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German biotech Quazy Foods raises €800K for microalge ingredients.

Image courtesy of Quazy Foods
Investments & Finance

Quazy Foods Raises €800K to Revolutionize Plant-Based Food with Microalgae Ingredients

Quazy Foods, a Berlin-based biotech startup, has announced an €800K pre-seed funding raise to grow microalgae and develop functional ingredients for plant-based foods and other applications. ProVeg International, Antler, and Sprout & About Ventures led the round, with additional investment from business angels. In addition to this newly raised capital, Quazy Foods is officially co-funded by the European Union. With the new funds, Quazy Foods will expand to pilot-stage production and develop the first samples of its microalgae ingredient. Additionally, the startup has announced that it will make key strategic hires for its next growth phase.  Berenike Zimmer, co-founder of Quazy Foods, shared, “Microalgae combine exceptional nutritional profiles with outstanding functional properties, which predestines them as a powerful renewable resource of the future. With Quazy …

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Mililk Packaging shot

© Veganz
Milk- and Dairy Alternatives

“We Flatten Milk”: Veganz Commences Production of “Mililk” Printed Oat Milk Discs

Veganz has begun production of its new innovative printed plant-based milk Mililk at its new production site in Ludwigsfelde, Germany. In a 2D printing process, an oat milk alternative is first printed as a sheet in DIN A4 size. 10 of these DIN A4 sheets make 10 litres of oat milk, which can then be sent by post. With the fun tagline, “Flat, Tasty, Cheap. Veganz Mililk®: We flatten milk”, the publicly listed company says, “The delicious milk alternative avoids 90% packaging waste and gives you plenty of space in the warehouse. We simply flatten the milk by printing oats in sheet form on a 2D printer. You then rip off as much of the leaf as you need and toss it in the blender …

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Cultimate Foods showcased its CultiFat at a tasted event held at ProVeg Incubator in Germany

© ProVeg International
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Cultimate Foods Showcases Hybrid Burgers Enriched with “Game-Changing” Cultivated Fat

Germany’s Cultimate Foods, a biotech specialist in cultivated fat, recently presented a product called CultiFat, featured in hybrid burgers, during a demo tasting event hosted by the startup accelerator ProVeg Incubator. CultiFat is a functional ingredient for hybrid products that replaces flavorings, coconut oil, and methylcellulose in plant-based meat. The product is cell-cultivated from intramuscular beef or pork fat, appreciated for containing the fatty acids that give meat its unique taste and aroma. Albrecht Wolfmeyer, director of the ProVeg Incubator, said: “This is a game-changing functional ingredient that can help transform the plant-based meat category. We’re excited to see what the team has achieved already and what’s next in terms of research, product development and commercialisation. We’re here to support them all the way.” Next-level …

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small child with carrot and broccoli

© Anastasia-stock.adobe.com
Market & Trends

Study Finds Almost Half of Berlin Children Rarely or Never Eat Meat

An AOK study comparing the health and consumption habits of families in various regions of Germany finds that children in Berlin most often eat a flexitarian and vegetarian diet. On average, 33 percent of children in Germany eat a reduced-meat diet, though in the capital, almost half of all children consume no meat or almost no meat in their diets. For the study, 8,500 parents of children between the ages of 4 to 14 throughout Germany were surveyed, revealing that a low-meat diet is especially prevalent in kids who live in Berlin. A flexitarian diet where a small amount of meat is consumed during the week is normal for 26 percent of Berlin families, while 18 percent of Berlin parents would feed their child a …

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Chocolate peanut bar by Veganz

© Veganz

Facts & Figures

Veganz Publishes Annual Report 2022

Veganz Group of Berlin, like most businesses, had to contend with the ongoing economic weakness in 2022: after the focus of food retailing and the discount sector in the first months of the year was on ensuring basic supplies for the population, the young core target group in particular (Generation Z and Millennials+) was most recently heavily impacted by price increases in view of their comparatively low income. Overall, this development made it more difficult to relist Veganz products and implement promotional measures, and led to a decline in sales for Veganz Group AG to EUR 23.6 million (previous year: EUR 30.4 million). In contrast, the number of points of sale (“POS”) as of December 31, 2022 increased to 28,217 (December 31, 2021: 25,199) – …

