Jeremy Xu

Jeremy Xu. Image supplied.

ABF Ingredients Hires Ingredion SVP Jeremy Xu as CEO

Global specialty ingredients producer ABF Ingredients has appointed Jeremy Xu as its new CEO. He will join the company on April 9. Xu is currently SVP, Chief Innovation Officer, and President of Global Healthful Solutions at global ingredient producer Ingredion. He will take over from Fabienne Saadane-Oaks, who has been CEO of ABFI since 2015 and has helped the company’s portfolio grow from four to seven businesses (AB Biotek Human Nutrition and Health, AB Enzymes, ABITEC, Fytexia, Ohly, PGP International and SPI Pharma). Xu will bring significant experience gained throughout a 30-year career at Dupont, DSM, and Ingredion. He will lead ABFI’s next phase of growth, which will involve enhancing capability in R&D and commercial activities through investment. “I have long admired ABFI from afar …

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Antoine Baule of Bon Vivant

Antoine Baule, image courtesy of Bon Vivant

Bon Vivant Appoints Antoine Baule as Chairman of its Board of Directors

Bon Vivant, a French startup in the animal-free dairy sector, announces the appointment of Antoine Baule as the new Chairman of its Board of Directors. Baule is the former director general of Lesaffre, a key player in the global fermentation industry, and brings a wealth of experience in agro-industry and biotechnology to the firm. Lesaffre has been a leader in the fermentation sector for over a century, boasting a turnover of 2.2 billion euros with operations across all continents, and a workforce of 10,700 employees. The strategic appointment closely follows Bon Vivant’s raise of €15 million in an oversubscribed equity finance round for its precision fermentation-derived whey and casein proteins aimed at the B2B dairy alternative market. The company also announced in October its intentions …

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Matthew Kenney © Instagram

New School Foods Enlists Chef Matthew Kenney for Plant-Based Salmon Fillet Launch

Plant-based seafood innovator, New School Foods, has welcomed Chef Matthew Kenney as a member of its Culinary Council. The council, an exclusive group of chefs and restaurateurs, will collaborate with New School Foods as the company prepares for the commercial launch of its plant-based salmon fillet later this year. Based in Toronto, Canada, New School Foods specializes in developing whole-cut, plant-based seafood that replicates conventional seafood’s texture, taste, nutritional benefits, and cooking experience. The collaboration aims to gather insights from established culinary experts to guide the final development of whole-muscle meat alternatives and support the growth of New School Foods’ network of restaurants. Chef Kenney, an American celebrity chef and the founder of Ascention, a plant-based IP holding company, will contribute by creating new recipes …

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Meatable Appoints Industry Execs to Board of Directors, Ramps up for 2024 Market Launch

Netherlands-based cultivated pork producer Meatable announces the appointments of Lorne Abony and Patricia Malarkey to its Board of Directors. The Duch startup utilises pluripotent stem cells with patented opti-ox™ technology, enabling cells to multiply and differentiate into mature muscle and fat cells. Meatable says that this technology allows cells to be differentiated in just 8 days and claims this is the fastest process in the world. After raising $35M in August last year, Meatable went on to inaugurate a new pilot facility to expand the production capacity of its cultivated pork platform, and this January announced it had submitted a dossier to hold the country’s first legally sanctioned cultivated meat tasting. An exciting juncture Says Krijn de Nood, co-founder and CEO, “Meatable is at an …

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Believer Meats

© Believer Meats

Believer Meats Continues Construction of Cultivated Meat Facility and Expands Executive Team

Cultivated meat company Believer Meats, previously Future Meat Technologies, is making significant progress on the construction of its cultivated meat production facility in Wilson, North Carolina. When fully operational, this 200,000-square-foot facility is expected to produce at least 10,000 metric tonnes of cell-cultured meat annually. In preparation for its next phase of commercialization, Believer Meats has expanded its executive leadership team with the appointment of three new members: Heather Hudson as Chief Product & Growth Officer, Frida Grynspan as Chief Science Officer, and Marc Shelley as Chief Legal Officer. These strategic hires bring experience across the scientific, food technology, and legal domains, positioning Believer Meats to spearhead innovation and growth in the cultivated meat sector. CEO Gustavo Burger expressed enthusiasm for the new appointments, stating, …

