Yet more evidence has emerged that diets rich in plant-based whole foods and low in meat are the key to longevity.
Plant-rich diets will help you age better and live longer, according to two major studies that spotlight the ill health effects of animal proteins.
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.
The findings come at a time when meat and dairy are regaining popularity in countries like the US and the UK, driven by advocates of raw milk and the carnivore diet, rising concerns around ultra-processed foods (UPFs), and political support for animal proteins.
Some of the criticism is tied to vegan meat alternatives, whose volume sales in the US dropped by 2.3% in 2024, against a 4% increase for conventional meat. Experts argue that these products don’t reflect the entire plant-based diet.
Miyoko Schinner, founder of vegan cheese pioneer Miyoko’s Creamery and a University of California professor, noted we “can’t conflate products with the future” of the plant-based sector. “We’re just focused on the sales of products that we’re making, and that doesn’t reflect the entire picture,” she told Green Queen in January.
“The whole world’s not going to go vegan because there’s Beyond Burger, right? But they might go vegan if we promote a plant-rich diet,” she said. And these two studies argue that doing so might help you live better too.
Harvard study: plant-rich diets will help you age better
Courtesy: Jul Po/Getty Images
At the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, researchers investigated the midlife diets and eventual health outcomes of more than 105,000 Americans over a 30-year period, noting that diet is the second-largest behavioural risk factor for mortality in the US (after tobacco).
They scored participants based on how well they followed eight dietary patterns that promote healthy ageing – each emphasises a high consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts, and legumes, and low to moderate intake of fish and certain dairy products. They also looked at the consumption of UPFs.
Nearly a tenth of the participants aged healthfully, with adherence to one of the eight dietary patterns linked to better cognitive, physical, and mental health. On the flip side, higher intakes of processed meat as well as sugary and diet beverages were linked to lower chances of healthy ageing.
The leading diet was based on the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, which was developed to prevent chronic diseases and is rich in plant-based whole foods and low in red and processed meats, sugary drinks, sodium, and refined grains. Participants who stuck to this diet were 86% more likely to age healthily at 70 years, and over twice as likely at 75.
Another leading diet was based on the Planetary Health Diet Index, which emphasises plant-based foods and minimising animal proteins to improve both human and planetary health.
“Our findings suggest that dietary patterns rich in plant-based foods, with moderate inclusion of healthy animal-based foods, may promote overall healthy ageing and help shape future dietary guidelines,” said co-corresponding author Marta Guasch-Ferré.
It’s a highly relevant point, since scientists have recommended that the US Department of Agriculture prioritise plant proteins and encourage Americans to cut back on red meat in the upcoming dietary guidelines.
The research, published in the Nature Medicine journal, follows a December 2024 study by the Harvard Health School, which found that a higher ratio of plant proteins to animal-based foods can improve heart health. And in March, its researchers were part of another analysis that suggested replacing less than a tablespoon of butter with plant-based oils can lower the risk of premature death from cancer and other causes by 17%.
Populations with high plant protein intake have longer lives
Courtesy: Gabriella Csapo/Studio India
Across the Pacific, experts at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre assessed demographic and food supply data from 101 countries over almost 60 years. This included regions where meat consumption is high, like the US, Australia, Sweden and Argentina, as well as places such as Pakistan and Indonesia, where plant-based food intake is more prevalent.
Since it’s hard to compare the countries very easily, the researchers corrected the data to account for income and population size. Doing so revealed that nations with higher availability of plant proteins had longer life expectancies than those where animal proteins were more readily available.
For children under five, easy access to higher amounts of meat, dairy and eggs was linked to lower mortality, with the researchers noting that adding energy from any protein source – plants or otherwise – was beneficial for kids. They stressed that the findings “do not refute the advantage of incorporating plant-based proteins in a malnourished environment”.
In adults, however, plant proteins increased overall life expectancy. “The optimal balance of protein and fat in national food supplies – which correlates with minimal mortality – varies with age, suggesting that reductions in dietary protein, especially from animal sources, may need to be managed with age-specific redistributions to balance health and environmental benefits,” the authors wrote in the Nature Communications journal.
“Protein is a crucial part of the human diet, but as eating habits change and developed countries look to decarbonise, where we get our protein from has come under greater scrutiny,” said senior author Alistair Senior.
“The knowledge that plant-based protein is associated with a longer life is really important as we consider not only how our diets impact our own longevity, but the health of the planet.”
The UK’s largest retailer is not on track to meet its goal of increasing plant-based meat sales by 300% by this year, as consumers show an appetite for vegetables, beans, and tofu instead.
In a further sign of the UK’s dietary shift towards plant-based whole foods, its largest supermarket says it is “highly unlikely” to achieve its ambitious sales target for meat alternatives.
Tesco is well behind its goal of increasing purchases of vegan meat products by 300% by December 2025 (from a 2012 baseline), given “the year-on-year decline in the plant-based market” and the “change in approach” by consumers.
“Many of our customers who are interested in plant-based foods are turning to veg-led dishes, where vegetables are the star, rather than relying on meat alternatives,” the retailer said in its latest sustainability report.
It revealed that it has exceeded its reduction targets for scopes 1 and 2 emissions, cutting them by 65% from a 2015/16 baseline. But 98% of its carbon footprint comes from scope 3 emissions, which account for the entire value chain and the use of its products by consumers.
Tesco has lowered some of its scope 3 emissions by 22% in this period, and has pledged to reduce forest, land use and agriculture (FLAG) emissions by 39% by 2032.
Plant-based meat sales slow at Tesco
Courtesy: Tesco
The retailer first established the meat alternative sales goal in 2020, pledging to add more products across 20 categories, reduce prices, work with suppliers to innovate new products, and provide a meat alternative wherever a meat version is featured.
While it started well, recording increases of 96% and 130% in 2020/21 and 2021/22, respectively, compared to the 2018 baseline. This growth began shrinking in 2022/23, when its sales were only up by 119%, followed by a 109% hike in 2023/24. In the last year, however, plant-based meat sales at Tesco are only 94% higher than in 2018, a far cry from the 300% goal.
It’s in line with the wider trend around plant-based meat. In the first half of 2024, average weekly sales value and volumes of these products declined by 7% in the UK compared to 2023, when sales had already come down by 6% and volumes by 13%.
“We’ve been seeing a growing demand for ‘protein diversity’, including plant-based whole foods such as lentils, chickpeas, beans, nuts, seeds and tofu,” Tesco said in its report.
Vegetable-led foods now make up 40% of all plant-based sales at Tesco, according to data from IRI/Circana. In the 41 weeks to October 12, the supermarket sold nearly 600,000 more veg-forward dishes, compared to the same period in 2023.
“These dishes inspire and make it easy for customers to incorporate more vegetables into their diets,” the retailer said, while noting that it has “seen plant-based meat alternative sales slow” at the same time.
Tesco also noted that the proportion of protein sales coming from plant-based alternatives has decreased from 12% in 2020/21 to 9% in 2024/25, against a four-point increase for meat and egg products. That said, the share of dairy sales emanating from oat, almond, and other alternatives has expanded slightly from 5% to 7% in this period.
Courtesy: Tesco
Gut health and UPFs in focus as Tesco stocks whole-food proteins
With Brits showing a greater appetite for whole foods over meat analogues, Tesco doubled down on pulses, nuts, seeds and vegetable-based ingredients in its vegan range for Christmas 2024, labelling it phase two of the “biggest food trend this century”. Likewise, it recently introduced a meat-free Root & Soul ready meal range that puts vegetables front and centre.
These products are targeting the 22% of Brits who want to consume more plant-based foods, according to Tesco’s research. Last month, it began stocking THIS’s Super Superfood and Oh So Wholesome’s Veg’chop – a new class of plant protein ingredients made from whole foods, with the aim of replacing meat instead of mimicking it.
“Most retailers are looking for more plant-packed, healthy and minimally processed foods with clean ingredient lists across the store. In plant-based specifically, I think the whole market knows that some changes need to be made to excite shoppers and inspire home cooks,” Oh So Wholesome co-founder Simon Day told Green Queen. “Tesco specifically have often been at the forefront of plant-based category development in the UK and led with new ranges.”
In the UK, they make up 57% of calorie consumption, rising to around two-thirds among adolescents and 80% for children or people with lower incomes. “We already ban the use of many additives in our own-brand products, including some flavours, colours and MSG, and we work with our suppliers to minimise the use of others,” the retailer said.
All this is part of its healthy eating push too, with the retailer planning to increase sales of healthy products to 65% of its total by 2025 (by the end of 2024, it got to 64%). This includes Tesco’s gut health focus. Its polling found that gut wellness is a top concern for 37% of Brits this year, thanks to movements like ’30 plants a week’ and documentaries such as Netflix’s Hack Your Health, pushing it to launch its own-label Gut Sense brand in January.
“Future progress will be harder won. There are challenges we won’t be able to solve alone without wider policy or societal shifts. It will require even greater commitment, innovation and cross-sector collaboration – with farmers and suppliers, industry and government – to drive progress,” said Tesco CEO Ken Murphy.
“Whether that’s tougher laws to prevent deforestation, regulation requiring food businesses to report their healthy sales volumes in a consistent way, or more support and policy certainty for British agriculture.”
A comparison of like-for-like meat-based, vegetarian and whole-food plant-based meals shows that the latter can improve micronutrient intake, reduce climate impact, and lower costs.
Plant-based meals in restaurants, cafeterias and schools can deliver a triple win for human, planetary and financial health, according to a new comparison study.
Published in the Nutrients journal, researchers looked at the nutritional quality, environmental impact, and cost of vegan, vegetarian and meat-based versions of four lunch dishes at a London university cafe.
The study included lasagne, chilli, curry and teriyaki meals, with the meat-based dishes using beef or chicken, meat-free versions using vegan mince or Quorn, and whole-food plant-based meals employing vegetables, tofu, and lentils.
In all cases, the whole-food plant-based meals “consistently outperformed” their meat-based counterparts on cost, sustainability, and nutrition.
“These findings highlight the potential benefits of increasing the availability and uptake of healthy plant-based meals in foodservice settings (e.g., restaurants, takeaways, cafeterias, schools, and workplaces) to reduce the environmental impact of food consumption while improving micronutrient intakes and public health,” the researchers noted.
Plant-based lasagna tops nutrition chart
Courtesy: Nutrients
The nutritional quality of meals was evaluated using the Nutrient Rich Food (NRF) index. The original NRF 9.3 index is based on nine nutrients to encourage (like protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals) and three to avoid (saturated fat, sugar and sodium), but it was originally developed for American adults.
NRF 9.3 doesn’t include some of the nutrients of public health concern for British adults, so the researchers also assessed the meals with NRF 17.3, which includes more micronutrients.
The whole-food plant-based lasagna (comprising lentils) received the highest rating, achieving over 40% of the maximum NRF 17.3 score. The chilli and teriyaki recipes made from these ingredients scored around 35%, while the curry had a score of just under 30% of the maximum.
In comparison, the beef lasagna received just under 40%, and the beef chilli only 25%. The chicken teriyaki and curry, meanwhile, scored only around 10% of the maximum.
“An ideal recipe should have an NRF score equal to approximately 30% of the maximum NRF score,” the researchers said. Only four recipes – the whole-food vegan lasagna, chilli and teriyaki, and the beef lasagna – passed this threshold.
In fact, the lentil lasagna was the most nutrient-dense recipe in the whole study, providing 19% of the daily recommended value for protein, and exceeding the fibre recommendation by 30%. In addition, it was the only lasagna to have lower than 30% of the recommended saturated fat intake, and had the highest amounts of thiamine, folate, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper and selenium across all lasagne.
Meat-based meals far worse for the planet – and the wallet
Courtesy: Nutrients
The difference between the environmental impact of meat and meat-free dishes was massive. The global warming potential (GWP) of one beef lasagna was 5.8 kg of CO2e, equivalent to 15 lasagne containing plant-based meat, and 22 whole-food plant-based versions.
Similarly, the impact of one beef chilli is higher than that of 11 plant-based meat versions and 28 whole-food chillies. “In other words, eating a plant-based chilli for lunch every day for an entire month would result in the same climate impact as eating one beef chilli,” the study noted.
And even though chicken has a much lower carbon footprint and has been touted by bodies like the UN FAO as a climate-friendlier protein, one chicken teriyaki noodle dish had the same GWP as four tempeh-based versions. The difference was even larger with curry, with one chicken-based version equivalent to seven vegan curries.
When it came to prices, the cost of vegan meals was cheaper than meat across the board. The average cost for meat-based recipes was £2.31, while vegetarian meals averaged out at £1.97. In comparison, vegan (both whole-food and with meat analogues) dishes had the lowest average price at £1.49, subverting a constant criticism about the high prices of plant-based alternatives.
Meat was the single-largest contributor to recipe costs, with chicken responsible for up to 75% of the meal’s price, and beef up to 70%. For vegetarian recipes, the bulk of the cost came from Quorn (up to 63%) and cheese (16%), while the price of vegan meals came primarily from meat alternatives (32-56%) and non-dairy cheese (11%).
“In whole-food vegan recipes, the contribution of main ingredients (i.e., various vegetables, pulses, and pasta/noodles) to total recipe cost was relatively equally distributed,” the researchers found.
Courtesy: Nutrients
Whole-food plant-based on the rise in the UK
“Meat-based meals in this study with high environmental impact were transformed into more sustainable alternatives by replacing animal-based ingredients (e.g., meat and dairy) with plant-based options… [which] significantly reduced the environmental impact of meals in all cases while also improving the nutrient density of recipes in most cases,” the study stated.
It added that plant-based meat and dairy “can serve as healthful replacements for meat when chosen carefully” and be more climate-friendly too. “However, their nutritional quality is dependent on the type of product, formulation and degree of processing.”
The study serves as further proof that the real stars are whole foods such as vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts. Already, British consumers and food companies are recognising this. Last month, Oh So Wholesome released Veg’chop, a whole-food-packed protein block, the same day meat alternative maker THIS launched a similar concept called Super Superfood.
This study shows that in addition to retail, foodservice operators play a “central role” in encouraging consumers to eat better. “The more convenient and accessible these healthy and sustainable options are, the more likely consumers are to choose them,” the researchers said.
They advocated for “clear and accessible communication strategies”, such as traffic-light labels for health and climate impacts, making plant-based meals the “dish of the day”, and optimising sensory-focused descriptions that enhance their appeal.
In 2024, the World Resources Institute compiled a list of 90 techniques that can help foodservice players ‘nudge’ plant-based behaviours among diners. Some of the most effective strategies include chef training to improve the quality of vegan meals, increasing the ratio of these dishes, integrating meat-free options into meat sections in displays, and – as this new study recommends – using indulgent and appealing language to describe them.
Half of Americans recognise the health benefits of a vegan diet, but they need reassurance from their primary care doctors to eat more plants.
While a majority of Americans say they are happy to eat more plant-based food and know it’s good for them, a lack of guidance from healthcare professionals keeps them at bay, according to a new survey.
In the 2,200-person poll, Morning Consult and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) found that half of the respondents believe vegan diets can improve their health, while only about a third think otherwise. Another 17%, meanwhile, are unsure.
“What’s missing is support and guidance from health care professionals,” contended Xavier Toledo, a registered dietitian with the PCRM. “This represents a huge missed opportunity to turn interest into action – and to reduce the risk of chronic diseases that affect millions.”
Doctors can be a force of dietary change
Courtesy: PCRM/Morning Consult
The survey revealed that only 1% of Americans follow a vegan diet, and another 1% are lacto-ovo vegetarians. In fact, 91% of respondents said they eat meat at least once a week, and 88% said the same for dairy. On the other hand, over a quarter (28%) say they rarely or never eat seafood.
Among those who believe plant-based food can improve health and reduce chronic diseases, the sentiment was most popular with Gen Zers and millennials, those with a college degree, high-income households, non-white Americans, urban residents, and Democrats.
Only one in five survey respondents have had their primary care doctor speak to them about the benefits of a vegan diet, with these consumers skewing young, male, Black or Hispanic, and urban. Over half (57%) of Americans said their primary care practitioners have not discussed this with them.
This leaves a major gap, as Toledo noted. It’s because when Americans are shown evidence of how plant-based diets can enhance their health, their willingness to try such a diet jumps by 15 percentage points – nearly two-thirds (65%) are open to eating vegan if they’re shown the science.
This sentiment is similar for both men and women, but is more common with younger, college-educated respondents who vote Democrat, earn over $50,000 per year, and are Black or Hispanic. Meanwhile, only a quarter (26%) said this wouldn’t influence their dietary habits.
Courtesy: PCRM/Morning Consult
It highlights the impact of doctors speaking to their patients about how plant-based diets can help them. “The teaching and training of healthcare professionals in general is still based around omnivorous diets when it comes to nutrition,” Dr Shireen Kassam, a consultant haematologist and founding director of medical association Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, told Green Queen last week.
“Nutrition training in most non-nutrition healthcare courses is still lacking, with education on plant-based diets being even less well covered,” she added. She was responding to a recent study showing that only 72% of midwives feel prepared to advise pregnant patients on plant-based nutrition, though her comments covered the broader medical profession.
“It is clear from our own research that health professionals, including dietitians, would benefit from more teaching and training on plant-based and vegan diets, given they are becoming more popular and given that they are recognised as being necessary for their co-benefits for environmental health.”
Health in the spotlight in MAHA era
Courtesy: MAHA
The poll comes at a time when health is in full focus in the US, thanks in part to the continued post-Covid wave of wellness and nutrition, and Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Make America Healthy Again movement.
The US health secretary has taken a stick to ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and what he calls “fake meats”, which have contributed to the ongoing slowdown in sales of plant-based food in the US. Last year, meat alternative sales were down by 7%, and purchases of non-dairy milk by 5%.
This latest poll shows fathere is an appetite for plant-based food, mirroring another survey by Morning Consult and PCRM, which found that nearly half (48%) of Americans would consider eating vegan food to reduce their climate footprint.
Courtesy: GFI
Evidence of health being a primary consumption driver is mounting. Research by the American Heart Association last year found that 77% of Americans would like to eat healthier. Meanwhile, another survey showed that 48% feel plant-based foods are healthier than animal proteins, and 45% want to eat less meat and dairy due to personal health concerns (a 7% rise since 2023).
Among consumers identified as the “addressable market” for plant-based meat, two in five find meat or protein good for health. At the same time, though, 43% say health is a top benefit they seek from both meat and vegan alternatives, and a third of them believe the latter are better for heart health.
That’s a fact confirmed by tons of research, including a recent Harvard study. An 11-country review has also found that plant-based meat and dairy are either on par or better than animal protein in terms of their nutritional profile. And in 2023, a meta-analysis of two million people found that higher adherence to plant-based diets is linked to significantly lower risks of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and early death.
Plant proteins were a major talking point in discussions for the upcoming update to the national dietary guidelines, with scientists recommending the US Department of Agriculture prioritise plants over meat.
Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers the Science Museum’s future food exhibit, Beyond Steak’s UK debut, and a Dutch public-private plant-based partnership.
