Canadian meat alternative producer No Meat Factory has closed a $42m series B round as it gears up to open a second factory, and says it is seeing significant demand for high-quality capacity, despite the recent slowdown in sales at US retail.
New data from IRI and SPINS shows continued steep declines in sales of refrigerated meat alternatives but pockets of growth in frozen products and some plant-based milk, cheese, and yogurt subcategories, which do not all behave in the same way (spoiler...
Santiago-based NotCo – a food tech company deploying a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) platform called ‘Giuseppe’ to bring a new level of sophistication to the formulation of meat and dairy alternatives – has raised $70m in a series D1 round*...
Motif FoodWorks has filed a suite of new petitions with the US Patent and Trademark Office challenging US patents held by Impossible Foods over the use of heme proteins in meat alternatives as it defends itself against accusations of IP infringement....
New shopper data from Kroger’s partner 84.51° shows that plant-based meat and dairy products are displacing animal products, albeit on a very small scale; while consumer survey data from 84.51° and the Plant Based Foods Association shows that personal...
“It's very frustrating to hear people talk all the time about transportation and power [in conversations about climate change] when right in front of you three times a day, there is a solution that's more impactful,” observed Beyond Meat founder...
Beyond Meat posted a year-over-year net loss of $101.7m on net sales of $82.5m in Q3 2022 as the company executes a "full force pivot" to its operating model, which includes slashing operating expenses to fortify the business and focusing on...
Kellogg’s plant-based business “remains in good condition with excellent prospects” despite plummeting sales and ongoing supply chain struggles that represent the only “softness” in the company’s otherwise strong third-quarter earnings report released...
IFF has unveiled SUPRO TEX, a shelf-stable textured protein made via low-moisture extrusion claimed to deliver “a texture to meat alternatives close to what a high moisture extruded product is able to deliver,” at a significantly lower cost.
While sales of plant-based products across the board continue to slide, consumer data from Evergi shows at least one segment is bucking the trend – frozen meals and bowls – an area into which the fast-growing vegan brand Strong Roots is eagerly expanding...
Six days after settling their lengthy legal dispute over the early termination of a supply contact, Don Lee Farms and Beyond Meat have resolved their differences over a separate lawsuit* in which Don Lee accused Beyond Meat of over-stating the protein...
Motif FoodWorks has suffered a setback in its dispute with Impossible Foods over meaty-tasting heme proteins in meat alternatives after the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejected its request for an inter partes review of the patent at the center...
Beyond Meat is rolling out its latest innovation - Beyond Steak - at Kroger and Walmart stores nationwide, as well as at select Albertsons and Ahold divisions and other retailers across the country.
The long-term imperative behind reducing our reliance on animal agriculture seems fairly compelling: The planet can’t sustain it. But with less engaged consumers dipping in and then out of the meat alternatives category as budgets tighten, and a subsegment...
Beyond Meat and former co-packer Don Lee Farms have agreed to settle an ugly five-year legal dispute prompted by the early termination of a supply contract in spring 2017.
Loss-making plant-based meat co Beyond Meat - which is currently squaring up to former co-packer Don Lee Farms in a trial in L.A. - has unveiled plans to lay off approximately 200 employees (19% of its global workforce) in a bid to cut costs and achieve...
Former executive chairman Seth Goldman, CEO Ethan Brown, Mattson CEO Justin Shimek and a cluster of senior Beyond Meat executives, past and present, are listed among 64 potential witnesses in the plant-based meat co’s trial with former co-packer Don Lee...
While plant-based is still one of the hottest trends in food and beverage, sales and consumer engagement with alternative proteins have slid in recent quarters – prompting some players in the space to rethink their strategy.
In a restructuring announced days after meat giant JBS revealed plans to close its Planterra Foods plant-based meat division, impacting 121 jobs, Impossible Foods is eliminating approximately 6% of roles at the company (under 50 staff) in a move it claims...
Meat giant JBS has pulled the plug on its US plant-based meat division Planterra Foods just over two years after debuting the ‘OZO’ brand at Kroger in summer 2020, and is closing a 189,000 square foot factory it opened in Denver in December 2021.
What's behind the recent slow down of the plant-based meat category? According to new research from Deloitte, there are several factors at play including a more limited addressable market, the pressure from inflation, and questions around the products'...
Santiago-based NotCo - which claims to offer superior products in the alt meat set through the use of an artificial intelligence platform called ‘Giuseppe’ - is gearing up to enter the increasingly crowded US plant-based chicken category with NotChicken,...
Days after suspending COO Doug Ramsey following an alleged assault, Beyond Meat says chief supply chain officer Bernie Adcock – who joined the beleaguered plant-based meat co with Ramsey in December 2021 from Tyson Foods – has informed bosses of his plans...
Billed as a “first-of-its kind, category-disrupting product,” the Beyond Carne Asada Steak – the fruit of an 18-month partnership between Beyond Meat and Taco Bell - will be tested in Taco Bell locations in Dayton, Ohio, from October 13 for a limited...
