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Category: Future Foods

  • Vegan Seafood Startup Plantish Rebrands as Oshi As It Eyes Global Market

    3 Mins Read

    Plantish, the innovative Israeli company acclaimed for its cutting-edge plant-based salmon produced via unique, patent-pending additive manufacturing technology, has announced a rebrand to Oshi.

    Oshi says the renaming event symbolizes a substantial evolution for the brand as it embraces its transition towards becoming a global food entity, readying itself for a U.S. product debut later this year.

    To this point, Oshi has raised $14.5 million in funding. Among the notable investors are Unovis, renowned for its financial backing of industry players like Beyond Meat and Oatly. Additional backers includes Pitango, TechAviv Founder Partners, SOMV, SmartAgro, E2JDJ, Alumni Ventures, HackSummit, and OurCrowd.

    The company, established in March 2021, boasts a roster of notable collaborators, encompassing Michelin-starred chefs, famed cookbook writer Adeena Sussman, and content producer Nuseir Yassin from Nas Daily.

    ‘A transformative journey’

    “By rebranding to Oshi, we are embarking on a transformative journey to position ourselves as a leading global seafood company,” Ofek Ron, Co-Founder and CEO of Oshi, said in a statement. “Our new name, which stems from the word ‘Ocean,’ represents our values and our commitment to delivering exceptional seafood products that resonate with consumers worldwide. We are dedicated to offering a sustainable and delicious alternative to conventional seafood while promoting a healthier and more environmentally friendly food system.”

    Courtesy Oshi

    With the vast majority of global fish intake (more than 70 percent) being attributed to whole-cut styles like entire fish or fillets, Oshi has a strategic goal to instigate a sea-change in the alternative seafood domain through its introduction of whole-cut, plant-based salmon.

    In the past, the technical hurdles of creating whole-cut alternatives resulted in a lack of options in the alternative seafood industry, which has predominantly been confined to products like fish fingers and fried fish. Oshi’s pioneering additive manufacturing technology has surmounted these limitations, laying the groundwork for a new, sustainable methodology in plant-based seafood creation.

    Global vegan seafood market

    Oshi is targeting a launch into the U.S. restaurant industry by the conclusion of this year, with ongoing chef collaborations to fine-tune product offerings ahead of the much-anticipated launch. Concurrently, the company has solidified a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Coop for distribution collaboration on Oshi’s salmon fillets in 2025. Coop Group, one of Europe’s leading retail giants with more than 7,000 outlets, seeks to provide its customers with a sustainable, superior alternative to traditional salmon through this partnership.

    Good Catch Salmon Burgers
    Good Catch Salmon Burgers | Courtesy

    Oshi’s U.S. and European debuts will see it join an emergent seafood successors category led predominantly by the Wicked Kitchen empire that boasts the U.S.-based Good Catch and the recently acquired Current Foods.

    Elsewhere, global seafood leader Thai Union has stepped up its vegan seafood offerings as well as led an investment into French algae startup Algama. And in Canada, Toronto’s New School Foods debuted its first product earlier this year: a plant-based whole-cut “raw” salmon filet that works and tastes just like conventional.

    The post Vegan Seafood Startup Plantish Rebrands as Oshi As It Eyes Global Market first appeared on Green Queen.

    The post Vegan Seafood Startup Plantish Rebrands as Oshi As It Eyes Global Market appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • UK’s Meatless Farm Makes Team Redundant As It Prepares For Bankruptcy

    3 Mins Read

    Meatless Farm, the UK-based plant-based meat company founded in 2016 by Danish entrepreneur Morten Toft Bech, may be facing bankruptcy after being unable to secure additional funding.

    As first reported by The Grocer today, a notice of intention to appoint administrators was filed last Friday and all employees at the company’s Leeds headquarters were made redundant.

    As recently as two weeks ago, the company warned shareholders it was facing millions in losses and needed to find a buyer to stave off administration. The company has raised over £40 million in funding to date, with the latest round closed in 2021 via crowdfunding.

    While the company has not made an official announcement, the Meatless Farm website is no longer operational and the brand’s products can no longer be found in supermarkets and other former retail partners. The company’s last Instagram post was from over a week ago and the last LinkedIn post dates from almost two weeks prior.

    Just over a month ago, the company announced the launch of four new products, which it described as “the UK’s first branded plant-based meat-filled pasta” and debuted “the UK’s first Automated Plant Machine (APM)”, a vending machine dispensing free plant-based foods, as part of the Veganuary 2023 campaign in January.

    The company’s commercial director Tim Offer announced he was looking for a new role over the weekend in a social media post, writing: “Sadly my time at Meatless Farm has come to an end. After a fantastic 10 months leading a talented and highly engaged sales team the business has unfortunately made all the teams redundant. I learnt a huge amount in a short space of time and have absolutely loved the people and the brand. I am now actively looking for new opportunities as #SalesDirector, #commercialdirector , #headofsales in #FMCG.”

    Meatless Farm’s plant-based range, made primarily from pea protein (like its US counterpart Beyond Meat) and rice protein, included mince, burger patties, Chipolata sausages, steaks, chicken breasts, meatballs and a range of ready meals. The brand’s products could be found at various UK supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and the Co-op. In the US, the company inked a distribution deal with over 600 Whole Foods stores.

    In addition, the company had a dedicated foodservice offering for restaurant partners and famously secured a nationwide placement on the menus of UK pub chain Wetherspoons’ 900 locations in 2019.

    In a March 2023 interview with Business Leader, Toft Bech said that Meatless Farms’ 2022 sales were up 30% year on year and the company was hoping to close a £35 million funding round. When asked whether the vegan bubble was going to burst, he replied: “t is clear that the plant-based movement is here to stay. Over the last year Meatless farm has seen double-digit growth thanks to greater innovation and consumer demand despite the ongoing challenges posed by both the cost-of-living crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.”

    Andy Shovel, co-CEO and co-founder at fellow British vegan meat brand THIS commented on the news in a statement via email: “It goes without saying that our thoughts as a team, go out to everyone who works at – or with, Meatless Farm. It must be a massively stressful time. It’s also a symptom of a category which is consolidating and reacting to consumers’ need for brands which really signpost quality, and very little departure experientially, from eating animal-based food. This rationalisation is very typical of high-growth and emerging categories, for instance craft beer and smoothies saw a similar process.”

    This is a developing story.

    The post UK’s Meatless Farm Makes Team Redundant As It Prepares For Bankruptcy first appeared on Green Queen.

    The post UK’s Meatless Farm Makes Team Redundant As It Prepares For Bankruptcy appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Can JBS Distance Itself From the ‘Deforestation Beef’ Label With Cultivated Meat and Methane Biogas?

    cow
    4 Mins Read

    Brazilian meat processing giant JBS has announced that its first large-scale cultivated meat production plant is in development by its subsidiary, BioTech Foods, located in Spain as it adds methane biodigesters in nine Brazilian cities.

    JBS, which took a 51 percent controlling stake in BioTech Foods in 2021, says the San Sebastian facility will produce about 1,000 metric tons of cultivated meat annually, but it will have the potential to quadruple its capacity to 4,000 metric tons on a yearly basis.

    The new cultivated meat facility is set to culminate by the middle of 2024. Once completed, JBS says it will boast the title of the world’s biggest cultivated meat plant.

    Cultivated protein production

    “The new BioTech plant puts JBS in a unique position to lead the segment and ride this wave of innovation,” Eduardo Noronha, JBS USA’s head of value-added business, said in a statement.

    “With the challenges imposed on global supply chains, cultivated protein offers the potential to stabilize food security and global protein production,” said BioTech Foods co-founder and CEO Iñigo Charola.

    Cultivated meat | Courtesy BioTech Foods

    The move could signal a sea change for the protein industry. While cultivated meat has yet to receive widespread regulatory approval, a number of companies are poised for market entry when given the green light. Singapore, which first approved California-based Good Meat’s cultivated chicken in 2020, is expected to extend its approval to more companies in the near future. The U.S. has also seen two FDA protocols cleared by Upside Foods and Good Meat. They must now pass USDA inspections before approved for the market.

    That could be imminent as well as Good Meat recently hosted USDA inspectors at its U.S. headquarters. According to Eat Just, Good Meat’s parent company, the USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, Sanah Baig, tasted the company’s cultivated meat.

    “We appreciate the integral work that the U.S. government and advocacy groups like The Good Food Institute are doing to ensure that we have a safe, secure, and more sustainable food system for the future,” Eat Just said in a LinkedIn post.

    Can JBS clean up its protein production?

    The cultivated meat facility news also comes as JBS has announced the installation of methane gas biodigesters in Brazil — the largest project of its kind in Brazil’s protein sector. The biodigesters produce biogas, a clean energy source made from captured methane; livestock is a leading producer of methane emissions — a heat-trapping gas more potent than C02. The project is expected to be operational this month at nine Friboi plants in São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, and Rondônia.

    According to JBS, the biodigesters will help the meat giant reduce its Scope 1 emissions by 65 percent, reducing its total Scope 1 emissions by nearly 25 percent across all of Brazil.

    “In line with our circular economy actions, the biodigesters will reduce our methane emissions and initiate the production of clean and renewable energy,” JBS corporate sustainability officer Maurício Bauer, said in a statement.

    “This project strengthens our view that agribusiness is part of the solution for addressing the challenges of climate change that the world is facing.”

    Photo by Mark Stebnicki at Pexels

    JBS has long come under scrutiny for its ties to deforestation. Brazil is now the leading exporter of beef, much of which comes at the cost of large swaths of the Amazon rainforest. A report late last year found 17 percent of JBS’ cattle came from “irregular” ranches linked to deforestation.

    JBS is one of more than a dozen major agriculture firms that have made pledges to remove suppliers linked to deforestation from their supply chains by 2025, but critics say there are loopholes in its commitment.

    In March, the nonprofit World Animal Protection named JBS the worst offender in a new scorecard ranking the meat industry’s climate impact.

    Lindsay Oliver, Executive Director, World Animal Protection U.S. said JBS is the “worst contributor” of factory farming emissions in the world. “This scorecard further exemplifies the corruption on which JBS is built and the exploitation of both animals and humans on which it profits,” Oliver said.

    According to World Animal Protection, the emissions from JBS-helmed factory farms produce the emissions equivalent of 14 million gas-powered vehicles per year.

    The post Can JBS Distance Itself From the ‘Deforestation Beef’ Label With Cultivated Meat and Methane Biogas? first appeared on Green Queen.

    The post Can JBS Distance Itself From the ‘Deforestation Beef’ Label With Cultivated Meat and Methane Biogas? appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Alt Protein’s Design Language: Creating Mainstream Desire To Drive Food System Change

    10 Mins Read

    Alt protein brands are out there to save the world. But without creating mainstream desire they won’t win the hearts and stomachs crucial to making their visions a reality. Three emerging design patterns show us the way to cross the alt protein chasm into the mainstream.

    A decade ago, Dr Mark Post, co-founder of what would become the cultivated meat company Mosa Meat, fried up the first “in vitro burger” on live TV from a studio in London. Since then, investors have poured $14 billion worth of funding into the alternative protein space in order to find new ways to create animal-like foods and a lot has changed.

    Advances in science across plant-based, fermented and cultivated subsectors of the broader alternative protein space have given consumers some seriously impressive products, many of which cook, taste, smell and look like their animal-derived counterparts. We’ve got supermarkets displaying an array of plant-based brands milking every imaginable nut and legume. We’ve got ice cream and cream cheese made with dairy proteins from precision fermentation. We’ve even got cultivated chicken for sale to the public on a small island on the equator (hello Singapore!). The progress the industry has made in the past few years has been nothing short of amazing.

    So why aren’t more people choosing alt proteins when they want to eat meat, drink milk, or schmear their bagel? A big missing piece of the puzzle is desire. 

    Why desire is hard

    Even in the most progressive regions of the world, the market share of alternative meats is stuck in the low single digits. Alternative dairy, which is considered the most successful of all the plant-based food categories, is still only reaching the low teens. That’s because building mainstream desire for new foods is hard.

    Fundamentally, desire is hard because it’s not just an engineering problem. Desire is a multi-pronged cultural problem, with deeply entrenched beliefs central to people’s identities. If you tell a group of Italians someone is trying to replicate their prosciutto and burrata in a lab, you get angry marches in the streets. Desire is a behavioural problem, with the double hurdles of trial and repeat. If a startup rushes a mediocre product out to market it faces a significant risk that consumers will not give it a second chance. Desire is an emotional problem, with hot buttons that can trigger a herd mentality. A simplistic headline amplified by today’s media echo chamber can create a negative halo or backlash around the whole category. There is no single equation or formula that leads to desire.

    Desire is also hard because alt-protein brands are outgunned when it comes to marketing spend. In the past decade alone, Unilever, a single conventional food company, spent $103 billion on marketing alone – think enticing packaging, expensive billboards, and well-designed shelf wobblers – seven times more than the entirety of all alt protein investments including product development and factories.

    Or consider US beef. US cattle producers and importers are legally bound to pay a levy of $1 for every live animal sold, which in turn funds the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, an organization that runs the country’s Beef Checkoff program, a national marketing and research program designed to increase the demand for beef at home and abroad. The contributions give the program an annual budget of close to $40 million to spend on marketing, including sophisticated disinformation campaigns. No such alt protein checkoff exists.

    Design as a strategic point of leverage

    Fortunately, we have a powerful tool in our arsenal that can help us cut through the barriers and outsmart vs. simply outspend the established order. In our hyper-visual culture where the phone always eats first, we can use strategically crafted design to connect with consumers on a more visceral level and help drive desire.

    To better understand what works and what doesn’t, we examined the design codes used by the top fifty B2C alt protein brands from across the plant-based, fermented and cultivated segments of the industry. Design codes are simply conventions that are used to communicate meaning. They can include colors, brand names, logos, imagery, or the tonality of marketing copy.

    One specific tone of green can bestow crowns onto eco-royalty, while another can officially be the world’s ugliest color, so repulsive that regulators use it to stop people smoking. Brand names can be AGGRESSIVELY CAPITALISED or approachably set in friendly lowercase. Imagery can portray cows on idyllic grassy pastures or simply mouthwatering food porn. You get the point.

    What we found are eight distinct design codes across the alt protein category. A good way to understand them is by grouping them into three buckets. Brands using residual codes date back to the origins of the category and haven’t evolved with the times. Dominant codes are used by the bulk of the brands shaping the category today. More recently, a new generation of brands are using emerging codes that show us the future of the category. Let’s examine each one of them in turn.

    Residual design codes: the traditional approach

    In all the excitement around the latest precision fermentation technique or cultivated growth medium, it’s easy to forget that the OGs of alt protein date back to the 1980s. Many of them are unfortunately still stuck there design-wise.

