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Category: Vegan

  • Japanese Startup Rolls Out Rice-Based Ice Cream with Global Ambitions

    kinish the rice creamery
    4 Mins Read

    Tokyo-based startup Kinish has unveiled The Rice Creamery, a new dairy-free ice cream brand that’s available in local retailers and earmarked for a US debut.

    Japanese food tech firm Kinish has introduced a new ice cream brand that ditches the dairy to spotlight the unique sensory properties of rice.

    The Rice Creamery features three flavours of vegan ice cream made from rice, which are available at Tokyu Store’s Toritsu-Daigaku branch and online on Seijo Ishii. The startup has global ambitions, though, planning a US launch of the range under The Rice Cream brand, starting with Washington, DC, this year.

    The products have 60% less sugar than the market standard in Japan, and lower greenhouse gas emissions by 62%, meeting consumer concerns about nutrition and environmental impact.

    The launch of the vegan ice cream range comes amid Kinish’s parallel efforts to grow cow-free milk proteins in rice plants via molecular farming.

    rice milk ice cream
    Courtesy: Kinish

    Kinish’s ‘rice cream’ gets rave public reviews

    Dairy and rice are two of the largest contributors to the food system’s methane emissions, but the former’s carbon impact is more than twice as high as the latter’s. Moreover, the number of dairy farmers is declining, while milk consumption has been shrinking since the 1990s.

    At the same time, 2.4% of Japanese consumers said they were vegan in 2023, up from 1% in 2017. Plus, research suggests that up to 90% of Japan’s population is lactose-intolerant, underlining the importance of alternatives to milk products.

    Instead of aiming to replicate the taste of milk, Kinish is betting on the “unique sweetness” of Japanese rice. The naturally sweet varieties are short, plump and sticky, and allow products to deliver sensory qualities that even dairy cannot, according to the startup.

    The original flavour of the ice cream is called Honoka, and contains a base of rice syrup and cashew paste, which are combined with sugar, glucose, dietary fibre, salt, an emulsifier and a stabiliser.

    The Master’s Uji Matcha variant is the result of a collaboration with tea processor Hotta Katsutaro Shoten, combining the above ingredients with Uji matcha. Finally, Elegant Dutch Chocolate is a nod to Japan’s introduction to chocolate by the Netherlands, and adds Dutch cocoa powder to the initial rice-cashew base.

    matcha ice cream
    Courtesy: Kinish

    The Rice Creamery’s products are priced at ¥347 ($2.35), and will be gradually expanded to convenience stores and other major cities across Japan.

    Ahead of their release, Kinish hosted public taste tests of the ice cream and received glowing feedback. According to the company, comments ranged from “It’s satisfyingly delicious” to “It’s rich and flavorful, yet leaves a pleasant aftertaste”.

    Rice-based ice cream alternatives are a niche category. In Asia, Morinaga Company sells two versions under its Okometo brand in Japan, and Singapore’s Smoocht supplies brown-rice-based ice creams.

    Kinish is using molecular farming to produce casein in rice

    The rollout of its rice-based ice creams opens up a new revenue stream for Kinish, which will help speed up its molecular farming efforts too. The firm raised ¥120M ($800,000) in seed funding this February to support its research.

    Climate change is wreaking havoc on Japan’s rice production. Consumption of the staple has more than halved since the 1960s, and a crop shortage has forced the government to release 200,000 tonnes of emergency rice stockpile.

    Kinish uses plant molecular farming to grow casein (the main protein found in cow’s milk) in rice grains, and blends the process with vertical farming to use a fraction of the land and water used by both rice and dairy.

    Molecular farming is a more viable and affordable way to replicate animal proteins than cell cultivation or precision fermentation. It entails genetically engineering plants to produce proteins, which can then be harvested from leaves or other tissues. This eschews the need for expensive fermentation tanks, since plants themselves act as the bioreactors.

    kinish
    Courtesy: FoodxTech Mercato

    Kinish applies the technology to dwarf rice plants, which are just 20cm tall and can be cultivated in large quantities in plant factories. By utilising vertical farming, it can grow the crops in stacked cultivation and harvest them in less than half the time required for traditional rice.

    The company has partnered with Shizuoka University to design a plant factory specialising in dwarf rice. And it eventually aims to create an ice cream combining the rice-derived casein with rice starch for sweetness, as well as a variety of cheese products with its milk protein.

    “Kinish is working to develop an unprecedented dairy alternative product by maximising the potential of rice and our unique technology,” founder and CEO Hashizume Hiroya said earlier this year.

    It is among a host of companies using molecular farming to produce animal proteins in plants – Alpine Bio, Mozza, Miruku, Veloz Bio, and Finally Foods are all similarly focusing on casein. Meanwhile, New Culture, Fermify, Zero Cow Factory, Standing Ovation, and Those Vegan Cowboys are using precision fermentation to produce this protein. And Pureture is making yeast-derived vegan casein via liquid fermentation.

    The post Japanese Startup Rolls Out Rice-Based Ice Cream with Global Ambitions appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Plant-Based Just Egg Lands in the UK via Vegan Food Group

    just egg uk
    5 Mins Read

    Eat Just’s market-leading vegan egg, Just Egg, has finally launched in the UK, with the distribution being handled by VFC parent Vegan Food Group.

    Just Egg, the mung-bean-based vegan liquid egg from US company Eat Just, has launched into the UK market. Each 340ml carton is priced at £3.99 and equivalent to six eggs.

    The rollout marks the product’s European debut, as well as its first foray outside North America. It will be manufactured and distributed by Vegan Food Group (VFG), the holding company behind plant-based brands like VFC and Meatless Farm, as part of an exclusive deal announced in April.

    “People have been waiting for so long to bring this to the UK, and me and the team have just had such an incredible journey working with the US team, understanding the brand and… how we bring that to the UK consumer is very different to the US consumer,” says Abigail Nelson-Ehoff, head of marketing at VFG.

    “The consumers who have been waiting for this product, a lot of the vegan community, [will go]: ‘Finally, it’s here,’” she adds. “But it’s also as many people, if not more people, who have never heard of the product – this is an amazing product for them. So it’s how we can bring it to both.”

    Matthew Glover, co-founder and chairman of VFG, says: “We think there’s a huge pent-up demand for it. There’s not been anything like this on the market so far. So we’re very excited to launch it into the UK.”

    Echoing Nelson-Ehoff, he says this product is “really for everybody, not just vegans”: “It’s for anybody that’s plant-curious. There’s a lot of people that are allergic to eggs, so it’s perfect for those individuals.”

    How Just Egg made it to the UK

    just egg uk launch
    Courtesy: Eat Just

    Just Egg is made from a base of mung bean protein and contains nearly 13g of protein per serving (5.9g per egg equivalent, versus 6.3g for a chicken egg). It has less than a third of the saturated fat found in convnetional eggs, as well as zero cholesterol. Producing the vegan liquid egg uses 98% less water and 83% less land, while generating 93% fewer greenhouse gases.

    The European launch of Just Egg has been a years-long endeavour. Eat Just had signed several partnerships to bring the product across the Atlantic, while receiving novel food regulatory approval by the European Food Safety Authority and authorisation from the EU Commission.

    But the efforts finally came to fruition in April this year, after the Californian food tech unicorn struck a deal with VFG. The latter invested £11.5M ($15.2M) to build a fully automated line to produce Just Egg at its facility in Lüneburg, Germany (Europe’s largest dedicated plant-based factory), enabling it to produce the equivalent of 500 million eggs per year.

    “Proprietary mung bean production will be led by Eat Just, supplying this directly to VFG from its Minnesota facility,” Glover told Green Queen at the time. “From that point, VFG is installing a fully automated downstream production system in Lüneburg to produce Just Egg. Other ingredients and packaging will be sourced locally.”

    He added: “The brand positioning and proposition sits perfectly alongside the existing VFG portfolio of brands, products and eating occasions. Our strategy is consolidating a portfolio of exciting products and brands, to which Just Egg sits perfectly.”

    Through its investment, VFG sought to enhance automation, extend shelf life, cut waste, and improve product quality at its facilities in the UK and Germany. It will also support retailers and foodservice partners with “next-gen innovation and operational excellence”.

    “VFG will be making the majority of the upfront investments in capital expenditure and marketing to launch the brand in Europe,” Glover said.

    Eat Just and VFG look to build plant-based momentum amid egg crisis

    just egg europe
    Courtesy: Eat Just

    Eat Just’s UK entry comes on the back of skyrocketing success in the US, with 174 million birds culled in the current three-year wave of avian flu. Retail egg prices reached a record high of $6.23 per dozen in March. In some cities, each egg costs $1 now.

    The company had already sold the equivalent of 500 million chicken eggs and captured 99% of the market for alternatives in the US. But in January alone, Just Egg’s sales grew five times faster than in the past year, while 56% of shoppers returned to buy more (a three-point increase from 2024). Most shoppers (91%) putting it in their basket, meanwhile, are neither vegan nor vegetarian.

    With egg shelves empty, if Americans want eggs, they only have a few choices. “One, don’t eat them. Two, you know, have applesauce. Or three, have Just Egg,” co-founder and CEO Josh Tetrick told Green Queen in February. “This is a real moment in time for the plant-based industry to prove that it’s up to the challenge.”

    The egg crisis isn’t just restricted to the US – in Europe, the cost of eggs has reached its highest in at least a decade, reaching €268.5 ($292) per 100kg in March.

    In the UK, it will compete with the Crackd vegan liquid egg, which is made from pea protein. Aquafaba brand Oggs previously marketed a liquid whole egg alternative, though it hasn’t been in stock in supermarkets for several months now. “There are other egg replacements on the market, but quality-wise, there’s nothing that can stack up against Eat Just,” VFG CEO Dave Sparrow said in April.

    “The UK and Germany are the immediate priority given our extensive distribution, which is already in place, and then we’ll roll out across other key markets,” Glover said at the time.

    “The food system is broken. Most eggs are produced in factory farms. There’s about 37 million eggs currently trapped inside [them], both caged and cage-free. And these are real squalid, overcrowded, unhealthy places to produce food,” he says now.

    “So this plant-based egg that we’re producing is much cleaner and healthier, and certainly much better for the environment and the animals and people.”

    The post Plant-Based Just Egg Lands in the UK via Vegan Food Group appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • More Layoffs, More Losses in Bleak Q2 for Beyond Meat Amid Brand Refresh

    beyond ground
    7 Mins Read

    Beyond Meat posted another poor quarter as sales fell by nearly 20%, prompting the plant-based company to lay off 6% of its staff and refresh its identity.

    Californian plant-based giant Beyond Meat endured another “tough quarter”, with year-on-year sales falling sharply by 19.6% in the April-June period.

    The company’s revenue reached just $75M in Q2 2025, below the lower end of its revised outlook for the quarter. Volume of products sold decreased by 19%, while gross profit shrank by 37%. While it suffered a decrease in operating losses too, its net losses totalled $33M, a 4% improvement on Q2 2024, thanks primarily to foreign exchange gains.

    vCEO Ethan Brown described the results as “disappointing”, coming on the back of a poor first quarter and amid widening losses for the overall plant-based meat sector. Beyond Meat blamed the performance on softening demand and reduced distribution in US retail, and low sales of its burger products to restaurants internationally.

    The company is now kickstarting another round of layoffs, impacting 44 employees in North America (amounting to 6% of its global workforce). This will incur a one-time charge between $800,000 and $1.3M, mainly in severance payments, employee benefits and related costs, though the move is expected to save the company up to $7M over the next 12 months.

    “It is truly with a heavy heart that we made these reductions, and my deep appreciation and respect for these teammates and friends extends far beyond any comments I can make today,” Brown said in an earnings call.

    Beyond Meat has also appointed John Boken, managing director of corporate restructuring consultancy AlixPartners, as its interim chief transformation officer. He will be tasked with driving the firm’s operational footprint into the current revenue environment and accelerating margin improvements, with the goal of becoming EBITDA-positive within the second half of 2026.

    “We are responding by accelerating our transformation activities, including more rapidly and aggressively reducing our operating expenses to fit anticipated near-term revenues; prioritising increased distribution of our core product lines; and investing in margin expansion initiatives across these core products,” said Brown.

    The news sent shares of the company down by 4% at the end of trading. In other news for publicly traded plant-based companies, Oatly’s stock has rebounded by 31% this month, reaching levels last seen a year ago.

    High costs, misinformation and meat revival hurt retail sales

    beyond meat earnings
    Courtesy: Bloomberg/Getty Images

    The lowlight of Beyond Meat’s Q2 performance was US retail, where revenues plunged by nearly 27%, thanks in large part to a decrease in product volumes, which the company attributed to “weak category demand” and reduced distribution points.

    It’s reflective of the wider decline in sales of plant-based meat in American supermarkets, which have dipped by 17% in the refrigerated section so far this year, and 8% in the freezer, according to Spins data cited by Reuters.

    Brown pointed to several factors that led to the poor performance in this channel: the higher price than conventional beef puts it a disadvantage among cash-strapped consumers; the “negative narrative” around the sector is “sufficiently ingrained to outlast initial efforts to dispel this information“; and conventional meat is “having a moment that currently leaves less room” vegan alternatives.

    “This has been an enormously disruptive period for our category and brand across US grocery, with instability being the consistent theme for quite some time, from multiple entrants flooding the market only to be delisted, to a general shrinking of shelf space, to a disruptive relocation of the category from refrigerated to frozen aisle in certain large retailers,” said Brwn.

    “As we seek to rebuild our presence across this critically important channel, we are prioritising consolidated offerings at high-impact chains so we might drive results that are similar to some of our higher-performing current retailers.”

    It’s not just US supermarkets where Beyond Meat is underperforming. Internationally, retail revenues narrowed by 9%, with the company blaming low sales of its burger, sausage and ground beef products in Canada, and reduced burger sales in Europe.

    When it came to foodservice, revenues were up by 7% in the US, mainly due to price hikes and changes in product sales mix. But internationally, foodservice sales fell by 26%, with Beyond Meat suffering from low burger sales to quick-service restaurants. Reports suggest that McDonald’s has removed the McPlant from its Austrian menu, opting to run out its contract with Beyond Meat.

    ‘Not the moment’ for plant-based meat

    beyond meat mycelium steak
    Courtesy: Beyond

    When asked by one analyst if Beyond Meat can win back consumers who have stopped purchasing vegan alternatives, Brown said it was “not the moment for plant-based meat right now”.

    “You’ve got these cultural moments that occur, and we happen to be on the other side of the particular moment,” he explained. “That won’t always be the case, but what we shouldn’t do is use a lot of dry powder trying to force growth right now.

    “What we should be doing is stabilising the business, getting the operating expense to where it needs to be, fixing the margins so we can reach the audience that we need to reach.”

    The company is now focusing on giving consumers value for money while meeting the heightened demand for protein and fibre. It will begin offering six-pack offerings for the Beyond Burger, which will help drive down the price of each individual patty for the consumer.

    Meanwhile, even as it launched a whole-cut mycelium steak filet, Beyond Meat’s next product has nothing to do with meat. Called Beyond Ground, the innovation is an answer to critiques about ultra-processing, long ingredient lists, and poor nutritional value.

    The mince-like protein only has four ingredients: fava beans, potato starch, water, and psyllium husk. Each serving contains 140 calories, 4g of fibre, 1.5g of fat, and 27g of protein (higher than beef). Plus, it has zero cholesterol, saturated fat, or added oils. The product “represents an early foray beyond beef, pork and poultry replication”, Brown said, and has been “met with considerable enthusiasm, albeit with a very narrow consumer set”.

    Despite the resurgence of animal protein, Beyond Meat remains optimistic. “We know that the extreme nature of the current renaissance around animal protein will, as consumer trends do, moderate. This moderation may occur solely with time, new information or new trends or may be spurred on by a set of related factors, including pricing pressure, droughts and genetic disease outbreaks,” said Brown.

    “Over time, facts do have a way of overcoming fiction. Consumers do, in fact, bristle at being misled at the expense of their own health, and our products will have the opportunity to be more fairly evaluated for what they are,” he added.

    Scrapping ‘Meat’ gives Beyond the freedom to meet broader protein needs

    beyond meat q2 2025
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    The Beyond Ground product represents a major refresh of the company’s identity. In response to the substandard performance, the firm is dropping ‘Meat’ from its brand to highlight traditional plant proteins, starting with the fava bean mince. Later iterations could include chickpea hot dogs and lentil sausages, Brown has teased.

    “Going forward, we intend to increasingly use ‘Beyond’ as the primary brand. We have been formally using the shortened mark in certain instances for some time now, and believe it provides for reduced emphasis on facsimile, a now-complicated frame that overshadows the real high-quality protein offerings we provide to consumers, and a widening of our aperture beyond animal protein replicates,” he said.

    This would allow Beyond Meat to “have the freedom” to meet broader consumer protein needs and deliver the nutritional gains they’re after.

    The company will provide more details about the use of ‘Beyond’ as its brand in the coming months, which it’s implementing on a rolling basis. “The necessity of this reset does not, however, reduce or diminish our conviction or enthusiasm for the future that awaits,” stated Brown.

    “The factors that encumber our success today are transient. Just as we recognise that we are a higher-priced item in a period of economic uncertainty and stress, we know that on a material basis, our cost structure will change as we achieve scale.

    “We are, in fact, already in one limited but important instance, producing and supplying product at a cost price that is roughly equal to the corresponding animal protein equivalent. As we get to much higher volumes across our core products, the efficiency of our system will prevail. And all other things being equal, we should be able to underprice animal protein in many offerings.”

    Brown labelled it a “tough quarter” that the company took “on the chin”. “It wasn’t what we wanted, but I think the reaction is what matters,” he said. “We’ve obviously known about these results and have been fast after it.

    “Between the intensified cost reduction, the gross margin expansion initiatives, really focusing on expanding our core distribution (particularly in US retail), and then this opportunity to potentially live outside some of the confines we’ve been in recently, around looking at things like Beyond Ground and the use of the Beyond brand and protein occasions for consumers, I’m very optimistic [about] where we’re headed.”

    The post More Layoffs, More Losses in Bleak Q2 for Beyond Meat Amid Brand Refresh appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Australia’s v2food Acquires US Vegan Chicken Startup Daring Foods, Teams Up with Ajinomoto

    daring chicken
    5 Mins Read

    Australian plant-based meat firm v2food is going global, having acquired leading US vegan chicken maker Daring Foods and partnered with Japanese food giant Ajinomoto.

    v2food, the leading manufacturer of plant-based meat in Australia, is setting its sights on the international market with two key deals.

