Chicken

Schouten Europe unveils a new product development (NPD) — a plant-based chicken schnitzel — crafted with an innovative fiber technology called NewTextures.

Image courtesy of Schouten Europe

Manufacturing & Technology

Schouten Europe Debuts New Fiber Technology Replacing Texturates in Plant-Based Chicken Schnitzel

Schouten Europe, the first Dutch company to develop meat alternatives and a market leader for decades, unveils a new product development — plant-based chicken schnitzel — crafted with a new fiber technology called NewTextures. The technology, developed in-house after years of R&D, replaces traditional textured proteins with fibers. According to Schouten Europe, these fibers enhance the texture and appeal of products, bringing them closer to the meat experience. The plant-based chicken schnitzel showcases the capabilities of NewTextures, boasting a juicy texture and the white color characteristic of chicken, explains the plant-based expert. Its ingredients include wheat and soy proteins, bamboo fibers, and oils such as rapeseed and sunflower. “Meat substitutes are sometimes prepared incorrectly, which can make them a bit dry. These products retain their …

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Novameat shredded beef

© Novameat
Investments & Finance

Novameat Secures €17.4M in Oversubscribed Round, Launches Improved Shredded Plant-Based Beef

Barcelona’s Novameat, a B2B company specializing in different cuts of plant-based chicken, beef, and turkey, announces it has raised €17.4 million in an oversubscribed Series A round led by Sofinnova Partners and Forbion via its BioEconomy Fund. Existing investors like Unovis Asset Management, Praesidium, and Rubio Impact Ventures also reinvested, betting on the company’s realistic alternatives to meat. The new capital will allow Novameat to expand its product range, including the launch of a new, improved shredded plant-based beef product — Shredded Nova-b*ef — on September 16th. The funds will also help boost commercial activities in new regions and scale production using its proprietary MicroForce technology. Giuseppe Scionti, CEO and founder of Novameat, commented, “This funding marks a significant milestone in our journey, and we …

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Plant-based fish company Hooked Foods announces it has expanded its product portfolio with new options, including plant-based chicken.

© Hooked Foods
Products & Launches

Hooked Foods Launches New Vegan Seafood, Enters Chicken Category, Gains Listings at Sweden’s Biggest Retailers

Swedish startup Hooked Foods announces it has expanded its product portfolio with further vegan seafood options as well as new plant-based chicken products, marking its entrance into a new category. The products will be available in Sweden’s two largest major retail chains — ICA Gruppen and Coop Sverige — starting October 2024. The new products were created to meet the demand for specific plant-based products, following input from partner retailers and consumers, say the founders. In addition to the NPDs, Hooked Foods has revamped its packaging design in response to consumer demand for transparency. The new packaging is said to include easy-to-understand product images, clear labeling, and a focus on honesty and safety, emphasizing honesty and safety. It has been designed to reflect the company’s …

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TiNDLE stuffed chicken

© TiNDLE

Products & Launches

New Stuffed Chicken Line from TiNDLE Foods Hits Shelves at GIANT and MARTIN’S

TiNDLE Foods has announced the launch of its new Stuffed Chicken line, marking an expansion of its plant-based product range. The new offerings, including Parmigiana and Tikka Masala varieties, will debut this week in collaboration with The GIANT Company, a subsidiary of multinational retail and wholesale company Ahold Delhaize. The Stuffed Chicken products will be available in 160 GIANT and MARTIN’S retail locations across Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. This rollout follows TiNDLE’s entry into the US retail sector in November of last year. US Managing Director and Senior Vice President of Business Development at TiNDLE Foods, JJ Kass, commented on the partnership, stating, “We are excited to have our full range of products – including our latest Stuffed Chicken offerings – rolling out …

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A drawing of a happy dog under the sun by Noochies!

© Noochies!

Pet Food

Noochies! Starts FDA Approval Process as Cultivated Pet Food Inches Closer to Shelves

US pet food brand Noochies! announces that it has initiated the first steps of the regulatory process to introduce a cultivated chicken dog product in the US market. Further Foods, the brand’s parent company owned by Canada’s CULT Food Science, has completed and submitted a feeding trial protocol for dogs to the FDA. The feeding trials, necessary to ensure the novel ingredient’s safety and efficacy, will start later this year, contingent on the FDA’s approval. The protocol’s design was developed in collaboration with Dr. Sarah Dodd, co-founder of the US startup Friends & Family Pet Food Co. Noochies! has already introduced two unique products featuring an alternative protein: Freeze-Dried Dog and Cat Snacks, crafted with a dried yeast protein developed by CULT Food Science. Mitchell Scott, …

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oland's first cultivated meat startup, LabFarm, has received over PLN 9 million (around €2 million) from the National Centre for Research and Development.