New products and launches
In London, the Science Museum will host a Future of Food exhibit from July 24, featuring Aleph Farms‘s cultivated beef steak, the oldest sample of Quorn‘s burger from 1981, Clean Food Group‘s yeast-derived palm oil alternative, and more.
Courtesy: Science Museum Group
British YouTubers James Marriott and Will Lenney (aka Willne) have launchedRodd’s, a dairy-free ready-to-drink brand featuring an iced latte, waffle latte, and a vanilla matcha latte, all made with oat milk. They’re available at 300 Sainsbury’s stores for £2.20 per 250ml bottle.
Rude Health has released a “clean deck” iced coffee range, with its Oat Latte Iced Coffee and Mocha Iced Coffee aiming to address ultra-processing fears. They’re available for £3.75 per 750ml pack.
In more oat milk news from the UK, new startup Via Nature has rolled out Oat Shaker, a line described as a “snack in a bottle”. It comes in Banana & Coconut, Matcha & Pineapple and Blueberry & Açaí flavours, and can be found at Sainsbury’s for £4 per 750ml.
Courtesy: Beyond Meat
Beyond Meat‘s vegan steak pieces have made it into the UK, rolling out at 650 Tesco stores to align with British Sandwich Week (May 19-25), priced at £4.50 per 160g pack.
Vegan chocolate maker NOMO has released Salted Popcorn and Birthday Cake flavours in UK supermarkets, which are available in 32g and 127g bars, respectively.
New Zealand-based Nutrition from Water has released a Ready-To-Bake Sponge Cake Premix from its Marine Whey 50 algae protein.
Courtesy: Maison Linotte/Meawnamcat/Getty Images
French luxury pastry maker Maison Linotte has unveiledPurely, a premium vegan butter for professionals and baking enthusiasts. Described as a clean-label product, it contains no palm oil and can be used as a 1:1 replacement for dairy butter. It has a neutral flavour and colour, and reduces emissions by 82%.
Italian almond-based cheesemaker Dreamfarm has debuted vegan Ciliegine, or mini mozzarella balls, at the TuttoFood fair in Milan. They will roll out at Esselunga stores, with each 120g pack containing 12 balls.
Also in the non-dairy world, Canada’s Daiya has reformulated its cream cheese and Deluxe Mac & Cheese lines with its new fermented oat cream. It has also added a Cinnamon Twist flavour to the former range.
Courtesy: Daiya
And in the US, Dr. Praeger’s is launching two frozen vegan snacks – Taco Stars and Ranch Crunchy Veggie Fries – at Target stores this month.
In the Netherlands, Wageningen University & Research, Jumbo, Intersnack Group, Alpro, HAK, and The Vegetarian Butcher have launched a two-year public-private partnership called Shifting Shelves, which aims to increase the uptake of plant-based meat and dairy, legumes, and nuts via literature reviews, consumer research, and virtual and in-store supermarket tests.
Courtesy: Jumbo
Berlin-based startup Cultimate Foods has received funding from the Investitionsbank Berlin, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, to scale up its cultivated animal fat.
Denmark’s Ferm Food has earned EU authorisation to sell its fermented rapeseed cake as a food ingredient. A byproduct of canola oil production, it contains 28-30% protein and can be used in bread, cakes, and plant-based products.
Courtesy: Ferm Food
Abhay Rangan, co-founder and former CEO of Indian plant-based dairy startupOne Good (now part of Nourish You), has joined German cultivated milk startup Senara as its chief business officer.
Finally, UK tempeh brandBetter Nature has hired Helen Atkinson as its new head of sales. She has previously worked at Dr Oetker, Noble Foods and Bel Group.
Switzerland’s highest court has introduced labelling rules for plant-based meat products that it claims would avoid confusing customers; in reality, further confusion is likely to be the outcome.
Animal names like ‘chicken’ or ‘beef’ can no longer be used on plant-based product packaging in Switzerland, while terms such as ‘steak’ and fillet’ are fair game, according to a new ruling by its top court.
On Friday, the Federal Supreme Court overturned a 2022 decision by the Zurich Administrative Court, which had rejected a cantonal laboratory’s ruling that prevented Planted – the country’s leading meat-free manufacturer – from using terms like ‘Planted chicken’, ‘like chicken’, and ‘like pork’ on product labels.
The administrative court upheld Planted’s appeal of the cantonal laboratory’s ruling, based on research that showed 93% of respondents identified its chicken alternative as plant-based within seconds.
In response, the Federal Department of Home Affairs filed its own appeal against this decision, which was upheld by the country’s Supreme Court last week.
Planted slams labelling decision ‘driven by politics and emotion’
Courtesy: Planted
“The term ‘chicken’ refers to poultry, that is, an animal,” the federal court said in a statement. “A plant-based product which refers to the term ‘chicken’ and does not contain meat is a deception.”
The four majority judges said the prevailing principle is that a food made without animals can’t be named a meat product, but conceded that the rules are very technical.
For example, terms like ‘beef steak’ or ‘chicken from plants’ are now prohibited, while ‘soy sausages’, ‘grain minced meat’ or ‘lentil steaks’ can continue to be used on product labels.
One of the judges argued that these designations served a commercial purpose, saying they were not just aimed at vegans, but at other Swiss consumers whom plant-based meat companies intend to convince too. “Imitation products must be labelled and advertised so that consumers can see the actual nature of the food and to distinguish it from products with which it could be confused,” the court said.
However, Planted, which is set to receive a deadline to rename its products, called the move politically motivated. “As a Swiss citizen, I’m disappointed that a decision of this magnitude seems driven by politics and emotion,” said co-founder Judith Wemmer, who is also the president of the Swiss Protein Association.
“Rather than helping consumers with simple, clear terminology, unnecessary bureaucracy is being created – wasting valuable resources,” she added, noting that the company would remain committed to its mission, having saved nearly 3.5 million chicken lives.
“We at Planted never lack creativity when it comes to naming animal-free products,” Wemmer said. “No matter what’s written on the packaging, the content remains the same – delicious.”
Swiss ban contradicts nutrition policy and EU legislation
Courtesy: Planted
The Swiss supreme court heavily relied on EU legislation and case law, having aligned itself more with European food labelling standards since the 2017 overhaul of its Foodstuffs Act.
However, these restrictions on plant-based products no longer exist in the EU, with the European Parliament voting against a labelling ban in 2021, and the European Court of Justice reinforcing that in October last year after France’s government attempted to impose a similar ban.
The ECJ ruled that no member state can prohibit companies from using terms like ‘veggie burger’, ‘plant-based sausage’ or ‘vegan bacon’ on product labels, a view echoed by France’s top court too. However, since Switzerland is not part of the EU, this decision doesn’t dictate labelling laws here.
Wemmer called the Supreme Court’s decision “contradictory” in light of the Swiss Federal Council’s new nutritional strategy. Published last month, it calls for an overhaul of the national diet, with an emphasis on boosting plant-based nutrition, reducing food waste, and creating sustainable food environments.
The eight-year plan chimes with the country’s latest dietary guidelines for adults, published last August, which recommend eating more whole foods and plant proteins.
It remains to be seen how Planted renames its offerings to meet the law’s guidelines.
Meanwhile, meat alternatives might not be the only vegan products in jeopardy, with the federal agricultural research centre, Agroscope, last month stating that labels on non-dairy milk can “overwhelm” consumers and often be misleading.
“More mandatory and harmonised provisions in food marketing are necessary in order to promote a sustainable and healthy diet,” it said, though also noting that eco labels have “great potential for even further use” with products like oat milk.
Only 72% of midwives feel prepared to advise pregnant patients on plant-based nutrition, highlighting the need for further education.
While most midwives have a positive attitude towards plant-based pregnancies, many feel unprepared to provide advice to these patients due to a lack of time or because they feel unqualified to do so, according to a new study.
Published in the BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth journal, the research revealed that micronutrient deficiencies and supplementation are the main concerns around plant-based pregnancies. Midwives who don’t eat meat, meanwhile, are much more likely to feel confident about advising their patients on plant-based pregnancies, but they only make up 23% of the total.
The researchers conducted interviews with 133 midwives in New Zealand. While 96% say they feel equipped to give their patients advice on general nutrition, this level of preparedness falls to just 72% for plant-based nutrition. 14% say they’re wholly unprepared to advise on meat-free pregnancies.
“The teaching and training of healthcare professionals in general is still based around omnivorous diets when it comes to nutrition. Nutrition training in most non-nutrition healthcare courses is still lacking, with education on plant-based diets being even less well covered,” says Dr Shireen Kassam, a consultant haematologist and founding director of medical association Plant-Based Health Professionals UK.
“In addition, most country-based dietary guidelines do not provide sufficient advice and guidance on supporting people to eat a healthy plant-based diet,” she adds.
“From the evidence and guidance we have, a well-planned vegan diet can support a healthy pregnancy. Like with all diet patterns, some knowledge and skills around healthy plant-based eating are useful. And given that it’s still rare to find health professionals who understand vegan diets for pregnancy and lactation, we would always recommend seeking support from a nutrition professional with expertise in vegan diets.”
Why many midwives don’t feel qualified to give plant-based advice
Courtesy: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
While 45% don’t experience any specific barriers towards discussing plant-based nutrition, 36% cite a lack of time, and 30% say they feel unqualified to provide such advice. Other hurdles include client disinterest, concerns about how advice may be perceived as a judgment of lifestyle choices, a lack of knowledge regarding plant-based diets, and the challenge of keeping up to date with changing nutrition advice.
Ensuring that plant-based patients have access to evidence-based dietary information should be a primary objective of maternal care. As the researchers write: “Midwives are frequently recognised as important sources of dietary information during pregnancy. Current findings suggest a potential gap in maternity support for plant-based diet followers.”
To that end, while almost all midwives believe that nutrition is important during pregnancy, nearly 70% say clients are responsible for educating themselves about nutrition. Despite only half agreeing that their patients are knowledgeable about their nutrition needs, 76% expect plant-based clients to have a good knowledge base.
Meanwhile, only 7% and 3% of midwives think plant-based diets are better for mothers’ and babies’ development, with around three in 10 disagreeing – most remain neutral (63% and 68% for mothers and babies, respectively). Even so, more midwives (92%) recommend omnivore patients to adjust their diets to meet nutritional needs, compared to 84% for plant-based clients.
“We don’t have sufficient studies on vegan diets and pregnancy at present, which is probably why there are a variety of answers to this question. In addition, the current media narrative around plant-based diets centres around them being restrictive and nutrient-deficient, and this tends to shape the views and attitudes of healthcare professionals, including midwives,” explains Kassam.
Micronutrient deficiencies are the chief concern. Most midwives believe that plant-based diets leave patients more susceptible to iron deficiency or anaemia (78%) and a lack of vitamin B12 (75%). Over a quarter of midwives discuss vitamin and mineral intake with pregnant patients who follow meat-free diets, and a sixth recommend supplementation.
Less than 1% encourage them to add animal proteins to their diets. And nearly three in 10 say these patients are less likely to develop hypertensive disorders of pregnancy than those who eat meat.
Courtesy: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Public health resources need an overhaul
The study found that most midwives have had patients who follow restricted diets, including vegetarians (encountered by 90% of care professionals) and vegans (63%).
Meanwhile, those who follow an omnivore diet themselves are less likely to agree with the statement that vegan diets are better for expecting mothers and their infants. “Given the influence of midwives’ own diets on their attitudes and beliefs about plant-based diets, it is important midwives have access to reliable evidence-based information to inform their own diet choices,” the authors say.
The gap in confidence in providing nutritional advice on plant-based pregnancies is nothing new – previous research shows that this phenomenon has had little improvement over 28 years of analysis, with midwives feeling unprepared to advise on plant-based diets (thanks to a lack of knowledge), and feeling least equipped in advising vegetarian clients (compared to other common nutrition-related conditions).
Midwives’ practices towards pregnant patients on plant-based diets versus omnivorous diets | Courtesy: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
That said, the preparedness to advise on general and plant-based nutrition in this latest study was higher than in previous research – in one study, 87% reported moderate to high confidence in providing general nutrition advice, but only 41% aid so for vegetarian diets.
“Although the prevalence of formal nutrition training appears to have increased, it is possible the education standards regarding nutrition require more plant-based-diet-focused content, or recent curriculum changes are yet to be reflected within the workforce,” the researchers write.
“Gaining relatively specialised knowledge from general public health resources is challenging, and there remains a significant information gap in terms of plant-based diets,” they add. “There is a clear need for an evidence-based, public-health resource specifically for plant-based diets during pregnancy, to minimise midwife burden and ensure clients can easily access relevant information.”
Kassam adds: “It is clear from our own research that health professionals, including dietitians, would benefit from more teaching and training on plant-based and vegan diets, given they are becoming more popular and given that they are recognised as being necessary for their co-benefits for environmental health.”
The Pack, a British startup making alternative proteins for pet food, has been acquired by Prefera Petfood, a premium manufacturer founded by industry veterans.
London-based alternative pet food maker The Pack has sold its brand to premium manufacturer Prefera Petfood, with the terms of the transaction undisclosed.
The acquisition comes just weeks after the startup co-launched the UK’s first cultivated meat product for pets, and follows Prefera’s deal to co-produce cultivated mouse meat with another firm in Europe.
The deal will see The Pack co-founders Judy Nadel and Damien Clarkson join the Prefera team to continue to grow their brand in Europe.
“In joining Prefera Petfood, The Pack is going to be able to create the next generation of highly nutritious products for pets,” says Clarkson, who will remain CEO of the brand. “We are excited to combine our skills with the world-class production talent assembled by Prefera and look forward to seeing the brand grow greatly in the coming years.”
He added that the deal would help The Pack develop innovative products and bring them to market much more quickly.
Courtesy: The Pack
The Pack sells brand after successful year
Clarkson and Nadel – the pair behind agrifood investment platform Vevolution – founded The Pack in 2021, and sell both wet and dry dog food, including Europe’s first complete oven-baked plant-based kibble.
Its products are made from pea protein, lupin beans, vegetables and herbs, and are rich in protein and micronutrients (with a digestibility rate of over 90%). Plus, the use of plant-based ingredients means its meals have a carbon footprint 17 times lower than meat-based dog food.
The company closed an £835,000 seed funding round in December 2022 to bring its total funding to over £1M, before embarking on a crowdfunding campaign last summer. At the time, its sales were up by 39% year-over-year, with the firm “on track for our best-ever financial year”, Clarkson told Green Queen at the time.
He had hinted at the company’s move past vegan products, and into cultivated meat. Building on that, The Pack co-developed oven-baked Chick Bites with London-based cultivated meat startup Meatly, the first company to be approved to sell these proteins in the UK.
The limited-edition dog treats were available at Pets At Home in 50g pouches for £3.49. Clarkson labelled it a “watershed moment”, noting: “Cultivated meat offers a tasty, low-carbon, and healthy protein source, which has the potential to eliminate farmed animals from the pet food industry.”
Pets account for 22% of the UK’s meat consumption, which is more than what British children eat every year. Meanwhile, labradors – the most popular pet dogs in the country – consume 70 million kg of meat annually, nearly 60% more than their owners.
But environmental concerns have pushed half of global consumers to switch pet food brands or products, a number that rises slightly for millennials and Gen Zers, who are increasingly opting to have pets instead of children.
These worries have only deepened over the year – in 2024, over a third (36%) of consumers said they were more likely to pay more for sustainable pet food than three years prior.
The Pack CEO Damien Clarkson, Pets at Home COO Anja Madsen, and Meatly CEO Owne Ensor | Courtesy: Meatly/Pets at Home
Prefera continues M&A trend in plant-based sector
Prefera, meanwhile, was formed in early 2024 by a group of industry veterans, with the team comprising former senior leaders from pet food giants, nutritionists, and veterinarians. The company is a specialist in premium wet pet food production, and sells primarily in Europe.
“The Pack has been one of the pioneering companies in the emerging alternative protein pet food market,” said Nicola Magalini, managing partner of Prefera. He is the former CEO of Lily’s Kitchen, and also worked as an executive at Purina, the pet food brand owned by Nestlé.
“Prefera are excited to add the brand to our growing portfolio of brands to work with Damien Clarkson and Judy Nadel, in growing the brand across Europe and expanding their range of products vastly,” Magalini added.
Last month, Prefera partnered with US startup BioCraft Pet Nutrition to co-manufacture the latter’s cell-cultured mouse ingredient on a commercial scale. The details about the length of the partnership, the production volumes, or the deal’s financials were not disclosed.
However, BioCraft co-founder and CEO Shannon Falconer told Green Queen: “We anticipate being able to offer meaningful volumes of our ingredient to pet food manufacturers in Europe in late 2025.” The firm recently registered its ingredient to sell cultivated meat for pets in the EU.
Beyond Meat has launched plant-based Chicken Pieces at Kroger stores across the US, marking a new iteration of its first-ever product, and the return of a fan favourite.
At the behest of its fans, plant-based giant Beyond Meat has brought back the cult-favourite product that kickstarted the company’s journey.
The El Segundo-based firm has reintroduced Chicken Pieces, a successor to its first-ever product, Chicken Strips, which was discontinued six years ago.
According to the company, the new unbreaded chicken is one of Beyond Meat’s “most highly requested products”, teasing its release on its Instagram page with a post that featured countless comments from customers asking for the chicken and debuting it at Expo West in Anaheim, California this past March.
The launch comes days after a two-decade-long study showed that regularly eating chicken could double the risk of death from gastrointestinal cancers, raising fresh concerns about advice from bodies like the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which has supported a shift to white meat as a planetary and human health solution.
“After several years of research to raise the bar on taste, clean ingredients, and nutrition, Beyond Meat is reintroducing our unbreaded chicken platform as Beyond Chicken Pieces,” a company spokesperson told Green Queen.
“As a company dedicated to rapid and relentless innovation to create the most delicious and nutritious plant-based proteins, and following the introduction of our breakthrough unbreaded chicken strips, we are excited that we have truly raised the bar with this newest iteration of unbreaded chicken,” they added.
The evolution of Beyond Meat’s chicken
The original Beyond Meat chicken strips. Courtesy: Reuters
While Beyond Meat may be best known for its beef burger patties today, when it first entered the retail market, it was with a plant-based chicken range, launching grilled strips in a frozen format in 2013.
That product was the result of 20 years of research by University of Missouri professors Harold Huff and Fu-Hung Hsieh, whose formula was licensed by Ethan Brown, founder and CEO of Beyond Meat.
The firm launched the Chicken Strips in the US market in 2012 and garnered a cult following among its customer base. However, the product failed to impress food journalists like Mark Bittman, then an influential columnist at the New York Times, who called it “bland, unexciting and not very chicken-like” when trying the strips unadulterated.
As Beyond Meat introduced its beef and sausage analogues in the years ahead, it discontinued the OG chicken product in 2019, the same year it went public.
The company did not respond to Green Queen’s question about why the frozen chicken strips were withdrawn from the market in the first place, though an FAQ section on its website at the time said: “We’re constantly innovating and renovating our products based on consumer feedback. Unfortunately, our Chicken Strips weren’t delivering the same plant-based meat experience as some of our more popular products.”
It added: “But, there’s good news. We have a team of chefs and scientists who are working on getting an even better, tastier version of Beyond Chicken Strips back on retail shelves and restaurant menus as soon as possible.”
