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Category: Vegan

  • The World’s Largest Dairy Company Just Launched A Plant-Based Milk Brand

    lactalis plant based
    5 Mins Read

    Lactalis Canada, a subsidiary of the French dairy giant, has introduced a new plant-based milk brand to the market, just after converting one of its facilities into a fully vegan hub.

    In a huge sign of the plant-based industry’s potential amid middling returns, the world’s largest dairy company has made a move into the non-dairy space with a new brand.

    The Canadian arm of French dairy giant Lactalis, which turned over $31.4B in 2023, has launched Enjoy, a plant-based milk brand skewed towards health-conscious individuals.

    The six-strong lineup is unsweetened and high in protein, and comprises oat, almond and hazelnut milks. Each option has 8g of pea protein per 250ml serving, and while they’re not marketed as barista milks, the company suggests it has a “creamy texture that froths nicely”.

    Enjoy joins Lactalis’s growing portfolio of dairy alternatives, which include Sensational Soy (which is why there’s no soy milk in Enjoy’s lineup), Lactantia margarine and yoghurt brand Siggi (which has a coconut-based range).

    “We are delighted to make a splash with the launch of Enjoy, which only further complements Lactalis Canada’s wide-ranging portfolio of now 20 iconic consumer brands and expands our plant-based offering to Canadian consumers by leveraging our expertise in this dairy-free category,” said Lactis Canada president and CEO Mark Taylor.

    A move towards Lactalis’s climate goals

    enjoy plant based milk
    Courtesy: Enjoy

    The six SKUs comprise plain oat, almond and hazelnut milks, vanilla-flavoured oat and almond variants, and a hazelnut-oat blend.

    “As nutritious, high protein, unsweetened beverages, Enjoy responds to a growing consumer demand for plant-based options that taste great and have positive health impacts including non-GMO and gluten-free certification with no artificial colours, preservatives or flavours,” said Nathalie Cusson, general manager of Lactalis Canada’s fluid division.

    “What sets Enjoy apart is its uniquely high protein content which consumers are increasingly desiring in their daily diet.”

    The plunge into non-dairy will aid Lactalis’s climate goals – as the world’s leading dairy company, its emissions footprint is large. In 2019, its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions alone reached 2.8 million tonnes, but these only make up a combined 5% of the business’s footprint – the remaining 95% comes from indirect scope 3 emissions.

    Lactalis plans to halve scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 2033, compared to that 2019 baseline. However, it hasn’t laid out a specific strategy for scope 3 emissions, instead committing to reaching net zero across its operations by 2050. Emmanuel Besnier, CEO of the Lactalis Group, said in its 2022 sustainability report that the company must “extend our work on our indirect emissions” to more suppliers, and “intensify our efforts to track the risks of deforestation throughout our supply chain”.

    In its ESG report for 2023, which came days before the Enjoy launch, the company revealed that it has reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity by 11.2%, and reduced 14,000 tonnes of absolute emissions by reducing its reliance on road transport. Meanwhile, 84% of its packaging was recyclable in 2023, and it aims to increase this share to 90% this year.

    According to Enjoy’s website, its milk alternatives feature paper-based packaging certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Produced in Canada, it’s also part of the 1% For the Planet organisation, whose members devote at least 1% of annual revenues to environmental causes.

    “Our ongoing commitment to raising quality and food safety standards includes a focus on validating suppliers and enhancing allergen management, particularly for the new plant-based Enjoy brand,” the company said in its ESG report.

    Responding to market trends and consumer needs

    lactalis enjoy
    Courtesy: Enjoy

    The introduction of Enjoy, whose products are available in most major retailers in Canada, comes two years after Lactalis Canada announced its decision to convert its 33,150 sq ft plant in Sudbury into a dedicated hub for vegan product manufacturing.

    The facility fully ceased its fluid milk production and processing in September 2022, partly motivated by low demand in Ontario and the high prices in the market, which affected its profitability. It is now fully operational, and will form the bedrock of the company’s goals for the alt-dairy segment.

    The transformation project was aided by a C$1.4M ($1.02M) grant by the Ontario government, as part of the provincial administration’s fund to boost local production, create jobs, and expand and diversify the region’s food sector.

    Canada’s plant-based milk market nearly doubled in value from 2019 to 2023, reaching $346M last year. Over the next five years, it’s predicted to swell annually by 9%, with an expected value of $531.6M in 2028. And as of 2022, non-dairy milk accounted for 10% of sales for the overall milk market, with 42% of households purchasing these alternatives.

    These figures are likely major motivations for Lactalis’s latest move into plant-based dairy. After a turbulent year for the overall vegan sector – when dollar sales for dairy alternatives in Canada were down by 7% year-on-year – it’s a sign of confidence from one of the world’s largest animal protein players, a nod to the industry’s potential.

    “While our core business is dairy, as an innovation leader and as demonstrated by our forthcoming expansion into plant-based, we are constantly following the consumer and continually seeking opportunities to innovate and respond to the market,” said Taylor said after announcing the decision to convert operations at the Sudbury plant.

    “Our purpose is to enrich and nurture the lives of Canadians and this holds the same for our new offering which will provide consumers with complementary high-quality plant-based products that will benefit from our current capacity and capabilities as well as our rich and long-standing dairy expertise.”

    The post The World’s Largest Dairy Company Just Launched A Plant-Based Milk Brand appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • The Vegetarian Butcher to Use The Every Company’s Animal-Free Egg Whites for Plant-Based Meat

    vegetarian butcher the every company
    5 Mins Read

    Dutch plant-based meat startup The Vegetarian Butcher has teamed up with Californian precision fermentation pioneer The Every Company to use its animal-free egg whites in meat analogues.

    Unilever-owned The Vegetarian Butcher will make use of The Every Co’s microbial egg whites as a clean-label binder in some of its meat-free formulations, marking a major collaboration in the alternative protein world.

    The Vegetarian Butcher’s chicken, beef, pork and fish analogues are present in thousands of retailers and foodservice outlets across Europe and beyond. Its partnership with The Every Co – the only company that has commercialised precision-fermented egg proteins – is a step in its efforts to do away with chicken-derived eggs from its entire lineup.

    Incorporating the animal-free egg white into its meat alternatives will allow it to provide a clean-label option to consumers who are increasingly apprehensive about ultra-processed foods and long ingredient lists.

    “When on a mission, we love to work with the right partners to become even more impactful together,” The Vegetarian Butcher said in a statement. “This breakthrough, clean-label ingredient is a natural fit with The Vegetarian Butcher’s mission to release animals from the food chain.”

    Ditching methylcellulose for the Every EggWhite

    vegan butcher
    Courtesy: The Vegetarian Butcher

    Currently, The Vegetarian Butcher uses methylcellulose in its formulations, which is becoming less and less popular among meat analogue makers. While it’s widely used in the industry as a binder and gelling agent, its overprocessed nature, complex moniker, and use in laxatives has garnered it a bad rep – in 2022, Beyond Meat was sued for using the ingredient while putting ‘all-natural’ claims on its burgers (it no longer labels them this way).

    But it’s a highly functional ingredient – it is non-toxic and allergen-free, can dissolve in cold water, and forms a gel at high temperatures. One of its most unique properties is its thermoreversibility: methylcellulose can set when hot and melt when cold. This means it provides meat analogues with a juicy bite and meatier texture, making it hard to replace.

    Singaporean vegan chicken maker TiNDLE Foods uses methylcellulose to keep its plant-based meat together. On its website, it explains: “Think of it as a plant-based egg white.”

    This is where The Every Co comes in. It genetically engineers yeast strains called Komagataella phaffii and feeds them on sugars to produce proteins found in eggs. Its precision-fermented EggWhite innovation contains ovalbumin, the most abundant egg protein, and provides aeration, whipping, gelling, binding, and foam stability properties.

    Nick Toriello, The Every Co’s chief commercial officer, told AgFunderNews that The Vegetarian Butcher has been trying to get methylcellulose out of its formulations for “quite some time”. “What was key to them was that EVERY EggWhite was a relatively simple and straightforward product to work with as it could just serve as a drop-in replacement,” he explained. “The taste and texture of the end product is superior, and they get a cleaner label at the back end.”

    The Every Co files for EU & UK approval

    the every company
    Courtesy: The Every Company

    While its egg proteins are certified by The Vegan Society – as no animals are used or harmed to produce them – they must still carry an allergen warning. But the ‘animal-free’ or vegan message isn’t a priority for many of its partners, according to the startup.

    “After years of dedicated effort to further veganise our product range, this new collaboration aims to accelerate the final steps of this process, while preserving the delicious taste and texture of our products,” The Vegetarian Butcher said.

    As we reported in December, The Every Co has already been granted three ‘no further questions’ letters from the FDA in the US, but for The Vegetarian Butcher to sell any products featuring the Every EggWhite, the Californian startup will need regulatory approval in the respective countries. It has filed novel food applications in the EU and the UK.

    “We aim to have that regulatory approval in parallel with the launch,” Toriello said, in relation to The Vegetarian Butcher partnership. “So the main market we’re targeting for this is the UK specifically, but we’re actively exploring near-term opportunities in other regions.”

    The Dutch startup isn’t the first to use the Every EggWhite to fine-tune meat analogues – last year, Colombia’s Grupo Nutresa partnered with The Every Company to use its animal-free egg white as a binder for products under its Zenú and Pietran brands. The Silicon Valley startup has also collaborated with ingredients giant Ingredion and drinks conglomerate AB InBev in the past.

    The Every Co’s 2024 priorities

    precision fermentation egg
    Courtesy: The EVERY Company

    The Every Co is actively producing two other products: Every Protein, a nearly transparent protein bioidentical to glycoprotein (found in egg whites) for neutral and clear-looking foods and beverages; and Every Egg, a whole egg that contains the EggWhite, plant-based oils, natural colours and flavourings, fibre and water.

    These products make for viable options among the volatility of chicken eggs, which have always had unpredictable prices and are frequently affected by outbreaks of avian flu. This is a big attraction for the startup’s B2B clients. “Every customer is different. Some want to absolutely take animals out of their supply chain,” explained Toriello. “But the bigger thing we’ve noticed in the last two years is that they want stability on supply and price. And on price, we are competitive with cage-free egg white pricing today.” (The startup has raised $233M in funding so far.)

    And it delivers on taste too, having impressed the likes of Daniel Humm, who hosted a special dinner at his three-Michelin-starred eatery Eleven Madison Park with the Every Egg as the centrepiece. “In collaborating with chef Humm and his team at Eleven Madison Park, we successfully demonstrated that EVERY Egg’s quality delivers on the highest standards of culinary excellence,” The Every Co CEO Arturo Elizondo, who co-founded the startup in 2014 with David Anchel, told Green Queen at the time.

    Speaking to AgFunderNews, he labelled “onboarding additional manufacturing capacity and translating that into products in the marketplace” as the business’s two top priorities for the year. “We’ve proven that our technology works at scale; we’re producing regularly in 100,000-litre+ fermenters, making metric tons of product,” he said. “So it’s now a matter of continuing to dial up scale so we have enough capacity to ultimately bring the cost down.”

    Lance Lively, the company’s VP and general manager, added: “What we’re thinking the most about is how can we get to the point where we can supply 20% of eggs to the top five egg users on an annualised basis.”

    The post The Vegetarian Butcher to Use The Every Company’s Animal-Free Egg Whites for Plant-Based Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • 2023 State of the Marketplace: 8 Takeaways for Plant-Based Brands from PBFA’s Latest Report

    plant based sales
    8 Mins Read

    Health, e-commerce and almond milk are vital in a sector that shows long-term potential despite recent headwinds, according to a new report by the Plant-Based Foods Association.

    In spite of a rough year for sales and investment in the vegan sector, if certain barriers are removed, plant-based food is here to stay. That’s the consensus of the 2023 State of the Marketplace report by US-based trade body the Plant-Based Foods Association (PBFA).

    Leveraging data from multiple insight firms, the analysis looks at the retail, foodservice and e-commerce sectors to find the challenges and opportunities for plant-based brands.

    “Despite inflationary pressures and economic challenges that have affected the entire food landscape, plant-based has held strong and established its faithful role in the shopping carts, shelves, and menus of a large and diverse group of consumers,” said PBFA’s VP of marketplace development, Julie Emmett.

    “The plant-based foods segment remains an important priority offering for our customers that continues to evolve with changing customer trends,” added Lee Robinson, VP of merchandising at Whole Foods Market, a PBFA partner. “Putting the ‘plant’ back in ‘plant-based’ through simpler, plant-forward ingredient decks, elevated sourcing, and reduced processing are areas of focus to usher the industry into advancing agricultural practices.”

    What can companies learn from the state of the plant-based marketplace in 2023? Here are the big takeaways.

    Gen Z doesn’t make up a large majority of plant-based shoppers

    gen z plant based
    Courtesy: PBFA

    The share of vegan consumers is evenly split across age and income demographics. Over-65s actually accounted for the largest share (23.5%), followed by the 18-34 age group (19.5%). So it appears that Gen Zers don’t represent a large majority of plant-based shoppers, although their purchasing power is predicted to grow when 2024 tax changes take effect.

    Meanwhile, over 41% of people who buy plant-based have high incomes, a trend that “aligns with unavoidable industry realities”, according to PBFA. Vegan food is still competing with the low prices of industrially farmed, government-subsidy-backed animal foods. But research has shown that plant-based consumers spend more overall, making them highly valuable to retailers and operators.

    Additional data shows that 62% of US households are buying plant-based foods, and 81% are repeating these purchases, indicating their strong faith in these products.

    Health over everything

    pbfa report
    Courtesy: PBFA

    The importance of health has skyrocketed in the post-pandemic and mid-Ozempic eras. Industry leaders are already repositioning their brands to be more health-skewed to meet these needs, and PBFA’s analysis confirms the vitality of health.

    The report outlines how health can mean different things to people, spanning personal illness, food safety or even specific nutritional requirements. Among primary US grocer shoppers, 80% consider themselves health-conscious, and 65% eat plant-based because they think these products are healthy.

    Similarly, 51% of Kroger shoppers said they buy vegan products since they’re healthy, and 38% do so because they want to reduce animal consumption due to personal health concerns.

    Only four categories actually declined in dollar sales

    pbfa state of the marketplace
    Courtesy: PBFA

    Despite concerns about the industry’s alleged downfall (if you’re to believe certain media outlets), only four product categories saw sales dip, while the overall sector held relatively steady (down from $8.2B in 2022 to $8.1B in 2023), suggesting that it was a year of flatlines instead of declines.

    From 2021 to 2023, meat and seafood (-6.6%), ready meals (-7.9%), ice cream (-7.4%), and cheese (-5.4%) were the only plant-based categories that witnessed a decrease. PBFA recommends that retailers merchandise meat or seafood analogues with products that are frequently purchased together, such as conventional meat/seafood or dairy cheese, as about three in 10 people who buy the former also buy the latter.

    Milk is still the plant-based leader

    oat milk vs almond milk
    Courtesy: PBFA

    Plant-based milk is still the leading category in the sector, making up over a third (36%) of all sales last year, and representing a 4.2% annual growth since 2021. In 2023, dollar sales grew slightly by 0.7%, but unit sales dropped by 7.5%, an indication of the higher cost of products (milk alternatives saw prices hike by over 8%).

    Still, this category represents the highest dollar share in the overall market (15%) across the plant-based sector. This is even higher (41%) in the natural channel, which entails supermarkets with over $2M of annual sales and at least 50% of sales from natural or organic products (excluding Whole Foods).

    Despite a 3.6% decline, almond milk is still the leader in the US, making up 55% ($1.6B) of the category’s total sales. Oat has held strong at second position with a 7.6% increase, while coconut milk saw the largest increase (24.8%).

    In foodservice, meanwhile, operators increased their spend on plant-based milk much more than dairy. While they bought 8.2% more conventional milk and spent 7.1% more than the year before, their purchases of plant-based milk grew by 18.3% in volume, representing a 20.9% higher spend.

    Watch out for the creamers

    non dairy creamers
    Courtesy: PBFA

    Non-dairy creamers are expanding rapidly in the US. It’s a market that has seen constant growth over the years, and saw annual sales increase by 16.2% (the highest in the industry) from 2021 to 2023 to reach $701M. Last year alone, dollar sales were up by 10.4%, and units also increased by 3.7%.

    Across the US, 15% of households bought plant-based creamers last year, and over 65% repeated their purchase. Among the 73% of Americans who drink coffee every day, a majority prefer to add creamers and/or sweeteners instead of drinking it black. Here, the preference for oat milk creamers climbed by 90% and almond-based options by 71% since 2022.

    “As long as the demand for coffee exists, consumers will search for creamers to go with it – and as environmental awareness grows, consumers may seek out more plant-based options,” the report stated. “Brands and retailers can emphasize plant-based creamers’ environmental benefits to help consumers make choices that are more aligned with their values.”

    Don’t sleep on e-commerce

    plant based foods association
    Courtesy: PBFA

    In the US, 33% of shoppers buy plant-based foods online – convenience, a wide array of options, and the absence of physical shelf space constraints make this channel attractive to brands. E-commerce plant-based sales reached $394M in 2023, with an annual growth rate of 16.4% over three years. They also occupy a larger share of online sales (6.8%) than brick-and-mortar retail (3.8%).

    And while animal-based foods outpaced vegan categories in dollar sale growth last year, plant-based products actually saw a higher increase in unit sales than their conventional counterparts, illustrating strong, sustained shopper interest and engagement.

