Both the US and Singapore have seen cultivated meat products pass through their regulatory processes, yet the two governments approach novel foods in different ways. Which challenges and opportunities exist within these regulatory frameworks, and what...
Alt protein advocates are calling for governments to ‘step up’ to build a ‘more sustainable food system’ after data showed that global investment in sustainable proteins decelerated last year and sales of meat alternatives dipped in some countries.
Alongside falling sales, volume and units, plant-based meat has slid into the trough of despair, also known as valley of disillusionment or sorrow, and while it is unclear if the category has hit bottom yet, many stakeholders already are looking for a...
Following in the footsteps of its competitors Field Roast and Lightlife, Tofurky announced its acquisition, along with its sister brand Moocho, by US-based tofu manufacturer Morinaga Nutritional Foods. This deal was “an expected move” for the third largest...
Czech start-up Mewery claims to have developed the first prototype of cultivated meat based on microalgae. The company is already in talks with the Singapore Food Agency, founder Roman Lauš tells FoodNavigator.
Kellogg will keep its iconic plant-based MorningStar Farms brand as part of its global snacking company rather than spin it off as a standalone business or sell it – backtracking on an idea floated by the CPG last summer when it revealed plans to split...
Plant-based seafood brand Boldly will launch in May a line of vegan products with the "incredibly versatile" Southeast Asian root vegetable konjac, including calamari, salmon and tuna sashimi, shrimp and crab sticks, Boldly Founder and Co-founder...
Against the grim backdrop of tumbling sales, units and volume for fresh and frozen alternative proteins, plant-based bacon is emerging as a bright spot – with sales inching up, thanks in part to innovative production techniques, like those championed...
Rabobank’s powerful matchmaking and once-exclusive innovation arm Foodbytes is opening access for all global startups, corporates and investors to its forward-looking insights, industry analysis and support for vetted emerging businesses with this week’s...
Researchers say they are using ancient technology to turn agricultural waste into fats. They say the approach could help the sustainable protein industry recreate the flavours of meat and has the potential to replace palm oil or other tropical oils.
Actress Anne Hathaway’s investment in food-tech startup The Every Co., announced yesterday, brings more than capital – it also brings star power that the company’s CEO says he hopes will raise consumer awareness – and acceptance – of animal-free proteins...
SimpliiGood by AlgaeCore Technologies is teaming up with international plant nutrition giant Haifa Group to optimize the Israeli food tech innovator’s spirulina supply chain. The partnership shows ‘the maturity and potential of the entire sector’, according...
With the opening of a new facility, dubbed the “Mega Ranch,” fungi-based startup Meati seeks to place its mushroom-root-based, sliced meat product in “tens of thousands of stores” in 2023, company co-founder and CEO, Tyler Huggins, told FoodNavigator-USA
Plant-based dairy company Misha’s is attempting to do what countless independent musicians, moviemakers, and creatives have done over the last decade – crowdfund its next endeavor, including distribution at Walmart.
By Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Emerging demand for positive nutrition must balance functional benefits, taste, sustainability and convenience
Born out of the pandemic when product availability was unpredictable or limited and when a premium was placed on immunity-boosting, consumers in 2023 increasingly are seeking positive nutrition – both for themselves but also for the planet and workers...
It’s becoming increasingly clear that early projections about the speed with which cultivated meat might gain market share now seem pretty optimistic. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and significant progress is being made to build the ecosystem needed...
Bold Cultr from General Mills – an ‘animal-free’ dairy cream cheese featuring whey protein made by microbes, not cows – is rolling out to more stores in the Minneapolis area later this month and will be available nationwide direct to consumer from early...
While in the long-term, Czech start-up Bene Meat Technologies plans to develop a cell-based steak product for human consumption, its short-term focus has pivoted to cultured pet food, CEO Roman Kříž tells FoodNavigator.
Ayana Bio — one of a new wave of startups seeking to unlock the potential of plant cell culture in the food and nutrition industry — is turning its attention to cacao bioactives with a $3m investment it claims will also benefit the wider industry.
Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has granted a world-first regulatory approval to GOOD Meat for the use of serum-free media in the production of cultivated meat.
The maker of mycoprotein-based seafood alternatives has begun buildout of a new facility in the US, from where it will produce products for the European market.
While egg prices were up a staggering 59.9%* year-on-year in December 2022 thanks to rising costs compounded by avian flu, refrigerated liquid plant-based alternatives have come down in price, with unit sales (+14.2%) outpacing dollar sales (+8.4% to...
The Live Green Co – a startup deploying an artificial intelligence platform called 'Charaka' to mine databases of plants in search of replacements for animal-based ingredients, synthetic, or highly-processed ingredients from BHA to methylcellulose...
Multus Biotechnology’s ‘first-of-its kind’ facility will open its doors before the end of the year. We catch up with co-founder and CEO Cai Linton to ask: Why should industry outsource growth media, rather than develop it in-house?
