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Category: Future Foods

  • Not So Happy: NotCo Targets Chick-fil-A & Other Meat Companies with Animal Abuse Jingle

    notco
    4 Mins Read

    Chilean food tech startup NotCo has unveiled its latest marketing campaign, Not So Happy Animals, which highlights some uncomfortable truths about the meat industry.

    “I might look like I’m happy, but my grin is not real.”

    That’s the message NotCo is trying to advocate in its new advertising campaign. The Chilean startup makes chicken, beef and milk analogues through a proprietary AI tech, but is now expanding its AI prowess to enlighten consumers about the deceptive marketing and ills of the animal agriculture industry. When consumers scan a QR code on a logo with an animal – such as Chick-fil-A – it turns into an augmented-reality-powered jingle promoting plant-based diets.

    The premise is: if you’ve ever seen a happy chicken, cow or pig on a logo, it’s really a facade. There’s a disconnect between what meat companies – fast-food chains, restaurants and manufacturers – sell, and what their marketing projects. And this extends to a disillusionment around how people see food: many aren’t aware of what goes into the meat they eat, or how it’s really produced.

    That’s what Louise McKerrow, NotCo’s global marketing head, says. “Many people don’t understand the process that goes behind the food they eat every day; this campaign gives a glimpse into that,” she tells Green Queen. “We hope that we can start a proactive dialogue around the source of our food and urge consumers to make informed choices.”

    NotCo blends facts with emotion to highlight animal abuse

    To kick off the campaign, the company has produced a video with a catchy song that highlights a fictional fast-food chain, Smiley Chicken, the bird on whose logo comes to life alluding that underneath the exterior, “there’s a whole lot of pain”.

    It moves to another restaurant called Red Burger, first tugging at the emotional with “Who could be happy becoming a meal?” and then complementing it with facts like “You’ll find a hundred cows in just one burger patty”. Then there are shots of eateries like The Rib King and a generic diner with window signs promoting ‘Glorious Meats’, before a focus on a pork restaurant called Don Carlo.

    The ad illustrates many controversial elements of the meat industry, but the blatancy is deliberately punctured by the fact that it’s a song. For example, the pig at Don Carlo says: “I’d be so much happier if I didn’t have to die” – it might be a simple line, but it highlights the matter-of-fact nature of factory-farmed meat. Research shows that 94% of all animals on Earth live on factory farms, and at least 100 billion are killed every year for meat and other food products.

    Next, the commercial takes us to a grocery store, where the chicken on the packaging of a retail brand called Happy Farm proclaims: “They turn me into nuggets. Oh, my bones, my eyes!” It’s a reference to the fact that much of a chicken nugget can contain pastified legs, backbones and wing tips without compromising its taste. This leads to a horse popping up from behind the chicken, saying: “And things you can’t imagine,” which is a nod to the 2013 horsemeat scandal in Europe.

    The spot ends at Porkio, a Chinese restaurant, the pig on whose logo sings: “I might look like I’m smiling, but my grin is not real. Wanna cheer me up? Try a plant-based meal.” It’s swiftly followed by shots showcasing phones scanning these logos and offering viewers deals on NotCo products.

    Using interactive AI-led messaging to nudge eating behaviours

    not milk
    Courtesy: NotCo

    McKerrow reveals that NotCo has developed 20 different jingles tailored to individual logos – whether that’s on billboards, food menus, retail products, or elsewhere – all in different musical styles like rap, country, reggae, etc.

    She remains tight-lipped when asked which specific brands the campaign targets (apart from Chick-fil-A, which the company identifies as “an Atlanta-based chicken company”). “The technology will scan and work for logos with animals in it. Of course, there are infamous logos that have animals – consumers will have to be on the lookout and find them in real-time. Logos without animals will not work with the technology,” she says.

    The marketing executive is similarly mum when pressed on whether NotCo is concerned about backlash from the companies it’s “trolling”. “We are using this campaign as a means to educate consumers about the benefits of plant-based eating and ensure they make informed decisions when they look [at] what they want to consume,” she says.

    “We are looking to shift the conventional narrative around what we consume and educate consumers about the benefits of plant-based foods,” McKerrow adds. “We are looking for consumers to use this as a means to make more educated decisions about what they are eating; even if they don’t always choose plant-based, we hope they will at least make their decision with more information at their disposal.”

    It’s a clever way of using augmented reality and AI – given the latter’s links to speciesism, it’s a refreshing take on how AI can be used to raise awareness about animal welfare and plant-based foods. NotCo, which has just emerged victorious in its appeal to revoke a labelling ban imposed on its NotMilk packaging in Chile, is likely hoping the campaign will raise its profile to kick off what is “an exciting year for the brand” (it has already begun rolling out the famed vegan boxed mac and cheese with Kraft Heinz in the US).

    It’s not the only vegan company that has used AI for marketing. In August, US brand Pleese Cheese unveiled a campaign filled with AI-generated images with the prompt ‘cheese farm’, leading to a host of whimsical illustrations depicting cheese as a flourishing crop.

    The post Not So Happy: NotCo Targets Chick-fil-A & Other Meat Companies with Animal Abuse Jingle appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Future Food Quick Bites: Vegan Mickey Mouse, Price Changes & Labelling Wins

    future food quick bites
    7 Mins Read

    In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Oatly’s new partnership with Carvel, price fluctuations for meat and eggs, and rare labelling wins for plant-based companies.

    New products and launches

    French alt-meat maker La Vie is continuing its growth, with its new pea protein ham now available in the UK exclusively through its largest retailer, Tesco. It made the announcement with a delightful billboard.

    la vie ham
    Courtesy: La Vie

    Similarly, Dunkin’ has introduced its vegan doughnuts to the UK market, with plant-based alternatives to three of its bestsellers – Original Glazed, Boston Crème and Strawberry Rainbow – available in most of its 34 locations nationwide.

    Continuing in the UK, Aldi has launched its largest-ever vegan cheese range, from Cheddar alternatives and mozzarella to camembert and grated parmesan. The discount retailer has also introduced a vegan smoked salmon as part of its private-label Plant Menu range.

    Another company working on vegan seafood is Japan’s Nippon Ham, which is developing a plant-based tuna sashimi for foodservice, slated for an April launch.

    Speaking of which, Israeli whole-cut meat producer Redefine Meat is now available at more than 650 foodservice locations in 13 countries across Europe, including at Leonardo Hotels, All Star Lanes, and Compass Group.

    Likewise, Irish fast-food chain Boojum has introduced a Carne Asada dish for Veganuary, made using British alt-meat brand [MOCK]‘s mushroom and soy protein beef, and paired with a guajillo chilli sauce.

    vegan news
    Courtesy: Seedtrace

    For Veganuary’s campaign in Germany, meanwhile, catering service company Dussmann has partnered with Swiss alt-meat maker Planted and traceability platform Seedtrace, offering supply chain transparency of Planet’s schnitzel via a QR code. It will be available in 60 Dussmann restaurants.

    Also in Germany, Rügenwalder Mühle has discontinued its classic animal-derived Schinken Spicker ham as part of its commitment to increasing plant-based offerings. It says the move will free up production capacity for its meatless products.

    Elsewhere, US ice cream company Salt & Straw has released a Dairy-Free Decadence range as part of its Pints of the Month series, featuring flavours like Toasted Oat Milk & Cookies, Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Bananas Foster with Candied Pecans. Made with oat and/or coconut milk, they can be bought in-store or online.

    Another ice cream development: Oatly has teamed up with cult-favourite creamery Carvel, placing five flavours of its oat milk ice creams in more than 300 Carvel stores across 18 US states.

    harken sweets
    Courtesy: Harken Sweets

    For more American sweet treats, look no further than Harken Sweets‘ better-for-you, plant-based takes on the Snickers and Milky Way bars. Called the Nutty One and The Gooey One, respectively, they contain 75% less sugar and less than 150g of calories, and are available at  Fairway Market, Pop Up Grocer, Gourmet Garage NY, and ShopRite, and on its e-commerce site.

    In California, Langer Farms has released Apple Honey – only featuring apple juice concentrate and natural flavouring – alongside an Apple Butter SKU (an elevated applesauce), which are available online via its website and Amazon.

    Meanwhile, US plant-based manufacturer Franklin Farms has collaborated with Disney to feature Mickey Mouse on co-branded packaging for six of its products. They feature the Disney Check, a symbol indicating compliance with Disney’s Nutrition Guidelines.

    vegan disney
    Courtesy: Franklin Farms

    And Canadian vegan frozen meal producer Plant Up has added Butter Chik’n Bites and Shawarma Bites to its appetiser range. Its products are now available at over 650 stores, including Metro, Longos, and Whole Foods.

    Finance, manufacturing and corporate moves

    Californian alt-meat giant Impossible Foods has hired three women in senior leadership positions, with Elaine Paik and Emma Hutchens joining the C-suite as CFO and chief people officer, respectively, and Alexis Regan taking up the role of senior VP for sales.

    Dutch company Vion Food, which makes both meat and plant-based analogues, is closing a pig plant and divesting/selling off its ham brand, pig and beef slaughterhouses, and a pre-packing facility – all in Germany – as part of its sustainability strategy for 2024, following increased competition and African swine fever outbreak.

    Dublin-based Sea & Believe has launched its inaugural seaweed farm in Connemara, Ireland to develop ingredients for the food and skincare industries using a red Atlantic seaweed that is richer in protein than fish.

    In Austria, mycelium meat producer Revo Foods has unveiled an industrial-scale production method for 3D-printed foods, called the Food Fabricator X2. The 3D-printed whole-cut salmon maker is also crowdfunding to scale up and launch new products this autumn, and has already raised nearly €575,000.

    UK biotech firm Multus has raised £7.9M in a funding round and announced what it claims is the world’s first commercial-scale, cost-effective plant for serum-free growth media to produce cultivated meat and milk.

    Israeli startup Mediterranean Food Lab has nabbed $17M in a Series A round to scale up its solid-state fermentation tech, which can create flavour ingredients said to transform the sensory attributes of vegan food.

    Policy developments

    Marking a rare labelling win for the vegan industry, France’s Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the Nutrition & Santé Group, which was accused by the meat lobby of misleading consumers through meat-related terms on its plant-based analogues. (The French government, though, has previously proposed an unprecedented ban on these.)

    Yet another labelling achievement came from Chile’s NotCo, which appealed the ban on its NotMilk trademark in its home country. The brand is officially “NotGuilty”, with the Court of Appeals of Valdivia revoking the sentence and rejecting the anti-competition lawsuit filed by dairy farmers union Aproval.

    notco labeling
    Courtesy: NotCo

    In more animal industry backlash news, Bishop Burton College in east Yorkshire, UK has apologised for a Happy Veganuary post on Facebook and announcing it wouldn’t serve meat two days a week during January. Pushback from pro-livestock students and farmers has led to the idea being abandoned.

    Elsewhere, two months on from cutting prices of its own-label Vegavita range across all stores in Austria, Rewe Group‘s Billa has seen sales increase by 33%. Future meat and dairy analogues will now be set at a price on par with or, if possible, lower than their conventional counterparts.

    Speaking of prices, beef is expected to cost Americans more this year on the back of a large two-year decline in production. Cattle feeders face much higher prices for their cows as a result of the reduction in cattle supply due to beef herd liquidation.

    Similarly, egg and ham prices have soared in the US, with hikes higher than any other food in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Consumer Price Index report. While eggs were 23.8% lower than the ‘eggflation’ 12 months before, they were up 8.9% from November. Meanwhile, raw beefsteak prices rose by 11.9% year-on-year, the second-highest increase in that metric.

    Research and accomplishments

    A study commissioned by LI Food, a Lower Saxony state initiative for food, has revealed that Germans often underestimate the climate and animal welfare implications of dairy, specifically cheese. But despite some scepticism around food tech, respondents were open to trying precision-fermented cheese.

    Similarly, a survey by precision fermentation cheese company New Culture revealed that four in five of respondents are willing to purchase animal-free cheese, of whom 80% were meat-eaters. Early adopters are happy to pay $4 more per pizza with the company’s cheese, but taste remains key, with 59% of respondents saying they’d avoid analogue foods if they didn’t taste as good.

    Wait for the sizzle! Berlin startup Zayt Bioscience, which upcycles fruit waste into precision-fermented fats, has released a new video showing just how loud the sizzle on its animal-free butter is.

    Meanwhile, vegan dog food brand Hownd has been named one of the world’s most ethical businesses by The Good Shopping Guide, receiving a rating of 98 out of 100 in factors like environmental impact, animal welfare and public record.

    Finally, the US Plant-Based Foods Association is overhauling its platform to prepare for a “pivotal” 2024, launching a redesigned website, a new digest and monthly newsletter, as well as a revamped members’ portal.

    Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: Vegan Mickey Mouse, Price Changes & Labelling Wins appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Not All UPFs are Equal: Green Queen Unveils FAQ Guide for Plant-Based Meat & Ultra-Processed Foods

    ultra processed food
    6 Mins Read

    To combat misinformation, ease consumer confusion and offer balance to the discussion around plant-based meat and ultra-processed foods, Green Queen has published a free, comprehensive resource guide on the topic in an easy-to-use FAQ format.

    Are all plant-based meats ultra-processed foods? How often should you eat vegan meat alternatives? What are the limitations of the NOVA classification? What does research get wrong about these subjects?

    If you’ve ever had a similar concern about the food you eat, you’re not alone. For years, everyone has been asking questions about plant-based meat, ultra-processed foods (or UPFs), and whether the former falls into the latter category.

    In a consumer landscape flooded with contradictory dietary information in the media, misinformation on social networks, and unverified claims by online influencers, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and confused. Take this UK poll from last year, for example, where 70% of the 2,127 respondents hadn’t heard of UPFs before the survey. And while 21% said a “healthy, balanced diet” shouldn’t include UPFs, there was a lack of understanding over which foods can be classified as such.

    It’s important to provide clarity on the topic. After all, UPFs make up 57% of an average Brit’s diet, and up to 80% when it comes to children or people with lower incomes. And it’s not just the UK, of course: 73% of the US food supply is made up of these foods. According to estimates, UPFs comprise 60% of an average American’s daily calories, and 70% of what the country’s children eat.

    Jenny Zegler, director at Mintel Food & Drink, highlighted the public confusion in November, telling FoodNavigator: “34% of US adults say highly processed food is the top concern… there’s a need for clear communication to help consumers make informed decisions about how processed and ultra-processed food and drink fit into their diets. Processed food isn’t necessarily something we can avoid. Almost every single thing in the grocery store is processed somehow.”

    One of those things that have come under increased scrutiny is plant-based meats, whose critics have knocked their ingredient lists and ‘overprocessed’ nature. But unlike most UPFs – especially the processed red meats they intend to replace – meat alternatives typically contain a high amount of dietary fibre, are free of cholesterol, and are low in saturated fat, sugar and calories.

    To dispel the myths and provide a comprehensive outlook of the subject, Green Queen founding editor Sonalie Figueiras, in collaboration with researcher Marlana Malerich and scientist Alice Johnson, have published the ultimate resource for UPFs and alt-meat products. Presented in the form of FAQs, they touch upon a wide variety of questions, and provide science-backed, fact-based information to inform readers about how UPFs work, why they aren’t all the same, and how they’re connected with plant-based meats.

    What are ultra-processed foods?

    ultra processed foods list
    Courtesy: colorcocktail/iStockPhoto

    But wait, what are UPFs in the first place? In 2009, researchers from Brazil led by nutrition and public health professor Dr Carlos Monteiro proposed a framework to classify edibles into four subgroups, called the NOVA classification. The first group contains unprocessed or minimally processed foods, which includes fresh, frozen and dried produce, milk and plain yoghurt, natural spices, legumes, grains, nuts and seeds, as well as foodstuffs like pasta, couscous, flour, fungi, meat and fish.

    The second category – “processed culinary ingredients” – comprises elements derived from the first group or from natural sources, such as seed, nut and vegetable oils, butter, salt, sugar, vinegar, maple syrup, and honey. Meanwhile, the third group contains processed foods, defined as those produced by adding these culinary ingredients to unprocessed foods or made using baking, boiling, canning or non-alcoholic fermentation, for example. These can contain non-cosmetic additives that enhance shelf life or prevent bacteria: think fresh bread and cheese, canned vegetables, fruits in syrup, cured meats, salted nuts, etc.

    The final category – you guessed it – is UPFs, which constitute industrial formulations and techniques like extrusion or pre-frying, combined with cosmetic additives and often using substances of little culinary use, such as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils or modified starch. Most ice creams, cereals, flavoured yoghurts, and – of course – plant-based meats all fall into this category. These products are omnipresent in our diets and food system but are often confused with ‘processed’ food – a category most food falls into. The flour, white rice and olive oil you cook with are all processed to some degree, but they’re not classed as UPFs.

    The discourse around UPFs has amplified since British infectious diseases physician Dr Chris van Tulleken‘s book, Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn’t Food, came out in April 2023. Here, he suggests that large food companies are pushing consumers towards an increasingly processed diet.

    Experts have found that UPFs can raise the risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity, type 2 diabetes, breast and colorectal cancer, and hypertension. But some have pushed back against a simplistic black-and-white perspective on these foods, calling them necessary to feed the world and arguing that the lack of an agreed definition spurs confusion about what is or isn’t a UPF.

    Others have noted that the NOVA system is based on the degree of processing of a certain food, but does not speak to nutrition. A study published in The Lancet last year adds further nuance: basing its findings on the dietary and disease history of 266,666 people in seven European countries, it suggested that some UPFs can be good for you.

    Green Queen’s ultimate list of FAQs about ultra-processed foods

    is beyond meat processed
    Graphic by Green Queen Media and Robbie Lockie

    It’s in this vein that Green Queen partnered with food and climate researchers Marlana Malerich and Alice Johnson – with support from Amy Williams, digital communications manager at the Good Food Institute – to create the evidence-backed FAQ resource, allowing consumers to break down the intricacies and make informed dietary decisions, specifically around alt-meat.

    “One of the most common questions we get from our Green Queen audience is about whether plant-based meats are healthy,” said Figueiras. “Expressing the nuance around plant-based meats and ultra-processed foods can be tricky, which is why we wanted to create this comprehensive FAQ guide to cover all the possible questions on the topic with answers that are balanced and backed by the scientific literature.”

    The guide covers everything you need to know about the subject – from UPF definitions, limitations of and alternatives to the NOVA classification system, and nutritional profiles and ingredient composition of plant-based meats, to the origin of the UPF and alt-meat debate (including who is funding media campaigns on the topic).

    “Existing research suggests that plant-based meat products have favourable health benefits, especially when used as a substitute for animal analogues,” says Malerich. “However, the nutrition content varies depending on the brand and ingredients.”

    Johnson adds: “Whilst further scientific studies are needed on novel protein sources, preliminary findings suggest that choosing plant-based alternatives over conventional meat could offer benefits for a variety of reasons.”

    With consumers becoming increasingly aware of the links between diet, health and the environment, understanding the true nature of UPFs and plant-based meat is paramount. Green Queen’s guide serves as an essential tool for health enthusiasts, food industry professionals, regulators and reporters alike.

    Access Green Queen’s Complete Guide to Ultra-Processed Food and Plant-Based Meat.

    The post Not All UPFs are Equal: Green Queen Unveils FAQ Guide for Plant-Based Meat & Ultra-Processed Foods appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Startup Partners with South KoreanDairy Giant to Launch Vegan Casein Products Ahead of $12M in Seed Funding

    vegan casein
    4 Mins Read

    New York-based Pureture has teamed up with South Korean food giant Namyang Dairy Products to create products using the biotech startup’s vegan casein ahead of an upcoming $12M seed funding round.

    Pureture, which makes a GMO-free, yeast-based casein using liquid fermentation, has partnered with Namyang, South Korea’s third-largest dairy producer. The collaboration will see Namyang develop an entirely new plant-based range with Pureture’s casein.

    Casein is the main protein found in milk – comprising 80% of the total protein content – and is responsible for emulsifying attributes, which help prevent water and fat from separating and give the cheese its melty and stretchy properties. Pureture’s plant-based version is said to offer a cleaner alternative as it eliminates the need for starches, gums, and emulsifiers.

    Namyang hopes to move past two rocky years

    namyang dairy
    Courtesy: Yonhap

    “At Namyang, we’re aiming to make strides towards the future, as well as learn and grow with the dairy industry,” said Namyang CEO Myko Kihyun Nam. “We’ve had our eyes on the plant-based industry for a while, but knew we needed the right ingredients.”

    It’s part of a new dawn at Namyang, which was taken over by Korean private equity firm Hahn & Company earlier this month after a protracted, two-year-long legal battle. It began after the dairy giant was subject to huge public condemnation in 2021 when it exaggerated the health benefits of its Bulgaris yoghurt and claimed that it could prevent Covid-19. The company was also notified by a provincial government of a two-month suspension of operations at its production line. It led to its chairman resigning and more than 60 years of family ownership coming to an end with the eventual takeover.

    Namyang, which makes cheeses, yoghurts, milk, creams and soy milk, has been saddled with controversy lately, including coercive sales to distributors, demoting a female employee who took childcare leave, and a drug scandal involving the founder’s granddaughter. In 2020, its revenues fell below one trillion won ($747M), and have declined for three consecutive years. In the first three quarters of last year, it accumulated an operating loss of 28 billion won ($21M), according to local media.

    But with the takeover by Hahn & Company, Namyang will hope to turn over a new leaf. Dairy remains the third most-consumed protein source in South Korea, after meat and eggs, but with growing consciousness about sustainable diets – as well as the country’s national action plan to promote plant-based foods – veganism is high on the agenda.

    “With Pureture and its casein, which mimics traditional milk’s taste, texture, and functionality, we’ve found the perfect partner for our growth into the category,” said Kihyun Nam. “With the partnership with Pureture, we will now be able to offer dairy-free, 100% plant-based products without any sacrifice from the consumers regarding taste, nutrition, and cost.”

    Pureture close to finalising seed funding round

    pureture
    Courtesy: Pureture

    While based in New York, Pureture also has its roots in South Korea. It was founded in 2022 as Armored Fresh Technologies by Rudy Yoo, who rebranded the business in May last year to separate it from his other company, Seoul-based alt-dairy maker Armored Fresh (which is expanding its presence in the US).

    A portmanteau of ‘pure’ and ‘future’, Pureture espouses a six-step traditional liquid fermentation process to make its animal-free whey, which eschews the need for novel foods regulatory approval. It begins by cultivating a yeast strain and enriching it. Then, it separates the protein and tests the emulsification functionality, before sterlising and drying the casein. The company can produce 200 tons of the protein per month, or 2,400 tons annually.

    Apart from functionality – it offers a protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score of one, matching the digestibility of conventional milk – a major advantage of this plant-based casein is the cost. Because the entire process of yeast fermentation, protein recovery and emulsification is carried out continuously, Pureture’s protein can be supplied at a price 30-40% lower than bovine dairy production.

    “Our mission at Pureture is to develop technologies and further foods that will contribute to a more sustainable future, and we couldn’t be prouder to partner with Namyang with this breakthrough protein, working closely with them as they grow their plant-based offering,” said Yoo, who is also the CEO of the business.

