Now a few years on the mainstream diet scene, the keto market continues to grow with an uptick in new product launches in the past year, according to Mintel data.
China looks likely to be the world’s largest consumer market of cultivated meat due its population size and government support, but a long, arduous journey lies ahead before this becomes a reality, according to an industry expert.
Stevia-sweetened zero-calorie beverage brand Zevia – which first hit the market in 2007 – enjoyed a stellar year in 2020, increasing net sales by 29% YoY to $110m, while increasing gross margins from 43% to 45%, according to a prospectus released ahead...
Cell-cultured meat pioneer UPSIDE Foods (formerly Memphis Meats) has brought in high-flying PepsiCo exec Amy Chen as its chief operating officer as it prepares to launch its first consumer product – UPSIDE chicken – later this year, pending regulatory...
Unilever experienced an “explosion” in the growth of non-dairy ice cream when it introduced products through mainstream brands such as Ben & Jerry's and Magnum, according to global ice cream EVP Matt Close. But getting plant-based proteins to...
Attempts to put plant-based meats “in the same category as Twinkies” because they are both “processed foods,” should be dismissed as “meat industry propaganda,” Impossible Foods CEO Dr Pat Brown told delegates at the Future Food Tech alternative proteins...
By Matthew Walker, managing director, S2G Ventures
A market with a variety of alternative meat sources provides ultimate flexibility for the consumer, and several emerging technologies have a role to play in the meat supply chain of the future.
Israeli startup Future Meat Technologies has opened what it claims is the first ‘industrial’ cell-cultured meat facility, capable of producing 500 kilos of meat a day (the equivalent of around 5,000 hamburgers), as it gears up for a US launch next year,...
Convincing children to eat their vegetables doesn’t have to be a struggle, according to the founders of Tiny Organics, who, with an infusion of $11 million in Series A funding, are helping kids break the sugar addiction with which they are born by replacing...
Nature’s Fynd has received a coveted 'no questions’ letter from the FDA in response to its GRAS safety determination for its ‘Fy’ fungi ingredient (Fusarium strain flavolapis*), a protein-packed naturally-occurring micro-organism with origins in...
Cactus water brand Pricklee is carving out a spot in the plant water category largely dominated by coconut water with a product it says delivers a more approachable taste profile, with half the sugar and calories than leading coconut water brands.
Motif FoodWorks – a Boston-based startup focused on high-impact ingredients that can be added to plant- based meat and dairy formulations in small quantities but make a significant difference to the eating experience – has raised $226m in Series B* funding,...
San Francisco-based Change Foods – one of a new breed of startups making 'animal-free' dairy ingredients using microbes instead of cows – has closed an oversubscribed $2.1m seed funding round,* and plans to launch its first consumer products...
Lightlife Foods’ recent campaign pitting its ‘real food’ credentials vs the 'hyper-processed' wares of Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat was dismissed by some as a PR stunt. However, it started a conversation, says president Dan Curtin, who predicts...
Vertical Roots, a vertical farming company which grows its leafy greens in repurposed shipping containers year-round, has opened its third indoor farm in Atlanta, Georgia, reducing produce transportation and expanding access to fresh, locally-grown leafy...
From emerging keto ice cream brand, Rebel, and Beyond Meat's plant-based sausage, to big food's permissibly indulgent takes on legacy brands (Reese's Thins and Zero Sugar Mountain Dew), one theme rang true in IRI's 2020 New Product...
While the pandemic shined a light on the role of diet and nutrition in health and wellness, it also revealed that most consumers don’t have a firm – or even loose – idea of what constitutes healthy – underscoring a need for more research and better education...
“Global and local” dairy companies have approached Imagindairy - one of a clutch of startups using microbes (not cows) to produce milk proteins – about developing ‘animal-free’ dairy milks and other products, says the Israeli company, which lags some...
Despite recent rapid growth in non-dairy options, dairy consumers are still more frequently opting for dairy products over their plant-based counterparts, with plant-based cheese facing the biggest consumer acceptance challenges among dairy buyers, according...
First came chickpea pasta, now with a new foodservice partnership with Oath Pizza in the New England area and expanding retail distribution in the frozen pizza aisle, Banza is unlocking demand for chickpea-crust pizza.
Fresh research has come out comparing the heart benefits associated with low-fat and ‘plant-centred’ diets. The results are in – plant-centred diets could be more effective at lowering heart disease risk.
Craft sparkling water brand Aura Bora has raised $2m in a seed round to support the company's latest chapter of growth, which includes expansion into 7-Eleven, Sprouts, Whole Foods Pacific Northwest, and Fresh Thyme, as well as its new online subscription...
Following a nutrient-dense plant-based or pescatarian diet could protect against severe COVID-19, according to researchers who found healthcare workers at high risk of exposure to the coronavirus were less likely to experience severe infections if they...
