant-based
Graphic by Green Queen
WUR notes that the EU can be considered food-secure for now, but that it’s highly dependent on imports of fertilisers, energy and animal feed. And while the region can produce enough food for its population at current rates, this will only be possible if the production of protein crops and oilseeds is increased, and people begin reducing their meat consumption.
Conversely, if Europeans continue to eat as much meat as they do now, reducing livestock’s impact on the climate and biodiversity will be a challenge, the author wrote. Addressing livestock numbers, therefore, is a priority.
“Without reducing the livestock population, this would require major adaptations to technology and feed systems, including feed additives and new housing systems and forms of manure processing,” the report reads, adding: “In practice, the impact of many of these innovations is often disappointing.”
Growing animal feed would also compete with the production of crops suitable for human consumption. An alternative approach would be to deindustrialise livestock farming, utilising grasslands, raw materials and waste streams that don’t compete with human food, as well as food waste – think retail products past their sell-by dates.
“In this more circular approach, the primary role of animals would be to convert these non-human food streams, with the number of animals in a region determined by the availability of these resources, rather than global demand for animal products,” the report states.
This will also only be possible if meat and dairy consumption is curbed – the EU already eats 80% more protein than is recommended, and 60% of this comes from animals. “A partial shift towards plant-based proteins in high-income countries could help to achieve this,” according to the WUR researchers.
And in terms of nature and climate targets, a gradual transition to plant-based eating has been shown to reduce demand for animal products and reduce emissions, while also supporting the ambitions to improve public health – this combination of human and planetary health gains could be a catalyst for greater adoption of vegan diets.
Meanwhile, land use has historically been the main driver of biodiversity loss in the EU. Now, though, 78% of this is attributed to intensive livestock systems. So neither land sparing nor land sharing strategies would be enough to meet biodiversity targets – reducing livestock populations, and thus shifting to plant-based diets, is critical.
Policy intervention critical to changing consumption patterns
Graphic by Green Queen Media
The report comes on the heels of the confirmation hearing of Christophe Hansen, the incoming EU agriculture commissioner, who suggested that meat consumption was something policymakers shouldn’t get involved in.
The experts at WUR, however, rejected that idea. “Interventions are needed to support consumer behaviour towards more healthy and sustainable diets,” they wrote. “The hesitation to intervene in our food choices stands in stark contrast to the commonly accepted use of pricing strategies to reduce demand for fuels, as well as tobacco and alcohol.”
They added that there’s societal support for more active government interventions to stimulate healthier and more climate-friendly consumption behaviours. Adopting an interventionist approach to shift dietary patterns, the academics argued, is crucial for progress.
But they acknowledged that the public steering of consumer behaviour is a “socially and politically delicate matter”. Price interventions like meat taxes (à la Denmark) can be effective, for example, but stir controversy too.
Instead, a combination of different interventions – like information about the consequences of meat consumption, preparation tips, and price differences between different compositions of plant-based foods – can be much more impactful than one-off measures.
The paper cites the Nuffield intervention ladder, where oft interventions like information move up to harder measures like restrictive legislation. The interventions on supporting more plant-based diets, it says, are currently mostly related to monitoring and informing. But the EU strategy for sustainable textiles is already moving up this ladder to curb fast fashion, an effort that could be replicated for animal agriculture too.
Other interventions include “communication strategies, pricing incentives, informative labelling, regulations, and bans, or indirect strategies such as binding agreements with the agrifood sector and supermarkets”, says the report.
“Although countries and regions are confronted with distinct challenges, in general, more sustainable and healthy diets are required,” it adds. “Sustainable diets, for example, lean towards more plant-based and vegetarian diets, and to more local and seasonal diets.”
