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Alt. Protein Round-Up: Kingdom Supercultures Raises $25M, The EVERY Company Launches Animal-Free Eggs,

Plant-based foods and alternative protein products are often associated with a reduced carbon footprint. This week, the government of Denmark hopped on board with this ideology: the government will invest 1.25 billion kroner (~$194 million USD) into plant-based foods as part of a climate agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

For this week’s alternative protein round-up, we gathered up some of the top news of the week from around the alt-protein world, including Clara Foods’ rebrand and the launch of The EVERY Company, Kingdom Supercultures’ Series A round, Burger King’s new menu item, and Revo’s plan for a 3D printer factory.

Clara Foods Becomes The EVERY Company, Launches Animal-Free Egg Protein

Clara Foods, one of the early pioneers building nature-equivalent proteins using precision fermentation technology, announced this week it is rebranding to the EVERY Company and is launching its first animal-free egg product called ClearEgg, an egg protein product targeted at the protein beverage market. Read full article here.

Kingdom Supercultures raises $25 million

New York-based Kingdom Supercultures announced this week that it has raised $25 million in a Series A round to fund the development of microbial cultures. The company is developing what it calls “Supercultures”, which are microbial-based ingredients to improve the texture, flavor, and functionality of plant-based products and consumer packaged goods. The new capital will be used to expand its ingredient portfolio and R&D facilities in Brooklyn, New York.

Burger King will soon serve up Impossible nuggets

Burger King made headlines when it first began serving the Impossible Whopper two years ago. This week, the fast casual restaurant chain announced it will begin trialing Impossible nuggets in three U.S. cities on October 11:  Des Moines, Boston, and Miami. The nuggets are made from a base of wheat flour and soy protein, and will be served in a pack of eight. Burger King is the first fast food chain to offer Impossible’s newest product, and the nuggets will be available for a limited amount of time.

Revo Foods shares plans for 3D-printed factory

Austrian startup Revo Foods produces plant-based fish products, and some of its prototypes are created with a 3D printer. The company is in the process of developing a plan to boost its production capacity and scale its 3D printing technology. The company’s idea is to have a production-scale facility wit interconnected 3D printers stacked on one another. This week, The Spoon spoke with te CSO of Revo Foods, Theresa Rothenbücher to hear more. Read the full article here.

Scientists Discover How to Manipulate Plants’ Response to Light for Food Growth

What if you could turn a plant’s genes on and off depending on changes in light and temperature? A group of scientists from UC Riverside has done just that in a recent study that could have important implications for farmers in an era of rapid and unpredictable climate change (reported on by UC Riverside News).

Plants need light to develop and grow, and the protein found in plants that detects light is called phytochrome B. This particular protein changes the expression of genomes and alters plant growth based on light information received. Additionally, phytochrome B can control the activity of a group of proteins called PIFs. If the activity of the PIF proteins are reduced, this could lead to the plant’s stem slowing in growth.

According to the researchers, this discovery can assist in increasing food production and crop yields. When plants are too close together in a field, they compete for light. Shorter plants that end up in the shade of other plants exert extra energy to grow their stems taller than their neighbors. This extra energy is taken away from growing the “food part” of the plant, like the seeds, leave, or fruit.

The scientists, led by UCR botany professor Meng Chen, reduced the activity of the PIF proteins and reduced the stem growth. In turn, they discovered that plants with shorter stems can free up energy for the more desirable edible portions to grow more rapidly and robustly. They also found that manipulating a plant’s response to light can allow plants to be grown closer together and in the shade.

With the human population rapidly approaching 8 billion and expected to hit close to 10 billion by 2050, finding alternative solutions to growing high crop yields is prudent. Indoor farming, as companies like CropOne, AeroFarms, and BrightFarms practice, allow for a fully controlled environment and can result in consistent crop yields. A company called InnerPlant edits plant DNA to turn the plant into a living sensor to mitigate crop loss.

Climate change is expected to affect growing seasons and the ability to grow certain crops worldwide. However, studies like this give hope that one day crops will better adapt to fluctuations in light and temperature, making them viable in a rapidly changing environment.

SIMPLi Uses Sensory Technology to Increase Transparency in the Supply Chain

Launched in 2019, SIMPLi is an ingredient company that works directly with farming communities worldwide to eliminate unnecessary middlemen, shorten and streamline supply chains, and reduce fraudulent activity. To achieve that aim, SIMPLi uses IoT technologies to help farmers in places like Greece and Peru who use regenerative farming techniques and helps them command an above-market premium for their crops. SIMPLi has helped 560 farmers transition to more sustainable farming techniques.

