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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Ashlen Wilder

The Alt Protein News Round-Up: Cultured Crab Meat & Groundnut Milk

This week, a big announcement was made in the alternative protein space: Eat Just announced that it partnered with Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA) to build a cultured meat facility in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region. The region is soon set to become the second in the world to grant regulatory approval for the sale of cultured meat.

In addition to this news, we found some other interesting pieces, including Shiok Meats’ recent unveil, Nature Fynd’s retail launch, a study on the scent of plant-based burgers, and a new plant-based milk made from groundnuts.

Photo from Shiok Meats’ Website

Shiok Meats showcases the world’s first cultured crab meat

Shiok Meats, a cultured seafood company, unveiled its most recent product at a private tasting event in Singapore: cultured crab meat. The alternative seafood product was served in two dishes, including crab cakes and chilli crab. Additionally, the company’s other cultured seafood was featured in lobster-flavored potato chips and tom yum shrimp soup. Shiok Meats is currently building a cultured seafood manufacturing plant in Singapore, and has the goal of bringing its products to market by 2023.

Photo from Nature’s Fynd’s website

Nature’s Fynd launches two new products in first retailer location

Nature’s Fynd applies a fermentation process to Fusarium strain flavolapis, a microbe found in the geothermal pools of Yellowstone National Park, to craft its proprietary Fy Protein. Using Fy Protein and other plant-based ingredients like coconut oil and soy protein, the company launched plant-based breakfast patties and cream cheese earlier this year. This week, the company announced that it has released new flavors of its original products: maple-flavored meatless breakfast patties and dairy-free chive and onion cream cheese.

The first products from Nature’s Fynd were only available on its website, but as of September 1st, the plant-based alternatives can now be purchased at Berkely Bowl in Berkely, California. In the promotional email sent out, Nature’s Fynd disclosed that they will be bringing their products to more stores by the end of the year.

Photo from WhatIF Foods’ website

An alternative milk made from groundnuts launches in Singapore

WhatIF Foods, a Singapore-based food tech company, recently launched a new alternative milk called BamNut Milk made from Bambara groundnuts, coconut oil, and shea butter. Bambara groundnuts, native to West Africa, contain 20 percent protein and the crop is resistant to extreme heat and dry weather conditions. The plant-based milk has no added sugars, and one serving boasts 7 grams of protein. One carton costs $5.99, and the product is currently only available for Singapore residents.

Photo by amirali mirhashemian on Unsplash

Study analyzes which plant-based burger smells the most like a beef burger

A chemistry professor at Eastern Kentucky University, LiLi Zyzak, led a project that studied which plant-based burgers had the closest scent to traditional beef burgers. Cooking a burger, specifically raw hamburger meat, releases volatile compounds that can be challenging to recreate in plant-based alternatives. In the study, eight of the leading brands of plant-based burgers were cooked up. Zyzak and her colleagues identified compounds being released from the cooking burgers through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The best smelling burger went to Beyond Meat’s pea protein burger patty, with Nestlé’s Awesome Burger coming in second.

The USDA wants to know what people think about cell-based meat

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced it had opened a 60 day period in which it will solicit comments to questions put forth in an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR). The move is significant because it signals that the US government is getting serious about developing a regulatory framework for an industry that has changed significantly since the USDA and the FDA first announced they were looking into meat created by cellular agriculture.

Stockeld Dreamery Raises €16.5 Million for Legume-Based Alternative Cheeses

This week, Swedish plant-based cheese company Stockeld Dreamery announced that it has raised €16.5 million (~$20 million USD) in a Series A round, according to a release sent to The Spoon. Led by Astanor Ventures and Northzone, the funding round also saw participation from new investors, including Trellis Road, Eurazeo, Norrsken VC, Edastra, Gullspång Re:food, and several angel investors. This brings the company’s total funding to around $24 million USD.

Stockeld Dreamery, formerly known as Noquo Foods, launched its first product in May 2021, called Stockeld Chunk. The plant-based cheese is an alternative to feta and is made from a base of fermented peas and fava beans. Similar to feta’s nutritional composition, it contains 20 percent fat, 1.5 percent carbs, and 13 percent protein.

The company is currently hiring and is planning to use the new capital to grow its team from 22 people to about 50. In 2022, Stockeld will move into a pilot production plant and headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden.

