melibio

Mellody Neat

© Mellody
Food Service

Lewis Hamilton-Backed Neat Features MeliBio’s Bee-Free Hot Honey Sando

MeliBio, a bee-free honey producer, has announced that Neat, a prominent plant-based restaurant chain supported by Lewis Hamilton and Leonardo DiCaprio, has introduced a new menu item featuring MeliBio’s honey product, Mellody. The new dish, called the Hot Honey Sando and made with Mellody Spicy Habanero, is now available exclusively at Neat’s Nolita location in New York City. Darko Mandich, CEO of MeliBio, commented on the collaboration: “We are excited to see Mellody featured in Neat’s new Hot Honey Sando. This collaboration highlights the versatility and quality of Mellody, and aligns perfectly with our mission to create sustainable honey alternatives that help save the bees and protect biodiversity.” Mellody Spicy Habanero was launched earlier this year as the first vegan hot honey, joining the company’s …

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BAIA Honey Panna Cotta

©BAIA/ MeliBio
Company News

MeliBio Partners with Pow.Bio to Advance Bee-Free Honey Through Precision Fermentation

MeliBio, a pioneering company in the production of bee-free honey, today announces a strategic collaboration with Pow.Bio to escalate precision fermentation capabilities. This partnership is set to further innovate the production of high-value bee proteins and enzymes, targeting the expansive global market for functional food ingredients. The collaboration leverages Pow.Bio’s expertise in both traditional and innovative continuous fermentation technology, incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize the fermentation process. This technological advancement is expected to commence this month, marking a critical phase in MeliBio’s scale-up efforts. MeliBio is at the forefront of creating honey products that do not rely on bees, thereby addressing the environmental impact on bee populations and promoting biodiversity. The company’s R&D team has completed initial proof of concept work, demonstrating the viability …

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MeliBio and Narayan Foods launch vegan honey at ALDI-owned Hofer stores

© Hofer
Company News

MeliBio and Narayan Foods to Launch Vegan Honey at ALDI-Owned Hofer Stores Through Private Label Deal

MeliBio, a US-based producer of vegan honey, has partnered with organic food producer Narayan Foods to launch bee-free honey at ALDI-owned Hofer stores in Europe. The private-label deal will see the plant-based honey sold under the name Vegan Hanny as part of Hofer’s Just Veg! brand. The product will initially roll out in Austria and Switzerland from this month, before expanding into other European countries. The agreement between MeliBio and Narayan is valued at more than $10 million over four years. The two companies first partnered in 2022 to launch the bee-free honey at 75,000 European retail stores under the name Better Foodie Vegan H*ney; this collaboration is still underway, with the Vegan H*ney set to roll out at UK stores this month. “Innovation, quality …

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Darko Mandich, CEO Melibio

Darko Mandich ©Melibio
Opinion

Op Ed: Darko Mandich, CEO of MeliBio, Discusses the Dark Side of the Honey Industry

Darko Mandich, as many of our readers will know, is the CEO of MeliBio, the Californian pioneer of bee-free honey. Founded in 2020, MeliBio replaces honeybees with microorganisms to create an award-winning B2B solution for restaurants and food companies looking to offer a more ethical and sustainable alternative to honey made by bees. We reached out to Darko following some recent anti-vegan publicity in the mainstream media and after seeing some negative comments on LinkedIn. We felt MeliBio should have the chance to express its (and the bees’) side of the story. Here is what Darko had to say. Unveiling the Dark Side of Honey: Pollinator Gentrification Threatens Biodiversity By Darko Mandich, CEO of MeliBio In an era of increasing environmental awareness, the honey industry …

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World Vegan Day

Image: vegconomist
People

Messages From Vegan Business Leaders on World Vegan Day, Part 2

In this second installment, we feature messages from prominent figures in the plant-based space who each have valuable insights to share, featuring vegan cheese legend Miyoko Schinner; bee-free honey pioneer Darko Mandich of Melibio; Canadian Waygu beef leader Blair Bullus of Wamame Foods; and vegan business expert Elysabeth Alfano of VegTech Invest. We asked: as we approach the end of what has been a turbulent year for many in the business, what is your message for the plant-based industry as we look ahead to 2024? Miyoko Schinner: “Celebrate compassion” Yes, it’s been a rough year for the industry of “alt-protein,” but does that necessarily mean it’s been rough for the advancement of veganism? The question we must ask as vegans is actually what is our …