Now, after six years, they’re finally back, this time as pieces rather than strips. “Made from simple ingredients including avocado oil, which is high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, Beyond Chicken Pieces offer 21g of clean plant protein per serving with only 0.5g saturated fat, no cholesterol, no GMOs, and no added hormones or antibiotics,” the company spokesperson told Green Queen.
Like many of Beyond’s recent products, it carries certifications from the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check and the American Diabetes Association’s Better Choices for Life scheme.
Will consumers take to unbreaded vegan chicken pieces?
Courtesy: Beyond Meat
Beyond Meat’s unbreaded chicken pieces are made from soy protein, wheat gluten, natural flavours, avocado oil, potato starch, pea fibre, potassium salt, yeast extract, spices and seasonings, and salt. They’re available at 1,900 Kroger stores, with each 10-oz pack setting you back $8.99.
While it may be the company’s most requested product, introducing a pre-cut unbreaded chicken analogue is an interesting choice. There are several other products like this on the market, including from The Vegetarian Butcher and Vivera, but they tend to be a hard sell for meat-eaters, which is the focal consumer demographic for plant-based meat companies.
In a 2,700-person taste test of American omnivores, only 37% liked the market-leading vegan chicken strips and chunks, falling to 25% for the average brand, as opposed to 67% who liked the animal-based benchmark.
Taste-testers complained of a bland, earthy and chemical flavour, as well as a weird aftertaste in the average unbreaded plant-based chicken chunks. In fact, even the plant-based leader was preferred over its conventional counterpart by just 15% of participants.
When it comes to unbreaded chicken analogues, people prefer whole-cut filets over strips or chunks. “One of the biggest R&D opportunities across all categories was juiciness [or] tenderness,” explained Caroline Cotto, director of Nectar, the research agency that conducted the taste test. “That played out in this category clearly where perhaps the smaller pieces have more problems retaining their moisture.”
Plant-based meat continued to see declining sales in the US last year, dropping by 7%, just as traditional proteins like tofu, tempeh, and seitan witnessed a 7% hike in sales. This comes as consumers are looking for more whole-food options. In the UK, plant-based meat brand THIS’s Super Superfood and Oh So Wholesome’s Veg’chop, which pack plants in protein-rich blocks, lean into this trend.
Beyond Meat did not respond to questions about market decline or the impact of the Trump administration’s policies on its business though the company said that its “core product portfolio is intended to replicate beef, pork and poultry”. When asked how it plans to straddle the line between meat alternatives and whole foods, it pointed to the Sun Sausage line it launched last year, which the spokesperson called “an important and exciting expansion of our product portfolio”.
The Sun Sausages contain a base of yellow peas, brown rice, red lentils and faba beans, which are complemented with avocado oil, oat bran, oat fibre, and other ingredients. While the brand has touted a “clean and simple ingredient list”, each of the three flavours contains over 20 ingredients.
Beyond Meat has been doubling down on the health messaging over the last year, battling vast amounts of misinformation from the meat industry with a new documentary, Planting Change, released last week.
“There’s also a very strong countercurrent, which is this narrative around being highly processed and full of questionable ingredients, which is a manufactured narrative. It’s not one that actually has science behind it or much truth to it,” Brown said in an earnings call in February.
He has previously stated that it would be arguable “whether Beyond Meat is, at its core, a plant-based meat company that delivers health and wellness, or a health and wellness company that makes plant-based meat”.
The company’s revenues were down by 5% in 2024, though the rate of decline had slowed substantially, with losses shrinking by 52%. That said, it decided to suspend its China operations and laid off 9% of its global workforce in the last quarter of 2024. Now, it’s preparing to debut a new steak product made with mycelium, and will announce the financial results of Q1 2025 next week.
Eat Just has added a new single-ingredient protein powder to its portfolio, made from the same mung bean base as its Just Egg. The company says the product has more protein than “anything else on the market”.
California’s Eat Just has rolled out Just One, a range of protein powders made from the same mung bean base that powers its liquid egg alternative, at all Whole Foods locations in the US.
The unflavored, single-ingredient version is also available at Purple Carrot, and contains 30g of complete protein per serving (three heaped tablespoons, or 35g). This means it contains all nine essential amino acids, and more of them than whey, pea or soy protein, which populate the current market of protein powders.
Courtesy: Eat Just
In addition, Just One comes in three flavours – chocolate-peanut butter, maple-banana, and vanilla-chai – which contain 17g of protein per serving. Each protein powder comes in a 12oz reusable aluminium tin, priced at $34.99.
“This is more than a conventional protein powder – it’s a protein that enables you to bake, to bind, to emulsify, to make pancakes and muffins and sauces. It’s an awesome, creamy [addition] to oatmeal.” Eat Just co-founder and CEO Josh Tetrick tells Green Queen, adding that it can replace eggs and milk in a range of applications.
“It has more protein per serving than anything else on the market. It’s an entirely new category; a new, innovative kitchen staple,” he suggests.
Just One protein powder hailed by chefs
“We spent years trying to find a clean, single-ingredient protein that could make it a little easier to eat better,” Tetrick said in a statement. “We’re so excited to see what folks make with it.”
Explaining how it’s made, he tells Green Queen: “It’s exactly the same protein we use to make Just Egg. We take a bean, mill [it] into a flour, and separate the protein at high rates of speeds in a centrifuge.”
This proprietary protein separation technology maintains the protein’s integrity during processing, allowing the resulting ingredient to gel, emulsify, leaven, bind, and more. Eat Just argues that most protein powders make food denser and grittier, but Just One makes it better.
Courtesy: Eat Just
It carries some clout with culinary experts too, with celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern saying: “My chefs and I have fooled around with Just One in our kitchens for the last six months. We’re in love. From pumpkin bread to mushroom meatballs and silky smoothies, this single ingredient can do it all. It’s best in class.”
All of the flavour contains brown sugar, natural flavours, and salt, with 8g of added sugar per serving; the maple-banana powder also has banana powder and natural maple flavour, the chocolate-peanut butter version uses Guittard cocoa and roasted peanut powder, and the vanilla-chai variety has cashew powder and chai spices.
How Just One compares with eggs to feed US protein demand
To use Just One as an egg replacer in baking recipes, the company recommends blending 80g of the powder with 200g of water, with 50g of the hydrated mix equivalent to one egg. That means one tin of the protein powder can roughly replace 25 eggs.
At the suggested retail price, this equates to $1.38 per egg used in baking. That’s not far away from the price of chicken eggs in some larger US cities. Plus, the mung bean powder gives bakers the ability to add 6.5 times more protein than conventional eggs.
This will appeal to an increasingly protein-hungry American population. The number of people trying to consume more protein has been steadily increasing in the US, from 59% in 2022 and 67% in 2023 to 71% in 2024, according to a 3,000-person survey. And this year, 85% want to continue increasing the amount of protein they eat.
Courtesy: Eat Just
“I think Americans love protein for all sorts of reasons – cultural, emotional, and because of evidence-based reasons,” says Tetrick. “They have loved [it], and probably will always want more of it.”
It leaves a major opportunity for alternative protein companies, given the environmental intolerance issues associated with conventional whey protein. That said, 87% of Americans believe you need animal products to get enough protein, despite vast evidence to the contrary, so there is a need for education.
Still, the demand for plant-based protein powders can be seen in the numbers. In 2024, retail sales of the category rose by 11% (reaching $450M), with Americans buying 30 million units (a 13% rise). They also became 2% cheaper, and were the fourth-largest category in the vegan market after milk, meat and creamer alternatives.
Animal-free protein powders on the rise
Courtesy: Eat Just
Just One is among a growing list of companies offering animal-free protein powders. Just last week, Finland’s Solar Foods announced the world’s first protein powder made from air – targeted at the health and performance nutrition market in the US – while Balletic Foods entered the space with three fermentation-derived protein powders.
Perfect Day was one of the first companies in the world to create an animal-free whey protein powder, and lent its ingredient to CPG protein powder brand Strive Nutrition, as well as online sports nutrition giant Myprotein. And last year, Nestlé released a Better Whey product under its Orgain line last year, featuring the same ingredient.
Elsewhere, France’s Bon Vivant has introduced a three-strong range of functional animal-free dairy protein powders, while Dutch microbial protein maker Farmless is working on a ‘brewed’ protein powder.
Meanwhile, precision fermentation startup The Every Company has launched a sugar-free syrup with 5g of recombinant egg protein per ounce, offering consumers a new way to add protein to their diets.
Swedish oat milk leader Oatly has slashed its losses by 73% and reaffirmed its guidance to become profitable this year, although health misinformation and the trade war could complicate things.
Oatly has recorded its second-best quarter since its Summer 2021 IPO, cutting its year-over-year losses by 73% in Q1 2025, reaching $12.5M.
While the company’s revenue was down slightly by 0.8%, totalling $197.5M, a lower cost of goods and the closure of its Singapore facility meant that its gross profit (up by 16%) and gross margin (up by 4.5 percentage points) have been the highest since going public.
It has led Oatly to reaffirm its outlook of a first full year of profitable growth in 2025. Its only profitable quarter came in 2023, when it posted a profit of $44M. However, “misinformation on health” and the ongoing tariff war could throw that plan into jeopardy.
“Key variables could influence where we would exactly land. That could be our sales guidance range. That could be our customer mix. That could be potentially foreign exchange and potentially, structure development on the tariff situation as we know,” said CEO Jean-Christophe Flatin told investors in an earnings call. “So, our plan is to continue to make this progress on our path towards our long-term gross margin target of 35-40%.”
Oatly outperforms the plant-based milk sector despite American decline
Courtesy: Oatly
In the Europe and International segment – Oatly’s largest market – revenue decreased by 2.5% to $108M, while volume rose by 4%, thanks largely to its barista oat milk lineup. However, with a 4.6% year-on-year growth in retail, Oatly still outperformed the overall oat milk (+2.8%) and plant-based milk (+3.5%) categories.
It’s unclear whether Oatly will be affected by the proposed change to the UK’s soft drinks industry levy, which will see milk drinks and plant-based alternatives with 4g or more of added sugar per 100ml get taxed. This excludes natural sugars that come from ingredients like oats, so the only Oatly products that would have been affected are its flavoured milks – though they contain 3.3% of added sugar, according to the ingredients on-pack.
As whole milk and raw milk enjoy a resurgence in the US, the firm saw an even bigger decline of 11% in North America, recording $60M in revenue in the 12-week period. This was accompanied by an 11% volume decrease too. “We’re navigating a change in sourcing strategy at our largest customer, and second, we’re going through an SKU rationalisation on certain frozen items,” explained COO Daniel Ordonez.
Here too, though, Oatly outperformed the wider category in retail, where its losses were at 4.5%, compared to 5.6% for all oat milks, and 5.5% for the overall plant-based milk sector. And when discounting non-recurring costs – also known as adjusted EBITDA – its performance in this region improved with a profit of $1.1M, compared to a loss of $400,000 12 months ago.
Meanwhile, the Greater China segment was the only region where Oatly recorded revenue growth in the first quarter of 2025, although this is the company’s smallest market by some distance. Revenues jumped by 38% to $30M, driven by sales to a new foodservice consumer and entry into the club consumer segment in retail.
One of Oatly’s ongoing priorities is to “aggressively pursue cost efficiencies”, with the business reducing its cost of goods per litre by 15% compared to Q1 2024, and 6% to the previous quarter. “Our teams have done a stellar job, leveraging our fixed assets with volume growth, finding additional efficiencies, renegotiating contracts, as well as rightsizing our network, including plant closures,” said Ordonez. “This translates into a year-on-year total cost of goods reduction of $10 million.
How Oatly plans to ‘ignite positive momentum’
Courtesy: Oatly/Malibu
Another priority for Oatly is to “ignite positive momentum” on a global scale, for which it has a three-pronged strategy. One pillar involves expanding the availability of its products, while another entails increasing its relevance to consumers by leveraging the growing momentum of its barista line in the coffee space.
“Relevance does not start and stop with the product – Oatly is a generational brand that maintains its cultural edge with millennials and Gen Z,” noted Ordonez. Over the last year, the company has struck several partnerships to drive “cultural relevance and conversion into oat milk”, including with Nespresso, Malibu, and British rapper Giggs.
The second strategy is to attack barriers to oat milk, primarily “preconceptions on taste and misinformation on health”. Ordonez said Oaty was dialling up its model of driving foodservice experiences and helping customers recreate those at home with retail purchases.
“There is a taste bonanza and a flavour bonanza going on in coffee around the world, and our teams are intimately woven into this community. So, whether in a coffee shop in Shanghai, Brussels, Mexico, Dubai or Boston, Oatly is uniquely positioned to bring the hottest emerging global taste trends to their menus,” he noted.
The company is working with its foodservice clients to revamp their menus and better cater to Gen Z and current and future trends, which would help it achieve 50% household penetration.
“Coffee is massively, drastically evolving from hot latte art a few years ago only, where millennials were driving the world of coffee, into Gen Z, who are driving beverages and cold beverages,” said Flatin, citing the “matcha phenomenon“. “Most of our very large customers are trying to evolve and catch up with that trend.”
Tackling dairy and oat milk misinformation
Courtesy: Oatly
Oatly is going big on tackling misinformation around the health impact of oat milk, mirroring a larger issue for the plant-based sector. Nowhere is the influence of the dairy lobby more clear than the US, where influential groups have pushed educational materials presenting milk as a healthy and necessary choice for students, following years of campaigns to make it an integral part of school meals.
Dairy associations spent $7.6M on lobbying in 2024 alone, and over the years have been targeting the same demographic as Oatly: Gen Z. In 2022, Dairy Farmers of America collaborated with YouTuber Sean Evans – host of First We Feast’s Hot Ones, where guests eat spicy chicken wings – to promote milk as a safeguard for spicy foods that can “also help keep the planet from getting too hot”. Evans’ content included a sponsored video on National Farmers Day to promote pro-milk facts.
Meanwhile, Dairy Management Inc tapped social media influencer Jimmy Donaldson – better known as MrBeast – to promote the National Dairy Checkoff’s #UndeniablyDairy campaign. He was chosen for his popularity with Gen Z to portray how dairy is a “wellness solution” produced in an “environmentally friendly” way.
Oat milk specifically has received bad press in recent months, with influencers and media outlets pointing to blood glucose spikes, its low protein content, the inclusion of ultra-processed additives like emulsifiers and acidity regulators, and its purported effects on bloating.
How does Oatly plan to combat that? “Instead of creating more noise, we have been systematically engaging with registered and renowned dietitians, nutritionists and key opinion leaders, arming them with science-based facts about our category and our products, so they can be advocates for the truth,” said Ordonez, who called the science behind Oatly’s offerings “unequivocal”.
He believes people are simply getting tired of the noise about, say, how many pimples you’ll get by drinking oat milk. “We are indeed building alliances, be it in Brussels or at The Hill, be it with some thinkalike partners of ours and… public education,” he said
“While there’s plenty more to do to ensure that the public is not being misled, our tracking data shows that negative media coverage has declined very significantly compared to last year. So, we’re making progress on ensuring the discussion on our category is balanced and honest.”
Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Gordon Ramsay’s partnership with Becel, a new vegan egg in Italy, and Spain’s plant-based school meal decree.
New products and launches
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has taken his partnership with plant-based dairy giant Flora Food Group global, appearing in a replica Skip the Cow ad (minus the expletives) for its Canadian dairy-free butter brand Becel.
In the UK, Quorn has added two new flavours to its mycoprotein-based deli slices range. The tomato-basil flavour can be found at Sainsbury’s and Asda, and the garlic-herb variant at Tesco, both for £2.60.
As whole-food plant-based food surges in the UK, The Tofoo Co introduced a Thai Burger and Southern Fried Pieces, which will retail at Waitrose and Tesco, respectively, for £3.
Speaking of whole foods, vegan seafood player Happiee! has launched what it claims is the UK’s first ready-to-cook lion’s mane mushroom chunks. They’re available in original and teriyaki flavours, retailing for £4 per 180g pack at 240 Sainsbury’s stores.
Courtesy: Happiee!
Confectionery giant Mars has rolled out a new Honeycomb for its dairy-free Galaxy range in the UK. Combining cocoa and hazelnut paste with honeycomb pieces, the bar is available at Sainsbury’s for £1.50.
Ice cream maker Oppo Brothers has launched a better-for-you vegan sorbet range called Oppo Refresh, available in Sicilian Lemon & Strawberry, Alphonso Mango & Passionfruit, and Raspberry Coulis Swirl flavours for £3.75 per three-pack.
Also in the UK, oat milk brand Minor Figures has launched the Hyper Oat line it had unveiled at Expo West. Available in berry, turmeric, matcha, and mango variants, the milks contain adaptogens and nootropics. The berry and mango flavours are available at Waitrose for £3 per 750ml bottle, followed by a wider launch in the coming months.
Courtesy: Minor Figures
In Spain, plant-based meat leader Heura has rolled out a Fine Herbs chicken burger to cater to the country’s affinity for white meat, one of several products planned for this year.
Italian plant-based producer The Bridge has launched a vegan liquid egg called Veg Egg, which is made from soy milk and soy protein.
Across the Atlantic, South Korea’s Unlimeat has brought its flagship Korean BBQ Bulgogi and Pulled Pork Original products to 300 Kroger-affiliated stores in the US, including Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, and Smith’s.
Courtesy: Unlimeat
Californian biotech firm Checkerspot has developed what it says is the world’s first high-oleic palm oil alternative made entirely via microalgae fermentation.
Company and finance updates
US animal-free dairy startup DeNovo Foodlabs has formed a 50:50 joint venture with Earth First Food Ventures called PFerrinX26 to scale up the production of precision-fermented lactoferrin protein. They will announce a manufacturing partner soon, and plan to build facilities to produce 300 tonnes of the protein within the next decade.
LoveRaw, the cult-favourite British vegan chocolate brand known for its Ferrero Rocher and Kinder Bueno copycats, has been rescued from administration by Bulgarian plant-based producer Smart Organic, after investment and supplier challenges disrupted the former’s operations and revenue.
Courtesy: LoveRaw
Mycelium Technologies, the French parent company of mycelium protein brand Mycfoods, has kickstarted its first fundraising round, with a €750,000 target. It plans a subsequent €4.5M round next year.
French plant-based companies Hari&Co, Accro, HappyVore, La Vie and Swap Food have formed InterVeg, a coalition aimed at accelerating the transition to a plant-based diet via constructive dialogue with policymakers and promotional campaigns.
Policy and research developments
In a big win for the protein transition, Spain’s Council of Ministers has approved the Royal Decree on Healthy and Sustainable School Cafeterias, which contains a provision to protect children’s right to a 100% plant-based menu in schools, as well as increase legume consumption.
Courtesy: New Wave Biotech
What makes a lean startup? Singaporean sustainable food production platform Nurasa and AI-based precision fermentation facilitator New Wave Biotech have released a whitepaper to help ingredient manufacturers “reimagine the five core lean startup principles” for the food tech world.
Researchers from the US have devised a new 3D printing process to make vegan calamari, using mung bean protein isolate, powdered light-yellow microalgae, gellan gum, and canola oil.
