Utilized in everything from lipsticks and moisturizers to baked goods and confectionery, palm oil comes with environmental and societal costs – displacing tropical forests across Asia, Latin America and West Africa, and destroying the habitats of endangered...
Torr FoodTech - an Israeli startup deploying an intriguing new approach to creating snack bars by deploying pressure and ultrasonic energy instead of sugary binders to ‘weld’ natural ingredients together - has raised $12m in a series A round as it expands...
If you’re making cultivated meat in a bioreactor instead of a living, breathing animal, and you want to introduce it to consumers for the first time, what’s the best launch vehicle? A chicken nugget or fillet, a thin beef steak, a high-value item such...
Cultivated meat – made from animal cells grown in bioreactors instead of living breathing animals – has edged one step closer to commercialization in the US after the FDA sent Berkeley-based UPSIDE Foods a ‘no questions’ letter affirming the safety of...
Instead of coffee beans, Minus Coffee is taking ingredients such as chicory root, dates, and lentils, which undergo a fermentation process that its founder claims precisely replicates the taste and aroma of cold brew coffee, but in a much more sustainable...
“It's very frustrating to hear people talk all the time about transportation and power [in conversations about climate change] when right in front of you three times a day, there is a solution that's more impactful,” observed Beyond Meat founder...
Chicago-based kids lemonade brand Poppilu has been acquired by American Beverage Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harvest Hill Beverage Company (makers of Juicy Juice and SUNNYD), to build upon the brand's success of establishing the kids...
Buoyed by a $120m series B funding round, Israeli startup Remilk is building what it claims is the world’s largest precision fermentation facility in Denmark. FoodNavigator-USA visited the firm’s HQ in Rehovot last week to taste some animal-free dairy...
Growing meat from cells in bioreactors instead of living breathing animals should logically be more efficient, as resources are spent on growing only the cells that make up the meat product rather than keeping an animal alive. But it’s never been done...
Want to hear from Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown on the challenges facing plant-based meat? Or environmental scientist Dr Matthew Hayek on what happens if you model a nationwide transition from grain- to grass-finishing beef production systems in the US?
Having outgrown its three facilities in Colorado, Bobo's is moving into its two-years-in-the-making 'super bakery' which will give it enough capacity to triple its output of bars and put it on track to eclipse $100m in revenue next year.
Two US-based precision fermentation startups making real dairy ingredients using microbes instead of cows have announced significant developments as they gear up to launch next year in the emerging ‘animal-free dairy’ category.
'Molecular farming’ startup IngredientWerks has developed corn varieties that express everything from casein proteins to meaty-tasting heme proteins, in an approach it claims is more efficient than precision fermentation for producing ingredients...
San Diego-based cell-cultured seafood company BlueNalu has set up a scientific advisory board bringing together experts in consumer research, sensory science, product development, bio-engineering, and systems biology to accelerate its commercialization...
Will a large percentage of flavors, colors and sweeteners be made in bioreactors by 2050 or are the costs and challenges associated with precision fermentation technology such that it only makes sense to produce a handful of high-value ingredients in...
Solein, Solar Foods’ protein grown with CO2 and electricity, has received regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). Commercial launch is planned for 2024, CEO and co-founder Pasi Vainikka tells FoodNavigator.
The 45 startups selected to participate in the FoodBytes! By Rabobank food and ag innovation program in 2022 provide a neat snapshot into trending topics in food and agriculture, from personalized nutrition and upcycling to robotics and farm biologics.
Terviva – a California-based firm commercializing ingredients from low-input, high-yielding pongamia trees – has teamed up with food ingredient supplier Ciranda to launch the first commercial supplies of ‘Ponova’ oil by mid-2023.
Three years after its “no deal” television appearance on Shark Tank, Slate Milk has raised over $5m in seed money and continues to expand its shelf-stable ultra-filtered, high-protein, lactose-free chocolate milk footprint.
Indoor farming company Local Bounti has secured a $23.3m private investment in public equity (PIPE) investment to scale up its proprietary Stack & Flow Technology, which the company argues leads to improved superior unit economics.
SPINS data shared with FoodNavigator-USA ahead of our Futureproofing the Food System virtual summit (Nov 15-17) shows a mixed picture for US retail sales of plant-based cheese, with overall dollar sales down -2.3% to $218.94m and unit sales down -3.6%...
Researchers are calling on clinicians and the healthcare system to screen for food insecurity and better promote food access programs after discovering that Americans with limited or uncertain access to adequate food is on the rise and they are more likely...
The long-term imperative behind reducing our reliance on animal agriculture seems fairly compelling: The planet can’t sustain it. But with less engaged consumers dipping in and then out of the meat alternatives category as budgets tighten, and a subsegment...
The 100+ Accelerator wants to help sustainably-focused start-ups make a real difference in the supply chain. Representatives from AB InBev and Coca-Cola explain how in this Rabobank Liquid Assets Podcast.