    The Sydney-based firm has snapped up US vegan chicken startup Daring Foods for an undisclosed sum, and signed a strategic partnership with Japan’s Ajinomoto to develop next-gen food solutions for Asia and Africa.

    Daring, which holds a 45% market share in the US unbreaded chicken category, will continue to operate under its own brand and serve as a platform for v2food to launch its own products across the country.

    “For several years, v2food has been the number one plant-based meat company in Australia, and through the acquisition of Daring, we are excited to be able to introduce our world-class product range into the US market,” said v2food CEO Tim York.

    The collaboration with Ajinomoto, meanwhile, will leverage the MSG maker’s “century of food science expertise” to expand v2food’s protein transition efforts. Alongside Daring’s brand identity, the three entities will create a “powerful platform for innovation”, v2food noted in a press release.

    v2food looks to build on Daring’s US retail strength

    v2food
    Courtesy: v2food

    Founded by Ross Mackay and Elliot Kesses in 2018, Daring is one of the most well-known alternative meat brands in the US. It capitalised on the category’s investment boom at the turn of the decade, raising over $120M in a 13-month period from 2020-21.

    It has a line of vegan chicken pieces and nuggets (made from soy protein), as well as frozen entrées (both 100% plant-based or vegetarian) featuring its signature meat alternative. Daring products are available in over 15,000 stores across the US, reportedly generating $30M in annual revenue.

    “Daring has built an incredible, consumer-loved brand with strong reach across the US, and combining that with our food technology creates immediate opportunities to accelerate our mission to be one of the global leaders in plant-based protein,” said York.

    The acquisition will combine Daring’s strong retail penetration and consumer loyalty with v2food’s established manufacturing networks and proprietary food technology.

    “With v2food’s technology platform and Ajinomoto expertise supporting us, we’re in the best position yet to deliver on our consumer promise at both pace and scale. In my view, this is how the space should have been built from the start: thoughtfully, profitably, and as healthy as possible,” said Jeffrey Gendelman, who took over from Mackay as Daring CEO last year.

    He added that the companies had a cultural alignment: “Daring was built on a commitment to clean-label plant protein that never sacrifices taste or experience. Together, we see an opportunity to shape the future of our space in a way none of us could have achieved alone.”

    v2food, Ajinomoto and Daring will create clean-label frozen meals

    plant based meat australia
    Courtesy: v2food

    The company says the Ajinomoto deal allows v2food to rapidly scale up its plant-based innovations to meet the global demand for sustainable proteins. It has strategic expansions earmarked for emerging markets like Africa and Asia, which will be home to a majority of the world’s population growth in the next 25 years, and where Ajinomoto already has commercial operations.

    The partnership is targeting flexitarians with chicken, a popular protein, by making plant-based eating accessible and appealing. Through Ajinomoto’s Green Business Development Department, the collaboration backs the companies’ sustainability goals and aims to unlock new revenue streams in the meat-free sector.

    Shigeo Nakamura, president and CEO of Ajinomoto, noted that the deal focuses on “innovation, sustainability, and co-creation in technology and business development”.

    Now that Daring is part of v2food’s operations, the three entities will together speed up the development of clean-label plant protein products, including a range of frozen meals with short ingredient lists and a focus on taste, nutrition and affordability.

    v2food has already been working on clean-label solutions, having developed methylcellulose-free formulations and natural colour-changing technology with algae. And last year, two studies found that v2food’s plant-based mince can have the same protein quality and digestibility as conventional ground beef, but is more filling and better for gut health.

    The firm, which has raised around $137M to date, has been busy expanding its ready meal portfolio through M&A deals. In early 2024, it announced the acquisition of local ready meal makers Soulara and Macros, forming a new entity called Flexitarian Meal Solutions, which it said would sell between 50,000 and 100,000 meals per week.

    Plant-based meat industry to ‘rationalise’ over the next five years

    v2food daring foods
    Courtesy: Daring Foods

    The announcement comes amid a difficult period for the plant-based sector. In the US, retail sales of meat alternatives fell by 7% in 2024. Chicken is the second-most popular product type in the vegan category, but its sales also declined by 8%.

    It comes amid an animal protein boom in the US, with meat sales reaching record highs and only 22% of consumers looking to cut back on it (a five-year low). That has hurt plant-based companies, who have been forced to rethink their strategies, consolidate, or in some cases, cease operations.

    Beyond, for example, dropped the ‘Meat’ from its name to highlight traditional plant proteins, ahead of a new fava bean mince that doesn’t aim to mimic an animal product. It comes on the back of a 19% drop in year-on-year sales in Q2. Impossible Foods, another major player, has suggested that it may foray into the blended meat category to attract a wider set of consumers.

    And in May, legacy plant-based business Atlantic Natural Foods, the parent company of Tuno and Loma Linda, filed for bankruptcy (it is now in talks for a potential sale).

    Consolidation has ramped up in the sector. In the US, Wicked Kitchen, Simulate, and Blackbird Foods have all been acquired by Ahimsa Companies in the last year or so. And in Australia, Aussie Plant Based Co was taken over by Smart Foods after entering liquidation (making a comeback this year), while investment firm MyCo rescued Australian Plant Proteins from insolvency.

    “Our strategic move into the US market, especially with a strong brand like Daring and the backing of a global powerhouse like Ajinomoto, is a logical next phase of growth as the market consolidates,” said Jack Cowin, founder of Hungry Jack’s (the franchisee of Burger King in Australia) and an inaugural investor in v2food.

    “Over the next five years, we expect to see a rationalisation of the industry with various best-in-class plant-based meat companies (such as v2food and Daring) coming together to gain scale and provide technical solutions that meet or exceed consumer requirements for great-tasting, affordable and nutritious food that also happens to be better for the planet.”

    The post Australia’s v2food Acquires US Vegan Chicken Startup Daring Foods, Teams Up with Ajinomoto appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Schuman Cheese, Good Planet Foods Form Joint Venture for Better Plant-Based Dairy

    schuman cheese good planet
    4 Mins Read

    US dairy leader Schuman Cheese and olive oil cheese producer Good Planet Foods have formed GPV Foods, a joint venture to meet the demand for improved non-dairy products.

    To address one of the most polarising plant-based alternative products, Schuman Cheese and Good Planet Foods have created GPV Foods, a new US entity to produce better vegan cheese.

    Schuman is a legacy player in the US dairy market and the country’s largest importer of Italian cheese; Good Planet is an eight-year-old startup known for its olive-oil-based cheeses.

    The joint venture brings together Schuman’s Vevan brand of non-dairy cheese with Good Planet’s retail business, uniting their scale, reach and expertise to meet the demand for tastier products.

    “This partnership strengthens our manufacturing capabilities, expands our plant‑based portfolio, and positions us for rapid growth in a category we strongly believe in,” said Keith Schuman, plant‑based business lead at Schuman. “Together, we can scale faster, serve our customers better, and set a new standard for what plant‑based cheese can deliver.”

    GPV Foods will leverage brands’ retail and foodservice footprints

    good planet cheese
    Courtesy: Vevan

    Good Planet Foods began with a range of coconut-oil-based cheeses, including snackable wedges, smoked wheels, and snack packs. In 2023, it switched to olive oil as its key ingredient, pairing it with tapioca and potato starch and pea protein, in response to consumer feedback about saturated fat content.

    The Bellevue-based startup’s current portfolio includes shreds, slices, blocks, and snackable cubes made from olive oil, alongside a trimmed coconut oil lineup. They’re available in over 1,200 retail doors nationwide.

    Schuman has been around since 1945, and diversified into the plant-based category in 2020 with Vevan. The brand initially started with palm oil and modified potato starch as the base ingredients, before shifting to a pea milk and coconut oil lineup.

    It makes Cheddar, mozzarella and pepper jack shreds and slices, alongside a cream cheese range. Schuman describes the products as having “superior melt and consumer-winning flavour”, which are available in both retail and foodservice channels.

    GPV Foods will combine Good Planet’s retail presence with Vevan’s foodservice and ingredient expertise. It will benefit from greater production capacity and streamlined distribution, which will allow it to respond faster to market needs, broaden its reach, and invest in new technologies and formulas that “push the boundaries” of vegan cheese.

    “Pairing our retail leadership with Vevan’s foodservice strength creates a truly unmatched platform. This venture allows us to reach more consumers, deliver superior innovation, and accelerate growth in a way that benefits the entire category,” said Good Planet founder and CEO David Israel.

    Financial and political challenges stretch vegan cheese market

    schuman cheese
    Courtesy: Vevan

    Both brands will remain distinct and focus on the markets and channels they perform best in, with their products now available in nearly 5,000 stores, according to Nosh. Vevan, meanwhile, is set to reformulate many of its recipes using Good Planet’s olive oil platform.

    The partnership comes amid middling retail performance for vegan cheese in the US. Last year, dollar sales dropped by 4% to $218M and household penetration fell to 4% (a one-point drop from 2023), according to SPINS data crunched by the Good Food Institute (GFI). Dairy-free alternatives have made up just 1% of the overall cheese market for the last three years.

    That being said, repeat purchase rates were up from 48% in 2023 to 54% in 2024, indicating that products are better meeting consumer needs, GFI said.

    Israel told Nosh that there will likely be some consolidation in the workforce after potential redundancies are identified as part of the new venture. That aligns with the wider sector too. In June, French dairy giant Bel Group announced it will withdraw its Nurishh brand of plant-based cheese by the end of 2025 due to low sales, and close its production factory in Saint-Nazaire, which is set to impact around 30 jobs.

    In further examples of category consolidation in the US, vegan cheese startup Vertage Foods was snapped up by fellow plant-based firm Misha’s Inc in January, and dairy-free nutrition firm Kate Farms was acquired by Silk owner Danone this summer.

    Poor sales aren’t the only challenge facing this industry. Last week, a bipartisan group of senators revived the Dairy Pride Act, asking the Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of ‘milk’, ‘cheese’, ‘yoghurt’ and other such terms on non-dairy alternatives. The agency has also received a complaint against vegan butter maker Country Crock’s use of the phrase ‘Dairy-Free Salted/Unsalted Butter’ on its Homestyle lineup.

    The post Schuman Cheese, Good Planet Foods Form Joint Venture for Better Plant-Based Dairy appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Gen Alpha Teens: Health is Primary Diet Driver, While Young Men Say ‘Meat is Cool’

    vegan teens
    5 Mins Read

    While health is the largest dietary driver for teens, 14% think eating meat is cool, compared to just 2% who say the same for vegan diets.

    For the past few years, the narrative around Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s food habits revolved around their concern for the planet. More recently, that perception has unravelled, according to a new Austrian study.

    Its results suggest that sustainability is now low on teenagers’ list of priorities when it comes to deciding what (or how) to eat. Instead, this cohort’s dietary habits are most driven by health, a factor cited by a third of respondents in the 8,800-person survey.

    Moreover, the researchers analysed their lifestyle preferences, and found that 14% of teens find meat-eating cool. By contrast, only 6% say vegetarian diets are cool, dropping to just 2% for wholly plant-based eating.

    The study was published in the Current Developments in Nutrition journal, and supported by Austria’s education, science and research ministry. “The findings indicate that following a vegan diet during childhood and adolescence is associated with more advantageous basic health behavioural choices,” the authors write.

    Vegan teens are more active, but are plant-based diets cool?

    vegan teenagers
    Courtesy: SDI Productions/Getty Images

    According to the study, around 10% of Europeans eat a meat-free diet, with Austria leading the way. Additionally, more than half of its citizens (51%) have been reducing their meat intake. Among teens however, meat remains popular: most participants (93%) in the study followed an omnivore diet, while 5.5% were vegetarian and 1.5% vegan.

    The mean age of respondents was 15, and their dietary motivations varied vastly. Omnivores, for example, care most about health (34%) and taste (21%), and are least concerned with environmental protection (1%) and animal welfare (2%).

    Animal welfare is the largest dietary driver for vegetarians (29%), followed by health (27%) and taste (12%). Vegans surprisingly think little about the climate in their food choices (3%), instead placing an emphasis on health (35%) and the impact of diet on sports performance (20%)

    That aligns with the finding that vegan teens are the most active during leisure time, and most consistently active across the week. “An underlying difference in nutrition and the consequential metabolism between the vegan pupils and the other diet types was likely the primary factor contributing to greater and more consistent physical activity levels,” the authors explain.

    Across all the respondents, engaging in physical activity, sports and exercise is most commonly considered cool (26%). At the same time, 6% of Austrian teenagers think alcohol is cool, and 1% say the same for smoking.

    Among vegetarians, only a quarter of respondents find their own diets cool, which drops to 16% for vegans and 15% for meat-eaters. Teens in middle school were more likely to view meat-eating in this light (17%) versus high-schoolers (13%).

    Moreover, young women are more likely to follow meat-free diets and to find vegan and vegetarian eating cool, compared to boys. On the contrary, 19% of young men reported meat-eating as cool, compared to 11% of the women surveyed.

    The researchers ascribe this to parental habits and “the sociocultural appropriation of meat-centred diets, especially among the male archetype of masculinity”. Most boys in the study live in rural areas, and so have formed the basis for their nutritional decision-making on the surrounding cultural and political factors, instead of scientific evidence of healthy and long-term sustainable nutrition.

    Globally, the narrative around meat and masculinity has become lounder in recent months thanks to ‘manosphere’ influencers like Joe Rogan, Andrew Tate, and Jordan Peterson. Men who eat plant-rich diets have been labelled ‘soy boys’ by figures like US Vice-President JD Vance; in the UK, a quarter of men aren’t open to trying plant-based meat.

    Subsidies, social media and school nutrition in focus

    teenage diet research
    Courtesy: Current Developments in Nutrition

    The study also analysed the dietary habits of teenagers following different eating patterns. Over eight in 10 vegans eat fruits daily, compared to 72% of vegetarians and just 65% of omnivores. When it comes to vegetables, vegetarians take the lead with 84%, followed closely by vegans (80%) – here, too, meat-eaters showcase a big gap at 62%.

    Meat-eating boys display the lowest fruit and vegetable consumption, and vegan girls the highest. “This finding is especially relevant considering the connection of poor dietary habits with premature mortality, where it has been previously identified that diets low in fruits and vegetables were the cause of 20% compared with 42% of all deaths on a global compared with European level, respectively,” the study notes.

    Meanwhile, vegetarians drink more water than the rest, while vegans drink more tea and energy drinks and omnivore sconsume the highest amount of syrup and fruit juice.

    One reason why the study suggests meat consumption remains popular in Austria is the “strong foundation” of meat- and dairy-focused ads across the country, as well as the fact that rural communities are directly in contact with livestock farming as a means of financial dependence. Conversely, social media, informative documentaries, and peer support could explain why vegans are far more interested in health.

    The authors also point to the subsidies afforded to the animal agriculture sector in the EU, with over 80% of subsidies under its Common Agriculture Policy going to this sector, despite its outsized impact on the environment.

    The focus on vegan eating comes as Austria’s latest dietary guidelines advise a shift away from meat and dairy in favour of plant proteins, with the government designing a separate nutrition pyramid for vegetarians for the first time. This was followed by an update to the recommendations for school cafeterias, with the minimum criteria including vegan bread and pastries and at least one plant-based meal.

    The researchers say the study supports a dual healthy eating and active living (HEAL) approach as the minimum recommendation to kickstart health-promoting behaviours at school.

    “The present findings offer deeper insight into the relationship between diet type and basic health behaviour, which may contribute to improving the basic connection of HEAL and the related areas of lifestyle medicine (quality sleep, stress management, avoidance of substances, and better relationships) in secondary school settings in Austria,” they said.

    The post Gen Alpha Teens: Health is Primary Diet Driver, While Young Men Say ‘Meat is Cool’ appeared first on Green Queen.

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  • Vegatarian-ish? This Study Finally Defines the Flexitarian Diet

    flexitarian definition
    4 Mins Read

    In a new study, scientists analysed dozens of papers to define a flexitarian diet and found that its alignment with national dietary guidelines differs greatly.

    ‘Flexitarian’ is among the more loosely characterised dietary terms – until now.

    Researchers from the US synthesised 62 studies to come up with a definition for flexitarianism, which involves eating meat, dairy, eggs or seafood at least once a month, but less than once every week.

    The study, published in the Nutrients journal, describes how flexitarianism emerged in the early 2000s, before entering the mainstream with Dawn Jackson Blatner’s 2010 book, The Flexitarian Diet (which termed it as a “mostly vegetarian” eating pattern).

    “Despite the interest in plant-based eating that still includes some animal-source foods, relatively little research has been dedicated to defining flexitarian dietary patterns, especially patterns that include lower amounts of animal-sourced foods but still meet nutrient needs for average consumers,” the researchers argue.

    Meatless Mondays don’t fit flexitarian definition

    what is flexitarian
    Courtesy: Plant Futures Collective

    The review outlines how flexitarian diets have been seen as a potential strategy to help consumers reduce their consumption of animal products, without eliminating them entirely. That being said, this eating pattern can apply to a variety of intakes, and so is primarily self-defined.

    This is why, in nutrition science studies, there are several other terms used to define flexitarianism, including ‘semi-vegetarian’, ‘flexible vegetarian’, ‘meat reducers’, and ‘reducetarian’.

    Blatner described it as a “casual vegetarian” diet with mostly plant-based food and the flexibility to add meat occasionally. She identified three levels of adherence: beginner flexitarians have two meatless days a week, advanced followers limit meat intake to three or four days, and experts avoid it on five out of seven days.

    Under the ‘more than once a month, less than once a week’ definition set by this study, choosing to reduce meat on one day of the week – as is the case with Meatless Mondays – doesn’t fit the flexitarian bill. Still, at least for Americans, it could help decrease the amount of meat they eat.

    The researchers assessed national dietary recommendations from 42 countries and found that none explicitly name a flexitarian diet. However, many guidelines support such a pattern, particularly by advising people to cut back on red meat.

    This is also a suggestion in the guidelines drafted by scientists in the US, which are now being reviewed by the Department of Agriculture ahead of publication at the end of the year. Notably, the lead author of this study, Julie Hess, works as a research nutritionist at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service.

    Do flexitarian diets meet national guidelines?

    plant based dietary guidelines
    Graphic by Green Queen

    The closest reference to a flexitarian diet in national guidelines comes from Sri Lanka, which mentions a ‘semi-vegetarian’ diet that involves mainly plant-based eating with occasional consumption of animal products in small amounts. This indicates that “there may be broader acceptance of that term in the scientific literature than ‘flexitarian’”, the authors write.