    Restaurants are down on plant-based – other operators are not

    plant based report
    Courtesy: PBFA

    Dollar sales of plant proteins – including meat analogues and traditional food like tofu, tempeh, grains and nuts – in foodservice dipped slightly by 1% last year, with restaurants representing the biggest decline. Quick-service establishments spent 10% less on these foods, and full-service ones shelled out 7% less.

    But this was offset by other industry operators – mainly workplace cafeterias, which bought 25% more plant proteins and spent 13% more on them. Dollar and pound sales of plant-based food also increased in education, healthcare and government establishments.

    Rob Morasco, VP of innovation at Sodexo, which is aiming to make 50% of its food plant-based by 2025, outlined three main challenges for adding plant-based products to foodservice. “Our customers can be anywhere on the ‘knowledge spectrum’ on these products, especially those that don’t identify as vegan or vegetarian. Educating them on the choices available to them without ‘preaching or dictating’ is very important,” he explained.

    “Second, our operators and chefs also need the same education on plant-based overall – whether alt products or whole food plant-based, there is work to do to help our chefs feel more comfortable in this space. Lastly, cost and distribution are still a challenge – normalization compared to their ordinary alternatives and achieving price parity will be a pretty big deal.”

    Different forks, different strokes

    plant based sales foodservice
    Courtesy: PBFA

    The business, industry, government, healthcare, casino and lodging sectors all invested the most in plant-based foods, especially tofu, representing the growing focus on whole foods.

    “We do think, however, that the products that emulate the big ‘ordinary’ protein movers – beef, chicken, pork, seafood – are the most important to the non-commercial space,” said Morasco. “We sell a lot of hamburgers and chicken tenders and need plant-based alternatives to those that taste like the ordinary version.”

    But for restaurants, plant-based meat, egg and cheese analogues present a major opportunity. An analysis of 20 eateries over six months found that introducing these options increased the total sales of all plant-based orders by 112% and mixed orders by 35%.

    First-time guests placing vegan orders were twice more likely to return for a second visit than those who ordered animal-based foods. Moreover, plant-based orders boosted check averages by 8% (versus 1% for animal-based orders), indicating that higher-quality offerings justify the premiums on plant-based food.

    The post 2023 State of the Marketplace: 8 Takeaways for Plant-Based Brands from PBFA’s Latest Report appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Future Food Quick Bites: Delicious Salads, Vegan Lidl & EU Support

    the salad project deliciously ella
    6 Mins Read

    In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers a vegan salad partnership, a plant-based cheese rebrand and EU funding for cultivated meat.

    New products and launches

    UK fast-casual chain The Salad Project has partnered with Deliciously Ella on a new limited-edition menu, which will feature a Miso-Maple Aubergine Bowl, a DE Classic, a Super Green Salad, and a Little Plants Bowl (for kids).

    sheese vegan cheese
    Courtesy: Sheese

    Scottish vegan cheese producer Sheese has had a complete rebrand – a new logo, new orange packaging, and a new recipe – to make its products look and taste more like their conventional counterparts.

    Fellow plant-based cheesemaker I Am Nut OK has secured its first nationwide listing, with its cashew-based parmesan, feta and buffalo mozzarella now available on online retailer Ocado.

    Also in the UK, plant-based food brand Squeaky Bean has launched a hoisin duck pancake meal kit and a new snack range – comprising Southern Fried Straws, Duck and Hoisin Style Bites, and BBQ Pork Style Rolls – at select Tesco scores this week.

    Starbucks UK has collaborated with Nestlé on its new Mexican-Style Wrap for the summer menu, which features the latter’s Garden Gourmet pulled fillet, alongside a chilli-tomato sauce, peppers, spinach and vegan mozzarella.

    Another British startup, Myco, will roll out the first 10,000 burgers and 20,000 sausages made from its Hooba protein (made using vertically farmed mushrooms). It has agreed listings with several suppliers, including artisanal and plant-based wholesalers.

    lidl belgium vegan
    Courtesy: Lidl

    Lidl Belgium has followed its German counterpart in lowering the prices of its own-label plant-based alternatives to match the rates of meat and dairy, in a bid to double its vegan sales.

    Across the Atlantic, US fermented protein producer Calysta has joined forces with German pet food startup Dr. Clauder’s to debut air-dried dog treats using the former’s vegan FeedKind Pet protein, which will first launch in Europe.

    Meanwhile, Next Level Burger and Veggie Grill have rolled out the second phase of their Birds & Bees pollinator protection campaign for National Egg Month, with two new vegan egg sandwiches featuring Just Egg and WunderEgg.

    future food quick bites
    Courtesy: Next Level Burger

    Fellow American company Mighty Yum has reformulated its vegan Munchables lunch kits in response to demand for more allergen-friendly options, with its Turkey and Cheese and Ham and Cheese varieties no longer containing soy or gluten.

    Seafood giant Thai Union will unveil two new vegan shrimp SKUs at the THAIFEX-Anuga Asia event in Bangkok later this month. These include breaded shrimp and a shrimp patty.

    alma resort vegan
    Courtesy: Alma Resort

    And in Cam Ranh, Vietnam, Alma Resort has introduced a vegan menu in its Asiana restaurant as part of its sustainability goals and in response to growing demand for meatless food. Highlights include chicken katsu curry, crispy California sushi rolls, and mushrooms and tofu in oyster sauce. Its other eateries have also expanded plant-based options.

    Finance and company updates

    Indonesian plant-based meat brand Green Rebel has temporarily suspended its D2C operations in South Korea to improve management efficiency amid ongoing financial losses.

    Canadian vegan hot dog maker Sensible Foods has launched a strategic review that could result in a change in the company’s business strategy, with Shawn Balaghi replaced as CEO by Chris Jackson (on an interim basis).

    Fellow Canadian company Else Nutrition, which makes vegan infant formula and cereal products, has closed a second tranche of a private placement worth $1M for clinical trials related to the FDA and general working capital.

    Also in Canada, plant-based seafood startup Save Da Sea has netted C$650,000 ($475,000) in seed financing – led by a state fund for women-led startups – to expand the distribution of its products.

    save da seafood
    Courtesy: Save Da Seafood

    Cultivated meat company ProFuse Technology has received a €2.4M grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Transition programme, a recognition of policy support for alternative proteins in the EU.

    Isreli alternative protein company Steakholder Foods has inked a deal with Wyler Farms, which will manufacture its 3D-printed burgers, meatballs and minced meat at commercial scale and drive the startup towards profitability.

    Research and policy developments

    Berlin-based food tech startup Nosh.bio has opened a new factory in Dresden that can produce 1,000 tonnes of mycelium protein each year, with its first production run expected in the next four to five months.

    US commercial kitchen equipment manufacturer Waring has launched the Planit POD Fermentation System, allowing chefs to ferment and pasteurise up to eight lbs of custom-built plant proteins within 24 hours.

    According to analysis of Circana data by animal rights charity Wakker Dier, meat sales in the Netherlands have fallen by 16.4% since 2020. Last year, supermarkets sold 2.3% less meat than in 2022.

    Czech startup Bene Meat Technologies released the first samples of its cultivated pet food at Interzoo 2024 in Nuremberg, Germany, and is now on the lookout for an industry partner to put the product on shelves by year-end.

    bene meat cultured meat
    Courtesy: Bene Meat Technologies

    There are concerns that the UN’s Bonn Climate Change Conference (June 3-13), an intersessional event that will lay the groundwork for November’s COP29 in Azerbaijan, will return to a meat- and dairy-heavy menu. But ProVeg International is urging the UN to keep two-thirds of the catering plant-based – similar to the predominantly meatless menu at COP28 – to continue progress.

    In the US, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors have slated a citizen-led petition to ban factory farms for the ballot on November 5, a move that could have nationwide implications – although the board is opposing the initiative based on an inaccurate economic evaluation of a potential ban.

    Over in the UK, a historic ban on live animal exports for slaughter or fattening has passed the final stage in parliament, meaning it will soon become law – 50 years after campaigners first started protesting the move.

    lee hsien loong may day
    Courtesy: Lee Hsien Loong/X

    The Singapore Food Agency and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment have proposed a bill outlining new requirements for the pre-market approval of novel foods, which may now be subject to additional provisions before being imported or sold in the island nation.

    Researchers in Singapore have developed a cultivated meat prototype by co-culturing pig muscle and fat cells in a decellularised asparagus scaffold, which could unlock large-scale manufacturing of these foods.

    Finally, ethical pantry startup Voyage Foods has won the food honour in Fast Company’s 2024 World Changing Ideas Awards for its peanut- and hazelnut-free spreads. Cultivated meat producer UPSIDE Foods, precision-fermented egg startup The Every Company, and home compost bin Mill were among the other finalists.

    Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: Delicious Salads, Vegan Lidl & EU Support appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Q&A with Ethos Santorini’s Artemis Sorotou: ‘Our Ultimate Goal is to Attract Non-Vegans to Our Hotel’

    ethos vegan retreat
    7 Mins Read

    There’s a new luxury vegan hotel in Santorini, with biodegradable toiletries, bamboo slippers, and, of course, a plant-based breakfast. Co-owner Artemis Sorotou spills the beans on the Ethos Vegan Retreat.

    While the world of ethical and sustainable hospitality is booming, some have been doing it for years. Ethos Santorini, the family-run company championing veganism and eco-friendly living, is one of them.

    In 2021, it opened the Ethos Vegan Suites in Fira, the capital of one of the most popular islands in Greece. The five-room hotel was built with natural materials on Santorinian architectural principles, and provided a blueprint for cruelty-free hospitality offerings.

    In the years since, it has gained a cult following (and exemplary ratings), which led to its owners – the wife-husband duo of Artemis Sorotou and Coskun Piskin – opening a second location this month. Situated in the village of Imerovigli, the Ethos Vegan Retreat builds upon the brand’s sustainability credentials, with four private villas exuding luxury and slow living with climate-friendly food and amenities.

    ethos vegan suites
    Courtesy: Ethos Santorini

    With bookings available from May to September, guests are treated to a breakfast platter that veganises local Greek dishes and international classics, as well as three-course meals traversing various cuisines, and vegan alcohol options. The sustainability aspect extends to all parts of the property, from the zero-waste slippers and biodegradable toiletries to glass water bottles and pottery containers.

    Each villa has two bedrooms and bathrooms, with large indoor and outdoor spaces that encourage a tranquil environment. All the residences have a heated pool too, extending Ethos’s ethos of unwinding and rejuvenating in Santorini’s stunning landscapes.

    We spoke to Sorotou about the decision to open the new property, its vegan and sustainable offerings, and her plans for the future.

    This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and concision.

    Green Queen: What made you decide to open a second location? Why open it only seasonally?

    Artemis Sorotou: With the resounding success of Ethos Suites in Fira, we were inspired to dream bigger. After two years of operation and an outpouring of love and positive feedback from our guests, we knew we had something special. This success, coupled with the unwavering support of my family – who stepped in to invest in the land – has paved the way for our new location to become a reality. 

    At Ethos Retreat Imerovigli, we are excited to offer a unique and more laidback style of vacation. From cooking classes to retreats, we are committed to sharing more with our guests. However, due to weather conditions, we have decided to operate the residences seasonally to ensure we can maintain the high level of experience we strive to offer. Certain things, like keeping the pools warm and clean, just aren’t possible year-round.

    ethos vegan suites santorini
    Courtesy: Ethos Santorini

    GQ: Who is your target customer?

    AS: Our commitment to veganism and nature is at the core of our brand. We have created a safe environment for vegans, where they can relax, knowing everything is made with respect to animals and nature. However, our ultimate goal is to attract more non-vegan guests and show them that they can enjoy life and vacations without any animal abuse and with a deep respect for nature. 

    After three years, we can proudly say that our success extends beyond the vegan community. Many of our guests aren’t vegan but return with glowing feedback. This achievement signifies our ability to cater to a diverse clientele, making them realise that a vegan lifestyle can be delicious, luxurious, and cruelty-free.

    GQ: How would you differentiate your first property from your second for customers looking to choose between the two?

    AS: Both properties are distinct and luxurious in their own unique way. Ethos Suites in Fira caters to those who prefer to be in the city centre. The location allows them to be in the midst of the action, explore easily, and use public transportation conveniently. However, they can still retreat to a cosy and stylish space with all the amenities and even a private hot tub. They can find a tranquil oasis when they step into Ethos.

    Ethos Retreat in Imerovigli is ideal for laidback holidays, for families, friends, couples, or even solo travellers. This is an ideal escape for those who really want to relax and disconnect, and aren’t as interested in being in the middle of the action. Of course, with our assistance, they can still experience and explore the whole island.

    ethos santorini
    Courtesy: Ethos Santorini

    GQ: What are some of the highlights from your breakfast and à la carte menus?

    AS: We offer complimentary breakfast and a special experience dining menu (not a traditional à la carte menu), which includes Greek mezze platters, fruit platters, a three-course dinner or lunch, cooking classes, champagne service, and a sunset picnic. The three-course dinner or lunch is themed either Greek, Italian or Middle Eastern.

    For breakfast, we offer a different selection daily consisting of one savoury and one sweet option, homemade jams, fresh juices, and more. A few special breakfast dishes that we offer include a veganised version of my grandma’s pancakes, called tiganitous; Kagiane, which is traditionally a dish made with scrambled eggs (I use tofu and spices), and crêpes with tahini and tart apples.i

    GQ: Do you plan to serve plant-based meats too, or have a whole-food approach? And what milks will you serve?

      AS: We cook mostly whole-food plant-based, with many local ingredients. I’ve also veganised many traditional Greek recipes so guests can enjoy the cuisine without the cruelty. A few other traditional Greek dishes that we serve include moussaka, pastitsio, baklava, spinach pie, mushroom gyro, bougatsa, and more.

      For plant-based milk, we use soy, almond and oat milk.

      vegan hotels
      Courtesy: Ethos Santorini

      GQ: The retreat uses Nespresso pods – but coffee capsules are notoriously bad for the climate. How do you deal with the waste created?

      AS: We chose Nespresso because it is the only company that allows us to collect the capsules and send them back with no extra cost for recycling. For coffee, we didn’t have many options. We also offer fresh herbal tea leaves produced in Greece, served in pottery made at the locally owned Earth and Water Studio.

      GQ: How did you approach the design, in regards to sustainability and local heritage?

      We worked with a Santorini-based architecture team called Kapsimalis Architects to blend sustainability with local design. The exterior design incorporates the island’s aesthetics – domes and straight lines, as well as colours and fabrics. Most of the furniture and tableware are made by local carpenters and pottery artists.

      vegan resorts
      Courtesy: Ethos Santorini

      GQ: What other sustainability initiatives have you undertaken for the new property?

      AS: We don’t use any plastic toiletries – we utilise biodegradable certified vegan pods for shampoo, conditioner and shower gel made by Biorama, a family-owned company based in Crete. We also provide bamboo amenities and slippers made from hotel towel waste.

      We are trying to eliminate plastic by using glass bottles of water, providing tea and sugar in pottery, no plastic or paper bags, using biodegradable toilet paper that can be thrown inside the toilet, separating waste and recycling, and doing our own compost to manage food waste. 

      Unfortunately, the location of Ethos in Imerovigli doesn’t provide us with a connection to the public water system (it’s not safe for human consumption), so we have to purchase glass bottles of water. However, at Ethos Suites in Fira, we have installed a water filter, so we’re able to provide guests with water in refillable glass bottles daily.

      We also only use eco-friendly and vegan cleaning products throughout the property.

      GQ: Where do you see the company in five years? Do you envision more locations in the future?

      We hope to inspire more businesses to take a more sustainable approach to hospitality and, of course, help more people enjoy a vacation with less cruelty and less of an environmental impact.

      If we say we don’t envision more locations, it would be a lie. But that’s still far away, as we are just a single family running this business. This requires considerable financial investment and constant work. I have a few more Ethos projects that I hope one day will come to fruition, but for now, they are dreams.

      The post Q&A with Ethos Santorini’s Artemis Sorotou: ‘Our Ultimate Goal is to Attract Non-Vegans to Our Hotel’ appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    1. VIDEO: Every Day Is Mother’s Day for These Animals

      Learn how animal mothers of all species give everything for their babies and why every glass of dairy breaks the bond.

      Every glass of dairy breaks the bond between mother and baby. Watch this video to learn why mothers of every species should be celebrated each day.

      The post VIDEO: Every Day Is Mother’s Day for These Animals appeared first on PETA.

      This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

    2. This Mother’s Day, Let’s Honor Moms of All Species

      The post This Mother’s Day, Let’s Honor Moms of All Species appeared first on PETA.

      This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

    3. The Me(a)t Gala: Vegan Brands Shine at Fashion’s Biggest Night

      met gala food
      4 Mins Read

      This year’s Met Gala featured vegan products from Impossible Foods, Neat, Stockeld Dreamery and Tindle Foods, showcasing plant-based indulgence to the world’s most influential celebrities.

      The Garden of Time was this year’s theme for the Met Gala, and actors, artists, models, influencers and all kinds of celebrities showed up in attires that spanned from gorgeous, to curious, to wild.

      But true to the theme, the garden was also present in a way with the food served at the show. Hopes weren’t high when Anna Wintour banned garlic, onions and chives from this year’s event, presumably so everyone doesn’t have “bad breath”. “Those are three things I’m not particularly fond of,” she said ahead of the event.

      It’s been reported that high-end cuisine was the name of the game at the Met Gala on Monday, with a fancy spring vegetable salad to start with, followed by a beef filet for the main, and almond cremeaux shaped like an apple for dessert.