At the University of Florida, researchers are testing a new kind of cattle feed that could help dairy cows release less methane and use nutrients more efficiently.
Finally, in Norway, scientists are proposing kelp and other seaweed species, as well as plant residues, as an alternative to blood and other animal-derived inputs to use as culture media for cultivated meat.
A wave of ‘not milks’ is on the rise, attempting to replicate dairy instead of merely replacing it, but previous efforts have seen mixed success.
From Japan to the US, plant-based milk brands are hoping to tackle the resurgence of dairy with ultra-realistic alternatives that match cow’s milk on flavour and texture, branding them with monikers like ‘Not Milk’ or ‘Like Milk’.
It’s a concept that was first popularised by Chile’s NotCo, whose NotMilk – made from a blend of ingredients identified by artificial intelligence (think peas, pineapples, and cabbage) – took the US by storm for its likeness to conventional dairy.
The idea was that traditional plant milks didn’t necessarily deliver on flavour. Soy was too beany, oat too cereal-like, and coconut, well, too coconutty. Consumers were left wanting more. In 2023, research suggested that despite 44% of US households buying non-dairy milk, a third of Americans still hadn’t found an alternative that met all their needs.
A recent global survey found that among the people who don’t purchase plant-based milk, nearly six in 10 are open to making the shift if their needs are met. The problem? Unsatisfactory taste or texture, which remains the primary barrier and leaves 57% of consumers resistant to drinking dairy-free alternatives.
This is why some plant-based milk brands are now focusing on replicating the flavour of cow’s milk, as opposed to just offering a non-dairy alternative that may not taste similar. NotCo did it first, and Alpro followed soon after – but will this approach be successful?
Courtesy: Roland Berger
Replicate, don’t imitate
Last week, California’s Eclipse Foods debuted a Non-Dairy Whole Milk for coffee shops, bakeries, smoothie bars and other foodservice outlets.
“Unlike most plant-based milks that aim to imitate traditional dairy milk, Eclipse’s latest innovation truly replicates milk,” the company explained in a press release. Its team isolated proteins from peas and chickpeas to replicate the molecular structure of milk.
The new product focuses on “flavour, stability, sweetness, and whiteness”, which Eclipse Foods argued are the main categories where most non-dairy milks fall short. Its innovation is said to foam in both hot and cold temperatures, and hold that foam for as long as cow’s milk.
The brand says it’s inspired by Hokkaido, the dairy-famous region in Japan. So it’s fitting that in the East Asian country, another non-dairy company is hoping to reproduce the flavours of milk.
Courtesy: Asahi Group
Asahi Group, the holding company of the eponymous beer giant, this month began test sales of Like Milk, an animal-free milk made from yeast. The firm leverages fermentation to achieve this result, feeding yeast with sugar, powdering the extracted biomass, and mixing it with plant-based ingredients.
It contains an equivalent amount of protein to dairy and soy milk, and lots more fibre. In addition, it’s free from 28 common allergens, and positioned as a product that “can be used in every aspect of daily life in the same way as milk”.
Asahi’s technology boosts the yeast’s emulsifying properties and removes its unique flavour to leave a mellow-tasting vegan alternative reminiscent of dairy. Like Milk is set to be released nationwide next year.
Fermentation is also the star of Koatji’s Koji Oat Milk, which is crafted by Michelin-starred chefs. While the brand doesn’t specifically market the product as a dairy replica, it suggests that the combination of oat milk with the enzymes used to make miso imparts a depth of flavour to “create the plant milk of the future”.
It comes amid a resurgence of dairy consumption in some parts of the world. In the UK, while conventional dairy sales increased by 6% in January, plant-based analogues only saw a 1% hike. Across the Atlantic, sales of dairy milk grew by 2% in the US last year, with raw milk intake up by 18% (albeit from a smaller base) – in contrast, the country saw a 6% decline in plant-based milk consumption.
Can meeting the thirst for cow’s milk with ‘exact’ replicas help vegan brands attract more consumers? Companies like Eclipse Foods and Asahi are betting on it, though the category’s history to date shows middling returns.
NotCo’s Not Milk is no longer as widely available in the US, though that could be more to do with the firm’s shift in approach and the handover of its North American operations to Kraft Heinz.
However, some notable examples come from Danone. In the US, the dairy giant discontinued its Silk Nextmilk and So Delicious Wondermilk SKUs, both alternatives said to replicate the molecular composition and taste of cow’s milk. The company didn’t give a reason for the withdrawal, saying at the time it was “prioritising our efforts on innovation across our product portfolio to deliver on evolving consumer preferences, including functional and nutritional needs”.
Courtesy: Alpro
And in the UK, Danone recently pulled its This Is Not M!lk range under the Alpro brand, as revealed by Green Queen last month. “While ‘This Is Not M!lk’ was designed to create a more familiar dairy milk taste, our UK shopper research showed us that many of our consumers enjoy the taste of oat just as much, if not more so,” Tom Kerr, head of plant-based at Danone UK & Ireland, told Green Queen in a subsequent email.
“As such, we decided to focus on the great taste of our core oat range and discontinued This is Not M!lk in the UK towards the end of 2024,” he added. “We have no plans to bring this back to the UK at the moment… However, it continues to be enjoyed by consumers across several markets in Europe.”
Indeed, for many consumers, non-dairy milk simply tastes better. One global survey found that two in five respondents buy plant-based milk for its taste superiority. It’s why you see so many people who aren’t vegan or lactose-intolerant opting for an oat milk latte – and research shows one in five Americans who purchase vegan alternatives also put cow’s milk in their shopping carts.
So will products like Eclipse Foods’s Non-Dairy Whole Milk and Asahi’s Like Milk help turn the tide for plant-based milk? Or will they go the same way as Danone’s attempts? Only time – and consumers – will tell.
As one of the world’s largest plant-based meat companies, Beyond Meat has hit back at the livestock industry with a new documentary.
Is beef just the new tobacco?
That’s one of the central claims in a new short film by Beyond Meat, a plant-based giant looking to clear the headwinds that have plagued it in the last few years.
In Planting Change, a fast-paced nine-minute documentary, the El Segundo-based firm tackles the health and environmental impacts of plant-based meat, the effect on farmers, and, of course, the misinformation campaigns from the meat industry.
“American beef producers are following a very similar playbook to the tobacco industry – of undermining science and of creating counternarratives that suggest that plant-based products are somehow harmful,” says Dr Robert K Jackler, a professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and the founder of the Stanford Research Into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising group.
Really, though, the livestock industry is only concerned about one thing: its bottom line. “Their concern is that plant-based meats will begin to eat into their sales and harm their profits,” says Jackler.
The meat industry has used the tobacco playbook to spread misinformation | Courtesy: Beyond Meat
And for a while, they were. At the turn of the decade, Beyond Meat was at the height of its popularity, with a successful IPO and major celebrity endorsements taking the brand’s valuation to $14B at its peak. With Covid-19 soon confining Americans to their homes, they became more health-conscious and actively began swapping out beef.
Of the $10.7B invested in plant-based food companies since 2015, $4.2B came in 2020-21, when sales of meat alternatives reached record highs. And in the two years since the pandemic, conventional meat consumption dropped by 4kg per person in the US.
Things have taken a turn in the year since. In 2024, meat made a comeback – driven by a shifting cultural and political landscape – with sales reaching record highs. Purchases of vegan alternatives, however, were declining.
So the “playbook” Jackler says the beef industry employed has been successful. Beyond Meat, one of this campaign’s biggest and most frequent targets, has felt the squeeze, with sales sliding for nine consecutive quarters until the latter half of 2024. The documentary, it seems, is its answer to Big Meat.
Beyond Meat tackles UPF concerns through documentary
Plant-based meat can be reformulated, cows cannot | Courtesy: Beyond Meat
For a while now, there’s one statistic that Ethan Brown – Beyond Meat’s founder and CEO – has been using to illustrate the impact of the meat industry’s misinformation campaign: in 2020, more than half of Americans felt that plant-based meat was good for them, a number that fell to 38% two years later.
Amid attacks on long ingredient lists and ultra-processing, the company changed tack in 2023, airing a marketing campaign focused on farmers. Months later, it took another turn, this time going all-in on health.
“We faced a fundamental choice, and that was to either bang our fists on the table and explain the health benefits of our products. Or, to take a look inward and say: ‘How do we make our products even healthier? How do we make them unassailable from a health perspective?’” Brown says in the documentary.
Beyond Meat did a little bit of both. It reformulated its core product line in collaboration with “leading medical and nutrition experts”, including Stanford professor Dr Christopher Gardner (who was behind the famous ‘twin study‘ featured in Netflix’s You Are What You Eat) and renowned dietitian Joy Bauer. At the same time, the company refreshed its packaging to put health claims like ‘75% less saturated fat’ and ‘no cholesterol’ compared to beef.
Courtesy: Beyond Meat | Graphic by Green Queen
Dr Kristi Funk, a breast cancer surgeon and advocate of whole-food plant-based nutrition, explains the difference in the film. When you cook meat, as soon as the heat interacts with the creatinine, it forms highly carcinogenic compounds.
“When you grill, sauté or barbecue a Beyond Meat burger, you’re not making any appreciable carcinogens,” says Funk. “The protein sources are healthful foods – peas, lentils, brown rice, faba beans.”
Dr Matthew Nagra, who led research on the heart health impact of meat and vegan alternatives, explains: “One of the underappreciated aspects of plant-based meat alternatives is that we can reformulate them. You can’t do that with a cow.”
The documentary also sheds light on how Beyond Meat’s faba bean steak is made, in an effort to answer critics of ultra-processed foods. “The farmer plants the crop. The plant is harvested. Then it’s milled. The flour is placed in the air chamber. Because the density and size of protein and starch are different, they naturally separate,” explains Brown.
“We then take the protein, blend it with wheat, and we run it through heating, cooling and pressure to restructure the form of that protein into animal muscle,” he continues. This is then mixed with natural flavours and colours and plant-based oils to form the Beyond Steak.
What about the farmers?
Courtesy: Beyond Meat
Beyond health, one of the other major criticisms of plant-based meat surrounds the people who grow our food. If we eat plants, what happens to our ranchers?
This argument misses the reality of climate change. There’s simply not enough land or water to feed Americans as much beef as they’re projected to eat over the coming decades. When it comes to polluting foods, beef is as bad as it gets.
Our insatiable demand for meat has led the industry to convert wild habitats into land for livestock grazing, resulting in significant biodiversity loss. Producing Beyond Meat requires 97% less land and water, and generates 90% fewer emissions.
“For us to solve climate change, beef consumers have to consume less,” says Timothy Searchinger, a researcher at Princeton’s Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment. “Not none,” he adds, “but less.”
The short film also features several endorsements from farmers in the Midwest. For one farmer in Montana, having red lentils has made a big difference for his farm, as well as agriculture across the state. This is because the pulse crops grown for Beyond Meat don’t need as much water or any synthetic fertilisers.
He also suggests that these crops are fuelling some hope into the younger generation to take up the profession – a major point of concern for the industry. A fava bean farmer in North Dakota, meanwhile, says the return on investment has been 20-25% higher than other crops.
Oswald Schmitz, a population and community ecology professor at Yale University’s School of the Environment, puts it best. “One of the really cool opportunities for cattle ranchers is to get them to change their mindset from being livestock producers to carbon ranchers.
The short film does feature some compelling arguments about the need to diversify our protein sources, but in an America where regenerative beef and tallow are all the rage, and UPFs are public enemy number one, will consumers bite?
Brown ends the film with a hopeful message: “[If] you fearlessly confront the questions of our time and refuse to go numb in defeat, there is truly hope and a path forward in eating closer to the sun.”
THIS, the UK startup famous for its plant-based meat analogues, has introduced a new product format that champions whole foods and has more protein than tofu.
After years of building its brand around products named THIS Isn’t Chicken and THIS Isn’t Beef, London-based startup THIS has announced a new range of plant-based products that it says are not meant to replicate animal meat, while still offering shoppers a centre-of-plate protein option.
The food tech innovator has launched THIS Is Super Superfood, which it describes as a “next-generation” plant protein that can compete with traditionally vegan protein-rich ingredients like tofu and tempeh. It’s geared towards a UK population currently looking for minimally processed whole-food options, just as meat alternatives struggle to capture wallet share.
The new product range comes in a 250g block format, as well as a 180g pack of lemon-and-herb-marinated pieces, with both retailing at £3.95. They will roll out at Tesco and Waitrose and on Ocado by the end of this month, and in Sainsbury’s and Asda (only the Super Block) in May.
They contain fava bean protein, a range of seeds, and vegetables to offer consumers a protein rich in fibre, omega-3, and iron, and contribute to your five-a-day. The block and pieces can be used for stir-fries, curries, pasta and ramen dishes, among others, and importantly, the protein holds its texture when fried in a pan.
With the Super Superfood, THIS is aiming to fill a gap in the category by delivering on health, convenience and flavour.
“Two years ago, I thought of the idea in the shower, whilst my cat was watching me,” THIS co-founder Andy Shovel said last week. “Since then, the team have done an amazing job of developing them, building a supply chain for them, perfecting their branding, and selling them in… I think these have a shot at really disrupting the plant-based food category.”
Is this the next generation of plant-based protein?
Courtesy: THIS
Luke Bryne, innovation director at THIS, explained that the Super Superfood range is a testament to how simple ingredients can be transformed into something “truly innovative”. “Our innovative superfood technology harnesses the natural synergy of beans, seeds, and mushrooms to create an entirely new plant-based texture,” he explained.
“At its core, we use fava bean protein as the primary source of protein, blending it with shiitake mushrooms, celebrated for their rich umami depth and unique texture. To further enhance the sensory experience, we incorporate selected seeds that add layers of complexity and mouthfeel.”
The products contain pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, hemp hearts, and chia seeds, while the shiitake mushrooms are complemented by spinach. They contain 18g of protein per 100g, on par with tempeh and 9% higher than the UK’s bestselling tofu from The Tofoo Co.
The protein concentration is lower than conventional animal proteins like chicken or beef, as well as THIS’s own meat alternatives – though given that the UK overconsumes protein by 44-55% than what’s recommended, the company is betting on the fact that they will still hold appeal for the average British consumer.
In fact, THIS plans to lean into the demand for nutritious plant proteins with a texture that matches consumers’ expectations. “This cutting-edge approach allows us to craft a next-generation plant-based protein – one that is not only nutritious, but also elevates texture and taste to unprecedented levels,” says Bryne.
THIS CEO Mark Cuddigan added: “We have created a whole new plant-based protein and texture using nothing but natural ingredients – it’s like discovering a new superpower. We think that’s pretty super… so much so, we named it twice. The plant-based category is evolving, and THIS Is Super Superfood offers consumers something new.”
New range meets consumer demand, but THIS’s meat alternatives here to stay
Courtesy: THIS
The launch of the Super Superfood was teased by Cuddigan last year, when he said the company was developing a ‘tofu-life’ superfood with more nutritional value than anything currently on the market. The company’s £20M Series C round was also earmarked to roll out new products catering to “evolving consumer health preferences”.
There’s a heightened demand for whole-food plant-based options in the UK. While sales of plant-based meat slid by 7% last year, tofu expanded its market share, reaching 9% of households. One of the best-performing meat-free brands, meanwhile, was tempeh maker Better Nature, whose sales grew by 476% (albeit from a small base). And searches for ‘high protein’ on online grocer Ocado doubled in 2024, with interest in plant-based sources like lentils up by 18%, chickpeas by 27%, and edamame by 44%.
“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,” Better Nature co-CEO Elin Roberts told Green Queen earlier this year.
Consumers are increasingly apprehensive about ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which make up 57% of the average Brit’s diet, and up to 80% when it comes to children or people with lower incomes. Plant-based meat has suffered from a loss of confidence due to its classification as a UPF, driven by some misleading coverage by national media outlets.
“There’s so much misinformation out there now – people don’t know what to believe. Is vegan food good or bad?” noted Roberts. “Nutrition can be complex. That’s why messaging that is focused on eating more plant-based whole foods is resonating better – you can’t go too far wrong there.”
It’s this philosophy that drives THIS’s new superfood range. And it’s not the only brand taking this approach – Oh So Wholesome uses a similar concept, packing whole plants like quinoa, red lentils, split peas, seeds, and vegetables into blocks that can be used in a variety of dishes. Its product line, called Veg’chop (formerly Vegbloc), will launch at Tesco on April 28, the same day as THIS’s Super Superfood.
That said, THIS’s meat alternative line – which helped the brand grow by 33% to reach £22M in sales last year – isn’t going anywhere, Cuddigan noted. “We’re just growing. We still make the best plant-based meat alternatives, but now we’re giving consumers more options,” he said.
“The future for the plant-based category is about creating something for everyone, whether you’re a meat-lover, flexitarian, or fully plant-based. So whether you want meat-like texture or whole-food protein, we’ve got you covered.”
Still, THIS and other plant-based meat makers will need to navigate a fine line: catering to a new set of whole foods-focused customers without alienating the core fans of their original line of plant-based meat replacement products.
Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Purple Carrot’s partnership with Fable Foods, Gosh!’s new points-based packaging, and SimpliiGood’s spirulina-based salmon.
New products and launches
Plant-based meal company Purple Carrot has addedFable Foods‘s Pulled Shiitake mushrooms to its lineup, including the Bluff Bourguignon Stew and BBQ Burnt Ends kits.
Courtesy: Purple Carrot
US non-dairy creamer brand Laird Superfood has released a larger 750ml pack of its functional-mushroom-infused coffee creamers, which come in Unsweetened, Sweet & Creamy, Cinnamon and Vanilla flavours.
In the UK, ready-to-eat vegan food brand Gosh! has revamped its packaging with a new ‘Plant Points’ system aimed at supporting the goal of eating 30 plants a week. Each point denotes the inclusion of a fruit, vegetable, whole grain, legume, or seed, and each of the brand’s products has a minimum of six points.
Courtesy: Gosh!
To mark Earth Day (April 22), Dutch cultivated pork startup Meatable has joined forces with Food Tank, the United Nations Global Compact, and The Hunger Project to tackle climate change and global hunger through the food system.
Also in honour of Earth Day, Indian plant-based brand Blue Tribe – backed by actress Anushka Sharma and cricketer Virat Kohli – has launched an Eat Green Initiative to promote sustainable eating. The weeklong campaign (April 22-28) sees employees and influencers share recipes made with the company’s products.
At the ongoing Expo 2025 Osaka, members of Japan’s Cultivated Meat Future Creation Consortium are showcasing 3D-printed cultured meat and an at-home marbled meat maker, aiming to commercialise the products by 2031.
Company and finance updates
Indian plant protein manufacturer Proeon Foods has secured a €1M grant from the Province of South Holland, as part of the European Regional Development Fund, for its EGGcellent project. The startup is working with precision fermentation firmVivici, Applikon Biotechnology, and Planet B.io to develop an egg alternative for industrial baking applications.
Relsus, a Singaporean producer of functional plant-based ingredients, has opened a commercial-scale manufacturing facility in Ujjain, India.
