Israeli fermentation-based technology firm Phytolon has secured $4.1m in funding from Millennium Food-Tech, EIT Food, Consensus Business Group (CBG), The Trendlines Group, Yossi Ackerman (former President and CEO of Elbit Systems), and the Israel Innovation...
Lavva – best-known for its pili nut and plaintain-fueled plant-based yogurts – has moved into the plant-based milk category with a higher-fat product made with three ingredients: organic coconut water, filtered water, and pili nuts; with no added sugar,...
Brightseed – a San Francisco-based startup deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze hundreds of thousands of phytonutrients for potential health benefits – has closed a $27m financing round* led by Lewis & Clark AgriFood, bringing its total...
The oat drink business has publicly defended its decision to receive investment from Blackstone, after Oatly fans and activists pledged to boycott the brand.
Driven by shifting shopper attitudes toward COVID-19, overall grocery delivery and pickup sales for August were down to $5.7bn from June’s peak of $7.2bn. However, some key performance indicators including average order value and intent to make a repeat...
Canola is the third largest oilseed crop after soybeans and cottonseed, with an established supply chain (for oil crushing) featuring protein with a highly attractive nutritional profile and great functional properties. So why has taken so long for canola...
Perduefarms.com launched – without much fanfare – in December 2019. Three months later, COVID-19 hit, and director of e-commerce Chris Perdue was thanking his lucky stars his team had spent so much time quietly laying the foundations of a direct-to-consumer...
Santiago-based food tech company NotCo has closed an $85m Series C funding round co-led by Future Positive and L Catterton,* and is gearing up for a move into the US market in late 2020 or early 2021.
Beyond Meat (Jiaxing) Food Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Beyond Meat, Inc., has signed an agreement with Jiaxing Economic & Technological Development Zone (JXEDZ) to manufacture plant-based meat products including beef, pork, and chicken under...
Consumers’ attitudes, priorities and behaviors are shifting significantly as a result of the global health pandemic, and ADM has identified six emerging behavioral changes highlighting consumers' prioritization of health and wellness.
Responding to “overwhelming demand” in Canada, the Impossible Burger will be available this year in a wider variety of restaurants and grocery stores throughout the country.
Under normal circumstances the Campbell Soup Co.’s 12% organic sales increase, 13% operating profit increase and strong double-digit consumption growth across all core brands in the fourth quarter would be lauded as great – but during the pandemic, when...
Launched in September 2019, Target’s newest private label line Good & Gather has generated more than $1bn in sales and will nearly double its line with 600 new items this fall.
Giving up meat was tough… but there are lot of great alternatives out there, says LOCA Food founder Lauren Joyner, a UX designer turned food entrepreneur. Giving up nacho cheese sauce – a staple of her childhood diet – was a whole different ballgame....
Once considered a top priority for a food or beverage brand’s success, ‘winning at shelf’ is now only “somewhat important” as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic reshapes how consumers plan and shop for groceries and how manufacturers and retailers engage...
Honey Mama's, a brand of truffle-like chocolate wellness bars made with whole foods merchandized in the burgeoning refrigerated bar set, has closed a $4.5m Series A round led by Amberstone Ventures, to fast track the brand to mainstream consumer...
Dave Ritterbush has joined plant-based food & beverage co Califia Farms as CEO, replacing Greg Steltenpohl, who will retire as CEO but will remain on the board as an executive director.
Upcycled ingredients startup Renewal Mill has launched a crowdfunding campaign, which will help fund the commercialization of the company’s second ingredient, oat okara, made from oat pulp leftover when oatmilk is made.
Armed with a CAD$30m (USD$22.7m) capital investment from international ingredients supplier Bunge, Merit Functional Foods says multiple finished products will come to market in Q1 2021 using its novel canola and pea proteins.
Making the next-generation of plant-based foods might not be rocket science, but it will take a hefty dose of data science, predicts the astrophysicist behind Climax Foods, a Berkeley-based startup on a mission to reverse engineer animal foods and re-build...
As demand for more meat-like plant-based products grows, Dr. Praeger’s Sensible Foods continues to expand beyond the vegetable-forward frozen foods it is best-known for with the launch of the Perfect Turk’y Burger, while still holding the line on its...
Impossible Foods is rolling out the Impossible Burger to 350 Sprouts Farmers Market stores in 23 states starting this week, bringing its total retail footprint to more than 10,000 locations across the US.
Plant-based protein specialist PURIS – a key supplier of pea protein to Beyond Meat - is rolling out a series of new products this year including a pea syrup that can serve as an alternative to corn-, brown rice- or tapioca syrup; and sweet lupin flour,...
Boulder-based Sovos Brands is building out its portfolio of what it calls 'one-of-a-kind brands' with a signed agreement to acquire Birch Benders, the #1 'just-add-water' pancake and waffle mix in the natural channel.
