Fat

Hoxton Farms opens cultivated animal fat pilot production facility

© Hoxton Farms
Manufacturing & Technology

Hoxton Farms Opens “UK’s First” Cultivated Animal Fat Pilot Production Facility

London-based biotech firm Hoxton Farms has opened what it claims is the UK’s first pilot production facility for cultivated animal fat. The 14,000-square-foot site on Old Street in Central London features specialist cell culture laboratories, a food development kitchen, office space, and communal areas. There is also a workshop for the manufacturing of bespoke bioreactors, designed to produce cultivated fat at a much lower cost than standard bioreactors. These have been developed using Hoxton Farms’ technology platform, which is based on computational biology and mathematical modelling. Price parity with plant oils Following the opening of the new facility, Hoxton Farms plans to expand its team from 40 to 100 people. Additionally, production capacity will be increased to ten tonnes of cultivated fat per year. The …

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Clean Food Group raises funds

Image credit: Clean Food Group
Fermentation

Clean Food Group Raises £2.3M to Scale Pioneering Alternative to Palm Oil

UK-based biotech firm Clean Food Group (CFG) announces it has raised £2.3 million in funding to accelerate the commercialization of oil and fats produced using fermentation. The new capital will also fund regulatory and commercial approvals. The round was led by international food businesses, including the Doehler Group, which previously invested in CFG, and Colombian company Alianza Team. Previous investors include the biotech VC firm Agronomics and SEED Innovations, the AIM-listed fund focused on investments in global health opportunities. Agronomics previously invested £900,500 in CFG in June 2022. And in this round, it injected £700,000, acquiring 4.2 million shares. Jim Mellon, the executive director of Agronomics and co-chair of CFG, participated in this round with a £50,000 investment.  The international investment in this round signals that …

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KaYama Foods logo

© KaYama Foods

Ingredients

Introducing KaYama Foods: Plant-Based Fat Technology for the Ultimate Meat Analogs

Israel’s KaYama Foods, founded by Gad Harris in 2022, pioneers a ground-breaking fat technology that it claims makes plant-based oils as effective as meat fats in delivering flavors, texture, and aromas during cooking.  According to the startup, animal meat fat tends to melt at a higher temperature range, while vegetable oils have a lower melting point — except coconut oil that has a melting point of 25°C (77°F). This feature (of plant oils) makes plant-based meats lose their oils and thus their flavor and moisture in high-temperatures cooking processes. To tackle this problem, many plant-based formulations include emulsions and emulsifiers to prevent oils from leaking out. Still, they don’t provide the functionality of oil. To solve the taste problem in meat analogs, KaYama Foods has developed a thickening product that raises the …

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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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A salmon filet

© Jacek Chabraszewski-stock.adobe.com
Ingredients

Estonian Researchers Reach XPRIZE Finals with Pea-Based “Salmon Scented” Filet

GFI Europe grantee Sirli Rosenvald and researchers from the Estonian Centre of Food and Fermentation Technologies (TFTAK) reached the XPRIZE competition’s final stage with a realistic pea protein-based salmon filet that features a novel “salmon scented” oil. XPRIZE encourages startups to develop alternative chicken breast or fish filet products that surpass conventional meat in terms of nutrition, taste, and texture. Chinese cultivated meat company CellX also reached the finals with a cultivated chicken breast.  TFTAK is an Estonian multidisciplinary CRO founded in 2004 specializing in bioprocess optimization, food research, and developing innovative food and fermentation technologies. In 2022, Dr. Rosenvalt received funding from the GFI to further develop its salmon scent. Salmon scent molecules TFTAK uses plants to create eco-friendly solutions to reduce Europe’s reliance on traditional seafood sources. Its researchers have been …

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fermentation-derived beef fat

© Melt&Marble
Market & Trends

Fat and Oils Industry to Focus on Plant-Based Innovation as Consumers Demand Healthier Food

