Brightseed Plant Science

©Brightseed

Ingredients

Brightseed Completes $68M Series B to Commercialize Novel Hemp Ingredients

Brightseed, a pioneer in tech-based phytonutrient research, announces it has raised $68M in Series B funding to accelerate its plant nutrient discovery and bring new ingredients, including special hemp-derived compounds, to market. The company’s first hemp compounds, NCT and NFT, are derived from upcycled seed hulls and are expected to launch in the next nine months.  Hemp may lower fat Using its Forager AI platform, Brightseed is able to identify and map plants’ bioactive compounds and relate them to human health benefits with rapid speed, reports NutraIngredients-USA. Forager technology has so far mapped 2 million plant compounds, including N-trans caffeoyltyramine (NCT) and N-trans-feruloyltyramine (NFT) from hemp hulls. Preclinical research suggests the hemp compounds help to reduce liver fat and regulate lipid levels. To commercialize these …

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Christian and Sean 'O Sullivan Taste the Future

©SOSV

Fermentation

Leading Startups Gather at “Taste the Future” to Showcase the Best in Alt-Protein

On March 24th, over 100 guests from journalism, finance and the alt-protein industry gathered at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills for Taste the Future: an exclusive culinary experience showcasing some of the best innovations in animal-free protein. Organized by SOSV and Apeiron Investment Group, the event featured host appearances by Paul Wesley, Liam Payne and The Good Food Institute.  Eight food companies – Abbot’s Butcher, Grounded, Perfect Day, The Every Company, NotCo, Impossible Foods, Formo and California Cultured – representing plant-based, cultivated and fermented proteins, were present to offer unique dishes prepared by famed chef Matthew Kenney.  The menu’s signature entrees included:  Grounded Grilled Cheese on Sourdough Perfect Day Animal-Free Soft Cheese Ravioli Abbot’s Butcher Beef & Chorizo Tacos  Questlove’s Impossible Cheesesteak NotCo NotBurger …

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hemp and cauliflower cheese

© Grounded Foods

Cheese Alternatives

Grounded’s Hemp and Cauliflower Cheese Launches Across 364 Sprouts Farmers Market Stores

Grounded Foods today announces the launch of its innovative hemp and cauliflower cheese into 364 Sprouts Farmers Market locations across the US, marking the LA-based brand’s first national retail rollout. “We firmly believe that it’s possible to satisfy people’s craving for dairy cheese using existing, natural and underutilized plant resources—stuff that comes from the ground,” Veronica Fil The cheese is made with a novel fermentation process that replicates dairy cheese using the proteins and fats in hemp seeds. The addition of upcycled cauliflower makes the cheese highly sustainable and healthier than many of its competitors. Currently, Grounded’s cheese is available in three varieties — Hemp Seed Cream Cheese, Hemp Seed GOAT Cheese, and CHEESE FREE CHEESE squeeze-on sauce. Rapid expansion While many food brands have …

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Wholly-Veggie-cauliflower

© Wholly Veggie

Food & Beverage

The 8 Most Exciting Brands Saving Food Waste by Upcycling Ingredients

Here at vegconomist we applaud and support innovation in plant-based but especially those who are working on upcycling ingredients and helping to solve the horrific global issue of food waste whereby around a third of the food produced around the world is discarded. The issue is beyond imperative but it is not beyond solution, so we here celebrate some of the brands innovating for our planet, upcycling ingredients from spent grain, to cashew fruit, to cauliflower and carrots. Spent barley from the beer industry – Take Two Portland-based Take Two transforms barley grains leftover from beer brewing into nutritious, fiber-rich barley milk. A subsidiary of EverGrain, owned by beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, Take Two reuses over 500,000 pounds of discarded grain each year. Co-Founder & …

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Products & Launches

The Wait is Finally Over as Grounded’s Cheese-Free Cheese Rolls Out Into More Than 160 US Retailers

Grounded Foods, makers of the first-to-market vegan cheeses created with hemp and upcycled cauliflower, today announces its first products are now available at over 160 retail locations across the US. The innovative products with a cult following have been available through e-commerce since the end of March, and today marks the first time these long-awaited products have been available in stores, through a distribution agreement with Whole Foods.

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Shaun Quade and Veronica Fil Grounded

Shaun Quade and Veronica Fil ©Grounded

Interviews

Grounded: “We’re the People Who Make Tasty AF Cheese Out of Cauliflower and Hemp. And the Market Potential For That is Pretty Massive”

This plant-based power couple needs no introduction for our vegconomist readers. Former economic advisor to the Australian government, food writer & restaurant critic Veronica Fil, along with her husband Shaun Quade, the Australian fine dining chef renowned for his “mad scientist” methodology, created a line of cheese which the industry has been waiting for with bated breath. This week, the upcycled cauliflower and hemp cheeses finally hit the market.

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©Grounded

Products & Launches

BREAKING: Grounded Foods’ Upcycled Cauliflower & Hemp Cheese Finally Arrives

When Veronica Fil first sampled the cauliflower and hemp-based cheese her husband, chef Shaun Quade had created, she said: “Do you realise what you’ve done? This could be huge.” She was right. The innovative portfolio that unfolded from Grounded Foods originated in Shaun’s fine dining restaurant in Australia then landed, via New York, in LA, with pre-sales of its cheese selling out within three minutes last April. 

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Shaun Quade & Veronica Fil ©Grounded Foods

Interviews

Grounded Foods: “Do you Realise What You’ve Done? This Could be Huge”

For most of our readers, this vegan cheese brand needs little introduction. When Grounded launched online pre-sales for products that were not even yet made, they sold out in 3 minutes. This week, they closed an oversubscribed seed round led by Stray Dog Capital. We always said that these guys were going to be big. So, with no further ado….

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©Grounded

Startups, Accelerators & Incubators

BREAKING: Grounded Foods Co. Closes Oversubscribed Seed Round Led by Stray Dog Capital

Grounded Foods Co, producer of unique first-to-market cheeses created with cauliflower, today announces to vegconomist the closing of its first Series Seed round which was led by Stray Dog Capital.  The round brought in  $1.74M with participation from Rocana Ventures, Veg Invest Trust and members of the GlassWall Syndicate.     

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Business Insiders

The Dark Art of Behavioural Economics (and its role in shaping better plant based choices)

People hate being told what to do. Just hearing the words “you should do this” or “don’t do that” lights up an immediate sense of defiance in our brains—regardless of how rational the statement. It’s that feeling you get when, at 3am, your husband asks why you’re sitting alone in the kitchen eating an entire carrot cake… says Veronica Fil.

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Grounded testing

©Grounded Foods

Food & Beverage

Grounded Foods Launches Pre-Sales of Highly Anticipated First-to-Market Cheese, Sells Out in 3 Minutes

Grounded Foods annouces that it has launched online pre-sales for its first range of first-to-market vegan cheeses, created with cauliflower by Australian chef Shaun Quade. The cheeses aren’t scheduled to ship until June; however the LA based startup tells us that its specialty cheeses sold out within 3 minutes of the shop going live.

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Ecological disaster of fires in Australia

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Business Insiders

Could Australia’s Bushfires be a Turning Point for Plant-Based Production?

As we announced last week, vegconomist is pleased to welcome Veronica Fil – former economic advisor to the Australian government, food industry expert, and founder of vegan brand Grounded Foods along with husband, chef Shaun Quade. In this first special guest post Veronica speaks about a matter especially close to her own heart.

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