    Additionally, Pureture is close to finalising an oversubscribed seed funding round, with a $12M goal. If it manages to secure the capital, it will be used to build manufacturing facilities and further develop the brand’s sustainability credentials.

    The casein market is projected to reach $45B in 2032, and Pureture isn’t the only company hoping to disrupt it with planet-friendly alternatives. Other players in the animal-free casein space employ precision fermentation tech, including fellow US brand New Culture, Aussie-American producer Change Foods, Austria’s Fermify, Indian startup Zero Cow Factory, and Paris-based Standing Ovation. Meanwhile, California’s Nobell Foods makes soy-derived casein using molecular farming.

    The post Startup Partners with South KoreanDairy Giant to Launch Vegan Casein Products Ahead of $12M in Seed Funding appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Cultured Unagi: Forsea Foods Unveils ‘World First’ Cultivated Eel with Tokyo Eatery Saido

    forsea foods
    6 Mins Read

    Israeli food tech startup Forsea Foods has unveiled the first prototype of its cultivated eel, linking up with Tokyo vegan restaurant SAIDO to create dishes with the cell-cultured fish. It aims to launch the seafood product by 2025.

    Forsea Foods, the only known company working on cell-based eel, has created the first prototype of its cultivated eel. The startup has partnered with Japanese chef Katsumi Kusumoto, executive chef and owner of Tokyo vegan restaurant Saido, to create two traditional dishes using its cultured fish, showcasing its application and potential.

    Kusumoto and Forsea Foods have developed two popular Japanese dishes – unagi kabayaki (marinated grilled eel over rice) and unagi nigiri (a type of sushi). Now that the company has achieved a working proof of concept – which it claims features “the same tender, succulent texture and rich savoury flavour as real eel” – it is prepping for scale-up.

    cultivated eel
    Saido owner and executive chef Katsumi Kusumoto (left) and Forsea Foods’ cultured eel (right) | Courtesy: Saido/Anatoly Michaello

    Forsea Foods’ cultured eel will be welcomed by Japan

    Founded in 2021, Forsea Foods employs a proprietary method for culturing seafood, using organoid technology to create 3D microtissues comprising fat and muscle, which can mimic the functions and structure of organs. These spontaneously differentiate into edible cells, replicating the natural process of cell formation.

    Moreover, the cell lines can self-organise into tissue structures without the need for scaffold support. This simplifies the production process, eases supply chain bottlenecks for eel meat, and improves scalability. It also enables efficient and cost-effective production by significantly decreasing the reliance on costly growth factors, which will help Forsea Foods disrupt a $4.3B market and bring its eel closer to price parity with its conventional counterpart.

    The company, which won the Startup Pitch Hour Prize at the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit last October in Singapore, has previously raised $5.2M in seed funding, and now expects to add to that amount. Partnering with Kusumoto helped showcase the potential of its product. “Unagi is an enduring favourite in Japan,” said the chef. “Its timeless appeal, however, is impacted by a growing awareness among the Japanese population of the need to take a more sustainable approach.”

    “Forsea is pioneering the fusion of traditional, high-quality Asian cuisine with groundbreaking technology to create the world’s first cultured unagi – one that will provide the consumer with a genuine seafood experience without putting further strain on aquatic life,” said Forsea Foods co-founder and CEO Roee Nir.

    The news will likely be welcomed by Japan’s government, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida endorsing cellular agriculture last year and announcing plans to create a sector for these novel foods to reduce the country’s climate footprint. “We will develop the environment to create a new market, such as efforts to ensure safety and the establishment of labelling rules, and foster a food tech business originating in Japan,” he said.

    To that end, the government awarded ¥1.87B ($13.1M) to Tokyo-headquartered IntegriCulture last month, which has created a cellular agriculture infrastructure platform called CulNet and claims to have developed serum-free cultivated chicken and duck meat at a fraction of the cost needed for animal-based growth factors.

    vegan unagi
    Forsea Foods founders Roee Nir, Yaniv Elkouby, Iftach Nachman and Moria Shimoni (left to right) | Courtesy: Tal Shahar

    However, Japan’s regulatory framework will soon become more complicated, after the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (which will continue to oversee food safety) transfers its food hygiene standards division to the Consumer Affairs Agency in April. It means companies must liaise with two agencies on regulatory conversations, but does make Kishida the ultimate person responsible for these matters.

    A spokesperson for Forsea Foods confirmed that the company is communicating with regulatory authorities in Japan, as well as Singapore. Saido has already been serving vegan unagi to diners, and once regulatory approval comes through, the restaurant intends to serve the cultivated eel too.

    Are there any concerns about potential backlash from patrons over a vegan restaurant serving cultured meat? “Forsea’s co-founder Iftach Nachman is an ideological vegan… For him, cultivated meat is vegan,” said the Forsea Foods spokesperson. “We believe that the decision whether cultivated meat is vegan or not really depends on one’s opinion. We believe that there is a certain segment of the vegan population that welcomes cultivated meat as a means of overcoming the challenges of the traditional industry.” [Since it is made from extracted animal cells, cultivated meat isn’t usually regarded as vegan-friendly – for an ethical take, this is a good read.]

    The spokesperson added: “Saido is not only for vegans, but also for customers who come for excellent cuisine and new dining experiences.”

    Overfishing and pollution have left eels endangered

    Both Kusumoto and Nir touched upon a similar theme – the decline of conventional eel populations as a result of overpopulation and pollution. In Japan, which consumes over 70% of all eel catch, the fish has maintained luxury status, with wholesale prices reaching $40 per kg, according to one estimate (Forsea Foods predicts this to be $60 per kg in wholesale, and $250 per kg for restaurants).

    But eel consumption has declined over the last two decades, falling from about 160,000 tons in 2000 to just over 60,000 tons in 2021. And this isn’t just limited to Japan – in the EU, eel populations have diminished dramatically, decreasing by 98% from 1980, leading to an export ban on eels in 2010.

    This has resulted in eel becoming a critically endangered species, with overfishing, poaching, illegal trading, and breeding troubles all playing a role. Known as mysterious creatures, these fish undergo an unusual metamorphosis, with a breeding process that includes a 6,500-km-long migration to one of two spots: the Sargasso Sea (near the Bermuda Triangle), or off Guam. This makes captive breeding difficult, especially amidst elevating demand for the fish.

    The overfishing of eels, meanwhile, disrupts the marine and freshwater ecosystems they come from – these fish maintain a balance in biodiversity by preying on smaller fish, ensuring that no single marine species takes over the ecosystem. Eels, in turn, are a food source for birds like the grey heron and the great cormorant.

    lab grown seafood
    Courtesy: Anatoly Michaello

    This underpins the need for alternatives to conventional eels. While Forsea Foods is the sole company dealing with cultivated versions of the fish, fellow Israeli company Steakholder Foods unveiled a 3D-printed alternative in December (it plans to include cultured eel cells in the product at a later stage, if costs allow). And New York’s Ocean Hugger Foods and Japanese giant Nissin already have plant-based eels on the market (using aubergines and soy protein, respectively).

    Now, Forsea Foods hopes to launch its eel commercially in 2025, as it seeks strategic partners in Japan and across Asia. To advance its progress in this region, it has formed new engineering and food applications departments, and appointed a new business development manager in Japan. The company also views the EU and the US as rapidly developing markets.

    “This year, we will [be] working to improve process parameters in our lab and increase our scales,” revealed the spokesperson. “In addition, we are planning to conduct a few tasting events of our products, expand our relationships in Asia and launch our next financing round.”

    The Israeli startup’s unveiling of its cultivated eel comes a week after fellow Rehovot-based company Aleph Farms gained the country’s first approval for cultured meat, and the world’s first for cell-based beef. “It is great to see more geographies approve cultivated meat and, equally important, to see more types of cultivated animal proteins entering the market,” Robert E Jones, president of Cellular Agriculture Europe and co-founder of the Global Cellular Agriculture Alliance, told Green Queen. “Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, the United States, and the UK have made early investments to build complementary protein ecosystems, and the dividends are now paying off.”

    The post Cultured Unagi: Forsea Foods Unveils ‘World First’ Cultivated Eel with Tokyo Eatery Saido appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Unstuck: 5 New Year’s Resolutions For Alt Protein Marketers

    9 Mins Read

    As marketing experts, we know that consumers are not as rational as academic research leads us to believe. In 2024, it’s time to get unstuck and rethink our priorities.

    For the past decade, the alt protein industry has been focused on the holy trinity of price, taste, and convenience. While we’ve made huge progress on all three, there simply aren’t enough consumers showing up to the party. Many of our propositions will continue to fail unless we change our thinking. We’re calling for 2024 to be the year we shift our mindset and skillset to get us unstuck.

    On the face of it, price, taste, and convenience (collectively known as PTC) seem like sensible drivers of choice in food. Who wouldn’t want cheap, tasty, and easy? But research published last year by think tank Rethink Priorities shows they’re not nearly enough to explain actual behavior. As marketing and branding experts we have been trained to know real people are not nearly as rational as academics or structured research questionnaires will lead us to believe. 

    Why price, taste & convenience are not enough

    Think about it for a moment. Bottled water is a $300 billion category globally despite being indistinguishable in blind taste tests, potentially worse for your health, and sold at a 10,000% price premium to tap water. Aligning alt protein pricing with conventional animal products will not bring a flood of consumers knocking on our doors. Demonstrating value and justifying a fair premium will.

    Let’s look at ramen next, a $50 billion category globally. It has graduated from dorm rooms into kitchens and Michelin-starred restaurants not by imitating established tastes, but by introducing new ones with a few lucky cultural moments along the way. Attempting to imitate the taste of animal protein, down to the blood dripping out of our undercooked burgers, doesn’t help especially when it adds scary-sounding compounds to the ingredients list. We have to create an aspirational taste and cultural context of our own.

    Finally, the fastest growing segment in pet food – raw, fresh, and frozen – has reached $18  billion in the US alone despite being harder to find and a pain in the ass to serve compared to a bag of dried kibbles. Yes, we need to know where to get and how to use alt-protein. But food is also an act of love, and we will put in the effort when we really care.

    It’s not (just) you, it’s the ecosystem

    While some self-flagellation within alt protein is necessary – especially around the lack of marketing skills, the us vs. them mentality, and the echo chamber we operate within – the reason we’re stuck has a lot to do with the larger food ecosystem.

    In developed markets, and increasingly globally, a small handful of companies control the vast majority of products that go into our shopping baskets. However, they lack the incentives to disrupt their own categories.

    Yes research labs are experimenting with novel ingredients and well-intentioned incubator teams are conducting market tests. But when the time comes for country managers in charge to allocate their budgets, they will always bet them on the proven formulas that are sure to deliver their profit targets and company bonuses. Alt-proteins remain curiosities relegated to page 40 of the sustainability report at best or are quietly “deprioritized” at worst. 

    Perhaps even more important, and certainly much more ignored, are food retailers and foodservice operators who have the potential to be market makers. Yet they are largely sitting on the sidelines because nobody is bringing them a compelling category vision in terms they understand and can act on.

    The good news? Both food retailers and leading manufacturers we’ve spoken to have a genuine appetite for change. But we can’t rely on them to work out the answers that will give them the confidence to shift their portfolios by themselves. To get us unstuck we need to embrace a consumer-centric mindset and skillset that will get the ecosystem moving. Here’s how.

    Courtesy: The authors via DALL-e

    The five resolutions we need for 2024

    1. Stop thinking product, start thinking category 

    Here’s a harsh truth – the consumer doesn’t care about us. We like to think we build our market by taking people along a funnel from when they are first aware of us to when they become our loyalists, forever a converted advocate.

    The reality is that when a consumer walks into an average supermarket they’re faced with more than 30,000 items to choose from. People don’t think in products, they think in categories. They want to pick up some chicken for dinner, put a healthy snack in their kids’ lunchbox, or grab milk for their latte. It’s little wonder most shopping is done on auto-pilot. People’s brains don’t want to process endless new options, so they come back to what they grew up with – the meals they know they like.

    Think this doesn’t sound like you? Remember you are not your consumer.  Get used to the idea that you spend disproportionately more time thinking about what you’re eating and studying where your food comes from than pretty much everyone else on the planet.

    Resolution #1: Deeply understand not just your product or ingredient but the category context it exists within. Use these needs, beliefs, and habits to get people’s attention and serve them better.  

    1. Stop thinking rational, start thinking emotional 

    Thinking rationally takes time and energy. We make over 200 decisions just about food every single day.  Because we don’t have the capacity to think deeply about these decisions, it’s far easier for us to make quick responses to emotional cues.

    Advertisers trying to influence these decisions bombard us with thousands of messages every day. From the phone you check as soon as you wake up, to the podcasts that put you to sleep, it doesn’t stop. That’s why great advertising doesn’t make you think, it makes you feel. It’s why the infamous Got Milk? campaign worked, tapping into relatable moments such as running out of milk at breakfast time. Our brains call upon these emotional responses to make quick, intuitive decisions.

    However, the way the alt protein industry has tried to understand the consumer is fundamentally flawed because it engages them on a rational level, not a true-to-life, intuitive, and emotional one. Various studies keep telling us that around 90% of consumers say they would buy more sustainable proteins once they’re the same price, taste, and nutrition as the meat they buy today. Does that mean they actually will? Sadly not.

    Resolution #2: Stop spending time and money asking people rational questions that just confirm pre-conceived notions but don’t relate to actual behaviors. Uncover a deeper understanding of your consumers and test their emotional responses, so you’ll know whether the positioning of your product is going to resonate or fall on deaf ears.   

    1. Stop thinking niche, start thinking mass

    Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness beat us to this one in his Adweek X conference interview at the end of last year. By talking to the niche – the small percentage of consumers who do pay attention, do think rationally, and deeply care – you risk “pissing off” the masses.  Americans eat on average 347g of meat per day. That’s the market for alternative meat proteins right there. If you categorise your market based on attitudes to climate change, animal agriculture, or worse ‘food technology’, you define a much smaller market and an artificial one at that. Remember what consumers told you in a survey is not true to real life.

    Marketers today are trained to ‘target the market’, not market to a target. That’s because brands and products grow through having lots of customers, not a small number of highly loyal ones.  Half of all Coca-Cola buyers buy the brand just one or two times a year. There will always be people whom our products aren’t relevant for, strong traditionalists, or those who simply cannot afford them. But largely you’ll find a huge market for the taking, almost half of Americans identify as ‘flexitarians’. 

    Resolution #3: Get the right marketing and consumer leadership in place to think big, just as you do with your science and technology roadmaps. To get to a wider audience you need deep consumer expertise that’s not easy to develop, but neither is cracking how to grow meat from animal cells, or making dairy without cows.

    Note: Please don’t think this doesn’t apply to you if you’re a “B2B player”. If you don’t lead and support your customers in this work, you can’t expect them to figure it out for themselves, and won’t ever get beyond working in the incubator lab with them.    

    1. Stop thinking parity, start thinking difference 

    Differentiation is something a good business person will spend a lot of their time thinking about. Identifying a meaningful attribute their proposition can stand behind and become known for. Take cars – they all get you from A to B –  but some are famous for safety, others for speed, others for style.

    The problem with parity is it provides no compelling reason for consumers to switch.  If our only difference is climate or animal friendliness we’re toast. These aren’t meaningful to a mass audience (despite what your rational research claims), so why would they change the habits of a lifetime? We either wait for consumers to become enlightened while the clock is ticking, or we find relevant points of differentiation in the category to stand behind today. Health benefits for up to 90% of South Asians who suffer a form of lactose intolerance or 86 million Americans who have borderline high or high cholesterol levels), and experiential benefits (taste, mouthfeel, hunger satiation) all have huge potential within alt-proteins. 

    You may be thinking, but what about Oatly, don’t they talk about being cow-free and sustainable all the time? Oatly began as a proposition for those with a milk protein allergy. The success in building brand awareness then came from aligning with coffee shops and baristas, providing a differentiated coffee experience in a distinctively branded way that made choosing Oatly a contemporary choice. The brand earned the right to then build upon a deeper purpose which is a lot of what we hear from Oatly today.

    Resolution #4: Zero in on a meaningful difference you bring to the world. Do it by spending time with consumers to immerse yourself in their world. If you don’t have the budget for ethnographic studies – find some friends of friends who’ll invite you into their kitchen and talk freely. Go through their fridge – what have they bought and why? What are they looking for when they buy meat or dairy? What are the things you could make even better, and what are the things they don’t want you could remove?     

    1. Stop thinking commodity, start thinking value-adding

    Chasing price parity builds a commoditised industry. Having a broadly accessible alt-protein category may be the ultimate aim to drive switching from animal to non-animal products, but it’s not how categories are created. Industries now regarded as commodities started as premium propositions, and they retain branded propositions within them to this day. The cream cheese category was largely built by the Philadelphia brand. Pints of ice cream didn’t exist until Haagen Dazs and Ben and Jerry’s exploded onto the scene, growing the category far beyond what bland flavors in big tubs were able to do.  

    Building demand requires creating consumer value. A collection of poorly branded, generic frozen “not-chicken” nuggets will not create a category, no matter how cheap they are. Once desire is established and products become a part of weekly shop and restaurant orders, then we’re ready for mass-pricing, private-label, commodity products. Just like the industries that have been created before us.

    Resolution #5:  Having a path to price parity is important, but building category value now is even more so. Find the day-to-day consumer problems where you can bring value and use them to disrupt your category. 

    The willpower to get unstuck

    Ever since the Roman times January, named after Janus the god of beginnings and transitions, has given us a chance for a fresh start. We make many resolutions for the occasion, but the ones that last follow a simple formula.

    Break down the challenge into smaller steps, like the five shifts we’ve described. Tell others that you are putting the consumer at the center of your thinking. Remind yourself of the benefits regularly. Reward your teams as you put thinking into practice. And track progress toward your milestones regularly.

    For our part, we will be continuing to beat the drum on ways to get us unstuck. We hope you will join the debate because we can’t let this new year’s resolution fail.

    The post Unstuck: 5 New Year’s Resolutions For Alt Protein Marketers appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Vegan Vault: Demand for Plant-Based Meals Grows by 40% for Emirates Airlines

    emirates vegan meal
    4 Mins Read

    Emirates Airlines will soon unveil new options as part of its ‘vegan vault’ of in-flight meals, taking its total offering of recipes to over 300. It comes after the carrier witnessed a 40% increase in demand for onboard plant-based dishes.

    Emirates, which is one of two flag carriers of the UAE, has witnessed a surge of 40% in year-on-year consumption of plant-based meals (when adjusted for passenger volumes). To meet the growing demand, it will add a host of new recipes to what it calls its ‘vegan vault’, which has over 300 meal options overall.

    In terms of absolute numbers, Emirates served over 450,000 vegan meals in 2023, versus 280,000 in 2022 – that’s an increase of over 60%, but when measured in line with passenger volumes, this changes to 40%. In some regions, though, consumption of vegan meals has exceeded the growth in traveller numbers – for example, the Middle East showed a significant additional hike of 34%, while Africa accounted for an extra 4%, and Southeast Asia an added 5%.

    Major boosts in demand were also noted on Emirates routes to China, Japan and the Philippines, while the largest rise in vegan meal consumption occurred in Economy Class.

    Championing local ingredients alongside global brands

    emirates vegan
    Courtesy: Emirates

    The airline has an array of suppliers from all over the world, but also supports local ingredients. Its kale and lettuce come from Bustanica, the world’s largest hydroponic vertical farm, which was created as a joint venture investment through Emirates Flight Catering. At Bustanica, produce like arugula, mixed salad greens, and spinach are grown without pesticides, herbicides or chemicals. These leafy greens can be enjoyed in certain dishes by First and Business Class passengers.

    Apart from that, the carrier sources plant-based proteins from Californian giant Beyond Meat, soy protein from Singapore and UAE-based Arlene, Qianye tofu (a pressed variety made from soy protein instead of whole soybeans) from Japan, organic dark vegan chocolate from Linnolat in France, plant-based margarine from MeisterMarken in Germany, vegan curry paste from Thailand-based Pantai, and almond milk from Italian brand Koita, among many others.

    If you’re in Economy, you can enjoy dishes like chickpea crepe with carrot, peppers, mushroom and tomato concassé, textured pumpkin frittatas, tofu tikka masala, coconut mousse with mango compote and a chocolate pudding with cocoa soil. Premium Economy members can opt for meals such as jackfruit curry with basmati rice or a squash chestnut stew, followed by a chocolate tofu cheesecake or raspberry parfait with orange compote.

    Travellers in Business Class have the choice between roasted cauliflower with ancient grains, caramelised pear and lovage pesto, or a warming ragout of Asian tofu and shitake mushroom with glass noodles. For dessert, think tropical coconut pineapple cake or a chocolate cheesecake with a dark chocolate cigar and strawberry compote.

    Finally, Emirates elevates its plant-based culinary game even further with in-flight meals like polenta cake with thyme mushroom ragout, sautéed spinach and a root vegetable jus, or aubergine curry with charred rice, turmeric potatoes, and coconut and mint chutney. Plus, there are inviting sweet treats like rhubarb tempered with strawberry charlotte, Chantilly cream and raspberry tuille, or warm chocolate fondant with salted caramel sauce and whipped cashew cream.

    Interest in vegan in-flight meals is sky-high

    vegan airlines
    Courtesy: Emirates

    While its ‘vegan vault’ might be getting new recipes, Emirates has been offering plant-based meals since the 90s. At the time, requests for these dishes were focused on specific routes like Addis Ababa, where vegan meals are required at certain times of the year by those practising the Ethiopian Orthodox faith, and other regions where multiple faiths encourage plant-based diets.

    However, the surge has been rapid in recent years, with vegan meals gaining popularity on the airline’s flights to and from the US, Australia, and some European and Asian nations. Particularly in the last decade, the carrier has noted a sizeable rise in interest towards vegan dishes. It’s not just passengers that have become more drawn towards this diet – many of its staff members are in the same boat, with the airlines introducing vegan food for its cabin crew in 2018.

    In 2022, Emirates launched a gourmet vegan menu for First and Business Class to cater to passengers’ evolving demands, whether that was for vegan meals, or just a “healthy and light meal choice while travelling”. And later this year, Emirates will launch a selection of new vegan main courses, snacks, pizza, as well as desserts – including the likes of chocolate pecan cake, pistachio raspberry and raspberry tonka cake.

    Emirates’ vegan push mirrors the direction of many other airlines. Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific is a leader in this space, offering a huge range of plant-based meals through partnerships with local businesses. Other carriers, like Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, American Airlines, Qantas, Virgin Atlantic, and Korean Air are just some of the flights where you can get a plant-based meal in certain classes though it’s worth noting that none of them has as extensive a menu for vegans as the Dubai-based flag carrier. Emirates flies high above the rest.

    The post Vegan Vault: Demand for Plant-Based Meals Grows by 40% for Emirates Airlines appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • A Snack Bar Made From Air: Fazer Unveils Limited-Edition Chocolate Bar Using Solein

    air protein
    5 Mins Read

    Finnish company Solar Foods’ Solein protein is expanding its footprint in Singapore through a partnership with Helsinki-based food giant Fazer Group, which has crafted a limited-edition snack bar using the air protein.