      But if you ask me, the best bits were before and after the actual gala. At fashion’s biggest show, some of the plant-based world’s biggest brands showed up too. It was out with haute cuisine, in with pure vegan indulgence.

      Here’s how vegan food made a splash at the 2024 Met Gala.

      Impossible’s indulgent sliders and BBQ nuggets

      impossible burger met gala
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      It was a big night for one of the premier plant-based meat producers, Impossible Foods, which kicked off its latest marketing drive at the Live from E! red carpet. Its new ads were aired during the pre-show broadcast at The Mark hotel, a smart choice given the Met Gala over-indexes on vegans.

      But it wasn’t just the ads – Impossible Foods was also serving food to attendees on the red carpet, and it was all about plant-based indulgence.

      The clue was in the name, with the brand showcasing its Indulgent Burger, its premium beef patty launched last year, which is thicker, juicier and meatier than its signature burger. Upon launch, the company said 82% of taste-testers found this burger as good as or superior to conventional beef – so it made sense to exhibit the product among some of the most influential people in the world.

      impossible indulgent burger
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      The Indulgent Burger was part of a slider that was lined with a brie and truffle aioli – it’s unclear whether this was plant-based, but since the brand’s target audience isn’t vegan anyway, that would be in line with its marketing strategy.

      Impossible Foods also served its famous chicken nuggets, but these were also dressed up – in a passion fruit BBQ sauce no less. Both the nuggets and burgers were served alongside what looked like edible flowers to honour the Garden of Time theme, but the former also came in a specially branded green box that read: ‘Garden of Meat’.

      impossible nuggets
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      After the event, Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness called it an “important opportunity to build awareness as we roll into the summer grilling season”.

      Stockeld Dreamery, Neat and Tindle turn it up at the afterparty

      Met Gala afterparties are some of the most exclusive in the fashion world, and three brands got together to satiate the cravings of the, erm, inebriated attendees at one of the many, many parties.

      At Casa Cipriani South Street, fast-food chain Neat was invited to hand out its plant-based cheeseburgers and hot dogs to the guests. Swedish brand Stockeld Dreamery joined in to help out, given its vegan Cultured Cheddar cheese tops the patty on Neat’s burger.

      neat burger
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      Another one of Neat’s collaborators, Singaporean startup Tindle Foods, brought out its vegan chicken tenders. “They went like crazy. We had to keep bringing out trays because they’d be gone in seconds,” the company said in a video montage.

      The vegan junk food was served at a party that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Camila Cabello, Lil Nas X, SZA, Lizzo, Jaden Smith, Cardi B, Usher, Serena Williams, and Offset.

      met gala 2024 menu
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      “This ended up being a huge win for the plant-based space as celebrities were spotted with Neat Burgers, Stockeld and Tindle flags all night long,” Stockeld Dreamery founder Sorosh Tavakoli said.

      “If there’s a better way to make plant-based foods sexy, let me know.”

      The post The Me(a)t Gala: Vegan Brands Shine at Fashion’s Biggest Night appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    4. Beyond Meat Expects Turnaround with New Products After Mixed Start to 2024

      beyond meat sales
      7 Mins Read

      After a mixed start to the year, with both revenues and sales declining in Q1, Beyond Meat remains optimistic about the rest of 2024, pointing to the rollout of its healthier and costlier plant-based beef.

      As the fourth iterations of its burger and mince begin replacing their predecessors on retail shelves, Beyond Meat has reported an eight straight quarter of year-on-year revenue decline, which reached $75.6M in Q1 2024, dropping by 18% from the corresponding period last year.

      However, this was slightly higher than analysts expected ($75.2M), and in line with the company’s guidance for the quarter after a tough 2023. The net revenue was also up by 2.6% from the previous quarter. Moreover, the plant-based meat leader reported a gross profit of $3.7M (down by 41% from Q1 2023), meaning that its products made more money than they cost to produce.

      But operating expenses lead to a total net loss of $54.4M for Beyond Meat this quarter. Keeping with the mixed-bag theme of its earnings report though, its deficit actually narrowed by 8% from Q1 2023 – this was thanks to an 8% reduction in operating losses and losses from its Planet Partnership with PepsiCo, which saw the launch of the Beyond Jerky. The slow-selling SKU was discontinued last year, with the El Segundo company rechannelling its focus to the new Beyond IV platform.

      The new burger and mince, which are said to be meatier and healthier, are also more expensive – Beyond Meat is banking on these three factors to drive growth in the rest of the year. “Through this fourth-generation project, which we expect will be fully distributed by Memorial Day, we took a leap forward on a continuous improvement journey that is a rapid and relentless innovation programme,” CEO Ethan Brown said in a conference call with investors.

      “We really do believe that we are at the early stages of a terrific and pivotal year for Beyond Meat,” he added. “We’re doing the things you need to do to get through a period that is challenging and resume growth.”

      Sales down across channels, but McDonald’s deal to drive growth

      mcplant
      Courtesy: McDonald’s Germany

      Over the last year, Beyond Meat’s distribution points have declined globally, down from 146,000 in Q1 2023 to 130,000 today. This has coincided with a decrease in sales across both retail and foodservice. In the US, both channels saw a 16% decline in net revenue, which the company ascribed to a softening of demand despite discounts on its products, a dip in the volume of products sold, the discontinuation of its jerky SKU, as well as the loss of distribution.

      Internationally, it experienced a 12% decline in retail sales, but a much larger 29% drop in foodservice revenue. This meant its sales were down by 21.5% in non-US markets in Q1. In retail, this was due to softer demand for its beef and pork products in Canada and chicken SKUs in Europe. The foodservice performance proved to be a tough comparison with Q1 2023, when Beyond Meat had just finished a large order for McDonald’s as its vegan nuggets went on sale in Europe.

      Speaking of which, Beyond Meat reported its Q1 earnings the same day McDonald’s announced a campaign for its famous meals promotion, exclusively featuring the McPlant burger in menus curated by Tokio Hotel members and twins Bill and Tom Kaulitz. It’s similar to the Travis Scott, BTS and McJordan meals in the US.

      Beyond Meat’s partnership with McDonald’s has now expanded into Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, a marker of its plans to boost distribution and sales in Europe – one of its five key priorities for the year. The Beyond Burger has now expanded into more Co-op stores in the UK, while Beyond Steak has been launched into Dutch foodservice. And after satisfying local shelf life requirements, the company will expand its retail presence in Germany too.

      A new cookbook to showcase healthier Beyond IV products

      beyond meat ingredients
      Courtesy: Beyond Meat

      Despite representing a significant improvement from the previous quarter, the company’s gross profit and margin fell short of its expectations, owing to factors like including higher manufacturing and material costs, long-running discounts, and transitional costs related to bringing production in-house (which is also one of its priorities this year). But Beyond Meat is optimistic about its margin for the rest of the year, given that the Q1 figures don’t account for the price hikes attached to its more premium beef products.

      Brown said the consumer reception of the higher markups – another business priority for 2024 – is “too early to tell”, but noted that it’s not just a new pricing stricture, but also a new product altogether. “We did have long discussions with a lot of the main retailers we work with around why we’re doing this,” he added. “And with limited exception, most were accepting.”

      The new burger and mince represent the most significant renovation of its core product line to date, with a much more prominent focus on health and flavour – two of the most important factors to Americans. They have 60% less saturated fat and 20% lower sodium content than their predecessors, with more protein than most conventional 80/20 beef products.

      Brown explained the company’s product development process relies upon a framework called FAAT, “for flavour, aroma, appearance, and texture, while driving improvements in nutrition, cost, and other considerations”. He said the team “delivered a home run and improved sensory experience with a nutritional build – so impressive that it goes to market with a host of important validations”.

      The Beyond IV products meet the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) nutritional guidelines for its Better Choices for Life programme, and carry Good Housekeeping’s Nutritionist Approved Emblem. They also featured in a collection of ‘heart-healthy’ recipes by the American Heart Association (AHA), and Brown revealed that the latter and Beyond Meat are co-launching a cookbook to highlight the nutritional credentials of its products.

      He highlighted “getting leaner” as another of the company’s 2024 priorities, which almost serves as a double entendre. It referred to its operations becoming more efficient and a tightening of its focus on product portfolio and consumer messaging, but it ties in with the health-forward message emanating from the new products, which represent another key goal for this year.

      Heart-healthy product line set to expand

      beyond beef crumbles
      Courtesy: Beyond Meat

      The CEO also pinpointed “orchestrated misinformation regarding our product lines” as one of the brand’s biggest challenges – for years, Beyond Meat and its main competitor Impossible Foods have been the subject of a targeted campaign by the Center for Consumer Freedom, a meat industry interest group. In August, the company responded with a marketing initiative quashing the misinformation.

      This summer, Beyond Meat will launch an “impactful and significant” marketing drive to promote its fourth-generation beef. “We believe – as do the nutritionists, institutions and dietitians standing behind Beyond IV – that we offer consumers a delicious yet powerful choice that can help them and their loved ones with healthier lives,” said Brown.

      “My emphasis on the health side of things is simply because of the misinformation campaign. We would not make these changes at the expense of taste,” he added. “We want to bring back in that very close and early adopter consumer that maybe has been scared away.”

      In March, Beyond Meat unveiled a new product line in its Beef Crumbles, which were certified by the AHA and ADA. Brown revealed the alt-meat giant will introduce another heart-healthy product later this year. With these innovations, the company reiterated its full-year forecast of net revenues between $315-345M, and expects sales to reach $85-90M in the next quarter.

      “2024 is a pivotal year for change and progress for Beyond Meat. We began the year making solid strides along our 2024 strategy and correspondingly, our path to sustainable operations and a return to growth,” said Brown.

      “We believe that our determination to sharply reduce our operating expenses and cash use, consolidate our production network, implement pricing changes to help restore margins and launch our most significant renovation to date Beyond IV for purposes of reinforcing, as well as raising the bar on the health benefits of our plant-based needs, amidst sustained misinformation campaigns are beginning to pay off.”

      The post Beyond Meat Expects Turnaround with New Products After Mixed Start to 2024 appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    5. Impossible Foods Debuts First Marketing Campaign Since Rebrand at Met Gala

      impossible burger
      5 Mins Read

      Geared towards meat-eaters, Impossible Foods’ first ad campaign since its rebrand is all about flavour and health – the two things Americans care most about in their food.

      A hot-dog-eating contest, lusting over nuggets, and an overly long sub are all featured in Impossible Foods’ first marketing campaign after refreshing its brand identity in March, with the plant-based meat pioneer declaring: “We’re solving the meat problem with more meat.”

      The new campaign debuted at last night’s Met Gala red carpet show, which over-indexes on Impossible Foods customers, according to the company. At the garden-themed event, the celebrity attendees got to sample Impossible sliders with brie and truffle aioli, and passionfruit BBQ Impossible chicken nuggets.

      The hero 30-second ad is a fast-paced walk-and-talk spot, with the protagonist outlining how “meat has problems”, and to solve them, we should eat more of it – only caveat? It should be made from plants. Describing the meat problem on its website, the brand notes how it’s “too delicious”, but that we eat so much of it, it’s causing problems – for our bodies as well as the planet.

      “We see this campaign as a way to let meat eaters know Impossible meat is the best way to keep eating meat you love, just without a lot of the problems associated with animal meat,” said chief marketing and creative officer Leslie Sims. “Whether you’re a vegan, hardcore meat eater or somewhere in between, we have you covered.”

      Changing how we see meat

      impossible chicken nuggets
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      The months-long campaign – which will run on TV and streaming, and digital, social media and billboards – was conceived via a collaboration between Impossible Foods’ in-house creative team and three-time AdAge Small Agency of the Year winner Erich and Kallman.

      It features a distinct Americana feel designed to feel familiar and relatable to meat-eaters, with cultural traditions like a backyard barbecue, hot-dog-eating contest and a burger joint referenced ahead of grilling season. One scene also depicts a family-style meal with a giant bowl of spaghetti and Impossible meatballs.

      The 30-second spot is accompanied by 15-second ads each spotlighting a different product – beef, chicken or pork – in a tongue-in-cheek tone, which follows the brand’s Making Meat History campaign from 2023. The latter compared an Impossible burger with a conventional one, which resonated with meat-eaters, leading the company to realise it could hone in even more on the similarities between old meat and new meat.

      impossible hot dog
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      This is why there’s a call to action directed to meat-loving Americans – who eat way more meat than is recommended or needed – with Impossible Foods imploring them to solve the meat problem with more burgers, hot dogs and meatballs. The idea is to reframe meat as a delicious food made from plants, instead of forcing meat-eaters to change their lifestyles.

      “For this latest campaign, we wanted to have a clear value proposition for them – you love meat, so why not try us and be better for the planet?” Sims told AdAge. On the humorous tone of the ads, she explained: “We are talking to hard-core meat-eaters, but we don’t want to be preachy.”

      Taste and health over environmental messaging

      With the new marketing campaign, Impossible Foods is doubling down on its food- and health-forward messaging, with the focus very much on flavour and nutrition. For example, one of the hero commercial’s scenes urges consumers to “punch cholesterol in the face”, highlighting how its meats have zero cholesterol.

      The environmental emphasis is no longer a centrepiece in the ads, which was expected after the brand’s refresh put taste and health at the heart of its packaging. Speaking to Reuters last month, Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness outlined why the brand has taken this direction: “We’re not leading with the planet because not enough people care. It’s the reality now.”

      impossible foods ad
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      And he’s right – the environmental pull of plant-based eating isn’t as strong as it used to be. One 2023 survey found that the top two attributes discouraging Americans from trying plant-based meat are flavour (48%) and nutrition (35%). Another poll revealed that health is the major reason Americans eat vegan or vegetarian diets, with six in 10 choosing it.

      It’s why the brand launched a Beef Lite version of its mince, which is approved as heart-healthy by the American Heart Association. But a company spokesperson told Green Queen in December that taste is the main reason behind consumers deciding to purchase a product again or not”.

      The shift was most visible in the rebrand two months ago, which saw the company switch from teal green to red packaging with a larger imagery, and a higher focus on taste descriptors, saturated fat and sodium. The colour change was designed to reinforce the meatiness of its products and their likeness to conventional counterparts. Red is a colour more naturally associated with meat, as opposed to green, which is the symbol of eco-friendliness and vegan food. At the time, Impossible Foods laid out its aim to appeal to the “carnivorous cravings of meat-eaters”.

      “Our intent with the new packaging – and the overall design of our new brand identity – is to lean into the craveability of meat,” a representative told Green Queen. “Taste is, of course, a big part of this. Between the bold red aesthetic and new food photography highlighted on the front of each product, we’re deliberately putting the deliciousness of our meat from plants front and centre.”

      plant based meat packaging
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods/Green Queen

      And consumer testing shows they do love its products – the brand says 80% of people who try its burgers like them, and that taste-testers preferred its chicken nuggets three-to-one in a head-to-head comparison with conventional nuggets.

      The marketing campaign comes amid a flurry of activity for Impossible Foods. It has been rolling out its new beef hot dogs at baseball stadiums across the US, serving its meat to the US army, transitioning a cattle ranch into a farm that produces plant-based meat ingredients, and – more long term – weighing up a liquidity event that could include a sale or an IPO, all while entering into Whole Foods nationwide and rejigging how it sells its meat. It’s a busy time for Impossible Foods, and one it will hope translates into success.

      The post Impossible Foods Debuts First Marketing Campaign Since Rebrand at Met Gala appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    6. UK Plant-Based Meat Player THIS Launches Vegan Chicken Thighs

      this isn't chicken thighs
      4 Mins Read

      UK plant-based meat challenger brand THIS is launching the country’s first nationally distributed vegan chicken thighs, starting with Tesco next week.

      THIS, the cult-favourite plant-based meat brand, is rolling out a first-to-market vegan chicken thigh SKU in the UK next week. The product is the only nationally distributed plant-based chicken thigh, and will be introduced at the UK’s largest retailer, Tesco, on May 13.

      Available in packs of four, the THIS Isn’t Chicken Thighs cost £3.80, with the company noting it could be used across a variety of dishes, such as traybakes, burgers, curries and stews. Made from a blend of soy and fava bean protein, they can be used whole too, and cooked in a pan or in the oven.

      “We’re reinventing the way people experience plant-based dining,” said recently appointed CEO Mark Cuddigan. “We’re on a mission to lead a revolution to change what people eat, to protect animals and the environment – and with our ridiculously delicious and nutritious plant-based food, we’ve got you covered with the ultimate plant-based chicken thigh.”

      Patent-pending tech enables realistic vegan chicken thighs

      vegan chicken thighs
      Courtesy: THIS

      The new chicken thighs are touted to be high in protein and fibre, with a similar recipe to its flagship THIS Isn’t Chicken Pieces SKU. It will appeal to the increasingly health-conscious UK consumer – a 1,000-person survey from last year found that health benefits are the top reason why Brits eat plant-based meat, cited by 39% of respondents.

      But the whole-cut nature of the new product is the biggest differentiator from the chicken pieces. The company binds together soy and fava bean protein with an olive-oil-based fat to mimic the texture of thighs, which are then coated in a layer of seaweed to replicate the structure and texture of chicken skin.

      This meaty, fibrous cut is achieved through THIS’s extrusion technology, which has three pending patents. Whole-cut products like thighs, wings and legs have complex, three-dimensional structures, where protein fibres are bound together by a network of connective tissue and intramuscular fat. This provides the juiciness and texture associated with these meats, which THIS said it has managed to recreate in its chicken thigh analogue.

      It’s not the company’s first whole-cut meat either. It also makes plant-based chicken breast and roast chicken and stuffing SKUs, both of which have been launched in the last eight months.