    Several other dietary recommendations mention vegetarianism or meat reduction. Spain suggests limiting meat to three servings a week, while Germany emphasises eating 75% plant-based. Sri Lanka itself advises that two-thirds of protein consumption should come from plants.

    Other countries have indicated the possibility of following flexitarian diets, including Australia, the Netherlands, the UK, Japan, and India. Saudi Arabia’s guidelines recommend daily dairy consumption though no specific intake for eggs, noting that meat and substitutes (including beans and peanut butter) should be eaten daily – this makes flexitarianism feasible, even if it isn’t explicitly recommended.

    On the flip side, cutting back on animal products doesn’t align with other national guidelines. Albania advises daily consumption of meat or fish, eggs or cheese, and three portions of other dairy, and Bangladesh and Ethiopia recommend eating dairy, meat, seafood and eggs every day.

    In fact, few countries have guidelines that would enable flexitarian diets with limited dairy intake. However, the definition of dairy groups does include plant-based alternatives in some nations. Australia and Oman recommend fortified non-dairy milks, while New Zealand and the Nordic countries list these as nutritional equivalents to dairy. The UK lists unsweetened and fortified soy milk as an option, and the US has both fortified soy milk and soy yoghurt in its dairy group.

    “Limiting intake of red meat, poultry, and sometimes eggs to a certain number of servings per week was a much more frequent recommendation in the sets of dietary guidance analysed,” the researchers found. “Reducing intake of one or both foods may be a more acceptable entry to flexitarian dietary patterns than reducing dairy foods.”

    The study comes as more and more countries recommend limiting meat and dairy in favour of plant-based food, including Switzerland, Finland, Portugal, Austria, Norway, and the US.

    The post Vegatarian-ish? This Study Finally Defines the Flexitarian Diet appeared first on Green Queen.

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  • Beyond & Oatly Among Plant-Based Exhibitors at Inaugural Anuga Alternatives Show

    anuga alternatives
    3 Mins Read

    Anuga, one of the world’s largest food and drink trade shows, is launching an event exclusively for alternative proteins. It’s already lured nearly 100 exhibitors, including industry giants Beyond and Oatly.

    Two months ahead of its first trade show dedicated to alternative proteins, Anuga is attracting strong interest from companies across the world.

    Anuga Alternatives, first announced last summer, will take place in Cologne from October 4-8, and aims to support the more than 1,400 companies working with plant-based, fermentation-derived and cell-cultivated proteins globally.

    The inaugural event ties in with Anuga’s top theme, Sustainable Growth, focusing on ensuring the global supply of protein in a health-forward and technologically feasible manner. So far, 90 exhibitors from across the world have confirmed their participation, including from the Netherlands, Denmark, Slovenia, Turkey and Luxembourg.

    Who will exhibit at Anuga Alternatives?

    anuga vegan
    Courtesy: Anuga

    Two of the headline exhibitors are also among the only publicly traded plant-based alternative companies. Fresh off a rebrand that scraps ‘Meat’ from its name to spotlight traditional plant proteins, Beyond will descend onto the floor of exhibitors at Anuga Alternatives.

    Fellow industry giant Oatly, meanwhile, has promised to debut a product the show describes as a “special highlight”.

    Local tofu makers will showcase their innovations at the show aswell, led by The New Originals Company (behind the Omami brand of tofu) and Tofutown (now owned by the UK’s Vegan Food Group).

    Meanwhile, Pacifico Biolabs will present Viando Chicken, a mycelium-based alternative that the company claims offers the same sensory, nutritional and functional attributes as conventional chicken. Another meat analogue comes from SunflowerFamily, which will introduce a sunflower protein mince.

    Danish seaweed specialist Jens Møller Products will present its algae-based vegan caviar under the Cavi-Art label, and plant-based shrimps called Zhrimps.

    In addition to meat and seafood alternatives, attendees at Anuga Alternatives will be able to try Neggst Foods’s plant-based egg patty, which is made from fava bean and pea protein.

    Anuga bets on ‘firmly established’ alternative protein market

    anuga plant based
    Courtesy: Anuga

    The premiere of Anuga Alternatives comes a year after Anuga added an alternative protein category to its main show. This year, over 1,300 exhibitors are presenting plant-based product solutions across the 10 trade events it hosts, which it said was a “clear indication” of how this sector is well-entrenched in the food industry.

    “Alternative proteins are certainly no longer a future theme – they are firmly established on the market. Numerous market analyses confirm this development,” Anuga said in a press release.

    It cited research by Innova Market Insights, which points to a 10% annual growth in the number of new microbial protein products. Yeast-derived proteins are experiencing a particularly dynamic rise (+60%), as are animal-free whey proteins (+24%), which are increasingly being incorporated into dairy and bakery goods.

    Algae-based product launches are also up by 17%, with kelp and red algae standing out. In fact, algae joins cultivated proteins, nuts, oats and soy in the list of proteins garnering increased global interest from consumers.

    Anuga Alternatives will be complemented by a specialised programme on the show’s Horizon Stage, which bundles future themes of the food industry in keynotes, panels and interactive formats. It will demonstrate how food, technology and sustainability can be rethought, and examine the current developments in the areas of research and technology of alternative proteins.

    “The market for alternative proteins is not only being pushed by the demand of the consumers, but equally by trailblazing, technological innovations. The progress made in processing plant-based sources of protein and finding new sources of protein [is]an of central importance here,” Anuga director Jan Philipp Hartmann said after the show’s announcement last year.

    It isn’t the only food and beverage event spotlighting alternative proteins this year. Informa Markets’ trade show, Fi India, will host producers of plant proteins, soy products, functional ingredients, and more in Greater Noida next month.

    The post Beyond & Oatly Among Plant-Based Exhibitors at Inaugural Anuga Alternatives Show appeared first on Green Queen.

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  • Better Nature Raises $1.5M to Fight Chicken with Tempeh After ‘Best-Ever’ Quarter

    better nature funding
    5 Mins Read

    As it aims to displace chicken, UK tempeh brand Better Nature has secured £1.1M ($1.5M) on the back of its best quarter to date.

    In the era of whole-food plant-based eating and fibremaxxing with 30 plants a week, British tempeh maker Better Nature is making some major strides.

    After recording a 128% increase in sales in Q2, its best quarter since its 2020 market debut, the startup has raised £1.1M ($1.5M) to supercharge its mission of displacing the UK’s $4.3B chicken market.

    The capital came primarily from angel investors, 70% of whom were existing shareholders. It will enable the firm to accelerate its sales and marketing initiatives, double down on innovation, and widen the appeal of its tempeh products as high-protein, gut-friendly options.

    “We’re now the UK’s number one tempeh brand by volume, with 38.1% market share, leading the category’s impressive 41% growth,” said co-CEO Elin Roberts, who co-founded the startup with Fabio Rinaldo, Elin Roberts, Chris Kong and Driando Ahnan-Winarno in 2018.

    “Our latest fundraising round is a brilliant boost for the business at a point when the tempeh category is rapidly gaining momentum, and we are seeing strong brand growth,” she added.

    The funding amount is relatively small, but is reflective of the current investment landscape for alternative proteins. Year-on-year investment in the sector fell by 49% in the first half of 2025. And when excluding Beyond‘s $100M debt financing deal, plant-based companies only received $27M in Q2, half of the total in the previous quarter.

    Better Nature to launch tempeh in two more markets

    better nature tempeh
    Courtesy: Better Nature

    Tempeh, an ancient fermented soybean product native to Indonesia, has been making its way into Western palates recently. Better Nature’s portfolio comprises five SKUs, including a smoky tempeh block and BBQ-marinated pieces, which are listed nationally at various retailers in the UK, and in over 1,300 stores in Germany.

    The company is banking on the anti-UPF sentiments surrounding plant-based meat alternatives, which have hurt sales and stalled the industry’s momentum, positioning its tempeh as a clean-label protein that outperforms chicken.

    “People are less focused on vegan food vs non-vegan food. Instead, they’re looking for food that’s good for them, the planet and animals vs food that’s not,” Roberts told Green Queen in January. “We don’t want to perfectly replicate chicken. That would be impossible to do without the ingredients and processes that consumers are turning away from.”

    She added: “However, we know two things. First, chicken is the most widely eaten meat in the UK and second most widely eaten in the world. Second, tempeh – through its plain flavour, firm texture, absorption of flavours and high protein content – is an excellent swap for chicken in almost any dish, also offering consumers extra fibre, gut health benefits and plant points (as well as a shelf life that’s seven times longer). That’s why we call it supercharged protein, and chicken so-so protein.”

    It’s this approach that made Better Nature the second fastest-growing meat-free brand in the UK last year, with sales expanding by 457% (albeit from a small base). This year, it revamped its recipe to increase the protein content from 19g per 100g serving to 22g, the equivalent of three eggs or two-thirds of a chicken breast.

    Its original tempeh is now the best-selling tempeh SKU in Tesco, while it is the sole tempeh brand in Asda, with full estate distribution, Roberts noted.

    “Internationally, we’re also making waves – in Germany, our revenues skyrocketed [by] 330% year-on-year in Q2 2025, making us the leading tempeh brand in the market,” she added. “We’ve expanded into Austria, and we’re gearing up for launches in two more international markets later this year.”

    ‘Perfectly poised’ to capture UK health trends

    better nature revenue
    Courtesy: Better Nature

    It has been a curious time for plant-based brands in the UK. Sales of meat analogues fell by nearly 10% in 2024, while household penetration dropped by four percentage points (reaching 31.5%).

    But the volume of tofu sold was 10% higher in January 2025 than 12 months prior, possibly due to its affordability and tempeh and seitan also enjoyed an 85% hike. In the ensuing months, products like Oh So Wholesome’s Veg’chop and This’s Super Superfood have rolled out in a bid to rival both meat analogues and tofu.

    Research shows that a third of Brits want to cut back on meat and dairy, as dissatisfactions with cost, health and taste take hold. On the flip side, 38% want to increase their intake of plant-based foods, and one in six consumers have tried tofu, tempeh or seitan in the previous 12 months.

    The country is being urged to make beans more appealing to consumers, and brands like Bold Bean Co have enjoyed a 306% year-over-year growth. Tofu maker The Tofoo Co, meanwhile, enjoyed its best year yet, with sales up by nearly 20% in 2024. The shift is driven by the ‘plant points‘ movement, which encourages people to eat 30 different plants every week for better gut health.

    “As a brand, we’re perfectly poised to capture the huge trends in health right now: high-protein, gut-friendly, natural, fibre-rich and plant-based,” said Roberts, who was named on Forbes‘s 30 Under 30 this year alongside co-CEO Kong. “With the new funding, we will continue to drive mainstream brand growth, going beyond the plant-based aisle to tap into the growing market for natural, gut-friendly proteins.”

    In May, Better Nature appointed former Dr Oetker and Bel Group account manager Helen Atkinson as its new head of sales. And now, it’s launching its largest marketing campaign to date. The aim is to challenge “the mindless consumption of chicken” to help health-conscious consumers swap poultry for tempeh.

    “With our Indonesian roots and our expertise in tempeh at the heart of the brand through my brilliant co-founder Ando, we are the go-to experts on tempeh and perfectly placed to get the world eating what we believe to be the healthiest protein on the planet,” said Roberts.

    The post Better Nature Raises $1.5M to Fight Chicken with Tempeh After ‘Best-Ever’ Quarter appeared first on Green Queen.

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  • In Rare Break from Plant-Based Attacks, France Pumps €12M Towards ‘Protein Sovereignty’

    4 Mins Read

    The French government has invested in 10 projects to expand domestic plant protein production, in direct contrast with its efforts to ban plant-based meat labels and soy products in schools.

    Are plant proteins finally getting a break in France?

    The country’s agriculture and food sovereignty ministry has announced 10 winners of its Territorial Legume Sector Projects, pumping in €11.7M for efforts to ramp up local plant protein production.

    The call was first launched in June 2024, as part of the ministry’s National Strategy for Plant Proteins, which aims to reduce reliance on imported plant proteins and develop a range of local products.

    The ‘protein sovereignty’ initiative is backed by the funds for sovereignty and ecological planning transitions, and supports projects committed to the development of domestic plant proteins. The winners, the ministry said, can benefit from dedicated support, particularly for downstream investments and funding needed for the production of prototypes and project engineering.

    Which projects won France’s plant protein grants?

    soy isoflavones
    Courtesy: Ika Rahma

    Two of the winning projects are directly aiming to produce food for human consumption. The DSLFB project, led by Berry Graines, aims to boost the added-value legume sector, particularly through investments in packaging tools and strengthening traceability and quality. Texipro, meanwhile, is leading an eponymous effort to create an industrial unit for the primary processing of textured vegetable proteins using crops like soybeans.

    The Innov’Légumineuses project, led by Bioalva, highlights an innovative process for fermenting locally produced seaweed and legumes, enabling scale-up to an agrifood unit.

    Vivescia, a cooperative group of over 10,000 farmers, is spearheading the AGIL project, aimed at developing seed sorting and packaging, while Axereal’s CultivUp project aims to boost a processing tool offering new outlets for legume crops like peas and broad beans.

    The ColeGra’m initiative looks to create a profitable local sector for the production and marketing of legumes, and is led directly by stakeholders in the upstream agriculture sector.

    Another project, titled Finovaleg, aims to enhance seed sorting capacity and fund R&D activities for the industry, and Déshyouest (led by the cooperative of the same name) is focused on improving the group’s “carbon-free alfalfa dehydration tool”.

    Then there’s the TP2030 project, which looks to increase post-harvest processing and storage capacities to help French lentils regain market share. And the Leg4All project, led by Terres Univia, will promote best practices to increase the uptake of legumes in menus.

    “Currently, more than one million hectares are planted with plant-protein-rich crops. One of the ministry’s objectives is to reach 10% of France’s usable agricultural area by 2030,” said Annie Genevard, the agriculture and food sovereignty minister. “These projects will accelerate our progress in food sovereignty and also contribute to meeting our environmental transition challenges.”

    Investment contrasts with France’s continued attacks on plant-based food

    france plant based meat
    Courtesy: Vanessa Loring/Pexels/Green Queen

    France’s legume focus is in stark contrast with its moves to inhibit the alternative proteins sector over the last few years. It has long been a proponent of a ban on the use of meaty terms on plant-based product packaging.

    It has tried to impose a labelling ban twice since 2023, with the most recent attempt being rejected by both the national Conseil d’État and the European Court of Justice. But earlier this month, French MEP Celina Imart kickstarted another such attempt at the EU level, proposing a ban to the European Parliament, which will vote on the measure after the summer.

    That was followed swiftly by a similar proposal from the EU Commission last week, days after Genevard targeted the term ‘veggie steak’ in a debate on proteins at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council.

    And despite the investment in domestic plant proteins, France’s food safety agency has recommended a ban on soy-based products in mass catering environments like schools, corporate cafeterias, and daycare facilities. The move was based on its assessment of health risks linked to the consumption of foods rich in isoflavones, which have long been debunked by scientists.

    Consumer perception runs contrary to these anti-alternative-protein measures. In France, sales of plant-based food grew by 9% in 2024 to reach €537M, making it the third-largest market for these products in Europe. Chilled meat alternatives recorded a 15.5% growth. At the same time, research suggests that meat intake has fallen over the last two decades.

    That said, the ‘protein sovereignty’ project aligns with the 35% of French residents who rate legumes and pulses among the richest sources of protein, and the two-thirds who eat foods like beans, grains, lentils and wheat weekly. For a third of these consumers, nutritional benefits are the major driver behind the increase in intake – these 10 projects will hope to build on that.

    The post In Rare Break from Plant-Based Attacks, France Pumps €12M Towards ‘Protein Sovereignty’ appeared first on Green Queen.

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  • US Senators Ask FDA to Ban Dairy-Like Terms on Plant-Based Product Labels

    dairy pride act
    4 Mins Read

    Backed by the milk industry, a bipartisan group of US senators has reintroduced the Dairy Pride Act, asking the FDA to crack down on “misleading” plant-based labels.

    As Democrats and Republicans join forces to make plant-based milk available in school lunches for children with dietary restrictions, another bipartisan bill aims to crack down on how these products are labelled.

    Four senators have revived the Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, milk, and cheese to Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday (Dairy Pride) Act. They’re asking the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban the use of ‘milk’, ‘cheese’, ‘yoghurt’ and other such terms on non-dairy alternatives.

    Currently, the FDA’s guidance allows plant-based milk brands to use ‘milk’ on their product labels. As for vegan dairy products, it recommends placing an emphasis on the plant-based sources that form their base. For example, instead of ‘plant-based’ or ‘dairy-free’, the FDA’s guidelines (which are not legally enforceable) suggest descriptions like ‘soy-based Cheddar cheese’.

    fda plant based labeling
    Courtesy: FDA

    Do plant-based milk labels hurt farmers and confuse consumers?

    The bill is a replica of the Dairy Pride Act of 2023-24, which was brought forward by Senators Peter Welch, Tammy Baldwin (both Democrats), Jim Risch and Susan Collins (both Republicans). This is the same group that has introduced the latest bill.

    They argue that food labels shouldn’t be allowed to use dairy-related terms if they don’t meet the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s definition of dairy products, which includes only those derived from the “lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more hooved mammals”.

    “For far too long, imitation dairy products made from plants and nuts have ridden the coattails of our dairy farmers and gotten away with using dairy’s good name without meeting those standards,” said Baldwin.

    If the bill is voted into law, it would give the FDA 90 days to come up with draft guidance to enforce the change for plant-based dairy labels, and 180 days to issue final guidance. Further, the agency would need to report to Congress two years after enactment to hold itself accountable for the enforcement of the law.

    plant based milk labeling
    Courtesy: Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

    While the senators argue that these products hurt farmers and cause consumer confusion, they’re far from unbiased. The bill is backed by a range of dairy and livestock associations, including the National Milk Producers Federation, American Farm Bureau Federation, Midwest Dairy Coalition, and FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative, among others.

    John Umhoefer, executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, argued: “The FDA’s disappointing draft guidance, allowing imitation products to co-opt dairy’s reputation for their own sales benefit, will result in more consumer confusion.”

    However, research has shown that the nutritional value of plant-based milks in the US is, on average, almost on par with their conventional counterparts.

    As for the consumer angle, a study from 2018 found that three-quarters of Americans were not confused about the nature of non-dairy milks and the fact that they don’t contain cow’s milk. That was seven years ago, and milk alternatives have grown in popularity since then. Two in five households purchased these products last year, and 76% went back for more.