In an open letter slammed by Impossible Foods as cynical and disingenuous and dismissed by one commentator as a “PR stunt,” Lightlife Foods has attempted to distinguish itself from ‘food tech’ rivals in the plant-based meat arena by positioning itself...
Plant-based protein and functional ingredient supplement company KOS has closed a $2.1 million funding round led by Springdale Ventures; former Whole Foods CEO, Walter Robb; and Horizon Bank’s chair Jim Schneider to support its continued expansion across...
Good Karma Foods' original leadership team is back in charge of its flaxseed beverage and yogurt business after buying back majority ownership from recently bankrupt dairy giant Dean Foods thanks to a “significant” but undisclosed investment round...
A judge handling a high-profile lawsuit* over the use of dairy terminology on plant-based products has blocked attempts by the State of California to prevent Miyoko’s from using the terms ‘butter,’ ‘lactose-free’ and ‘cruelty-free’ on its vegan products....
From protein-packed egg bites and keto crackers to plant-based 'butter' and an array of products touting immune support benefits, checkout FoodNavigator-USA's latest gallery of new products hitting shelves.
Beyond Meat has fired the latest salvo in a legal spat with former co-manufacturer Don Lee Farms with an amended complaint accusing it of misappropriating trade secrets, defrauding Beyond Meat, and infringing its trademarks.
Plant-based egg maker Eat Just hopes to turn an operating profit before the end of 2021, at which point founder and CEO Josh Tetrick says the company will consider an initial public offering (IPO).
Pork processing giant Smithfield Foods – which threw its hat into the plant-based meat ring last September with the nationwide launch of burgers, breakfast patties, protein crumbles and meatballs under the Pure Farmland brand – has started shipping new...
Lever VC – a global venture capital fund whose partners were investors in Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, and Memphis Meats – has launched a new fund targeting early stage companies in the burgeoning alternative protein space, with commitments of $23m...
Want to get feedback on your new child-focused food or beverage launch, brand, or business, from our expert panel at FoodNavigator-USA's virtual FOOD FOR KIDS summit in the fall?
What’s new in the world of plant-based product development? FoodNavigator-USA (FNU) caught up with Ryan Riddle (RR), senior product development specialist, vegetarian meal solutions at Nestlé, which acquired the plant-based Sweet Earth brand in late 2017.
Agricultural biotechnology firm Arcadia Biosciences has experienced “overwhelming demand” for its GoodWheat and GoodHemp products (both introduced late last year), but has struggled to keep up with the explosive market interest, said president and CEO...
Impossible Foods has raised $200m in a Series G funding round led by new investor Coatue, with participation from existing investors including Mirae Asset Global Investments and Temasek as well as new investor XN. The move brings its total funding since...
Faced with different shopper behavior throughout the pandemic, Sun-Maid has launched a marketing campaign aimed at moms navigating the new normal of the back-to-school season and who now must be prepared with snacks for their kids throughout the day,...
Adults who swapped out animal protein for plant-based protein saw lower levels of LDL cholesterol, moderate weight loss, and similar sodium intake and blood pressure levels (compared to animal protein consumption) after eight weeks, revealed a two-phase...
Plenty Unlimited Inc. will be entering 430 Albertsons stores across California with four SKUs of its leafy greens, further demonstrating the scalability of its indoor hydroponic vertical-farming operations, which use 99% less land and up to 95% less water...
Atomo Coffee – a Seattle-based startup that claims to have reverse engineered your morning joe to make an awesome cup of coffee without using beans – has raised an extra $9m in seed funding, bringing its cumulative funding to $11.6m, with plans to bring...
Matrix Meats – an Ohio-based startup developing customizable nanofiber scaffolds for cell-cultured meat production - will showcase a prototype “solid meat product such as a thin piece of steak” in partnership with a cultured meat co by the end of this...
Sapsucker, an organic carbonated maple water brand based in Canada, is planning a 2021 launch into the US market where COO Ryan Klein believes there is a significant opportunity to build the tree water category.
Could children's pester power (the influence kids have over their family’s eating behaviors) be a force for promoting positive and healthy eating behaviors at home?
While COVID-19 dented foodservice sales, Beyond Meat experienced a 194.9% surge in US retail sales in Q2, with strong gains in the club channel and surging sales of its Cookout Classic 10-burger frozen value packs, priced at a 20% premium to conventional...
Evolving shopping habits brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic are remolding consumer needs, and food brands must build new connections with their customers by paying close attention to new emerging issues, pain points, and desires that matter most to their...
How should meat grown from cultured animal cells be labeled? In a joint FDA/USDA webinar, officials said they would work together to come up with joint principles to govern the labeling of products under their respective jurisdictions (FDA: seafood; USDA:...
Berkeley-based startup Mission Barns – which is carving a niche in the nascent cell-cultured meat industry by focusing on animal fat – is in talks with leading food companies about incorporating animal fat grown in bioreactors into a range of hybrid meats...
