Matthew Kenney, the vegan author and celebrity chef behind Plant Food + Wine, is expanding his empire to China with food halls inspired by his Plant City F&B concept, with the help of global scale-up firm The Wellness Agency.
The man behind Double Zero, Plant Food + Wine, Besina, New Burger, Make Out and Plant City – whose business spans five continents and 22 major cities – is now embarking on one of his largest projects yet. Teaming up with The Wellness Agency, a firm that helps wellness brands to scale globally, vegan celebrity chef Matthew Kenney is bringing his empire to China.
Kenney is working on five food halls with a similar concept to his Providence, Rhode Island-based Plant City – touted to be the world’s largest vegan food hall, co-founded with entrepreneur Kim Anderson) – in five markets: Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen and Macau. Each of the food courts will have 12 to 14 plant-based restaurants, with some individual concepts including VEG’D (vegan fast food), Double Zero (wood-fired pizza) and Ayre (Ayurvedic cuisine).
In addition to the restaurants, there will be food and lifestyle retail experiences, as well as experiential concepts. “As the public perception of plant-based eating continues to evolve and gain popularity around the world, I look forward to expanding Plant City across China,” said Kenney. “Our goal is to provide a one-stop destination for plant-based eating that will be appreciated by vegans, omnivores and carnivores alike.”
Celebrating local chefs and flavours
Courtesy: Matthew Kenney Cuisine
“With talented chefs like Matthew Kenney leading the charge, millions of people around the world are adopting plant-based diets for ethical, environmental, and health reasons,” added The Wellness Agency founder and CEO Jay Faires. “The Chinese market, in particular, is seeing massive growth… We’re excited to expand Matthew Kenney’s Plant City across China, offering an array of new healthful, innovative, and delicious plant-based culinary options to the country’s denizens.”
Faires said that Kenney will be significantly involved, “if not in operations, then in the partnership”, adding that the chef will be “a big part” of the creative process of the food halls (alongside Anderson), which “will likely integrate some local plant-based chefs”. And there will be a big focus on Asian cuisines through their interpretation. The food courts are set to begin opening by 2025.
In terms of funding, investors are yet to be determined and may be involved on a project-by-project basis. “We met with several large real estate and retail developers while we were there, specifically in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Chengdu,” said Faires, adding that the project will potentially be open to collaborations with local food brands, chefs and food personalities.
Matthew Kenney’s celebrity status
Courtesy: Matthew Kenney Cuisine
Kenney rose to fame in the 90s with his namesake restaurant Matthew’s, a year after whose opening he was named Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chef in 1994. He opened further restaurants Mezze, Monzu Canteen, Commune and Commissary, which closed down due to the post-9/11 economic crisis.
A pioneer of the raw food movement, he was a founding partner of Pure Food and Wine, the raw vegan eatery that attracted controversy in the 2010s for failing to pay its staff (Kenney left the restaurant in 2005). Since then, he has established his culinary academies and lifestyle brand Matthew Kenney Cuisine. Most recently, Kenney – who has authored 14 books – partnered with entrepreneur Max Koenig to launch Earth Company, a whole-food plant-based ready meal brand.
In 2016, Kenney told Green Queen about his ‘Crafting the Future of Food’ mantra. “The work we’re doing is part of something larger… a mission to change the way the world thinks about its food choices,” he explained. “We are educating ourselves and our students to make sound ingredient choices, to support more sustainable processes and to promote a plant-based lifestyle that’s delicious, healthful, innovative and accessible. This is the future of food.”
Kenney’s Plant Food + Wine at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles is frequented by famous personalities like Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey and James Cameron, while his Double Zero pizzeria counts the likes of Jay-Z and Chris Martin as regulars. Could the China expansion see a touch of celebrity too?
Faires met with Margaret Zhang, editor-in-chief of Vogue China, who approached Matthew to head up the culinary side of some major events that would involve over 100 celebrities and influencers. Vogue has a new spot in the Forbidden City palace complex in Beijing, where a tentpole event on November 24 is set to be attended by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Kenney has cooked for her events going back to the mid-90s in New York City, said Faires.
Might there be a rekindling?
The China plant-based opportunity
Courtesy: Dicos x Eat Just
Recent reporting by China Dialogue, a non-profit “dedicated to promoting a common understanding of China’s environmental challenges”, suggests that Chinese consumers are increasingly interested in “safer and more sustainable foods”. A 2022 survey of 579 Chinese consumers in four major cities showed that 85% of respondents had tried plant-based meat alternatives and “were willing to pay more for these products”.
According to analysis published by Singapore-based social enterprise Asia Research and Engagement, “to align with a climate-safe scenario, by 2060 China would rely on alternative protein sources for 50% of its protein consumption”, which it breaks down as follows: plant-based proteins (24%), fermentation-derived protein (16%), and cultivated meat/seafood (10%).
Previous data from Euromonitor projected the vegan and vegetarian food sector would be worth $12 billion this year (2023) and a 2020 Dupont study predicted a 200% increase in demand for meat alternatives within five years. These early estimates have not quite materialised and China’s plant-based meat market remains small, with only a handful of plant-based meat alternative brands on shelves.
However, data about other types of plant-based products is encouraging. In a 2022 report by Asymmetrics Research about China’s Alternative Protein Landscape, the authors identified plant-based milk and RTD beverages, plant-based yoghurts, plant-based ready meals, plant-based functional foods and plant-based “meat” snacks” as the most promising product categories for brands looking to target an urban Chinese consumer demographic that was willing to spend on healthy and safe food products.
In the same report, Green Monday and OmniFoods co-founder and CEO David Yeung said that Chinese customers love to explore new food products to buy and are looking for new and trustworthy brands, while Haofood CEO Astrid Prajogo said that while consumer awareness about plant-based meat was improving, taste and price remained the major purchasing drivers. Xiaomin Zhang, cofounder and CE) at MetaMeat said that “the combination of plant-based meat products and prepared dishes is an important direction for the B2C market.” This bodes well for Kenney and Co.
With additional China reporting and research by Sonalie Figueiras.
A year after announcing its carbon labelling partnership with research firm HowGood, catering company Chartwells Higher Education has revealed that there has been an increase in students looking for climate-friendly meals in US universities and colleges.
In May 2022, Chartwells Higher Ed collaborated with HowGood, which boasts the largest database of ingredient and product sustainability (covering over 33,000 ingredients), to label college and university catering menus in the US with the environmental footprint of dishes.
The overall sustainability of these meals was assessed via eight impact metrics: greenhouse gas emissions, processing, water usage, soil health, land use, working conditions, biodiversity, and animal welfare. Chartwells recipes were rated based on these metrics, and labels were displayed on dining hall menus and digital signage at partner campuses of the catering company, which serves over 300 educational institutes across the US.
A year on, Chartwells and HowGood are now revealing the initial results from their partnership, suggesting that student demand for lower-impact recipes has significantly increased after the introduction of the climate labels.
Courtesy: Chartwells
Using HowGood’s platform to cut recipe emissions
Chartwells recorded a 37% rise in the production of recipes that received positive HowGood ratings. In autumn 2022, less than a third of its recipes got positive scores, but now, 44% boast a positive rating. The catering company plans to increase this number further, using emissions-reducing potential as a criterion in its recipe development and innovation, along with other factors like nutrition, taste and cost.
“We were thrilled to be the first and only foodservice provider to introduce holistic climate labels to university dining halls,” said Chartwells Higher Ed sustainability director Monalisa Prasad. “The feedback so far from students and campus partners has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re continuing to improve the programme by offering a broader range of low-impact menu options and making positive impacts easier to understand through measures like simplified iconography.”
Chartwells is using HowGood’s proprietary digital platform, Latis, to improve its recipes based on GHG-reducing potential. It enables the caterer to test and innovate menu options with ingredient-level insights across the aforementioned metrics, which help the company and partner institutions advance their climate goals by increasing the number of sustainable meals on menus and helping students make more informed food choices.
“When Chartwells brought us the idea of adding climate labels to the dining halls, we were immediately sold – it was the exact kind of innovative and sustainably-focused thinking we’ve come to expect from Chartwells,” said Julie Bannister, assistant vice chancellor for auxiliary services University of Pittsburgh, a Chartwells partner campus. “Our university’s goal is to be carbon-neutral by 2037, and we’re thankful to have a foodservice partner that not only helps us achieve that goal, but empowers our students to make their own decisions that are better for the planet.”
Courtesy: Chartwells
Climate-friendly caterers
The partnership between Chartwells and HowGood came a year after the former’s parent company, the British catering giant Compass Group, announced its plans to replace 40% of the animal proteins throughout its supply chain with alternative sources like plant-based meat, in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint.
“[Chartwells’] commitment to sustainability can be seen not only in their transparent communications with students, but also in their carbon-reduction-focused recipe development work,” said HowGood growth and innovation director Christina Lampert. “It has been a joy to enable them with the tools they need to do both, and we are so pleased to see such clear results one year into our partnership.”
In fact, the UK saw over 650 academics and campaigners write an open letter to UK universities earlier this year, calling for a switch to a 100% vegan catering menu to fight the climate crisis. Many institutes have already voted to introduce fully plant-based menus at their eateries, including the Universities of Stirling, Birmingham, Queen Mary, London Metropolitan, Kent, University College London and Cambridge.
Meanwhile, French catering giant Sodexo found that 10% of all meals sold at its UK and Ireland sites in 2022 were vegan or vegetarian – up from 8% in 2021 (although educational institutes only accounted for 5% of the share). The company has pledged to increase the number of plant-based options to 33% by 2025, which follows its plan to turn 42% of its menus across US universities and colleges plant-based too. Within the US, Sodexo has partnered with Israeli food tech startup SavorEat to launch the first 3D-printing robot for plant-based burgers at the University of Denver.
Courtesy: Dine On Campus
Consumer attitudes and brand action
The Chartwells-HowGood partnership is a useful gauge for consumer attitudes towards climate labels and sustainable food. In 2020, Carbon Trust carried out an analysis of three global YouGov polls totalling 10,540 participants, finding that two-thirds of respondents find carbon labelling a good idea across all countries surveyed.
Another survey found that most consumers are willing to pay more for food with a lower climate footprint, and last month, a study revealed how “food companies can enhance their sustainability efforts by prompting customers to think before nudging them into consuming more sustainable food”.
Companies like Quorn, Chipotle, Hilton, Just Salad and Oatly have already introduced carbon labelling on their packaging or menus, with the latter calling for a mandatory implementation of the practice. Services such as Planet FWD, My Emissions, Foodsteps, Reewild and Klimato can help food businesses cut their emissions and better label their products.
The news comes the same month the UN climate summit COP28 begins. Previous editions have seen menus labelled with the carbon emissions of each dish, and this year’s conference is supposed to be focused on food more than ever before. Last month, the UAE presidency announced that two-thirds of all food served at the conference will be vegan or vegetarian.
Silicon Valley startup The Every Co, which makes precision-fermented egg proteins, recently collaborated with Colombia’s largest CPG food company. It signposts the company’s increased retail focus, which its CEO Arturo Elizondo and partnerships head Nick Toriello outline in an interview with Green Queen.
Last month, The Every Co announced a partnership with Grupo Nutresa, the largest FMCG food company in Colombia and one of Latin America’s most influential players in the sector. Every, which has been operating since 2014, makes animal-free egg proteins from precision fermentation. In 2021, it introduced its ClearEgg protein, a bioidentical egg white protein that has since featured in smoothies, macaroons and canned cocktails through various partnerships.
But with Nutresa, Every is targeting another vertical, and showcasing its ambition via a new partnership that will make use of Every’s EggWhite protein, a functional replacement for egg whites, as a binding agent in meat alternatives under Nutresa’s Zenú and Pietran brands. This is not Every’s first time working with a food giant: the startup has collaborated with ingredients giant Ingredion and drinks conglomerate AB InBev in the past.
Courtesy: The Every Co/Pulp Culture
Every says its proteins are nature-identical and allow manufacturers to avoid disease risks, price fluctuation issues, and the environmental footprint of conventional animal proteins. The EggWhite is described as a “hyperfunctional protein”, which will be leveraged by Nutresa’s formulations to deliver “next-level binding and gelation qualities” that allow analogues to resemble their traditional counterparts more closely, without the use of “overly processed ingredients”.
It’s an important aspect, given that a 2020 global survey by Ingredion found that more than half of respondents find it important for products to have a short ingredient list. Following up on this, Ingredion’s latest data revealed that 78% would spend more money on products with ‘natural’ or ‘all-natural’ packaging claims.
“We expect Every’s protein to solve a key need for egg white replacement in our alternative meat formulations, with additional benefits including bringing delicious, high-performing foods to consumers,” explained Oscar Alberto Ochoa González, meat R&D director at Nutresa.
While Every isn’t the only company working on precision fermentation eggs – Formo and Onego Bio are doing the same in Europe – it is by far the largest in the space, having raised over $233M after closing an oversubscribed $175M Series C fundraiser in December 2021 and an undisclosed investment by American actress Anne Hathaway.
Green Queen spoke to Every CEO Arturo Elizondo and partnerships head Nick Toriello, touching upon egg prices, retail focus, manufacturing abilities, and the environmental impact of its proteins compared to chicken eggs.
This interview has been edited for clarity and concision.
Courtesy: The Every Co
Green Queen: You’ve mentioned how Every provides stability among price fluctuations for conventional eggs – could you expand on the production cost of your egg whites and price comparison with chicken eggs?
Arturo Elizondo: Each day that passes, we are marching down the cost curve. We’ve spent years developing our technology, and we continue to optimise. At this point in time, the next step is capturing economies of scale with dedicated manufacturing.
The good news is that there are a number of tailwinds at our backs. Our recently inked collaboration agreement with Grupo Nutresa is evidence of accelerating customer demand. This comes at a time of upward pricing pressure on conventional eggs, driven by global cage-free commitments from the world’s largest food companies, and severe and worsening egg price and supply volatility.
Considering the low cost of inputs for precision fermentation and our demonstrated progress in manufacturing scale-up – we are actively producing at manufacturing-scale fermentation runs of over 100,000 litres – this backdrop sets a clear path to positive unit economics at scale for Every. We are laser-focused on driving large-scale manufacturing to meet the needs of customers like Nutresa, whose products reach more than 80 countries around the world.
History supports this forecast, with precedent well established for the rapid and steep adoption of superior products from microbial fermentation such as citric acid, insulin, vitamin B2 and rennet following their introduction to market.
GQ: Are you looking to expand into retail too, as well as other countries?
Courtesy: Pietran
Nick Toriello: We’re leveraging our capacity as the intel inside a wide array of foods to ultimately drive mainstream adoption through large volumes at retail, where our customers’ brands are present. This approach aligns with our purpose to remake the food system from within, delivering mass impact alongside mass adoption of our more humane, hyperfunctional ingredients.
For example, Grupo Nutresa’s significant market reach affords Every an onramp to deliver increasing volumes of our products across channels and geographies. Our agreement with Nutresa complements core R&D initiatives in Nutresa’s cold-cuts business, with an initial focus on the Zenú and Pietran brand lines, which are well-established retail brands within the company’s portfolio.
GQ: You moved to a new headquarters in April, dubbed ‘The Hatchery’. What’s your manufacturing capacity now?
AE: The purpose of The Hatchery is not to manufacture large volumes of protein: it’s to optimise the manufacturing process and transfer those learnings to our current scaled manufacturing sites. That said, we’ve quintupled our on-site fermentation capacity with the introduction of The Hatchery, our built-for-purpose pilot plant driving targeted manufacturing optimisation. It’s the ideal site to perfect our protein platform and continue improving the blueprint for scaled sites.
We recently hired Dr Konrad Mueller-Auffermann, one of the world’s leading experts in beverage, food and biotech process design, to spearhead Every’s preparation for further large-scale manufacturing at purpose-built sites. The Hatchery directly supports this work.
GQ: How’s your life cycle assessment (LCA) validation process going – when will the results will be published?
NT: We will be publishing more on LCA next year, and look forward to doing so. In the meantime, check out [Every scale-up partner] BioBrew’s LCA summary, which includes an overview of outcomes for poultry egg protein from fermentation, compared to conventional animal sources.
Courtesy: The Every Company
GQ: What are your plans for the next year – any further collaborations or new products in the works?
AE: We are always working on new products and collaborations, and have executed several yet-to-be-announced commercial partnerships that will continue to advance our mission to transform the broken food system. We are excited to share more in the near future.
Partnering with Nutresa is a pivotal move in our mission to transform the food system and deliver high-quality protein to consumers around the world.
Singapore is host to Rethink’s Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit this week, where it’s bolstering its role as a leader in the APAC food tech ecosystem. Off the back of a newly announced food safety bill that will advance novel food regulations, a host of new announcements are taking the city state’s food tech sector to new heights.
In his keynote speech to a crowd of investors, big food corporates and future food startups at the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit (October 31 to November 2) this week, Singapore Trade and Industry Minister Alvin Tan outlined the country’s reputation as a hotbed for food tech and progressive regulation. One line summed it all up: “Come to the best place in the world for food innovation.”
And so many are. During the conference, the nation-state cemented its position as the regional hub of food system innovation with a wave of announcements including rebrands, new facilities and offices, as well as collaborations across sectors like precision fermentation and other novel proteins. Here’s what’s going on:
Belgian precision fermentation company Paleo announces Singapore office
Courtesy: Paleo
Belgium precision fermentation startup Paleo has opened an office in Singapore to serve as a base for future operations in the APAC region. “We aim to also market our animal-free proteins in the Asia-Pacific in the near future,” says CEO Hermes Sanctorum.
The company makes animal-free myoglobin, the protein responsible for the colour and iron content of meat and fish. Paleo calls Singapore a “global hotspot for the meat and fish of the future”, with Sanctorum explaining: “If we wanted to expand anywhere as a growing food tech startup, it had to be here first. Our promising, cutting-edge technology can simply not be lacking over here.”
The startup’s precision-fermented yeast myoglobin is ready for use in plant-based meat and fish applications, and it hopes the Singapore expansion will help drive growth in the medium and long term. “Especially the wider APAC region is of great interest for us, as it proves that the demand for plant-based and non-conventional meat products is on the rise,” says Sanctorum.
He adds: “And, albeit small, also Singapore is investing in sustainable and future-oriented ways of food production. I am glad to see that specifically precision fermentation is being acknowledged both by investors as well as by governmental action plans.” Last year, for example, Californian precision fermentation giant Perfect Day launched Very Dairy in Singapore supermarkets, marking the first animal-free milk to be released in Asia.
Australia’s Nourish Ingredients picks Singapore as APAC hub
Courtesy: Nourish Ingredients
Paleo isn’t the only precision fermentation company setting up in Singapore. Australia’s Nourish Ingredients – just off the back of showcasing its breakthrough plant fat at SXSW Sydney – announced an expansion to the island nation to scale up its fat production during the Rethink Summit.
It has partnered with ScaleUp Bio, a joint venture between ADM and Temasek-owned Nurasa, which is Singapore’s first end-to-end contract development and manufacturing organisation service helping food tech companies process optimisation and scale up. The collaboration will support 10,000-litre batches of fermentation capacity and 100 litres of thermal processing to successfully scale the production of Nourish’s animal-free fats.
The Australian company says its fats – which include Tastilux – provide “the authentic taste, smell and cooking experience” of conventional meat, without the “cost or chemicals”. It adds that its precision fermentation process is designed to be scalable and affordable due to the relatively low volumes required, which enables it to work with large food producers.
Through its Singapore outpost and research collaborations with the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR), Nourish will support the government’s 30 by 30 initiative, which aims to reduce import reliance by producing 30% of all food consumed in the island nation by 2030.
“Singapore’s highly enabling ecosystem – from regulatory and legal support to production capabilities – and commitment to innovation and sustainability makes it an ideal hub for showcasing our groundbreaking natural fats to investors and customers in the Asia Pacific region,” said Nourish founder-director and CTO Anna El Tahchy. “We know that if we can improve the taste of alternative proteins, Nourish Ingredients can spur the category’s mainstream consumer adoption for greater food security in Singapore.”
Food tech co-man ScaleUp Bio signs multiple LOIs, announces two facilities
Courtesy: ScaleUp Bio
While Nourish is ScaleUp Bio’s first major customer, it will be far from the only one in the near future. It has signed letters of intent with New York-based C16 Biosciences (which makes a fermented palm oil alternative), Malaysian alt-meat brand Ultimeat, and fellow Singaporean food tech startup Allium Bio, which co-cultures algae and mycelium to turn into functional ingredients like protein isolates.
“We are truly excited to announce our first group of customer partners who are joining us in building the future of food through microbial precision fermentation,” said ScaleUp Bio CEO Francisco Codoñer. “These companies recognise the significant growth opportunities for novel foods across Asia and understand the truly unique advantages ScaleUp Bio offers, enabling them to achieve their strategic business objectives and together, empowering the next food revolution.”
In addition, the company announced that it is in the final pre-operational phase of opening Singapore’s first dedicated food-grade submerged microbial and precision fermentation facilities. The two plants will support the startup’s growth vision with R&D and pilot-stage manufacturing.
The Fermentation Joint Lab is an R&D hub jointly developed and operated by ScaleUp Bio and A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation, located in Nurasa’s Food Tech Innovation Centre. The second facility – a pilot plant – is fully owned by ScaleUp Bip and will serve as its new headquarters situated in the high-tech manufacturing district of Tuas in the west, with full operations expected to begin in early 2024.
Singapore agrifood fund rebrands to Clay Capital and closes second $145M fund
Courtesy: Cook-e
Singaporean agrifood investor VisVires New Protein has rebranded as Clay Capital and announced the close of its second fund, which is worth $145M. “The idea behind our former name was a novel insight at that time and held broader meaning than the category-specific connotations it holds today,” the firm told AFN. It chose ‘Clay Capital’ as “clay soil is known to be fertile; a rich canvas upon which to grow healthy food”. “Healthy, fertile soil is the foundation of a healthy food system; we invest from the soil up.”
The new fund will see the VC firm invest in up to 15 companies across Asia, Israel and Europe, which are “applying technology to remedy fundamental problems in the food system”. Initial checks will range between $3M and $8M, with added cash kept for return investments.
Launched in 2014, Clay Capital is backed by government-linked funds, intergovernmental bodies, banks, insurers, and prominent agrifood families. It has made initial investments in biostimulant producer Toopi, kitchen robot startup Cook-e (both French), and Israeli bioherbicide company WeedOUT.
“As part of the larger climate tech market, food remains a major source of emissions and natural capital destruction,” said Clay Capital co-founder and partner Matthieu Vermersch. “What’s changed in the sector over the last nine years is that tailwinds have increased, the maturity of the technology ripened and, of late, a focus on business fundamentals returned.”
Industry think tank GFI APAC launches comms initiative to tackle alt-protein misinformation
Alt-protein think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI) APAC launched the Communication Leadership in Future Foods (CLIFF) initiative at Rethink’s summit, via a workshop hosted by Andrew D Powell and Paul Teng from the Agri-Biotech Knowledge Centre Ltd, GFI APAC managing director Mirte Gosker, and Mengxue Ou from the Nanyang Technological University.
With misinformation about alt-protein on the rise, consumer adoption can be hindered and delayed without effective messaging. To safeguard the industry from these challenges, CLIFF will provide training and implementation strategies on risk communication tools and techniques for the future food sector. The initiative will be a resource for the entire sector, but especially for early-stage companies with limited resources.
“Risk communication is neither PR nor corporate communication,” explained GFI APAC in a LinkedIn post. “It is a science-based approach for communicating effectively in high-concern, low-trust, sensitive, or controversial situations. Risk communication strategies are used to enhance knowledge, build trust and credibility, encourage dialogue, and influence attitudes, decisions, and behaviours.
