NotCo appeals lawsuit against its trademark NotMilk

© NotCo

Politics & Law

NotCo Fights for NotMilk Trademark Following Dairy Lawsuit in Chile

Yesterday Chilean giant NotCo announced that in the next few days, it will appeal against a ruling prohibiting the use of the NotMilk trademark in Chile.  At the end of 2020, Aproval, the Valdivia dairy farmers union, filed an “unfair competition” lawsuit to the 1st Civil Court of Valdivia, accusing NotCo of taking advantage of “milk’s prestige.”  Aproval argued that NotMilk’s advertising strategy uses the word milk to sell its product and, at the same time, disqualifies natural milk, saying it is harmful to health and the environment. The court, which ruled in favor of the dairy union, ordered the “cessation and prohibition of the use of any mark, labeling, distinctive or image, of any nature (whether on the packaging of its product or in …

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NotCo Argentina

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Marketing & Media

NotCo Argentina Launches NotCow Campaign to Promote Cruelty-Free Dairy

Chilean B Corp certified unicorn company NotCo has launched a marketing campaign in Argentina called NotCow, featuring the slogan “Cross out what you don’t want, Keep what you like,” encouraging consumers to switch to cruelty-free, healthier, and more sustainable alternatives.   NotCow aims to promote NotCo’s plant-based products — NotMilk, NotCream Cheese, and NotDulce de Leche — as options for traditional Argentinean favorites such as milk coffee, toast with cream cheese, and dulce de leche (a ubiquitous sweet in the country’s gastronomy). “The category of dairy replacements is a clear example of how countless recipes and occasions at home can become plant-based without effort and without leaving aside taste and enjoyment,” says Matias Latugaye, Country Manager Argentina of NotCo. In Argentina, the vegan population amounts to 4%, and …

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Veggie Shack Burger Patty at Shake Shack

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Fast Food

Shake Shack Unveils First Vegan Patty, Adds NotCo Milkshakes and Custard to Permanent Menu

US burger chain Shake Shack announces it is adding three plant-based items to its permanent menu, including the Veggie Shack, its first 100% vegan patty. The chain will also make its Non-Dairy Chocolate Shake and Non-Dairy Frozen Custard, developed in partnership with NotCo, a new part of its core menu.  NOTE: To be fully vegan, the Veggie Shack must be ordered without cheese, ShackSauce and with a lettuce wrap instead of bun. According to Shake Shack, the new Veggie Shack required months of extensive R&D and taste tests in its New York City locations. Made with grains and seasonal vegetables, the patty features mushrooms, sweet potatoes, carrots, farro and quinoa, American cheese (non-vegan), crispy onions, pickles and ShackSauce (non-vegan.)  The burger is priced at $8.29, …

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Burger King Colombia launches NotCo-powered Veggie Whopper, King Veggie, and Nuggets Veggie

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Fast Food

Burger King Colombia Launches NotCo-Powered Veggie Menu

Chilean plant-based company NotCo announces a partnership with Burger King Colombia to offer flexitarians a veggie menu and continue the expansion of the plant-based movement across LATAM. Using the slogan “We declare ourselves Flexitarians!”, the fast food chain has added three new items made with NotCo’s plant-based meat and chicken: Veggie Whopper (previously served with The Vegetarian Butcher’s burger patty), King Veggie, and Nuggets Veggie. The new options are promoted as 100% plant-based, but it’s yet to be specified if the bread and sauces are vegan.  “Hey, burger lovers from Colombia! We’re feeling like royalty with the new veggie line from Burger King that joins the plant-based movement. More and more people believe that removing animals from the equation is the answer for a more sustainable yet equally delicious …

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NotCo Juicy NotBurger

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Gastronomy & Food Service

NotCo Partners with Canada’s Hero Certified Burgers to Bring NotBurger, NotChicken and NotMilk to Menus

Food tech startup NotCo announces a new partnership with Canadian fast-casual chain Hero Certified Burgers. Customers can now order any burger with a NotBurger patty, NotChicken patty or opt for new NotChicken nuggets. In addition, Hero Certified will also offer NotCo’s plant-based milks in Whole or Chocolate flavors.  Based in Toronto, Hero Certified operates dozens of locations across the city and throughout eastern Canada. For a limited time, the chain is also featuring the NotBurger in its Spicy Plant Based Soul Burger combo for $6.99, which includes fries and a beverage.  Canadian expansion NotCo first launched its popular NotBurger in Canadian retailers including Loblaw Companies Limited, Walmart and Sobeys, in May 2022. At the time, the company announced it was strengthening its presence in the …