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BAIA Honey Panna Cotta

©BAIA/ MeliBio
Company News

Bee-Free Honey MeliBio Wins Food Replacement Innovation Of The Year at AgTech Breakthrough Awards

MeliBio, the pioneer in bee-free honey, announces it has been awarded the Food Replacement Innovation Of The Year award in the 4th annual AgTech Breakthrough Awards program conducted by AgTech Breakthrough, The Oakland, California-based company was founded in 2020 and secured pre-seed funding in 2021 for its innovative product, going on to receive $5.7 million in a seed round in 2022 followed by an additional $2.2 million in investments later that year. Several partnerships have ensued: foodservice expansions include those with Eleven Madison, San Francisco’s BAIA restaurant as well as with Colorado’s leading plant-based burger chain Meta Burger. The product, according to Founder Darko Mandich, features plant-based ingredients that are naturally found in honey, making it the closest match to traditional bee-made honey on the …

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Eleven Madison Home Mellody

© Eleven Madison Home
Products & Launches

Mellody Bee-Free Honey Now Available for Retail at Eleven Madison Home

Mellody, a plant-based product molecularly identical to conventional honey, is now available to consumers through a partnership with New York’s Eleven Madison Home. Eleven Madison Home is a store offering pantry staples and kitchen essentials, and was born out of Eleven Madison Park — the world’s first three-Michelin-starred vegan restaurant. The honey alternative will be available as part of a new collection called the Tea & Honey Box, which features one jar of Mellody, honey oat shortbread cookies (made with Mellody), a honey dipper, and three single-origin teas from In Pursuit of Tea in the varieties Himalayan Black, Thunderdragon Green, and Elderflower. “We were blown away by the quality of Mellody and were excited at the possibilities of how we can incorporate it into our …

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Vegan honey

©Mellody
Products & Launches

MeliBio Launches Mellody, the ‘World’s First’ Realistic Plant-Based Honey

Honey innovator MeliBio announces it is launching Mellody, the “world’s first” plant-based honey brand to taste just like honey from bees. Created to provide restaurants and consumers with a sustainable alternative to bee-made honey,  Mellody is said to perform just like the original while improving the health of the planet.  Mellody recently debuted at Natural Products Expo West, and will be launching exclusively at US food service locations, including Baia (San Francisco), Little Choc Apothecary (NYC) and Motel Fried Chicken (Philadelphia), as well as Eleven Madison Park for World Bee Day. MeliBio states its plant-based honey addresses urgent issues facing both the commercial honey industry and natural ecosystems. Native bees are critical to food production and biodiversity conservation, but are under increased pressure due to …

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Meta Burger with MeliBio Honey

©Meta Burger
Gastronomy & Food Service

Colorado: Meta Burger Partners with MeliBio to Debut Bee-Free Honey on Special Menu

Meta Burger, Colorado’s leading plant-based burger chain, announces it is partnering with MeliBio to debut the world’s first bee-free honey on its menu.  Beginning in February, Meta Burger will offer a specially crafted dish made with MeliBio’s plant-based honey.  This month, customers have the chance to vote for which MeliBio honey-inspired dish they would like to see on the chain’s menu in February: Hot Honey Garlic Tender Basket, a Honey Sesame Burger, or a Honey BBQ Chicken Sandwich. According to Meta Burger, which operates three locations in Denver and Boulder, this is the first time MeliBio’s bee-free honey will be available in the state of Colorado. “Meta Burger is making delicious, sustainable food more accessible,” said Michael Reeves, co-founder of Meta Burger. “Partnering with a …

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MeliBio Naryan Plant-Based Honey

©MeliBio/ Naryan Foods
Investments & Finance

MeliBio Raises $2.2M and Partners with Narayan Foods to Bring Plant-Based Honey to European Market

MeliBio, the world’s first company creating real honey without bees, announces it has raised an additional $2.2M in investments and is partnering with Narayan Foods, an organic foods leader, to launch its products in 75,000 European stores. Through the first-of-its-kind partnership, Narayan will sell MeliBio’s plant-based honey under the Better Foodie brand, with the first products shipping out in early 2023.  According to MeliBio, retailers throughout Europe have shown strong demand for the honey, which will also be available for private label opportunities, using MeliBio’s technology and Narayan Foods’ operational capabilities. “As a food innovation platform, Narayan Foods is constantly on the lookout for novel sustainable products that would revolutionize the market,” said Mario Brumat, founder and CEO of Narayan Foods. “Just by tasting MeliBio’s …

