Hybrid Products

Opportunities in hybrid food products

Image: Unsplash/Ivy Farm/ProVeg
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

Opportunities in Hybrid Food Products

Although the hybrid food sector is still in its early stages, products that blend plant-based ingredients with precision-fermented or cultivated components hold great promise for transforming the food industry. By offering consumers a combination of plant-based and cellular agriculture options, hybrid products can meet the growing demand for food that is healthier, more sustainable, ethical, and delicious. In its latest New Food Hub article, ProVeg International explores opportunities in the hybrid foods sector, and makes recommendations for businesses in this growing space. A complementary strategy Consumer preferences in food are shifting, with more individuals seeking options that align with their health, sustainability, and ethical values. Consequently, a growing number of people are adopting a more plant-based diet. At the same time, innovators worldwide are developing …

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Both Burger by 50/50 Foods

50/50 Foods
Protein

A Deep Dive Into Blended and Hybrid Meats: What, Why, and Who Exactly Are These For?

As Lidl Netherlands today announces the launch of a blended mince product containing 60% beef and 40% pea protein — which it claims generates 37.5% less CO2 than regular mince and is 33% cheaper — we take a deep dive into blended and hybrid products and compile responses and opinions from experts and producers of such products to examine what are they, who is making them and why, and for whom. First things first: the definitions. “We tend to use the term ‘blended‘ to refer to products that are a mix of conventional and plant-based/ alt protein, and the term ‘hybrid‘ to refer to products that are a mix of cultivated meat with plant-based,” explains the GFI to vegconomist. Protein of the future will look …

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Mush Foods chef in kitchen

© Mush Foods
Gastronomy & Food Service

Mush Foods Announces US Launch of Mycelium Mixes for Restaurants to Create Sustainable Meat Blends

Tel Aviv-based Mush Foods recently announced the US launch of 50Cut, a range of mycelium blends as a meat replacement for restaurants, with a focus on creating blended and hybrid products to reduce meat content in dishes. Mush Foods says its mission is to cut global meat consumption by half through this B2B approach, utilizing upcycled waste products as a substrate and without the existence of a B2C brand. According to the company, Mush Foods’ innovative products are intended to improve the nutritional value and sustainability of classic meat dishes. Mush Foods uses a proprietary, highly efficient, and sustainable cultivation technique to grow a variety of culinary-quality mushroom roots in a short period of time. The US launch follows its introduction to restaurants in Israel …

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A plant-based tender pork sandwich on a plate

© Tender Food
Company News

Tender Food and Tufts University to Explore Hybrid Meat Products Made with Cultivated Cells and Plant-Based Meat

Boston-based Tender Food, a food tech startup that creates steaks from plant proteins, announces that it has been awarded a grant of $999,986 by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to explore over two years the potential of new hybrid meat products combining cultivated animal cells with plant-based meat. With the R&D funding, Tender Food will collaborate with the Kaplan Lab at Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) to determine if cultivated cells enhance the flavor, aroma, and nutrition of the company’s plant-based meat. The goal is to develop nutritious, tasty meat alternatives that appeal to consumers. Tender Food will also explore the viability of bringing these novel hybrid products to the market. Dr. Luke MacQueen, co-founder and CSO of Tender Food commented, “We’re excited for this …

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Former Beyond Meat engineer develops hybrid alt meat products

© Paul's Table
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

Beyond Meat’s First R&D Engineer Launches Hybrid Alt Meat Products at Price Parity

Saba Fazeli, the first R&D engineer at Beyond Meat, has launched Momentum Foods, operating under the brand name Paul’s Table, blending plant-based meat with animal components, stating that “while meat alternatives exist, they fail to deliver on the cost and quality they’ve promised.” Fazeli originally developed and scaled all of Beyond’s textured proteins, while co-founder Brice Klein previously served at vertical farming company Plenty where he led the commissioning of its multi-million dollar farm, according to YCombinator. “After five years at leading plant-based meat companies, we realized two key things. One, that meat alternatives today don’t have a clear path toward improving quality and decreasing cost. And two, that the 96% of Americans who eat meat aren’t interested in products that taste worse, cost more, …

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3DBT cultivated meat steak

Image courtesy of 3D Bio-Tissues

Cultivated Meat

3DBT Says it Has Developed the First Truly 100% Cultivated Meat Steak. Here’s Why.

