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Image by Fable Food Co
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✅ Australian startup Fable Food Co secured $8.5 million Series A funding from a diverse group of backers, including Princeton Professor Peter Singer, K3 Ventures and former YUM! Brands CEO Greg Creed.
TAKEAWAY: Since its launch in December 2019, the company has been revolutionising the meat alternative market with its clean-label, minimally processed, and natural mushroom-based meat products.
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"I’ve seen plenty of fads and gimmicks along the way and I know one thing that consumers will never compromise on, is taste."
Greg Creed, CEO, YUM! Brands
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✅ Estonian start-up Äio has raised €1 million to create alternative oils and fats using agricultural byproducts.
TAKEAWAY: The company says it will use its new funding to increase production, test new products, and apply for permits to bring its products to market, with a 2026 target to begin industrial-scale production.
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✅ Plant-based food and beverage manufacturer SunOpta has opened a new $125 million production facility in order to double its output.
TAKEAWAY: The new location supports SunOpta’s sustainability initiatives, the company says, reducing carbon emissions through more efficient power use, water conservation, and the use of recycled materials in offices and labs.
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✅ Tofurky, a leading producer of plant-based meats in the US, and its sister vegan cheese brand, Moocho, have been acquired for an undisclosed amount by Morinaga Nutritional Foods, the US-based manufacturer of Mori-Nu Silken Tofu.
TAKEAWAY: The two companies have a longstanding business relationship, with Morinaga supplying Tofurky with tofu for 17 years, and the consolidation will help further integrate their combined supply chain and drive growth for both brands.
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🤝🏻 NEWS BITE FROM OUR SPONSOR
Brinc is excited to announce that four innovative, game-changing food technology startups will be joining its portfolio of over 200 companies: plant-based startup Bluana, cellular agriculture-focused Biocellion, precision fermentation dairy company Zero Cow Factory, and texturised protein producer Meat the End ➡️ Learn more.
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Image by Mirai Foods
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🛒 PRODUCT INNOVATION & LAUNCHES 🛒
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✅ Swiss startup Mirai Foods has developed the world’s first cultivated tenderloin steak.
TAKEAWAY: Mirai Food’s achievement comes by way of a natural cell process that allows for tissue cultivation that can mimic conventional meat. It’s dubbed the tech, on which it’s filed three patents, “Fibration Technology.”
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✅ University of Tokyo professor Shoji Takeuchi and his colleagues say they have succeeded in producing the world’s first cultivated cubed steak.
TAKEAWAY: Japan’s Nissin Foods Group, the parent company to the leading Cup Noodle ramen brand, began supporting Takeuchi’s research in 2017.
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✅ Hong Kong’s Plant Sifu announced it will be the exclusive plant-based meat partner with regional meal delivery service Nosh in a new limited-edition menu.
TAKEAWAY: The Nosh partnership marks the first time Plant Sifu dishes can be made at home, opening up the products to a new consumer base.
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✅ Papa John’s expands its South Korea vegan presence, launching two new vegan pizza options in 220 locations, while Armored Fresh pushes ahead with its US almond cheese expansion plans.
TAKEAWAY: “Although the domestic market is still small compared to the overseas vegan market, the role of a premium pizza brand is to respond to preferences of each consumer,” Jeon Joong-gu Papa John’s Korea head, said in a statement.
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✅ Israeli startup Yo Egg’s vegan whole poached eggs have made their US debut at six restaurants in Los Angeles.
TAKEAWAY: Yo Egg says, that unlike any other egg alternative on the market, its egg features a runny yolk and tastes just like chicken eggs, having been developed to deliver flavour and functionality with restaurants and home chefs in mind.
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✅ Slovenia’s Juicy Marbles has partnered with UK supermarket chain Waitrose for a Valentines Day steak dinner special featuring its vegan marbled beef alternative.
TAKEAWAY: According to The Telegraph, which broke the news, the products will be sold on the same shelf as animal meat steaks.
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✅ Hawaiian cashew fruit meat startup Cajú Love has made its retail debut at select retailers across Los Angeles, Portland, and New York.
TAKEAWAY: The company says that, since its 2021 launch, it has upcycled more than 100,000 cashew apples into vegan meat.
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Image by TissenBioFarm
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📈 CONSUMER TRENDS & NEWS HIGHLIGHTS 📈
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✅ 28 cultivated meat industry stakeholders in South Korea, including manufacturers, academics, and several city and provincial governments, have signed a memorandum of understanding to advance cellular agriculture.
TAKEAWAY: The MOU points to the development of a regulation-free zone to be formed in Uiseong where companies can showcase proof-of-concept.
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✅ Data from a new Plant Based Foods Association report shows that 60% of restaurant operators see plant-based as a long-term trend.
TAKEAWAY: The report gathers data from a nationally representative sample of 4,800 US chains and independent restaurants, and shows that almost half (48.4%) of all restaurants currently offer plant-based alternatives.
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Image courtesy of Pet Product Marketing
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📊 MACRO NEWS 📊
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South Korea has launched a public consultation on food standards for alternative protein products, to ensure food safety and quality management during manufacturing.
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The Swine and Poultry Unit of Embrapa, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, announced it is developing a cultivated chicken breast fillet prototype that should be ready for nutritional and sensory analysis by the end of the year.
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The USDA Economic Research Service released new data showing that overall US dairy consumption rose slightly from 1981 to 2021, but daily cheese consumption more than doubled and consumption of yogurt grew fivefold.
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Nielsen data shows that hen’s egg prices in the US are still high, opening up a significant opportunity for plant-based eggs.
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The USDA expects a drop of 2% in beef consumption in in 2023 for Argentina, one of the biggest beef markets in the world, and a 5% drop for the US.
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Join Future Food-Tech's flagship summit for an explosion of ideas, fresh thinking, unrivalled networking and new opportunities when global leaders from across the food industry meet in San Francisco on March 16-17. Find out more here.
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- 🗣️ Natural Products Expo West 2023 is less than a month away and the full agenda is now online; get the details here.
- 🔈 If you are an alt protein startup fundraising or looking to fundraise in the future—this FREE webinar by GFIdeas APAC is perfect for you! Tune in as four experienced venture capitalists and alt protein investors share tips on fundraising and insights about what investors are looking for. Register here.
- 🌟 Save the date for FOODEX JAPAN, taking place 7th-10th March in Tokyo. This year's theme is "Total Solution of Food"; find out more here.
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The world's food systems are undergoing a revolution- we've got close to 8 billion people to feed and alternative protein may just be the answer. From cellular agriculture to plant-based food tech to precision fermentation, we need to reform our global food production. The Green Queen Alt Protein Weekly newsletter is here to highlight the latest news, trends and insights for all members of the future food ecosystem.
Today's edition was brought to you by Nicola and Brinc, a venture capital and accelerator firm that empowers game changers to help solve some of the world's biggest challenges. |
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