A market report by The Business Research Company has predicted that the fat and oils industry will increasingly focus on plant-based food innovation in the coming years. As consumers choose healthier foods, demand for specialty fats and oils is increasing, with many companies turning to novel technologies to produce alternatives to animal fats and tropical oils. Examples include Connectomix Bio, which is investigating a method to transform agricultural waste into lipids for use in meat alternatives, and ÄIO, which converts industry sidestreams such as sawdust into fats that could replace tropical oils. Similarly, agribusiness giant Cargill recently announced that it is collaborating with food tech startup Cubiq Foods to co-develop and commercialize plant-based fat technologies for alt protein products and more. Meanwhile, Luxembourg-based CSM Ingredients …

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Lypid plant-based pork belly

© Lypid
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

Lypid Launches “World’s First” Plant-Based Pork Belly, Made With Patented Fat Technology

Lypid, an alt fat startup based in Taiwan and the US, has launched what it claims to be the world’s first plant-based pork belly. The meat alternative is made with PhytoFat, Lypid’s patented technology that creates animal-like fats using plant oils. The fat is combined with fibrous plant-based protein to achieve the same taste and texture as conventional pork belly. The product is said to cook just like pork, and was recently served at the Future Food-Tech Summit in San Francisco. It is now being tested by chefs in the Bay Area, and has also debuted in Taiwan at Taipei-based vegan diner Baganhood. Lypid said it chose to develop a pork alternative because pork is one of the most popular types of meat worldwide, with …

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Mycorena's clean-label fungi-based fat is commercially available

© Mycorena
Fermentation

Mycorena to Launch Clean-Label Fungi-Based Fat Verified by Juicy Marbles

Swedish food tech company Mycorena has announced that it is ready to launch its clean-label fungi-based fat commercially after successfully developing a full-scale process. The new fat ingredient will be released under the brand name Mycolein, joining Mycorena’s mycoprotein brand, Promyc. In 2021, Mycorena announced the “world’s first” fungi-based fat solution, saying it could mimic animal fat’s behaviour and sensory qualities to enhance plant-based food products’ taste and structural properties. The first fungi-stabilised fat “Recognising the challenges faced by our partner food companies in sourcing a stable fat ingredient, in 2021, we launched the first fungi-stabilised fat as a prototype product. And now, after nearly 1.5 years of development, we have successfully created a full-scale process for producing the product and are fully prepared to launch it commercially,” said …

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Vegan Salmon Burger

©The ISH Company

Products & Launches

The ISH Company Introduces Salmonish Burgers to “Exceed Consumer Expectations” for Sustainable Seafood Protein

Alt seafood startup The ISH Company announces it is launching Salmonish™, a new plant-based salmon burger that is made to offer a cleaner, more sustainable alternative to conventional seafood. Made with regenerative ingredients like kelp, Salmonish Burgers will be available to food service through North America’s largest food redistributor, Dot Foods. Salmonish Burgers marks ISH Food’s third product release, following its successful launch of plant-based shrimp products Shrimpish® and Shrimpish® Crumbles into US food service last year. Similar to Shrimpish, ISH states the new salmon burgers are made with 100% plant-based ingredients. Each serving provides 14 grams of protein and 300 mg of omega-3 fatty acids, while offering a convenient and easy-to-prepare product for consumers, says the brand.  To create the burgers, ISH says its team …

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Plant-based fats

©Cubiq Foods
Food & Beverage

Cargill Debuts ‘Juicier’ Plant-Based Burger Made with Cubiq Foods’ Fat Technology at Expo West

Cargill, the world’s third-largest meat producer, unveiled the first product of its collaboration with Spanish startup Cubiq Foods at Expo West last week. The company sampled new plant-based burgers made with Cubiq’s Go!Drop fat replacement technology, which is said to reduce the fat content and calories of alt-meats. In light of these and its other plant-based advancements, Cargill told Food Navigator-USA it now aims to become an “inclusive protein provider.” At Expo West, Cargill offered two versions of pea protein burgers – one made with Cubiq’s novel fat solution Go!Drop, and another made with common fats like coconut and canola oil. According to the agribusiness giant, by using the Go!Drop fat emulsion, it was able to reduce the saturated fat content by 30% and the …

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plant protein-based fat by shiru