Alternative milk and dairy are the largest categories in the plant-based space, with the alternative cheese category alone growing a total of 42.5 percent in 2020. Stockeld Dreamery is not the only plant-based cheese company to raise a hefty funding round this year; Miyoko’s Creamery raised a $52 million Series C round in August, and Nobel Foods closed a $75 million funding round in July.

For now, Stockeld Dreamery’s first alternative cheese product is only available in select retailers in Stockholm, Sweden. However, the press release mentioned that after moving into its new facility, the company will release new products and expand its distribution outside of the country.

Food Waste Start-up Agricycle Global Raises $2.4M Seed Round

Agricycle Global, a food and agriculture waste start-up based in Wisconsin, announced this week that it has raised a two-part seed round totaling $2.4 million. The round was led by MaSa Partners and CSA Partners, with participation from Wisconsin Investment Partners, Brightstar Wisconsin, and several angel investors.

The start-up works across Sub-Saharan Africa with local farmers and communities to upcycle food ingredients and build a sustainable supply chain. This year, Agricycle launched two new brands that were distributed to over 1,000 U.S. stores. The start-up’s mission is to work with those who have typically been excluded from global food markets, including women, youth, and smallholder farmers.

Tropicoal Ignition, one of Agricycle’s brands, employs women to gather spent cassava root, coconut shells, and palm kernel shells that would normally go to waste. These ingredients are then processed and made into cooking charcoal.

In sub-Saharan Africa, about 25 to 50 percent of all produce is wasted post-harvest and before it even reaches the market. This is due to insufficient transportation, processing, drying, and storage. To combat this, Agricycle supplies solar dehydrators to small farmers and woman-led cooperatives that harvest jackfruit, mango, and pineapple. The fruit is then dried, packaged, and sold under the brand Jali Fruit Co. Each bag of dried fruit features a QR code that consumers can use to see where the ingredients were sourced from.

Whole Foods predicted that upcycled foods would be a trend this year, and the entire market is currently worth over $46.7 billion. This past April, the Upcycled Food Association launched a “Upcycled Certified” label shine the light on CPG companies focused on reducing food waste.

Agricycle will use the capital to launch its ingredient supplying business called Field Better Ingredients. The new brand will supply organic gluten-free flours made from 100 percent fruit to CPG manufacturers and bakeries.

Food Tech News: Subway Station Greens and Moolec’s Joint Venture

Moolec and Grupo Insud launched a joint venture

Moolec, a food tech company that develops animals proteins through plants, and Grupo Insud, an ingredient manufacturer for the pharmaceutical industry, shared this week that they will partner together for research. The two companies will focus on developing solutions for the alternative protein industry, using fungi, yeast, and microorganisms to create animal-free ingredients. Their goal is to develop products with upgraded nutritional value, improved organoleptic properties, while still maintaining affordability for the ingredients.

A protein bar that might help with hangovers

We were recently sent an email regarding a new protein bar that is supposed to do more than keep you full and taste good. A company called SoBar produces protein bars that they claim help you reduce alcohol absorption when consumed prior to drinking. The company produces three flavors – Carmel Macchiato, White Chocolate Almond, and Honey Peanut, all of which are gluten-free and 130-calories.

Reducing the negative effects of alcohol is always a plus, but SoBar seems to be banking off the common knowledge that eating basically any food helps slow down the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream. However, SoBar’s parent company, Zeno Functional Foods, holds a patent for something called Alco-HOLD. One of the main ingredients of Alco-HOLD is protein, and this is the component of SoBars that is intended to reduce the effects of alcohol.

Coca-Cola and Lime partner to encourage recycling

This week Coca-Cola and Lime, an electric bike and scooter company, announced that they have partnered to encourage their customers to recycle plastic bottles. Cola-Cola transitioned its 13.2 oz bottles to 100% recycled plastic material (rPET) earlier this year, and aims to promote this through the partnership. Anyone who purchases the rPET sip-size bottles can sign up on CokePlayToWin.com/endlesslyrefreshing and pledge that they will indeed toss spent bottles in the right bin. Those who sign the pledge will receive a promo code via email for a free, 10-minute scooter or bike ride through Lime.

Subway station vegetables in Seoul

Hydroponic greenhouses can be placed in unlikely places, like in the middle of a bustling city or in an abandoned building. This week, Gastro Obscura posted about another improbable place to find fresh vegetables: Sangdo Station on Line 7 of the Seoul Metro. Appropriately called Metro Farm, it is owned and maintained by Farm8, a South Korean agricultural company. Metro Farm supplies fresh greens and sprouts to Farm8’s next-door organic cafe for salads.

