San Francisco

New Wave PopcornShrimp

© New Wave Foods
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

US Plant-Based Shrimp Firm New Wave Foods Shuts Down Amidst Financial Woes

San Francisco-based New Wave Foods, a plant-based seafood company backed by Tyson Ventures, the venture capital arm of poultry giant Tyson Foods, ceased activities last November and is currently undergoing assignment for the benefit of creditors (a voluntary alternative to formal bankruptcy), as first reported by Alt Meat. According to a general assignment document, New Wave Foods faced financial difficulties and admitted its inability to repay its debts fully. Consequently, the company decided to halt its operations.  Plant-based shrimp for foodservice New Wave Foods manufactured plant-based shrimp for the food service industry. Michelle Wolf and Dominique Barnes established the company in 2015 to disrupt the $9 billion dollar shrimp market with an alternative made with sustainable seaweed and plant proteins. The company planned to develop a range …

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Cultivated Biosciences, a Swiss biotech startup creating fats from yeast fermentation, has presented its first proof-of-concept, a dairy-free coffee creamer.

© Cultivated Biociences
Fermentation

Cultivated Biosciences Crafts Dairy-Free Coffee Creamer Using Yeast-Based Fat

Cultivated Biosciences, a Swiss biotech startup creating fats from yeast fermentation, has developed its first proof-of-concept, a dairy-free coffee creamer. The innovative prototype, made with the biotech’s yeast-based fat, is said to match the performance of dairy creamers, challenging commercially available plant-based alternatives: it is white like milk and tastes just like a regular American commercial creamer. In addition, it blends without flaking (flocculation) despite not containing binders and additives, making it a clean-label product.  Tomas Turner, founder and CEO of Cultivated Biosciences, commented: “We are proud to show the industry the value of our ingredient in a convincing final product application, it marks the beginning of our path to commercialization.” Superior dairy-free fats Using yeasts and biomass fermentation, the biotech is developing functional fats with …

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IKEA new plant-based options

© IKEA
Food Service

IKEA San Francisco Debuts New Plant-Based Dining Options

Following the news that IKEA plans to launch the PLANT HOTDOG, along with its many other plant-based targets, the new San Francisco location is set to feature some exciting plant-based dining options. The three-story store, which opened today, is the first retailer to open as part of a development project from Ingka Centres. It will also serve as the flagship US location for two new dining options – Swedish Bite and Swedish Deli.  Swedish Bite, located on the store’s street level, will offer pre-packaged, refrigerated meals with a focus on sustainable and plant-based options, with items like plant-based lasagna and vegan cinnamon buns along with a variety of hot and cold drinks. IKEA currently only operates one other Swedish Bite store at the Shinjuku location …

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Guest trying cultivated chicken at Bar Crenn

Guest trying cultivated chicken at Bar Crenn ©UPSIDE Foods
Cultivated Meat

UPSIDE Foods: Reservations Now Open to Purchase Cultivated Meat in US For First Time

UPSIDE Foods announces the first reservations to try its historic cultivated chicken are now open to the public. On August 4, Bar Crenn in San Francisco will begin serving UPSIDE’s cultivated chicken as part of a six-course meal, marking the first time members of the public can sign up to purchase cultivated meat in the US.  The announcement comes just weeks after UPSIDE completed the first consumer sale of its cultivated chicken, also at Bar Crenn, to several winners selected from a social media contest. UPSIDE’s first official public seating will take place on August 4 at 5:00 pm PT, when Chef Dominique Crenn will serve the startup’s cultivated chicken as part of a six-course meal priced at $150.  During the dinner service, the chicken …

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Crenn Cultivated Chicken Dish at Bar Crenn

©UPSIDE Foods
Cultivated Meat

UPSIDE Foods: First-Ever Sale of Cultivated Meat in US Takes Place Today

UPSIDE Foods announces its whole-cut, cell-cultivated chicken is launching at Chef Dominique Crenn’s acclaimed Bar Crenn restaurant on July 1st – in what UPSIDE believes is the first-ever consumer sale of cultivated meat in the US. The first customers will be several winners selected from a social media contest held by UPSIDE. The event follows a historic month for UPSIDE, which recently gained regulatory approval from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to sell its cell-cultivated chicken to chefs, restaurants, and consumers. UPSIDE’s chicken is also the first meat product Chef Crenn will offer on her menu since 2018 – when the Crenn Dining Group stopped serving conventional meat out of concern for its environmental impact.  The July 1st event will feature UPSIDE’s cultivated chicken fried …

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The EVERY Co.

