Chicago

The Bettering Company cannabis edibles

© The Bettering Company
Investments & Finance

The Bettering Company Secures $6.7 Million in for Luxury Vegan Cannabis Edibles

The Bettering Company, a Chicago-based luxury cannabis edibles brand, has announced the successful completion of a $6.7 million funding round, propelling its total funding to $11 million. Founded by Mark Cozzi and Drake Nickell, the company is set to launch its THC-infused gummies in the fall of 2023, with initial plans to hit dispensaries across Illinois.  The funding, which encompasses investments from experienced venture capitalists, cannabis industry specialists, and consumer packaged goods investors, will be allocated toward two primary objectives. Firstly, the completion of The Bettering Company’s state-of-the-art commercial kitchen facility in Rockford, Illinois, is a priority. Secondly, the company intends to bolster its management team by recruiting top-tier talent in sales, marketing, and food production. The cannabis market In 2022, Americans spent an estimated …

more

© UPSIDE Foods
Company News

UPSIDE Foods Announces its First Commerical Cultivated Meat Plant in Illinois

UPSIDE Foods, has officially chosen Glenview, Illinois, just outside of Chicago, as the location for its first large-scale commercial production facility.  This 187,000-square-foot plant, named “Rubicon,” will serve as a hub for the production of cultivated chicken products, marking UPSIDE’s first commercial-scale production. Moreover, the company has ambitious plans to diversify its product offerings by expanding into other meat varieties and whole-textured formats in the future. The company states it selected the name Rubicon with an appreciation for its historical significance as a point of no return, reflecting its commitment to redefine the future of food. Several factors drove the decision to establish its facility in this area. Firstly, Glenview’s strategic location offers significant logistical advantages, with major transportation crossroads facilitating efficient production, distribution, and …

more

Organisations and brands:

Better balance x kale my name

Image supplied by Kale My Name
Gastronomy & Food Service

Better Balance Continues Foodservice Expansion with Award-Winning Restaurant Collab

Since its US launch last year, plant-based food brand Better Balance has secured many global strategic partnerships, helping to build brand awareness and transform restaurant menus. The newest collaboration with award-winning Chicago restaurant Kale My Name marks yet another milestone in the brand’s mission to bring flavorful plant-based alternatives to consumers worldwide.  From the beginning, Better Balance recognized that partnerships were key to shaping its brand. Last year, it teamed up with Mexican chain Gorditas Doña Tota and 7-Eleven, and even helped Civitas Metropolitano become the first plant-based stadium in mainland Europe.  Most recently, Better Balance announced a new partnership with Kale My Name, becoming the first restaurant in the United States to offer its Better Hot Dog. The pea protein-based hot dog is gluten-free, …

more

Organisations and brands:

Natures Fynd cheese spread on bagel

© Nature's Fynd
Company News

Nature’s Fynd Receives Health Canada’s Approval to Market Alt Products Powered by the “Fungus from Yellowstone Park”

Chicago-based Nature’s Fynd has received authorization from Health Canada, the federal department responsible for national health standards and policy, to commercialize its alt meat and dairy products made with a novel fungi protein called Fy. Nature’s Fynd grows its fungi protein using proprietary fermentation and a fungus called Fusarium strain flavolapis, discovered in Yellowstone Park’s geothermal springs. The novel protein is used as a whole ingredient to make animal-free foods. According to Health Canada, the product approval came after a comprehensive assessment of Fy Protein’s safety for human consumption. In the USA, Nature’s Fynd received FDA greenlight for its fungi ingredient in March 2021.  Similarly, the Canadian food company Smallfood also discovered a wild microalgae strain capable of producing premium proteins through biomass fermentation. The company is …

more

Organisations and brands:

PlantX Market Storefront

©PlantX Market

Gastronomy & Food Service

PlantX to Open XMarket Food Hall as Chicago’s “Largest Vegan Food Hall” This Summer

Plant-based digital platform PlantX (CSE:VEGA) announces it has partnered with restaurant developer Macromia Group to launch Chicago’s largest vegan food hall. The XMarket Vegan Food Hall will feature a multi-concept, 6,500 sq. ft space and is scheduled to open in early September.  Located in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, XMarket Vegan Food Hall will offer six unique dining concepts, including a coffee bar serving PlantX’s Portfolio Coffee and a bodega-style grocery store with a Good Planet cheesemonger. The hall will also feature a central bar with plant-based bar food and wine pairings provided by VeganWines.com. “Chicago has emerged as one of the largest vegan and health-conscious communities in North America, making it an ideal location to introduce our all-in-one vegan food hall concept,” said PlantX CEO, Lorne Rapkin. …

more

Organisations and brands:

Michelin starred Chef Manrique joins Aqua Cultured Foods to launch exceptional alt seafood

© Image provided
People

Michelin Starred Chef Manrique Joins Aqua Cultured Foods to Launch “Exceptional” Alt Seafood Whole Cuts

Aqua Cultured Foods, a pioneer of alt–seafood whole cuts set to launch commercially for the first time in January 2024, has announced the appointment of renowned chef Laurent Manrique as its inaugural culinary advisor. The Chicago-based food tech develops a new type of animal-free seafood using a technology that leverages a fungi strain and fermentation to transform unprocessed organic matter into realistic alternatives of tuna, whitefish, calamari, shrimp, and scallops.  In his new role, Chef Manrique will ensure that Aqua’s developments have the best possible flavor, texture, color, and overall appeal to be a one-to-one seafood replacement and win over consumers.  Chef Manrique is a French restaurateur and owner of Café de la Presse, a popular French restaurant in San Francisco. He earned two Michelin stars for three consecutive years (2006-2008), …

more

Organisations and brands:

Plant-based steak

©Land Lovers
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

Meet Land Lovers: A Startup Looking to Disrupt the US Meat Market With the “Most Realistic Plant-Based Steak”

With plant-based burgers largely conquered, the alt-meat industry is increasingly turning its focus to the more difficult but highly lucrative realm of whole muscle cuts, which make up the majority of meat sales in the US and beyond.  One of the newest and most exciting entries to this category is Land Lovers, a Chicago-based startup determined to revolutionize the US meat market with “extraordinary” whole cuts of plant-based steak.  Formerly known as ALCHEMEAT, Land Lovers is led by chef and food industry veteran Dr. Huan Xia. Using patented technology, the company produces whole cuts of plant-based meat that look and taste exactly like premium beef. Its versatile product, made from wheat and soy protein, is said to offer a realistic alternative to beef in virtually …

more

Organisations and brands:

Joe Buonavolanto

Joe Buonavolanto III/ Image supplied by Buona
Interviews

Buona and Upton’s Naturals: “The Beefless Sandwich Has Created Its Own Category for Us, Resonating with Both Vegans and Non-Vegans Alike”

As far as institutions go, few are as revered and beloved as Chicago’s Buona Italian Beef. Since its founding in 1981, the family-owned and operated restaurant chain has established itself as a top destination for indulging in one of the city’s most popular street foods, Italian beef sandwiches. Having become famous for serving extremely meaty sandwiches, Buona shocked fans everywhere when it released a fully vegan version of its iconic Original Italian Beef, made with Upton’s Naturals seitan, in the spring of 2021. It wasn’t prepared for the response – in less than 24 hours, the Plant-Based Italian Beefless Sandwich sold out 1,800 pounds of seitan at multiple locations due to “overwhelming” customer demand, with fans enthusing the plant-based beef was indistinguishable from the original. …

more

Organisations and brands:

Russell Thomas, Clever Carnivore

© Clever Carnivore
Company News

Cultivated Meat Startup Clever Carnivore Hires Tyson Foods’ Russell Thomas

Clever Carnivore announces the hiring of Russell Thomas as VP of product development, to accelerate the development of its debut consumer product, the Clever Bratwurst. Clever Carnivore states that the hire propels the company into the prototype development stage, meaning its cost-competitive sausages, burgers, and chicken nuggets, will “will soon be a reality”. Upon its $2.1M raise last year, CEO Virginia Rangos said, “We’re hoping to eventually get — and we think this is quite practical — to a $1 burger, essentially,” adding, “We think we will have product prototype ready by the end of 2023.” The startup, Chicago’s first cultivated meat company, harnesses cell biology, recombinant protein technology, and advanced bioreactor design, with the objective of creating consumer products that compete on taste, price, …

more

Organisations and brands:

Nature's Fynd expands into retail across the US

Image credit: Nature's Fynd IG
Retail & E-Commerce

Nature’s Fynd Expands Retail Distribution, Bringing its Revolutionary Fungi Protein to More Tables

Chicago-based Nature’s Fynd announces new retail distribution expansions for its alt meat and dairy products made with fermented proteins from fungi.  After launching regionally a year ago, Nature’s Fynd Meatless Original Breakfast Patties will now be on the shelves of 400 Whole Foods Markets stores across the US.   Additionally, the company’s Dairy-Free Cream Cheese, in Original and Chive & Onion flavors, is launching in all Fresh Thyme Market locations — a full-service specialty retailer with 70 stores in ten states across the Midwest. Cutting edge of alt protein Nature’s Fynd has raised $500 million to date, including a $4.76 mil­lion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At the cutting edge of the alt protein food tech revolution, Nature’s Fynd produces fermented fungi proteins from a microbe originating in the geothermal …

more

Organisations and brands:

Aqua Cultured + Sodexo

©Kezia/ Aqua Cultured
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

7 Exciting Startups Proving Chicago is the Next Major Hub of Alt Protein

While California is often considered the center of the alt protein universe, where many top companies are headquartered and countless startups emerge, new hubs of bold food innovation are taking hold in diverse cities and regions across America. Vegconomist will spotlight these growing centers of animal-free food tech, beginning with the third most populous US city, Chicago. Located in America’s Midwest, Chicago is famously known as the historic center of the nation’s meatpacking industry. It is highly fitting, therefore, that multiple alt-protein brands and startups have chosen Chicago as their home, as they endeavor to reinvent the animal protein that long defined the city with new ingredients and 21st century technology. Here are some of the most exciting names changing the world from the Windy …

more

Aqua Cultured Foods closed a $5.5 million seed Round to launch its seafood alternatives

© Aqua Cultured Foods
Investments & Finance

Aqua Cultured Foods Raises $5.5M to Bring Ultra-Realistic Alt Seafood to Market

As it begins consumer tastings of its products in Chicago today, Aqua Cultured Foods announces it has raised $5.5 million in seed funding to bring its ultra-realistic alt seafood to market through chef partners and food service distributors. This new capital brings Aqua’s total funding to $7.6 million. Using a proprietary mycoprotein fermentation process, Aqua develops calamari, shrimp, scallops, tuna, and whitefish alternatives. Its animal and GMO-free products contain natural fiber, protein, and micronutrients and will be available in pieces or minced for its future go-to-market Asian food partners. Mission-aligned partners “We appreciate having mission-aligned partners that offer strong strategic value for the next phase of our growth, which will involve building up the business and brand,” said Anne Palermo, CEO of Aqua Cultured. The round …

more

Organisations and brands:

Tuna/ Poke Bowl

©Aqua Cultured Foods
Food & Beverage

Aqua Cultured Foods to Begin First Public Tastings of Alt-Tuna, Shrimp and Scallops

US food tech startup Aqua Cultured Foods announces it will begin consumer tastings of its seafood alternatives in Chicago, ahead of its public launch through chef partners and foodservice distributors.   Beginning April 6, the startup will hold tastings of several alt-seafood products, including Aqua tuna rolls, shrimp dumplings and scallop crudo, at its headquarters in West Loop, Chicago. According to Aqua, it intends to solicit feedback from participants on the products’ quality compared to conventional seafood products, especially texture.  Unique fermentation Founded in 2020, Aqua is developing a range of seafood alternatives, including whitefish, shrimp, scallops and tuna filets, with mycoprotein fermentation technology. Using a unique strain of fungi, the company says it is able to transform plant-based ingredients into realistic seafood alternatives that offer …

more

Organisations and brands:

Wicked Meatball Sub

Meatball Sub© Plant Junkie
Gastronomy & Food Service

Plant Junkie Opens Healthy Vegan Fast Food Concept in New York and Chicago

Plant Junkie, a new fast food concept specializing in better-for-you plant-based cuisine, announces it is now open in several locations across New York City and Chicago.  Founded by New York restauranteur Nat Milner and Chef Hiranth Jaysinghe, Plant Junkie’s menu is focused on offering a delicious, healthier alternative to traditional fast food that goes beyond burgers.  The concept’s menu features a diverse variety of globally inspired plant-based dishes, ranging from bowls and salads to burgers, sandwiches and sides. Featured entrees include the Bangkok Curry Bowl (Peanut noodles, baked red curry tofu, Asian cabbage slaw, coconut kale, crispy lotus root), the Sri Lankan Buddha Bowl (Yellow basmati rice, chickpea curry, seitan curry, coconut kale, crispy papadum) and New York “Chicken” Caesar Salad. The concept’s sandwiches include …

more

Organisations and brands:

Green Boy Chicago

© Green Boy Group
Company News

Green Boy Group Opens New Chicago Office Led by Ingredients Veteran Thomas Smit

Plant-based protein supplier Green Boy Group announces it has opened a new office in Chicago, led by the newly appointed Thomas Smit.  According to Green Boy, Smit’s career began at agribusiness company Nidera (now Syngenta) in Amsterdam, where he focused on supplying plant-based food ingredients globally. In 2016, Smit joined Royal Ingredients in Chicago as that company’s Managing Director, which has since been acquired by BayWa thanks to strong US sales growth.  “I am grateful for my time at Royal where I gained a lot of experience on how to start, run and expand an office in a market that is constantly evolving,” says Thomas Smit. “But when Green Boy approached me to head their new office in Chicago, I was getting very excited. Green …

more

Organisations and brands:

Plantbased Business Hour

Ingredion, Chicago’s The Hatchery and Alchemeat Cook Up Something Special on The Plantbased Business Hour

Elysabeth Alfano is joined on The Plantbased Business Hour by Ingredion’s Kimberly Frey, Ingredion’s Chef Nelson Serrano Bahri, The Hatchery’s Dani Zuchovicki and Chef Huan Xia of Alchemeat to discuss Chicago as the new Plant-based Hub and Ingredion’s most recent Plant-based BBQ Cook-off! Specifically, they discuss How The Hatchery is growing the community and market in Chicago for plant-based businesses, Chicago as a center of Plant-based Innovation, Ingredion’s support of the plant-based market locally and globally, Ingredion’s sustainability to focus and how Plant-based Innovation is helping them reach their sustainability goals, Chef Xuan Xia’s newest, tasty product and her vision for growing the Plant-based Steak market with Ingredion’s Chef Nelson Serrano Bahria’s guidance. Here is a short clip and transcript from their conversation. Podcast here. Display content from YouTube Click here to display …

more

Organisations and brands:

TiNDLE Next Gen Foods

TiNDLE © Next Gen Foods
Company News

Next Gen Foods Names Chicago as New US Headquarters and Opens R&D Lab at The Hatchery

Next Gen Foods, the makers of plant-based chicken brand TiNDLE, announces it has established new headquarters in Chicago, and is opening its first US-based R&D and innovation center at The Hatchery Chicago, one of America’s largest food business incubators. The brand is also expanding the availability of TiNDLE at restaurants throughout the city.  According to Next Gen, The Hatchery will serve as a starting point for TiNDLE’s product development as it scales up into new US sales channels, including food service and retail. As an R&D facility, the center will also allow early-stage exploration of Next Gen’s new plant-based products, leveraging insights from both consumers and operators to expand the brand’s product line. “We are excited to welcome Next Gen Foods and TiNDLE to The Hatchery …

more

Organisations and brands:

Clever Carnivore

©Clever Carnivore
Company News

Chicago’s Clever Carnivore Raises $2.1M, Says $1 Cultivated Meat Burger is Possibility

Cultivated meat startup Clever Carnivore announces it is opening a new headquarters and lab in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The company also reveals it has raised $2.1M to date in pre-seed funding, reports Built in Chicago. According to a statement, the new headquarters will consist of 4,179 sq. ft. located in “Chicago’s academic epicenter”, where the startup will develop high-quality cultured beef, pork and chicken. Clever Carnivore’s CEO says it has already begun producing cell-based meat, but it will be some time before the products are ready for commercial scale. “The new space essentially gives us the space to not only grow the company, but the meat itself,” CEO Virginia Rangos, Ph.D, told the Chicago Business Journal. “We think we will have product prototype ready …

more

Sacred Serve Ice Cream Pints

©Sacred Serve
Food & Beverage

Sacred Serve Expands Its Upcycled Vegan Gelato to US Whole Foods Nationwide

Chicago brand Sacred Serve is expanding its line of vegan superfood gelato to Whole Foods stores across the US, reports Food Navigator-USA.  Founded by Kailey Donewald, Sacred Serve packages its clean-label gelato in the world’s first plastic-free, 100% biodegradable ice cream cartons. To craft the ice cream, Sacred Serve uses a base of upcycled Thai green coconuts, which it says provides a lighter coconut flavor and thick texture that eliminates the need for gums or stabilizers. The coconut is then blended with superfoods, adaptogens and medicinal mushroom ingredients. Accelerating capacity The brand first launched at 30 regional Whole Foods stores in 2019, where it worked to build a strong rapport with the chain throughout the pandemic. Leading up to the nationwide launch, the company says …

more

Organisations and brands:

©PlantX
Retail & E-Commerce

PlantX Opens ‘XMarket Uptown’ – 6,000 Sq. Ft. Vegan Grocery Store in Chicago

Canada’s PlantX (CSE: VEGA), a plant-based digital platform, is celebrating the grand opening of its newest brick-and-mortar superstore, XMarket Uptown in Chicago. At 6,000 sq. ft., PlantX says the new market may be the world’s largest all-vegan grocery store.  First opened in late July, XMarket Uptown is the company’s second US store, and sixth location globally. Offering a vast selection of plant-based foods, shoppers can find everything from meat, dairy, egg and seafood alternatives, to snacks, sauces, bakery items, soups, pasta, cereals and much more.  The store also features a conventional produce aisle with fresh fruits and vegetables, a grab-and-go section for prepared meals, and offers delivery via grocery apps like Instacart and Mercato.  “It’s cool to see the world moving in a way where …

more

Organisations and brands:

load more