    These are the veggie burgers of the past that many of us have tried and written off a long time ago. Their design language lacks desire and doesn’t give today’s consumers a reason to re-evaluate them. Photoshopped milk splashes and airline-food-style photography simply don’t cut it anymore.

    Dominant design codes: driving today’s conversation

    In the present-day alt-protein world, we found that four distinct brand design narratives dominate: 

    Beyond Preachy brands take the Silicon Valley 101 playbook and promise to unseat obsolete technology (animals) and do well by doing good. In their earnestness, however, they’re letting judgment and preachiness get in the way of desire. Do normal people want to think about land use and greenhouse gases over breakfast? Probably not.

    Turning up the volume to 11, Shock & Awe brands define themselves by what they’re up against instead of what they stand for. Impossible quests are embarked upon, blood is splattered on the walls, and the calves keep their milk. These brands get our attention, but do they build any kind of long-lasting relationship with the consumer? The shock of the new tends to wear off.

    A different, softer tack is taken by Fantasy Farms brands. Their names and their soothing pastel colour palettes want us to associate their products with the farm-to-table ethos – except there is no farm. When you click on where to find us on the Califia Farms website, you’re guided to a WeWork in downtown LA. Time will tell whether people see through this, and whether they care.

    Finally, Future Cool brands don’t try to hide the lab, they embrace it. They celebrate the future and try to make it cool. Their swag screams “LAB TO TABLE” in, what else, Helvetica font. This minimal approach certainly feels premium, but is it too cold to tap into the desire inherent in food?

    The alt protein chasm

    At this point it’s useful to remind ourselves of a 30-year old theory of how people adopt innovations. In Crossing the Chasm, his seminal book on innovation, author Geoffrey Moore describes how early visionaries have very different expectations of products than mainstream pragmatists, and how fundamentally different techniques need to be used to cross the chasm between the two. This is exactly where alt protein is today. 

    Yes, improvements are needed when it comes to the taste and texture of the products on shelves today. And yes, prices need to come down as we increase scale. But even the many benefits already on offer today aren’t consistently connecting with consumers, and that’s because the residual and dominant design codes we’re using have gotten us to the early market, but they haven’t gotten us over the chasm.

    The Alt Protein Chasm – Courtesy The Shift & Co

    Emerging design codes: showing the way forward

    These three design codes are where things get interesting. The brands using them are starting to show us how to cross the chasm and build mainstream desire with a more mass consumer.

    Embrace the Core brands refuse to be confined to a niche and are looking to normalize the alternative. They celebrate what people love about the category without being preachy. Doubling down on appetite appeal, they make alt protein fun, approachable, and ultimately a better version of the status quo.

    Loud & Proud brands are a more confident evolution of the dominant Shock & Awe code. The revolutionary flags and clenched fists are still there but these newer brands don’t need to put others down to make themselves stand out. A liberal sprinkling of attitude helps them, and their consumers, make a statement.

    Last but not least, Retro Comfort brands are a more sophisticated evolution of Fantasy Farms. They use the almost subliminal familiarity of the past to make alt protein seem non-threatening and wholesome. What could go wrong with a smiling sun made of mycelium?

    So where do we go from here?

    To have a chance of moving the needle on the global food system we must stop preaching to the converted. Using some of the emerging design codes we’ve identified, and building them into more brands can help. We should push them, test them, refine them, and evolve them. As we do, here are five things to focus on:

    1. Go for the persuadables. While every alt protein brand should have its own segmentation and view of the market, they’re likely to find there’s a small portion of consumers who are super engaged, a similar portion of rejectors who will simply never care, and a big majority of persuadable people in the middle. Target them, don’t settle for a narrow niche.
    1. Understand the culture. Frame your brands with a deep understanding of local food cultures. A schnitzel is different from shawarma, is different from Buffalo wings, is different from karaage – even though all of these dishes can be made from plant-based chicken.
    1. Be familiar, with a twist. Don’t obsess over always being 100% new and different. Remember that apps on the iPhone looked like they were made out of wood and green felt for the first six generations of the device. Use familiarity to your advantage as you go mainstream.
    1. Tesla the sustainability. Don’t lead with sustainability. A Tesla product page talks about getting from 0-60 in 3.1 seconds, having a 333-mile range, and having a 5-star safety rating, not sustainability. It’s a better car that just happens to be electric. Present a better protein that just happens to be sustainable.
    1. Show what’s in it for me. Always come back to what’s in it for the consumer. Don’t just talk about the nutritional content of your protein, but have Chef David Chang explain how it cooks better because it can be grated on a salad, put in a sandwich, basted in butter, or roasted in an oven. 

    Let’s rewind back to that first in-vitro burger at the start of the article. It was eventually revealed that one of the people funding the project was none other than Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google. He went on to describe three potential scenarios for the future of food. “One is that we’ll all become vegetarian,” he said. “I don’t think that’s really likely. The second is, we ignore the issues — and that leads to continued environmental harm. And the third option is, we do something new.”

    Let’s do something new folks. And let’s also use the power of design to make the change we need irresistible.

    All images and graphics courtesy of The Shift & Co.

    The post Alt Protein’s Design Language: Creating Mainstream Desire To Drive Food System Change first appeared on Green Queen.

    The post Alt Protein’s Design Language: Creating Mainstream Desire To Drive Food System Change appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • ChatGPT Founder-Backed Uncommon Raises $30M In A Series A For RNA-Driven Cultivated Pork

    uncommon bacon
    3 Mins Read

    Uncommon, the Cambridge-based biotech start-up that’s turning cellular innovation into appetizing, environmentally friendly meat products, has secured $30 million in Series A funding.

    Uncommon’s Series A was led by Balderton Capital and Lowercarbon Capital, with participation from Red Alpine, East Alpha, and previous investors including Max and Sam Altman, of OpenAI and ChatGPT fame, along with Miray Zaki and Sebastiano Castiglioni. The new influx of capital will drive Uncommon’s efforts to refine its offerings, scale up production, and navigate the regulatory approval process.

    RNA-based cultivated meat

    Formerly known as Higher Steaks, Uncommon is poised to transform the global pork market with its groundbreaking approach. In a world where consumers demand affordable, high-quality, and readily available food, Uncommon answers with an innovative solution. The company uses patent-pending RNA technologies to produce bacon and pork belly from a single animal cell sample, promising a more sustainable and ethical future for meat production.

    Who’s Right About the Future of Cultivated Meat? Does It Matter?
    Courtesy Uncommon

    At the heart of Uncommon’s revolutionary strategy is RNA, the molecule that instructs cells to produce protein. With this, the company can create delicious meat products that can compete with traditional meat in terms of price, scale faster, and offer safer, healthier alternatives without the need for gene editing.

    “Our unique approach to cellular agriculture drastically reduces the raw materials needed for alternative protein production and eliminates the need for antibiotics and animal products,” Benjamina Bollag, founder and CEO of Uncommon, said in a statement. “As the only cultivated meat leveraging RNA technologies, we believe we have a competitive advantage that could help us become the largest protein company in the world. I’m delighted with the progress we’ve made so far as a company and look forward to working closely with our new and existing investors to continue to build on this progress and make a difference to global health.”

    Disrupting the global pork market

    Not only is Uncommon committed to developing delectable and health-conscious products, but its mission also involves addressing the environmental impact of the meat industry. Uncommon’s cultivated meat requires only a fraction of the resources used in traditional livestock farming. As such, it can contribute significantly to the reduction of carbon emissions globally.

    Courtesy Uncommon

    Moreover, Uncommon’s goal extends beyond sustainability. By 2035, the company aims to hold a five percent share of the global pork market through its cultivated meat products. Uncommon’s strategy involves capitalizing on the growing cultivated meat industry, estimated to be worth $427 billion by 2040. With the fresh capital injection, they plan to ramp up production at their pilot manufacturing facility at Cambridge Technopark, expand their team, and bring the cost of goods down.

    Michael Sidler, Partner at Redalpine, put it bluntly: “Uncommon’s completely novel approach holds immense potential to revolutionize the cultivated meat industry and overcome the notorious scalability and pricing obstacles that companies in this field face.”

    The post ChatGPT Founder-Backed Uncommon Raises $30M In A Series A For RNA-Driven Cultivated Pork first appeared on Green Queen.

    The post ChatGPT Founder-Backed Uncommon Raises $30M In A Series A For RNA-Driven Cultivated Pork appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Meati Foods Scores a Home Run With MLB Hall of Famer Derek Jeter Investment

    Derek Jeter
    3 Mins Read

    Derek Jeter, the former New York Yankee shortstop and Major League Baseball hall of famer, has joined a number of high-profile celebrities backing Colorado’s Meati Foods.

    Meati Foods isn’t short on capital; the company has raised more than $250 million following its recent Series C funding round. But Jeter’s commitment to Meati Foods stretches beyond mere financial involvement; the high-profile investor has also pledged his services as an advisor to the company.

    ‘Making a real difference’

    Jeter, who was guided by three essential factors when exploring investments in this field — nutrition, sustainability, and taste — found Meati Foods to be a match. “Meati certainly delivers, with great quality steaks and cutlets and an institutional emphasis on high nutritional value and sustainable practices. As we look to the future, the choices we make and the impact we leave are critical, and I appreciate the way Meati has dedicated efforts to making a real difference,” Jeter said in a statement.

    Meati mycelium steak | Courtesy

    President and COO of Meati Foods, Scott Tassani, views Jeter’s involvement as a noteworthy testament to the company’s product. “Derek has seen endless products cross his desk for partnership consideration, and we’re honored by his support and inspired by his passion for a more sustainable, equitable, nutritious food ecosystem,” Tassani said.

    Jeter’s investment in Meati expands on his portfolio, which already includes Performance Kitchen, Amass, and Bespoken Spirits. A philanthropist at heart, he established the Turn 2 Foundation in 1996, which promotes healthy lifestyles among the youth and has since given out over $34 million in grants.

    Transforming the food system

    Established in 2017, Meati Foods has set out to transform the food system into a more delightful, nutritious, fair, and sustainable model. The debut line, Eat Meati, includes mushroom root-derived cutlets and steaks. After an overwhelmingly successful launch through its online shop, the company is planning a nationwide omnichannel rollout late this year.

    Courtesy Meati Foods

    The company has enjoyed a significant amount of media attention for its mushroom-based clean meat. Its earned support from several culinary figures including television host and philanthropist, Rachael Ray; David Chang, the brain behind Momofuku and Majordomo Media; Sweetgreen co-founders Nicolas Jammet and Jonathan Neman, and ex-senior policy advisor for nutrition at the White House, Sam Kass.

    The partnership with Jeter builds on the brand’s recent rollout across Sprouts stores throughout the U.S. in March. In January, the company announced its “mega ranch” in Colorado, which it says can rival the output of conventional animal farms.

    The post Meati Foods Scores a Home Run With MLB Hall of Famer Derek Jeter Investment first appeared on Green Queen.

    The post Meati Foods Scores a Home Run With MLB Hall of Famer Derek Jeter Investment appeared first on Green Queen.

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  • BettaFish Launches Vegan Canned Tuna As It Hits a Conservation Milestone

    3 Mins Read

    Honoring World Ocean Day on June 8, alternative seafood start-up BettaFish has unveiled its latest sustainability data, spotlighting strides made through a unique product line centered on seaweed, a regenerative and biodiversity-supporting marine resource.

    According to BettaFish, its vegan seafood alternatives have prevented 122 tons of tuna and 124 tons of bycatch from being consumed since its launch in 2021. Yet, the company says it’s far from done, as the Berlin-based startup set to launch its newest product, the Tu-Nah can, soon available via an exclusive waiting list.

    ‘Good impact food’

    World Ocean Day holds special significance for BettaFish, a company dedicated to preserving the world’s oceans. “Seventy percent of the Earth is covered by water, yet we mainly rely on the remaining 30% to feed our population,” Co-Founder Deniz Ficicioglu said in a statement. BettaFish has aligned itself with The Ocean Project’s #Protect30x30 campaign, aiming to safeguard 30 percent of the world’s land and waters by 2030, leveraging seaweed’s ecological benefits in the process.

    Seaweed harvest for BettaFish
    Seaweed harvest for BettaFish | Courtesy

    Seaweed, a “good impact food”, flourishes without requiring soil, freshwater, fertilizers, or pesticides, simultaneously restoring equilibrium to fragile marine ecosystems. It also presents a sustainable alternative to fishing that upholds the economic stability of fishing communities without necessitating relocation inland. The promise of transitioning from fishing to seaweed cultivation has been realized in collaborative efforts with partners like Seaweed Solutions.

    Tu-nah

    Deniz and his co-founder Jacob von Manteuffel, in collaboration with food technologists and chefs, have crafted Tu-Nah, an authentic tuna substitute that is entirely plant-based, packed with protein, and free of soy and wheat. This innovation targets the $42 billion tuna market, where 43 percent of the global tuna stocks are fished at biologically unsustainable levels, according to FAO.

    Good Catch’s top-selling vegan tuna | Courtesy

    The impact of BettaFish’s seaweed-based foods has resonated across Europe, reaching Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Greece, and the U.K. Since its Tu-Nah Sandwiches launched in October 2021, BettaFish has served 62.2 tons of Tu-Nah, which it says spared 122 tons of conventional tuna from being removed from oceans and avoiding 124 tons of bycatch. Moreover, through seaweed cultivation with local farms in Norway and Ireland, BettaFish has absorbed 1.32 tons of CO2 and conserved 1.25 million liters of freshwater.

    Plant-based seafood is on the rise with a number of companies entering the market in recent years. Last month, Wicked Kitchen, which owns the vegan tuna leader Good Catch, announced the acquisition of Current Foods — a  startup specializing in plant-based seafood for fine dining establishments and food service operations across the U.S. and Europe.

    The post BettaFish Launches Vegan Canned Tuna As It Hits a Conservation Milestone first appeared on Green Queen.

    The post BettaFish Launches Vegan Canned Tuna As It Hits a Conservation Milestone appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • E.U.-Funded Project Proposes Eco-Friendly Dietary Policies

    3 Mins Read

    The Smart Protein project, funded by the E.U., has released a comprehensive document recommending policy measures to transition Europeans towards more environmentally friendly dietary choices.

    The new Smart Protein report suggests utilizing various policy tools that include the implementation of labels on food items indicating sustainability factors, such as carbon footprint, water consumption, and transportation miles. The report further advocates for more European Union countries to eliminate VAT taxes on fruits and vegetables, a policy currently in effect in only four member states.

