GOOD Meat, the cultivated meat division of Eat Just, has signed an exclusive seven-year deal with bioprocess equipment specialist ABEC to design, manufacture, install and commission the “largest known bioreactors for avian and mammalian cell culture”...
They may not be magic, but mushrooms – at least medicinal ones – are having a moment as consumer demand for functional benefits, such as clarity, calm, digestive support and enhanced immunity, are driving discovery and sales of the versatile, easy-to-you...
Superbrewed Food has secured self-affirmed GRAS status for a new whole food, non-GMO ingredient - marketed as a ‘postbiotic cultured protein’ – that founder Dr Bryan Tracy is billing as “the most nutrient dense protein source on the planet,” with 80%+...
The FDA has denied a request to exempt rare sugar tagatose from the total and added sugars declaration on the Nutrition Facts panel, three years after granting the same request for rare sugar allulose, a decision petitioner Bonumose has slammed as “contradictory...
Plant-based meat analogues are still striving to deliver a genuine ‘meaty’ taste, texture and mouthfeel. Could combining plant proteins with cultured animal fats offer a solution? Food tech innovators ENOUGH and MeaTech3D have launched a collaboration...
Fresh off of a $10.5m funding round, Tomorrow Farms is debuting is first product and brand -- Bored Cow -- which uses Perfect Day's animal-free whey protein to recreate a cow-free version of flavored milk, giving consumers the nutrition and functionality...
NotCo, a foodtech startup that uses patented AI technology to produce plant-based versions of traditional animal products, has partnered with fast food chain Shake Shack on a test launch of a plant-based chocolate custard and milk shake.
GOOD Meat - a division of Eat Just, Inc. currently developing and producing cultivated chicken - has entered into a joint development agreement with global nutrition company ADM to accelerate the production of cultivated meat while driving overall costs...
Nuritas – a Dublin-based biotech firm deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to identify bioactive peptides in plants that could impact everything from blood glucose management to skin aging – is setting up its US headquarters in Connecticut to support...
Good Good, an Icelandic breakfast brand of no-sugar-added products, has closed a $20m Series B funding round which will help support new low-sugar product innovation and future US product distribution.
While even the analysts downgrading Beyond Meat’s stock in the wake of grim Q1 figures believe meat alternatives are “not a fad” (to quote Brian Holland at Cowen), the brand’s slowing sales and elevated costs have prompted some soul-searching about why...
Being an entrepreneur can feel desperately lonely – especially in the early days when budgets are tight, days are long and challenges crop up constantly – but as romantic as the idea of buckling down and becoming ‘self-made’ may be, few founders actually...
Vita Coco now commands a 50% share of the coconut water category and has grown household penetration of its brand to 11%, a strong indicator that consumer demand for coconut water remains elevated with plenty more runway, said Vita Coco co-founder and...
Brazilian plant-based meat firm Future Farm is steadily making inroads into the crowded plant-based meat category in the US, where CEO Alexandre Ruberti still sees runway for growth.
UK start-up WNWN Food Labs is launching what it claims to be the ‘world’s first’ cacao-free chocolate. Made from two ‘hero ingredients’ – barley and carob – we ask co-founders Arhum Pak and Dr Johnny Drain what makes their product better than the real...
As cultivated meat gets closer to market, more attention is being paid to enabling technologies, from bioreactors to growth media to edible scaffolding. FoodNavigator-USA caught up with two players trying to replicate the extracellular matrix of meat:...
When Ginkgo Bioworks’ head of codebase Dr Patrick Boyle was working on his doctoral research between 2006-12, he was “basically ordering DNA one gene at a time,” he recalls. “I think I ordered less than six total genes for my entire PhD.” Today, the Boston-based...
Halifax-based Smallfood is targeting the alternative seafood market with a novel marine-based whole food ingredient high in protein “with an amino acid profile similar to beef” and meaningful levels of the coveted long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and...
Dairy innovation that delivers added-value is becoming increasingly important as inflation rises and shoppers look to justify higher prices for products across the board – including for staples, such as dairy, that previously may taken for granted their...
While some plant-based and emerging ‘animal-free’ dairy products have strong sustainability bona fides, most Americans still drink cow’s milk, so trying to give consumers more environmentally-friendly options within a category they are reluctant to give...
There’s no magic formula for creating a successful food product, but combining two things that pretty much everyone already likes is probably a good place to start, say the founders of Baozza, a frozen food brand launched by two American expats in China...
Moolec Science – which has developed a ‘molecular farming’ platform to produce plants that express animal proteins – is developing genetically engineered peas and beans containing bovine and porcine proteins that it claims can improve the taste, texture,...
Cultivated meat co UPSIDE Foods has closed a $400m series C round that brings its cumulative funding to $608m (giving it a valuation of >$1bn before it has launched a single product on the market), money that will help support a commercial-scale facility...
Fast-growing keto snacks company Catalina Snacks is proving that 'keto' is no longer reserved for the low-carb, moderate protein diet's devotees but has a broader consumer scope and appeal.