©The Every Co.

Fermentation

The EVERY Co. Opens New State-of-the-Art HQ to Accelerate Global Transition to “Proteins of Tomorrow”

Food tech company The EVERY Co. announces it has moved into a new state-of-the-art headquarters in Daly City, California. Located at the GENESIS Station biotech hub, EVERY says the move will further position the company for growth and leadership as it accelerates the global transition to animal-free protein.  According to EVERY, the new 49,000 sq ft facility is an ideal environment for “creating the proteins of tomorrow” and occupies the top floor with naming rights at GENESIS Station—a biotech hub in the Greater San Francisco area. The company reports each business need was carefully considered during design to accommodate onsite R&D, recipe and application development, product demonstration and convening needs. The purpose-built facilities include a 60% lab space/40% office space split, custom-designed food lab and …

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Impact Food founders

© Impact Food

Interviews

Impact Food: “In the Next 5 years, Our Whole Cut Seafood Will Be Available Everywhere Around the World”

San Francisco-based Impact Food was formed in 2020 when entrepreneur Kelly Pan met biochemist Adrián Miranda and computer scientist Stephanie Claudino Daffara, and the three set out to combine their fields of expertise to help prevent the collapse of wild tuna species through a scalable food technology platform. Backed by Future Food Fund, Serpentine Ventures, Ahimsa Foundation, and others, Impact secured $500,000 in strategic angel & VC funding last August, and just this month debuted its plant-based, sushi-grade tuna at all three locations of Japanese chain Onigilly. We were excited to speak to Kelly Pan, Impact’s co-founder and CEO, who holds a degree from UC Berkeley-Haas Business School. What is the mission of Impact Food? At Impact Food, we are building the future of food. …

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world's first textbook on cultivated meat

© Cellular Agriculture Society (CAS)
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

US Cellular Agriculture Society Releases Comprehensive Textbook on Cultivated Meat

The Cellular Agriculture Society (CAS) has released Modern Meat, the world’s first textbook on cultivated meat.  “Modern Meat aims to pave the way for future courses on cultivated meat, serve as a guide to both newcomers & experts, and bolster cultivated meat’s growing academic sphere across the globe,” reads the textbook. The first edition of Modern Meat includes the work of over 100 authors ranging from academics to industry leaders, as well as diverse and important voices from the cultivated meat community in 18 countries. Advantages of cell ag Founded by Kristopher Gasteratos in San Francisco, CAS is an international nonprofit working to bring awareness around cellular agriculture and its potential to create animal products using cells instead of animals. With an unorthodox leadership structure, …

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Plant-Based Raw Tuna in Bowl

© Impact Foods/ Onigilly
Products & Launches

Impact Food Debuts Sushi-Grade, Raw Plant-Based Tuna at Onigilly Restaurants in San Francisco

Alt seafood startup Impact Food announces its plant-based, sushi-grade tuna will soon be available at all three locations of Onigilly, a Bay Area Japanese eatery. Starting March 15, Onigilly will be serving Impact’s whole-cut, raw tuna in their Onigilly Rice Balls and Poke Bowls. Following this soft launch, Impact says it plans to officially roll out its tuna product across the US in 2023.  In March, Onigilly restaurants in San Francisco, Palo Alto and San Mateo will debut Impact Tuna as a fifth protein option, alongside traditional tuna, salmon, shrimp and tofu. Made with nine ingredients, including pea protein, algae and vegetable juice, Impact Tuna is said to be high in Omega-3 fatty acids, low in calories and completely free from cholesterol and mercury.  “We’re …