“It is important to understand that consumers are being asked to change their behaviours, and perhaps even their food cultures. Change brings concerns and risk perceptions. These must be addressed through clear and understandable information. Risk communication is a vital tool in delivering these messages.”
Multi-step training programme for Singapore fresh grads aiming to join plant meat industry unveiled
The Summit also saw GFI reveal details about a multi-step training programme for fresh graduates and mid-careerists to address plant-based meat industry talent gaps. It will prepare people for three specific job roles within Singapore’s vegan sector: protein texturisation specialist, plant-based meat product specialist, and extrusion specialist. The aim is to eliminate a major industry bottleneck and ensure the required R&D and manufacturing facilities are fully staffed by highly skilled local employees.
“Singapore has long been a leader in innovation of all kinds, from information technology to biologics to now leading the world in building a healthier, safer food system.” These were the words of Josh Tetrick, CEO of GOOD Meat parent Eat Just, back in 2020 when it won the world’s first regulatory approval for cultured meat in Singapore.
Three years on, this remark seems just as accurate. These new developments at the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit in Singapore outline just how potent the country’s food tech sector is. With the new food security bill, its regulatory advancements with cultivated proteins and precision fermentation, and government support via funding and legislation, Tan’s words couldn’t be truer: it really feels like the “best place” for food innovation.
Nestlé has announced the launch of three new vegan white fish SKUs in Europe and Asia, as it becomes the latest brand to release a plant-based seafood product to cater to the growing demand for seafood and sustainable proteins.
Nestlé will debu1 marine-style crispy fillets and nuggets in Europe under its Garden Gourmet brand, which are made with wheat and pea protein. The products will be available online and in-store in European countries including Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This follows the company’s launch of crispy fish-free fingers (made from soy and wheat) under its Harvest Gourmet brand in Malaysia and Singapore.
“These new fish alternatives are the result of our deep expertise in plant-based proteins and our strong commitment to continue delivering exciting innovations that meet consumers’ expectations,” said Torsten Pohl, global food R&D head at Nestlé. “During consumer testing, our products received high praise for the great taste and texture that is close to white fish.”
Honing in on health and Nutri-score labels
Courtesy: Nestlé
Pohl added that the products “come with strong nutritional credentials, making them competitive in the marketplace”. It’s a reference to consumers’ increased focus on health in their food choices post-pandemic. Nestlé’s announcement makes a point to highlight the nutritional aspects of the new products, highlighting the high protein and low saturated fat content, as well as the fact that they’re rich in fibre.
The company points out that the products in Europe have an A Nutri-score rating, which will be reflected on-pack in the countries that use this labelling system (France, Germany and Spain). These labels have a definite impact on consumers. A French study of 1,201 adolescents aged 11-17 last year revealed that 54% had already been impacted by Nutri-Score labels during food purchases, for example.
Health is a growing driver of consumers’ food choices. Last year, an 8,000-person McKinsey survey covering the US, UK, France and Germany revealed that between 37-52% of people have cut their meat consumption in the last year out of health concerns. Similarly, another 2022 survey of 3,700 respondents in seven countries showed having a healthier diet is the primary motivator for 75% of consumers to begin consuming alternative proteins.
It’s a focus mirrored by other recent plant-based meat launches and marketing campaigns too. US vegan giant Beyond Meat, for example, is spotlighting health on its latest TV ad, honing in on the heart-healthy attributes of its steak alternative. Similarly, in the UK, plant-based leader THIS is also putting nutrition at the forefront of its first TV commercial. In Spain, Heura is doing the same with its new alternative to York-style ham.
Adding to a burgeoning category
Courtesy: Nestlé
The fact that Nestlé – a giant of the food industry – is launching vegan seafood is a marker for things to come for the niche. The plant-based seafood category has seen a flurry of developments this year on the back of encouraging sales growth. According to the Good Food Institute, plant-based meat unit sales dropped by 8%, but vegan seafood saw a 40% year-on-year growth in pound sales last year.
Startups that raised funding include Konscious Foods and Hooked Foods, and two European brands received a €1.5M grant to create 3D-printed mycoprotein to replace seafood, which debuted in September. Meanwhile, eight months after securing vegan seafood brand Good Catch, Wicked Kitchen acquired alt-seafood startup Current Foods in May,
Other product launches include South Korean startup Unlimeat‘s upcycled vegan tuna, Singapore-based HAPPIEE‘s vegan shrimp and squid in the UK, and Canadian brand Seed to Surf‘s plant-based whole-food white fish and snow crab. As of 2021, there were already at least 90 companies working with plant-based seafood.
Along with Nestlé’s Garden Gourmet and Harvest Gourmet SKU expansion, these new products serve an increasing demand for seafood, which is expected to grow by 14% from 2020-30. But this ballooning demand has led to higher greenhouse gas emissions, while the heavy fuel use by ocean fishery vessels contributes to the climate crisis. Overfishing operations receive $22B in capacity-enhancing subsidies every year, a figure the UN special envoy Peter Thomson has called “madness”.
Speaking to Green Queen last year, Lily Ng, owner of US vegan seafood company Lily’s Vegan Pantry, said: “Overfishing disrupts the food chain. And when populations are diminished, other species will overpopulate, destroying biodiversity and making changes to the entire ecosystem. In the end, our consumption of fish still destroys our planet.” The 2021 documentary Seaspiracy details the endemic issues attached to this sector.
“People continue to seek out plant-based options for their favourite dishes,” said Massimo Zucchero, global category lead for plant-based meals at Nestlé. “These new alternatives… are tasty, nutritious and can also help to reduce overfishing and protect the biodiversity of our oceans.”
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 an upcycled pasta partnership at Cambridge, the UK getting into Christmas mode, and anti-dairy advertising that’s sure to ruffle some feathers.
New products and launches
Happy World Vegan Day (and Month)! To kick it off, upcycled food producerThe Supplant Company is putting its Grain & Stalk Flour pasta on the catering menus of the University of Cambridge – a sweet homecoming for the brand that has its roots in the Department of Biochemistry, where founder Tom Simmons was a research scientist. Magdalene College will be subbing regular pasta for Supplant’s in a vegetarian mac and cheese and a meat-based carbonara, starting tomorrow.
Speaking of carbonara, Finnish ready meals brand REBL Eats has partnered with French vegan bacon brand La Vie to launch a ready-to-eat plant-based carbonara featuring the latter’s lardons at Kesko K-Group stores in Finland.
In more bacon news, Spanish companies Foodys and Cocuus have launched a 3D-printed vegan bacon SKU. It will be available in 120g packs at Carrefour fridges in the country starting this month.
Fellow Spanish brand NuVeg, meanwhile, is marking World Vegan Day by officially launching today with a range of dehydrated vegan dishes. Think vegan eggs, chicken curry, crepes, protein broth and bolognese.
In the US, meanwhile, New York-based vegan Italian restaurant Coletta is now servingOshi‘s 3D-printed salmon in a limited-edition Seared Balsamic Salmon dish with vegan parmesan, chive polenta, thyme-roasted broccoli and lemon.
Courtesy: Daiya
Also in New York’s plant-based Italian scene, Daiyaopened the Slice Club, a vegan pizza slice pop-up at the Two Boots in the West Village last Friday, serving free pizza to 500 customers. It will bring the concept to other US cities in the future.
If you’re looking got more vegan fast food, Canada’s Odd Burger has entered retail with a line of burgers, sausages and fillets featuring beef, pork and chicken analogues. They can be found at all Odd Burger locations, as well as stores in Toronto, London (Ontario), Hamilton and Kitchener.
Elsewhere, in Malaysia, retail and foodservice operator Berjaya Food has announced an expansion of its vegan offering across its sites. The company operates all Starbucks stores in the country, as well as a vegan Latin American restaurant and two alt-dairy brands.
If you’re in the UK, you might be familiar with the immediate post-Halloween Christmas craze. It has already begun, starting with its largest supermarket Tescounveiling its Christmas 2023 range, which features a bunch of vegan products. There’s Butternut Wellington, Battered Bangers with Curry Sauce, Mushroom and Chestnut Festive Wreath, Stem Ginger Tiffin Crackers and two roast turkey SKUs.
Courtesy: Tesco
Then there’s the Upfield-owned cream brand Elmlea, which has launched a brandy-flavoured vegan cream made from lentil protein and vegetable oils. But it doesn’t contain any booze, so anyone can have it.
And vegan deli meat maker Shocken Foods will release its plant-based foie gras, ‘nduja and meatballs in time for Christmas. The brand was co-founded by Emma Bowe, a former chef at Heston Blumenthal’s Mandarin Oriental restaurant.
Funding, manufacturing and finance news
German vegan seafood maker Happy Ocean Foods, which makes products like plant-based tuna, seafood and shrimp, has raised €1.5M in a seed funding round from Companisto.
WebrestaurantStore, an online foodservice retailer in the US, has reported a 110% year-on-year growth ($3B) in revenue in 2022, with plant-based consumables a key growth factor.
Cellular agriculture as a category has raised double the investments of Q3 2023 within the first few weeks of Q4. While a total of $40.2M was raised in Q3, five fundings disclosed this quarter have amounted to $81.5M, including Eden Brew, Bon Vivant and BlueNalu.
Meanwhile, the chicken nugget market is expected to grow by 12% annually by 2029, and the snack bars segment is set to surpass $16.5B by 2032. And the global plant-based milk sector is anticipated to expand annually by 6.38% to 2028.
Courtesy: Jumbo
In the Netherlands, supermarket chain Jumbo has committed to make 60% of all its protein offerings plant-based by 2030, with plans to expand its Lekker Veggie vegan brand in 2024.
Former Impossible Foods executive Don DiMasi has joined Californian food tech company Yali Bio as a senior VP for engineering and biomanufacturing. The company engineers precision-fermented lipids and fats for the plant-based industry.
Aussie startup Nourish Ingredients, meanwhile, which creates animal-like fats for plant proteins, has expanded its manufacturing processes to Singapore, joining hands with ScaleUp Bio, a joint venture between Temasek-owned Nurasa and ingredients giant ADM.
However, ADM has “re-scoped” its plant protein investment in its Decatur, Illinois facility in the US to “better match” the weakening demand for meat alternatives and an explosion at its West plant.
Also in Illinois, the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing Hub, which works on precision fermentation crops like soy and corn, was named as one of 31 new Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs by the Biden-Harris administration.
Courtesy: Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing Hub
Elsewhere, German equipment manufacturer Bühler says it will open five application and training centres in Switzerland, two of which will complement its plant-based protein processing infrastructure.
In the US, two women-owned startups, Taimat Scienses and Biomilq, have collaborated on a project to show how a plant-based recombinant protein can be just as effective as its commercially available alternative, and 10 times more affordable.
Policy, research and events
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has updated its labelling policies on meat alternatives, clarifying that substitutes that don’t have the appearance of conventional meat don’t need to be labelled as ‘simulated’, and terms like ‘veggie burger’ and ‘soy sausage’ are fair game.
In the UK, Adfree Cities – a group challenging corporate outdoor advertising – is calling for a ban on meat advertising in the UK, arguing that it should be prohibited just as tobacco commercials were for their detrimental effects. The campaign is called The Cows Aren’t Laughing.
Courtesy: Switch4Good
The US is seeing a similar rhetoric played out. Switch4Good, the dairy-free advocacy group founded by Olympian Dotsie Bausch, has launched a Killer Milk billboard ad campaign, citing a 2021 study revealing that cow’s milk is the “leading cause of fatal anaphylaxis among school children”.
Along the same lines, Bausch joined two other women – Marielle Williamson and Yen Ang – to support the ADD SOY Act (Addressing Digestive Distress in Stomachs of our Youth) proposed by four senators to give schoolchildren a dairy-free snack choice.
In Germany, Europe’s leading vegan market, a study by sustainable food advocacy group ProVeg International has revealed that plant-based food is approaching price parity, with the cost difference between vegan and conventional products dropping from 53% to 25% in one year. Recently, supermarkets Lidl and Kaufland announced they were matching the cost of plant-based alternatives to their animal-derived counterparts.
New research by Burger King and The Vegetarian Butcher has found that 73% of Brits would choose meat over plant-based options if given the choice, with 48% citing taste as the major reason. Nearly three in 10 (30%) say they want to live a flexitarian lifestyle.
Courtesy: Burger King
In event news, VegFest UK is taking place this month in London (November 18-19). The conference will play host to Vegan Business Tribe Live, which will see speakers from leading plant-based brands in the UK, including THIS, One Planet Pizza, and Better Nature.
Finally, with another round of Veganuary fast approaching, a six-month survey found that 28% of the participants who responded stuck to a plant-based diet post-January, while 52% claimed to have reduced animal product consumption by 50% or higher. It comes a week after the campaign launched a trailer for its upcoming documentary.
Two projects funded by the European Space Agency have looked at the viability of producing cultivated meat in space to provide more sustainable food for astronauts. The results are promising.
There is so much regulatory red tape around cell-cultured meat, it’s hard to know which country will follow Singapore and the US to allow people to try cultivated meat. It almost feels like the next best option would be to just disregard all countries and focus on another sphere altogether.
Past the exosphere, that is. Two research projects in the UK and Germany, supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), have been looking into ways to make cultivated meat in space. The two teams – made up of German company Yuri and Reutlingen University, and UK firms Kayser Space, Cellular Agriculture and Campden BR – have found promising results for astronauts.
Courtesy: European Space Agency
Cultivating potential for future meat
The idea is that cultivated meat can provide an opportunity to produce fresh and familiar food products in situ. Typically, packaged supplies have a shelf life of two years, which makes them unsuitable for astronauts needing nutritious food on longer-term projects, explains ESA engineer Paolo Corradi. “Given the limited resources in space, growing fresh food in situ would be necessary to increase the resilience and self-sufficiency of a mission, and could also provide psychological support to the crew,” he says.
The British and German teams worked independently and compared existing plant- or algae-based protein alternatives in space with cultured meat in terms of nutritional value. Both came up with different production methods and bioreactor technologies. “After their analysis, both teams have come to similar conclusions and suggest that the idea of producing cultivated meat in space is not far-fetched and calls for further research,” says Corradi.
ESA is additionally developing tech that enhances bioprocesses and metabolic resources onboard spacecrafts, which could help with the cultured meat project. “ESA is investing significant efforts in researching advanced life support systems,” says Christel Paille, an ESA life support engineer and member of its cultivated meat team.
“We are creating ground prototypes to investigate, for instance, closed-loop systems that recover nutrients and recycle metabolic wastes. This could also be applied to cultivated meat production to recover the nutrient medium that we give to the cells.”
The agency adds that there’s still a lot of work to be done before astronauts can begin eating cultured meat. “It’s something that is still in its infancy, so we proposed a roadmap that outlines the steps required to progress the necessary technologies and fill current knowledge gaps,” says Corradi.
“This includes understanding how cells adapt to altered gravity and radiation,” adds ESA cultivated meat researcher João Garcia. “By using facilities available at ESA, we will soon start experiments to understand these effects.”
Courtesy: European Space Agency
Cultured meat in space
ESA is far from the only space agency investing in alt-proteins like cultivated meat. In 2019, Israeli cultured meat leader Aleph Farms grew beef from bovine cells on the International Space Station, nearly 400km away from any natural resources. “We are proving that cultivated meat can be produced anytime, anywhere, in any condition,” said Aleph Farms co-founder and CEO Didier Toubia. “We can potentially provide a powerful solution to produce the food closer to the population needing it, at the exact and right time it is needed.”
This was followed by another experiment by Aleph Farms last year when it collaborated with SpaceX, whose crew members conducted experiments on microgravity’s effects on muscle tissue growth. They carried beef cells harvested on Earth by Aleph Farms.
NASA has already shown interest in the alt-protein space (pun unintended), with its Deep Space Food Challenge, whose finalists included startups making food using carbon dioxide, algae and fungal proteins, such as Finland’s Solar Foods, which uses gas fermentation to make single-cell proteins. Canada’s space agency is a collaborator on this project too.
NASA has actually been conducting cultured meat experiments since 2001, the same year Willem van Eelen, Wiete Westerhof and Willem van Kooten filed for a patent on cultivated meat production. It has partnered with fungal protein startup Nature’s Fynd as well, focusing on research to develop a micro-gravity biofilm-biomass reactor, which would bring a nutrient-dense vegan protein to astronauts.
Meanwhile, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has been working with Tokyo-based Integriculture Inc. and the Tokyo Women’s Medical University on a project involving cellular agriculture and cultivated meat production in space. JAXA is part of Space FoodSphere too, a programme that includes cultured meat and microbial proteins.
And last year, Mexican cultured meat producer Micro Meat teamed up with US-based space parks developer Orbital Assembly to install meat production equipment in the latter’s space stations. Micro Meat said that working with cultivated meat in zero gravity will help it scale its protein systems on Earth.
Courtesy: Aleph Farms
Calling on the EU to step up
The ESA is now imploring the European Food Safety Authority – the EU’s regulator – to follow the lead of its counterparts in Singapore and the US and grant approvals to companies to sell cultivated meat. In the bloc’s framework, cultivated meat is classed as a ‘novel food’ and requires premarket authorisation.
Its stringent safety regulations have meant that there have been no known applications by cultured meat producers in the region. Aleph Farms did, however, file for clearance earlier this year in Switzerland and the UK (which retains the EU’s novel foods regulations post-Brexit).
“The feeling is that we are at the beginning of a process that could transform the industry, making the conventional meat production model obsolete,” says Corradi. “Developed countries have the historical opportunity to move away from farming and killing animals, being a very inefficient process to produce food, unsustainable for the planet, dangerous for our health and raising more and more ethical concerns among the population.”
Berlin-based agtech startup Tupu has raised $3.2M in a seed funding round to grow mushrooms directly in cities. The firm combines its patent-pending modular farming tech with bioscience, robotics and artificial intelligence to offer locally grown gourmet mushrooms at a competitive price.
With a funding round co-led by FoodLabs and Zubi Capital – alongside Clear Current Capital, FoodHack, IT-Farm, CoastCap and angel investors – Tupu hopes to “redefine mushroom cultivation”.
Mushrooms can be grown anywhere (even indoors) and year-round, which makes them immune to supply chain disruptions. Plus, they’re an ecological marvel, with a lower carbon footprint, water consumption and land use than most vegetables. They’re packed with umami – a key aspect of what makes food taste great – and nutrients, and make for a great source ingredient for alt-protein.
The problem, however, is that while they can be grown anywhere, they’re not. Mushroom transportation is, as Tupu puts it, “inefficient and unsustainable”, with distances of over 7,000km resulting in compromised taste, shorter shelf lives, reduced nutritional attributes, and an increased carbon footprint.
So, with the demand for sustainable and locally produced food – forgive me – mushrooming, how do we overcome this obstacle? For Tupu, the answer lies in urban farms. Co-founded in 2021, it blends its modular farming system with bioscience, robotics and AI to grow organic gourmet mushrooms directly in cities.
“Unlike plants, mushrooms have always been cultivated indoors, yet in an inefficient manner, and we’re leapfrogging the current state of the industry with our technology by 50 years,” says co-founder and COO Daniel Lock. Tupu opened its first urban farm last November, which is capable of growing three tons of mushrooms per month, and it’s expanding the facility to increase its capacity to five tons a month. The company’s tech elements include Internet of Things devices distributed throughout the farm to integrate millions of data points, as well as advanced camera vision artificial intelligence.
“Controlled environment farming is a key technology to make our food supply chain climate resilient. We’re excited about Tupu as they are able to make indoor farming economically viable,” explains Till Hoelzer, principal at FoodLabs.
Courtesy: Tupu
How Tupu grows mushrooms in cities
Tupu’s mushrooms are cultivated in three major steps. The first involves the substrate, where it maximises yields, reduces growth time and cultivates healthier mushrooms via bioscience and bioengineering techniques. Next is the fruiting stage, where it leverages IoT and AI camera vision solutions to precisely optimise the climate and growth recipes, while also forecasting yields.
Finally, during harvest, Tupu lowers the associated labour costs and ensures the timely and efficient harvesting of fresh products with automation. The startup uses what it calls the industry’s first harvesting robot for gourmet mushrooms. Are there any concerns about robotic errors? “Dealing with organisms entails variations in growth and morphology, such as diverse shapes, structures and sizes,” explains co-founder and CEO Eldad Arnon.
“Precision-tuning the robotic arm for harvesting all species presents a notable challenge. To address this, we employ data-driven harvesting techniques as a solution. Our plan includes integrating the harvesting robot into our production process early next year,” he says, adding: “Our vision does not involve robots replacing humans entirely; instead, they will serve to facilitate and simplify processes.”
Tupu says its digitalised and automated value chain helps tackle key agrifood challenges, from labour scarcity and yield improvement to spatial efficiency. “This technology will allow us to maintain local production while simultaneously decreasing labour costs, making our products price-competitive,” says Arnon.
While he remains tight-lipped on exact prices, Arnon outlines Tupu’s mission to offer nutrient-rich food at budget-friendly rates. “Even though we offer fresh, locally and sustainably grown products that guarantee superior taste and enhanced nutritional value, our pricing remains competitive,” he notes.
Courtesy: Tupu
From Michelin-starred chefs to local supermarkets
Tupu’s mushroom portfolio includes king oysters, grey oysters, shiitakes, lion’s manes and yellow oysters, but it’s not stopping there. “We are continually expanding our portfolio with new varieties, like coral tooth, pink oyster, and nameko while concurrently exploring the cultivation of species that cannot be grown indoors at our Wageningen lab,” says Arnon.
Each variety of mushroom has its own growth cycle. “Shiitake and oyster mushrooms typically take around a week, while lion’s mane and king oyster mushrooms require approximately two weeks to mature,” says Arnon. “We are fine-tuning these growth cycles through our climate-controlled software to align with market demand, enhance our operational efficiency, and minimise food waste.”
Tupu’s mushrooms have already appeared at some wholesalers, foodservice operators and restaurants in Berlin. These include Michelin-starred eatery Horváth (which uses the king oysters for a vegan foie gras), creative brewery and restaurant BRLO (whose brewer’s spent grain is used by Tupu for substrate experiments), as well as upscale caterers like Cookies and Donau101, among others The startup will soon tap into the B2C segment by introducing its mushrooms at retailers across Berlin. And it’s exploring a direct-to-consumer model too.
“While the vertical farming sector has been challenging recently, in particular for leafy greens and other energy-intensive crops, urban farming will play a key role in our future food system,” says Lock. “Mushrooms offer immense potential across various sectors – food is just the beginning.”
Singapore is working on a Food Safety and Security Bill that would offer greater clarity on regulatory frameworks for novel foods like cultivated meat and help prevent foodborne illnesses like the ones suffered from raw seafood, which offers multiple opportunities for cultured meat producers.
At Rethink’s Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit which starts today in Singapore, the nation state’s trade and industry minister Alvin Tam gave a keynote speech to smart protein startups that summed up the city state’s food tech pedigree: “Come to the best place in the world for food innovation.”
Singapore is host to a number of alt-protein startups, and it’s no surprise, given that it was the first (and, for three years, the only) country to approve the sale of cultivated meat when it granted regulatory clearance to Eat Just’s GOOD Meat and its cell-cultured chicken in 2020. The move cemented the island nation’s reputation as a hotbed of food tech innovation with a highly supportive government.
And a year later, there was another world first with Singapore’s granting of a food processing license to Esco Aster, a contract development and manufacturing organisation, for the production of cultured meat.
“Singapore has long been a leader in innovation of all kinds, from information technology to biologics to now leading the world in building a healthier, safer food system,” Eat Just CEO Josh Tetrick said at the time. “I’m sure that our regulatory approval for cultured meat will be the first of many in Singapore and in countries around the globe.”