    The paradox facing plant-based milk in US legislation

    For the senators behind the move, these labels still need a rethink. “This bill will give our farmers much-needed support and correct the FDA’s misguided efforts to allow non-dairy products to use dairy names, giving dairy farmers the protections they need to thrive,” said Welch.

    In addition, he has introduced the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which seeks to overturn an Obama-era reform that prohibited full-fat and 2% milk from being part of the school lunch programme and has support across the aisle.

    One of its co-sponsors is Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, who simultaneously introduced the aforementioned Freedom in School Cafeterias and Lunches (FISCAL) Act to bring non-dairy milk to school lunches.

    fda plant based milk
    Graphic by Green Queen

    The FISCAL Act is a companion measure of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, and Fetterman is also a co-sponsor of this Dairy Pride bill. It highlights the paradox around non-dairy milks in the US: the same people who want children to have access to plant-based milk want to put restrictions on the companies that produce it.

    The Dairy Pride Act comes just weeks after the American Butter Institute filed a complaint to the US Food and Drug Administration against vegan butter maker Country Crock’s use of the phrase ‘Dairy-Free Salted/Unsalted Butter’ on its Homestyle lineup.

    And last month, politicians in the EU – where plant-based products aren’t allowed to use dairy-like terms – renewed a push to restrict the use of meaty terms on vegan alternative labels too, a sign that this effort isn’t dying down anywhere.

    The post US Senators Ask FDA to Ban Dairy-Like Terms on Plant-Based Product Labels appeared first on Green Queen.

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  • Alternative Protein Funding Down by 50% in the First Half of 2025

    beyond meat mycelium steak
    5 Mins Read

    Investment in plant-based, fermentation-derived and cultivated proteins declined by half in the first six months of 2025, outlining continued headwinds for the sector.

    Alternative proteins haven’t had the same pull with investors as they did at the turn of the decade, and the consistent downturn in funding has reached a new low in 2025.

    In the first six months of this year, funding for plant-based, fermentation-derived and cultivated proteins fell by 49% compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Good Food Institute’s (GFI) analysis of data from Net Zero Insights.

    This is after alternative protein companies raised just $129.5M in Q2, a 45% decline from the previous quarter. It took total funding for the first half of 2025 to $364M.

    alternative protein investment
    Courtesy: GFI

    Unlike recent quarters, where fermentation companies have gone the opposite way of the otherwise declining trend, they only raised $2.6M in Q2 (down from $146M in Q1). And while there were three investments announced for cultivated meat, the amount of each deal remained undisclosed.

    Plant-based food companies received $127M in the April to June period. However, a large chunk of that was thanks to Beyond‘s $100M debt financing deal. Without this, the plant-based category would have received just half of its Q1 total in this period.

    AI a threat and an opportunity for alternative protein funding

    alternative protein investment
    Graphic by Green Queen

    For context, investment in the future food sector has been slowing for a few years now. After attracting nearly $7B in 2021, there has been a constant drop, to $3.2B in 2022, $1.5B in 2023, and $1.1B in 2024.

    The trend was already worsening in Q1 2025, when alternative protein investments declined by 28% year-on-year. But the subsequent performance in Q2 has left more questions for the sector for the rest of the year.

    VCs, in general, are a conscious class right now. It’s not just this sector that has seen a downward trend in funding, agrifood tech (a 37% year-on-year decline), biotech (-35%) and climate tech (-19%) have all suffered similarly.

    With alternative proteins, the hesitance in investing stems from a range of factors, including geopolitical uncertainties, President Donald Trump’s tariff war, Robert F Kennedy Jr’s MAHA policies, the constant attacks on ultra-processed food, legislative bans on cultivated meat, and a resurgence of animal proteins amid continued sales declines for plant-based proteins in several markets.

    “Recent investment levels in alternative proteins reflect a market-wide slowdown in food and climate tech funding, driven in part by the reallocation of investor capital toward artificial intelligence,” Daniel Gertner, GFI’s lead economic and industry analyst, told Green Queen.

    ai lab grown meat
    Courtesy: Cyril Marcilhacy

    “These conditions present headwinds for alternative protein startups seeking to raise capital. Topline investment totals fluctuate from quarter to quarter, but the broader trend points to a more cautious capital environment in the near term,” he added.

    Like in 2024, there’s one area that has dominated the share of investment and presented additional headwinds for food tech: artificial intelligence. These companies received 53% of all venture capital flows in the first half of this year.

    That said, the tech is driving innovations within the alternative protein industry. Companies and researchers are using it to discover ingredients, optimise processes and develop better products.

    So for alternative proteins to keep investor interest piqued, a focus on using AI for practical and industrial applications may be the best way forward for now.

    De-risking events could usher in more renewed investor interest

    daily harvest chobani
    Courtesy: Chobani

    Despite the doom and gloom, there were some signs of progress, according to GFI. At least five M&A deals took place in Q2, while partnership activity remained robust. Businesses have been looking to consolidate or collaborate to share costs, strengthen distribution networks, and accelerate regulatory pathways.

    Speaking of which, it has been a milestone year for cultivated meat and seafood regulation. In Q2, US startups Mission Barns and Wildtype received the green light from the FDA, with the latter’s salmon going on sale since it doesn’t require USDA approval. Sydney startup Vow, meanwhile, gained final authorisation in Australia and New Zealand, and began selling its cultured quail in the former’s restaurants.

    This month, Mission Barns obtained USDA approval, clearing the way for market entry, while Israel’s Believer Meats got the FDA nod for its cultivated chicken. And Friends & Family Pet Food Company secured clearance to sell cultivated chicken for cats and dogs in Singapore.

    lab grown meat approved
    Graphic by Green Queen

    Public investment is also on the rise. The EU announced €350M in funding to scale up biomanufacturing, which could advance the fermentation sector and support the development of sustainable food ingredients. That said, a recent report showed that the fermentation industry needs $500B to meet its true potential.

    According to GFI, companies would need to deliver commercialised technologies and successful exits to kickstart a sustained turnaround in funding. But the increase in strategic deals and regulatory wins could be early signs of a resurgence in investment.

    “Several de-risking developments have occurred in recent months, including regulatory approvals for multiple cultivated meat companies and growing momentum in mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships,” Gertner said.

    “While still early, these developments may help lay the groundwork for a more favourable investment climate and renewed investor interest in the months ahead.”

    The post Alternative Protein Funding Down by 50% in the First Half of 2025 appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Beyond Says It’s Dropping ‘Meat’ From Its Name to Target America’s Protein Craze

    beyond meat rebrand
    5 Mins Read

    Ahead of its latest product launch, Beyond Meat is dropping ‘Meat’ from its name to focus on the power of traditional plants amid falling sales and rising demand for protein.

    Beyond Meat is going beyond meat – quite literally.

    The Californian pioneer of plant-based meat says it’s ditching ‘Meat’ from its name to simply be ‘Beyond’ as it enters a new era with products centred on celebrating whole plants rather than imitating animal protein.

    The move, as first reported by Fast Company in an interview with CEO Ethan Brown, comes amid falling sales for the industry giant. By Brown’s own admission, Beyond had a “disappointing” first quarter of 2025, with year-on-year sales down by 9%. Longer-term, the company’s market value has shrunk by around 95% since its 2019 IPO.

    There are several factors behind this decline. If you ask Beyond, the main culprits are “weak category demand” and “intense misinformation”. “While Beyond Meat can always and will always seek to improve our products, we believe the central issue impeding our return to sustained growth is perception. Or more accurately, misperception,” Brown said in the company’s latest earnings call.

    As protein enters virtually every food category, Beyond is pivoting its business model. For years, it has been known for its signature burger and other meat analogues – now, though, it’s going all-in on traditional plant proteins.

    Beyond CEO hints at post-workout products and lentil sausages

    beyond sausage
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    Since 2024, Beyond has been on a product launch spree. It first reformulated its beef platform with a new recipe, before revamping its beef crumbles and its sausage portfolio. This year, it has rolled out chicken pieces, a reimagined version of its first-ever product, as well as a mycelium steak.

    It turned heads in 2024 when it introduced its Sun Sausage lineup. They’re made from a base of yellow peas, brown rice, red lentils and faba beans, and represented the company’s first foray beyond meat alternatives.

    It seems the move wasn’t a one-off. As plant-based meat continues to struggle – US retail sales fell by 7% in 2024 – a rethink has become necessary. While Beyond’s shift may seem radical, it plays into consumer trends in the US.

    Its newest product is a testament to that. Called Beyond Ground and due to be launched in August, the mince-like protein only has four ingredients: fava beans, potato starch, water, and psyllium husk. Each serving contains 140 calories, 4g of fibre, 1.5g of fat, and 27g of protein (that’s higher than beef). Plus, it has zero cholesterol, saturated fat, or added oils.

    “It’s not trying to be beef, pork, or poultry. It’s simply a very high protein, centre-of-the-plate product that can be used in any dishes you’d use any ground meat in,” Brown told Inc. Magazine in June.

    beyond meat documentary
    Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown in Planting Change | Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    This is just the start, however. In his interview with Fast Company, he said: “If you’re the best in the world at making plant proteins, why confine yourself to the centre of the plate?”

    He elaborated: “Instead of thinking about a simple replacement for animal protein, what if you just thought about your daily protein consumption, and I started to try to replace as much of that as I can with plant protein, any form that I could?”

    So what could future Beyond innovations look like? Brown hinted at everything from a centre-aisle offering with 30g of protein and zero fat to post-workout products inspired by Roman gladiators. The company’s new mission seems to “serve an occasion” instead of trying to mimic an animal. “You’ll see us come out with things like, maybe, lentil sausage,” said Brown. “Or chickpea hot dogs.”

    Beyond targets America’s protein obsession in new era for plant-based

    There has been no offical announcement about the rebrand from Beyond Meat, and Green Queen has reached out for confirmation.

    But for the company whose vegan chicken got the thumbs-up from Mark Bittman, and scored famous investors like Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jessica Chastain, to resort to the veggie burger category feels like a gamble.

    Is Beyond turning back the clock and undoing all the work it has done over the past decade-and-a-half? Is it giving in to the meat lobby it has very publicly fought for years? Or is it being a shrewd business that has identified the needs of today’s consumers, and its place in the renewed landscape?

    us protein consumption
    Courtesy: Bain & Company

    The bottom line is: protein is going nowhere. In December, 85% of Americans said they wanted to consume more protein in 2025. And a more recent survey by Bain has found that a net 44% of consumers want to eat more protein (a 10-point rise from last year).

    Despite the furore around ultra-processed foods, few Americans (15%) want to eat more unprocessed products now than they did in early 2023 (20%). So products like Beyond Ground, which process climate- and health-supporting whole foods like fava beans into a blank protein canvas, are destined to succeed – at least in theory.

    “There’s a longing for animal protein because we associate it with simpler times,” said Brown. “But how it’s being delivered to us is not [simple].”

    All that said, Beyond’s meat portfolio isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. This month, it introduced another first for its portfolio, a whole-cut steak fillet made from mycelium. It will hope the product helps turn its fortunes around.

    beyond mycelium steak
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    Brown blamed Big Meat and Big Pharma for the vast amount of misinformation surrounding alternative proteins, which has hurt sales, scared off investors, and forced many startups to shut. VCs also share part of the responsibility, with funding for the sector decreasing by 27% in 2024.

    The Beyond CEO said he was grateful for the large investment sums his company has attracted – it secured a $100M debt financing deal this year – ultimately, however, the money “diverted consumers’ focus” from the fact that its vegan meat “is closer to the field than the factory-farmed ingredients they’re used to eating”.

    So maybe the changing landscape has forced Beyond’s hand. It isn’t the only one. Its chief rival, Impossible Foods, recently floated the idea of a foray into blended meat.

    By ditching the ‘meat’, is Beyond ushering in a new dawn for plant-based?

    The post Beyond Says It’s Dropping ‘Meat’ From Its Name to Target America’s Protein Craze appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Future Food Quick Bites: Alpro Kids, 3D-Printed Shawarma & Vegan Meat Labels

    alpro kids milk
    4 Mins Read

    Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Alpro Kids’ video-game-style campaign, Mighty Drinks’ rescue deal, and South Africa’s plant-based meat labelling law.

    New products and launches

    To market its new Alpro Kids range of plant-based dairy products in the UK, Danone has teamed up with Appetite Creative to launch an immersive connected packaging experience. It can be accessed through QR codes and embodies a classic adventure video game style, complete with leaderboards and prize winners.

    alpro kids
    Courtesy: Appetite Creative

    Swedish pea milk producer Sproud has gained a listing at 193 Sainsbury’s stores in the UK. The retailer will stock its barista, barista zero, and unsweetened products from August 10.

    And Israeli 3D-printed meat pioneer Redefine Meat has introduced a new spicy shawarma SKU with 22g of protein and 4g of fibre per serving. It’s available on Ocado in the UK at £4 per 200g pack.

    Company and finance updates

    Fellow Israeli 3D-printed protein maker Steakholder Foods has obtained a positive Written Opinion from the International Searching Authority (ISA) for an international patent application for its vegan fish printer.

    mighty drinks
    Courtesy: Mighty Drinks

    British non-dairy milk firm Mighty Drinks has been rescued from administration by plant protein supplier The Mighty Kitchen, which has bought its IP and some stock.

    Dutch food tech firm Muchgroup has received €375,000 in funding to scale up production of its shiitake-mushroom-based meat alternatives for the foodservice sector.

    muchgroup
    Courtesy: Muchgroup

    Indian precision-fermented protein startup Genexis Biotech has raised ₹40M ($460,000) in seed funding to expand its bioreactor capacity, develop downstream processing infrastructure, and launch a suite of smart proteins and recombinant enzymes.

    Vegan business community Vegpreneur and e-commerce platform Shopline have launched the Vegpreneur DTC Accelerator to help better-for-you plant-based brands scale up faster and more profitably.

    abunda mycoprotein
    Courtesy: Enough

    Scottish-Dutch mycoprotein startup Enough has appointed former Henkel executive Jan Agter as interim CEO. He is taking over from co-founder Jim Laird.

    Finnish vegan company Oddlygood, which owns UK plant-based milk brand Rude Health, has hired Katie Simpson as its head of marketing. She previously held the same position for Innocent Drinks’s UK and Ireland business, and has worked at Diageo, AB InBev and Ferrero.

    rude health oddlygood
    Courtesy: Oddlygood

    Singaporean firm Mottainai Food Tech has opened a pilot facility and R&D lab in Jalan Besut, Jurong to upcycle food waste into fermented plant-based proteins. At full capacity, it will be able to process around 100 tonnes of food industry byproducts annually.

    Policy and awards

    Latin American cruelty-free NGO Te Pretejo has developed a map to showcase a network of laboratories using alternative methods to animal testing.

    UK charity Vegetarian for Life will host its Awards for Excellence in Veg*n Care Catering at the Houses of Parliament in October, recognising individuals and organisations working to enhance plant-based catering standards across care homes, hospitals, and other later-life care settings.

    let's eat balanced
    Courtesy: AHDB | Composite by Green Queen

    In a petition, Ecotricity founder Dale Vince has urged the UK government to end its support for meat and dairy advertising campaigns and promote plant-based foods instead, namechecking the Let’s Eat Balanced drive run by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. It has garnered nearly 25,000 signatures so far.

    In South Africa, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has updated its labelling rules for plant-based meat, allowing terms like ‘burger’ and ‘hot dog’ but not ‘beef’ or ‘pork’. Meat analogues must also have qualifiers like ‘plant-based’, and the move was welcomed by LiveKindly Collective Africa and Fry Family Foods.

    nourish you
    Courtesy: Nourish You

    Finally, Indian vegan startup Nourish You has won the Best Plant-Based Milk Award at the 2025 Vegan India Conference for its Millet Mlk.

    Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: Alpro Kids, 3D-Printed Shawarma & Vegan Meat Labels appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • How to Get People to Buy More Plant-Based Eggs? Put Them in A Pancake

    vegan egg brands
    4 Mins Read

    A new US study shows that consumers are more likely to purchase plant-based eggs if they’re cheaper and served as an ingredient in a dish, rather than on their own.

    With the egg crisis raging on in the US, empty shelves and high prices have made consumers rethink breakfast. It’s a golden opportunity for companies making plant-based alternatives, offering a more stable supply and largely great functionality in various food applications.

    Eat Just, the market leader for vegan eggs, has already been capitalising on this moment, with sales growing five times faster in January than 12 months prior, and 91% of these customers being neither vegetarian nor vegan.

    Still, Just Egg is expensive, as are most such liquid egg alternatives. One new study suggests that for plant-based eggs to truly capture their market potential, they need a rebrand, and a lower price tag.

    Using an experimental method known as a vignette design, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Purdue University tested how price, product type, and setting influence people’s purchase behaviours when it comes to vegan eggs.

    “Vignettes refer to short descriptions of a person or a situation which contain precise references to highlight key factors that are believed to influence the decision-making or judgment-making processes of respondents,” the authors explain in the Foods journal.

    Americans prefer vegan eggs in familiar dishes

    just egg pancakes
    Courtesy: Eat Just

    The researchers surveyed over 1,600 Americans about their perceptions of eggs, both conventional and hen-free. They rated conventional eggs higher on taste, price and appearance, but vegan eggs as better for the environment and animals.

    On the nutrition front, average scores were largely similar, with chicken eggs perceived as having slightly higher protein and more calories, sodium and carbohydrates, and plant-based ones scoring better on total fat and cholesterol content.

    Instead of asking people directly whether they’d like to buy a plant-based egg, the researchers asked them to imagine they were about to eat breakfast, either at home or a restaurant, and to choose between scrambled eggs or pancakes made from vegan eggs.

    “We expected the setting to be more important, as we thought the novelty of the plant-based egg product would lead people to want to eat it in a restaurant where chefs know how to prepare the product in a way that tastes good,” said Brenna Ellison, co-author of the study. “Surprisingly, the location of where you were eating, whether it be at a restaurant versus at home, didn’t have as much of an effect as we imagined.”

    They were found to be more likely to buy vegan eggs when they’re mixed into a familiar dish, like a pancake, rather than served as a scramble. The preference gap is larger at home than in a restaurant setting. “Introducing them as an ingredient, especially in a product that consumers are comfortable with, is a way to get people over any ‘mental hurdles’ associated with trying plant-based eggs,” said Ellison.

