Proteins

'We are encouraged by the growth that is coming from meat eaters...’ Conagra Brands (Gardein) talks plant-based meat

06-Sep-2021 By Elaine Watson

The Gardein plant-based meat brand notched up retail sales of $170m in measured channels* in the year to July 25, up 33.5% versus two years ago, says brand owner Conagra Brands, which says it's particularly encouraged by the 'growth that is...

Cultivated meat, cell-cultured meat, cell-based meat? USDA seeks to nail down nomenclature as products get closer to market in the US

03-Sep-2021 By Elaine Watson

The USDA has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit comments on how to label cell-cultured meat and poultry as startups in the space edge closer to commercialization, but says it will review labels submitted before the rulemaking...

Hormel benefits from labor shortage in food service, but suffers from it at facilities

03-Sep-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Ongoing labor challenges are a double-edged sword for Hormel Foods Corporation, which struggled to fully meet consumer demand in its third quarter due to staffing shortages, but which also saw its food service business rebound significantly thanks to...

Plant protein that behaves like animal protein? Lemna-fueled Plantible Foods raises $21.5m, gears up for 2022 launch

01-Sep-2021 By Elaine Watson

Plantible Foods - a startup producing protein from lemna, a fast-growing aquatic plant that can be harvested all year round, has raised $21.5m in a series A round* led by Astanor Ventures, as it gears up for a commercial launch in 2022.

FreshDirect slashes prices on hundreds of products

01-Sep-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

While many retailers and CPG manufacturers are implementing price increases to their product assortments, online fresh food retailer FreshDirect said it will be rolling out price savings to consumers on a wide variety of its products.

Latest round to Beyond Meat in bitter legal dispute with former co-packer Don Lee Farms, but case still set to go to trial

31-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Beyond Meat has won the latest round in its bitter four-year legal dispute* with former co-manufacturer Don Lee Farms triggered by the early termination of an exclusive five-year supply agreement between the two parties. But the case is far from over,...

‘Plant-based eating is about joy, about experimentation…’ says Califia Farms CEO as brand unveils first national TV ad: ‘Calilujah’

31-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Messaging around dairy alternatives often focuses on health, sustainability, animal welfare, or food allergy/intolerance, which motivates shoppers that want to feel good about what they put in their baskets and their bodies. But ‘plant curious’ consumers...

Nabati Foods rolls out plant-based liquid eggs in the US

30-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

After an initial launch in Canada, plant-based foods company Nabati Foods is rolling out its plant-based liquid egg product (Nabati Plant Eggz) in the US where it will be sold online through the company's direct-to-consumer website.

PFAS chemicals detected in small number of common food items, but ‘results do not suggest that there is any need to avoid particular foods,’ says FDA

27-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

An FDA survey investigating the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – a class of human-made chemicals – in nationally distributed processed foods found that of the 167 food samples tested, three had detectable levels of the chemicals....

Quest Nutrition CMO: ‘Higher protein, lower sugar, lower carb snacking, is not a fad, it’s here to stay’

27-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

While Quest Nutrition may not have achieved its founders’ somewhat lofty goal of ‘ending metabolic disease’ just yet, the high-protein, low-carb, low-sugar positioning of the company – one of the runaway CPG success stories of the past decade – is continuing...

FOOD FOR KIDS: Balchem develops kids-focused products that help promote a healthy relationship with food

26-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Specialty ingredients supplier Balchem has developed several product concepts for the kids snacking market addressing specific nutrition areas of increasing importance to parents and families of young children.

USDA predicts higher food prices on top of existing hikes – calling into question consumer reactions

26-Aug-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Food prices across categories are predicted to rise low- to mid-single digits this year and again next year – adding on to already higher prices in 2020 fueled in part by the pandemic and raising questions about how consumers will react in the long term,...