Greater clarity on cultured meat regulation
Courtesy: Eat Just
Providing further clarity on regulatory frameworks for other companies is part of Singapore’s proposed Food Safety and Security Bill. It will combine food-related provisions from across eight existing Acts – like the Wholesome Meat and Fish Act and the Sale of Food Act – into a single Act.
According to the Straits Times, the bill was first mentioned in 2021, with the then sustainability and environment minister Desmond Tan saying it would be tabled later that year. Now, while there is progress on its status, Tan’s successor Grace Fu added that she doesn’t know when the bill would be tabled.
Speaking at the relocation of the Singapore Food Agency’s National Centre for Food Science (which introduced the regulatory framework for risk assessments of novel food), Fu said: “Innovations in food science are introducing novel foods, offering new opportunities to feed the world. Ensuring that such novel food is safe is critical to protect public health.”
She added: “The Bill will provide greater legal clarity on the regulatory framework for new food innovations, such as novel food and gene-edited crops. We will also – in consultation with the industry – look into enhancing the requirements on food safety systems and processes.”
Fu explained that the SFA is already in talks with industry stakeholders to discuss “how we can all work together to collectively ensure a resilient supply of safe food for Singapore”. “I look forward to hearing from and co-creating with our industry and community partners, to shape our new food legislation,” she said.
Food safety and the cultivated opportunity
Courtesy: Shiok Meats
The new bill will look to boost the country’s food security too. One way it plans to do so is by bringing over existing powers for the Rice Stockpiles Scheme, which says rice importers must keep a stockpile of the grain in government-designated warehouses to ensure an adequate supply. It goes hand-in-hand with Singapore’s 30 by 30 initiative, which aims to improve food security by producing 30% of all food consumed in the nation by 2030, thus limiting its reliance on imports.
The new National Centre for Food Science premises combines the SFA’s two food safety and science labs, as well as “streamlines operations, improves accessibility for inspectors to submit samples for testing and provides greater accessibility for external collaborations and industry partnerships”, the regulator said.
One of the key goals of the centre – which will serve as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Food Contamination Monitoring – is to prevent and contain the spread of foodborne illnesses. Fu cited a recent food poisoning outbreak, where NCFS used whole genome sequencing to reveal how the same bacteria detected in the sick was also found in raw seafood.
Moreover, the centre’s radioactivity department has been doubling down on its testing of seafood imported from Japan to look for traces of radioactive contamination, as Japan has begun releasing wastewater from the now-shut Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
These foodborne illnesses combined with Singapore’s regulatory framework can be a great opportunity for cultivated meat and seafood companies to capitalise. Some of the leaders in this space include Shiok Meats, Umami Bioworks and Meatiply. Meanwhile, Dutch cultured pork producer Meatable is eyeing regulatory clearance and a 2024 launch in Singapore.
French biotech startup Amatera, which develops non-GMO, climate-friendly perennial plants using crop genetics technology, has closed a €1.5M pre-seed funding round to speed up production of its regulatory-compliant coffee varieties.
Climate change is destroying coffee – literally. Arabica, one of the two main species of coffee consumed globally (the other being robusta), could go extinct by 2050. In fact, of the 124 known coffee species, 75 (60%) are under threat of extinction. Additionally, land suitable for growing coffee – a ‘belt’ that lies between the tropics – is set to be halved by mid-century too.
These are troubling numbers for one of the world’s favourite beverages, and it goes the other way too. Coffee is one of the highest-emitting foods, topped only by dark chocolate and red meats like lamb, mutton and beef. And in terms of emissions per 1,000 kcal, coffee ranks top of the list – even higher than beef.
According to Our World in Data, in terms of carbon opportunity costs – “the amount of carbon lost from native vegetation and soils in order to produce each food” – coffee only comes behind meats like sheep, goat, beef and buffalo, and cocoa beans. And that’s before you factor in the crop’s problematic supply chain ethics.
Enter Amatera, which develops a non-GMO breeding platform optimised for perennial crops to accelerate the selection and crossing of plants by “pushing the boundaries of in vitro culture”.
Courtesy: Amatera
An evergreen coffee crop
“Coffee is under threat, but today it can take more than 20 years to create a new coffee variety with conventional breeding techniques,” says Amatera CEO Omar Dekkiche. The biotech startup, which is using molecular biology to create climate-resilient crops from plant cell cultures, is expanding its platform to create perennial coffee varieties four to five times faster than traditional coffee.
These include the Robustica, which combines the enhanced flavour profile of arabica with the higher yield of robusta. It’s developing an arabica variety that’s naturally caffeine-free too, which Dekkiche says “saves a huge amount of time, money and energy, as the standard way to decaffeinate coffee is by rinsing beans with chemical solvents”.
Founded in 2022, Amatera has now raised €1.5M to accelerate the development of crops that can withstand deforestation, crop diseases, and climate change effects. The round was led by PINC, the VC arm of food and drink giant Paulig, with additional participants including Exceptional Ventures, Mudcake, Joyance Partners, AgFunder, and several biotech entrepreneurs (like Gourmey‘s Nicolas Morin-Forest).
“We love the disruptive potential and versatility of the platform since it can be used on several crops,” said Marika King, head of PINC. “Coffee has traditionally not received as much research and innovation as many other crops globally, and as coffee is one of Paulig’s core products, we are of course happy that Amatera’s first solution involves coffee.”
Courtesy: Amatera
Non-GMO genome editing
Amatera’s process accelerates the natural evolution of a plant by identifying cell lines that have matured the way its scientists want, but through a non-GMO route to genome editing – this means it doesn’t require regulatory approval to sell the crops commercially. “The technology as such is not new, but applying it to perennial crops such as coffee is, since they are more complicated and require several breakthroughs in cell biology, explains CTO Lucie Kriegshauser.
“This is also why gene-editing techniques are struggling. Our technology is a real game-changer and opens up the avenue to applying it on several other crops, such as cacao, bananas and grapes or even pharmaceutical plants,” she adds.
The startup aims to complete its cellular developments in 2024 before it begins producing beans in the field, with a first harvest expected in 2027. It plans to operate in a B2B model, licensing coffee varieties to coffee traders and developing new varieties in collaboration with large food companies.
“Our discussions with trading houses and customers show huge interest,” added King. “It is still early days, but the team and its partners are world-class, and we are very excited to see what they can do.”
Amatera co-founders Lucie Kriegshauser and Omar Dekkiche | Courtesy: Amatera
Similarly, Starbucks recently created six new arabica coffee tree varietals resilient to the impact of climate change, which it’s giving away to farmers for free. “These varietals were developed over a decade of research and testing by the Starbucks agronomy team. They are naturally resistant to diseases like coffee leaf rust [and] some of the impacts of climate change, and were also selected for their excellent taste and high yield,” a company spokesperson told Green Queen. “We believe our varietals programme is key to a healthy supply of coffee and our business for the next 50 years.”
There are also a host of startups innovating with various ingredients to develop coffee alternatives, in a space termed ‘beanless coffee’. These include Atomo, Minus Coffee (both of which make ‘molecular’ cold brew), Zero Coffee (which will unveil a sparkling coffee beverage) and Northern Wonder (which makes capsules and ground filter coffee). Meanwhile, Parisian food tech firm Stem is developing mass-produced cell-cultured coffee, making use of byproducts like spent coffee and upcycled cherry pulp (cascara).
Molecular gastronomy is great and all that, but if you’re looking for minimum fuss, some brands are making vegan caviar that will have your dinner guests doubting you.
Caviar isn’t something that most of us eat on the regular – and neither should we, given that these fish eggs carry a huge cost for both our wallets and the planet. One highly prized variety is said to be the most expensive food in the world, but these salted roe are acquired from slaughtered fish at a demand that is far outpacing their numbers. Sturgeons – the primary species associated with caviar – are the most endangered species on Earth today, according to the WWF.
So in a bid to offer products that are better for the environment and more wealth- and diet-inclusive, companies are making alternatives to caviar in multiple ways. Some – like Magiccaviar, CellMEAT and Marinas Bio – are opting to use cell cultures to make cultivated caviar, while others are developing plant-based versions.
There are countless recipes online to make the latter, using a molecular gastronomy technique called spherification that involves submerging droplets of a sodium alginate solution in chilled oil to make little pearls that resemble caviar. But these don’t really taste much like the real thing – and can also lead to a lot of waste and fuss.
To feed caviar-hungry vegans, plant-based caviar provides the satisfying textural, visual and taste attributes associated with conventional caviar, but without the animal cruelty, environmental damage and ridiculously high prices. Here are five of the best vegan caviar brands.
Cavi-art
Courtesy: Cavi-art
It’s perhaps fitting that a country associated with high-end Michelin-starred cuisine is home to one of the best-known plant-based caviar companies, Cavi-art. The brand makes three types of fish egg alternatives using kelp seaweed, primarily for foodservice and other food brands.
The eponymous Cavi-art – a winner of PETA’s Best Vegan Luxury Food Item award – are designed as substitutes for lumpfish, cod and trout roe (among others) in colours like black, red, orange, yellow, wasabi green, pink and more.
Meanwhile, the Tosago range contains alternatives for masago (smelt fish eggs) and tobiko (flying fish roe), which are used in sushi. These are available in orange, yellow, black and green shades. And the Food-art lineup contains what Cavi-art describes as flavoured seaweed pearls in lemon, balsamic vinegar, apple, strawberry and grape variants, which can be used for desserts too. All of Cavi-art’s products are produced locally in Denmark.
You can find Cavi-Art’s vegan caviar products online and in various restaurants and retail stores.
Zeroe Vegan Caviar
Courtesy: Zeroe Vegan Caviar
Another Danish vegan caviar producer, Zeroe uses seaweed “grown naturally off the coast of France”. The shelf-stable caviar has received rave reviews from influencers and celebrities online, with its signature black hue providing a striking visual edge to dishes.
Zeroe’s plant-based caviar is made by suspending seaweed in clean water, before extracting and forming it into spheres. To boost the flavour, it’s complemented with ingredients like cayenne, black pepper, turmeric, laurel, leek, dill and tarragon, which are sourced from across Europe. While it is shelf-stable, the brand recommends serving the fish egg substitutes chilled for the best experience.
You can find Zeroe Vegan Caviar online starting at $27 for a 55g jar.
Cavinoir
Courtesy: Cavinoir
While not an exclusively vegan brand, Dutch producer Cavinoir (formerly Tzar Caviar) has two plant-based roe products: a shiny black-coloured variety and a lox-style roe (keta caviar) with a reddish-orange hue.
Both products have what the company describes as a “subtle sea flavour”, boasting “salty, fishy, umami, complex” notes that melt in the mouth. These gourmet seaweed pearls are a commercial iteration of the spherification method, using sodium alginate, agar agar, sunflower oil, spices, lactic acid and a stabiliser.
You can find Cavinoir’s vegan range online for €9.95 per 110g jar.
Albert Heijn
Courtesy: Albert Heijn
Another Dutch entry on this list – and a surprising one at that – is Albert Heijn, the supermarket chain. You don’t usually stroll around looking for caviar in your weekly shop now, do you? But you could if you wanted inexpensive vegan caviar in the Netherlands.
Albert Heijn’s own-label Vegan Kaviaar is also a seaweed-based spherification alternative that comes in a black hue. The company uses seaweed and cayenne extract alongside rapeseed oil, citric acid, spices, herbs, colourings, stabilisers and preservatives.
You can find Albert Heijn’s vegan caviar online or in-store for €1.99 per 50g jar.
Deli-Caviar
Courtesy: Deli-Caviar
In Germany, Berlin-based Deli-Caviar makes flavoured agar-agar-based vegan roe, with a colourful lineup bare striking visuals. Its most popular offering is the rosewater caviar, which uses Damask rose oil and stevia as the main flavouring agents.
In addition, there are two balsamic varieties in black and white (with balsamic vinegar, grape must and olive oil), an aqua-coloured blue gin caviar version, a deep red cherry flavour, and an orange blossom water one. Additionally, Deli-Caviar makes whiskey-honey flavoured caviar too – but these are vegetarian, not vegan.
You can find Deli-Caviar’s vegan caviar online for €13.99 per 110g jar.
Bonus: Wanna Greens
Courtesy: GreenOnyx
Not exactly a caviar replica per se, but Israeli company GreenOnyx’s ready-to-eat duckweed brandWanna Greens makes mini green pearls made from these water lentils and marketed as green caviar. These are grown on an urban farm and can be used in both sweet and savoury applications, and have made it onto trial menus of some Michelin-starred restaurants.
You can join Wanna Greens’ waitlist for the green duckweed, which is expected to sell at $30 per kg.
Food system risks are increasing in most Asia-Pacific countries despite higher production and better access to food, with market instability and slow climate improvements leaving many countries vulnerable to human health and nutrition insecurity, according to a new global index.
The UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the WFP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific have created the Insights on Food System Risks (INFER) Framework, which is a data-driven approach to measuring multidimensional risks to food systems.
INFER uses 95 risk indicators to produce food system risk scores and profiles, which ESCAP says meets “an urgent need to understand how multidimensional threats manifest into food system risks”. The system utilises an up-to-date understanding of food systems with well-established concepts of risk based on three dimensions. These entail hazard and exposure, vulnerability, and a lack of adaptive capacity.
How INFER assesses risks
Courtesy: ESCAP
Here’s how it works: the index can tell what food systems are at risk, enabling the monitoring of these systems across human health and nutrition, planetary health and sustainability, and shared prosperity, aligning with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
It can do so by providing insights into trends, characteristics and drivers of food system risks – including availability, access, utilisation, stability, agency and sustainability. This analysis makes INFER a useful tool for policymakers, development partners, researchers or stakeholders working in food systems transformation and food security.
Examples of policy support enabled by the tool include strategies for resilience building, in response to nations’ risk profiles, strengthening food system transformation pathways, food system monitoring (including identifying slow onset risks), and improving risk communication and transparency to support policy coherence and cross-sector collaboration.
Courtesy: ESCAP
Food risks are on the rise in APAC
The results from the index have been applied to 49 APAC countries, incorporating the 95 publicly available indicators. INFER has found that most countries in the region have experienced a rise in food system risks in the last five years, with the number particularly high in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. Others like Australia, New Zealand and South Korea – which are relatively low-risk compared to the region’s average – are still seeing increases in food risks compared to five years ago.
Meanwhile, India is the Asian country with the highest decrease in food system risks in this period, but it still has a high percentage of risk attached to it. Across APAC, the vulnerability of these systems has continued to grow since the 2007-08 food energy price crisis.
Courtesy: ESCAP
While there has been progress in the region’s adaptive capacity and reduced exposure to hazards, the advent of Covid-19 reversed that trend, which ESCAP says increasingly painted “the picture of a perfect storm’ where risks increase across all three risk dimensions”.
Food security dimensions like food availability and health and safe utilisation have seen improvements, but there has been a considerable increase in stability-related risks, and a slow, only marginal improvement in terms of sustainability. This exacerbates the importance of risks beyond just producing enough food, as well as the crucial aspect of reducing risks of climate-change-related events, alongside vulnerabilities among the households and individuals most likely to be impacted by these.
Launching this week, a new platform of industry stakeholders across nine Asia-Pacific countries is looking to facilitate collaboration to advance the regulatory approval of cultivated meat in the region.
Established by the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture and the Good Food Institute APAC, the APAC Regulatory Coordination Forum is described as a platform for cross-border dialogue between cell-cultured food producers, industry associations and think tanks, and government agencies and regulators in multiple jurisdictions.
Launching at Singapore International Agri-Food Week (October 31 to November 2), the forum aims to help develop nations’ regulatory frameworks via increased data and knowledge sharing between countries, streamlined review processes for companies hoping to enter multiple markets at once, and reduced trade barriers.
A group of 11 stakeholders from nine countries – including APAC-SCA and GFI APAC – have signed a memorandum of understanding to mark the platform’s formation. These include GFI’s India and Israel chapters, Cellular Agriculture Australia, Japan Association for Cellular Agriculture, Cell AgriTech (Malaysia), University of Brawijaya (Indonesia), Future Ready Food Safety Hub (Singapore), Society for Food Sustainatech (South Korea), and law firm Dentons’ China branch.
Courtesy: The Good Food Institute
More companies and organisations may be added as signatories in the future (on an invitation-only basis), pending approval from GFI APAC and APAC-SCA. At least 37 companies are known to be working with cultivated meat and seafood in Asia, according to GFI. Mirte Gosker, managing director at GFI APAC, says global distribution must expand beyond early adopters for cultured meat to reach its full potential. Currently, only two countries allow the sale of cultivated meat in the world. Singapore was the first to do so in 2020, followed by the US earlier this year.
“By bringing together industry leaders and regulatory officials from countries across Asia Pacific, we are working to reduce duplication of efforts, streamline international approval processes for novel food producers, and create a clear pathway to market for innovative new products,” said Gosker.
Collaboration on regulatory criteria and ‘fast lanes’
“Member entities will be invited to participate in regularly scheduled discussion sessions about the latest developments in regulatory processes, as well as unresolved questions in need of further consideration. They will also have access to private discussion platforms where best practices, advice, and confidential insights can be shared among regional stakeholders,” Gosker adds.
“Through this increased knowledge-sharing and cross-border coordination, we aim to develop clear and effective pathways to commercialisation of cultivated foods, reduce time to market for producers, and create a level playing field when it comes to imports and exports.”
Courtesy: Eat Just
APAC Regulatory Coordination Forum lays out six key goals in its MoU. The first involves facilitating the coordination of regulatory efforts across APAC to build an effective regulatory environment for cultivated proteins, as well as minimise hurdles and bottlenecks.
The platform is also seeking to set up a mechanism for continuous, systematic cross-country dialogue between stakeholders. “Our aim is to transparently share information, collaborate on inputs such as data or safety assessments, and provide open discussions and viewpoints between partners across the region,” the MoU states.
Another goal is mutual recognition of coordinated regulatory frameworks in the region, such as aligning on criteria for safety testing, labelling and inspections. This would help reduce the time and resources needed for approval, and minimise trade barriers and costs for consumers. “These efforts could potentially culminate in the development of trust between authorities to create ‘fast lanes’ for approval of companies already authorised for sale in another regional country.”
Ensuring religious standards and defining novel approaches
The APAC Regulatory Coordination Forum wants to ensure cultured meat and seafood adhere to religious rulings and standards (like halal and kosher), where it noted that coordinated efforts are required to build consensus around the topic. Last month, three Shariah scholars told alt-protein leader Eat Just – the parent company of GOOD Meat, the producer that earned regulatory approval in Singapore – that cultured meat can be considered halal if it meets certain criteria.
The group also aims to standardise regulatory approaches on new approaches yet to be looked into, such as novel cell cultivation technologies and the definition of hybrid and blended meat. Finally, it plans to coordinate information to all participants transparently, bringing each member up to date with current developments and trends in the sector.
“The regulatory forum is established to bring forth a platform to facilitate open and transparent discussions regarding regulatory matters in cellular agriculture,” said Peter Yu, programme director at APAC-SCA. “We hope to build a repository of information that can aid in regulatory coordination across the APAC region while providing a pathway for new jurisdictions to quickly get up to speed.”
Courtesy: Aleph Farms
In addition to GOOD Meat, Australia’s Vow Food is another cultivated meat company that has filed for regulatory approval in APAC, applying to the bilateral Food Standards Australia New Zealand for its cell-cultured quail. But it’s unknown if other companies have filed for approval anywhere, as Gosker explains: “Several companies have publicly discussed their submissions for regulatory approval in Singapore (for example, Meatable), but unlike in Australia/New Zealand, this information is not required to be publicly disclosed by the government.”
She adds: “Japan and South Korea will likely be next in line among APAC countries to develop such frameworks, as both nations are proactively seeking input from industry groups to craft clear and efficient safety review processes. No timeline has been set for when this work will be completed.” Meanwhile, Israel’s Aleph Farms is waiting to hear back from regulators in Switzerland and the UK for its application.
“The biggest barrier to cultivated meat approvals in emerging markets is the need for regulators to adapt existing regulatory frameworks or develop new standards,” Gosker says. “This will vary country-by-country, based on their existing regulatory regimes, but by sharing best practices and proactively facilitating conversations between industry leaders and regulators, the APAC Regulatory Coordination Forum aims to streamline and accelerate this process in a way that is beneficial for governments and innovators alike.”
“Ultimately, we envision a clear and effective contingency for the industry as a whole towards commercialisation of cultivated food products across the region,” said Yu. “We encourage the participation of any potential new members vested in these matters, located among any of our APAC member countries.”
A new report by the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture (APAC-SCA) has revealed that an overwhelming majority of South Koreans are willing to try cultivated meat at least once, while price and taste remain key barriers. Regulatory breakthroughs, better labelling and industry collaboration are key to advancing this industry.
The Good Food Institute recently called South Korea a “global hotbed of alternative protein innovation”. In February, 28 industry stakeholders signed an MoU to advance the country’s cultured meat industry, while a month later, the North Gyeongsang province opened a 2,309 sq m Cellular Agriculture Industry Support Center.
There are at least nine companies working with cultivated meat in South Korea. These include the likes of CellMEAT, which has created prototypes of cultured Dokdo shrimp and caviar, TissenBioFarm, Simple Planet, CellQua, Space F, and SeaWith. Meanwhile, Korean noodle giant Nongshim invested $7.4M in food tech venture funding, with a focus on cultivated meat, and CJ CheilJedang has partnered with KCell Biosciences to build a cell culture facility in Busan.
Now, a new 1,110-person survey by APAC-SCA – a 2022-founded coalition working to advance the cultivated meat and seafood industry in the region – has found that consumer attitudes in the country back up the growing number of companies and developments in this sector.
Consumer attitudes towards cultivated meat in South Korea
Courtesy: Cellmeat
APAC-SCA’s poll revealed that 90% of respondents say they’re willing to try cultivated meat at least once (though only 5% say they’d definitely eat it regularly). On top of that, 39% of Koreans are supportive of cell-based meat being sold at supermarkets and restaurants (with 14- to 29-year-olds leading the way) – only 10% are opposed to its commercialisation.
Meanwhile, 55% of consumers consider cultured meat to be similar to plant-based alternatives, while 19% would actually prefer cultivated proteins over vegan versions. This is especially true for people aged 20-29. And when it comes to motivators, price tops the list with 65% of South Koreans citing it as a factor, which is closely followed by taste and texture (62%). Health/nutrition (48%) and environmental reasons (47%) are important as well – but animal welfare is a factor for only a third of the respondents.
Interestingly, while 84% of consumers would favour a plant-based growth culture for cell-based meat, 35% wouldn’t mind seeing fetal bovine serum (FBS) being used to make these products. In fact, for a fifth (21%) of Koreans, FBS would be the most preferred option. This could indicate a lack of understanding about the different mediums on the part of consumers, prompting them to choose FBS over other cultivation mediums in their primary selection,” says Carisa Lim, project manager at APAC-SCA.
“However, we see that FBS ranks lower in the preferred cultivation medium overall, suggesting that negative perception of FBS still remains among the surveyed South Korean population,” she added. Meanwhile, 62% and 57% would be happy to see a serum based on marine microalgae or yeast, respectively.
Price is key
CellMEAT’s caviar prototype | Courtesy
Only 1% of people in the survey say they don’t eat meat or seafood in some form, with two-thirds consuming it between three to five times per week, and 13% doing so daily. Meat remains the largest source of protein for the country, followed by eggs and dairy – and consumption of the former is also set to steadily rise over the next decade. On average, 36% of Koreans spend less than ₩30,000 ($22) weekly on meat products for their entire household, while 31% spend between ₩30,000-50,000 ($22-37).
