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%.
Omeat is operating with a skeleton crew to conserve cash following a turbulent few months during which the founder stepped down as CEO after being accused of creating a hostile working environment.
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.
“A key part of the proposition to fine dining chefs was that they can serve something that no one else has and no one else can have, because we invented it,” says Vow’s CEO.
How will cultivated meat transition from a loss-making novelty served at a handful of restaurants to a viable alternative to animal ag?
Berkeley-based Orbillion reckons it can achieve economic production for cell-cultured Wagyu beef “at around 2,000 liters in scale,” says cofounder and CEO Dr. Patricia Bubner.
Shiok Meats, which had raised more than $30m since 2018, couldn’t see a clear path forward under its own steam.
“It is more likely than not that a CRISPR-enabled cell line will ultimately be necessary [for profitable production at scale],” says Eat Just CEO Josh Tetrick.
Umaro Foods’ seaweed-fueled bacon will make its retail debut on the west coast with a leading food retailer.
The Zurich-based startup’s ‘yeast cream’ can dramatically improve the mouthfeel and performance of alt dairy products, claims CCO Lucie Rein.
The zero-cholesterol, low-saturated fat eggs are made from a base of soy and chickpea protein plus sunflower oil, with ‘runny’ yolks sealed from the whites by an alginate film.
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.
“This strategy aligns with our commitment to scaling up responsibly,” says CEO Didier Toubia.
Vivici has been able to move unusually rapidly by leveraging its founders’ expertise in dairy proteins and industrial-scale biomanufacturing, says CEO Stephan van Sint Fiet.
Less than five months after announcing its first commercial-scale cultivated meat plant in Glenview, Illinois, UPSIDE Foods has hit pause…
“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.
Billed as “the most nutrient-dense protein source on the planet,” Superbrewed Food’s Non GMO bacterial biomass is 85% protein with meaningful levels of vitamin B12.
The startup has entered into an assignment for the benefit of the creditors (ABC), an alternative to formal bankruptcy proceedings that transfers a distressed company’s assets from the debtor to a trust.
Funding for cultivated meat peaked at $989m in 2021, dipped slightly to $807m in 2022, then dropped sharply to just $177m in 2023.
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