Mycoprotein and fungal proteins take up less land than animal farming, and can be used to aid in regenerative agriculture, explains mycoprotein major Quorn - perhaps the best-known manufacturer of mycoprotein-based meat substitutes.
A new alternative protein made from brewer’s spent yeast has scaled up and will now transition to full production. The protein, which is made by the EGGcited consortium and coordinated by NIZO, can act as a substitute for egg and dairy, and can replace...
Estonian start-up ÄIO joins the ranks of those brewing solutions to replace palm oil, coconut oil and animal fats with sustainable and healthier alternatives.
Researchers say they are using ancient technology to turn agricultural waste into fats. They say the approach could help the sustainable protein industry recreate the flavours of meat and has the potential to replace palm oil or other tropical oils.
While several firms are growing fungi in fermentation tanks to make meat analogs, Israeli startup Kinoko is ditching the stainless steel vessels, adding fungi strains to legumes and grains in stacked trays, and letting them work their magic in a solid...
Utilizing precision fermentation to produce immune-system-supporting glycoproteins found in breast milk, Helaina is bridging the gap between traditional formula and breastfeeding. Now the company has its sights set on bringing its technology to a wider...
Utilized in everything from lipsticks and moisturizers to baked goods and confectionery, palm oil comes with environmental and societal costs – displacing tropical forests across Asia, Latin America and West Africa, and destroying the habitats of endangered...
Equii (formerly Cella Farms) - a startup founded by two food industry veterans using fermentation to create lower carb, high-protein grain flours - has raised $6M in seed funding in a round* led by Khosla Ventures as it gears up to launch its first product:...
Bel Group – the multinational firm behind cheese brands Babybel, The Laughing Cow, and Boursin – has teamed up with Superbrewed Food, one of a clutch of startups in the biomass fermentation space, to develop cheeses for the US market incorporating its...
Vienna’s Fermify claims its digitised production platform delivers casein proteins with the same superior functional properties and nutritional profile of real cheese and allows producers to produce cow-free cheese at scale.
Halifax-based Smallfood is targeting the alternative seafood market with a novel marine-based whole food ingredient high in protein “with an amino acid profile similar to beef” and meaningful levels of the coveted long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and...
Fungi-fueled Meati Foods – which raised some eyebrows in December after its new president (ex-General Mills president Scott Tassani) suggested the startup could generate a cool $1bn in sales by 2025 from mycelium-based meat alternatives – has seen a surge...
The global food industry is entering a period of radical transformation, which S2G Ventures likens to the decades-long $4 trillion global energy transition that ushered in disruptive clean technology innovation and sustainable solutions.
From 'whole cuts' of seafood from fungi, to plant-based lamb, to highly functional proteins from brewers' spent grains, here's a quick snapshot of some of the alternative protein startups participating in a virtual pitch slam at last...
Startup Aqua Cultured Foods is carving out novel territory in the nascent alternative seafood space with a Non-GMO fermentation-based production platform capable of delivering high-protein, nutrient-rich ‘whole cuts’ of fungi-based seafood, with the first...
Berlin-based Formo is celebrating getting record funding from investors looking to capitalise on the growing market for environmentally friendly dairy alternatives.
Fine chemicals co DIC has teamed up with San Diego-based startup Debut Biotech to develop color ingredients via a novel ‘cell-free’ biomanufacturing platform, which it claims could enable the biosynthesis of colors that are “hard to find or even inaccessible...
French investment firm Roquette Ventures (part of ingredients company Roquette Group), which supports start-ups in the food, nutrition, and health markets, is looking to scale up production of plant protein sweeteners made using precision fermentation.
Arbiom is a start-up developing solutions to convert timber by-products into food and feed ingredients. The group recently unveiled its first protein ingredient, SylPro. We caught up with the company to find out more about its technology and commercialisation...
Ingredion – already a key player in the stevia sweeteners market through its 2020 deal to acquire PureCircle – has teamed up with synthetic biology specialist Amyris to expand into a new segment of the market: steviol glycosides produced via fermentation.
Wild Tonic Jun Kombucha (fermented from honey and green tea instead of traditional cane sugar and black tea) is banking on several growth trends in the kombucha category this year including its refreshed slim cans and expanding line of hard kombucha.
Israeli company NextFerm Technologies Inc. has raised $9.2 million in an initial public offering on the Tel Aviv stock exchange, the company announced today.
Israeli fermentation-based technology firm Phytolon has secured $4.1m in funding from Millennium Food-Tech, EIT Food, Consensus Business Group (CBG), The Trendlines Group, Yossi Ackerman (former President and CEO of Elbit Systems), and the Israel Innovation...
Canada-based Willow Biosciences Inc. has announced it will soon start to deliver its first samples of “ultra-pure, pharmaceutical grade” cannabigerol (CBG) from its 500-liter pilot production run.