    “Price and product form were found to be significantly related to purchase likelihood; consumers were consistently more likely to purchase plant-based eggs when they were cheaper,” the study stated.

    How plant-based egg brands can shape their marketing plans

    vegan eggs
    Courtesy: Yo Egg

    A third of the respondents to the survey had already tried plant-based eggs, and this is a key factor, since consumers who had previously eaten these products were more likely to buy them than those who hadn’t.

    The study further found that people aged 18-34 were more likely to buy plant-based eggs than those over 55, while Black, African American and liberal respondents also indicated a greater willingness than other demographics. Larger households, meanwhile, are less likely to buy plant-based eggs, though parents with children under 18 are more inclined to do so.

    “There are still sensory barriers,” said lead author Da Eun Kim. “I’ve tried the liquid version that comes in a bottle, like egg whites. The taste was different, but I was surprised the texture was very similar to traditional eggs.”

    Kim and Ellison suggest that the study has important implications for the food industry. “For producers and retailers of plant-based eggs, understanding the factors that influence consumers’ purchase decisions can help optimise marketing strategies. Price sensitivity and product form should be considered when targeting specific consumer segments,” they wrote.

    “Additionally, the significance of environmental impact and animal welfare in consumers’ perceptions suggests that highlighting the sustainability aspects of plant-based eggs could be a key marketing strategy,” they added.

    “Policymakers can also benefit from this study’s findings, particularly concerning food environments.,” they continued. “The interaction between product form and location implies that interventions in food environments, such as restaurants and cafeterias, could influence consumer decisions to choose plant-based options. Encouraging the availability of plant-based egg options in such settings may facilitate healthier and more sustainable dietary choices.

    The post How to Get People to Buy More Plant-Based Eggs? Put Them in A Pancake appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • French Three-Michelin-Star Restaurant Arpège Ditches Meat & Dairy for Plant-Based Menu

    arpege plant based
    4 Mins Read

    Chef Alain Passard’s Arpège, which has held three Michelin stars since 1996, has switched to an almost entirely vegan menu.

    After two vegan restaurants earned Michelin stars this year, a long-standing fixture on the food guide has become the latest to embrace plants.

    Parisian eatery Arpège, a three-Michelin-star outpost by Chef Alain Passard, has eliminated meat, dairy, fish and eggs from its menu. The only animal product at the 39-year-old restaurant is honey sourced from its own beehives.

    Arpège has long been noted for catering to vegan and vegetarian diets, but moving away from most animal products in a country whose culinary and gastronomic traditions are built on meat and dairy is a seismic shift.

    It is the second three-star restaurant to go almost fully plant-based, after Eleven Madison Park famously did so in 2021. Like Arpège, Daniel Humm’s New York City establishment isn’t entirely vegan either, since its tea and coffee service offers honey and dairy milk.

    New menu features tomato mosaic, flamed aubergine and more

    vegan michelin star restaurants
    Courtesy: Bertrand Guay/AFP

    Passard has been an advocate for more sustainable dining for decades – his restaurant hasn’t served red meat since 2001, when he said he would focus more on vegetables grown in his own gardens. This latest move, which has been a year in the making, builds on that.

    “Everything I was able to do with the animal will remain a wonderful memory,” Passard told Reuters. “Today, I’m moving more towards a cuisine of emotion, a cuisine that I could describe as artistic. It’s closer to painting and sewing… Today, I’m a different chef.”

    The chef said the switch to plant-forward dining was driven by his love for nature, and noted that using seasonal vegetables would reduce the eatery’s environmental impact.

    While Passard made his name with roasted dishes like poulet au foin (chicken cooked in hay), he has since been a champion of vegetable-forward dining, which was spotlit on Netflix’s Chef’s Table: France.

    That’s the ethos of the restaurant’s new menu too, which costs €420 ($485) for the full tasting set, and €260 ($300) for lunch. It features dishes like a ‘mosaic’ of tomatoes, mesclun praline with roasted almonds, melon carpaccio, flamed aubergine with melon confit, and a dish with carrots, onions, shallots and cabbage.

    “There’s light in this cuisine. There are taste sensations that I’ve never experienced anywhere else,” the chef told AFP. “I still eat a little poultry and fish. But I’m more comfortable with plants. They allow me to learn.”

    Michelin guide director embraces plant-based shift

    arpege vegan
    Courtesy: Jean-Gabriel Barthelemy/Paris Match/Getty Images

    Arpège’s shift to plants coincides with a fall in meat consumption in France, where per capita intake declined by 6% between 2003 and 2023. Retail sales of plant-based food, meanwhile, grew by 9% in 2024 to reach €537M, making it the third-largest market for these products in Europe.

    Meat was a central topic at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris, which sought to make 60% of all meals served meat-free – although complaints about insufficient food and protein led the organisers to walk back on their promise. It highlighted the perception and preparation challenges that come with a switch away from animal proteins.

    “It requires a lot more preparation, knowledge and research,” chef Claire Vallee told AFP. She earned a Michelin star for her vegan restaurant Ona in 2021, a first in France. The restaurant closed in 2022, with Vallee opening several pop-ups since. “It’s quite a colossal task.”

    But the idea that vegan haute cuisine is implausible is changing quickly. Humm has been a vocal advocate of the shift, with Eleven Madison Park retaining its three stars the year after it got rid of meat. Asked whether he’s worried about losing his stars, Passard said he has “never thought about that”.

    “We’re going to have to deliver. If we can maintain this level of quality, then I’m extremely confident,” he stated.

    His decision was welcomed as a “positive approach” by Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of the Michelin guide. “We will continue to follow the evolution of Arpège, remaining faithful to our criteria,” he told AFP.

    There are now seven (nearly 100%) vegan restaurants with Michelin stars. Two – Plates in London and Légume in Seoul – received their first star this year. They joined the likes of Eleven Madison Park (three stars), Dutch establishment De Nieuwe Winkel (two stars), Germany’s Seven Swans, Switzerland’s KLE (both one star). Arpège is the latest on this list.

    The post French Three-Michelin-Star Restaurant Arpège Ditches Meat & Dairy for Plant-Based Menu appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Beyond Meat Debuts Whole-Cut Mycelium Steak Filet at US Restaurants

    beyond meat mycelium steak
    4 Mins Read

    US plant-based giant Beyond Meat has launched its hotly anticipated mycelium steak at New York City’s Ladybird and all BOA Steakhouse locations.

    Beyond Meat is going beyond plants for its latest product launch, turning to fungi in a bid to attract consumers still unconvinced by the taste and texture of meat alternatives.

    The company has launched the Beyond Steak Filet, a mycelium-based whole cut that ‘bleeds’ like beef and delivers a tender, juicy bite reminiscent of a premium steak.

    The mycelium steak also contains fava bean protein and avocado oil – two ingredients that the company turned to last year to address nutritional concerns – and offers 28g of protein per serving.

    It is now on the menu at New York City eatery Ladybird and all four locations of restaurant chain Boa Steakhouse. This rollout follows the steak’s quiet debut at Next Level Burger and Veggie Grill earlier this month, where it features in the All American Vegan menu alongside broccoli, potatoes, and a choice of melted blue cheese, a creamy peppercorn sauce, or chimichurri.

    “We’re bringing something bold and inventive to the plant-forward scene with our Beyond Steak Filet – a protein crafted from plants that delivers the rich flavour and texture of a premium cut,” said Diana Stavaridis, culinary director at Beyond Meat.

    How the Beyond Steak Filet will be served

    beyond mycelium
    The Beyond Steak Filet as part of baos at Ladybird, New York City | Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    Situated in the East Village, Ladybird is a vegan tapas bar known for its vegetable-forward dishes. It will showcase the Beyond Steak Filet in a bao bun.

    “Partnering with a beloved dining destination like Ladybird is an exciting opportunity for any chef,” said Stavaridis. “Our aim is to offer the indulgence of a classic dining experience – rooted in vegetables.”

    In line with the company’s approach of targeting meat-eaters, the mycelium steak will roll out at Boa Steakhouse too. The chain has locations in West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach and Austin, with another opening soon in Las Vegas.

    Here, the fermentation-derived product will be the centrepiece of a Club Room Style Steak Frites dish. It’s part of Boa and its chef Brendan Collins’s efforts to expand the steakhouse experience with innovative and thoughtful options.

    “The launch of Beyond Steak Filet on our menu allows us to extend that hospitality to more people, without compromising on quality or creativity,” said Collins.

    “It also gives our culinary team the chance to explore new ingredients while staying true to what we do best – serving food that’s thoughtful, delicious, and a little unexpected,” he added.

    beyond mycelium steak
    A Beyond Steak Filet served at Boa Steakhouse | Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    “The avocado oil gives us that high smoke point we need for a beautiful sear and caramelisation, locking in flavour and texture,” explained Stavaridis. “This is all about delivering that classic steakhouse experience – without compromise.”

    Beyond Meat did not respond to questions about the use of mycelium and its retail plans for the Steak Filet at the time of writing.

    Beyond Meat eyes turnaround with mycelium steak

    The new steak, which is set to roll out at more restaurants across the US soon, was first announced by Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown last year, who imagined it as an alternative to chicken, salad toppings, and burrito fillings.

    “The focus on this has been a very small number of ingredients, very high protein, very low saturated fat,” he told CNBC.

    The company teased the product at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California earlier this year. At a taste test, Green Queen’s attendee, Alessandra Franco, was left impressed. “Beyond very much delivered on its promise of a steak that ‘mirrors the texture, flavour, and experience of a premium USDA steak fillet’,” she wrote. “The mouthfeel, texture, and flavour were all spot on.”

    The mycelium steak is an effort to address a number of concerns about vegan meat alternatives in the US. Health is the main reason Americans eat plant-based food; that said, a third of Americans (32%) last year had been buying fewer plant-based products because they didn’t like how they tasted.

    mycelium steak
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    In a restaurant setting, however, over half of consumers (54%) said they wouldn’t choose a main with plant-based meat because of its taste, and 42% blamed the texture.

    Beyond Meat has been ramping up its health messaging, via packaging, product development and a documentary, and has blamed “intense misinformation” for the sales slump of plant-based alternatives. The company itself had a “disappointing Q1”, witnessing a 9% drop and getting a $100M debt financing deal.

    It is now betting on mycelium to help turn its fortunes around. The ingredient has become a darling of the alternative protein industry, and fermentation startups have kept attracting investors in an otherwise dire funding landscape. The root-like structure of filamentous fungi, mycelium is a complete protein with a very low environmental footprint and can be adapted to match the flavour and texture of meat.

    The Beyond Steak Filet will compete with the likes of The Better Meat Co, Meati and others in the US. Can fungi be it get its mojo back?

    The post Beyond Meat Debuts Whole-Cut Mycelium Steak Filet at US Restaurants appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Oatly Bets on Lookbook & Opens Strategic Review to Tackle Q2 Slowdown in US & China

    oatly sales
    5 Mins Read

    Oat milk leader Oatly has revised its full-year guidance after sales dropped in the US and China, where it is mulling a potential restructuring.

    Swedish plant-based milk giant Oatly continued to struggle in the US and Greater China in Q2 2025, leading it to reduce its revenue expectations for the year and initiate a strategic review of the latter market.

    While the company’s revenue for the April to June period was up by 3% (at $208.4M), this was largely due to favourable foreign exchange rates. When discounting these, its sales slimmed by 0.2% from Q2 2024, reaching $201.7M.

    Meanwhile, the company’s losses swelled by 84%, primarily due to fair value losses on convertible notes. It has now revised its full-year outlook, with constant currency revenue growth expected to flatline at 1%, compared to its prior expectation of 2% to 4%.

    “Our updated guidance reflects slower-than-expected top-line progress in our North America segment, as well as a soft macro-environment in our Greater China business,” said Oatly CEO Jean-Christophe Flatin.

    At the same time, the company’s adjusted EBITDA loss – revenue excluding all non-operational and one-time expenses – shrank by 67% to $3.6M. “This continued progress and the actions we are taking to drive the business give us the confidence to reaffirm our full year profitability guidance,” he told investors in an earnings call.

    China operations continue, but a carve-out is a possible option

    oatly revenue
    Courtesy: Oatly

    Oatly continued to drive growth in its home market, where sales were up by 12% (before foreign exchange impact) compared to the year-ago period, reaching $118M. Its volumes also grew by 9.4% in the Europe and International segment, thanks primarily to its barista lineup.

    Most of its revenue (79%) in this region comes via retail, where its 4.7% growth outperformed both the wider oat milk category (whose sales were up by 2%) and the overall plant-based milk segment (up by 4%).

    In North America, year-on-year sales of Oatly decreased by 7% to $63M in Q2, with volumes down by 7.5% due to lower sales to the segment’s largest foodservice customer. Outside that client, however, the business recorded its highest quarterly foodservice revenue, while posting record retail sales.

    Daniel Ordonez, the company’s COO, noted that the North American results were below its expectations. “Given the success we’ve seen in Europe and internationally using the same playbook, we know what’s possible, and we remain committed to applying these lessons to drive the consistent performance that we expect from our North American business,” he said.

    And while the company had previously suggested that the US’s tariff wars could undermine its profitability plan, CFO Marie Jose-David said its guidance “assumes no direct impact from tariffs”.

    Meanwhile, Oatly’s sales in Greater China were down by 6% to $27M, thanks in large part to a drop in foodservice, which makes up 62% of its revenue in the region. The firm has long struggled in China, and is now conducting a $1.4M strategic review of this segment.

    “We will consider a range of options, including a potential carve-out with the goal of accelerating the growth and maximising the value of the business,” said Flatin. “We will continue to operate in the region, including our Ma’anshan facility.”

    He added: “Our Greater China business has improved over the past few years. And it is much stronger now. It has been a strong contributor, delivered better results, established market leadership and is now well positioned for the future. We believe in the future potential of this business.”

    plant based milk vat
    Courtesy: Anay Mridul/Green Queen

    Oatly bets on lookbook and bats away protein concerns

    Oatly ascribed its European growth to the refresh playbook it deployed late last year. Part of this involved increasing its relevance by leveraging its barista portfolio and targeting Gen Z with new taste experiences. It also plans to attack barriers of conversion, most notably preconceptions about taste, as well as increase distribution.

    “Anywhere we taste blind, we see that around one in two people prefer Oatly to cow’s milk in their coffee,” noted Ordonez.

    The playbook has delivered success in Germany, the UK and Sweden, its three largest European markets, and is now being rolled out in the US. “We are confident that with proper execution and future steady investments, this strategy can drive incremental demand,” he said.

    A key tenet of the playbook is the Spring/Summer lookbook it unveiled in May, featuring a range of recipes highlighting innovative use cases for its barista milks. “The lookbook is helping us break down those barriers and drive incremental demand, generating excitement with quotes reminiscent of fashion and unexpected recipes that totally change the way in which consumers view oat milk,” said Ordonez.

    The recipes range from a maple miso latte and lacto-fermented blueberry matcha to a salty banana split. “These are premium signature drinks that tap into Gen Z’s obsession with flavour and cold drinks. Can you imagine any of these drinks with cow’s milk? We don’t think so,” he said.

    The company is now translating the success of these flavours into new products. In Sweden, it has launched a popcorn-flavoured barista oat milk inspired by the lookbook’s sweet and salty popcorn latte, while in the UK, it has released a ready-to-drink matcha latte.

    oatly barista
    Courtesy: Oatly

    As the company looks to replicate the success of its European playbook in North America, Ordonez addressed a question about whether Oatly’s low protein content and dairy’s resurgence in the US played a part in its weak performance in this region.

    “The protein topic is more of a value phenomenon in North America, less than a volume phenomenon when you look at the dairy category,” he said. “We don’t make a choice between health, protein, [and] fibre, and we strongly believe that we are focused on driving both penetration and frequency in that order.”

    He continued: “Taste remains the number one barrier to consumption for plant-based products and certainly for oat milk and plant-based milk. So you will see, without ignoring the point of our protein, a lot of focus on the health topic via enhanced fibre content, wholeheartedly driving the taste strategy, which is starting to prove to work in Europe.”

    The post Oatly Bets on Lookbook & Opens Strategic Review to Tackle Q2 Slowdown in US & China appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Future Food Quick Bites: Oatly Matcha, Mycoprotein Mince & A Vegan Football Kit

    oatly matcha latte
    5 Mins Read

    Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Oatly’s new matcha latte, Revo Foods’s clean-label mince, and Lactalis Canada’s plant-based exit.

    New products and launches

    Swedish oat milk giant Oatly is the latest to join the matcha craze, launching a ready-to-drink matcha latte with finely ground Tencha matcha. The one-litre packs are available in the UK for £2.95 at Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, with Ocado adding to the list next month.

    oatly matcha latte oat drink
    Courtesy: Oatly/Aflo Images/Green Queen

    Californian firm Mud\Wtr has introduced Nourish, a protein powder with 25g of complete plant protein per serving, along with lion’s mane, cordyceps, ashwagandha, Bacopa and prebiotic fibre. It’s available in chocolate and vanilla flavours on its website for $70 per 645g bag.

    Also in the US, plant-based waffle brand Vafels has rolled out gluten-free stroopwafels in caramel and maple flavours, which can be found on its website for €19.95 per 10-pack.

    revo foods minced fungi protein
    Courtesy: Revo Foods

    Austrian 3D-printed meat maker Revo Foods has launched a four-ingredient Minced Fungi Protein with more protein than beef and higher bioavailability than chicken. Made from mycoprotein, rapeseed oil, rapeseed protein and spices, each 160g pack contains 25g of protein. The product is available at Billa Pflanzilla, online on its webstore and Billa’s website, and Kokku in Germany.

    UK food manufacturer Premier Foods has unveiled a four-strong lineup of vegan jelly with no added sugar under its McDougalls brand. They come in 1.4kg packs (enough to make 17 litres of jelly), with flavours including strawberry, raspberry, orange, and lime.

    mcdougalls vegan jelly
    Courtesy: Premier Foods

    France’s Vétéjal has created a range of powdered seasonings for plant-based creams, sauces, marinades and grilled meals, which can be mixed with water, oil, milk and cream or sprinkled on top of dishes. Flavour options include cream of mushroom soup, king crab, spicy bacon, and Roquefort-style blue cheese.

    Dutch specialty ingredient supplier Prodalim has launched upcycled VivaPro Coloring Foodstuffs and NaturaPro Natural Colors lines to tackle the growing demand for clean-label and sustainable plant-based colour solutions.

    ajinomoto solar foods
    Courtesy: Atlr.72

    And Japanese conglomerate Ajinomoto‘s Atlr.72 Flowering Ice Cream, which uses Finnish gas fermentation firm Solar Foods‘s Solein protein, is available at food trucks at the World Aquatics Championships (July 18 to August 3) in Singapore.