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Phil Graves Meati Foods

Phil Graves © Meati Foods

Meati Foods Welcomes Former Patagonia Executive Phil Graves as New CFO

Meati Foods, a producer of meat alternatives using fungal fermentation, has appointed Phil Graves as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Graves brings years of experience supporting brands that align profitability with environmental and social responsibility, serving as the Chief Sustainability Officer at Bass Pro Shops after a seven-year career with Patagonia as the VP of Corporate Development. He also founded Patagonia’s corporate venture capital fund, Tin Shed Ventures, which invests in regenerating food systems, natural ecosystems, and the apparel industry.  Founded in 2017, Meati Foods uses its proprietary MushroomRoot ingredient to create cutlets and steaks. The company recently announced its retail expansion into Super Target stores in the US after debuting in Meijer last year, and its products are now available in over 3,600 …

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Hoxton Farms cultivated fat

©Hoxton Farms

Hoxton Farms Appoints Former Impossible Foods CSO Following Recent Hires from GOOD Meat and Aleph Farms

UK cultivated fats specialist Hoxton Farms announces it has appointed Nick Halla to its Board. Halla is the former Chief Strategy Officer at Impossible Foods, where he was a founding employee having teamed up with Pat Brown back in 2011. The biotech states that Halla’s experience in commercialisation and growth at Impossible Foods will prove invaluable as it begins to scale and expand internationally. With Nick’s help, Hoxton Farms takes one step closer to creating a deliciously fatty future. The news comes on the heels of the company’s recent strategic hiring of Vítor Espirito Santo, previously Senior Director of Cellular Agriculture at GOOD Meat, and Nadav Tal, former Director of R&D Engineering at Aleph Farms, in preparation for commercialisation of its product, which it describes …

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THIS CEO Mark Cuddigan

Mark Cuddigan. Image courtesy of THIS.

THIS Appoints Former Ella’s Kitchen CEO Mark Cuddigan to Lead Company into Next Chapter

UK alt meat producer THIS has appointed Mark Cuddigan, the former CEO of organic baby and toddler food brand Ella’s Kitchen, as its new CEO. After joining Ella’s Kitchen in 2011, Cuddigan increased the company’s revenue from £41 million to £100 million. He is also involved in the B Corp movement, having sat on its B Lab Board for almost five years and gaining B Corp accreditation for Ella’s Kitchen in 2016 (THIS is also a B Corp, and became the first British alt meat brand to be certified in 2022). THIS founders Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman — who are currently serving as co-CEOs — will step down on February 19. They will remain involved in the business at Board level, and will support …

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Heather Mills in blue suit

© Heather Mills

Heather Mills Sets the Record Straight. “A Reset Was Entirely Necessary and I’m Delighted to Be Back at the Reins”

In 2009, Heather Mills purchased Redwood Wholefoods, a health food company operating since 1993. The company would become VBites and go on to develop and sell 130 products to more than 20 countries. Fifteen years later, just last week, Mills bought the company once again. Here, she explains some of the events that happened in between, and puts the record straight in terms of several misreported details around the situation. In 2018 Heather bought a second factory in Newcastle to focus on cheese alternatives, launching Morrisons’ first vegan cheese product as a private label. The following year, at the height of the plant-based boom and just weeks before the Beyond Meat IPO, VBites acquired a 385,000 sq ft factory in Peterlee with intentions of creating …

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Benjamin Armenjon appointed as MD of OCEANIUM

© OCEANIUM

OCEANIUM Appoints Benjamin Armenjon of Ÿnsect to Scale and Commercialise Innovative Seaweed Products

OCEANIUM, a Scottish seaweed specialist, announces it has hired Benjamin Armenjon as Managing Director. He will be tasked with driving the commercialisation of innovative seaweed ingredients and the scaling of its proprietary seaweed biorefinery. Armenjon previously served at France’s Ÿnsect, which describes itself as the world leader in insect protein, where he led sales and commercialisation for the company and was integral to its growth, assisting its expansion to over 300 staff with locations across Europe and the US, says the company. Prior to joining Ÿnsect, he held various R&D, production, quality, and sales positions in companies such as Symrise Pet Food and Kemin Nutrisurance. Last September, the company secured $2.6 million with the funds allocated to begin scale-up and to accelerate the commercialisation of …

