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Scott Tassani © Meati
Interviews

Meati: “Quickly Scaling to Become the US Market Share Leader in Plant-Based Meat by 2025”

Vegan whole-cut pioneer Meati has had an eventful time, to say the least, since we spoke with CEO Tyler Huggins back in March of this year. After raising $150M in Series C, launching fungi steaks and Carne Asada, and even being named in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2022, we just had to catch up with President Scott Tassani for another update from the masters of meaty mycelium. Can you give us a bit of background on your experience and how you landed at Meati? I worked in the food business through high school, and in my 30 years since graduating college. My career before Meati was spent with The Pillsbury Company and then General Mills – working in sales and brand development, spending my last …

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ProVeg webinar

© ProVeg International

Fairs & Events

Webinar: How Ingredient Decisions Affect the Sustainability Impact of Your Products

ProVeg International is hosting a webinar in partnership with the SaaS data platform company HowGood on 15 December, at 15:00 (CET). It aims to give food-industry leaders a better understanding of how to improve their product’s environmental impact and get closer to reaching their net-zero targets.  The question is, do consumers actually care about the sustainability of their plant-based food products? According to a 2021 pan-EU Smart Protein survey, led by ProVeg International, the answer is yes, with 62% of European consumers stating that they want their food to be environmentally sustainable and climate-friendly.  Expert advice The webinar featuring HowGood’s Senior Vice President, Rachel Calomeni, and Growth & Innovation strategist Emma Yates, will provide tips on how to tweak ingredient formulations or growing locations to …

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Nic Burger POS

© NIC Burger

Food & Beverage

Germany’s NIC Veg Burger Says “100% Vegan Will Become the New Normal”

Under the motto “Meat can be veg”, NIC Veg Burger has opened a new location, this time in the German town of Karlsruhe, to a rush of visitors. The Karlsruhe NIC offers 100 seats over 250 square metres, with ten employees serving fast food from Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 8 pm. Karlsruhe and Stuttgart are just the beginning of a far-reaching expansion strategy; NIC founder and owner Holger Hutmacher believes that “100 per cent vegan will become the new normal. The successful launches in Stuttgart and now also here in Karlsruhe show us that. Anyone who tries our burgers will do without burgers with meat in the future and thus automatically reduce their meat consumption.” “It was important to us to create a …

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THIS founders

Pete Sharman (L) & Andy Shovel founders of THIS © THIS
Company News

THIS Becomes First UK Alt Meat Brand to Receive B Corp Status

Plant-based meat brand THIS announces it has become a certified B Corporation (B Corp), claiming the development makes THIS the first meat alternative brand to achieve the status in the UK. By becoming a B Corp, THIS joins more than 5,500 B Corp companies across 85 countries and  158 industries, with the common goal of transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. Only a handful of alternative protein companies have earned the B Corp certification, including France’s HappyVore (ex-Les Nouveaux Fermiers) and California-based Ripple Foods. “This reflects just how big the UK can play in the global plant-based meat market, which is expected to be worth $15.8bn by 2028. It also shows the level of accountability and transparency the industry can employ,” …

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Vegangrill-burger

© Vegan Grill

Company News

ProVeg Czech Export Alliance is Formed to Support Export of Czech Plant-Based Food

ProVeg Czechia announces it has established an export alliance called the ProVeg Czech Export Alliance alongside government agency CzechTrade, with the purpose of supporting Czech plant-based food producers. The first members of the alliance, whose primary aim is to assist sustainable and innovative Czech plant-based products to get a foothold in foreign markets, are SEMIX PLUSO, kojibakers, Janova pec, Soyka and Ovegano Foods. Other examples of Czech producers in the plant-based and alt protein space include Mewery, which claims to be the first European foodtech startup to develop cultivated pork on a proprietary microalgae base; producer of the award-winning ManaBurger, Heaven Labs; Lunter; and Vegan Grill, maker of the 1st Czech vegan burger patty made from broad beans and peas. “It is in the interest of …

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Waygu Beef

©Top Tier Foods
Company News

Wamame Foods Welcomes New Partners to Expand Plant-Based Waygu Beef Across Canada and US