Asian plant-based meat sensation OmniFoods makes US retail debut with OmniPork

26-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Asian plant-based meat sensation OmniFoods is making its US retail debut via a launch in Sprouts stores nationwide and select Whole Foods stores with three products: OmniPork Ground, OmniPork Strips and OmniPork Luncheon.

Banza expands distribution of chickpea-based pizza to 8,000+ stores

25-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Banzs's chickpea-based pizza crust and topped pizzas will soon be available in 8,000+ stores including national distribution with Walmart.

Koia cracks the mainstream code with ambitions to be the next $400m+ refrigerated beverage brand

25-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Koia, which launched with plant-based protein shakes in 2016 sold at Whole Foods stores, has unlocked exponential growth in the mass channel with its low-sugar smoothie line that founder and CEO Chris Hunter says is the company's "best performing...

Walmart launches third-party delivery service, Walmart GoLocal

24-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Walmart has launched Walmart GoLocal, a new white-label business which commercializes its delivery platform to provide last-mile delivery capabilities and services to third-party businesses, connecting the retailer with more consumers.

WATCH: What are 'milk,' 'meat,' and 'eggs?' And what do we call animal products as they become decoupled from animals?

24-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Meat, egg, and dairy ‘alternatives’ usually come with qualifying language (plant-based eggs; meatless nuggets, oatmilk). But what should we call next generation products that are not simply mimicking the real thing, but in many cases, are the ‘real’ thing,...

Nabati Foods launches liquid plant-based 'eggz' made from a base of lupin and pea protein

23-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Plant-based foods co Nabati Foods – which is based in Edmonton, Canada, with a US HQ in Seattle - has launched a plant-based liquid egg product (Nabati Plant Eggz) at Nabati.ca, that will soon roll out at Sobeys in Quebec, and at Whole Foods across British...

Brick Meets Click: Online grocery shopping sales decline slightly in July

23-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Online grocery shopping sales declined by 2% to $6.7bn in the month of July compared to the previous month, but still remain well above pre-COVID sales levels, according to recent data from Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey.

General Mills explores ‘animal-free’ dairy segment via ‘development brand’ Renegade Creamery

23-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

General Mills is dipping its toes into the emerging ‘animal-free’ dairy category with a brand called Renegade Creamery developing cheeses utilizing dairy proteins made via microbial fermentation (without cows).

Hormel: Future innovation will rely on partnerships to overcome pandemic-related resource limitations

20-Aug-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Pandemic-related limitations on key resources, from essential ingredients to packaging to labor, continue to challenge food and beverage manufacturers, and while pressures may ease in one area they simultaneously increase in another – elevating the need...

Good Culture evolves from clean-label cottage cheese brand to 'healing cultured foods company'

19-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Best known for renovating the cottage cheese category with a clean-label alternative free from additives and made with milk from pasture-raised dairy cows, Good Culture has its sights set far beyond the $1.2bn cottage cheese category to become a fermented...

From cows, to microbes, to plants… the brave new world of animal-free dairy: In conversation with Nobell Foods

19-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Dairy proteins used to come exclusively from cows. Today, people can program microbes or plants to produce them without our farmyard friends, or even deploy bovine mammary cells that ‘lactate’ outside of an animal. But which approach is the most scalable,...

Parents seek immunity-boosting, budget-friendly & convenient foods for kids heading back to school

17-Aug-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Grocery retailers and packaged food and beverage brands should brace for another significant shift in consumer shopping habits this month as many families with students returning to in-person school after a year or more of distance or hybrid learning...

Join Noblegen, Plantible Foods, Superbrewed Food, Mattson and Lever VC to discuss the future of protein

WEBINAR: Protein 2.0 from plant-based to fungi, lemna, bacteria, and more...

16-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Plant-based proteins such as soy and pea continue to dominate the so-called ‘alternative protein’ category, but they’re not the only game in town. New options are now emerging from ‘animal-free’ collagen and whey to a novel set of proteins produced naturally...

