Despite efforts in recent years to disrupt the roughly $5b fruit snack market with better-for-you options made with more, whole or only fruit, the category remains dominated by legacy products high in added sugars and fillers and low in nutritional value...
The natural energy drink set is buzzing with activity and Rowdy Energy is gaining strong consumer traction with the highest repeat rates in the category, and a new line of thermogenic, calorie-burning energy drinks targeting female consumers, an untapped...
EPG – a plant-based oil restructured in such a way that virtually none of it is absorbed by the body – has demonstrated intriguing properties in plant-based meat applications, where formulators have struggled to find vegan options that behave like animal...
At a time when plastic packaging is emerging as a top concern among environmentally-conscious consumers, plant-based meat company No Evil Foods' decision to switch from fully compostable packaging to paper cartons with plastic inserts may appear...
If the alt-meat space is getting pretty crowded, there is still only a handful of players in the plant-based egg vertical, which is growing strongly, says Just Egg maker Eat Just, which has seen a significant increase in distribution, with its mung-bean-fueled...
Nature’s Fynd - a startup growing protein-packed food from microbes with a fraction of the environmental footprint of meat or dairy – is launching refrigerated breakfast patties featuring its ‘Fy’ nutritional fungi protein in selected Whole Foods stores...
Plantish has raised $12.5m in seed funding to scale up the production technology for its plant-based whole-cut salmon fillets, which will first enter fine dining restaurants by late 2023.
From a flurry of keto snacks and functional-but-fun beverages, to firms making more proactive claims about their impact (or lack thereof) on the environment, check out our first trendspotting gallery from the Natural Products Expo West show in Anaheim,...
Third-party meal delivery service DoorDash is debuting its DoorDash Accelerator for Local Goods, a program designed to support local packaged food brands owned by women, BIPOC, immigrant, and transgender entrepreneurs.
For the father and son behind start-up Planet Based Foods, declining sales of meat alternatives that closely mimic animal products is not a harbinger of dwindling consumer interest in plant-based options, but rather a natural evolution of the trend that...
If churning out milk from lactating bovine mammary epithelial cells in a bioreactor seems a bit, well, unnatural, ask yourself what’s ‘natural’ about the life of a dairy cow in an industrial-scale dairy farming operation, says Opalia co-founder Jennifer...
Dream Pops is rolling out its latest plant-based indulgent extensions into the shelf-stable confectionery and sweetened syrups categories, which CEO and co-founder David Greenfeld says will challenge the likes of industry incumbents Hershey, Ferrero,...
Big Bold Health, a company bent popularizing the immune health benefits of a particular legacy crop, has announced $4 million in funding from a venture capital firm.
Emeryville, CA-based Finless Foods has closed a $34m series B round* to fund pilot-scale production of cell-cultured bluefin tuna, and support the national foodservice launch of its first product: plant-based tuna.
Fat is mission-critical to the appearance, smell, taste, mouthfeel, and texture of meat. And if you want to formulate meat alternatives that look, cook, smell, and taste like the real thing, plant-based fats will only get you so far, claims San Francisco-based...
While scientists are still unlocking the secrets of the gut microbiome, consumers increasingly understand that what we feed the armies of microbes that line our digestive tracts may be intimately connected to our physical – and mental - wellbeing. So...
Plant-based proteins continue to dominate the so-called ‘alternative protein’ category, but will this still be the case in 10 years’ time? And which emerging plant proteins – from canola, barley and hemp to Pongamia, lupin, and chickpeas – will become...
Plant-based meat alternatives are getting 'meatier' by the day as brands reverse engineer animal products and put them back together with plants. But getting plant-based fat to behave like animal fat has been a major stumbling block for the...
Launched less than a year ago by a mix of entrepreneurs, investors, fitness industry veterans, and celebrity Dwayne Johnson, ZOA Energy claims it has quickly become the fastest-growing energy drink and #2 brand in the healthy energy drinks category (per...
Natural colour maker Phytolon is collaborating with Ginkgo Bioworks to take its biological production to the ‘next level’. FoodNavigator asks Phytolon co-founder and CEO Halim Jubran how its novel production technology works.
There’s no shortage of startups on a mission to fix the broken food system and FOMO-fueled legacy brands jumping on the plant-based bandwagon, says Dave Zilko, the CPG veteran behind the new Skinny Butcher brand. But buyers, he says, are still open to...
Santiago-based NotCo - which entered the US market in 2020 with plant-based NotMilk - is gearing up to enter the ultra-competitive US meat alternatives category with NotBurger, a brand that has rapidly gained traction in Latin America with high-profile...
Belgian Boys, a fast-growing brand selling European-inspired treats and fresh breakfast items, has received $7m in funding led by Equilibra Ventures, a startup and investment platform from KIND Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky, to expand the brand's...
What are consumers looking for when it comes to healthy and functional beverages? Is it sparkling water to kick a sugary soda habit or a daily wellness shot with ginger and turmeric for an immunity boost? Find out in the third and final session of FoodNavigator-USA's...
While skeptics maintain cell-cultured meat faces “intractable technical challenges at food scale,” and Impossible Foods CEO Dr Pat Brown dismisses it as ‘vaporware,’ Wildtype has just persuaded investors to part with a cool $100m to help it scale up its...
