The plant-based and food technology industries are undergoing a significant transformation, driven by innovation, sustainability, and ethical considerations. Women are at the forefront of this movement, leading innovative companies that are reshaping how we produce and consume food.
In honor of International Women’s Day, we’re spotlighting some of the visionary female founders, CEOs, and leaders who are making a significant impact in plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-based food.
While there are hundreds of incredible women driving meaningful change in this space, these are some of the leaders we’re especially excited to watch in 2025 as they take their companies and the industry to new heights.
Deniz Ficicioglu – Co-Founder & CEO, BettaF!sh
Deniz Ficicioglu is making her mark in the plant-based seafood space with BettaF!sh, a German startup creating seaweed-based tuna alternatives. BettaF!sh’s TU-NAH—made from European seaweed and fava beans—has already secured partnerships with major European retailers like ALDI and REWE.
By using regenerative ocean farming, Ficicioglu is promoting biodiversity while reducing reliance on overfished seafood. Her ocean-friendly, scalable alternatives are supporting the sustainable transformation of the $42 billion tuna market.
Hema Reddy – Founder & CEO, Wundereggs
Hema Reddy is leading the charge in the plant-based egg revolution with WunderEggs, a realistic, clean-label alternative to traditional hard-boiled eggs. As the founder and CEO of Crafty Counter, Reddy brings over 21 years of experience in science, product development, and brand building to her mission of transforming the $270 billion egg industry.
Her company’s innovation—a nut-based, allergen-friendly egg alternative—has landed placements in major retailers like Whole Foods Market. WunderEggs stand out in the growing egg alternatives sector for their realistic texture and nutritional value, catering to consumers looking for ethical and sustainable egg replacements.
Margaret Coons – Founder & CEO, Nuts for Cheese
Margaret Coons turned her passion for plant-based, artisan cheese into Nuts for Cheese, a rapidly expanding Canadian brand specializing in organic, fermented cashew-based cheeses. From a small kitchen operation to securing retail partnerships with Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Loblaws, her company has become a key player in the premium vegan cheese market.
With a commitment to clean ingredients and traditional cheesemaking techniques, Coons has positioned Nuts for Cheese as a standout in the dairy-free cheese sector. The brand recently won a NEXTY award at Natural Products Expo West for its new Dill Pickle Dip, further cementing its reputation for innovation.
Fengru Lin – Co-Founder & CEO, TurtleTree
Fengru Lin is at the forefront of precision fermentation with TurtleTree, a Singapore- and US-based biotech company developing cell-based dairy and human milk proteins. TurtleTree’s first commercial product, bovine lactoferrin, has the potential to revolutionize infant nutrition and functional dairy markets.
Lin’s background in business development at Google and Salesforce helped her scale TurtleTree into one of the most promising companies in cellular agriculture. With $30 million in funding and strategic global partnerships, TurtleTree is leading the way in sustainable dairy alternatives.
Anastasia Krivoruchko – Co-Founder & CEO, Melt&Marble
Swedish startup Melt&Marble uses precision fermentation to create animal-free fats, and Anastasia Krivoruchko is the driving force behind its mission. With a strong research background in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, she co-founded Melt&Marble as a spin-off from Chalmers University of Technology.
Her company’s customizable fats replicate the mouthfeel and melting properties of animal fats, solving a major challenge in plant-based meat production. In 2022, Melt&Marble raised €5 million to scale production, positioning itself as a key B2B supplier for next-generation meat alternatives.
Insa Mohr – Founder & CEO, OffBeast (formerly Mooji Meats)
With a background in deep-tech and finance, Insa Mohr founded OffBeast (previously Mooji Meats) to create whole-cut plant-based meats. The company’s proprietary process uses plant fibers to replicate muscle fibers which enables realistic marbling, texture, and fibrous structures, an advancement that has the potential to significantly impact the meat alternatives market.
OffBeast’s premium plant-based ribeyes and whole cuts have already garnered attention, and its innovative approach to structuring plant-based meats can help close the gap between alternative and conventional meat.
Raya Liberman-Aloni & Maya Sapir-Mir – Co-Founders, PoLoPo
Israeli biotech startup PoLoPo is advancing molecular farming to produce egg and dairy proteins from genetically engineered potatoes. Co-founders Dr. Raya Liberman-Aloni and Dr. Maya Sapir-Mir are leveraging their expertise in plant sciences and synthetic biology to create sustainable, scalable alternatives to animal-based proteins.
Their SuperAA (Super Animal Analogues) platform enables potatoes to produce ovalbumin, the key protein in egg whites, offering a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution for the food industry. With $2.3 million in funding, PoLoPo is a key player in the global protein market.
Stephanie Downs – Co-Founder & CEO, UNCAGED Innovations
A veteran entrepreneur and impact investor, Stephanie Downs is transforming the fashion and automotive industries with UNCAGED Innovations, a company developing high-performance, animal-free leather alternatives made from grains.
Downs’ innovative approach addresses the sustainability issues of both traditional and synthetic leather, offering a bio-based, durable alternative that’s attracting interest from global luxury brands and automakers like Jaguar Land Rover.
Alix Chausson – Co-Founder & CGO, Nosh.bio
With a background in biotech and food innovation, Alix Chausson co-founded Nosh.bio, a German startup specializing in mycoprotein-based ingredients. Unlike traditional mycoproteins like Quorn, Nosh.bio’s proprietary fungal strains offer superior binding, texture, and protein content, ideal for plant-based meats, seafood, and dairy alternatives.
Her vision of replacing artificial binders with natural mycoprotein solutions is driving Nosh.bio’s rapid growth. The company is positioning itself as a key B2B supplier in the alternative protein industry.
Monica Talbert – Co-Founder & CEO, The Plant Based Seafood Co.
A former seafood industry executive, Monica Talbert pivoted to plant-based seafood with The Plant Based Seafood Co., aiming to address overfishing and ocean pollution. Under her leadership, the company’s Mind Blown brand has gained widespread recognition for its hyper-realistic, chef-crafted alternatives, including plant-based crab cakes, scallops, and coconut shrimp.
With products available in Whole Foods and Sprouts, and industry awards to back their innovation, The Plant Based Seafood Co. is well-positioned to lead the growing alternative seafood market.
More Women to Watch in 2025
Beyond these 10 leaders, many more incredible women are shaping the future of food:
- Eva Sommer (Fermify) – Pioneering precision-fermented casein for real dairy cheese.
- Caroline Marjorie Zaoui (Novobiom) – Using fungi for environmental cleanup and waste valorization.
- Frida Grynspan (Believer Meats) – Advancing cultivated meat technology for mass adoption.
- Géraldine Senn (Food Brewer) – Upcycling spent brewery grains into high-value food ingredients.
- Kelly Mulder (Bon Vivant) – Creating fermentation-based dairy proteins without cows.
- Magi Richani (Alpine Bio) – Engineering plants to produce real dairy casein for cheese.
- Maija Itkonen (Onego Bio) – Producing animal-free egg proteins via precision fermentation.
- Michele Stansfield (Cauldron Ferm) – Scaling fermentation solutions for alternative proteins.
- Reshma Shetty (Ginkgo Bioworks) – Programming microbes for sustainable food innovation.
- Sophia Wang (MycoWorks) – Innovating high-end, mycelium-based leather alternatives.
- Zoe Yu Tung Law (New Wave Biotech) – Developing AI tools to optimize fermentation for food-tech.