Canada’s Wamame Foods, which produces the world’s first plant-based wagyu beef, welcomes Teja Foods and Sierra Meat and Seafood as new consortium partners.  Along with innovation partners Merit Functional Foods, Wismettac Asian Foods and Crush Dynamics, and a co-investment from Protein Industries Canada, the plant-based consortium seeks to develop and distribute Wamame’s plant-based alternatives to wagyu beef. The companies’ efforts will build on the early success of Wamame’s Waygu brand by investing in research and development through partnerships with the University of British Columbia and the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre.  According to Wamame, the research process will help create a suite of products that can compete against the best beef brands in the world. These offerings would be sold under both the Waygu brand and …

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Vegan Lamb Burgers

©Black Sheep Foods
Investments & Finance

Black Sheep Foods Raises $12.3M to Scale Up Plant-Based Lamb and Exotic Meats

Black Sheep Foods, which specializes in plant-based lamb and other game meats, announces it has raised $12.3M in Series A funding.  The company will use the capital to increase its product and R&D teams, sales and marketing, and move to a larger production facility capable of making 16 million pounds of plant-based lamb each year. This increased production is expected to begin in early 2023, says its CEO.  Based in San Francisco, Black Sheep uses patent-pending technology to identify the unique flavor molecules found in lamb and reconstruct its taste and richness using the same molecules from plants. The startup introduced America’s “first ever” heritage plant-based lamb at select restaurants in 2021, including six locations of Greek dining chain Souvla.  “Seriously impressed” “At Souvla, we …

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Peter Singer

Phot credit: Alletta Vaandering

Company News

Peter Singer Joins Newly Appointed VegTech Invest Thought Leadership Council

Renowned author Peter Singer has joined a Thought Leadership Council newly appointed by the plant-based Innovation EATV ETF VegTech Invest. Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics at the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University and recipient of the Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture, first became well-known internationally after the publication of Animal Liberation in 1975. In 2011, Time included Animal Liberation on its “All-TIME” list of the 100 best nonfiction books published in English since the magazine began in 1923. He has written, co-authored, edited or co-edited more than 50 books, and his writings have been translated into more than 30 languages.  The Most Good You Can Do: How Effective Altruism Is Changing Ideas About Living Ethically, The Life You Can Save, Practical …

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6 hello plant foods vegan foie products piled up on top of a table

© Hello Plant Foods
Products & Launches

Hello Plant Foods Launches “Hyper-Realistic” Vegan Foie Gras Across Spain

Hello Plant Foods, a Spanish plant-based meat producer, announced the launch of Hello Fuah!, a vegan foie gras alternative, in Alcampo hypermarkets and specialized vegan food stores across Spain. The company states that this new gastronomic and technological innovation will revolutionise Spain’s foie gras market, where there are no alternatives besides Nestlé’s vegan foie gras limited edition. Javier Fernández, committed to a healthy and sustainable diet, started Hello Plant Foods in 2021 to develop vegan products that mimic animal meat’s organoleptic properties. Hello Burger Healthy was the company’s first product, soon joined by Hello Bacon. Hello Fuah! marks the newest addition to the brand’s animal-free meat portfolio. “Hello Fuah! will become the category’s benchmark product and will be available throughout the year,” says Fernández. A hyper-realistic …

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Tesco Mince Pies

©Tesco
Studies & Numbers

Survey Reveals UK’s Best Value Own Brand Vegan Mince Pies

Personal finance site money.co.uk has analysed the own brand vegan mince pies offered by various major UK supermarkets to establish which is the best value. Made from a blend of spiced fruit in a shortcrust pastry case, mince pies are a classic UK Christmas treat. While many brands contain butter, most supermarket chains now offer a plant-based option. At £0.25 per pie, Tesco Plant Chef mince pies are by far the most affordable. The Free From mince pies offered by Sainsbury’s, ASDA, Morrisons, and Co-op all cost about the same, coming in at between £0.44 and £0.50 each. As expected, the most expensive vegan mince pies are made by upmarket supermarkets M&S and Waitrose, costing £0.63 and £0.68 each respectively. On average, a vegan mince …

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noriware's biodegradable algae cups

© Noriware
Materials

Noriware: Revolutionising the Packaging Industry with Plastic-Free Seaweed Alternatives