© LabFarm
meat

Polish Government Backs LabFarm With €2M Grant for Cultivated Chicken

Poland’s first cultivated meat startup, LabFarm, has received over PLN 9 million (around €2 million) from the National Centre for Research and Development (NCRD), the executive agency of the Polish Ministry of Education and Science co-financing R&D projects at the intersection of science and business. Founded in 2022 by molecular biologist Stanisław Łoboziak (CTO) and entrepreneur Wiesław Macherzyński (COO) in Warsaw’s Wilanów district, LabFarm focuses on cultivated chicken. The company is privately owned, and reportedly, its leading investor is Jarosław Krzyżanowski, president of KPS Food, an advanced poultry plant in Poland. The grant will enable LabFarm to optimize bioprocesses, scale up production, work on proprietary growth media, develop products, and expand its team, the startup announced. The nonprofit organization ProVeg International and the think tank Good Food …

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© Elmhurst 1925
Products & Launches

Elmhurst 1925 Launches One-Ingredient Plant-Based Chicken Sold in Powder Form

Elmhurst 1925, the former dairy producer turned plant-based milk brand, has expanded into meat alternatives with the launch of a new plant-based chicken product. Uniquely, the meat alternative is sold as a dry powder and can be rehydrated using water and oil. A spice blend is added for flavor, and the mixture can then be microwaved to form a plant-based cutlet. The clean-label powder contains just one ingredient, hemp protein, and provides 26g of protein per serving. The product is sold under the brand name TerraMeat, and is available as a starter kit from the Elmhurst 1925 website. “It is amazing to work with, it is delicious — one clean ingredient, hemp grain protein,” said Chef Camillo Sabella, who has worked with Elmhurst to create …

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The Plant It Food Co.'s vegan chicken

© Image courtesy of Eurest
Food Service

Food Service Giant Eurest Teams Up with The Plant-It Food Co. to Bring Vegan Chicken to US Menus

Compass Group’s division Eurest, a leader in hospitality and food service in the USA, has partnered with the Irish company The Plant-It Food Co. (Plant It) to serve its plant-based chicken across its non-commercial operations in five markets: Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia, before a broader national rollout. Eurest, which highlights the versatility of Plant It’s vegan chicken, says that its chefs and dietitians have prepared it in multiple recipes — breaded, crumbled, filleted, or grilled — to suit diverse global and American cuisines, providing more plant-based options. The companies state that their partnership aims to promote healthier and more sustainable eating habits, highlighting the dual benefits of delicious food and positive environmental actions. “It’s exciting to introduce better-for-you options to our guests that they …

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Further Foods, the company behind the cruelty-free pet food brand Noochies!, will submit a feeding trial protocol for dogs and their cultivated chicken to the FDA later this month.

© Noochies!
Pet Food

Noochies! Takes First Regulatory Steps to Launch a Cultivated Chicken Product for Dogs in the USA

Canada’s CULT Food Science (“CULT” or the “Company”) (CSE: CULT) (OTC: CULTF) (FRA: LN0) announces that its subsidiary, Further Foods, the company behind the pet food brand Noochies!, will submit a feeding trial protocol for a cultivated chicken ingredient to the FDA later this month. Noochies!, a brand leveraging alternative proteins to avoid factory-farmed chicken and beef, has already introduced two unique products featuring a dried yeast protein developed by CULT Food Science to meet pets’ daily nutritional requirements: Freeze-Dried Dog and Cat Snacks. The brand has plans to formulate new Noochies! with cultivated chicken. The feeding trials, necessary for regulatory approval as cultivated chicken is a new ingredient that pets have never consumed, are planned to commence in Q4 of this year. This is contingent …

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Meatly's cultivated chicken for pets approved for sale in the UK, first products to hit shelves this year.