    Making sustainable food the default

    The Smart Protein Policy Brief also encourages the promotion of plant-based food in public establishments such as schools, hospitals, and local government buildings. “Animal agriculture is responsible for about 17 percent of carbon emissions in the E.U., so it is vital that the E.U. focuses on implementing policies that promote more climate-friendly food,” Juliette Tronchon, ProVeg International’s Senior Policy and Public Affairs Specialist and co-author of the report, said in a statement.

    soy
    Plant-based protein such as soy could help the E.U. meet its sustainability targets. Courtesy Canva

    Tronchon also stresses that animal agriculture contributes to lifestyle diseases, global hunger, and animal suffering. “Replacing animal products with plant-based and cultivated foods offers the E.U. a multi-pronged solution to these problems,” she said.

    “We urgently need positive and comprehensive policies to support the growth in demand for plant-based products, particularly products that are alternatives to animal-based ones,” Tronchon said. “The plant-based sector is attracting more and more consumers, while current European regulations are slowing down the process. With this Smart Protein Policy Brief, we want to emphasise the fact that regulatory and policy reforms are needed if the E.U. wants to achieve its goal of making European food systems healthier and more sustainable.”

    However, the allocation of funds for sustainable protein research is a fraction of the E.U.’s Horizon Europe program’s current budget. Only €32 million of its €95.5 billion budget is dedicated to this cause. Falk Hemsing, International Policy Officer at ProVeg and co-author of the report, says that plant-based alternative products are barely mentioned in the E.U.’s agriculture promotion policy, while the livestock sector, with its high carbon emissions and high water usage, receives considerable funding.

    Sustainable food labeling

    The report pushes the European Commission to take action in four key areas: labeling and marketing, public food procurement, VAT rates, and subsidies. Specifically, they recommend introducing a front-of-pack sustainability labelling scheme for food products, establishing an E.U.-wide definition for “vegan” and “vegetarian”, and promoting plant-based foods in the E.U.’s criteria for sustainable public procurement.

    Marine foods like seaweed offer a sustainable solution. Photo by Silas Baisch at Unsplash.

    Cindy Schoumacher, Policy Officer at the European Commission DG Research and Innovation, highlighted that plant, microbial, or marine proteins are among the key research areas for a sustainable food system. “Smart Protein is providing key information to fill knowledge gaps on alternative proteins and contribute to achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal,” she said.

    The recommendations come on the heels of a recent report that found while livestock in particular are a leading contributor to global warming — producing about 15 percent of all emissions — only 7 percent of climate content mentions animal agriculture’s role in climate change.

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  • Celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson Joins Aleph Farms as Investor and Culinary Advisor

    Chef Marcus Samuelsson joins Aleph Farms
    3 Mins Read

    Renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson has made an investment in Aleph Farms, Israel’s leading cellular agriculture company, and will serve as an advisor and launch partner in the United States.

    The collaboration between Samuelsson and Aleph Farms represents a significant step forward in the pursuit of sustainable and ethical food solutions. As the company continues to innovate and expand its product line, these high-profile relationships will play critical roles in accelerating the widespread adoption of sustainable protein.

    Chef-approved

    Samuelsson, known for his culinary expertise and commitment to diversity in the culinary world, will work closely with Aleph Farms as they approach the commercialization of Aleph Cuts, the world’s first cultivated steaks.

    Aleph Cuts Petit Steak
    Aleph Cuts Petit Steak, Courtesy Aleph Farms

    Didier Toubia, CEO and Co-Founder of Aleph Farms, expressed excitement about the partnership with Samuelsson. “Aleph Farms builds partnerships based on shared values. Like us, Chef Marcus believes in making a positive impact on our food systems with creativity, courage, and care.” Toubia said. He emphasized that Samuelsson’s experience and focus on creating accessible and inclusive cuisine make him an ideal collaborator in developing and promoting Aleph Cuts to a broader global audience.

    In his role with Aleph Farms, Samuelsson will provide culinary advice and contribute to product development and go-to-market strategies. He has also made a personal investment in the company. Once regulatory approvals are obtained from the FDA and USDA, Samuelsson plans to serve Aleph Cuts in his restaurants in the United States.

    ‘Bringing delicious, cultivated meat to the table’

    “It’s essential that we look for new ways to feed our planet sustainably, which is why I was attracted to the mission of Aleph Farms and being part, both as a chef and as an investor, in bringing delicious, cultivated meat to the table,” Samuelsson said. He believes that the cultivation of meat is a pioneering movement that will become increasingly important and commonplace in our lives.

    Aleph Cuts
    Aleph Cuts | Courtesy

    With a decorated career, including multiple James Beard Foundation awards and appearances on popular TV shows, Samuelsson brings his expertise and influence to the partnership with Aleph Farms. He is also a dedicated philanthropist, involved in initiatives that support underserved youth and community kitchens during the covid pandemic.

    Aleph Farms is actively working with regulatory agencies worldwide to prepare for the commercial launch of its first product, the Petit Steak. The company uses non-modified cells of a premium Black Angus cow to grow its meat products, ensuring no slaughter is involved. Aleph Farms aims to contribute to sustainable and secure food systems while prioritizing animal welfare. Its ‘Whole Animal’ approach includes plans to produce various cuts of steak and other products based on animal cells, such as cultivated collagen.

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  • MyForest Foods Nabs $15 Million in Series A Extention To Scale Mycelium Pork Bacon And Beef Jerky

    3 Mins Read

    MyForest Foods, maker of mycelium pork-free whole-cut bacon alternative MyBacon, has announced it has secured $15 million in Series A-2 funding and has appointed a new CEO.

    MyForest Foods raised the funds from Ecovative, the mushroom packaging parent company it spun out of in 2020. Ecovative recently raised a series E funding round totaling $30 million and led by Viking Global Investors.

    MyForest, formerly known as Atlast Food Co, closed a $ 40 million Series A round in 2021 which famously included Hollywood actor Robert Downey Jr’s Footprint Coalition Ventures. In April 2022, the startup secured a $15 million venture loan from Connecticut’s Horizon Technology Finance Corporation which it said was used to finance further production facility built-outs.

    Expanding horizons with series A-2 funding

    MyForest Foods says it will use the funding to invest in its retail expansion and enhance its food service reach across the Eastern Seaboard, including New York City. MyBacon is currently on the shelves of over 100 retail locations throughout the Northeast including at multiple Fairway Market and Gourmet Garage store locations throughout Manhattan. As MyForest Foods continues to expand its market presence, it aims to meet the rising consumer demand for sustainable, plant-based alternatives, making a positive impact on the future of food.

    The company’s bacon is made using mycelium, the root-like structure of fungi that MyForest Foods treats using solid-state fermentation process that results in a texture very similar to pork meat. By leveraging this technology, the company says it can address the growing challenges of global food production, including environmental sustainability, resource scarcity, and animal welfare.

    New CEO appointment: food industry veteran joins the team

    In tandem with the funding announcement, MyForest Foods has appointed food industry veteran Greg Chewcuk as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Shewchuk was the CEO of the food allergy prevention company SpoonfulONE, which Nestlé acquired in late 2022, and has had senior leadership positions at Campbell Soup Company, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Mondelēz International, Cadburys Schweppes PLC, and Unilever.

    “MyForest Foods was founded by a team of innovators with a passion for growing mycelium, an insight into how to grow whole-cut meats, and a vision to eliminate factory farming. Having proved the viability and consumer demand for our flagship MyBacon product, now is the optimal time to bring on an experienced industry leader as we move to commercial scale,” said Eben Bayer, MyForest Foods’ Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board in a statement.

    “I’m thrilled to bring Greg on board and leverage his savvy marketing and consumer packaged goods experience. With his expertise, our team will expand access to our delicious MyBacon, launch new whole cuts, and create a healthier, tastier, more sustainable world.”

    Chewcuk said of the news: “MyForest Foods has impressed me with its high-quality, delicious meatless products that support consumers’ ​​desire for more eco-conscious food choices. There’s a reason why MyBacon was recognized by TIME and Fast Company as one of the most innovative food inventions on the market today.”

     “With this new funding and renewed commitment from our investors, my goal is to double down on our marketing and sales functions to take the MyForest Foods brand to the next level.”

    New products on the horizon

    MyForest is planning for the launch of its second product, dubbed MyJerky, a beef jerky analogue made with its mycelium, albeit with different flavorings than MyBacon.

    MyForest produces its mycelium slabs in a production facility in New York State. Unlike competitors such as Meati Foods who grow their mycelium in steel fermentation tanks, Bayer told AgFunder MyForest grows its slabs on “beds of pre-treated hardwood chips”.

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  • India’s Shaka Harry Makes Its International Debut In With 15 Plant-Based Products In Singapore

    Shaka Harry
    4 Mins Read

    Leading Indian plant-based protein label Shaka Harry has announced its expansion into Singapore.

    The expansion marks the company’s first foray into the international market. Shaka Harry is set to introduce 15 innovative products at Mustafa Centre Singapore, a four-level retail hub and iconic shopping mall known for its 24-hour market-style shopping experience.

    To support the launch in Singapore, Shaka Harry has planned a range of marketing and promotional activities. These include in-store demonstrations, engaging social media campaigns, and collaborations with local food bloggers and influencers. The company also aims to establish partnerships with local restaurants and food service providers to incorporate their products into their menus.

    ‘A timely and important solution’

    “Expanding our business to Singapore, a country globally recognized for its commitment to promoting plant-based diets and addressing public health, environmental, and ethical issues, holds significant importance for Shaka Harry,” Anand Nagarajan, co-founder of Shaka Harry, said in a statement.

    “We are delighted to bring our products to discerning consumers in a country that shares our dedication to promoting plant-based diets and creating a more sustainable and compassionate food system. We are confident that our products will appeal to the growing number of individuals embracing flexitarian diets and seeking healthy, delicious, and environmentally friendly food options,” Nagarajan said.

    “Mustafa Shopping Centre Singapore is proud to announce the launch of Shaka Harry, a plant protein company backed by the legendary cricketer MS Dhoni,” said Mohd Saleem of Mohamed Mustafa & Samsuddin. “Shaka Harry’s innovative approach to sustainable and ethical protein production is a timely and important solution to address the challenges faced by our planet. We are excited to offer our customers access to Shaka Harry’s delicious and nutritious plant-based products, and we believe that this partnership will help create a brighter and more sustainable future for all.”

    Sandeep Devgan, Shaka Harry co-founder says the timing couldn’t be more exciting for the brand. “Collaborating with Mustafa Centre will give us the impetus to propel the Shaka Harry brand in the global marketplace,” Devgan said. “Already established as the best-performing brand in online stores where we have a presence, we are now poised to launch our exclusive range of 15 products in Singapore alongside Mustafa. Food is a pivotal area where sustainability can make significant strides, and Singapore is at the forefront of adopting cultivated meat and plant-based diets worldwide.”

    India’s global expansion

    According to Devgan, India’s government, along with APEDA (the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority), is actively promoting the export of plant-based food. “We are excited to be part of this growth story and build momentum,” he said. “India’s plant-based food products are highly regarded overseas due to their ethical values and contributions from foodservice operators and retailers. Building a consumer segment in the food industry necessitates a well-designed product range, deep expertise in taste and flavor, and a consistent customer experience. Our dedicated team at Shaka Harry is committed to creating the best plant-based food products in terms of taste and quality.”

    GOOD Meat Cultivated Chicken Skewer in Singapore Butchery – Credit EAT Just, Inc

    Both India and Singapore have emerged as global hotspots for the alternative protein industry, attracting startups and innovations. While much of India’s development is happening with regional brands, Singapore has become a hub for international brands across a range of categories including cultivated meat, where Singapore is currently the only country to approve it for sale and consumption.

    A recent survey on Singaporean dietary habits revealed that consumers are excited about the options; 46 percent of respondents expressed a willingness to adopt a plant-based diet due to health concerns, while 39 percent follow a flexitarian diet. The plant-based trend in Singapore has experienced an impressive average compounded growth rate of over 12 percent in the past four years, driven by health consciousness, taste preferences, and dietary restrictions related to religion or ethics. Notably, this trend has garnered an overwhelming 94 percent positive sentiment among consumers in Singapore.

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  • Upstream Foods Says Cultivated Fat Will Help Plant-Based Seafood Market Surge

    salmon
    3 Mins Read

    When it comes to seafood alternatives, the choices are limited. Dutch start-up Upstream Foods aims to change that by cultivating fat from salmon cells for the plant-based seafood market.

    The alternative seafood sector has seen significant growth in the U.S., with both dollar and unit sales experiencing a 53 percent increase last year, according to the Good Food Institute (GFI). This upward trend is expected to continue. But to truly appeal to mainstream consumers, alternative seafood needs to elevate its quality.

    As consumer demand for sustainable alternatives continues to grow, companies like Upstream Foods are striving to meet the challenge and provide high-quality options. Upstream Foods’ innovative approach to cultivating salmon cell fat for use in plant-based seafood aims to revolutionize the industry.

    ‘Next level fat’

    Kianti Figler, founder and CEO of Upstream Foods, emphasized the need for improved product quality during her speech at F&A Next, an event hosted by Rabobank, Wageningen University & Research, Anterra Capital, and StartLife. She acknowledged that the current offerings do not yet match the taste and quality expected by consumers, Food Navigator reports.

    Plantish vegan salmon | Courtesy

    “When we’re talking about taste, we’re talking about fat,” she said at the event. “To take plant-based seafood to the next level, we need next level fat.”

    According to recent TURF analyses, the main reasons consumers would choose plant-based seafood are flavor (78 percent), the potential to reduce overfishing (7 percent), omega-3 content (3 percent), lack of bones (1 percent), and contribution to reducing plastic waste (1 percent). GFI suggests that once consumers have a positive impression of alternative seafood flavors, messaging focused on these additional benefits can make the products more appealing.

    Figler agrees with this approach and believes that taste and fat are closely linked. Upstream Foods’ solution involves cultivating fish fat from salmon cells through cellular agriculture. The company develops a proprietary cell line from salmon cells, cultivates them in a bioreactor, and then combines the fat with a plant-based matrix.

    Scaling up

    Upstream Foods is currently optimizing its salmon cell line and establishing its process at a lab-scale. The company foresees the main challenge in scaling up will be reducing production costs.

    Figler acknowledges that cost efficiency is a significant hurdle faced by the entire industry, as the infrastructure has primarily been designed for the pharmaceutical sector, lacking incentives for ingredient cost reduction.

    fish
    Courtesy Martin Widenka via Unsplash

    “Making this entire process cost efficient is, I think, the biggest challenge we’re all facing,” Figler said.

    While Figler expressed a desire to enter the European market first, she noted that the time-consuming process of submitting a Novel Foods application to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) might not be feasible for a start-up. Instead, Upstream Foods plans to focus on the U.S. market, aiming to scale its process and file for regulatory approval within four years.

    The road to market entry involves developing a proof of concept with global plant-based seafood players, followed by raising €3 million in seed funding. Upstream Foods plans to scale its process to 30L and then 100L, with further increases in scale before seeking regulatory approval in the U.S.