    Fazer has released Taste the Future, a chocolate snack bar powered by Solein, in Singapore – marking the air protein’s retail debut 16 months after receiving regulatory approval. The product is available at five The Cocoa Trees stores across the island.

    Fazer – which posted €1.1B ($1.19B) in revenue in 2022 and is Solar Foods’ biggest shareholder – hosted a media tasting of the limited-edition bar on Thursday, ahead of a one-time public sampling opportunity on Saturday afternoon at The Cocoa Trees store at Raffles City Shopping Centre.

    “Singapore is the perfect test ground for our Taste the Future Chocolate Snack Bar, with a highly innovative food ecosystem and people who are not only passionate about food, but curious to try new things that are new, with nutrition and sustainability benefits,” said Heli Anttila, VP of new product development at Fazer Confectionery.

    An iron- and fibre-rich vegan snack bar

    solar foods fazer
    Courtesy: Solar Foods

    The vegan chocolate, hazelnut and berry snack bar contains Nordic oat puffs and 2% Solein powder, and was produced at Fazer Lab, the company’s R&D and innovation unit in Vantaa, Finland. Free from palm oil, the product is made from “100% responsibly sourced cocoa” and is high in fibre and iron.

    While the flavourless Solein protein – made by fermenting microbes with carbon dioxide, hydrogen and oxygen replacing sugar as an energy source – had debuted as part of a vegan gelato at Singaporean eatery Fico in 2023, this is the first time it’s available as an FMCG product.

    Fazer and Solar Foods have been working hand-in-hand on R&D and product development. With the latter’s commercial-scale Factory 01 set to be operational by the first half of this year, the limited run proves to be a good test for this nutritious consumer snack bar’s future market rollouts, once the protein is in full production. This is in line with Fazer’s own emissions reduction goals and target for 100% sustainable sourcing.

    “This is an exciting moment for us working with Fazer – the very first time people can try Solein within a consumer snack bar,” said Solar Foods CEO Pasi Vainikka. “This also demonstrates the potential of Solein as a sustainable and nutritious fortifier. With this introduction in Singapore, we are getting valuable customer feedback on Solein’s viability in a new product category and also get a sense of the consumer acceptance of future ingredients.”

    Solar Foods targets 2025-26 European launch

    fazer vegan
    Courtesy: Solar Foods

    Solar Foods, which began in 2017 as a spinout of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and LUT University, calls Solein the “world’s most sustainable protein”, with a production process that forgoes the need for open land, fertilisers and pesticides, and irrigation. It can be made in desert-like conditions, the Arctic, and even outer space (the startup has collaborated with the European Space Agency on a food project for Mars). The microbes are grown in liquid form and eventually turned into an orange-coloured dry powder.

    According to a life-cycle analysis, Solein emits just 1% of greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional meat and 20% versus plant-based proteins. Plus, it has a strong nutritional profile, with 65-70% of protein, 5-8% of fat, 10-15% of dietary fibre and 3-5% of minerals, as well as a macronutrient profile similar to dried soy or algae. The microbial protein contains iron and B vitamins as well, essential nutrients that are often sourced from animal-derived ingredients.

    After receiving clearance from Singapore’s food regulatory authority for the carbon-capturing protein, Vainikka compared its development to the discovery of the potato. “We are introducing an entirely new ingredient to the world of food,” he remarked. “It’s a watershed moment for how we think of what we eat.”

    This potential has been realised by investors as well, with Solein nabbing €8M ($8.8M) in Series B funding in November to support the construction of Factory 01. It brought total investment in the startup to over €43M ($47M) in equity, with an additional €30M ($32M) in debt funding. The company also has a €34M ($37M) grant for Factory 01 and a further €76M ($83M) earmarked for Factory 02 “if we were to build on European soil”.

    solar foods
    Courtesy: Solar Foods

    It’s something Vainikka hinted at after the release of the Fazer Taste the Future bar, with its novel foods regulation process in the EU expected to finish by the end of 2025. “Our shared aim extends beyond this pivotal moment, targeting a wider-scale European launch in 2025-26 with a whole range of products.” And it truly could be a range of products – the ingredient has already been demoed in over 20 different foods, including burgers, eggs and meatballs.

    For now, though, a snack bar it is. The product will be available at five locations of The Cocoa Trees across the city-state, as part of a bundle offer until February 18 – customers can redeem one Taste the Future bar for every S$30 ($22) spent on Fazer products.

    Solar Foods’ Solein isn’t the only air protein – Kiverdi’s Air Protein (US) and Arkeon Biotechnologies (Austria) are working on similar products, while companies like NovoNutrients, Calysta (both Californian) and Deep Branch Biotech (UK) are producing such ingredients for livestock and fish feed.

    The post A Snack Bar Made From Air: Fazer Unveils Limited-Edition Chocolate Bar Using Solein appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Why Blended Meat is Not a BIG Idea

    4 Mins Read

    Marketing expert Irina Gerry argues that while blended meat, could meet niche consumer needs such as upgraded nutrition or improved flavor, it’s not a ‘big’ idea.

    The concept of blended meat — combining plant-based ingredients with animal meat — has recently emerged as a solution to the challenges faced by purely plant-based meats. At first glance, it seems like a compelling proposition, promising enhanced taste compared to plant-based meat, reduced environmental impact versus animal-based meat, and potentially better pricing. Recent entrants into this space include brands like 50/50 Foods, Paul’s Table, and Mush Foods. However, does this idea truly address consumer needs, or is it merely an industry-driven solution?

    The Best of Both Worlds: Understanding Flexitarians

    The rise of flexitarian diets suggests a willingness to embrace both plant-based and animal products. However, this doesn’t automatically translate into a desire for blended products. Products like almond-dairy milk blend by Live Real Farms or mixed chicken and Raised and Rooted blended meat and plant-based protein burgers by Tyson haven’t performed well in the market. 

    The reason for this is the lack of a real consumer need. We don’t see consumers mixing almond and dairy milk in the same glass. They likely have both milks in their fridge, but use them for different occasions or different members of the household, based on a specific set of preferences. Similarly, we rarely see anyone blending a Beyond Burger with ground beef to improve the flavor.

    Quality Perception of Blended Meat: A Complicated Relationship

    The act of blending can create a perception of lesser quality. Meat enthusiasts often view pure meat as a high-quality product. When you start mixing in soy or pea protein, it’s like watering down a fine wine. Remember when rumors of McDonald’s burger patties getting mixed with soy caused a social media outrage? The company now specifically messages that its patties are 100% beef, with no fillers, as proof of quality.

    The same goes for plant-based consumers. When they choose to have a plant-based product, they are doing so consciously, and for a variety of reasons such as health, ethics, or the environment. None of these reasons is strengthened by adding animal protein to the mix. So, the blend likely dilutes the value proposition for both camps.

    Choice and Control: The Art of Personalization

    Most consumers enjoy a mix of plant-based and animal-based foods, but they do so on their own terms. They might choose a purely plant-based dish one day and mix and match both plant and animal foods another day. Some are vegan at home, whilst indulging in a pepperoni pizza on weekends, or they might stretch ground beef with veggies and bread crumbs for cost savings. The key is personalization and control over the mixing and matching based on specific occasions and recipes. It is unlikely for a single product to satisfy such divergent needs, especially if it’s a standard product like a burger patty.

    Narrow Appeal: The Challenge of a Niche Market

    Given these factors, blended meat risks becoming a niche product category. For meat eaters, adding plant-based elements may seem like a compromise in quality and taste. For plant-based consumers, the introduction of animal ingredients feels counterintuitive. The appeal might be limited to a small segment of flexitarians, driven by a specific need or usage occasion, likely making it a commercial challenge. 

    Blending to meet a specific consumer need, such as lower cost or better nutrition, could be a viable idea, but it’s just not a BIG idea. 

    So, What’s the Way Forward?

    To give blended meat the best chance of success, we need a consumer-centric approach. Here are two potential positioning strategies:

    1. Lead with Flavor: People enjoy exploring new flavors. Incorporating caramelized onions and roasted bell peppers on a burger, or adding a portobello mushroom for an umami boost, can enhance the appeal. This approach focuses on exciting flavors rather than compromising taste or nutritional values. Blending animal-based meat with whole plant ingredients that contribute to an intriguing flavor profile has potential, especially if brands lead with a positive taste experience. However, this might result in occasional purchases due to fractionated usage occasions, leading to low turnover.
    2. Better Nutrition without Compromise: Many consumers aspire to eat healthier foods. Blended meat products offering additional nutritional benefits, such as more fiber, reduced saturated fat, and fewer calories, could be appealing. However, ensuring that taste is not compromised is crucial. Since most consumers choose animal-based meat for its taste, any compromise on this front could spell trouble. Thus, a strategy that leads with great taste, while delivering improved nutrition as a secondary benefit, might hold more promise.

    Solving The Blended Meat Puzzle

    Successfully positioning blended meat products requires navigating the complex landscape of consumer preferences, quality perceptions, cultural influences, and dietary choices. While the idea holds potential, its success hinges on more than just merging two types of proteins, as a logical response to current struggles of plant-based meat. It demands a deep understanding of consumer desires and their choices in integrating plant-based and animal-based foods into their diets. Only by tapping into these nuances can blended meat transcend being a fleeting trend and secure a meaningful place in our diverse and dynamic food landscape.

    The post Why Blended Meat is Not a BIG Idea appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Imagindairy Unveils Industrial-Scale Facility to Produce Animal-Free Dairy Proteins at Price Parity

    imagindairy facility
    4 Mins Read

    Israeli precision fermentation startup Imagindairy has acquired and begun operating industrial-scale production lines for its animal-free dairy proteins.

    Two weeks after becoming just the third precision fermentation dairy company to receive a ‘no questions’ approval letter from the FDA, Israeli startup Imagindairy has announced the acquisition of an industrial-scale plant in the Middle East that will allow it to manufacture cost-competitive animal-free dairy products.

    The company claims to be the first in the industry to fully own and operate such large-scale production lines, which gives it a 100,000-litre fermentation capacity. Imagindairy plans to triple this volume in the next one to two years and says it is already producing industrial-sized batches at price parity to conventional dairy.

    “Having just entered the landscape three years ago, this achievement is a big step forward for us. We’ve overcome industry-wide hurdles that have previously been holding precision fermentation dairy back, including the production capacity bottleneck and ensuring that unit economics make sense across the supply chain,” said Imagindairy co-founder and CEO Eyal Afergan.

    Using koji mould to make cow-free whey

    imagindairy gras
    Courtesy: Imagindairy

    Founded in 2020, Imagindairy uses precision fermentation technology to produce dairy proteins, without the cow. It is starting with beta-lactoglobulin, the main whey protein found in bovine milk (accounting for 65% of the total whey content). This is the ingredient for which it received regulatory approval from the FDA in the form of its ‘no questions’ letter two weeks ago, following its self-affirmed Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status in August.

    Beta-lactoglobulin is also the whey protein being produced by fellow precision fermentation companies Perfect Day (US) and Remilk (Israel), the only other producers in this space to have received GRAS approval from the FDA (Israeli startup TurtleTree, which is producing lactoferrin, has self-affirmed GRAS status, and plans to obtain the ‘no questions’ letter this year).

    Imagindairy’s beta-lactoglobulin is produced via an AI-led microflora-based production method “inspired by nature”, which feeds microorganisms that are 20 times more efficient than cows at converting feed into proteins. The startup employs a microbe called Aspergillus oryzae, the same fungi strain used by German precision fermentation player Formo for its egg alternative. More commonly called koji mould, it’s known as Japan’s “national fungus” and is used in many traditional fermented foods like miso, mirin, shoyu, as well as alcoholic beverages such as shochu and soju.

    The Israeli startup is working on other proteins too, including casein (which makes up 80% of the protein content found in dairy) and other whey proteins like alpha-lactalbumin (accounting for about 25% of bovine whey content).

    In August, Imagindairy opened a new headquarters near Haifa, Israel. Its latest move from contract manufacturing to its own facility marks a shift in gears for the company, as Agergan explained. “Imagindairy is setting its sights on commercialisation of its animal-free dairy protein,” he told Green Queen. “We can now offer the most efficient manufacturing and end-to-end capabilities, extending through in-market product availability.”

    Imagindairy plans to launch products this year

    precision fermented dairy
    Courtesy: Imagindairy

    While Imagindairy hasn’t publicly announced any partnerships, Agergan confirmed the startup is currently collaborating with partners on commercial projects. With the new facility, it can help its customers to offer animal-free dairy products at costs on par with their conventional counterparts. “It’s a substantial breakthrough and important step that will allow us to support mass-market adoption, transition to an industrial company, and speed up the development of other milk proteins,” said Agergan.

    “Cost parity has always been a main target for Imagindairy, due to the understanding that mass market adoption will not happen without it,” he told Green Queen. “Our dairy prototype formulations, based on our protein, are at parity with traditional dairy products or even at lower prices.” Research funded by Formo last year suggests that at price parity, precision-fermented dairy will capture a third of the overall dairy market. Even with a 25% price premium, it would account for a 22% slice of the pie.

    This is crucial considering the impact of the dairy industry on the environment. According to Perfect Day’s life-cycle assessment, its beta-lactoglobulin has 91-97% lower GHG emissions, 29-60% lower energy demands, and 96-99% of water consumption than conventional whey protein. Similarly, an LCA by French player Bon Vivant – also focused on beta-lactoglobulin – showed that milk made from its precision-fermented whey emits 96% less carbon, uses 99% less water, and requires 92% less land.

    “While our long-term goal is to work with food manufacturers to bring animal-free dairy products to retail stores, markets and cafes across the globe, we are always exploring opportunities to showcase to consumers the endless possibilities of our dairy protein,” said Agergan. Products made with its protein aren’t yet available for consumers, but they’re expected to be launched in the US later this year.

    Agergan added that Imagindairy is pursuing regulatory clearance in other regions too, including Israel (where Remilk is the only company to have obtained the green light). Just earlier today, the country became the first in the world to approve the sale of cell-cultured beef, granting a ‘no questions’ letter to Rehovot-based producer Aleph Farms.

    “The quality and safety of our animal-free dairy protein and process has always been paramount, and regulatory approval is a critical step in ensuring that,” said Agergan. “These major milestones will support our mission to be the largest dairy producer without a single cow.”

    The post Imagindairy Unveils Industrial-Scale Facility to Produce Animal-Free Dairy Proteins at Price Parity appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Aleph Farms: Israel Awards the World’s First Regulatory Approval for Cultivated Beef

    aleph farms regulatory approval
    9 Mins Read

    Israeli-cultivated meat producer Aleph Farms has received the world’s first regulatory approval for cell-cultured beef, marking a milestone in the alternative protein sector.

    This makes Israel – still in the middle of regional conflict – only the third country to greenlight cultivated meat, paving the way for Aleph Farms to introduce its Black Angus Petit Steak to diners soon.

    Israel’s Aleph Farms has become the first company in the world to earn regulatory approval for cultivated beef, after the Israeli Ministry of Health (IMOH) issued a ‘no questions’ letter for its consumer brand Aleph Cuts in December – akin to an FDA ‘No Questions’ letter in the US. It allows the producer to market its products – currently priced similarly to premium conventional beef – in the country, with plans to roll out at restaurants and, eventually, retailers.

    With the greenlight, Israel joins a very short list of countries to allow the sale of cultured meat – only Singapore (Eat Just in 2020) and the US (Upside Foods and Eat Just in 2023) have done so. But these approvals were all done for cell-based chicken products, meaning Aleph Farms is the first company permitted to sell cultivated beef.

    “This announcement marks a critical leap in the global race to make the meat that people love, that’s also better for our climate, biodiversity, and food security,” said Bruce Friedrich, founder and president of alternative protein think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI). “We’re thrilled consumers in Israel will soon join those in the US and Singapore as being among the first to be able to purchase these delicious products.”

    Aleph Farms’ cultured meat costs the same as premium beef

    lab grown meat approval
    Courtesy: Aleph Farms

    The decision brings an end to a process a year-and-a-half in the making, when Aleph Farms filed its initial submission to the health ministry, following a pre-submission consultation. The company worked closely with the Food Risk Management Department, led by co-founder Dr Ziva Hamama, to ensure “full compliance with safety standards” for these novel proteins.

    “This regulatory approval grants us permission to produce and market our product in Israel, subject to specific directions for labelling and marketing provided by the Israeli Ministry of Health, and the completion of Good Manufacturing Practices inspection for our pilot production facility,” explained Yifat Gavriel, the company’s regulatory affairs chief.

    The first product to be unveiled is Aleph Farms’ cultivated thin-cut Petit Steak, which was first introduced in April with the Aleph Cuts brand. The hybrid meat product comprises non-modified, non-immortalised cells of a premium Black Angus cow named Lucy, alongside a plant protein matrix made of soy and wheat. Apart from the starter cells derived from one of the cow’s fertilised eggs, there are no other animal-sourced components (such as fetal bovine serum, or FBS) in the cultivation process or final product.

    The controlled and traceable process is carried out in an aseptic production environment, which – the company states – increases transparency and significantly reduces contamination risks. Plus, there’s no presence of antibiotics in the process.

    Once the requirements mentioned above (labelling and mark-of-facility inspection) are fulfilled, we will introduce Aleph Cuts to diners, offering exclusive tasting experiences curated in collaboration with select partners. “At first, the product will be available in select restaurants,” Yoav Reisler, senior marketing and communications manager at Aleph Farms, told Green Queen. “Afterwards, it will become available at foodservice and retail locations.”

    On the cost question, he revealed: “At the time of our soft launch, Aleph Cuts will be priced similarly to premium conventional beef. We are taking various steps to drive economies of scale and achieve price parity with more of the conventional beef market within a few years from launch.”

    No doubt, making it a hybrid product helps too, as this is the path some envision cultivated meat to enter the market (Dutch producer Meatable is taking this approach too). “Hybrid products will allow the cultivated market the chance to build and become normalised with consumers, while also – importantly – generating the revenues and business necessary to keep dollars flowing into the space, so scale can be further achieved,” one alt-protein investor told Green Queen in December.

    Cultured meat needs to reach production costs of $2.92 per pound to be price-competitive with conventional meat. But while companies have managed to cut manufacturing costs by 99% in less than a decade, McKinsey analysis estimates that it will still take until 2030 for these proteins to reach parity. “Of common animal proteins, beef delivers the highest value in global markets, so by focusing on cultivated beef, we are able to shorten the timeline to price parity,” explained Reisler

    Israel’s need – and support – for cultivated meat

    cultured meat regulatory approval
    Courtesy: Aleph Farms

    “The entire Aleph team has united in strength and determination to deliver no matter what during these difficult times in Israel. We are excited to carry this resilience forward in the form of innovation in agriculture and food security,” said Aleph Farms co-founder and CEO Didier Toubia.

    It’s a milestone for a country that has long been supportive of alternative proteins – and for good measure, given the nation’s battle with food insecurity: government figures show that 16% of Israeli families and 21% of children did not have adequate access to safe, nutritious food in 2021. Among families with children, 19% experienced food insecurity, and 8.5% suffered from severe insecurity.

    As cultivated meat doesn’t rely on livestock agriculture, huge swathes of farmland, or vast amounts of water, the benefits are as important for climate change as they are for food security. This is especially true for beef, which emits more greenhouse gas emissions than any other foodstuff. It’s a meat loved by Israelis, who eat 19.6kg of it per year and are expected to consume over 29kg annually by 2029.

    But uniquely, Israel is known to be one of the most vegan-friendly countries in the world. According to a 2017 survey (the latest data available), 5% of its citizens identify as vegans and 8% as vegetarians. At the same time, 23% expressed a desire to cut their intake of meat.

    This explains Israel’s support for alternative proteins, which “stands out globally”, according to Alla Voldman, VP of strategy and policy at GFI Israel. “Three out of the first eight cultivated meat companies worldwide are Israeli. 15% of global investments in the field are allocated to Israeli-cultivated meat companies,” she noted.

    This ecosystem includes the world’s largest cultivated meat consortium, which Aleph Farms is a part of. A three-year project to scale up production and drive down costs of cultivated meat, it received funding to the tune of 66 million NIS ($18M).

    “We believe that the robust presence of cultivated meat companies, fermentation, and plant-based, coupled with advanced academic research, entrepreneurship, industry, and unique consumer market, provide Israel with an opportunity to lead the field forward,” Voldman added. “This strengthens our ability to provide value to countries worldwide in an era of climate and food security crises.”

    Toubia added: “We believe that addressing joint challenges like food security is the best way to ensure the prosperity of the Middle East and other parts of the world that rely heavily on massive food imports, especially in Asia.”

    But the incidence of veganism be a catalyst for the success of a fellow alt-protein pillar in cultivated meat? “I’m not sure it’s one of the most significant markers,” Reisler said. “Aleph Cuts are animal-based products, as the original source of animal cells is a cow. However, many vegetarians and vegans may call Aleph Cuts vegetarian-friendly and vegan-friendly, as the product is not harvested from an animal carcass and there is no slaughter involved in the production.” [As noted above, the starter cells for Aleph Farm’s beef steaks are sourced from the fertilised eggs of a cow, and as such, cultivated meat isn’t usually regarded as vegan-friendly – for an ethical take, this is a good read.]

    What’s next for Aleph Farms after regulatory approval?

    cultured meat israel
    Courtesy: Aleph Farms

    Aleph Farms’ regulatory approval in Israel is a huge win – but it isn’t stopping there. The company has filed for clearance in Singapore, Switzerland, the UK and the US, and is advancing its applications in other markets too. “Entrance to Asia (via Singapore) and the Middle East (via Israel) is currently our main focus. We expect to receive positive indications from the Singapore Food Agency soon,” confirmed Reisler.

    Pressed on the progress with these applications – particularly in the UK, as there is talk about a bilateral deal to fast-track approval for Aleph Farms – he told Green Queen: “We maintain a dynamic, ongoing channel of communication with those regulatory agencies as part of our review process. They have been receptive in regard to our production and process development, and have shown appreciation for our methodological science-based approach to ensuring the safety of our process and product.”

    The company is simultaneously pursuing a kosher certificate for its facility from local rabbinate authorities too. This is key for a company based in Israel and catering to a large Jewish population, which eats kosher food as directed by the Torah. There are encouraging signs for Aleph Farms here, with Israel’s chief rabbi David Lau declaring last January that its non-FBS steak could be considered kosher and akin to eating a vegetable (parve).

    As it awaits decisions from other regulators globally, its approval in Israel could be a precursor for things to come. “2024 stands to be a landmark year for the advancement of regulatory pathways and commercialisation of cultivated meat,” claimed Gavriel.

    Meatable is expecting a green light for its cultivated pork from Singapore this year, and France’s Vital Meat claims it’s the frontrunner to be the first European startup to be approved in the city-state. Meanwhile, Australia’s Vow Food is in the middle of a consultation process after its cultured quail was cleared as safe to eat by the bilateral Food Standards Australia New Zealand in December.

