Panelists at the AgFunder 2023 Global Report launch party discussed the challenges for alt protein and eGrocery, and why capital is swimming upstream.
While alt-protein investment has cooled, there’s still plenty of interest in replacing eggs, says Maija Itkonen of precision fermentation startup Onego Bio.
Burcon NutraScience—which developed the plant protein extraction technology utilized by Merit Functional Foods—says it will submit a formal proposal to acquire the distressed business, which went into receivership on March 1.
Tofurky’s new owner Morinaga Nutritional Foods paid north of $50m for the family-owned alt meat brand, one of the leading players in the US meat alternatives market, AFN has learned.
Meati president Scott Tassani says he remains confident his minimally-processed mushroom root-based steaks and cutlets can breathe fresh life into the North American meat alternatives category, and believes Meati can capture “20% of what we think will be a $5 billion retail market in five years.”
New frontiers in biotechnology and fermentation are being deployed to reduce the environmental impact of our animal-based food system. But do developments in cellular agriculture take ethics into account?
Israeli startup Ever After Foods (formerly Plurinuva) has unveiled technology it claims can transform the unit economics of cultivated meat by reducing the capex required to build facilities and increasing the productivity of tissue production.
Israeli startup Aleph Farms has struck deals enabling it to take an “asset-light” approach to scaling up cultivated meat production in Israel and Singapore. CEO Didier Toubia tells AFN Aleph is also scouting for sites in the US for a larger scale facility and believes it can achieve cost parity with premium beef by 2028.
Swedish startup Millow is developing minimally processed products made from oats and mycelium grown in a patent-pending fermentation process it claims uses a fraction of the water and energy used by players such as Quorn.
Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown faced a grilling from analysts Thursday evening as the plant-based meat firm posted a 20.6% decrease in net revenues to $79.9 million in Q4, 2022 vs Q4, 2021, with a net loss of $66.9 million.
Long-awaited FDA draft guidance on labeling for plant-based milks has been slammed by the milk lobby for its “circular logic” and criticized by plant-based advocates who say it “undercuts the administration’s climate goals.”
High-protein, low-sugar “complete nutrition” brand Soylent sees opportunities to expand its retail presence and improve marketing, according to its CEO.
The dispute between Miyoko Schinner and the company she founded has grown uglier as Miyoko’s Creamery has filed a lawsuit accusing Schinner of “hatching a plot to steal company property, trade secrets, and confidential information” after being removed as CEO.
The alternative protein sector was ‘overhyped, but now its demise is being over exaggerated,’ said investors at a recent industry event as the GFI unveiled results of a global investor survey suggesting a mood of cautious optimism.
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Arkeon claims that ingredients are a bottleneck in the alternative proteins and is out to produce ingredients combined with vital amino acids.
Two of the biggest hurdles facing plant-based meat, says Rebellyous Foods, are price and quality-at-scale, which the Seattle-based startup is tackling head on with technology it claims can dramatically increase yields and slash labor costs.
“I don’t know many companies who are really talking about the ethics of their supply chain in the plant-based world, other than the animal ethics part… I’m talking about the human ethics part of things and fair labor.”
Fable’s meaty mushroom products are minimally processed and clean label with all natural ingredients, a boon amid growing controversy about the alternative meat industry.
Sales of plant-based meat have slowed in the US market following a surge in the early months of the pandemic, but the category hasn’t fallen off a cliff.
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