    While Europe may not be the initial market for Upstream Foods due to the challenges associated with EFSA approval, the company remains optimistic about the future of plant-based seafood and the potential to offer quality products that satisfy consumers’ taste preferences while delivering health benefits and affordability.

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  • Quorn Foods And Prime Roots Partner To Expand Mycelium Meat Category

    Prime Roots is made from koji mycelium
    3 Mins Read

    Leading mycoprotein producer, U.K.-based Quorn Foods, has made a minority investment in the Berkeley-based vegan meat startup Prime Roots.

    Quorn pioneered the mycoprotein category, and its new partnership with Prime Roots, which relies on koji mycelium —Japan’s “national yeast” — for its vegan meat, will see both companies expand their reach and product range.

    Mycelium meat market opportunities

    The companies say they will collaborate on new product offerings using their novel mycelium tech. Quorn’s products currently dominate the frozen category while Prime Roots has targeted the deli case since its launch in 2017; it offers vegan versions of turkey, ham, salami, pepperoni, and bacon as well as pâté and foie gras.

    Kimberlie Le, Prime Roots’ Co-founder and CEO, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership: “We are thrilled to partner with Quorn, the leader in mycelium-based proteins to create breakthrough innovations together and to bring great tasting foods that are better for you and for the planet to mass markets,” Le said in a statement.

    Prime Roots charcuterie board
    Prime Roots charcuterie board | Courtesy

    “Prime Roots is doing great things in developing the U.S. meat-free deli category, and we’re excited by the opportunity we now have to share knowledge and collaborate with Kimberlie and her team,” said Quorn’s CEO, Marco Bertacca.

    The alliance announcement comes in the wake of Prime Roots’ recent $30 million Series B fundraise aimed at escalating production for nationwide distribution.

    “People are asking for sustainable meat options that taste good, make them feel good, and do good with less planet impact,” Le said in a statement accompanying the Series B announcement. “Prime Roots delivers on all three: taste, nutrition, and sustainability.”

    According to Le, the recent funding is an indicator that there is a growing market demand for alternatives to conventional meat.

    Health benefits of mycoprotein

    The news also comes on the heels of recent research published in the European Journal of Nutrition looking at Quorn’s health benefits, particularly on the propagation of friendly gut bacteria. The research, published in February, found that the study participants who consumed mycoprotein had “statistically significant” decreases in biomarkers for colon cancer than the group that did not consume the mycoprotein.

    Courtesy Quorn

    “The study showed that this dietary change delivers a significant reduction in genotoxicity and an increase in beneficial gut microbes,” the researchers noted. “Our findings suggest therefore that this high-fiber protein source provides a good alternative to meat in the context of gut health and could help to reduce long-term bowel cancer risk.”

    Other research, published in 2019, found that Quorn’s mycoprotein increased muscle building in participants at more than double the rate of the group who consumed dairy.

    “These results are very encouraging when we consider the desire of some individuals to choose non-animal derived sources of protein to support muscle mass maintenance or adaptations with training,” said Dr. Benjamin Wall, Associate Professor of Nutritional Physiology, University of Exeter.

    “Our data show that mycoprotein can stimulate muscles to grow faster in the hours following exercise compared with a typical animal comparator protein (milk protein),” he said.

    Last week, Quorn’s UK parent entity Marlow Ingredients announced a collaboration with Danish food start-up Tempty Foods to introduce a range of meat alternatives featuring mycoprotein, the fungus-derived “super protein” the company says is more sustainable than conventional protein sources.

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  • Fermbox Bio and Dyadic International Announce a Global Partnership for Sustainable Bio-Alternatives

    3 Mins Read

    Indian-based synthetic biology company Fermbox Bio, known for utilizing microbial precision fermentation for sustainable production of bio-alternatives, is joining forces with global biotechnology company Dyadic International Inc.

    The collaboration marks Dyadic’s first venture with an Indian entity for non-pharmaceutical uses on its renowned Dapibus platform. The partnership leverages the product development and process engineering expertise of Fermbox Bio, coupled with Dyadic’s proprietary filamentous fungal-based protein production platform, aiming to design, manufacture, and commercialize ground-breaking, animal-free alternative proteins and biomaterials.

    Biomaterials manufacturing

    Dyadic International Inc. and Fermbox Bio are both dedicated to creating sustainable and commercially viable products. Fermbox Bio is known for co-developing, manufacturing, and commercializing biomaterials for global markets, whereas Dyadic International Inc. is at the forefront of creating microbial platforms to meet the global demand for protein bioproduction and alternative proteins.

    Photo by Louis Reed at Unsplash.

    “We are very excited to partner with Dyadic to bring our complementary skills to action and use its novel Dapibus platform to create alternative biomaterials that are not only sustainable but also economically viable,” Subramani (suBBu) Ramachandrappa, Ferbox’s founder, said in a statement.

    “Our joint expertise across expression systems and execution capabilities from lab to large-scale manufacturing, uniquely positions us for success. We have a long-standing relationship with Dyadic leadership, and we believe that this co-development agreement can potentially accelerate the timelines for both companies to bring new and commercially viable bio-alternates to the market sooner.”

    Fermbox Bio, operating in both India and the U.S., is strategically positioned for global collaborations, benefiting from access to Indian scientific talent and manufacturing capacities. This collaboration, along with India’s prowess in gene expression, enzymatic pathway engineering, and low-cost manufacturing, could thrust the alternative protein sector forward, positioning India as a potential global supplier.

    “I am excited to announce this fully funded co-development and marketing agreement with Fermbox which is consistent with our business strategy of focusing on near-term commercialization opportunities that can create shareholder value,” said Joe Hazelton, Chief Business Officer of Dyadic.

    ‘End-market animal-free protein products’

    “Fermbox has extensive expertise in bio-alternatives development and microbial precision fermentation which we expect will accelerate our ability to exploit the Dapibus platform and expand Dyadic’s product offerings for non-pharmaceutical alternative proteins applications, such as food, nutrition, wellness, and other bioproducts,” Hazelton said.

    supermarket shopping
    Courtesy Pexels

    “We anticipate this collaboration will enhance our market penetration into the alternative protein markets, while at the same time continuing to pursue our biopharmaceutical activities which are advancing at a rapid pace. We believe that this collaboration will further leverage our proprietary Dapibus platform toward developing and commercializing multiple end-market animal-free protein products.”

    This collaborative model is setting a precedent, according to Nicole Rocque, Senior Innovation Specialist at The Good Food Institute (GFI) India. She says that a co-development partnership of this kind highlights the emerging role India can play in the global SynBio industry. “India has the potential to be a leader in the development of sustainable alternatives that have the potential to feed a growing population while showcasing a model of growth for other emerging markets.,” Rocque said.

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  • Singapore’s Flash Coffee Replaces Dairy With Oatside’s Oat Milk ‘To Help Our Customers Take A Small Step Forward’

    3 Mins Read

    Singapore-based coffee franchise, Flash Coffee, has announced an exclusive partnership with fellow Singaporean oat milk maker Oatside, which will be the default in any milk-based drinks, replacing dairy.

    The shift to oat milk makes Flash Coffee the first prominent coffee chain in Singapore to move away from conventional dairy. The new offering is at no additional cost to the consumer.

    Flash Coffee’s decision to swap in Oatside’s oat milk builds on its dedication to aiding customers in their move towards healthier, environmentally friendly consumption habits, without sacrificing flavor. Lactose intolerance is extremely high among Asian populations.

    Ditching dairy

    “Choosing to consume better can be difficult,” David Brunier, Flash Coffee’s CEO, said in a statement. “That’s why we’d like to help our customers take a small step forward – wherever they are in their journey to being better, kinder consumers – by making oat milk the default at our outlets. Together with our partners at Oatside, we are proud to be the first-mover in the market to remove the premium for oat milk upgrades and make it the default option for all our milk-based drinks.”

    Oatside is now the default milk at Flash Coffee.
    Oatside is now the default milk at Flash Coffee.

    As part of the Oatside partnership, Flash Coffee has also kick-started the #SipForChange campaign, which aims to shed light on the daily struggles of making sustainable consumer choices and encourages persistence.

    “We hope that by making healthier, sustainable and great-tasting choices more accessible and convenient, we can inspire more Singaporeans to start and stay on their journey towards consuming better,” said Benedict Lim, Oatside’s founder.

    An eager audience

    The new partnership builds on a number of initiatives aimed at helping consumers make sustainable choices. On Earth Day, Flash Coffee introduced a limited-run oat milk menu. It also offers discounts for customers who bring their own coffee mugs.

    The Oatside team. Photo by Oatside.

    The decision to replace dairy follows the enthusiastic response from customers to past promotional initiatives, where surcharges were temporarily lifted for those opting for oat milk over dairy in their coffee drinks.

    The company says these promotional periods saw a surge in oat milk beverage sales, which more than doubled.

    The chain also says that consumer preference for oat milk persisted even after the promotions ceased, hinting at a rising inclination among Singapore residents towards healthier and more eco-friendly dairy alternatives.

    The partnership also builds on Oatside’s success. The company raised a $65 million Series A funding round last summer, co-led by Temasek Holdings and GGV Capital.

    “We want to be the plant milk for people who don’t care for plant milks – to lead the movement to  sustainable milk through incredible taste,” Lim told Green Queen last year. “Within plant milks – and oat milks in particular – there is a wide variance in textures, tastes and there has to be a varied offering across brands to achieve this shared mission globally.”

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  • Green Rebel’s Vegan Chicken Launches At Nando’s Singapore

    Green Rebel x Nando's
    3 Mins Read

    Indonesia’s whole-cut plant-based meat brand Green Rebel has announced a partnership with Nando’s Singapore for a limited menu collaboration.

    The announcement marks the first time Nando’s, the South African-based chicken chain, has launched a plant-based menu option in Singapore. The new meatless Green Rebel Chick’n Steak is part of Nando’s “The Great Pretender” campaign.

    Green Rebel x Nando’s

    The new sandwich contains 18 grams of protein per serving and 7 grams of fiber — about the equivalent of 250 grams of spinach. The sandwich is rolling out to all six Nando’s locations in Singapore.

    The partnership marks a milestone for Green Rebel, which launched in Singapore last year. The company’s products are available in 1,500 locations across Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

    Green Rebel at Nando's
    Green Rebel at Nando’s | Courtesy

    “The way to convince more people in Asia to try plant-based foods is with products that work great in favourite local dishes,” Michal Klar, general partner at Better Bite Ventures told Green Queen last year following Green Rebel’s Series A funding round. “Green Rebel is doing exactly that by offering plant-based meats with authentic flavours like Indonesian beef rendang, chicken satay and more.”

    Last November, the company announced its expansion into the nondairy category with the launch of cheese, sauces, and dressings.

    Singapore as a vegan launchpad

    Singapore is increasingly cementing itself as a launch pad for vegan products. A confluence of increased consumer consciousness about environmental sustainability and ethical consumption has seen a rise in the demand for plant-based and alternative protein options across the nation. Singapore’s innovative, tech-forward business climate is ideal for the development and promotion of such products.

    Most recently, Dutch food technology pioneer Meatable hosted its first-ever cultivated meat-tasting event in Singapore — the only country that has approved cultivated meat for sale and consumption.

    meatable
    Courtesy Meatable

    Startups and multinational corporations alike are capitalizing on the opportunity. Recognizing Singapore’s potential, they’re launching an array of vegan alternatives, from lab-grown meat to plant-based dairy and egg substitutes. The government is also supportive of this burgeoning sector, contributing funds and resources for research and development in the food-tech industry.

    Crucially, Singapore’s status as a cosmopolitan city, with its diverse population and culinary tastes, makes it a fertile testing ground for new vegan products. Businesses are able to reach a broad spectrum of consumers and gain insightful feedback to continually improve their offerings.

    Furthermore, Singapore’s strategic location in Asia allows companies to expand into other markets in the region easily. Its role as a launch pad for vegan products underscores its broader ambition to become a leader in sustainable and innovative food solutions. This trend is likely to continue as the global demand for vegan and plant-based products grows.

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  • Hong Kong’s DayDayCook Partners With Nestlé on Shelf-Stable Vegan Meal Range

    2 Mins Read

    Hong Kong-based DayDayCook and Harvest Gourmet, Nestlé’s strategic brand, have joined forces to create a new range of plant-based meal options.

    The new collaboration brings to market a line of shelf-stable products that incorporate Harvest Gourmet’s vegan ingredients sourced domestically. DayDayCook has traditionally focused on meal delivery kits for the home chef.

    “I am super excited to see this collection launch and come to life,” Norma Chu, Founder and CEO of DayDayCook, said in a statement.

    ‘Special yet accessible’

    The focus of the new vegan meat product range is to create something “special yet accessible” DayDayCook says. “We want to wow [customers] and bring them back to the fundamental of eating delicious and healthy meals with a dash of nostalgia for flavor.”

    According to the company, the partnership with the Nestlé R+D Accelerator worked to develop foods that will resonate in a positive way with the Chinese audience as well as create a buzz within the plant-based market.

    “We have been so honored to have the privilege of working with Nestlé, the largest food company in the world,” DayDayCook said. “During this process, we tried the full range of [plant-based meat] ingredients produced domestically by Nestlé  China. With such a strong root in R&D, we were impressed by how much variety of plant-based ingredients were readily available. Then, we took it upon ourselves to create the most delicious and easy-to-make meal kits with these Harvest Gourmet ingredients.”

    float foods eggs
    Float Foods’ OnlyEg looks, cooks, and tastes like chicken eggs | Courtesy

    Last December, Singapore’s Float Foods, known for its egg replacement OnlyEg, partnered with DayDayCook to bring its vegan egg to its Hong Kong consumer base.

    “People have enjoyed the experience of cooking and eating at home but are also hard-pressed for time and energy. The OnlyEg Meal Kits offer the chance to elevate the dining experience by introducing clean, contemporary, healthy meals,” Norma Chu, Founder, and CEO of DayDayCook, said in a statement. “Eating a healthy protein-rich meal should be accessible to everyone and bring a sense of celebration at the same time.”

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  • Lewis Hamilton-Backed Neat Burger Secures $18 Million Series B: ‘A Major Milestone’

    neat burger
    4 Mins Read

    The U.K.-based Neat Burger, the plant-based restaurant chain supported by influential figures like Lewis Hamilton and Leonardo DiCaprio, is set to expand its global reach following a successful $18 million Series B fundraising round.

    Despite the challenging macroeconomic backdrop, Neat Burger has emerged as a leading player in the plant-based food industry. The recent fundraise saw Formula One Champion Lewis Hamilton reinvest, alongside Chimera Capital. Notable new investors include LionTree, New Theory Ventures, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, and model and actress Sara Sampaio.

