Planet A Foods ChoViva

© Planet A Foods
Investments & Finance

Planet A Foods Raises $30M to Scale Cocoa-Free Chocolate Alternative with 80% Less Carbon Footprint

Planet A Foods, a food technology company specializing in sustainable ingredients, has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round. The financing will support the industrial-scale production of ChoViva, a cocoa-free chocolate alternative, as well as expand the company’s international presence. The funding round, which was oversubscribed, drew participation from several investment firms, including Cherry Ventures, World Fund, and Bayern Kapital. Leveraging the funding, Planet A Foods aims to further its mission of providing sustainable alternatives for the food industry. CEO and co-founder Dr. Maximilian Marquart stated: “With 30 million dollars in fresh funding and an industry-leading product, Planet A Foods is no longer just a startup – we’re now on the way to becoming a leading foodtech player reshaping the sustainable food industry.” …

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Luyef has received two substantial grants totaling $1.25 million to accelerate cultivated meat's market readiness.

© The Ganesha Lab
Investments & Finance

Chile’s Luyef Receives $1.25M to Develop Nutrients for Cultivated Meat Using Fermentation and Agro By-Products

Luyef (previously Luyef Biotechnologies), a biotech startup focused on cellular agriculture based in Santiago de Chile, has received two substantial grants totaling $1.25 million to accelerate cultivated meat production (detailed information about the grants below). The Ganesha Lab, LATAM’s global biotech scale-up for science and technology-based startups, announced the investment. Kris Blanchard, a biotechnology engineer from the University of Chile, co-founded Luyef in 2020, participating in The Ganesha Lab’s accelerator program in 2022. Luyef is developing technologies to scale cultivated meat production at industrial levels and uses precision fermentation to produce animal proteins. The company is commercializing a bovine myoglobin ingredient (heme) branded as TAMEE (The Authentic Meat-Eating Experience), designed to enhance the taste and color of plant-based and cultivated meat products. According to Pitchbook, other …

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Cihan Baltepe of Eat Vappy

Cihan Baltepe © Eat Vappy
Interviews

EatVappy: “Based on Our Sales Data, We Can Say the Plant Meat Sector in Türkiye is Growing Steadily”

The often overlooked plant-based meat sector in Türkiye caters to around 100,000 (2022) with a vegan population of roughly 0.5%, which has largely emerged since 2000. One of the key players in the country is Istanbul’s Eat Vappy, a pioneer in Turkey’s plant meat sector, which claims to have launched the world’s first Vegan Turkish sausage in 2017. “It is our priority to produce good production and to create systems for the unit, the planet, and the creatures that can feel. This is not a marketing method for us,” says Eat Vappy. Founder Cihan Baltepe, who draws on over a decade of experience as an archeologist, entrepreneur and futurologist, states that the brand has carved out a market that was previously almost non-existent: “Over the …

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© Oobli
Fermentation

Oobli Gains FDA Nod for Sweet Protein Monellin, Expands Portfolio of Zero Glycemic Impact Sweeteners

US sweet protein developer Oobli (formerly Joywell Foods) announces that it has received the FDA’s first “no questions” letter for its monellin sweet protein, produced via precision fermentation. With the letter, the FDA confirmed that Oobli’s monellin is safe to use as a sweetener in food and beverages. The acknowledgment follows a previous FDA approval of brazzein, another sweet-tasting protein. Monellin is originally found in the serendipity berry of the Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii plant, and brazzein is in the fruit of the Oubli plant. Both scarce sweet proteins are said to be significantly sweeter than sugar. Founder and CTO Jason Ryder shared, “Having additional sweet proteins on the Oobli platform will enable companies across the globe to focus on ways to reduce sugar without compromising taste. …

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Neil McCluskey of Kerry

Neil McCluskey © Kerry

veg+ Opinion

Op Ed: Neil McCluskey, Textured Plant Proteins Global Director at Kerry, Explains the Consumer Trends Driving Innovation in Alt Protein

