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Dole Partners With Rais Case and Ananas Anam to Transform Agricultural Waste Into Sustainable Fashion

April 23, 2024

Dole Packaged Foods, one of the world’s largest producers of fruit and vegetables, has joined forces with Rais Case, a circular design brand from Southern California, and Ananas Anam, the creator of plant-based material Piñatex. This collaborative effort aims to repurpose organic waste into functional fashion accessories, beginning with a limited-edition Vida Bag crafted from Piñatex, a vegan leather alternative derived from pineapple leaf fibers sourced from Dole Philippines farms. Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Dole Packaged Foods, Americas, Orzse Hodi, spoke on the significance of waste reduction efforts, stating, “For every ton of pineapples harvested, three tons of pineapple leaves are discarded, making it our job to find ways to reduce and repurpose our waste as much as we can. In addition …

Organisations and brands:

Ananas Anam

Dole

CEO Doug Grant © Atlantic Fish Co

Cultivated Seafood

Atlantic Fish Co: “We Want to Have Our Products in Restaurants All Over the United States and Beyond”

April 23, 2024

Based in North Carolina, Atlantic Fish Co has developed a proprietary technology to cultivate fish cells that can thrive in liquid suspension, focusing on high-performing cell lines of wild-caught species, such as halibut and sea bass, and using genetic engineering technology to grow the cells in bioreactors and providing them with nutrients for growth. Founded in 2020, the Atlantic Fish Co. recently unveiled what it claims is the world’s first cultivated black sea bass product, during a tasting at the North Carolina Food Innovation Lab. Speaking at the time, Doug Grant, CEO of Atlantic Fish Co. stated: “Developing the world’s first cultivated black sea bass is a win for our company and consumers who want sustainable, ethical seafood. We will provide seafood that is also …

Organisations and brands:

atlantic-fish-co

The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) has released a study that highlights Europe's animal-based protein balance and argues for the growing interest in alternative proteins.

Studies & Numbers

Europe’s 60% Reliance on Animal Proteins Challenged in New EU Alt Protein Research

April 23, 2024

The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) has released a new study evaluating the potential of algae, insects, microbial fermentation, and cultivated meat to improve food security and reduce the environmental impacts of food production within the EU. However, to make the case for the growing interest in these alternative proteins, the report explains Europe’s current protein balance. According to the authors, plant-based protein intake in the wider world accounts for 57% of total protein consumption. However, in Europe, animal protein still makes up the majority, somewhere between 55 and 60% — exceeding plant-based protein consumption since the 1970s and the recommended daily intake by about a third. Moreover, with this impressive demand for meat, the region faces a deficit in local feed production, importing 61% of …

Organisations and brands:

European Parliamentary Research Service

Food Service

UNLIMEAT Pulled Pork Wrap Launches at Starbucks Hong Kong

April 23, 2024

Korean plant-based meat brand UNLIMEAT has joined forces with Starbucks Hong Kong to offer a plant-based pulled pork wrap. The wrap combines UNLIMEAT’s pork alternative with carrot, red cabbage, and lettuce to create a “satisfying and guilt-free meal”. UNLIMEAT first entered the Hong Kong market in 2020, and has since secured several major collaborations in the region. IKEA Hong Kong launched an Earth Day Menu featuring the brand’s meat alternatives in 2022, and convenience store chain 7-Eleven has introduced two products made with UNLIMEAT’s signature Korean BBQ. “We have been dreaming of launching something at Starbucks ever since we launched our first products in Hong Kong,” said UNLIMEAT CEO Keumchae Min. “Our pulled pork has been our most popular product in the United States, so …

Organisations and brands:

Starbucks

Unlimeat

Meat- and Fish Alternatives

Migros Launches Upcycled Meat Alternatives Made From Spent Brewer’s Grain

April 23, 2024April 23, 2024

Swiss supermarket chain Migros has partnered with Circular Food Solutions to launch a new range of upcycled meat alternatives. The products are made from spent brewer’s grains, a byproduct of the barley used in beer production. The grains, rich in nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, and fibre, are combined with Swiss-grown peas and wheat to produce the meat alternatives. There are currently three products in the range: burgers, mince, and marinated pieces. The meat alternatives have been developed using Circular Food Solutions’ technology, which aims to help companies take advantage of the growing demand for plant-based foods while making better use of resources. The technology is said to produce alt meats with “a unique fiber texture, taste, and elasticity”. The new products are part of …

