Looking back, spring 2020 was not the ideal time to debut in grocery retail, observes Planterra Foods CEO Darcey Macken, who was gearing up to make a splash in the plant-based meat set in mid-April with the OZO brand before a certain pandemic threw a wrench in the works.
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Morningstar Farms, which makes vegetarian-friendly alternatives to foods like hamburgers and hot dogs, announced on Thursday that it’s making new Mickey Mouse-shaped meatless “chik’n nuggets” under its Incogmeato brand. The nuggets are made from non-GMO soy. They look and taste like real meat, but contain 57% less fat and 35% less sodium than actual chicken nuggets, according to Morningstar Farms.
Wildtype, the startup making lab-grown salmon, is opening up a pre-order list for select chefs. Although the company is as much as five years out from commercial production, according to founders, the company is looking to partner with select chefs around the country who want to incorporate their sushi-grade salmon product into their menus.
Companies like Perfect Day, Impossible Foods, and a host of other startups that are developing replacements for animal farmed goods used in food, clothes, cosmetics, and chemicals have raised a whopping $1.5 billion through the first half of the year.
The Plant Based Seafood Company, a new seafood analog product venture formed by the owners of the Van Cleve Seafood Co., has nabbed significant pre-seed funding and purchased a new production facility to grow distribution of its Mind Blown brand.
Australia’s strong agricultural science has built a reputation for quality. Australian beef in particular is highly sought after around the world. Almost three quarters of the beef produced in Australia is exported, making Australia the third largest beef exporter in the world. Yet a shift is happening. Around a quarter of Americans reported eating less meat in 2019 than in previous years. More than 12 per cent of the Australian population are vegetarians, a population percentage that has been rising slowly and steadily since 2012.
Hormel Foods, the makers of America's No. 1 selling pepperoni brand, and the maker of the Happy Little Plants products, are introducing new Happy Little Plants pepperoni style topping at select Papa Murphy's locations across the country.
Brightseed, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to aid food companies in the discovery of new nutritional compounds in plants, announced today that it has raised $27 million in new funding. The round was led by Lewis & Clark AgriFood and brings the total amount raised by Brightseed to $52 million.
Maker of #1 selling plant-based cheese item in the US rolls out new slice flavors, plus all-new cheese blocks and shreds, available now at more than 1,000 Walmart locations. Greenleaf Foods, SPC, owner of leading plant-based brand Field Roast, announced today that its Chao Creamery dairy-free cheese line is expanding. In addition to new plant-based slice flavors like Smoked Original Slices and Spicy Original Slices, Chao Creamery now delivers a Creamy Original Block, Creamy Original Shreds, and Mexican Style Blend Shreds.
Toward the end of 2018, I penned a column defending Dairy Foods’ coverage of the plant-based dairy-alternative space. The column was in response to reader feedback suggesting such coverage was harming dairy farmers and the dairy processing industry. Since then, we have continued to get emails and phone calls, albeit less often, questioning the inclusion of these “dairy wannabees” in our monthly issues and on our website. Considering that dairy alternatives are the stars of one of this month’s cover stories (our Outlook Report), I thought the time was right to restate our defense.
Lavva – best-known for its pili nut and plaintain-fueled plant-based yogurts – has moved into the plant-based milk category with a higher-fat product made with three ingredients: organic coconut water, filtered water, and pili nuts; with no added sugar, sweeteners, gums, stabilizers or emulsifiers.
