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kinoko's fungi-based product served with vegetables

© Kinoko
Fermentation

Kinoko Turns Legumes into High-Quality Protein Foods Using Mycelium & SSF

Kinoko-Tech is an Israel-based B2B company developing high-quality protein plant-based foods by “harnessing fermentation to elevate healthy food to superfood”. The company was founded in 2019 by Jasmin Ravid and Hadar Shohat, to supply food manufacturers and the food service industry with fermented fungi-based ingredients and products to be used as a source of high-quality protein.  Solid state fermentation  Kinoko claims it has developed a solid-state fermentation technology (SSF) platform that supports various fungi strains and legumes, enabling the company to make multiple mycelium-based foods.  The company’s SSF process creates protein-packed nutritious foods containing all nine essential amino acids plus the legume’s fibres. Fermentation and the mycelium give the legumes an umami flavour which tastes like a “combination between lentils and mushrooms,” says Ravid. After …

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thryve's promotional panflet showing plant-based meat with dip sauce on the side

© IFFCO Group
Products & Launches

IFFCO Launches “GCC’s First 100% Plant-Based Meat Venture” in UAE

IFFCO Group has announced the launch of THRYVE, claimed to be the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC’s) first 100% plant-based meat venture. IFFCO is an international UAE-based group that manufactures and markets FMCG brands such as Noor, Rahma, Al Baker, Hayat, and Savannah. The company plans to commission its first plant-based meat factory by early 2023, accelerating the shift towards sustainable and healthy food sources. Investing in the future THRYVE will be an innovative plant-based food hub that aims to develop, manufacture, and market a sustainable, healthy plant-based meat and alternative foods portfolio. The venture plans to blend new food research and technology with local cuisine and deep-rooted traditions to create products tailored to the region’s demand for sustainable foods. “Our plant-based venture launch is guided …

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vgarden plant-based cheese cut on a wooden board

© Vgarden
Cheese Alternatives

Vgarden & Brevel to Develop New Category of High Protein Microalgae Cheese

Vegan food manufacturer Vgarden, and microalgae-based alternative protein company Brevel, recently announced a collaboration to develop a new category of high-protein plant-based cheese.  Brevel will provide its microalgae protein which is neutral in color and flavor, allowing Vgarden to develop a rich-protein plant-based cheese that has no aftertaste. The new Brevel-enriched cheese will not compromise the real cheese experience, says Vgarden. Brevel’s microalgae protein Yonatan Golan, Brevel’s CEO and co-founder, said: “Brevel is actively working to solve the biggest nutrition challenges that exist today. We are achieving this by providing truly sustainable microalgae protein which is both color and flavor neutral, and available for the first time at an affordable cost for partners like Vgarden.”  “We are excited that Vgarden will be the first to …

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Forsea Foods

© Forsea Foods
Cultivated Seafood

Forsea Foods Raises $5.2M for Cultivated Eel, Will Inaugurate Pilot Plant in 2023

Israel’s Forsea Foods, which claims to be the first startup to use organoid technology for its cultivated seafood process, has raised $5.2 million in a seed round led by Berlin-based Target Global. The new funding will accelerate R&D for cultivating eel meat, the company’s first targeted species, and the development of other fish. Forsea explains it has plans to inaugurate a pilot plant in 2023, allowing the company to create a preliminary design for a large-scale alpha production system and launch its first products. Non-GMO organoid technology According to Forsea, the company has developed a non-GMO organoid technology platform in which eel meat is grown ex vivo as a three-dimensional tissue structure without requiring the scaffolding stage. Forsea highlights that its organoid platform requires fewer bioreactors and growth …

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burger king israel plant-based whopper burger

© Burger King Israel
Fast Food

Burger King Israel Launches Plant-Based Whopper and Nuggets Developed by Meat.The End

Burger King Israel recently launched a plant-based Whopper and vegan chicken nuggets, developed by food tech Israeli startup, Meat. The End, especially for the fast food chain. Last Monday, the Whopper and nuggets debuted as part of a one-week trial at a Burger King restaurant pop-up in Tel Aviv. After the pilot, the items will appear on menus at nine franchise-owned stores by next month, according to Burger King Israel. Strategic move Keren Kupermintz, vice president of marketing, trade and business development at Delek Israel and Burger King, said: “The launch of the plant-based category at Burger King Israel is a strategic move since, in our opinion, a large audience is looking for meat alternatives — not only vegans, but also those who reduce meat …