    Company and finance updates

    English football club Forest Green Rovers have launched a fully vegan football kit for the next two seasons (as part of its efforts to cut waste), featuring Reflo’s Reloop technology (which offers a fibre-to-fibre mechanical recycling solution).

    vegan football kit
    Courtesy: Forest Green Rovers

    UK vegan pet food company Omni – which made a splash with its success on Dragons’ Den this year – has been certified as a B Corp.

    Speaking of certifications, Beyond Meat‘s burger, beef mince, steaks, chicken pieces, and sausages have now been accredited as Glyphosate Residue Free.

    beyond chicken
    Courtesy: Beyond Meat

    New York-based Helaina has expanded the manufacturing capacity of Effera, its precision-fermented human lactoferrin, to a metric-tonne scale, which would allow it to produce 10 million servings per production run.

    Planetarians, a US-based producer of upcycled plant-based meat, is shutting down and auctioning its IP and assets, citing fundraising challenges.

    lactalis plant based
    Courtesy: Enjoy

    Lactalis Canada, a subsidiary of the world’s largest dairy company, is closing its Sudbury plant and exiting the plant-based milk business this December. It comes just a year after the facility was turned into a vegan hub and the business introduced the Enjoy brand of dairy-free milk.

    Nurasa, the sustainable food innovation platform owned by Singapore’s Temasek, has signed a strategic partnership with Protein Industries Canada to fast-track the entry of Canadian plant-based companies into the city-state and Asia-Pacific through technical, regulatory, and commercialisation support.

    Policy developments

    Canada’s Ocean Supercluster has pledged C$750,000 in a C$1.9M project to develop a vegan whitefish fillet, working with Profillet, Ardra Inc, Mara Renewables, and Rondo North America.

    else nutrition infant formula
    Courtesy: Else Nutrition

    Weeks after criticising the FDA for its “outdated” regulation of dairy-free baby formula, Israel’s Else Nutrition has applauded the US House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations’s passage of bills that recognise the importance of expanding access to alternative infant formulas.

    US non-profit People For Better Food has launched its first “culture shift” campaign, Plants for the Win, to shift young men’s perceptions about protein myths and plant-rich diets.

    renault leather
    Courtesy: Renault Group

    French carmaker Renault has pledged to eliminate animal leather from its entire portfolio by the end of the year.

    In Spain, Alcorcón has become the third city in eight weeks to endorse the Plant Based Treaty, following in the footsteps of Parla, El Masnou and 40 other cities globally.

    Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: Oatly Matcha, Mycoprotein Mince & A Vegan Football Kit appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Martin Braun-Gruppe Embraces Cocoa-Free Chocolate with Win-Win Partnership

    martin braun chocolate
    4 Mins Read

    German bakery giant Martin Braun-Gruppe has partnered with London-based food tech startup Win-Win to introduce two cocoa-free chocolate coatings for manufacturers.

    Martin Braun-Gruppe is the latest confectionery player to dive into cocoa-free chocolate, having struck a deal with British firm Win-Win.

    The distribution agreement will see Martin Braun add two glazes based on Win-Win’s vegan milk chocolate and dark chocolate to its portfolio, enabling retailers, wholesalers, and foodservice clients access to a low-carbon alternative for their baked goods.

    “We are delighted to enter into this partnership with Martin Braun, who have a fantastic reputation in the bakery sector and unrivalled customer networks,” said Win-Win CEO Mark Golder.

    Cocoa-free alternative uses same techniques as conventional chocolate

    martin braun cocoa free chocolate
    Courtesy: Martin Braun-Gruppe

    Formerly called WNWN Food Labs, Win-Win is modernising carob-based chocolate by combining the ingredient with tiger nuts, sunflower seed, and rice, alongside RSPO-certified palm oil.

    The company employs the same techniques found in conventional chocolate making, from fermentation to roasting, grinding, refining and tempering. Its cocoa alternatives, which come in meltable button and liquid formats and can be used to make a range of desserts and baked goods at scale – think pastries, doughnuts, cookies, cakes, and coatings.

    The partnership with Martin Braun – which invested in Win-Win in 2023 – focuses on the latter. The vegan glazes are produced using raw materials available within Europe, melt at 50°C, and deliver up to three times higher yields than couverture chocolate.

    The ingredients of both options are nearly identical. The cocoa-free dark chocolate coating blends palm oil and sugar with roasted carob powder, tiger nut flour, sunflower seed protein, fermented rice, lecithin, natural flavourings, and salt. The dairy-free milk chocolate alternative, meanwhile, adds dehydrated oat syrup to that base.

    Martin Braun has produced a book of recipes to showcase the use cases of Win-Win’s alternatives to its roster of baking, confectionery and catering industry clients. These include a Williams Pear petit gâteau, an Amaretto roulade, tartlets, nut corners, and more.

    “We are proud that they have chosen Win-Win as their exclusive partner to develop the fast-growing alt-choc sector, and we are enjoying working with them to deliver a more sustainable solution to chocolate for customers and consumers,” Golder said.

    Chocolate alternatives offer industry more viable solution

    martin braun win win
    Courtesy: Martin Braun-Gruppe

    The cocoa-free chocolate coatings will appeal to Martin Braun’s customers, who are actively looking for alternatives that offer more stable supply chains, lower costs, and better climate credentials.

    Climate change has caused global cocoa stocks to slump to their lowest in a decade. Plantations in Ivory Coast and Ghana – the two largest producers – are the hardest hit due to extreme weather and crop diseases. That has caused cocoa prices to reach all-time highs, and the trend is set to continue this year.

    Scientists have warned that cocoa trees are threatened, and a third of them could die out by 2050, which could lead to a global chocolate shortage. At the same time, dark chocolate is a highly emissive product, generating more greenhouse gases than all other foods except beef. Meanwhile, a bar of chocolate requires 1,700 litres of water to produce on average.

    Industry leaders are feeling the effects. For example, Hershey’s profit forecast for 2025 was below analysts’ expectations, and it has just announced a double-digit hike in product prices due to high cocoa costs.

    “We all love chocolate, but the way it’s currently produced isn’t sustainable. Climate change is leading to reduced yields, causing spiralling prices and supply-chain uncertainty,” said Golder.

    “As consumers, we’re already seeing the impact of this in the form of rising prices and shrinkflation, and the cocoa industry continues to be troubled by issues relating to deforestation. The industry is at an inflexion point and needs alternative solutions that are stable and more environmentally and socially sustainable.”

    Win-Win’s chocolate alternatives use up to 80% less water and generate 82% fewer CO2e emissions. They’ve been used at Toad Bakery and Lyaness bar in London, and Sem, a wine bar in Lisbon, and the firm has also rolled out dark chocolate thins, a Daim-style Waim! bar, and copycat versions of Cadbury Wholenut, Terry’s Orange and Tony’s Chocolonely on limited runs with its consumer brand.

    The startup, which has raised $5.6M to date, is among a host of innovators in the alternative chocolate space. This includes cocoa-free players like Planet A Foods, Compound Foods, Voyage Foods, Prefer, Foreverland, Nukoko, and Endless Food Co, as well as cell-based chocolate makers California Cultured, Celleste Bio, Kokomodo, and Food Brewer.

    The post Martin Braun-Gruppe Embraces Cocoa-Free Chocolate with Win-Win Partnership appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Should Vegans Pay Lower Health Insurance Premiums?

    vegan diet health insurance
    4 Mins Read

    Plant-based diets are linked to better health outcomes, so should vegans be entitled to better insurance rates too?

    A frequent criticism of vegan diets is that they’re too expensive. Meat and dairy alternatives tend to be costlier than the products they’re aiming to replace, although the argument doesn’t account for the fact that whole foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts all tend to be much cheaper than animal protein.

    But while the average vegan may pay more for their groceries, some argue that the benefits of their diet should entitle them to pay less for health insurance. Several providers are already making this move, given that life insurance is based on risk factors.

    If you smoke, drink, or eat a lot of junk food, you’re taking a known risk against your health. Ditto if you consume too much red or processed meat, as is the case in most Western countries. Insurers account for these activities when underwriting the premiums you’ll pay – so the healthier you are, the lower you pay.

    Vegan diets have repeatedly been found to offer much better health outcomes than those rich in meat and dairy, so is it time for insurers across the globe to standardise this as a measure of good health and low premiums?

    Studies show plant-based diets are healthier – should insurers take that into account?

    vegan diet healthy
    Courtesy: Studio Roman

    During their risk assessment, insurance companies evaluate various aspects of your life to determine the level of risk you present, which informs how they calculate the premiums you’ll pay. They usually look at a range of factors, from your age and medical history to your drinking and smoking habits and overall physical condition.

    While diet isn’t itself a question people are asked on applications, insurers analyse how your diet influences important health markers, like your weight, cholesterol levels, diabetes risk, blood pressure, and heart health. So what you eat does affect how much you pay for life insurance, even if it’s an indirect connection.

    For example, if your diet is high in saturated fat and cholesterol, it raises the risk of obesity and heart disease, which will likely mean higher premiums. Likewise, if your diet promotes heart health and helps you maintain weight and healthy cholesterol levels, insurers will see that favourably.

    This is where the argument for low premiums for plant-based diets comes in. Research has consistently shown that animal-free eating patterns tend to be better for your overall health. One recent study found that swapping meat with plant-based alternatives – ultra-processed or otherwise – can lead to significant weight loss.

    In 2024, a meta-analysis of 14 studies revealed that a healthy vegan diet reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 19%, cancer by 12%, and all causes by 16%. Similarly, earlier this year, researchers at Harvard University and the University of Sydney studied large-scale consumption patterns to determine the most health-promoting diet and found that whole-food plant-based eating is the key to lowering mortality rates.

    Meanwhile, one study has suggested that even small amounts of processed meats like hot dogs and bacon are associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Researchers ascribed this to the excessive amounts of sodium, nitrates, chemical preservatives, and saturated fat.

    And although some papers have sought to position red meat as healthy, a recent review revealed that two-thirds of these studies are backed by the meat industry and used misleading comparisons to suggest that beef is good for you. By contrast, most of the independently funded trials reported worse cardiovascular effects of eating red meat.

    Plant-based meat and milk, however, have similar or better nutritional profiles than conventional animal proteins, according to an 11-country review. Vegan alternatives have zero cholesterol, way more fibre, and, broadly, less saturated fat.

    Several insurers already offer discounts to vegans

    vegan health insurance
    Courtesy: Studio Roman

    The idea that plant-forward eaters should pay less for life insurance is neither hypothetical, nor new. In the UK, Animal Friends Insurance launched a life insurance scheme for vegetarians back in 2001, giving them a 25% discount for the first 12 months as they were found to be less likely to suffer from chronic illness than meat-eaters.

    Six years later, the company unveiled another scheme that offered a 6% discount on premiums for vegetarians and pescatarians.

    In 2013, Australia’s Make A Difference Insurance slashed life insurance premiums for vegetarians and vegans by 20%, citing research linking meat-free eating to a lower risk of serious illnesses.

    Meanwhile, Israeli company Clal Insurance began offering life and health insurance policies at a discounted rate for vegans in 2018, again based on scientific research about the positive health outcomes of plant-based eating.

    This trend has reached the US, too, with Health IQ offering life insurance discounts for vegans since 2017.

    It’s important to note that any health study will come with certain limitations and require nuance, while concerns about UPFs are largely misled, yet need more research. It’s also true that a person can be both vegan and smoke, drink, and have a heavy intake of junk foods and unhealthy fats, so purely eating a plant-based diet may not automatically mean better insurance rates.

    Still, with overwhelming evidence and a wave of precedents of successful policies from existing companies, insurance providers must begin incorporating diets into their risk assessments and consider providing discounted rates to those eating healthy plant-based diets.

    The post Should Vegans Pay Lower Health Insurance Premiums? appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • People Who Care About Animals & the Planet Still Eat Meat. Why?

    cognitive dissonance meat paradox
    4 Mins Read

    Many people say they care about the planet and animals, yet still eat meat. A new study explains why.

    Are you a meat-eater who loves the environment and the animals? You’re not alone. In the UK, nearly half of the respondents to a 2020 survey said they felt hypocritical for doing so.

    There’s a good reason for this: caring about the planet and its creatures rarely leads to people cutting out meat, according to a new study published in the Appetite journal.

    The real driver of dietary change? Cognitive dissonance, or the psychological discomfort people feel when their behaviours (in this case, meat consumption) don’t align with their values (caring for animals and the planet). When they can no longer justify this action-intention gap, they end up lowering their meat intake, the authors suggest.

    Others use a range of strategies to rationalise their continued meat consumption. They often state that humans evolved to eat meat, that eating meat is normal because most people do it, that it is necessary for health, or that it tastes good.

    “Some individuals may also dissociate meat from its animal origins to further reduce the psychological discomfort,” the study states. “Individuals who have progressed through the stages of change are more likely to resolve cognitive dissonance by reducing their meat consumption.”

    Cognitive dissonance drives people to give up meat

    meat cognitive dissonance
    Courtesy: Appetite

    The study involved nearly 600 participants from the US and Australia, two of the heaviest meat consumers in the world. As expected, people who had no intention to change their diets felt the benefits of a plant-based diet were low, while those who were already vegetarian reported the highest perceived advantages.

    Awareness of the downsides of factory farming followed a similar pattern, with people intending to change their diets more knowledgeable than those who were not, though less so than vegetarians.

    Respondents with no plans to alter their eating patterns were the most influenced by various barriers, including health and feasibility concerns of meat reduction, and the idea that eating meat is morally acceptable. In addition, they ate meat more frequently than those intending to adopt a vegetarian diet.

    In a follow-up survey conducted six months later, 20% said they adopted a vegetarian diet and continued to follow it. These participants’ cognitive dissonance significantly increased, while their perceived barriers of health and feasibility fell. Further, they reported much greater support from partners and friends than those who did not give up meat.

    “Simply informing consumers about the benefits of plant-based diets may be insufficient to change their food choices,” the researchers found. And once individuals do decide to reduce their meat intake, practical constraints like “the availability of plant-based options, cooking skills, and cost” become particularly relevant.

    ‘We need to go beyond raising awareness’

    vegan cognitive dissonance
    Courtesy: Appetite

    “Health-related barriers significantly decreased among individuals who successfully transitioned to a vegetarian diet, reflecting the physiological challenges that can arise during this shift. These challenges include hunger, fatigue, digestive discomfort, and potential nutrient deficiencies in iron, vitamin B12, and protein,” the study states.

    Those who followed through with their intention to go vegetarian were a lot more likely to seek nutritional advice, exhibiting how these health concerns can be alleviated with proper planning.

    Moreover, the researchers found that looking up meat-free recipes online and preparing answers for social situations where participants’ choices may be questioned were also important actions that support the dietary transition.

    They noted that policy interventions and consumer-focused strategies could help reduce barriers and trigger cognitive dissonance: “Policymakers can help mitigate feasibility barriers, such as limited availability and higher costs.”

    Meat alternatives are more expensive than conventional animal proteins, but if both categories’ prices reflected their cost on the environment, their prices would be at parity. “Meat taxes, therefore, present a viable policy tool for encouraging plant-based diets without disproportionately affecting low-income households,” the study states.

    Promoting plant-based education via integrating vegan meal preparation into culinary school courses is another useful measure. Restaurant associations, meanwhile, can incentivise chefs to create plant-forward menus through awards, while the media can feature more vegetarian dishes in popular cooking shows.

    “Shifting to a plant-based diet is tough when meat is convenient, tasty, and socially accepted. That’s why practical support – like nutrition guidance, simple recipes, and a supportive community – matters so much,” said co-author Sebastian Inbanner. “Our takeaway: To encourage sustainable eating, we need to go beyond raising awareness. We want to help people navigate the discomfort and make plant-based options easy, appealing, and normal.”

    The post People Who Care About Animals & the Planet Still Eat Meat. Why? appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Steakholder Foods’s 3D-Printed Plant-Based Seafood Makes Retail Debut in Israel

    steakholder foods fish
    4 Mins Read

    3D printing food tech startup Steakholder Foods has debuted two fish-free seafood products in grocery stores in Israel.

    Israeli 3D-printed meat maker Steakholder Foods has commercialised its first plant-based seafood products in the country’s retail sector.

    The Rehovot-based firm has developed white fish kebabs and salmon patties, which are now on sale at vegan specialty stores under the brand name Atid Yarok (Green Future). They’re manufactured by meat-free producer and distributor Bondor Foods.

    “Seeing first products selling in the market based on our prize-winning premixes is a huge step forward for Steakholder,” said Steakholder Foods CEO Arik Kaufman. “It is an exciting demonstration of how successfully our B2B customers and partners can roll out compelling, scalable, next-generation seafood alternatives to consumers.”

    Latest products part of extensive 3D-printed seafood portfolio

    steakholder foods salmon
    Courtesy: Steakholder Foods

    Formerly known as MeaTech, Steakholder Foods was founded in 2019 and makes 3D-printing production machines and premix blends for plant-based and cultivated proteins, including beef steaks, white fish, shrimp, salmon, and eel.

    The company has developed a DropJet technology specifically for its seafood applications. The 3D bioprinting process combines drops of gel-based materials to create a 3D structure, and allows it to drastically reduce the number of ingredients in vegan fish products.

    Steakholder Foods also serves as a B2B supplier of 3D bioprinters and bio-inks for alternative protein manufacturers, allowing them to mass-produce price-competitive meat and seafood analogues.

    It has unveiled various plant-based and cultivated seafood prototypes over the years. In 2023, it unveiled the industry’s first 3D-printed eel, using precision layering and a unique mix of materials to achieve the fish’s complex texture. And a month later, it introduced a shrimp prototype using bio-ink developed by its R&D team.

    And last year, Steakholder Foods completed a two-year state-backed R&D project with Singapore’s Umami Bioworks to figure out the feasibility of producing 3D-printed cultivated fish fillets at scalable volumes. The two firms are now working with Singapore’s National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster to commercialise the hybrid protein.

    The new 3D-printed seafood products, available in 180g packs for 21.90 shekels ($6.50), are made from a base of rice and soy proteins, which are mixed with refined coconut oil, methylcellulose, seasonings and flavourings, and soy protein hydrolysate. They contain 6g of fat per 100g (3g of which is saturated), and 7.7g of protein. And unlike conventional fish, they have zero cholesterol.

