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.
Startup Liberation Labs is one step closer to easing crippling capacity constraints holding back precision fermentation – one of the most promising technologies in the fast-growing alternative protein market – with an infusion of $30m in equipment financing...
Food-tech startup Aqua Cultured Foods’ plant-based, whole-muscle seafood made through biomass fermentation will launch in select restaurants this summer thanks in part to an infusion of $5.5 million in seed funding led by Stray Dog Capital announced this...
Creating a sustainable food supply to meet population demands will require more than just a focus on growing the alternative proteins sector despite its current hype, according to industry experts.
With the opening of a new facility, dubbed the “Mega Ranch,” fungi-based startup Meati seeks to place its mushroom-root-based, sliced meat product in “tens of thousands of stores” in 2023, company co-founder and CEO, Tyler Huggins, told FoodNavigator-USA
Novozymes is increasing its investment into alternative proteins, specifically its portfolio of enzyme solutions that can be used for the production of alternative protein food and beverage products, which it is expecting to become a significant driver...
Where’s the smart money in food tech? Tackling food waste? Precision nutrition? Cell-cultured meat? And where can investors have the biggest impact on human and planetary health… and make a return? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Nadav Berger and Yoni...
Have we reached peak alt-meat? Or is the weakening performance in US retail merely reflective of inflationary pressures (plant-based meat is more expensive than conventional, although the gap is narrowing) and well-publicized issues at some of the publicly-listed...
Future Meat Technologies is finalizing the site selection process for a large-scale cultivated meat plant in the US, with plans to break ground early next year and start manufacturing in 2024. However, it hopes to get products from its pilot plant in...
It’s easy to see the grim P&L figures at Beyond Meat and Oatly and the recent lackluster performance of some refrigerated meat alternatives in US retail as proof that the entire ‘alt protein’ space is a busted flush, but the real picture is more nuanced,...
So-called ‘alternative proteins’ – from upcycled barley and canola protein to animal-free whey made in fermentation tanks using genetically engineered microbes – were a hot topic at IFT First in Chicago. But with US retail sales of some meat alternatives...
From fermented dairy proteins to cellular agriculture and molecular farming, Spanish dairy major Pascual has its finger on the pulse when it comes to innovation in next generation dairy. But why should a traditional dairy processor invest in this space?
Halifax-based Smallfood is targeting the alternative seafood market with a novel marine-based whole food ingredient high in protein “with an amino acid profile similar to beef” and meaningful levels of the coveted long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and...
Moolec Science – which has developed a ‘molecular farming’ platform to produce plants that express animal proteins – is developing genetically engineered peas and beans containing bovine and porcine proteins that it claims can improve the taste, texture,...
'Animal-free’ protein startup The EVERY Company - which deploys synthetic biology to genetically engineer microbes to produce high-value ingredients such as egg proteins (without chickens) via precision fermentation - has closed a $175m series C...
Israeli firm InnovoPro – which recently launched a US subsidiary in Chicago – has unveiled a textured vegetable protein (TVP) combining chickpea and pea protein that it claims will enable food manufacturers to expand the ingredient toolbox for plant-based...
Do plant-based meat products deliver the kind of productivity on shelf to warrant their space in retailers’ regular meat counters? How are consumers shopping the category? Is this still a time of experimentation? And what are buyers looking for from new...
The Urgent Company – best known for Brave Robot ‘animal-free’ ice cream– is moving into new territory with the launch of Modern Kitchen lactose-free cream cheese, its second brand featuring Perfect Day’s animal-free dairy proteins (made with microbes,...
From 'whole cuts' of seafood from fungi, to plant-based lamb, to highly functional proteins from brewers' spent grains, here's a quick snapshot of some of the alternative protein startups participating in a virtual pitch slam at last...
Addressing the lack of public investment in the alternative proteins space, the Good Food Institute (GFI) is awarding nearly $5m to 22 research projects that the organization says will get closer to unlocking “the holy grail” of alternative proteins:...
Interested in meat, dairy, and seafood alternatives? Is all the hype - and the wads of cash - truly justified? Are some formulations (think plant-based cheese and yogurt) really ready for prime time? Are the purchase drivers for plant-based seafood the...
Join Noblegen, Plantible Foods, Superbrewed Food, Mattson and Lever VC to discuss the future of protein
Plant-based proteins such as soy and pea continue to dominate the so-called ‘alternative protein’ category, but they’re not the only game in town. New options are now emerging from ‘animal-free’ collagen and whey to a novel set of proteins produced naturally...
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...
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 meat alternatives company has given its latest innovation challenge award to a French start-up with new technology that differs from conventional extrusion.
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.
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...
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,...
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...
Visitors to BioMilk’s website are asked a simple question: ‘What is milk?’ a question that - until relatively recently - had a pretty obvious answer: the white stuff lactating mammals produce. Today, however, there’s plant-based milk; there are products...
The companies have tasked start-ups, via the next Future Food-Tech innovation challenge, to make products that can mimic whole meat cuts and deliver newer gastronomic experiences to consumers.
Sales of plant-based foods that directly replace animal products - including meat, seafood, eggs, dairy, condiments and meals containing plant-based alternatives - grew by 27% to $7bn in measured channels in the year to December 27, 2020, according to...
US investors can now buy and trade stocks of Eat Beyond Global Holdings and its growing portfolio of alternative protein brands from plant-based ingredients firms to cell-based agriculture companies, under the ticker symbol EATBF.
A new player has emerged in the burgeoning alternative protein space touting a novel protein sourced from a bacterium found in the human microbiome, which it claims can give traditional animal and plant proteins a run for their money.
Can 60% of current meat consumption be replaced by novel vegan meat replacements and cultured meat in the next 20 years? That is what AT Kearney has recently projected, but the analysis does not outline a path for achieving the forecast. Is reaching...
Consumers are still seeking a balance of animal and plant-based foods in their diet, says Euromonitor, which says plant-based meats are currently in the 'honeymoon period,' but could evolve over time as consumers demand less processed plant-based...
Consumers' eating patterns tend to shift during the summer months, becoming more experimental and experiential with new items taking center plate such as meat-less burgers, blended proteins, ‘standalone’ side dishes, and all-day snacking, says Tyson...
Bond Pet Foods – one of 15 startups pitching at Rabobank’s FoodBytes! event in San Francisco last month - deploys microbes as tiny factories to produce proteins for pets in fermentation tanks. FoodNavigator-USA caught up with founder Rich Kelleman before...
The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) has called on the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to have primary jurisdiction of plant-based protein products rather than the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Cricket protein powder prices will come down “drastically” over the next five years as production capacity increases and firms add layers of automation to the farming process, predicts Montana-based Cowboy Cricket Farms.
