FoodNavigator-USA will present its free editorial webinar, Raising the Snack Bar: Exploring Growth Drivers, Innovations and Consumer Cravings on July 26 at 11:30 AM CT. The webinar will feature a panel of snack bar experts who will explore how key differentiators...
The Startup Pavilion at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual Food Improved by Research Science and Technology (IFT FIRST) conference in Chicago this month will be twice as big as it was at last year’s annual conference, reflecting the urgency and...
"We're not just passively investing in promising sustainable food technology startups," said co-founder and general partner Jennifer Stojkovic in a press release. "Our team is fully committed to leveraging our expertise, powerful network,...
Plant-based meat snack alternatives – and sales – are climbing as new players, including startup Jack & Friends, enter the market with vegan options that better mimic the taste, texture and chew of their animal counterparts, while also offering a...
The alternative seafood segment may be a small fraction of the size of its counterparts in plant-based and animal-free dairy and meat currently, but the sector is primed for growth as demand for seafood outpaces supply and concern about the oceans’ health...
The algae spirulina has a wide range of health benefits. Now, a start-up is exploring its potential as a clean-label meat substitute, with flexibility in flavour and in use.
FoodNavigator-USA spoke to Scott Protein Balls' co-founder, Lori Levine and Tricia Williams, CEO, Daily Dose about how the protein snack brand continues driving growth through convenient formats, nutrition, transparency and activism during the Summer...
At the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City late last month emerging and established brands were going back to basics with simplified ingredients, streamlined packaging, clear cut benefits and natural – if not always familiar – flavor profiles.
A research review has highlighted the numerous beneficial components found in cacti, including dietary fibre, minerals, phenolic compounds, and antioxidants
Nestlé’s Garden Gourmet brand sells meat imitations (think plant-based chorizo or vegan tuna) as well as more plant-forward or ‘vegetable-based’ offerings, such as broccoli patties. Marjolijn Niggebrugge, business head plant-based meal solutions Europe...
While the consumer market for plant-based meat does not completely consist of vegetarians and vegans, choosing a vegan burger over a meat one remains a conscious rejection of meat-eating. This provides plant-based meat with a meaning, its presence in...
Recent bad weather in West Africa has threatened cocoa production resulting in record-high prices for the commodity on the Intercontinental Exchange in London.
Dutch fermentation specialist Fooditive claims it has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of non-animal casein production at an industrial scale and is now hoping to collaborate with a ‘like-minded partners’ to navigate Novel Food approval in the...
A new project is harvesting broccoli stems, stalks, and leaves – which would otherwise be left in the field – and upcycling them into an alternative protein ingredient for food and beverage makers.
As alternative protein develops, brewer’s yeast is emerging as a strong driver of the market. Start-up ProteinDistillery has created a protein, developed from brewer’s yeast, that can not only be used for meat and dairy alternatives, but also to replace...
The Danish brand Naturli' will feature two versions of its vegan butters—Plant Butter Spread and Plant Butter Block—both formulated to perform and taste like traditional butter.
While most plant-based categories saw year-over-year unit sales slide last year in the face of higher prices to offset inflation, a handful of categories bucked the trend – including plant-based cream cheese, sour cream and spreads.
There was a notable failure in the US for ‘one of the world’s first next generation cheese alternatives’. But that shouldn’t detract from the potential benefits that precision fermentation technology can bring to the dairy alternatives category, FoodNavigator’s...
Cultivated meat could debut on upscale restaurant menus in the US in as little as a few weeks or months after the USDA on Wednesday gave the greenlight for UPSIDE Foods and GOOD Meat to sell their “cell-cultured chicken” in the US.
Alternative proteins hold significant potential to help combat climate change by offering a more environmentally sustainable alternative to animal agriculture – a benefit that could help them unlock much-needed funding and strategic support to refine...
Driven by consumer demand for healthy and environmentally sound products, JUST Egg’s pourable and folded eggs are now available in 48,000 retail locations in the US and Canada.
While M&A activity is slower, the total capital invested in 2022 remains similar to previous years, with an increase in venture capital funds in the food and beverage industry, and trends surrounding plant-based food, private label and automation,...
In response to consumer demand for more plant-based and sustainable foods and ingredients, Nuritas’ “precision AI technology” identifies and delivers rare plant-based peptides at a faster rate than the industry standard, which can often take decades,...
With Climax Foods’ unveiling today of its new plant-based casein Caseed, the biotech startup claims to have cracked the code on recreating the functionality, flavor and performance of dairy cheese – but without the animal and without any of the top eight...