Plant-Based News Round-Up: OmniPork in America, $3M for Alternative Cheese

Earlier this month, Bloomberg Intelligence released a report called “Plant-Based Foods Poised for Explosive Growth” that stated the alternatives proteins and dairy market could increase to $162 billion in the next decade. The plant-based space is seemingly always expanding, innovating, and churning out news. To keep you updated, we’ve gathered recent updates on companies in the space, including Omnipork, Hooray Foods, and Misha’s Kind Foods.

Omnipork launches in Sprouts and whole foods locations throughout the U.S.

Omnipork, a China-based brand owned by OmniFoods, announced this week that it has brought its alternative pork products to America. The company’s alternative pork strips, grounds, and luncheon products at now available at all 371 Sprouts locations and 200 Whole Foods Market stores. In addition to America, Omnipork has also recently expanded throughout Asia, Australia, and the UK. The alternative pork product is made predominantly from pea protein, soy, rice, and shitake mushrooms, and was originally crafted for the Asian market.

Left: Founder of Hooray Foods Sri Artham

Hooray Foods partners with Imperfect Foods

Hooray Foods, an alternative meat company, shared with The Spoon that it has partnered with Imperfect Foods, an online grocer focused on reducing food waste. Starting September 2nd, Hooray Foods’ bacon will be available for purchase on the grocer’s site as an add-on to shoppers’ weekly subscription boxes. The alternative bacon is made from a base of coconut oil, rice flour, tapioca starch, and can also be found at select Whole Foods and independent grocery retailers throughout the U.S.

In 2020, the plant-based bacon category doubled from 2019, increasing to a value of $267 million. Hooray Foods currently faces competition in the alternative bacon space from Prime Roots and AtLast.

Misha’s raises $3 million for alternative cheese

Misha’s Kind Foods, the California-based alternative dairy company, announced this week that it has raised a $3 million seed round. The round was led by Jay-Z’s Marcy Ventures Partners Fund ll, L.P., Lisa Shamus & Partners, and Chris Paul. This new capital will allow the company to focus on product development, retail expansion, and growing its team. Misha produces non-dairy cheese products made from a blend of almonds and cashews, as well as herbs, vegetables, and spices.

The plant-based cheese category alone has experienced a 70 percent growth in the past two years. Although this category is not as mature and large as alternative dairy, Misha’s faces an abundance of competition from well-funded companies like Miyoko’s Creamery, Nobell, and Grounded Foods.

Ai Palette Raises $4.4M USD for Trend-Predicting Tech

Singapore-based Ai Palette announced today that it has raised $4.4 million USD in an oversubscribed Series A round. The round was co-led by Exfinity Venture Partners and pi Ventures, with participation from Anthill Ventures and return investors VC AgFunder and Decacorn Capital. This brings the company’s total funding to $5.5 million USD.

Ai Palette uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to help CPG and food companies predict consumer trends as they emerge. The company’s first product is called Foresight Engine, which can track a trend’s future trajectory, consumers driving it, and its maturity. The machine learning platform recognizes 15 different languages and can process data from various sources including images.

It is estimated that approximately 10,000 new CPG products are released each year, and within two years, 85 percent of these products will fail. Staying ahead of trends can help companies differentiate from competitors, directly target consumer preferences, and time product launches.

The use of AI and machine learning can help identify trends early, and speed up the R&D process. In turn, this can help food companies bring their product to market faster. Besides Ai Palette, several other companies offer trend-predicting services including Tastewise, Spoonshot, Halla, and Analytical Flavor Systems.

Besides emerging trends, these services can additionally predict taste preferences in different regions of the world. For example, Ai Palette analyzed 1.2 billion data points to track beverage trends in the U.S., Canada, India, and Southeast Asia during the summertime. It was found that in the U.S., the use of acerola cherry in juice drinks has experienced a year-over-year growth rate of 254 percent.

Ai Palette will use its new capital to expand its customer base outside of Asia, recruit new data science and engineering talent, and develop new product lines.

Food Tech News: Scented Water, Kabocha Squash Milk, and Robot Delivery at Ohio State

Welcome to the weekend, and the Food Tech News round-up!

Air Up uses scent to trick people into drinking more water

UK-based Air Up has developed a bottle that flavors water through scent, and tricks the brain with retronasal smelling technology. The top of the bottle has space to insert a scented pod, which is made from aromas extracted from fruits, plants, and spices. Once the bottle is filled with still or sparkling water, and the desired pod has been selected, the user sips from the silicon straw attachment on top. While drinking the water, air from the pod rises up, and the olfactory center perceives it as taste, rather than just smell.

