Cargill

Kevin Lemeilleur cargill

© Kevin Lemeilleur
Interviews

Cargill: “The World Needs More Protein That Is Grown Sustainably To Keep Pace With Global Population Growth”

Cargill, a global leader in food and agriculture, offers a broad portfolio of plant-based proteins, fibers, texturizers, oils, and fats, while also investing in companies developing sustainable food solutions. As part of these efforts, the company collaborates with startups like ENOUGH to address the growing demand for scalable and sustainable protein options. We spoke with Kevin Lemeilleur, global managing director of meat & dairy alternatives at Cargill, about the company’s partnership with ENOUGH, its innovations in plant-based dairy, emerging market trends, and its plans for 2025 and beyond. At FiE, Cargill showcased prototypes made with mycoprotein developed in partnership with ENOUGH. Could you elaborate on this collaboration and the advantages of using this mycoprotein? As global food production and agriculture evolve, we need innovative solutions …

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PETA

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Society

PETA Warns US Meat Companies to Learn from Mistakes of Tobacco Farmers and “Get Out Now!”

PETA is urging five major US meat companies—Hormel Foods, Cargill, Smithfield Foods, Tyson Foods, and Oscar Mayer—to shift their focus from animal-based products to vegan alternatives, following the example set by one of Italy’s oldest meat producers, Gruppo Tonazzo. Gruppo Tonazzo recently announced that it will stop selling meat entirely and concentrate solely on plant-based products. Albino Tonazzo, CEO of the company’s plant-based brand Kioene, explained that the shift is motivated by a “deep responsibility to future generations” and a commitment to environmental preservation. In letters sent to the CEOs of the US companies, PETA noted the growing consumer demand for plant-based foods and the environmental and ethical concerns associated with animal agriculture. The group explained that all five companies have already introduced vegan products …

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Cargill to compete with plant-based companies

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Protein

Cargill Seeks Profitability with Business Split and Alternative Protein Focus

US agribusiness giant Cargill reportedly plans to split its business into three operating units instead of the current five: Food, Ag & Trading, and a Specialised Portfolio focused on animal nutrition and health. According to Reuters, Cargill and other agricultural merchants are facing financial and operational difficulties due to commodity crop prices approaching four-year lows, resulting in fallen crop processing margins and squeezing Cargill’s profit margins. Alternative protein focus Cargill, the world’s third-largest meat producer, has been active in the plant-based and alternative protein space for several years. In addition to offering a portfolio of plant-based protein ingredients, fibers, texturizers, plant-based oils, and fats, the company invests in companies developing sustainable food solutions. Over the past few years, the Minnesota-based firm has invested in various …

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Cargill has partnered with Voyage Foods, a California-based food tech company that creates allergen and dairy-free spreads and cacao-free chocolates.

Courtesy of Cargill, image credit Noel Barnhurst
Sweets & Snacks

Cargill and Voyage Foods Partner to Upscale Confectionery Without Cocoa, Nuts, and Dairy

Cargill has announced a commercial partnership with Voyage Foods — a California-based food tech company that creates spreads and chocolates free from cocoa, nut, and dairy — to offer sustainable alternatives to popular sweet favorites. With demand for sustainable global confectionery products expected to rise, and as the cocoa crisis continues to deepen, Cargill will be the exclusive B2B global distributor for Voyage Foods, expanding its existing chocolate offerings with a new range of sustainable chocolate alternatives for the first time. The commercial partnership will also provide food manufacturers with allergen- and dairy-free nut flavor spreads for recipe formulation in the bakery, ice cream, and chocolate confectionery categories. Inge Demeyere, Managing Director, Bakery, Ice Cream and Chocolate Confectionery Europe at Cargill, shared, “This partnership is …

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Sandy De Houwer, Cargill

Sandy De Houwer, image courtesy of Cargill
Interviews

Cargill: “We Take the View That We Need All Forms of Protein on the Table”

Minneapolis headquartered agribusiness giant Cargill, the largest privately held company in the United States in terms of revenue, has been active in the plant-based and alternative protein space for several years. As a platform concerned solely with the plant- and cell- based business niche (not to say we are unconcerned as a team about well-documented issues of ethics or sustainability, but these are not the focus areas of this publication), that encourages the entrance of conventional protein producers into the production of plant-based meat, we are interested in reporting on such a company’s work in the space to keep our readers informed of the activities of key players. Some of said activities undertaken by Cargill in recent years include, in reverse chronological order: Signs commercial …

