By Stu Strumwasser, managing director, Green Circle Capital Advisors
These days, as I travel through the offices of natural products CEOs and investors, and grocery aisles, and trade show booths at Expos North, South, East and West, I find myself constantly informed of the protein content in food and beverage products....
Bernstein: Beyond Meat could potentially generate annual sales of $2bn in 2033
Beyond Meat’s decision to go public amounts to “an extremely rare exit strategy in the highly centralized food industry and is almost unheard of in the plant-based food space,” says The Good Food Institute (GFI), a nonprofit that promotes plant- and cell-based...
Developing and launching a new product is never easy, but according to the CEO of the chickpea snack company Biena, the specific challenges entrepreneurs will face across sales, marketing and operations will vary significantly based on whether they are...
Will plant-based meat go mainstream? It’s early days, but there were some positive signs this morning as Burger King confirmed that trials of the Impossible Burger in St Louis went so well that the chain aims to roll out the plant-based burger nationwide...
While the plant-based protein category is booming, none of the top-selling ingredients dominating the space offer a perfect solution in terms of function, nutrition, sustainability and consumer-experience – a gap in the market that the CEO of Israeli...
The oatmilk category has exploded as firms seek to cash in on surging consumer demand. But not all oatmilks and yogurts are the same, argue the founders of Hälsa, which is seeking to carve a niche in the market with an organic drinkable ‘oatgurt'...
Beyond Meat's plant-based Beyond Burgers will be available in the meat case at more than 3,000 retail outlets in Canada including Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro, and Whole Foods Market by the end of May.
One of 15 startups pitching at Rabobank’s FoodBytes! event in San Francisco, Planetarians uses a proprietary process to transform defatted oilseeds – the dry matter left after oil extraction - into high-protein, high-fiber ingredients that are now being...
Canadian startup Yellofruit is using the same principles of ice cream food science to make its non-dairy frozen banana desserts that founder Andrew Kinnear says closely mimic the experience of eating traditional dairy ice cream.
Advertising on Facebook is about more than spreading the word about a new brand or product, it is also a tool for entrepreneurs to identify their core consumer base, which might not be who they initially thought, according to one entrepreneur who recently...
JUST Egg - a plant-based scrambled egg alternative from Just Inc – is rolling out to Silver Diner locations in Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey, and all 34 Bareburger locations in the US.
A breakdown in trust between public, private and government stakeholders is the most significant challenge hindering the creation of a sustainable food system that is healthy for people and the planet, according to Sandro Damaio, CEO of the EAT Forum....
Russell Stover enjoyed years of market dominance when it first launched its seemingly 'too-good-to-be-true' sugar-free chocolate line in the '80s. But lately, its sugar-free chocolate sales have wavered as it fell out of favor with consumers...
By 2050, the Earth’s population is predicted to reach upwards of 10 billion people who will require significantly more food than is produced today, which many predict is not feasible without drastic changes in the way food is produced, transported and...
Maple Leaf Foods -- parent company of Lightlife and Field Roast brands -- and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Greenleaf Foods, has announced a $310m plan to build the largest (230,000-square-feet) plant-based protein facility in North America, claims president...
The growing US multicultural population -- projected to increase by 98 million people by 2060, according to the US Census Bureau -- will have a significant influence on the US grocery market, a report by sales and marketing firm Acosta indicated.
Vegan. Vegetarian. Plant-based. Plant-strong. Plant protein... All of these terms are used in some variety on the ever-blossoming category of animal-free foods intending to compete against the conventional meat, egg, and dairy industries.
Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is leveraging the impact convenience stores can have on changing Americans' eating habits for the better through its partnerships with c-store chains and distributors.
Frustrated that efforts to “treat or fix” childhood obesity in the US have fallen short, Sprout Foods is teaming with the Partnership for a Healthier America to try and prevent the problem from occurring by training children from an early age to crave...
Soylent has sealed nationwide distribution in 4,378 Walmart stores for five of its ready-to-drink (RTD) meal replacement drinks, furthering the company's goal to bring complete and affordable nutrition to all, said Soylent CEO Bryan Crowley.
Tofurky has raised $7m via a private investment to help scale production of its plant-based refrigerated sausages, deli slices, grounds, roasts and tempeh as consumer demand for meat alternatives continues to grow.
In recent years, the healthy eating trend had expanded dramatically beyond a fad for the few to gain a stronghold with mainstream shoppers, but produce is still at a significant disadvantage when it comes to capturing the attention of children and teenagers...
FDA will push forward with its Nutrition Innovation Strategy despite the departure this month of FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb who championed the initiative as a way to reduce the burden of chronic disease through improved nutrition, according to an...
FDA has reiterated its enforcment stance on CBD and hemp products, has updated a Q&A document on the subject and has specified what kind of information it is seeking in the runup to a public meeting on the subject in May, all as part of documents...
