Proteins

CPG disruption: SPINS shares why innovation is needed in juices, pickles, pantry staples

25-Jul-2024 By Ryan Daily

CPG companies seeking to disrupt a market might want to turn their attention to categories where whitespace innovation is lacking — including in juices, pickles and pantry staples — a SPINS representative suggested in a recent webinar.

Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins

Proxy Foods CEO on AI’s potential in alt-protein market, creating ‘Canva ... for the food scientist'

25-Jul-2024 By Ryan Daily

A solid data foundation is crucial to leveraging AI to address alternative-protein market challenges, including raw material shortages and developing on-trend products faster, CEO of AI-based recipe company Proxy Foods Panos Kostopoulos shared at the...

IFT FIRST 2024

M2 Ingredients highlights recent ex vivo studies for mushrooms on gut health at IFT FIRST

23-Jul-2024 By Deniz Ataman

M2 Ingredients, a North American organic mushroom powder supplier, showcased its recent research during IFT FIRST on the prebiotic potential of its products which highlighted the possibilities mushrooms offer for the booming functional food and beverage...

IFT FIRST 2024

American Egg Board announces winners of 2024 product innovation competition, discusses supply-chain resiliency at IFT FIRST

22-Jul-2024 By Ryan Daily

The American Egg Board revealed the winners of its annual Product Development Competition, as the organization shared how farmers are responding to supply chain challenges brought on by avian flu at IFT FIRST in Chicago last week.

NPD Trend Tracker: From plant-based treats to snacks that are perfect for pairing

22-Jul-2024 By Donna Eastlake

In this weeks’ edition, we discover plant-based ice cream treats, some perfect snacks for that boozy sundowner and more…

IFT FIRST

Onego Bio secures $15.2m from EIC to scale animal-free egg protein, meet regulatory requirements

18-Jul-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

With an infusion of $15.2 million in funding from the European Innovation Council announced yesterday following a recent $40 million Series A round in April, precision fermentation startup Onego Bio says it is “moving at full speed” to meet regulatory...

Future Food Tech Alternative Proteins

3 strategies to increase consumer acceptance, adoption of plant-based, novel proteins

17-Jul-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

While most Americans are willing to swap meat for plant-based products and have done so at least once – only a quarter have done so repeatedly, according to industry research – begging the question: Why are more consumers not coming back?

Is flexitarianism increasing? Behind the rise of hybrid meat

12-Jul-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Quorn is the latest to delve into the controversial ‘hybrid meat’ category, which gives consumers products that are neither fully meat nor fully meat free. But why now?

IFT First

FDA, industry leaders explore a streamlined path to market for cultivated protein

09-Jul-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Regulatory approval for cultivated meat products is rigorous but possible – as seen with GOOD Meat and UPSIDE Foods – and FDA is streamlining the regulatory pathway for cultivated meat and encourages companies seeking approval to engage with it “early...

IFT FIRST

Startup Pavilion at IFT FIRST showcases sustainable, better-for-you solutions

09-Jul-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

The Startup Pavilion at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual Food Improved by Research Science and Technology (IFT FIRST) conference in Chicago this month will feature 100 food and tech businesses ranging from pre-seed to growth stage featuring...

Revyve cracks open vegan egg replacements with upcycled ingredient at IFT FIRST 2024

09-Jul-2024 By Ryan Daily

Netherlands-based foodtech company revyve debuts at IFT FIRST an egg-white replacement made from upcycled brewer’s yeast for use in plant-based meat that it says delivers similar texture and binding properties as conventional poultry eggs without additional...

Future Food Tech Alternative Proteins Summit

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Danone’s innovation strategy focuses on ‘big bets’ of protein, enhanced plant-based & the biome

08-Jul-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

In an era where money is tight for consumers and companies alike, and leeway for new products to fall short of expectations is even tighter, many CPG companies are rethinking their innovation investment strategy to make fewer but bigger bets – a strategy...