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A chicken alternative made with ABUNDA

© ENOUGH
Fermentation

UK Mycoprotein Startup ENOUGH Signs Commercial Deal with Cargill

Food tech company ENOUGH announces that it has extended its partnership with agribusiness giant Cargill. Through the deal, Cargill is to sign a commercial agreement to use and market ENOUGH’S mycoprotein ingredient ABUNDA and to invest in its recent Series C round. ABUNDA is described as a highly versatile ingredient that provides all nine essential amino acids and dietary fiber. It is said to have a neutral taste, making it highly versatile in multiple applications. ENOUGH leverages biomass fermentation to produce its signature product at a large scale. The protein is grown by feeding fungi renewable feedstocks to make a sustainable food protein source.  Upscaling in Europe ENOUGH states that its collaboration with Cargill, “benefiting from its global footprint and feedstock technology expertise,” will allow it to …

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Image courtesy of Cocuus
Printed Technology

Spain’s Cocuus Plans to Produce 1,000 Tonnes of 3D Printed Plant-Based Bacon in 2024

Cocuus, a Spanish food tech company producing 3D-printed plant-based foods at scale, has revealed an ambitious goal for 2024: to make 1,000 tonnes of 3D-printed plant-based bacon. With the global alternative proteins market expected to reach a minimum value of $290 billion by 2035, according to BCG and the Blue Horizon Corporation, the company aims to accelerate the production of 3D-printed plant-based bacon for distribution in retail and other channels. Early investors Cargill and Big Idea Ventures will support the food tech’s mass production of plant-based food.  Last year, Cocuus and partner company Foody’s opened what they claimed as the world’s first industrial-scale facility for 3D-printed plant-based meat in Northern Spain, equipped with Cocuus’ advanced printing technology: only one machine can produce 250 kilos of plant-based …

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OZO_ChickenCutlets

©Planterra Foods
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

From Beef to Beans: When Big Meat Enters Plant-Based in the Americas, Part One

The entrance of Big Meat into the plant-based category was nothing short of inevitable when the food industry began to realize both the huge potential of alternative foods as well as the future limitations on the planet’s capacity to “grow” animals for human consumption. Back in 2019, the New York Times highlighted the fact that Big Meat (with this particular article focusing on Tyson, Smithfield, Perdue, and Hormel) was beginning to gain a foothold in the plant-based category. And last year, Yahoo Finance declared: “The meat industry is going through major upheavals. For example, a dramatic rise in the number of consumers preferring vegetarian food has forced companies to develop plant-based meat products.” Whether the animal meat industry indeed had its hand “forced” by the …

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Cargill to compete with plant-based companies

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Company News

Cargill Sets Out to Beat Plant-Based Companies at Their Own Game

Agribusiness giant Cargill, one of the largest meat producers in the US, believes it can take on plant-based companies such as Beyond Meat to become a major player in the meat alternatives industry. While Cargill came relatively late to the plant-based market, behind competitors such as Tyson and Smithfield, the company told CNBC that this was part of a “deliberate and thoughtful” strategy. Now that the industry’s initial rapid growth has plateaued, many other conventional meat companies are treating plant-based products as a fad, putting Cargill at an advantage. Cargill predicts surge in demand Brands like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods may be more established in the plant-based sector, but Cargill has far more to invest. The corporation is predicting surging demand for protein in …

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Plant-based fats

© Cubiq Foods
Food & Beverage

Cargill Debuts ‘Juicier’ Plant-Based Burger Made with Cubiq Foods’ Fat Technology at Expo West

Cargill, the world’s third-largest meat producer, unveiled the first product of its collaboration with Spanish startup Cubiq Foods at Expo West last week. The company sampled new plant-based burgers made with Cubiq’s Go!Drop fat replacement technology, which is said to reduce the fat content and calories of alt-meats. In light of these and its other plant-based advancements, Cargill told Food Navigator-USA it now aims to become an “inclusive protein provider.” At Expo West, Cargill offered two versions of pea protein burgers – one made with Cubiq’s novel fat solution Go!Drop, and another made with common fats like coconut and canola oil. According to the agribusiness giant, by using the Go!Drop fat emulsion, it was able to reduce the saturated fat content by 30% and the …