Perfect Day – one of a new breed of startups deploying synthetic biology to coax microbes into expressing animal proteins such as whey – has teamed up with new brand betterland foods to launch a ‘cow-free’ milk it claims is “virtually indistinguishable...
With the help of a $7m fundraise, Startup De La Calle is bringing to more Americans nationwide a modern version of the beloved and naturally functional Mexican “street vendor treat” tepache – a probiotic beverage made from fermented organic pineapples...
Good Culture, best-known for disrupting the cottage cheese category with its clean label formulation, has just secured $64m in Series C funding to drive continued expansion of its healing cultured foods platform.
San Leandro-based Geltor – which has developed a computational biology platform to create ‘designer’ functional proteins via precision fermentation – has completed its first commercial-scale manufacturing run of PrimaColl ‘animal-free’ vegan collagen...
Emerging Asian-inspired sparkling water brand Sanzo, which has just raised $10m in a Series A financing round led by CircleUp Growth Partners, is seeking to bridge the gap between mainstream sparkling water brands and quintessential Asian flavors such...
It might fit squarely in the ‘niche’ segment of the plant-based protein category right now, but the speed with which Chocho – a protein-packed variety of lupin that grows in the Andes – has gained traction online and in Erewhon stores in southern California,...
Fungi-fueled Meati Foods – which raised some eyebrows in December after its new president (ex-General Mills president Scott Tassani) suggested the startup could generate a cool $1bn in sales by 2025 from mycelium-based meat alternatives – has seen a surge...
Kodiak Cakes, best known for its protein-packed pancakes and waffles products, has received an investment from Patricof Co (P/Co), a specialized private investment platform for professional athletes, to fuel the brand's continued expansion and leadership...
What up-and-coming plant proteins are the most exciting? Chickpeas? Hemp? Canola? Barley? Pongamia? What do we really know about the best overall dietary pattern to support a healthy gut microbiome? And how do we educate consumers about the benefits...
Brainiac Kids – the brainchild of Bay area-based start-up Ingenuity Brands - is rebranding as Brainiac Foods, with new products and packaging designed to reach a broader audience seeking out ‘brain food’: everyday foods with meaningful amounts of ingredients...
The opening of organic and Humane Certified chicken company Farmer Focus’ 78,000 square foot packaging facility in Harrisonburg, Va., announced today, is a testament to the sustainability and scalability of an alternative business model to those of the...
Tiny Organics has launched its Tiny Beginnings non-puree baby food line for 4- to 7-month-olds, targeting the narrow window of babies' feeding journey where they are most open to trying and developing a preference for bitter vegetables and other...
Silicon Valley-based Change Foods – one of a new breed of startups making 'animal-free' dairy ingredients using microbes instead of cows – has closed an oversubscribed $12m seed extension round, and signed collaboration agreements with two leading...
Today’s anticipated US debut of Singapore-based startup Next Gen Foods’ TiNDLE, made possible by a record-breaking $100m series A fundraise, brings American chefs on both coasts access to a versatile plant-based chicken alternative that goes beyond ridged...
Right now, the pricier components of growth media – the nutrient-rich broth used to feed cells that will turn into cultivated meat – are typically produced by armies of microbes engineered to churn out recombinant proteins in big steel bioreactors. But...
Originally designed to help babies grow, but not much else, traditional infant formula often falls far short of delivering the same benefits as breast milk, which also boosts immunity, contributes to cognitive development, is more easily digested, and...
Splendid Spoon, a direct-to-consumer 'no prep' fresh meal delivery service, has closed a $12m Series B funding round to fuel its expansion into new product categories, explore new channels, and further personalize its customer experience, said...
Former better-for-you frozen food brand Luvo’s mission to make eating nutritious meals easy and delicious lives on under new leadership in the recently rebranded and repositioned Performance Kitchen, but with a narrower focus – for now – on the insurance...
Taking the helm as CEO of prepared foodservice company Revolution Foods late last year, Dominic Engels will lead the company's next chapter of growth, which includes expanding its footprint into new channels and continuing to create healthy and "culturally-relevant"...
Shaka Tea has been acquired by Irresistible Foods Group, the parent company of King's Hawaiian (known for its packaged sweet bread rolls), to accelerate the distribution and brand awareness of the Hawaii-based beverage company.
Zero-sugar energy drink brand ZOA Energy has secured a $10m line of credit from Gerber Finance to continue its exponential growth in the energy drink category since launching in March 2021.
Microbes from yeast to fungi are now routinely used to produce some ingredients more efficiently than plants or animals. But next-gen ‘cell-free’ processes that deploy some of the biomolecular machinery inside the cell wall, could slash R&D lead times...
Taza Chocolate is celebrating the release of one million pounds of finished goods and its best year since it set out in 2005 to make “stone ground chocolate that is seriously good and fair for all."
With the upcoming soft launch of a plant-based tuna that mimics the taste and texture of raw bluefin used in sushi and poke, the startup Impact Food is joining the race to bring to market whole-cut, plant-based fish, which many consider the holy grail...
After shaking up the smoothie set with its blender-free, instant fruit and vegetable powder blends and making gum drops it claims aren’t just better-for-you but actually good for you, plant-based nutrition company Kencko is heating things up with the...