UK-based biotech company 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT) announces it has successfully developed what it claims to be the “world’s first” 100% cultivated meat steak. Although Aleph Farms likely holds the industry’s milestone for the “world’s first” cultivated steak (let us know if we’re wrong); 3DBT argues that the difference with other companies is that its fillet was grown without plant-based scaffolds making it the world’s first “100% meat” cultivated steak.  “Some other companies have produced lab-grown meat using plant-based scaffolds to facilitate the development of muscle, fat, and connective tissue. These are classified as hybrid cultivated meat products,” responded George Esmond when vegconomist enquired about the “world’s first” claim. A moot point for the industry Are cultivated products, grown using plant-based ingredients, to be considered hybrid products? We have …

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Grillido hybrid

© Grillido

Investments & Acquisitions

BENEO Buys 14% Stake in Grillido, Producer of Hybrid, Vegetarian & Vegan Products

BENEO, a leading manufacturer of functional ingredients, announces it is taking a 14% stake in German startup Grillido, a producer of hybrid, vegetarian and vegan products, marking the next step in the company’s plant-based protein strategy. Munich-based Grillido is focused on the development, production, marketing and distribution of meat alternative products, as well as other products linked to BBQ foods, and employs around 30 staff. Next to e-commerce, its multi-channel sales approach also covers retail and foodservice sales. The development follows several steps in the plant-based arena from BENEO. In May of 2022, the company revealed plans for a new €50 million fava bean processing plant to strengthen its portfolio and meet the growing demand for plant-based proteins. Just days later, BENO announced the acquisition …

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believer meats' cultivated chicken dish

© BELIEVER Meats
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Groundbreaking Findings From BELIEVER Meats “Break That Big Wall of No” For Cultivated Chicken

A new study led by BELIEVER Meats as published in Nature Foods unveils a comprehensive, cost-efficient GMO-free production method for cultivated chicken. According to BELIEVER Meats, in the study conducted by its founder and CTO Professor Yaakov Nahmias, researchers have found answers to some of the industry’s challenges regarding cost-efficiency and transparency in cultivated chicken production. “These findings break that ‘big wall of no’ described by Paul Wood and David Humbrid in last year’s The Counter article that challenged the feasibility of lab-grown meat,” BELIEVER Meats states. The production of non-GMO immortal cell lines, new standards for transparency in the field According to the cultivated meat company, the study shows that producing non-tumorigenic cell lines without genetic engineering and long-term stability is possible. BELIEVER Meats says researchers …

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Fairs & Events

ProVeg Webinar: Hybrid Products – When Plant-Based Meets Cultivated

Food awareness organisation ProVeg International recently released a report on consumer acceptance of hybrid products blending plant-based and cultivated ingredients. In comparison to conventional meat, cultivated meat offers numerous benefits in terms of taste, health, food justice, animal welfare, and the environment. However, it will be some time before cultivated meat products reach the market, other than in Singapore, where it has already gained regulatory approval. Ethical foods In the meantime, there are opportunities to combine plant-based with cultivated meat ingredients in order to respond more quickly to consumer demands for healthier, more sustainable, and more ethical food products. Developing specific cultivated-meat components, such as fat, means facing fewer technological and regulatory hurdles compared to developing a complete meat product, and thus has the potential …

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vtt's hybrid alternative meat burger made using plant ingredients and celullar agriculture

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Finland’s VTT Develops Realistic Meat Alternatives Using Local Crops and Cell Ag

Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre, one of Europe’s leading research institutes, announces the successful development of realistic meat alternatives using a breakthrough scientific approach that creates hybrid products. The research centre claims it possesses a “unique toolbox” that combines plant-based and cellular agriculture ingredients to replicate the building blocks of animal meat, such as proteins and lipids, to create alternative meats with a 100% identical sensory experience. VTT’s multi-technique approach will allow food producers to turn “under-utilised” or local crops such as fava beans and sorghum into next-generation alternatives to meat on an industrial scale. One of the main features of its scientific approach, VTT says, is that it unlocks the high nutritional value of plant-based raw materials rarely used in mainstream meat alternative products.   Nesli Sözer, research …