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Matthew Glover of VFG

Image courtesy of Matthew Glover

Matthew Glover on VFG: “We’ll Be Able to Offer Retailers a ‘One-Stop Shop’ for a Wide Range of Plant-Based SKUs”

This week, vegan challenger brand VFC and its parent company VFC Foods became Vegan Food Group (VFG) presently including its acquired brands Meatless Farm and Clive’s Purely Plants, with plans for continuous strategic acquisitions. The move heralds a “transformative era in the plant-based food sector” according to Glover, who foresees a near future for the vegan industry based on collaborative efforts, “this is an opportunity for both VFG and the wider movement,” he says. Here Glover tells us more about the new group and its vision, along with an upcoming side project that will be of interest to many in the space. Can you elaborate on the vision behind transforming VFC Foods into The Vegan Food Group? What was the stimulus? Well, I guess it …

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MYCO new CEO David Wood in front of facility

MYCO new CEO David Wood, image supplied

MYCO, Producer of Mushroom Protein Hooba, Appoints David Wood of VBites as New CEO Ahead of Expansion

Yorkshire, England-based MYCO, producer of a mushroom protein called Hooba, has appointed David Wood — most recently MD of VBites which sadly called in administrators last week — as new CEO as it enters its next stage of growth predicted to create 70 jobs in the region over the next three years. In his new role, Wood will oversee the launch of MYCO’s new sustainable food strategy at a new 20,000sq foot purpose-built site in North Yorkshire as the company ramps up production. “I’m thrilled to be joining MYCO, especially at such an exciting time in the company’s expansion,” comments Woods. Hooba indistinguishable from meat in taste tests Founded in 2016, the company was originally Hooba in its early iteration and now MYCO Holdings, specialising …

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Timo Recker ©TiNDLE Foods

Timo Recker Appointed CEO of TiNDLE Foods as Andre Menezes Steps Down From Role

TiNDLE Foods, formerly Next Gen Foods, this week announced that Andre Menezes has stepped down from the role and that he will be succeeded with immediate effect by Timo Recker, who is also Executive Chairman and co-founder of the food tech company and previously held the role from July 2020 to May 2021. Recker originates from a German family that operated the meat processing company Recker Convenience, known for the production of schnitzels. He and his family exited the meat industry and sold the business in 2021. In 2013 he founded LikeMeat, the plant-based producer that was acquired by LIVEKINDLY CO in 2020 and is still prominent in Germany, stating it is the second leading plant-based brand on the German market. Later in 2020, Next …

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Hoxton Farms announces two strategic hires from leading cultivated meat companies GOOD Meat and Aleph Farms to propel its next commercialisation phase.

Vítor Espirito Santo (L) and Nadav Tal © Hoxton Farms

Hoxton Farms Announces Strategic Hires from GOOD Meat and Aleph Farms to Accelerate Cultivated Fat

After opening the UK’s first pilot production facility for cultivated fat, Hoxton Farms announces two strategic executive hires from leading cultivated meat companies GOOD Meat — a subsidiary of Eat Just — and Aleph Farms, to propel the company’s cultivated fat into its next commercialisation phase. The UK aims to become a leading food tech and biotechnology hub. The government has invested £12 million in a cellular agriculture hub, and recently, it unveiled a £2 billion plan to seize the potential of biotechnology for novel foods and medicines and sustainable fuel. While the government has been looking to streamline the approval for cultivated meat to boost food security and sustainability, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has released new guidance on cell-cultivated products and the authorisation process to bring them to market in Great …

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Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud of KBW Ventures and Lou Cooperhouse, Founder, President and CEO of BlueNalu

Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud of KBW Ventures and Lou Cooperhouse, Founder, President and CEO of BlueNalu © BlueNalu

Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed Joins BlueNalu’s Corporate Advisory Board

San Diego cellular aquaculture company BlueNalu announced the addition of Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud to its corporate advisory board during COP 28. According to BlueNalu, the Prince’s commitment to sustainable development, food safety and resilience, and the humane treatment of animals aligns with the company’s mission to provide healthy, humane and regenerative seafood to meet the world’s growing demand. Prince Khaled, CEO of KBW Ventures, has invested in BlueNalu’s funding rounds over the past five years, its most recent being a Series B round this October which raised $33.5 million to scale production of cultivated toro (the high-value portion of bluefin tuna) and demonstrate the technological capabilities of its platform to create whole-muscle seafood products. Seafood is a crucial protein source …