Unilever is steadily gaining market share, boosting sales in fast-growing categories, lowering the cost of experimentation and improving its consumer engagement by doing more with less, CEO Alan Jope touted during the company’s investor day last month....
Canadian meat alternative producer No Meat Factory has closed a $42m series B round as it gears up to open a second factory, and says it is seeing significant demand for high-quality capacity, despite the recent slowdown in sales at US retail.
A study published in the journal Nature Food outlining key production metrics at cultivated meat co Believer Meats, “shatters” some of the assumptions made in a high-profile article in The Counter, which argued that cell-cultured meat faced “intractable”...
What do Dutch consumers think about cultured meat compared to its conventional counterpart, fish, insects, and plant-based meat alternatives? Researchers investigate.
San Diego-based Seminal Biosciences – one of a growing number of startups deploying precision fermentation to produce specialty fats – is aiming to get its first product, a cocoa butter alternative, to market next year in a dark chocolate bar, with additional...
Bay area-based cultivated meat startup New Age Eats (formerly New Age Meats) is letting go of an almost-complete pilot facility in Alameda where it had planned to showcase its tech to produce cell-cultured pork.
Echoing a move he made while at Chobani when he took charge of a new ‘demand’ department, Impossible Foods president and CEO Peter McGuiness has hired CPG industry veteran Sherene Jagla as its first chief demand officer as part of a plan to integrate...
Multiple semi-finalists in the prestigious XPRIZE ‘Feed the Next Billion’ competition have pulled out following a rule change enacted mid-way through the process relating to title sponsor ASPIRE which contestants argue is “unrealistic for any venture-backed...
As part of a pivot to a more asset-light supply chain strategy, Oatly has struck a deal with Toronto-based Ya YA Foods to co-manufacture Oatly products in Utah and Texas in a bid to reduce capex and improve cash flow.
While economists predict inflation will ease slightly in the coming quarters, this year could easily become a “groundhog day version of 2022” if the weather takes a turn for the worse and triggers a domino effect that strains transportation, commodity...
While several firms are growing fungi in fermentation tanks to make meat analogs, Israeli startup Kinoko is ditching the stainless steel vessels, adding fungi strains to legumes and grains in stacked trays, and letting them work their magic in a solid...
While almond milk and oat milk dominate the plant-based milk category in the US, Hope & Sesame sesame milk – which has a creamy texture and comparable protein levels to dairy milk (with the addition of some pea protein) – is gaining traction, generating...
A consortium of Dutch businesses and academia have launched a five-year research project examining the use of protein-based biopolymers for potential food and healthcare applications. The outcome could have a significant impact on the cultured meat sector...
Agribusiness giant Bunge has announced it will invest approximately $550 million to build a new soy protein concentrate (SPC) and textured soy protein concentrate (TSPC) facility to meet rising customer demand for plant-based ingredients.
Soup season is in full swing as temperatures across the country drop and cold and flu cases rise. But staying warm and reinforcing their reserves when sick aren’t the only reasons sales of soup are up significantly this year over last, according to new...
No longer a lumbering giant when it comes to R&D, Nestlé significantly increased its number of new product launches and number of patents in priority areas by simplifying its innovation process, fostering an entrepreneurial culture and collaborating...
'Cocoa used to be in a fruit on a tree. Through technology we make it in a cell mass in a bottle...'
New data from IRI and SPINS shows continued steep declines in sales of refrigerated meat alternatives but pockets of growth in frozen products and some plant-based milk, cheese, and yogurt subcategories, which do not all behave in the same way (spoiler...
Does cultivated meat have a lower environmental impact than conventional meat? Given that no one is yet operating a commercial scale facility, definitive data is not yet available. However, a life cycle assessment (LCA) conducted by Ohio State University...
After eight years of research and development, Joywell Foods has rebranded as Oobli, and unveiled the first food products – chocolate bars boasting 70% less sugar – to feature the sweet protein brazzein.
In part three of our gallery of highlights from FoodNavigator-USA's recent trip to Israel, we profile startups exploring everything from high-tech indoor vanilla cultivation to the manufacture of no-sugar-added snack bars using compression and ultrasonic...
Santiago-based NotCo – a food tech company deploying a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) platform called ‘Giuseppe’ to bring a new level of sophistication to the formulation of meat and dairy alternatives – has raised $70m in a series D1 round*...
Utilizing precision fermentation to produce immune-system-supporting glycoproteins found in breast milk, Helaina is bridging the gap between traditional formula and breastfeeding. Now the company has its sights set on bringing its technology to a wider...
While the alternative cheese market remains relatively small and the focus of a niche consumer-base of vegan and lactose-intolerant consumers, a partnership between cheesemaker Bel Brands USA and animal-free dairy protein innovator Perfect Day seeks to...
In part two of our gallery of highlights from FoodNavigator-USA's recent trip to Israel, we profile startups exploring everything from upcycled yeast proteins and carob to antimicrobial proteins. Best viewed on a laptop!