The scented pods come in flavors like berry, kola, coffee, and cucumber, with a single pod lasting for about 5 liters of water. Air Up products are currently available in Germany, Austria, Swiss, France, Belgium, the UK, and the Netherlands, and the company has plans to continue expanding throughout Europe and to the U.S.

Eat Just to launch alternative egg product in South Africa

Alternative protein company Eat Just and Infinite Foods, a market platform for plant-based food brands, announced this week they have partnered to launch JUST Egg products in South Africa. The JUST Egg Folded, made predominantly from mung beans, will be sold in a box of four in the frozen aisle. Wellness Warehouse, a grocery and wellness product retailer, will carry the product across South Africa, as well as in restaurants in Durban, Cape Town, and Johannesburg. Additionally, the alternative egg will be available on Infinite Foods’ website. According to the press release, this will be the first plant-based egg available in South Africa.

Grubhub and Yandex will offer robot delivery on the Ohio State University campus

Grubhub, a food delivery platform, and Yandex, a robot delivery service, have announced that they will be operating together on the Ohio State University. There will be 50 Yandex robots on campus that are able to deliver between the hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. A robot is able to move throughout the campus going three to five miles an hour, navigate through crosswalks, and deliver in all weather. The campus is home to 60,000 students who can order delivery from any on-campus dining establishment to any residence hall on campus, and to the Bricker Hall and Thompson Library. This is the first college campus that the Yandex robots will be operating on.

Kabochamilk launches for consumers in Asia

We can buy milk made from chia seeds, barley, oats, pistachios, and now, kabocha squash. Shane Newman, a kabocha squash farmer in Hawkes Bay, Zealand, and Sachie Nomura, a celebrity chef and the creator of avocadomilk, have collaborated to produce Kabochamilk. The company received $95,000 from the Ministry for Primary Industries in New Zealand through the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund to launch. The Kabocha Milk Company has created a shelf-stable formula that is intended for consumers in Japan, Korea, and China, where kabocha squash is a dietary staple. The alternative milk is currently available in two high-end chains, Tsurya and Harashin, in Japan.

San Francisco Restaurant to Serve UPSIDE Foods’ Cultivated Chicken

Berkeley, California-based cultivated meat company UPSIDE Foods, announced today that it has partnered with Dominique Crenn, the co-owner and chef of the three Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn restaurant in San Francisco. Crenn will assist with recipe development for the company, and, pending regulatory review and approval, will serve UPSIDE’s cultivated chicken at her restaurant in the future.

Previously known as Memphis Meats, UPSIDE Foods unveiled its first cultivated meatball in 2016 and its first cultivated piece of poultry in 2017. This past May, the company announced that its first consumer-facing product will be cultivated chicken. However, none of UPSIDE’s wares are on sale yet, since the company has yet to gain regulatory approval to sell these and other cultivated meat products.

At the moment, Singapore is the only country that has approved the sale of cultivated meat, and it isn’t clear who will be the next. In the U.S., the FDA and USDA will oversee the regulation of cultured meat, and figuring out this framework is still a work in progress. As a result, UPSIDE’s restaurant partnership won’t come to fruition until the company gets regulatory approval to sell its cultivated meat.

If and when that happens, it will be a big switch for Crenn’s restaurant, too. Because of environmental concerns around the production of meat, Crenn made the decision to remove all meat from Crenn Dining Group’s restaurants in 2019. Since UPSIDE’s cultivated chicken is actual meat made from harvested animal cells, the restaurant group will be deviating from that stance for the first time in a few years. Of course, one of the benefits touted by cultured meat industry is that its products are more environmentally friendly than conventionally raised meat, since no animals are slaughtered in the process.

Putting cultured meat on a restaurant menu is one way to introduce it to consumers. Other food tech start-ups like Impossible Foods and Meati have presented their products through restaurants first, before going diectly to consumers. This is one way to garner interest from the innovators and early adopters who are eager to try new products.

After getting regulatory approval, UPSIDE Foods will continue to partner with other chefs and restaurants throughout the U.S. The company has begun building a production facility in the San Francisco Bay Area, and eventually plans to roll out its cultivated meat in grocery stores.

Singapore-based Shandi Raises $700,000 Seed Round

Shandi, an alternative protein company based in Singapore, announced this week in a press release sent to The Spoon that it has raised $700,000 USD in a second seed round. The round was led by Tolaram, and also saw participation from SparkLabs Cultiv8 and other private investors.