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NotMayo US launch

©The Kraft Heinz Not Company

Products & Launches

NotCo Announces US Retail Debut of NotMayo

NotCo, in partnership with The Kraft Heinz Not Company, announces its popular NotMayo is now available in US retailers The Fresh Grocer, ShopRite and PriceRite, as well as select regional stores for Target, Kroger and Meijer. According to Matias Muchnick, NotCo’s founder and CEO, the product is launching in the US more than five years after its initial, highly successful debut in Chile. The company says the rollout is made possible by NotCo’s joint partnership with CPG giant Kraft Heinz, and reports NotMayo beat both animal and plant-based mayo’s in consumer tests.  In Chile, a country that is said to consume about 4kg of mayonnaise per capita each year, NotMayo became a runaway success when it launched in Jumbo markets nationwide in 2017. At Jumbo, …

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Kraft Heinz Not Co Joint Venture

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Food & Beverage

The Kraft Heinz Not Company Reveals Plans to Enter Multiple Categories and Expand Globally

The Kraft Heinz Not Company, a joint venture between CPG leader Kraft Heinz and Chilean Unicorn NotCo, recently announced the upcoming launch of NotMayo in the US and Canada in 2023. Speaking to vegconomist, Kraft Heinz reveals the company is just getting started, with plans to expand to seven categories and embark on international expansion in 2024.  In February 2022, Kraft Heinz announced it was joining forces with NotCo in a historic, first-of-its-kind partnership to “democratize” access to plant-based foods. By combining Kraft Heinz’s iconic brands and powerful scaling with NotCo’s AI-driven food tech, Kraft Heinz stated the venture would develop new products with an “unprecedented focus” on speed, quality and scale. Eight months later, Kraft Heinz Chief Growth Officer Diana Frost revealed the collaborators’ …

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Fernando Machado/ Matias Muchnick

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Company News

NotCo Hires Veteran Global Marketer Fernando Machado as New Chief Marketing Officer

Food tech unicorn NotCo announces it has hired Fernando Machado, a celebrated leader in global marketing, as its new Chief Marketing Officer, effective in April.  Known for “brilliant” marketing campaigns that pushed creative boundaries to drive business growth, Machado most recently served as CMO of Activision Blizzard, one of the world’s most successful entertainment and gaming companies. Prior to Activision, he also served as CMO for Restaurants Brands International, where he created award-winning advertising for brands like Burger King and Popeyes. Machado’s career began as an intern at Unilever, where he last worked as Global Brand Development VP for Dove.  $1.5Bn brand Machado’s hire follows NotCo’s $70M series D1 funding round in December, which valued the company at $1.5Bn. According to Machado, he has long …

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NotMilk high protein

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Beverages

NotCo Aims to “Change the Rules of the Game” With High Protein NotMilk Launch

NotCo, the Chilean foodtech specialized in plant-based alternatives to products across multiple categories, continues its unstoppable expansion with the launch of High Protein NotMilk in Chocolate and Peanut Butter flavors. Offering 15 grams of protein per serving, the objective of the launch is to offer options to fitness and sports lovers. According to the company, this option has been created to “change the rules of the game” and contains more protein than some animal products. This drink also contains soy protein, pea protein, pineapple juice concentrate, coconut oil, sunflower oil, calcium carbonate, cabbage juice concentrate, vitamin D2 and vitamin B12. High Protein joins the NotMilk category portfolio, together with NotMilk Original, NotMilk Zero Sugar, NotMilk Low Fat, NotMilk Chocolate and NotMilk Café Caramelo, available in …

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notco new cheese wedges

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Products & Launches

NotCo Expands in LATAM with New Cheese Wedges for Chile & Whopper in Peru

NotCo expands in LATAM with new NotCheese products for the Chilean market and a partnership with Burger King Peru for a plant-based version of the chain’s iconic Whopper. The Chilean food tech, which recently acquired B Corp certification, has announced two innovations for its plant-based cheese portfolio — NotCheese Merkén and NotCheese Ahumado that “melt stretch and gratin.” Merkén (dried chili) and Ahumado (smoked) debut a new wedge presentation in 200g format, both available at JUMBO, a famous Chilean hypermarket chain, not related to the Dutch supermarket JUMBO. Huge consumer demand for NotCheese Last November, the unicorn company launched its first-ever cheese offering in Chile with NotCheese slices buttery and cheddar, breaking into the vegan cheese category and expanding its plant-based portfolio.  “95% of consumers’ requests were related …