      THIS has gone from strength to strength

      this isn't chicken
      Courtesy: THIS

      The new product comes at a time of rapid progress for THIS, which says it is the fastest-growing brand in the plant-based meat segment. The company’s sales were up by 46.6% last year, and volumes rose by 66.6%, according to NielsenIQ data for the Grocer’s Top Products survey. Its annualised revenue reached £24M last year.

      This has been aided by a range of new products. Within its chicken range, the roast chicken SKU was the best-performing line in the category in 2023, even though it was only introduced in September. But the company also launched a chicken and bacon pie in partnership with Pieminster around the same time, and this year alone, it has rolled out the chicken breast, chicken shawarma, frozen beef mince, as well as skin-on chicken wings in collaboration with BrewDog.

      “Innovation has been a core part of its growth over the last two years as it has diversified into a wider range of segments, including frozen, ready meals and food to go, as well as continuing to launch new products in its core segment of chilled meat alternatives,” NielsenIQ senior insight analyst Carol Ratcliffe told the Grocer last year.

      THIS marketing director Dee Bulsara added. “The number one THIS rule is that we don’t proceed to launch unless we think the product can trick a meat-eater once it’s in a dish.”

      The company has recently undergone a change in leadership as well, with Cuddigan taking over from founders and former co-CEOs Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman in February (who remain involved in the business). While THIS is aiming to have its first profitable quarter this year, the larger meat-free category in the UK has suffered, with sales down by £38.4M last year.

      . “For too long, there’s been too many brands with wildly varying product quality, that have put off meat reducers from truly believing in the category. It’s also been confusing to shop – no supermarket needs to list 15 types of plant-based sausage,” Shovel told Green Queen last year. “We’re now at a stage where the sector is consolidating and poor-quality brands are coming out the market, with more brands consumers can trust and shelves that are way easier to navigate.”

      The post UK Plant-Based Meat Player THIS Launches Vegan Chicken Thighs appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    7. PETA Sends Former President Trump a Gift After He Says He Has to Try Vegan

      When Donald Trump gets around to trying vegan food, it’s gonna be huge. That’s why PETA is sending the former U.S. president—who said in a recent campaign rally that he was going to have to try vegan food—a hearty vegan gift basket. The package includes Oreos, vegan fish fillets, vegan chicken and burgers, vegan jerky, PETA’s vegan starter kit, and the American Vegan Kitchen cookbook.

      Donald Trump next to vegan burger

      Donald Trump Isn’t the Only Person Who Has to Try Vegan

      The meat, egg, dairy, and fishing industries exploit and kill billions of animals every year while destroying our environment. Every animal is someone, from cows who nurture their young, to chickens who establish complex social hierarchies. Our fellow animals have unique personalities, interests, wants, and needs, so it’s due time to relate to who is on your plate and make America great by trying vegan.

      By going vegan, you can save nearly 200 animals every year, improve your health, and protect the planet. Check out PETA’s guide to the best vegan snacks and order our free vegan starter kit today:

      Go Vegan!

      Note: PETA supports animal rights, opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and educates the public on those issues. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.

      The post PETA Sends Former President Trump a Gift After He Says He Has to Try Vegan appeared first on PETA.

      This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

    8. World’s First Caviar Farm Exposé Reveals Workers Stabbing Fish, Beating Them to Death With Metal Clubs

      An investigation by Animal Justice into the caviar industry reveals what PETA has been saying all along: the true cost of this expensive “dish” is extreme cruelty. In the world’s first caviar farm exposé and Canada’s first fish farm investigation, Animal Justice found filthy tanks and workers slicing fish open at Northern Divine Aquafarms—a self-proclaimed “sustainable” and “organic” caviar farm.

      worker shooting sturgeon with captive bolt gun as seen in animal justice caviar farm investigation

      The damning investigative footage revealed the following:

      • Sturgeons and salmon trapped in crowded, dirty tanks
      • Workers stabbing fish repeatedly in the abdomen to check for egg maturity
      • Workers sucking eggs out of fish with a straw-like tube
      • Fish with deformities and injuries
      • Workers throwing fish on ice and freezing them to death
      • Workers cutting fish open while they were still alive

      Sturgeons, one of the oldest species groups on the planet, are now endangered due to the fishing industry and the caviar trade. These fascinating fish are capable of complex learning behavior and are known to leap out of the water to communicate with others.

      Misery at a Caviar Aquafarm

      Northern Divine Aquafarms allegedly keeps female sturgeons alive in tiny tanks for at least 11 years until they’re old enough to produce caviar eggs. According to staff at the facility, some sturgeons who apparently attempted to escape from their tanks remained suffocating on the floor hours later.

      To check whether their eggs are ready to be sold as caviar, workers force the animals onto a stretcher, stab them in the abdomen, insert a tube, and suck out the eggs with their mouths. Workers apparently do all of this without giving the fish any pain relief.

      About 38 fish at the facility—including a 7-foot sturgeon named Gracie, who has reportedly been suffering in a tank there for at least 25 years—are used as breeding machines. Workers routinely cut their eggs out of their bodies to breed more sturgeons.

      Before slaughtering the fish for their eggs, the facility reportedly starves them for weeks to “improve the taste.” Then, workers shoot and kill them with a captive-bolt gun.

      Northern Divine Aquafarms also exploits salmon for their eggs, known as “roe” or “ikura.”Salmon are curious and intelligent and have impressive long-term memories. In nature, young salmon learn the smell of their home stream. After maturing in the ocean, a female salmon will return to where she was born to lay her eggs.

      At Northern Divine Aquafarms, salmon spend their lives in small, miserable tanks before humans slaughter them for their eggs. Animal Justice investigators reportedly saw workers throwing conscious salmon onto ice and leaving them there for over an hour before beating the animals over the head with a metal club and then cutting them open. According to the investigation, many fish writhed in agony when workers sliced them open.

      Fishes’ Eggs Belong to Them—Not Humans

      When we dive deep into the complex lives of fish, we learn that these animals have distinct personalities, types of behavior, ways of communicating, and needs. Some species of fish sing or create artwork to impress potential partners. Some use tools to access food or communicate. As unique as these individuals are, they share one crucial thing in common with humans and our fellow animals: the capacity to suffer. Every fish is someone and does not want to be exploited and killed for their eggs or flesh.

      YOU Can Spare Fish by Never Buying Caviar and Going Vegan

      Sustainable, delicious vegan seafood brands dominate the market and don’t cause fish to suffer. PETA Business Friends’ fish-free options—like Cavi-art’s vegan caviar and ZeaStar’s sashimi—allow you to keep cruelty off your plate and taste great. So what are you waiting for? Choose compassion today:

      Go Vegan!

      The post World’s First Caviar Farm Exposé Reveals Workers Stabbing Fish, Beating Them to Death With Metal Clubs appeared first on PETA.

      This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

    9. Stephen Colbert Highlights Climax Foods’ Good Food Award Snafu On The Late Show

      stephen colbert vegan
      6 Mins Read

      The Late Show featured vegan cheesemaker Climax Foods on its show last night, where Stephen Colbert tried its cheese, and highlighted the controversial Good Food Awards saga.

      First it was a mammoth meatball. Now it’s vegan blue cheese.

      It seems like Stephen Colbert and The Late Show’s team have their hands on the food tech pulse. Last night, on the programme’s Meanwhile segment, the 59-year-old ate some cheese.

      On a normal day, that would maybe have been a little weird at best. But following last week’s events, it was quite a noteworthy piece of TV, mixed with just the right amount of humour, gravitas and delight.

      “America’s facing a major cheese controversy,” announced Colbert, highlighting a Wall Street Journal story describing the first time a vegan cheese – Climax Foods’ blue cheese – beat dairy in the famed Good Food Awards, only for things to sour quickly.

      Colbert went on to poke some light-hearted fun at his friend and former The Daily Show boss Jon Stewart (who is famously vegan) and Climax Foods’ brand name, before describing what went down.

      What happened with Climax Foods and the Good Food Awards

      vegan blue cheese
      Courtesy: Climax Foods

      The Bay Area-based startup uses AI to reverse-engineer what makes cheese taste good. Made from a blend of pumpkin seeds, lima beans, hemp seeds, coconut fat and cocoa butter, the Climax Blue is so well-regarded in the culinary world, it has appeared on the menus of Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park and Dominique Crenn’s Atelier Crenn.

      So the cheese doing well in a competition isn’t surprising. What is shocking, however, is what happened to its Good Food Award nomination. While many plant-based cheeses have entered the competition, none have ever won. Climax Foods was about to change that, having been told it was going to win an award for its blue cheese three months ago. The startup’s team was invited to attend the ceremony on April 29 as part of a “weekend of festivities”.

      But when news of its status as a finalist came out in January, traditional cheesemakers were – to put it bluntly – pissed. And that’s when things got messy. A week before the ceremony, Climax Foods CEO Oliver Zahn, received an email from the event organiser, the Good Food Foundation, which said the company’s cheese had been disqualified from the competition.

      The email said it was because of the cheese’s use of kokum butter – which hasn’t been designated as GRAS [Generally Regarded as Safe] by the US Food and Drug Administration – as well as the fact that it wasn’t “retail ready”. But when Climax Foods submitted its blue cheese for consideration six months ago, there was no explicit rule requiring GRAS certification or a product to be ready for retail. And in any case, Zahn insisted that the cheese is ready to be sold in supermarkets.

      The awards website now states those stipulations, but in January (when the finalists were announced), there was no mention of GRAS, and the requirement was that foods are ready for sale (not necessarily for retail). Zahn suggested to AgFunderNews that the retrospective change of rules came “in direct response to a dairy industry person that contacted them this month to come up with a way to disqualify us”.

      climax blue cheese
      Courtesy: Climax Foods

      Sarah Weiner, executive director at the Good Food Foundation, confirmed that the GRAS criterion wasn’t stated until recently, but added that it has always been part of its regulations. “It is not an issue we have come across in past years, and it was assumed that all ingredients entrants used were generally recognized as safe for consumption in the USA,” she said. “When we realised it needed to be made explicit to avoid this unfortunate and I’m sure extremely disappointing situation in the future, we updated the rules and regulations.”

      She told the Wall Street Journal that only thrice before had the awards undergone something similar, with the foundation being informed that a contestant may not meet the requirements. “I think there were a lot more eyes on this particular entrant than there would be on one of the hundreds of other finalists,” she said. “Which made it more likely that someone with expertise would reach out.” Weiner didn’t say who tipped the foundation off about Climax, but Zahn suspected it to be an outspoken “informant” from the dairy cheese sector, accusing the foundation of caving to that industry’s pressure.

      Did Stephen Colbert like Climax’s vegan blue cheese?

      While Climax Foods submitted a blue cheese made and labelled with kokum butter, it has since changed its recipe to cocoa butter. Zahn said the company was happy to send more samples, but alleged that his team was never contacted by the awards organisers. Weiner, however, said the foundation emailed and called the person who had submitted the application — who no longer works at Climax Foods — and then emailed another staffer, who did not respond.

      “I don’t want to get into a fight over this, but it could so easily have been rectified if we had been contacted earlier. But they never contacted us to remedy the situation,” Zahn told AgFunderNews.

      Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, he added: “Changing the rules six months after submission, and then not even trying to reach the company to try to fix a fixable situation? If that happened in my company, I would step down as CEO. Seriously, I would step down because that would be so embarrassing to me that there was no way I could justify continuing to run the company. And I would fire anybody who was involved.”

      The whole episode is a shame for both Climax Foods and the Good Food Awards. For the latter, it could have been the torchbearer ushering in a new era for critically acclaimed cheese fit for the future. For the former, it would have attracted retail customers, investors and consumers alike.

      But Colbert has boosted the chances of the latter happening anyway. “They’ve clearly captured the look of blue cheese, but have they captured the flavour of severed-foot-fished-out-of-a-canal?” he said in his trademark acerbic manner.

      He followed up with yet another sarcastic interpretation of famous vegan tropes – you know, they don’t have friends or food, their bones are dissolved from protein deficiency, that kind of stuff. “You couldn’t just let vegans have this one thing?” he asked the Good Food Foundation.

      Then came the taste test. For many viewers and consumers, this is make or break. “This is the actual cheese,” he said, pausing. He chewed some more, his face clenching. “I like it. You can really taste the foot.”

      As funny as it was, it’s a mark of respect for the Climax Blue, which stood up to Colbert’s expectations on national television. You can’t get much better publicity than that.

      Zahn agreed, writing on LinkedIn: “Thanks for singing the praises in your unique ways, and for that witty examination of the Good Food Award snafu, Stephen, you’re the best.”

      The post Stephen Colbert Highlights Climax Foods’ Good Food Award Snafu On The Late Show appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    10. Oatly Cuts Losses and Exceeds Revenue Expectations in Positive Start to 2024

      oatly q1 2024
      6 Mins Read

      After taking measures to turn its losses around, Oatly’s quarterly losses have narrowed by 39% from the previous year, and revenue swelled by 1.8% in a performance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

      A strategic reset in China, expanded focus on retail and tailored pricing for specific markets have led to what Oatly CEO Jean-Christophe Flatin described as a “solid quarter”.

      The company reined in its operating and capital expenditures, and increased its gross margin to 27 cents on the dollar (up by 56% from Q1 2023). It also netted $199.1M in revenue this quarter, a 1.8% improvement from the previous year. This – combined with 10% lower selling prices – took its year-over-year gross profit to $53.8M (a 58% increase).

      It means that after posting a 6.5% increase in annual losses last year – when a pullback from manufacturing facilities resulted in large one-off costs – the Swedish oat milk giant has managed to shrink its Q1 losses down from $75.5M in 2023 to $45.8M in 2024. This was led by a decrease in expenses from multiple activities, including “employee-related expenses”, consultant fees and R&D spend.

      “The year is off to a good start,” Flatin said in an earnings call. “We are clearly seeing the benefits from the bold actions we have taken over the past two years.”

      These actions included its streamlined “asset-light strategy”, which involved the elimination of poor-performing SKUs in China, and its Go Blue plan to expand the applications and range of its products, all geared towards its “North Star” goal of reaching profitability. “Every employee throughout the organisation – no matter their position, region or role – is squarely focused on strengthening the business and bringing us to structural consistent, profitable growth,” said Flatin.

      Oatly outperforms entire plant-based milk category

      oatly sales
      Courtesy: Oatly

      To recalibrate its strategy and decision-making, Oatly has shaken up its operating segments, with Greater China now managed separately from the rest of Asia-Pacific, which has joined the Europe, Middle East and Africa region in a new Europe & International section (this also includes Latin America).

      As is expected, Europe & International is the oat milk maker’s largest market, accounting for 55% of its revenue. Here, its revenue increased by nearly 8% over Q1 2023, which was driven by increased volume, price hikes and a 20% revenue growth in foodservice. The company has also introduced new SKUs, such as the 20ml single-use Jigger packs, the zero-sugar oat milk, and its new line of yoghurts.

      “We are placing advertisements in high-traffic areas, such as European train stations, and we are creating great tasting experiences and various trade events and coffee festivals,” explained Flatin.

      oatly jigger
      Courtesy: Oatly

      Retail remains the dominant channel in Europe, accounting for 82% of its sales (versus 80% in all of last year). Its retail revenue increases of 5% have outpaced the entire plant-based milk category, which has flatlined, as well as the oat milk segment as a whole (3%).

      Likewise, retail has encroached upon the foodservice share in North America. While the latter was the slightly stronger segment in the full year of 2023, it has now given way to retail, which makes up 54% of Oatly’s North American business. Here, too, its retail takeaway sales have thoroughly outperformed its counterparts. While chilled plant-based milk witnessed a 3.5% decline and chilled oat milk saw a modest 1.5% hike, chilled Oatly was up by 2.3%. When accounting for its ambient SKUs too, its revenue in this channel was 9.7% higher year-over-year.

      This is partly thanks to its new Super Basic and Unsweetened oat milk SKUs and four-strong line of coffee creamers, as well as the partnership with Minor League Baseball. It means North America now makes up 34% of Oatly’s revenues.

      oatly super basic oat milk
      Courtesy: Oatly

      Globally, retail accounted for 65% of Oatly’s Q1 2024 revenue, and foodservice took a 32% share, with the remaining coming mainly from e-commerce. “Every city in which we land the Oatly brand proves the magic of the brand and how prepared these markets are to welcome us with open arms,” noted Flatin. “Whether it’s a barista in specialty coffee or it’s a customer buyer, we repeatedly get the: “Finally, you guys are here!’”

      China reset on-track

      If Europe & International and North America gained, something had to give. That was Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan and drove 11% of Oatly’s Q1 sales this year.

      This was expected, given the business’s struggles in China, where it withdrew low-margin SKUs from retail and e-commerce and amped up its foodservice focus, which is responsible for 70% of its sales in the region (rising from 65% this time last year). E-commerce is also much bigger here than elsewhere, taking up 13% of the market share.

      oatly earnings
      Courtesy: Oatly

      Greater China offset the sales growth Oatly experienced elsewhere, with revenue down by 27% compared to Q1 2023. However, when discounting non-recurring costs – also known as adjusted EBITDA – performance in this region improved, with losses plummeting by 80% from the first quarter of last year to $3.4M. Even when contrasting this with the previous quarter, this figure was down by 64%.