Neil McCluskey, Textured Plant Proteins Global Product Director at Kerry, here outlines key consumer trends driving innovation in alternative proteins, including the demand for healthier, sustainable, and clean-label products. While traditional proteins like soy, pea, and wheat still prevail, there is a shift toward more sustainable and performance-oriented sources, explains McCluskey, noting that the US market faces particular challenges due to a significant price premium on plant-based options. From his point of view, the industry is undergoing consolidation, with successful products focusing on taste, texture, and repeat purchases, while new protein sources like mycoprotein are coming to prominence. Exploring New Protein Sources to Meet Consumer Demands By Neil McCluskey, Kerry / Oojah BV Consumer trends driving innovation in alternative proteins include rising demand for healthier, …

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Investment Climate Podcast with Daily Crunch

Investment Climate Podcast
Investments & Finance

Investment Climate Podcast: Laurel Orley of Daily Crunch, How to Get Funded in 2024

In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding alt proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful climate tech CEOs and leading VCs. Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. Series 2, Episode 9: Laurel Orley of Daily Crunch In this episode, Alex talked to Laurel Orley, Crunch Executive Officer and co-founder of Daily Crunch Snacks, a women-owned certified and mental health mission-driven company bringing innovation to a trusty but dusty nut snack category through our patent pending sprouting process, innovative game-changing flavors and craveable crunch. Laurel shared about finding investors …

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Ingredients

Canada Invests in Sustainable Faba Bean Protein Development to Expand Plant-Based Ingredient Options

Canada is expanding its plant-based protein offerings through a new initiative focused on faba beans. The project, backed by Protein Industries Canada (PIC), aims to develop high-protein, sustainable ingredients from faba beans, which will be used in a variety of food products.  The initiative involves a partnership between several organizations: Griffith Foods, BFY Proteins, Botaniline, and Faba Canada. These companies are working together to create neutral-flavored faba protein ingredients for use in consumer-packaged goods (CPGs), such as meat alternatives and breadings. The project focuses on improving the processing of faba beans to create high-protein, allergen-free, and lower-sodium ingredients suitable for the food industry. Faba beans have gained attention as a valuable plant-based protein source due to their high protein content (18-35%) and nutritional benefits. Global …

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Veggy Kids burger- For the first time, the Turkish Food Codex Guide for Food Labeling and Consumer Information has introduced new regulations to provide clear guidelines on the labeling of vegan and vegetarian products

© Veggy

Politics & Law

Turkey Introduces Regulations for Vegan Product Labeling for the First Time

For the first time, the Turkish Food Codex Guide for Food Labeling and Consumer Information has introduced new regulations to provide clear guidelines on the labeling, production, and marketing of vegan and vegetarian products. Using terms such as “milk” for plant-based beverages is prohibited, while traditional or geographical names associated with animal products cannot be used to prevent deceptive food packaging and misleading claims. But the new regulations also bring good news. ‘Vegan burgers,’ ‘vegan sausage,’ or ‘vegetarian patty’ terms are allowed on plant-based meat labels, and the production, export, and import of vegan cheese is now possible “under certain labeling conditions.” In 2022, the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry banned the production and sale of vegan products that resemble dairy cheese, as they …

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Simple Planet's cultivated meat

© Simple Planet
Investments & Finance

APAC: Investments in Innovative Food Make “Remarkable Recovery” in 2024, Increasing by 85%

The annual Asia-Pacific AgriFoodTech report by AgFunder has revealed a partial recovery in innovative food investments, a category that encompasses cultivated meat, novel ingredients, and plant-based proteins. $204 million was raised by innovative foods companies in the APAC region between January and the end of October, up 85% compared to the same period in 2023. Furthermore, 59 deals were made during this time, up from 49 last year. Notably, Singaporean oat milk company Oatside raised one of the largest Series B rounds of the year at $35 million. While these figures are encouraging, investments remain significantly lower than they were in 2021 at the peak of the hype phase. Agrifoodtech investments Asia-Pacific agrifoodtech investments as a whole have also increased considerably, reaching $4.2 billion. This …

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Israel's Aleph Farms has submitted a regulatory approval application to sell its cultivated beef products in Thailand, marking the country's first application for cultivated meat.