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Darko Mandich

Darko Mandich © MeliBio

Interviews

MeliBio: “I Dream of MeliBio Becoming One of the Most Influential Food Companies Driving Innovation”

MeliBio is giving bees a break from honey production. This Oakland, California company, headed by Serbian CEO Darko Mandich, has been in the vegconomist news feed regularly since early 2021 and is busy with its mission to provide a 1:1 replacement for bee-made honey. After MeliBio’s initial raise, the company revealed what it claims to be the world’s first real honey made without bees as a plant-based ingredient for B2B customers and food service, in October of last year. In March of 2022, MeliBio secured a further $5.7 million to commercialize its first line of bee-free honey. Since then it has begun partnering with fine dining restaurants, including the world-famous Eleven Madison Park. We were overdue a chat with Darko to find out more about …

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BAIA Honey Panna Cotta

©BAIA/ MeliBio
Gastronomy & Food Service

MeliBio Partners with San Francisco’s BAIA to Debut Exclusive Bee-Free Honey Menu

MeliBio, a startup making real honey without bees, announces its groundbreaking honey is now available at San Francisco’s BAIA restaurant for a limited time. From July to September, guests at BAIA can order the startup’s award-winning honey in two exclusive summertime dishes. The new collaboration comes ahead of MeliBio’s official launch at select US restaurants later this year.  BAIA will feature the honey, which MeliBio says is indistinguishable in taste and texture from conventional honey, in two plant-based menu items – a bruschetta appetizer with tomato, chili and basil and bee-free honeycomb panna cotta.  Filling a “critical gap” in flavor According to BAIA Executive Chef Joshua Yap, the brand’s honey helps to fill a critical gap in flavor. “Many times while developing a new plant-based …

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BAIA Honey Panna Cotta

©BAIA/ MeliBio
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

MeliBio Partners with San Francisco’s BAIA to Debut Exclusive Bee-Free Honey Menu

MeliBio, a startup making real honey without bees, announces its groundbreaking honey is now available at San Francisco’s BAIA restaurant for a limited time. From July to September, guests at BAIA can order the startup’s award-winning honey in two exclusive summertime dishes. The new collaboration comes ahead of MeliBio’s official launch at select US restaurants later this year.  BAIA will feature the honey, which MeliBio says is indistinguishable in taste and texture from conventional honey, in two plant-based menu items – a bruschetta appetizer with tomato, chili and basil and bee-free honeycomb panna cotta.  Filling a “critical gap” in flavor According to BAIA Executive Chef Joshua Yap, the brand’s honey helps to fill a critical gap in flavor. “Many times while developing a new plant-based …

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MeliBio Darko Mandich

MeliBio CEO Darko Mandich ©MeliBio
Society

MeliBio and Eleven Madison Park Showcase Bee-Free Honey for World Bee Day

In celebration of World Bee Day on May 20, MeliBio, the world’s first startup making real honey without bees, partnered with 3-Michelin-starred restaurant Eleven Madison Park to serve bee-free honey to a distinguished crowd of investors, creators, and leaders in conservation and government.  A high-level luncheon The exclusive event took place at Eleven Madison Park’s world-renowned NYC restaurant, where two dozen invited guests were treated to an intimate cocktail reception and four-course lunch featuring MeliBio’s award-winning bee-free honey. Guests also received commemorative Eleven Madison Park gift bags with MeliBio honey samples. Founded in 2020 by Darko Mandich and Aaron Schaller, PhD., MeliBio combines precision fermentation with plant science to create a product identical in taste and consistency to honey derived from bees. In March, the …

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©MeliBio
Investments & Finance

MeliBio Secures $5.7 Million in Seed Funding to Disrupt Global Honey Industry

MeliBio, the world’s first company making real honey without bees, announces a $5.7 million seed funding raise to commercialize its first line of bee-free honey. The seed round, led by Astanor Ventures, brings the startup’s total funding to $7.2 million to date. The raise follows a successful test launch of MeliBio’s honey in four New York City restaurants and at one CPG company, and the startup will now begin scaling its operations and manufacturing. More than 30 companies around the world have already signed on to try its novel honey, MelioBio says. Giving bees a break Founded in 2020 by Darko Mandich and Aaron Schaller, PhD., MeliBio uses precision fermentation and plant science to create its proprietary honey products. The brand conducted a blind industry …

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