Planted pulled original packshot

© Planted

Company News

Planted Seals Partnership with Vegan Certified Football Club Forest Green Rovers

Switzerland’s Planted, describing itself as Europe’s leading foodtech scale-up, has partnered with eco-friendly, vegan football club Forest Green Rovers. The one-year collaboration will see Planted’s pulled meat range added to the menu of the club’s gym bar and hospitality areas, as well as samplings taking place on matchday. Forest Green Rovers, based in Gloucestershire, UK, was recently described by FIFA as “the greenest team in the world”. The carbon-neutral football club, whose chairman is Dale Vince of Ecotricity, became fully vegan in 2015 and is reportedly the only football club to have the vegan registered trademark.  Recently, UK brand DR. VEGAN became the Official Supplement Partner of Forest Green Rovers, in an agreement whereby players will receive DR.VEGAN’s sport-certified supplements, as well as nutritional advice …

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Vegan brands partner with football clubs

Karen Carney. © Violife/Cheddar AFC

Company News

Violife & DR.VEGAN Become Latest Plant-Based Companies to Sponsor Football Clubs

Plant-based cheese brand Violife and supplement producer DR.VEGAN have become the latest vegan brands to announce partnerships with British football clubs, with Violife announcing a sponsorship with Cheddar AFC and DR.VEGAN now working with vegan club Forest Green Rovers. Violife has become a sponsor of historical football club Cheddar AFC (based in the UK town from which Cheddar cheese originates) just weeks after launching its “unfeasibly cheesy” plant-based Cheddarton. Through the collaboration, the brand hopes to show how easy it is to eat a plant-based diet. Cheddar AFC players will now sport a cheese-themed strip with a plant-based version of their historic crest, and will be encouraged to adopt a more plant-based lifestyle. Karen Carney, a former professional footballer who played for the Lionesses, will …

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Naturli' becomes plant-based partner of Brentford FC

© Brentford FC/Naturli'

Company News

Naturli’ Becomes Official Plant-Based Partner of Brentford Football Club

Danish brand Naturli’ has been named as the official plant-based partner of UK Premier League football club Brentford FC. As part of the collaboration, Naturli’ will offer product samples on match days; the brand previously handed out free plant-based ice creams at Brentford’s game against Manchester City in May. The partnership has been described as “a significant step towards introducing fans to the world of plant-based food and cuisine”. Through various engaging activities, Naturli’ hopes to challenge preconceptions about plant-based food and enhance the experience of Brentford fans. “We warmly welcome Naturli’ as the official plant-based food partner of Brentford FC. Their commitment to taste, quality, and sustainability mirrors our values, and we’re enthusiastic about introducing their offerings to our fans and the Brentford team,” …

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Better Balance Foods, Madrid stadium

© Better Balance Foods

Fairs & Events

Home of Atlético de Madrid Becomes First Plant-Based Stadium in Mainland Europe

The home of football team Atlético de Madrid, Civitas Metropolitano, has launched a plant-based menu in alliance with Spanish plant-based company Better Balance. In its match against FC Barcelona at the Civitas Metropolitano, the red and white stadium offered a 100% plant-based menu; Better Balance claims this signifies the first stadium in mainland Europe to offer a fully vegan menu. The alliance between the two companies will continue until the end of the season, as stated by the publication Expansión. The offerings will be distributed in more than 70 points of sale in the stadium as well as in the VIP area. In the words of the general manager of Better Balance in Europe, Florencio García, this alliance “is just another example of our commitment …

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Image supplied by Oatly.

Studies & Numbers

Oatly Commissions Study on Performance of Footballers on Plant-Based Diet

A study commissioned by Oatly has concluded that footballers perform equally well on plant-based and conventional diets. The research was carried out by the outpatient clinic of the University of Potsdam, the Institute for Nutritional Medicine of the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, and the Research Institute for Plant-Based Nutrition (IFPE) in Biebertal. Oatly had no influence on the implementation of the study. 18 footballers from German regional league team SV Babelsberg 03 took part in the research, with some adopting a plant-based diet and others continuing with their ordinary eating habits. The players’ athletic performance was assessed before and after the eight-week trial, with no changes found. However, researchers emphasise that further studies are needed to confirm the results. Footballers who adopted a plant-based diet also …

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Quorn Q-Dog Pie FGR and BrewDog

© Quorn

Products & Launches

Quorn Launches Q-Dog Pie With BrewDog & Vegan Football Team Forest Green Rovers

Following its first collab with BrewDog for a line of beers this June, Quorn announces a further launch with the much-discussed Scottish brewer — this time for the Q-Dog pie which debuted at the Forest Green Rovers home ground last weekend. The pie features Quorn’s Vegan No-Beef Pieces, unique to its food service partners, and BrewDog’s Planet Pale Ale, with the launch timed to celebrate the promotion of the club (the world’s first and only vegan football club) to League One for the first time in its 133-year history. The new pie joins the award-winning Q Pie as a permanent fixture on FGR’s match day menu. World’s greenest football club Recognised by FIFA and the United Nations as the world’s greenest football club, Forest Green Rovers …

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Food-service-Notpla

©Notpla

Algae, Microalgae & Seaweed

Women’s EURO Final: Just Eat & UEFA to Introduce “Disappearing” Seaweed Food Packaging