While shoppers care about animal welfare and sustainability, these things are not, yet at least, primary purchase drivers for most Americans, despite what they tell you in surveys, says the co-founder of plant-based chicken startup Nowadays. “What’s the...
The high-fat, moderate protein, ultra-low carb ketogenic diet has its devotees and detractors. But what kind of impact is it having on the CPG industry, how big is the addressable market for keto or keto-friendly products, and is this a fad or a lasting...
When it comes to eating seaweed, most Americans likely think about snacking on toasted sheets of nori, the wrapper around their sushi, or maybe a bright and briny salad at a restaurant, but a handful of startups cultivating fresh seaweed and kelp at scale...
Hemp, barley, chickpeas, and Pongamia (a.k.a. ‘vertical soy’) are four plant-based proteins to watch in the next decade, according to panelists at FoodNavigator-USA's recent ‘Plant-based protein in focus’ webinar, who predicted advances in crop breeding...
We’re running out of agricultural land, and fresh water is an increasingly precious commodity in many parts of the world. But one thing we’re not short of is sea water, which covers more than 70% of the earth’s surface, say the founders of ALORA, a startup...
New chickpea varieties with 75% more protein could transform the legume from a niche to a mainstream player in the plant-based protein arena, says San Francisco-based startup NuCicer, which is also developing varieties with specific functional attributes...
Emerging indoor farming company Square Roots has opened a new modular farm in Springfield, Ohio, where the company will be able to reach local customers in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton metropolitan areas with its fresh, locally-grown salad mixes and...
Formulating beverages that parents can feel good about - and kids will actually drink - is notoriously challenging. However, the founders of Starryside reckon they may have cracked the code with Star Water, a zero-calorie flavored water with added vitamins...
Colorado-based MycoTechnology – which is building a functional ingredients platform utilizing mycelium, the filament-like roots of mushrooms - has raised $85m in a series E* round (taking its total funding to $200m) that will help it expand its portfolio...
“We don’t talk too much about product benefits in our marketing... that comes later,” observes Jake Karls, co-founder at Montreal-based ‘functional chocolate’ startup Mid-Day Squares. “What we think about, is how do we interrupt your day on your phone?”
Led by a PepsiCo alum turned beverage entrepreneur, OCA is carving out a spot for itself in the growing 'clean' energy drink category with a simple ingredient deck which includes 120mg of caffeine from green coffee extract.
In its largest expansion to date, Gotham Greens is doubling the size of its greenhouse capacity from 600,000 to over 1.2 million square feet this year unlocking new regions, national distribution at key retailers, and getting one large step closer to...
Koidra, an intelligent automation (IA) startup based out of Seattle, has raised $4.5m in a seed funding round to bring its data intelligence technology to precision and controlled environmental agriculture sectors.
While animal feed and pet food present bigger commercial opportunities for edible insects in the short term, two key European players in the segment - Innovafeed and Ÿnsect, who are both planning large-scale, highly-automated production facilities in...
From reishi to lion’s mane, ‘medicinal’ mushrooms are gaining traction in foods and beverages, buoyed by growing interest in adaptogens and immunity, says Four Sigmatic CEO Tero Isokauppila, who caught up with FoodNavigator-USA at the Natural Products...
Above Food has been quietly building a plant-based foods portfolio which spans plant-based seafood to plant-based cheese, and its market presence is about to explode with the unveiling of a disruptive, more sustainable, oat processing technology that...
With fresh leadership and a portfolio intended to address a consumer's every need state, Laird Superfood is on a strong path towards significant long-term growth and profitability, said the company's new president and CEO Jason Vieth at the...
Many indoor farming companies - while noble in their pursuit of providing consumers with access to locally-grown produce with a longer shelf life and free from pesticides and other contaminants from conventional field farming - have struggled to create...
Boston-based Motif FoodWorks says it is “very confident” it will prevail in its legal spat with Impossible Foods over a new generation of ‘meaty’ flavors produced by precision fermentation.
The EVERY Company has teamed up with upmarket west-coast patisserie brand Chantal Guillon to road test EVERY EggWhite - billed as “the world’s first animal-free egg white” - in a product heavily reliant on the unique functional properties of egg whites:...
Tattooed Chef, a rapidly-growing plant-based frozen foods brand, is entering new categories beyond the frozen foods aisle and into refrigerated snack bars and snacking chips.
Shiru - a startup producing proteins via microbial fermentation - has teamed up with texturizing ingredients specialist CP Kelco to explore label-friendly replacements for methylcellulose and other highly functional ingredients.
While growth in US retail sales of refrigerated plant-based meat has slowed, investors are still pouring large amounts of cash into startups creating alternatives to meat, eggs, and dairy products with plant-based and fermentation-based approaches, and...
Sophie's Kitchen is gearing up to significantly expand distribution of its plant-based seafood portfolio of chilled, frozen, and shelf-stable pea-based seafood analogues including its most recent product launch -- fish burgers -- which CEO Miles...