    Since its launch in 2019, Neat Burger has rapidly grown to become one of the world’s fastest-growing plant-based food groups and has garnered a reputation for its pioneering approach to appeal to both flexitarian and plant-based consumers.

    ‘A major milestone’

    The company’s focus on high-quality, fresh ingredients without compromising on taste has helped to make plant-based eating accessible and enjoyable for its customers. Neat Burger’s purpose is to offer ethical, sustainable, and delicious plant-based food served with passion and style.

    “We are thrilled to have reached this major milestone in Neat Burger’s journey with a successful fundraise from previous investors alongside an impressive group of new investors,” Tommaso Chiabra, Co-Founder of Neat Burger, said in a statement.

    “This is a pivotal moment for our business, and it allows us to accelerate our growth plans. With the successful launch of our New York location and record first quarter under our belt, we have demonstrated the strength of our brand, and are now well-positioned to bring our award-winning plant-based food to the growing number of consumers in the U.S. and worldwide who are embracing a healthier and more flexitarian lifestyle,” said Chiabra.

    Neat Burger
    Neat Burger is exceeding sales projections | Courtesy

    Leading the round is B-Flexion, a private institutional investment firm founded by Ernesto Bertarelli, which focuses on sustainability.

    “I love how Neat Burger is on a mission to make plant-based eating more accessible to everyone,” Chiara Bertarelli said om a statement. “Our generation is paving the way and driving this change, with research showing once Gen-Z adopt a vegan or flexitarian diet, 70 percent stick with it. So, the key is getting people to try it and integrate it into their daily lives. First impressions count and Neat Burger’s approach, combining fun and sustainability, has the potential to change the world.” Bertarelli is a recent Harvard University graduate and will now serve as Neat Burger’s Sustainability Advisor.

    The investor support not only recognizes Neat Burger’s growth potential but also acknowledges its unique and innovative approach. Neat Burger prioritizes an engaging restaurant experience that inspires consumer curiosity and encourages the adoption of a meat-free and flexitarian lifestyle. The group’s London restaurants have shown record-breaking performance in the first quarter of this year, with like-for-like sales up by 20 percent.

    Central to Neat Burger’s menu are its fully plant-based offerings, providing health-conscious consumers with guilt-free options for enjoying all-American burger classics. The Neat Burger patty is crafted with a blend of nutritious superfoods such as mung beans, quinoa, and chickpeas, and is rich in healthy fats and protein.

    Neat expansion

    Earlier this year, Neat Burger made its U.S. debut in New York. “We see New York as a tastemaker gateway to the U.S. and by all metrics it has been our most successful launch to date,” said Zack Bishti, Co-Founder and CEO of Neat Burger. First-month sales exceeded expectations, making it the best-performing store in the entire Neat Burger portfolio.

    Neat Burger New York
    Neat Burger New York | Courtesy

    “New Yorkers have good taste and strong opinions and we’ve been thrilled to see customers continually return,” said Bishti. “We’re at the heart of the growth in plant-based diets and our proximity to the customer voice sets us apart. In response to the growing demand for cleaner ingredients, we’ve incorporated healthier options into the New York menu, while continuing to serve our growing community food that’s as sustainable as it is delicious.”

    The chain is also expanding with restaurant launches in Italy and the Middle East. Additionally, the company is growing its business-to-business vertical by forming partnerships with hospitality groups and businesses aiming to achieve net-zero targets by shifting to plant-based offerings.

    The success of Neat Burger is reflected in its growing fanbase and also in widespread industry recognition. The company has been honored with the prestigious U.K.’s Best Vegan Restaurant of the Year award at the Deliveroo Restaurant Awards for two consecutive years. These accolades highlight the positive response and acceptance of Neat Burger’s innovative approach to plant-based dining.

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  • Melibio’s Bee-Free Mellody Honey Makes Its Retail Debut at Eleven Madison

    Mellody honey

    2 Mins Read

    Melibio’s Mellody plant-based honey is making its direct-to-consumer debut via chef Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Home store in New York City.

    Following up from its debut at the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim, Calif., last month, Mellody will be available as part of the Eleven Madison Home’s Tea & Honey box.

    Mellody x Eleven Madison

    The collection features honey oat shortbread cookies made with Mellody honey, one jar of Mellody plant-based honey, a honey dipper, and three single-origin teas from In Pursuit of Tea: Himalayan Black, Thunderdragon Green, and Elderflower.

    The culinary team at Eleven Madison Home is also developing an infused flavor of the Mellody plant-based honey that will be released in the next month as a duo with the original flavor. 

    Eleven Madison Home brings curated vegan food boxes to Manhattan

    “We were blown away by the quality of Mellody and were excited at the possibilities of how we can incorporate it into our kitchen through recipes and products,” Eleven Madison’s Director of Operations Chef Daniel Distefano, said in a statement.

    “A plant-based diet can often be seen as limiting. This product and what we’re doing with Eleven Madison Home goes a long way to discredit that notion,” he said.

    Benefits of going bee-free

    Melibio created Mellody to provide a vegan alternative to honey but also to help protect the world’s pollinator populations. The company says its plant-based honey addresses critical environmental issues caused by the commercial honey industry.

    “Native bees are critical to food production and biodiversity conservation, but they are under increased pressure due to fierce competition from invasive European honey bees,” Melibio says.

    Mellody comes to Eleven Madison

    “Many people are unaware of the issues surrounding commercial honey production and its impact on the 4,000 native bees in the US,” said Darko Mandich, co-founder and CEO of MeliBio. “By providing restaurants and consumers with a delicious and sustainable alternative, we hope to help restore ecological harmony and make room for native pollinators.” 

    Melibio says its Mellody honey is “molecularly identical” to conventional honey, so users experience the same taste, smell, look, and texture that they’re expecting from a honey product. The vegan honey works just like conventional across applications, and is “a vegan’s best friend in terms of sweetener,” Mandich says.

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  • Babybel Maker Backs AI-Powered Climax Foods To Make Develop Game-Changing Plant-Based Cheese

    3 Mins Read

    French cheese giant the Bel Groups is investing in and partnering with Californian biotech startup Climax Foods to develop AI-powered plant-based, sustainable and nutritious cheese products.

    French global food plater the Bel Group, known for its popular branded cheese products, has announced a unique partnership with biotech Climax Foods with the aim to develop a new generation of plant-based cheese products to help address the challenges facing the dairy industry amidst a worsening climate cirsis. Their goal is to create plant-based versions of Laughing Cow®, Kiri®, Boursin®, Babybel®, and Nurishh® brand foods with a focus on making low-carbon footprint products nutritious, affordable and are indistinguishable from their dairy counterparts. To achieve this, the two companies will leverage data science and artificial intelligence (AI) along with their complementary capabilities and expertise. Bel has acquired an equity stake in Climax Foods Inc. to support the development of their innovative solution.

    “Food is a key lever to address climate change, and we, at Bel, have a strong determination to explore new territories and develop innovative solutions that will define the future of food, for all,” said Cécile Béliot, CEO of the Bel Group in a press statement. “The products we will develop in partnership with Climax have the potential to make a big difference: they can meet the three-fold challenge of sustainable, nutritious, and accessible. This collaboration epitomizes our co-innovation strategy by combining their distinctive technological data science and AI platforms and expertise with Bel’s pioneering and historical knowledge.”

    Using predictive analytics and AI, Climax Foods has developed a comprehensive understanding of the molecular structure of animal-based foods. This knowledge allows them to create plant-based versions with identical texture, flavor, and nutrition density. By leveraging their AI technology, Climax Foods says it can expedite the product development process and harness the vast potential of the plant kingdom to create innovative plant-based recipes in a fraction of the time that it would take to do this manually.

    Climax Foods CEO Dr. Oliver Zahn said: “AI and data can be game changers in food in terms of delivering optimal taste and texture while at the same time making it affordable and sustainable. Evolving recipes over time is what we’ve been doing for hundreds of years. In addition to changing consumer preferences, climate change requires us to accelerate the evolution of food. Together with Bel, we can make a significant positive impact so that people and the planet are better off.” 

    California-based Climax raised $7.5 million back in 2020. Zahn, a former data scientist at Google, SpaceX and plant-based food tech giant Impossible Foods, attracted backing from GoogleX co-founder Tom Chi, Manta Ray Ventures and S2G Ventures. Earlier this year, the company said it was working with  Caroline Di Giusto, a global expert in conventional cheesemaking, and building a pilot and production hub in Petaluma to develop its “Deep Plant Intelligence”, which it describes as “a combination of molecular-level data about animal products and its proprietary plant-based ingredients database”

    Climax Foods’ team of food scientists has already developed multiple prototypes of specialty cheeses, such as blue, brie, feta, and goat varieties that closely mimic their dairy counterparts. Bel plans to introduce these new plant-based products in the U.S. and Europe before the end of 2024, which will help towards achieving the company’s goal of achieving a balanced portfolio of 50% dairy products and 50% plant-based/fruit products. Bel is looking to be part of a transition towards a new food system model that can feed 10 billion people by 2050 while limiting environmental impact.

    Caroline Sorlin, Chief Venture Officer of Bel, said: “Our group has always distinguished itself in its ability to dare and change the game with its innovative products. The challenge of the food transition is so big that collaborative innovation and the merging of skills is imperative. This partnership is definitely a source of pride, but above all, it is excellent news for the plant-based cheese market.”

    Bel, which has already debuted a plant-based version of Babybel and has its own plant-based cheese brand Nurishh, announced last year it was partnering with U.S.-based Superbrewed Food to develop dairy-free cheese via biomass fermentation and with French precision fermentation dairy company Standing Ovation to create microbe-based casein proteins to use in Bel’s suite of cheese products.

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  • $8 Billion U.S. Plant-Based Food Sector Shows ‘Momentum and Resilience’, PBFA Report Finds

    supermarket milk set
    5 Mins Read

    In its State of the Marketplace 2022 Summary Report, the Plant Based Foods Association takes a deep dive into the category and identifies key trends ahead.

    Despite inflation over the last year and lackluster sales for several plant-based category leaders that dipped the sector by 3 percent, 2022 still saw growth, the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) says in its latest industry report. Overall, U.S. plant-based food sales grew 6.6 percent, bringing the category to $8 billion for the year.

    Courtesy PBFA

    “The plant-based foods industry’s momentum and resilience – built on robust consumer demand – is evident across 2022 retail and e-commerce sales and foodservice performance,” Julie Emmett, PBFA Vice President of Marketplace Development, said in a statement.

    “We know consumer interest is strong, now it’s a matter of continuing to increase access and awareness for existing and future innovative plant-based options and furthering the exciting potential of this industry,” Emmett said.

    The findings

    The rise in plant-based sales comes from the increasing adoption by mainstream, flexitarian consumers, the report says. Sixty percent of total U.S. households are now regularly purchasing plant-based alternatives to conventional animal products, with 80 percent repeating those purchases.

    This increase in plant-based purchases comes as animal-based food sales have declined, PBFA says, with plant-based seeing particularly noteworthy growth across eggs, protein powder, coffee creamer, RTD beverages, and dips and spreads. The categories driving the bulk of sales continue to be milk, followed by meat, creamer, ready-meals, and ice cream.

    Courtesy PBFA

    “The variety of standout categories speaks to the expansion of consumer interest in plant-based options for every eating occasion, from post-workout smoothies to morning coffee to indulgent meals,” PBFA notes.

    As the sector leader, plant-based milk is now in more than 40 percent of U.S. homes, the report finds, accounting for 15 percent of all fluid milk sales, with 75 percent of those consumers repeat buyers. The vegan milk category grew nine percent to $2.8 billion in 2022.

    “Against a backdrop of heavy inflation, plant-based milk units declined by two percent,” the report notes. “As consumers stretched their dollar across total food sales, the price gap between plant-based milk and animal-based milk impacted overall purchasing. In comparison, animal-based milk was also down two percent in units, but saw a 12 percent increase in dollar sales, illustrating the outsized role of inflated
    pricing in growing sales figures for animal-based milk.”

    Courtesy PBFA

    While vegan meat sales remained steady over 2021 numbers, the report notes the category is diversifying, with vegan chicken driving the bulk of sales. The frozen vegan meat category grew by five percent and shelf-stable options grew by more than 80 percent while refrigerated saw a 13.5 percent decline. “Many plant-based meat segments — such as filets; steaks; cutlets and jerky snacks; and nuggets, tenders, and wings — are growing in both dollars and units, while plant-based chunks and strips, deli slices, and meatballs are growing in dollar sales, demonstrating consumer adoption of many different varieties of plant-based meat,” reads the report.

    The future of plant-based

    It’s not just consumers stocking vegan options in their refrigerators that drove the growth; the report shows 48 percent of U.S. restaurants now offer plant-based or vegan menu options, “a percentage that has grown steadily, without decline, over the past decade.”

    Online sales also increased for plant-based foods, accounting for 6.4 percent of total online sales, compared to 4.5 percent in grocery retail.

    “In recent years, we’ve noticed more and more people embracing a conscious way of living,” says Heather Brand, Thrive Market’s senior category manager. “Consumers are more mindful of their impact on the environment, their health, and animal welfare. This has led to a surge in popularity of plant-based foods and products, as people look for healthier and more sustainable options.”

    In just the five years since the PBFA began reporting on the sector, it says the sector has gone from six categories to 20, and growth is expected to continue.

    “The plant-based foods industry has proven its resilience, weathering unprecedented challenges to maintain cross-category market shares and achieve $8 billion in U.S. retail sales,” says Rachel Dreskin, PBFA CEO.

    Courtesy PBFA

    “This success is a testament to the dedication of consumers who are looking for plant-based options for every eating occasion, and the innovative brands and marketplace partners who are working to meet growing demand for sustainable, healthy, and delicious options,” Dreskin said.

    PBFA, which worked with the think tank nonprofit The Good Food Institute to analyze the sales data, also found that while inflation affected every segment of the food industry in 2022, the average retail price of animal-based foods increased more than plant-based options. The animal sector increased by an average of 15 percent, while plant-based foods saw only a ten percent spike.

    Despite the economic and environmental benefits of increasing plant-based food, consumers are still largely motivated by health, the report found. The environment is the second motivating factor followed by animal welfare.

    Seventy-three percent of consumers consider themselves health-conscious, says PBFA, but they’re still motivated by taste and affordability. Younger consumers, particularly Gen Z, are aiming to reduce their carbon footprint, with 79 percent going meat-free one day per week and 65 percent wanting a more plant-forward diet.

    “While there is still much to be done by food system stakeholders to sustain and accelerate the momentum of the plant-based foods industry,” PBFA says, “the findings of this report affirm our confidence as an organization and an industry that we, collectively, are on the right path.”