© Shiru
Ingredients

Shiru Launches Plant Protein-Based Fat for “Categorical Upgrade” of Alt Meats

California-based Shiru, a biotech startup that creates novel food ingredients, has launched its first commercial product OleoPro, a plant protein-based fat for use in alt meat and other plant-based food formulations. Developed using the company’s patented Flourish™ technology platform, the biotech company says OleoPro is a high-performance, sustainable, and nutritious alternative fat ingredient. Improved nutritional profile “Oils commonly used in plant-based meats today like palm and coconut are disastrous for the environment and aren’t great from a health perspective either. OleoPro™ is a categorical upgrade, bringing all the juiciness and fattiness we expect from conventional meats to plant-based, but with a much improved nutritional profile OleoPro™ is a categorical upgrade and without tearing down the rainforest,” said Dr. Jasmin Hume, founder and CEO of Shiru. Shiru’s novel ingredient …

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Plant-based fats

©Cubiq Foods
Company News

Cargill and Cubiq Foods Enter Agreement to Accelerate ‘Wide Scale’ Commercialization of Novel Plant-Based Fats

Agribusiness giant Cargill announces it is entering an agreement with food tech startup Cubiq Foods to co-develop and commercialize the latter’s plant-based fat technologies.  According to Cargill, the agreement is aimed at accelerating wide-scale commercialization of Cubiq’s novel fats, including its innovative Go!Drop emulsion, for plant-based meat and dairy, among other products.  Closing the flavor gap Through the strategic partnership, Cargill states it will now have access to Cubiq’s existing portfolio of plant-based ingredient solutions, including plant proteins, texturizers and an array of traditional fats and oils. Cargill, the world’s third largest meat producer, says most current plant-based options do not meet consumers’ expectations for taste and quality. Rather, it believes Cubiq’s line of “smarter” fats helps close the flavor gap by replicating the visual …

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Ready Burger close up

© Ready Burger

Fast Food

Ready Burger Partners With Givaudan to Use Award-Winning PrimeLock+ Fat Technology

Ready Burger, a UK based vegan fast food chain offering plant burgers and more at price parity with conventional McDonald’s options, announces it is working to improve the fat used in its burgers through a partnership with world-famous flavour and fragrance manufacturer Givaudan. Givaudan has developed a new technology called PrimeLock+, which imitates animal fat and locks flavour and moisture into proteins. It is said to enable the fat content of meat alternatives to be reduced by up to 75%. Last year, Givaudan received two awards for the technology — The International V-Label Award and Best Ingredients Innovation at The Gulfood Manufacturing Industry Excellence Awards. Ready Burger will be one of the first companies worldwide to integrate the patent-pending solution into its proteins, and is …

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Fat made with up cycled ingredients

© ÄIO
Fermentation

ÄIO Raises €1M to Replace Palm Oil With Fats Made From Sawdust

Estonian startup ÄIO has secured €1 million to further develop its technology, which converts agricultural and wood industry sidestreams such as sawdust into alternative fats. The process uses a microbe called the “red bug” to ferment the industrial byproducts, converting them into nutrient-rich fats. These could replace commonly used products such as palm and coconut oil, which often have a hugely detrimental impact on the environment. The fats will be suitable for a range of applications, including foods such as plant-based meats along with cosmetics and household products. Funding was contributed by Nordic Foodtech VC, EAS, and others. ÄIO plans to use the capital to increase production capacity and collaborate with the food industry to test the fats. The startup will also apply for the …

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Company News

Givaudan Wins Two Best Ingredients Awards for PrimeLock+ Vegan Fat Solution

Givaudan‘s PrimeLock+, a vegan-friendly solution that mimics animal fat cells, enabling food companies to develop more taste-realistic plant-based meat, has received two Best Ingredients Innovation awards this year. The Gulfood 2022 Manufacturing Industry Excellence Awards, which recognizes innovative products and technologies that make sustainable contributions to the food manufacturing industry, selected the vegan-friendly fat solution as this year’s Best Ingredients Innovation. The International V-Label Award, the first award scheme to promote and celebrate innovation in the plant-based industry, recognized Primelock’s positive impact, quality, and innovation, bridging the gap between animal and plant protein and making healthier products. According to Givaudan, PrimeLock+ encapsulates, protects, and locks flavour and fat in plant-based meat substitutes, providing a “first juicy, beefy bite.” The innovative ingredient food enables manufacturers to …