    “There’s still work ahead of us to continue to scale up, meet consumer expectations and move toward the mainstream. However, I think on the technology side, the scientific side, in terms of process development, early industrialisation and regulatory compliance, we have made a huge leapfrog, and I’m quite happy to see that,” Toubia told Green Queen founding editor Sonalie Figueiras on the Green Queen in Conversation: Cultivated Meat Pioneers podcast in September. “The industry is really on the verge of going to market and starting initial acceptance.”

    Following a $105 Series B round in 2021, Aleph Farms has raised a total of $118M in funding – Toubia has outlined the company’s aim to reach $1B in revenue by 2030. This will be helped by its manufacturing advancements over the last couple of years. In February 2022, it moved to a 65,000 sq ft plant in Rehovot, Israel, which increased its capacity by six times to be able to initially produce 10 tonnes of cultivated steak annually. Last year, it announced the acquisition of another manufacturing facility in Modi’in, Israel, alongside a new manufacturing agreement with ESCO Aster in Singapore (the world’s only approved industrial manufacturer for cultured meat).

    “With its global leadership in cellular agriculture, Israel continues to push for greater regional integration and economic collaboration, which will be crucial for stabilising the region,” said Toubia. “We believe that addressing joint challenges like food security is the best way to ensure the prosperity of the Middle East and other parts of the world that rely heavily on massive food imports, especially in Asia.

    “Now more than ever, Aleph Farms remains committed to making the world a better place.”

    The post Aleph Farms: Israel Awards the World’s First Regulatory Approval for Cultivated Beef appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Future Food Quick Bites: Ben & Berry’s, Better Butter & A Covid-19 Study

    beyond meat ad
    6 Mins Read

    In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Ben & Jerry’s new oat milk ice-creams, Beyond Meat’s new marketing campaigns, and a study linking plant-based diets to a lower Covid-19 risk.

    New products and launches

    Ice-cream giant Ben & Jerry’s has released its first new flavour after reformulating its non-dairy offerings with oat milk. A vegan version of a fan favourite, the Strawberry Cheezecake is available at retailers and for delivery in the US.

    ben and jerry's non dairy
    Courtesy: Ben & Jerry’s

    And in the UK, Ben & Jerry’s has teamed up with vegan frozen food startup One Planet Pizza to offer a meal deal at Asda for Veganuary. It means the former’s new Oat of this Swirled sundae and latter’s Peppernomi Pizza are available for £5, saving you £4.50.

    At Morrisons, Mars has released a vegan version of its Galaxy Fruit & Nut chocolate bar, which is available as a 100g bar or in a 40g snacking format, which will be in stores nationwide from January 22.

    Another sweet treat comes courtesy of Premier Foods, which has launched vegan versions of its famous McDougalls jelly for foodservice clients in three flavours: strawberry, raspberry, and orange. The company uses carrageenan to replace gelatin.

    UK foodservice wholesaler Brakes has rolled out a new vegan range called Sysco Simply Plant Based, which currently features five centrepiece dishes like Chestnut & Seed Roast. The lineup will expand to reach over 50 products in the next 18 months.

    Speaking of foodservice, British noodle chain Chopstix – which specialises in Chinese takeouts – has launched a plant-based Teriyaki Beef dish (created by Miami Foods) for Veganuary. Titled All Leaf, No Beef Teriyaki, it is available across its stores nationwide.

    flora butter
    Courtesy: Upfield

    Over to some dairy news: European dairy giant Upfield has launched what it claims is the world’s first plastic-free, recyclable tub for its Flora plant butters and spreads, in collaboration with Footprint, MCC and Pagès Group. It is part of the company’s mission to reduce plastic content by 80% by 2030.

    Meanwhile, Dutch alt-dairy startup Willicroft is debuting its new precise-fermented vegan butter, named Original Better, at Crisp stores across the Netherlands.

    Across the Atlantic, Bel Group-owned The Laughing Cow has launched a dairy-free version of its spreadable Garlic & Herb wedges at Whole Foods in the US, available for $4.49. It is now exploring spicy flavours for its vegan range.

    South Korean dairy-free brand Armored Fresh has unveiled a new innovation with its oat milk cheese in the US: Pepper Jack slices. The startup’s products are available at Kroger, Fresh Thyme Market, Town and Country Foods, and Fred Meyer, alongside foodservice clients.

    oat milk cheese
    Courtesy: Armored Fresh

    Also in the US, Colorado-based mycelium meat producer Meati has expanded into Super Target stores, and has signed an agreement for a listing at Albertsons too, as the company moves to reach 8,000 retail locations by the summer.

    And Canada’s Modern Plant-Based Foods has introduced a seaweed-based Vegan Kaviar line in Salmon, Wasabi, and Beluga flavours, initially targeting sushi and seafood restaurants.

    Finance and research news

    In a sad development, New Zealand-based vegan meal service The Kai Box is shutting down after eight years, the founders announced on Facebook.

    But in more positive news, Better Foods, the plant-based subsidiary of South Korea’s Shinsegae Food, has attracted investment from Cleveland Avenue, a VC fund founded by former McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson. The company will produce alt-dairy products alongside its current meat portfolio to facilitate its entry into the US market.

    Seattle-based Rebellyous Foods has announced that it nearly doubled its sales in 2023, and is now donating its plant-based chicken to universities participating in the Humane Society of the United States’ Forward Food Veganuary programme, which trains chefs on vegan prep.

    future food quick bites
    Courtesy: Rebellyous Foods

    In France, food procession giant Tereos is investing €4M in its plant protein brand Ensemble to triple the production of its Marckolsheim Alsace plant this year, following a 50% growth in sales in 2023.

    UK biotech farm FaBao, which identifies superior microbial bioproducts that can improve soil health, boost crop production and protect ecosystems, has secured a £5.3M investment from VC funds Clean Growth Fund, Pymwymic, and Ship2B Ventures.

    Enifer, a Finnish biotech mycoprotein startup, has secured a €12M grant from the European Union NextGenerationEU recovery instrument to fund the construction of a commercial-scale manufacturing facility for its Pekilo protein.

    At alt-meat giant Beyond Meat, CFO Lubi Kutua is taking over as interim chief accounting officer from Henry Dieu, who has left the company for another opportunity.

    helaina
    Courtesy: Helaina

    New York-based precision fermentation company Helaina, which is making recombinant human lactoferrin derived from fungi, has released a paper detailing the structure of its first protein, Effera.

    A widely shared study published earlier this month has revealed that people following vegan and vegetarian diets have a 39% lower risk of developing Covid-19, and are less likely to experience severe symptoms than omnivores.

    Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, Unilever, IFF and Wageningen University are undertaking a four-year reserach project to explore how flavours bind to protein molecules and recommend novel strategies to elevate the sensory experience of plant-based meats.

    Policy, marketing and awards

    French cultivated chicken producer Vital Meat claims it is a frontrunner to be the first European cultured meat startup to receive regulatory approval in Singapore, having filed for clearance in December.

    Speaking of cultured meat regulation, Japan’s framework is about to get more complicated, with the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare transferring its food hygiene standards division to the Consumer Affairs Agency (while continuing to oversee food safety), which means companies must liaise with two agencies starting in April.

    It’s a big week for Beyond Meat, which has launched two new ad campaigns. In the US, its Literally the Least You Can Do spot playfully mocks people’s non-adherence to New Year’s resolutions, featuring returning star Rizwan Manji promoting its heart-healthy steak. And in the UK, its Taste You Can Believe In pokes fun at classic Veganuary misconceptions and spotlights taste – a factor key for Britain’s alt-meat-eaters.

    German cocoa-free chocolate producer ChoViva has been nominated for a Consumer Award by ISM Cologne and Foodnewsgermany for its Neapolitaner Waffeln collaboration with Rewe Group‘s own-label brand, ja!

    The Vegan Women Summit has announced 24 finalists in eight categories for the inaugural VWS Awards, which include BioCraft Pet Nutrition, Viva!, Sprout Organic, VBites founder Heather Mills and Polish MEP Sylwia Spurek. The winners will be announced on May 10.

    Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: Ben & Berry’s, Better Butter & A Covid-19 Study appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Daisy Lab: Women-Led NZ Startup Scales Animal-Free Whey Production, Diversifies Protein Portfolio

    daisy lab
    5 Mins Read

    New Zealand’s Daisy Lab has scaled up the production of its precision-fermented beta-lactoglobulin powder a year after discovering its initial expression systems, while diversifying into lactoferrin to boost its commercial gains.

    Just over a year after discovering its initial proprietary protein expression systems, Auckland-based precision fermentation startup Daisy Lab has successfully manufactured the first batch of its animal-free whey, marking rapid progress.

    The company has completed the production of powdered whey protein using yeast cultures in its 10-litre fermenters, which has undergone rigorous external testing. “This accomplishment empowers us to delve into the creation of innovative edible product prototypes,” said co-founder and CEO Irina Miller.

    Disrupting New Zealand’s dairy industry

    daisy lab
    Courtesy: Daisy Lab

    Daisy Lab is working on beta-lactoglobulin, the main whey protein found in dairy, with properties like gelling, foaming and emulsification that enhance mouthfeel and texture in food and drink applications. It’s the whey protein found in the labs of most precision fermentation dairy startups, having been commercialised by Californian pioneer Perfect Day, and produced by Israeli startups Remilk and Imagindairy.

    These are the only three companies in the space to have received regulatory approval from the US FDA, proving there’s room for success with the approach. Other startups working with the protein include Vivici (the Netherlands) and Bon Vivant (France) – an independent life-cycle assessment commissioned by the latter has revealed that animal-free beta-lactoglobulin emits 96% less carbon, needs 99% less water, and uses 92% less land than its conventional counterpart.

    This echoes Perfect Day’s analysis, whose whey protein emits 91-97% fewer emissions, requires 29-60% less energy, and consumes 96-99% less water than conventional dairy. These numbers set a precedent for animal-free startups trying to disrupt the $27M beta-lactoglobulin market and – in Daisy Lab’s case – their home country’s gigantic dairy sector.

    New Zealand is known for its heavy reliance on dairy, whether that’s through consumption or financial factors. Government figures show that half of all its emissions come from agriculture, and of these, three-quarters are a direct result of methane from livestock digestive systems. New Zealand is the world’s largest exporter of dairy proteins, while its dairy sector is responsible for one in every four export dollars the nation earns, contributing $11.3B to the economy.

    The country’s per capita milk consumption reaches 400 million litres a year, with 190 two-litre bottles of milk sold every minute in supermarkets, according to Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy producer and New Zealand’s biggest company. The dairy giant has itself seen the value of sustainable proteins, collaborating with DSM Firmenich to launch the aforementioned Viver as a joint venture. Coincidentally, Miller is a former Fonterra employee, who left the company, became vegan, and launched Daisy Lab in 2021.

    Diversifying into lactoferrin and planned fundraising

    new zealand precision fermentation
    Daisy Lab CEO Irina Miller with Gianpaolo Grazioli, owner of Auckland gelato shop Giapo | Courtesy: Daisy Lab

    Daisy Lab has exceeded its initial target of producing 3g of protein per litre of growth medium, reaching 10g instead. “Our focus remains on continuing to increase the yield, aspiring to reach up to 20 or potentially 30 grams per litre in the not-so-distant future,” said co-founder and COO Emily McIsaac.

    A litre of conventional whey liquid has about 0.6% of protein, 6% lactose and 0.7% minerals – the latter two are usually removed via an ultrafiltration process to concentrate and purify whey protein. Daisy Lab’s precision-fermented whey liquid has a higher protein content, a similar amount of minerals, and zero lactose, meaning it can be purified using traditional dairy ultrafiltration and diafiltration processes and equipment.

    “Daisy Lab has developed our own proprietary filtration methodology, which is based on the traditional dairy whey processing methodology and is tailored to the fermentation liquid produced by our yeast,” Miller told Green Queen. “Based on the data we are getting now, we expect that compared with traditional dairy at the industrial scale, our process will be faster (hence requiring less energy) and will produce cleaner final protein.”

    The company has recently diversified into lactoferrin R&D too. A highly in-demand whey protein, it’s found in human milk and bovine colostrum produced just after birth, and boasts many functional benefits, including antiviral, antibacterial, anti-carcinogenic, immunity-boosting, gut-strengthening and iron regulation properties.

    But it takes at least 10,000 litres of milk to produce just 1kg of purified lactoferrin, which currently retails for $750-$1,500 per kg and is restricted to essential applications like infant formula and supplements. Using precision fermentation can undercut bovine lactoferrin on price a lot sooner than bulk whey proteins, according to Daisy Lab. It’s the same reason companies like Singapore’s TurtleTree are developing this whey protein.

    “Due to some reported headwinds in the alternative proteins’ investment market, we felt that we needed to bolster our commercial strategy,” explained Miller. “Production of lactoferrin can substantially accelerate the investment returns for our current and future investors.” She added that the company is already generating more lactoferrin than a cow. “Likewise, we still want to continue working on bulk proteins, like beta-lactoglobulin, as we still see a higher potential for them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and animal suffering.”

    Miller said the next phase is to scale the lactoferrin process within its fermenters over the next 12 months, as well as raise additional funds to build a 1,000-litre pilot plant. The company has previously received a NZ$250,000 ($150,000) injection from Stephen Tindall’s K1W1 and Icehouse Ventures in 2022, followed by a NZ$1.5M ($930,000) seed funding round last year.

    “Our current plan is to be an IP partner to food and beverage companies interested in producing products using precision fermentation,” she outlined. “In particular, we see ourselves working with current dairy processors globally, helping them to switch their processing capacities to precision fermentation whey.”

    The post Daisy Lab: Women-Led NZ Startup Scales Animal-Free Whey Production, Diversifies Protein Portfolio appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • The Milk Wars: Dairy vs Plant-Based Marketing Campaigns Boil Over

    milk marketing
    8 Mins Read

    Is it okay to drink milk, or do you need to “quit the tit”? A host of campaigns over the last few months have been intensifying the dairy industry’s battle with the plant-based sector, which has responded with its own initiatives to leave the milk category boiling over.

    Stop milk-shaming! Queen Latifah says it’s okay to drink milk.

    Quit the tit! You can wean off bovine milk with Boring Oat Milk.

    “Happy cows”? You’ve got to be kidding, according to street artist Praxis.

    In the last few months, the dairy marketing wars have been simmering, and are now reaching a tipping point. Big Dairy has forked out millions to get celebrities to tell you “real milk” is great and everything else isn’t, while funding studies that tell you something you already know (alt-milk is more expensive) without mentioning what you might not (plant-based milks, accounting for 16% of the market, receive 0.1% of the subsidies laid out to the dairy industry)

    The latter has hit back – whether it’s an oat milk company using wacky marketing to get you to wean off dairy, or street artists employing activism to enlighten the supposed bullshit being thrown at you. It’s all happening.

    How the Got Milk? campaign has spent its millions

    In November, rapper and actress Queen Latifah appeared in a fake PSA targeting the ‘bullying’ faced by milk-drinkers in various social situations. The nearly three-minute spot features actors giving interviews where they recall situations in which they were ‘milk-shamed’ – one man had a date splash milk all over him, one mother kept facing work and sleep interruptions from her dairy-free daughter, another mom saw her kid ousted from baseball league after bringing chocolate milk, while a city council candidate’s campaign got derailed after the resurfacing of an old video of him chugging milk.

    If it sounds ridiculous, it’s because it’s meant to be (the ad was written by two SNL alums). Funded by Dairy Management Inc and the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) – the organisation behind the Got Milk? campaign – the OK2Milk ad followed a marketing drive that took a more overt approach. In April, MilkPEP tapped actress Aubrey Plaza to feature in a fake commercial for Wood Milk, where she describes the virtues and qualities of milk made from woods in her characteristic deadpan, sarcastic tone, before ending with the line: “Is Wood Milk real? Absolutely not. Only real milk is real.”

    This ad came as a direct response to the FDA’s draft guidance for the labelling of milk alternatives in the US, which suggested that while vegan companies were okay to use the word ‘milk’ on their packaging, they should bear a voluntary nutritional statement to describe the differences with conventional milk.

    Both campaigns exhibited an underlying unease in the dairy industry, which has collectively spent over $100M since 2008 to inhibit the use of dairy-related terms on dairy-free products. In fact, nearly all of MilkPEP’s $7M ad budget has been spent since the FDA issued its guidance.

    The Aubrey Plaza ad particularly faced significant backlash, not least because it was reported to the USDA by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which called the commercial illegal. MilkPEP, it argued, is prohibited by law from engaging in “any advertising… that may be false or misleading or disparaging to another agricultural commodity” and federal regulation from employing “unfair or deceptive acts or practices with respect to the quality, value or use of any competing product”.

    The complaint was filed in May 2023, and as of December, PCRM still hadn’t heard back from the USDA. But MilkPEP will hope that the damage has already been done, given that, unlike its meat counterpart, plant-based dairy saw a higher revenue last year. As of mid-July, milk alternatives (7%) outpaced conventional milk (4.6%) on annual dollar sales (though unit sales for non-dairy milks declined at a higher rate than cow’s milk).

    Despite this growth, vegan options currently still command just 16% of the US milk market – but that’s still quite a jump from the soy-or-nothing oblivion at the beginning of the 2010s. One food and drink analyst told the New York Times in 2022 that plant-based milk alternatives could take up 30% of the total dairy dollar share by the end of 2026.

    Plant-based activists respond to pro-dairy ads

    It has prompted the dairy industry to amp up its messaging lately. In August, the California Milk Processor Board released an ad exhibiting milks made from salmon, octopus, ghosts, ugly sweaters, rainbows and hot dogs – “everyone thinks they can be milk these days” – followed by an October commercial featuring a fictional startup that can help people detect “a real glass of milk”.

    These smear campaigns aren’t just limited to the US – just earlier this week, a study co-funded by a UK dairy company found that plant-based alternatives cost 30% more per calorie than their conventional counterparts. “We hear a lot about plant-based diets, and how we should eat more of them,” said John Allen founder of Kite Consulting, an AB Dairy Business. “But despite the current cost-of-living crisis, we don’t hear comments on the nutritional quality of these products in relation to their cost.”

    And there’s a reason for that: such calculations border on misinformation, as they fail to account for the fact that most non-dairy milks have fewer calories per 100ml than their dairy equivalents, so the per-calorie cost will likely be higher. For example, an unsweetened Almond Breeze milk has 13kcal per 100ml, versus 43kcal for Sainsbury’s 1% milk. Even Oatly Barista – which naturally has more carbohydrate content on account of its base ingredient – has 61kcal per 100ml, compared to 66kcal for Sainsbury’s 3% milk (the same amount of fat in Oatly Barista).

    Either way, the people behind these marketing campaigns know what they’re doing – and crucially, they know their audience. In the US, a whopping 77% of consumers don’t believe that cutting out dairy will lighten their impact on climate change, despite the evidence saying otherwise. It’s this demographic that the alt-dairy sector is hoping to influence with its responses to the pro-dairy campaigns.

    In multiple US cities this month, the artist Praxis, animal activist Jamie Logan, and non-profit The Truth About Dairy launched an art-centric campaign titled Peeling Back the Veil. Starting with Los Angeles, the initiative accuses Big Dairy of lying with terms like “happy cow”, “locally sourced” and “grass-fed”, despite 70% of cows in the US being factory-farmed.

    got milk
    Courtesy: The Truth About Dairy

    It involved provocative billboards, posters and demonstrations, as well as an LED video truck featuring undercover footage taken from dairy factory farms, in an attempt to fight back against the “not-so-subtle jabs” towards the plant-based milk industry. “The campaign comes on the heels of the dairy industry ramping up its own advertising spend in what appears to be a desperate move,” says marketing executive Lori Amos.

    Similarly, plant-based non-profit Switch4Good, led by Olympian Dotsie Bausch, unveiled a Killer Milk campaign in October, banking on a 2021 study that blamed cow’s milk as the leading cause of fatal anaphylaxis in schoolchildren. “Most schools don’t allow peanuts or tree nuts, yet every kid is still served a carton of cow’s milk with their lunch. For some of those children, a glass of cow’s milk or a slice of cheese could very well be a death sentence,” said Bausch. “Why did this important BMJ study not have any reach?”

    Can plant-based overcome the power of Big Dairy

    “Allergies can present in many ways with differing levels of severity, but the risk of anaphylaxis should not be overlooked,” said pediatric specialist Leigh Ettinger. “Cow’s milk is a leading offender in children and needs to be taken seriously.”

    It reflects an issue faced by dairy-avoiding children in US schools, which are full of Got Milk? ads and dairy sponsorships. “If your school participates in the school lunch program, federal law makes it illegal for students to publicly criticise cow’s milk,” writes Marielle Williamson for The Bittman Project. She was hoping to raise awareness about the environmental and animal welfare impact of milk, but her school didn’t allow her to promote plant-based milk options without boosting the image of dairy too.

    It took a lawsuit against her school, which ruled that students have a right to non-disruptive speech critical of dairy under the 1st Amendment, for the situation to be resolved. “It was kind of like: ‘Wow, this is serious,’” she told the Los Angeles Times. “The hold the dairy industry has over schools is so strong that I can’t even promote soy milk at my school.”

    dairy misinformation
    Courtesy: Switch4Good

    That hold extends to other things too. For its Killer Milk campaign, Switch4Good had trouble trying to purchase billboard space, facing repeated denials by the three largest outdoor advertising companies in the US. Its artwork depicted a milk carton with the picture of a missing child (because she was killed by milk). One of the billboard companies said: “No creative that promotes ‘no dairy’ will be accepted.”

    Eventually, Switch4Good claims it had to tone down its billboard to get the message across. “There’s no doubt that the power of Big Dairy put fear in those billboard companies. Thanks to the billboard company that had the courage to accept our ad, we are finally able to tell the truth and educate parents,” said Bausch.

    Internationally, Oatly recently challenged dairy companies in the UK to display their carbon footprint by offering them free ad space and inviting them to a forum to talk about sustainability in the industry. And in New Zealand, fellow oat milk company Boring launched a programme last month to help citizens wean off their beloved cow’s milk. Named Quit the Tit, the campaign featured an out-of-home presence, satirical testimonial videos, and free Quit Kits, which contained both dairy and oat milk.

    The premise is simple, keep mixing the oat milk with cow’s milk and reduce the ratio until you’ve, well, “quit the tit”. “With the Quit Kit programme, cow milk drinkers can slowly wean themselves onto oat milk, and they’ll see that the taste is very similar, if not more delicious, than what they’re used to,” explained Boring head of brand Jessie Beasley.

    It’s an industry where companies are becoming increasingly wacky and loud as they hope to tell consumers the truth – or their version of it anyway. Will Big Dairy and its big money will prevail, or will the plant-based tits flash themselves long enough to sustain attention?

    The post The Milk Wars: Dairy vs Plant-Based Marketing Campaigns Boil Over appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Cultivated Meat: A Cut Above for Farmers, Health, and Safety

    4 Mins Read

    As Arturo Jose Garcia and Allie Molinaro argue, cultivated meat can be a boon for smallholder farmers, not to mention reduce global dependence on antibiotics, decrease the need for dangerous slaughterhouses, and empower a future of delicious, sustainably grown food.