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alternative protein market company Upside Foods serves a cultivated chicken burger

© UPSIDE Foods
Market & Trends

New Report Finds “Intensified” Interest & Investment in Alternative Protein Market

GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, has released a report that predicts the alternative protein market will likely witness more demand in the future, suggesting alt protein remains an exciting sector offering opportunities for new investments and growth. As alternatives to dairy, seafood, and meat products steadily become closer to mimicking their animal counterparts in taste, texture, and nutrition, and as their prices lower; consumer desire for these innovative products will likely increase, according to the paper.  Numerous market drivers The GlobalData’s Disruptor Intelligence Center analysis concludes that growing consumer awareness around cruelty-free products, VC interest, new business models, and novel source availability are the drivers of the global alternative proteins market. Pranjali Mujumdar, Disruptive Tech analyst at GlobalData, commented: “The emergence of alternative proteins, which …

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change foods sneak peak

© Change Foods
Manufacturing & Technology

Change Foods Reveals Plans For Animal-Free Casein Facility in Abu Dhabi

US-Australian alt dairy company Change Foods has announced plans to open a manufacturing facility for the production of animal-free casein in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The company reveals it has signed an agreement with Kezad Group to design the commercial plant with government support under the NextGen FDI initiative. David Bucca, Change Foods’ founder and CEO, commented: “We are honoured to be a part of the UAE’s NextGen FDI initiative and grateful for the strategic partnership with Kezad Group.”  “NextGen FDI is prioritizing the successful scaling of new sustainable food technologies like ours that offer significant environmental and economic development benefits. The strategic alignment behind our company’s vision to help transition the world to more sustainable food systems by scaling new food production …

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Packaging made with upcycled waste vegetables

© Anina
Investments & Acquisitions

Upcycled Food Innovator Anina Launches Line of Ready Meals

Israeli food tech startup Anina announces the launch of its newly developed ready-to-go plant-based meals made with upcycled vegetables. The round was led by Strauss Group, The Kitchen Hub, Unovis, Unorthodox Ventures, AgFunder VC, Wordcreate Inc., and the Israeli Innovation Authority (IIA). Anat Natan, Meydan Levy, and Esti Brantz founded Anina in 2020 to find new ways to improve efficiency, prevent waste, and reunite consumers with nutritious foods. The company claims it has developed a unique patented technology that forms flexible laminated sheets from fresh upcycled vegetables enabling them to create different shapes and, thus, culinary food art that consumers can add to the experience of eating a quick meal.  Earlier this year, Anina made news when it announced the development of its plant-based ready meals …

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Plant-based burger

@ Photographer Yuval Gruda
Company News

Food Tech Startup Meala Develops Vegetable Protein to Replace Methylcellulose 

Many food formulators working with plant-based alternatives are looking for binders and gums that count as clean-label ingredients to add to their products. Meala, a food tech startup born in Israel, recently revealed it has developed a proprietary platform that creates ‘functionally activated proteins’ designed to replace methylcellulose and gums widely used as binding and gelling agents. The startup claims that its proteins bring the possibility of upgrading to clean label most plant-based meat alternatives while boosting its sensory attributes. Meala was founded in 2020 by Product Innovation Specialist Hadar Ekhoiz Razmovich, Dr. Tali Feldman Sivan, a serial entrepreneur and business strategist, and Liran Gruda, an expert in culinary arts and molecular cuisine. The startup’s mission is to make healthy vegan products and break down the …

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Vegan proteins

@ NextFerm Technologies
Manufacturing & Technology

NextFerm Announces New Balkans Plant Producing $10M of Fermented Protein

NextFerm Technologies of Israel announces a strategic manufacturing agreement with a subcontractor in the Balkan region for the production of its fermented vegan protein, ProteVin. NextFerm is a food tech company dedicated to developing innovative and functional non-GMO yeast-derived vegan protein alternatives and nutrients for the food, food supplement, and non-animal-derived protein markets. The company’s forerunner product is ProteVin, a vegan protein with animal-like nutritional value and a neutral flavour, which will now be produced in Europe. ProteVin is designed for various categories in the alternative protein market, including milk and dairy substitutes, meat substitutes, and additional categories such as infant nutrition, adult nutrition, and sports nutrition. According to the company, the newly commissioned production plant will have an annual capacity for ProteVin production of up …