© Aleph Farms
Cultivated Meat

Aleph Farms Submits Thailand’s First Cultivated Meat Application, Eyes 2026 Market Launch

Israel’s Aleph Farms has submitted a regulatory approval application to sell its cultivated beef products in Thailand, marking the country’s first application for a cultivated meat product. The safety dossier was filed to the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) under the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for novel foods. While timelines can be uncertain, a novel food regulatory process can take around 18 months, which means the regulatory green light could arrive mid-2026. Upon receiving approval, Aleph Farms plans to sell its flagship product, the Petit Steak, under the Aleph Cuts brand with partner and investor Thai Union, a global leader in animal protein. Co-founder and CEO Didier Toubia shares, “Like many of its neighboring countries, Thailand currently imports the majority …

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supermarket shelf with meat

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Studies & Numbers

WWF-UK States Proportion of “Livestock-Based” Foods in Supermarkets is Almost Double Recommended Levels

Environmental charity WWF-UK has published its annual What’s in Store for the Planet report, which includes data on the lack of progress made by UK retailers towards sustainability targets. WWF-UK has developed a healthy, sustainable diet called Livewell, which it claims could deliver a 36% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a 20% reduction in biodiversity loss by 2030 compared to the current average diet. Livewell has a 40:30:30 percentage split across livestock, seafood, and plant-based protein foods; it is also in line with government nutrition guidelines. This year, the number of retailers who supplied data on the breakdown of protein food sales increased from six to nine. However, the data indicates that 79% of total protein food sales are livestock-based on average, almost double …

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The Cultured Hub opening event

©The Cultured Hub

fairs-events

The Cultured Hub Facility Finally Opens, Positioning Switzerland as a Leader in Scaling Cell-Based Foods

The Cultured Hub has launched a “scale-up as a service” facility for cell-based foods in The Valley in Kemptthal, Switzerland, and celebrated its opening yesterday with the State of Play Cultured Foods 2.0 event. The Cultured Hub is a joint venture between three Swiss industry giants — Migros, Givaudan, and Bühler Group as first announced in 2021 —  that aims to leverage their extensive food processing and product development experience to accelerate the production of cultivated meat and other cell-based foods. The new “state-of-the-art” biotech facility features advanced labs and fermentation capabilities to help startups scale from lab to pilot operations (up to 1,000 liters), facilitating a quicker market entry. It can host three companies simultaneously, each in separate suites, encouraging collaboration and innovation without the …

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Dr Sun, Product Manager of Angel Yeast Europe

Dr Sun, Product Manager © Angel Yeast Europe
Interviews

Angel Yeast: “Innovation in Formulation and Functional Ingredients is Pivotal for Plant-Based Foods”

Angel Yeast, headquartered in China’s Hubei province, is a leader in the production of yeast and yeast-related products, specializing in a wide range of applications across various industries. Founded in 1986, Angel Yeast has grown to become one of the largest yeast producers worldwide, with a strong presence in both domestic and international markets. The company is particularly known for its high-quality baker’s yeast, which is used in bread and other bakery products, as well as its fermentation products, such as yeast extract and other flavor-enhancing ingredients. In addition to its core products, Angel Yeast also offers solutions for the plant-based food industry, with yeast-based ingredients being utilized in the production of vegan and plant-based meat alternatives, providing key functional properties such as texture, flavor, …

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Mike Messersmith

© Mike Messersmith

Company News

Tender Food Appoints Former Oatly President Mike Messersmith as CEO to Lead Next Phase of Growth

Tender Food, a Massachusetts-based food-tech company specializing in plant-based food production, has announced the appointment of Mike Messersmith as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Messersmith, who previously served as President of Oatly USA, will now lead Tender’s efforts to expand its presence in the plant-based food industry. In June, Tender secured over $11 million in Series A funding to scale up operations at its new facility. At the time, Messersmith joined Tender’s Board of Directors to help guide the company’s commercialization efforts. Now, he steps into the CEO role, succeeding co-founder Christophe Chantre, who will remain involved with the company. His decision to take on the role of CEO comes at a pivotal moment for Tender, as the company aims to scale its operations …

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University of Alberta researchers have developed pea inks with better shape-holding features using plasma, making them suitable for 3D-printed foods.