Switzerland-based startup Noriware is developing CO2-neutral, plastic-free alternatives to conventional plastic products using seaweed. The company claims its biodegradable algae packaging uses 100% raw natural materials, “making them even edible.” Noriware was founded in 2021 by Jessica Farda, who, inspired by the sustainable and circular economy concept around seaweed, started to develop algae plastic prototypes at home. After successfully creating a biodegradable seaweed material, the company entered its entrepreneurship journey, receiving support from a leading university in Switzerland and funds from the NTN Innovation Booster Plastics for Zero Emission by Innosuisse to further develop its biodegradable algae packaging and revolutionise the packaging industry. Seaweed, an ideal raw material According to Noriware, the existing bioplastics are made with fossil fuels and can only be composted in industrial …

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The Laughing Cow Plant Based

©Bel Brands USA
Products & Launches

Bel Brands USA Unveils First Animal-Free Dairy with Nurishh Incredible Dairy and Laughing Cow Plant-Based

Following the successful launches of Babybel Plant Based and Boursin Dairy-Free, Bel Brands USA announces the launch of The Laughing Cow Plant Based and Nurishh Incredible Dairy Animal Free Cream Cheese – its first animal-free product created in partnership with Perfect Day.  Debuting at select retailers, including Kroger and Whole Foods, the new offerings include:  The Laughing Cow Plant Based – Certified plant-based and vegan, The Laughing Cow Plant Based delivers the same taste and creamy spreadability people know and love. Available in Garlic & Herb and Original at Whole Foods locations nationwide for $5.49. Nurishh Incredible Dairy – Nurishh, Bel’s first dairy alternative brand, is launching an animal-free cream cheese alternative that tastes just as good as traditional cream cheese because it contains real …

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Ingka Group

© Ingka Group
Food Service

IKEA Store Operator Ingka Group Unveils Plant-Forward Food & Beverage Concept

Ingka Group, which operates hundreds of IKEA stores worldwide, has launched a new food and beverage concept. As reported by Forbes, the concept will be called Saluhall in tribute to traditional Scandinavian market halls. 80% of food served will be plant-based, 60% of vendors will be local, and 40% of food will be Nordic-inspired. All operators will be plastic-free, with no waste sent to landfill. In a first for Ingka, there will be no beef on the menu. Saluhall locations will mostly open at smaller city centre sites rather than larger IKEA-style stores. In fact, IKEA itself has begun opening smaller, more “local” stores. “We are looking to add the concept to our growing number of urban centres and the format is flexible and can …

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BELIEVER Meats

© BELIEVER Meats
Manufacturing & Technology

BELIEVER Meats to Construct “World’s Largest” Cultivated Meat Facility in the US

BELIEVER Meats has broken ground on a 200,000-square-foot production facility in Wilson, North Carolina, which the company claims will be the largest ever for cultivated meat. When fully operational, the facility will be able to produce at least 10,000 metric tonnes of meat per year. North Carolina was chosen due to its highly qualified workforce and track record of integrating technology-driven solutions into residents’ lives. Initially, BELIEVER will invest $123.35 million into Wilson County, creating over 100 new jobs. The facility will feature proprietary bioreactors with the ability to achieve high cell densities and yield. There will also be offices, an R&D and innovation centre, conference room spaces, and a kitchen to host tastings. This will be BELIEVER’s first commercial-scale site in the US, following …

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GOOD_Meat_Cultivated_Chicken_at_the_Butchery

© GOOD Meat
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Eat Just’s GOOD Meat Reveals World’s First Butchery to Sell Cultivated Meat

GOOD Meat, the cultivated meat arm of Eat Just, Inc., announces that Singapore’s Huber’s Butchery will become the first butchery in the world to sell and serve cultivated meat. From today to this Saturday 10th Dec, selected guests will be invited to taste the dishes made with cultivated chicken which will be available starting in January for in-restaurant dining by reservation. At time of publication, GOOD Meat is the only producer of cultivated chicken with the ability to sell to consumers, though the recent greenlighting of UPSIDE Meat’s product will likely signal further regulatory approvals around the world. “Offering this new approach to making meat at a butchery is another historic moment in the long road to making our food system more delicious and sustainable. …

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