Image courtesy of Meatly
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Meatly’s Cultivated Chicken for Pets Approved for Sale in the UK, First Products to Hit Shelves This Year

The UK’s Meatly, previously Good Dog Food, announces that it has received regulatory clearance from relevant UK Government departments to produce and sell cultivated meat for pet food, making it the first company in the country to obtain such authorization. The company explains that its cultivated chicken has undergone extensive testing and has been confirmed free from bacteria, viruses, GMOs, antibiotics, harmful pathogens, heavy metals, and other impurities. Its production facility has also been approved to produce and handle its cultivated chicken. Meatly has successfully developed and manufactured the UK’s first cultivated chicken product for cats, Omni Feast, with its first commercial partner, the plant-based pet food company Omni. With this approval, the first samples will be launched in the UK later this year, making …

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VFC Believe in Chickens campaign

© VFC
Marketing & Media

VFC Condemns Hypocrisy & Cruelty Inherent in KFC Campaign: “KFC Believes in Chicken, Whereas VFC Believes in Chickens”

Activist-led UK brand VFC has accused KFC of hypocrisy after the chain launched a major ad campaign encouraging consumers to “Believe in Chicken”. According to VFC, KFC’s representation of chicken cannot be trusted. Consequently, the brand has launched a social media campaign featuring a modified version of KFC’s billboard creative, altering the message to “Believe in Chickens”. By addressing chickens in the plural, VFC aims to highlight that they are living creatures that deserve to be treated with compassion. Unlike KFC’s campaign, which features images of fried chicken, VFC’s version shows how farmed chickens are treated. This is not the first time VFC has challenged the fast food chain — in 2022, the brand condemned a “misleading” KFC campaign where an influencer was invited to …

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Close up of woman biting into Planted chicken

© Planted
Studies & Numbers

EU Survey Reveals Color, Shape, & Texture of Plant-Based Fermented Foods are Paramount for Consumers

The first wave of consumer surveys from the EU-funded HealthFerm project has pinpointed the sensory preferences of consumers for fermented plant-based alternatives such as yogurt, drinkable yogurt, chicken, and protein-enriched bread. The survey, which reached 7,800 EU consumers in eight EU Countries and Switzerland, delves into European consumer preferences and attitudes towards plant-based fermented foods. It provides food innovators with guidance for developing plant-based fermented alternatives that align with consumers’ expectations. Creamy, sweet, and uniform. Consumers favor plant-based fermented yogurt and drinkable yogurt that is white, creamy, sweet, and uniform. The survey shows a clear preference for these products to mimic the characteristics of dairy-based yogurts, highlighting the importance of familiar textures and flavors. For both fermented plant-based drinkable yogurt and regular yogurt, “liquid,” “white …

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UPSIDE Foods is hosting a free one-night-only pop-up in Miami to offer cultivated chicken before Florida's cultivated meat ban takes effect on July 1, 2024.

© UPSIDE Foods
Cultivated Meat

UPSIDE Foods Hosts Free Cultivated Chicken Tasting Before Florida’s Ban

UPSIDE Foods, the first company to introduce a cultivated meat product in the USA,  announces that it is hosting a free, one-night-only pop-up tasting in Miami, on June 27, starting at 6:30 pm (ET). The event aims to celebrate “freedom of food” and allow Floridians to taste cultivated meat before the ban prohibiting the production and sale of cultivated meat in Florida takes effect on July 1, 2024. At the pop-up, participants will have the opportunity to taste UPSIDE’s cultivated chicken on a first-come, first-served basis. The address has not been disclosed; to obtain it, contact [email protected]. Dr. Uma Valeti, CEO and founder of UPSIDE Foods, commented, “We believe that cultivated meat is an essential part of the future of food and that people should have …

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The Vegetarian Butcher spicy vegan chicken

© The Vegetarian Butcher
Products & Launches

The Vegetarian Butcher Brings Spicy Vegan Schnitzel to Germany as Southern Fried Chicken Trends Globally

Unilever-owned Dutch brand The Vegetarian Butcher has expanded its vegan chicken range in Germany with a new product launch, the picante ‘Pepperfect Chick’n’. With the new, spicy vegan alternative to breaded chicken schnitzel, the company says is focusing on the trend towards American fried chicken. The fillets are made from soy proteins and enriched with vitamin B12, in a crispy vegan coating flavoured with black pepper and paprika. According to reports, spicy chicken products appear to be trending globally, and in the US such foods termed “swicy” (sweet and spicy) were predicted to gain popularity in 2024. In the UK, last year it was revealed that one in five Brits consume Southern fried chicken every week and one in ten do so every month, more …

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Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

60% of US Consumers Open to Cultivated Chicken, Beef, & Pork Despite Taste and Health Doubts, Finds Survey

A Consumer Food Insights survey, used by Purdue University to track consumer perceptions of cultivated meat, has found that around 60% of consumers are willing to try cultivated beef, chicken, and pork in restaurants, while around 30% are unwilling. 1,200 of the consumers surveyed were presented with a list including familiar animals, such as chicken, cow, and pig, as well as several exotic creatures. They were asked to group the animals based on their willingness to try conventional and cultivated meat cuts in a professional restaurant setting, classifying them as either ‘willing to try’ or ‘not willing to try.’ Conventional vs cultivated From all the animals listed, consumers were shown to be more willing to eat the animal-derived meat than cultivated meat, even in the case of exotic animals. The most …