© Pauline Chan
Science

Canadian Researchers Pioneer Cold Plasma Treatment to Use Pea Proteins in 3D Printed Foods

University of Alberta researchers have developed pea inks with better shape-holding features using plasma — the fourth state of matter — making them suitable for 3D-printed food applications. 3D extrusion printing allows the creation of plant-based foods with customizable shapes, flavours, textures and nutritional profiles. But, pea protein, a hypoallergenic, low-cost source available from Canadian prairie legume crops, is generally unsuitable for 3D printing due to its poor structural properties. Improved 3D printability of pea protein could expand its use in price convenient plant-based meat and cheese — alternatives much needed to transition to more sustainable diets. The cold plasma method To address the shape challenge in 3D printing, the researchers experimented by mixing pea protein isolates with water activated with cold plasma in a method …

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Plantbased Business Hour

Investing in Food System Transformation with Jason Ingle of Third Nature Investments

Jason W. Ingle, founder and Managing Partner of Third Nature Investments, joins CEO of VegTech Invest and host Elysabeth Alfano on The Plantbased Business Hour to discuss the powerful lever for societal and environmental impact that is investing in food system transformation. Specifically, they discuss: What is systems investing and why are you focused on this? How do you invest in systems transformation, and can you give some examples of companies in which you have invested? Why are you focused on more than Climate Change? Can you elaborate on investing in food system transformation? Do you see others engaging in (or at least comprehending) systems investing? If so, who/which sort of entities? Is it too late? Or do you see progress? If no progress, what …

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Dutch fermentation startup Farmless has secured a €1 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

© Farmless
Investments & Finance

Farmless Secures €1M EU Grant to Validate its “Dramatically Efficient” Landless Protein Production

Dutch fermentation startup Farmless has secured a €1 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Farmless produces functional proteins with a complete amino acid profile for the F&B industry. Its air-based fermentation process uses microorganisms powered by CO2, hydrogen, nitrogen, and renewable energy-produced feedstock rather than sugar to produce protein “dramatically” more efficiently than animal farming. With the funds, the startup will demonstrate and optimize its fermentation method for protein production in a First of a Kind (FOAK) facility. In December 2023, the startup raised €4.8 million to build a pilot brewery in Amsterdam featuring R&D facilities, a food application kitchen, and offices. “We’re on a mission to ferment proteins without agricultural land, making food and protein production dramatically more efficient. Our impact …

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National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre

© NAPIC
Society

NAPIC Becomes Latest Alternative Protein Innovation Centre to Open in the UK

The National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC) has been formally launched at the UK’s University of Leeds. It comes after the centre received £15 million in investment from two government funding bodies — the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Innovate UK. NAPIC is hosted by the University of Leeds and co-led with the James Hutton Institute, the University of Sheffield, and Imperial College London. Its aim is to “transform the alternative protein landscape and contribute to a more sustainable future for our planet”. The launch event was attended by 250 delegates spanning academia, industry, investors, funders, and policymakers. It featured a keynote address by Professor Tim Benton of Chatham House, who discussed the critical role of alternative proteins in creating a sustainable …

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Young couple cooking in kitchen ProVeg