Blended & hybrid protein products’ potential for sustainable food production

03-Jul-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Combining plant and animal proteins into hybrid and blended products can diversify diets which “may have a positive environmental impact on our food ecosystem,” Dina Fernandez, global science & tech director, alternative proteins, ADM, told FoodNavigator-USA.

Future Food Tech Alternative Proteins

Livestock Labs is creating stable cell lines with desirable characteristics to advance commercial production of cultivated meat

02-Jul-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

For the cultured meat industry to deliver on its promise of feeding a growing population in a way that is healthy for people and the planet, it needs stable cell lines with desirable characteristics for commercial production, which is where the startup...

Future Food Tech Alternative Proteins

Hydrosome Labs’ ultra-fine bubbles boost precision fermentation production, open doors for beverages to better deliver functional ingredients, nutrition

01-Jul-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Innovative startup Hydrosome Labs is leveraging ultra-fine bubbles to overcome significant roadblocks to the development of alternative proteins via precision fermentation, including capacity constraints, by dramatically increasing yield from the same...

Summer Fancy Food Show

Vêsucré’s recipe for creamy, clean-label vegan desserts: neurodivergent employees + simple ingredients

01-Jul-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Crafted by a neurodivergent team with special skills for consumers with special diets in a facility where nothing goes to waste, startup Vêsucré is bringing to market decadent vegan desserts that are free from soy, gluten and refined sugar.

Consumers go nuts for protein-packed product innovation

01-Jul-2024 By Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe

With Reese’s collaborating with One to launch a high protein iteration of the iconic peanut butter cup, should other manufacturers be looking at this functional ingredient too?

Future Food Tech Alternative Protein Summit

50/50 Foods targets flexitarians with Both Burgers featuring half beef, half veggies

28-Jun-2024 By Deniz Ataman

50/50 Foods' Both Burgers with a 50/50 beef and veggie blend target flexitarians who love meat but want more plants, while also addressing water scarcity caused by traditional agriculture, according to CEO Drew Arentowicz at the Future Food Tech...

How gut health and GLP-1s are reshaping food innovation

27-Jun-2024 By Deniz Ataman

While protein, fiber and low-carb options dominate the market, new diet drugs and consumer preferences are pushing the food industry to innovate for a future focused on gut health and targeted nutrition, one industry player said.

Beyond sugar, salt, fat: Rethinking ultra-processed foods and reform

27-Jun-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee is considering how the industry should approach ultra processed foods (UPFs) – including nomenclature and infrastructure.

[Video] PFx Biotech co-founder on using precision fermentation to bolster infant formula supply chain

27-Jun-2024 By Ryan Daily

Portuguese-based food-tech startup PFx Biotech is harnessing precision-fermentation to create human milk proteins for infant formulas and other applications, company Co-founder Harry Barraza shared during the Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins event...

Hero Bread raises $21m to fuel retail expansion of better-for-you baked goods

26-Jun-2024 By Ryan Daily

Hero Bread is using $21 million in series B funding to reinforce its retail footprint as more consumers demand more nutritious and healthier baked goods, including through direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels, company CEO YuChiang Cheng told FoodNavigator-USA....

Future Food Tech

Future-proofing cultivated seafood: Addressing supply chain hurdles for the next decade

26-Jun-2024 By Deniz Ataman

While cultivated seafood has made significant progress over the last six years, experts at the Future Food Tech conference last week emphasized the importance of mitigating supply chain barriers by identifying key markets for better nutritional access...

Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins Summit

Who wants to eat cockatoos? Exploring alt-protein’s future beyond the analogues

25-Jun-2024 By Ryan Daily

Alt-protein startups have unlocked the potential to create a range of novel meat products — from cell-cultivated mammoth meatballs to tiger meat — with the help of biotech processes. However, companies should think carefully when developing products too...