But people aren’t willing to pay too much more when it comes to cultivated meat. In fact, only 12% say they’d be happy to pay ₩1,000-3,000 (74c-$2.2) more per 100g of cultured meat, and an even fewer 6% would be willing to pay more than that.
However, 57% claim they’d eat cell-cultured pork if it’s cheaper than its conventional counterpart (if taking ₩10,000/$7.4 per 100g as its average price), and 25% said the same for beef that costs ₩15,000/$11.1 per 100g. This suggests price parity – and thus scalability – is amongst the biggest obstacles for the cultivated meat industry in South Korea.
“Hybrid products and scaling up production are key factors to achieve price parity – and it is at the forefront on many of the companies’ agenda either today or in the near future,” explains Lim. “We need combined synergies and efforts through investors, contract manufacturers, established stakeholders, startups, and government bodies to facilitate a thriving ecosystem for cultivated meat and seafood in South Korea.”
Report recommendations
Courtesy: TissenBioFarm
Last year, South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety included official guidance for alt-protein in its national plan last year, which included a focus on the safety, manufacturing processes and regulatory approval of cultivated meat. It has also amended the Food Sanitation Act to recognize cultivated food as an ingredient within the legal framework, pledged its support towards bringing these products to market, and prioritised the establishment of regulatory frameworks for these foods.
Such legislative support is key, as one of APAC-SCA’s report recommendations points out. Clear guidance and a robust regulatory framework will provide much-needed clarity on the safety of these products to consumers, while coordination of regulatory efforts would help make better-informed decisions and support evidence-based policies for the growth and acceptance of cultured meat and seafood. Additionally, tasting guidelines on regulator-approved cultivated meat can help manufacturers test the safety of their products.
APAC-SCA points out the importance of industry collaboration too, as knowledge-sharing can help support the development of a consistent approach towards cultivated meat production. It adds that setting an industry standard can help reduce risks, establish consistency, and provide a reliable framework of reference for these products across the supply chain.
“Well-conceived industry standards are important to ensure a level playing field for players along the cultivated meat and seafood supply chain, and can serve as a frame of reference for regulatory bodies,” notes Lim, adding that APAC-SCA is developing the first industry standard for labelling, safety and manufacturing of cultured meat in Singapore. “This will provide a framework of best practices for new and existing players, thereby supporting the growth and acceptance of cultivated foods as a sustainable and safe food source.”
Finally, unified messaging for consumer awareness and education is paramount to gain their confidence, as are simple and clear product labels to identify cultured meat in South Korea. “At the moment, there is no label to differentiate cultivated food products from its conventional animal counterparts. As more cultivated meat and seafood companies look to commercialise their products, a simple and clear label can help consumers make informed purchasing decisions, and boost their confidence in consuming these products.”
“With the rapid advancements in cultivated food technology over the past decade, many companies have – or will soon possess – the capacity to go to market,” added Peter Yu, APAC-SCA programme director. “Hence, the ability to demonstrate it can be done safely and efficiently is now a primary consideration for the industry.
“Considering [that] close to eight in 10 consumers indicate that they consume meat or seafood three or more times a week, there is a great opportunity and incentive for the close collaboration between the government and industry to overcome key regulatory challenges, which will in turn drive growth and commercialisation efforts.”
London-based WNWN Food Labs is releasing three vegan cocoa-free chocolate products inspired by British favourites from Cadbury, Tony’s Chocolonely and Terry’s – in strikingly similar packaging that’s as cheeky as it’s risky.
A year after launching a limited-edition cocoa-free version of the famous Daim chocolate bar, WNWN is unveiling three more products for the UK market that take on established classics. The brand’s new cocoa- and palm-oil-free chocolates riff on the popular Cadbury Wholenut, Terry’s Orange and Tony’s Chocolonely.
The new alt-chocolates use WNWN’s base of carob and barley and are made with a traditional fermentation process. Moreover, the company employs sustainable vegetable fats (including shea butter, which balances chemical requirements with eco-ethical credentials) and oat milk, which means the chocolates are vegan, though not gluten-free.
Asked why the company chose to mimic these specific chocolate brands, WNWN co-founder Johnny Drain told Green Queen: “Our choices were based on a list of the bestselling and most-loved British chocolate bars, and we also did an Instagram poll to understand which bars people would like to see given the ‘win-win’ treatment. Those three emerged as our win-winners.”
Chocolate lawsuit incoming?
Spot the difference | Courtesy: WNWN Food Labs/Cadbury/Tony’s Chocolonely/Terry’s
The Tony’s Chocolonely alternative acts as plain milk chocolate, while the Terry’s substitute contains the same base, with added orange and grapefruit oils. The Cadbury Wholenut lookalike has the same ingredient base but slightly lower sugar content, with extra hazelnut paste.
While WNWN did a similar thing with Daim last year, it has gone a step further in its mimicking process. All the chocolates have packaging that’s eerily similar to their original counterparts. The Cocoa-Free Choc Nut has a purple background with similar font colours as Cadbury’s, the Vegan M•lk Choc is bright red with identical fonts and placements as Tony’s, and the Cocoa-Free Orange takes inspiration from Terry’s blue hues and orange peel-like fonts.
It feels primed for lawsuits – something even the brand acknowledges. “I think the food and beverage world has seen it all in its time, so it’s safer to not rule anything out,” said Drain. “We chose this approach to draw attention to the fact that while we know the British public loves these bar flavours, they are largely not aware of what underpins much of the chocolate industry.
“And yet those issues are hiding in plain sight: they are in the news (sometimes), easily searchable online, and even big chocolate companies now speak more openly about them. It’s same-same, but different: we’re offering an alternative route to forms of deliciousness that people are very familiar with.”
Big Chocolate problems
WNWN’s Waim! bar – a take on the Daim bar | Courtesy: WNWN
While Cadbury and Terry’s are British favourites, both use palm oil in their chocolates, which is a major driver of deforestation and linked to human rights violations, with Indigenous communities losing their lands and workers exploited with poor conditions and pay.
Tony’s Chocolonely, meanwhile, doesn’t use palm oil and is known as an ethical brand. It has topped the Sustainable Brand Index for five out of the last six years, but it’s still a chocolate maker, which comes with its own issues. The cocoa industry is linked to deforestation and human rights abuses, and chocolate is a huge greenhouse gas emitter.
In fact, the only food worse than dark chocolate when it comes to supply chain emissions is beef. In addition, cocoa beans have one of the highest carbon opportunity costs, which is the amount of carbon lost from native vegetation and soils to produce food – if a specific food was not produced on a given plot of land, this land could be used to restore native vegetation and sequester carbon.
The EU actually banned cocoa and chocolate linked to deforestation in June, with companies needing to prove that their products haven’t contributed to deforestation since 2021. In the US, the Biden administration was sued in August to block imports of cocoa harvested by children in West Africa, which has been linked to the chocolate used by brands like Hershey’s, Mars and Nestlé.
Additionally, scientists have warned that cocoa trees are threatened – and a third of them could die out by 2050 – which could lead to a global chocolate shortage. It’s for these reasons that WNWN is banking on convincing consumers to try its eco-friendly alternatives: the brand claims its dark chocolate emits 90% fewer greenhouse gasses than conventional chocolate, after conducting an internal life-cycle analysis.
Spenny chocolate
WNWN Founders Johnny Drain & Ahrum Pak | Courtesy: WNWN Food Labs
Drain hinted at this launch in an interview with Green Queen in August when he confirmed the brand had a few ongoing B2B pilots too. This is WNWN’s third launch, after limited-edition runs of dark chocolate thins and the Waim! bars. The company also trialled an alt-chocolate ice cream bar at the Häagen-Dazs Start-Up Innovation Challenge and featured at Fortum & Mason’s Harvest Week last month.
“We’ve reimagined classic chocolate bars by giving them an ethical, sustainable, and cocoa-free twist,” said WNWN co-founder and CEO Ahrum Pak. “While they have a far smaller environmental impact, and they don’t rely on unfair labour practices like the originals they were inspired by, they are every bit as delicious. With these products, we’re showing the world how our cocoa-free chocolate can power the future of sustainable snacking.”
The new chocolates by WNWN, which raised $5.6M in a Series A round earlier this year, are available for pre-order now. But with each 48g bar setting you back £5, it is a steep price. However, as the brand points out, the cost of chocolate is skyrocketing. In London, chocolate is 66% more expensive than it was a year ago, while New York has a 46% higher markup.
After decades of cheap labour and environmental damage, there is a price to pay, in more ways than one.
As studies highlight the positive social impact of Food is Medicine programs on American lives and healthcare, here are seven produce prescription startups helping feed more nutritious and affordable meals to Americans.
This article is the fourth installment of our Food is Medicine (FIM) content mini-series.
Almost a quarter of Americans were food insecure as of December 2022 – a figure that increased from the year before. Meanwhile, according to the USDA, nearly 19 million residents – or 6.1% of the total US population – live in low-income, low-access areas and have trouble getting to a grocery store.
The same body also says food insecurity is associated with numerous health conditions, including hypertension, hepatitis, stroke, cancer, asthma, diabetes, arthritis, kidney issues and heart disease – the leading cause of death in the US.
Affordable and inclusive access to nutritious and fulfilling foods is paramount to Americans’ health and finances. Food is Medicine programs – which include produce prescriptions and medically tailored meals – are being suggested as a solution. One study has found that these initiatives can help reduce diseases, improve quality of life, and cut billions in healthcare costs in the US.
As this industry grows, it’s becoming host to a number of companies providing Food is Medicine services. Here are seven produce prescription startups helping improve food security in the US.
FarmboxRx
Courtesy: FarmboxRx
Founded in 2014 by Ashley Tyrner, who herself used to live on food stamps in a rural food desert, Boston-based FarmboxRx began as a direct-to-consumer (D2C) service called Farmbox Direct that shipped food boxes across the US. It grew to $1M in revenue, before pivoting to a healthcare focus in 2019 and rebranding to its current name.
The company partnered with Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and private health insurance plans to offer a nutrition program that makes it easier for members of wellness-focused medical plans to eat more healthily. Healthcare providers pay FarmboxRx for the food that’s shipped to customers, which includes fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, essential pantry goods, and even ready-to-eat meals.
The startup’s healthcare move saw it make nearly $35M in revenue last year and rank 100 on the 2023 Inc. 5000 list. To double down on this focus, it closed its D2C business last year – what started with a single health plan offering has now grown to 87 different plans.
“While looming potential shutdowns wouldn’t have [an] immediate impact [on] Medicare/Medicaid coverage, or FarmboxRx, as mandatory spend programs, the stagnant negotiations on discretionary appropriations could very well impact the 40+ million Americans that rely on federally funded food assistance programs such as SNAP and WIC,” Tyrner told Forbes earlier this month.
Everyone’s Harvest
Courtesy: Everyone’s Harvest
Founded in 2002, Everyone’s Harvest is a Californian operator of farmers’ markets, which launched its produce prescription program Fresh Rx in 2014. Doctors prescribe patients vouchers of up to $35 per week to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables at any of Everyone’s Harvest’s five markets.
So far, the initiative has provided over 1,000 families with more than $630,000 worth of produce – in 2022 alone, it catered to 268 families with fruits and vegetables worth $135,000. It recently received two grants worth $700,000 in total. The first – a $200,000 grant over two years – is from the Central California Alliance for Health, which focuses on expanding the program’s reach to Medi-Cal recipients and educating people with nutritional knowledge and recipes.
The $500,000 federal grant was awarded by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, as part of its Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP). Spread over three years, Everyone’s Harvest hopes to use the grant to improve dietary health through increased fruit and vegetable consumption – research has found that prescriptions can lead to a 30% higher intake of produce in Americans. It also aims to reduce food insecurity, healthcare use, and associated costs.
The two grants are budgeted for a total of 244 patients, according to the company’s executive director, Hester Parker. She told Monterey County Weekly: “My dream is that, eventually, these types of preventative produce prescriptions will become an allowable insurance expense. As we’re able to show that it’s cost-effective as far as the utilisation of health care, maybe it becomes an allowable expense paid for through insurance.”
Hungry Harvest
Courtesy: Hungry Harvest
If you’re thinking Hungry Harvest sounds familiar, that might be because you’re a Shark Tank fan. Its founder Evan Lutz bagged a $100,000 investment from Robert Herjavec in the 2016 edition of the show, before returning in 2020 to share a progress update. That year, it raised $14M in a Series A round.
The company began as a redistributor of ‘unwanted’ produce otherwise destined for waste. It started off as a D2C service, before expanding to wholesale for the foodservice industry, then launching a line of branded products, and eventually introducing a Food is Medicine program called HarvestRX.
According to its website, Hungry Harvest has collaborated with over 100 community organisations, including school systems and colleges, hospitals, insurance providers, and food banks. Since 2014, it has saved over 22 million lbs of food from going to waste and donated or subsidised over 1.5 million lbs of produce to partner organisations and via its own food access programs.
In August, it opened a new funding round with a $5M goal, raising $1.15M as part of the round earlier this month. Business-to-business sales have become the dominant revenue driver as the HarvestRX plan has expanded.
“Hungry Harvest has been with me, and I’ve been with Hungry Harvest, every step of the way over the past 10 years, both personally and professionally,” Lutz told Technical.ly. “[Moving] from packing boxes in a parking lot to working with some of the largest healthcare providers in the entire country, it’s just a surreal feeling.”
About Fresh
Courtesy: About Fresh
Launched in 2013, Boston-based About Fresh offers tech-enabled food prescription, using a debit card service called Fresh Connect. Food-insecure patients get prepaid Fresh Connect Mastercards – funded by healthcare organisations and monthly limits set via an enrolment form – which they can use to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables at local grocery stores, farmers’ markets and mobile markets.
The prepaid debit card automatically recognises the eligible healthy foods from the basket, the costs of which are deducted from the final bill. The initiative can track shopping activity and expenses, generating monthly summaries of how patients use these cards. Meanwhile, healthcare teams tie cardholders’ shopping and engagement data back to electronic health records, which helps assess health outcomes, medical costs, patient experience and healthy food access.
About Fresh struck a deal with fintech provider FIS earlier this year, which expanded its access to 10,000 grocery stores, including retail giants Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons and Safeway. The company operates Fresh Truck, described as a farmers’ market in a bus.
“We are building a first-of-its-kind infrastructure, making it possible for health plans, providers, community-based organisations and others to leverage the scale and efficiency of grocery retail and e-commerce to maximise the value of their investment into ‘food as medicine,’” said About Fresh co-founder and CEO Josh Trautwein.
Season Health
Courtesy: Season Health
Based in Austin, Texas, Season Health was founded by Josh Hix, former founder of meal kit service Plated. It’s marketed as a digital food pharmacy that combines meal prescriptions with delivery logistics.
It emerged from stealth mode in February 2022 and received a $34M Series A injection two months later. It works with dietitians to develop meal plans and recipes that aim to help patients manage and possibly reverse chronic conditions like diabetes and kidney disease, with plans to expand to other areas like maternity health, heart health and cancer.
It has established anchor partnerships with the likes of health organisations like Geisinger, CommonSpirit Health and Cricket Health, and is working with – among others – Walmart, Daily Harvest and Instacart (which itself announced a Food is Medicine impact study earlier this month).
“Designing food that tastes good, that is culturally relevant because people eat differently and that helps serve the needs of their entire household or whoever they’re eating with, is a lot of what made Plated successful in health outcomes,” Hix told Fast Company. “Can we get people to stick to those interventions? We think yes, but that’s on us to go prove.”
VitaBowl
Courtesy: VitaBowl
Launched in 2020, VitaBowl is a Food is Medicine-focused meal delivery service co-founded by nutritionist Sarah Brandow, Michelin-starred chef Dominique Crenn, Charles Michael Yim and Miko Lorenzo.
The startup offers plant-forward meals that cater to various dietary needs, including low-carb, pescetarian and other options. It recently launched veggie burgers and juices too. VitaBowl has served a host of B2B customers across government, K-12 schools, hospitals and corporations, generating annual sales of $1M.
“Our goal is to essentially collaborate with the health insurance companies, so that these meals and programs are medically tailored and reimbursable, which is, quite frankly, very different than some other meal prep services,” Yim told Forbes.
To that end, VitaBowl raised $3M in a seed funding round in May, taking its total valuation to $10M. It’s on track to be profitable by the end of the year and will focus on B2B clients as that delivers high margins and requires little marketing spending.
“I believe you should feed yourself with high vibrational food that’s nutrient dense and personalised for your body,” said Crenn. “Food is medicine. Food connects you with what matters. VitaBowl embraces that ethos.”
Free From Market
Courtesy: Free From Market
Headquartered in Kansas City, Free From Market is a patient-driven platform that supports lower-income consumers with chronic health conditions in accessing diet-specific foods.
A recipient of the 2022 Google for Startups Black Founders Fund, the company raised $2.1M in seed funding round in January. It will use these funds to improve its proprietary technology platform and expand its delivery model to provide people with access to affordable and nutritious foods, telenutrition, and necessary data to improve health outcomes.
In addition, the investment will help Free From Foods broaden its reach with managed care plans, providers and community-based organisations, and measure the effects of Food is Medicine interventions in treating health conditions. The startup offers bulk ordering for businesses and direct-to-doorstep access for people who can buy produce, meals, shelf-stable and branded groceries, as well as complementary telenutrition support.
“One in three Americans has a condition where food is part of the standard of care, yet many Americans do not have access to food and resources needed to treat it,” said Free From Foods founder and CEO Emily Brown. “Our curated food is free from ingredients an individual does not want and full of all the nutrients they need to manage a healthy life. This funding round is merely one milestone towards our goal to make a lasting impact to improve healthcare in this country and centre health equity.”
Agrifood tech startups in Asia-Pacific saw an investment of $6.5B in 2022, a 58% fall from the year before – but agtech funding for farmers and primary novel food production increased by 24% year-on-year, according to a new report by AgFunder.
A new report by AgFunder – in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, venture capital fund Omnivore, and AgriFutures Australia – has revealed that downstream food tech funding in APAC has been hit by the global VC fallout from 2022. However, the financing of startups supporting farmers and primary production (upstream) has increased.
‘Upstream’ generally refers to agricultural biotech, farm management and robotics systems, as well as novel farming tech, while ‘downstream’ covers technologies removed from farms and primary production – i.e., food delivery, restaurant, meal kit startups, etc. The latter usually attracts much higher amounts of cash injections in the region, though that is no longer the case.
Meanwhile, companies working with midstream technologies – which connect farmers and food producers to retailers, agro-processors and other clients – raised $620M million in 2022, with India’s Waycool and China’s Mojia Biotech receiving big checks.
As for this year’s trends, the report found that total agrifood tech financing in the first half of 2023 ($2.6B) was down by nearly 50% from the same period last year, but the number of deals remains similar.
Overall funding decline
AgFunder’s analysis showed that agrifood tech startups received $6.5B in funding in 2022 – a 58% decline from the $15.2B they raised in 2021, which was a record-breaking year. A report published by AgFunder and Temasek earlier this year highlighted that the global agrifood tech sector saw record-breaking raises of $51.7B that year thanks to “cheap money” and “increasingly outlandish tech valuations”.
In terms of upstream startups, year-on-year funding grew by 24% from 2021-22, marking the first time in years that upstream funding ($3.2B) overtook downstream investment ($2.7B). This is a win for the over 450 million smallholder farmers who are responsible for 80% of APAC’s food production.
Courtesy: AgFunder
Within the downstream sector, e-groceries continue to be the largest category, attracting $1.6B in funding. Indian startup Blinkit – an app-based instant grocery delivery service – received an injection of $150M, before being acquired by restaurant aggregator and food delivery giant Zomato.
The decline in downstream deals mirrors global trends analysis by Pitchbook last month, which found that in Q2 this year, food tech VC funding dropped by 75.1% year-on-year, while the number of deals (1,207) was down by 39.3% annually. But while quarterly funding also dropped by 13.9%, the deal count grew to 268 in Q2.
Pitchbook suggested that this could indicate a “return of investment activity after a pause due to caution surrounding the closure of Silicon Valley Bank at the end of Q1”. However, the declining deal sizes “may reflect a new, more careful paradigm”.
According to the AgFunder-Temasek report, the global decline between 2021 and 2022 could be short-lived as many of the world’s macro challenges – including inflation, food insecurity and labour shortages – are driving interest in agri-food tech investments. “With more discipline from founders (and investors too!), the industry can capitalise on the growing interest in using technology to transform our food and agriculture system to be better for people and our planet,” read the report. “[2023] could be a vintage year to invest in agrifoodtech.”
Upstream on the up
Courtesy: AgFunder
Within APAC, upstream agtech companies attracted 1.6% more investment in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period the year before as well, reaching $1.7B.
In 2022, agricultural biotech startups received the largest share of upstream financing, commanding $813M of the total – that’s nearly half of the overall investment in this category globally. “While a couple of very large deals contributed to these totals, there was also greater deal activity in this segment, which includes on-farm inputs for crop and animal agriculture, confirming investors’ growing interest in this space,” AgFunder says. China’s Zhongxin Breeding – which provides breeding services for pigs – secured the year’s largest deal with its $327M seed round.
Meanwhile, Innovative Food – the segment that includes alternative protein – “bucked the global decline in funding to the segment”, with year-on-year investment increasing to $527M, albeit with a smaller deal count. This aligns with industry think tank the Good Food Institute APAC’s recent report that revealed that sector funding in the region grew by 43% from $293M to $562M – though the two largest funding rounds took place in Q1 2021.
Startups working with farm management software, sensing and IoT ($334m), farm robotics ($252m) and novel farming systems ($254m) – which include indoor farming, aquaculture and insect farming – brought in more investment across fewer deals as well.
Country-wide figures
Courtesy: AgFunder
Across APAC, India ($2.3B) surpassed China ($1.3B) as the country with the highest cash injection in this sector last year, largely due to the loss of downstream mega-deals that propelled China’s agrifood tech industry in 2021. These nations were followed by Indonesia ($716M) and South Korea ($461M).
But this looks to be short-lived, with China overtaking India to grab the top spot with $861M in investment in the first half of 2023. Indian startups have received $712M, followed by Hong Kong ($400M) and Australia ($146M).
Overall, Southeast Asian startups commanded $1.7B in funding in 2022, while Australian companies saw total investment reach $316M – a rate that was maintained in the first half of 2023 with $146M in financing. Meanwhile, agrifood tech startups in Japan brought in $212M in 2022.
Finally, while debt, early and growth-stage deals numbers have increased steadily since 2018, late-stage funding declined from 2021.
“Few readers will be surprised that funding for Asia-Pacific’s food and agriculture startups has fallen significantly over the past year and a half, much like the rest of the world,” said AgFunder Managing Editor & Head of Media & Research Louisa Burwood-Taylor. But she added: “Seeing the rise of categories like Ag Biotech, which haven’t typically been a strength across the region, as well as growing early-stage deal activity, is promising.”
South Korea becomes the second nation in the space of two weeks to announce a national plan dedicated to boosting local plant-based food production and promoting alt-protein consumption.
South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs unveiled its plan to foster the development of the country’s plant-based industry, with a comprehensive strategy set to be launched in December.
The national plan has a broad scope and covers various initiatives, including setting up a dedicated research centre for alt-protein and expanding the export potential of these products. It also lays out steps to use more locally produced ingredients in the production of plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy.
The Korea Institute of Rural Economics forecasts that South Korea’s vegan substitute market will reach ₩280B ($207.4M) by 2026, as these products become increasingly popular amongst Koreans in their 20s and 30s, according to Korea Bizwire.