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Tim Raue X EatPlanted

© Planted Foods AG
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

EatPlanted and Michelin Chef Tim Raue Launch New Limited Edition Chick*n

The EatPlanted special edition “planted.chicken Green Paprika & Lime” by Michelin chef Tim Raue is now available in limited quantities at selected retailers and in the EatPlanted webshop. Tim Raue and EatPlanted announced their first joint signature creation last year, entailing a vegan Peking duck in a specially created five-spice marinade and with a simple recipe from the top Berlin chef. To build on the success of the first signature dish, the partners have now put together a new creation —  planted.chicken Green Paprika & Lime features a special sauce created by Tim Raue, with a light spicy-sweet-and-sour taste and can be used in a variety of ways. Both cooperation partners pursue the goal of being better than animal meat. “My cuisine thrives on aromatics, …

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Vegan Asian street food

© RIP Foods
Delivery Services

Vegan Asian Street Food by RIP Foods Now Available for Delivery in Berlin & Potsdam

Plant-based Asian street food by RIP Foods is now available for delivery in the German cities of Berlin and Potsdam, after the Barcelona-based brand partnered with GoTiger. Founded last year, GoTiger is an app providing same-day delivery of Asian groceries. From this month, users will be able to order RIP’s chicken katsu, Korean BBQ bao, gyozas, spring rolls, and more. “What’s particularly exciting about this collaboration is that because Asian food provides many meat-free options, we have a large number of customers with a natural affinity for great-tasting vegan food. The new range we are launching with RIP Foods has exactly that, great-tasting Asian food which is 100% plant-based,” said Cathal Corcoran, co-founder of GoTiger. “A more sustainable tomorrow” RIP launched its first product, plant-based …

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Green Go steak

© Green Go

Startups, Accelerators & Incubators

Ukraine: Green Go Creates Realistic Plant-Based Shrimp, Calamari, Ribeye Steak, Filet Minon and More

Ukrainian food startup Green Go is set to host a tasting event and Q&A session with a select group of investors, media, chefs, charities, and other industry partners at the ProVeg HQ in Berlin on Thursday, February 2nd. Green Go will showcase samples of its realistic plant-based shrimp, salmon burgers, calamari, and whole cuts including “ribeye steak” and “filet mignon”, prepared by vegan chef and blogger Alexander Flohr, author of the cookbook Vegan Ocean. Besides tasting the startup’s products — not yet available in restaurants, retail, or food service outside Ukraine — attendees will have the opportunity to talk to Founder Alexandr Panasiuk, CEO and Creative Director  Bogdana Leonova, and Head of Food Technology Maria Manturova. ProVeg Incubator Green Go was founded in 2021 by …

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Museum of vegan cheese

© Simply-V
Fairs & Events

Simply V to Open Museum of Alternative Cheese for Veganuary

Germany’s most successful vegan cheese brand Simply V is set to exhibit “modern cheese food art” for Veganuary 2023. From 13 January, Simply V will open the Museum of Alternative Cheese in the trendy Mitte district of Berlin, where visitors will be able to enjoy modern food art in the form of paintings, installations and photographs as well as true culinary art. The exhibition curated especially for this occasion shows works by young contemporary artists that revolve around cheese. In the artwork, it will not be apparent whether conventional or alternative cheese is depicted. “The boundaries become blurred here, just as they do for consumers: they enjoy cheese today and the alternative tomorrow, and this is precisely what Simply V is taking up with the …

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PERFEGGT_EGG_SANDWICH

© Perfeggt
Egg Alternatives

Perfeggt Brings Liquid Egg Alternative to DACH Food Service

Berlin-based foodtech company Perfeggt is launching sales of its plant-based liquid egg alternative for catering and food service in the DACH region. The pea-based egg substitute, which can be used like a whisked hen’s egg, will be distributed via retail partner The Pool Chefs Companion as well as Perfeggt directly. Perfeggt, which closed its first financing round at more than 2.8 million USD (2.5 million EUR) last year, says the vegan egg compares closely with poultry eggs in terms of taste, texture and nutritional profile, offering ten percent protein content. The product was developed by Bernd Becker, co-founder and chief product officer of Perfeggt. He previously held a leading position at Rügenwalder Mühle, where he helped to build up the vegetarian and vegan products division. …