      This was attributed to lower selling costs and general expenses, as well as much greater gross profit. As part of its growth strategy in Greater China, Oatly has patrnerd with the country’s largest coffee chain on a limited-time Earth Day promotion, which it says will boost category momentum and brand visibility. It has also launched value-priced products with several customers that are performing well – this includes its pistachio-oat milk, which boasts 4.2g of omega-3 fatty acids per pack.

      oatly china
      Courtesy: Oatly

      “Sensitive to the economic context prevailing in China and the new consumer behaviour, it was clear we needed to complement our portfolio with SKUs that could hit certain price points,” said COO Daniel Ordonez. “This helps us to build a stronger service package for our customers, drive volume growth to sustain necessary levels of capacity absorption, and hence, solidify our margins.

      “The consumer environment in Greater China remains challenging. However, we are identifying opportunities to rebuild our business in a disciplined manner,” he added. “While it is clear we have not yet gained the traction needed for this business to capture the full opportunity that region provides, you can see we’re starting to make progress on the second stage of this segment’s turnaround plan.”

      Oatly reiterates 2024 guidance and teases new barista milks

      oatly barista edition
      Courtesy: Oatly

      To further capture consumer share, Oatly highlighted the impending launch of its new barista milks, which now feature an organic version, a variant for light-roasted coffee, and a 1.5L pack. “We conquer the hearts and the minds of coffee specialty first, then we expand experiences in foodservice but in a selective manner, balancing margin and growth, while we make ourselves available in retail,” explained Flatin.

      The company remains pragmatic about the upcoming year, reiterating its full-year outlook of revenue growth by 5-10%, adjusted EBITDA loss between $35-60M (versus $158M in 2023), and capital expenditures below $75M.

      “While we are encouraged by our first quarter results, we recognize that we are only one quarter through the year and that our three operating segments are in very different stages of their turnaround journeys, their maturity, their execution, and the amount of traction they have achieved on the strategic actions. 

      The post Oatly Cuts Losses and Exceeds Revenue Expectations in Positive Start to 2024 appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    11. Impossible Foods Weighs Up ‘Liquidity Event’, Including Possible IPO or Sale in 2-3 Years

      impossible foods ipo
      5 Mins Read

      Impossible Foods is considering a “liquidity event” that could see the plant-based meat giant raise more capital, go public or even be sold to another company in the next few years.

      As plant-based meat fights back after a difficult couple of years, one of its pioneers is already exploring moves that could signal a sea change for the industry.

      Speaking to Reuters, Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness indicated the business is targeting a “liquidity event”, which could mean an IPO for the California-based company in the next two to three years.

      But it’s keeping its options open over what this might entail. “I don’t want to be pigeonholed into an IPO,” explained McGuinness, adding that Impossible Foods was also considering another raise of funds, or even a potential sale to another company.

      Navigating a tricky investment landscape

      This isn’t the first time Impossible Foods has been linked with an IPO. In 2021, it was preparing to go public with a reported valuation of $7-10B, raising $500M the same year. Founder and then-CEO Pat Brown told Bloomberg that a stock market listing was inevitable for the company, explaining: “You have easier access to capital to support growth, but more importantly to me, there are millions of non-billionaires out there who are very, very supportive of our mission but they don’t have a chance to share in our success.”

      But in early 2023, McGuinness – who took over from Brown in April 2022 – suggested the company wouldn’t be going public that year. “We’ll do an IPO when we need to do an IPO,” he said at the time.

      impossible meat
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      Now, however, things may be changing, as plant-based businesses face pressure from inflation and the cost of living, misinformation in the media, and a loss of faith from investors. On the latter, investments in plant-based foods fell by nearly a quarter 24% from 2022-23, reaching $907M. Companies across the food tech sector have found it hard to raise money, with a 61% drop in investments last year, according to industry think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI).

      Meanwhile, retail sales of plant-based food have also dipped slightly to $8.1B (a 2% decrease), though meat and seafood analogues faced a larger 12% decline in the US. But industry experts remain positive, thanks to a new wave of plant-based products that better meet consumers’ demands. “We expect a wave of plant-based 2.0 products and a steady flow of new product success stories that will generate a new narrative for the alt-protein category, leading to improved investment conditions for startups,” says Hédi Farhat, investment manager at ProVeg Incubator.

      The dire investment landscape also seems to be passing. GFI had suggested that the financing totals are likely an underestimate as a greater number of funding rounds have been kept under wraps given there were more simple agreements for future equity (SAFE) and bridge rounds in 2023. But the next year is expected to remain challenging for plant-based companies – in the first quarter of 2024, startups in this sector only secured $58M in funding, a mere 6% of last year’s total.

      plant based investment
      Courtesy: GFI

      All of this to say, if Impossible Foods does end up attempting to raise capital, it may not be as swift as the last time. However, as a market leader that has already bagged nearly $2B (just under a quarter of all investments in the sector since 2015), it’s hard to bet against it.

      Industry will keep a close eye on Impossible Foods

      McGuinness’s interview with Reuters comes at a curious time. Just last week, Bloomberg reported that Goldman Sachs is in talks with credit lenders seeking $250M to shore up capital for fellow plant-based meat giant Beyond Meat. It was suggested that the debt would be used for general corporate purposes and to repurchase some of its $1.15B convertible bonds at a discount.

      This followed Beyond Meat’s end-of-year earnings report, which revealed that while the company had been performing better than expected in the last quarter, its annual revenue was down by 18%. Since then, Beyond Meat has launched multiple revamped product lines and increased product prices.

      Impossible Foods has itself introduced a new beef hot dog and a brand refresh, which featured a much greater focus on flavour and nutrition – the two chief factors dictating plant-based consumption now. “We’re not leading with the planet because not enough people care. It’s the reality now,” said McGuinness.

      impossible hot dogs
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods/Green Queen

      A company spokesperson told Green Queen after the rebrand that sustainability “is and always will be our reason for being”, noting that it’s still part of its packaging and across various touchpoints of the consumer journey. “However, we realised we can get even more consumers in the door by leading with our incredible taste and nutritional quality – then, we can seal the deal with the environmental benefits,” they added.

      In the meantime, Impossible Foods has been expanding both its retail and foodservice footprint. The company’s distribution expanded by 25% in January alone, with its products available in over 75,000 locations worldwide. Just today, it has announced a deal with Whole Foods to place its chicken analogues on the shelves of select stores across the US.

      But as inflation squeezes consumer budgets, many are turning to cheaper products like canned meats and inexpensive retailers like Dollar General and club stores like Costco. McGuinness said that Impossible is open to expanding into dollar stores, adding: “We have a good club business.”

      is impossible foods a public company
      Courtesy: Peter McGuinness/LinkedIn

      The company has also been moving into baseball stadiums across the US, extending an exemplary foodservice record that includes clients like Burger King (it’s featured in the signature Impossible Whopper), Starbucks, IHOP, White Castle and Disney.

      McGuinness declined to share his company’s current valuation, but all this means Impossible Foods’ next move will be closely watched, especially given the post-IPO challenges faced by other plant-based giants like Beyond Meat and Oatly, whose stocks have slumped by about 97% since going public in 2019 and 2021, respectively. Will it be a sale? Another fundraise? A public offering? Everything is on the cards.

      The post Impossible Foods Weighs Up ‘Liquidity Event’, Including Possible IPO or Sale in 2-3 Years appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    12. With Abundance of Evidence That Dairy Raises Risk of Cancer, PETA Petitions FDA to Include Warning

      As studies about the consumption of dairy pile up, they reveal some terrifying implications for human health. One stark finding is that just one serving of cow’s milk per day—a third of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ recommended daily intake—significantly increases the risk of prostate, breast, and ovarian cancer. Studies have revealed similar links to cancer from eating other dairy foods.

      Since cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., we’re petitioning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require disclosure of the association between cancer and dairy in a warning label on dairy items.

      The FDA’s Role Is to Inform Healthy Decisions—It Must Step In!

      Dairy’s association with deadly types of cancer is cause for serious alarm—especially in the U.S., where the federal government subsidizes dairy production but still encourages people to consume dairy daily in its dietary guidelines.

      We know what happens when policy lags behind science. The link between dairy and deadly types of cancer should prompt regulators to immediately require warning labels for dairy—just as they do for cigarettes.

      People need accurate information to make healthy food choices. Clear labeling would let buyers know the risks of consuming dairy up-front so they could make informed decisions about feeding themselves and their loved ones.

      Cutting Dairy: Good for Humans and Cows

      PETA notes that choosing only vegan milks, yogurts, and cheeses not only reduces a person’s risk of suffering from cancer and other diseases but also spares cows and calves torment and death.

      Cows used by the dairy industry are forcibly inseminated repeatedly to ensure a steady supply of milk, which they produce only after giving birth.

      cow’s calf (whose milk was stolen by humans)

      It’s common practice for cows’ beloved newborn calves to be torn away from them shortly after birth so that the milk meant to nourish the calves—who end up in veal crates if they’re male—can be sold for human consumption. Once mother cows’ bodies wear out after repeated pregnancies, they’re sent to slaughterhouses, where they endure a violent, painful death.

      Don’t Know How to Ditch Dairy? PETA Has You Covered

      A life without dairy is not only easy but also extremely rewarding. There’s an abundance of delicious dairy-free cheeses, milks, and other vegan alternatives at grocery stores nationwide, and eating out at restaurants is a breeze.

      PETA’s free vegan starter kit can make the switch even more effortless. Order a copy today to get hooked up with vegan recipes, nutrition, and other information to make the transition to a happier, longer-lasting life:

      Order a Vegan Starter Kit Today!

      More About the Link Between Dairy and Cancer

      How does dairy increase cancer risk?

      Studies propose a few mechanisms that may explain the positive association between dairy and cancer. For example, studies show that consuming a high intake of milk increases insulin-like growth factor-1, which is important for the growth and survival of cancer cells. Regardless of the exact mechanism, an overwhelming number of studies demonstrate that consuming dairy is associated with cancer risk, which is why PETA is calling on everyone to choose vegan and keep dairy off their plates. 

      Prostate Cancer

      According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of death by cancer in men. A systematic review, which reviewed numerous studies on the topic, found that the majority of studies suggested a link between consuming milk and the risk of prostate cancer. One study found that specifically whole milk increased men’s risk of developing fatal prostate cancer.

      PETA urges the FDA to require a label warning men of this risk and encourages everyone to protect their health by ditching dairy.

      Breast Cancer

      As stated by the International World Cancer Research Fund, breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide. One study discussed in the petition determined that consuming just 2/3 of a glass of milk per day doubled the risk of breast cancer. PETA encourages women to prioritize their health by going vegan. People can visit PETA.org to find hundreds of delicious, healthy, animal-free recipes and tips.

      Ovarian Cancer

      According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ovarian cancer causes more deaths in women than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. A study discussed in the petition found that women who consumed 1 or more glasses of milk per day had a 55% increased risk of the most common type of ovarian cancer. PETA wants the FDA to require a label warning women of this risk. PETA also encourages women to safeguard their health by going vegan.

      The post With Abundance of Evidence That Dairy Raises Risk of Cancer, PETA Petitions FDA to Include Warning appeared first on PETA.

      This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

    13. South Dakota Governor Shot Her Dog and Goat—See PETA’s Response

      South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem admits that she shot and killed her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, who attacked chickens, as well as a goat she says smelled “musky.” She reveals this in her soon-to-be-released book, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward.

      kristi noem and a photo of a wirehaired pointer

      PETA is making it clear that there is no reason to shoot animals—and points out that Noem should have found a humane dog trainer, kept the puppy away from chickens, or even found a different home for Cricket:

      “Most Americans love their dogs, and we suspect that they’ll consider Gov. Noem a psychotic loony for letting this rambunctious puppy loose on chickens and then punishing her by deciding to personally blow her brains out rather than attempting to train her or find a more responsible guardian who could provide her with a proper home. Noem obviously fails to understand the vital political concepts of education, cooperation, compromise, and compassion.”

      —Colleen O’Brien, senior vice president of media relations at PETA

      Kristi Noem Shot Her Dog and Goat—Here’s What You Can Do to Help Animals

      Every animal is someone. It’s speciesist to believe that farmed and captive animals, like goats, don’t suffer or feel emotions to the same extent as the animals with whom we lovingly share our homes, like dogs.

      Help animals by taking PETA’s vegan challenge. After three weeks, you’ll be a pro at finding vegan options at your favorite restaurants, eating vegan on a budget, and meeting all your nutritional needs:

      Take PETA’s 3-Week VEgan CHallenge
      Note: PETA supports animal rights, opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and educates the public on those issues. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.

      The post South Dakota Governor Shot Her Dog and Goat—See PETA’s Response appeared first on PETA.

      This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

    14. Everything You Need to Know Before Playing ‘Another Crab’s Treasure’

      Curious About the Lives of Hermit Crabs? A New Game Gives You a Sneak Peek

      Should You Play ‘Another Crab’s Treasure’? peta2 Has the Scoop

      Everything You Need to Know Before Playing ‘Another Crab’s Treasure’

      What’s the Buzz Around ‘Another Crab’s Treasure’? peta2 Has the Scoop

      Grab Your Controller and Take a Deep Dive Into a New Game Spotlighting Hermit Crabs

      Why ‘Another Crab’s Treasure’ Will Make You Sea the World Differently

      What Can ‘Another Crab’s Treasure’ Teach You About Hermit Crabs?

      No matter how much of a gamer you are, you’ll love this new video game. 

      Should you play Another Crab’s Treasure? Kril the hermit crab’s story may be more realistic than you think!

      The post Everything You Need to Know Before Playing ‘Another Crab’s Treasure’ appeared first on PETA.

      This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

    15. Choose Chicken-Free Week: Veganuary Announces First of Multiple New Campaigns

      choose chicken free week
      5 Mins Read

      Veganuary will soon host the first Choose Chicken-Free Week, as part of a wider rollout of mini-campaigns to complement its annual month-long initiative.

      On the back of its most successful campaign to date, Veganuary is initiating additional initiatives throughout the year to encourage people to eat fewer animal products and more plant-based food.

      It’s starting with the Choose Chicken-Free Week, which will run from April 29 to May 5. For the campaign, Veganuary has already captured the attention of restaurants and brands selling egg- and chicken-free food, including TiNDLE Foods, Next Level Burger, Loma Linda and The Mushroom Hub.

      “There are many simple and surprising ways to replace eggs in your favourite recipes,” said Veganuary US director Sandra Hungate. “From everyday ingredients like banana and apple sauce to culinary innovations like aquafaba – the liquid from a can of chickpeas which can be whipped into a beautiful meringue – there’s an egg-free swap out there for everything from breakfast to dessert.”

      Why Veganuary is targeting the chicken industry

      eu caged farming ban
      Courtesy: Getty Images via Canva

      Coinciding with Respect for Chickens Day (May 4), the campaign will see several of these brands and foodservice operators unveil new offerings and discounts on their products. Next Level Burger and its subsidiary Veggie Grill will launch limited-edition menu options in May, and Ike’s Love & Sandwiches will promote three vegan chicken sandos.

      TiNDLE, meanwhile, will be running a two-for-one offer on its products, Vitacost and FireRoad Foods will provide a 15% discount, PLNT Burger will let consumers buy one chicken sandwich and get another for half the price, Loma Linda will put its starter pack (chicken in broth and BBQ sauce) on sale for $6.49, and The Mushroom Hub will roll out a pulled jerk lion’s mane experience box.

      Brands will provide recipes using either plant-based chicken or egg – such as TiNDLE’s vegan garlic parm wings, Vitacost’s deviled eggs, and Atlantic Natural Food’s chicken enchiladas – or do away with chicken-related products altogether (think teriyaki tofu burgers by Nasoya and pulled jerk lion’s mane by The Mushroom Hub).

      These efforts are to promote a shift away from the chicken industry, which is associated with intensive farming, health risks, animal cruelty and environmental pollution. Though chicken is the most popular meat of all, over the last few years, bouts of avian flu have led to a chicken shortage and subsequent price hike, which has coincided with the cost-of-living crisis – and this trend is set to continue this year.

      In the US, almost all chickens (99.97%) are farmed in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) – that amounts to 8.9 billion birds, versus the 3.6 million that aren’t raised in factories. Globally, as of 2021, over 73 billion chickens are slaughtered around the world each year, according to the FAO. The UN food body has actually advocated for a shift from red meats like beef to poultry, which it argues is less polluting.

      While that is technically true, factory-farmed meat has a huge environmental footprint, and poultry meat is still near the top end of the highest-emitting foods, far above plant-based ingredients that are typically used to make analogues.

      “For hens used for eggs, suffering is inherent in all methods of egg production – including free-range. Their lives are short, and for male chicks, very short indeed,” Veganuary explained on its website. “They are the wrong sex to lay eggs and the wrong breed for meat, so their lives are deemed to be worthless, and they are killed in the hatchery.”

      Veganuary will launch more campaigns after ultra-successful 2024

      veganuary participants
      Graphic by Green Queen

      Veganuary has been on an upward trajectory ever since it was launched in 2014. This year, 1.8 million people officially signed up to the campaign – more than doubling the number from 2023. But separate surveys commissioned by Veganuary have shown that in reality, that figure is much, much higher: the campaign estimates that around 25 million people decided to eat exclusively vegan in January 2024.

      Its official survey found that the success rate during the challenge was 45%. And of those who ended up maintaining a plant-based diet throughout the month, 30% intended to continue doing so. If you aggregate that with its official signup numbers, this year’s campaign effectively influenced 540,000 people to ditch meat, dairy, eggs and other animal products.

      Even among people who didn’t see Veganuary through, 95% said they’ll reduce their consumption of animal products to some extent, with 74% saying they’ll cut this by half or more. And 73% are very or extremely likely to give veganism a go again in the future.