Tattooed Chef expands presence in frozen foods aisle, moves into chilled and refrigerated foods

16-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Growing plant-based frozen food brand Tattooed Chef is “firing on all cylinders,” said president and CEO Sam Galletti, as the company exceeds its distribution goal of 10,000 stores and surpasses $50m in revenue in Q2.

Mintel: Is the ‘plant-based’ claim losing credibility with consumers?

12-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Just as the term “all-natural” has lost much of its healthy-image luster over the years, the claim of “plant-based” also may be at risk of losing some of its better-for-you significance with consumers, according to Mintel research.

HelloFresh 'well ahead of pre-pandemic levels', adds 3.5 million new global customers

11-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Closing out the first half of 2021, HelloFresh reported a year-over-year 83.7% increase in the number of active customers using the meal delivery service worldwide, as well as the continued global expansion of its business in new and existing markets.

Impossible Sausage hits retail market: ‘Everything we’ve brought to market in retail so far has been wildly well received’

11-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Impossible Sausage made from plants – a soy-based ground sausage product in savory and spicy variants – will make its retail debut this month and should be in 13,000 stores by the year end, says Impossible Foods, which says retailers have been encouraged...

Benson Hill accelerates development and commercialization of yellow pea protein

10-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Benson Hill has launched a new breeding and commercialization program to shorten the typical development cycle for its non-GMO, yellow pea protein ingredients.

‘No brand to date has really nailed Greek in plant-based yogurt, until now….’ Danone unveils Silk Greek-style

10-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Danone is hoping to make a splash in the small but rapidly growing plant-based yogurt segment with a Greek-style product under its Silk brand boasting 10g of protein from peas and a thick, creamy texture from coconut cream it claims will be a game changer...

Impossible Foods adds to c-suite ahead of further rapid expansion

09-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Impossible Foods has appointed former San Francisco Giants' chief people officer, Leilani Gayles, as the company’s new chief people officer and technology industry veteran, David Borecky, as its chief financial officer.

Lifeway Foods bolsters position in drinkable dairy space with new acquisition

06-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Lifeway Foods, best known for its kefir products, announced the intent to acquire certain assets of California-based GlenOaks Farms for $5.8m this week, expanding the company's position in the drinkable dairy space, says CEO Julie Smolyansky.

Beyond Meat predicts small drop in revenues in Q3 (vs Q2) amid Delta uncertainty, hints at 'new innovation rolling out with one of our big partners'

06-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Beyond Meat is predicting a drop in revenues in the third quarter ($120-140m) vs the second quarter ($149.4m) reflecting some recent distribution losses in foodservice, labor issues at some partners, and uncertainty as the Delta variant of COVID-19 spreads....

Kodiak Cakes, a $200m overnight success story? 'Far from it,' says co-founder and president

05-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

It's hard to imagine what began as a family pancake recipe, which co-founder Joel Clark would sell to neighbors in brown paper bags from a little red wagon as an 8-year-old, would become a $200m business selling a growing portfolio of better-for-you...

Kraft Heinz tracking ‘well above pre-pandemic levels’ gaining 2 million new households in two years, says CEO

04-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Closing out the first half of 2021 and using pre-pandemic 2019 as a measuring stick for its growth, Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio says it has made fundamental progress in its transformation agenda.

News in brief

Plant-based protein brand Vega acquired by PE firm

04-Aug-2021

Canadian plant-based protein brand Vega has been acquired by WM Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in middle market companies in the health and wellness sector.

Beyond Meat plant-based chicken nuggets launch nationwide with A&W Canada

04-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Beyond Meat has expanded its partnership with A&W Canada, making its plant-based chicken nuggets available at all the quick-service restaurant chain's locations throughout Canada.

‘Milk plants, hug cows…’ Miyoko’s Creamery raises $52m, develops industry-first: plant-based cottage cheese

04-Aug-2021 By Elaine Watson

Plant-based dairy brand Miyoko’s Creamery has raised $52m in a series C round led by PowerPlant Partners ($40m) that will help fund marketing and innovation at the firm, which generated a 70% increase in revenues in 2020, and is gearing up to launch an...