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meatable's cultivated pork sausages

© Meatable
Cultivated Meat

World’s First Hybrid Cultivated Meat Innovation Center Coming in 2023

Dutch cultivated meat company Meatable announces a partnership with Singaporean plant-based butcher Love Handle to build the world’s first hybrid cultivated meat innovation center in Singapore. The two companies will jointly invest around $6 million to inaugurate the center in 2023 and will collaborate to develop hybrid meat products for the Singaporean and global markets. The Future of Meat innovation center will unite the two alternative protein sectors to satisfy the world’s growing demand for meat without harming the planet. It will also serve as a testing ground for other food tech startups looking to create new products. Krijn de Nood, Meatable‘s co-founder and CEO, said: “We’re delighted to announce this partnership with Love Handle to build the world’s first innovation center for hybrid cultivated meat products. Ken …

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meatable's cultivated pork sausages

© Meatable
Cultivated Meat

World’s First Hybrid Cultivated Meat Innovation Center Coming in 2023

Dutch cultivated meat company Meatable announces a partnership with Singaporean plant-based butcher Love Handle to build the world’s first hybrid cultivated meat innovation center in Singapore. The two companies will jointly invest around $6 million to inaugurate the center in 2023 and will collaborate to develop hybrid meat products for the Singaporean and global markets. The Future of Meat innovation center will unite the two alternative protein sectors to satisfy the world’s growing demand for meat without harming the planet. It will also serve as a testing ground for other food tech startups looking to create new products. Krijn de Nood, Meatable‘s co-founder and CEO, said: “We’re delighted to announce this partnership with Love Handle to build the world’s first innovation center for hybrid cultivated meat products. Ken …

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Hybrid alt meat

© Rügenwalder Mühle/Mirai Foods
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

Mirai Foods Partners With Rügenwalder Mühle for Hybrid Alt Meat With Cultivated Fat

Swiss cultivated meat startup Mirai Foods has announced a collaboration with Rügenwalder Mühle to develop hybrid alt meat products containing plant proteins and cultivated beef fat. Rügenwalder Mühle is the German market leader in plant-based meats, and is looking to expand into cultivated products. The company will bring its expertise in plant-based foods to the collaboration, while Mirai will contribute its knowledge of developing cultivated products. The cultivated fat used in the final product will be made without the use of fetal bovine serum (FBS), a growth medium that is expensive and often considered to be unethical. “It is the fat in a burger which gives beef the distinctive taste of grilled meat. Until today, it has not been possible to recreate this taste with …

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Plant-based pea-fungi products

© Peas of Heaven
Fungi, Mushrooms & Mycelium

Peas of Heaven Launches Frozen Pea Protein Hybrids in Collaboration With Mycorena

Peas of Heaven announces the launch of a “totally unique range of products” combining pea protein and Mycorena’s mycoprotein ingredient Promyc. Peas of Heaven is known for its fresh pea-based meat alternatives ranging from burgers meatballs, bacon, mince, and various types of sausage, which sold out within 24 hours upon the opening of the brand’s online store last spring. Mycorena is a food tech that works with fungi technology to create its mycelium-based protein Promyc. Earlier this year, the two Swedish brands developed The Converter, the first hybrid vegan sausage made using pea protein and Promyc. Following its success, the companies again joined forces to create this newly announced range of frozen products. Julia Granung, head of product development at Peas of Heaven, said: “We see …

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SCiFi Foods Cultured Beef Burger

©SCiFi Foods
Company News

SCiFi Foods Partners with Michigan State University to Test Scaling of Hybrid Burgers

Cell-based meat startup SCiFi Foods announces a partnership with Michigan State University to help test and finalize the plant-based portion of its first cultivated beef burgers.  SCiFi will work with MSU’s renowned Food Processing and Innovation Center (FPIC) to conduct initial pilot runs for the company’s debut commercial product, which combines plant-based beef with its breakthrough cultivated beef cells. The pilot runs are an important step in product development that will bring the company closer to regulatory approval, SCiFi says. The runs will also help to ensure the scaled product is still delicious, safe, cost-effective, and as nutritionally balanced as possible, the company notes.  Once the final formulation and test runs are complete, the burger’s plant-based portion will be combined with beef cells from SCiFi’s …