South Korea’s expanding vegan industry
Courtesy: Unlimeat
The announcement comes a year after the country’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety included official guidance for alt-protein in its National Plan 2022, which included a focus on the safety, manufacturing processes and regulatory approval of cultivated meat.
The Good Food Institute, which called the nation a “global hotbed of alternative protein innovation” in its latest State of the Industry report, pinpointed the government’s selection of Intake, a startup making plant-based pork belly, for technology commercialisation support as a sign of administrative support for alt-protein South Korea.
And according to the Korean Vegetarian Union, in 2020, there were around half a million strict vegans in the country – a threefold increase from 10 years ago. Likewise, 1.5 million Koreans followed vegetarian or plant-forward diets, while about 20% of the population (around 10 million) were flexitarians.
Companies innovating in its plant-based sector include Unlimeat – which makes meat and seafood analogues and has partnered with US vegan egg giant Just Eat to develop plant-based kimbaps. There are also vegan cheese producers Armored Fresh and Yangyoo, meat analogue maker Lotteria, and CJ CheilJedang, the maker of Bibigo dumplings. And last week, food giant Nongshim (which is behind the Shin Ramyun noodle brand) committed ₩10B ($7.4M) in venture funds aimed at incubating future food tech startups.x
Plant-powered policies across the planet
Courtesy: OmniPork
South Korea’s new strategy makes it the second country to introduce a national action plan to boost plant-based food production, following a similar announcement by Denmark two weeks ago. The Danish government detailed its goal to transition to a plant-based food system as part of its overall climate agricultural plan to cut food emissions.
It will involve training chefs in both public and private kitchens on the preparation of vegan meals, as well as a higher focus on plant-based diets in schools and the education system. The plan further outlines initiatives to increase the exports of locally produced vegan food, and invest more in R&D for this sector.
Last month, the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee proposed implementing a strategy to increase the production of plant proteins in the EU, emphasising that these would increase the “circularity in the food and feed value chains” and benefit the climate, while it voted in favour of the Plant Protein Strategy last week.
However, the bloc has been the subject of multiple investigations – one revealed that some MEPs have deep ties with livestock lobby groups that are attempting to halt green legislation, while another found that intensive pressure from the meat lobby resulted in the EU abandoning its proposed ban on caged farming.
Other European countries that have earmarked plant-forward plans include Germany’s National Nutrition Strategy, the Netherlands’ six-year master plan to increase plant protein production and consumption, and Switzerland’s climate strategy to make its food system more sustainable.
Elsewhere, Canada recently changed its Food Guide to encourage greater consumption of plant-based over animal-derived foods, Taiwan is promoting plant-forward, low-carbon diets as part of its 2050 net-zero plan, and the UAE – which hosts COP28 next month – is promoting plant-based eating in the country as part of its Year of Sustainability.
The below conversation is the transcript of the first episode of the podcast miniseries Green Queen in Conversation: Cultivated Meat Pioneers featuring Josh Tetrick, founder and CEO of Eat Just and GOOD Meat, interviewed by show host Sonalie Figueiras. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
In the first episode of the Green Queen in Conversation podcast miniseries, Cultivated Meat Pioneers, I talk to Josh Tetrick, founder and CEO of Eat Just and GOOD Meat. I don’t know if you can have a conversation about cultivated meat without talking to Josh. This is someone who set himself a goal to be the first cultivated meat company in the world to gain commercial approval and who achieved it in a very short amount of time. I think that really changed the narrative and changed the game for the entire industry; it really brought cultivated meat to mainstream attention.
I’ve known Josh for a long time now. And he’s a force to be reckoned with, he’s extremely clear on his vision, and he’s unwavering in his execution. So, I’m really excited to share our conversation. We cover a lot of ground, including how it felt to make history, why he went for cultivated meat when he was already doing really well with plant-based eggs, and whether the industry has progressed enough. I’m sure you’re all going to love it. It’s hard not to be wowed by his dedication to the mission of creating a food system that is sustainable, nutritious, ethical, and slaughter-free.
Sonalie Figueiras: Hey, Josh, how are you? Thanks for joining me today.
Josh Tetrick: Hey, good to be with you.
Sonalie Figueiras: It’s been a really long time since we first met. I was thinking about it, I think it’s at least five or six years now.
Josh Tetrick: We met before the world commercialized cultivated meat before cultivated meat was ever sold.
Sonalie Figueiras: Absolutely, we met back in Hong Kong, and we were really meeting about Eat Just and all your work and plant-based eggs. So, I wanted to dive in on that front. Why did you decide to go into cultivated meat when you had Eat Just already, and you already had great traction? It’s a great product, I have it in my freezer at all times, and it seems like a big enough problem to solve. Why go for the cultivated meat challenge?
Josh Tetrick: “Why eggs?” – that’s a big enough problem to solve – about 2 trillion eggs were laid last year, and most of them were laid in a way that is not very good for our health, nor for the planet’s health, nor for the bird who’s laying the eggs’ health; but we thought we could do something else too. So, we wanted to have a “what’s next” after the egg and decided that making real meat without slaughter was a good “what’s next”, and we’d learned a lot about how to think about commercializing a food technology product. We’ve learned a lot about how consumers think about eating these different approaches to making everyday foods, and we thought those lessons about scaling up and consumer insights could put us in a place where we could make cultivated meat happen.
Sonalie Figueiras: Sure. Now, I want to dig a little deeper – when was the first time you came across cultivated meat technology?When did that moment happen where you went, “I think we can pursue this?”
Josh Tetrick: Well, probably the first time I came across it was 20 years ago. I think I was reading a paper about how NASA was exploring the technology for long-term space travel, and it was about six years ago that we decided to pursue it as the next product in the company; but it really just came from this understanding that people seem to like meat, they liked the taste of it, they liked the texture of it, they liked the smell of it, they liked the feeling of it. Is there a way to make that [meat] the same texture, the same taste, the same composition, but in a way that’s a lot better? Then we spent about eight months to a year talking to folks around the world about whether the technology was viable, about what needed to be done if we decided to pursue it, and then we decided to go after it and make it the thing that we focus on.
Courtesy: Eat Just
Sonalie Figueiras: How different is it to scale a plant-based egg versus pioneering a piece of cultivated chicken meat?
Josh Tetrick: The things that are similar are that you need food scientists, food engineers, product developers, and regulatory professionals, and people who are really smart with consumer insights, branding, awareness, and communications. That’s similar. The idea of making it is completely different. With a plant-based egg, you’re starting with a mung bean, then you’re separating protein from the mung bean, and you’re making the egg. With this, you’re starting with a cell. You’re identifying feed for the cell, think amino acids, vitamins and minerals, and salts and sugars, and then you’re scaling it up in a stainless-steel vessel. So, the kinds of talent that you need are pretty similar, but the whole process of making it is pretty different.
Sonalie Figueiras: So, the way you’ve explained it right there sounds really intuitive and makes sense, but when you first approached your board of investors, did they get it? Were they like, “Okay, yes, you were doing plant-based eggs, and now you’re going to do cultivated chicken, and these are different ways to solve essentially, the same broken food system problems?”
Josh Tetrick: I think some people did, some people didn’t. I think you can look at one hand and say, “If you want to do chicken or beef, why not just do plant-based chicken or beef? Why do cultivated meat? Our response is that we’re not a plant-based company. We’re a company that’s attempting to develop technology to displace conventional animal agriculture, and if that means that we’re going to separate protein from a mung bean, we’ll do it. If that means we’re going to cultivate meat, we’ll do it. If that means we’re about precision fermentation, we’ll do it. So, we’re not locked on a specific technology path, we’re more so locked on a specific effective path, and sometimes, I think plant-based can be a better approach, and sometimes I think cultivating can be a better approach. So that’s what we tell people.
Sonalie Figueiras: So again, that makes total sense intuitively; but what about consumers? Marketing is usually about distilling one idea, one product, one concept. Do you feel like there’s confusion, and especially as you get up to the point where you may eventually have your chicken in a store, or in more countries? Is it confusing to a consumer?
Josh Tetrick: Well, today, we don’t need to worry about it, because we just sell our cultivated meat, under our brand GOOD Meat in Singapore in a single butcher shop today. So, the only people that are buying it are people who live in Singapore, who are going to Huber’s Butchery. We’re still the only company in the world that has ever received regulatory approval to actually go on and sell it. Now, when we expand much wider – let’s say when GOOD Meat is in 40,000 points of distribution, when it is in thousands of Walmarts, Whole Foods, Shoprites, Publix’s, and restaurants all across the country, then I think you have a higher probability of confusion, but that’s why we decided to develop the GOOD Meat brand, and not call it “Just Meat”. So, it’s called GOOD Meat – it’s about cultivating meat, just like Just Egg is specific to what we’re doing on the eggs side. So, that’s just one way of differentiating the plant-based side from the meat-based side. However, it’ll be a good bit of time, I mean, you’re talking years out, until we actually have the manufacturing be able to get it across that many points of distribution. So, we’ve got some time to sort out how people think about it and whether they’re confused or not.
Cultivated meat comes to its first butcher shop in Singapore | Courtesy Eat Just
Sonalie Figueiras: It sounds like you have given this a lot of thought when you’re describing all the points of distribution. Do you have specific goalposts that you want to hit?
Josh Tetrick: It starts with what we want in the long-term, and what we want in the long-term is for cultivated meat to be the majority of meat that is produced on the planet. That’s the long-term [plan], and that’s not going to happen in 10 years. That’s a much longer lifetime, potentially a project over many lifetimes. Closer in, we want to continue selling products in Singapore at Huber’s Butchery, and we want to expand to more restaurants. As the year continues, and we already received FDA approval in the US, now it’s about USDA approval. Once we get that we want to launch with Jose Andres at one of his restaurants in DC [Editor’s Note: this already happened in July 2023, a few weeks after this episode was recorded]. And then as we build more infrastructure, meaning larger and larger vessels before the end of the decade, we want to make tens of millions of pounds of cultivated me at a cost that’s below conventional meat.
Sonalie Figueiras: So, tell me, for people who are not in the food industry. What percentage is tens of millions of pounds of cultivated meat compared to how much chicken is being consumed in the United States, for example?
Josh Tetrick: Much, much less than 1%? I would look at the trajectory of cultivated meat as being somewhat similar to electric cars. So, you can look at electric car production today, and depending on how you look at it, you can draw different conclusions. So, on the one hand, only 1% of the cars on the street right now are electric. That’s it, only 1%. With all the funding around electric cars, all the consumers and all your friends who might be driving around, globally, today, only 1% are electric cars.
However, double-click on that, and then you say – well, what about in certain areas like Norway and Sweden? So, over 60% of the cars on the road over there are electric. Then what about new cars that are manufactured? I think that’s roughly about 20% of new cars that are manufactured electric. Then, you look at announcements of big companies like Ford, GM, etc., and they say they’re moving entirely away from conventional gasoline-produced cars by 2032-2035. So, the seeds of change are being planted, and I think you’ll see the same thing with cultivated meat. So, even though by the end of the decade, we’re talking tens of millions of pounds, and even though that is a lot less than 1%, that’s how stuff starts, right? That’s how you build a foundation to ultimately cultivated meat being the only kind of meat that’s produced.
Sonalie Figueiras: Does it ever feel too daunting? When you think in terms of multiple lifetimes, for example? Do you ever think it’s just so hard, and will we ever get there?
Josh Tetrick: Well, it is very daunting. It is very hard. It is very challenging. It is very uncertain, and it is very long-term. If you don’t accept those things, you should not be in the cultivated meat business, that is for sure. Those things are very true.
However, what I think is also true is that the alternative is less palatable: The alternative where meat production continues to grow, and more and more people are eating meat. Now, I’m plant-based myself, except for the fact that I eat cultivated meat (I had a piece of cultivated chicken this afternoon), but we live in a world where I think the majority of people are eating meat. As much as I wish that they would choose beans instead of meat, which is so much healthier, and I wish that everyone would right now, and we wouldn’t even be needed, that’s a hard world to imagine.
However, yes, this is a very long-term, very uncertain project. Sometimes, when folks are asking a hard question where they’re criticizing it, they might say this is very challenging, very long-term, and very uncertain. So, what do you say to them? I say, “That’s right, I agree,” and they say “Therefore, what? We and others shouldn’t do it?” Then our response is, “Let’s give it a try. Let’s see what we’ve got. Let’s see what we can do.”
Sonalie Figueiras: Absolutely! You’re human, and it just sometimes might feel like this is really hard, but it sounds like you accept it as a part of the rules of the game, which I think is probably the way to see it.
Josh Tetrick: I wish you could build the infrastructure faster. I wish that instead of tens of millions of pounds before the end of the decade, it was billions of pounds before the end of the decade. I wish instead of costing billions to build the infrastructure, it was millions to build the infrastructure. I do wish all those things, but you know, that’s not the reality of it. So, we’ve got to deal with it and realize that just because something takes many decades, all those things have to start somewhere. And the sooner we get started, the sooner they’ll get done.
Chef José Andrés cooks GOOD Meat’s chicken | Courtesy: GOOD Meat
Sonalie Figueiras: What can make it go faster? Is it is it more money? Is it the government putting money behind this? If you had more billions, could you build the infrastructure faster?
Josh Tetrick: Yeah, a lot of things can make go faster. So, certainly, more capital invested in the industry, so if you had instead of hundreds of millions, you had hundreds of billions, you would go faster. You could build infrastructure faster, you could design and engineer the vessels. You could hire more people, you could accelerate research and development, for sure more capital would make it go faster, and that additional capital could come from private investors or certainly come from the government. So, I think governments getting behind it could also make it go faster: The US government, China, governments in the Middle East, those governments deciding that cultivated meat is more than just about mitigating climate change, it’s about food security, that could help it go faster. So yeah, certainly it doesn’t have to be, you know, many lifetimes.
Sonalie Figueiras: Okay, so more money and more attention and more governmental support would accelerate this, 100%.
Josh Tetrick: No question.
Sonalie Figueiras: This is not just a technology-specific problem to solve, it’s more of a resources problem as well.
Josh Tetrick: Yeah, I think the technology is here for simpler products. So, for our chicken that people eat at Huber’s Butchery: it’s good-tasting chicken, and people like it. Could it be better? Sure. Could it be on a bone? Sure. Could we have, you know, delicious Kobe steak instead of the chicken? Might that be better? Sure, but the chicken is good. So, we know how to manufacture meat and convert it into a finished product that people will like. So, for the simpler products, it’s here now, but for more complicated stuff – bluefin tuna, and more complicated textures, the technology is not here yet, but you know, roughly half the meat that is sold is simple stuff: ground beef, sausages, chicken nuggets, and chicken strips, you know, we can do all that now.
Sonalie Figueiras: You’ve mentioned Huber’s Butchery a few times and we’re talking about, you know, many lifetimes of progress to go, but you did do this one incredible thing: you made history in December 2020, just a couple of years after you announced that you were working on GOOD Meat, you got the world’s first cultivated meat regulatory approval! People in Singapore could go and buy chicken at that point, it was in restaurants, and even at hawker stalls. Now, it’s at the butchery. How did that happen? When did you decide that you were going to go for that, and did you consciously decide you wanted to be the first to get that regulatory approval and get that commercialization?
Josh Tetrick: Yeah, definitely, we definitely consciously wanted to be the first, and we thought about places that would be the most likely to approve it, and Singapore was at the top of the list, just knowing that Singapore is a very forward-thinking country who cares a lot about food security; they have an initiative called “30-by-30”, where they aim to get 30% of their food produced in the country by the end of the decade. So, knowing all these things, we felt that Singapore was a good first place to apply to. So, we applied sometime in 2018, and then we waited and answered questions from their regulatory body about, “where the cell came from?”; What do you feed the cell? How do you manufacture it? How do you ensure the safety? What is the microbiological profile? How is it different than conventional chicken? “How do you know it’s safe?”, and 90 other questions like that, and then we got the approval in November 2020. We went on to actually serve it at a restaurant in a restaurant called 1880, and that was the first time that cultivated meat had ever been sold in the world. We definitely wanted to be the first. We thought it would send out a message to the food industry, and to consumers around the world that this idea of making meat without slaughter is not science fiction, but it is on plates right now, even at that very small scale.
Sonalie Figueiras: So, you went in there, chose Singapore, and thought, that’s the country?
Josh Tetrick: We did. Yeah, we didn’t think the US was the place.
Sonalie Figueiras: Right, that was my follow-up. I mean, you’re American, you know, you’re from the US. So why not the US as the first country?
Josh Tetrick: It just didn’t seem like the USDA or the FDA at the time were really looking at this. In that way, it felt like Singapore was in a place where they were more than ready to address it. We ended up also applying to the FDA, but it just felt like Singapore was ahead of the curve, and we wanted to get to the market sooner.
Sonalie Figueiras: What do you think makes the difference between governments that are ahead of the curve, and others that are not so much? For example, seeing what’s going on in Italy where they’re thinking about passing a ban, or with the EU, where they are a little bit more conservative, even though the first cultivated meatball was actually created in the Netherlands, in Europe. How do you look at governments’ attitudes, and why are some governments just pro-cultivated meat and want to support the industry, and others are thinking of passing bans?
Josh Tetrick: Yeah. Well, I still think that we’re very, very early in the industry. So, it definitely is to be determined how a lot of these governments decide to look at it. I think that typically, when you have governments that are pro-innovative, and there’s a food security issue, they’re going to want to be the first to jump, and Singapore was the first to jump at this, right? They’re very pro-innovative, developing new technologies in the country, and they’ve got a food security issue. So, that’s the combination that’s going to get you cultivated meat regulated sooner.
The US has now been ahead of the curve on it too, the FDA has approved two companies, including ours, and the USDA is actively engaged in this [Editor’s Note: GOOD Meat received USDA regulatory approval a few weeks after this conversation took place]. So, I think sometimes people look at the US and think it’s behind the curve, but at least our experience with regulators, they’ve been ahead of the curve on this. I think it’s a mindset of people who are in government about how they think about innovation, how they think about tradition versus developing new things, and how open they are to new technologies.
Sometimes, you know, being conservative about new things is a good thing. There are a lot of food products that are not sold in Europe today that I think are rightfully not sold in Europe today, and that’s a good thing. However, I think you have to have a balance of really understanding when to lean into innovation and when to be a bit more cautious, but I think when we look at the regulatory landscape, even if we were approved by every country in the world today, we’re going to be producing exactly the same amount of cultivated meat this year. It’s not as if twenty more approvals mean millions of more pounds, we got approval in America, or at least the FDA and waiting on the USDA, and Singapore, and we have got our hands full with just those two markets, but I definitely want more countries to open up to it, and I think they will.
Sonalie Figueiras: What do you think people are getting wrong about the science of cultivated meat? Let’s talk about consumer perception because the media has been a little messy around this, and as you say, it’s human to question you and to be cautious. However, there’s also been, I would say, an unhealthy degree of misinformation to some extent. If you were talking to a sceptic, what are people getting wrong?
Josh Tetrick: Yeah, really good question. I think there are a number of things that people are getting wrong. So, in no particular order: Sometimes people think cultivated meat is plant-based meat, and I’m a big fan of plant-based meat, but cultivated meat is different from plant-based meat, and plant-based meat is different from conventional meat. Those are three different approaches to making to making meat. So, that’s one [thing people get wrong]. Sometimes I’ll do a whole presentation in front of a group of people, and they’ll ask what plants are we using to make this. So, it’s important to understand that cultivated meat is from a cell, not a bean. If you have a chicken allergy and you have our chicken at Huber’s, you’re going to have an allergic outbreak, it’s still real meat.
The second thing that people get wrong about it is that they’ll say it is this moniker of lab-grown. Now, when we make meat today, both in Singapore and when will produce it for the US market, we do lab research, but we don’t make our products in the lab. Just like Danone does research for yogurt in the lab, they don’t make yogurt in a lab. So, I think in the really early days of cultivated meat, and we’re still in the early days, this whole idea of, you know, taking it out of a petri dish and serving it on a plate was right. That’s not how it is today. Now, these manufacturing facilities I’m talking about are very small, but nonetheless, they are manufacturing facilities – the ones in the US that will be regulated by the USDA, those are not a lab, right? So, that’s the second thing I think people get wrong.
The third thing is, one might say it’s too hard to scale as well, and when I hear that criticism my answer is it’s really hard to scale it up, but “really hard” is different than “impossible” to scale up. So, it requires a ton of investment, time, energy and technical knowledge to scale it up, but it is still very much within the realm of what is possible to do, it is just a big technical and epic capital challenge.
The fourth thing that people get wrong is they think fetal bovine serum or FBS is necessary to do it. It’s not. It was in the early days, and now we actually received approval in Singapore to commercialize our meat without it. We’ve removed it in our R&D facility over the last couple of years. It was a technical challenge, it’s not anymore. So, people should stop thinking that it’s this big barrier because it’s not.
Then maybe, finally, skeptics would say, well, consumers don’t want it. Unfortunately, the only consumer real-life consumer examples we have are in Singapore. I wish we had more, but that’s all we’ve got, and what we have found in Singapore is people say they would eat this instead of regular meat: When they buy it, they consume it, and they hang out with their friends as they’re eating it. They say, “You know what, I would choose this instead.”
So, those are some basic criticisms and how we would address them. Some of the things about cultivating meat, to an everyday person, would sound kind of strange. I think it’s not. We shouldn’t expect that someone hears about the process of making cultivated meat and immediately say, “Oh, that sounds amazing! I want to eat that!”
It’s not every day that you can make meat from a cell instead of slaughtering a live animal. So, I think you also have to be a bit patient with people and know that this is a brand-new thing, and you’ve got to explain it. You’ve got to be really open about it, and not everyone is going to like it right away because not everyone likes anything right away, but you’ve still got to go after it.
Courtesy: Eat Just
Sonalie Figueiras: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it’s so interesting, because you did launch in Singapore, and the early data shows that Asian consumers tend to be more open to cultivated meat. There was also this really interesting study that was done in Singapore earlier this year about how people who have higher well-being tend to be more open to consuming cultivated meats. Do you think about why there seems to be a bigger openness in Asia? Or do you just think we don’t have enough information yet to really understand?
Josh Tetrick: I think we probably don’t have enough information yet. I’ve become really skeptical of data that’s not real-world consumers eating something because you can ask questions in a lot of different ways to try to get at things. Generally, I feel like you’re going to get a much better sense of how a consumer thinks about it when it’s widely available, when they’ve eaten it and when they have really experienced it. That’s why the data from consumers in Singapore who have actually bought GOOD Meat and eaten it is our most valuable data. I trust that data more than I trust, you know, surveying a million people, whether it’s good for us or bad for us, doesn’t matter, I just trust it more, because it is more like a direct experience. However, I think generally the younger you are, the more open you are to it. I think the more educated you are, the more open you are to it. I think the more urban you are, the more open you are to it. I think those things are correlated with an openness to it.
I used to be frustrated because I would have liked everyone to want it, you know, now, but again, no product is like that. No product that’s launched, do you suddenly have everyone on the planet wanting it. You always have to build from a base. You know, Coca-Cola was launched in Atlanta at these high-end social clubs and farms, right?
Sonalie Figueiras: Given everything that we’re talking about how consumers are thinking about it, and, you know, human psychology and consumer behavior, how should the industry be thinking about consumer perception, and is the industry doing enough? I struggle with this because as you’ve said many times, it’s super early, there’s only one country, one company (yours) who’s even making cultivated meat that anyone can taste. Should there be work being done now to open people’s minds, or is it too early? How do you think about that? How do you think the industry at large should be thinking about that?