    In December 2020, a Singaporean restaurant grabbed worldwide headlines by serving the first commercially available cultivated meat. This was also the first time a country approved the sale of cultivated meat, which many hoped would signify a shift in the way we raise and consume animal-sourced food. Still, its acceptance on diners’ plates, in restaurant critics’ write-ups, and the flood of new funding to other cultivated meat companies meant for the first time the just transition of food was seen as an immediate possibility.  

    Fast forward to 2024, it is clear that food systems change is no longer an option, but a necessity. That sentiment echoed through the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, which wrapped up in mid-December. However, it is also clear there is no silver bullet that will transform our food systems. What we need instead are different but equally important levers that complement one another that, on their own, can’t achieve much, but together they are game-changing. 

    Cultivated meat, one of those necessary levers, promises a more sustainable, healthier, compassionate,  and environmentally friendlier way to produce the meat we love to eat. Imagine real meat, with a fraction of the impact on the environment and animals. Don’t we owe it to ourselves, the animals, and the planet to pull on this lever and give cultivated meat a shot?  

    Unfortunately, there are already efforts to cap the cultivated meat promise by the knees both internationally and here in the United States, likely spearheaded by farming industry groups. But what these groups fail to realize is that cultivated meat is not meant to preclude farming- it was originally meant to operate in tandem with small farmers. In the Netherlands, local farmers grow corn, barley, and wheat that are used to make feed or the cell cultures, and ranchers keep a small herd of cows on pasture who are used for an occasional harmless biopsy. Keeping fewer animals without the need to slaughter them can be a win for smallholder farmers, public health, and worker safety. But cultivated meat bans exacerbate the problems that this promising innovation has the potential to mitigate and solve.  

    In a decentralized model, cultivated meat production can open new market opportunities for small farmers who are currently struggling to compete with mega agribusiness. As it stands, only four highly industrialized companies control each of the beef, pork, and chicken markets. If small farmers who are being outcompeted turn to partner with cultivated meat, they can create a novel value-added market for themselves catered toward more ethically minded consumers. This also removes the headache of finding a slaughterhouse with processing capacity and may improve farmers’ mental well-being as they can allow their animals to live out their natural lifespans, collecting biopsies from the same animal for years until she passes naturally, while still feeding the same amount (or more) people than with traditional cycles of fattening and slaughtering. 

    In addition, keeping fewer animals and raising them on pasture instead of in crowded and unsanitary  Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and feedlots reduces the need for routine antibiotics.  Currently, industrial agriculture accounts for over two-thirds of the use of medically important antibiotics, which is giving rise to antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria kill over 1 million people per year, including 35,000 Americans. However, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on track to kill 10 million people per year by 2050 without intervention. To put that into perspective, just under seven million people have died from Covid-19 since 2020. In a post-antibiotic world, none of us are safe. Routine procedures such as appendectomies and commonly treatable illnesses such as pneumonia, ear and dental infections, and urinary tract infections become deadly. 

    Finally, eliminating the need for slaughter eliminates the need for notoriously problematic slaughterhouses. Slaughter and processing plants are some of the most dangerous places to work, with the highest amputation and serious injury rates in the U.S. workforce. One worker recently fell into a  machine with corrosive chemicals and suffered severe burns. Occupational Safety and Health  Administration (OSHA) had previously cited the plant with two repeat and six serious violations. Even without injuries, the conditions are terrible. Workers have reported wearing diapers because they were not allowed to go to the bathroom. In 2020, they were a superspreading site for COVID-19 as workers were forced to come in without proper personal protective equipment (PPE). And in recent months,  several U.S. processing plants have come under fire for using child labor. 

    We need to shift away from industrial animal agriculture, continue to uplift small family farms and regenerative land stewardship, promote diets that are in line with planetary boundaries, and foster the development of alternative proteins and cultivated meat. Food systems solutions must be multifaceted,  drawing from a range of techniques and strategies simultaneously. A system that is not one size fits all but is beneficial for all. Cultivated meat is just one piece of the puzzle in our food systems and a just transition. And with the global population heading towards 10 billion and global meat consumption projected to increase by 50% or more by 2050, it’s all hands on deck.

    The post Cultivated Meat: A Cut Above for Farmers, Health, and Safety appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Smmmile, It’s Plant-Based!: The 9 Best Vegan Mac and Cheese Brands

    vegan mac and cheese
    8 Mins Read

    Boxed, frozen, or in a cup, vegan mac and cheese brands ensure there’s something for everyone – here are nine of the best.

    I’ve made my share of vegan mac and cheese recipes – whether it’s cashew- and cauliflower-based sauce or a veganised version of a quick mac, you can never really go wrong with this classic.

    But sometimes you just want to do things Cliff Booth-style after a hard day of work and are in need of some comfort food, stat. There are tons of brands catering to people looking for quick mac and cheese – whether it’s a boxed mix, a cup noodle-style format, or ready-to-eat.

    This has also extended to plant-based versions of the pasta dish, with companies innovating with various ingredients to come up with offerings that surprise and delight in both healthful and indulgent ways. Here are some of the best brands making vegan mac and cheese.

    Annie’s

    annies mac and cheese
    Courtesy: Annie’s Homegrown

    General Mills-owned Annie’s Homegrown has been around for 35 years now, so it’s safe to say it knows what it’s doing. The brand’s vegan Macaroni & Cheddar Flavor is a boxed variety combining dried pasta and a vegan Cheddar seasoning made from rice syrup, cornstarch, pea protein, organic palm oil, annotto and rosemary extracts (among others).

    Annie’s promises you can make this in 10 minutes. Boil the macaroni the way you usually do (al dente is the way to go), and meanwhile, boil a third of a cup of plant-based milk alongside the vegan cheese seasoning. Once done, drain and add the pasta to the mix, and voila!

    One 6oz box contains 2.5 servings, and being a boxed option, it can stay on the shelf for ages. In addition, Annie’s has a shells and sweet potato-pumpkin flavour, as well as two gluten-free boxed variants: rice pasta and Cheddar, and red lentil spirals and sweet potato-pumpkin. Plus, it has a Deluxe Rich & Creamy shelled pasta and Cheddar flavour, where you just need to mix a pre-made cheese sauce straight into hot cooked pasta.

    You can buy Annie’s Vegan Macaroni & Cheddar at Target, Publix and Sprouts for $2.99.

    Wicked Kitchen

    wicked kitchen mac and cheese
    Courtesy: Wicked Kitchen

    British brand Wicked Kitchen has a host of mac and cheese varieties for people to choose from. Its Spicy Smoky Dreamy Mac is an ode to cup noodles and one of the quickest ways to enjoy a vegan mac and cheese. Soy protein, potato starch, maltodextrin and coconut extract are blended with spices and seasoning to recreate the flavours of a conventional cheesy mac – all you have to do is add boiling water, stir thoroughly, and wait seven minutes.

    Wicked Kitchen also offers a mac and cheese cup with potato and beans and a frozen Rockin’ Chili Mac. Plus, it has a full range of boxed varieties in BBQ King, Smoky Picnic and This is Nacho flavours, with rice milk powder playing a key role here. These are also packed with a whopping 17g of protein per serving.

    You can buy Wicked Kitchen’s vegan mac and cheeses at multiple retailers across the US, starting from $3.49.

    Goodles

    goodles
    Courtesy: Goodles

    The Gal Gadot-owned brand Goodles offers something different: a good-for-you mac and cheese. Headlined by 12g of protein, 7g of prebiotic fibre, and 21 nutrients extracted from plants, the vegan mac and cheese uses a base of cashew milk, chicory fibre and nutritional yeast to take things up a notch on the flavour scale.

    Even the pasta contains chickpea and wheat proteins. A take on a boxed Cheddar mac and cheese, Goodles’ Vegan is Believin’ comes with macaroni and a white Cheddar mix. As with other boxed varieties, cook the pasta until al dente, and drain while you prepare the sauce. Goodles recommends adding a third of a cup of milk alongside 1.5 tablespoons of vegan butter – heat it up and add the Cheddar once done.

    You can buy Goodles’ Vegan is Believin’ mac and cheese directly from its website for $56.33 for a 12-pack.

    Upton’s Naturals

    vegan mac and cheese recipe
    Courtesy: Upton’s Naturals

    One of the cleanest labels you’ll see on a box of mac and cheese, Upton’s Naturals lives up to its name here. A mainstay at its Liberation Kitchen restaurant in Chicago, the brand’s two mac and cheeses come in a different format than most – they’re pre-cooked and ready to heat.

    The Original Ch’eesy Mac contains drum wheat semolina, nutritional yeast, rice bran oil, sea salt, cornstarch, mustard, onion, garlic, paprika, turmeric and sugar, while the bacon version sees the addition of a smoky seitan bacon (with vital wheat gluten, soy sauce, wheat flour and liquid smoke being the additional ingredients).

    Crack open the two packs inside the box, and heat directly on a pan for three to five minutes (or until warm). You could also cook it for a further five to seven minutes (or until golden brown) for a more caramelised flavour. It’s a perfect weeknight dinner for two.

    You can buy Upton’s Natural’s mac and cheeses online via FakeMeats.com or Amazon, at various retailers nationwide, or at Liberation Kitchen in Chicago, starting from $5.99.

    Daiya

    daiya mac and cheese
    Courtesy: Daiya

    Vegan cheese giant Daiya has recently overhauled its entire product line, switching from a chickpea protein base to fermented oat cream. This has also extended to its mac and cheese line, which is in the process of being replaced and replenished with the new formulations.

    So far, the mac and cheeses that have been revamped are the classic Cheddar, White Cheddar, Alfredo and Four Cheese and Herbs variants. They both contain rice flour pasta to keep the product gluten-free, with filtered water, coconut oil, safflower oil, oat flour and tapioca starch combined with seasonings and gums for a rounded flavour.

    To make these pastas, boil the macaroni until al dente, drain and return to the pot (saving some of the starchy water), and fold in the Daiya cheese sauce until fully mixed and warmed.

    You can find Daiya’s new vegan macaroni and cheese at various retailers across the US, starting from $4.17.

    Pastabilities

    pastabilities
    Courtesy: Pastabilities

    With a three-strong lineup of boxed vegan mac and cheese, Pastabilities’ products cater to both kids and adults. Its younger-demographic-skewed products swap the macaroni for playful Ruffled and Sea Creature shapes. They contain fortified wheat flour pasta and a vegan Cheddar seasoning made from ingredients including maltodextrin, cornstarch, organic palm oil, rice syrup and pea protein.

    Meanwhile, for the adults, there’s a Protein Pasta & Vegan Cheese variety, which makes use of a wheat flour pasta enriched with chickpea and pea proteins, soy protein concentrate and wheat protein isolate, alongside vitamins and minerals. The sauce remains the same as the other pastas, but the bulked-up pasta means it packs 22g of protein per serving, alongside 6g of dietary fibre.

    The brand recommends a base of a third of a cup of almond milk and 2.5 tbsp of vegan butter, with the cheese mix added a little at a time as it heats. Add cooked pasta to this pot and you’re golden.

    You can buy Pastabilities’ vegan mac and cheeses directly from its website, or at various retailers across the US, from $6.99.

    Field Roast

    cho mac and cheese
    Courtesy: Field Roast

    Field Roast’s cult-favourite vegan cheese Chao is the star of its frozen Mac ‘n Chao offering. The ready-to-heat dish contains enriched flour pasta, Chao’s Original flavour slices with fermented tofu and olive extract, plus nutritional yeast, modified cornstarch, spices and hot sauce.

    It’s a microwave meal reminiscent of Kevin McCallister in Home Alone – remove the overwrap and cover the dish, then microwave on high for four minutes, before stirring and heating for a further minute to two. It’s irresistibly quick and equally delicious.

    You can find Field Roast’s Creamy Mac ‘n Chao online and at various retailers across the US.

    Kraft Heinz Not Company

    kraft vegan mac and cheese
    Courtesy: The Kraft Heinz Company

    It had to be here. The brand synonymous with mac and cheese has finally introduced a dairy-free mac and cheese, which has begun rolling out in the US now (a version of this has been available in Australia since 2021). Born out of a partnership with Chilean food tech startup NotCo, the Kraft NotMac&Cheese comes in two flavours: Original and White Cheddar.

    The plant-based version of the iconic boxed mac and cheese contains a base of faba bean protein isolate and coconut oil powder, with a surprising ingredient in dried pineapple too. Do I really need to tell you how to make this?

    You can find Kraft Heinz Not Company’s NotMac&Cheese at various retailers across the US for $3.99.

    Bonus: Howl

    howl vegan mac and cheese
    Courtesy: Howl

    A “chef-driven” brand, Howl was taken over by Penguin Natural Foods in 2023, which promised to release a new and updated version of its vegan mac and cheese line.

    While still described as ‘coming soon’, the two gluten-free pastas come in Sharp Cheddar and Spicy Chipotle flavours with a cashew milk base. It’s also a clean-label box of mac and cheese, with the pasta containing white and brown rice flours, and the seasonings include nutritional yeast, cashews, salt, onion, garlic, lactic acid, yeast extract and annatto seed (the latter also has chipotle chillies).

    Howl recommends starting with boiling pasta for 10-12 minutes, before draining and returning to the pan. Here, you stir in one-third cup of plant-based milk, 2 tbsp vegan butter and the seasoning packet for one minute, or until the sauce is creamy.

    Howl’s vegan mac and cheese products are coming soon.

    The post Smmmile, It’s Plant-Based!: The 9 Best Vegan Mac and Cheese Brands appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Bel Group-Backed Standing Ovation Bags €3M from French Government & EU Fund for Animal-Free Casein

    standing ovation casein
    5 Mins Read

    Fresh from raising €3M, Standing Ovation CEO Romain Chayot speaks to Green Queen about the startup’s 2024 plans, its CASPEX project, and France’s stance on factory farming.

    Founded in 2020, Bel Group-backed startup Standing Ovation, which makes animal-free casein from precision fermentation, has received €3M in public sector funding to accelerate the development of its proteins.

    The startup aims to help food manufacturers transition towards more sustainable production. A FrenchTech 2030 award winner, the startup employs what it calls a CASPEX approach, combining the use of capital expenditure (CAPEX) with the production of animal-free proteins.

    It is this CASPEX project that has attracted funding from the French government and Bpifrance. The former has injected €2M as part of the Agrifood Resilience and Capacity call for projects under the France 2030 Investment Plan, while the latter has granted a €1M seed loan under the InvestEU Green Loan.

    “Bpifrance’s strong support is helping us to drive the industrial deployment of the unique process developed by Standing Ovation, an important step before the upcoming commercialisation of our ingredients,” said co-founder and CEO Romain Chayot. “This financing also marks the commitment of public authorities to preparing the food of the future and ensuring food sovereignty.”

    Blending CAPEX with casein

    precision fermentation casein
    Courtesy: Standing Ovation

    Chayot explains that the company needed to boost the fermentation and purification capacity of its production sites for fermentative caseins in order to accelerate industrialisation. This involves the purchase of industrial equipment (CAPEX) dedicated to the purification of caseins, hence the CASPEX project.

    This approach can allow Standing Ovation to implement a purification line in its manufacturing plants to optimise costs and delivery times, through a process that’s compatible with food industry requirements. “Standing Ovation’s innovative approach enables us to contribute to the food transition while significantly reducing the environmental impact of the dairy ingredients industry,” he notes.

    This purification module is a key step to enable the “first industrial production” of precision-fermented ingredients for dairy products. It will improve process productivity, maximising the use of upstream production tools and thus reducing equipment and team downtime – this means faster production, but lower costs.

    Chayot outlines how Standing Ovation’s casein proteins – which make up 80% of the proteins found in dairy – are versatile and compatible with a range of products, including cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, milk and protein bars. “We are producing proteins identical to the caseins of animal milk, with the same amino acids sequence, the same nutritive quality, but made by precision fermentation,” he tells Green Queen. “Our caseins have the ability to provide essential functionalities such as foaming, thickening, curdling, stretching, as well as meeting taste objectives.”

    To produce these casein proteins, the company has developed a patented, proprietary process that can be scaled up thanks to the CASPEX approach. “Our process is based on proprietary strains that overproduce caseins,” Chayot reveals. Currently, its weekly casein production is at several tens of kgs, but with the new funding, it expects to produce several tonnes of it.

    LCAs, regulation and France’s pro-factory farming stance

    standing ovation dairy
    Courtesy: Standing Ovation

    Standing Ovation is already on the move, having partnered with fellow French company Bel Group in late 2022 to develop precision-fermented proteins for the cheese industry. The dairy giant – which has an equity stake in the animal-free startup – has already released multiple vegan versions of its products, including Babybel, Boursin and The Laughing Cow. It also has a fully plant-based cheese brand in Nurishh.

    Equipped with the new funding – on the back of a €12M Series A raise in 2022 – Standing Ovation hopes to apply for regulatory approval in the US soon, before launching commercially later this year. So far, only Perfect Day and Remilk have received FDA GRAS approval for precision-fermented dairy, while Imagindairy and TurtleTree have self-affirmed approval (Imagindairy is currently awaiting its ‘no further questions’ letter.) Crucially, all these companies are working on whey protein, so regulatory clearance for animal-free casein is yet to be seen.

    The startup’s state funding is part of a €54B fund to respond competitively to the climate crisis, which is dedicating 50% of its spending to decarbonising the economy, and the rest to emerging and innovative players – none of the money goes to projects detrimental to the environment.

    As with regulatory clearance, all publicly available life-cycle assessments (LCAs) on precision fermentation dairy focus on whey protein. Standing Ovation says it is the first to conduct an independent LCA on its casein, and according to the results, its casein requires up to 94% fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional dairy casein. The LCA was done at a pilot scale, so while this is certainly progress, an industrial-scale LCA would provide a more rounded picture.

    precision fermented casein
    Standing Ovation CEO Romain Chayot | Courtesy: Standing Ovation

    Meanwhile, France has been pushing back against the plant-based industry and has called for a rise in factory farming to produce cheaper meat. Does investment from a government that promotes industrial animal agriculture feel contradictory? “Our protein is an alternative to intensive farming and does not aim to compete with artisanal and premium production,” answers Chayot. “There is room for both our technology that is a lever to secure the growing demand in animal proteins, and farming which is respectful of the environment, the planet and the animal.”

    He adds: “To build a virtuous model, precision fermentation also requires agricultural byproducts in its functioning. The sectors are interlinked. France is famous for its dairy industry with major players (Lactalis, Danone, Bel, etc.). This country is becoming very active [around] precision fermentation industry by promoting [the] industrialisation of the fermentation process [that’s] ready for the market.”

    Speaking of the market, one estimate suggests that the casein sector will be worth nearly $5B in 2033, growing by 6.3% annually from 2023. It’s a protein known for its functionality in helping cheeses stretch and melt, an important factor considering 73% of Americans are unhappy with the texture of vegan cheese and want creamy products that taste and melt better. Given the key role it plays in dairy, the importance of producing more sustainable casein is only growing, with brands like Change Foods (US-Australia), New Culture (US), Fermify (Austria) and Zero Cow Factory (India) all working towards this goal.

    The post Bel Group-Backed Standing Ovation Bags €3M from French Government & EU Fund for Animal-Free Casein appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Next Level Burger Acquires Veggie Grill to Become North America’s Largest Fast-Casual Vegan Chain

    veggie grill next level burger
    4 Mins Read

    In one of the largest M&A deals in the US plant-based space, Next Level Burger has acquired fast-casual chain Veggie Grill. The move comes a year after the latter was saved from bankruptcy, and makes Next Level Burger the largest fast-casual vegan chain in North America.

    Plant-based burger chain Next Level Burger has acquired vegan restaurant group Veggie Grill from VegInvest, an investment fund that rescued the latter from the brink of collapse last year. The move will see VegInvest join Next Level Burger as a shareholder and partner.

    The acquisition makes Next Level Burger the largest vegan fast-casual chain in North America with 27 locations, after adding Veggie Grill’s 17 sites to its existing roster of 10. “We’re not just writing a new chapter for Veggie Grill – we’re starting a new book,” said Next Level Burger co-founder and CEO Matt de Gruyter.

    De Gruyter will also take over from Veggie Grill co-founder and CEO TK Pillan, who will exit the company alongside fellow co-founders Ray White and Kevin Boylan. It’s a sea change for a brand that nearly collapsed last year “after some decisions led to a make-or-break moment for its continuance”.

    Next Level Burger’s expansion drive

    next level burger
    Courtesy: Next Level Burger

    Next Level Burger was launched by de Gruyter and his wife Cierra in 2014 as a mission-driven restaurant chain aligning human health, ecological sustainability, and an ethical supply chain. “Since our founding in 2014, our company mission has been focused on a triple bottom line philosophy of doing good, having fun and making money,” de Gruyter said in 2022.

    A decade after its launch, the company is present in eight cities nationwide, with six in-store locations at Whole Foods Market. Next Level Burger says it has stopped nearly 60 million lbs of carbon emissions from being released into the atmosphere, converted almost two billion gallons of fresh water, and supported “acres and acres” of organic farmland.

    While a 100% plant-based brand, 53% of Next Level Burger’s customers don’t identify as vegan, according to a 339-person survey it carried out last year. In fact, a fifth of respondents said they would have eaten a meat-based dish at another eatery or home had they not eaten at the vegan burger joint, underscoring its efficacy in displacing animal-sourced foods with plant-based.

    Its acquisition of Veggie Grill comes 16 months after it raised $20M to fund its expansion plans – the fast-food chain hopes to open 1,000 locations in the long term. “Veggie Grill by Next Level will mean all sorts of changes: organic produce, non-GMO ingredients and ensuring living wages for our many team members across the country,” said de Gruyter. “Everything guests know and love about Veggie Grill is about to be taken to the Next Level, but know that the fan favourites aren’t going anywhere.”

    Overcoming a tumultuous period

    veggie grill
    Courtesy: Veggie Grill

    Veggie Grill, which was founded in Irvine, California in 2006, has been a leader in the US plant-based foodservice sector ever since. The restaurant chain is known for partnering with vegan brands on innovative dishes, including Yo Eggs, Beyond Meat and TiNDLE Foods.

    But much like the overall vegan market in the country, the company has faced significant headwinds recently. While it currently has 17 locations, Veggie Grill boasted 29 only a few months ago. But a drop in post-pandemic office-worker footfall meant it had to cut over 40% of its foodservice footprint.

    “Instead of trying to continue to manage units that, without office traffic, would not be profitable, we determined it would be a better long-term move to right-size our fleet of restaurants,” Pillan explained to Food Dive in September. “This allows us to really focus on the restaurants where the economics are strong, continue to focus on innovating on the menu, and then grow into other locations based on this new world of how consumers really use fast-casual restaurants.”

    In 2021, it launched a second dining concept called Stand-Up Burgers, citing growing consumer demand. But this brand diverted Veggie Grill’s energy and did not turn the tide around for its quieter locations, as Pillan had hoped. He spoke of the difficulty of creating “just one great brand, let alone two”, adding that closing Stand-Up Burgers would allow the company to refocus on its core offerings. (Veggie Grill also operates vegan taqueria Más Veggies, which has 16 locations nationwide.)