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Plant-based fats

© Cubiq Foods
Company News

Cargill and Cubiq Foods Enter Agreement to Accelerate ‘Wide Scale’ Commercialization of Novel Plant-Based Fats

Agribusiness giant Cargill announces it is entering an agreement with food tech startup Cubiq Foods to co-develop and commercialize the latter’s plant-based fat technologies.  According to Cargill, the agreement is aimed at accelerating wide-scale commercialization of Cubiq’s novel fats, including its innovative Go!Drop emulsion, for plant-based meat and dairy, among other products.  Closing the flavor gap Through the strategic partnership, Cargill states it will now have access to Cubiq’s existing portfolio of plant-based ingredient solutions, including plant proteins, texturizers and an array of traditional fats and oils. Cargill, the world’s third largest meat producer, says most current plant-based options do not meet consumers’ expectations for taste and quality. Rather, it believes Cubiq’s line of “smarter” fats helps close the flavor gap by replicating the visual …

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alternative protein market company Upside Foods serves a cultivated chicken burger

© UPSIDE Foods
Business Wire

Global Cultured Meat Markets Report – By 2040, a Projected 60% of Meat will be Created from Cells Grown Within Bioreactors and Sold Across Grocery Stores and Restaurants Worldwide

DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The “The Global Market for Cultured Meat – Market Size, Trends, Competitors, and Forecasts (2022)” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering. By 2040, a projected 60% of the meat will be created from cells grown within bioreactors and sold across grocery stores and restaurants worldwide. The rise of the cultured meat market will be supported by the sustainability of the process, as well as the industry’s ability to provide “tailor-made nutrition” through its meat and seafood products. Recent surveys indicate that nearly 50% of the consumers do not have any reservations about cultured meat. Over the next 10 to 20 years, the cultured meat market is projected to act as a major disruptor to the conventional meat market. The number of startups focused …

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Facts & Figures

Givaudan, Bühler, and Cargill to Open Tropical Food Innovation Lab in Brazil

Global companies Givaudan, Bühler, and Cargill have announced they will jointly be opening a Tropical Food Innovation Lab in Campinas, Brazil. The city of Campinas was chosen as it is widely regarded as Brazil’s tech hub. The three companies will work with the FoodTech HUB Latam and the Food Technology Institute (ITAL) to establish a 1,000-square-metre lab on ITAL’s premises. “Superior sustainable solutions” The new site will focus on the development of sustainable foods and beverages, featuring facilities such as wet and dry alt-protein extrusion systems. A range of professionals, including food scientists, consumers, chefs, and marketers, will be able to access the facilities to work on new products. “The Tropical Food Innovation Lab brings a diverse and complementary group of strategic partners working together …

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Foody's and Cocuus to launch bioprinted bacon

Bioprinted bacon © Cocuus

Printed Technology

3D Bioprinting Startup Cocuus Raises €2.5M in Pre-Series A Featuring Meat Giant Cargill 

Spanish startup Cocuus has raised €2.5 million in its Pre Series A funding round to scale its 3D bioprinting technology for the production of alternative proteins. Cargill Ventures, the investment arm of the multinational meat giant Cargill, has backed the round to accelerate Cocuus’s process for producing plant or cell-based animal protein food analogs. The Pre Series A funding round was also led by Big Idea Ventures, Eatable Adventures, and Tech Transfer UPV, after Cocuus had completed Eatable Adventures’ acceleration program, one of the top global accelerators for food tech startups. Navarra-based Cocuus now aims to scale its business model and expand into other international markets, enabling it to utilize its disruptive 3D bioprinting and robotics technologies Spanish startup Cocuus claims it can print cutlets, …

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CUBIQ

Image courtesy CUBIQ Foods
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Cubiq Foods Receives $6M in Cargill Bridge Round to Commercialize Cultivated Fat 

Cubiq Foods, a Spanish startup developing cultivated fat for plant-based alternatives, has completed a $6 million funding from investors including US meat giant Cargill. Cubiq is now set to launch its first cultivated fat ingredient onto the market by 2023.  Catalonia-based Cubiq’s latest round of investment will allow the biotech company to expand commercial and production operations in North America and Europe. Cargill’s investment comes in the form of a strategic partnership that includes a product development plan and a commercial agreement to market and sell Cubiq products. Also backed by Blue Horizon Ventures, Cubiq launched a plant-based fat replacer ingredient called Go!Drop last year, claimed to be a viable alternative to animal fats in a variety of products. Later this year, Cubiq will launch …