Josh Tetrick: I struggle with that a little bit. I think I lean towards yes. I just think you have to do it in a way that you don’t delude yourself, because just asking thousands of people to fill out a survey without food in front of them can be a recipe for deluding yourself about, you know: “Here’s a description of what cultivated meat is, and here’s how it smells, and here’s that. So, do you like it? So, it is hard, but I think some data is probably better than not having any.
There are lots of important questions that are asked like – what don’t you like about it? We ask that question a lot, and often what we hear is: “Well, what I don’t like about it is I don’t understand it. What I don’t understand is, what do you mean you make meat from a cell? What do you mean you feed the cell? What the hell is a bioreactor? What does that look like? What’s in the bioreactor? What do you mean you harvest the meat? All these terms, I deal with every day, right, but to an everyday person, they’ve never even thought about that before.
So, I think asking people what it is about it that gives them a concern, what gives them the pause, what do they think it should be called. I think there’s been a lot of valuable work that’s been done in this area, and what we and others have found is that using the word “cell”, using words like “cell-based”, or “cell-cultured”, or certainly “lab-grown”, is not effective with consumers. Using words like “cultivating meat”, or “cultured” is typically number two and ends up being a lot better, and I think that’s valuable data, and we use “cultivated” in Singapore very much because of that data.
I think all this data is also really important, because governments look at it, and investors look at it. When a government is deciding whether they should fund this, they’re going to be looking at some data. So, I think having that data out there, again, even if it’s incomplete, even if it’s imperfect, I still think it’s important, but when the product actually gets out there in the real world, to many more people, that’ll be the most important kind of data.
Sonalie Figueiras: What about marketing? Should you be doing marketing campaigns? Should the industry get together and do a massive campaign about cultivated meat, and you know, what it means and what it is?
Josh Tetrick: I don’t think so yet. I mean, we do marketing in Singapore. So, we do marketing around our Huber’s launch, we do marketing whether it’s bringing influencers around, billboards, and other all sorts of different activations we do, and we’ll do marketing when we launched in the US with Chef Jose Andres. We’ll make a big deal out of it, we’ll have lots of media attention, maybe a billboard or two around it.
I don’t think we need a national kind of marketing campaign quite yet. I think most consumers will look at that, and be like, “It’s just too early.” Now, maybe in three, six, or nine months, once it’s in the market in the US more people are talking about it, then maybe. Maybe, but honestly, I don’t have that good a feel on how early it should start. I think the part of me that thinks it should start earlier is you don’t want opinions to get sort of solidified in people’s heads, and that can happen, you know.
Courtesy: Eat Just
Sonalie Figueiras: That’s my concern as a journalist, and seeing what’s going on in the media and the headlines, I’m wondering: “Should we be covering this narrative, or having a narrative of our own”? But again, as you say, food is real, food is tangible. So, I hear you on that, and I think you’re right.
Josh Tetrick: Yeah, it’s a hard one. I think there’s a case to be made for both because opinions can get calcified, but on the other hand, if I saw a cultivated meat commercial and I was sitting in my home I would think: “This is not even going to be available to me for another two years, like what are we talking about?
Sonalie Figueiras: But I mean, to some extent, it would be interesting to see how early there were EV (electric vehicle) commercials.
Josh Tetrick: True.
Sonalie Figueiras: Although, while I appreciate the EV parallel, food is not cars, unfortunately. There is a difference for people. I hear you on the marketing, but there does seem to be this kind of politicization of food choices that is becoming more pervasive, especially in the US, and it’s spilling over to Europe, and food really is this kind of identity topic for people, you know, it’s your grandmother’s baked cake, or it’s your mom’s lasagna. How do we navigate that, because “new” always seems to be on the other side of the fence when it comes to the ultimate food, that is, you know, pure, and from the land, natural, and home-grown?
Josh Tetrick: Yeah, that’s a hard one, you’re right. Food is different than a car. Food is much more about identity, and stories that we have about ourselves and where we’re from.
One of my food stories is about how my mom used to make me chicken wings when I got off the bus in middle school, and even though I know the horrible conditions of animals, viscerally I understand it, but when I think about the chicken wings, I think about how it’s a feel-good experience, because my mom was caring for me as I got off the bus, right? That’s, I guess, bizarre in a way, because I know what’s behind it, but on the other hand, I can’t take my mom and her love from me in that moment out of my story. So, the identity piece is a really significant one, and I think the ways that you can deal with it are trying to figure out how to serve and talk about cultivated meat in a way that speaks to identity.
One example of how we did that in Singapore is we launched this local hawker stall with a street vendor named Mr. Loo, and Mr. Loo has been making chicken curry rice for 60 years. Mr. Loo is not high-end, he’s an everyday person, but he makes super tasty food, and we wanted to launch with Mr. Loo, because we wanted to make a point about cultivated meat and the identity around it, that it could work with tradition. It could work with something that your father and his father had, and I think looking for opportunities to tap into the tradition piece plus forward-thinking cuisine, like what we are doing with Chef Jose Andres when we launch with him is important. I think about putting it in all sorts of more traditional dishes and having people and influencers representing that side of it, that is going to be important.
Another way you can get politicians behind this is to build stuff in their district. Biotech is a really good example of this. So, biotech is booming in North Carolina. North Carolina is…
Sonalie Figueiras: It’s a triangle.
Josh Tetrick: Exactly! As a Southern state, mostly Republican citizens, mostly Republican senators, and congressmen and congresswomen, but man, they are so into biotech, and it’s not about left or right, it’s about biotechnology creating jobs for the state of North Carolina. So, I think if you can show that this is creating real jobs, and it’s having a real meaningful impact to the economy, I think that’s a way to mitigate some of the sharper edges around about making it political. However, you’re not going to stop someone like Marjorie Taylor Greene, from getting involved. She’s gonna do her thing.
Sonalie Figueiras: “She’s gonna do her thing.” [laughter].
Josh Tetrick: No matter what, but she’s got to deal with it.
Sonalie Figueiras: Yeah, but I like that. I like the idea of looking for ways to communicate the traditional identity with the new technology. So, when you did that in Singapore, with the hawker and Mr. Loo, was it overwhelmingly positive? Did your thesis work, in the sense that people feel like, “Oh yeah, this is the kind of the food I love, you know, chicken satays, and it’s just made in a different way. It’s better for the planet and for our health!”
Josh Tetrick: Yeah, it did. I mean, the most important person was Mr. Loo. The guy has been running it for 50-60 years, and he felt that way. He went from resisting it, right, this is a new, weird thing made in a stainless-steel vessel to, “Wait, this works really well in my chicken curry rice dish, this sounds good,” and we’re not better than Mr. Loo, right? We work with what he’s doing, and this is not about making food that is too high-end for Mr. Loo, right? It has to work in that context. It has to work on a grill in a backyard in Birmingham, Alabama before a football game. I think the more that we and other companies can make it work there, the more we will win.
Sonalie Figueiras: That must have felt good, right, when he came around and liked it? I mean, being an entrepreneur is hard. Over the years with the GOOD Meat journey, specifically, what have been some of the days or moments that just felt likea really big win and felt really incredible?
Josh Tetrick: Well, definitely the day we got regulatory approval…that was November 2020.
Sonalie Figueiras: Where were you? What were you doing? Tell me the story.
Josh Tetrick: Yeah. I was in Boulder, Colorado, and I was actually laying on the floor, because I thought we were going to get it that night, and I was just waiting for a phone call from a person named “Kat” on the regulatory team. Then she gave me a call, I woke up, and that was incredible. When we actually launched in late 2020, on December 24th, we put it on the plate, and people ate it, and I saw a receipt. I really wanted to see the receipt, you know, when someone puts their credit card down, you’ve got a receipt, that’s not a sample anymore, that is a sale, and that was what I wanted. So, that was a really big moment. Then probably more recently, when we got FDA approval, that was pretty significant. That’s just about a month and a half ago.
Sonalie Figueiras: Yeah, that was really recent. That’s just now!
Josh Tetrick: Yeah, yeah, and I think the next one will be when we actually launch in the US, with Chef Jose Andres, you know, he’s such a leader in the world of food.
Sonalie Figueiras: Let’s talk more about that. I mean, he’s a food saint. How do you know him, and how did that happen?
Josh Tetrick: I’ve met him through the years at different conferences and things, and when we knew that at some point, we were going to launch in the US, I reached out to him and just began talking to him about what it would look like for him to be the person that we launched with. He’s always open.
Sonalie Figueiras: Was he initially skeptical? What was his take on cultivated meat, given he represents this idea of home-grown, artisanal, organic food?
Josh Tetrick: He wanted to know more about it. So, he wanted me to walk through the process with him. He wanted to know what it means to go from a cell to chicken. He wanted to know about what a bioreactor is. He wanted to talk to a research and development team. So, he didn’t say yes right away, he wanted to learn more. Right away, he wanted to know what the skeptics were saying, right? How are people criticizing it, and what do I agree with in terms of people criticizing it? So, we went through all that with him, and he made the decision that we needed to figure out a different approach to making meat for billions of people. That doesn’t mean, now I’m sharing his point of view, that someone who’s making some high-end lamb in Patagonia is now suddenly displaced. However, as we’re thinking about a growing population, and how the heck you feed so many people, given that we don’t have a bigger planet, I think he realizes that you need a different approach, and he thinks that this is a part of it.
Sonalie Figueiras: That’s awesome. He’s pretty special. I’d feel really awesome about that. He’s definitely someone I think that can really get consumers in. He’s just someone who really understands food and food culture, but he also is someone who has a really big social role with regard to food inequality, food access, and the quality of food that different types of people eat based on their socio-economic background.
I want to dig a little deeper on this because I know that in quite a few of your interviews, you’ve spoken about this idea that capitalism can create positive social change. The world feels very unequal in many ways, particularly with food access, in that there is less hunger, and there is better nutrition across the board, but there’s also rising inequality, and it does feel like there is a sort of elite population around the world that is getting access to better and better food, while mass available food becomes worse and worse, in terms of health and the way it’s produced with industrial agriculture.
Do you still think that capitalism is ultimately the force for good? Where do you see this, given where we are today? Also, in terms of cultivated meat, this idea that for some people, there’s a worry that cultivated meat is just going to slot into this kind of elite food structure and be something for the elites, because of its costs and barriers to entry?
Josh Tetrick: Yeah, well, I don’t think capitalism is in itself a force for good. I think capitalism is a system that can be a force for horrible things, and a force for really good things, depending on what the intent behind the company, the product, and the service is. Factory farming is capitalism. And plant-based milk is capitalism. Coal-fired power plants are capitalism, and the farmers’ market is capitalism. It’s a system to make a good or a service, and it just depends on what the intention is.
I don’t think it’s the only way to make stuff happen. I think you can do it through nonprofits and do it through the government, and I think in probably most cases it is the most effective, but again, sometimes that effect is a negative one. The most effective way to do something, I do often think, is through capitalism.
I think if someone is motivated to make cultivated meat, and they want to make as much as they can, at the lowest cost they can, so, as many people can buy it, and they can make as much money as they can. I would say, it sounds good because ultimately, you’re going to have a big impact on this planet; I’m gonna be a supporter of yours.
I think cultivated meat, just like electric cars to an extent, will be for people who have a lot of money and who are highly educated initially, there’s just no getting around it because that’s often the deal with any product. That was the deal with cereal. That was the deal with Coca-Cola. That was the deal with computers. That was the deal with the iPhone. That was the deal with the cell phone, right? It often is that initially, but can it cross that bridge from: “Alright, it’s this elite thing and a social club”, to something that’s available to the everyday person in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Birmingham, Alabama, where I was raised, and that will be determined by our company’s ability to actually make a lot at a low cost. If we’re able to do it, it will be out there, but if we’re not able to do it, then, you know, we’ll have fallen short.
Sonalie Figueiras: You sure have tried.
Josh Tetrick: Yeah.
Sonalie Figueiras: Well, on the back of that, then what keeps you up at night? For work, I mean.
Josh Tetrick: You know, it’s just more like mundane things. Like, you know, it could be like a particular technical challenge that we’re having. It could be a hire that we’re trying to make. Or, a restructure of a team
Sonalie Figueiras: So tactical stuff?
Josh Tetrick: Yeah, tactical stuff. I mean, I don’t stay up at night thinking about the lifetime project of cultivated meat, I sort of accept that it is what it is. It’s more of the tactical stuff and the chores that keep me up.
Sonalie Figueiras: What does success look like to you? Do you see yourself being the CEO of Eat Just and GOOD Meat for a good long while? Other than what you want for the industry, which is like, “In a few lifetimes, the majority of meat is made using cellular agriculture.” However, for you personally, what is success? What are you aiming for?
Josh Tetrick: It’s to do everything I can, through the people that we hire, technology that I’m pushing, capital that I’m raising, interviews that I’m giving, to increase the probability that cultivated meat as the main source of meat in the food industry happens sooner. Professionally, using my life in that way gives me a lot of fulfillment. Even though it is really hard, even when there’s only trying, even though it can be really frustrating, even though it can make you nauseous sometimes, I feel that to be useful, to feel like you’re doing everything you can to try and increase the likelihood of something so good happening- that’s what I want, and I hope to be doing this leading the company for a long time. This is where I think I could be the most effective, but yes, I feel like every day, I’m being useful in that way. Just from a professional sense, that is success to me.
Sonalie Figueiras: I love it. I agree. Thank you so much, Josh for an incredible conversation. I really appreciate it. Thank you.
Green Queen In Conversation is a podcast about the food and climate story hosted by Sonalie Figueiras, the founder and editor-in-chief of Green Queen Media. The show’s first season, Pioneers of Cultivated Meat, explores cultivated meat, a future food technology on a mission to produce animal protein sustainability. In each of the six episodes, Sonalie interviews the pioneers of the industry, asking the hard questions about one of the most exciting food + climate innovations of our time and sharing the personal story behind each founder’s journey.
Green Queen In Conversation is a co-production from Green Queen Media and Cheeky Monkey Productions. This episode was produced by Joanna Bowers and hosted by Sonalie Figueiras.
In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers a bunch of vegan steak launches, the EU’s alt-protein commitment, and a new book on cultivated meat.
New products and launches
Apricot kernel cheese for the win! Austrian startup Kern Tec – which upcycles stone fruit pits into ingredients for dairy alternatives – has launched a Kesä vegan cheese line under its consumer-facing brand Wunderkern, available at 500 Blus Plus stores in pesto, tomato-olive and Mountain Fun. It will soon unveil alt-milk too.
Courtesy: Kern Tec
In the US, veteran oil brand Wessondebuted a range of vegan spreadable butters with a base of canola, palm and palm kernel oils. They come in Original and Olive Oil varieties, and will be available starting at Hannaford, Stop & Shop, and retailers in the northeast.
Further north, Canadian plant-based dairy company Bettermoo(d)entered a distribution agreement with United Natural Food Canada to place its functional oat milks in over 5,000 retailers nationwide.
Across the Atlantic, UK oat kefir maker Biotiful Gut Health has launched a line of yoghurts made from gluten-free oats. They will debut at Tesco with 350g pots in Vanilla and Cherry flavours.
Meanwhile, New York-based Culiraw has introduced seven raw vegan cheesecakes, available online and in select stores in NYC, Connecticut and New Jersey, including Green’s Natural Foods, Morton Williams, and Met Fresh Supermarkets.
Elsewhere, German cocoa-free chocolate producer ChoViva has partnered with bakery manufacturer De Beukelaer to release a vegan Cereola cookie, which is stoked at Rewe supermarket. It comes a month after it partnered with Kölln on a cereal range that used its oat- and sunflower-based chocolate alternative.
In the UK, Fruit-tellaannounced it will be launching vegan versions of its popular chewy treats (which contain gelatin) in Strawberry Mix, Duo Stix and Berries & Cherry flavours.
Courtesy: Dawn Foods
Staying in the dessert category, Netherlands-based bakery manufacturer Dawn Foods has unveiled a vegan sponge cake mix for its foodservice clients, which promises to provide the “same functionality, texture and taste experience” as its conventional counterpart.
And in the Netherlands and Belgium, McDonald’s has collaborated with Dutch dairy company FrieslandCampina to reduce GHG emissions from the fast-food giant’s dairy supply chain by 14% by 2025.
In more Dutch news, plant protein company Schouten has launched vegan nuggets for children. The Vegetable Bites contain 46% vegetables and come in kid-friendly shapes, and will be available in retail and foodservice channels.
Swedish furniture giant Ikea, meanwhile, has expanded its plant-based offerings with vegan nuggets too. The frozen wheat-based Slagverk nuggets are available at all Ikea stores in Sweden.
This is part of a wider trend, it would seem, given that the vegan snack category – currently worth 49.5B – is set to grow by 7.9% annually to reach $78B. Meanwhile, another report (using much different metrics, I’m sure) shows that the plant-based steak market was valued at $562.5M last year, and is bound to grow by 6.2% per yet to reach $1.02B in 2032.
Speaking of steak, Chunk Foods is deepening its ties with Lewis Hamilton, it seems. Last month, it established a partnership with Hamilton-backed vegan fast-casual chain Neat Burger. And last weekend, it appeared on the menu at Formula 1 in Austin (as well as the Pro Smoke Show).
Courtesy: Chunk Foods
In Germany, Veganz will begin selling a shelf-stable pea protein beef analogue in December, which can be rehydrated in 10 minutes. The plant-based steak will be priced between €3 and €4 per kg, much cheaper than both conventional and other vegan counterparts.
Meanwhile, Israeli producer Redefine Meat‘s 3D-printed flank steak, beef mince and burgers are now available to foodservice operators in Switzerland, with its pulled meat range and kebab mix to arrive next spring. Its New Meat is also available at vegan butcher shop Butch Bunny in Geneva.
Another Middle Eastern brand, the UAE’s Switch Foods, partnered with Lebanese restaurant chain Al Safadi to offer its plant-based meats on the latter’s menu, which will take shape in the form of fried kibbeh, kabab khashkash, lahem beajine and hummus with meat and fries.
Swedish cultivated meat brand Re:meat has partnered with ICA Gruppen, the largest grocery retailer in the Nordics, to explore consumer attitudes towards the former’s cultured meat.
And now there’s a new book about cultivated meat. Bryant Research founder Chris Bryant, cell ag expert Che Cannon and Mosa Met founder Dr Mark Post co-edited Advances in Cultured Meat Technology, published by Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing.
In the US, comedian and SNL alum Tim Robinson collaborated with Plant Power Fast Food to introduce vegan Coney hotdogs, which – like Robinson – hail from Michigan. These will be available at the latter’s locations through November, until supplies last.
Courtesy: Wagamama
More of a K-dog fan? Wagamama‘s got you covered, with a new Korean-inspired menu unveiled in its UK branches. The restaurant – half of whose menu is vegan – has introduced plant-based K-dogs, king oyster skewers, a tofu hot pot, and a silken tofu gochujang rice bowl, among other items.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s CJ CheilJedang has expanded its ready-to-heat vegan Bibigo dumpling range with Japchae and Green Chilli flavours, starting with the UK, Singapore and Australia.
And in the US, Zenso Labs is making upcycled precision-fermented booze. It reuses spent grains from breweries and distilleries and turns them into ingredients for alcohol and food formulations. It will soon launch a Pear Ginger hard seltzer and a ready-to-drink Moscow Mule SKU.
Funding, M&A and novel tech
In Germany, a three-year research project for cultivated meat has been funded by German cultured fish startup Bluu Seafood and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The former has poured in €760,000, and the latter has invested €500,000, bringing the total financing to €1.3M.
Canadian cultivated meat producer Evolved, meanwhile, has published a paper detailing how it created in-vivo-like tissues in vitro, capitalising on scaffold-free cell sheets.
Also in Canada, the Saskatchewan Food Centre is building an Advanced Food Ingredients Centre for precision fermentation and bioengineering R&D, with a potential capacity of 20,000 litres. It’s set to begin operations this quarter.
Courtesy: Daiya
Another fermentation facility that made the rounds recently was the one vegan cheese giant Daiya invested in, as it looks to develop a next-level version of chickpea-, oat- and coconut-based cheeses, slated for a North American launch by the end of this year.
In more cheese news, UK company Compleat Food Group (which was formed out of a merger between Addo Food Group and Winterbotham Darby in 2021) has acquired London-based artisanal vegan cheese maker Palace Culture.
Policy and petitions
Oatly‘s much-hyped Reddit AMA last Friday – where it invited a Big Dairy exec to co-host the session and answer questions about sustainability and carbon labelling alongside its sustainability director Caroline Reid – saw no one answer its call. But a Scottish dairy farmer did!
The European Parliament last week voted in favour of the Plant Protein Strategy, which calls on the EU – which has had a rocky week as some members have been found in cohorts with Big Ag to suppress green reforms – to boost the production and consumption of sustainable protein crops.
And its former member, the UK, saw a fourth borough endorse calls for a Plant-Based Treaty. London’s Lambeth council will join Haywards Heath, Norwich and Edinburgh in calculating and reducing food emissions and promoting plant-based food accessibility.
Awards, events and platforms
In Australia, SneakQIK, a shopping deals website, has relaunched as a vegan discounts platform, with expansions planned for India, the US, the UK and eventually globally.
Meanwhile, plant-based organisations have joined as strategic partners for a new event called Veg-net, whose first edition will be held on June 5 next year in London. The organisers hope to connect began brands with buyers and industry experts.
If you’ve had too much news and would rather just take a break, there are vegan-friendly rooms waiting for you at the NH Collection hotel in Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah archipelago. Animal-free bedding, plant-based snacks, compostable shower caps and sanitary bags, plastic-free packaging? Sign me up.
Elsewhere, Californian vegan seafood brand Impact Food has been nominated as one of 22 finalists for the 2023 Neptune Award by Ocean Exchange, which recognises sustainable solutions addressing ocean pollution and degradation.
Speaking of awards, TIME magazine has announced its annual Best Innovations list, which includes GOOD Meat‘s cultured chicken, which is one of only two companies to have received regulatory approval for sale in the US. There was also a special mention for Green Wolf‘s Vegami, which is a whole-foods plant-based salami sausage.
And PETA UK has also announced the winners for its 2023 Vegan Food Awards. Winners include M&S, THIS, VFC, Redefine Meat, Honestly Tasty, Sacred Grounds, Greggs, Asda and Flora.
And finally, another famous vegan organisation, Veganuary, has released the trailer for a documentary celebrating 10 years of the movement. It will premiere on November 17.
Want more roundups of alt-protein, plant-based and sustainable food? Stay tuned for next week’s Future Food Quick Bites, published every Wednesday, or get it in your mailbox by signing up for our Alt Protein Weekly newsletter.
Better Bite Ventures has announced investments in three APAC food tech startups as part of its early-stage First Bite initiative and has opened applications for the next funding round.
The three startups part of the latest First Bite funding round – which offers early-stage investments of between $50,000 and $150,000 – are Singapore’s Fattastic, Australia’s Pivot Eat, and South Korea’s Everything But.
“As part of the broader transition to a net-zero economy, we need new, more sustainable ways of making food,” said Better Bite Ventures founding partner Michal Klar. “But these new products must also be tasty – only then will consumers truly buy in.”
New fats, whole cuts and cultivated pet food
Courtesy: Fattastic
Klar added: “The startups we are announcing today are pioneering new solutions to improve the taste and texture of meat and dairy alternatives.” Fattastic, for example, engineers plant-based fats to improve the sensorial and functional attributes of vegan meat and dairy analogues. Its oil structuring tech transforms plant oils into solid states to resemble animal fats. It was founded by Satnam Singh, a former researcher at A*STAR agency in Singapore.