Image courtesy ProVeg International

Studies & Numbers

20% of Young People in Netherlands Want to Give Up Meat

New research conducted by Kieskompas on behalf of ProVeg Netherlands has found that the majority of Dutch people support the idea of a transition towards a more plant-based diet. 20% of young people surveyed said they would like to give up meat, compared to 16% for the general population. 45% of respondents were already flexitarian, while 7% were vegetarian and 2% were vegan. Among those who were not vegetarian or vegan, half wanted to eat less meat. Overall, two-thirds of people said they supported the transition to more plant-based diets, with the majority in favour across age groups, political viewpoints, and regions. The most common reasons for wishing to eat fewer animal products were reducing animal suffering, preventing deforestation, avoiding species extinction, and protecting wild …

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Veggy Kids

© Veggy Kids
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

Veggy Kids: Turkey’s Innovative New Plant-Based Product Line for Children

Founded in 2012, Veggy is self-described as Turkey’s first plant-based meat alternatives producer, leading the market with innovative solutions in the plant-based sector. The company’s latest product line, Veggy Kids, introduces an exclusive range of vegetable-based products tailored specifically for children, including burgers, nuggets, and meatballs. A breakthrough in nutrition for kids Veggy claims that Veggy Kids is the world’s first comprehensive plant-based product portfolio designed exclusively for children. Launched in over 25,000 stores across Turkey, the brand has quickly gained attention both domestically and internationally. It is now confirmed that Veggy Kids will be available on the shelves of major retailers across the UK, China, the Balkans, and Europe in the first quarter of 2025. As part of its vision, Veggy Kids will focus …

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Most Read in the Last 30 Days

The field of vegan news has grown enormously in recent years, making it increasingly important for decision-makers to keep track of the dynamic scene. While the mass of vegan news certainly does not determine its quality, the increasing coverage of vegan issues in mainstream media highlights the lasting impact that veganism has on our society and the future of the food industry.

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The relevance of vegan news is especially evident in google data, as vegan google searches increased by 47% in 2020, reaching a popularity almost twice as high as in 2015.

While the overall vegan newsfeed is steadily expanding in response to the growing interest, several sub-reporting media have been formed to cover different issues connected to a vegan lifestyle. Most importantly, vegan food sites, recipe sites, and vegan business sites are shaping the vegan news landscape, with the latter underlining the immense economic potential of the vegan industry.

Vegan News About Food

For publishing, perhaps more than any other industry, it is necessary to capture and reflect social change, with the press ramping up coverage of plant-based issues in response to the rising success of vegan lifestyles. Vegan news mostly focus on the positive effects of a vegan diet, addressing human health, animal welfare and the planet. Therefore, vegan food news is one of the strongest sectors in vegan reporting.

vegan news about food
©insta_photos-stock.adobe.com

Because concerns about the health-ramifications of a meat-rich diet are rising sharply, vegan food news is a crucial news branch in which plant-based foods and recipes are discussed. In particular, vegan food news channels carry the message that there are a lot of vegan food options on the market, saving animals’ lives.

If plant-based products as a whole were seen as a brand, it is safe to say that the brand awareness of plant-based products is increasing year by year. In 2021, more vegan alternatives were launching than ever before, opening a giant market supported by the passion for a healthy vegan diet.

However, the key players in the search for a vegan turnaround are the stakeholders within the industry, including established companies and startups that are gradually expanding their plant-based portfolio. At this pivotal point, the need for another vegan news category has formed, the vegan business news.

Vegan Business News

Vegconomist is an online magazine that specializes in vegan business news and is geared towards a B2B audience. Created by Peter Link in 2018, vegconomist shares news from all over the business world, including vegan hotspots like the UK, Germany, and the United States, but also Asian countries and the African continent.

Vegconomist is now available in four languages, with each site having a different focus based on the language region. While the English-language page is internationally oriented, the German, French and Spanish pages each have a regional focus.

global vegan news
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Furthermore, vegconomist provides a newsletter that decision-makers and anyone looking to know more about vegan brands, new products in the growing plant-based meat and dairy market, as well as investments and market trends, can sign up for to receive emails containing the latest vegan business news.

If you don't want to miss out on any vegan business news, you can sign up for the vegconomist newsletter here.