Just Eat and UEFA announce that, in collaboration with sustainable packaging pioneer Notpla, biodegradable seaweed-coated food packaging will be introduced at the UEFA Women’s EURO Final at Wembley Stadium on 31st July, marking a first for a major football match. The packaging that will be served at the Women’s Final is home-compostable and will biodegrade within 4-6 weeks, just like a piece of fruit, according to Just Eat. With the cool tagline, “We make packaging disappear”, the London-based company produces a variety of biodegradable solutions made from seaweed and plant material that disappears naturally. Notpla raised £10 million in Series A last December with the funds going towards the growth of its manufacturing facility and to develop new innovations, such as a transparent flexible film …

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Thomas Muller GREENFORCE

© GREENFORCE

Celebrities

Germany’s National Soccer Player Thomas Müller Invests in GREENFORCE

Germany’s GREENFORCE has brought another prominent investor on board. At the end of 2021, presenter Joko Winterscheidt and delicatessen king Michael Käfer were onboarded, as well as vegan strongman Patrik Baboumian who represents the brand in the UK. The startup now announces an investment from footballer Thomas Müller. Müller’s investment will predominantly serve to promote the growth of the climate-neutral company as well as to strengthen the future-oriented research and development centre in Munich. The soccer player, who like GREENFORCE is a native of Bavaria, states: “My favourite products are the Easy To Mix spreadable sausage and the fresh mini meatball, the taste is absolutely authentic,” he says. A trial supply of GREENFORCE products, ranging from meat, fish and egg to dairy alternatives, has been …

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shoe startup Hylo

© Hylo

Shoes

Ex Pro Footballer Raises £2.5M to “Change the Future of Sportswear” With New Brand Hylo

UK-based shoe startup Hylo has secured £2.5 million ($3.2 million) in a Series A funding round for low carbon, vegan sports shoes which are sold DTC to consumers in the UK and USA. According to Hylo, its vegan-friendly sneakers have a 52% lower carbon footprint than regular running shoes. The sneakers are made entirely with renewable, recyclable ingredients such as natural rubber, cotton, algae, and corn fibre. Hylo was co-founded by Michael Doughty — a former professional soccer player who played for Queens Park Rangers and Swindon — alongside Jacob Green and John Prescott. The round was led by Eka Ventures with participation from Redrice Ventures and angel investors including England footballer Patrick Bamford, and the fresh funds will be invested in the development of …

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Mark Hirschel & Jo Amit ©Hownd

Society

Plant-Based Economy in Action as HOWND Announces Deal with Vegan Football Club 

Vegan pet-food and petcare brand HOWND has announced a new partnership with Forest Green Rovers football club. Dubbed by FIFA as “the world’s greenest football club”, Forest Green Rovers has named HOWND as its official vegan pet food partner in yet another example of the plant-based economy in action. Starting its journey to become the world’s first carbon-neutral football club in 2010, Forest Green provides an entirely vegan menu for players and fans, as well as using solar panels, water recycling, and an organic pitch amongst other innovations. The Gloucestershire-based club – currently top of league two – boasts a host of eco-friendly and vegan partners including Oatly, Quorn, Sheese, Faith in Nature, as well as non-profit Sea Shepherd. The award-winning plant-based pet-food brand HOWND …

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adidas stella

©adidas

Fashion, Design & Beauty

Adidas Unveils its First Vegan Football Boot, Co-Created By Stella McCartney and Man United’s Paul Pobga

The first-ever vegan football boot by adidas, the interestingly titled Predator Freak, uses part recycled materials and components which adidas says were “closely analysed to ensure they conform to both vegan and elite performance standards.” The boot is gender-neutral and created with the sustainability ethics which Stella McCartney says she holds close throughout her work. Adidas has been addressing sustainability issues for a few years. Back in 2019, the sportswear giant created a pair of algae-based shoes in collaboration with Kanye West. The following year, it veganised some of its classic shoes and began looking into recycling its materials. In January this year, adidas collaborated with Bolt Threads on shoes made from mushroom leather, then in February, adidas announced a total ban on fur in …

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vhy! founders

©vhy!

Gastronomy & Food Service

Ex German National Goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand Opens Vegan Restaurant ‘vhy’ in Stuttgart

Founders Timo Hildebrand, Tim Bengel and chef Christian Weber today launch their new vegan restaurant vhy in Stuttgart. Hildebrand, a former top goalkeeper who was also German champion with VfB Stuttgart, is now a successful entrepreneur with a strong social commitment. “We are into action, trying things out and creating,” he commented. The restaurant, designed from scratch, underlines that sustainability can be simply beautiful in high quality. The food is complemented by to-go options, which according to the founders are resource-saving and sustainably packaged. “Of course, we cook everything ourselves and try to do as much as possible right. Of course, we use mainly organic products, pay attention to fair conditions for employees and suppliers and to the smallest possible footprint on the environment. But …

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James Atkins of Planet Super League

James Atkins of Planet Super League

Interviews

Planet Super League: “Looking for Plant-Based Brands For Collaborations”

Though policymakers and startups across the world continue to push and innovate for solutions to the climate crisis – and despite the efficacy of hit documentaries – one thing remains stubbornly clear; there will be no solution without massive behavioural changes throughout the human population. Changes regarding food consumption, energy use and attitudes to nature on a massive global scale perhaps never seen before. That is the challenge of our times. 

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