With an infusion of $10m in series A funds announced today the biotech and data science company Aromyx soon will be able to help more food and beverage brands quickly measure consumer perceptions more accurately than traditional taste test panels, which...
Nature’s Fynd - a Chicago-based startup growing protein-packed food from microbes with a fraction of the environmental footprint of meat or dairy – has raised $350m in a Series C round (taking its total financing to >$500m) as it gears up to launch...
Sensient Technologies has acquired the assets of New Jersey-based Flavor Solutions, a custom product and flavor development company serving the food, beverage, and nutraceutical industries. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Israeli firm NextFerm Technologies – one of a flurry of players developing new protein sources from microbes - is gearing up for the 2022 commercial launch of ProteVin, a vegan, non-GMO, yeast-based protein, following successful testing at pilot scale...
Swedish keto-friendly brand Nick’s – which entered the US in late 2019 with low carb light ice cream pints – is on course to triple its US sales in 2021 (vs 2020) with continued growth in bricks & mortar retail, sharp growth in its fledgling direct...
The plant-based chicken category is heating up with Impossible Foods unveiling plans to enter the market in the fall with soy-based nuggets, going head to head with rival Beyond Meat, which has just launched pea-, and faba bean-based tenders.
Suja Juice, which helped mainstream the cold-pressed juice category, has been acquired by private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners for an undisclosed sum, following a year of "unprecedented revenue and profit."
Canadian startup Noblegen has opened a CAD$500m Series C capital raise as it seeks to commercialize a suite of products from the ‘ancient microorganism’ euglena gracilis, which can produce everything from proteins that behave like animal proteins, to...
Wicked Kitchen – a plant-based brand developed by chefs and mushroom enthusiasts Derek and Chad Sarno that has been a hit in the UK – is hoping to make a bigger splash this side of the Atlantic after securing $14m in a Series A round co-led by Unovis...
Childhood nutrition giant Gerber is teaming with the Rodale Institute and Michigan State University to test whether more sustainably grown food is not only better for the earth, but also for children, as part of an ambitious, multi-prong commitment to...
Shares in Swedish oatmilk maker Oatly – which went public in May – dropped sharply on Wednesday following a report from New York based activist investor and short seller Spruce Point Capital Management arguing that “the walls are collapsing on Oatly’s...
As grocery buying settles into a new, less-frenzied norm, many major food companies including Conagra Brands are dealing with the rising costs of doing business in an inflationary environment by raising the prices of their finished products.
Austin, Texas-based Springdale Ventures, a venture capital firm which has invested in a number of high-growth CPG brands, is on the cusp of its next chapter of growth with the appointment of a third general partner and is embarking on plans to raise its...
From Air Protein - a startup manufacturing protein out of thin air*; to Meati Foods and Atlast Foods - fungi-fueled firms making whole cut ‘meats’ from mycelium; to a flurry of cell-cultured meat players including BlueNalu, GOOD Meat, and Wildtype; 28...
The world’s largest food company has confirmed it is eyeing the cultured meat sector after a leaked report revealed a tie-up with Israeli cell-based start-up Future Meat Technologies.
In FoodNavigator-USA's latest roundup of new product launches, we include Clif Bar's first foray into boxed cereals, PeaTos' fiber- and protein-fueled take on Doritos, RXBARS's new plant-based bars, and a wave of products focusing...
Instacart has appointed one of its current board members and former Facebook exec, Fidji Simo, as CEO of the online grocery shopping platform, effective August 2, replacing current CEO and founder Apoorva Mehta who will be transitioning to the role of...
Despite overall declines of the snack and nutrition bar category over the past year, NuSkool Snacks (formerly MCTco) saw demand for its brand – and other low-sugar bar products like it increase – reports founder and CEO Joe Christensen.
As the foodservice industry rebounds and consumers return to restaurant dining, mobile ordering app GrubHub took a look back at the past six months of ordering trends made by the approximately 33 million users of its mobile app.
With Aleph Farm’s 2022 initial market launch just on the horizon, the trailblazing food-tech company responsible for series of firsts in the nascent cell-cultured meat category, has secured $105m in series B funding to scale-up manufacturing and expand...
Meati Foods – which is carving out new territory in the meat-alternative space with a fungi-based platform capable of producing ‘steaks’ and other whole cuts – has raised $50m in a Series B round co-led by new investor BOND and long-time Meati investor...
Algae is potentially a hugely exciting food source. But with a couple of notable exceptions, it has yet to set the food industry on fire, says Provectus Algae, a startup developing an automated growing platform it claims can unlock algae’s potential as...
Oatmilk or oat drink? Plant-based cheese or cultured nut product? A report from the House Committee on Appropriations “encourages the FDA to provide clarity around the labeling of plant-based foods that use traditional meat, dairy, and egg terminology,”...
The meat alternatives company has given its latest innovation challenge award to a French start-up with new technology that differs from conventional extrusion.
Harmless Harvest and majority stakeholder Danone Manifesto Ventures (DMV) are exploring opportunities to take the organic coconut water into international markets, says CEO Ben Mand, who says the San Francisco-based brand also has the potential to stretch...
Brazilian plant-based meat brand Future Farm (Fazenda Futuro) is gearing up to enter the burgeoning plant-based meat category in the US after a successful debut in Brazil and several other markets including Chile, Mexico, the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands.
The FDA is aiming to release long-awaited voluntary sodium reduction goals and draft guidance on the labeling of plant-based milk alternatives in the next 12 months.
A global consumer study* funded by ‘animal-free’ dairy startup Formo (previously LegenDairy) suggests consumers are surprisingly open to trying and buying cheese featuring dairy proteins made via microbes instead of cows after reading a detailed description...
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.