Pivot Eat, meanwhile, is working on a novel process to enhance the structure and accelerate the scalability of plant-based whole-cut meat. Founder Ann Limley is a food scientist with over two decades of food R&D experience across Singapore, Europe and Australia.
Finally, South Korea-based Everything But is Asia’s first cultivated meat startup for pet food. One study suggests that if cats and dogs were considered their own nation, they would rank as the world’s fifth-largest meat-consuming entity. To reduce the impact of our furry friends on the environment, the startup – founded by veterinarians and scientists and helmed by CEO Yoonchan Hwang – is developing more sustainable, protein-rich pet food with high taste, texture and nutritional quality.
Klar reiterated that sustainable food products need to have better taste and textural attributes for greater consumer adoption. “Hence [the] focus on solutions like enhanced plant-based fats replacing animal fat and better structure of whole cuts. With Everything But, it is about [the] important and growing climate impact of pet food.”
Building upon previous early-stage investments
Courtesy: EatKinda
Better Bite Ventures launched the First Bite initiative last year, with a focus on APAC startups tackling food system challenges with innovative solutions. To qualify for investment, founders need to be working on meat, seafood, dairy or egg replacements using plant-based, fermentation, cultivated or molecular farming technology, be based in the APAC region, and be at the idea or just-begun phase.
“Bold technology innovation is needed to reduce the climate impact of our current food system in Asia. The response to the First Bite initiative has been encouraging – to date, we’ve invested in seven food tech startups, and are now open for more,” said Better Bite Ventures founding partner Simon Newstead.
In April, it unveiled four investments in early-stage APAC alt-protein startups. These included Singaporean startups Allium Bio, which co-cultures microalgae and mycelium and turns them into functional ingredients like protein isolates, and Cultivaer, which is working on bioreactor-free tech to slash the costs and speed up the scalability of fermentation-derived protein. The other two startups part of the First Bite funding in April were New Zealand-based cauliflower ice cream brand EatKinda, and Klevermeat, which claims to be India’s first cultivated seafood startup.
Better Bite Ventures was launched in early 2022 by Klar and Simon Newstead as APAC’s first dedicated climate-centric food tech fund, with $15M in assets under management. It typically invests between $200,000 and $700,000 in pre-seed and seed rounds across the cultivated, precision fermentation and plant-based protein sectors.
It has already invested in over 20 food tech startups, including Aussie-American precision fermentation dairy maker Change Foods, Indian alt-meat brands Greenest and Liberate Foods, Indonesian plant-based giant Green Rebel, Australian mushroom meat maker Fable Food, Chinese cultivated meat company CellX, and Singapore-headquartered vegan meat producer TiNDLE.
Now, it’s opened applications for the next round of First BIte investments, earmarking between $50,000 to $100,000 for early-stage founders.
Disclaimer: Green Queen founder and editor-in-chief Sonalie Figueiras is a Venture Partner at Better Bite Ventures.
Andrew Arentowicz, CEO of blended meat startup 50/50 Foods Inc explains who his target consumer is, why blended meat has failed before, why the category has a marketing problem and his take on the animal welfare question.
This article is part of our content series exploring the world of hybrid and blended meat products – those blending cultivated or conventional proteins with plant-based ingredients, respectively, and why some think this is the future of reducing meat consumption.
Americans consume too much meat. This isn’t me trying to anger anyone – it’s a literal fact. The US population eats 233.3g of meat a day, which is almost three times the maximum recommended amount by the Eat-Lancet Commission to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and meet the targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
While plant-based, cultivated and fermented meat companies have all been trying to get consumers to see the effect their diet has on the environment, many don’t. In fact, while vegan meat alternatives have undergone a sales and PR hit, the FAO – you know, the UN food body that deliberately censored data about livestock farming’s impact on climate change – says we will be eating 14% more meat by 2030.
So with plant-based meat still reeling from financial setbacks, cultivated meat in touch regulatory landscape, and fermentation-based proteins still a nascent category, where does that leave us? The answer might be going back to animal-derived meat.
At least a little bit.
Some are proposing blended or hybrid meats as a solution. Blended meat refers to a mix of traditional animal protein with plant-based ingredients, while hybrid combines the latter with cultivated meat. A bunch of companies are already working in this sector, hoping to influence people to reduce meat consumption by eating the same amount of meat products, albeit with less meat.
Consumer research shows taste is paramount
Here’s the thing. Consumer perceptions of these products are very much informed by traditional meat, and while price and health are important drivers, nothing beats flavour. Research has shown that taste is the number one factor for people choosing to eat or avoid meat alternatives. Last year, an 8,000-person survey covering the US, UK, France and Germany found that about half of respondents “greatly preferred” the taste of animal protein over plant-based analogues.
Similarly, a Kerry Group report published earlier this year – surveying 1,500 consumers in the US, UK, Australia and Brazil – suggested that people have greater taste expectations for plant-based burgers than conventional ones, adding that great flavour is key to the sector’s success.
For blended products, this is where the opportunity lies. A peer-reviewed consumer study published in March 2022 – using data from September 2019 with a relatively small size of 172 US participants – revealed that Americans still preferred beef a 100% beef burger over any other alternatives. But when it came to three substitutes – a pea protein patty, a yeast-based ‘animal-like’ patty and a blend of animal beef and mushrooms – consumers chose the blended burger in a blind taste test.
The blended burger was 70% animal beef and 30% mushrooms. One company proposing a different share is 50/50 Foods, Inc – no points for guessing its proportion. The Los Angeles-based startup says it’s the only USDA-approved 50/50 burger, which is comprised 50% beef and 50% vegetables (mushrooms, onions, cauliflower, broccoli and garlic), along with spices and seasonings.
This way, Americans can “have their meat and eat it too”, as 50/50 Foods founder Andrew Arentowicz puts it. “The global food system accounts for approximately one-third of total GHG emissions, with beef being the #1 emitter, by a country mile,” he tells me. “How you get Americans to eat less meat is the biggest question in need of an answer, and we think we have it.”
Arentowicz explains that cutting beef consumption in half can “actually move the needle” on climate change. The comment chimes with research showing that meat and dairy cause twice as many emissions as plant-based foods. And a study published last month found that replacing half our animal product consumption with plant-based alternatives could reduce agriculture and land use emissions by 31%, halt forest and natural land destruction, and double overall climates – although if you’re American, your meat intake needs to go down by 82% if you want to avoid climate disasters.
And it’s because, despite 95% of Americans continuing to eat meat, 74% don’t think eating less of it will help the environment. It’s these consumers 50/50 Foods is targeting. “Not to mention, moms who want their kids to eat more veggies,” Arentowicz adds.
Why blended meat hasn’t worked – yet
Courtesy: Fascinadora/Canva
It’s not like companies haven’t tried selling blended meat before – they’ve just… not worked? For example, German retailer Aldi got backlash for launching a BBQ Flexitarian Burger made from beef and beans in 2019 (it’s nowhere to be seen anymore). Tesco launched a Lean & Greens range combining chicken with vegetables in 2021 (the reviews are not great, either for taste or misleading messaging).
And sure, private-label supermarket products aren’t always the most flavourful. Well, Tyson – the world’s second-largest meat company – launched blended beef-pea protein burgers and nuggets under its Raised & Rooted range in the summer of 2019, only to pull the products in December 2020. “The Raised & Rooted Blend will be discontinued as we constantly evaluate products working alongside our customers and consumers,” a Tyson spokesperson said at the time.
So why would these products work now? Arentowicz has an interesting analogy. “You might remember that ‘search was dead’ before Google came along – InfoSeek, Ask Jeeves, Yahoo Search all failed,” he reminds me. “Sometimes, you need to get it right before consumers will buy it.
“Tyson’s Raised & Rooted blended burger said they were ‘beef and pea protein isolate’ burgers. Who wants to eat – let alone buy – pea protein isolate?” he wonders. “Additionally, timing helps. Processed plant [meat] like Beyond and Impossible is struggling, and cultivated meat is still decades away from viability. So I think the timing for a flexitarian category is now.” [Although only 6% of Americans followed a flexitarian diet last year, while 5% adopted a ‘low-carbon footprint/sustainable diet.]
Asked if 50/50 Foods has conducted any consumer trials, Arentowicz says: “Yes. Lots. People almost universally love our 50/50 burger because it tastes great.” Why, you ask? “Because we put flavour-enhancing toppings – like roasted mushrooms, caramelised onions, and roasted garlic – inside our burgers.”
In that consumer study where blended burgers came out on top in the blind taste test, people actually chose the yeast protein over the blended in an informed taste test, where they knew what the products were (the pea protein patty still came last). “When consumers know more about the ingredients of the blended burger, the demand decreases,” concluded the study.
As mentioned above, online reviews of Tesco’s blended meat range show that people are confused by the labels. This is a marketing problem, and Arentowicz says the solution might be in the name. “I don’t like the word ‘blended’ or ‘hybrid’, and I am hoping the leaders in this space – the handful of us – can rally around a more appealing category name. I don’t think we have it yet, but I think ‘flex’ or ‘flex meat’ (for flexitarianism) is the best we’ve got at the moment.” he says. “But I’m open to any suggestions, lol.”
The climate and animal welfare arguments
Courtesy: 50/50 Foods Inc
50/50, whose first product is a grass-fed Angus beef burger, plans to create half-and-half hot dogs and chicken nuggets too. Grass-fed beef currently makes up about 4% of US beef sales, and according to a 2017 report, 75-80% of grass-fed beef sold stateside is grown abroad (Angus beef itself is native to the UK) – this pushes up the product’s environmental footprint. One study estimates that grain-fed beef can have a 67.5% lower carbon footprint than grass-fed.
Arentowicz disputes these numbers, explaining that it isn’t “settled research”, pointing to a story explaining why (albeit by a meat company). But, like 50/50 Foods’ meat, he remains flexible: “We are beef-agnostic. Our clients dictate which beef they want to use. We currently use grass-fed beef in our retail product, but that’s a personal choice at this particular juncture of our business.”
Even if you put the climate argument aside for a second, how does blended meat fare with the animal slaughter question? “If animal welfare is your only issue, I have total respect for your position and argument,” he notes. “But asking everyone to turn into a vegetarian is an impossible goal. At least today it is, and we need bold solutions to big problems today.”
He adds: “I’m too practical to let perfect be the enemy of the good. Cutting beef consumption in half will save lots of animals, so we’re technically on the same team.” Arentowicz declined to go into specific details about how the company is funded, but offered: “Obviously, our investors are very bullish on our potential.”
So where can we find 50/50 Foods’ blended meat? Restaurants? Supermarkets? Both? On its website, the startup has a binocular-shaped graphic that serves as a future, ahem, vision for its footprint – which seems to be both in retail and foodservice. This is something Arentowicz confirms. “The mission is every menu, every shelf,” he says. “And our timeline is as soon as humanly possible.”
In the midst of conflict, vegan food companies, chefs and volunteers came together to feed Israeli Defence Force soldiers, their loved ones, and people who have been injured or displaced.
Like the rest of the world, Omer Tal woke up in a state of shock. It was October 7, Hamas had just launched over 5,000 rockets from Gaza on Israeli soil, and it sparked a war that would see over 5,000 killed, 15,000 injured and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Still processing, Tal realised that returning to routine was, unfortunately, a far-fetched fantasy. “I felt a deep-seated need to contribute in a meaningful way,” he recalls. So he called Dor Datner, the owner of 12 eateries in Tel Aviv, and his partner Gilad Harpaz to ask for help.
Israel is a nation known as an alt-protein hub, with investment in this sector accounting for 15% of the global total last year, surpassed only by the US last year. Recognising the food industry’s potential, Tal –the head chef at Redefine Meat, one of the leading vegan meat companies in Israel – wanted to mobilise the sector and feed soldiers on the frontline, their families, those who have been displaced or lie injured in hospital – and anyone without access to nutritious foods during this period.
Fulfilling vegan meals as battle rations in Israel
Tal posted a call for support on Facebook, asking for volunteers to help cook meals and support an army that counts over 10,000 vegans (over 5% of the country’s total population follows a plant-based diet). Within 12 hours, Datner and Harpaz’s central kitchen on Tel Giborim Street (which fittingly translates to ‘hero’s hill’ in Hebrew) saw a flurry of activity being sanitised to kosher and vegan standards.
“I reached out to the army bases via the group Vegan Friendly to find out how many vegan or vegetarian soldiers are in each,” says Liran Cohen, a private chef. As the largest vegan organisation in Israel, it arranges plant-based meals for soldiers with dietary restrictions.
Running over a week, the campaign saw food tech startups, food producers and 100 volunteers and private chefs converge to serve vegan and flexitarian soldiers. “We created meal kits each consisting of 20 portions,” explains Lilach Edman, a vegan pasta chef who managed the kitchen. “Each portion was composed of a 150g protein dish, a portion of carbohydrate and fresh vegetables, plus a plant-based delicious treat. We made sure they contained all the food elements. The typical battle rations that normally come in cans can’t provide vegan soldiers with the sustenance they desperately need.”
Several startups donated raw materials for the plant-based meals, including Redefine Meat, which provided three tons of its 3D-printed beef and lamb analogues. Green Butcher and More Foods also donated plant-based beef products. Meanwhile, YoEgg! Foods contributed with its vegan poached eggs, and Creative Pea offered its pea-based chicken and fish innovations. Plenty 4U, Mama Q and Utopia donated dairy alternatives like vegan cheeses, and E.Y.M. Israeli Tofu donated high-quality tofu.
The kitchen, which ran from October 8-16, produced about 6,000 meals with a diverse selection of protein-rich dishes curated by private chef Noam Carmon. These include vegan schnitzels, spaghetti Bolognese with meatballs, chicken skewers, fish patties, poached eggs in tomato sauce and cheese pastries, among others. Additionally, Ornat donated its dairy- and sugar-free JO-MO chocolates, and Panda Confections contributed its vegan chocolates, and Roy Chocolate provided pralines.
A sense of home and a glimmer of hope
“There were some complex logistics in getting the kits to all the bases and evacuated families,” says Cohen. “But the soldiers’ reactions have been deeply touching – many expressed that the meals provided them with both strength and a comforting sense of home. They were grateful not to have to rely on battle rations. Surprisingly, even some of their carnivorous comrades sampled our vegan dishes and were amazed.”
After a week of tremendous efforts, the kitchen has now closed, but the campaign is still going through smaller private kitchens and restaurants. It’s described as a “first aid ‘food commando’” that supplied meals until other kitchens and organisations were able to properly answer to the needs of soldiers. Now, four different kitchens – including Redefine Meat’s test kitchen – are host to hundreds of volunteers and home cooks serving 2,000 meals a day.
Vegan Friendly arranged an operation room for all the plant-based and vegetarian meals, held a big group of either home cooks or commercial vegetarian kitchens to supply the meals, and took care of the delivery with its own volunteers. Since the attack on October 7, all the kitchens have served a combined 2.5 million meals in Israel, with 250,000 of them being vegan.
Redefine Meat continues to provide raw materials for 70 meals a day. “The other companies and volunteers have pledged to continue their part until the end of the war,” says Tal. “Moreover, some of the kits are also being earmarked for evacuated families and the 5,000 injured survivors in hospitals.”
He adds: “In the midst of the suffering, sadness, anxiety, and pain that continues to affect us, the Israeli community has rallied together to support and strengthen one another. Among the volunteers that turned up were those [who] had just returned from the funeral of a beloved relative, while others were young survivors of the Nova peace festival that was the first line of attack by the terrorists.
“For them, volunteering served as a form of initial compensation for trauma, offering precious moments to breathe and connect back to life. For many, this project has provided a glimmer of light in these dark and challenging times.”
Konscious Foods founder and president Yves Potvin talks to Green Queen about microwaving frozen sushi, plant-based meat’s challenges, consumer reception of its rolls, poke bowls and onigiri, and creating new vegan seafood analogues.
People in Vancouver search for sushi more than anyone else in the world, if you’re to go by Google Trends data. In fact, Canadians top the list in terms of the share of the population (5.7%) looking for sushi on Google, followed closely by the US (3.4%) – though the latter has the most searches in absolute numbers. Japan comes third.
Sushi is incredibly popular in North America – and it’s no longer confined to high-end restaurants charging hundreds of dollars. You can get sushi in your grocery store. And why says supermarket sushi is bad? Not Americans, who drove a 72% rise in sushi sales at US retailers over the past year. US retail giant Kroger, which has been selling the dish since 1990, is now the largest sushi seller in the country.
It’s this success that Konscious Foods – the Vancouver-based brand by French chef Yves Potvin – is banking on. Launched in 2021, the company makes frozen vegan sushi, onigiri and poke bowls, using seafood analogues like plant-based tuna, salmon and snow crab.
Courtesy: Konscious Foods
Standing out from the crowd
The meat alternatives sector has undergone a period of turmoil over the last couple of years, with sales falling, workers being laid off, and companies shutting down. Potvin compares this to the proliferation of cars in the early 20th century, and the dot-com bubble in the late 90s “where everyone had an idea”, when the rapid growth of the Internet led to a stock market boom. “Dreaming is important,” he agrees, “but so is the bottom line. At some point, you need to show investors a return on their investment.”
He adds: “At the end of the day, knowing how to run a business and having the know-how in this industry is still very important.” And he certainly does possess the knowledge and experience – Potvin is the man behind established plant-based businesses in Gardein and Yves Veggie Cuisine.
According to the Good Food Institute, plant-based meat unit sales dropped by 8%, but vegan seafood saw a 40% year-on-year growth in pound sales last year. The sector has been a hub of activity recently, with product launches like South Korean startup Unlimeat‘s upcycled tuna analogue, Singapore-based HAPPIEE‘s vegan shrimp and squid in the UK, and Revo Foods‘ 3D-printed whole-cut salmon in Austria.
It’s becoming an increasingly crowded space – how does Konscious Foods plan to stand out? The freezer. Even in the conventional space, frozen sushi is still quite a niche market. In the plant-based sphere, Konscious Foods’ offering is the first of its kind. “Shelf life is very important – sushi and poke bowls otherwise must be eaten pretty immediately upon purchase to ensure safety,” explains Potvin. “Really, frozen food offers convenience.” And convenience is what Americans want, with 61% citing it as a purchase driver in one survey – up from 56% last year.
Courtesy: Konscious Foods
The importance of frozen
So which consumers fit this convenience bill? “Our target consumer is… everyone who loves delicious foods,” says Potvin. “While busy parents and lunchboxes are certainly a perfect fit for our patent-pending ability to thaw or go from frozen to fresh in minutes in the microwave, we are increasingly seeing flexitarian come into the mainstream.”
But it does seem counterintuitive to heat up sushi and poke bowls, I point out. “First of all, since we are plant-based, you can be relieved of any concerns that accompany microwaving traditional fish,” Potvin tells me. “But microwaving isn’t the only way to enjoy Konscious Foods – it can also be thawed at room temperature (this takes about two to three hours).”
He adds: “But whether you choose to let it thaw in your bag during the workday, or decide to zap it in the microwave, we’ve made sure there is absolutely zero sacrifice to taste or texture.” Even when it comes to putting ingredients like cucumber and avocado in the microwave? Yes, Potvin assures me. “There are some secrets a chef will never tell,” he says. “But if you choose to microwave them, eight rolls only go in for one minute.”
If you are still looking for your fresh vegan sushi fix though, all you need to do is head to Whole Foods. Konscious Foods has partnered with the retailer to develop two exclusive ready-to-eat rolls using its seafood analogues, which you can find at all Whole Foods sushi venues across North America. “Frozen will always be important to us, but we’ll absolutely look for additional ways we can meet our busy customers,” explains Potvin.
Courtesy: Konscious Foods
Konscious Foods’ frozen SKUs, meanwhile, will soon be available in the freezer aisles at 4,500 retail locations in Canada and the US, including Wegmans, Sprouts and Albertsons-Safeway, among others. And the brand is present in foodservice too. “We include the retail product in operator-friendly packaging that ensures culinary teams are able to offer on-trend, plant-based solutions to their menus with ease,” says Potvin.
He explains that the company’s lineup is adaptable to multiple foodservice formats, including catering, micro-markets, vending, in-flight service, sushi bars and quick-service restaurants – aided by its konjac-, pea- and rice-based salmon, tuna and ‘sno’ crab. “We also offer foodservice bulk packs of our maki rolls, onigiri stuffed rice snacks and poke bowls that provide ‘thaw and serve’ efficiency, without requiring any additional specialised training,” Potvin says.
Moreover, Konscious Foods is in discussions with foodservice providers across the US and Canada to expand its offering to the catering sector in institutions like schools.
Focusing on health, flavour and the planet
For Potvin, health and taste are equally important – just as they are for American plant-based meat consumers. “To change the way people eat and help people incorporate plant-based into their diets, you can’t just have ‘nutritious’ without ‘taste’, and you can’t just have ‘taste’ without ‘nutritious’ – it won’t work,” he says.
Many of the “high quality, clean” ingredients Konscious Foods uses are grown and processed in Canada, with a focus on non-GMO and organic certifications where possible. Its sushi rice is from California and accredited by the Non-GMO Project, and for its rainbow roll, it uses Organic Latin America rice and Thai Jasberry rice (touted to be one of the world’s healthiest varieties).
Potvin says the company has managed to offer its products at price parity with conventional supermarket sushi: “We know one of the biggest barriers to entry for plant-based food, which is often two or more times more expensive than traditional protein options. By keeping the price on par, we can help bring plant-based products to the masses.”
Courtesy: Konscious Foods
In August, Konscious Foods – which has largely been self-funded, other than receiving government grants – raised $26M in a Series A funding round that included the government-backed Protein Industries Canada, as well as Zynik Capital and Walter Group. The brand has used the cash injection to bolster production, expand its retail and foodservice footprints, and launch marketing initiatives. In addition, Konscious is working on more seafood analogues to expand vertically, with vegan shrimp and smoked salmon top of the list.
Potvin says all three of Konscious Foods’ current product lines have received a great response from consumers with its California roll nabbing the NEXTY Award for Best New Frozen Product at the Expo West trade fair earlier this year. “For me, it has been most rewarding to hear how many people are trying and loving it,” he notes.
Because, as he reiterates: “We are not just about being plant-based – our mission is to make good-for-you, good-for-the-world food that tastes good.”
Sweetgreen will become the first fast-casual restaurant chain in the US to exclusively use heart-healthy extra virgin olive oil to cook its vegetables, grains and proteins. Known for its salads and grain bowls, the brand is leaning into growing consumer demand for minimally processed and sustainably sourced food.
Starting tomorrow, all 221 of Sweetgreen’s locations will feature ingredients cooked only in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). The ingredients in its warm grain bowls like the tofu- and mushroom-based Shroomami and salads such as the Super Green Goddess containing black lentils and chickpeas will all switch sunflower oil for the unrefined olive oil.
The company is leaning into calls for more ‘natural’, less processed food – 23% of Americans associate healthy food with minimal processing, according to a 1,023-person survey by the International Food Information Council (IFIC), while over three-quarters consider whether a food product is processed before buying it. Meanwhile, environmental sustainability is a purchase driver for a third of consumers (although that’s down from 40% last year), something Sweetgreen is also doubling down on.
In 2021, the salad chain pledged to become carbon-neutral by 2027, saying it would cut half of its footprint through a plant-forward menu and more sustainable sourcing decisions. This latest move falls in the latter category, continuing the company’s commitment towards using high-quality, locally produced and minimally processed ingredients.
Focusing on sustainable sourcing over health credentials
Courtesy: Sweetgreen
Sweetgreen is partnering with brands that have shared commitments to sustainable farming, choosing the Bari Olive Oil Company as its EVOO supplier. Running since 1936, it’s one of the US’s oldest olive oil companies. All of its EVOO is domestically grown and produced in California, using what it claims are organic and sustainable practices. Bari mills its olives – a drought-friendly crop – within 24 hours of harvest and uses every part of the fruit, including the pomace (ground pit and meat usually discarded) for cattle feed and the water used during milling for irrigating its trees.