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Daiya new CEO Hajime Fujita

© Daiya

Daiya Appoints Hajime Fujita as New CEO to Lead Continued Global Expansion

British Colombia-based vegan cheese leader Daiya Foods, which has a wide retail footprint globally, this week announces the appointment of Hajime Fujita to the role of Chief Executive Officer. In his new role, Mr Fujita, a former director at Daiya, will lead all global operations throughout North America and the brand’s continued international expansion. He previously served as Vice President, Business Planning, at Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, the Japanese pharmaceutical and nutraceutical company that acquired Daiya in 2017 for CAD$405 million / USD$326 million, with Mr Fujita playing a key role in the acquisition before joining the Daiya team. Since joining Daiya, Mr Fujita held the role of Director, Financial Planning and Analysis then took a seat on Daiya’s board as part of a Vice President role …

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Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Martin Smollich, Institute for Nutritional Medicine, Lübeck

Professor Dr. Martin Smollich, Institute for Nutritional Medicine, Lübeck

Highly Processed Foods: Meat Alternatives Have a Good Nutritional Profile

With kind permission, you will find below a post by Professor Dr. Martin Smollich from the Institute for Nutritional Medicine in Lübeck on the often absurd discussion about highly processed foods. Ultra-processed foods are not all the same! Highly processed foods (ultra-processed foods / UPFs) have a bad reputation: they are said to be “unhealthy” simply because they are highly processed – regardless of their nutrient or calorie content. From a nutritional perspective, this is pretty absurd. A study now published in The Lancet (https://lnkd.in/ex9qY7RF) not only confirms common sense but also previous studies: highly processed foods are NOT all the same: there are UPFs with very good and very poor nutritional profiles – exactly the same, as is also the case with less processed …

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Josh Tetrick GOOD Meat

© GOOD Meat

TIME Magazine Recognizes Josh Tetrick, CEO of Eat Just, in 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders in Business for 2023

TIME Magazine has unveiled its list of the 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders in Business for 2023, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated substantial contributions to the fight against climate change. The selection process, conducted over several months by TIME’s editors and in-house climate experts, prioritized measurable achievements within the energy, nature, finance, culture, and health sectors. Among the listed figures is Josh Tetrick, CEO of Eat Just, credited as the first company to receive regulatory approval for lab-grown meat under the brand GOOD Meat. Eat Just is the only alt protein company represented on the list and one of the few recognized companies within the food and beverage category. In statements to TIME, Tetrick emphasized the pivotal role of the food system in addressing climate …

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Pope Francis with crowds

© Sustainable Earth Eating Inc

Sustainable Earth Eating Calls on Pope Francis to Reinstate Meatless Friday

Sustainable Earth Eating has officially addressed Pope Francis and called on him to reinstate the tradition of Meatless Friday in the Catholic Church. The missive arrives to coincide with Pope Francis‘ imminent participation in the yearly UN-IPCC climate conference, during which he may assume a pivotal role in advocating for climate action. The traditional custom of Meatless Friday, which has its roots in the Catholic Church, has historically encouraged adherents to refrain from consuming meat on Fridays as a means of engaging in penance and contemplation. This practice has yielded a profound influence in curbing meat consumption and fostering sustainable, ecologically responsible dietary practices. As a supporter of climate protection, Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken out in favor of environmental protection and sustainable practices. In …

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A close up of Daniel Bregman

Image provided

Former Impossible Foods Senior Counsel Joins Synonym to Drive the Biomanufacturing Revolution

US biomanufacturing platform Synonym announces the appointment of Daniel Bregman as its new General Counsel and Head of Development in yet another recruitment of a former Impossible Foods expert. Synonym explains that Bregman, former Senior Product Commercial Counsel at Impossible Foods, led important initiatives and gained valuable experience scaling clean technology startups. Previously, he held senior positions at the vertical farming startup Plenty and Cypress Creek Renewables, where he was involved in numerous clean energy projects.  As head of development, Bregman will drive Synonyms’s pre-development projects and focus on the successful growth and expansion of the company’s development engine. He will also work to speed up facility development cycles. “I’m excited to dive headfirst into helping Synonym identify, purchase, and build its first infrastructure sites, and …

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