Mushroom meat

OmniFoods mushroom steak

© OmniFoods
Products & Launches

OmniFoods Debuts Lion’s Mane Steak as “New Generation of Fungi Innovation”

Plant-based food producer OmniFoods is set to introduce the latest advancements in its plant-based cuisine offerings at the upcoming Expo West 2024 in California. The new lineup includes a series of sweet baos and the launch of the OMNI Garden product line, which notably includes the debut of the company’s Lion’s Mane Mushroom Steak. At this year’s event, OMNI is unveiling the OMNI Garden series, a new collection of bowls, patties, and various plant-based delicacies focused on whole-vegetable ingredients. The Lion’s Mane Mushroom Steak is the standout product of this series, showcasing the versatility and appealing taste of lion’s mane mushrooms and offering attendees of Expo West the first opportunity to sample them. In addition, the company will expand its sweet offerings, following the success …

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Libre Foods bacon

© Libre Foods
Fungi, Mushrooms & Mycelium

Libre Foods Launches “EU’s First” Mushroom Bacon in Spanish Restaurants

Spain’s Libre Foods has unveiled a bacon alternative made from mushrooms. According to the startup, the product is the first of its kind to launch in the European Union. The bacon is said to be made entirely from natural ingredients, with 70% less fat, 52% fewer calories, and 18% less salt than pork bacon. It will initially launch at burger restaurants in the Spanish cities of Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia. Positive feedback While other companies have developed bacon alternatives made from mycelium (the root structure of fungi), Libre’s bacon is made from the mushroom itself, ie the fruiting body of the fungus. The product has already been showcased at Vegan Women Summit and the New Food Conference, where feedback has been extremely positive. “There’s something …

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Fable Food Co.

Jim Fuller & Michael Fox. © Fable Food Co
Investments & Acquisitions

Fable Food Co. Raises US$8.5M for Clean-Label Mushroom Meat

Australia’s Fable Food Co. has raised US$8.5 million in Series A funding for its minimally processed meat alternatives made from mushrooms. The round was led by K3 Ventures, with participation from former YUM! Brands CEO Greg Creed, SaladStop! founders Frantz Braha and Adrien Desbaillets, and Professor Peter Singer (a founder of the modern animal rights movement). Existing investors Blackbird, AgFunder, and Aera VC also took part. Fable will use the funding to accelerate research and development, launch new mushroom-based products, and continue to expand internationally. North America, the United Kingdom, and Singapore are currently the main areas of focus. “Delicious, clean-label, & sustainable” Fable Food Co. launched in 2020, rapidly expanding across its home country of Australia. The following year, the company raised $6.5 million …

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Classic Steak Meati

Classic Steak © Meati
Market & Trends

Sales of Exotic Mushroom Booming Due to Rising Popularity of Plant-Based Food

UK supermarket Tesco reports that demand for exotic mushroom varieties is surging, driven by growing interest in plant-based food. Lancashire-based producer Smithy Mushrooms says its business has grown by three times in as many years, with demand for oyster mushrooms particularly high. Sales have increased from 370,000 packs per year to over a million, forcing the company to turn away customers as it can’t keep up with demand. Smithy is now set to open a new site that will allow it to more than double the production of oyster and shiitake mushrooms. “The plant-based food boom has been the best thing that’s ever happened to our business and suddenly exotic varieties like oyster and shiitake mushrooms, which just five years ago I was struggling to …

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Meatless Kingdom

© Meatless Kingdom
Company News

Meatless Kingdom: Mushroom-Based Meat Alternatives From Indonesia

Meatless Kingdom is an Indonesian startup making alt-meat products from mushrooms. The company was launched in 2019 by Widya Putra, who wanted to create an alternative to imported plant-based meats. Widya studied Microbiology and Food Quality Management at university, using this opportunity to research mushrooms and plant-based foods. He then went on to launch Meatless Kingdom, combining mushrooms with other ingredients such as soybeans and seaweed to create high-protein, low-gluten meat alternatives. The range currently includes nuggets, sausages, Japanese siomay (steamed dumplings), and more. In Indonesia, Meatless Kingdom products are sold both online and in retail stores. They are also exported to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and the startup is planning some B2B collaborations in 2022. Plant-based in Indonesia The plant-based market in Indonesia …

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© Honest Burgers
Gastronomy & Food Service

Honest Burgers Launches First Vegan Restaurant V Honest in Collaboration With Fable Food

UK chain Honest Burgers is to launch V Honest, its first all-vegan restaurant. The menu will feature vegan versions of some of the chain’s existing burgers, as well as a selection of new ones — including mushroom-based options developed by Fable Food. New for Veganuary is the Teriyaki Plant, featuring a plant-based patty with Fable pulled shiitake mushrooms, teriyaki sauce, Applewood Vegan cheese, grilled peppers, spring onions, umami mayo, and lettuce with homemade rosemary chips. This burger will be available at all locations for the month of January. Exclusive to V Honest are the Pulled Shiitake Nuggets, consisting of Fable pulled shiitake fritters with spring onions and umami mayo. The new restaurant will also offer more brand-new options such as the Buffalo, Pesto, and Chilli …

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Smithy Mushrooms

©Smithy Mushrooms
Studies & Numbers

New Scientific Paper Reviews Mycoprotein as Highly Sustainable Meat Substitute as Producers Increasingly Turn to Fungi Alternatives

A brand new scientific paper, “Mycoproteins as safe meat substitutes” shows that producing mycoproteins does not create pollutants or emissions, generates 10 times less greenhouse gas emissions compared to beef, four times less compared to chicken, uses up 20 times less water, and 23 times less land than livestock farming.

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