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Peace of Meat-hybrid-nuggets-MeaTech

Hybrid nuggets © MeaTech
Cultivated Meat

Peace of Meat Announces Cultured Avian Capabilities

MeaTech 3D announces today that Peace of Meat, the Belgian supplier of cultured fat that it fully acquired in December 2020 for around $20 million, has established a stable and unique avian cell line with a clear upscaling path. Peace of Meat says it plans to commercialize its product by collaborating with conventional meat producers as well as other alt protein companies to produce a range of sustainable hybrid products, echoing the sentiments of others in the industry who assert that hybrids are a productive way to work with the meat industry in order to produce less meat, including Planteneers, DSM, Future Meat, and Nova Meat to name a few. Last year, Peace of Meat successfully produced 700 grams of cultured chicken fat biomass in …

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Peace of Meat-hybrid-nuggets-MeaTech

Hybrid nuggets © MeaTech
Cultivated Meat

Peace of Meat Announces Cultured Avian Capabilities

MeaTech 3D announces today that Peace of Meat, the Belgian supplier of cultured fat that it fully acquired in December 2020 for around $20 million, has established a stable and unique avian cell line with a clear upscaling path. Peace of Meat says it plans to commercialize its product by collaborating with conventional meat producers as well as other alt protein companies to produce a range of sustainable hybrid products, echoing the sentiments of others in the industry who assert that hybrids are a productive way to work with the meat industry in order to produce less meat, including Planteneers, DSM, Future Meat, and Nova Meat to name a few. Last year, Peace of Meat successfully produced 700 grams of cultured chicken fat biomass in …

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planteneers-gets-meat-manufacturers-on-board

© Planteneers GmbH

Company News

Planteneers Reveals Strategy to Work With Meat Industry For Increased Hybrid Products

Planteneers reveals plans to deal with the ongoing trend for plant-based alternatives and avoid a cannibalization effect. By getting the meat industry on board to create hybrid products containing less meat, a more ethical revenue stream is established for manufacturers, it says. Hybrid products offer a perfect compromise, according to the German producer, offering great opportunities for flexitarians and consumers who are looking to reduce their meat intake step by step. In response, Planteneers has created novel stabilizing methods for this category that are able to cut the animal content in the finished product in half. “The meat industry is reinventing itself. We need to meet consumer expectations in modern plant-based nutrition, while avoiding a cannibalization effect,” explains Planteneers Product Manager Florian Bark. “Walking this …

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©Mission Barns
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Mission Barns: Cultivated Meat Products Ready for Market Launch Pending Regulatory Approval

US food tech Mission Barns has unveiled its new headquarters and cultivated fat production plant, claiming to be fully prepared to hit the market with its cultivated fat products. However, the San Francisco-based company must first wait for regulatory approval from the USDA and FDA before it can finally sell its cultivated fat and plant-based protein food products.  Focusing on hybrid products of plant-based ingredients and animal fat cultivated from cells, Mission Barns is one of a growing group of companies, consumers, and investors who believe these hybrid products present the most sustainable and appealing future of alt meat. Mission Barns CEO Eitan Fischer is confident the regulatory green light will come soon, according to a report from Food Dive. Fischer, a former director of …

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SCiFi Foods Logo

©SCiFi Foods
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

SCiFi Foods Reveals New Name, Raises $22M in Series A and Adds Former Impossible Foods Exec to Board

Food tech startup Artemys Foods announces it is re-branding its name and image to SCiFi Foods. The company also reveals a $22M Series A funding round and the appointment of Myra Pasek, a former executive at Tesla and Impossible Foods, to its advisory board. The startup’s previous backers include the British rock band Coldplay.  SCiFi specializes in cultivating beef cells, but instead of focusing on the enormous challenge of scaling cultured meat for the mass market, the company instead combines cultivated beef with plant-based meat. This results in a product with significantly better taste than most plant-based meats, at a fraction of the cost of 100% cultivated meat production, the startup says.  Located in the Bay Area, SCiFi states a name change was necessary to …

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