This new influx of capital will allow Shandi to build out a production facility in Singapore, as well as scale and commercialize its alternative protein products. Additionally, the company will focus on innovating new products and developing partnerships in the food sector.

Shandi’s offerings include various chicken analogs, including shreds, pieces, strips, and drumsticks. All of the products are made with a combination of non-GMO chickpeas, pea protein, quinoa, flax seeds, brown rice, and coconut oil. The company has not disclosed much about its production process, but it does have a pending patent for its technology involving the extraction of amino acids from various plants. This process is used to replicate the amino acid profile found in chicken to provide a similar nutritional composition and flavor.

Alternative chicken has popped up nonstop in the news during the past few months. Chicken is one of the most consumed meats in the world, and recently, there have been global supply chain shortages of it. Plant-based chicken could offer a solution for filling in these shortages. Shandi is another example of an alternative protein company opening a production facility in Singapore. Avant Meats, Perfect Day, and Next Gen are just a few other alternative protein start-ups that have built out production facilities in the city-state.

Shandi aims to launch a range of products during the first quarter of 2022 in foodservice channels. After this, it plans on releasing a B2C product.

Nowadays’ Alternative Chicken Nuggets Taste Like the Real Thing

If you keep up with news in the plant-based space, then you might be aware that there’s somewhat of a “chicken war” going on. Big players like Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, and others have now turned their attention to bringing alternative chicken products to market. A new company called Nowadays recently joined the alternative chicken space with its first product: plant-based chicken nuggets.

Nowadays raised $2 million in a pre-seed round several months ago, which is being used for the rollout of its first product. Due to the buzz around alternative chicken products, I was excited when Nowadays sent me samples of its nuggets to taste test.

Upon opening the box and inspecting the product, the nuggets passed the first test; they definitely looked like real chicken nuggets. The company recommended that I throw the nuggets in an air fryer for seven to nine minutes at 370 degrees. For those who don’t have an air fryer, the product can also be cooked in an oven, on a skillet; however, a microwave is not recommended.

I pulled the nuggets out of the air fryer and they were golden brown and crackling. I served them with a side of vegan ranch and took my first bite. Right away, I loved the crispy breading on the nuggets. They did not taste like a fried fast-food chicken nugget, but more of a healthy, baked chicken nugget (which is a good thing).

The inside of the nugget was moist and fatty, and there was the familiar chewiness that you would find in your standard chicken nuggets. The texture was also spot-on. Although I could tell that the product was not actually chicken, I found it to be a great alternative to real chicken nuggets.

Nowadays boasts of its minimal ingredient list, which consists of only water, organic yellow pea protein, whole wheat flour, sunflower oil, yeast extract, maple fiber, and mushroom extract. I’m definitely used to seeing longer lists on alternative protein products, so it’s impressive to see what can be done with so few ingredients.

Multiple companies have brought plant-based chicken nuggets and tenders to market already, including Rebellyous, NUGGS, Beyond Meat, Target’s Good & Gather, and Tyson’s Raised & Rooted. Max Elder, the founder of Nowadays, previously shared with The Spoon that he doesn’t necessarily consider these other companies as competition. This is because, according to him, Nowadays’ the nuggets ingredient list is cleaner and simpler than those from other companies.

If you’re interested in trying Nowadays’ alternative chicken nuggets for yourself, the product is currently only available on the company’s website. One box of 50 nuggets costs $39.99, and two boxes cost $49.99.

Food Tech News: Future Food Tour in Dubai and Beer-Infused Spices

Welcome to this week’s Food Tech News round-up! For this round, we’ve gathered news from CHEQ, a multi-sensory futuristic food tour, and new spices that make your food taste like beer.

If you didn’t sign up already, The Spoon’s virtual Restaurant Tech Summit will be next week on August 17, starting at 8:00 am PT. Tickets are still available on the event page.

Future Food Tour at Expo 2020 Dubai

The “Novacene” is a new era hypothesized by scientist James Lovelock where humans have made large-scale changes to our environment and robots and artificial intelligence rule the world. “The Future of Food: Epochal Banquet” has taken inspiration from this idea for its planned food exhibit at Expo 2020 Dubai.

