Switzerland

Mcdonald's Mcplant

© Mcdonald's
Products & Launches

McDonald’s Launches the McPlant in Switzerland and Slovenia

McDonald’s continues its global plant-based menu expansion following the successful launch of the McPlant Steakhouse in the Netherlands, which features a patty co-developed with Beyond Meat and three other new plant-based options. Now, Switzerland and Slovenia are the latest European destinations to add meatless offerings to the menu. McPlant in Switzerland As the popularity of flexitarianism continues to grow in Switzerland, McDonald’s is catering to the demand by introducing the McPlant to the menu. The plant-based patty is crafted in collaboration with Beyond Meat and can be served entirely plant-based by omitting the cheese and sauce.  Lara Skripitsky, managing director of McDonald’s Switzerland, highlights: “With the McPlant, we offer our guests who eat flexitarian food even more choice. The McPlant patty is made from plant-based …

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Alice Fauconnet of New Roots

Alice Fauconnet ©SusanneGoldschmid

Interviews

New Roots: “We Honour Swiss Cheese Heritage by Making it More Ethical and More Sustainable”

Alice Fauconnet is co-founder and marketing director at New Roots, a vegan cheese company based in Switzerland. When she’s not inventing the cheese traditions of the future, Alice can be found mountaineering in the Swiss Alps, or advocating for animal rights.  New Roots offers a large range of artisan cheeses and spreads as well as yogurts and creamery products. When we last spoke with Alice, back in 2018, she urged that the “dairy industry is an environmental disaster”, and she wasn’t wrong. What is your current product line and which are the bestsellers? We currently offer a range of 12 different cheeses, as well as yogurts and cooking creams. Our two best sellers are the Soft White, our alternative to soft cheese with a rind …

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Swiss vegan award winners in all categories

© Swiss Vegan Awards
Fairs & Events

Winners of Yesterday’s Swiss Vegan Awards 2023 Include New Roots and Planted

Yesterday, the Swiss Vegan Society presented the Swiss Vegan Awards for the 8th time, honoring companies, products, and people whose innovations and offers have made a significant contribution to the further development of the vegan sector in Switzerland. A country steeped in traditional culinary values and intertwined with dairy heritage, Switzerland has seen recent moves from food producers, activists, retailers, and policymakers to update these traditions in a more planet-friendly and ethical direction. Paving the way in Switzerland for an ethical future Campaign group Animal Rights Switzerland recently initiated a project outlining how the country could become animal-friendly, describing how meat and dairy products could, in place of conventional methods that involve cruelty and killing of animals, be produced through fermentation and cultivated technologies. In …

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Umiami whole cuts in pan

© Umiami
Products & Launches

Umiami’s Plant-Based Fillets to Arrive in Swiss Stores Through FFF Fresh & Frozen Food Partnership

Umiami, the French plant-based food tech brand, is set to grace the shelves of 165 Coop stores across Switzerland with its 100% vegan chicken fillet. This milestone comes as a result of a strategic partnership with FFF Fresh & Frozen Food, a Swiss distribution specialist.  Umiami’s journey began in 2020, founded by Tristan Maurel, Martin Habfast, and Clémence Pedraza. The company’s cutting-edge umisation technology led to the creation of plant-based chicken fillets, and it is currently developing new recipes, which it plans to launch in 2024. This product has under ten ingredients and is free from texturing agents or methylcellulose, but the company claims it still perfectly mimics meat in taste, texture, and appearance. Founder and CEO of Umiami, Maurel, comments on the milestone, “It’s …

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Aleph Farms submited an application to Swiss regulators, marking the first-ever submission for cultivated meat in europe

© Aleph Farms
Company News

Aleph Farms Becomes First in Europe to Submit Cultivated Meat for Novel Foods Approval in Switzerland

Cultivated meat company Aleph Farms announces it has initiated the regulatory approval process to commercialize in Switzerland its premium Angus-style thin cultivated steak — dubbed the Petit Steak and claimed as the world’s first cultivated steak — marking it the first-ever submission for cultivated meat in Europe. Aleph Farms says it has submitted an application for placing on the market novel and novel traditional foodstuffs to the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO). It is worth noting that if Aleph Farms gets novel food approval in Switzerland, the EU requires authorization from the European Commission for market placement in the region.  The Israeli company has previously announced plans to launch its brand of cultivated meat Aleph Cuts in Singapore and Israel in limited quantities (tasting experiences) once the …

