The team here at vegconomist will be taking a break from Thursday 24th – we will be back with the most exciting and current news for you every weekday from 4th January 2021.
December 2020
An Open Letter from Veganuary: “2021 IS THE YEAR FOR POSITIVE CHANGE”
TOGETHER WE CAN BUILD A BETTER FUTURE! 2020 has been an unforgettable year, with our attention divided between fears over coronavirus and anxiety over climate change. What has become increasingly obvious is that these two threats have something in common; both are heavily linked to our consumption of animal products. Animal agriculture is responsible for an estimated 14.5 percent of all human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. Oxford University researchers found that almost every animal product creates far more emissions than almost every plant product. Quite simply, we cannot tackle climate change while we farm and eat animals on an industrial scale. Pandemic experts warn that because of overcrowded, squalid conditions, factory farms – especially chicken farms – are breeding grounds for the next global pandemic.1 Already …
Domino’s Launches its First Plant-Based Meat Topping in India
Domino’s Pizza has introduced India‘s first plant protein-based pizza. ‘The Unthinkable Pizza’ offers a vegan chicken topping. It must be noted that, as with the recent Pizza Hut / Beyond Meat news, this product at present contains dairy cheese. However this is indeed a step in the right direction.
China’s Nanjing Weilai and CellX Raise Multiple Millions for Cell-Based
China: the cultivated meat startup previously known as Nanjing Zhouzi has raised CNY 20 million (around USD 3 million) from Matrix Partners China in an angel round, while newly formed CellX has raised an undisclosed amount to accelerate development and production and help move products out of the lab.
Krispy Kreme Introduces Vegan Doughnuts for Veganuary
Iconic US doughnut company and coffee house chain Krispy Kreme announces the launch of its first vegan doughnut, as the next big player in line to launch vegan offerings exclusively for Veganuary, following last week’s announcement that sandwich giant Subway will add a vegan chicken sub to its menu for the event.
Plant-Based Market in Asia Pacific to Surge 200% by 2025
DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences published its latest research study in collaboration with IPSOS, a global market research firm, revealing a significant increase in demand for plant-based meat alternatives in key Asia Pacific (APAC) markets.
Is There a Revolution Going On In the Frozen Food Aisle? CEO of Cool Beans, Tyler Mayoras Explains
Is there a vegan revolution going on in the frozen section of the supermarket? Tyler Mayoras, CEO and Co-Founder of Cool Beans, is on the Plantbased Business Hour with Elysabeth Alfano to discuss 1) leading a new brand to growth and success during a pandemic, 2) hockey stick velocity turns and 3) the renaissance of the frozen food section and 4) the worst mistake a new brand can make. Podcast here. Below is a highlight clip (2:40) on the worst mistake a new brand can make. Long-form video interview is here. Display content from YouTube Click here to display content from YouTube. Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy. Always display content from YouTube Open “What is the Worst Mistake A New Brand Can Make? …
Canada’s Vegan Ecommerce Site PlantX to Expand into Israel
PlantX Life Inc announces plans to expand the Company’s e-commerce platform into the State of Israel. The Company’s Israeli expansion will also include establishing a future brick and mortar PlantX location in the country. Brick and mortar locations will also open in San Diego, and British Columbia.
Elysabeth Alfano’s Top 10 Predictions for 2021
Every week, Plant-based Business Expert Elysabeth Alfano breaks down the headlines with her review and analysis in the Plantbased Business Minute. In preparation for the New Year, today she brings us her top ten predictions for 2021.
The ‘New Food Invest’ Event: Where Innovation Meets Investment
ProVeg and Beyond Animal announce they will be collaborating for the first virtual New Food Invest event, which sets out to be the world’s first online conference focusing exclusively on bringing together international plant-based and cultured food startups, investors, and key stakeholders in the food industry.
vly: “We Have Sold Our Millionth Litre in Just Ten Months on the Market. “
Launching only at the beginning of this year, vly is already establishing its position on German retail shelves. With its milk alternative based on pea protein, the foodtech startup has already been listed in over 6,000 points of sale at the end of this year.
Nick Hazell of V2Food: Lessons to Help Vegan Products Hit the Mainstream
2020 has been a year of enormous growth for plant-based alternatives. In the US, Impossible Foods reached the milestone of 9,000 supermarket stockings, while Europe’s largest plant-based meat factory opened in December.
Lewis Hamilton Opens Third Neat Burger Location, Plans to Expand Globally
Neat Burger, the vegan burger chain created by Formula One star Lewis Hamilton, has opened its third restaurant in London. The restaurant is in Soho, following the success of the chain’s initial locations in central London and Camden.
My Chemical Romance Debuts Vegan Makeup Collection, Instantly Sells Out
Rock band My Chemical Romance recently launched a makeup collection in collaboration with vegan and cruelty-free beauty brand HipDot. Following the launch, The HipDot x MCR collection sold out within minutes, leaving many fans disappointed.
Impossible Goes 100x, Plant & Bean Goes 55K and Oprah, Go Vegan Already
Every week, Plant-based Business Expert Elysabeth Alfano breaks down the headlines with her review and analysis in the Plantbased Business Minute. Elysabeth is the founder of Plant Powered Consulting, the host of the Plantbased Business Hour and the Consulting Managing Director, vegconomist, North America and doesn’t use a teleprompter. Here is the rundown from her video for the week ending December 18, 2020. Plant based food manufacturer, Plant & Bean, is opening a 65 acre manufacturing facility that is going to produce 55,000 tonnes of plant-based food. This is happening in the UK. Display content from YouTube Click here to display content from YouTube. Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy. Always display content from YouTube Open “Plantbased Business Minute: The Week In Review” directly My …
Chinese Press Reports Citizens Are “Developing a Taste” for Meat Alternatives
A 2,000-word article titled Diners Develop a Taste for Meat Alternatives was published today in the China Daily website, referring to latest developments of a number of domestic and international plant-based meat companies, including Beyond Meat, OmniFoods, Z-Rou, Zhenmeat and Starfield, in mainland China.
Veganuary Founder Launches VFC: Vegan Fried Chick*n, Will Eventually Outprice KFC
Matthew Glover, the vegan serial entrepreneur and the founder of multiple world-changing vegan projects such as Veganuary, Million Dollar Vegan, and Veg Capital, today announces the launch of Vegan Fried Chick*n Company VFC with plans to overtake the chicken industry. “This is where food meets activism. This is our sit-down protest.”
Magnum to Launch Vegan Sea Salt Caramel Ice Cream Bars in the UK
Unilever-owned ice cream brand Magnum is to launch a new vegan flavour in the UK next month — Sea Salt Caramel. The flavour was first launched in the US earlier this year.
Atlast Mushroom Bacon Sells All Planned Capacity Through 2023
US startup Atlast Food Co, a spinoff of Ecovative, has partnered with several businesses that plan to use its mycelium-based meat alternatives as ingredients in their products. Despite only recently launching its first product, Atlast has already sold all its planned capacity through 2023.