Hemp, barley, chickpeas, and Pongamia (a.k.a. ‘vertical soy’) are four plant-based proteins to watch in the next decade, according to panelists at FoodNavigator-USA's recent ‘Plant-based protein in focus’ webinar, who predicted advances in crop breeding...
We’re running out of agricultural land, and fresh water is an increasingly precious commodity in many parts of the world. But one thing we’re not short of is sea water, which covers more than 70% of the earth’s surface, say the founders of ALORA, a startup...
New chickpea varieties with 75% more protein could transform the legume from a niche to a mainstream player in the plant-based protein arena, says San Francisco-based startup NuCicer, which is also developing varieties with specific functional attributes...
Emerging indoor farming company Square Roots has opened a new modular farm in Springfield, Ohio, where the company will be able to reach local customers in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton metropolitan areas with its fresh, locally-grown salad mixes and...
Formulating beverages that parents can feel good about - and kids will actually drink - is notoriously challenging. However, the founders of Starryside reckon they may have cracked the code with Star Water, a zero-calorie flavored water with added vitamins...
Colorado-based MycoTechnology – which is building a functional ingredients platform utilizing mycelium, the filament-like roots of mushrooms - has raised $85m in a series E* round (taking its total funding to $200m) that will help it expand its portfolio...
“We don’t talk too much about product benefits in our marketing... that comes later,” observes Jake Karls, co-founder at Montreal-based ‘functional chocolate’ startup Mid-Day Squares. “What we think about, is how do we interrupt your day on your phone?”
Led by a PepsiCo alum turned beverage entrepreneur, OCA is carving out a spot for itself in the growing 'clean' energy drink category with a simple ingredient deck which includes 120mg of caffeine from green coffee extract.
In its largest expansion to date, Gotham Greens is doubling the size of its greenhouse capacity from 600,000 to over 1.2 million square feet this year unlocking new regions, national distribution at key retailers, and getting one large step closer to...
Koidra, an intelligent automation (IA) startup based out of Seattle, has raised $4.5m in a seed funding round to bring its data intelligence technology to precision and controlled environmental agriculture sectors.
While animal feed and pet food present bigger commercial opportunities for edible insects in the short term, two key European players in the segment - Innovafeed and Ÿnsect, who are both planning large-scale, highly-automated production facilities in...
From reishi to lion’s mane, ‘medicinal’ mushrooms are gaining traction in foods and beverages, buoyed by growing interest in adaptogens and immunity, says Four Sigmatic CEO Tero Isokauppila, who caught up with FoodNavigator-USA at the Natural Products...
Above Food has been quietly building a plant-based foods portfolio which spans plant-based seafood to plant-based cheese, and its market presence is about to explode with the unveiling of a disruptive, more sustainable, oat processing technology that...
With fresh leadership and a portfolio intended to address a consumer's every need state, Laird Superfood is on a strong path towards significant long-term growth and profitability, said the company's new president and CEO Jason Vieth at the...
Many indoor farming companies - while noble in their pursuit of providing consumers with access to locally-grown produce with a longer shelf life and free from pesticides and other contaminants from conventional field farming - have struggled to create...
Boston-based Motif FoodWorks says it is “very confident” it will prevail in its legal spat with Impossible Foods over a new generation of ‘meaty’ flavors produced by precision fermentation.
The EVERY Company has teamed up with upmarket west-coast patisserie brand Chantal Guillon to road test EVERY EggWhite - billed as “the world’s first animal-free egg white” - in a product heavily reliant on the unique functional properties of egg whites:...
Tattooed Chef, a rapidly-growing plant-based frozen foods brand, is entering new categories beyond the frozen foods aisle and into refrigerated snack bars and snacking chips.
Shiru - a startup producing proteins via microbial fermentation - has teamed up with texturizing ingredients specialist CP Kelco to explore label-friendly replacements for methylcellulose and other highly functional ingredients.
While growth in US retail sales of refrigerated plant-based meat has slowed, investors are still pouring large amounts of cash into startups creating alternatives to meat, eggs, and dairy products with plant-based and fermentation-based approaches, and...
Sophie's Kitchen is gearing up to significantly expand distribution of its plant-based seafood portfolio of chilled, frozen, and shelf-stable pea-based seafood analogues including its most recent product launch -- fish burgers -- which CEO Miles...
Despite efforts in recent years to disrupt the roughly $5b fruit snack market with better-for-you options made with more, whole or only fruit, the category remains dominated by legacy products high in added sugars and fillers and low in nutritional value...
The natural energy drink set is buzzing with activity and Rowdy Energy is gaining strong consumer traction with the highest repeat rates in the category, and a new line of thermogenic, calorie-burning energy drinks targeting female consumers, an untapped...
EPG – a plant-based oil restructured in such a way that virtually none of it is absorbed by the body – has demonstrated intriguing properties in plant-based meat applications, where formulators have struggled to find vegan options that behave like animal...
At a time when plastic packaging is emerging as a top concern among environmentally-conscious consumers, plant-based meat company No Evil Foods' decision to switch from fully compostable packaging to paper cartons with plastic inserts may appear...