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planetaria's plant ribs

© Planet Ribs
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

Planetarians Raises $6M to Upscale Vegan Meat From Upcycled Ingredients

B2B plant-based foods company Planetarians has raised $6 million in a Seed II investment round to produce at a commercial scale its vegan meat blocks and supply the food service industry.  The food technology company has invested seven years in R&D to develop a sustainable, low cost alternative to meat made only from two upcycled ingredients: oil cakes and brewer’s yeast.  The raised funds will be used to build a pilot facility capable of producing tons of vegan blocks per year and move to a commercial production phase. Mindrock led the investment round, joined by Traction Fund, Techstars, SOSV, and AB InBev, the company behind some of the world’s largest beer brands and Planetarians brewers’ yeast supplier, committed to recycling barley and yeast from its brewing …

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Vitacoco X Alfred

© Vita Coco
Beverages

Vita Coco Barista MLK Launches Exclusively With Alfred Coffee in LA, SF & Austin

The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: COCO), a leading provider of healthy beverages and well-known for its popular coconut water product, has launched Vita Coco Barista MLK, exclusively with the LA-based Alfred Coffee chain. The uber-trendy Alfred Coffee also offers the PBBS, a Plant-Based Breakfast Sandwich featuring Impossible Sausage, folded JUST Egg and Violife Cheddar on a vegan potato bun. The new Vita Coco barista mlk product is made from a blend of coconut water and coconut cream, is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and non-GM. As part of the partnership, all Alfred Coffee locations across Los Angeles, San Francisco and Austin will offer Vita Coco Barista MLK on its menus, and customers can add it to their beverages at no extra charge.   New Coconut Date …

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Perfect Day Cowabunga Milk

©Perfect Day
Products & Launches

Nestle Trials ‘Cowabunga’ Animal-Free Beverages Made with Perfect Day Whey

Alt-dairy startup Perfect Day announces that Nestle has begun testing its first animal-free milk product, Cowabunga, in select Safeway stores in San Francisco. Made with Perfect Day’s fermented whey protein, Cowabunga Animal-Free Dairy Beverages is the first product collaboration between the two companies.  Available in Original and Chocolate flavors, each 15 oz serving of Cowabunga contains 14 grams of fat and 250 calories, and is fortified with calcium and Vitamin D. Along with Perfect Day’s animal-free whey protein, the drinks contain oat concentrate and high oleic sunflower oil.  Cowbunga, which appears to be a chilled product, is currently being trialed at six Safeway stores in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Latest liquid milk Perfect Day and Nestle first revealed a joint collaboration in September, when …

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Prime Roots Plant-Based Deli Meat

©Prime Roots
Fungi, Mushrooms & Mycelium

Prime Roots Launches First Sliceable Koji Meats to Disrupt $300B Bulk Deli Industry

Fungi innovator Prime Roots announces its breakthrough line of Koji-Meats is now available at select deli counters and sandwich shops in the San Francisco Bay Area. Offered in bulk sizes for fresh slicing, the launch is a preview ahead of a larger US retail and restaurant expansion in 2023.  Prime Roots’ preview launch features classic deli staples and charcuterie, including:  Whole Koji-Turkey in Classic Smoked, Cracked Black Pepper, and Golden Roast  Whole Koji-Hams in Classic Smoked, Black Forest, and Sugar Shack Maple  Koji-Pepperoni  Koji-Salami  Koji-Pâtés with apple & sage or black truffle  Koji-Foie Gras Torchon In the Bay Area, local diners can find the products at the following restaurants and markets: Berkeley Bowl Bi-Rite Market Rhea’s Deli Timeless Coffee Millennium and Above Ground Pizza Driver’s …

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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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Good Catch New Vegan Soups

©Good Catch X Ladle & Leaf
Gastronomy & Food Service

Good Catch Launches Vegan Seafood Soup Range With San Francisco Chain Ladle & Leaf