MyForestFoods recently raised $15 million in Series A-2 funding to support the growth of its portfolio across the East Coast, including its mycelium bacon aptly called MyBacon, which was featured at the Vegan Women Summit in New York City May 19. The...
Sustainability and future-proofing the food system
Improving the sustainability of the food system is no longer optional from an optics and long-term business perspective, but short-term challenges – including consumer engagement – threaten immediate and mid-range returns and margins, complicating the...
Consumers are seeking more natural, fresh and less processed foods and believe that science and technology, like precision fermentation, may be more suitable to effectively address these environmental issues than traditional food manufacturing methods,...
While scaling is a challenge for the plant-based industry, Tindle is focused on leveraging its minimal assets to expand its US presence through meal kits primarily sold online and limited retail launches, JJ Kass, VP of business development and strategy...
As the plant-based ice cream market expands with a range of flavors and formats, innovation in the space will need to better recreate the taste, texture, and mouthfeel of animal-based counterparts to entice consumers into the category, Christine Usmen,...
Mycoprotein and fungal proteins take up less land than animal farming, and can be used to aid in regenerative agriculture, explains mycoprotein major Quorn - perhaps the best-known manufacturer of mycoprotein-based meat substitutes.
FoodNavigator-USA sat down with Neggst’s CEO, Verónica García Arteaga, during the NYC Vegan Women Summit to discuss the company’s plans to scale up and the brand’s technical considerations in producing a plant-based egg that resembles a chicken egg from...
Plant-based milk is one of the most successful categories of alternative protein, predicted to reach a value of $47 Billion by 2030. But why is it so successful? The driving force behind any alternative protein’s success is the motives people have for...
While the cultivated meat industry has overcome significant upstream processing and regulatory hurdles in the past year, new market research suggests startups still face notable downstream food manufacturing challenges that could place them – along with...
A new alternative protein made from brewer’s spent yeast has scaled up and will now transition to full production. The protein, which is made by the EGGcited consortium and coordinated by NIZO, can act as a substitute for egg and dairy, and can replace...
FoodNavigator-USA sat down with Jillian Semaan, VP, sustainability in Ketchum’s food, agriculture and ingredient division, during the Vegan Women Summit in New York City to discuss how food and beverage brands can cultivate an authentic ESG and DEI strategy...
Frozen treat brand Chloe's is going bite-size with its latest ice cream sandwich minis to provide an inclusive indulgence option for consumers looking to cool off this summer, brand CEO and co-founder Michael Sloan told FoodNavigator-USA.
Sustainability and future-proofing the food system
With between a quarter and a third of human caused greenhouse gas emissions linked to food production and climate change intensifying to a point that its impacting how, where and when key crops are grown, improving sustainability in the food system is...
In working to improve the taste of plant-based seafood alternatives, Dutch start-up Upstream Foods is cultivating fat from salmon cells for the B2B market.
The Vegan Women Summit featured a wide range of perspectives from industry professionals and thought leaders on shifting the food narrative in the United States to an industry of partnership, particularly between meat and plant-based food producers, organizations...
New Culture is preparing to launch its vegan mozzarella in early 2024 with more cheese options in the near future, after $25m in series A funding last fall.
Shoppers looking for convenient and budget-friendly proteins are turning to canned seafood as perceptions about it change and younger consumers learn how to use it, Sara Kelly, brand marketing manager for Season Brand, told FoodNavigator-USA.
Despite a slight dip in plant-based dairy sales in the last three quarters – mostly due to higher prices – “there is a lot of sustained appetite for plant-based dairy, and we’re very optimistic for future growth opportunities in this category,” Bethany...
Ingredient supplier ADM and food-tech startup Air Protein are partnering to scale production of the latter’s novel air-based nutritional protein that promises to “reinvent the supply chain” in a way that simultaneously improves food security and ease...
Unit sales of plant-based dairy products are sliding even as dollar sales are up in most categories as inflation-related price hikes simultaneously cushion companies’ margins and discourage some consumers from trying new products and paying premium products....
Libre Foods is working with both fungi fruiting bodies and mycelia to boost diversity, functionality, and taste in meat-free offerings, CEO Alan Iván Ramos tells FoodNavigator.
Plant-based, woman-owned company Shroomeatsoffers nutritious, minimally processed foods with its portfolio of shelf-stable shitake mushroom-based patties, meatballs, and crumbles, co-founder and CEO Dissaya Theerakaosal told FoodNavigator-USA.