Courtesy: Quevana
In Europe, cashew cheese maker Quevana has opened a 2,400 sq m facility in Segovia, Spain, which will double its capacity to over 400,000 units of fermented dairy-free cheese each month.
Swiss vegan seafood startup Catchfree has raised $1.45M in seed funding to scale up production and commercialise its plant-based shrimp, fish burgers, and fish bites this summer.
Elin Roberts and Christopher Kong, the co-founders and co-CEOs of British tempeh startup Better Nature, have been named in the Art & Culture of Forbes‘s 30 Under 30 list.
Courtesy: SimpliiGood
Armed with a $4M grant from the Israel Innovation Authority, AlgaeCore Technologies‘s SimpliiGood has secured European approval to commercialise its spirulina-based smoked salmon alternative. It is now pursuing clearance in the US too, has pilots with several companies, and will launch its first products as part of private-label brands within the next six months.
Alternative protein think tank The Good Food Institute is experiencing a change at the top, with CEO Ilya Sheyman departing in June. Jessica Almy, senior VP of policy and government relations, will take over as interim chief as the organisation hunts its next CEO.
Californian vegan frozen foods maker Sunday Supper has expanded its executive team, adding Spencer Oberg as CEO, Matt Williams as head of sales, and Chris Hays as CMO, as it kickstarts a $2.5M seed funding round.
Meanwhile, the Canadian province of Nova Scotia has invested $5M in the newly opened Neptune Bioinnovation Centre in Dartmouth. The 4,738 sq m facility will offer precision fermentation and spray drying capacity, and is set to create over 2,400 jobs and contribute $334M to the region’s annual GDP.
Courtesy: Government of Nova Scotia
Event organiser Emerald Expositions has acquired the Plant Based World Expo and its media platform, Plant Based World Pulse, from JD Events for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes both the North American and European editions of the show.
Research and policy developments
Amid the hike in dairy sales in the UK, plant-based milk is also on the rise for the first time since 2022, with sales volumes up by 2.1% between February 2024 and 2025. Oat milk is the leader, with a 7.2% growth in that period – it’s set to take 40% of the non-dairy market this year, according to Kantar.
In related news, British bakery chain Gail’s has dropped the surcharge on soy milk after a Peta campaign, offering the alternative for free from May 21. However, it will still ask customers to pay 40-60p extra if they want oat milk.
Courtesy: Gail’s
The US Department of Agriculture has cancelled the $3B Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities programme that aimed to promote environmentally friendly farming practices. The revocation of the Biden-era initiative is part of the Trump administration’s sweeping climate rollbacks.
In Canada, meanwhile, candidates from all four major political parties will participate in an election debate about animal protection today (April 23), organised by a group of animal welfare organisations, including Animal Justice and World Animal Protection.
Courtesy: Kai Kitschenberg/Funke Foto Services
In its TrendTracker 2024 report, food giant Cargillfound that 73% of consumers want their governments to set stricter environmental standards for the chocolate supply, just as European plant-based chocolates and desserts grew by 25% annually between 2019 and 2023.
Swapping out red meat for plant-based alternatives and choosing non-dairy milks can help cut the average Australian household’s emissions by six tonnes a year, research by the George Institute for Global Health has found.
Courtesy: Technical University of Denmark
Finally, researchers from Novonesis and the Technical University of Denmarksuggest that the bacteria in lactic acid could help reduce off-flavours and degrade anti-nutrients in plant-based dairy products, enhancing their taste profile and nutrient bioavailability.
Neat, the vegan burger chain backed by Sir Lewis Hamilton & Leonardo DiCaprio, has shut its remaining UK locations, after a spate of closures over the last 18 months.
Popular plant-based fast-food chain Neat has closed its two remaining sites in the UK, where it originated in 2019.
The celebrity-backed burger restaurant – which has had over a dozen locations in four countries – now only has two sites remaining in Milan, following closures in London, New York City and Dubai over the last 18 months.
The closure of the Camden and Wembley stores in London will potentially affect 150 jobs, and follows a challenging financial period for Neat.
“We have no further comment at this time, other than to confirm that the business has taken the difficult decision to close its UK restaurants,” a company spokesperson told The Sun, which first reported the news.
Neat’s UK closure marked by mounting losses
Neat at the 2025 Met Gala afterparty | Courtesy: Neat
Previously called Neat Burger, the chain opened to much fanfare in 2019, with Formula One legend Sir Lewis Hamilton an early backer, and actor Leonardo DiCaprio and footballer Thibaut Courtois joining as investors in subsequent rounds.
The company has raised over $25M and was valued at $100M in 2023, when it charted a path for expansion both domestically and outside the UK. However, this followed years of Covid-19-related turmoil for hospitality and foodservice businesses, and Neat wasn’t immune to the fallout.
In 2022, the company posted a £7.85M loss, up by 145% from the £3.2M loss reported in 2021. (Its 2023 accounts are overdue by a month, according to the UK’s Companies House.
This led to the closure of five UK restaurants in 2023, halving its footprint in the country. The chain also shelved plans to open four more locations here. The company attributed the losses to a drop in footfall in London’s financial district and West End due to the rise of post-pandemic hybrid working patterns, as well as a decline in demand for food delivery.
“We believe that sometimes, taking a step back is necessary to make a bigger leap forward,” Neat said at the time. “We remain deeply committed to our mission of providing delicious, sustainable, plant-based dining, and are excited about our future growth prospects.”
While it had earmarked more restaurant openings in the US and Middle East, over the course of 2024, its existing sites in these countries shut their doors too. This was followed by the closure of Neat’s outposts in London Victoria and Soho, and the departure of co-founder and director Zack Bishti.
Vegan restaurant closures continue
Courtesy: Neat
It has been tough going for the restaurant industry, and plant-based concepts haven’t been spared either. In the UK, restaurants are closing at the fastest rate in a decade – over 1,400 eateries shuttering between September 2023 and 2024, a 19% increase from the period 12 months prior. Rising ingredient, utility and rental costs have put more than 10% at an “imminent” risk of closure, experts say.
Since 2024, vegan fast-food restaurants The Vurger Co, Frost Burgers, Donner Summer, and JJ’s Vish and Chips all closed their doors, while Flower Burger exited the UK market. Bristol-based group Oowie, which had been expanding with a vegan-only approach, is now focusing on growing its diner-style restaurants with meat. In October, it turned a plant-based location into one serving animal products.
That trend is being seen in the US too, with Hot Tongue Pizza, Elf Cafe, Burgerlords, Margo’s, and Sage Regenerative Kitchen all adding animal proteins to their meat-free menus. The latter wound down earlier this year, becoming one of a number of casualties in Los Angeles’s restaurant industry.
Neat’s UK closure is the latest example that even celebrity backing may not be enough to survive in this landscape. In LA, Matthew Kenney’s VEG’D and Kevin Hart’s Hart House shut their doors in 2024, while in the UK, Made in Chelsea star Verity Bowditch and YouTuber Mikey Pearce’s Clean Kitchen Club closed its last remaining site in January, nine months after introducing meat on its previously vegan menu.
Meanwhile, Deliciously Ella also closed its Plants by DE eatery in Mayfair following its acquisition by Hero Group in September, despite retaining the restaurant in the deal.
But in an encouraging sign, two months after Unity Diner – the vegan fast-food restaurant co-owned by animal activist Ed Winters (aka Earthling Ed) – announced its closure due to rising costs, it successfully negotiated a new deal with its landlord and reopened in its original location in East London.
Atlantic Natural Foods, the plant-based company behind Loma Linda and Tuno, has filed for bankruptcy months after withdrawing from a takeover deal by Above Food.
In the latest example of the financial challenges facing the plant-based industry, one of the US’s foremost vegan food brands has filed for bankruptcy.
Atlantic Natural Foods, whose portfolio of brands includes Loma Linda, Tuno, Chick’n, and Neat, sought Chapter 11 protection in the Eastern District of Louisiana earlier this month.
It comes five months after the company mutually terminated an agreement to be acquired by fellow plant protein maker Above Food, citing rising food inflation, supply chain disruptions, and the impact of Covid-19.
Bankruptcy filing follows withdrawal from acquisition deal
Courtesy: Atlantic Natural Foods
The roots of Atlantic Natural Foods have been around for a long time. The company itself was founded in 2008, predating giants like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, but Loma Linda was first established in 1890 by John Harvey Kellogg, the founder of Kellanova.
Atlantic Natural Foods bought Loma Linda from its parent (then called Kellogg’s) in 2014, and has since expanded to over 25,000 stores in the US, plus 30 other countries.
It sells canned plant-based alternatives like hot dogs, steaks, tuna and chicken from Tuno, Chick’n and Loma Linda (an umbrella brand that also offers plant-based meals). Additionally, it makes vegan egg and meat substitutes via its Neat line and a caffeine-free coffee alternative through the Kaffree Roma range, and has a dedicated foodservice brand called Modern Menu.
The company – which has manufacturing plants in Nashville and North Carolina in the US, and Bangkok in Thailand – hasn’t provided a specific reason for its bankruptcy filing. But it plans to reorganise its business over the next few months.
In its petition to the district’s bankruptcy court, it listed $10-50M in assets and $1-10M in liabilities, with 100 to 199 creditors.
The development follows Atlantic Natural Foods’s decision to pull out of an acquisition deal with Above Food, which was first announced in 2021. It was ascribed to the former’s “strategic realignment following a comprehensive evaluation of the evolving business landscape”.
Had the $30M deal gone through, Atlantic Natural Foods would have become part of Above Food’s sprawling portfolio of 120 plant-based meat, dairy and baby food products and 17 unique grains and proteins, which are distributed at over 35,000 retail points in 29 countries.
Financial hurdles drive M&As in plant-based sector
Courtesy: Atlantic Natural Foods
“Operating in the industry’s ever-changing landscape has not been without its challenges, but we remain steadfast in our commitment to resetting the standards for the years ahead,” Doug Hines, chairman of Atlantic Natural Foods, said after the agreement was terminated.
“We are drawing on tried-and-true food preparation and supply methods that have withstood the test of time to meet the needs of our global consumers,” he added.
The two companies said they would continue to maintain their collaborative ties, with Atlantic Natural Foods keeping its shares in Above Foods, while the latter will retain its interest in the Loma Linda owner.
“This strategy allows us to reinstate our commitment to returning the company to its core principles, products and consumer while carrying out our mission of creating healthy food for the world in 2025 and beyond,” Hines said.
Over half of Americans identify beef as the most polluting food, and many are open to eating plant-based – but they need policy changes to support the shift.
Americans are hurting over the cost of beef to their wallets, and many also seem to know about its cost to the planet, a new survey has found.
Beef is the most emissive food on the planet, generating twice as many emissions as the next most polluting food, dark chocolate. When asked to rank five foods based on emissions, 54% correctly identified beef as the top emitter.
That said, surprisingly, a fifth of respondents ranked vegetables as the top polluting food, and another 10% said tofu. This was followed by cheese (9%) and nuts (7%).
Courtesy: PCRM/Morning Consult
Conducted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and Morning Consult, the survey involved over 2,200 adults to explore Americans’ relationship with food sustainability ahead of Earth Day.
It found that despite the confusion about the climate impact of food production – and the discontent around ultra-processed meat alternatives – nearly half of the respondents (46%) would consider a plant-based diet for the sake of the environment. They’re also willing to back policies that educate them and address the problem.
Consumers would eat plant-based despite climate confusion
Courtesy: PCRM/Morning Consult
Globally, the overall food system is responsible for a third of all emissions. This is mainly due to animal agriculture, which accounts for nearly 60% of the sector’s GHG footprint. In fact, according to one study, meat and dairy production is the leading cause of climate change.
According to the survey, more than half (54%) of Americans don’t know what foods contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, while only 9% know for certain. A Millennial postgraduate man who hails from the west, votes blue, and earns over $100,000 is most likely to be able to tell you which food items pollute the planet.
The results are reminiscent of previous research demonstrating the disconnect between food and climate change in the US. In 2023, one poll showed that 40% of Americans didn’t believe consuming less red meat would help lower emissions, and months later, another survey found that 74% of them thought cutting out meat would have no impact on the climate.
However, the PCRM-Morning Consult research reveals that 16% of consumers would “strongly consider” eating a plant-based diet to reduce emissions, and another 30% would “somewhat consider” it. While Gen Z and Black adults are among the least likely to identify which foods are the highest emitters, they’re also the most receptive to eating vegan.
Courtesy: PCRM/Morning Consult
Americans want their government to step up
The pollsters believe the findings exhibit the need for public education about agricultural emissions, with Gen Z and Black adults again the most supportive of policy changes that increase awareness about this.
But this is likely easier said than done, considering the vast climate cutbacks that have already occurred under a president who has a hard time believing climate change is real. Meanwhile, in his quest to Make America Healthy Again, Robert F Kennedy Jr has been singing the praises of raw milk and beef tallow while attacking more sustainable plant-based alternatives for being ultra-processed.
The American public, though, agrees that federal food policies – like the national dietary guidelines – should discuss the impact of food on the planet. It’s a sentiment that 60% of the survey’s respondents agree with, and only 19% don’t. This has bipartisan support too, resonating with 77% of Democrats, 55% of independents, and 50% of Republicans.
Courtesy: PCRM/Morning Consult
It’s a pertinent question, since the scientists who advise the USDA on the dietary guidelines have recommended cutting back red meat and prioritising plant-based proteins instead. It remains to be seen whether the government adopts these measures later this year.
Most adults (59%) also agree that the government should incentivise livestock farmers to transition towards plant-based farming, a belief that rings true across party lines, income levels, races, and ages.
However, a carbon tax on meat and dairy farming – like the one Denmark will begin in 2030 – is much more divisive. Two in five Americans agree that the livestock industry should be taxed to help offset climate change, but the same number disagree too. And one in five are unsure or neutral about this issue.
According to PCRM, though, this has to do with the perception that those taxes will hurt their own pockets, underscoring that while planetary costs matter to Americans, their wallets likely matter more.
Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers This’s pasta partnership with Ugo Foods Group, Starday’s $11M Series A round, and a nomination for the Earthshot Prize.
New products and launches
London-based meat alternative startup This and Ugo Foods Group‘s vegan ravioli products are hitting supermarkets, with the Bacon & Cheese and Chicken & Pesto flavours now available at 250 Morrisons stores, priced at £6 for two packs.
Courtesy: This
UK plant-based milk maker Rude Health has introduced a clean-label iced coffee range in oat latte and mocha variants. The 750ml ready-to-drink Tetra Paks are available at Waitrose for £3.75, and Ocado at the end of the month.
Also in the UK, plant protein brand Tibah Tempeh has released a Smoky Block. It’s available for £3 per 220g pack at Ocado (from April 18), and Sainsbury’s and Waitrose at the end of the month.
Meanwhile, free-from snacking company Crave has expanded its lineup with a gluten-free, vegan Pink Cheetahs wafer biscuit, available at 480 Sainsbury’s stores for £2 per 100g.
Courtesy: Eurest
In more news from the island, Eurest – the corporate division of Compass Group, the world’s largest catering company – partnered with plant-based chef duo Bosh! for a new vegan smokehouse menu at Jaguar Land Rover‘s head office in Warwickshire.
Vegan meal kit brand Grubby has partnered with artisanal non-dairy cheese maker Julienne Bruno on a limited-edition Creamy Burrata-Topped Za’atar-Spiced Squash option for Easter.
Across the Atlantic, Fungi protein startup Nature’s Fynd, meanwhile, has launched Spicy Indian Fy Bites at Plantegalocations in New York City. They contain 14g of protein and 5g of fibre per serving.
Courtesy: Nature’s Fynd
Miyoko’s Creamery has rolled out a new flavour of its spreadable cashew cheese. The Jalapeño Plant Milk Cheese Spread can be found at Nugget Market stores for $6.99 per 8oz tub, with further retailers to follow this summer.
Vegan cheese giant Violife has partnered with James Beard Award finalist Dan Richer to launch the first-ever non-dairy pizza at his Jersey City pizzeria Razza. The Spicy Vegan Vodka Pizza is made with plant-based mozzarella shreds and on the menu until the end of the month.
Chilean food tech unicorn NotCo has expanded its partnership with Aeromexico to offer passengers in its Premier and Premier One classes a NotBurger with manchego-inspired NotCheese until May 31.
Courtesy: Vinker
Canada’s Vinker is bringing its vegan Korean Crispy Chick’n to the US, rolling out at Pop Up Grocer in Manhattan, New York.
Germany’s Loryma, a subsidiary of Crespel & Deiters Group, has launched Lory Stab, a stabilising compound of technically treated raw materials to replace eggs and dairy in baked goods.
Swiss plant-based meat leader Planted has announced former wrestler Christian Stucki as a brand ambassador for its upcoming BBQ campaign, alongside a new Paprika steak and listings at several new retailers in Europe.
Courtesy: Planted
In Hong Kong, plant protein producer Ferm by SpiceBox Organic has teamed up with food preservation specialist Ixon to launch a shelf-stable range of tempeh, vegan meatballs, and plant-based meat sauce for pasta.
And in India, Mumbai’s Bandra district is home to Pause Café, a new all-vegan 32-seater eatery serving continental dishes and desserts.
Company, policy and awards
Speaking of restaurants, US vegan taco chain Tacotarian has launched a franchise programme as part of its expansion strategy.
Courtesy: Starday
AI-powered plant-based snacking brand Starday has raised $11M in Series A funding to accelerate its retail expansion and partner with retailers and CPG brands to create bespoke products. It takes the company’s total funding to $20M.
Meanwhile, US precision fermentation manufacturer Liberation Labs has received a strategic investment from Saudi Arabia’s Neom Investment Fund to establish a local facility for Neom’s food company, Topian.
US manufacturing specialist SPX Flow has partnered with the Danish Agricultural Agency‘s Green Development and Demonstration Program’s LinkingOat project to advance oat-based product development.
Courtesy: Beneo
In Germany, plant-based functional food ingredient maker Beneo has opened a €50M pulse processing in Orbigheim. The 4,000 sq m facility also produces Palatinose, a ‘smart carb’ ingredient that promotes GLP-1 release.
Ramkumar Nair, founder and former CEO of mycoprotein startupMycorena, has established fungi protein firm Smaqo, with a direct-to-consumer focus.
In Spain, the National Centre for Food Technology and Safety‘s EATEX Food Innovation Hub has launched an Agrifoodtech Sandbox to offer companies a “controlled, forward-looking environment” to test breakthrough technologies and products operating at the edge of regulatory frameworks.
Courtesy: Opalia
Finally, Canadian cell-cultured milk maker Opalia has been nominated for the 2025 Earthshot Prize by Impact Entrepreneur.
Kraft Heinz has launched the first ready-to-eat vegan offering under its iconic Jell-O brand, a dairy-free version of its chocolate pudding.
Packaged food giant Kraft Heinz is for the first time diving into plant-based desserts, debuting an oat milk chocolate pudding as part of the Jell-O brand.
The company says it is hoping to cater to Americans with a milk allergy or lactose intolerance, as well as the four in five parents who have expressed interest in buying non-dairy desserts for their kids, arguing that current options on the market are limited and fall short on taste and texture.