Grains fermented with Propionibacterium freudenreichii – the bacteria usually used as a ripening culture in Swiss-type cheese -- have enough vitamin B12 to be nutritionally significant and could potentially be cheaper than fortification, according to...
Amyris is gearing up to launch a tabletop sweetener and culinary baking mixes featuring purecane (Reb M), a steviol glycoside that's found naturally in the stevia leaf, but which Amyris says can be produced more efficiently from cane sugar by a modified...
GT’s Living Foods is going after the non-kombucha drinker with its newly-launched aqua kefir line, a variety of fermented beverages with a less acidic taste profile than kombucha.
Synthetic biology specialist Amyris says it remains confident it can capture 30% of the global stevia sweeteners market by 2022 with purecane, a Reb M sweetener produced from cane sugar by a modified yeast strain, that it claims gives it a competitive...
‘We’ve had pushback [over genetic engineering] for years now, but the conversation has to change’
If printing out DNA sequences that instruct yeast or bacteria to express proteins identical to those in eggs or milk in big fermentation tanks sounds a little ‘unnatural,’ consider how natural, sustainable, or indeed ethical, it is to continue to produce...
With consumer interest in fermentation, raw foods, probiotics, authentic cuisine and sustainable production all on the rise, Legacy III Partners is introducing to the US Alive & Well Organic Probiotic Olives, which check all these boxes by using traditional...
A lawsuit taking issue with the way KeVita (now owned by PepsiCo) makes its kombucha makes some “confusing” arguments over 41 pages, but also reflects some of the conversations taking place in the industry over what ‘authentic’ kombucha is, and how it...
Tumbling soda sales have opened the door to the mainstream market for a variety of functional beverages that were previously relegated to the natural channel, including kombuncha sales of which, according to one entrepreneur, grew 41% to $534 million...
A $6.5m funding round led by General Mills’ 301 INC arm will help Farmhouse Culture - which specializes in fresh organic sauerkraut, sauerkraut chips and fermented 'gut shots' – expand its distribution and support new launches, including a new...
Increased awareness of and ongoing battles with diet related chronic health problems are pushing more consumers into the kitchen for the first time -- creating a massive opportunities for do-it-yourself kits that teach consumers how to make their own...
The growing popularity of sparkling water among health-conscious adults who want an alternative to soda and sugar-laden beverages now is bubbling over into the children’s beverage segment with the launch of Tickle Water in May.
We’re just scratching the surface when it comes to unlocking the potential of fermented foods in the US market, says the new CEO of Farmhouse Culture, a Portland-based firm specializing in fresh organic sauerkraut and novel savory fermented beverages.
Union Kitchen: Inside a food and beverage incubator
Fermented foods and beverages are growing in popularity as consumers learn more about their health benefits – in turn opening the door for entrepreneurs like The Sweet Farm, which sells fresh sauerkraut and is developing a line of cultured sodas and probiotic...
Health-Ade Kombucha has defended its wares after being targeted in a false advertising lawsuit alleging it significantly understated the sugar content in its products.
Yeast species used in the beer, wine and bread industries can also be used in cocoa fermentation to create unique flavors for chocolate confectionery, say Belgian researchers.
'We have retained a cult-like following even as we have gone mass market'
When Julie Smolyansky became president and CEO of kefir market leader Lifeway Foods in 2002 after the sudden death of her father (its founder), the stock went into freefall as investors feared the 27-year old wasn’t ready to run a public company. They...
With buyers from Whole Foods, Kroger, KeHE, Compass Group, Dean & DeLuca and hundreds of other retailers and foodservice chains walking the floor looking for innovative new products, the Winter Fancy Food Show has helped to launch scores of high-profile...
Online grocery shopping, craft foods, fermented and pickled foods such as sauerkraut, and non-stop snacking will all gain momentum in 2015, according to ‘Supermarket Guru’ and TV personality Phil Lempert.
At the intersection of consumers’ growing interest in bold, spicy flavors, health and a desire to expand their horizons through food, fermented foods have re-entered the spotlight owing to their deep flavors and health halo as a longtime form of food...
Chinese researchers report that a novel two-step inoculation process with Candida etchellsii may increase the level of soy sauce flavor compounds by as much as 180%.
Food manufacturers continue to seek ways to cut sodium without sacrificing flavor - and ingredients companies continue to find innovative solutions. Caroline Scott-Thomas tracked down some interesting offerings at IFT.
The global shortage of molasses and competition from biofuels
continue to put upward pressure on prices for yeast, but
opportunities for yeast players lie squarely with the emerging
market for speciality yeast products, and specifically...
Wine lees, the sediment left in the bottom of the barrel after
winemaking, could boost the antioxidant profile of ice cream and
slow the melting time of ice cream, suggests a new study from
Taiwan.
Tea, seemingly always in the headlines for its potential health
benefits, could also offer an interesting source of food
preservatives, Chinese researchers report.