US beef market resilient ahead of July 4 holiday, as industry grapples with Scope 3 reporting

20-Jun-2024 By Ryan Daily

The US beef market remains resilient in Q2 with high prices and consumer demand, as global production is expected to decline in the coming quarters and the industry struggles to implement environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting changes, Lance...

The EVERY Co., Landish introduce animal-free protein mixes for coffee, matcha

14-Jun-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Under the new brand FERMY, American biotech startup The EVERY Co. and Canadian functional beverage and supplement business Landish launched protein and adaptogen-infused coffee enhancer and matcha latte mixes today.

'We are genuinely looking for technology': Investment drivers in plant-based meat and dairy

13-Jun-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

The future of plant-based hangs in the balance. There are still investors who want in; but what are they looking for?

Seed to Surf sails on to Whole Foods shelves with vegan tinned seafood

12-Jun-2024 By Ryan Daily

Canadian-based vegan seafood brand Seed to Surf is debuting its tinned fish product at more than 150 US Whole Foods Markets after completing the retailer’s Local and Emerging Accelerator Program (LEAP), and is teeing innovation in the soup category, company...

JUST Egg introduces new formulation on the heels of breakfast burrito launch

10-Jun-2024 By Deniz Ataman

JUST Egg enhances its plant-based egg formula with JUST Egg v5 for wider culinary applications, while solidifying its breakfast category presence with the Breakfast Burrito launch last month.

Milk made from black-eyed peas? New alt dairy overshadows competitors on protein

10-Jun-2024 By Flora Southey

A new base for alternative dairy has been developed with protein content front-of-mind.

Prolific Machines raises $55m in Series B1 funding to shine light on optogenetics’ potential in biotech

06-Jun-2024 By Ryan Daily

Biomanufacturing technology provider Prolific Machines raised $55 million in Series B1 funding, which will go to support the commercialization of its light-based biotech platform, company Co-founder and CEO Deniz Kent told FoodNavigator-USA.

Future Food-Tech

Moving beyond nuggets, burgers: How alt protein can capitalize on areas of whitespace innovation

04-Jun-2024 By Ryan Daily

The alternative-protein market might have an opportunity to kickstart market growth with innovative products that cater to more meal occasions, including breakfast, and by meeting the demands of flexitarian consumers, Fazeela Abdul Rashid, partner at...

Oscar Mayer might be on auction block, but still has a ‘role to play’ at Kraft Heinz

03-Jun-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Kraft Heinz will continue to innovate and actively promote its Oscar Mayer brand, which has a “role to play in the scale of the company,” CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera told investors last week when asked about rumors that the company could divest the iconic...

The colour conundrum: Red or green packaging for plant-based meat?

03-Jun-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Colour plays a key role in how consumers see products. Should plant-based companies use red to evoke flavour, or green to evoke sustainability, with their offerings?

Cibo Vita stays ahead in ‘smart snacking’ with scientific backing, cutting-edge tech

30-May-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

A self-declared leader in the “smart snacking movement,” Cibo Vita stays ahead of the competition in an increasing saturated category by developing products with “more scientific backing,” adding functional benefits to popular categories without them...

CVS’s expanded, rebranded private label snack line blends functional, fun & flavor

30-May-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

CVS is putting the ‘fun’ in functional food with the launch of more than 40 snacks, beverages and grocery items with trendy flavors and ingredients consumers want, including probiotics, fiber, protein and superfoods like turmeric and goji berries under...

Future Food Tech

Tapping into the $2b+ mycelium market to improve alternative protein innovation

29-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Mycelium has a long history in food, but its potential for today’s consumer packaged foods (CPG) industry highlights the need for increased R&D in resourceful and responsible food production that helps address the challenges of a growing global population...

Plant-Based 3.0 webinar: Tune in May 29 to discover what consumers want from meat alternatives, how to deliver on their taste, texture, appearance & nutrition demands

28-May-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Nearly two-thirds of Americans are willing to swap meat for plant-based alternatives, and more than half have tried an alternative protein – but of those that have tried, nearly a quarter have not done so a second time, according to research cited by...