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...
The long-term imperative driving meat alternatives is clear: We only have one planet, with a growing population and finite resources, and raising animals to feed them all just takes up too many of them, says Tom Mastrobuoni, chief investment officer at...
Panda Express is rolling out Beyond: The Original Orange Chicken – a “plant-powered” entrée co-developed with Beyond Meat – to 2,300+ US locations until November 30, while supplies last, following a successful small-scale trial in 2021.
“12-18 months ago, refrigerated plant-based meat was growing at three times frozen and we were thinking should we try and jump into that?” recalls Bob Nolan, SVP demand science at Conagra Brands, which acquired alt meat brand Gardein in 2018 via the acquisition...
The pressure of inflation and general consumer disillusionment are causing an overall downward trend in self-reported consumer usage of plant-based categories, finds new research from Evergi, Brightfield Group's research platform.
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...
While weakening retail sales and grim quarterly earnings from some publicly listed players have prompted intense debate about the future of meat alternatives, the “crisis of confidence” this has prompted has overshadowed the fact that amid all this noise,...
Having experienced an average +30% YoY growth in 2019 and 2020, the alternative meat category slowed to flat YoY growth in 2021, with industry leaders such as Beyond Meat seeing negative growth in measured channels.
US retail sales of meat alternatives in measured channels tell a tale of two temperature states. Dollar sales of refrigerated meat alternatives are declining in double-digits, while frozen products are growing in the high single digits, according to IRI...
Impossible Foods is expanding its collaboration with Burger King with tests of a plant-based ‘chick’n’ patty in 47 restaurants in Cincinnati, Ohio, through mid-October. The move comes hot on the heels of tests of Impossible’s plant-based nuggets in Burger...
While sales of refrigerated plant-based meat may be slowing, shares of some plant-based milk brands are slipping and consumer response to a handful of new products are tepid at best, industry leaders argue the party is far from over for the overall plant-based...
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,...
Fresh off closing a $3.9m seed funding round* led by Unovis Asset Management, Paragon Pure is debuting its OléPBM alternative fat technology made from rice bran oil, which it claims outperforms palm and coconut oils in plant-based meat products.
Beyond Meat – which has just posted another grim set of quarterly figures driving its share price down to new lows – is gearing up for a showdown with former co-packer Don Lee Farms at a court in Los Angeles with a trial date scheduled for September 26.
Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown faced another grilling from analysts on the firm’s Q2 earnings call Thursday after posting a $97.1m net loss on net sales of $147m, lowering guidance for the full year from $560-$620m to $470m-$520m, and cutting 4% of its global...
Boston-based food tech firm Motif FoodWorks has promoted its CTO Dr Michael Leonard to the role of CEO, effective immediately, as current CEO Jonathan McIntyre moves to an advisory role in the company.
Recent applications work has demonstrated that Merit Functional Foods’ Peazazz pea protein isolate – in combination with an enzyme called transglutaminase - can replace methylcellulose, a binding and gelling ingredient widely used in meat alternatives...
As consumer interest in ‘plant-based’ products has grown in recent years, so too have products proudly proclaiming their status as such – but what does the term actually mean, and how influential is it really?
Boston-based foodtech firm Motif FoodWorks – which has raised $345m since spinning off from synthetic biology firm Ginkgo BioWorks in February 2019 – has just engaged in a round of layoffs, FoodNavigator-USA understands.
Startup Lus Oasis is joining the race to develop and scale whole cut plant-based meat – the holy grail of the alternative protein segment – with the creation of Alchemeat, which uses a patented high-moisture extrusion process to recreate the “firm and...
US retail sales of frozen meat alternatives were up a solid +10.1% to $76m in May 2022 vs May 2021, with volumes fairly flat at -0.8%; but sales of refrigerated meat alternatives continued their precipitous slide last month, with dollar sales slumping...
Two years after securing a preliminary injunction to stop Nestlé from marketing its plant-based ‘Incredible Burger’ in the EU, Impossible Foods has filed a lawsuit in a bid to stop Toronto-based Zoglo's Incredible Food using the ‘Incredible’ mark...
Beyond Meat has been hit with two lawsuits this week alleging it “grossly overstates” the protein in its products: one consumer class action complaint, and another from former co-packer Don Lee Farms, which has been embroiled in an ugly legal dispute*...
What is driving consumers to eat plant-based meat and dairy alternatives? According to Euromonitor International's 2022 Voice of the Industry survey, a desire to feel healthier and avoid long-term health risks are ahead of environmental and animal...
California-based Impossible Foods is making its European debut in the UK this week with the launch of plant-based chicken nuggets and sausage patties, formulated without its flagship soy leghemoglobin ingredient, which is not yet approved in the UK or...
While even the analysts downgrading Beyond Meat’s stock in the wake of grim Q1 figures believe meat alternatives are “not a fad” (to quote Brian Holland at Cowen), the brand’s slowing sales and elevated costs have prompted some soul-searching about why...