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OmniNano technology

© OmniFoods
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

OmniFoods Reveals Groundbreaking OmniNano Vegan Fat Technology

Hong Kong-based OmniFoods has revealed an innovative new patented technology called OmniNano Vegan Fat, which it says will strengthen the company’s leading position in the alt meat industry. The technology works by emulsifying oil and water, which then penetrates into plant-based materials to replicate animal fat. Fat is extremely important for juicy, high-quality meat, and OmniFoods is using the new vegan alternative to develop a range of plant-based whole cuts. 2023 launch According to the company, OmniNano technology locks flavour into the plant-based meats and improves tenderness. OmniFoods aims to launch the new range — featuring the Plant-Based Beef Cut and Tips, Plant-Based Chicken Wings, and Plant-Based Pork Cutlet — in 2023.  Fat alternatives Several companies are beginning to recognise fat as a key missing …

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The Hoxton Farms team. © Donna Ford
Investments & Acquisitions

Hoxton Farms Raises $22M for Cultivated Fat Pilot Facility

Hoxton Farms, a cultivated fat company based in London, UK, has raised $22 million in its Series A funding round. The round was led by Collaborative Fund, an early backer of Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, along with Fine Structure Ventures. Other participants included AgFunder and Sustainable Food Ventures. Hoxton will use the funding to build a 13,000-square-foot cultivated fat pilot facility in Shoreditch, East London. The company is optimistic about achieving regulatory approval, which will allow its fats to be used commercially as an ingredient in meat alternatives. The cultivated fats are produced with the help of a computational platform that uses machine learning and mathematical modelling. The platform develops proprietary bioreactors and animal-free culture media, allowing for more efficient and affordable production. “Bringing …

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nourish-ingredients-team

Nourish Ingredients(left-to-right)- Surinder Singh(Chief Scientist), James Petrie(CEO & Co-founder), Ben Leita (Co-Founder), Anna El Tahchy (Chief Technical Officer), image supplied
Investments & Acquisitions

Nourish Ingredients Raises $28.6M for Animal-Free Speciality Fats

Australian food tech company Nourish Ingredients has raised $28.6 million USD in Series A funding. The round was led by Horizons Ventures, with support from MainSequence Ventures and Hostplus. Nourish uses precision fermentation to produce fats identical to those found in animal products. Founders Dr. James Petrie and Dr. Benjamin Leita believe that replicating animal fats is a vital step in convincing meat lovers to transition to alt proteins. The new funding will be used to scale production and extend product development. In part, this will be done via partnerships with leading institutions worldwide, including The University of California Riverside (UCR), Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, the University of Nottingham, UK, and Deakin University. Fattening up plant-based food Previously, Nourish raised $11 million in a …

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THIS plant-based beef

© THIS
Products & Launches

THIS Launches Plant-Based Beef With New Fat Substitute

UK alt meat brand THIS has launched its first plant-based beef alternatives — This Isn’t Beef Burgers and This Isn’t Mince. The brand told The Grocer that the burgers are made with “carefully selected pea protein and bespoke natural flavouring for a beefy and chargrilled taste”. They also feature an improved animal fat substitute made from olive oil. Called Fat 2.0, it is said to enhance the meatiness, taste, and succulent texture of the burgers. With the mince, THIS says it hopes to close the sales gap between plant-based and conventional varieties. Both products are a good source of fibre and are said to be lower in fat than their animal-based counterparts. Recent launches THIS has seen significant growth over the past year, launching a …

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© Cultivated Biosciences
Investments & Acquisitions

Cultivated Biosciences Raises $1.5M to Make Plant-Based Dairy Creamier

Switzerland’s Cultivated Biosciences has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to further develop its creamy yeast-based fat ingredient. The sustainable, clean-label fat improves the mouthfeel of plant-based dairy products, with the potential to win over flexitarian consumers who are not satisfied with the options currently available. The ingredient has natural emulsification properties, low lipid oxidation, and the same texture and colour as dairy cream. The pre-seed funding round was led by Wingman Ventures, with participation from firms including Big Idea Ventures, Blue Horizon, ProVeg International, and the FoodHack syndicate. Arturo Elizando, CEO and co-founder of The EVERY Company, and Lukas Böni, co-founder of Planted, also supported the round. Cultivated Biosciences will begin testing the ingredient with selected clients in 2023, and is open to further …

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