    First revenue from full product cycle for Steakholder Foods

    steakholder foods 3d printing
    Courtesy: Steakholder Foods

    The seafood industry is marred by overfishing, microplastic pollution, and disease outbreaks. It’s a major contributor to climate change, which in turn has a highly negative impact on the sector. Nearly 90% of the world’s fish stocks are now 80% of the planet’s fisheries have been fully exploited, over-exploited or depleted, according to the UN FAO.

    In fact, we could be heading towards a complete collapse of ocean life by 2048, driven primarily by overfishing for human consumption, as well as marine pollution and climate change. This is why 30% of respondents to a 2024 survey by the Marine Stewardship Council said they had been eating less seafood in the last two years. At the same time, over 80% of people had changed their dietary habits in this period, and 43% are doing so for sustainability reasons.

    Steakholder Foods’s process generates a fraction of the emissions that conventional seafood does. The latest innovations under the Green Future label represent its first full product-cycle revenue stream, from premix supply to consumer sales. The launch builds on an initial purchase order from September 2024, which followed a pilot rollout and commercial scale-up with Bondor Foods.

    Listed on the Nasdaq and Tel Aviv stock exchanges, Steakholder Foods entered an agreement with Alumni Capital to receive a $1.25M private placement in March, alongside an $8M equity line of credit. It has so far secured $740,000 of its $1M Singapore-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation grant over three tranches of funding.

    Moreover, the firm has made a major step towards its Asia expansion, agreeing to sell its MX200 3D printer and plant-based premixes to Taiwanese food company Vegefarm, which will commercialise plant protein products in the local market with support from the Industrial Technology Research Institute.

    The post Steakholder Foods’s 3D-Printed Plant-Based Seafood Makes Retail Debut in Israel appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Future Food Quick Bites: GLP-1 Drink, Plant Points & Cultivated Meat in Space

    ozzi glp 1
    4 Mins Read

    Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers a new GLP-1 alternative drink, Canada’s pea protein bet, and the European Space Agency’s cultivated meat project.

    New products and launches

    Texas-based Ozzi has launched Crave Crusher, a plant-based drink designed to suppress appetite and serve as an alternative to GLP-1 drugs. It’s free from caffeine and is available on its website for $60 per 20-stick pack in watermelon, grape and lychee flavours.

    ozzi drink sticks
    Courtesy: Ozzi

    Meanwhile, California’s Glucostra has introduced a plant-based supplement with 20 botanicals and metabolic nutrients to support healthy blood sugar management.

    NBA player Chris Paul’s vegan snack brand, Good Eat’n, has rolled out five of its products at over 1,000 Walmart stores nationwide, including popcorn, tortilla chips, and puffs.

    US plant-based milk producer Malk Organics has released a four-ingredient shelf-stable vanilla almond milk, which is available at Whole Foods Market and Amazon.

    malk organics shelf stable
    Courtesy: Malk Organics

    Finnish gas protein firm Solar Foods has partnered with US-based Sensapure Flavors to create new flavour combinations for its shake and ready-to-drink beverage concepts made with Solein protein.

    In the UK, vegan meal kit startup Grubby has unveiled a Plant Points menu based on the 30-plants-a-week concept. One of the eight recipes features This‘s new Super Superfood protein block.

    Swiss firms Yumame Foods and Le Patron have teamed up to develop tasty, healthy and sustainable plant-based foods.

    plantein
    Courtesy: Plantein

    And vegan discovery platform abillion has partnered with Australian meat-free startup Plantein Foods to expand its distribution.

    Company and finance updates

    Snacking company Pladis has kicked off its first Accelerator Programme with 12 startups, including fibre-to-sugar startup Zye and AI protein discovery firm Shiru.

    Dutch cultivated fat startup Upstream Foods has ceased operations, with its founder and CEO citing fundraising difficulties.

    Speaking of cultivated meat, India’s Biokraft Foods has announced The Great Indian Cultivated Chicken Cook-off for chefs and innovators to cook with its cultured chicken.

    More from this sector: Multus Biotechnology and Fishway have teamed up to develop scalable, cost-competitive cultivated fish, combining the former’s AI-led media optimisation platform with the latter’s expertise in fish cell line development.

    fbs alternatives
    Courtesy: Multus Biotechnology

    Protein Industries Canada has announced a C$4.87M ($3.6M) new pilot project to meet the demand for better-tasting and more nutritious pea protein, in partnership with Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) and the Seven Oaks Hospital Chronic Disease Innovation Center.

    South Korean plant-based dairy company Armored Fresh has appointed David Benzaquen as its new director of sales strategy and Geo-Yoo Kim as its new CTO.

    Research and policy developments

    The European Space Agency is seeking proposals to investigate cellular agriculture as a novel technique to produce food, especially cultivated meat, in future space missions.

    european space agency lab grown meat
    Courtesy: European Space Agency

    The term ‘lab-grown’ meat enjoys a 20-point advantage in consumer understanding over ‘cell-cultivated’ in the UK, where 26% are willing to include it in their diet, according to the Food Standards Agency.

    Also in the UK, over 100 parents have signed a petition to reinstate meat-based dishes at Sharow School in Sheffield, which advertises itself as a vegetarian primary school.

    In the Philippines, 91% of consumers believe plant-based foods and meat analogues are healthier than animal proteins, and 83% want to increase their intake in the coming year.

    corbion china
    Courtesy: Corbion

    Dutch ingredient specialist Corbion has secured multiple regulatory approvals from China’s General Administration of Customs for its algae-derived omega-3 products, marketed under the AlgaPrime DHA and AlgaVia DHA brands.

    And researchers at India’s Lovely Professional University have developed plant-based fermented probiotic gummies to offer a palatable, safe, and effective natural digestive health solution, particularly for children and those seeking clean-label alternatives.

    Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: GLP-1 Drink, Plant Points & Cultivated Meat in Space appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Spaniards Wants to Cut Back on Meat, But ‘Bold Policy’ Action on Plant-Based Food Needed

    plant based meat spain
    5 Mins Read

    While a majority of Spaniards are reducing meat or open to doing so, the plant-based industry needs a “level playing field” to help them shift their eating habits.

    Meat is becoming unfashionable in Spain, but plant-based alternatives need a policy boost to step up for mass adoption.

    A growing share of citizens are looking to improve their diets and eat in a healthier and more balanced manner, which has led 80% of them to lower their meat intake or be open to that change, according to a new survey covering over 2,000 consumers.

    Conducted by More in Common on behalf of the Federation of Consumers and Users (CECU), the survey found that 35% have already cut back on chorizo, jamón, sobrasada, and the like, while 22% have thought about doing so, and 23% are willing to consider it.

    This is despite two in five Spaniards (39%) increasing their protein intake last year. In fact, 35% of consumers upped their consumption of the nutrient through plant-based food. And in both cases, the survey found these trends resonated most with people under 40, those who exercise regularly, and those interested in healthy nutrition.

    That said, people over 64 (48%) are more likely to say they’re shying away from meat than Gen Z (20%). So why are young people less willing to cut back? “Many would be willing if they understood why, it’s better for them and knew great alternatives exist,” argues Bernat Añaños, co-founder of Heura Foods, Spain’s leading meat-free brand.

    “Most people care about the planet, animals, and their health, but many don’t think these options are accessible, tasty, or affordable, [so] the switch feels out of reach. We need to inspire, not guilt-trip,” he tells Green Queen.

    Many Spaniards find it hard to transition to a plant-based diet

    spain meat consumption
    Courtesy: CECU

    Most of the respondents (95%) said they eat everything, while only 3% were vegetarian or vegan, consistent with most countries globally. For over half of Spain’s population, eating a variety of foods and staying healthy are the most important dietary drivers.

    Moreover, health is the main motivation behind eating less meat, as cited by 42% of people who have already cut back. A third of them were also influenced by livestock’s impact on the planet.

    However, the importance of climate drops drastically to 20% among Spaniards who are considering a reduction in meat, with high prices and maintaining physical appearance being more important to this cohort (26%). Still, health remains the most influential factor among prospective meat reducers (41%).

    The main drivers of plant-based food, meanwhile, were added micronutrient intake (28%), climate protection (27%), and weight loss (23%). Nearly half of the respondents agreed that vegan diets are better for the planet and their wallets, and 43% said they were healthier.

    spain plant based
    Courtesy: CECU

    Among the minority unwilling to lower their animal intake, 42% cited nutritional concerns, 35% said they like the taste of meat, and 34% weren’t interested in changing their eating habits. Likewise, nearly three in 10 respondents said a lack of protein and the renunciation of foods they like were the chief reasons deterring them from eating more plant-based food, while 23% pointed to high costs.

    This is why 62% of people in Spain find it difficult or impossible to transition to a plant-based diet, and only 9% say it’s very easy. That has translated into declining sales for meat alternatives too, which fell by 1.6% in 2024 (versus an increase in other vegan categories).

    Añaños ascribes this to the fact that “food is emotional” and tied to culture and tradition. “But we also need to step up as an industry: we must create amazing products and break the myths around plant-based food,” he says. “The worst enemy of the category are bad products. People only change habits when the alternatives are exciting, familiar, and truly satisfying.”

    This was highlighted by a survey conducted by Heura last year, where 86% of Spanish consumers said they’d eat more plant-based meat if it offered nutritional and taste parity to animal proteins, alongside a lower environmental impact.

    Spain calls on government to support low-carbon foods with policies

    spain vegan survey
    Courtesy: CECU

    In the CECU poll, 83% of Spaniards said they follow a Mediterranean diet, which promotes whole foods like legumes, nuts, fruits and vegetables, and lean animal protein over red and processed meat. Still, two in five think it’s false or undecided that this diet calls for a reduction of meat and dairy intake.

    That said, legumes emerged as a winning ingredient in the survey. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents find them very healthy, versus just 40% who say the same for meat. Concerningly for the plant-based industry, this falls to 22% for tofu and tempeh, and just 17% for meat analogues.

    Legumes, though, are viewed as the cheapest food in Spain, with 49% calling them somewhat or very inexpensive. In contrast, 64% find plant-based meat very expensive, and an even larger share (88%) had the same view of conventional meat.

    CECU suggests that there is an intention-action gap when it comes to legumes, with the average Spaniard consuming only 3.36kg of these foods per year, falling well short of the 11.5kg recommended in the national dietary guidelines.

    Its survey further unearthed a lack of awareness when it comes to plant-based food. Only a quarter of consumers have heard of the term ‘plant-based’. And some plant protein sources remain largely unknown too, including tempeh (which 81% haven’t heard of), mycoprotein (71%), and seitan (65%).

    The findings highlight the need for more government support for plant-based food. More than two in five Spaniards feel it is the responsibility of companies and policymakers to reduce the climate impact of food.

    spain plant based policy
    Courtesy: CECU

    In terms of public policies, 85% support a lower VAT on low-carbon food and 74% said more polluting products should be taxed higher. Meanwhile, 78% back the introduction of carbon labels on food, 73% want the government to financially help farmers to grow plant-based foods that can replace meat, and 53% want to see the establishment of an incentive plan to reduce the number of livestock farmers.

    “We need a level playing field. Right now, meat is heavily subsidised,” says Añaños. “Governments should support innovation in plant-based food, ensure fair labelling, and bring these options into schools and public institutions. Spain has everything it takes to lead this shift, but it needs bold policy to make it happen.”

    The post Spaniards Wants to Cut Back on Meat, But ‘Bold Policy’ Action on Plant-Based Food Needed appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Global Survey: 75% of Consumers Still Interested in Plant-Based Meat & Dairy

    5 Mins Read

    A majority of consumers globally remain interested in plant-based meat and dairy alternatives, while millennials are keenest on blended proteins.

    Despite the doom-and-gloom coverage of the plant-based sector, three-quarters of global consumers are interested in plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy, according to new research.

    Every generation wants to eat more protein, with its appeal peaking among millennials and Gen Zers (70% of whom say so). And nearly 80% of consumers believe eating plant proteins will help them age better and build or maintain muscle strength.

    The data from ADM’s 2025 Alternative Protein Landscape Report shows that 46% of consumers identify as flexitarians, a movement led by Germany, South Korea, the US and Brazil. Vegetarians and vegans make up a further 4% and 1% of the population.

    The rest are deemed “carefree” eaters, who eat both plant-based and animal proteins and don’t intentionally seek out or avoid either one. They skew slightly older and retired, and two in five don’t follow any specific dietary pattern. In fact, 73% of these consumers believe it’s healthier to obtain protein from a variety of sources beyond just animal products.

    “Gen Z and millennial consumers are particularly open to protein variety,” said ADM. “And with Gen Z’s purchasing power just beginning to emerge, we anticipate amplified acceptance and adoption of a wider array of protein offerings.”

    Here are five other takeaways from ADM’s annual report.

    1. Is fermentation the darling of alternative proteins?

    adm alternative protein
    Courtesy: ADM

    According to ADM, fermentation might be the future of alternative proteins, having garnered consumer acceptance for use in meat, dairy and seafood alternatives, as well as specialised nutrition. Notably, this is the only alternative protein vertical that has continued to attract investment against the tide.

    While flexitarians are most attracted to novel plant-based ingredients, blended proteins and fermentation-derived ingredients aren’t far behind – 64% express interest in such meat and dairy products. Millennials are the biggest market for the latter, with 72% interested in these foods, followed closely by Gen Z (68%).

    Meanwhile, 59% of global consumers show interest in cultivated meat, and 61% say the same for cell-cultured dairy proteins.

    2. Traditional plant proteins on the rise

    ADM’s research found that chickpeas and soybeans are among the most recognisable sources of plant protein globally. In fact, 83% of plant-forward consumers say soy protein is a good base for building and maintaining muscle, 81% call it a great option for reducing fat intake, and 79% link it with an active and healthy lifestyle.

    Lentils are the next big thing in the traditional plant protein space, according to the report. While they have an awareness-to-consumption gap of 20%, they’re thought of as extremely healthy and nutritious, as well as tasty, clean and natural, aligning with flexitarians’ top food drivers.

    3. Health and taste over everything else

    plant based survey
    Courtesy: Kampus Production/Pexels

    Taste and health are the dominant motivators for alternative protein trial purchases among both flexitarian and carefree consumers. Improved flavour and mouthfeel are increasingly important for products like baked goods, ready meals, meal kits, and sports nutrition offerings.

    Flexitarians place an equal emphasis on taste and nutrition, with 63% calling them a joint top driver for plant protein consumption. But health continues to be their main reason for choosing a flexitarian lifestyle, with 86% feeling it’s healthier to get protein from a wider variety of sources.

    For carefree consumers, taste is more important than nutrition when it comes to plant-based alternatives. That said, 67% of them say eating more plant proteins will help improve their overall health.

    Meanwhile, 78% of flexitarians say private-label plant-based products are just as good as branded, a sentiment particularly popular in Brazil and Australia. “In future innovations, consumers also want to see more food safety certifications, along with enhanced functional health benefits and sourcing transparency,” ADM said.

    4. GLP-1 boom could be a boon for plant-based

    The report looked at the impact of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro, suggesting that their growth is positively influencing the uptake of plant-based food. Globally, 77% of flexitarians believe plant proteins make it easier to lose weight. In fact, weight management is among the top motivators globally for trying vegan snacks, sports nutrition, and ready meals, regardless of GLP-1 use.

    In the US, 64% of weight-loss drug users pay more attention to a product’s protein content, and 44% are intentionally adding more plant-based sources to their diets.

    Moreover, fibre is gaining relevance, with nearly half of consumers (49%) looking to eat more of this macronutrient. “New and reimagined plant-based foods and beverages that target portion control and deliver high protein and dietary fibre stand to succeed,” the report stated.

    5. Blended proteins stand to win big

    blended meat survey
    Courtesy: ADM

    Blended meat and hybrid dairy are all the rage now. These products combine animal protein with plant- or fermentation-based ingredients to offer consumers a more balanced protein offering without significantly changing their diets.

    Millennials are the most interested in these formats (75%), followed by Gen Zers (72%), Gen Xers (66%) and baby boomers (53%). There are several things that appeal to consumers here: they find blended proteins better for them and the planet, believe they add variety to diets and promote better balance between animal and plant proteins, and feel they’re more nutritious.

    Some companies are betting on plant-based ‘meat extenders’ to boost animal protein’s volume for cost-conscious shoppers, like Nestlé has done in Chile. “While one in four global plant-forward consumers have never heard of meat extensions and only 16% claim to currently consume them, the perception of meat extensions is much more positive than expected,” said ADM.

    “Protein blends meet every rising consumer demand – protein and ingredient diversity, higher protein content, elevated taste and texture, sustainability concerns and affordability,” it added. “And they do so better than the current selections in the marketplace, namely, traditional meat or dairy or all-plant products.”

    The post Global Survey: 75% of Consumers Still Interested in Plant-Based Meat & Dairy appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Fibermaxxing: Can the Gen Z TikTok Food Trend Put More Plants On the Plate?

    fibermaxxing
    5 Mins Read

    TikTokers are loading up on fibre in Gen Z’s latest health trend, fibermaxxing, which has a rare seal of approval from nutritionists. It’s also a big opportunity for plant-based food brands.

    Protein may be everywhere right now, but fibre isn’t far behind.

    Rising interest in Ozempic, supplements and gut health has brought fibre to the fore of food conversations, fuelling a TikTok trend that has even nutritionists excited.

    If you use the social media platform, your algorithm has probably presented you with fibermaxxing, a viral trend that sees creators chomping down on fibre while laying out its health benefits. The idea is to increase the intake of the macronutrient in meals and snacks via fibre-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains, or sometimes supplements.

    It’s putting plants in full focus, at a time when meat is back in American shopping baskets and vegan alternatives are being dismissed with the ultra-processed food (UPF) tag. As the importance of fibre as a macronutrient becomes more widely known, can this TikTok trend serve up a win for plant-based brands?

    What is fibermaxxing, and why is TikTok doing it?

    natural ozempic
    Courtesy: RossHelen via Canva

    While daily fibre intake recommendations vary by sex and age, in the US, it usually ranges from 25g (for women) to 38g (for men). The trouble is, most Americans don’t consume nearly enough fibre. Research shows that only 5% of adults meet the daily requirement of fibre intake, with the average person consuming half the recommended amount.

    But the demand for fibre has been steadily increasing. Last year, a 3,000-person survey found that the two nutrients Americans were most interested in consuming are protein (71%) and fibre (64%), figures that increased from the poll’s 2023 edition.