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  • Mycorena’s Sustainable Fungi-Based Fat Mycolein Makes Its Market Debut

    Mycorena's mycolein
    3 Mins Read

    Following its release in 2021, Sweden’s Mycorena says its fungi-stabilized sustainable fat dubbed Mycolein, is now available for sale.

    Mycorena first announced its fungi-based fat that mimics animal fat in late 2021. The product earned high praise for its superior behavior and sensory qualities that outperformed plant-based fats such as coconut oil. The product, which is being marketed as Mycolein, is now ready for its retail launch under the company’s mycoprotein brand Promyc, currently available across select European stores.

    “Recognising the challenges faced by our partner food companies in sourcing a stable fat ingredient, in 2021, we launched the first fungi-stabilised fat as a prototype product,” Ramkumar Nair, Founder & CEO of Mycorena, said in a statement.

    ‘Unparalleled benefits’

    “At that time, we were still determining the product’s scalability, as has been the case with many similar products launched in the market. And now, after nearly 1.5 years of development, we have successfully created a full-scale process for producing the product and are fully prepared to launch it commercially,” Nair said.

    The product underwent extensive trials and tasting with plant-based partners including the vegan steak producer Juicy Marbles and meat alternative producer Dalco Foods.

    Courtesy Juicy Marbles

    “We are incredibly grateful to our partner companies who have supported us with extensive verification and product development trials. It’s satisfying to hear that the addition of Mycolein has elevated their products’ palatability and sensory offerings,” Nair said.

    Mycorena says the product is now better than ever and holds significant potential for improving the sustainability of the food sector. Mycolein offers “unparalleled benefits,” the company says, due to its versatile nature that enhances the juiciness and flavor of any food product, including plant-based and alternative protein and meat products, “with superior qualities similar to animal fat or as a healthier fat in meat products.”

    A healthier vegan fat

    Compared to animal fats and popular vegetable fats, Mycolein has a better nutritional profile and delivers the same, or even better organoleptic results, “making it a healthier and more desirable option.”

    Unlike most fats, Mycolein is also a source of dietary fiber, offering more than a 40 percent fat reduction compared to other fats. The clean label fat also contains very little saturated fat — 85 percent less than coconut fat. It joins a burgeoning designer fat category that’s seeing fermentation and cell tech advance sustainable alternatives to animal fat and palm oil.

    Mycorena's Promyc meat
    Mycorena’s Promyc meat | Courtesy

    “Our fat solution stabilises emulsions, locks in all of the product’s flavours, and maintains its juiciness during cooking. Compared to conventional vegetable fats, our solution is healthier. In addition, the tailored recipe of our solution allows for the introduction of additional flavours and fortification, such as Omega 3,” says Joan Lluch Casarramona, Food Specialist at Mycorena.

    According to Mycorena, using mycelium biomass in its Mycolein is a novel use of the material, something the company says can revolutionize the industry. The company already operates the largest mycoprotein factory in Europe.

    “The potential applications of this technology are limitless. While we initially focused on enhancing food products through fat solutions, this is only the beginning,” says Sandra Zachrisson, Head of Product Innovation at Mycorena. “Our ultimate goal is to leverage this technology to unlock new, sustainable solutions for food manufacturing.” 

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  • 10 Companies Awarded China’s First Vegan Food Standard Certification

    Green Monday Raises USD 70 Million Plant Based Asia

    3 Mins Read

    China’s shift to a more sustainable food system took a significant step forward with the introduction of the country’s first domestic vegan food certification program and the first ten recipients.

    The China Vegan Society and the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation say the China Vegan Food Standard Certification seeks to standardize vegan claims within the Chinese market, increase transparency and consumer trust for vegan products, and aid in supporting consumers and food producers interested in animal-free options.

    The certification is also the first vegan certification to include a subcategory for vegan foods that do not contain garlic, onions, leeks, chives, and asafetida, which up to half of Chinese vegans and vegetarians avoid for religious and health reasons.

    China Vegan Food Standard Certified

    During a recent online conference, nearly 20,000 viewers learned about the first recipients of the China Vegan Food Standard Certification.

    dumplings
    Demand for plant-based food is on the rise across Asia

    Ten companies covering diverse food categories across the full food industry received the certification, including Veggie Ark, Green Monday, Ecobuyer, Deepure, Yeyo, Seleglu, GENBEN, Su Man Xiang, Liu Wei Zhi Ji, and Shu Jia Niang Food.

    The certification program’s first recipients cover a range of plant-based food offerings, from organic farming and vegan restaurants to health foods, alternative protein products, and vegan OEM manufacturers.

    Representatives from each organization introduced their brands and shared their perspectives on how the certification will advance veganism in China in the short term and establish vegan industry standards to lay a crucial foundation for future development.

    Cultivating a sustainable food future for China

    The certification program’s aim is to provide better-served consumers, more sustainable vegan product offerings, increased food biodiversity, the transition toward healthier food consumption and production patterns, and a better-regulated and more transparent vegan food industry.

    CBCGDF Deputy Secretary General Ma Yong emphasized the historic importance of plant-based diets in China’s traditional culture and their crucial role in supporting China’s sustainable future growth.

    haofood chicken
    Haofood’s new pulled vegan chicken is made from peanuts | Courtesy

    The certification development committee included VegRadar, a vegan information service platform offering a fully WeChat-enabled restaurant locator app and multi-channel media platform, and Dao Foods, an impact-oriented incubator and investment firm that invests in plant-based and alternative protein companies based in mainland China.

    In January, China took first place in the 2022 ProVeg Innovation Challenge APAC event. The country has also seen a number of alternative milestones this year including CellX announcing the first cultivated meat factory in China and Jimi Biotech unveiling the country’s first cultivated chicken. Haofood also debuted chicken made from peanuts in another industry first.

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  • Overlooked and Underfunded: Are Climate Tech Investors Missing Out On Precision Fermentation?

    cowabunga milk

    9 Mins Read

    By: Beatriz Franco, Managing Partner at Vita Vera Ventures, and Maya Benami, PhD, Advisor to Vita Vera Ventures & Technical/R&D Consultant.

    Climate tech investors are missing out on a food technology solution with major GHG emissions-lowering potential, argue food tech experts Beatriz Franco and Maya Benami.

    Current food production is not only a driver of climate change, but it is also a victim of climate change.

    This means that, unfortunately, we cannot expect our food supply to continue at current levels. Combined with the added pressure of population growth, it is clear we will need to integrate emerging food technologies into our food supply system in order to support the demands of humanity, as well as the latter’s sustainability and resiliency.

    Climate tech investing has significantly increased in the last few years, based both on the urgency for solutions as well as the clear business opportunities it offers. However, we continue to see that investors are not appropriately targeting technologies with the highest potential for reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and in the process, overlooking opportunities for both impact and returns.

    PWC’s State of Climate Tech report notes that the food and agriculture sectors are tied to nearly a quarter of all global GHG emissions (some say up to 1/3 of emissions) but they received only 12% of global climate tech venture funding. Meanwhile, the mobility sector received almost 50% of global climate tech venture funding in 2022, yet is responsible for only 15% of global GHG emissions.

    This is why we are shining a light on one fast-growing food technology sector that is still largely misunderstood, despite its immense potential: precision fermentation.

    What is Precision Fermentation?

    Fermentation itself is not new. Humans have been consuming fermented foods, such as cheese and alcohol, for centuries. They are made through traditional fermentation methods, where microorganisms, such as yeasts, transform sugars into an ingredient, new food, or beverage in order to remove toxins, increase shelf life, and/or improve taste and digestibility.

    Precision fermentation is a more advanced form of fermentation. It turns microorganisms, like yeast and bacteria into ‘factories’ to produce specific end-products such as proteins, enzymes, fats, vitamins, flavors, or pigments. Those microorganisms are fed carbon-based compounds, such as sugars, and are engineered and optimized to produce replicas of an organic molecule, such as protein. Precision fermentation is already used in pharma for the production of compounds such as vaccines and insulin, and it is now being applied to food production as well.

    In the past, insulin was harvested from cattle and pig organs. This process was highly inefficient at best, requiring tons of pig parts in order to obtain just a few ounces of purified insulin, not to mention that this non-human insulin ofte caused allergic reactions in many patients. Today, insulin is produced through precision fermentation by inserting the human insulin gene into a microbe and prompting it to produce human insulin.

    As far as new food applications go, examples of exciting products in development or in production through precision fermentation include whey protein, casein to make cheese, palm oil alternatives, animal fat, collagen, and even breast milk proteins for infant formulas.

    Seizing the Opportunity, Why the Disconnect?

    With so many opportunities for impact and returns, why aren’t we seeing more generalist investors looking into food tech?

    We believe one big challenge comes from the fact that it is becoming more complex to assess the opportunity given the evolution of new processing tech and biotech methods. Also, given its nascency, many companies are still in R&D and lab-scale phases, thus too early in their journey to offer revenue and customer metrics to analyze traction during investor diligence.

    Can investors leverage the biomedical sector as a proxy during diligence?

    Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. While some scientific aspects of pharmaceutical and biomedical diligence can offer comparative insight, other aspects can be quite different, especially when considering that the goal of food production is to make much larger quantities at much lower price points. Accordingly, business strategy as well as processing and equipment requirements can differ significantly.

    Drugs created via precision fermentation for the pharmaceutical industry are grown in expensive highly controlled bioreactors that are suitable for the production of high-value, low-volume products.

    The food industry, on the other hand, needs to create affordable, high-volume food compounds produced in food-grade conditions. This is why we are seeing so many new startups focused on building the infrastructure and enabling technologies around alternative foods, including built-for-purpose fermenters and bioreactors.

    One other difference to highlight is on the regulatory side. The regulatory process for novel foods can be perceived as easier and faster when the primary goal is to demonstrate that the new food is substantially equivalent to an existing food. Biopharma, on the other hand, needs to go through the rigorous testing required for new medicines that are often administered to immune-compromised patients.

    It is interesting to note that there are differences in the way scientists in these two industries approach their products. A cell biologist that works in the pharmaceutical industry will not be concerned (or necessarily understand) the nuances of what is needed to make a successful food product, which includes specific consideration of each sensory property, such as flavor, texture, and color, and using only food-grade reagents.

    Starting from the ground up?

    You might be thinking: is this new (old) tech a black box? Well, yes and no. Precision fermentation relies on living organisms and cells as part of its process. While biology is the oldest ‘technology’ in the world, so much is still not well understood, such as the mechanisms of cell communication and the complexities of cell organization.

    That being said, humans have been successfully using biology for advancement long before understanding the science behind it. See: the birth of agriculture- we’ve grown crops and bred livestock for over 12,000 years.

    These days, genetic screening, cell manipulation technologies, artificial intelligence, and machine learning greatly enhance our understanding of cell processes by pinpointing genetic sequences that are responsible for protein production pathways in a cell, just to take one example. So now scientists can use what we do know and build upon it to harness natural processes.

    Using precision fermentation, we can leverage microorganisms to sustainably create a vast array of known and novel foods and ingredients, from meat, dairy, seafood, eggs and honey to specific flavors such as new sweeteners, taste enhancers, and much more.

    The investors’ journey: important aspects to unpack during diligence

    So what should an investor look for during diligence? While there are many angles to be evaluated such as market opportunity, team, competitive landscape, IP, and moat, among others, commercial traction is most likely not going to be available at this stage.

    In order to address the intricacies of this nascent industry and its specific requirements, we unpack the key points that investors should take into consideration when performing diligence on a precision fermentation company.

    Customer Validation

    While it’s true that early-stage companies will have little to show in terms of revenues and customer traction, the next best thing to review is customer validation. Investors can and should talk to potential customers and validate that the product is actually solving a real need.

    Some companies will have LOIs, initial partnerships and customer trials; they may even have surveys that can provide an indication of what a potential customer is thinking. That being said, a phone call with a potential customer in your network is still advisable, not only to understand how important that solution really is but also to evaluate their willingness to pay for such a solution.

    Proof of Concept and Scalability Mindset

    As mentioned, many companies in the precision fermentation space are currently at lab-scale/ R&D phase. In the very earliest stages (lab-scale, where most companies are), they will be creating prototypes and proofs-of-concept and producing a few grams to a few kilograms per batch and using fermenters under 20L and likely between 1L and 5L.

    As they progress and move to pilot, demo, and commercial scale, quantities produced, and size of fermenters increase accordingly but one important thing that some investors forget, is that not all products are created equal. If a precision fermentation company is targeting products that represent a small percentage of the final food formulation, such a company will be able to go to market with a higher price point than one whose product makes up the bulk of the final food formulation, and therefore their path to a viable commercial scale is shorter. Investors should be aware that a viable commercial scale can vary in size significantly depending on the target product.

    In all cases, investors should always look for founders with a “scalability mindset”. In other words, no matter how early a company is in its journey, founders should be thinking about scalability from the start. This is shown through each of their decisions during technology & process development. For example: Are they frontloading their cost analysis while building their process? Did decisions around inputs take into consideration availability and supply chain resiliency? Are they already planning for their equipment needs and establishing partnerships?

    Scaling is one of the trickiest parts of the success of this industry. In addition to scaling up the technology itself and accurately forecasting budgeting needs, companies face an additional challenge: the bottleneck of little-to-no-fermenter availability, both from a co-manufacturing standpoint or direct purchase. Many fermenters available today are currently prioritized to produce high-value, lower volume pharmaceutical grade vaccines and drug compounds. Companies are purchasing biomedical infrastructure or fermenters from biofuel facilities or other industries and attempting to repurpose them, which is far from ideal.

    However, we expect and hope to see a positive change in this space in the near future given not only the surge of new companies tackling this problem but also the increasing interest shown by governments around the world through regulation and potential investments targeting the development of the industry.

    Process Feasibility, Efficiency & Optimization

    This is an important part of diligence: investors need to dig in and understand where the company’s process is at and how efficient both the upstream and downstream processes are. A critical aspect here is to ascertain how much final product you get at the end of the process and how long that takes from start to finish. This involves getting at how much product the microorganism secretes, how fast, and how much product is recovered after purification.

    Investors should not only be clear about where a company is today, but also where it’s going tomorrow and when it will be profitable, which is why reviewing its optimization plans and efficiency targets is vital, much like they would financial projections. All assumptions embedded in these plans should be checked to ensure they are realistic and reasonable.

    It’s Time to Seize the Opportunity

    Not a day goes by without media headlines reminding us of the consequences of the climate crisis. Now is the time to focus on technologies that can solve for these, particularly as they affect our global food system, and investors should be prioritizing solutions that can reduce the most GHG emissions.

    We have no doubt that precision fermentation will, together with other emerging food technologies, be a much-needed part of the answer to building a more resilient food system.

    And here is the proverbial cherry on top: there is real money to be made by investors. Climate tech is not only our biggest hope in the fight against climate change, but it is also simply good business. As it stands, the global food market represents a not insignificant 10% of the world’s GDP, and with a growing population to feed, demand will only increase.