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UPSIDE Foods Chicken Taco

© UPSIDE Foods
Cultivated Meat

UPSIDE Foods Achieves Unicorn Status Following Largest Ever Fund Round in Cultivated Meat

UPSIDE Foods (previously Memphis Meats) announces a $400 million Series C round which included returning investors Cargill, Tyson Foods, and Bill Gates. UPSIDE says this is the largest round in the industry to date and brings its valuation to over $1 billion, thus achieving Unicorn status. The news closely follows Upside’s acquisition of Culture Decadence, producer of cultivated lobster. Pending regulatory approval, which is slated to take place in 2022, UPSIDE Foods says it intends to initially launch on the US market. The fresh funds will be utilised to expedite commercialisation, build a commercial-scale facility with a planned annual capacity of tens of millions of pounds of cultivated meat, and develop the supply chain for ACF Cell Feed – a cell media that the company …

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Cargill's RadiPure protein

PRNewsfoto/Cargill META
Ingredients

Cargill’s RadiPure® Pea Protein to Be Available in META & Indian Markets

Cargill’s RadiPure® pea protein is set to launch in India and the META (Middle East, Turkey, and Africa) region. The company says the product will help food and beverage manufacturers respond to changing market trends. According to Cargill, RadiPure has emulsifying, viscosifying and gelation properties, as well as the solubility and flavour profile required for product development. As a result, the protein can be used for a wide range of applications, such as meat and dairy alternatives, bakery products, and snacks. Additionally, RadiPure is very digestible and has a good amino acid profile. Research shows that consumers in the META region are increasingly searching for products high in protein, with many also searching for plant-based options. Cargill goes plant-based Though best known as a meat …

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Vegan Chocolate Range ExtraVeganZa

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Products & Launches

Cargill Launches Vegan Chocolate Range ExtraVeganZa, First Chocolate to Use Sunflower

Global food corporation Cargill has unveiled its new vegan chocolate range, ExtraVeganZa. The range uses new plant-based “power ingredients”, such as sunflower powder and rice syrup, to “bring out the absolute best in vegan chocolate”. Sunflower provides creaminess According to the company, sunflower powder helps to give the chocolate a smooth creaminess, while rice syrup adds sweetness and a “snap” to the texture. Cargill claims it is the first company to use sunflower powder in vegan chocolate. Cargill states that during taste tests, ExtraVeganZa consistently outperforms regular chocolate. The product is suitable for a range of applications, such as confectionery and bakery products. Growing demand for vegan chocolate Until relatively recently, vegan chocolate was a fairly niche product. But that has begun to change, with …

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Environmental Conscious Businessman in Nature

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Startups, Accelerators & Incubators

Bühler, Cargill, Givaudan & PURIS Announce the Scale It Up Innovation Challenge to Bring Sustainable Products to Market

Bühler, Cargill, Givaudan, and PURIS have joined forces to help accelerate startups that are innovating in sustainable plant-based proteins and provide them with the opportunity to bring their projects to market more quickly, with a new pitching contest called The Scale It Up Innovation Challenge. The Scale It Up Innovation Challenge is taking idea submissions until this Wednesday, August 4th. Companies wishing to enter the challenge can register at scale-it-up.org. On August 6, the top 15 projects will be selected by a panel of experts from the four partner companies. One winner and one runner-up will be chosen and provided ongoing support that will help them scale their product for market introduction. The Scale It Up Innovation Challenge will provide resources, mentorship, and expertise to …

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Aleph Farms and The Technion Reveal Worlds First Cultivated Ribeye Steak

© Aleph Farms
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Global Meat Giants Invest in a Cell-Cultured Future: Aleph Farms Secures $105M in Series B

Israeli cell-cultured steak pioneer Aleph Farms today announces the completion of a $105 million Series B funding round. The funding was bolstered by leading global meat companies including Thai Union, the world’s largest tuna processor which has become increasingly active in alt protein investment and development, as well as existing investor Cargill. “We see our investors as partners for building this new category of meat “ The company behind the world’s first cell-cultured ribeye steak has now raised more than $118 million to date. The round was led by the Growth Fund of L Catterton and DisruptAD, one of the largest venture platforms in the Middle East, with participation from Skyviews Life Science, a consortium of leading global food and meat companies including Thai Union, …

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