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Givaudan Zürich Innovation Centre

© Givaudan
Milk- and Dairy Alternatives

Givaudan Expands its Zurich Protein Hub With New Capabilities for Dairy Alternatives

As the latest addition to its global innovation ecosystem, Givaudan has expanded the Protein Hub at its flagship Zurich Innovation Center in Kemptthal, Switzerland, to support the development of dairy alternatives. The expanded Hub offers specialised expertise, state-of-the-art digital technologies, and an integrated portfolio of solutions specifically designed for dairy alternative products to accelerate new product development. “At Givaudan, we take a unique co-creation approach, working side-by-side with our customers, partners, start-ups, chefs, academics, and many others as a driving force for innovation,” said Doruk Ongan, President Europe Taste & Wellbeing. “We are excited to open the doors of the Protein Hub to alternative dairy customers so that together we can shape the future of this dynamic category.” Direct access to experts Customers visiting the …

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Two brown cows/ cattle

© Mosa Meat
Charity & Campaigns

Animal Rights Switzerland Sets Out Vision to Make the Country Vegan

Campaign group Animal Rights Switzerland has launched a project outlining how the country could become animal-friendly. The group describes how meat and dairy products could be produced through cultivation and fermentation technologies, removing the need for animal agriculture. Slaughterhouses could then be repurposed, or turned into museums. Recreational fishermen could remove litter from rivers rather than catching fish, or focus on monitoring and photographing aquatic life. Contraceptives could be used to prevent wild animals such as deer from becoming overpopulated, removing the need for hunting. To make clothing, leather and petroleum-derived materials would be replaced with alternatives such as mushroom or apple leather, and plant-based alternatives to wool would also be used. Animal protection laws would be updated to totally forbid harming and killing animals. …

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New Roots Soft White cheese

© New Roots
Cheese Alternatives

What’s More Sustainable, Dairy From the Cashew or the Cow?

Much has been said around the issue of sustainability in plant milks, with almond milk in particular having notoriety and receiving a plethora of bad press including a well-documented Guardian piece from 2020. However, almond is said to cause the least C02 emissions. It’s a complicated issue. Those milks seen as more beneficial, or indeed least detrimental to the environment, include soy, oat, and pea. But what about the cashew? Highly nutritious despite their high calorie content, this drupe (a stone fruit) offers a good source of magnesium as well as the amino acid tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin. In terms of sustainability, the cashew requires little water usage and emits fewer greenhouse gases than some other alternatives. Also, their surrounding fruit can be upcycled …

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Plant-based momos

© Planted
Products & Launches

Planted Launches Plant-Based Momos at Swiss Migrolino Convenience Stores

Swiss brand Planted launches plant-based momos at migrolino convenience stores, a Migros subsidiary in more than 300 at railway stations, petrol stations and city locations. The Nepalese-style steamed dumplings are filled with Planted’s plant-based meat, which is said to be “better than pork”. They also contain naturally-sourced ingredients such as soy sauce, black bean garlic sauce, chili, and sesame oil. “Get ready to steam up your taste buds with our brand new planted.momos, now available exclusively at selected stores of migrolino AG!” said Planted on LinkedIn. “Experience the perfect balance between juicy and flavourful packed into each and every plant-based bite.” Planted has also announced that its popular plant-based chicken skewer, described as “the ideal addition to your next BBQ”, is now available at migrolino. …

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brewbee-team-innovation

Yves Habermacher, Johannes Lenz & Simon Haas, © brewbee
Retail & E-Commerce

Switzerland’s First Upcycled Food Brand brewbee Rolls Out into Coop Stores

Food upcycling instead of food waste: brewbee wants to conquer the Swiss market with its sustainable foods created with spent grain from the beer industry. Coop will now carry the brand’s muesli, pizzas, potato chips, and meat alternatives, throughout Switzerland. The startup transforms the byproducts of traditional beer brewing into high-quality foods. Spent grain, brewer’s yeast, soft beer and pithy secondary wort are processed in Appenzell into “Tschipps,” pizza, muesli and “Gschnetzlets.” These sustainably produced foods are now available at Coop stores across Switzerland. As yet, it is barely known what can be possible with beer brewery by-products. “Brewer’s grains contain more protein and fiber than other raw materials – you feel full faster and, above all, longer,” emphasizes Simon Haas, food technologist and product …