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GOOD Meat in retail

© GOOD Meat
Cultivated Meat

GOOD Meat Announces the World’s First Retail Sales of Cultivated Meat

US cultivated meat company GOOD Meat announces the retail launch of a new product, GOOD Meat 3, at the frozen section of the premium meats specialist Huber’s Butchery in Singapore.  GOOD Meat has been producing and selling its chicken in the city-state, by releasing limited quantities in fine dining establishments, food delivery apps, hawker stalls, and the Bistro of Huber’s Butchery (throughout 2023). However, for the first time since its approval three and a half years ago, cultivated meat will be available for customers to buy and cook at home. GOOD Meat 3 is said to be a lower-cost formulation using just 3% cultivated chicken that offers the same “delicious” taste, texture, and experience as conventional chicken. It will be available for the remainder of …

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Meatly unveils a new affordable protein-free culture medium that it claims will revolutionize the production of cultivated meat.   

Image courtesy of Meatly
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Meatly Unveils “Groundbreaking” Protein-Free Culture Medium at £1 Per Liter

UK cultivated pet food company Meatly, formerly known as Good Dog Food, unveils a new affordable protein-free culture medium that it claims will revolutionize the production of cultivated meat.    The high cost of the growth media used to cultivate meat is a significant obstacle to achieving price parity with traditional meat products. To address this challenge, Meatly has developed a “first-of-its-kind” culture medium priced at only £1 per liter, slashing the costs a hundredfold or more. Moreover, prices can be even lower when larger volumes are purchased.  The solution, described as a groundbreaking development, does not contain serum, animal-derived components, microcarriers, steroids, hormones, growth factors, and antibiotics. It is made with food-safe ingredients, an essential step in making cultivated meat a safe, affordable, and sustainable alternative …

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THIS plant-based chicken thighs

© THIS
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

THIS Launches Hyper-Realistic Plant-Based Chicken Thighs With Seaweed “Skin”

UK plant-based meat brand THIS has launched what are claimed to be the first plant-based chicken thighs to be available in supermarkets across the country. Described as “hyper-realistic”, the plant-based thighs combine three patent-pending technologies to replicate the complex three-dimensional structure of meat. Extrusion technology is used to give soy and fava bean protein a fibrous meat-like texture, olive oil-based fat provides juiciness, and a seaweed layer replicates the structure and texture of chicken skin. The plant-based chicken thighs are sold in packs of four and can be pan-fried or oven-cooked. They are high in protein and fibre, and can be used in dishes such as traybakes, burgers, and curries. “Reinventing plant-based dining” THIS has already launched three other plant-based chicken products this year — …

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Single feather isolated on white background

© schankz -stock.adobe.com
Cultivated Meat

Updated: Italy’s “Feather to Meat” Project Expands to Larger-Scale Cultivated Chicken Trials

Update: We have been contacted by Remo Nannetti, manager of the Save The Chickens Foundation, who wishes to highlight other facts about the Feather to Meat Project, as follows: The project, which began at the end of 2022 and will end at the end of this year or the beginning of 2025, is halfway through the research, indicating that industrial production is possible. Building on the positive outcomes (described in the piece below), the researchers are now focusing on expediting the practical applications of their findings. To do so, they are preparing the documentation to start the European Food Safety Authority certification procedure while seeking to quickly conduct production tests with industrial partners. The next phase involves establishing immortalized cell lines and adapting cell multiplication …

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THIS™ Isn’t Chicken Shawarma packshot

© THIS
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

THIS and Planted Launch Plant-Based Chicken NPDs in UK as Vegan Chicken Market Soars

This week, two behemoths in the world of plant-based meats — THIS of the UK and Planted of Switzerland — this week both launch vegan chicken formats in the form of Asian rotisserie-style meat products. According to Global Market Insights, the market for plant-based chicken is projected to grow with a CAGR of 16% to 2032. THIS, the UK’s fastest-growing food brand (Alantra, Fast 50, 2022), this week reveals its latest NPD, THIS™ Isn’t Chicken Shawarma. Based on its THIS Isn’t Chicken Pieces recipe, THIS has leveraged its “chicken-iest” tasting vegan chicken pieces for the shawarma pieces, created with soy and fava bean protein, with a blend of spices including smoked paprika, cumin, coriander seed, cassia, ginger, mint and cayenne pepper. THIS claims that THIS …

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