Allen Zelden

Allen Zelden, founder of Boldly, image supplied
Interviews

Boldly: “It’s Clear That the Future Will Either Be Filled With Fishless Fish or Fishless Oceans”

APAC expert and co-founder of alt-protein accelerator PlantForm, Allen Zelden, revealed his new vegan seafood brand Boldly this January, offering an impressive line of vegan prawns, salmon and tuna sashimi, calamari, shrimp, crab sticks, white fish filets and more. Allen has been keeping details of the brand and future plans under his hat since the launch; it was time we sat down and gave him a vegan seafood grilling. Firstly congratulations on the launch of Boldly! Can you give us your elevator pitch; what was the inspiration behind starting a vegan seafood brand? If I’m being brutally honest, I just felt it was time to disrupt the plant-based sea of sameness with an all-new, positive and fun experience, and what better way to do this …

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Really Clever biomaterials

© Really Clever
Materials

$475M Invested in Next-Gen Materials in 2022, Leather Alternatives Dominating Sector

The Material Innovation Initiative has published its third State of the Industry Report for the next-gen materials sector. The report notes that $3 billion has been invested into next-gen materials since 2013, with $457 million raised in 2022 alone. This figure was lower than the “unprecedented” spike to $1.135 billion in 2021, with the fall blamed on a challenging funding environment caused by the global economic downturn. However, more funding was raised in 2022 than in any year prior to 2021. Leather alternatives still dominate the sector, with 64 companies working in this area compared to 15 for silk, ten for wool, and nine for fur. Seven companies are working on alternatives to down, and one on exotic skins. Currently, 52% of the materials used …

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Boldly Fish

©Boldly
Products & Launches

Aiming to Disrupt Global Seafood, Boldly Debuts With Plant-Based Calamari, Sashimi, Crab Sticks and More

Boldly, a new plant-based foods brand, announces the upcoming launch of its 100% vegan seafood line, featuring salmon and tuna sashimi, calamari, shrimp, crab sticks, and white fish filets. The range will initially launch through US restaurant and food service partnerships in Summer 2023.  Bringing diversity Created to disrupt the $600Bn global seafood industry, Boldly states its products use cutting-edge innovation to deliver the same taste and texture as animal-based seafood.  As the public becomes more aware of the dire threats facing the world’s oceans, such as overfishing, plastic pollution, and heavy metal contamination, more consumers than ever are looking to balance their seafood intake with plant-based alternatives. Boldly’s new seafood line, which features konjac root as a core ingredient, is intended to create a …

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Allen Zelden headshot
Market & Trends

Allen Zelden: My 4 Trend Predictions for 2023

APAC expert Allen Zelden, co-founder of FUTUREVVORLD and PlantForm Partners, shares his predictions for 2023, spanning alt seafood; ESG; the Australian market; and private labels. They say adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it. That was certainly the case for the plant-based foods industry in 2022. In the face of stagnant sales growth, rising costs and diminished investment appetite, this last year revealed a strong sense of community, an epicentre for collaboration, and an unrelenting message of urgency and purpose. Whilst there is clearly competition amongst the increasing number of plant-based food businesses and service providers, we are all ultimately driven by a mission beyond just turning a profit. Whether that mission is health, animal welfare or the environment, 2022 revealed that our industry truly has a …

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MycoWorks Raises $125 Million to Mass Produce Mushroom Leather

©MycoWorks
Materials

Next-Gen Material Investments Almost Double to $980M in 2021

A new report by Material Innovations has found that next-gen material investments surged to $980 million last year, up from $425.5 million in 2020. The State of the Industry report also found that the total number of companies in the industry has increased significantly in the past eight years, now standing at 95. Of these, 67 are working on leather alternatives, 12 on silk, seven on wool, six on down, and one on exotic skins. The variety of inputs used is also on the rise, with more companies developing mycelium and microbe-derived alternatives rather than plant-based. According to the report, $2.3 billion has been invested in the industry since 2015, with the market projected to be worth $2.2 billion by 2026. However, this figure is …

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PlantForm Logo

©PlantForm
Manufacturing & Technology

BREAKING: PlantForm Presents its Global Mission to Accelerate Plant-Based Foods to Market

PlantForm, a modern manufacturing accelerator for plant-based innovators, launches today with a bold mission to expedite path to market, product development and scale, for leading and emerging companies around the planet. “The greatest way to combat the disastrous effects of climate change starts with what we eat and feed our families” Food tech investment advisor and APAC industry expert Allen Zelden co-founded PlantForm to “offer a unique service tearing down barriers to entry in the market and accelerating scale at a crucial time for the plant-based industry”. “We aim to alter consumerism and supply systems” PlantForm’s team offers 25 years of experience and has brought over a thousand plant-based SKUs to market. Its ecosystem will be able to achieve new pathways to scale leveraging multiple …

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Allen Zelden, Founder FutureVVorld
Company News

My Business Year in Review: Allen Zelden of FutureVVorld

Allen Zelden, as many of our readers will know, is an Australian expert in all things plant-based and sustainable with a focus on the APAC region. Founder of sustainability platform FutureVVworld, mentor and business advisor to many, as well as correspondent and friend to vegconomist. “I believe we all have a duty to lead by example and leave the world in a healthier and better place for our children and all future generations” We caught up with Allen to find out his highlights of the year and thoughts looking ahead to 2022. What were your personal highlights of 2021? For me, 2021 was truly a year for the record books! My greatest personal highlight was launching FUTUREVVORLD which is a digital platform completely dedicated to the growing …

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Next Gen materials

©FutureVVorld
Fashion, Design & Beauty

State of the Industry Report: Next-Gen Materials – a Deep Dive With Industry Expert Allen Zelden

Last week, The Material Innovation Initiative published a first-of-its-kind paper named State of the Industry Report: Next-Gen Materials, revealing some impressive figures on the trends within sustainable materials: $1.29 billion was invested in the category between 2015 and 2021 with $504 million invested in 2020 alone, almost as much as in the four previous years combined. The report also revealed that there are 74 Next Gen companies in operation, with 49 in the category of vegan leather; that there are 95 unique investors in the industry; and that, interestingly, 38 out of 40 leading fashion brands are “actively seeking” Next Gen materials. The data is certainly extremely encouraging, and we were keen to delve further, so we took a deep dive with sustainable materials expert …

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Market & Trends

What’s the Next Plant-Based Boom? Miyoko’s, Good Catch, Evo Foods and Oatly Respond

“To say plant-based foods are having a moment is an understatement. Green is now mainstream.”  says Allen Zelden, in an article originally published by Inside FMCG, which includes insights from plant-based leaders including Mike Messersmith of Oatly, Miyoko Schinner, Chris Kerr of Good Catch, and Kartik Dixit of Evo Foods.

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Carbon Neutral Plant Based Mince

Courtesy of Fenn Foods
Market & Trends

Allen Zelden on Why Plant-Based Meats are Prospering Amid a Pandemic

In times of crisis, people seek transparency. Now more than ever, we ask more questions, take stock of our realities and shift our direction accordingly. It’s in this adversity that industries are also forced to lift the lid, with some so publicly disrupted that it can accelerate a reshaping in consumer behaviour to fuel new and emerging industries.

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