covid News - vegconomist: the vegan business magazine

©Impossible Foods

Pandemic Sees Alt Protein Investments Soar to $4.8Bn in 2021, Impossible Foods in the Lead

April 29, 2022April 29, 2022

The newly released AgFunder 2022 Agrifoodtech Investment Report reveals that the Innovative Food category, encompassing alt protein companies across plant-based, cell-cultured, fermentation and functional ingredients, raised $4.8 billion last year with a 102% YOY growth, representing 9.3% of all Agri Food Tech. The report states that much of this growth is due to the effects of Covid 19, which as our readers are aware, has highlighted myriad issues around health and environment, leading to a surge of interest globally in alternatives to animal based products. Here are some of the global effects of the pandemic on our industry: USA: Americans have begun to discover vegetables for the first time, with one in five (22%) trying certain veg for the first time ever, especially leafy greens …

Organisations and brands:

Impossible Foods

©WellDone

Market & Trends

Russian Consumers Included 3X More Plant-Based Foods Into Their Diets During Pandemic

October 7, 2021

Last year we wrote that around 10% of Russians were already eating plant-based alternatives and 54% were willing to include them in their diet. A new study made by Eating Better shows new encouraging results. According to the study, for a year and a half, residents of Russian cities began to consume meat and milk alternatives three times more often (the share of consumers in the “meat” category increased from 10% to 34%, in the “milk” category – from 9% to 31%). Such plant-based alternatives are in the greatest demand among young people and people with high incomes. Meanwhile, the majority (95%) of Russian citizens are aware of the availability of plant-based substitutes to meat and milk on the Russian market. Health concerns are still …

Organisations and brands:

Eating Better

©Thistle

Gastronomy & Food Service

Thistle Commits $250,000 to Support West Coast Food Service, Offering $25 For Customers to Dine Locally & Shun Delivery Apps

July 14, 2021June 1, 2021

Thistle, the US plant-forward food and nutrition DTC brand, has announced its Thistle Dines Out initiative, committing $250,000 to support locally-owned restaurants and food trucks recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company will pay West Coast consumers to eat at their local foodservice outlets for the entire month of June. “We’re thrilled to roll out the Thistle Dines Out initiative to support other business owners within the food ecosystem.” Thistle states to vegconomist that it will reimburse customers with up to $25 in their Thistle account for avoiding delivery apps and instead choosing to dine at locally-owned restaurants throughout the West Coast area. Participants in the Thistle Dines Out initiative are encouraged to avoid third-party delivery services and national or global dining chains will not …

Organisations and brands:

DTC brands

Hooray Foods: “Our Goal is to Give the Same Experience as Meat But With Less Guilt and More Joy”

November 24, 2020November 24, 2020

Hooray Foods is a brand on a mission – “Saving animals from the food system, one pig at a time”. This World Vegan Day, Hooray announced the long-awaited debut of its gluten-free, allergy-free, dairy-free, soy-free, meat-free bacon into seven regions of the USA through a distribution partnership with Whole Foods.

Organisations and brands:

Hooray Foods

Market & Trends

104 More Vegan Venues Now On HappyCow Since the Start of COVID-19

August 7, 2020August 6, 2020

In an interview with Elysabeth Alfano on the Plantbased Business Hour, Principal of HappyCow, Ken Spector, shares breaking, global vegan restaurant trends during Covid-19 and the explosion of vegan options all across the world, revealing that while mainstream foodservice is failing, there has in fact been an increase in vegan restaurants since the Pandemic.

Organisations and brands:

Happy Cow

Plantbased Business Hour

Breaking News: Has Covid-19 Brought More Vegan Restaurants? Ken Spector, Principal of HappyCow, is on The Plantbased Business Hour

August 5, 2020August 4, 2020

Are more vegan restaurants opening during COVID rather than closing? Ken Spector, Principal at long-time trusted HappyCow Vegan Restaurant Guide, broke the news with Elysabeth Alfano on The Plantbased Business Hour on global vegan restaurant records and the explosion of vegan options.

Organisations and brands:

Happy Cow

©[email protected]

Studies & Numbers

Global Consumers Increasing Intake of Plant-Based Foods Rises From 18% to 26% April – July

July 9, 2020July 8, 2020

COVID-19 has been demonstrated in several studies to have impacted the plant-based industry as consumers are becoming more conscious than ever about their diets and want to live a healthier lifestyle. A recent survey shows how much attitudes have changed towards plantbased around the world between April and July of this year.

Organisations and brands:

FMCG Gurus

Image provided

Company News

Heather Mills Responds to Rumours Over VBites Facility Closure

July 6, 2020

Following rumours that the VBites production facility in Peterlee, England, had been forced into closure due to COVID; founder Heather Mills has defended her business, arguing that she has ‘put millions into the plant’ without any assistance from banking institutions or governmental support.

Market & Trends

COVID-19 is Changing Consumer Behaviour with Long Term Consequences: More Mindful Shopping & Awareness of Healthy, More Sustainable Diet

October 18, 2022June 3, 2020

It is no news that these times are having a vast impact on people’s lives, on businesses, and on the economy across the globe. However, how are people reacting to the pandemic, and which consumer trends have changed for good? This guest submission is from market experts in Expansion Eco, based in Berlin.

Market & Trends

Market Report Highlights Lucrative Opportunities in Plant-Based Meat E-Commerce After COVID

May 18, 2020May 17, 2020

A new report from ResearchAndMarkets.com addresses the plant-based meat market including an in-depth look at the effect of COVID-19, stating that the pandemic’s association with animal sources will result in a large population shifting from meat proteins to plant proteins due to various health and environmental concerns.

Society

5 Signs Plant-Based Food Tech Investment Is Heating Up Amid Covid-19 Supply Shock

September 11, 2023May 6, 2020

Article by Sally Ho for Green Queen Startups working on plant-based substitutes for animal products are now raking in capital as investor sentiment for the conventional meat industry goes awry. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of industrial meat, from increasing numbers of outbreaks in meat-processing plants and empty supplies of beef and pork in supermarkets to the public health dangers of industrial meat farming. This meat crisis has become a big opportunity for plant-based protein companies that have developed healthier, safer and more environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional animal products. Consumers, now more concerned about food safety than ever before, are now increasingly in favour of plant-based proteins. Investors too are beginning to have higher hopes for the sector, with more money pouring …

The vegconomist-newsletterinformation for decision-makers

The vegconomist-newsletter
information for decision-makers