Meanwhile, at its 17 Texas locations, Sweetgreen is collaborating with Texas Olive Ranch, a fourth-generation family producing cold-pressed olive oil. “Reimagining fast food goes beyond the kitchen and starts with a strong, transparent supply chain. In addition to partnering with suppliers and growers we trust, we take into account how every ingredient is prepared, down to the oil it’s cooked in,” said Sweetgreen co-founder and chief concept officer Nicolas Jammet.
Many seed oils have been found to be highly toxic and inflammatory, and labelled as “the most unhealthy staple of the American diet”. Given EVOO’s health credentials – it’s an oil rich in anti-inflammatory substances, known to lower blood pressure and enhance blood vessel health, and has been linked with lower risk of heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s and some forms of cancer – it’s perhaps surprising that Sweetgreen isn’t centring its messaging on the nutritional benefits of the fat.
Many companies – like Beyond Meat – are going all-in on the health aspects of new products to appeal to consumers – the IFIC report revealed that health is a key purchase driver for 62% of Americans. It’s a much-discussed subject in the US, due to the alarming and rising rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes: over two-thirds (69%) of its citizens are overweight and 36% are obese.
Innovations in fat and oil alternatives
Courtesy: Sweetgreen
In addition to the use of EVOO, Sweetgreen is exploring avocado oil as another cooking oil for its menu. In August, the company released a red wine vinaigrette dressing made with an avocado oil base, which it says became “an instant fan favourite”. The dressing is now a permanent menu item in custom bowls and signature salads.
“While we know there’s more work to do, we hope this change raises the bar and continues to inspire our industry to make quality products more accessible,” said Jammet.
The move follows a pilot by fellow fast-casual chain Shake Shack, which is trialling Californian startup Zero Acre Farms’ sustainable Cultured Oil on select menu items at two NYC locations. Shake Shack too pointed to the oil’s health and eco credentials: it’s rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and boasts a 90% smaller environmental footprint than conventional vegetable oil.
More and more companies are innovating in this space to develop oils and fats better for both people and the planet. Austrian startup Kern Tec upcycles fruit pits into oil for alt-dairy products, Germany’s Zayt Bioscience turns fruit waste into precision-fermented butter, San Francisco-based Lypid has created a proprietary PhytoFat for plant-based meat, and Sweden’s Mycorena makes fermented fungi-based fat to replace animal fats.
Many brands are coming up with palm oil substitutes for use in both food and other applications. This includes Estonian startup Äio, UK-based Clean Food Group, New York’s C16 Biosciences and Dutch company NoPalm Ingredients.
Global food and drink ingredients giant Ingredion is partnering with its distributor Univar to showcase a range of plant-based, low-sugar, ‘natural’ products at the Gulfood Manufacturing conference this November.
According to Ingredion, 50% of consumers in the UAE are prioritising their food and drink’s nutritional content and naturalness. It adds to other global research done by the company, which has found that 78% of consumers would spend more money on products with ‘natural’ or ‘all-natural’ packaging claims.
To meet these needs, Ingredion will be showcasing a line of healthier and natural products – including plant-based and low-sugar formulations – at the Gulfood Manufacturing conference in Dubai next month (November 7-9).
Ingredion’s plant protein push
Courtesy: InnovoPro
Prepared by its principal culinologist Kevin Alder, the company will host a tasting menu featuring a vegetarian lamb kofta, egg-free tahini mayo (containing NEST, a citrus fibre), sugar-free chilli ketchup, fresh cream cheese with protein crackers, a chocolate dessert with no added sugar, a Crème Brulée, and reduced-sugar non-alcoholic beverages.
“We are thrilled to participate in the Gulfoods Manufacturing event and share our cutting-edge innovations with the world,” said Quentin Labbe, Ingredion’s MENA sales and technical services manager. “Our commitment to plant-based proteins, cost-effective formulations and sugar reduction capabilities reflects our dedication to meeting the evolving needs of consumers while helping manufacturers thrive in a challenging economic climate. We invite everyone to visit our booth to experience the future of food.”
Ingredion has previously launched a pea and rice protein blend for use in extruded snacks and drinks, as well as a low-viscosity pea and rice isolate for ready-to-mix drinks and protein bars with a clearer texture. And earlier this year, it debuted a chickpea protein innovation alongside Israeli startup InnovoPro – which it bought a stake in last year – at Chicago’s IFT First trade show.
The company, which has invested over $200M in plant-based proteins since 2019, saw its sales for these proteins rise by 118% in 2022, reaching $36M. In 2021, it also opened a dedicated facility in Nebraska, becoming the first North American manufacturer to make locally produced plant protein isolate, concentrate, flour and starch products.
Vegan wins in the Gulf
Courtesy: Switch Foods
The Gulfood Manufacturing event is taking place in Dubai, where Thryve opened what was the UAE’s first plant-based meat factory in March. The city’s government is now working with local and international businesses and organisations to clamp down on food loss and waste to boost food security and promote a more sustainable economy.
Months after Thryve’s facility was opened, Switch Foods unveiled its own manufacturing plant in Abu Dhabi to produce vegan kebabs, minced meat and burgers. And this week, the latter announced a partnership with Al Safadi, a Lebanese restaurant chain in Dubai run by a former butcher, which will see four dishes served with Switch Foods’ meat alternatives.
These developments come as the UAE prepared to host COP28 – described as the first food-focused UN climate summit – which will feature a predominantly plant-based menu. The decision to do so coincides with the country’s Year of Sustainability, which includes a push to promote plant-based eating in the country. This is in line with consumer sentiment in the nation – a YouGov poll this week found that more than half (55%) of its citizens identify as flexitarian (including pescetarians), vegetarian or vegan.
Ingredion’s plant-forward launch is the latest example of an international company making a foray into UAE’s vegan sector. In 2021, US giant Impossible Foods made its Middle East debut at Dubai World Expo, while Singapore-based TiNDLE launched in this region for the first time at 20 UAE restaurants. Meanwhile, last year, Aussie-American precision fermentation leader Change Foods signed an agreement to build a first-of-its-kind commercial manufacturing plant in the UAE.
Last month, it announced an agrifood strategy to bolster the sector’s value to $10B and create 20,000 jobs by 2025, with regulatory advancements being one of the key pillars. While fellow Gulf country Israel is home to a host of alt-protein startups, industry think tank the Good Food Institute says the UAE is partnering “with foreign alternative meat startups, primarily US-based companies, to build commercial-scale production facilities and potentially fast-track regulatory approval” for cultivated meat.
In 2021, DisruptAD – the VC arm of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund ADQ – led the $105M Series B fundraising round for Israeli cultured meat leader Aleph Farms. And a 2022 study by PSB Insights – commissioned by US cultured meat pioneer Good Meat – found that while only 34% of people in the Middle East had heard of cell-cultured meat, awareness of the alt-protein was highest in the UAE.
Meanwhile, neighbouring nation Saudi Arabia is also actively promoting more plant-based foods – officials from the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture have co-signed deals to develop alt-protein products with locally sourced plants.
A new survey of 1,000 UK consumers highlights the importance of taste, price and more information when it comes to plant-based meat. Here are five key takeaways from the poll.
Published earlier this week, the research – conducted by insights firm Bryant Research, alt-protein advocacy organisation ProVeg International and plant-based consultant Plant Futures – polled 1,000 UK consumers on their attitudes towards plant-based meat.
Despite being Europe’s second-largest vegan market – with Brits spending £964M on plant-based meat and dairy last year – sales have declined by 3% between 2021-22 in the UK, with meat alternative sales sliding by 8% in the same period, according to the Good Food Institute Europe.
How can brands cater better to what the country’s consumers want from their food? Here are five key takeaways from the research, titled ‘What we know about UK plant-based meat consumers:
A similar number of people have increased and reduced plant-based meat consumption
While the number of people who have tried vegan meat increased from 53% in 2021 to 73% in 2023, there’s an almost even split in the number of people who eat these products frequently (39%), and those whose consumption has ‘lapsed’ (34%) – i.e. reduced or eliminated.
The report also found that only 1% of Brits identify as vega with 3% calling themselves pescatarian and 6% vegetarian. Almost a quarter (23%) said they follow a flexitarian diet. Among flexitarians and pescetarians, 43% frequently consume plant-based meat, while omnivores make up the largest group of consumers who were former frequent eaters (57%).
Taste and price are the biggest complaints about plant-based meat
Taste and price are the major drivers behind why people don’t eat plant-based meat. The pollsters provided the respondents with multiple statements to see what most people agreed with. Almost two-thirds (66%) of people concurred that some meat alternatives taste much worse than their conventional counterparts, and 62% agreed the former cost much more.
Occasional vegan meat eaters and lapsed consumers were the demographics most likely to cite these concerns. Meanwhile, 51% of respondents say taste/texture is the biggest reason for their reduction of plant-based meat consumption, while 21% cite price. On the other hand, taste and texture are the second-biggest factors for people choosing to eat these products, with 36% quoting these elements.
Consumers are divided on the health aspects of plant-based meat
Health has been the primary focus for plant-based meat brands recently. The health benefits are the number one reason why people in the UK say they eat plant-based meat, being key for 39% of respondents. And 49% of consumers agree with the statement that these products are too processed or unnatural – something that has been a bane of this industry.
However, in open-text questions, only 8% of consumers reducing their consumption said they do so out of concern about nutrition and health, with just 7% saying the same for their processed nature.
Brits want more information about vegan meat alternatives
In the statement section, 43% of consumers agreed that they don’t see any reason to replace conventional meat – despite heaps of evidence pointing to the contrary. Replacing half of our meat and dairy consumption with plant-based alternatives can double climate benefits, while another study has found that vegan diets can reduce emissions, land use and water pollution by 75% compared to meat-rich diets.
Consumer awareness is key – and so is increased education. Over half (51%) of respondents said they’d like more information on meat alternatives, with occasional and former frequent eaters most likely to want more details. Nutrition was a key aspect, with 46% (and over 35% of those unfamiliar with these products) asking for more information about specific nutritional aspects like iron, protein, etc.
Questions about the nutrition they might be lacking if they switch to plant-based meat, the benefits of vegan vs conventional meat, and how to cook these products were also concerns cited. Interestingly, consumers most disagreed with the assertion that there is too much choice when it came to these products, with only 27% saying there are too many options.
Speaking of information and awareness, nearly two in five respondents (39%) surprisingly believe plant-based meat products cost the same as their animal-derived counterparts. This is despite a 2022 study by consumer platform Which? revealing that most vegan sausages and burgers at leading UK supermarkets cost more than conventional products – though some SKUs at Sainsbury’s are equal or cheaper in price.
The markups of some vegan sausages were, in fact, twice as high. In this latest survey, 22% of UK consumers believed plant-based meat costs between 10-20% more, and 31% believed they’re 20-50% more expensive.
Additionally, people who used to eat meat alternatives frequently have similar perceptions of the price gap between plant-based and conventional meat to those who have eaten vegan products before but never since, and those unfamiliar with them. This indicates that former consumers of plant-based meat are particularly concerned about the cost of these products – it chimes with research earlier this year that found feeding a family of four with three vegan alternatives a week could cost £115.44 more in the UK annually.
The study made three key recommendations for plant-based meat brands to better cater to UK consumers. The first centres on taste and price improvements: the authors expect product prices to fall as demand for meat alternatives grows in the long term, but in the current landscape, price promotions could entice a lot of customers. And when product quality is improved, the results should be widely shared and showcased through free in-store samples.
Winning the health argument is the second suggestion. While some have concerns about the nutrition and processed nature of these products, many who consume plant-based meat regard health benefits as a big plus. Brands are urged to bust the narrative that all processed foods are unhealthy and promote the nutritional superiority of vegan meats in terms of their low saturated fat, zero cholesterol and increased fibre.
Finally, awareness about the need to change must be increased. Many people still don’t see a need to replace their consumption of animal products, especially those who have never tried vegan alternatives. The plant-based sector is urged to hone in on the environmental, animal welfare and health aspects of these products while continuing to improve their pull with better flavour and lower prices.
“This research underscores the important factors for plant-based meat companies to improve in order to get the market back to healthy growth,” said lead researcher Chris Bryant. “Producers need to continue driving taste and quality up, and driving price down – these factors emerged as the biggest concerns for consumers who have lapsed in this category.”
ProVeg International CEO Jasmijn de Boo added: “We know people are curious, but companies and retailers can help make the plant-based sector more appealing and help shape the future of food.”
Berlin-based biotech startup Zayt Bioscience is using precision fermentation to upcycle fruit waste into planet-friendly fats and oils. The company has just emerged from stealth and aims to begin fulfilling orders for its Zayt Butter by the end of 2024 thanks to a partnership with fellow Germans Kynda.
Zayt is a new startup founded by Amr Aswad and Venkat Konasani, which taps into precision fermentation technology to valorise food industry sidestreams and make alternatives to climate-harming fats. The name ‘Zayt’ comes from the Arabic word for ‘oil’.
It has just emerged from stealth mode with a prototype aimed at “disrupting the plant butter market”, in what is a patent-pending tech process. Backed at pre-seed by FoodLabs for an undisclosed amount, Zayt is currently raising seed funding as it looks to scale up and fulfill orders for its Zayt Butter by the end of next year.
A fruitful partnership
Courtesy: Kynda
Palm and soy – two of the largest oilseeds – account for 18% of all deforestation globally. This results in the upending of many livelihoods, with a domino effect on climate change and related weather disasters. Additionally, about a third of all food is wasted around the world, which represents an economic value of $1T.
This is why Zayt wants to use up fruit waste and upcycle it into a fat alternative that’s better for the planet. Zayt Butter remains solid at room temperature – which is one of palm oil’s most sought-after qualities – and can be used for both food and cosmetic applications.
Precision fermentation, which involves microbes taking over as tiny factories to produce different raw materials and food ingredients, is a nascent category. There are over 60 companies working with this technology across the global; supply chain. But Zayt argues that there’s a lag between the knowledge potential and the infrastructure when it comes to this sector.
It’s a complex value chain, and companies need to depend on outsourcing certain elements of their production, which involves transfers of technology and project commissions that carry extra costs and challenges. This leads to a loss of momentum and slower innovation, as well as increased prices.
To sidestep these issues, Zayt is entering into a partnership with German fermentation tech company Kynda, which offers plug-and-lay bioreactors for alt-protein. Kynda says its tech substantially reduces capital and operational expenditure, enabling clients to produce al-proteins in-house with an easy-to-scale molecular system.
Zayt believes its collaboration with Kynda stands out from the complex and expensive link-ups described above. The two startups are working together to support each other’s internal R&D goals and fulfill their own product roadmaps. This means the agreement allows for costs to be fairly distributed, with openly shared insights and collaborative solutions to overcome challenges at Kynda’s base in Germany.
Reducing costs and upcycling food waste
Courtesy: Kern Tec
Essentially, it allows Zayt to accelerate the launch of its fats and oils at lower prices and enables Kynda to translate its plug-and-play system to a wider range of applications. The latter is preparing to file for a Generally Recognised as Safe (GRAS) status in the US while building a 3,000-litre industrial fermentation unit and a new facility to extend R&D and production capacities as well as house its 10,000-litre bioreactor.
Zayt co-founder Aswad calls the ongoing collaboration an “alliance”. It will be initially focused on scaling and optimising the low-cost production of sustainable fats and oils. “We are also working together to create a custom-made solution for Zayt’s unique bioprocess, which would not be possible with a traditional CMO [contract manufacturing organisation],” he says.
“Thanks to the collaboration, we have fast-tracked our product development and are already testing with early customers in the alt-protein space, as well as skincare and haircare,” Aswad reveals. But since Zayt uses precision fermentation, its products will need to earn regulatory approval in the US before being allowed to launch to market.
Zayt’s transformation of fruit waste into butter brings another similar startup to mind. Austria’s Kern Tec upcycles the pits of stone fruits like apricots, plums and cherries into oils and ingredients for plant-based dairy products. It raised €12M in a Series A round last month and launched a vegan cheese range made from its ingredient last week, under its consumer-facing brand Wunderkern.
Meanwhile, fellow German startup Colipi is using precision fermentation to turn yeast into ‘Carbon Oil’ by using organic sidestreams as feed, similar to what Zayt is doing for its fats and oils.
There are a host of companies working in the palm oil alternative space too, including Clean Food Group (UK), C16 Biosciences (US) and NoPalm Ingredients (the Netherlands). Meanwhile, like Zayt, researchers at Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University and Estonian company Aïo also use byproducts from agricultural sidestreams to produce their alternatives to palm oil.
Warwick-based startup Moolec Science, which makes animal proteins using plants through molecular farming, has raised $30M in cash and kind from investors via convertible notes. It comes months after the company unveiled soybeans that contained pork proteins.
Moolec Science has entered an agreement with Grupo Insud to issue a convertible note due in 2026 worth $21M, with a strike price of $6 per share. This will be issued against a cash payment of $10M and in-kind contributions to be made by Grupo Insud to Moolec, which include credits to access Insud’s state-of-the-art industrial capabilities. The two companies formed a precision fermentation joint venture in 2021.
It follows a deal with Bioceres Crop Solutions – which Moolec spun off from as a seed startup – which will secure the supply of about 15,000 tons of soybeans, paid for via a convertible note. In total, the convertible notes amount to $30M in cash and in-kind contributions, which include soybean inventories, operational services and the acquisition of joint venture equity.
“This capital raise strengthens our financial position and allows us to accelerate our business model in a challenging financial market. The notes provide healthy optionality for Moolec to convert into common shares or cash in three years’ time,” said Mooled CFO José López Lecube. “Cash proceeds will be used to continue funding key R&D projects and in-kind contributions will secure the needed working capital to ramp up our commercialisation plan and product development initiatives.”
Transforming safflower into dairy proteins
Courtesy: Moolec Science
Moolec, which began trading on Nasdaq in January via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) LightJump, has a market cap of over $100M but has seen its stock drop from a nearly $20-high to under $3 recently.
Launched in 2021, the company is known for its molecular farming capabilities. It’s a process that produces proteins using plants instead of animals – plants are modified to replicate the desired proteins, and then harvested from the leaves or other tissues.
It bioengineers plants like soybeans and yellow peas to produce bovine and porcine proteins that enhance the flavour, texture, colour and nutrition of plant-based meat. But its most advanced innovations are a bovine chymosin protein (used in cheese) and a nutritional oil rich in GLA (an omega-6 fatty acid), both of which are produced through a strain of safflower using a patented tech called SPC.
The latter has already received a ‘no questions’ letter from the US and Drug Administration, which affirms its GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status in the US. It has been approved by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service too, which means Moolec can import, move between states and grow plants in the US.
Commercialising molecular meat proteins
Courtesy: Moolec Science
Meanwhile, Moolec’s Meat Replacement Program made a breakthrough earlier this year, producing soybeans that taste like pork. The tech yielded 26.6% of the total soluble protein in soy seeds via its newly developed Piggy Sooy, surpassing its initial projections by fourfold. The beans have a pink hue akin to that of pork, and Moolec is seeking a patent for the tech that will also help facilitate a smoother regulatory pathway.
“This achievement opens up a precedent for the entire scientific community that is looking to achieve high levels of protein expression in seeds via Molecular Farming,” Amit Dhingra, Moolec’s chief science officer, said at the time. “This platform has the potential to be used across a wide variety of proteins of interest for a broad range of industries, such as the pharma, cosmetic, diagnostic reagents, and other food industries.”
Moolec CEO Gastón Paladini told AFN that the company plans to focus on more meat molecules and proteins in multiple R&D projects. And instead of extracting and purifying the animal protein from these ingredients, it plans to sell the soy and pea proteins with the meat proteins embedded in the matrix.
“Moolec’s plan is not to purify and extract the target molecule the plant expresses,” he told AFN. “It makes sense for us to produce hybrid ingredients between plant and animal proteins, together. Affordability and functionality are our top priorities. And Moolec is targeting the whole processing meat market, not just the alternative protein market.”
The startup is working on developing meat proteins using yeast fermentation. It’s in talks with companies like ingredient processors for partnerships that could see Moolec license its IP, or work with them in downstream processing to recover and commercialise the proteins using their networks. But Moolec also has its own industrial facility in Argentina that could help it commercialise, with the ability to crush 10,000 tons of soybeans per year.
“We all share the common purpose to redefine the way we produce animal-based food, for good and for all. These engagements reinforce our vision and our shareholders’ long-term commitments while motivating Moolec’s Team to achieve the milestones to come,” said Moolec CEO Gastón Paladini.
South Korean food and drink giant Nongshim is investing ₩10B ($7.4M) in venture funds aimed at incubating food tech startups, particularly those working with cultivated meat.
Nongshim, the company behind the ultra-famous Shin Ramyun noodle brand, will pour the capital into helping discover and foster emerging companies working with the future of food in South Korea, particularly in areas like smart farming, digital transformation and cultivated meat, which it views as the closest and most viable alternative to conventional meat in the future.
The ₩10B ($7.4M) will be split equally into two Seoul-based two startup funds managed by Stonebridge Ventures and IMM Investment, with the food and drink giant aiming to champion trailblazing startups that can transform the food value chain.
Veggie Garden and ‘smart farm’ deals
Courtesy: Nongshim
Nongshim has its own alt-protein brand called Veggie Garden, which makes plant-based products ranging from bibimbap and bulgogi to grilled steak, dumplings and cheese. It also runs Forest Kitchen, a vegan fine-dining restaurant in southern Seoul, which opened in May 2022.
Additionally, the company – South Korea’s largest instant noodle maker – signed deals with the UAE and Saudi Arabia earlier this year to export smart farms to produce South Korean varieties of strawberries all year round. The latter project is worth a potential $30M, and Nongshim plans to generate business opportunities of over $100M with high-value-added crops.
It began investing in startups with the launch of its Nongshim techUP+ programme in 2018, and says the value of the stakes it has invested in has more than doubled. But while its ₩10B investment is a positive move, Nongshim’s sales and net profit in the first half of the year were ₩1.7T ($1.2B) and ₩99B ($72.9M), respectively.
“Investment in startups was decided following internal reviews,” a Nongshim spokesperson told Korea JoongAng Daily. “But we’re investing through specialised investment funds to conduct a more in-depth evaluation and to explore more deeply.”
Plant-based and cultivated meat focus in South Korea
Courtesy: CellMEAT
Cultivated meat is on the rise in South Korea. In February, 28 industry stakeholders signed an MoU to advance the country’s cultured meat industry, while a month later, the North Gyeongsang province opened the North Gyeongsang Cellular Agriculture Industry Support Center. The 2,309 sq m facility was built over six years with a total investment of ₩9B ($7M) with the aim to develop biomaterials and support companies in the cultivated meat sector.
These developments came after the nation’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety included official guidance for alt-protein in its National Plan 2022, covering the safety, manufacturing processes and regulatory approval of cultivated meat.
And in terms of plant-based food, more and more consumers are adopting vegan food. The Korean Vegetarian Union said that in 2020, there were around half a million strict vegans in the country – a threefold increase from a decade ago. Similarly, 1.5 million people followed vegetarian or plant-forward diets, while nearly 20% of the population (around 10 million) estimated to be flexitarian.
Industry think tank the Good Food Institute, meanwhile, has called South Korea a “global hotbed of alternative protein innovation”, with companies like Unlimeat, Lotteria, Armored Fresh and Yangyoo some of the plant-based leaders joining the aforementioned cultivated meat players in building a thriving industry.