If the alt-meat space is getting pretty crowded, there is still only a handful of players in the plant-based egg vertical, which is growing strongly, says Just Egg maker Eat Just, which has seen a significant increase in distribution, with its mung-bean-fueled...
Nature’s Fynd - a startup growing protein-packed food from microbes with a fraction of the environmental footprint of meat or dairy – is launching refrigerated breakfast patties featuring its ‘Fy’ nutritional fungi protein in selected Whole Foods stores...
Plantish has raised $12.5m in seed funding to scale up the production technology for its plant-based whole-cut salmon fillets, which will first enter fine dining restaurants by late 2023.
From a flurry of keto snacks and functional-but-fun beverages, to firms making more proactive claims about their impact (or lack thereof) on the environment, check out our first trendspotting gallery from the Natural Products Expo West show in Anaheim,...
Third-party meal delivery service DoorDash is debuting its DoorDash Accelerator for Local Goods, a program designed to support local packaged food brands owned by women, BIPOC, immigrant, and transgender entrepreneurs.
For the father and son behind start-up Planet Based Foods, declining sales of meat alternatives that closely mimic animal products is not a harbinger of dwindling consumer interest in plant-based options, but rather a natural evolution of the trend that...
If churning out milk from lactating bovine mammary epithelial cells in a bioreactor seems a bit, well, unnatural, ask yourself what’s ‘natural’ about the life of a dairy cow in an industrial-scale dairy farming operation, says Opalia co-founder Jennifer...
Dream Pops is rolling out its latest plant-based indulgent extensions into the shelf-stable confectionery and sweetened syrups categories, which CEO and co-founder David Greenfeld says will challenge the likes of industry incumbents Hershey, Ferrero,...
Big Bold Health, a company bent popularizing the immune health benefits of a particular legacy crop, has announced $4 million in funding from a venture capital firm.
Emeryville, CA-based Finless Foods has closed a $34m series B round* to fund pilot-scale production of cell-cultured bluefin tuna, and support the national foodservice launch of its first product: plant-based tuna.
Fat is mission-critical to the appearance, smell, taste, mouthfeel, and texture of meat. And if you want to formulate meat alternatives that look, cook, smell, and taste like the real thing, plant-based fats will only get you so far, claims San Francisco-based...
While scientists are still unlocking the secrets of the gut microbiome, consumers increasingly understand that what we feed the armies of microbes that line our digestive tracts may be intimately connected to our physical – and mental - wellbeing. So...
Plant-based proteins continue to dominate the so-called ‘alternative protein’ category, but will this still be the case in 10 years’ time? And which emerging plant proteins – from canola, barley and hemp to Pongamia, lupin, and chickpeas – will become...
Plant-based meat alternatives are getting 'meatier' by the day as brands reverse engineer animal products and put them back together with plants. But getting plant-based fat to behave like animal fat has been a major stumbling block for the...
Launched less than a year ago by a mix of entrepreneurs, investors, fitness industry veterans, and celebrity Dwayne Johnson, ZOA Energy claims it has quickly become the fastest-growing energy drink and #2 brand in the healthy energy drinks category (per...
Natural colour maker Phytolon is collaborating with Ginkgo Bioworks to take its biological production to the ‘next level’. FoodNavigator asks Phytolon co-founder and CEO Halim Jubran how its novel production technology works.
There’s no shortage of startups on a mission to fix the broken food system and FOMO-fueled legacy brands jumping on the plant-based bandwagon, says Dave Zilko, the CPG veteran behind the new Skinny Butcher brand. But buyers, he says, are still open to...
Santiago-based NotCo - which entered the US market in 2020 with plant-based NotMilk - is gearing up to enter the ultra-competitive US meat alternatives category with NotBurger, a brand that has rapidly gained traction in Latin America with high-profile...
Belgian Boys, a fast-growing brand selling European-inspired treats and fresh breakfast items, has received $7m in funding led by Equilibra Ventures, a startup and investment platform from KIND Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky, to expand the brand's...
What are consumers looking for when it comes to healthy and functional beverages? Is it sparkling water to kick a sugary soda habit or a daily wellness shot with ginger and turmeric for an immunity boost? Find out in the third and final session of FoodNavigator-USA's...
While skeptics maintain cell-cultured meat faces “intractable technical challenges at food scale,” and Impossible Foods CEO Dr Pat Brown dismisses it as ‘vaporware,’ Wildtype has just persuaded investors to part with a cool $100m to help it scale up its...
Perfect Day – one of a new breed of startups deploying synthetic biology to coax microbes into expressing animal proteins such as whey – has teamed up with new brand betterland foods to launch a ‘cow-free’ milk it claims is “virtually indistinguishable...
With the help of a $7m fundraise, Startup De La Calle is bringing to more Americans nationwide a modern version of the beloved and naturally functional Mexican “street vendor treat” tepache – a probiotic beverage made from fermented organic pineapples...
Good Culture, best-known for disrupting the cottage cheese category with its clean label formulation, has just secured $64m in Series C funding to drive continued expansion of its healing cultured foods platform.
