Plant-based by numbers (USA): Continued declines for alt meat, more positive news for alt dairy – GFI
US retail sales of plant-based meat fell 12% in 2023 with units down 19%, while plant-based milk sales were up 1% with units down 8%.
US retail sales of plant-based meat fell 12% in 2023 with units down 19%, while plant-based milk sales were up 1% with units down 8%.
Dutch startup Rival Foods will start deploying shear cell technology—a novel approach to texturizing plant-based proteins that can create whole cuts—at a “commercially viable scale” this summer.
Meatable has slashed production times for cultivated pork by dramatically speeding up the process by which its stem cells differentiate into fat and muscle.
Planted is deploying a “proprietary solid-state fermentation process” to make its beef steaks, says the Zurich-based firm.
Umaro Foods’ seaweed-fueled bacon will make its retail debut on the west coast with a leading food retailer.
Spanish plant-based meat startup Heura posted a 22% increase in sales to €38.3m ($41.5m) in 2023 and says it’s on course to turn a profit next year.
Beyond Meat Jerky, the first product to emerge from the firm’s JV with PepsiCo, is being discontinued less than two years after launch.
Under new leadership, Meati Foods will “continue the work to right size the company’s workforce and accelerate the path to profitability” says the firm.
“My view of the market is that we had a bit of a hype cycle, but the underlying trends [driving alt protein] are there,” says ENOUGH CEO Jim Laird.
Funding for cultivated meat peaked at $989m in 2021, dipped slightly to $807m in 2022, then dropped sharply to just $177m in 2023.
Cultivated meat startup GOOD Meat has upped the ante in its increasingly ugly legal dispute with bioreactor specialist ABEC over alleged nonpayment of bills by filing a series of counterclaims.
At a time when many alt protein companies are struggling to raise funds, Infinite Roots (formerly Mushlabs) has netted $58m from investors including German food retail giant (REWE) and the holding company behind Haribo (HRH).
Mush Foods is launching its 50CUT mycelium blends in the US market following a successful launch of its b2b ‘meat-plus’ concept in Israel.
Bioreactor specialist ABEC claims it is owed $100m in cash and stock for work done on Eat Just’s GOOD Meat cultivated meat business.
With sales declining, gross margins in negative territory, and debts of $1.1bn, what’s next for Beyond Meat?
However, the number of High Risk companies decreased for the first time ever, according to the Coller FAIRR Protein Producer Index.
The plant-based protein market has been experiencing “destocking and consumer demand softness,” says ADM.
The binder will be available in the US in 2024 as part of a multi-year agreement between Plantible and ICL.
Moolec Science – a startup developing a molecular farming platform to produce plants that express animal proteins – has raised $30m from strategic investors via convertible notes.
When you’re on a tight budget, your execution must be “flawless,” says Juicy Marbles CEO Tilen Travnik. “If something is not as tight as it should be, it keeps me up at night because it immediately translates into cash flow.”
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