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Swissveg_Renato Pichler

Renato Pichler ©Swissveg
Interviews

Swissveg: “Thanks to Swissveg, Switzerland is One of the Few Countries Where the Terms “Vegetarian” and “Vegan” Have Been Legally Defined For Years”

Renato Pichler is President and CEO of Swissveg. He has been working full-time for Swissveg since 1993 and is one of the founding members of the association. He maintains international cooperations and coordinates the V-Label internationally. With his extensive knowledge accumulated over the years, Renato Pichler is a proven expert in the vegan movement. We spoke with Renato about Swissveg’s successes and goals, as well as the status of the vegan movement in Switzerland. What is Swissveg and what does the organization stand for? Since 1993, Swissveg, as a politically and religiously independent organization, has been using positive public relations work to permanently reduce meat consumption and to make a plant-based, responsible lifestyle accessible as well as promote it as an attractive and healthy alternative …

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© Feelgood Condoms
Health

Newly Launched Vegan Brand Feelgood Condoms Are Made With Green Electricity

Swiss company Brandmover, headed by sexual health specialist Martina Hammer, formerly of Johnson & Johnson, launches new sustainable Feelgood Condoms. The condoms are vegan and produced with green electricity, according to the brand, whose motto is “Not only for vegans & animal lovers: Feelgood satisfies everyone”. Speaking to vegconomist, Martina explained, “The electricity used for the production of the feelgood condoms comes 100% from energy sources that meet the internationally recognized standards of EKOenergy. This is generated in a CO2-neutral manner and there is no interference with existing ecosystems or a general impairment of fauna and flora. EKOenergy ensures that, for example, no electricity is drawn from wind turbines in bird sanctuaries. In addition, part of the electricity costs flows into the climate and environmental …

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Yeastup patties in packaging

© Yeastup
Studies & Numbers

FHNW Study: Yeastup Protein Shows Up to 81% Lower Ecological Footprint Than Pea & Beef

A study conducted at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) recently examined the environmental impact of different burger patties and found clear advantages in Yeastup protein, which is upcycled from the beer brewing process. A patty with proteins from brewery surplus yeast was compared with a conventional version made from beef and a vegan patty as a benchmark. The life cycle assessment according to ISO 14040 ff showed that Yeastin® can reduce the environmental footprint of a 113 g burger patty by 74 to 81%, depending on the indicator studied. The research results from the Institute for Ecopreneurship at FHNW show: A vegan burger patty made from Yeastin® protein by Yeastup has an even smaller environmental footprint than one made from pea protein. …

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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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The UK Government invests £12M in Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub to cultivate meat at scale

© Mirai Foods
Cultivated Meat

Swiss Mirai Foods Develops the “First Thick Cultivated Steak” with Non-GM Beef Cells

So far in 2023, the progress of cultivated meat in Europe seems unstoppable. At the beginning of this month, UK’s biotech company 3DBT announced what it calls the world’s first truly cultivated steak. Soon after, the Czech food tech Mewery claimed the first cultivated prototype grown with pork and microalgae cells. Today, the Swiss cultivated meat startup Mirai Foods announces what it claims to be the “first thick cultivated steak” developed using its proprietary fibration technology platform that allows efficient tissue cultivation without chemical manipulation and using “exclusively” not genetically manipulated cells. The ultimate challenge Founded in 2019 in Zurich, Mirai’s 20-person team works to produce cultivated meat by multiplying muscle and fat cells without using genetic engineering to address European consumer preferences. The startup focuses on premium …