Nourish Ingredients – one of a new breed of startups deploying synthetic biology to program microbes to produce more animal-like fats - has raised $28.6m in a series A round led by Horizons Ventures and supported by Main Sequence Ventures and Hostplus...
PURIS - which recently opened a facility in Dawson, Minnesota that more than doubled its production capacity, cementing its position as the leading supplier of pea protein in North America - has moved into new territory with its first consumer brand dedicated...
After filing for protection under the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Code earlier this week, Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc (VPX Sports), the parent company of Bang Energy, has a challenging road ahead. But its most recent financial misfortune isn't the final...
Billed as the “world’s first protein-boosted hard juice,” BUILD by Pulp Culture adds an intriguing new twist to the functional beverage space with a 4.9% ABV fermented juice laced with adaptogens, probiotics,* and a highly-soluble, ‘near invisible’ animal-free...
Nature’s Fynd - a startup growing protein-packed food from microbes with a fraction of the environmental footprint of meat or dairy – is rolling out dairy-free cream cheeses to Sprouts nationwide.
Singaporean snack brand IRVINS is broadening its reach into the US snacking category with its salted egg chips and salted egg salmon skins, which have become some of the most popular snacks across Southeast Asia.
Natural Products Expo East may not be as big as its West Coast counterpart, but the 18,500 registered attendees and more than 1,200 exhibitors who convened in Philadelphia earlier this month for the annual conference were just as enthusiastic and the...
While plant-based is still one of the hottest trends in food and beverage, sales and consumer engagement with alternative proteins have slid in recent quarters – prompting some players in the space to rethink their strategy.
Frozen Greek yogurt brand Yasso has surpassed $200m in retail sales this year, but the real growth is just on the horizon as it embraces its national brand status becoming the #4 frozen novelty at retail and #1 fastest-growing brand across the total...
Allergy-friendly (free of the top nine allergens) cookie and baking mix brand Partake Foods has raised $11.5m in Series B funding to scale its business and social impact to reach more diverse consumer audiences.
PATH, a sustainable aluminum bottled water company, has closed $30m in Series A funding to continue its mission of eliminating single-use plastic bottles from going into landfills and oceans with its 100% refillable aluminum water bottles.
The western diet – and the food system that underpins it – is becoming increasingly unsustainable, for the health of humans and the planet. So how do we futureproof the food system to deliver healthier, more sustainable products that nourish our bodies...
Equii (formerly Cella Farms) - a startup founded by two food industry veterans using fermentation to create lower carb, high-protein grain flours - has raised $6M in seed funding in a round* led by Khosla Ventures as it gears up to launch its first product:...
Plant-powered culinary brand Wicked Kitchen has raised $20m in bridge funding from backers including actor and vegan activist Woody Harrelson, Ahimsa VC, and NRPT (Thailand's leading food producer and innovator).
By using a patent-pending algorithm to pair and assess physiological responses to stress and diet tracked by smart watches with psychological data gathered through an online quiz, food-tech start-up myAir has found a way to overcome one of the biggest...
Santiago-based NotCo - which claims to offer superior products in the alt meat set through the use of an artificial intelligence platform called ‘Giuseppe’ - is gearing up to enter the increasingly crowded US plant-based chicken category with NotChicken,...
Functional beverage brand Recess (tagline: ‘We canned a feeling’) has picked up a flurry of new accounts for its magnesium- and adaptogen-infused Recess Mood sparkling beverage line, and predicts it will increase distribution from 4,000 to 8,000 stores...
Vanilla Vida – an Israeli startup addressing the huge mismatch between supply and demand in the natural vanilla market – is exploring locations in the US as it ramps up its indoor growing platform for vanilla planifolia plants with significantly higher...
InnovaFeed, a French company with global ambitions in the edible insect arena, has raised $250m in a series D round* backed by agri-food giants including ADM and Cargill, and says it will break ground on a large-scale production facility to farm black...
Perfect Day – which pioneered the production of ‘animal-free’ dairy proteins using microbes instead of cows – has announced a new brand identity for its enterprise biology business, nth Bio, and unveiled its first publicly-announced partner: Finnish startup...
The FDA’s stance that CBD is not legal as a dietary ingredient as it was first investigated as a drug has not hindered consumer interest in CBD-infused food and beverage products, claims Matt Oscamou, co-founder of CBD sparkling water brand Weller, which...
Knowing entrepreneurs often dramatically underestimate the time it takes to validate their business models, are more likely to lose money or break even than make a profit and face abysmal failure rates, one successful founder is offering a helping hand...
North Carolina based Elo Life Systems aims to commercialize a new natural high-intensity sweetener “inspired by monk fruit” in 2025 that boasts a “cleaner” taste profile, more affordable price tag, and a higher sweetness intensity than monk fruit extracts...
What is a snack? A treat, a mini-meal, a mid-afternoon pick me up? What do consumers look for – and avoid - on labels, and how has the pandemic influenced eating habits and snacking behaviors?