It’s betting on oat milk – the fastest-growing plant-based alternative in the US – to address those shortcomings and veganise its signature chocolate pudding cups, which were first released nearly a century ago in the 1930s.
The new SKU, which comes as a 14oz pack of four, is rolling out at retailers nationwide, at a price of $3.99. In contrast, the dairy-based version retails for as low as $3.69 per 15.5oz pack.
Leveraging oat milk’s ‘skyrocketing’ popularity
Courtesy: Kraft Heinz
Best known for its gelatin-based desserts, Jell-O is finally foraying into animal-free products. While most of its pudding mixes are dairy-free, they’re meant to be mixed with milk at home.
Choosing chocolate as the first non-dairy pudding flavour was a strategic decision – it’s an homage to the range’s foremost and most well-known flavour. It is banking on the creamy consistency and mild flavour of gluten-free oat milk to recreate the signature taste and texture in a plant-based format.
According to Kraft Heinz, oat milk is “skyrocketing in popularity for desserts” thanks to these attributes, making it “the perfect solution” for the Jell-O pudding cups.
Aside from oat milk, the ready-to-eat product contains sugar, cornstarch, canola oil, alkalised cocoa powder, faba bean protein, and some flavourings, emulsifiers and stabilisers.
Each 99g serving contains 3.5g of fat (0.5g of which is saturated), 15g of added sugar – with the caveat that the FDA’s recent changes mandate the labelling of natural sugars in oats as added – 1g of fibre, and 2g of protein. In contrast, the original Jell-O chocolate pudding cups have 1.5g of fat (all saturated), 17g of added sugar, and the same amount of protein and fibre.
“As our fans’ diets and preferences change, we’re evolving our portfolio alongside them,” said Lauren Gumbiner, associate director of marketing desserts at Kraft Heinz. “Our chocolate pudding is a timeless classic, and now, thanks to our lactose-free and vegan oat milk version, we’re excited to give more families the opportunity to enjoy it.”
A vote of confidence for the non-dairy category
Courtesy: Kraft Heinz
In the US, milk is amongst the most common food allergies in kids, affecting 1.9 million children each year. Meanwhile, over 30% of Americans suffer from lactose intolerance – and that number is especially high among people of colour, rising to 65% of Hispanic Americans, 75% of Black Americans, 90% of Asian Americans, and 95% of Native Americans.
The prevalance of lactose intolerance has pushed many big companies to rethink their non-dairy policies, with coffee chains like Starbucks and Dunkin’ removing the plant-based milk surcharge after facing class-action lawsuits. Even lawmakers have joined forces on a bipartisan bill that would make alternatives like soy and almond milk more accessible in school meals.
Meanwhile, pudding is one of America’s favourite desserts, consumed by over 40% of the population (a share that continues to grow each year), according to data cited by Kraft Heinz.
As parents showcase an interest in non-dairy options and companies become more allergy-friendly, the opportunity for plant-based desserts is ripe. These products have enjoyed a steady growth in recent years, with dollar sales up by 23% between 2021 and 2023.
And one research firm values that the global market for vegan desserts at $3.7B this year, predicting an annual growth of 8.5% to reach $8.5B in a decade’s time. This is what Kraft Heinz is banking on with the Jell-O oat milk pudding cups.
The food leader’s move is a ringing endorsement of the non-dairy category in the US. The discourse around ultra-processed foods and resurgence of raw milk has led to a 6% decline in plant-based milk consumption in the US, versus a 2% hike in cow’s milk last year. For one of the country’s largest food producers to launch a non-dairy version of a legacy product speaks volumes of the market’s potential.
It’s not the first classic Kraft Heinz has ‘veganised’ of late. Through its joint venture with Chilean food tech unicorn NotCo – called The Kraft Heinz Not Company – it has launched dairy-free versions of Kraft Singles and its signature mac and cheese. Outside the dairy world, the label has introduced egg-free mayonnaise and plant-based Oscar Mayer hot dogs too.
Eat Just is bringing its bestselling vegan egg to Europe after striking a distribution deal with Vegan Food Group, which is investing £11.5M ($15.2M) to ramp up production at its sites.
Just Egg – the pioneering vegan egg alternative from California’s Eat Just – is crossing the Atlantic following a partnership with Vegan Food Group (VFG), which has secured exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute the mung bean egg in Europe.
VFG is set to begin manufacturing the product in late 2025, and has pumped £11.5M ($15.2M) to build a fully automated line to produce Just Egg at its facility in Lüneburg, Germany (the largest dedicated plant-based factory in Europe), as well as boost automation and efficiency across its UK and German sites.
“European consumers clearly desire innovative, sustainable food options, and collaborating with VFG is key to meeting that demand effectively,” Eat Just co-founder and CEO Josh Tetrick told the Grocer. “This investment in the Lüneburg facility represents a crucial step towards making high-quality plant-based egg alternatives widely accessible to our global audience.”
Just Egg finally breaks Europe
Courtesy: Eat Just
Just Egg’s journey to Europe has been long in the making. In 2018, before it even hit supermarkets in the US, Eat Just agreed to a manufacturing and distribution deal with Italian egg supplier Eurovo. This was followed by a sales and distribution agreement with German poultry giant PHW Group a year later, with the liquid mung bean egg initially slated to launch by the end of 2019.
However, this was always subject to novel food regulatory approval by the European Food Safety Authority, whose expert committees deemed the product safe in October 2021.
Six months later, Eat Just received approval from the European Commission, meaning no other company was allowed to use mung bean proteins for egg alternatives in the region for five years, unless it goes through the same novel food process. At the time, the firm had teased a Q4 launch of the product.
Now, with the VFG partnership, the food tech unicorn is finally clearing all the hurdles that have hampered its European arrival.
Through its investment, VFG will 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”.
“This partnership is a huge leap forward in transforming plant-based food across Europe,” said Matthew Glover, co-founder and chairman of VFG.
Avian-flu-fuelled egg crisis boosts Eat Just sales
Courtesy: Eat Just
The Europe announcement comes just as Just Egg sees “increases in sales like we didn’t see in the past” in the US, according to Tetrick.
The current bout of avian flu has wrecked the conventional egg industry in the US, with over 167 million birds culled since February 2022. Prices have continued to rise, reaching a record high of $6.23 per dozen in retail in March. In some cities, each egg costs $1 now.
With egg shelves empty, if Americans want eggs, they only have a few choices, Tetrick told Green Queen in February: “One, don’t eat them. Two, you know, have applesauce. Or three, have Just Egg.”
The company says it’s already sold the equivalent of 500 million chicken eggs and captured 99% of the market for alternatives in the US, and the egg shortage has brought about a windfall for Eat Just’s mung bean innovation. 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.
“We have some of the largest chains in the country reaching out to us – on the foodservice side, the convenience store side – saying they don’t know when this is going to end, and they want to bring in something that’s more reliable and more permanent, i.e., what we’re doing,” Tetrick said. “This is a real moment in time for the plant-based industry to prove that it’s up to the challenge.”
VFG CEO Dave Sparrow echoed this sentiment following its link-up with Eat Just, noting: “Our partnership with Eat Just marks a significant milestone, aligning perfectly with our ambition to transform plant-based food across Europe.”
Can Just Egg fill Europe’s egg shortage and appetite?
Courtesy: Eat Just
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 last month. But as people seek cheaper protein sources than meat, the demand for eggs continues to increase, even if supplies don’t.
At the same time, Europe’s plant-based egg market is set to grow by 40% annually to reach $3.88B in 2031, so the opportunity for disruptors like Eat Just is there. Here, it will compete with fellow vegan liquid egg producers Crackd (UK), Perfeggt (Germany) and Vegge (Italy).
That said, the industry isn’t without its challenges. British brand Oggs, known for its aquafaba, also marketed a liquid whole egg alternative, but it hasn’t been in stock in supermarkets for several months now. VFG’s Sparrow, though, is confident that Just Egg is up to the task. “There are other egg replacements on the market, but quality-wise, there’s nothing that can stack up against Eat Just,” he said.
Eat Just, which reformulated its mung bean egg to deliver greater flavour and functionality last year, will also take solace in the success of fellow American plant-based giant Beyond Meat, which entered the European market in 2018. While the vegan burger maker has had a tough couple of years, its foodservice partnerships in Europe have been a constant bright spot.
Meanwhile, another major plant-based player, Impossible Foods, is hoping to bring its ‘bleeding’ burger to Europe soon, having cleared key food safety assessments last year. It will now undergo a public consultation period before seeking final approval from the EU Commission and its member states.
French catering giant Sodexo is expanding its partnership with Greener by Default to roll out plant-forward menus at 400 hospitals in the US.
To help Americans stay healthier, spend less money, and be kinder to the planet, Sodexo is expanding its plant-heavy menus across all US hospitals it caters to.
To do so, it’s diversifying its partnership with Greener by Default, a behavioural choice agency that advocates for menus that prioritise plant-based food over animal options.
The expansion builds on the success of their campaign with NYC Health + Hospitals, which rolled out its ‘plant-based by default’ scheme at all 11 public hospitals in the city to great success. That initiative has served over two million patients since its 2022 launch, with a 90% satisfaction rate.
Sodexo’s menus position vegan meals as the default option for one meal per day at 131 hospitals already, but this will now be extended to an additional 200 hospitals this year, and bring the total to 400 by 2026.
“Our collaboration with Greener by Default is driven by our shared goal to advance and promote plant-based dining in hospitals across the US through effective choices,” said Molly Matthews, CEO of Sodexo’s healthcare and seniors divisions.
“We anticipate continued success of the plant-based menu expansion and its positive impact on our clients and their patients.”
Sodexo looks to replicate NYC success
Courtesy: Better Food Foundation
The New York City scheme saw plant-based meals become the preexisting option for patients. The first meal offered is the chef’s recommendation, and is always plant-based. If this isn’t accepted, they’re presented with an alternative vegan option. If that is rejected too, many other dishes are available.
Patients are presented with nutritional information to encourage healthy eating both during and after their stay, hospital TVs and screensavers include an appealing image of vegan food with text highlighting its health benefits, and tray carts pushed through halls are wrapped in imagery that promotes plant-based meals. When being discharged, patients also receive a vegan recipe book collected from hospital staff submissions.
All this has led to a 36% reduction in food emissions. And the savings don’t just come from carbon – the vegan dishes are 59 cents cheaper than meat-based dishes on average.
The success of this programme has spurred Sodexo’s expansion. Early data from another hospital already offering plant-based meals by default shows that patients have been eating 36% more vegan entrées, while their selection of meat-based mains has declined by 20%.
These numbers may be preliminary, but they suggest that even if 10% of the 290,000 meals Sodexo serves to patients daily shift from animals to plants, the caterer could transition more than 10 million meals a year.
The company argues its vegan meal programme preserves freedom of choice and provides an array of protein options for diners, with dishes including Cajun pastalaya, southwest potato breakfast bowl, and balsamic stuffed portobello mushrooms. It cites research showing that plant-based eating can “significantly lower” the risk of chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers.
“As a leader in healthy-outcomes-based menus and protocols through our Clinicia patient nutrition programs, we recognised the need for a partner like Greener by Default to support our efforts in educating teams, promoting our plant-based meal options, and extracting meaningful data for improved outcomes,” Matthews noted.
Plant-based meals scheme part of climate strategy
Courtesy: NYC Health + Hospitals
“The continued success of patient menus that position plant-based options as the default demonstrates how small, cost-effective shifts can have an outsized impact, while still preserving freedom of choice for diners and ensuring their access to nutritious, sustainable foods that don’t compromise on taste,” said Greener by Default co-founder and CEO Katie Cantrell.
The non-profit has teamed up with 18 hospitals and healthcare systems (both in the US and overseas) in the last year alone, developing plant-forward menus to help improve health and climate outcomes, decrease costs, and prioritise diner satisfaction.
Sodexo, meanwhile, has rolled out a similar initiative at 400 US universities via a partnership with behavioural science non-profit Food for Climate League and dietary change think tank the Better Food Foundation, using the latter’s DefaultVeg approach.
The caterer’s Good Eating Company had previously partnered with Greener by Default on a successful corporate pilot with LinkedIn, halving the carbon emissions of the social media company’s San Francisco office. The 12-week pilot saved 14,400 of CO2e by making two-thirds of the menu vegan, including opting for oat milk as the default coffee bar choice and flavour descriptors over words like ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’ on menu cards.
All this plays into its climate targets. The company plans to lower emissions by 34% by this year (from a 2017 baseline) and make 70% of all its meals low-carbon by the end of the decade, as part of a wider goal to reach net zero by 2040.
A rising number of festivals are going meat-free amid a wider sustainability shift in the live music industry, a new report has revealed.
In a year when one British band set the Guinness World Record for the lowest-carbon concert of all time, more and more music festivals undertook sustainability initiatives to mitigate their impact on the planet.
Live industry sustainability non-profit A Greener Future (AGF) – which advised trip-hop pioneer Massive Attack on its record-breaking Act 1.5 festival in August – suggests that after transportation, food and beverages are the biggest contributors to an event’s emissions.
A new report by AGF – analysing 40 festivals from 16 countries – indicates that organisers recognise the climate impact of food and drinks, with a fifth of the festivals being fully vegan or vegetarian in 2024, a massive jump from 8% the year before.
On average, around 55% of the food at all these events was meat-free. And even after excluding fully meatless events, that share stood strong at 50%. The difference in environmental impact is stark – when discounting audience travel, food alone makes up over a quarter of the remaining emissions in festivals where meat is served, though this shrinks to less than 10% for vegetarian events.
This should come as no surprise, considering that meat and dairy production is responsible for up to 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, an impact twice as big as that of plant-based food.
Courtesy: A Greener Future
How did live music events fare for the climate in 2024?
AGF called the uptake of vegan and vegetarian food by the live industry a “promising sign”, noting how “industrial animal agriculture and food production are among the biggest drivers of climate change and nature decline, and form a major part of an event’s environmental impact”.
The research revealed that more than half (54%) of the festivals collected data on the food served, while 82% had a formal food and drink sustainability policy.
There was progress across other metrics as well. The average daily waste per person per day across all festival types was 0.8kg – in contrast, this amounted to 1.4kg per person in the EU in 2023. Waste management improved too, as recycling rates rose from 38% in 2022 to 49% in 2024, while almost a quarter (23%) of events had a food salvation or redistribution strategy in place.
Moreover, two-thirds of festivals implemented a reusable cup system across the event, while 70% introduced a ban on single-use plastic.
Meanwhile, a quarter of the festivals ran entirely on mains electricity, and 20% ran on biofuel derived from hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO). The use of the latter increased with the size of the festival, with nearly half of the energy at festivals with 50,000 or more attendees coming from HVO generators.
Courtesy: A Greener Future
The biggest culprit was audience travel, which made up between 34-90% of festival emissions, depending on its location, nature, and scale. The use of public transport, bikes and on-foot travel decreased in 2024 in favour of private cars and taxis. That said, electric cars were also slightly more common, though still representing a fraction of the total.
“There is room for improvement with regards to getting fossil fuels out of festivals and low-carbon travel, but we know how to do this and expect to see a rapid decline in diesel use in the coming years,” said AGF CEO Claire O’Neill.
“Festivals that work with AGF or apply for certification are generally environmentally aware and active,” she added. “Nevertheless, these results are promising, showing a trend towards decarbonisation and waste reduction.”
Bands and artists recognising the potential of low-carbon food
The report comes at a time when musical acts are growing increasingly conscious of their climate footprints. It’s why Massive Attack’s Act 1.5 festival sought to lay out a low-carbon playbook for the live events industry.
The festival featured 100% plant-based catering, an electric-powered stage, free electric shuttles and extra services in partnership with rail operators, and no car park. The brand prioritised local residents by giving them presale access and incentivised the use of public transport by offering access to a VIP bar and separate toilets.
Massive Attack and the organisers had a plan in place to prevent food waste, including redistribution and composting. People were encouraged to bring their own reusable cups for drinks, and all serveware was compostable. Additionally, no single-use plastics were allowed on site, either from traders or audience members.
Other artists are upping their sustainability game, too. Coldplay published a 12-point plan to halve their tour’s carbon footprint and successfully reduced its Music Of The Spheres Tour’s emissions by 59%, a figure it noted had been verified by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative. Crucially, however, this did not take into account audience travel, the largest source of emissions for these types of events.
In terms of food, it’s common to see plant-based food options available at the concerts of some of the biggest artists in the world. Billie Eilish, a noted vegan, directed London’s O2 Arena to serve only plant-based food during her 2022 residency and followed it up by ensuring vegan food is available at all venues of her ongoing Hit Me Hard and Soft tour. San Jose’s SAP Center went one step further, offering a completely vegan menu for her October dates.
Even Taylor Swift – often (fairly) criticised for her use of private jets – served plant-based meat at some of her Eras Tour shows. (While it’s a welcome measure, it does very little to move the needle – especially when accounting for the emissions from her record-breaking world tour.)
“We are happy to see more festivals going plant-based as this is one of the single most important changes events can make to protect nature and tackle climate change, and costs nothing,” said O’Neill.
A rising number of festivals are going meat-free amid a wider sustainability shift in the live music industry, a new report has revealed.
In a year when one British band set the Guinness World Record for the lowest-carbon concert of all time, more and more music festivals undertook sustainability initiatives to mitigate their impact on the planet.
Live industry sustainability non-profit A Greener Future (AGF) – which advised trip-hop pioneer Massive Attack on its record-breaking Act 1.5 festival in August – suggests that after transportation, food and beverages are the biggest contributors to an event’s emissions.
A new report by AGF – analysing 40 festivals from 16 countries – indicates that organisers recognise the climate impact of food and drinks, with a fifth of the festivals being fully vegan or vegetarian in 2024, a massive jump from 8% the year before.
On average, around 55% of the food at all these events was meat-free. And even after excluding fully meatless events, that share stood strong at 50%. The difference in environmental impact is stark – when discounting audience travel, food alone makes up over a quarter of the remaining emissions in festivals where meat is served, though this shrinks to less than 10% for vegetarian events.
This should come as no surprise, considering that meat and dairy production is responsible for up to 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, an impact twice as big as that of plant-based food.
Courtesy: A Greener Future
How did live music events fare for the climate in 2024?
AGF called the uptake of vegan and vegetarian food by the live industry a “promising sign”, noting how “industrial animal agriculture and food production are among the biggest drivers of climate change and nature decline, and form a major part of an event’s environmental impact”.
The research revealed that more than half (54%) of the festivals collected data on the food served, while 82% had a formal food and drink sustainability policy.
There was progress across other metrics as well. The average daily waste per person per day across all festival types was 0.8kg – in contrast, this amounted to 1.4kg per person in the EU in 2023. Waste management improved too, as recycling rates rose from 38% in 2022 to 49% in 2024, while almost a quarter (23%) of events had a food salvation or redistribution strategy in place.
Moreover, two-thirds of festivals implemented a reusable cup system across the event, while 70% introduced a ban on single-use plastic.
Meanwhile, a quarter of the festivals ran entirely on mains electricity, and 20% ran on biofuel derived from hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO). The use of the latter increased with the size of the festival, with nearly half of the energy at festivals with 50,000 or more attendees coming from HVO generators.