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Eatplanted alt meat range

© Eatplanted
Politics & Law

Swiss Vegan Brands May Be Forced to Remove Meat-Like Terminology From Labels

Eatplanted, the largest Swiss plant-based meat startup, as well as any Swiss vegan brand, could be forced to remove animal meat names on plant-based food packaging labels.   By the end of the year, the Federal Court will decide whether meat alternatives produced in Switzerland can continue to be labelled as plant-based ‘chicken’ or ‘pork.’  The decision would set a precedent not only in Switzerland but also in Europe. A previous ruling in favour SWI reports that in November 2022, the Zurich Administrative Court ruled that animal meat names on plant-based food packaging labelled as “vegan” were not misleading to consumers. The case was taken to the Zurich court by Planted Foods (Eatplanted) after the laboratory that oversees food and water safety in Zurich asked …

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©Migros
Market & Trends

Coop Switzerland Reports +252% Growth of Vegan Burgers and +350% Growth of Alt Meat

A recent study by Coop regarding plant-based nutrition in Switzerland finds that 63% of the Swiss population is actively reducing their meat consumption, that vegan burgers have seen strong growth of 252% and that sales of vegan meat alternatives increased by more than 350% over the past three years. The third ‘Plant Based Food Report’ in Switzerland, compiled by Coop together with LINK, provides comprehensive facts and figures on vegan nutrition, shows trends over the last few years and takes a look into the future. Key points from the study are as follows. Demand for plant-based in Switzerland The range of meat alternatives on offer in the Swiss market is generally very diverse, finds the study. Vegan burgers continue to account for a fifth of …

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Christoph Jenny of Eatplanted

Christoph Jenn © Eatplanted
Interviews

Eatplanted: “We Want to Revolutionise the Way Meat and Protein-Rich Foods Are Consumed”

Eatplanted is one of Europe’s fastest-growing alt meat producers, combining extrusion and fermentation technology to make highly realistic meat alternatives. Founded in Switzerland in 2019, Eatplanted rapidly began attracting investor interest and raising large sums of funding. The company then announced ambitious plans to develop whole cuts of plant-based meat — an area that has eluded many producers — and to become Europe’s biggest alt meat brand. Soon, Eatplanted was expanding internationally. The company arrived in the UK less than a year ago but has already been widely successful, securing listings at national retailers such as Morrisons and Holland & Barrett. We caught up with co-founder Christoph Jenny to find out more about Eatplanted’s products and goals for 2023. What is the story behind Eatplanted? …

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3D-printable mycoprotein

© Revo Foods/Mycorena
Printed Technology

Revo Foods and Mycorena Receive €1.5M to Develop 3D-Printable Mycoprotein

Austria’s Revo Foods and Sweden’s Mycorena have received a €1.5 million grant for their joint project of developing 3D-printable mycoprotein. The funds come from Swedish innovation agency Vinnova, the Austrian Research Promotion Agency, and cross-border EU funding program Eurostars. Applications were highly competitive, so the companies’ success demonstrates that there is significant interest in innovative mycoprotein solutions. “Getting this recognition from such an attractive and competitive initiative like Eurostars further emphasises that the technology we are developing is really an important part of creating a sustainable food system,” said Paulo Teixeira, Chief Innovation Officer at Mycorena. Whole-cut alt seafood First announced in October, the joint project is working on technologies and processes to create mycoprotein suitable for additive food manufacturing. It has a particular focus …

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Plant-based milk shelf at Albert Heijn

Image: ProVeg Netherlands
Market & Trends

Plant-Based Milk Posing a Threat for Swiss Dairy Industry as Demand Increases 80%

As reported by 24HEURES; in Switzerland, the demand for plant-based milk has grown considerably in the last five years. Turnover from sales of milk alternatives rose from 96 to 172 million francs between 2017 and 2021, an increase of almost 80%, according to a Federal Office of Agriculture study. Daniel Koller, secretary of Swissmilk, an organisation that promotes dairy milk, told the news outlet that the rise in demand for alternative milk poses a challenge for the Swiss milk industry because alternative milk brands imitate everything about milk, from its packaging to its nutritional profile, and promote false sustainability claims. Milk as illegal term for alt milk since 2017 According to Swissmilk, the term “milk” has been illegal in Switzerland and throughout the European Union …

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