      People found eggs the second toughest animal food to part with during Veganuary (only behind cheese, though by a significant distance). Meanwhile, animal welfare was the number one driver of Veganuary participation this year. So it makes sense for Veganuary to introduce a campaign that touches upon a much-loved food in a much-derided industry.

      “Veganuary is not a short-term phenomenon that comes to an end in January. With initiatives like #ChooseChickenFree, the Veganuary movement continues to grow as both individuals and businesses embrace plant-based year-round,” said Hungate.

      The popularity of Veganuary is pretty apparent if you walk into a grocery store in most countries during January. It’s hard to escape it, and there are numbers to back that up. This year, more than 2,000 new products and dishes were unveiled during Veganuary. But given we need to accelerate our efforts to change how we eat, the campaign says it wants to have a longer-term effect, and has been working with individuals to support them with dietary shifts, and companies and restaurants to increase the number of vegan options across the calendar year.

      This is why Choose Chicken-Free Week is just the start. “Over the summer, Veganuary will run additional campaigns such as Choose Fish-Free Week, BBQ Month, and Choose Dairy-Free Week, aimed at educating the public about the benefits of trying vegan,” said Hungate.

      Whether these campaigns will have quite the effect of the main show at the beginning of the year, no one knows. But you only need to look at this year’s participation to know that there’s a strong precedent for them to work.

      The post Choose Chicken-Free Week: Veganuary Announces First of Multiple New Campaigns appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    16. What’s a Mullet Toss? Five Things to Throw Instead of Fish

      Wait—there are events in which folks fling fish corpses for fun?! On April 22, PETA sent a letter to John McInnis III, co-owner of The Flora-Bama Lounge, Package, & Oyster Bar, urging him to bring a wave of fintastic compassion to this year’s Flora-Bama Mullet Toss by replacing the dead fish typically tossed across state lines with realistic, reusable rubber ones donated by PETA.

      We also offered to cater the mullet toss with tasty vegan fish sandwiches, which spare animals a violent death and don’t contain the mercury, iodine, sewage, and other contaminants often found inside real fish.

      School of Tuna Fish in the Ocean

      The Morbid Mullet Toss

      The Flora-Bama Lounge has hosted the mullet toss since 1985. The event involves individuals on a beach throwing a mullet—a fish indigenous to the Gulf Coast—from a 10-foot circle in Florida across the state line into Alabama. By tossing fish corpses for fun, the participants of the morbid event, along with its organizers, disrespect other animals and rob them of their dignity.

      Here are five things that could be thrown instead of fish at any “mullet” toss:

      1. Fresh, biodegradable flowers
      2. Small clumps of seaweed
      3. Retrievable beach toys
      4. Oneself (Leaping safely into the water!)
      5. Reusable, fake fish (our original suggestion)
      Giant PETA U.K. 'Fish' and 'Lobster' Proclaim, 'Sea Life, Not Seafood'
      To denounce National Seafood Week (October 4 to 11), protesters “caught” in fishing nets asked Londoners to protect aquatic animals of all kinds by going vegan.

      In 2018, PETA commended the Gulfport Historical Society board for unanimously voting to use weighted plastic fish instead of the dead bodies of real ones at its mullet toss—setting a clear example for other similar events to make the kind switch.

      Why Fish Should Never Be Tossed or Eaten

      Studies show that fish can recognize themselves in mirrors and photographs, are self-aware, and communicate with each other using complex sounds. Every fish whose body is treated like a hacky sack at the mullet toss is an individual who had a life precious to them, swam free, had feelings, and didn’t want to die. PETA hopes to modernize the moment with fabulous fake fish that cause no harm and can be reused for years.

      “We’re not here to confishcate the fun: Throwing a rubber or plastic fish, rather than a dead one, would be as fun, challenging, and enjoyable but also positive. A first-ever fish-friendly fling could even lure our mascot Freeda Fish to line up to get in on the act. Will you please mullet over?”

      —PETA President Ingrid Newkirk

      Freeda Fish mascot at a PETA fishing demonstration

      Using dead fish—or any animal, dead or alive—for entertainment or food perpetuates speciesism and the climate catastrophe, yet fake fish can be reused for years. If the organizers of the Flora-Bama Mullet Toss agree to make the humane switch, PETA hopes the free vegan fish sandwiches we would hand out to participants would also help increase awareness and compassion.

      Humans kill more fish for food each year than all other animals combined. They slowly suffocate or are crushed to death when they’re yanked out of the oceans in huge nets, and workers cut open survivors’ stomachs on fishing boats while they’re still alive. Every person who goes vegan saves the lives of nearly 200 aquatic animals and other sentient beings each year. And buying or making vegan seafood is simple and fun.

      Two fish friends

      Ditch the Mullet Toss and Take Action

      Go vegan, try trash fishing, and never participate in or support events that use other animals or their corpses as props for entertainment. Dive into our delectable vegan seafood recipes:

      MUST-Try vegan Seafood Recipes

      The post What’s a Mullet Toss? Five Things to Throw Instead of Fish appeared first on PETA.

      This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

    17. C5’s Earth Day Anthem: Rapping for Animal Rights

      You know what time it is—time to go vegan! Vegan rapper and songwriter C5 is known for his lyrical prowess and opening for artists such as Chance the Rapper, Snoop Dogg, Lil Uzi Vert, 21 Savage, and Usher. Now he’s lending his remarkable talents to PETA to deliver a powerful Earth Day message through the art of rap. He and his beautiful family joined PETA on the beach to create a music video with a timely, important message.

      Lyrics

      You know what time it is?

      Time to go vegan.

      You know what time it is?

      Come on.

      I don’t mean to come off like I’m ridiculin’ or preachin’,

      but here’s a couple reasons to consider going vegan.

      I was talkin’ to my good folks over at PETA.

      We all impactin’ the world from the things that we eatin’.

      They ain’t have no pork chops in the garden of Eden.

      I’m just teasin’,

      but it ain’t humane, I’m just sayin’.

      These animals like us, they feel pleasure and pain,

      separated from their families just for our gain.

      Going vegan, one person can save over 200,000 gallons of water a year.

      That’s the price of your change.

      Farming animals is ruinin’ the land.

      We gotta take care of the Earth for all our children, that’s grand.

      They gotta live here after us, it’s worth the sacrifice.

      All our rainforests vanishin’, that’s a tragic sight

      for a meal that only lasts for a night.

      Is it worth it?

      (Is it worth it?)

      We gotta start eatin’ our meals with purpose.

      (Go vegan.)

      Going vegan can protect you from diseases

      (From diseases)

      and provide you with all the nutrients you needed.

      (You needed)

      On top of all of that, the food is great.

      You able to change your fate by changing what’s on your plate.

      Go vegan

      if you really care about the planet.

      Go vegan.

      The things you eat contribute to the damage.

      Go vegan

      if you wanna eat good and live healthy.

      Go vegan.

      You should put some vegan food in your belly.

      Go vegan.

      And if you love the animals, show compassion.

      Go vegan

      if you want a better world, let’s make it happen.

      Go vegan

      even if it’s only for a day.

      Go vegan.

      That day can make a change.

      ‘These Animals Like Us, They Feel Pleasure and Pain, Separated From Their Families Just for Our Gain’

      Many companies slap misleading labels touting compassion on the same types of cruelly sourced products that they’ve sold for decades. This is known as “humane washing,” a marketing ploy that makes consumers believe they’re making kind choices when they’re actually not. There is simply no kind way to steal animals’ flesh, eggs, or milk. Their bodies belong to them, not us.

      cow in field

      Animals exploited for food in the U.S. today endure miserable lives on farms. Farmers sear off the sensitive beaks of chickens with a hot blade and cut off the testicles of male cows and pigs without any painkillers. The babies of mother cows are stolen from them soon after birth. Chickens, turkeys, and pigs used for food spend their brief lives in dark, severely crowded warehouses, many of them so cramped that the animals can’t even turn around or spread a single wing.

      ‘Going Vegan One Person Could Save Over 200,000 Gallons of Water a Year. That’s the Price of Your Change.’

      The most significant part of our water footprint comes from what we eat—and eating our fellow animals uses massive amounts of water (approximately 36 to 74 trillion gallons per year in the U.S. alone).

      To put it in perspective, it takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef—the equivalent of taking about 57 baths—but only 244 gallons to produce a pound of tofu.

      ‘Farming Animals Is Ruinin’ the Land. We Gotta Take Care of the Earth for All Our Children’

      Animal agriculture takes up about 30% of the world’s entire land surface, and over 90% of all Amazon rainforest land cleared in the last 50 years is used for raising animals. In the U.S., we use 56 million acres of land to grow food for animals and only 4 million acres to grow food for humans.

      Rapper C5 standing with arms outstretched in front of the ocean
      Rapper C5 sitting on a swing

      ‘Going Vegan Can Protect You From Diseases and Provide You With All the Nutrients You Needed’

      Going vegan is also good for your health. There is no nutritional need for humans to consume animal flesh, eggs, or secretions. All our dietary needs—including as infants and children—can best be supplied with vegan food. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics notes that eating plant-based foods reduces the risk of suffering from many chronic degenerative diseases and conditions, including heart disease, cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.

      ‘You Able to Change Your Fate by Changing What’s on Your Plate’

      Eating vegan is one of the easiest and most effective things we can do to help protect animals and the environment. By going vegan, you can spare nearly 200 animals a year! Start changing the world:

      Order Your Free Vegan Starter Kit Today
      A spread of several colorful vegetables

      The post C5’s Earth Day Anthem: Rapping for Animal Rights appeared first on PETA.

      This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

    18. Impossible Ranch: Alt-Meat Giant to Transition Cattle Farm Into Crop Production for Plant-Based Meat

      impossible ranch
      5 Mins Read

      Impossible Foods has invested in transitioning a farm from cattle production for meat to crop cultivation for plant-based meat, all while rescuing the cows in the process.

      You’d be forgiven for immediately thinking of a new vegan buttermilk dressing when you hear the words ‘Impossible Ranch’. But that’s not what plant-based pioneer Impossible Foods is doing in South Carolina, where a now-former cattle farm will sport crops like soybeans, sunflowers and coconut trees.

      These will support the manufacturing of Impossible Foods’ vegan beef, chicken and pork products, transforming the output of the farm from animal-derived meat to plant-based instead. In addition, the company is rescuing the cows on the property, and documenting the long-term transition project on its social media to allow consumers to follow along.

      “Impossible Ranch is a living and breathing educational resource where our commitments to giving back to the planet and supporting animal welfare are front-and-centre, along with the plants representing key ingredients in our products,” said chief marketing and creative officer Leslie Sims. “We want to bring consumers along on this journey and help them understand how choosing meat from plants can be a better choice.”

      A safe haven for cattle

      plant based farm transition
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      The 70-acre Impossible Ranch is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Having operated as a cattle ranch for decades, the transition to crop farming sees Impossible Foods work in partnership with the family that has tended the land for so long. This, it says, helps it “honour the heritage” while highlighting a “renewed focus on animal welfare”.

      In the US, 70% of cows and nearly all chickens and pigs are raised on factory farms – that totals over nine billion animals. But foods derived from industrial production methods come with many health risks. For example, in the US, water pollution from factory farms threatens or impairs over 14,000 miles of rivers and streams and more than 90,000 acres of lakes and ponds. According to the EPA, nitrogen and phosphorous waste from factory farms has been directly associated with aquatic deaths. And, in many parts of the world, animals have been culled for years to prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases.

      Moreover, 575 billion lbs of animal waste are generated by a mere 5% of American concentrated animal feeding operations annually. This contains elements that “seriously degrade” rivers and contribute to antibiotic resistance among humans, leading to the American Public Health Association calling for a ban on new CAFOs.

      Impossible Foods says its ranch is a “safe haven” for the property’s resident cattle, and is inviting customers to suggest names for the animals – which comprise six cows, two steers and a calf – with updates from the farm being shared on its social channels.

      Apart from the health and water pollution aspects, there’s also an environmental benefit to this. Meat is twice as polluting as plant-based foods, and makes up 60% of all emissions from the food system. In fact, one peer-reviewed study last year (which involved inputs from Impossible Foods) revealed that swapping half of our pork, chicken, beef and milk production with plant-based analogues could halt deforestation and reduce agriculture and land use emissions by 31%.

      Impossible Foods is ramping up consumer education efforts

      impossible meat
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods

      As part of the launch, which coincides with Earth Day, Impossible Foods is taking over the Oculus Transportation Hub in Manhattan to exhibit the ranch to New York City commuters. The company argues this will help people envision a future where plant-based meat and cattle can coexist peacefully, at a time when the source of people’s food and what it does to the planet is garnering increased attention.

      Sims alluded to this, noting: “As a leader of the plant-based category, we saw both a need and an opportunity to demystify meat from plants in a way that feels more approachable for consumers.”

      This is the latest step in Impossible Foods’ efforts to educate and engage with consumers. Only last month, the company unveiled a brand refresh with new red packaging (a colour associated with superior taste for plant-based meat). The new look puts a greater spotlight on taste descriptors, visuals, and specific health credentials (like saturated fat and sodium content).

      The idea was to lean into the meaty flavour and texture of its products, while pointing to their nutritional superiority over conventional counterparts. “We realised we can get even more consumers in the door by leading with our incredible taste and nutritional quality – then, we can seal the deal with the environmental benefits,” a company spokesperson told Green Queen last month. “With every converted consumer, we’re able to maximise our positive impact on the planet.”

      impossible hot dogs
      Courtesy: Impossible Foods/Green Queen

      This followed the launch of the Impossible Beef Lite last year, which carries the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check certification. It is one of the only meat analogues to be certified as heart-healthy, with a few products from Beyond Meat also appearing on that list.

      “With every move we make, we want to set the tone that we’re an inclusive brand. We don’t want people to feel judged for loving meat, and we need to show them they don’t have to change their lifestyle in order to help the planet or their health,” the spokesperson said.

      The farm transition project will doubtless push its mission further. Other similar initiatives include The Trasfarmation Project, Refarm’d, and the Dairy Farm Transition programme by Miyoko’s Creamery. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, RESPECTfarms is working on a similar vision for cultivated meat.

      The post Impossible Ranch: Alt-Meat Giant to Transition Cattle Farm Into Crop Production for Plant-Based Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    19. Price Parity, Job Creation & Investment: Highlights from GFI’s Alt-Protein State of the Industry Reports 2024

      gfi state of the industry
      7 Mins Read

      Alternative protein think tank the Good Food Institute has released its annual State of the Industry series of reports, covering plant-based, cultivated and fermentation-derived proteins. Here are the key takeaways.

      Political resistance and a drop in funding and sales were offset by a hike in manufacturing facilities, diverse partnerships, and regulatory approvals in the alternative protein world last year, according to the 2023 State of the Industry reports by the Good Food Institute (GFI).

      Comprising plant-based, cultivated and fermented proteins, the reports outline the progress, challenges, and future of the industry. Globally, retail sales for plant-based meat, seafood and dairy saw a slight increase, from $28B in 2022 to $29B in 2023. But the road towards taste and price parity, improved accessibility, better nutrition, and significant market penetration remains lengthy, with GFI comparing this to Hofstadter’s Law.

      Coined by scientist Douglas Hofstadter, it reads: “It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.” It’s meant to describe the difficulty of estimating how much time it will take to complete complex tasks. “As Hofstadter’s Law and similar adages dictate, this will take time,” says GFI business analyst Daniel Gartner, drawing parallels with alternative protein’s progress. “However, keep our eyes on the goal post and the vision all of us in this industry are working towards – a brighter food future for people and the planet.”

      Here are the key highlights from the 2023 State of the Industry reports:

      Plant-based milk on the up, but meat and seafood suffer

      plant based sales
      Courtesy: GFI

      The plant-based food market in the US saw $8.1B in dollar sales in 2023, down by 2% from the year before. This meant the industry represented 1.1% of the overall food sector’s sales. But looking at longer-term trends, global sales for plant-based meat have nearly tripled from $2.2B in 2014 to $6.4B in 2023.

      For plant-based meat and seafood, the decline was larger, representing the macroeconomic challenges faced by the category. Here, US retail dollar sales fell by 12% to $1.2B. Sales for conventional meat and seafood, in comparison, flatlined – but the average price per unit was only up by 3%, compared to 9% for plant-based analogues, which now make up 0.9% of the overall meat market. Burger patties are the most popular, followed by nuggets, tenders and wings, and grounds.

      Things were slightly more positive on the plant-based milk side of things, where sales grew slightly by 1% to reach $2.9B and take up 14.5% of the overall milk sector in the US. Almond is still king, capturing 56% of the market, with oat continuing its ascendancy (24%).

      When it comes to consumer adoption, 62% of households bought vegan products, with meat and seafood reaching 15% of homes, and milk 44%. Encouragingly, the repeat purchase rates were high at 81% for the entire category, 79% for milk, and 62% for meat and seafood analogues.

      Beef is closest to price parity, eggs farthest

      plant based price parity
      Courtesy: GFI

      GFI notes that the price gap between plant-based and conventional proteins is still a significant purchase barrier, outlining that grocery costs were the key economic concern for consumers last year. And 2023 was challenging for the vegan sector in this aspect – while plant-based foods saw a lower price growth than the overall food sector and some conventional categories in 2022, the former’s markups were higher in 2023.

      From 2021 to 2023, plant-based meat and seafood’s average price per unit rose by 17%, compared to 16% for their conventional counterparts. Last year, the average price premium for plant-based meat and seafood was 77%. That said, beef is currently the vegan analogue that’s closest to price parity, with plant-based versions costing $7.48 per pound, versus $6.24 for the same amount of animal-derived beef – a 20% difference.