    Veggie Grill’s struggle mirrors that of the wider plant-based industry, where major brands like Beyond Meat have faced continuous losses, while some have shut operations. And while one report revealed that foodservice sales for plant-based meat reached an all-time high in the US, pound sales still haven’t reached pre-pandemic levels, with restaurants like VeganBurg (San Francisco), Love.Life (Los Angeles), Souley Vegan (Oakland), Stalk & Spade (Minnesota) and Citizen Eatery (Austin) all closing down in 2023.

    But on the back of its Veggie Grill acquisition, Next Level Burger’s de Gruyter remains optimistic about the industry. “I believe in my bones that the exponential growth of the plant-based industry is an inevitability,” he told Green Queen. “We are on the right side of history, from climate change to human and planetary health, and the science is clear that the future of sustainability requires a shift toward eating plant-based. Our millions of guests served to date seem to agree, and we’re just getting started.”

    The post Next Level Burger Acquires Veggie Grill to Become North America’s Largest Fast-Casual Vegan Chain appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • 67% of Thai Consumers Want to Eat Less Meat and More Plant Proteins For Health

    plant based meat thailand
    7 Mins Read

    Two-thirds of Thailand’s population wants to eat less meat over the next two years and replace it with plant-based alternatives, according to a new survey. Health and nutrition are the main motivators, while price and availability remain key barriers.

    While three-quarters of people in Thailand eat meat and 18% are already reducing their intake, two-thirds are hoping to cut their consumption of animal proteins in the next two years, according to a new survey conducted by Madre Brava through Northstar/HarrisX.

    Polling more than 1,500 consumers in Thailand, the research found that respondents in Thailand – only 1% of whom are vegan and 2% vegetarian – would like to replace meat with either traditional plant proteins (44%) or novel alternatives (29%), as well as a mix of both (28%). And health is the primary driver for this decision, followed by the environment and animal welfare.

    Environmental issues less concerning for Thai consumers

    thailand meat consumption
    Courtesy: Madre Brava

    The research revealed that awareness of both traditional plant proteins (like tofu, seitan, TVP and beans) and meat alternatives is high, with 72% familiar with the former and 43% with the latter. Similarly, 39% have heard of vegan seafood, despite a lower number of people intending to reduce conventional fish consumption over the next two years (49%).

    Among the consumers who have tried alternative proteins (89%), 41% are looking to increase their intake of these products, while 16% want to reduce it. Of the 11% who haven’t eaten alt-proteins, 63% want to up their consumption.

    Health is paramount for Thais, with both negative and positive associations of alt-proteins highlighting this factor: 63% believe meat alternatives are healthier, but 70% find them too processed. Price and taste are key too, with 64% associating them with a higher cost than animal-derived meat and 56% saying they don’t taste as good.

    “From the latest numbers, it is clear that Thai consumers are a group that places high importance on health compared to many other countries, and are aware that reducing meat and consuming plant-based protein instead will have a positive effect,” said Jacques-Chai Chomthongdi, Southeast Asia director at Madre Brava.

    “This coincides with environmental imperatives, especially climate change, due to the high greenhouse gas emissions of animal protein production,” he added. It’s something echoed by Thailand’s consumers, with 72% calling plant-based meat better for the environment than its conventional counterpart.

    thailand deforestation
    Courtesy: Madre Brava

    But despite that, environmental issues are a less pressing concern for Thai consumers than health and wellbeing, poverty, and the cost-of-living crisis. And when it comes to climate change, respondents see deforestation (69%) and plastic use (52%) as the main causes, with only 13% finding industrial meat as a major driver. This is because four in 10 Thai people don’t know a lot about the animal agriculture industry, which is responsible for 11-19.5% of global emissions.

    The survey also compared Thai attitudes towards meat-eating with global markets (UK, France, Germany, US and Brazil), finding that the average number of people who believe they’ll reduce or stop eating meat in the next two years is 46%, versus 67% for Thailand. Conversely, while only 9% of Thai people say they will not be eating alt-protein in this timeframe, it’s much lower than the international average of 27%.

    Among the 33% of survey respondents who don’t intend to cut their meat consumption, around a third say it’s because meat-eating is normal and ubiquitous, and necessary for our health. A further 18% say it’s natural (“humans have been doing it forever”), and 14% find it pleasurable. This is still, however, lower than the global average, where 17% say it’s normal (versus 32% in Thailand), and 32% call meat-eating nice.

    Health the largest driver of alt-protein consumption in Thailand

    vegan in thailand
    Courtesy: Madre Brava

    The research pinpointed 18 drivers of consumption of alt-proteins, grouped into eight themes. These were health and nutrition (they’re healthier and safer with accurate nutrition info on packaging), environment (they’re less harmful and emit fewer GHG emissions), farmer welfare (they can benefit local and Indigenous producers more), animal welfare, price, sensory attributes (they taste, feel, look and smell just as good as conventional meat), convenience (they’re easy to cook and come in diverse formats), and availability (they can be found at local stores, supermarkets, street vendors, online services, as well as restaurants).

    Health and nutrition were the most influential factors, with 57% finding that alt-proteins are better for their health than animal-derived meat, 48% saying they’re safer and eliminate the risk of bacterial infection, and 32% calling on-pack nutritional info accurate and trustworthy. In contrast, sensory qualities and availability represent the lowest growth drivers for consumption, with only 9% likening their texture to conventional proteins and 8% finding them easily available in convenience stores, supermarkets and street markets. In fact, only 1% and 2% say they smell and look the same as animal proteins, respectively.

    madre brava
    Courtesy: Madre Brava

    In terms of consumption barriers, the research identified 15 factors grouped into seven categories: health and nutrition (they aren’t as nutritious or natural, are highly processed, or people would rather eat whole plant foods), farmer welfare, lack of information (people don’t know where to buy them, how to incorporate them, or just don’t know enough about them), price, sensory aspects (they don’t taste or feel nice or resemble like conventional meat, or respondents don’t want them to replicate animal proteins), variety, and availability.

    Once again, health and nutrition are influential factors – 47% would rather eat plant proteins like pulses, legumes and whole grains, just as 31% find meat alternatives too processed. Price is also a deterrent, with 47% believing they’re too expensive. On the other end of the spectrum, only 3% say they don’t want alternative proteins to replicate their conventional counterparts.

    “If alternative proteins can be made cheaper [and] people have easier access, [they] will become part of the menus of a la carte restaurants,” said Chomthongdi. “People who want to eat food that still tastes like meat can order alternative proteins or even mix alternative proteins with meat, which will have better results than eating meat alone.”

    Thais support tax cuts for alt-protein

    thailand vegan survey
    Courtesy: Madre Brava

    Madre Brava’s research further revealed that meat reduction is much more preferential than elimination altogether. Half of Thai consumers are likely to eat more whole foods or swap 50% of their meat intake with traditional plant proteins and meat alternatives, while 40% would switch half of their meat consumption to alt-protein (which can bring tremendous environmental benefits). In contrast, only 13% say they would completely stop eating meat.

    Finally, the survey measured attitudes towards 14 potential policies across five themes. This included regulation of alt-protein production (for major food companies) and consumption (requiring more supermarket/fast-food options, public procurement in schools, and mandating retailers to align with WHO guidelines), consumer awareness (mandatory eco-labelling, national guidelines on climate impact, public education on the harms of industrial meat, and school curriculums on meat and alternatives’ impact), taxation (increased tax on animal meat, reduced levies on alt-proteins), and investment (for alt-protein R&D, farmer transition, and startups and SMEs in the space).

    The latter garners strong support from Thai consumers, with 72% and 69% backing investment for farmer transition to new jobs and eco-friendly practices, respectively. A reduced tax on alt-proteins was also supported by 70% of respondents, while a higher surcharge on animal-derived meat was only chosen by 23%. In fact, an increased tax on conventional meat was the most opposed policy intervention, with 71% arguing against it.

    “If the government has a policy to seriously support the production of plant-based protein and alternative protein, both for domestic consumption and export, it would be able to correspond with the direction of both the domestic and export markets,” said Chomthongdi.

    “Thailand has food technology, and we are a top player in the world, especially when compared to our population and country size,” he added. “Therefore, if you want to develop further in any area, the existing potential should be considered, along with changes and needs at the international level as well.”

    The post 67% of Thai Consumers Want to Eat Less Meat and More Plant Proteins For Health appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • MeliBio’s Vegan Honey Expands European Presence with Aldi Deal

    melibio vegan honey
    4 Mins Read

    Shortly after launching into the UK, the vegan honey from MeliBio and Narayan Foods is widening its European footprint with the debut of its bee-free product in Aldi/Hofer stores in Switzerland and Austria.

    MeliBio’s European launch is well underway. After releasing its bee-free honey product, dubbed vegan H*ney, under Slovenia-based Narayan Foods’ Better Foodie brand in the UK, it is stepping into Europe after striking a deal with Germany-headquartered discount retailer Aldi.

    Marketed as Vegan Hanny or Ohney, the new product will be sold under Aldi’s private label Just Veg in Hofer stores in Austria and Switzerland, as part of a wider plan to expand into other European countries.

    What MeliBio’s vegan honey is composed of

    The launch is born out of MeliBio’s collaboration with Narayan Foods, which was announced in late 2022. The $10M, four-year partnership aims to propel the plant-based honey into 75,000 retailers across Europe.

    This isn’t the brand’s first foray into retail, however. In its home market in the US, MeliBio unveiled a vegan honey for foodservice under the Mellody brand. It even teamed up with Michelin-starred restaurant Eleven Madison Park’s e-tail channel Eleven Madison Home – while that partnership has ended, Mellody has evolved into a D2C entity as well, with pre-orders open for its Golden Clover honey.

    mellody
    Courtesy: MeliBio

    This product comprises 80% fructose and glucose and 18% water, with a blend of plant extracts like red clover, jasmine, passionflower, chamomile, and seaberry, as well as gluconic acid and natural flavours, making up the rest. But in an interview with AFN, MeliBio co-founder and CEO Darko Mandich confirmed that the formulation is slightly different in the European products.

    He added that these first innovations were inspired by light clover and acacia honey. MeliBio has scaled up to the level of a medium-sized honey company, with a capacity of making over 10,000 lbs or more of its vegan honey daily via co-packers. This means it can produce over 15,000 bottles of its European honey every day.

    This is key given the troubling decline in bee populations recently. In Europe, 24% of bumblebee species are facing a threat of extinction, while in the UK, 17 species of bees have become extinct, with a further 25 endangered. In fact, beekeepers have reported colony losses in countries like France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Russia, Brazil and the US.

    There are a host of reasons for this, the primary cause being human activities, including land use change for agriculture or urbanisation, and intensive farming. Plus, honey bees’ very ability to produce the golden liquid has also declined, thanks to widespread herbicide use, conversion of flower-rich land into monocultures, a drop in soil productivity, and climate change. All this makes solutions like MeliBio’s vegan honey increasingly important.

    vegan honey
    Courtesy: MeliBio

    MeliBio’s route to price parity

    MeliBio began as a precision fermentation company looking to make bioidentical honey in 2020. But it pivoted to its plant-based product earlier this year, as a way to accelerate its route to market. “We realised that our investors’ samples are becoming more sophisticated, to the point where chefs begged us to launch our plant-based honey,” Mandich told Green Queen in August.

    “We heard our customers loud and clear, and that’s how our pivot happened. It shortens our initial five to seven years timeline for product launch down to three years, which is great success.”

    However, Mandich confirmed that the company is still working on the novel fermentation tech, with R&D “ongoing and progressing well”: “It will empower us to go beyond the type of product we have right now, and set us [up] for success in launching many new products under the vision of creating the world where humans and bees thrive.”

    MeliBio, which has raised $9.4M in total funding, is now looking to close its Series A later this year, which it will set aside for “growth and expansion” only. It will also help the company make its honey price competitive. In the US, a 340g bottle of Mellody costs $19.99, while the Better Foodie one in the UK sells for £5.99 per 300g jar.

    vegan honey
    Courtesy: Better Foodie/Getty Images via Canva

    This is why partnering with Aldi was key, with the Vegan Hanny priced at €4.99 per 300g jar. “Our approach is really to get the product as close to the real thing as possible at an affordable price point,” Mandich told AFN. “Aldi is a massive global [corporation] that’s very price-sensitive, so by landing this deal we are confirming that MeliBio technology can play at that level of price sensitivity which Aldi requires.”

    He added in a statement: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the demand from customers all over the world for our sustainable, bee-friendly products, and we’re glad that working with Aldi will enable European consumers to enjoy what is truly the best honey available on the market.”

    Honey is a $9.1B market, and brands like MeliBio are trying to disrupt it with sustainable and ethical alternatives. Others in this space include Gaffney Foods’ Nectar, Blenditup, ChocZero, Plant Based Artisan’s Honea, and Sweet Freedom.

    The post MeliBio’s Vegan Honey Expands European Presence with Aldi Deal appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Future Food Quick Bites: Bustling Britain, Super Basic Oat Milk & A Vegan Flag Carrier

    future food quick bites
    6 Mins Read

    In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Oatly’s first new US products in five years, Emirates’ vegan push, and a massive amount of UK news coinciding with Veganuary.

    New products and launches

    For the first time in five years, Oatly has expanded its product portfolio in North America, with two new SKUs catering to specific consumer needs: Unsweetened and Super Basic. The former contains a proprietary oat blend with 0g of sugar, while the latter only has four ingredients (including citrus fibre upcycled from the juice industry).

    oatly super basic
    Courtesy: Oatly

    In more Oatly news, the oat milk giant has widened its US footprint via a distribution agreement with coffee chain The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf that will see the former’s Barista Edition be available at over 180 of the latter’s stores nationwide.

    Another brand growing its presence in the US is South Korea’s Unlimeat, which has opened an online D2C store for its meat alternatives.

    Speaking of Asian producers, Hong Kong-based Omni is debuting its Plant-Based Teriyaki Bao Buns in the freezers of Albertsons, Safeway, Pavilions, Vons, Acme Markets, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Jewel-Osco, Star Market, and Shaw’s in the US.

    In the pet food realm, PawCo Foods has unveiled two AI-powered vegan dog food products, with a first-of-its-kind shelf-stable plant-based meat meal, as well as a premium fresh offering with postbiotics and fermented protein.

    Germany’s national rail company Deutsche Bahn, meanwhile, is doubling down on its vegan focus with a noodle stir-fry featuring Happy Ocean Foods’ soy-based shrimp, available onboard its train nationwide.

    greggs vegan steak bake
    Courtesy: Greggs

    In the UK, bakery chain Greggs has relaunched its famous Vegan Steak Bake, two years after discontinuing the product due to unprecedented demand straining supply. It is available from January 4 for a “limited time only”.

    In London, Le Petit Beefbar has witnessed a sharp uptick in plant-based steak sales. The Chelsea steakhouse says its Redefine Meat steak frites dish has gone up from 1% of total weekly sales to 45%.

    Slovenian whole-cut vegan meat producer Juicy Marbles has expanded its UK presence with a long-term deal with Tesco, launching its soy protein steaks for £9 per two-pack in over 350 stores.

    French food tech startup La Vie has penned an exclusive agreement with Tesco as well, which will see its plant-based ham available on the retailer’s shelves in regular and smoked variants for £3 per 100g.

    In another Tesco exclusive, plant-based meat brand THIS has released a new vegan chicken breast offering, retailing at £3.50 for a pack of two. Additionally, it has launched a frozen beef mince SKU in Morrisons.

    British startup Greenwood Foods has released its Soak’d Oats bars in all 29 Costco stores in the UK, as well as locations in Sweden and Iceland, after celebrating its millionth sales four months post-launch.

    Tempeh startup Better Nature has jumped on the Veganuary bandwagon with a new Smoky Tempeh SKU (which is seasoned with smoked salt). It’s available at Asda, Tesco, Lidl, Whole Foods Market and Planet Organic.

    vegan news
    Courtesy: Better Nature

    UK snack giant Walkers has launched a limited-edition Unbelievable! Vegan range of crisps for Veganuary in Grilled Cheese Toastie, BBQ Pork Ribs and Flame Grilled Steak flavours. While many of its existing offerings happen to be vegan, this is the first time the producer is marketing its innovation as such.

    Also in the UK, plant-based ingredients manufacturer Marigold has introduced a wholegrain Popcorn Plus SKU featuring its Engevita nutritional yeast. It’s available at independent stores for 99p per 20g.

    Continuing with the UK’s Veganuary boom, vegan chicken marker VFC and recipe kit startup Grubby have collaborated to add three new recipes – Crispy Chicken Burger, Korean Fried Chicken and Chicken Katsu Curry – to the latter’s menu. The link-up will provide five new recipes this year.

    British vegan ready-to-eat brand Pollen + Grace has launched three new ready meals for Veganuary. The Rich Aubergine & Lentil Moussaka, Saag Aloo Potato Pie, and Thai Red Vegetable Curry retail from £4.95 to £5.50 per 400g and are available in supermarkets across the UK.

    Vegan egg and aquafaba brand OGGS has launched Mega Caramel Cupcakes in the UK too, updating its packaging with ‘Cruelty-Free Cakes’ after its research showed a consumer awareness gap around eggs and animal welfare.

    Another British sweet treat maker, Mummy Meegz has introduced Chickee Eggs, a plant-based chocolate SKU inspired by the Cadbury Mini Eggs. The new product comprises vegan milk chocolate eggs wrapped in a crunchy shell.

    emirates vegan
    Courtesy: Emirates

    Elsewhere, UAE flag carrier Emirates is expanding its vegan offerings (which number over 300) after a 40% year-on-year rise in vegan meal consumption in line with passenger volumes.

    And B2B gourmet food producer Classic Fine Foods has released the CFFALT Recipe Book, created by chefs and collaborators in seven markets. The book has a diverse range of vegan recipes and hopes to showcase the company’s commitment to sustainable gastronomy through its alt-protein platform, CFFALT.

    Policy, funding and facilities

    British oyster mushroom protein producer Myco has moved into a 20,000 sq ft site in Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire. The company, whose protein is called Hooba, aims to turn it into a vertical farming unit, and create nearly 70 new jobs.

    In Denmark, new food tech VC Kost Capital has announced the first close of its €25M target fund with the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark. The investment firm will look to pre-seed and seed B2B startups focusing on the future of food, having previously backed Äio, Nūmi and Nutrumami.

    In sadder news, Catalan B2B plant-based food producer RIP Foods has ceased operations, citing funding challenges, category scepticism and the giant power of the animal agriculture industry.

    baltimore mayor
    Courtesy: Sandra Hungate/LinkedIn

    Meanwhile, Baltimore has become the first US city to declare January as the official month of Veganuary, with mayor Brandon M Scott openly promoting plant-based diets for environmental, health, economic, and animal protection reasons.

    A new Japanese book, Future Outlook for Cellular Foods, looks into the challenges faced by the country’s cultivated meat industry, and how they can be overcome through tech and social initiatives.

    Awards and events

    After pledging to step up its plant-based focus, Prince William’s Earthshot Prize has seen vegan charity GenV nominate Brazilian investor platform Vegan Business in the Protect and Restore Nature category for 2024. The winners will be announced in November.

    A team of students from the National University of Singapore has won the top prize of $3,000 in ProVeg International’s APAC Food Innovation Challenge 2023 for its allergen-free vegan shrimp product, Keepin’ it Shrimple.

    Finally, VeggieWorld & New Protein China, which is usually a single trade fair for all things plant-based and alt-protein, has now decided to separate the lifestyle exhibition from the professional forum (respectively) into two events after “studying the current domestic and international” trends in the industry.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: Bustling Britain, Super Basic Oat Milk & A Vegan Flag Carrier appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Andre Menezes on Leaving TiNDLE, His Proudest Achievement & What Plant-Based Brands Can Do Better

    4 Mins Read

    An interview with former TiNDLE Foods CEO Andre Menezes, who stepped down from the company in late December, about his biggest learnings from his rocketship journey.

    Just before the winter holidays, plant-based chicken startup TiNDLE Foods announced that co-founder Andre Menezes was stepping down as CEO, and co-founder and Executive Chairman Timo Recker would take over in his stead. Recker had previously held the position from July 2020 to May 2021. In a press statement, TiNDLE said that Recker’s extensive European market experience, specifically in Germany where TiNDLE is seeing significant growth, and with his former plant-based meat company LikeMeat.

    Menezes, a Brazilian native with over a decade of experience in the food industry and who previously worked with meat giant JBS, originally started out as COO and Co-Founder.

    Under Menezes’ tenure, TiNDLE grew from one meat alternative product to a complete range of patties, nuggets, tenders, wings and more, presence in over 10 global markets including significant launches in the UK, Germany and the US, retail launches at thousands of stores, dozens of foodservice parnerships and a plant-based dairy startup acquisition.

    “I am incredibly proud that in only two and a half years, our team grew the business from an early concept in Singapore to bringing our foods to some of the largest markets in the world, while establishing a healthy business model and strong financial position that will support further growth,” he said in a statement.

    As he begins a new chapter, we asked Menezes to reflect on his TiNDLE experience, what he is most proud of, what he wishes he’d done differently and what can plant-based brands do better.

    Q: Why did you decide to step down as CEO amid significant growth? 

    Andre Menezes: My decision to step down as CEO was made in conjunction with Timo and other shareholders, considering the future trajectory of TiNDLE Foods. Despite our significant growth and strong financial health, with Timo relocating to Germany—a market where he has considerable experience—we agreed he is better positioned to accelerate our growth even further while leveraging the great fundamentals we have built over the past years. With a solid foundation, a globally recognized brand, a lean cost structure, and a strong commercial pipeline, I am confident the company will continue to thrive.

    Q: What are you most proud of from your time at TiNDLE? 

    Andre Menezes: Reflecting on my tenure at TiNDLE Foods, I am immensely proud of our robust financial status, positive unit economics, and a burn rate that’s been greatly reduced. Our infrastructure is strong, we’ve become a globally respected tier 1 brand, and we’ve seen accelerating growth each quarter. Notably, our 2023 volumes more than doubled from the previous year with much leaner expenditures, providing us with a significant runway of over 7 years, which effectively allows us to become profitable. But beyond these figures, it’s the team we’ve built—talented, dedicated, and aligned with our mission—that truly fills me with pride. Their efforts have enabled us to introduce our products to major markets worldwide rapidly—a rarity for any food business. This journey, although short, has made a significant impact and set a sustainable path for the future.

    Q: Do you have any regrets? Can you share one thing you wish you’d done differently? 

    Andre Menezes: I view our past actions as learning opportunities, not regrets, and I avoid the trap of being a “hindsight genius.” I am proud that our team did the best we could at every step, considering what we knew and the context we were in. However, advising companies now, I’d recommend a more incremental growth approach. The market hasn’t evolved as quickly as expected, so setting more conservative growth expectations would likely lead to similar outcomes with fewer resources. Back in 2020/21 when we set our strategic plan, the fast-paced category growth and liquid capital markets demanded rapid transformation into market leaders. This scenario has since shifted to a marathon focusing on financial sustainability and profitability.

    Q: What are your biggest learnings from the journey? 