News In Brief

Pacific Foods brings oat milk to the dinner table with new soups, and pea-protein to plant-based broths

04-Aug-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Already a breakfast staple added to coffee, cereal and used in baked goods, oat milk is now finding its way to the dinner table “for the first time” as the star ingredient in Pacific Foods first-to-market Creamy Oat-Milk Soup.

Blue Apron loses 21,000 customers in Q2 2021 while setting record-level average order value

03-Aug-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Meal kit company Blue Apron has lost some of its steam in customer retention, losing 21,000 customers in Q2 2021 compared to the same period last year, but says other key performance metrics including average order value and average revenue per customer...

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Pandemic’s uneven gender impact reveals opportunities for product development

02-Aug-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

For many women, eating and cooking at home every day during the pandemic has been a double-edged sword that offered them more time with family and control over their diet, but also added a burden that left many women feeling unsatisfied – opening the...

GALLERY: Food ingredients startups to watch, from rare sugars and prebiotic fibers to 'cell-free' biomanufacturing

31-Jul-2021 By Elaine Watson

From San Diego-based Debut Biotech, which is developing a range of high-value ingredients via a novel ‘cell-free’ biomanufacturing platform, to Virginia-based Bonumose, which has patented technology it claims could enable the “mass market adoption” of...

‘The competition is incredible…’ Planterra Foods (JBS) moves into the frozen aisle with OZO as plant-based meat category heats up

30-Jul-2021 By Elaine Watson

Planterra Foods, the plant-based division of meat giant JBS - which debuted in the refrigerated aisle last summer under the OZO brand – has moved into the frozen aisle, expanded its relationship with Boulder-based fungi tech co MycoTechnology, and is...

The New Primal lands $15m Series B funding: 'We very much see ourselves as a clean eating platform brand at this point,' says CEO

30-Jul-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Once a brand focused solely on meat snacks, The New Primal has extended into a number of adjacent categories in the past three years including sauces and marinades, condiments, salad dressings, and dry seasonings, making it a bonafide platform brand,...

Protera prepares to bring diverse, clean-label and sustainable proteins to market with $10m series A fundraise

30-Jul-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

Santiago, Chile and Paris-based AI-driven startup Protera is one step closer to commercializing a portfolio of clean-label proteins that can replace chemical preservatives to extend food shelf-life, safely turn unsaturated fats into saturated fats, enhance...

Milk does a body good: 12 startups featuring functional benefits of California dairy compete for $650,000 in prize funds

29-Jul-2021 By Elizabeth Crawford

From immunity- and metabolism-boosting kefir to a sugar-free lassi that supports mental clarity to trendy boba lattes optimized for performance and recovery, the 12 semi-finalists in the Real California Milk Excelerator are reinforcing the old adage “milk...

Redefine Meat hails 3D printing technology as it unveils new product range

28-Jul-2021 By Oliver Morrison

Redefine Meat, which makes plant-based meat alternatives using 3D printing and is preparing to launch in Europe after announcing a $29m fundraise at the start of the year, says the ‘huge strides’ achieved in its technology have allowed it to launch five...

HelloFresh launches online marketplace for everyday food essentials

28-Jul-2021 By Mary Ellen Shoup

Meal kit company HelloFresh is one step closer to becoming a one-stop-shop with the launch of its online store, HelloFresh Market, offering consumers everyday food essentials from snacks to spice blends.

Soylent now profitable, firing on all cylinders, says CEO after rollercoaster year: ‘We had to make dramatic changes or we would have run out of cash…’

28-Jul-2021 By Elaine Watson

A brand described as “only slightly more appealing than an IV bag” by one uncharitable observer when it first gained a cult following among Silicon Valley programmers as a powdered meal replacement, Soylent has steadily evolved its format, product line...