Geltor – which has developed a computational biology platform to create a range of ‘designer’ functional proteins via microbial fermentation - will launch the world’s first ingestible ‘animal-free’ vegan collagen for the food and nutrition markets this...
The Better Meat Co – a startup best-known for providing plant-based meat enhancers – has completed construction of a “substantial mycoprotein fermentation facility” in Sacramento that will produce fungi-based meat alternatives that “work phenomenally...
GoodPop Frozen Pops, a better-for-you frozen treat brand, has appointed former Unilever exec, Rahul Shah, as president and chief operating officer to help lead the company's next chapter of "unprecedented growth."
Israeli cultured meat firm Future Meat Technologies has its eye on Asia as a major market for its products with China and India as key targets, after notching-up two successes in significantly lowering production costs this year.
Plant-based milk has captured 15% of the US fluid milk market. Plant-based cheese - which has been around for just as long - has captured less than 2%* of the market, because it's much more technically challenging to formulate, and consumers are...
The plant-based meat category is not short of starry-eyed founders armed with me-too products and a lofty mission to fix the broken food system (spoiler alert, they probably won’t). But there is still room for new players with a genuine point of difference...
Sales of functional beverages are bouncing back after slowing early in the pandemic when fewer people bought on-the-go products, reflecting increased consumer mobility, rising interest in food as medicine and innovation that resonates with health-focused...
The US ice cream and frozen novelties category experienced a significant rise in sales in 2020 (+16.3% vs. 2019) as consumers sought out comfort eating while confined to their homes. However, in 2021 and into 2022, the category will be challenged as consumers...
When it comes to meat alternatives, fat remains the final frontier for formulators, says Nourish Ingredients, which is harnessing the power of microbes to produce next-generation ‘animal-free’ fats it claims can deliver a ‘meatier’ experience than plant-based...
New Culture – one of a cluster of startups in the emerging ‘animal-free’ dairy space* engineering microbes to produce dairy milk proteins, without cows – is aiming to launch animal-free Mozzarella in late 2023.
With nearly one in five Americans now following some type of specialty diet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the extent to which products appeal to different food tribes can heavily influence sales – but not all diets are...
BIOMILQ – a North Carolina-based startup culturing human mammary cells that lactate – says new tests show its milk is not bio-identical to breastmilk, but is significantly closer to it than any infant formula currently on the market.
Doozy Pots – a plant-based gelato made from organic hemp and oat ingredients and the brainchild of a former Ben & Jerry's product developer – is injecting some differentiation and innovation into the plant-based ice cream and frozen desserts...
Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods enjoy more than twice the in-store velocity of other plant-based meat brands in the US retail market, "and so we believe this is still very much a two-horse race,” claim analysts at Bernstein, who say some of the...
As shoppers increasingly incorporate more plants into their diets, Whole Foods Market predicts a summer season where plant-based foods and brands take center plate.
Unilever has partnered with food tech company ENOUGH, which will supply it with mycoprotein to fuel innovation behind its plant-based brands, starting with The Vegetarian Butcher.
Having initially voted in favour of banning descriptive terms such as ‘buttery’ and ‘creamy’ for dairy-free products, the European Parliament has dropped Amendment 171.
With five times the production capacity available at its newest production facility, Nabati Foods is ramping up production of its plant-based 'cheeze' and meat products and has plans to introduce its latest innovation, plant-based eggs, later...
As just one part of consumers' larger definition of health and wellness, weight management has become less about the number on the scale and part of a broader holistic definition of what it means to be healthy, says Shelley Balanko, Ph.D., senior...
Bowery Farming has secured $300m in a Series C equity round, bringing its total funding to $472m, the largest private fundraise for an indoor farming company to date.
Consumers are awakening to the idea that their dietary choices impact climate change, and while some already consider environmental sustainability when selecting products many more say they would if they had more information – creating a unique marketing...
Oatly – which made its debut as a public company today (Nasdaq ticker: 'OTLY') after an IPO that raised $1.4bn – has started producing its first products from its new plant in Ogden, Utah, this month, opening up new capacity to meet surging...
Terviva – a California-based firm commercializing ingredients from low-input, high-yielding Pongamia trees – has raised $54m in equity capital,* with an additional $24m in equity and debt capital to follow this quarter, and announced a collaboration with...
Cognitive decline over time may be inevitable, but according to the husband and wife team behind the recently launched whole food functional beverage blend Memore, feeding the mind the right nutrition early and often not only could delay onset and slow...
Daring Foods – a startup seeking to punch above its weight in the plant-based chicken category via a lower calorie product with a shorter, cleaner, ingredients list and bold branding – has closed a $40m Series B round led by D1 Capital Partners, and supported...
Eat Just Inc.'s GOOD Meat division has secured $170m in new funding to scale production of its cell-cultured chicken (and R&D into other animal protein including beef and pork) in North America and Asia through multi-million dollar investments...