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a vegan plate with vegetables and sprouts

Unity Diner Restaurant London © Unity Diner

Studies & Numbers

World Vegan Day: HappyCow Reveals World’s Top Ten Vegan-Friendly Cities

HappyCow, a vegan community and food discovery platform listing more than 186,000 businesses in over 180 countries, has revealed its list of the top ten vegan-friendly cities in the world to coincide with World Vegan Day.  HappyCow used its database to determine the list, taking into account the following factors:  The number of fully vegan restaurants within a 10 km radius of each city centre The number of fully vegan businesses in that radius The total number of restaurants (vegan, vegetarian, and veg-friendly) listed in the radius The density of vegan businesses per capita The growth of vegan businesses since the previous report A qualitative evaluation from the team, city ambassadors, and the “cowmunity” on finding vegan options and how active the vegan community is …

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planted.kebab_Oliver_Polak

© Planted Foods AG
Company News

Stand-Up Comic Oliver Polak Gets Naked in Planted’s Berlin Campaign

Food tech startup Planted wants to surprise people in Kreuzberg with a “billboard of a different kind”. Comedian Oliver Polak took off all his clothes to pose in front of the billboard at lunchtime as a living advertising message for Planted’s first plant-based kebab without additives. While the classic order is “one kebab with everything”, it is now “one kebab with nothing”. And just like the planted.kebab without additives, Oliver Polak also came “without everything”. The mission of the Swiss company, which raised £61 million in Series B last month in one of the largest alt-protein rounds in Europe, is to be better than animal meat, in terms of taste, sustainability, health and price. Planted wants to revolutionise the way meat is perceived and consumed …

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Mirjam Walser

Mirjam Walser © Vegan Business School
Startups, Accelerators & Incubators

Berlin’s Vegan Business School Announces Second Round

To start your own business and promote veganism in the process is a dream for many that is not always easy to realise. The Vegan Business School, founded in Berlin this year, aims to make it easier. The Vegan Business School offers four-month live online courses where participants learn how to build and start a vegan business. Supporting women The Vegan Business School provides the necessary knowledge and support to get your own vegan business off the ground. The focus is primarily on women; Mirjam Walser, who is in contact with numerous founders through the organisation of vegan startup events, knows that women in particular have many doubts when it comes to entrepreneurship. The programme is therefore not only about learning the basics of entrepreneurship, …

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Blue Farm founders

© Blue Farm

Investments & Acquisitions

Berlin’s Blue Farm Secures Approx €3M for “Radically Redeveloping” Oat Milk

Berlin-based start-up Blue Farm, producer of award-winning powered oat drinks, announces it has closed a round of funding to the tune of around €3 million. Since its launch in early 2021, Blue Farm has sold enough oat drink powder to create over 750,000 litres of oat drink. The Oat Base Bio was awarded the Vegan Food Award for Best Plant Drink 2022 by PETA. Blue Farm states it is “radically redeveloping milk” with its powdered plant-based products, which include oat bases and oat latte bases. By eliminating water and selling only the fermented plant base, the company is significantly reducing the footprint of oat milk. Blue Farm is able to deliver 8L of plant milk, free of additives, directly to the consumer’s mailbox. The round …

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Veganz Aufschnitt

©Veganz GmbH
Company News

Veganz and epap Join Forces For Digitized Receipts Offering Shopper Insights

Veganz and epap have joined forces to jointly develop market research offering valuable shopper insights for the further development of its vegan product portfolio via digitized receipts.  Berlin-based Veganz is known for its variety of vegan products ranging from snacks to meat, fish and cheese alternatives. The company has decided to focus on tailoring its developments to customer needs, and as such is cooperating with Hanover-based startup epap, which uses the app of the same name to enable receipts to be received and digitized without paper. With receipts from over 90,000 shops in the app, epap creates an attractive basis for innovative shopper research in line with the corporate philosophy “Ask your Customer”.  “We are very pleased to have a strong partner like Veganz at …

