Bel Group – the multinational firm behind cheese brands Babybel, The Laughing Cow, and Boursin – has teamed up with Superbrewed Food, one of a clutch of startups in the biomass fermentation space, to develop cheeses for the US market incorporating its...
Emerging brand Fila Manila is blazing a trail for better representation of Filipino flavors and cuisine in mainstream grocery with its line of savory simmer sauces and brand new launch, coconut and ube jams.
Invigorating sleepy segments, tackling persistent category challenges and balancing consumer desire for taste, convenience and experience, companies at the 66th Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City late last month showcased innovative solutions to...
Backed by a $100m investment from Anheuser-Busch InBev, upcycling startup EverGrain is entering into large scale production of its barley protein with a new 130,000-square-foot facility in St Louis capable of churning out 7,000 tons of protein isolate...
San Diego-based startup Debut Biotech has teamed up with Korean firm GeneChem to develop a series of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) – health-promoting carbohydrates found in human breastmilk – that have never been commercialized before, using a novel...
Animal-free dairy startup Remilk has teamed up with Israeli Coca-Cola bottler CBC Group - which also owns leading dairy processor Tara Dairy - to develop a line of drinks, cheeses, and yogurts featuring 'animal-free' dairy proteins for the Israeli...
Israeli tech firm Phytolon, which is biosynthesizing alternatives to synthetic food colors, has raised $14.5m in a series A funding round* led by DSM Venturing as it gears up to commercialize betalain pigments produced via fermentation of genetically...
Barely a month after Coca-Cola announced plans to phase out HONEST Tea, co-founder Seth Goldman, who sold the organic tea brand to Coca-Cola in 2011, says he plans to launch in a few months a new line of bottled organic teas under the ‘Just Ice Tea’ brand.
Raleigh-based startup Jellatech has hit a key milestone with the development of a full length, triple helical and functional native collagen (type 1) produced by its proprietary cell lines, which will initially be targeted at the biopharma and biomedical...
While the meat alternatives category is suffering from some growing pains, investors’ enthusiasm for dairy alternatives continues unabated, with plant-based dairy specialist Eclipse Foods this week announcing a $40m series B round* led by Sozo Ventures,...
Atomo Coffee – a Seattle-based startup promising to deliver a more sustainable cup of morning joe (minus the coffee beans) – has raised $40m in a series A round as it launches ready-to-drink ‘beanless’ cold brew coffee direct to consumer, ahead of a retail...
Blue Stripes has recently unleashed a broad line of cacao-based products made from underutilized and wasted parts of the cacao fruit to Whole Foods stores nationwide and will be launching its star product -- cacao water -- next month, which founder Oded...
Mars is dipping its toes into the emerging animal-free dairy space with the launch of a lactose-free milk chocolate brand called CO2COA featuring Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa and Perfect Day’s non-animal whey protein, which is made by genetically...
Moolec Science – which has developed a ‘molecular farming’ platform to produce plants that express animal proteins – is going public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)* in a deal expected to close later this year.
NFL free agent player and ESPN broadcaster Tim Tebow is joining the ranks of low-sugar, plant-based nutrition bar company NuSkool Snacks, a move founder and CEO Joe Christensen believes will help the brand secure new accounts and distribution.
Low-carb, high-protein cereal brand Magic Spoon has closed an $85m Series B fundraise led by private investment firm HighPost Capital and will also be making its exclusive retail debut at Target stores nationwide.
Minnesota-based startup Apparo – which developed technology now being deployed by AB InBev on a commercial scale to extract highly functional barley protein from brewer’s spent grains – has turned its attention to another upcycled protein it reckons could...
Fast-growing fermented food manufacturer Cleveland Kitchen hopes to grow 100% this year, with new products and expanded distribution from the equity acquisition of the likeminded natural pickle and sauerkraut fermenter Sonoma Brinery announced today.
San Leandro CA-based Artemys Foods – which claims it has “a pretty clear shot at being the first company to bring cultivated beef to the market in the US” - has rebranded as SCiFi Foods and raised $22m in a series A round* led by VC firm Andreessen Horowitz....
Israeli food tech startup SuperMeat has received grant funding to establish an open high-throughput screening system for optimizing cultivated meat production, helping the company reach commercial viability of its cultivated chicken products.
San Diego-based Mooski is carving out a niche spot for itself in the emerging refrigerated bar space with a chilled oat bar line which offers consumers a fresher, cleaner version of the traditional granola bar, says founder Robert Broome.
Oat bar company Bobo's is continuing its growth streak, predicting 45% growth for the full year 2022 vs. 2021 even as challenging supply chain conditions linger, says CEO TJ McIntyre.
Growing food from microbes – whether it’s meat alternatives or high-intensity sweeteners - is more efficient and in many cases more sustainable than raising animals or growing crops. But if we want to build a truly circular economy, says Hyfé Foods co-founder...
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...