    Andre Menezes: My time at TiNDLE Foods taught me never to underestimate the difficulty of changing consumer behaviour on a societal level. Purchase decisions are complex, driven by emotional and habitual factors, not just logic. Furthermore on the business side, while ambitious goals are exciting and essential, a gradual and measured approach is key, especially in challenging markets when you are reliant on purchase decisions of hundreds of clients and millions of consumers. This approach ensures the efficient use of resources, while not losing sight of a big bold dream. These learnings have profoundly influenced my approach to business strategy and consumer psychology.

    Q: What can plant-based brands do better, given a challenging environment for the sector? 

    Andre Menezes: The plant-based sector has grown rapidly but now faces a critical point where it must evolve. Reassessing innovation in product development and avenues to accelerate consumer education is imperative. Our ability to capture consumer imagination with exciting, delicious products and to reinforce the public’s understanding of the category’s benefits is vital for the next phase of growth.

    Q: What’s next for you in 2024? 

    Andre Menezes: My immediate focus is on supporting Timo and the team during this transition, ensuring minimal disruption. Looking ahead, I’m excited to use my diverse professional experience to assist other companies, founders, and funds on their paths. Having worked across various sectors and continents, I bring a unique perspective to business challenges and opportunities. I aim to guide and support others toward efficient goal achievement, helping them avoid the pitfalls I’ve faced and contributing to their success in a rapidly evolving business landscape.

    The post Andre Menezes on Leaving TiNDLE, His Proudest Achievement & What Plant-Based Brands Can Do Better appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • TiNDLE Chicken Makes Swiss Retail Launch at 440 Coop Stores

    4 Mins Read

    TiNDLE Foods, the food tech behind the hit plant-based chicken alternative, is making its retail debut in Switzerland. 

    TiNDLE Foods, the Singapore-headquartered global vegan meat brand, has made its way to Switzerland. Launching exclusively on the shelves of supermarket chain Coop, shoppers in the country will now be able to purchase the brand’s range of plant-based chicken products at 440 stores nationwide, as well as via the retailer’s online platform. 

    A number of the brand’s fan favourites will be found on shelves, including TiNDLE Burgers, Crispy Fillets, Nuggets, and Wings. The 100% vegan range is made using soy and wheat protein and packs 17 grams of protein and 8 grams of fibre per 100-gram serving. These will be sold for RRP 5.95 CHF, with the exception of Nuggets, which retail for 4.95 CHF. 

    When asked whether TiNDLE will also roll out in Swiss restaurants, the food tech told Green Queen that at the moment, they are remaining “focused on the retail category for now”. 

    The launch comes in time for Veganuary, the global movement that challenges participants to go vegan for the first month of the new year for animal welfare, sustainability, and health reasons. 

    As part of the Veganuary campaign, TiNDLE said that there are 2 discount promotions until the first half of the month (Burgers, Crispy Fillets, and Wings retail for 5.35 CHF and Nuggets are 4.45 CHF) and in the final week of January, there will be a 25% discount on the whole range. 

    tindle tenders
    Courtesy: TiNDLE Foods

    Vegan products are part of Coop’s sustainability plans

    The launch of TiNDLE Chicken is part of the retailer’s larger sustainability plans, including its goal to reduce its environmental footprint by 2026. As part of its strategy, the supermarket giant is introducing a number of new “sustainable product angles”—one of which is meat substitutes like TiNDLE. 

    “We are continually monitoring the market, along with the latest trends and plant-based products that are being developed. Not only are TiNDLE’s chicken products innovative, but they are in line with what consumers are looking for and are the ideal addition to our range of vegan products,” shared product purchasing manager for vegan and vegetarian alternatives at Coop, Martin Stutz. 

    The four products launched at over 400 stores nationwide and via the retailer’s online channel, Burgers, Crispy Fillets, Nuggets and Wings, are all convenient alternatives designed for consumers to prepare within minutes. 

    According to Coop, many of its shoppers are looking for grocery-ready meat alternatives, with 63% of Swiss consumers actively reducing meat consumption in its latest poll findings. Coop also saw its own meat substitute category grow by 350% over the last 3 years. A MACH Consumer study revealed that most Swiss consumers who purchase meat alternatives eat animal meat regularly.

    “Introducing TiNDLE to the Swiss market is an important step for us, as the country is a global leader when it comes to sustainability and preservation, with long-term goals to reduce carbon emissions,” commented TiNDLE Foods senior vice president of business development Marc Sohier. 

    vegan chicken nuggets
    Courtesy: TiNDLE Foods

    TiNDLE’s worldwide takeover

    Since 2022, TiNDLE has rapidly expanded its retail footprint, starting with its first-ever D2C product debut in Germany, where its products can be found at over 2,200 Edeka Group stores. It later launched in the UK with the supermarket chain Morrisons and Whole Foods, and most recently in the US. 

    In the US, TiNDLE’s chicken can be found in the freezers of Giant Eagle stores and in the online platform FreshDirect, as well as in various regional retailers sprawled across the country. Following the Swiss launch, TiNDLE says it is “eagerly awaiting feedback” from consumers. 

    TiNDLE vegan chicken was created by its parent company Next Gen Foods in 2020, and first made it to consumers through restaurants and foodservice channels. In 2023, the parent company rebranded to TiNDLE Foods and also acquired London-based plant-based dairy brand Mwah! in 2023 as part of the firm’s continued product category expansion. TiNDLE is one of the most well-capitalized plant-based meat brands globally; to date, it has raised over $130M.

    Shortly after, TiNDLE Foods launched a breakfast sausage for foodservice channels in the US. The company previously told Green Queen that it has plans to go forward with more products in 2024, from plant-based milks to gelatos. 

    Switzerland is home to one of Europe’s largest, most well-funded plant-based meat companies: backed by the likes of private equity fund L Catterton, Zurich-based Planted Foods AG has raised over $100M. Like TiNDLE, it has an extensive chicken product range. Board member Judith Wemmer told Swissinfo recently that the company’s main competitor is the meat industry, adding “the market for food products is immense and so there must be room for a multitude of different actors.”

    The post TiNDLE Chicken Makes Swiss Retail Launch at 440 Coop Stores appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Mush Foods Debuts ‘50Cut’ Mushroom Blends for US Foodservice Amidst $6.2M Seed Round

    5 Mins Read

    Mush Foods, the Israeli startup innovating mycelium-blended alt-proteins, is rolling out a line of mushroom root blends in the US market. Called 50Cut, the product is aimed at improving the sustainability of meat and fish-based dishes in restaurants.

    Mush Foods, the startup behind a mycelium ingredient designed for ‘hybrid’ alternative meat products, is launching a line of mushroom root blends for US restaurants after debuting its ‘meat-plus’ range in Israel. The new range, dubbed 50Cut, is aimed at improving the sustainability, nutrition and flavour of dishes that contain ground beef, poultry and fish. 

    Unlike many other plant-based food techs, Mush Foods is offering a blended solution. That means its product is meant to reduce, rather than eliminate, meat from restaurant tables. The launch of 50Cut in the US comes shortly after the firm bagged $6.2 million in seed funding last year led by Israeli tech investment group Viola Ventures, which fuelled its restaurant debut in its home market.

    At the moment, Mush Foods has not announced specific foodservice partners or chefs where its product line will be used, but told Green Queen that the first US customer will be revealed “the the coming weeks” and that distribution will kick off “in the coming days”. 

    blended meat
    Courtesy: Dan Lev

    50Cut: Helping consumers cut down on meat

    The line is made using the company’s proprietary above-ground cultivation technique, which enables the rapid growth of culinary-grade mushroom roots on local farms in the US in just 8 days. These roots of a variety of mushrooms, including shiitake and king oyster mushrooms, are then used to create a number of pre-blended umami-flavoured products for chefs to incorporate into their dishes. It can replace 50% of the beef used in a burger patty, for example.

    In conversation with Green Queen, a spokesperson for Mush Foods told us that the product itself is 100% mushroom and mycelium-based, but has been designed for chefs to reduce the proportion of meat on plates. In a press release, the company said that nearly 1 in 4 US consumers say they are
    attempting to cut back on meat. The ground meat category is estimated at $600 billion ($94
    billion industry in the U.S. alone) while plant-based meat alternatives represent just 1.5% of the
    category.* Mush Foods is offering the market a flavor-first ingredient that gives chefs the
    culinary flexibility to meet evolving consumer needs.

    “We craft the mushroom root blends for chefs to mix with meat,” Mush Foods says. “We blend specific varieties of culinary-grade mushrooms to match the taste and texture of meat, chicken, and fish.”

    In an interview with Green Queen last year, co-founder and CEO Shalom Daniel added that the company’s product is a flavour enhancer too: “With Mush’s mycelium blends, the natural flavours of the meat truly come out,” notes Daniel. 

    blended meat
    Courtesy: Mush Foods

    In addition, Daniel said that the goal is to cut global meat consumption by half, thereby reducing a significant portion of the food system’s emissions and climate burden. “We don’t need the entire world to go vegan to have a positive impact on our food supply and environment” and that Mush Foods’ mycelium is a part of the solution because mushrooms are not resource-intensive and their product does not require “tapping additional crops.” 

    It might be especially appealing to the growing flexitarian population—people who are not vegan or vegetarian, but focus on a significant reduction of meat and dairy from their diets.

    Aside from sustainability benefits, Mush Foods says its new blended roots line is a good source of dietary fibre including beta-glucan, and is rich in nutrients such as potassium, iron and calcium. It is also a complete protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids. 

    Speaking about the product, Mush Foods culinary director AJ Schaller said she believes 50Cut is “poised to solve some of our most pressing environmental challenges in a stunningly simple and seamless way,” adding that it will “help reduce meat consumption while enhancing flavour, juiciness, and yields.”

    Sustainable and cheaper

    One of the main selling points of Mush Foods’ 50Cut solution for restaurants is its cost-efficiency. 

    Speaking with Green Queen, a spokesperson for Mush Foods says that much of the excitement about its mushroom root blends is that it “impacts the bottom line in a positive way.” 

    One key benefit? Local production. A Mush spokesperson confirmed that it is “growing the mushroom root with local farmers in the US, thus saving on expensive logistics and transport-related emissions.

    mycelium meat
    Courtesy: Mush Foods

    When asked about the specific pricing, the company did not provide exact numbers but stated that it would be below that of conventional meat. “Not only is there a positive outcome for the environment and for the consumer in terms of flavour, but the price per pound to our customers is less expensive than meat.” 

    “We already know that you can have a phenomenal product from an environmental standpoint but if the economics don’t work, it will not thrive. We believe this is a game changer for the industry,” Mush Foods added. 

    It’s one of the main reasons why Yael Alroy, partner at Viola Ventures, invested in Mush Foods’ recent seed funding round. “To be a category leader in this space, a company must provide great flavour, price parity, and nutritional value,” she commented, adding that Mush Foods meets her criteria on “all three”. 

    Other investors who joined the round include food tech incubator TKH, CPG and F&B investor Siddhi Capital, and VC accelerator Arc Impact Ventures.

    Daniel added: “We’ve found investors – including those who are strongly anti-meat – are committed to the welfare of the planet and animals and see the blended solution as an immediate and achievable means of reducing meat consumption.”

    The post Mush Foods Debuts ‘50Cut’ Mushroom Blends for US Foodservice Amidst $6.2M Seed Round appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Animal-Free Dairy Pioneer Perfect Day Raises Up to $90M & Brings On New Exec Team to Pursue Profitability

    5 Mins Read

    Perfect Day, the pioneering animal-free dairy food tech which makes animal-free dairy from precision fermentation, says it has secured a pre-series E funding round of up to $90 million and announced that co-founders Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi are stepping down from the company.  

    As first reported by AFN, Californian precision fermentation Perfect Day says it has just laid out its new profitability pathway plans and secured a new round of pre-series E financing worth up to $90 million. In addition, the company is bringing on a new executive team with current president TM Narayan named as interim CEO while a search for a permanent candidate is carried out. 

    The Urgent Company, founded in 2020 as a subsidiary of Perfect Day, has an umbrella of D2C brands under its belt, including the hit animal-free ice creams Brave Robot, cream cheese label Modern Kitchen, Very Dairy milk and protein powder brand California Performance Co. Perfect Day acquired cult ice cream company Coolhaus in 2021 and went on to launch animal-free dairy ranges under the brand in Singapore, Hong Kong and the US.

    In August of last year after reported layoffs earlier in the summer, Perfect Day made headlines when it was reported that the company was exiting its consumer-facing business to refocus on core B2B operations, including the manufacture of animal-free whey protein, amidst fundraising efforts. Green Queen reported that Florida-based food tech company Superlatus had filed paperwork suggesting it was acquiring all of Perfect Day’s B2C operations, including the retail brands listed above, for $1.25 million. As of today, the sale itself has not been confirmed by the company.

    The new round of funding was led by internal investors and AFN reports that it was done “in two parts, with the first part fully funded by existing investors; the company is finalizing additional capital from other investors now.”

    Before the pre-Series E, Perfect Day previously raised over $750 million in funding.

    New leadership team as founders exit

    Having “de-risked its technology”, the firm said in a press release it will be zeroing in on its goal to scale up and “proving unit economics” for its pioneering whey protein made using precision fermentation technology. 

    TM Narayan | Courtesy: Perfect Day

    Perfect Day’s founders Ryan Pandya (previously CEO) and Perumal Gandhi will step down from their operational and leadership roles as they “focus on future opportunities”. According to AFN, Pandya and Gandhi are also relinquishing their Board positions.

    Taking over is a new executive team led by current president TM Narayan as interim CEO, alongside newly appointed co-chairs of the board Aftab Mathur of Temasek, and Patrick Zhang of Horizon Ventures. Both Temasek and Horizon Ventures have been major investors in the food tech since its early days. 

    “This has been a journey we could have only dreamed of when we first started this company in April of 2014. Because of the incredible people behind this business, we’ve de-risked world-changing technology, and we’ve brought it to life globally across over a dozen categories,” said Pandya. “Under TM’s interim leadership, Perfect Day is now in the right position for us to let the next chapter of leadership drive its path forward.”

    A statement from the new interim CEO described the team as “laser-focused” on “securing a resilient future for the business and our planet.” 

    “It has been an incredible journey with Perfect Day to date,” Narayan added. “I’m excited to work even more closely with the company as it grows into its next chapter of impact,” added Patrick Zhang, Perfect Day co-chairman of the Board and Investor, Horizons Ventures.  

    Path to profitability

    Courtesy: Perfect Day

    With their change in priorities to centre Perfect Day within B2B channels, the company says it is now firmly focused on bigger industry-shifting deals ahead. 

    In a press release, Perfect Day says 2024 will be the year in which they plan to announce a “major CPG partner launch” as well as revealing “new molecules which will bring the impact of precision fermentation to more products and markets”. 

    Zhang, part of the new executive team as co-chair of the board, says this year will bring the company towards “its next chapter of impact”. 

    Meanwhile, Perfect Day’s D2C arm, which will soon be acquired by Superlatus, will continue to ramp up retail offerings for consumers. At the moment, the many brands and their products made with animal-free dairy proteins are sold in more than 6,000 stores in the US nationwide, including in some of the country’s largest stores like Costco and Kroger. 

    Outside of the US, animal-free dairy proteins have appeared on the shelves in Asia, in the form of sustainable dairy ice cream brand Coolhaus, which became a hit in both Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as Very Dairy, Asia’s first-ever milk drink made with precision fermentation whey. 

    Precision fermentation’s biggest year yet? 

    Courtesy: Perfect Day

    These major moves by Perfect Day come in the wake of a major reckoning in the alternative protein space, with the precision fermentation pillar doubling down on its R&D and impact. 

    Having traditionally been the lesser-known sector in the alt-protein sphere, startups in this pillar have been slowly making more headlines throughout 2023. There are currently more than 64 companies using precision fermentation to create new sustainable and cruelty- and animal-free proteins. Manufacturing dairy proteins from precision fermentation requires far fewer global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) than conventional dairy, and even more so if the energy used were renewable. Further, the technology involves a fraction of the land use compared to livestock agriculture.

    In 2023, famed New York City Michelin-starred restaurant Eleven Madison Park joined hands with The EVERY Company to bring hen-free eggs to the table for an exclusive dinner, while Israel’s Imagindairy became the third precision fermentation dairy firm to earn GRAS status from the US FDA. Last year was also the year where European firms working within the space, such as Bon Vivant and Vivici reeled in investments. 

    Aside from the major shakeup led by industry pioneer Perfect Day, the EU recently announced a €50M investment geared towards precision fermentation and algae-based food startups, with applications for funding opening in May this year. 

    The post Animal-Free Dairy Pioneer Perfect Day Raises Up to $90M & Brings On New Exec Team to Pursue Profitability appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Addressing The Facts: Upside Foods Responds To Recent Press

    5 Mins Read

    Editor’s Note: Given the urgency of the climate crisis, the outsized global greenhouse gas emissions footprint of animal protein production and the need to support a variety of future food solutions, including cultivated meat, we believe it is important to fight back against misinformation about these solutions. We are reprinting Upside Foods’ response to a recent article that it says contains inaccurate information and misrepresents the company’s progress and technology.

    By: Upside Foods

    At UPSIDE, we are committed to tackling a fundamental challenge: how to sustainably feed a growing global population without causing harm to the planet and animals. We’ve made exciting progress, including laying an important foundation to scale our technology. As any trailblazer in a nascent industry knows, innovation does not happen in a straight line and we understand people will continue to be curious about our progress as we advance our mission. We’re incredibly excited about what’s ahead for UPSIDE, despite what some recent news articles have suggested, which we want to address.

    For context, a recent Bloomberg Businessweek story about our industry, which featured UPSIDE, contained inaccurate and misleading claims about our business and fundamentally misrepresents UPSIDE’s technology and strategy. This occurred despite our team’s extensive efforts to educate Bloomberg’s reporters over many months and despite outreach to their editors, general counsel, and standards editor to express our concerns regarding the investigative and reporting process. They have refused to fairly reflect UPSIDE’s progress in the story, and the article reads more like an opinion piece.  

    The most glaring omission from the article is the tremendous progress we have made towards commercial scale, including the critical role of large-scale “suspension” products in our strategy. The article concludes that the industry, and UPSIDE specifically, does not have a path to scale its product and has “little to show for itself.” This is inaccurate and is a dated snapshot of our progress from several years ago. Bloomberg ignored our repeated requests (and blog post) stating that our tissue product is not slated for scaling near-term and that we are instead focused on first commercializing our suspension product, which produces delicious blended cultivated meat products. This suspension product was the basis for our Series C fundraise, has been proven out through dozens of successful runs in our 2kL cultivators at EPIC, and is the design basis for our commercial scale processes. We told Bloomberg we produced enough cells in a single cultivator in the last month to produce the equivalent of over 2,000 pounds of delicious finished chicken products. They did not print that and instead focused on the small quantities of the chicken we currently have on the market (our “tissue” product). Below is a full statement we provided about the importance of large scale suspension chicken. They deleted our statement about suspension chicken and our ability to scale, but published the rest of it. We provide that statement in full here (Bloomberg removed the parts in bold): 

    “UPSIDE has successfully and repeatedly demonstrated that we can scale our suspension technology to make delicious ground-textured and blended products. This platform is the basis for the commercial plant we are currently building, and will enable large scale production pending regulatory approval. UPSIDE is proud to have established a high-watermark with our whole textured chicken product that’s being served today. We will continue to be pioneers addressing the challenge of sustainably feeding a growing global population while minimizing environmental impact, and remain steadfast in our goal of bringing delicious and safe cultivated meat to consumers. While we know there will be many challenges ahead, UPSIDE chooses to work with optimism, grit and dogged determination towards our vision for a better future, buoyed by the progress we’ve already made and the urgency of the work ahead.” 

    The article also tries to denigrate our technology and the science behind it, and tries to draw conclusions about the safety of our product. It gets both wrong. Our cultivated chicken (made from our small scale tissue process) and our next generation of delicious suspension products have been positively received by external parties. (The Washington Post described it as “the most chicken-y chicken I’ve tasted in a long time”; Eater lauded that “the taste evoked the kind of nostalgic, delicate meatiness proper chicken should provide”; and one of the Bloomberg writers tasted our product in December 2022 and remarked that it tasted like chicken). Our products are safe, and have been reviewed by the FDA. The cholesterol is within the range found in commonly consumed foods. Our lead levels are similar to spinach and grape juice. We have made additional progress lowering lead levels since the time of the FDA approval of our product. We have also made significant progress on our next-generation tissue cultivators, even though they will not be our initial focus for commercialization. 

    Finally, the article relies heavily on discussions with anonymous sources and a single named former employee that worked for UPSIDE for 71 days in 2021 on a special project segregated from the rest of the company, and whose responsibilities and expertise did not include any of the areas that he is quoted on in the story.  Additionally, we’ve heard from multiple experts quoted in the article that they have lodged complaints to Bloomberg because they were misquoted or have had their quotes taken out of context.

    Looking forward, we will not be slowed down by those who want to stall this industry. Our goal is not just to build a business, but to be an industry-defining brand and a significant force innovating for a sustainable future. Our ambition is bigger than a niche business or quick profits. We aim to mirror the impact of other transformative companies whose groundbreaking, unconventional ideas have become foundational. We see parallels for cultivated meat. 

    While we have never guaranteed success, our investors and supporters recognize that the pursuit of change of this magnitude requires a team that refuses to accept the status quo and is willing to take the hard path of tackling the challenges directly. And that’s exactly what we’re doing. You can find more details about what’s next for us on our blog.

    This article was first published on December 21st 2023 on the Upside Foods blog – it is reprinted here with permission.

    The post Addressing The Facts: Upside Foods Responds To Recent Press appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Mushrooms as a Main: 7 Vegan Brands Having Fun with Fungi

    6 Mins Read

    Be on the lookout for these brands turning mushrooms into juicy slabs of vegan meat. 

    When it comes to the top food trends to watch out for in 2024, almost every list mentions mushrooms. With its incredible textural properties as well as nutritional benefits, it’s no surprise that mushrooms are the powerhouse ingredient in many of the latest plant-based meat analogues. 

    While Time Magazine gave an honourable mention to roasted lion’s mane and shiitake bacon among many of Chef Todd Anderson’s mushroom-based creations in its food predictions list, Whole Foods Market trend-spotter Kantha Shelke boldly stated in Eat This that mushrooms will be “discover[ed]…in every food and beverage category and product developers will find ways to weave in ancient wisdom into new craveable food formats.” 

    Without further ado, let’s look at all the fun these seven vegan meat brands are having with fungi. 

    unClassic Foods

    Courtesy: unClassic Foods

    Founded in 2022 by food scientist Luiza Villela, unClassic Foods’ goal is to replace beef cattle with oyster mushrooms. “We don’t need to pretend to be meat,” the young startup’s mission statement reads. “We are cooler.” 

    Based in San Francisco, California, the company is poised to follow the David-and-Goliath story of oat milk vs. big dairy, reinventing the wheel with oyster mushroom ‘steak tips’ and even crispy fried ‘nuggets’ that resemble chicken. These products are pre-seasoned and pre-cooked, making it easy for consumers to reheat and eat. A few months ago, the startup showcased its products at The Good Food Institute’s GFC2023 conference in a Steak Biryani dish too. 

    Ultimately, Villela says she wants her oyster mushrooms to take centerstage, outstripping animal protein. “Mushrooms will be at the centre of the plate as the protagonist of the dish.”