Gathered Foods, producer of Good Catch plant-based seafood, has announced a partnership with San Francisco based soup and salad restaurant chain Ladle & Leaf, which operates 11 locations in California. Good Catch tuna and crab products will now feature in three new menu items starting this week and a new vegan soup will be offered each week in all San Francisco Bay Area locations, including: Week of May 9 – 13 | Manhattan Seafood Chowder (V, GF, DF): A tomato-based chowder with Good Catch Plant-Based Tuna, potato, onion, white wine and celery, seasoned with thyme, bay, celery seed, and red bell peppers Week of May 16 – 20 | Crab & Corn Bisque (V, GF, DF): A purée of cashew cream, Good Catch Plant-Based Crab, …

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Lypid_Co-founders Jen-Yu Huang and Michelle Lee

© Lypid
Interviews

Lypid: “We Must Elevate the Sensory Experiences of Alternative Proteins and Satiate Consumers’ Palates”

San Francisco based Lypid, describing itself as a team of uncompromising scientists and foodies, says that “fat is the key to make vegan meat taste like real meat”. As such, the team has created PhytoFat™, a proprietary line of vegan fats which offer the texture, mouthfeel, transfer of flavor, and cooking behavior of animal fats. Lypid has seen huge success over recent months; not least, a partnership with Thai pork and poultry giant CP Foods last December and a $4 million raise last month, as well as skyrocketing industry fascination in vegan fats – it is clear that these young scientists have a promising future ahead. We caught up with Lypid’s founders, Dr. Jen-Yu Huang and Dr. Michelle Lee, to chew the proverbial. Who is …

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KAIYO Plant-Based Tomato Nigiri/ Sushi

Tomato Nigiri ©KAIYO Cow Hollow
Food & Beverage

San Francisco Seafood Restaurant KAIYŌ Cow Hollow Develops Fish-Free Nigiri

KAIYŌ Cow Hollow, an upscale seafood restaurant in San Francisco, has introduced innovative fish-free nigiri, a type of sushi, using specially compressed and marinated fruits and vegetables.  KAIYŌ, which serves Peruvian-Japanese “Nikkei” cuisine, says the  nigiri is part of the restaurant’s effort to go “beyond the standard avocado roll” in creating more appealing plant-based seafood options.  Fish from vegetables To craft the nigiri, KAIYŌ’s Chef Alex Reccio uses a variety of techniques, some of which take hours, to specially compress vegetables and fruit such as pears, eggplant and tomatoes to resemble and taste like fish. According to owner John Park, no two ingredients can be prepared the same way. “[There are] not many recipe books for vegan sushi, so our team is always testing techniques …

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Karana Jackfruit Meat Kebabs

©KARANA
Food & Beverage

KARANA Jackfruit Makes US Debut at Multiple San Francisco Restaurants

KARANA, a Singapore-based food tech startup, announces it has partnered with several San Francisco restaurants to serve its realistic jackfruit meat. The event is the first time Karana’s product will be available on American menus, marking its official debut on the US market.  Three acclaimed restaurants – Empress, Wildseed and Base Camp – will feature KARANA’s plant-based meat in signature dumplings, as a specialty pizza topping and more, with Wildseed adding it to the menu as its current vegan pizza sausage as a replacement to the Beyond Meat sausage. For the US launch, the company will sell its jackfruit dumplings and minced meat to chefs and food service in the Bay Area, followed by the Greater Los Angeles region.   “Our original goal was always to …

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Black Sheep Plant-Based Lamb Kofta

©Erin Ng
Investments & Finance

Black Sheep Foods Raises $5.25M to Make Plant-Based Lamb and Wild Game

Black Sheep Foods, makers of the first plant-based lamb in the US, announces a $5.25 million seed funding raise to bring uncommon plant-based “game” meats to the market.   Based in San Francisco, Black Sheep Foods also intends to “catapult flavor to the next level” by developing plant-based versions of heritage breed meats. The company accomplishes this by carefully analyzing and identifying key flavor compounds found in animal-based meat, and then structuring them around plant proteins.  Rapid restaurant expansion The company used this technology to develop its flagship product, plant-based lamb, which offers the complex gamey flavor and texture found in traditional lamb.  Last fall, the groundbreaking product launched exclusively at Souvla, a popular Bay Area chain of Greek restaurants, which served the item as Tunis-inspired …

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