Courtesy: A Greener Future
The biggest culprit was audience travel, which made up between 34-90% of festival emissions, depending on its location, nature, and scale. The use of public transport, bikes and on-foot travel decreased in 2024 in favour of private cars and taxis. That said, electric cars were also slightly more common, though still representing a fraction of the total.
“There is room for improvement with regards to getting fossil fuels out of festivals and low-carbon travel, but we know how to do this and expect to see a rapid decline in diesel use in the coming years,” said AGF CEO Claire O’Neill.
“Festivals that work with AGF or apply for certification are generally environmentally aware and active,” she added. “Nevertheless, these results are promising, showing a trend towards decarbonisation and waste reduction.”
Bands and artists recognising the potential of low-carbon food
The report comes at a time when musical acts are growing increasingly conscious of their climate footprints. It’s why Massive Attack’s Act 1.5 festival sought to lay out a low-carbon playbook for the live events industry.
The festival featured 100% plant-based catering, an electric-powered stage, free electric shuttles and extra services in partnership with rail operators, and no car park. The brand prioritised local residents by giving them presale access and incentivised the use of public transport by offering access to a VIP bar and separate toilets.
Massive Attack and the organisers had a plan in place to prevent food waste, including redistribution and composting. People were encouraged to bring their own reusable cups for drinks, and all serveware was compostable. Additionally, no single-use plastics were allowed on site, either from traders or audience members.
Other artists are upping their sustainability game, too. Coldplay published a 12-point plan to halve their tour’s carbon footprint and successfully reduced its Music Of The Spheres Tour’s emissions by 59%, a figure it noted had been verified by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative. Crucially, however, this did not take into account audience travel, the largest source of emissions for these types of events.
In terms of food, it’s common to see plant-based food options available at the concerts of some of the biggest artists in the world. Billie Eilish, a noted vegan, directed London’s O2 Arena to serve only plant-based food during her 2022 residency and followed it up by ensuring vegan food is available at all venues of her ongoing Hit Me Hard and Soft tour. San Jose’s SAP Center went one step further, offering a completely vegan menu for her October dates.
Even Taylor Swift – often (fairly) criticised for her use of private jets – served plant-based meat at some of her Eras Tour shows. (While it’s a welcome measure, it does very little to move the needle – especially when accounting for the emissions from her record-breaking world tour.)
“We are happy to see more festivals going plant-based as this is one of the single most important changes events can make to protect nature and tackle climate change, and costs nothing,” said O’Neill.
Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Bold Bean Co’s Ottolenghi collaboration, Beyond Meat’s new documentary, and Miyoko Schinner’s upcoming vegan cookbook.
New products and launches
British cult-favourite bean brand Bold Bean Co has teamed up with internationally renowned Israeli-British chef Yotam Ottolenghi to launch a new Queen Black Chickpea SKU. It can be found on both their websites, as well as Waitrose for £4 per 700g jar.
UK frozen foods retailer Iceland has expanded its collaborative lineup with TGI Fridays to include a melt-in-the-middle vegan burger and a returning sesame-glazed chicken strips SKU.
British fermented food brand The Cultured Collective is bringing its sauerkraut and kimchi to 183 Sainsbury’s stores starting today. The fennel, apple and dill sauerkraut retails for £4.50 per 235g jar, while the original kimchi is priced at £4.75 per 250g jar.
Hollywood Bowl Group, which operates the Hollywood Bowl and Putt & Play mini-golf centres in the UK, has introduced the Beyond Burger at all its 75 locations in the country. It will cost £6.79 and comes with fries (which are not vegan) or tortillas.
Plant-based giant Pulmuone has rolled out limited-edition packaging for some of its ranges for Earth Month, which will be used across its Pulmuone, Nasoya, and Wildwood brands.
Meanwhile, Disneyland restaurant Bengal Barbecue has addedImpossible Lettuce Wraps to its menu, pairing the pioneer’s plant-based meat with shiitake mushrooms, green onions, and water chestnuts. The dish is priced at $12.49.
Courtesy: Prime Roots
Mycelium-based whole-cut meat maker Prime Roots has expanded to Canada and will introduce its deli range – which includes ham, turkey, pepperoni, salami and bacon – at the Restaurants Canada Show in Toronto (April 9-11) and the Canadian Food Health Association fair in Vancouver (April 24-27).
US startup Oddball has debuted its vegan Jell-O alternative in mango, grape, double berry and pink grapefruit flavours. The jiggly fruit snacks are available on its website for $26.99 per six-pack, and will roll at Sprouts Farmers Market this month.
Courtesy: Better Nature Tempeh
Back in Europe, British tempeh brand Better Nature has rolled out its Organic Tempeh and Smoky Tempeh into 200 more Rewe Mitte stores in Germany, taking its footprint to 350 in the local region and over 1,300 across the country.
French plant-based meat leader La Vie has unveiled a new line of American sandwiches using its pork alternatives. Available at supermarkets nationwide for €3.49, the BBQ Lover (with bacon) and Ranch Lover (with ham) variants come encased in Viennois baguettes.
Courtesy: La Vie
Speaking of French retailers, Carrefour has partnered with Brazilian vegan food maker Vida Veg to add three vegan cheeses – mozzarella and two cream cheese flavours – to its own-label offerings in the increasingly health-conscious Latin American country.
Dairy-free cheese queen Miyoko Schinner has announced September 16 as the release date for her upcoming cookbook, The Vegan Creamery. It’s available for pre-order now ($26.99).
Courtesy: Ten Speed Press
Animal welfare non-profit Connect For Animals has launched a new mobile app to help advocates take action, discover local and virtual events, and meet other like-minded people.
Company and finance updates
Cultivated meat made it to national television in the US, with CBS NewsinterviewingMission Barns founder and CEO Eitan Fischer and product development director Daniel Ryan about the firm’s cultivated pork fat, which was approved for sale by the FDA last month.
Courtesy: Mission Barns/CBS
Canada’s n!Biomachines, a subsidiary of cell cultivation tech specialist The Cultivated B, has partnered with automation giant Siemens to showcase the Auxo V bioreactor at the 2025 Hannover Messe trade fair (March 31 to April 25), which aims to scale up alternative protein production more efficiently.
Across the Atlantic, British cultivated Wagyu beef maker Ivy Farm Technologies has appointed Gail Francis as its VP of commercial. She was previously the business growth director at Naylor Nutrition.
Courtesy: Ivy Farm Technologies
Also in the UK, vegan restaurant chain Herbivorous is shuttering all three of its sites in Manchester, Sheffield and York due to “increasing costs”
Two vegan startups have won grants under EIT Food’s Fast Track to Market Initiative, with Germany’s BettaF!sh earning €248,000 to launch salmon and tuna salad cans and a seaweed extract, and Austria’s Hooked Foods receiving €221,000 to introduce a Super Protein ingredient with 30-35g of protein per 100g.
Policy and research developments
A new study by CashNetUSA highlights how vegan food prices differ at Walmart stores across the US, with Arkansas being the cheapest (3.8% below the national average) and Hawaii the most expensive (34% above the mean).
Researchers at Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA) have created a toolkit to help food manufacturers improve the texture of products. They worked with meat alternative startup v2food to help it assess its work on enhancing its burger’s texture.
Ahmed Khan, a bioscience enterprise MPhil from Cambridge University, became the “first person to speak about cellular agriculture and cultivated meat” during a debate at the Cambridge Union.
Also speaking truth to power was Bernat Anaños, co-founder and comms chief of Spanish plant-based meat leader Heura Foods, who addressed the Congreso de los Diputados (the lower house of Spain’s legislative branch) about the need for a food systems transformation led by plants.
Finally, Toronto-based vegan salmon maker New School Foods has been named one of Canadian Business‘s Innovation Awards winners for 2025.
From animal-free egg salad to a milk alternative made from corn, here are the future food products that stood out most to our expert reviewer at Expo West 2025.
It’s that time of year again: when Anaheim, California is packed with out-of-towners, and they’re not all headed to Disneyland. Move over, Mickey Mouse – because it’s March, and the most sought-after attraction in town is New Hope’s Natural Products Expo West.
Expo West is the largest tradeshow for natural, organic, and healthy products in North America, aka the “Superbowl of CPG”, and it seems to be regaining the popularity it had prior to Covid-19.
With a revamped schedule – organisers dropped Saturday in favour of Tuesday through Friday only, with all halls open Wednesday to Friday, new buyers’ hours, and a community breakfast – this year’s show brought together over 64,000 attendees and more than 3,000 exhibitors.
While I walked the halls lined with rows upon rows of vendor booths, what struck me the most was how underrepresented the alternative protein sector seemed to be. There were noticeably fewer alternative meat brands. Apart from Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, stalwarts like NotCo, Hungry Planet, Better Balance, and Quorn were all MIA this year.
It’s disappointing but not surprising, given the state of the industry, the UPF narrative that is dominating the mainstream media, and the current political climate. There was a mix of excitement and concern in the air. Excitement about new consumer health requirements and concern about the impact of tariffs and inflation on the US economy. Still, I enjoyed reconnecting with familiar brands and discovering a few new ones.
The noteworthy trends I spotted this year centred around boosting protein in snacks, beverages and anything else people consume, a CPG focus on cleaner and healthier ingredient lists, ‘alt’ alt-milks like pistachio milk popping up everywhere, shrooms still reigning supreme (even in the form of gummies), and functional snacks and drinks abound – hydration, baby!
So, what caught my eye and tickled my taste buds at Expo West 2025? Here are my top 11 picks (in no particular order).
Beyond Meat’s mycelium steak fillet
Courtesy: Alessandra Franco
Beyond Meat unveiled its brand-new whole-cut mycelium-based steak at a Happy Hour on the second day of the show. As far as I’m concerned, Beyond very much delivered on its promise of a steak that “mirrors the texture, flavour, and experience of a premium USDA steak fillet”. The mouthfeel, texture, and flavour were all spot on.
The steak fillet is the latest effort from Beyond to attract health-conscious consumers, and I’m sure it’s going to do just that when it hits retail shelves this year!
What’s It Made Of? Mycelium, faba beans, and wheat. The full ingredient list is still under wraps.
Where Can I Buy It? Coming to selected retailers this spring.
Chunk’s Pulled Korean BBQ
Courtesy: Alessandra Franco
Chunk Foods debuted its four new Chunk Pulled varieties in Teriyaki, Texas BBQ, Korean BBQ, and Barbacoa flavours. They each come with chef-crafted simmer sauces, are super versatile, can be cooked or microwaved from frozen, and are ready in minutes.
I really enjoyed the pulled “meat” texture and taste of all four flavours, but my personal favourite was the Korean BBQ. It’s packed with that bold, sweet and savoury traditional Korean BBQ flavour and just the right amount of spiciness.
What’s It Made Of? Cultured soy, wheat protein, and coconut oil fortified with B12 and iron.
Where Can I Buy It? Coming to selected retailers later this year.
Wunder Eggs’s Eggless Salad
Courtesy: Alessandra Franco
For a limited time last year, Veggie Grill Next Level Burger had a Wunderful BLT-E on the menu, and it was made with Crafty Counter’s Wunder Eggs egg salad. I’m a huge egg salad fan, so of course I had it, and it was delicious.
The Wunder Eggs Eggless Saladcomes in Classic, Italian Herbs & Garbanzo, and Southwest Peas & Potatoes varieties. After trying all three, I can confidently say they’re all delicious. It turns out I’m more of a classic girl than I thought when it comes to my egg salad, and the original flavour is going to be a must-have-at-all-times in my fridge.
Bonus points for coming in a cup and ready to eat – add a few crackers, and you’ve got yourself a perfect on-the-go snack. The only con for me is that I’m going to need the foodservice tub size to satisfy my egg salad cravings!
What’s It Made Of? Almonds and cashews, Fabalish Foods upcycled aquafaba mayo, and a touch of seasonings.
Where Can I Buy It? Available in all Safeway and Albertsons stores across Washington and Idaho.
Confetti Snacks’s Black Truffle Mushroom Chips
Courtesy: Confetti Snacks
We have written about Confetti Snacks in the past, and I’ve heard a lot about the brand from my good friend Andre Menezes, who is a board member. Still, when I stopped by its booth, I didn’t expect it’d make this list. Boy, oh boy, was I wrong!
The Black Truffle Mushrooms, whole mushrooms dusted in just the right amount of black truffle, were so addictive I couldn’t put the bag down until it was completely empty. It’s a good thing I got two.
The Singapore-based CPG snack range gets bonus points for being made of upcycled ugly veggies, fruits, and mushrooms. What’s more, Confetti’s mission is to reduce food waste while fighting to end hunger and malnutrition, so it donates a portion of its snacks to some of the least affluent parts of the world. And speaking of reducing waste, its eco-sustainable booth was made up entirely of its snack boxes.
What’s It Made Of? ‘Ugly’ veggies, fruits, and mushrooms infused with Asian spices.
Where Can I Buy It? On its website.
MyForest Foods MyBacon
Courtesy: MyForest Foods
I may be a little late to the party here, but I had never tried MyForest Foods’s MyBacon before. The company makes its plant-based bacon from mycelium grown in indoor vertical farms, harvested in slabs, and sliced just like pork belly.
I had it plain as well as in a BLT, and it blew my mind. It was as decadent as I remember real bacon being, down to the texture, sizzle, and aroma.
MyBacon was also on my Expo West 2024 list too, making it a favourite for two years running.
What’s It Made Of? Five ingredients only: organic oyster mushroom mycelium, organic coconut oil, organic sugar, natural flavour, and salt.
Where Can I Buy It? Available online and in several natural food stores across the US, including Erewhon and Whole Foods.
Konscious Foods’s Sno’ Crab Cakes and Smoked Salm’n
Courtesy: Konscious Foods
Given that I’m a former seafood lover, I could not pick only one out of the two hottest newest products by Konscious Foods: Sno’ Crab Cakes and Smoked Salm’n.
Any self-respecting crab cake aficionado knows peppers – red or any other colour – have no place in a crab cake, which is why I absolutely loved these pepper-free vegan crab cakes. Just a pure, simple, honest-to-goodness vegan crab filling wrapped in a crispy golden-brown crust.
The Smoked Salm’n was at Expo West last year, too, but it’s now finally out in the market. The plant-based lox has a hickory applewood cold-smoked salmon taste that makes it indistinguishable from its animal counterpart. Whether you eat it on a bagel with cream cheese or roll it up with crème fraiche, you’ll get that perfect smokiness with a slightly salty kick.
What’s It Made Of? The star ingredient in both is konjac root.
Where Can I Buy It? The Sno’ Crab Cakes will be available at Whole Foods this June and Sprouts in July, with more retailers planned. The Smoked Salm’n is available at Zucker’s Bagels in New York City and on Goldbelly nationwide. Konscious Foods has partnered with the largest smoked salmon distributor across the US, Acme Smoked Fish Brooklyn, so you can expect to see it in retailers nationwide soon.
Food for Life’s Ezekiel 4:9 Whole Grain Pocket Bread
Courtesy: Alessandra Franco
Is Pocket Bread another name for pita bread? Yes, but this is in no way just another pita bread. Food for Life’s sprouted pita is tasty and full of nutritious ingredients. It’s not overly thick or dry like most pita breads out there, so it crisps up nicely in the oven, and I loved seeing the tiny pieces of carrot when I took a bite.
What’s It Made Of? Organic 100% stone ground whole wheat flour, organic fresh carrots, organic barley flour, organic millet flour, organic lentil flour, organic soy flour, organic spelt flour, yeast, and sea salt.
Where Can I Buy It? It’s available in retailers nationwide.
I’m not a chocoholic, but I was really impressed by Whoa Dough’s Brownie Batter Cookie Dough. You get the best of both worlds: cookies that are chewy and packed with that classic fudgy chocolatey flavour that chocolate lovers want from a brownie. The dough is also nut-free, gluten-free and bakes in minutes – you can even eat it right out of the bag!
What’s It Made Of? The star ingredient is chickpea protein.
Where Can I Buy It? It’s available in retailers nationwide and on its website.
Hodo Foods’s Thai Red Curry Tofu
Courtesy: Hodo Foods
I have tried a few Hodo products before, but none have become a staple in my kitchen so far. I wasn’t expecting to love the Thai Red Curry Tofu, but love it, I did!
It’s not too spicy, which means you don’t have to be a curry enthusiast to enjoy the bold Thai flavours, the saucy creamy texture, and that hint of zingy lemongrass and ginger.
What’s It Made Of? Tofu and coconut-cream-based Thai red curry.
Where Can I Buy It? It’s available at select Whole Foods Market stores and online.
Mori-Nu’s Plant-Based Imitation Crab
Courtesy: Dent Agency LLC
I may be the odd woman out, but I’ve always loved making seafood salad with imitation crab. When I spotted Mori-Nu’s plant-based imitation crab made by Morinaga Foods, I had to try it.
The umami flavour really stood out, and the shreddable texture makes it easy to use in anything from salads to sushi. It also comes fully cooked and ready to eat, with a one-year frozen shelf life.
What’s It Made Of? The main ingredient is pea protein.
Where Can I Buy It? It’s currently only available for foodservice, but it’s coming to Veganssentials.com this April.
Maïzly Corn Milk
Courtesy: Maïzly
Corn has always been a staple in Brazilian cuisine, and I grew up eating my share of corn everything – from flour to soups, puddings, and ice cream – except corn milk.
We have no shortage of alternative milk options, from pistachio to potato and watermelon seeds, so do we really need one more? I was a bit sceptical and unsure if it was going to taste like milk or, you know, corn. That is, until I tried it.
I definitely got the dairy milk mouthful and creaminess my taste buds require from any milk alternative. This is probably because, in addition to corn, it also contains chickpea and coconut, making it more of a blended corn milk.
The verdict? I’m sold. It comes in original and chocolate flavours, but it also has an infant formula. Bonus points for sustainability since corn is one of the world’s most abundant crops, requiring the least amount of land and water, which means it’s even more sustainable than oat milk.
What’s It Made Of? The main ingredients are non-GMO corn, chickpea protein, and coconut oil with added calcium and vitamins A, D, and E.
Where Can I Buy It? It’s available at select natural food stores in New York, and on its website.
Honourable mentions
Courtesy: Táche
Despite not making the top list, here are a few products worth mentioning in this Expo West 2025 review:
GoodPop’s Mickey Mouse Fudge n’ Vanilla Bar: The dairy-free ice cream bar is shaped like the beloved Disney character, made with vanilla oat milk and coated in a chocolate fudge shell. It tastes just as creamy and chocolatey as any conventional ice cream bar, so I’m sure it will be a hit with Disney fans, kids and adults alike.
Táche’s Single-Serve Pistachio Milk Latte: The vegan latte is made with Táche’s Original Pistachio milk and cold brew coffee. I’ve tried quite a few single-serve vegan lattes, but the nuttiness from the pistachio milk really makes this one stand out. Here’s hoping they’ll add a few more flavours, like vanilla and mocha, soon.
Eat Just’s Plant-Based Chicken: Most people are familiar with Just Egg – the vegan egg pioneer – and Good Meat, the first company to sell cultivated chicken anywhere in the world.