      The gap is much larger in other categories. For milk, this comes to 104%, while eggs have the highest price premium at 317%. Even other meat categories need to bridge this gap, with vegan chicken costing 156% more, pork 177% and turkey 214%.

      Alternative protein investments underestimated

      plant based funding
      Courtesy: GFI

      A host of reports over the last few months have showcased the dire situation of VC funding in the food tech sector. Globally, agrifood tech companies brought in 49% less capital in 2023 than the year before, according to one report.

      The data cited by GFI signals a 42% in overall VC investment across all sectors, with a 40% drop in climate tech, 51% fall in fintech, and 61% decline in food tech financing. For alternative protein companies too, funding dipped by 44% from $2.9B in 2022 to $1.6B in 2023. This was dominated by plant-based startups ($907M), followed by fermentation ($515M) and cultivated meat ($226M) companies. Collectively, these sectors have secured $15.7B in all-time investment.

      “The sales and investment slowdowns in 2023 weren’t unique to the alternative protein industry, but as a relatively nascent sector relying on private investments to navigate early-stage operations and strong sales performance to secure favourable placements on retail shelves, they played outsized roles in the sector’s 2023 performance,” writes Gartner.

      But GFI suggests that these totals are likely understated, with some funding rounds not publicly disclosed. While that is the case for certain deals in general anyway, this year may have had a higher frequency due to a large number of simple agreements for future equity (SAFE) and bridge rounds, and based on its conversations with market participants. Some of these rounds may be reported this year.

      Despite that, investments in Europe actually increased for the second consecutive year, reaching $584M (up by 74%), a record total for the region. It was the first time European investments comprised over half of all invested capital in the plant-based industry.

      Legislative wins and challenges for alternative protein

      new culture cheese
      Courtesy: New Culture

      Despite the private investment dip, public financing for these sectors matched the record levels of 2022. Canada announced C$150M for Protein Industries Canada, Germany set aside €38M in its federal budget for a sustainable protein transition, the US committed $40M in fermentation funding over four years, and the UK injected £15.4M in multiple cultivated meat projects.

      However, GFI noted that total public investment in 2023 only met a tiny fraction of the estimated $10.1B in annual support needed to realise the full potential of alternative proteins.

      It has been a rollercoaster year in terms of regulation for cultivated meat and precision fermentation. The US joined Singapore as the second country to allow the sale of cultivated meat. Israeli precision fermentation company Remilk received a ‘no further questions’ letter from the FDA to cement its Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS), while The Every Co obtained its third such certification in late 2023. Imagindairy and TurtleTree, meanwhile, earned self-affirmed GRAS status (with a ‘no further questions’ letter coming in January this year for the former).

      Since then, Israel has also joined the list of countries that have approved cultivated meat, while Singapore issued its second certification earlier this month. Precision fermentation companies like New Culture, The Protein Brewery, Vivici and Oobli have achieved some form of GRAS status in the US too.

      But there have been challenges as well, with Florida on the verge of banning cultivated meat, and Alabama, Arizona, Wisconsin, Texas, Nebraska and Tennessee all proposing similar bills. Across the Atlantic, Italy became the first country to ban cultivated meat, while a group of countries asked the EU to rethink its already-stringent novel foods regulations. France and Romania are also considering a ban on these proteins.

      More facilities, more jobs

      cultivated meat facilities
      Courtesy: Meatable

      In spite of the tough funding environment and legislative challenges, there has been an increase in both the number of companies and production facilities for alternative proteins. There are now 174 businesses working on cultivated meat across the supply chain (up from 166 in 2022), and 158 on fermentation-based proteins (versus 136 in 2022).

      Meanwhile, 2023 saw 10 new cultivated meat facilities open, while seven fermentation plants began operating too. And several more sites were announced across the alt-protein spectrum too. According to the ClimateWorks Foundation and the Global Methane Hub, this trend means the industry could support up to 83 million jobs internationally by 2050.

      “However, the alternative protein sector is not yet positioned to capture those levels of economic impact,” notes Gertner. “The plant-based, fermentation, and cultivated industries exist in distinct stages of industry development, but the average quality and availability of alternative protein products do not yet meet consumer expectations. To approach significant market penetration levels, alternative protein companies need to continue to improve product cost, taste and volumes.”

      He implores governments, companies and investors to dedicate more research and investment towards alternative proteins, if they’re “serious about improving food security, reducing emissions, and achieving climate goals”. “By scaling, reducing costs, and improving taste and texture, alternative proteins – alongside other advances and innovations –can continue to shape the future of food and agriculture,” he said.

      The post Price Parity, Job Creation & Investment: Highlights from GFI’s Alt-Protein State of the Industry Reports 2024 appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    20. PETA Offers to Help Repair Troubled Dam—If Our Pro-Vegan Ad Is Displayed

      It seems that the residents of Panguitch, Utah, won’t have to evacuate just yet, but as they await the possible impact of melting snow, PETA is poised to help them out.

      PETA Pitches Panguitch a Dam Good Bargain

      As emergency repairs continue on a massive 60-foot-long crack that’s threatening the integrity of the Panguitch Lake Dam, we sent a letter to Allen Henrie, president of the West Panguitch Irrigation & Reservoir Company, offering to contribute to the considerable funds required to fix the fissure—provided the company agrees to plaster the dam with our eye-catching appeal urging residents, “Give a dam about your health. Go vegan.”

      Billboard with text reading "Give a DAM about your health. Go Vegan" with a photo of a person whose moth is full of leafy greens

      Going vegan spares animals a life of misery and a terrifying death, and it’s also one of the best things anyone can do for their own health, slashing their risk of cancer, heart disease, and other potentially fatal health issues.

      The Panguitch dam may be leaky, but the research is watertight: Consuming meat, eggs, and dairy is unhealthy and unnecessary. When it comes to human health, it’s not damned if you do, damned if you don’t. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, going vegan reduces an individual’s risk of developing diabetes by 62%, their chance of being hospitalized for a heart attack by 33%, their risk of suffering from heart disease by 29%, and their risk of developing cancer by 18%.

      Going Vegan Saves Lives

      Every animal is someone. Our fellow sentient beings—who live rich and fulfilling lives when allowed the freedom to do so—suffer immensely when they’re deprived of everything that’s natural and important to them so they can be used for food.

      Every person who goes vegan—including those who would see our ad—saves nearly 200 animals a year and prevents them from suffering on factory farms, where workers routinely castrate and brand cows without painkillers; cram chickens and turkeys into filthy, ammonia-filled sheds by the tens of thousands; and imprison pigs in cages so small that they’re prevented from standing up or turning around.

      And the nightmare doesn’t end there. After living in misery, these animals are then subjected to the horrors of being transported on severely crowded trucks in all weather extremes, deprived of food and water, to slaughterhouses, where U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors frequently report that workers slit the animals’ throats while they’re still conscious.

      Going Vegan Is Easy!

      Panguitch residents have PETA’s full support in going vegan, and you do, too! Our vegan starter kit makes saving animals and living a happier, longer life easy, with loads of recipes and advice for enjoying life on the compassionate side:

      Download a Vegan Starter Kit Today!

      The post PETA Offers to Help Repair Troubled Dam—If Our Pro-Vegan Ad Is Displayed appeared first on PETA.

      This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA.

    21. Fully Plant-Based: Rewe Opens First 100% Vegan Supermarket in Germany

      rewe fully plant based
      5 Mins Read

      The Rewe Group has opened the doors to its first 100% vegan store in Germany. Called Rewe Fully Plant-Based, the new space houses more than 2,700 products, and is located on a road crossed by 90,000 pedestrians every day.

      Weeks after it was rumoured to be opening the store, German retailer Rewe has unveiled its first fully vegan supermarket in the country. Taking over from the previous flagship store of Veganz on Berlin’s Warschauer Brücke (Warsaw Bridge), the 212 sq m Rewe Fully Plant Based space boasts over 2,700 products from more than 300 brands.

      This means that the new location nearly doubles the number of vegan items in Rewe’s regular stores (around 1,400), and blends its private-label offerings with big brands and newer startups. Visitors will find Rewe Bio, Rewe Beste Wahl, Vivess and ja! products, alongside industry leaders like Oatly and Alpro, and challenger brands such as Not Guilty, For Foodies and Greenforce.

      “With Rewe Fully Plant-Based, we show how varied and large the selection of vegan products is,” said Rewe Group CEO Peter Maly, who sees this as a key test concept. “We primarily expect learning effects for our classic supermarkets. Here at the Warschauer Brücke in Berlin-Friedrichshain, we have the chance to pave the way for even more new products and brands to reach supermarket shelves. We are very curious.”

      Bright yellow, rich green, warm rust red

      rewe plant based
      Courtesy: Christoph Grosse/Pivopex

      Trade website Supermarktblog reported last month that the former Veganz store, which had changed hands last year, already had the name of the new Rewe store attached to the façade. The tagline ‘fully plant-based, totally good’ was also visible on the storefront and inside the entrance area of the store.

      While Rewe declined to confirm any plans for the supermarket at the time, it has since been hyping up the opening with what the publication describes as guerilla marketing tactics at nearby subway stations, lampposts, parking meters and walls. These featured bright yellow-green banners with a QR code sporting the caption: “Berlin is getting more comfortable”.

      Designed alongside the creative agency CMF, the neon colour scheme is intentional, with yellow, green and red shades donning the store with colourful triangles from ceiling to floor.

      “Rewe Fully Plant-Based is an eye-catcher. Lively, striking, natural – these are keywords that have driven us,” said Rewe Ost (East) CEO Stefan Hörning. “We were able to give the well-known red Rewe logo a new coat of paint for the first time. We supplement the green letters with the simple addition ‘Fully Plant-Based’. This allows us to get to the heart of what’s in the store without any frills.”

      A plethora of products for all shoppers

      rewe vegan
      Courtesy: Christoph Grosse/Pivopex

      Upon entry, the first products visitors encounter are fruits and vegetables, immediately followed by a salad bar and vegan sushi counter. This is a deliberate move as the retailer aims to target not just vegan or flexitarian consumers, but also aims to be a point of contact for people to do their everyday shop and locals and tourists to pick up a snack or drink before heading to events or back home.

      Chilled smoothies, spreads, seitan and other products can be found in fridges along the walls, while the middle of the store is adorned with plant-based milks, nuts, spices, baking ingredients and drugstore items. Then there’s a snack bar with cream cheeses and freshly made open sandwiches, while the frozen section, baked goods, chilled drinks and vegan ice cream greet the checkout area.

      In fact, the latter is available as part of an in-store soft serve machine. And as for the bakery items, Rewe Berlin merchant Dennis Henkelmann (who manages the store) explained: “The supermarket is in close proximity to the S-Bahn, and there are many apartments and offices around it. That’s why we consciously rely on a large selection of baked goods. We have more than 40 products, from vegan Franzbrötchen to pretzel bagels to Sunday rolls.”

      The Rewe Fully Plant-Based store also does away with regular manned cash registers, with payment only available at three self-checkout counters, or via its Scan&Go tech that allows shoppers to scan groceries as they walk through the store and add them to their cart.

      Rewe Fully Plant-Based makes for a key test

      rewe voll pflanzlich
      Courtesy: Christoph Grosse/Pivopex

      “Our range is colourful, there is everything from vegan burger sauce, ramen and wines to various snacks. We are a real supermarket, just purely plant-based,” said Henkelmann. The new supermarket has a staff of 12, all of whom have been specially trained on the vegan range.

      It isn’t intended to be a temporary pop-up, but will serve as a test for similar future concepts. If it ends up being successful, Rewe could subsequently launch a corresponding initiative in Rewe Center stores nationwide, which would align with its vegan Pflanzilla approach under its Austrian subsidiary Billa.

      Rewe opened the first Billa Pflanzilla store in Vienna in 2022, followed by a pop-up location in Graz last November (which ended its run in February). In addition to this, it has integrated Pflanzilla World as a mini-section in 21 of its Billa Plus stores. That’s not all – apart from the company’s own-label plant-based lines, it previously launched a plant-based meat counter in a Kaarst store after seeing a 45% hike in meat-free sales, and dropped the prices of vegan products to either match or be cheaper than their conventional counterparts in Billa and Penny stores.

      “We have special products, including lots of fresh things. With us you can try out new things, much of our range is organic. Here, young companies with new ideas have the chance to get one of the coveted places on the supermarket shelf,” said Horning.

      “We have been recognized several times in the past as vegan pioneers in the food trade, and the strong response from our customers also encourages us,” added Maly. A survey commissioned by the company last year found that 58% of Rewe customers have bought vegan products previously, and 27% replace animal-derived foods with plant-based analogues several times a week.

      With 90,000 people crossing the Warsaw Bridge every day, footfall shouldn’t be a concern for Rewe. Neither should consumer response, given that Germany is the largest plant-based market in Europe, with 59% of consumers reducing meat consumption, and its government has earmarked €38M in its federal budget this year to support alternative proteins and open a Proteins of the Future centre.

      And last month, the German Society for Nutrition updated its dietary guidelines to recommend halving meat consumption, limiting dairy intake, and eating more plant-based foods – with the latter suggested to make up at least 75% of diets in the country.

      The post Fully Plant-Based: Rewe Opens First 100% Vegan Supermarket in Germany appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    22. Major Losses for Minor Figures, But Oat Milk Brand Now Looks to Become Profitable by 2025

      minor figures
      5 Mins Read

      UK oat milk brand Minor Figures saw losses grow to nearly £10M last year, citing inflationary pressures and a downturn in the Asia-Pacific market – but its overall revenues jumped to £31.8M, and the company is now on the path to becoming profitable.

      In its newly filed accounts, Minor Figures said its losses widened by 39% to £9.9M in the year ending June 30, 2023, though its revenues increased by 9% to £31.8M following strong growth in its key markets of the UK and North America.

      The London-based oat milk maker attributed the losses to continued inflationary pressures on raw materials and the supply chain, and a decline in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, which took its cumulative losses to over £20M in the last three years. However, Minor Figures indicated that these challenges have now been addressed by management, with the business turning its attention away from APAC to focus on the UK and North America as it looks to become profitable by 2025.

      “Whilst macroeconomic conditions have been challenging, the oat category has continued to grow and the business is strategically focused on revenue growth and market penetration, in order to position itself as one of the top three brands across all major markets in the long term,” the filing reads.

      Minor Figures’ Asia struggles mirrored by Oatly

      minor figures oat milk
      Courtesy: Minor Figures

      While sales fell by 35% to £5.9M in APAC, Minor Figures witnessed a 12% growth in its home market of the UK, reaching £13.4M, while its North American turnover grew by 54% to reach £12.5M.

      Speaking to the Grocer, co-founder and CEO Stuart Forsyth said the company made a big bet on the demand for oat milk in Asia, which was booming but has failed to reach its potential post-pandemic. The mistimed investment of capital in the region “massively” magnified the business’s losses in the region.

      Forsyth ascribed the APAC difficulties to a downturn in China, where fellow competitor Oatly has also struggled. The Swedish oat milk giant has halted construction of a manufacturing facility in China, with its COO Daniel Ordonez noting it can’t justify “significant investments with uncertain payoffs”. “We will be therefore slowing down on SKU expansion and eliminating many unnecessary SKUs… and migrating to a more simplified cost structure,” he said last year.

      The difficulties in China played a part in Oatly’s restructuring last year, and has similarly affected Minor Figures too. While oat milk’s popularity has hiked in China over the last few years, it has also meant a larger number of brands and products offering the coffee-friendly dairy alternative, making it a crowded market with plenty of domestic and international competitors for brands like Minor Figures, which discontinued product lines and wrote off a large amount of stock in 2022-23, leading to one-off costs of £1.5M.

      “We responded immediately by reshaping our cost base and refocusing our efforts on increasing product margin,” Forsyth added. “Our efforts have taken time, but resulted in a return to solid margins, and a leaner, more focused business, which is now in a much stronger position.”

      The company’s accounts state that its performance in Q1 this year is significantly better than 2023, with Forysth identifying strong double-digit growth and a significant reduction in losses that are setting Minor Figures on the path to profitability.

      “The Group has continued to expand in North America and Europe with increasing distribution points across the on-trade, grocery, export and online channels. In a competitive oat milk market, Minor Figures is one the fastest-growing brands in North America and the UK,” the document states. “The brand also has significant distribution in Australia through all major grocery chains.”

      This was echoed by Forsyth, who added: “Our growth has continued this year with the EMEA business continuing to outperform in its category and the North American business growth above 38%, with notable wins in some of the biggest retailers, including Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, Albertsons and, recently, Kroger. All of this is set against the wider context of the Asia-Pacific region now beginning to stabilise post-Covid.”

      Overcoming oat’s optics obstacles

      oat milk sales
      Courtesy: Minor Figures

      Like the wider plant-based industry, milk alternatives have had a dip in market performance over the last year. In the UK, the overall milk market was hit by a fall for alt-dairy leader Alpro, which experienced a 22% drop in volume sales, according to Nielsen data for the Grocer’s Top Products survey for 2023. And even though Oatly saw a modest 0.3% growth in volume – this is a far cry from the 100% increase in sales for oat milk in the UK between 2019 and 2020.

      Kantar data shows that UK non-dairy products saw a year-on-year sales decline of 3.8% in January 2024, with an 18.4% higher markup than animal-derived dairy items. Even in the US, gallon sales for plant-based milk fell by 7% in the year ending December 3, 2023, with oat milk witnessing a 0.9% growth.