    Startups that can offer good substitutes for foods whose current emissions costs is too high for our future world to bear (i.e. meat, dairy, eggs) at the right price and with a lower carbon footprint will undoubtedly find success- and those companies who can do so at a higher quality and a lower price will knock it out of the park. It’s time to invest in the future of food.

    Beatriz Franco is a Managing Partner at Vita Vera Ventures, a Climate Tech fund investing in vital innovations advancing the resiliency, efficiency and sustainability of the food industry.

    Maya Benami, PhD is an author and R&D consultant specializing in cellular agriculture, fermentation, microbiology, plant biochemistry, and environmental sustainability. She advises venture capitalists, start-ups, and global food and beverage firms on R&D, due diligence, and product development.

    An earlier version of this article was previously published on Medium.

    The post Overlooked and Underfunded: Are Climate Tech Investors Missing Out On Precision Fermentation? appeared first on Green Queen.

  • Zero Cow Factory Raises $4 Million for Its Precision Fermentation Casein

    Zero Cow Factory's founders
    3 Mins Read

    Zero Cow Factory, India’s first precision fermentation dairy producer, has secured $4 million (INR 32 crore) in a Seed funding round led by Green Frontier Capital, GVFL, and Pi Ventures, with participation from Pascual Innoventures.

    Zero Cow Factory’s new funding is expected to speed up R&D efforts, scale up production capacity, and obtain regulatory approvals to hit the market.

    The startup, which launched in 2021, is currently focused on animal-free casein production, the most complex dairy protein, and hasn’t yet been commercialized by any company globally. The company’s first product is A2 Beta-casein, which is also healthier than A1 milk protein, linked to indigestion.

    Precision casein

    According to Zero Cow, the company’s aim is to be the first to receive global regulatory approval for this protein. This will be used to formulate various sustainable food and dairy products like cheese, yogurt, ice cream, protein powder, and more.

    “We are excited to partner with our investors’ outstanding setup and combine them with our talented team, which positions us uniquely to lead the way in building a global dairy 3.0 that is animal-free, sustainable, and scalable,” Sohil Kapadia, co-founder, and CEO of Zero Cow Factory said in a statement.

    Parini Kapadia, co-founder, and CSO of Zero Cow Factory says the company is developing a technology to reproduce milk proteins in order to “craft real dairy products that are ethical, safe, delicious, and identical to cow milk but without any animal involved.”

    Photo by Nikolai Chernichenko at Unsplash.

    Sandiip Bhammer, Co-Managing Partner and Founder at Green Frontier Capital says that with cattle being the leading agricultural source of greenhouse gases, precision fermentation startups have the potential to disrupt the dairy industry globally. “If the world (and India) has to achieve its net zero goals, there needs to be a pivot rather quickly to sustainable solutions like precision fermentation and, in that regards, Zero Cow Factory, is working assiduously on developing its own proprietary A2 casein-based solution, a weakness which plant-based ingredients have not yet been able to address successfully,” he said.

    Kamal Bansal, MD at GVFL says Zero Cow Factory is “at the forefront of innovation” in the alternative protein space.

    Shubham Sandeep, MD at pi Ventures said, “Zero Cow Factory’s use of cutting-edge bioengineering and life science-based technologies to change the future of food production aligns well with our investment thesis of backing disruptive tech ventures.”

    Sustainable dairy

    The company’s animal-free “Smart Protein” is a healthy alternative to cow’s milk protein as it is free of lactose, antibiotics, growth hormones, cholesterol, and saturated fat. Moreover, compared to conventional dairy farming, it is far more sustainable, requiring 99 percent less land, 98 percent less water, emits 84 percent less CO2e, and consumes 65 percent less energy.

    The company has already demonstrated proof of concept at lab scale with a small bioreactor producing animal-free casein. With this funding round, Zero Cow will accelerate work on its pilot facility in Gujarat to be ready for commercial production.

    cowabunga milk
    Nestlé and Perfect Day’s precision fermentation Cowabunga milk is now available in select locations | Courtesy

    Zero Cow Factory is already in discussions with multiple companies across the CPG, dairy, and nutraceutical sectors who have shown an interest in partnering with the company to formulate various products using Zero Cow Factory’s milk proteins as ingredients while replacing milk in their supply chain.

    Multinational food companies are interested in the precision fermentation space. California’s Perfect Day, which has led the category, has partnered with a number of high-profile manufacturers including Nestlé and Mars, and is in discussions with Unilever.

    Food giants are also looking to cell-based tech as well. Earlier this week, Danone led a $3.5 million funding round into Israel-based Wilk, which manufactures human breast milk from cellular samples.

    The post Zero Cow Factory Raises $4 Million for Its Precision Fermentation Casein appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Danone Drops $2 Million Into Wilk’s Cultured Breast Milk

    baby bottle
    4 Mins Read

    French dairy conglomerate Danone has agreed to a strategic $2 million investment deal with Israeli cell-based breast milk startup Wilk.

    Danone’s investment into Wilk is part of a $3.5 million financing round for the food tech startup. The dairy giant says it plans to collaborate with Wilk in developing cultured breast milk components for infant formula. Following the investment, Danone will hold at least 2 percent of Wilk’s share capital. Danone’s portfolio includes leading dairy brands Activia, Dannon, and Oikos.

    Cell-based breast milk

    Wilk, founded in 2018 by Dr. Nurit Argov-Argaman of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has developed cell-based technology to produce cultured human breast and animal milk. It uses milk-producing cells from cows and human breast cells obtained from breast reduction surgeries that are then grown in bioreactors.

    Wilk team members. Photo by Wilk.

    “The ‘W’ in Wilk stands for ‘we’ and represents how, by collaborating with industry partners, we can all work together to establish sustainable means of production that can guarantee the continued supply of milk and dairy-based products for future generations,” Tomer Aizen, CEO of Wilk, said in a statement.

    As part of the strategic agreement between Danone’s venture arm and Wilk, the two firms will explore possibilities for joint commercial cooperation and operations, including agreements for projects in Europe and the U.S. Wilk’s CEO, Tomer Aizen, said that DMV’s investment will help the firm continue in the development of its cultivated milk products.

    Wilk is one of several Israeli food tech firms developing cultured, animal-free milk. Rehovot-based Remilk raised $120 million last year for its cow-free milk, cheese and yogurt. Last May, Tel Aviv’s Imagindairy raised $28 million in an extended Seed round for its fermented dairy.

    Sustainable food solutions

    Other investors in the funding round include Rehovot-based Steakholder Foods and The Central Bottling Company, also known as Coca-Cola Israel. Wilk will issue a total of 13.6 million ordinary shares in a private placement at a price of NIS 0.91 per share as part of the financing round. The startup’s shares closed 10% lower on Monday at NIS 105.1 per share.

    “We’re extremely excited to announce our strategic collaboration with Wilk,” Arik Kaufman, CEO of Steakholder Foods, said in a statement. “As part of our commitment to sustainable foods solutions, we see this collaboration as another step in expanding Steakholder Foods’ growing contribution to the Food-Tech ecosystem and a strategic step in the optimization of our investment and holding structure.”

    Wilk said it is not necessarily looking to replace infant formula entirely, but it wants to contribute to the category with a product that is nutritionally superior and has a cost comparable to formula. The company has been focusing on developing cell-cultured human milk fat for infant formula to replace vegetable fats currently contained in formula. The nutritional benefits of cultured human milk fat play a central role in maintaining an infant’s digestive system, as well as the development of its brain and nervous system, according to Wilk.

    Photo by Lena Mytchyk on Unsplash

    For new mothers who don’t wish to breastfeed or those with breastfeeding difficulties, there have been few options beyond dairy- or soy-based formulas. Formula is also necessary for babies born prematurely, and for those who cannot consume commercial infant formula. It’s a critical staple for disaster relief as well. And as conventional dairy plays a key role in climate change, which is linked to the increasing number of natural disasters, the need for formula is only expected to increase.

    Last year, Wilk announced it had successfully replicated lactoferrin, a key protein in milk critical for development. It also debuted yogurt made from its cultured milk. In November, external laboratories verified that Wilk’s yogurt meets all necessary chemical and biological requirements to qualify as yogurt.

    “This is a significant milestone, not just for Wilk, but for the Israeli FoodTech space and wider global industry,” Aizen said.

    “It signifies a major breakthrough in demonstrating our ability to produce functional cell-cultured milk components that can be integrated into a wide array of dairy products and brings us closer to realizing our goal—to produce authentic dairy products in a sustainable and environmentally conscientious manner that will drive the industry forward.”

    The post Danone Drops $2 Million Into Wilk’s Cultured Breast Milk appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Supplant’s Second Product Upcycles Wheat Stalks Into Sustainable, Fiber-Rich Flour

    Supplant 's upcycled wheat stalk flour is more sustainable and healthier than conventional
    3 Mins Read

    The Supplant Company has launched Grain & Stalk Flour — a flour blend that uses more of the wheat plant by deriving matter from both the grain and the stalk.

    According to Supplant, its new flour maintains the taste and texture of baked goods, pasta, and other flour-based products while offering fewer calories and more fiber than regular flour. It is also helping the company make strides toward a more sustainable food system by using the underutilized agricultural side-streams such as oat hulls, wheat straw, and corn cobs.

    Upcycling food waste

    Supplant was founded with a mission of upcycling food waste into staple ingredients that are more nutritious and sustainable than their conventional counterparts. The new flour, which is being used in pasta, maintains the taste and texture of conventional flour-based products while offering fewer calories and more fiber than regular flour — six times more fiber than conventional.

    Supplant says that by utilizing both the grain and the stalk, the flour offers a viable alternative to regular refined wheat flour, which is stripped of most fiber.

    wheat field
    Photo by rajeev ramdas on Unsplash

    The Grain & Stalk Flour is Supplant’s second product. Its first, Supplant Sugars from Fiber, launched in 2021. It’s made from corn cobs and other food waste using enzymes that turn the cobs into sweeteners.

    The flour will make its debut on the menu of one of the world’s top restaurants, the three Michelin-starred Per Se, in collaboration with seven-Michelin star Chef Thomas Keller.

    “I’m proud to play a part in Supplant’s innovation and impact as they bring Supplant Grain & Stalk Flour to their sustainable ingredient portfolio; the company is making extraordinary strides in delivering on integrity without compromising the environment or our health, and that is something that strongly resonates with me as a chef,” Keller said in a statement. He’s already partnered with The Supplant Company to create chocolate bars and shortbread cookies with Supplant Sugars from Fiber.

    “By bringing under-utilized plant material back into the food system, Supplant Grain & Stalk Flour furthers our mission to create a food system that is fit for the future – one that is more sustainable, more food-secure and more nutritious for all,” said Supplant’s founder and CEO, Dr. Tom Simmons.

    Sustainable bulk food supply

    By upcycling agricultural side-streams that aren’t currently used in the food system, Supplant says it can help address the interconnected problems of nutrition, sustainability, and food security.

    “Writ large across the farm, you could effectively double the output of an arable farm, which not only will produce more food but it has less environmental impact per ton of food product made,” Simmons told Food Dive.

    Supplant flour
    Supplant’s new pasta made from upcycled wheat stalk flour | Courtesy

    According to Simmons, Supplant’s goal is to be a B2B supplier offering products that deliver improved nutrition, a high level of sustainability, and can help to increase food security.

    “We’re doing the bulk components because that’s really what the health issues are caused by. That’s really what the environmental issues are caused by,” Simmons said. “And that’s the unique thing that this approach can really do. It can do scale bulk replacement of ingredients.”

    The post Supplant’s Second Product Upcycles Wheat Stalks Into Sustainable, Fiber-Rich Flour appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • 10 Labeling Learnings: A Regulatory Expert’s Guide For Plant-Based Brands Going Global

    7 Mins Read

    Legal and regulatory expert Mathilde Do Chi shares her top 10 tips for plant-based brands on how best to label their products as they enter new geographies.

    First emerging as a disruptive category in the food industry, plant-based alternatives to products of animal origin have ballooned from a niche to a sizable share of the market in recent years. Nowadays, you can find endless options to replace animal-based products with their counterparts devoid of ingredients of animal origin. In many countries, there are now multiple leading brands for each product category from meat to dairy to eggs.

    Many of these brands are now eyeing new markets to expand their footprint and find a new audience of conscious customers. While great branding is important, it’s key to ensure that your messaging and your product information translate in other countries. Not to mention that it’s a regulatory minefield out there and it’s vital for companies to know how to protect themselves, their brands and their products, especially as they start entering new markets. Here are the 10 things to think about and consider before launching your label in a new land.

    1) Deliver the information in the local language

    Although English is used as the lingua franca in business, brands need to be mindful to provide all the necessary information in at least one of the official languages of the targeted country. For instance, the European Union encompasses half a billion inhabitants distributed in 27 EU Member States whose official languages amount to 24 in total! 

    English is only the official language in Ireland and Malta. It does not mean that consumers in other countries won’t understand English but significant disparities exist in terms of proficiency in the region. In the same fashion, Switzerland uses 3 out of its 4 official languages in business (French, German, Italian but not Romansh) which compels brands to provide information in the language spoken in the targeted region. 

    Additionally, make sure to localize your marketing materials and not translate your marketing campaigns word for word. Not adapting your marketing strategy has proven to be not only ineffective but also detrimental to reaching new markets abroad. 

    2) Be mindful of the culture 

    Communication happens on the listener’s terms, meaning that everything you say to a person is filtered through their frames of reference, biases and preconceived ideas.

    Culture is part of these elements that influence the perception of products and if this is overlooked it may result in you failing to gain new customers. Countries have different approaches to the importance of tradition regarding certain delicacies. 

    Some names of traditional products such as those listed under the protected designations of origin (PDO) and the protected geographical indications (PGI) cannot be used if their production methods and ingredient list do not comply with a rigid set of criteria. Resist the urge to give a plant-based twist to these products of animal origin as you could face some backlash from consumers and legal repercussions for not complying with legal provisions. Better stick an out-of-the-box strategy by coming up with original names when designating your products. 

    3) Take into account all the types of consumers that may come across your products

    Food law provisions stress that consumers must be provided enough information to be able to form an informed decision, thus easily recognizing what the plant-based food in question contains and what would be its animal-based version. 

    Unlike diets of people with specific needs – like those suffering from coeliac disease or practicing a given religion with dietary restrictions, such as Islam and Judaism, vegan and plant-based foods are not marketed specifically towards vegans and those eating a fully plant-based diet.

    Brands need to convey their message in a way it can be understood by omnivores, flexitarians and vegans, and vegetarians. This can be done by using descriptive and clarifying terms such as plant-based, and meat-free, or by adding the mention “do not contain meat”.