The culinary tour is two hours long and it will specifically focus on how humans using artificial intelligence can find solutions for food waste, feed a growing population, and improve nutrition content. The immersive experience will be orchestrated by Bombas & Parr, a multi-sensory experience design studio in the UK. Based in the year 2320, the tour will feature food history from caveman to spaceman, replications of extinct foods, and 1,000 different flavors. The dining portion will include three courses paired with drinks. Edible concoctions that will be served include flavor-changing desserts, glow-in-the-dark food, rare ingredients, unique plants, and delicacies created from the technique that NASA uses to collect comet dust.

CHEQ and Miami Marlins announce a multi-year partnership

CHEQ, a restaurant tech platform, announced in a press release sent to The Spoon that it has partnered with the baseball team Miami Marlins. The mobile payment app developed by CHEQ will be implemented at the Marlin’s home stadium, LoanDepot Park. The app will allow fans at the ballpark to order food and drinks from concession stands on their mobile devices from their seats. After this 2021 season, fans will have the ability to order from their seats and then have the food delivered to certain areas of the ballpark.

Infuse your food with beer flavor through Spiceologies’s blends

A chef-operated spice company call Spiceology shared with The Spoon in an email this week that it had launched a new line of beer-infused spices to encapsulate the unique flavors that different beers can contribute to the cooking process. The company has partnered with Derek Wolf and New Belgium Brewing to develop two beer spice products lines. The Derek Wolf line includes flavors like Imperial Coffee Stout, Honey Mustard IPA, and Hickory Peach Porter. The New Belgium line incorporates some of the brewery’s popular beers like the Voodoo Ranger Hazy IPA in the Citrus Ginger seasoning, while the Sweet & Sour uses the Sour IPA. A “six-pack” of the Derek Wolf blends cost $69.99 while a “four-pack” of the New Belgium blends cost $52.

I Tried NotCo’s A.I.-Generated Milk Alternative

NotCo, a Chile-based company, is sometimes referred to as the Impossible Foods/Beyond Meat of Latin America. The company produces various alternative products including plant-based mayo, burgers, ice cream, and milk. When they reached out to me recently offering to send samples of their products, I happily accepted.

NotCo uses its patented A.I. platform to determine what plant-based ingredients would best replicate properties found in animal-based ingredients. For example, in its alt-milk products, the two main ingredients are simply water and pea protein. However, there is a small amount of pineapple juice, cabbage juice, sunflower oil, and chicory root, among other natural flavors, added to the milk alternative to bolster its flavor and texture.

The Bezos-backed company sent me a half-gallon of its whole milk and 2 percent milk alternatives. I first poured a small glass of the whole milk and drank it straight up. At first sip, I was surprised by the sweetness of it. Surprisingly, there are only three grams of sugar in a single serving. It had a vanilla flavor with a light aftertaste of coconut. The two percent milk had the same flavor, but tasted a tad bit more watery than the whole milk.

Photo of the alternative whole and two percent milk that was sent to me

I heated some of the whole milk in a pot on the stove and attempted to produce foam with my handheld frother. I had no luck, and the milk was completely flat after frothing for about two minutes. In defense of NotCo, they do not make any claims about their milk’s ability to froth, and I do not have barista-grade equipment. It makes me wonder if the company has plans to develop a “barista version” of its milk that is meant to produce a thick froth for lattes, like many alternative milk companies have done.

NotCo’s whole milk after being heated and frothed

I haven’t had milk for about eight years, but for what it’s worth, NotCo’s NotMilk reminded me of real dairy milk. The sweetness of NotMilk was reminiscent of the sweetness that lactose provides in dairy milk. However, there was something about the NotMilk that still suggested it wasn’t actually dairy. While I couldn’t quite pinpoint the reason, it could very well be the slight aftertaste/mouthfeel of pea protein. Overall, though I would say that NotMilk is a pretty good milk alternative product.

Pea protein, meanwhile, is a popular ingredient in the plant-based space due to its neutral flavor, versatility, and high protein content. It is the second ingredient in NotMilk, and both the whole and 2 percent milk contain four grams of protein in a single serving (one cup). U.S.-based Ripple and Swedish-based Sproud are two other companies that both also produce alternative milk made from pea protein.

NotCo launched its milk in the U.S. last year, and it seems like Oatly will be one of its biggest competitors in the alternative dairy space. Oatly has steadily gained a cult-like following in the U.S. since launching in independent coffee shops in 2016. The Swedish-based company went public this March, and raised $1.4 billion USD through this.

In the U.S., NotCo’s milks are available in stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts, and some independent grocers and retailers. A half-gallon of the alternative whole or two percent milk normally retails for $4.99.