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MeaTech production line

@MeaTech
Politics & Law

Israel Declares Food Tech & Alt Protein as National Priority; GFI Implores EU to Follow Suit

The Israeli Government this week declared “Food tech, with an emphasis on alternative proteins” as one of five national priorities. The decision was made in consultation with the nonprofit GFI Israel, which plays a key role in the region in promoting the advantage of alternative proteins as a solution to global climate and food crises.  Alla Voldman-Rentzer, vice president at the GFI Israel, commented: “The decision to select food tech with an emphasis on alternative proteins as one of Israel’s five national focus areas, positions the field as a key growth engine for Israel, especially in light of global trends such as the climate and global food crises, and will be a global strategic asset as well.”  Annually, the Ministry of Innovation and Science allocates NIS180M …

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BioBetter uses the tobacco plant to cut cultivated costs

© BioBetter
Investments & Finance

Israel’s BioBetter Secures $10M to Cultivate Meats Using Tobacco Plants

Israeli food tech startup BioBetter announces it has secured $10M in a Series A round to develop and commercialise growth factors made with tobacco plants. Growth factors are essential in the cultivated meat process for cells to grow and multiply. The cellular agriculture industry depends on a limited offer of costly growth factors for its operations. BioBetter’s discovery could significantly reduce production costs by 300%, the food tech claims.  Tobacco plants as self-sustaining, animal-free bioreactors “BioBetter has pioneered a unique protein manufacturing platform for producing growth factors using tobacco plants as natural, self-sustaining, animal-free bioreactors,” explained Dana Yarden, MD, BioBetter’s co-founder. Field-grown tobacco plants, thanks to BioBetter’s technology, can be used to make costly competitive growth factors like insulin, transferrin, and FGF2 necessary to make cultivated …

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forsea foods cultivated eel used in a nigiri

© Forsea Foods
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Israel’s Forsea Foods is “First to Cultivate Eel” Using Organoid Technology

Food tech Forsea Foods, based in Israel, claims to be the first startup to use organoid technology for its cultivated seafood process. Roee Nir, co-founder of Forsea, recently made public the company’s patented technology platform developed to harness natural tissue formation methods to produce healthy and tasty alt seafood. Forming fish tissues Organoid technology has been previously used in developmental biology, medicine, and research. It involves creating an ideal environment for fish cells to form their natural composition of native fat and muscle spontaneously. They grow as a three-dimensional tissue structure in the same way they would in a living fish, explains Biotechnologist Iftach Nachman, Forsea co-founder and developer of the technology. “The result is sustainably produced, succulent filets of cultured seafood that embody the same taste and …

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©Cale & Daughters
Manufacturing & Technology

Cale & Daughters and Israel’s Vgarden in Joint Venture for Local Aussie Manufacturing

A newly announced joint venture between Australia’s Cale & Daughters and Israel’s Vgarden, called Vgarden Australia Pty Ltd, will begin manufacturing plant-based cheese and meat products in a facility based in Brisbane, Australia.   Cale & Daughters is the parent company of Made with Plants, PlantAsia, and Get Plant’d, “much-loved” vegan FMCG brands sold through retailers in Australia. Israel’s Vgarden, part of Gan-Shmuel Health Industries and the Agricultural Cooperative Society Ltd, develops, manufactures, and distributes a wide range of plant-based cheeses, meat and fish alternatives, and pastries. Bringing together innovative capabilities “The joint venture between Cale & Daughters and Vgarden will bring together the innovative capabilities of our two companies by enabling the rapid exchange of resources and IP. This partnership will enable us to minimise …

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Ricoh plant based ink

©Ricoh

Manufacturing & Technology

Ricoh Launches First-to-Market Plant-Based Printer Ink

Japan’s based Ricoh, one of the major international manufacturers of production printing systems, has revealed its first plant-based inkjet ink in what the company describes as “the first of its kind for mainstream graphics and packaging print”. According to Ricoh, the plant-based ink is suitable for brand owners and printer manufacturers who are looking to reduce their environmental impact, stating its aim is to contribute towards a plant-based shift in the printing business across EMEA. Advantages of Plant-Based Ink Ricoh’s plant-based ink is made with plant oil as a substitute for petroleum, which reduces the amount of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) emitted into the air while printing. Therefore, the plant oil component creates a sustainable ink that is biodegradable and supports deinking. The plant-based ink …

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