    4) Emphasize the versatility of your products

    A golden rule to attract more customers when introducing a new foodstuff is to showcase all its applications. You need to demonstrate how to cook and use it which can be easily done by providing signature recipes either on the back of the packaging or on social media or the company’s website. 

    Introducing new foods into one’s diet may seem daunting at first and can be easily remedied by guiding people on ways to best incorporate them into their daily life. 

    5) Shed light on the nutritional benefits 

    Plant-based products have been viewed as healthier than animal products due to their high fiber content and the fortification of vitamin B12 and iron. Don’t shy away from displaying the other nutritional components of your products such as being high in protein and low in fat. 

    6) Be careful between using the words plant-based and vegan 

    Vegan relates to the ethical belief of veganism which seeks to exclude any products or services that exploited animals in their supply chain. The food industry may resort to animal testing due to some outdated regulations to assess the toxicity of some components of a food ingredient and determine the maximum daily intake of a certain food. Thus, it is important to use the term only when the foodstuff and all its ingredients did not make use of animals. Additionally, you may also choose to showcase the genuine vegan nature of the foodstuff by having it certified by the V-label or the vegan trademark to bear their quality seals just like halal and kosher products bear theirs. 

    Alternatively, you may decide to go for the term plant-based on your packaging and have your product certified by the Plant-Based Food Association if you are selling in the US or Canada.

    Consumers have trust in products with a quality seal and it can also help consumers to find your products more easily by making them distinct. 

    7) Only highlight the environmental benefits of your products if you can prove them

    When making claims, it is paramount that you can substantiate them at the risk of ending in hot legal water through misleading consumer allegations coming from the animal and dairy industry, consumer protection association, or even plant-based competitors. 

    Even though the IPCC panel, the EAT-Lancet, and other respected organizations have demonstrated that plant-based products play an essential role in lowering GHG emissions in the food production industry, claims are always tied to a specific product and are not to be interpreted through reports issues the aforementioned organizations. 

    Avoid claims like eco-friendly, and good for the planet and rather go for specific and substantiated claims like “this product sold in the US emitted 83% fewer GHGs than US chicken as analyzed through this study performed by this entity”. 

    The more specific you can be the better! 

    8) Play the long-term game 

    The plant-based meat category in the US received quite a lot of backlash at the beginning of the year but this does not apply to other regions and other categories! A lot of brands entered the market with poor marketing strategies with products that lacked flavor and texture which did not result in establishing them as long-term players.  

    Analyze your target audience properly and tailor your marketing accordingly to broaden your customer pool and establish your brand. 

    9) Collaborate with others 

    Creating partnerships with other players in the industry is a win-win scenario where you will gain exposure to new markets and unlock new business opportunities. This is what LaVie did last year with its signature plant-based bacon by launching a collaboration with Hank Burger, a French vegan burger chain. 

    Likewise, partnering with non-plant-based entities can entice consumers’ curiosity and make plant-based offerings more accessible to the mainstream public. Since March 2021, Oatly has been available across the US which has contributed to broadening the plant-based milk choice for consumers. 

    10) Embrace brand activism 

    The very nature of the plant-based and vegan food movement lies in its willingness to disrupt the current food market to foster the adoption of new products that do not harm animals. Advocacy is usually based on the evolutive character of language and growing consumer knowledge and awareness, and eagerness to discover new ways of eating.

    Brand activism has been defined by the authors Christian Sarkar and Philip Kotler as business endeavors to encourage, hinder or direct social, political, economic and/or environmental reform or standstill intending to promote or impede improvements in society. This goes far beyond the values-driven Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) programs in the sense it aims to demonstrate why a brand exists and how it contributes to the Common Good. 

    In our case, the Common Good refers to the end of animal exploitation, the creation of healthier food alternatives, and the lessening of the negative impact of food production on the environment. 

    The Spanish plant-based “meat” pioneer Heura excels in advertising its products unconventionally and educationally. Their campaigns are known for disseminating information to convince consumers to rethink their eating habits. Heura’s website displays a breath of fresh air, where they challenge the average conception that plant-based meats are alternatives by striking off the word alternatives and replacing it with the phrase “successors of meat,” reframing the evolution and place of plant-based products on the food market.

    Bernat Añaños, the co-founder of Heura, called out governments at the COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 since its agenda did not even mention the role of food production and especially meat production in GHG emissions and highlighted that moving away from animal products was a powerful tool to mitigate climate change. 

    Aligning your values with your brands will resonate much more than you can envision, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental and social impacts of their diets and demand to be empowered to be part of the solution.

    Want to take a deeper dive? Check out my book ‘Naming and advertising vegan and plant-based alternatives to products of animal origin in Europe’, available on order here.

    The post 10 Labeling Learnings: A Regulatory Expert’s Guide For Plant-Based Brands Going Global first appeared on Green Queen.

    The post 10 Labeling Learnings: A Regulatory Expert’s Guide For Plant-Based Brands Going Global appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Vow Founder On That Mammoth Meatball: “We Needed To Do Something So Outrageous That It Would Break Through Into Mainstream Media.

    6 Mins Read

    Green Queen‘s Sonalie Figueiras shares her reservations about Vow’s global headline-grabbing cultivated mammoth meatball event with company founder and CEO George Peppou in this exclusive interview.

    “We created the mammoth meatball to serve as a starting point for this conversation.” So writes George Peppou, the founder and CEO of Australian cultivated meat company Vow, in a Medium post about the startup’s unveiling of a cultivated meatball made with DNA cells from the extinct wooly mammoth.

    It’s safe to say that the company achieved this goal and more. In fact, chapeau to the entire Vow comms team, who did a phenomenal job and deserve a raise! (Or at least a bonus!). The mammoth meatball unveiling is likely the most talked-about cultivated meat event ever. As someone who covers the alt protein space closely, I can safely say I have never seen more earned media for such an industry announcement. Not only was the news broken by The Guardian, the story was also picked up by almost every major global news outlet: Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Business Insider, ABC, the Washington Post, the BBC to The Times all covered it. It made US television, with a bit on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which attracts an audience of over 2.3 million viewers. Even that altar of prestige journalism, The Atlantic, weighed in. We at Green Queen published the story too, nach.

    While the vast majority of the coverage has been positive, a select few have questioned. Gizmodo‘s Isaac Schulz wrote about his take in a piece titled: I Hate The Mammoth Meatball. Truth be told, I share many of Schulz’s reservations.

    Last year, a London-based startup called sent us a press release about their mission to produce cultivated lion and tiger meat and we chose not to cover the story. It seemed gratuitous, arrogant and entirely beside the point of the alternative protein industry’s raison d’être. The mission of this sector is to solve for food security and usher in an era of global food production that is safe, ethical, sustainable and nutritious. Why on earth would we want to do anything to glorify the consumption (and killing) of majestic, endangered creatures like lions and tigers? God forbid that this type of stunt would justify and embolden the already too numerous trophy hunters of today.

    Still, Vow is a well-established, mission-driven cultivated meat player who last year raised the largest Series A in the sector ever. Peppou, who is seen by many as a true and fearless visionary when it comes to the future of food, has spoken many times about the company’s goal to “invent entirely new meats” and has hinted at a future of cultivated zebra and kangaroo meat. I wanted to get more context from him about how the team decided to go ahead with the meatball and he kindly obliged – our interview below.

    A mashup of the Vow mammoth meatball media coverage – Courtesy Vow Product Manager Sarah Ellis’ Linkedin post.

    Sonalie Figueiras: You have said you did this to bring cultivated meat into mainstream conversation. Is this the right conversation? It could be argued that promoting extinct species consumption does not address climate change or food security, or health, ie the main motivators to disrupt food with cultivated meat? 

    George Peppou: Two key points here: (1) We needed to do something so outrageous that it would break through into mainstream media. The original cultured meat hamburger was produced 10 years ago, and yet the mainstream media still rarely covers any large advancement in cultured meat. The mammoth meatball project has been covered extensively, and has a whole new cohort of people talking about whether or not they would eat cultured meat. (2) While the mammoth meatball is a product concept (and not something we currently plan to bring to market), it is still produced using cultured meat technology, so all of the sustainability benefits that apply to cultured chicken, still apply to cultured mammoth. 

    Stephen Colbert showcases Vow’s mammoth meatball – via Twitter.

    Sonalie Figueiras: Do you worry that this could risk weaponizing the narrative of cultivated meat in the vein of the dangers of ‘bringing Jurassic Park to life’ narrative? 

    George Peppou: No. We are not bringing whole animals to life. That is definitely a criticism aimed at others but isn’t relevant here. For every one person who says “ew” there seems to be another two saying “yes, please!”.

    Sonalie Figueiras: On the conservation front, Gizmodo journalist Isaac Schultz writes: “When you think of the woolly mammoth, do you think “the future of food?” I don’t. What’s next—polar bear patties? Sea turtle stew? I don’t think a product designed to be salivated over and consumed is the best way to bring attention to climate change and conservation issues, even if the meat is lab-cultivated.” How would you reply to that?

    George Peppou: I think the very fact that Isaac has written an article about cultured meat, the future of food and sustainability indicates that this project has had its desired effect. We are having conversations today that we simply weren’t having yesterday. Cultured meat is (hopefully) only a few months away from being sold in the US, and yet still, very few consumers are familiar with what it is. 

    Courtesy George Peppou

    Sonalie Figueiras: Do you worry it may put off regulators, particularly in geographies where they are already skeptical of the technology, and that they may see this as a distraction / gimmicky?

    George Peppou: No, every regulator and country we have worked with has been incredible. The reactions from regulators have been the same as the public, entertained by the spectacle and aware that mammoth is a stunt, not a product. There is real support from within the regulatory bodies we have spoken to, to ensure that cultured meat can be brought to market in a safe manner. If it is not safe, it is not food. 

    Sonalie Figueiras: Do you wonder about the political ramifications of such a tasting, with the pro-meat lobby weaponizing the news to further push their anti-innovation, anti-food-tech agenda by saying that if funds were to be allocated to the space, they would be used for non-essential purposes rather than to sustainably feed the world? 

    George Peppou: To be clear, there was no tasting of the mammoth meatball. This was a concept used to start a discussion and bring cultured meat into the mainstream discussion. Throughout the press around the meatball project we have been very clear about our belief that traditional agriculture and cultured meat will need to co-exist. Cultured meat is not going to replace traditional agriculture in the near future, but it does provide an important source of high-quality protein in a sustainable manner.  

    Sonalie Figueiras: Lastly, and this was my biggest concern personally with the other startup that says it’s working on cultivated lion and tiger, do you worry that this kind of event will serve to glorify the consumption of endangered animals? 
    George Peppou: This is a valid question and something that we have spent a lot of time thinking and talking about internally. In the case of this particular project, we don’t believe that this is a concern (as the mammoth is already extinct).

    The post Vow Founder On That Mammoth Meatball: “We Needed To Do Something So Outrageous That It Would Break Through Into Mainstream Media. appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Climate Change Is Coming for Big Meat in a Big Way, New FAIRR Report Finds

    tomorrow foods
    4 Mins Read

    A new analysis by FAIRR’s Climate Risk Tool has found that half of the world’s largest livestock firms may be at risk of operating losses by 2030 due to climate-related cost increases.

    According to the new FAIRR report, 20 of the 40 biggest livestock producers could see their profits wiped out, with North America the hardest hit with companies in the region expected to see profit margins fall by 11 percent, on average. The model was created in partnership with IPCC scientists.

    The findings

    The Climate Risk Tool projected losses of $23.7 billion in EBIT in 2030 compared to 2020 levels were calculated using FAIRR’s 2°C ‘Business as Usual’ scenario, which models climate impacts in line with a 2°C global temperature rise by 2100.

    Jeremy Coller, Chair of the $70 trillion FAIRR investor network, said in a statement that the allure of investing in meat and dairy “could be approaching expiration” unless companies take action to address climate change. Companies at risk include global meat leaders JBS, Tyson Foods, and WH Group (owner of Smithfield). The model shows Brazilian beef supplier JBS take a $5 billion hit in losses, and Chinese pork producer WH Group’s profits would drop by $2.5 billion.

    Photo by Egor Myznik at Unsplash.

    According to the model, all would be operating at a loss. The largest egg producer in the US, Cal-Maine, would also see a 15 percent cost increase from rising feed prices in 2030 – contributing to a $354 million profit loss. That model does not take into account the impact of external factors such as the bird flu, which has already led to the deaths of nearly 60 million birds in the US alone, and millions of dollars in losses.

    “These figures highlight the urgent need for meat companies to adapt swiftly, or pay the financial price with investors increasingly not willing to bear the financial risk of investing in these companies,” Coller said.

    “To mitigate the clear risk to the bottom line, companies should take a scientific approach and explore the best available strategies, including diversifying products and portfolios towards plant-based alternatives.”

    The climate-related costs forecast include an expected carbon tax and a surge in feed prices caused by climate change-related impacts on agricultural production. On average, the cost increases are forecast to rise by more than nine percent with feed prices accounting for five percent of the cost rise and expected carbon taxes accounting for four percent.

    The model factored in the potential of companies to offset the cost increases through climate mitigation strategies, but the report found that just six of the 40 companies had carried out a climate scenario analysis and only 11 of the 40 disclosed how they plan to mitigate the risks from rising feed costs through either data tracking, sourcing diversification, or substituting alternative feed ingredients.

    Climate disclosure

    FAIRR’s latest report called on companies to disclose information on climate scenario analysis and to develop more robust climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. The report also urged companies to focus on diversifying their product ranges and developing plant-based alternatives to mitigate the impact of climate risks on their businesses.

    “This climate risk model represents a significant step forward in modelling the economic costs of a warming world on livestock producers,” said Philip Thornton, International Livestock Research Institute Emeritus Fellow, and Working Group II Lead Author for the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report.

    cows
    Photo by Annie Spratt via Unsplash

    “As set out in the IPCC’s synthesis report released this week, investors, food producers and policymakers alike must take serious note of the potential for supply chain disruption caused by climate change – and take steps to mitigate the impact on global food supply,” Thornton said. “These include helping to drive a dietary shift away from excessive meat and dairy consumption in higher-income countries and ensuring that vulnerable people in lower-income countries have access to diverse, affordable, sustainable and equitable diets.”

    The livestock sector is responsible for about 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, and the sector is expected to be among the most affected by climate change.

    FAIRR’s report comes after the recent IPCC synthesis report, which warned that a 1.5°C warming is now ‘more likely than not’.

    The report also projected that global temperatures will likely reach 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in the near-term, with carbon emissions continuing to rise. It is therefore urgent that livestock companies start taking concrete steps to mitigate the impact of climate change on their businesses.

    The post Climate Change Is Coming for Big Meat in a Big Way, New FAIRR Report Finds appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.