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chocbar-caramel-peanut Veganz

© Veganz
Sweets & Snacks

Veganz Launches Climate Friendly Organic Choc Bar Peanut Caramel

Veganz, based in Berlin, announces new product launch vegan Choc Bar Peanut Caramel, saying it has “successfully managed the technical challenge of creating creamy caramel without the need for butter”. Veganz was founded as the first vegan supermarket chain in Europe and now produces a wide range of own-brand products encompassing biscuits and snacks, cheese alternatives, plant-based fish and seafood, vegan meat and sausages, and ready meals. In October of last year, the company announced its plans to go public, and in January of this year Veganz signed an exclusive agreement with global food service provider Aramark. Throughout 2021 the company launched into Greek supermarket chain AB (Alfa-Beta) and rolled out its popular frozen pizzas into Woolworths Australia and Drakes Australia, having already become established …

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Perfeggt poured into pan

Perfeggt©Patrycia Lukaszewicz
Investments & Finance

Perfeggt Secures $2.8 Million For Chickenless Eggs

Perfeggt announces it has closed its first financing round at more than 2.8 million USD (2.5 million EUR) for its chickenless egg product. Its first iteration consists of a “complex, plant-based system” including the increasingly popular fava bean, that can be prepared scrambled or as an omelette. “We expect Perfeggt to quickly gain significant market share and reach high, sustainable growth with continuous product innovation in the coming years.”  Prominent and prolific investors in the round included EVIG Group, Stray Dog Capital, E²JDJ, Tet Ventures, Good Seed Ventures, Sustainable Food Ventures and Shio Capital. The Berlin-based company’s debut product will initially launch early next year in Germany, Switzerland and Austria markets with further European markets to follow. Tanja Bogumil, CEO of Perfeggt, states: “With Perfeggt, …

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Planted Foods

© Planted Foods AG
Marketing & Media

Food Tech Startup Planted Foods Causes a Stir in Berlin With Giant Chicken Made of Plants

With a 100 square metre art installation made of real plants arranged in the shape of a chicken, the Swiss startup Planted is causing a stir in Berlin in a campaign that has been running since 8th October and will continue til 11th November. Under the title “Better than”, Planted encourages people to critically question the way meat is perceived and consumed. For its mission to make the world a better place one bite at a time, the start-up actively promotes environmental protection and resource conservation with a series of different actions as part of the campaign. While the installation catches the eyes of people passing by, Planted online allows consumers to find out how much carbon dioxide, water and animal life each individual can …

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Berlin University

© lumen-digital - stock.adobe.com
Gastronomy & Food Service

Berlin Universities to Drop 96% of Meat on Canteen Menus For Climate Harm Reduction

In response to popular demand from students, canteen meals in Berlin are becoming even more climate-friendly. According to dpa, a meat-free Monday is planned, as well as a general expansion of the range of vegetarian and vegan dishes from the coming winter semester. “The new nutritional concept was developed in particular because students have repeatedly approached us with the wish to make the food on offer in the dining halls even more climate-friendly,” explains Daniela Kummle from the Studierendenwerk. In the future, vegetarian and vegan options will make up the majority of the menu in Berlin’s canteens, with only about four per cent of the menu consisting of meat or fish. According to Kummle, the city’s refectories have been offering a so-called vegan climate meal …

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Bluu Biosciences

©Bluu Biosciences
Top Stories

Europe’s First Cell-Cultured Fish Biotech Company Bluu Biosciences Secures €7M in Oversubscribed Seed Round

German biotech firm Bluu Biosciences, the first company in Europe to specialize in the development and production of cell-based fish, announces it has closed a seed funding round at 7 million euros, less than ten months after its foundation. Bluu Biosciences is working to produce high-quality, sustainable fish products from cell cultures, to feature high nutritional value and a premium flavour profile.

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