    The macronutrient has also gained popularity with personalised nutrition apps like Zoe, documentaries such as Netflix’s Hack Your Health, and the 30-plants-a-week movement that it spawned. Another big trend that has paved the way for fibermaxxing? Ozempic. With one in eight Americans having already injected a GLP-1 agonist drug, weight loss and healthy eating are front of mind.

    tim spector plant based diet
    Courtesy: Zoe

    GLP-1 is an incretin hormone released in the gut, which reduces appetite and prolongs the feeling of being full, and helps regulate blood sugar levels and manage weight. While weight-loss medications replicate this effect, it can be regulated naturally in our bodies by dietary fibre.

    So why all the fuss about fibre? The nutrient is key to a healthy gut, which itself regulates metabolism and hormone levels. It can help manage weight and blood glucose levels, as well as lower cholesterol levels. Plus, it boosts satiety and helps you feel full longer. It’s why diets rich in fibre have been linked to a lower risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and even certain cancers.

    All this has made fibermaxxing a welcome wellness trend. “This is a fun trend to see happening,” Emily Haller, a registered dietitian, told the New York Times. “A lot of times we see people obsessing about things that really don’t move the needle in terms of health, whereas eating more plants and ingesting more fibre is going to have a positive health benefit.”

    That said, it’s important to moderate fibre intake – overconsuming it can lead to bloating, discomfort, and diarrhoea.

    Can plant-based brands capitalise on fibermaxxing?

    this isn't chicken
    Courtesy: THIS

    Animal products don’t contain any fibre. Plants, however, are full of it. And with more than nine in 10 consumers getting fibre from food products instead of beverages or supplements, makers of plant-based food can cater to the fibermaxxers big time.

    The fibre rush has forced companies to think out of the box and introduce new products that meet people’s evolving needs. Some firms are betting on whole-food alternatives to meat, cramming as many plants as possible in familiar formats, like Actual Veggies‘ burgers, or novel ones, like Oh So Wholesome’s Veg’chop and This’s Super Superfood.

    Beans have never been more in fashion on the internet, and just as well, given they’re a fibre powerhouse. The UK is being urged to make beans more appealing to consumers, and brands like Bold Bean Co, which won a £50,000 investment on Dragons’ Den, have enjoyed a 306% year-over-year growth, and scored a partnership with Yotam Ottolenghi, are delivering on this front.

    Bean-derived products like tofu and tempeh are gaining ground too. British brand Better Nature Tempeh is taking on chicken and was the second-fastest growing meatless brand last year (with sales up by 457%), while The Tofoo Co enjoyed its best year yet, with sales growing by nearly 20% in 2024.

    better nature tempeh
    Courtesy: Better Nature Tempeh

    In the US, Equii launched a pasta line made from its fermented yeast protein flour, featuring a rigatoni with 28g of protein and 10g of fibre per 100g. Daily Harvest (now owned by Chobani) went big on the two nutrients with a new smoothie range – each 190g serve packs 20g of protein and 10g of fibre.

    Industry giants are getting in on the fibermaxxing act, too. Nestlé now has a GLP-1-friendly brand with products rich in protein and fibre, Coca-Cola has launched a prebiotic soda, and PepsiCo has bought Poppi for nearly $2B. And just this month, Danone-owned Kate Farms introduced high-protein, high-fibre plant-based nutrition smoothies.

    Research by ADM suggests that 49% of GLP-1 users in the US are looking to eat more fibre, and 44% want to add more plant-based protein to their diets. As Americans max out on fibre, plant-based firms have a chance to turn their fortunes around. “New and reimagined plant-based foods and beverages that target portion control and deliver high protein and dietary fibre stand to succeed,” the report said.

    The post Fibermaxxing: Can the Gen Z TikTok Food Trend Put More Plants On the Plate? appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Rewe Group, Oatly & More Ask Germany to Reduce VAT on Plant-Based Milk

    plant based milk vat
    6 Mins Read

    Germany still taxes plant-based milk at a rate nearly three times higher than dairy, prompting retailers and manufacturers to launch a petition demanding parity.

    Reduce the value-added tax on plant-based milk to the same rate as dairy to ensure “socially just taxation” consistent with Germany’s climate, health, and nutrition goals, a group of companies have urged in a petition to the Bundestag.

    In Europe’s largest economy, conventional dairy products carry a 7% surcharge, but vegan alternatives made from oats, peas, soy, etc. are charged a 19% VAT.

    But retail giant Rewe Group and plant-based dairy companies Oatly, Vly and Berief Food are calling on the government to lower the non-dairy levy to the same level as cow’s milk, creating “a level playing field” that will enable companies to pass on the cuts to customers.

    The petition is live until August 20, and at the time of reporting, has received over 5,000 signatures in under 24 hours.

    “The tax discrimination against plant-based drinks is no longer appropriate and contradicts social developments and scientific findings. Sustainable diets must not be discriminated against,” said Svenja Fritz, general manager of Oatly DACH and Poland. “We call on the Bundestag to finally end this social and ecological inequality and adjust the VAT rate. Now is the time to set the course for a fairer, future-proof, and sustainable diet in Germany,” she added.

    “We strongly welcome this initiative by key players in the German market. The current VAT policy, which unfairly disadvantages plant-based milk, stands in direct contradiction to Germany’s own climate and sustainability goals – and it’s time to correct that,” Ivo Rzegotta, senior public affairs manager for Germany at the Good Food Institute (GFI) Europe, told Green Queen.

    Lower VAT offers climate, health and economic benefits

    plant based milk tax
    Courtesy: Rewe Group

    In 2024, a litre of plant-based milk cost €1.52, while the same amount of cow’s milk set consumers back by €1.34, according to GFI Europe. If the former products had the 7% VAT applied, their average price would have dropped to €1.37, almost on par with dairy.

    The petition lays out several reasons for lowering the VAT on plant-based milk. The companies argue that considering cow’s milk a ‘staple food’ (thus making it eligible for the reduced rate) and plant-based alternatives as ‘beverages’ that require the 19% levy is “implausible”.

    This is because these products are integral to consumers who have intolerances, allergies, or certain dietary preferences – in Germany, 37% of households bought plant-based milk last year. The higher VAT, therefore, disadvantages these citizens and affects their freedom of choice. “Equal taxation would eliminate these products from tax discrimination, and consumers would have more affordable access,” the petition reads.

    There’s the sustainability argument too. Plant-based milk requires a fraction of the land and water that dairy does, while also emitting dramatically fewer greenhouse gases. Oatly’s oat milk, for example, has a nearly three times smaller climate footprint than Bären Marke’s 1.5% cow’s milk.

    The petition points out how fortified plant-based milks are a “nutrient-dense option” part of many countries’ dietary guidelines (though Germany’s recommendations were criticised for excluding non-dairy milk). These products are higher in fibre, lower in saturated fat, and have no cholesterol – but a lower VAT rate is needed to make them affordable and attractive for people.

    A reduction to the 7% rate for plant-based milk also makes economic sense, the petitioners argue. A study by the Institute for Policy Evaluation found that while it would lead to a €40M annual decline in tax revenue, the lower emissions from these products would save around €62.4M per year in future climate change costs.

    “Tax equality at 7% would not be a gift to the industry, but a strong signal for fairness and a modern and forward-looking food policy. It’s not about subsidies, but about equal opportunities – for consumers and companies alike,” said Nicolas Harmann, founder and CEO of VF Nutrition, the startup behind the Vly range of pea protein milks and yoghurts.

    Germany not in step with European counterparts

    plant based milk germany
    Courtesy: Anay Mridul/Green Queen

    The fight for tax parity for plant-based milk isn’t new. Germany has one of the widest VAT gaps between dairy and non-dairy products in Europe. In 2023, MPs Tim Klüssendorf (SPD) and Bruno Hönel (Green Party) proposed a change in the country’s tax laws to reduce the VAT on alt-milk in the annual tax law negotiations, though that effort was unsuccessful.

    Several of Germany’s European counterparts have closed the gap and now charge an equal VAT rate for dairy derived from both cows and plants, including Czechia (10%), Greece (13%), France (5.5%), Denmark (25%), and Portugal (zero-rated). In the Netherlands, soy milk remains at the same level as dairy at 9%. And Belgium charges the same rate for soy, rice and cow’s milk.

    “Hardly any other EU country disadvantages plant-based milk to this extent – many don’t tax plant-based alternatives more heavily at all. If we want to encourage more people to choose sustainable options, plant-based milk must be priced on equal footing with conventional milk,” noted Rzegotta.

    “The current VAT rules unfairly inflate the price of plant-based products, discouraging climate-friendly choices. Yet public sentiment is clear: 62% of people in Germany want this corrected, including a strong majority of voters from the governing CDU, CSU, and SPD parties.”

    The petitioning companies allude to Germany’s disparity with much of the rest of Europe. “Equal tax treatment of animal milk products and plant-based drinks is not only objectively necessary, but also a step toward a fairer, healthier, and more sustainable food policy,” they said.

    “We are seeing increasing demand for plant-based protein sources in our stores. This also applies to plant-based drinks,” said Emilie Bourgoin, director of public affairs at Rewe Group, which opened a fully vegan store in Berlin last year.

    plant based sales germany
    Courtesy: GFI Europe

    Indeed, sales of plant-based milk were up by 3.6% in the country last year, with volumes growing by 7.6%. This was the result of strategic pricing, with many dairy-free milks now on par with cow’s milk, and vegan cream 5% cheaper. This itself is driven by private-label offerings: Lidl spearheaded the shift by achieving price parity for its Vemondo line.

    “The 19% tax on plant-based milk alternatives is a relic of past nutrition policy and an obstacle on the path to a more sustainable future,” said Harmann. “This unequal treatment creates a market environment in which startups like us find it more difficult to compete with traditional products – even though we focus on innovation, sustainability, and transparency.”

    He added: “We demand equal tax rules for equivalent products. And we expect policies that don’t slow down transformation, but rather help shape it. Those who want sustainable nutrition must also make it possible through taxation.”

    The post Rewe Group, Oatly & More Ask Germany to Reduce VAT on Plant-Based Milk appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • The Tofoo Co Rides on UK’s Tofu Wave with Record Sales in 2024

    the tofoo co sales
    4 Mins Read

    UK tofu maker The Tofoo Co recorded an 18.5% growth in revenue in 2024, hitting nearly £24M in the same year the company changed hands.

    Subverting the decline of the UK’s meat-free market, The Tofoo Co enjoyed a milestone year with sales reaching record highs after the business was acquired by German private equity firm Comitis Capital.

    The company, which sells tofu, tempeh and seitan under The Tofoo Co label and tofu under the Clearspot brand, hit £23.9M in revenue, an 18.5% improvement from 2023. Its profits also swelled by 40% to £2.2M, before accounting for a one-off charge related to its takeover.

    The Tofoo Co ascribed the growth to the launch of new products, an 89% increase in marketing spend, deeper distribution, and expansion in foodservice. “The decision to move to third-party co-pack on added-value tofu products has helped us unlock new revenue streams and is something we will continue in 2025,” its board wrote in the business’s financial filing for 2024.

    The Tofoo Co drives category growth amid UPF concerns

    tofu sales uk
    Courtesy: The Tofoo Co

    The firm’s success was driven by The Tofoo Co label, whose retail sales value touched £30M for the first time, making it the second-largest meat-free brand in the UK, behind mycoprotein leader Quorn.

    Further, the Tofoo Co brand helped the tofu category reach more households, growing annual penetration by 0.2%. While this growth is minuscule, it’s far better than how the larger meat-free category performed, whose penetration declined to 24.3%.

    In its filing, the company blamed the category’s struggles on “continued negative press around the category and ultra-processed foods, and an impression that meat-free is expensive relative to meat”.

    Concerns around UPFs, which make up 57% of the average Brit’s diet, are driving consumers away from plant-based meat (whose sales fell by 10% last year). It has led to a surge in whole-food innovations like Veg’chop and This’s Super Superfood. In fact, meals made from vegetables, beans and legumes saw the highest net increase in intake (46%) among the entire category, though tofu, seitan and tempeh witnessed the smallest net gain (19%).

    Still, the Tofoo Co’s namesake brand drove better gross margins, which were up from 38% in 2023 to 40.3% in 2024. “This was mainly the result of rising volumes but also better processing and labour efficiency in the operation,” its board said. “Soya bean costs were stable during the period.”

    It invested £1.9M to streamline its manufacturing operations by expanding soy milk processing capacity, bringing tempeh production in-house, and investing in a larger broiler and grid connection. In addition, the company recently revealed plans to build a 68,000 sq ft factory one mile from its current site in Yorkshire, which will triple its capacity and is expected to be completed by late 2026 or early 2027.

    The Tofoo Co continues to be the leading tofu company in the UK, accounting for 53% of the market in 2024 and finishing the year as one of the only growing meat-free brands.

    The Tofoo Co goes international in positive start to 2025

    the tofoo co
    Courtesy: The Tofoo Co

    Looking ahead, the board shared a positive outlook for 2025, which it said has “started well” with “consistent value and volume growth”, enlarging its share in the meat-free market to 11.3% (its highest yet).

    It outlined further opportunities for growth this year, through distribution gains in existing retail customers, new product development, and expansion in foodservice, which remains a small yet growing part of its total business.

    The nine-year-old company is betting on international expansion, having launched its products in four major French supermarket chains. The acquisition by Comitis Capital was key here, with the majority shareholder “providing stable backing of the business and promoting new growth opportunities, especially given their knowledge of European markets, where Tofoo Co is looking to expand”.

    Even after modelling downslides in sales, margins and operating performance, the board said the firm would remain profitable and have positive cash balances. Still, it outlined several challenges that could derail its performance in 2025, including rising energy and ingredient costs, the ongoing impact of Brexit, and lower consumer demand for meatless products.

    “Meat-free as a category continues to see some declines, but growth has been strong in the first quarter of 2025 on tofu and the trend towards more natural products continues,” The Tofoo Co said. Indeed, the volume of tofu sold in the UK was 10% higher in January 2025 than 12 months prior, possibly due to its affordability. Meanwhile, tempeh and seitan enjoyed an 85% hike (albeit from a tiny base).

    The company is now splurging on marketing and mainstream media for product sampling, building brand awareness, and attracting new consumers. Its board remains confident that the demand for tofu will keep rising in the coming years, thanks to “increased awareness of both more natural, healthier and environmentally friendly diets and products”.

    The post The Tofoo Co Rides on UK’s Tofu Wave with Record Sales in 2024 appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Future Food Quick Bites: Beyond Steak Filet, Apricot Kernel Chocolate & Vegan Eggs

    beyond meat steak filet
    4 Mins Read

    Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Beyond Meat’s Steak Filet debut, Quorn’s £18M injection, and Chocolat Stella’s apricot kernel milk bar.

    New products and launches

    Beyond Meat has debuted its new Steak Filet as part of the All-American Vegan menu at Next Level Burger and Veggie Grill, which has 28g of protein and is paired with potatoes, broccoli, and either melted blue cheese, a peppercorn sauce, or chimichurri. The menu also features Oshi‘s whole-cut salmon.

    beyond mycelium steak
    Courtesy: Next Level Burger

    US plant-based company Better Balance Foods has partnered with Papa Johns to supply vegan protein products for the chain’s Green Ranch and Green BBQ pizzas and vegetable fingers in Spain and Portugal

    Plant-based milk leader Califia Farms has expanded its barista oat milk range in the UK with pistachio and hazelnut, which are available at Ocado now and at Sainsbury’s next month.

    califia farms barista oat milk
    Courtesy: Califia Farms

    Still in the UK, Juice Plus has become the latest brand to jump on the 30-plants-a-week movement, launching a Superfood Powder drink mix with 30 different fruits, vegetables and berries, as well as plant-based vitamins. They’re available on its website starting at £104 for 30 single-serve sticks.

    Austrian startup Kern Tec has teamed up with Swiss confectioner Chocolat Stella to introduce a limited-edition vegan chocolate bar using the former’s upcycled apricot kernel milk. Titled ApriCoa, it’s available on Stella’s website for 2.80 Swiss francs ($3.50) per 80g bar.

    apricot kernel milk chocolate
    Courtesy: Chocolat Stella

    And in Tokyo, the restaurant 8go has introduced new menu items using local startup Umami United‘s vegan eggs: Spanish omelette, financiers (in plain, matcha and chocolate flavours), and canelé.

    Company and finance updates

    Israel’s AlgoCell has raised $2.8M in pre-seed funding to build its AI-powered digital twin platform for bioprocess development and optimisation, targeting cultivated meat and fermentation companies.

    Marlow Foods, which includes mycoprotein giant Quorn and tofu brand Cauldron, was injected with £18M in fresh capital by its Filipino parent company, Monde Nissin. It used the money to further pay down its debt as part of a turnaround strategy following a difficult few years for the business.

    finneato fysh foods
    Courtesy: Finneato Fysh Foods

    Speaking of mycelium meat, German firm Kynda has been named Startup of the Week by business magazine WirtschaftsWoche.

    Finnish oat milk cheese maker Mö has witnessed a 135% increase in revenue this year after quick growth in the Nordic region.

    mo cheese
    Courtesy: Mö

    Lallemand Bio-Ingredients has acquired Solyve, a French producer of enzymes specialising in solid-state fermentation, from its parent company, InVivo Group.

    In Canada, state-funded agency Alberta Innovates has committed $500,000 to support the Cellular Agriculture Prairie Ecosystem (CAPE) project, a $2.4 million programme led by New Harvest Canada.

    finneato fysh foods
    Courtesy: Finneato Fysh Foods

    PETA has released its list of the top vegan seafood brands for 2025, which includes Mind Blown, Oshi, Seed to Surf, Cavi-art, Konscious Foods, Gardein, Save Da Sea, Finneato Fysh Foods, and Jinka.

    Research and policy developments

    Xanterra Travel Collection, the main foodservice provider of some of the US’s most popular national parks – including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore – has committed to making 50% of all menu items plant-based by 2026.

    plant based treaty spain
    Courtesy: Plant Based Treaty

    El Masnou, a municipality in Catalonia, has become Spain’s second city to formally endorse the Plant Based Treaty, after the city council passed a motion to do so with 17 votes in favour (versus two against).

    New research by NielsenIQ suggests that 37% of Indians are looking to add more plant-based proteins to their diets in the next 12 months.

    Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

    The post Future Food Quick Bites: Beyond Steak Filet, Apricot Kernel Chocolate & Vegan Eggs appeared first on Green Queen.

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