While some animal protein producers might see the rise in plant-based eating as a threat, Applegate sees it as an opportunity to push forward its mission of changing the meat we eat with several new products, including a blended burger that combines meat...
TerViva - a California-based start-up on a mission to commercialize a new source of plant-based protein from the pongamia tree - has raised $20m in a series D round.
The Worthy Company - one of 15 food & ag startups pitching at Rabobank's FoodBytes! event in San Francisco last week - has developed a novel food concept (the 'blendie bowl') combining fruits, veggies, legumes and chia. But where...
In a move signaling the mainstream potential of next generation plant-based meat brands, Burger King is testing the waters with a limited edition trial of the Impossible Burger in 60 locations in and around St Louis to gauge consumer interest.
The Jackfruit Company has developed a ready-to-eat pulled pork imitation that it hopes should propel growth, drawing interest from meat eaters considering plant-based alternatives for health and environmental reasons.
Plant-based meat start-up Impossible Foods has issued a voluntary recall of a single lot number of its product after a restaurant in California discovered a “food-safe, sealed, one-inch plastic object in a case of Impossible Burger bulk product.”
In the past five years, online grocery retailer Thrive Market has grown its business to 500,000 paid members shopping its 6,000+ products, allowing the company to dive head first into new projects around regenerative agriculture, and "dramatically"...
If areas of the grocery store were to be placed in a figurative bracket based on annual volume growth over a three year period (2015-2018), which departments would come out on top? According to Nielsen's "Total Store Bracket" ranking 16...
While most new plant-based brands debut in the natural channel, the trend is becoming so red hot that Alpha Foods – which has just raised $7m in a round co-led by New Crop Capital and AccelFoods – started by knocking on Walmart’s door… and found it open,...
As consumers learn more about digestive health and all the implications that it has for the wellbeing of their bodies and minds, they are looking for products that go beyond probiotics – creating a booming digestive health category that is ripe for innovation....
60-second interview: Koen Burghouts, Global VP, nutrition group at PepsiCo
While a flurry of brands have piled into the oatmilk category of late, Quaker is seeking to carve a unique position in the category with a product that delivers the creamy texture and performance that consumers have come to expect, but also offers unique...
Are we approaching ‘peak plant milk’? Will ‘designer proteins’ created via synthetic biology catch on? And should dairy milk serve as the nutritional benchmark for plant-based ‘milk’? Elaine Watson caught up with Ripple Foods cofounder Adam Lowry at the...
While US household penetration of hummus has soared over the past decade, there is still a significant opportunity to increase consumption through new usage occasions, says Jason Levine, who has joined the nation’s leading hummus brand Sabra as chief...
Cargill will have commercial quantities of Non GMO corn protein available by 2022 as it seeks to capitalize on growing demand for plant-based proteins.
“Disheartened” but “not surprised” that so little venture capital currently is invested in startups led by women and minority entrepreneurs, Chobani Incubator’s new program director Zoe Feldman says she wants to more intentionally support founders from...
Since launching exclusively at the Whole Foods Market Pearl Street store in Boulder, Colorado, in late 2017, Beyond Meat's Beyond Sausage has expanded its distribution to over 4,000 grocery stores, restaurants, and sports stadiums across the US....
While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, says German startup Harvest Moon, its founder was not amused when he saw the packaging of Chobani’s new coconut-based non dairy range, which he claims is the “spitting image” of his coconut dairy...
Chosen Foods -- which was acquired by Mexico-based specialty oils and ingredients producer Sesajal S.A de C.V. in 2017 -- processed over 300 million avocados last year used mainly for avocado oil sold across 40,000 stores in the US.
Emerging brands in the plant-based frozen food space are plentiful, but not many have proven their value in international markets as Strong Roots has in the UK and its home base of Ireland.
Triton Algae Innovations - a San Diego-based firm building a production platform for food proteins from algae - says it can produce heme (the red, meaty-tasting star ingredient in the Impossible Burger) without using genetic engineering, generating significant...
Over half (61%) of Americans following an exclusion diet (e.g. vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, keto) believe that following a restrictive diet means having to pay more for food and nearly half (47%) say that it takes a toll on their social life, according...
'What we're wrestling with is whether CBD is an ingredient play, or something huge brands can be built around'
The fact that CBD is not a legal ingredient in foods and supplements - at least not yet - did not deter scores of exhibitors at Expo West, who added it to everything from soda to protein bars (absent any claims), with some opting for isolates, but most...
The USDA and the FDA have provided more clarity on who will be responsible for what when it comes to regulating cell-cultured meat, but have not – yet – offered their thoughts on appropriate terminology with which to describe it on food labels.
The frequency with which food and beverage startups in the US secure multi-million dollar investments in early fundraising rounds might lead some entrepreneurs to believe earning capital is easy – but the founder of the moringa company Kuli Kuli says...