Organisations and brands:

Circular Food Solutions

Migros

Ingredients

Amid America’s Fiber Crisis, Newly Developed ‘Beyond Acacia’ Naturally Lowers Sugar & Increases Dietary Fiber

April 23, 2024April 23, 2024

Amid an escalating fiber crisis in the US, where dietary fiber deficiency leads to thousands of deaths every year, Farbest Brands is now offering Beyond Acacia®, a gum acacia product manufactured using a new process that produces high-density granules, in partnership with Alland & Robert. Beyond Acacia, like traditional gum acacia, is a wholly natural source of dietary fiber. The ingredient, devoid of taste, color, and odor, reduces sugar content and enhances fiber without altering the flavor or texture of products. It offers multiple applications, serving as a stabilizer, emulsifier, and texturizer, and is also employed in encapsulation, film-forming agents, extrusion aids, tableting, and confectionery. Beyond Acacia is vegan, non-GMO, USDA-certified organic, Kosher, and Halal certified. America’s fiber crisis Research indicates a significant deficiency in …

Organisations and brands:

Farbest Brands

Berger-Schinken, a German firm with over 130 years of history in ham and sausage processing, and the Austrian upcycling and food tech company Kern Tech have partnered to launch a 100% cheese plant-based sausages.

Products & Launches

Ham Producer Berger-Schinken & Upcycled Fruit Pit Startup Kern Tec Unveil Plant-Based Cheese Sausages

April 22, 2024

Berger-Schinken, a German firm with over 130 years of history in ham and sausage processing, and Austrian upcycling and food tech company Kern Tec, have launched a co-branded product: plant-based cheese sausages. The new vegan sausages are crafted from pea protein and feature Kern Tec’s most recent development — Berg-Gaudi — a plant-based cheese made from upcycled fruit pits. This first-of-its-kind cheese launched in various flavors last year under Kern Tec’s brand Wunderkern, joining a range of no-milk drinks made with apricot kernels that became the most-sold product at vegan superstore BILLA Pflanzilla a few months later. Wunderkern also offers oils and chocolate spreads from waste seeds from the juice and jam industries. The plant-based cheese sausages are gluten-free, lactose-free, certified vegan, and are available just in time for …

Organisations and brands:

Berger-Schinken

Kern Tec

Nosh Biofoods has developed a mycoprotein for clean label meat alternatives

Fermentation

Nosh Biofoods’ Mycoprotein for Single Ingredient, Clean-Label Alternatives to Reach Price Parity with Poultry in 2025

April 23, 2024April 22, 2024

Nosh Biofoods, a B2B biomass fermentation startup based in Germany, has developed a unique mycoprotein that allows manufacturers to produce single-ingredient meat and seafood alternatives with a clean label. According to the startup, the new ingredient provides an umami taste with zero aftertaste and neutral color. This allows the production of 100% mycoprotein analogs without any additives or binders, with final products only needing color additives, spices for flavor, and oil. “It is not only colour-neutral, it also has no off taste — an extremely important point in the context of the alternative protein space, where several protein sources have a strong off taste requiring masking agents, and therefore long ingredient lists,” Tim Fronzek, Nosh Bio’s CEO and co-founder explained in conversation with Cultivated X. …

Organisations and brands:

Nosh Biofoods

Company News

Impossible Repurposes Former Cattle Farmland Into “First-of-its-Kind” Project Impossible Ranch

April 22, 2024

Today, Impossible Foods has announced its newest endeavor: the Impossible Ranch. The “first-of-its-kind” project in the plant-based industry is located on a 70-acre former cattle ranch in South Carolina. The land will be repurposed to cultivate crops essential to Impossible Foods’ product range and a rescue initiative that provides a sanctuary for rescued cattle. Partnering with the family that has tended the land for generations, Impossible Foods seeks to honor the property’s heritage while promoting a renewed focus on sustainable agriculture. Impossible Ranch is part of the company’s recently revamped brand identity and food-centric approach, which aims to present Impossible products as not only environmentally friendly but also akin to traditional meat in texture and taste. As part of this rebrand, the company recently transitioned …

Organisations and brands:

Impossible Foods

Image: PTT Public Company

Manufacturing & Technology

Plant & Bean Opens New Plant-Based Meat Facility in Thailand

April 22, 2024

In 2021, Innobic (the life sciences arm of Thai state-owned energy company PTT) joined forces with plant-based food importer Nove Foods to form a joint venture called Nutra Regenerative Protein Co (NRPT). The new company then made an agreement with the UK’s Plant & Bean to establish a plant-based meat facility in Ayutthaya, with NRPT providing 51% of the investment and Plant & Bean providing the remaining 49%. The facility — which has a production capacity of 25,000 tons and is claimed to be Thailand’s first dedicated plant protein factory — appears to have recently opened. Plant & Bean Thailand told the Bangkok Post that it had already been approached by several food companies interested in collaborations, including US fast food chain Texas Chicken. The …

Organisations and brands:

Plant & Bean

Dr Melanie Speck, courtesy of ProVeg International

People

How to Win Over Flexitarian Consumers in Germany

April 22, 2024

Germany has emerged as a market leader in the plant-based industry in recent years. With an estimated worth of USD 461.36 million, the German plant-based protein market is predicted to rise to a significant USD 574.93 million by 2029.[1] But what is driving this growth, and more importantly, what must businesses know in order to attract German consumers to the market? In its latest New Food Hub interview, ProVeg International talked with German food industry expert, Dr Melanie Speck to answer this question, gathering her insights on the recent German Smart Protein consumer report. Dr Speck holds the Professorship for Socioeconomics in Household and Business at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and is a Senior Researcher at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. …

A photobioreactor for microalgae. Image: Photobioreactor PBR 4000 G by IGV Biotech [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Algae, Microalgae & Seaweed

Danish Scientists Use Blue-Green Algae to Develop “The Ultimate Way to Make Protein”

April 22, 2024

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have found a way to make protein by using cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) as a “surrogate mother”. In a new study, the scientists successfully used cyanobacteria to produce a protein with long, fibrous strands that resemble meat fibres. The process involved inserting foreign genes into the blue-green algae, which then became a host organism for the protein. Within each cyanobacterium, the protein organized itself into tiny threads (nanofibres). “Being able to manipulate a living organism to produce a new kind of protein which organises itself into threads is rarely seen to this extent – and it is very promising,” said Poul Erik Jensen of the university’s Department of Food Science. Cyanobacteria can be grown very sustainably, requiring just water, atmospheric …

Organisations and brands:

University of Copenhagen

Nasoya vegan steak spread with side dishes

Business Wire

Global Plant-based Protein (Soy, Wheat, Pea, Potato) Market Forecast to 2031

April 22, 2024

DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The “Global Plant-based Protein Market by Type (Soy Proteins, Wheat Proteins, Pea Proteins, Potato Proteins), Form (Solid, Liquid), Source Process (Conventional, Organic), and Application (Food and Beverages, Animal Feed, Nutritional Supplements) – Forecast to 2031” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering. The plant-based proteins market is projected to reach $26.45 billion by 2031, at a CAGR of 8.4% during the forecast period 2024-2031 The growth of this market is driven by the rising need for protein-rich diets, growing health and wellness trends, increasing consumer focus on meat alternatives, rising demand from the food & beverage industry, and advancements in ingredient technologies, such as microencapsulation. However, consumers’ preference for animal-based products and fluctuating raw material prices are expected to hinder the growth of this …

Mycorena receives European Space Agency funding

Fungi, Mushrooms & Mycelium

Mycorena Receives Funding From European Space Agency to Develop Food for Space Missions

April 22, 2024April 22, 2024

Swedish mycoprotein producer Mycorena has received funding from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Discovery Programme, in recognition of its products’ potential for use on long-distance space missions. Mycoprotein is sustainable, rich in essential nutrients, and said to support muscle health and overall wellbeing. Furthermore, it can be produced in a closed-circuit system using byproducts and sidestreams generated during space travel. According to Moritz Fontaine, Discovery & Preparation Officer at ESA, this idea to optimize resource efficiency is “highly interesting for space applications”. The system could also have psychological benefits, providing astronauts with a familiar meat-like texture rather than the “tasteless paste” currently offered on space missions. An initial prototype of the system was one of the winners of Phase 2 of NASA’s 2023 Deep Space …

Organisations and brands:

Mycorena

Milk- and Dairy Alternatives

MYOM Launches “Sensational” Paste That Turns Into Ultra-Sustainable Oat Milk

April 22, 2024

MYOM is a UK-based company that has developed an innovative way to make oat milk even more environmentally friendly. The company offers a shelf-stable oat paste that turns into “sensational, full-bodied” oat milk when combined with water. Each recyclable 65g pouch produces 500ml of oat milk, and refrigeration is only required once the milk has been made. The product helps to reduce the packaging waste associated with conventional plant-based milks, which in turn reduces transport emissions. According to MYOM, this makes the oat blend “one of the most sustainable milk alternatives in the world”. It could also reduce food waste among consumers and food service outlets that only require small quantities of oat milk. The company surveyed regular oat milk consumers and found that 73% …

Organisations and brands:

MYOM

Ingredients

Handtmann: “Interest in the Steak Was Overwhelming. We Hadn’t Expected Such Strong Demand”

April 19, 2024

Handtmann Maschinenfabrik GbH specialises in innovative filling and portioning systems. These technologies are widely used in the food industry, including in the production of plant-based sausage and meat products and other alternative products. Handtmann focuses on innovation in order to realise new product ideas as well as classic recipes with state-of-the-art technology. At Anuga FoodTec in Cologne, Handtmann presented its new moulding system, a new option for the production of formed and filled products. The moulding system offers flexibility both for free forming and for forming and separating vegetarian and vegan alternative products, among others. With the “Steak 2.0”, Handtmann also presented its latest product innovation in the area of plant-based meat alternatives at the trade fair. In his role as industry manager for alternative …

Organisations and brands:

Handtmann

Beverages

Atomo Coffee Expands Upcycled, Beanless Coffee Availability Through Bluestone Lane Partnership

April 19, 2024

Seattle-based Atomo Coffee, which produces a beanless coffee alternative, has partnered with specialty coffee chain Bluestone Lane to distribute its espresso across all 58 of the chain’s locations in the United States. This new development marks a significant market expansion for Atomo, whose products were previously available exclusively at Gumption Coffee near Times Square in New York City. Atomo’s beanless coffee utilizes upcycled ingredients such as date pits, chicory root, and grape skin to replicate the molecular structure of traditional coffee. This method reportedly uses 94% less water and generates 93% fewer carbon emissions than conventional coffee production. Additionally, Atomo Coffee offers health benefits, including high antioxidant content and lower acidity. Ed Hoehn, Atomo’s chief operating officer, expressed the company’s approach to its distribution strategy …

Organisations and brands:

Atomo Coffee

Saveggy raises funds to replace plastic around fruits and vegetables with its plant-based formula.

Packaging

Saveggy Raises €1.76M for Edible Fruit & Veg Coating as Solution to Plastic Packaging

April 19, 2024

Swedish startup Saveggy has raised €1.76 million (SEK 20M) for its plant-based alternative to plastic packaging designed to preserve the shelf life of vegetables and fruits and prevent food waste. The startup’s plant-based coating is said to be the only alternative available offering the same shelf life extension as plastic packaging. Additionally, it is the only edible coating for fruits and vegetables with edible skin, such as cucumbers, apples, and eggplants, approved according to EU regulations. Starting with a solution for cucumbers, Saveggy will use the newly raised funds to produce this innovative material at an industrial scale and successfully bring it to market The round was led by impact investor Unconventional Ventures. LRF Ventures, Almi Invest GreenTech, and industry angels also backed the startup’s plastic-free …

Organisations and brands:

Saveggy

Egg Alternatives

Vegan Fried Egg for HoReCa NOT EGG Debuts at Internorga Fair

April 19, 2024April 19, 2024

The vegan fried egg alternative “NOT EGG” was also at the centre of Vonher GmbH’s presence at the Internorga trade fair in Hamburg. With NOT EGG, Vonher GmbH is launching an innovative egg alternative for restaurants and hotels. Unlike powdered products, NOT EGG offers a ready-moulded, deep-frozen plant-based fried egg option that can be prepared in just 3 minutes. The composition of NOT EGG is a careful selection of natural ingredients based on a blend of soya protein isolate, mung bean seeds, pumpkin, carrot, cassava flour and ginger. According to Vonher, this unique blend not only guarantees an authentic flavour and texture, but is also rich in protein, gluten-free, cholesterol-free, and low-carb. NOT EGG is also free from preservatives, colourings and flavourings, as well as …

Organisations and brands:

NOT EGG

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