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NotCo B corp

Image courtesy of NotCo

Company News

NotCo Achieves the “Great Honour” of B Corp Certification

Chilean foodtech NotCo announces it has achieved B Corp certification, joining the global movement of companies seeking to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, as well as transparency and accountability. The fast-growing Unicorn company has been developing dairy and meat alternatives since 2016. NotCo says that the certification highlights its ongoing commitment to achieving meaningful and transparent environmental and social impact performance. In the words of NotCo CEO Matias Muchnick: “Transparency and accountability have always been a driving force behind NotCo, so having B Corp certification is a great honour and is something we have been pursuing since we started this journey.” NotCo launched NotMilk in the US in 2020, and its full portfolio, including NotBurger and NotChicken, enjoys a retail footprint of …

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NotCo meats at starbucks mexico

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Food Service

Good News for LATAM as Starbucks Launches NotCo Products in Mexico & Argentina

This month, while food service chains around the world are expanding their offering for Veganuary and are committing to achieving sustainable goals, NotCo’s branded business NotCo Food, which offers products including NotMilk, NotBurger, and NotChicken, continues to be a leading supplier for retail and food service in Latin America. Starbucks Mexico Launches NotCo sandwiches Earlier this month, Starbucks Mexico announced the expansion of its food menu by introducing two new plant-based options made with NotCo products: NotChicken Baguette and NotBurger Baguette. Both sandwiches are 100% plant-based and are offered with NotMayo, NotCo’s 100% plant-based emulsion with a taste, aroma, and texture similar to mayonnaise. Starbucks Argentina Introduces NotMilk Buenos Aires Starbucks, operated in Argentina by licensee Alsea, recently announced a collaboration with NotCo to expand …

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Karim Pichara & Matias Muchnick © NotCo

Fundraising

NotCo Raises $70M to Catapult New B2B Platform Ahead of IPO

NotCo announces it has closed $70M in Series D1 funding to “catapult” a new B2B unit and accelerate the transformation of the industry, with Forbes suggesting today that the Chilean unicorn is “actively preparing for an IPO likely in 2025”. “These partnerships will help diversify and accelerate our impact while scaling the accessibility of truly delicious plant-based options to further propel the industry forward” The new platform will enable other CPG brands, ingredient suppliers and tech providers to leverage NotCo’s AI platform “Giuseppe” for their own innovations, while NotCo will continue to operate its branded business, NotCo Food, offering products like NotMilk™, NotBurger™ and NotChicken™ through both retail and food service across the US. Kraft Heinz Not Company The news comes three days after the …

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Gastronomy & Food Service

NotCo and Dunkin’ Chile Launch Plant-Based NotDonuts and NotMilk At All Locations

Food tech phenomenon NotCo announces it has joined with Dunkin’ Chile to launch two new plant-based donuts –  the Boston NotManjxr and the Sugar NotManjxr. Along with the donuts, Dunkin’ Chile is also debuting NotCo’s NotMilk, which customers can order hot or iced in any drink or coffee.  Now available at all Dunkin’ locations across Chile, the launch includes NotManjxr donuts – with “Manjxr” referring to the popular “manjar” sweet flavoring found in Latin America desserts. Dunkin’ customers can order the donuts in Boston NotManjxr, Sugar NotManjxr, and Double Boston NotManjxr flavors.  The collaboration also includes Dunkin’s introduction of NotMilk, which NotCo says customers can order for any frothy or creamy drink. Big year The news closes out a blockbuster year for NotCo, which recently partnered …

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notco products displayed with its founder Matías Muchnick

Matias & Portfolio © NotCo

Company News

NotCo Announces New Papa John’s Pizza Featuring NotChicken & Plans for 2023

Chilean giant NotCo has unveiled the first pizza topped with its NotChicken innovation — the Vegan BBQ Shot — which as of this week is now available at all Papa John’s locations throughout Chile. In Argentina, a NotCo popup restaurant has appeared, while this week the Unicorn company has revealed its focus areas for 2023. CEO and founder Matías Muchnick, recently named Latin America’s 2nd Most Disruptive CEO, yesterday discussed the company’s plans for 2023 in interview with Bloomberg Línea. DF SUD, an online media specialising in Latin America business, also reported on the food tech’s 2023 plans and covered the news of its first plant-based restaurant in Argentina.  1. Staying Profitable  To face the industry’s downturn due to the global economic crisis, NotCo has …

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