Proteins

APC and Kerry Group explore new gut-brain concepts

12-Aug-2024 By Nikki Hancocks

Leading microbiome researchers at APC Microbiome Ireland (APC), University College Cork, have partnered with global food and drink giant Kerry Group to explore how diet can support cognitive health.

Premium snacking NPD: Elevating cravings with gourmet, better-for-you snacks

12-Aug-2024 By Gill Hyslop

Ramping up the premium snacking experience involves curating high-quality, gourmet ingredients and emphasizing sophisticated, unique flavors that cater to discerning palates. This approach not only enhances the sensory pleasure of snacking but also elevates...

‘Bread is just the beginning,’ EQUII expands complete-protein portfolio with pastas, baking mix

09-Aug-2024 By Ryan Daily

Complete-protein pantry staple brand EQUII expanded beyond the frozen bread category with several pasta products — featuring refreshed branding — as the company explores ways to innovate finished products and alongside other CPG companies through its...

The demand for ‘clean label’ meat alternatives?

09-Aug-2024 By Megan Tatum

With many consumers classing plant-based meats as ultra-processed, the race is on for manufacturers to ‘clean up’ labels.

IFT FIRST 2024

PLT pushes functional beverages beyond basic with trio of soluble ingredients for energy, mood management & active nutrition

08-Aug-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Ingredient developer and supplier PLT Health Solutions is helping functional beverage brands move beyond basic benefits to meet consumers’ rising demand for more innovative health solutions that are sippable with a line of science-backed, water-soluble...

From volleyball courts to retail shelves: How Act Bar’s founder is growing her upcycled snack brand

07-Aug-2024 By Ryan Daily

Act Bar is on a mission to reduce food waste and nutrition insecurity with its line of snack bars, which were created with the help of ingredient and product development company Upcycled Foods, brand Founder Amelia Allen told FoodNavigator-USA.

Summer Fancy Food Show

Protein takes centerstage across categories to meet insatiable demand: From frozen dessert to chips

07-Aug-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Even though most Americans consume enough protein, they continue to want more and companies at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City are delivering with increasing innovation and sophistication across categories and occasions, including snacks,...

IFT FIRST 2024

GLP-1 demand drives need for satiating, low-calorie plant-based proteins, fibers

06-Aug-2024 By Deniz Ataman

With the rise of GLP-1 weight loss drugs, ingredient suppliers are developing science-backed, plant-based proteins and fibers to help consumers feel full while consuming fewer calories.

Next Rung Technology shares tips for scaling alt-protein successfully: Focus on capital investments, personnel

06-Aug-2024 By Ryan Daily

Creating a successful alternative protein company is not just about developing an innovative ingredient or product, but it also is about scalability — from building the right size facility in budget to hiring the right personnel and meeting regulatory...

Tyson Foods rebounds with ‘focus on fundamentals,’ operational improvements & innovation in prepared food

06-Aug-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Tyson Foods’ focus on fundamentals and “operational improvements,” including previously shuttering six US plants and laying off employees to improve margins, is paying off as the meat-packer reports its most profitable quarter in nearly two years.

Advancing the alternative protein sector requires significant public, private investment, GFI says

05-Aug-2024 By Deniz Ataman

The US must significantly increase public and private investment in alternative proteins, including cultivated meat, to maintain global competitiveness, according to the Good Food Institute's (GFI) State of Policy report and GFI's Policy Specialist,...

IFT FIRST 2024

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Cargill shares 4 trends shaping consumer food purchases

05-Aug-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

Between ongoing inflation, rising fears about climate change’s impact on the food system, and increasing physical and mental health concerns turbo-charged by the pandemic, consumers have been through a lot in recent years, and in response, new data from...

Primient, Synonym partner to create pilot facility to inspire biotech innovation

02-Aug-2024 By Ryan Daily

Plant-based ingredient company Primient is partnering with biomanufacturing infrastructure developer Synonym on a pilot facility in Decatur, Ill., to spur bioproduct innovation and commercialization from startups as the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign...

Shiru partners with Ajinomoto to develop ‘step-change solutions’ for sweet proteins

31-Jul-2024 By Ryan Daily

Food ingredient discovery company Shiru is partnering with Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America to commercialize sweet proteins, leveraging AI to “understand the language of proteins” in the process, Jasmin Hume, CEO and founder of the tech...

IFT FIRST 2024

Interest in weight-loss drugs ‘turbo-charged’ food as medicine, but is the industry ready?

31-Jul-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

The buzz around weight-loss drugs has “turbo-charged” the food as medicine movement creating opportunities and challenges for which one expert warns the food industry is unprepared to address, resulting in far more “losers” than “winners” – but he added...

IFT FIRST 2024

Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Trends at IFT’s Startup Pavilion include upcycled ingredients, clean label preservatives, novel proteins and more

29-Jul-2024 By Elizabeth Crawford

The Startup Pavilion at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual Food Improved by Research Science and Technology (IFT FIRST) in Chicago earlier this month featured cutting-edge solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing the food system,...

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?