What do you get when you combine the two? Hands down the most realistic 100% plant-based chicken I’ve ever tasted. By using Good Meat’s tech platform, Eat Just nailed both the taste and texture of real chicken, but with plants. It was grilled and served plain, allowing the ‘chicken’ taste to really shine through.
If you’re thinking, “Do we really need one more plant-based chicken option?”, I say: just wait till you try it.
Hors concours: Mellody’s Plant-Based Honey
Courtesy: MeliBio
Top such list of mine would not be complete without Mellody’s bee-free honey. Ever since I first tried it, I’ve been a huge fan, and I add it to everything – from tea to yoghurt to cakes. Mellody is spot on when it comes to the texture, aroma, and complex taste of honey made by bees. I don’t know how it does this, but blessed bee!
Polling shows that health concerns are the biggest consumption driver in Brazil, potentially pushing 74% of its population to reduce or eliminate meat from their diets.
Brazil is home to JBS, Minerva and Marfrig, making it the world’s largest beef exporter and second-largest meat producer. 80% of all beef produced here is consumed domestically, accounting for 12% of global beef intake – per capita, only two other countries eat more beef.
Meat consumption – especially red meats like beef – is linked with a host of chronic diseases, including heart disease, obesity, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. In fact, the annual cost of treating conditions attributed to a diet heavy on processed meat in Brazil is $9.4M.
Brazilians recognise this risk, with 74% open to reducing their meat consumption out of health concerns, a new survey has found.
“It is encouraging to see that 74% of Brazilians are considering the possibility of reducing or eliminating meat consumption,” said SVB president Mônica Buava. “The survey confirms that there is a growing awareness about the impact of diet on health, the environment and respect for animals.”
Courtesy: Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira
Plant-based eating led by Indigenous and older populations
Conducted by the Datafolha Institute on behalf of the Brazilian Vegetarian Society (SVB), the research polled over 2,000 consumers in December, exploring dietary drivers in the country.
When asked if they’ve ever tried to stop eating meat, 22% of the respondents said yes, with women and residents in the northern part of the country more likely to do so.
Apart from health, there are other major drivers, too, with 43% saying they’re open to reducing or cutting out meat because of its impact on the environment. This is key since the food system makes up nearly three-quarters of Brazil’s overall greenhouse gas emissions. Another 42% say they’d stop eating meat to protect animal welfare.
Meanwhile, 7% of Brazilians either fully or partially agree that they’re vegan, a share that’s similar amongst both women and men. People in the south are the least likely to follow a plant-based diet, as are those in the higher income brackets and Gen Z respondents.
People aged 60 and above more commonly eat a plant-rich diet (9%) than other age groups, and the same rings true for Indigenous populations (10%).
Courtesy: Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira
Latin America’s growing appetite for plants
While it is home to industry pioneers like NotCo and Future Farm, Latin America has typically lagged behind regions like North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific when it comes to building a domestic alternative protein ecosystem.
Recent data shows that this may be changing, with frequent consumption of meat-free food declining by at least five points in the latter three markets between 2023 and 2024. In fact, 15% of Latin American consumers now eat vegetarian food regularly, higher than the share in Asia-Pacific (14%) and North America (13%).
Further, Latin America is the region most open to meat analogues. It’s probably why retail sales of meat and seafood analogues in Brazil increased by 38% in 2023 (reaching $226M), with the country host to the largest Meatless Monday movement globally.
According to the Good Food Institute, 36% of Brazilians reduced their red meat intake between 2023 and 2024, mainly due to health detriments and high costs. Catering to these trends, there are around 240 meat-free restaurants in Brazil and over 3,200 establishments with at least one vegan option.
In fact, interest in plant-based eating has remained steady over the past few years here, with SVB-commissioned research from 2018 showing that 14% of Brazilians identified as vegetarian, and 60% indicated they would eat more plant-based food if it were cheaper.
That the climate argument resonates with over two in five Brazilians is a positive sign too. According to one study, a 40% cut in beef consumption between 2022 and 2050 in Brazil could prevent 65,000 sq km of deforestation and mitigate up to 2.8 gigatonnes of CO2e, representing a third of the world’s potential mitigation from dietary changes.
From meat-free dim sum to non-dairy pearl tea: a 2025 list of Hong Kong’s best vegan-friendly eats.
If you’re in Hong Kong and you happen to love food, you’re in for a good time.
The city’s historical cuisine is known for its Cantonese origins, with international culinary accents sprinkled all over.
It may be among the most prolific meat-eating regions globally, but as Asia’s World City, it’s also home to some of the best meat-free food on the planet. Hong Kong is a fast-moving, ever-evolving plant-based paradise, with meat-free eaters getting a taste of the island as much in fancy diners as they do at street food stalls.
Post-Covid, the vegan scene underwent some major changes, and many of the lists online are outdated. Since the first question people ask us when we say we work at Green Queen is “Where are the best vegan eats?”, we figured we owed it to our home city to create an updated list of the island’s best vegan-friendly restaurants.
About this list: This is by no means an exhaustive list; rather, it’s a curated, up-to-date snapshot of some of the city’s always-reliable, plant-based restaurants – all tried and tested by our team. The restaurants listed here are either vegetarian or vegan. We are not including some great non-veg spots to get plant-based food. Find some of those here. Hong Kong also has a great selection of Cantonese and Buddhist Chinese vegetarian cuisine (dozens, in fact), but that list would have been too long, and Happy Cow does a perfectly good job.
Vegan dim sum
Veggie Kingdom
Courtesy: Anay Mridul/Green Queen
For vegan dim sum (or yum cha as the locals call it), look no further than Veggie Kingdom. It’s a fully plant-based parlour that keeps to the tick-what-you-want tradition but modernises classic dim sum dishes to be animal-free. Try the shredded turnip puffs, the vegan shrimp dumplings, and the cucumber salad – but book in advance, because the restaurant is almost always full!
Veggie Kingdom has two locations: VIP Commercial Centre, 120 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, and 4th Floor, Kyoto Plaza, 491-499 Lockhart Rd, Causeway Bay.
LockCha
Courtesy: LockCha
Another great restaurant for local food is LockCha, a vegetarian tea house and dim sum restaurant with tons of options for vegans. It’s slightly pricier, but it’s worth it. Go for the bean curd rolls, stay for the siu mai and pan-fried rice roll with XO sauce (a Hong Kong original).
LockCha has two locations: G06-07, Block 01, Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road, Central, and The KS Lo Gallery, Hong Kong Park, 10 Cotton Tree Drive, Admiralty.
Date night
Japanese Isoya
Courtesy: Anay Mridul/Green Queen
Just a short walk away from Wan Chai station, Isoya is a Japanese restaurant that puts the ‘fine’ in ‘fine dining’. A perfect date spot, the meat-free establishment has a tasting menu that can be made vegan upon request. While some dishes change seasonally, we loved the tofu tasting plate, the veggie sushi, and the life-altering tomato sashimi. Reservations recommended.
Isoya is located at 83 Wan Chai Rd, Wan Chai.
Cantonese-French at Emerald
Courtesy: Emerald
How about some modernist Cantonese-French cuisine? Emerald has you covered for date night, with some truly inventive plant-based dishes to keep you interested. Think iced king oyster mushrooms with yuzu-wasabi soy sauce, seafood fried rice with laksa and XO sauce, OmniPork dumplings in soup, and vegan foie gras balls with truffle sauce. And if that wasn’t enough, diners can also enjoy vegan tiramisu and golden crispy oat milk.
Emerald is located at 6/F, M88, Wellington Place, 2-8 Wellington Street, Central.
Pan-Asian at Root Vegan
Courtesy: Root Vegan
For a more casual vibe, Root Vegan is the place to be. The establishment offers a mix of Cantonese and pan-Asian dishes, with most dishes changing seasonally. We’re big fans of the khao soi with soy drumsticks, which is permanently on the menu, as well as their dairy-free, eggless cakes.
Root Vegan is located at Shop 102-103, 1/F Sunwise Building, 112-114 Wellington Street, Central.
Desserts and brunch
The Cakery and Maya Bakery
Courtesy: The Cakery
Owned by entrepreneur Shirley Kwok, The Cakery and its sister chain Maya Bakery are two of our favourite places to find vegan sweet treats. The former has a host of options for diet-inclusive cakes and desserts (from a Dubai chocolate cotton cake to a Biscoff cheesecake), while the latter specialises in baked goods, savoury brunch options, and coffee (we’re big fans of the vegan egg tarts, pineapple buns, and the fish-free tuna mayo croissant).
The Cakery has five locations across Hong Kong, including in Admiralty, Wong Chuk Hang, and Tsim Sha Tsui. Its sites in IFC Mall on Finance Street and PCCW Tower in Taikoo Place also feature Maya Bakery.
LN Fortunate Coffee
Courtesy: Anay Mridul/Green Queen
For a calming vegan brunch with the sweetest staff, you’d be hard-pressed to find something better than LN Fortunate Coffee. Yes, it does good coffee – but the real stars are the dishes. This 100% plant-based establishment is the only place we’ve found that offers a classic Hong Kong French Toast, sans animals – and it doesn’t disappoint. We also loved the bubble waffles and the hot dogs (with a jumbo tofu sausage).
LN Fortunate Coffee has two locations in Hong Kong: 30-34 Kwai Wing Road Shop 107, 1/F, Edge, Kwai Chung, and 118 Second Street, Sai Ying Pun.
18 Grams
Courtesy: 18 Grams
One of Hong Kong’s original specialty coffee roasters, 18 Grams serves only vegetarian fare, and has a host of options for plant-based visitors (plus free swaps for oat or almond milk). Try the oat milk piccolo, the tofu-avocado bagel, and the all-day breakfast – the menu does change seasonally, so you can always expect great vegan breakfast grub here.
18 Grams has three locations: City’super, B1/F, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay, Shop C, G/F, Hoi To Court, 15 Cannon Street, Causeway Bay, and City’super, Shop 204-214, 2/F, New Town Plaza, 18 Sha Tin Centre St, Sha Tin.
Vegan Bubble Pearl Tea
Mother Pearl
Courtesy: Mother Pearl
Yet another entirely vegan spot, Mother Pearl is truly the mother of all pearl teas, with the power to turn bubble tea haters into members with subscription cards. The Instagram-ready aesthetic is one thing, but the flavours and textures really take you on a journey – all with homemade plant milks. With every season, the chain brings out new must-try innovations, but menu stalwarts like Crush on Gold, Soul Full of Sunshine, and Glimpse of Sunburst will blow your mind.
Mother Pearl has three locations: 25 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, Shop 3, On Hing Mansion, 2-4 Tai Wong Street East, Wan Chai, and Shop No M31, MOKO, 193 Prince Edward Rd W, Mong Kok, Kowloon.
Nuttea
Courtesy: Nuttea
While we’re on drinks, be sure to give Nuttea a try. There’s no boba here, but the star of the show is the five-nut cream. The beige, airy cream can top any of the extensive teas and chocolate drinks on the menu, lending a creamy, Nutella-like flavour (but somehow with no chocolate). It’s addictive, and you can also buy a whole cup of just nut cream (wink wink).
Nuttee has seven locations in Hong Kong, including in Kwai Fong, Tai Po, Shek Mun, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Admiralty.
All-day eateries: vegan pasta, burgers and wraps
Treehouse – multiple locations
Courtesy: Treehouse
A fantastic vegetarian chain with build-your-own bowls and wraps, burgers, and desserts that make it the perfect eatery for lunch on a busy workday, or a quick dinner before your nightlife plans. The menu is heavily focused on whole-food plant-based eating, with our favourites including the Willow bowl, the Reef burger, and the double chocolate chip-macadamia cookie.
Treehouse has five locations, including in Central, Taikoo Place, Causeway Bay, Quarry Bay, and Tsim Sha Tsui.
Years Group – multiple locations
Courtesy: Anay Mridul/Green Queen
Rather than being a chain or singular eatery, Years is a restaurant group with several vegetarian establishments scattered across the city, each with its own theme and cuisine, spanning a mix of local and international. Try the double cilantro Impossible cheeseburger at its original namesake site, the chipotle-avocado sushi volcano at Wanaka, the Japanese yuzu tofu steak bento at Here, and the Sichuan mala cilantro spaghetti at Here.
Years has six restaurants across the city: Years (Sham Shui Po), The Park (Sham Shui Po), Friends (Tsuen Wan), Be (Hung Hom), Here (Taikoo Shing), and Wanaka (Wan Chai).
Veggie4love
Courtesy: Veggie4love
Bringing more international vibes is Veggie4love, which is designed as a San Francisco eatery from the 1950s. This is the place to get your burger and milkshake fix (we recommend the I Am Fabulous beetroot-cashew-lentil burger and the secret shake), but it’s also great if you’re craving dishes like a vegan bibimbap, a gado-gado salad, or plant-based chicken rice.
Veggie4love is located at 10/F, 11 Stanley Street, Central.
Thai Vegetarian Food
This unassuming eatery in Kowloon is all about no-frills dining. It has an extensive menu of Thai classics, all of which is completely vegetarian and of course, highly adaptable for vegans. Try the fried monkey head mushrooms, the pomelo salad, the tom yum, and the longan juice.
Thai Vegetarian Food is located at Cheong Wong Building, 28A South Wall Rd, Kowloon.
Spanish plant-based meat leader Heura Foods and French vegan whole-cut specialist Swap Food have teamed up to launch a Suprême chicken fillet in three European markets.
With an aim to “revolutionise the plant-based fillet experience”, Heura and Swap (formerly Umiami) have linked up to introduce a whole-cut chicken breast.
The Suprême fillet is rolling out in over 2,000 supermarkets in France (including Carrefour, Leclerc, Monoprix, Intermarché, and Super U), 1,000 stores in Spain, as well as retailers in Portugal. It enables Heura to expand its product range and Swap to enter the mass retail market in Europe.
“The biggest challenges aren’t solved alone,” Laurent Gubbels, global head of content at Heura, told Green Queen. “While it might be natural to see other plant-based companies as competitors, that’s not how we see it. We see them as mission partners. When we collaborate, when we improve the offer together, everyone wins: the market, the companies, the consumers, the planet, and the animals.”
He added: “From the moment we met Swap, we knew this could be one of those rare, game-changing moments.”
Christel Delasson, VP of sales and marketing at Swap, said: “We have joined forces with a common goal – to break the mould by offering products that appeal equally to meat lovers, flexitarians, vegans, and vegetarians. With this launch, our expertise can reach a wider audience and introduce more consumers to a new way of enjoying plant-based food.”
Bidding adieu to dry vegan chicken
Courtesy: Swap Food
The new fillet boasts a clean-label, additive-free recipe with 20g of protein per serving, offering nutritional values “comparable to a traditional chicken fillet”. It also has a Nutri-Score rating of A. It’s made from water, soy protein (22%), sunflower oil, natural flavours, pea protein flour, citric acid, and salt.
“A product like this was missing from the plant-based market, a fillet that’s remarkably close to chicken in both taste and texture, made with just seven natural ingredients,” said Gubbels. “All the good, but without trans fats, cholesterol and filled with fibre. It’s something truly unique.”
He continued: “Thanks to the complementarity of our expertise, we were able to co-develop a product that combines natural ingredients, pleasure, and accessibility, on a European scale.”
The “tender and juicy” product is manufactured in France, and can be breaded, grilled, fried or braised, and aims to provide home cooks with both indulgence and an easy-to-prep ingredient. Both brands are leaning into the textural characteristics, noting that solving the “dryness” of vegan chicken was one of the main reasons they collaborated.
“We wanted to make you believe it was just like chicken. Same shape. Same taste. Same crispiness,” the brands said in one marketing poster. “But we failed to recreate… chicken’s dryness. Our fillet is juicy. Tender. Enjoyable. A real shame, honestly,” they added ironically.
Courtesy: Heura Foods
Research has shown that Europeans want their vegan chicken to be more tender and have a uniform texture. However, only 18% are avoiding animal products today, and taste is a detractor for 37% of these consumers when it comes to plant-based meat.
That said, 29% of them are cutting back on meat, presenting an opportunity for brands that can meet consumer preferences. In France, too, while the government continues to battle plant-based meat, six in 10 citizens aren’t familiar with vegan alternatives to meat, and nearly half (44%) feel they don’t taste as good.
It’s why the Heura-Swap chicken is targeting not just vegans, but flexitarians and meat-eaters too. “This collaboration allows us to continue offering excellent products without compromise, with superior nutritional quality and a positive impact on the planet,” said Heura co-founder and CEO Marc Coloma.
Swap targets home market with Heura link-up
Courtesy: Swap
The companies called the collaboration a “turning point” for each of their European ambitions. Swap, which has raised $107M so far, uses its Umisation texturising platform to produce whole-muscle replicas of conventional fillets like chicken and fish. This involves a technique that transforms plant proteins into structured fibres without high heat or pressure.
The technology allows the startup to produce plant-based meat with minimal ingredients, with the chicken using eight ingredients and no artificial flavours, colourants or texturisers.
It operates a 14,000 sq m facility in the Alsace region, which can produce 7,500 tonnes of plant-based meat annually, eventually rising to 20,000 tonnes.
Last year, it entered the US foodservice sector, with its chicken fillet appearing on the menu of several Chicago eateries, including Majani, The Chicago Diner, Spirit Elephant, Soul Veg City, Duke’s Alehouse, and Clucker’s Charcoal Chicken.
Swap Chicken was the recipient of a Tasty Award by sensory-based research firm Nectar last month, signalling that more than half of taste-testing omnivores found it to taste the same or better than animal protein.
Heura teases chicken burger and two ‘game-changing’ launches
Courtesy: Heura
Heura, meanwhile, claims it’s responsible for four of the five bestselling vegan products in Spain. In 2023, it grew sales by 22%, reaching €38.3M, and it’s charting a path to profitability this year.
Having raised €88M to date, its products are available in more than 20,000 stores in 20 countries. After Spain, France is its second-largest market, where its sales hiked by 88% in 2023. “With over 2,000 points of sale, French consumers will now have access to this new innovation,” Coloma said of the Suprême chicken fillet.
“It also meets the expectations of French consumers, who are increasingly incorporating plant-based foods into their diets,” he added. Indeed, despite the lack of familiarity, a quarter of French people eat meat and dairy alternatives weekly, and 14% do so several times a week – a three-point increase from 2022 and 2023.
The Spanish startup is now working on vegan cold cuts, cheese, and pasta as well, aiming to tackle a wider range of categories with nutrient-dense alternatives and entice a larger share of consumers dissatisfied with ultra-processed foods. “They’re currently in development,” said Gubbels. While he did not share a timeline, he suggested that they have already undergone some taste tests.
This is Heura’s second launch this year, following the chicken chunks it introduced in February. “This month, we’re also launching a ‘chicken-style’ burger, and two more game-changing products are lined up for summer,” he revealed.
“2025 will be a transformative year for Heura. Last year was all about laying the foundation – we didn’t launch new products, but we developed patents and improved our current products. And this year, we’re set to see the results. Our goal is clear: to become profitable and prove to the world that a plant-based meat company can stay and succeed.”