    Shroomeats

    Courtesy: Shroomeats

    Using upcycled shiitake mushrooms along with a handful of other vegan-friendly ingredients, Shroomeats has created a range of alternatives including mushroom balls, patties and ‘shred-it’ shredded “meat”. Founded by three women, Pamas, Dissaya, and Mary, the startup hopes to displace meat consumption and its associated negative health impacts. 

    Aside from shiitake mushrooms, the brand uses pea protein, sunflower oil, salt, pepper and potato flour to create its range of vegan alternatives. Their shiitake mushrooms are sourced from an organic community farm in Thailand and is free of all 8 major allergens too. At the moment, Shroomeats’ range is sold online within the US. 

    Fable 

    Fable Food Co Seed Raise
    Courtesy: Fable Food

    Another startup reimagining mushrooms is Fable. The Aussie company founded by food industry veterans Jim Fuller, Chris McLoghlin and Michael Fox is all about shiitake mushrooms, turning the uniquely umami-tasting fungi into a “fantastically meaty” alternative.  

    At the moment, the brand, which was one of the first to focus on whole mushroom alternatives, is available in thousands of restaurants and grocery stores, including in Australia, Canada, the UK and Singapore. Some of the most recognisable names include British health chains Planet Organic and Holland & Barrett, as well as burger joint Honest Burgers, Singapore’s SaladStop and Australian chain P’Nut Asian Kitchen. 

    As for the future, the startup, backed with a $8.5 million Series A in March last year, plans to further boost its R&D, accelerate its international growth and double down on its goal to make “minimally processed plant-based ingredients” popular. 

    The Mushroom Meat Co

    Courtesy: Mushroom Meat Co

    Founded by husband-and-wife duo Kesha Stickland and Dan Gardner, The Mushroom Meat Co is turning gourmet mushrooms into everything from porkless shreds to beefy burgers and beefy bites. Yet to be launched in the market, the company is focused on B2B sales and is even working on a mushroom-based ‘fat’ to mimic the fatty mouthfeel consumers love about conventional beef. 

    Aside from mushrooms, the company is using cold-pressed seed proteins, which are upcycled byproducts of industrial food production and is also free from the 10 major food allergens. 

    Adapt AgTech

    Courtesy: Adapt AgTech

    Indoor farming startup Adapt AgTech is doing something slightly different. Instead of producing mushroom alt-protein products, the Canadian vertical farming firm has created mushroom-growing shipping containers. These will be the powerhouses enabling everything from parking lots to logistical hubs into mushroom-growing locations, which allows restaurants and grocery shops to deliver mushrooms just steps away. 

    In these containers, you’ll find a range of speciality mushrooms, such as pink oyster, chestnut, pearl oyster, blue oyster, lion’s mane and king trumpet oyster mushrooms. All of these have different textural and mouthfeel qualities, making it a versatile ingredient to sustainably swap out meat without compromising on taste. 

    Last year, Adapt, also known as Heartee Foods, opened its very first shipping container in Austin, Texas in the US, and plans to continue expanding across locations in the country. “Our model is to create hyper-local farms in densely populated urban areas to reduce the distance from farm to fork,” CEO and founder Jonathan Murray told TechCrunch in February. 

    Big Mountain Foods

    Courtesy: Big Mountain Foods

    Based in Vancouver, Canada, Big Mountain Foods is big on mushrooms. The women-owned and family-led brand creates its vegan and allergen-free range with mushrooms, and you’ll find veggie links, crumbles, burger patties, bites and more. 

    Other ingredients incorporated into the range include sunflower seeds, broccoli carrots, peas and chia seeds, and its use of mushrooms is plenty, from lion’s mane to shiitake. At the moment, the brand is sold in several major retailers, including Albertsons, Safeway, Walmart and Sprouts Farmers Market.

    Tupu

    vertical farming
    Courtesy: Tupu

    Tupu, a Berlin-based agtech company, is solving the mushroom production-and-transportation dilemma by enabling organic gourmet mushrooms to be grown directly in cities. Using modular farming technology, bioscience, IoT and AI, the startup helps make indoor gourmet mushroom farming economically viable.

    Currently, Tupu’s portfolio of mushroom species includes king oysters, grey oysters, shiitakes, lion’s manes and yellow oysters, and they are keen to continue expanding their line-up in the years ahead with coral tooth, nameko and more. Armed with $3.2 million in seed funding which closed in October 2023, the urban farming company plans to get its mushrooms onto more plates across Europe via its B2B channel by partnering with restaurants.

    At the moment, Tupu’s mushrooms can be found at a handful of Berlin restaurants, but will soon explore getting their products directly to consumers too.

    The post Mushrooms as a Main: 7 Vegan Brands Having Fun with Fungi appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • 2024 Food Trends Unveiled: Our Expert Predictions for a Sustainable Food Revolution

    7 Mins Read

    From the Ozempic effect to climate-conscious parents, here’s what Green Queen founding editor Sonalie Figueiras predicts will be the major future food trends of 2024.

    Yesterday, I wrote about how I did with my 2023 predictions because it’s important to take stock and hold oneself accountable. On the whole, I did okay – check out my forecast performance here– so hopefully you’ll want to dive into my 2024 forecast.

    Before I get into specific food and product trends, I wanted to make some industry-wide predictions (some are less what I predict and more what I am hoping for) about how I think the sector needs to evolve this coming year. 

    Future Food Industry-Wide Evolution: Changes I’m Hoping To See 

    Alt protein wedges itself into the sustainable food space: We’ve spent too much time in our own navel-gazing bubble and it’s time to make friends with the broader food x climate community. So much so that a worrying number of food activists are now anti-alt protein, having bought into the divide-and-conquer media maelstrom that Big Meat has financed. Protein diversification is not the only thing we need to fix on the global food stage, but it is a major lever of change and we need allies in other sustainable food corners if we are going to make real progress. Cultivated meat startups and rewilding NGOs are two sides of the same coin, people! But it’s on us as an industry to make inroads with the rest of the food world and demonstrate that we are one of, but not the only, solution. I saw the potential of this at COP28 where everyone working on food systems joined forces for the greater good (i.e. getting food into the final texts) and I hope it continues. 

    More blended finance and funding diversification: What’s more important than food, other than clean air and water? Food is a universal And yet, the alt protein industry has relied almost exclusively on venture capital funding to fuel its rise. We may not all be entitled to an electric car but we are all entitled to safe, nutritious, low-emissions food that doesn’t cost us our future or our health. So why isn’t there more investment in food systems adaptation? And where is the funding diversity? I would like to see more public money earmarked for food systems change, more blended finance and matching schemes (if a startup raises X, the government matches the amount – see how the French do it), more grants and more creative investment schemes (redeemable equity is one I’m looking at more closely). Relying on capricious and hype-based VC money based on fly-away valuations is not a winning strategy, as this past year has painfully shown us. We need grown-up dollars with long-term investment horizons who understand that while food is not software, there’s plenty of return potential to be had. 

    More food industry talent going into foodtech: One thing the sector has been sorely missing is actual employees with food production and food supply chain experience. We’ve got loads of visionary founders and plenty of deep tech scientists but we seem to be lacking people who come from the Food business. We need those people to enter the space. 

    More mar-comms talent going into foodtech: We absolutely need to start building consumer-first foodtech brands rather than messiah-founder-looking-to-impress-VC brands (the hype is over, folks). This is why we need more old-fashioned marketing, branding and comms talent in the space – I’m talking about folks who understand merchandising, consumer segmentation, packaging design, retail promotion, etc. I know. It sounds obvious, but here we are.

    More organized industry-wide action: I’ve been privy to behind-the-scenes discussions around the globe about how the protein diversification space needs to get organized to fight misinformation, negative media narratives and lobby for better regulation, and there have been rumblings here and there about sector-wide action but, so far, nothing major has come of it. I’m hoping this changes in 2024 because we are fighting a well-funded, incumbent and powerful opposition. 

    Food supply shortages: This is an ongoing issue, but I expect 2024 will bring about more disruptions as weather extremes caused by global warming continue to wreak havoc on agricultural supply chains. From rice to chocolate to tomatoes, many of our favorite foods are under threat and as shortages and damaged crops become a consistent reality rather than a one-off fluke, governments will need to re-assess national food security and Big Food will need to rethink sourcing, which will (hopefully) lead to more investment into everything from improving soil health to innovating alternatives. 

    My Crystal Ball Predictions: Food Trends To Watch in 2024

    As I write above, alt-protein brands need to rejoin the food mainstream and keep better tabs on industry trends when they develop products and launch new SKUs – they need to think beyond the obvious ‘this is a meat/seafood/dairy replacement’ and focus more on creating craveable, nutritious products that consumers will love. Here are some trends that smart protein brands should be looking at and working on: 

    More personalized food: What’s becoming increasingly clear is that what’s healthy for me may not be healthy for you and, in time, consumers will look for tailored food options. With the advent of AI-powered food startups, it’s increasingly possible to design custom foods that meet individual needs. While this is still a while away from being mainstream and likely will be aimed at the health and fitness crowd first, this is an area of opportunity for protein startups. 

    Ozempic vs Big Food: Ozempic, a weight-loss drug brand that has become the shorthand term for a group of medications that make patients less hungry, less likely to overeat and less interested in snacking, could change the entire food industry as we know it. This class of drugs works by boosting GLP-1 hormones that tell your body you are full (hence why they are referred to as GLP-1 agonists). These drugs work (people lose weight), more and more drug companies are developing their own versions and they are becoming increasingly affordable. So while it is estimated that close to 10 million people were prescribed Ozempic in 2022, this number could balloon to around 24 million people by 2035, especially when you consider that roughly two out of three US adults are overweight or obese, and one out of three is obese. Patients on these drugs consume on average 20% fewer calories and are less interested in fatty, oily and fried foods. Anyone working in food should be closely watching this trend. 

    Plant-based foods and the GLP-1 connection: While Ozempic and co do the job, for people who don’t want to take drugs, GLP-1 boosting foods are going to boom. And guess what those foods are? Fiber-rich plants including whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes, all of which help with GLP-1 secretion which helps to eliminate cravings. Why aren’t plant-based protein brands taking advantage of this? I’m hoping at least a handful will read this and rethink their marketing strategy. Alternatively, just call me and let’s talk.

    Gen-Zs: the snacking generation: In case you missed this trend (see Girl Dinner on TikTok, or subscribe to Snaxshot for an in-depth look at the snaxboi demographic), the post-Millennial generation isn’t that interested in the meat-and-two-veg approach to food life. They like variety and small portions like tapas, dim sum, mezze, (nut) cheese boards, they want foods with functionality (see the rocketship journey of protein-bar disguised-as-a-chocolate bar Mid-Day Squares) and most of all, they want snacks. When I interviewed plant-based meat founders from across Asia during Singapore’s Agri-Food Innovation Week this past October, almost all of them shared they are developing new plant-based protein snack formats for a sustainably-minded younger generation looking for fuel on the go. 

    Climate-conscious parents: There are millions of us out there, parents who love our kids, are worried about climate change and wish it were easier to make food choices that reflect our values and our commitment to the health of our little ones. So far, no one is catering to this group. It’s a huge miss. Most of these folks are not looking to go vegan, but they are looking for a plant-forward approach – there’s a serious opportunity here. 

    Plant-based and fermented seafood: Still a tiny sub-sector of the plant-based meat alternative space, plant-based seafood looks to be having a moment as a bevvy of new brands entered the space and consumers are increasingly making the link between overfishing and their go-to sushi spot and a new dedicated industry association is working on raising the profile of its members globally. 

    Whole-food-based meat replacements: This is an ongoing trend, and I have written about it before but with the relentless misinformation campaigns by organizations like the Center for Consumer Freedom and a popular new book about ultra-processed foods making the media rounds, plant-based foods are under attack like never before and consumers are demanding ‘whole food’ products with fewer ingredients and ‘cleaner labels’ – this is great news for all things mushroom, BTW.  

    Labelling transparency: Following on from the above trend, the confluence of LLM-powered AI software solutions, an explosion of agrifood data companies and the prevalence of social media culture means that consumers have access to more information about the foods they eat than ever before and will continue to demand more transparency from brands. Cue a host of startups and regulatory policies aimed at helping them make better decisions in the grocery aisle both on the environmental (think carbon labelling) and nutrition front (e.g. Nutri-Score) with clearer, more consistent data. 

    That’s it, folks, looking forward to watching things play out and see you next January for a review of my predictions.

    The post 2024 Food Trends Unveiled: Our Expert Predictions for a Sustainable Food Revolution appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Year in Review: Looking Back at Green Queen’s 2023 Food Trend Predictions

    4 Mins Read

    Stay tuned for my 2024 food trend predictions, out first thing tomorrow. I’ve been doing these for many years now and I love thinking about how I think the industry will evolve, what is needed and what trends will play a big role. As always, it’s important to take stock – so just how did my 2023 forecasts fare?

    Overall observations

    2023 was bumpy for food tech folks, there’s no denying it. From a bleak macro-economic environment that meant investors went from guns blazing to gun-shy to ongoing wards and political instability to major wars and supply chain disruptions, not to mention major weather extremes across the globe, conditions were rough out there and food tech took a beating. Valuations nosedived. Too many investors left the building. Alt protein became the persona non-grata of food media. Misinformation was rampant. But mostly, the industry survived and that’s something to celebrate.

    Looking back at my January 2023 predictions I am struck by two things: firstly, as I said on a podcast this morning, once it became clear by the end of Q1 that non-foodtech VCs had deserted the category in droves and niche investors were holding on to their dollars, it felt like we were in a wait-and-see mode for most of the year with founders focused on basic survival, securing bridge rounds, hanging on to shelf space and avoiding the wrath of the anti-alt-meat press, which meant there was less product innovation, fewer big debuts and SKU experimentation, 

    This explains my second observation, which is that many of the food trends I predicted a year ago are only now appearing in 2024 lists (just call me Cassandra) because 2023 was so quiet, but they are still just as valid and on trend so here’s what you can expect this year: Fungi Forward Fun (mushrooms everywhere), More Culinary Diversity, Please (global flavor profiles with a focus on Asian, African and Latin American foods), Nostalgia Branding Reigns Supreme (your favorite childhood foods reborn), and Healthy Plus Formulations (foods with function).

    What I Got Right

    Canteen Impact: Operators like Compass and Sodexo continued to deliver on decarbonizing menus throughout 2023. I was (and continue to be) bullish on the impact potential of foodservice and while this trend does not attract the big headlines, it’s where you can really move the needle in terms of lowering the footprint of meals served to tens of thousands of people across school/hospital/corporate cafeterias. 

    Affordable Flexitarianism: I wrote that big and small brands alike would focus on delivering ready-to-heat meals and easy-to-assemble meal kits as busy families and younger professionals looked for convenience on top of health and sustainability. From Gardein and Daring Foods’ bowls to Beyond Meat UK’s ready meals to VFC’s latest Chicken Fried Rice in a bag, this trend is going nowhere. 

    Alt Protein Pet Food FTW: I predicted an explosion in protein diversification for your furry babies and this came through, with a bucket full of plant-based and cultivated protein launches and a boom in the sector as sustainably-minded younger generations across the globe look for healthier and lower carbon options for their pet babies.

    The Quiet Quitting of PB Founders: I wrote that I thought many founders would quietly leave the vegan meat space and that’s very much been the case. Because it’s a quiet trend, there aren’t many headlines to share but the year has been brutal for plant protein startups including Nowadays, Hooray Foods, Unreal Foods and a good handful more, who all said goodbye for good.

    The Politicization of Alt Protein: I wrote that the sector was going to be attacked on all fronts by Big Meat and Big Dairy lobbies looking to protect their turf and this has been relentless, from a controversial Aubrey-Plaza-backed wood milk campaign to the return of Got Milk ads to meat misinformation around unnatural foods, it’s tough running comms for plant-based foods these days. 

    Cultivated Meat Regulatory Approval Continues – US: I predicted at least one US-cultivated meat company would get approval and bet on Upside, and this was on the money. I also suggested there’d be a least one other though my pick was Wildtype or BlueNalu and in the end GOOD Meat made history. 

    Cultivated Meat Regulatory Approval Continues – Global Outlook: While I was rightly sceptical there would be any approvals from Israel, the UK, the EU and China, I thought we’d get at least one other approval from Singapore’s FSA but that did not happen. 

    What I Got Wrong

    I did get a couple more wrong: I thought we’d see more Big Dairy x Animal-Free Dairy Go Steady collabs but that did not happen- in fact, the precision fermentation dairy space had a mostly uneventful year save for one or two major headlines – and I thought we’d see some more activity in the Blended Products: Cultivated Fat, Meet Plant-Based Meat context – big big news on the hybrid front (cultivated + plant-based) but instead, we saw a reboot of the blended meat (conventional meat + plant-based ingredients) category – so much so we did an entire content series on the topic. 

    Overall, I’m still batting above average but no doubt when I sat down to write my 2023 list, I did not foresee how the year would turn out. Here’s hoping 2024 brings some better tidings, and don’t miss next year’s predictions, out tomorrow!

    The post Year in Review: Looking Back at Green Queen’s 2023 Food Trend Predictions appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Future Food Quick Bites: Bean Burgers, Vegan Cheese Tours & No More Oatgurts

    future food quick bites
    5 Mins Read

    In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Burger King’s in-demand veggie burger, Armored Fresh’s vegan cheese tour, and Oatly’s withdrawal of its plain yoghurt from the UK.

    New products and launches

    Veganuary is here! Burger King is bringing back what is its most demanded menu item ever in the UK: the Ultimate Black Bean burger. Launching on January 3, it comes after online petitions and posts imploring the fast-food giant to reintroduce the veggie favourite. Nix the cheese and mayo if you want it vegan.

    Also for Veganuary, UK brand Applewood is relaunching its vegan snacking cheese, changing from a circular Mini format to new sticks called Applewood Vegan Bites, featuring its signature smoked cheese.

    applewood vegan
    Courtesy: Applewood

    Pub chain Brewdog is jumping on the Veganuary bandwagon too, partnering with alt-meat brand THIS for a limited-edition drop of Europe’s first skin-on vegan chicken wings made with a seaweed-based crispy skin.

    Not to be outdone, fellow vegan meat brand VFC has just debuted its first UK ready-meal SKU dubbed One Bag, a chicken-fried rice made with its plant-based chicken that clocks (clucks) in at under 450 calories and 20 grams of protein.

    British plant-based range Squeaky Bean just announced its first frozen ingredients range, arriving on Waitrose shelves on January 8th: Seasoned Chicken Style Pieces and Steak Style Pieces, the two products are aimed at making weekday dinners more convenient and designed for stir fry and plant-based taco/flat bread applications.

    Courtesy: VFC

    In the US, plant-based meat maker Shicken has secured distribution deals in 380 Sprouts Farmers Market stores, and is launching a new tikka kebab SKU at Costco UK, as well as a teriyaki kebab in the UK, Iceland, Sweden and France this month.

    More stateside Veganuary launches include Subway‘s new Plant Picante sandwich, arriving January 10th, which features a spiced plant patty topped with crispy onions, Sweet Onion and Garlic & Herbs sauces and American-style cheese that can be swapped for Vegan Cheeze for a 100% plant-based option, and fast-casual chain Just Salad‘s collab with Amanda Cohen of the Michelin-starred NYC cult restaurant Dirt Candy. Cohen created a ‘Dirt Candy’ salad bowl made of romaine, arugula, organic sesame tofu, sliced cucumber, shaved broccoli, Tajin-spiced pumpkin seeds, sweet pepperoncini and buttery Castelvetrano olives tossed in a house-made vegan ranch.

    Meanwhile, German manufacturer Rügenwalder Mühle has unveiled a 10-year-anniversary campaign during Veganuary with a virtual scavenger hunt hosted by photographer and brand ambassador Paul Ripke. It follows the re-release of its Veganuary 2023 TV ad in December and the launch of a Pulled Pork snack.

    French plant-based meat brand Umiami has partnered with two-Michelin-starred French chef Isabelle Arpin, who has been featuring the company’s whole-cut chicken fillet at her eponymous Brussels restaurant.

    Over in India, burger chain Biggie’s Burger is launching the Veg Beamer in collaboration with domestic plant-based meat brand GoodDot at all its outlets in Bangalore, a vegan version of their top-selling grilled item featuring GoodDot’s protein slabs.

    plant based news
    Courtesy: Umiami/Isabelle Arpin

    Fancy a vegan cheese voyage? South Korea’s Armored Fresh is hosting a US coast-to-coast Oat Milk Cheese Tour for buyers and professionals within the grocery, foodservice and QSR channels, beginning from New York and ending in California.

    Another South Korean brand, vegan personal care label Dryope has launched in Malaysia after reaching cumulative sales of $1M. The company’s shampoo, treatment, body wash and hair mist products will be available at Watsons, Shopee, Lazada and Zalora.

    Courtesy: Nestlé

    Nestlé, meanwhile, is exploring the use of plant-based ingredients to bring healthy, affordable proteins to consumers in countries without equitable access to nutrients. It recently launched Maggi Soya Chunks in Central and West Africa.

    And Sussex-based semi-professional football club Lewes FC will go fully vegan for its home fixture against Durham in the Barclays Women’s Championship fixture on January 21 to mark Veganuary, with fans able to get a 20% discount on tickets using the code ‘VEGANSROCK’.

    Policy and research

    In a recommendation to the agriculture, nature and food quality minister, as well as the state secretary of health, welfare and sport, the Health Council of the Netherlands calls for a focus on policies making it easier for people to adopt plant-based diets and reduce meat consumption.

    A new study by the University of Exeter demonstrates algae’s viability as a sustainable meat alternative in terms of maintaining and building muscle. It found that spirulina or chlorella intake stimulates myofibrillar protein synthesis in resting and exercised muscle tissue, and to a level equal to mycoprotein.

    algae protein
    Courtesy: SimpliiGood

    Dr Alejandro Marangoni, a researcher at the University of Guelph, has developed a solid plant-based fat using the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan by rearranging the molecules in liquid oils to turn them into solids. Marangoni will work a a plant-based meat company to launch his fat (an alternative to the often used coconut oil) which he says makes for a better, juicier alt-meat product.

    In Finland, the University of Helsinki’s research network, the Helsinki Planetary Health Hub, has established a collaboration with tech startup Wellness Foundry and US-based Game Changers Institute to launch an AI-driven plant-based nutrition app. It will launch in Finland and the US first.

    Withdrawals and closures

    After withdrawing its vegan ice creams from the UK market, oat milk giant Oatly has confirmed that its Oatgurt Plain is also no longer on supermarket shelves, though the Greek Style and Strawberry yoghurts continue to be available.

    oatly yogurt
    Courtesy: Oatly

    Finally, Berkeley’s veteran vegan taco restaurant Flacos has closed its brick-and-mortar location after 22 years but has hinted at a return in some form, with a GoFundMe campaign hoping to raise money to transition to an industrial kitchen.

    Want more? Check out our roundups of Veganuary UK launch news and Veganuary US launch news.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: Bean Burgers, Vegan Cheese Tours & No More Oatgurts appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.