      However, oat milk is currently undergoing a PR challenge, with online influencers and media outlets questioning the health credentials of the product. People have pointed to spikes in blood glucose (which is normal with any food, and oat milk itself usually has a moderate glycemic index), its low protein content (which shouldn’t be an issue considering we’re overconsuming protein anyway), the inclusion of additives like emulsifiers and acidity regulators (which are generally recognised as safe by health bodies and forms part of a wider fear around ultra-processed foods), and its effects on bloating (a claim that doesn’t have much evidence to back it up).

      British market research firm Mintel forecasts that once inflationary pressures start to ease, consumer spending will regain momentum and support the growth of plant-based dairy, predicting a rise in retail value sales of 50.2% over the next five years in the UK. (Its current lineup comprises three oat milks, a chai concentrate, and two ready-to-drink canned cold brews.)

      Minor Figures, which has brought in over £30M in investment, including a new fundraise in June 2023, is set to announce further retail and foodservice innovations later this year. “2023 is a follow-on investment from the current investor base,” said Forsyth. Its backers include Danone’s VC arm Manifesto Ventures, Hong Kong’s Green Monday. “They were confident in our commitment and vast improvements made to business, and were able to provide further capital.”

      The company said it’s confident that producing “high-quality oat milk in this fast-growth category” across all its regions will lead to another year of revenue growth, outlining that it has experienced fast growth in each year since its launch. “We expect the trend of moving away from dairy to plant-based products will continue,” its filing states. “Business growth will be driven by channel growth, increased distribution points and geographical expansion, underpinned by an increasing demand for plant-based products.”

      The post Major Losses for Minor Figures, But Oat Milk Brand Now Looks to Become Profitable by 2025 appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    23. Health Remains Americans’ Key Consideration for Plant Proteins and Cultivated Meat

      cultivated meat study
      6 Mins Read

      As plant-based meat companies rejig their nutritional messaging and cultivated meat battles to shake off the ‘lab-grown’ tag and political attacks, two consumer surveys reveal that health remains a key priority for Americans when it comes to alternative proteins.

      The overconsumption of meat in the US is a major driver of the country’s large climate footprint, with one analysis showing that Americans’ red meat intake is over six times higher than advised by the Eat-Lancet Commission’s Planetary Health Diet.

      Only 12% of Americans consume half of all the beef eaten in the US, and about 40% don’t think eating red meat increases greenhouse gas emissions – despite beef being the most polluting food. Separate research shows that as many as 74% of Americans don’t link meat-eating with climate change, while one estimate suggests the country needs to cut meat consumption by 82% if it wants to avoid climate diasters in the future.

      And while the number of vegans hit a decade-long low in the US last year, another poll suggests that the percentage of consumers who are eating plant-rich diets has doubled over the last few years – but the red-meat-eaters have also grown in number. The paradoxical results of all these surveys show that there’s certainly interest in plant-based eating in the US, but meat still rules the roost.

      That paradox is also highlighted by two new surveys about food in the country, covering cost of living, animal protein, plant-based proteins and cultivated meat.

      Plant-based brands will find it hard to sway new customers

      The first of these surveys is the March Consumer Digest by data science firm 84.51°, which polled 400 consumers who shopped from Kroger in the last three months.

      It reveals that the higher cost of living continues to influence consumer behaviour significantly, adjusting meal plans to include dishes that use less meat (43% are doing so); purchasing more beans, legumes, nuts and eggs (33%); and reducing protein consumption (18%).

      plant based meat survey
      Courtesy: 84.51°

      When it comes to the latter, shoppers are most concerned with taste (60%) and value (55%), while plant-based sources are among the factors they’re least concerned with (45%). In fact, animal protein sources take up four of the top five spots in the list of preferred protein sources, with vegetables (cited by 86%) third on the list, although they are above all meat sources.

      Other plant proteins are much lower on the list, with tofu coming in last (11%), just behind soy (11%), plant-based meat (15%) and lentils (22%). 84.51° reveals that plant-based milk often serves as an entry point for vegan food consumption, which is apparent when you consider that milk is the vegan category households consume most (33%). It’s also among the top three segments that Americans want to consume more of, alongside fresh and frozen plant-based meats.

      plant based meat study
      Courtesy: 84.51°

      For 59% of respondents, health is the most important consideration pushing them to eat plant-based, followed by sustainability (42%) and taste (38%). This is exactly why industry leaders like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have shifted their messaging of late, introducing nutrition-focused products, packaging and marketing campaigns.

      When it comes to consumption barriers, cost is key to 53%, while 41% are dismayed by low sales or promotions. And it seems that companies in this space face an uphill battle to lure consumers, with nearly half (48%) of people who haven’t tried vegan analogues saying they aren’t likely to do so in the future – only 5% say they’re very likely to try them.

      plant based consumer survey
      Courtesy: 84.51°

      Cultivated meat may need to tackle the uncommon

      Researchers at Purdue University’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability, meanwhile, surveyed 1,200 Americans for its March Consumer Food Insights Report, revealing that while Americans do prefer conventional meat more than cultivated, the latter isn’t too far behind (considering its current scale and availability) when it comes to a restaurant setting.

      For example, while 96% of Americans would try chicken in restaurants, two-thirds (67%) would be willing to do so with cultivated chicken as well. This is similar for conventional versus cultivated beef (94% and 65%, respectively) and pork (88% vs 60%).

      “We see similar results when evaluating consumers’ willingness to try conventional and cultivated meats in a restaurant setting,” said lead author Joseph Balagtas, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue. “The proportion of consumers willing to try the cultivated versions of these meats is around 30 percentage points lower, though it is still a majority, about 60%.”

      He added: “Given the fact that cell-cultured meat is not widely available, these results reflect consumer distrust of the unknown when it comes to food, which is a barrier for any novel food trying to break into the market.”

      lab grown meat study
      Courtesy: Purdue University

      Interestingly, of those respondents not willing to try conventional chicken, beef or pork, around 46%, 26% and 22% said they’d eat cultivated versions of these products, respectively. “This shows that there may be (a) market for cultivated meat among a sizable portion – albeit small number – of consumers who do not eat meat along with a majority of consumers who already are willing to try conventional versions of these meats,” Balagtas said.

      In terms of health, consumers felt traditionally farmed meat is tastier and healthier than cultivated versions. On a scale of 0 to 5, beef (4.4) and chicken (4.2) ranked high on the flavour aspect, versus 2.7 each for their cultivated counterparts. Similarly, beef scored 3.4 and chicken 4.2 when considering their health credentials, compared to 2.6 and 2.9 for cultivated beef and chicken, respectively.

      lab grown meat survey
      Courtesy: Purdue University

      The report also looked at certain ‘exotic meats’ – like octopus, shark and ostrich (among others) – where acceptance for conventional versions was higher than cultivated meats, but it is mostly a minority of consumers who are willing to try either of these products. Other animals included kangaroo and zebra too – this is topical considering Australian company Vow, which last week became the fourth company globally to receive regulatory approval for cultivated meat, has been known to work with cells of these species.

      Its debut product itself is somewhat out of the ordinary. The company has produced cultivated quail as part of a parfait, and its co-founder and CEO George Peppou outlined why cultivated meat companies need to stop recreating conventional meats, and produce entirely new foods instead. “By changing the process of production, rather than the food itself, you are asking consumers to change their behaviour for the benefit of the planet alone. Despite what we’d like to believe, those externalities don’t matter as much as we think to a vast majority of consumers when it comes to purchasing,” he told Green Queen last week.

      It encapsulates the results of the Purdue survey – there’s much less gap between acceptance for the cultivated and conventional versions of ‘exotic’ meats than for chicken, beef and pork. “The only way for us to change our behaviour is to offer new foods that consumers choose selfishly. That’s why Vow is different, because we innovate instead of imitating, and therefore offer something that consumers will selfishly choose, because it is deliberately different.

      The post Health Remains Americans’ Key Consideration for Plant Proteins and Cultivated Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    24. French Court Suspends Government Ban on Use of Meat-Related Terms on Plant-Based Food

      france plant based labelling ban
      4 Mins Read

      France’s top administrative court has suspended the government’s decree to ban the use of words like ‘steak’ and ‘ham’ on plant-based meat analogues, which was approved earlier this year.

      The Conseil d’État has dealt a blow to the French government’s livestock ‘sovereignty plan’ by suspending the ban on meat-related terms used by plant-based companies on product packaging.

      The decision by the country’s highest administrative court found that there was “serious doubt” about the legality of the ban – which is set to come into effect on May 1 – and it means producers can continue to use terms like ‘steak’, ‘escalope’ and ‘ham’ on meat analogues.

      This is the second time such a ban has been suspended by the Conseil d’État. In June 2022, the government introduced a similar decree to ban such terms. But following criticism from plant-based producers and complaints from meat-free associations, the court suspended the degree, arguing that the timeline was too short and wording too vague.

      This second degree, proposed in September last year and approved in February this year, was virtually identical, but has been seized by the court after concerns were raised by vegan food manufacturers.

      Why France wanted to ban meat labels on plant-based products

      france plant based
      Courtesy: Carrefour/LinkedIn

      The state council’s decision on the first decree was referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which in 2020 had rejected an EU-wide ban on meat-related terms on plant-based products (it had, however, outlawed words associated with dairy).

      In September, the French agriculture ministry took the court’s complaints into account to prepare a new decree, which was co-signed by then prime minister Élisabeth, economy and finance minister Bruno Le Maire and agriculture minister Marc Fesneau.

      The decree sought to ban 21 terms like ‘steak’, ‘beef’, ‘ham’ and ‘grilled’ from plant-based meat labelling, while there were more than 120 additional phrases like ‘bacon’, ‘sausage’, ‘cooked fillet’, ‘poultry’ and ‘nuggets’ (plus non-meat terms such as ‘liquid whole egg’) that companies could use as long as the amount of plant protein in these products doesn’t exceed a maximum limit ranging from 0.5% to 6%. It was an indirect way of restricting plant-based analogues to use any of these words, given that they all contain 100% plant proteins.

      When the decree was published in late February, new prime minister Gabriel Attal confirmed “it was a request from our farmers” to ban such terms. It was part of its supportive stance on livestock farming, which includes €400M in aid for the sector. Fesneau himself last year called for an increase in factory farming and cheaper meat production, despite the climate, health and animal welfare costs associated with these practices.

      The decree included a fine of up to €1,500 for individuals and €7,500 for companies that fail to comply with the new rules. France’s measures to do so mirrored Italy’s restrictions on plant-based meat labelling, which was part of a wider ban on cultivated meat too. France itself is hoping to prohibit the sale and production of the latter within its borders.

      Labelling ban would cause ‘serious and immediate harm’

      france plant based meat
      Courtesy: Flaggenwelt/Getty Images

      The Conseil d’État cited the EU’s food labelling legal framework to note that there’s doubt over the possibility of adopting such national measures. It had referred to the same regulation over its 2022 suspension of the first decree too.

      The court said a ban would cause “serious and immediate harm” to the financial interests of plant-based manufacturers, six of whom raised concerns that led to the council seizing the ban. It added that some restaurant menus have been using such terms for a long time, and the decree would lead to a significant drop in the turnover of two companies that had questioned the ban whose majority of sales related to these products.

      The ban would also result in costs related to packaging and marketing strategies given brands would need to modify their messaging, which could mean a pause in sales. Additionally, since the decree only applies to those who produce within France, their competitors who manufacture in other EU countries will be able to continue to use these terms to sell their products in France.

      The ECJ still hasn’t provided guidance about the first decree and whether it was legal under EU law, and the French court has asked it to do so in the coming months. Until the ECJ responds to the query, the ban will remain suspended.

      While labelling restrictions have been a thorn in the flesh for plant-based meat for years, recent developments are encouraging. Italy, for example, is reconsidering its ban after pushback from the country’s leading union of food manufacturers. In another win for the industry, a South African court has ruled against upholding a ban introduced the same month as France’s proposal, which saw strict labelling rules for plant-based food, prohibiting references to ‘meat’ and threatening to seize any products that fail to comply.

      The post French Court Suspends Government Ban on Use of Meat-Related Terms on Plant-Based Food appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.

    25. New Zealand Plant-Based Pioneer Sunfed Meats to Shut Down After Post-Pandemic Pressures

      sunfed meats
      5 Mins Read

      One of Asia-Pacific’s foremost plant-based meat companies, New Zealand-based Sunfed Meats is shutting down after facing supply chain pressure, high costs, and a loss of faith from its investors.

      A week after it emerged that investors have slashed the company’s valuation to zero, Sunfed Meats founder Shama Sukul Lee has confirmed that the Auckland-based plant-based meat startup is closing after nearly a decade in operation.

      In a video posted on her social media channels, Lee confirmed reports that the brand’s products were no longer available in Australia after inventory ran out in January. Its remaining stock in New Zealand is set to dry up in the next two months.

      “Despite Sunfed’s self-evident competence in unique products and manufacturing and FMCG, Sunfed’s VC investor did not see value in that. And that is of course their prerogative, as they can put their money elsewhere where they can get bigger, faster, easier valuation returns,” said Lee. “It probably needs to be said that Sunfed’s VC investors chose not to clear the way for Sunfed, but instead held on to their preferential claims, which complicated new capital options for the company.”

      A plant-based meat pioneer in Asia-Pacific

      Lee founded Sunfed Meats in 2015 as one of Asia-Pacific’s first plant-based meat startups. Its first product didn’t come into the market until 2018, but the Chicken Free Chicken was instantly popular among consumers and drove the brand’s growth.

      The company’s portfolio is focused on clean labels with a base of pea protein, faba bean protein, extra virgin olive oil and yeast extract. “I was not happy with the vegan junk food options in the market and wanted to see if we could make something which would offer the good things about meat, namely nutrient density, low-carb and allergen-free,” explained Lee.

      “I was also not interested in making mince or its variants like burgers, but instead wanted to make fully formed whole pieces, and it was important to me to make these as cleanly as possible using simply heat and water,” she added. (Although the company did add a minced SKU, presumably to meet market demand.)

      Lee outlined that the company had four phases of growth to chart: R&D, market validation, productisation, and breaking even. She and her husband bootstrapped the business with NZ$112,000 and faced plenty of challenges as a young startup. “The whole thing looked doomed to fail, but we eventually had some major breakthroughs.”

      Courtesy: Sunfed Meats

      In 2016, the company received NZ$1.2M from several VCs during its market validation stage, before its chicken analogue shot the brand to success. It entered all major grocery stores in the country, and led to another $10M capital injection, $5M of which was from Australian VC firm Blackbird Ventures. The investment would allow Sunfed Meats to set up a hygienic food facility, novel manufacturing lines, and an FMCG supply chain, as well as develop and launch new products.

      Its portfolio soon expanded to Boar Free Bacon, Bull Free Beef and Fish Free Tuna, and the company’s success saw it turn over NZ$4M in revenue and enter the Australian market. But just as it was looking to move into its profitability phase, things took a turn with the pandemic.

      Post-Covid troubles had investor ‘write Sunfed off’

      Describing it as “Covid hell”, Lee explained that Sunfed Meats went into “chronic business survival mode” just to keep production going. “There was one crisis after another, with staff shortages, supply chain disruptions and skyrocketing costs.” But Sunfed Meats managed to ride the wave and keep supermarkets stocked,” she said.

      “We were pretty battered and bruised afterwards and needed a capital injection to get on top of things. Unlike other companies in this plant-based space, Sunfed did not take hundreds of millions of dollars of investment,” she noted. The last investment round was in 2018, and Lee said that the startup’s achievements since receiving “that minimal investment” have been “self-evidently remarkable”.

      “However, it also meant that we ran very lean for far too long with not much resources for growth activities, such as distribution and marketing. With Covid, new capital had become harder as markets tightened up and priorities shifted. And Sunfed’s existing VC investors were no longer interested in supporting the business.”

      She added that investors had “written Sunfed off”, explaining that a lot of venture capitalists had jumped into the “plant-based gold rush thinking they could get fast valuation returns” as is the case in the digital space, but manufacturing and FMCG have a lot more complexity and moving parts, and are hence a longer-term play.

      plant based new zealand
      Courtesy: Sunfed Meats

      Eventually, Sunfed was not able to become profitable, and Lee had to make the decision to shut down the company due to unfavourable market conditions. “It has been an edifying decade-long journey in starting, building and now closing Sunfed. I’ve been humbled by it and I’m grateful for it. Thank you for the adventure,” she said.

      It is currently unclear how many jobs are affected, but LinkedIn indicates that the company has 14 employees.

      Lee noted that it’s a “fact that the plant-based bubble burst” and the category has been “undergoing a reality check”. “Fuelled by easy VC money, the category became saturated with junk food masked as healthy, and people now see through that. This also made it more apparent just how different Sunfed is, and why customers value it,” she explained.

      The plant-based meat sector has had a tough couple of years globally, with investment and sales on the decline, and startups like New School Foods, Ordinary Seafood and Nowadays ceasing operations. Within Asia-Pacific, while Australia and New Zealand overtook Singapore as the most well-funded alternative protein region in the first half of 2023, this only totalled to $20M, an 87% decrease from the previous year.

      However, brands like Australia’s v2food are seeing revenue growth (at 6% per year), and between 2022 and 2023, the number of meat analogues in the country’s supermarkets grew by 14%. And to offer dissatisfied meat-eaters a novel take on meat, Vow is in the middle of a public consultation phase to receive regulatory approval for its cultivated quail product in Australia and New Zealand, following its greenlight in Singapore last week.

      The post New Zealand Plant-Based Pioneer Sunfed Meats to Shut Down After Post-Pandemic Pressures appeared first on Green Queen.

      This post was originally published on Green Queen.