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 cultivated meat startups, including Aleph Farms and Wildtype, and participated in UPSIDE Foods’ $400 million C Series round.
The firm has also invested in Puris, a US pea protein producer, and signed an agreement with the UK’s ENOUGH to use and market its mycoprotein ingredient. It also invested in the Dutch alternative ingredients solutions company Bflike and in Cocuus, a Spanish startup that develops 3D-printed plant-based alternatives and has successfully launched a vegan bacon product.
Smarter fats
To continue competing in the challenging plant-based meat market, Cargill invested in the Spanish alternative fats startup Cubiq Foods as part of a $6M bridge funding to support the development of a cultivated fat (still ongoing).
In another move to expand their reach, Cargill and Cubiq Foods partnered last year to innovate and co-develop smart fat solutions to meet consumer demands for healthy, low-calorie, and low-saturated plant-based alternatives. The partnership also involved a commercial agreement for Cargill to market and sell Cubiq’s fats.
Their first product, plant-based burgers made with Cubiq’s Go! Drop fat replacement technology, was unveiled soon after at Expo West. Go! Drop is a patented technology for replacing animal fats with high-oleic stable sunflower oil and water emulsions. The innovative fat is said to deliver the juiciness, aroma, and texture of animal fats in plant-based meat while reducing saturated fat and calories by 40-50%. It can be used in various applications beyond plant-based meat, including cheese, ice cream, bakery, and confectionery.
Cubiq Foods has also developed a microencapsulated algae oil with a neutral flavor called Go! Mega3. It is said to be rich in Omega-3, which boosts food’s nutritional value. The product is not yet available in Cargill’s portfolio but it’s set to launch in 2025.
No signs of ebbing
As the demand for plant-based and sustainable alternatives grows, the company keeps expanding its reach. For example, recently, it announced a commercial partnership with California’s Voyage Foods to be the exclusive B2B global distributor for the company’s new range of sustainable chocolate alternatives free from cocoa, nuts, and dairy.
“Plant popularity shows no signs of ebbing – in fact, its popularity is accelerating very quickly on a global scale. No longer confined to vegetarians or vegans, plant-based products are gaining appeal among a broader consumer audience,” Sandy De Houwer, Global Marketing Director for Meat & Dairy Alternatives at Cargill Food Solutions, told vegconomist in a recent interview.