Florida, Alabama ban cultivated meat in move that is seen as political

24-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Cultivate meat bans and production restrictions proposed and passed at the state level are “a reflection [of states’] political climate rather than specifically about the industry or its potential,” Daphna Heffetz, co-founder and CEO, Wanda Fish told...

RollinGreens’ plant-based bowls prioritize shelf-stable convenience

24-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

RollinGreens expands it plant-based meat portfolio with the launch of shelf-stable bowls featuring the company’s flagship M’EAT and CHIC’Ken protein, Lindsey Cunningham, co-founder and CEO, told FoodNavigator-USA

Future Food Tech Alternative Proteins Summit

Startups offering solutions for challenges facing alternative proteins converge in Chicago next month

23-May-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Four startups pitching next month at Future Food Tech Alternative Proteins Summit in Chicago, along with entrepreneurs from many more emerging businesses showcasing in the event’s Startup Pavilion, are tackling some of the biggest challenges facing plant-based,...

Sweets & Snacks Expo

Protein snacks ride the healthy indulgence line with familiar flavors

22-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Consumers increasingly are seeking convenient and flavorful ways to integrate protein into their diets, particularly as snacking replaces traditional meals among younger demographics, which gives snack makers an opportunity to develop protein-rich snack...

Sweets & Snacks Expo

More than protein: How meat snacks are redefining convenience and nutrition

21-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

With more than 40 meat snack brands exhibiting during the Sweets & Snacks Expo, the protein-packed and portable food category is surging in popularity due to its alignment with consumers seeking convenient, satiating snacks to replace meals on-the-go.

Cultivated meat’s consumer acceptance problem: Many Americans unwilling to try cultured protein, perceive it as less healthy, less tasty, according to Purdue University survey

21-May-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Recent survey data from Purdue University that found one-third of Americans are unwilling to try cultivated chicken or cow prepared in a restaurant underscores the extent of the category’s "consumer acceptance problem,” despite efforts by industry...

Are protein bars and powders damaging to gut health?

21-May-2024 By Donna Eastlake

High-protein products and gut health represent two of the biggest food trends of the last decade, but is one bad for the other?

Sweets & Snacks Expo

Sweets and snacks defend sales as interest in GLP-1 medications rise by expanding better-for-you indulgent products

20-May-2024 By Deniz Ataman

Rivalz’s stuffed, vegan snacks could deliver the satiety effects of GLP-1 medications and meets USDA guidelines for healthy snacks distributed in schools thanks to patented extrusion technology that creates vegan fillings packed with protein and fiber,...

PeakBridge raises $187m for Growth Fund II, invests in protein, cocoa, dairy alternatives

17-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

This week, food tech venture capital (VC) firm PeakBridge closed its Growth Fund II after raising $187m – surpassing its target — and invested in meat, dairy, and cocoa alternatives as part of its second fund, Nadav Berger, the company’s founder and managing...

Future of plant-based foods: Whole-cut meats will lead ‘next resurgence of consumers’

17-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

The meat and dairy alternative markets are bifurcating as some consumers seek premium products, including whole cuts, while others make their own plant-based dishes to save money, Miri Eliyahu, senior research analyst at Euromonitor, told FoodNavigator-USA.

PBFA: Plant-based sales slid in 2023, but ‘with ample space & signage’ units, dollars increase

17-May-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Sales of plant-based products dipped slightly in 2023 from the prior year as prices rose to offset inflation at a faster rate than their animal counterparts in some – but not all – categories, according to new data from the Plant Based Foods Association....

Oobli partners with Grupo Bimbo to bring sweet proteins to baked goods

16-May-2024 By Ryan Daily

Biotech company Oobli signed a formal agreement with Grupo Bimbo to supply the baked goods manufacturer with sweet proteins — the first major step in the startup establishing itself as an ingredient provider.