“Right now, our vision as a company is to have a seamless traceable platform that our clients, from a B2B perspective, and our consumers, can leverage directly to see the full international supply chain for each ingredient that they either consume or purchase from us,” said Matthew Cohen, SIMPLi cofounder told me recently.

SIMPLi’s data tracking starts at the farm, where it tracks soil and crop health. In processing facilities, the company’s sensors ensure that nothing is tampered with. Once loaded onto cargo ships, SIMPLi uses GPS tracking and sensors that track the temperature and other environmental metrics are implemented. Arriving at facilities in the U.S. is one of the last steps before reaching the client.

There is “a lot of different touchpoints where we’re using technology and there’s a lot of data along these touchpoints that we want to capture, which we’re already doing today,” said Cohen.

Murky supply chains can hide major issues like slave labor, animal welfare, food fraud, child labor, ingredient sourcing, and environmental pollution. With emerging reports of these issues, consumers are asking for better options. They’re rewarding companies that give it to them; A recent survey found that 94 percent of consumers are more likely to stay loyal to a completely transparent brand. Additionally, 55 percent of customers shared that social responsibility and sustainability were important factors when deciding what product to buy.

SIMPLi recently raised an undisclosed seed round and launched its regenerative organic red, white, and tri-colored quinoa in 49 Whole Foods locations on the East Coast. Its e-commerce site hosts products such as sustainability-grown olives, olive oil, and quinoa. If you’ve eaten food from Sweetgreen, Daily Harvest, or &pizza, there’s a good chance you may have already eaten SIMPLi’s quinoa, gigante beans, artichokes, or olive oil.

Alt. Protein Round-Up: Tofurky’s Algae-Based Products and Animal-Free Chicken Fat

In this week’s alternative protein round-up, we have news on MeaTech’s cell-based chicken fat, Impossible Pork, the ProVeg Incubator, Tofurky’s partnership with Triton Algae, and Unicorn Biotechnologies.

MeaTech is now producing animal-free chicken fat

In the race to produce real animal fat outside of the animal, Israel-based MeaTech has hit a milestone: The start-up shared that it is now capable of producing over 700 grams of cell-based chicken fat in a single production run. MeaTech acquired Belgium start-up Peace of Meat last year, and is using its platform to produce the cell-based fat. The fat product can be used to create realistic marbling in cell-based meat or even used to create a plant-based hybrid product.

Impossible Foods is bringing its alt. pork product to foodservice

Impossible Pork will soon be found in foodservice locations in the U.S., Singapore, and Hong Kong. As of this week, David Chang’s New York restaurant Momofuku Ssam Bar began serving the alternative pork product in one of its dishes. Impossible Pork is set to launch in 100 plus restaurants in Hong Kong starting October 4th, and in Singapore sometime before the end of this year.

Proveg Incubator announces eight new start-ups in cohort

Berlin-based ProVeg Incubator just kicked off its latest accelerator program on September 20. Through the incubator, the start-ups have access to one-on-one mentoring, ProVeg’s network, and up to €250,000 in funding. This food-tech focused cohort contains eight start-ups from around the world, including:

  • Altein Ingredients (India) – mung bean protein
  • Alt Foods (India) – Plant-based milk made from grains and sprouted millet
  • Brain Foods (Bulgaria) – Plant-based snacks
  • Cultivated Biosciences (Netherlands) – uses fermentation to make a fat ingredient from yeast
  • Genesea (Israel) – B2B food-ingredient company that uses macroalgae
  • Meat Future (Estonia) – mycoprotein chicken and fish
  • Plant-based Japan (Japan)
  • ProProtein (Estonia) – uses precision fermentation to create dairy proteins

Tofurky partners with Triton Algae for future alt protein products

Plant-based meat brand Tofurky announced that it has partnered with algae producer Triton Algae Innovations to develop a new line of plant-based alternatives. The products will be crafted using Triton’s “essential red” algae, which contains protein, iron, vitamin A, and more. The algae, which is normally green, is grown with UV light which causes it to turn red and produce heme. It was not disclosed what exactly the new product will be, but it is set to launch in the first quarter of 2022.

Unicorn Biotechnologies Is Making Purpose-Built Bioreactors for Cell-Based Meat Production

According to Jack Reid, the CEO a new Cambridge-based startup called Unicorn Biotechnologies, companies trying to make meat without the animal today are mostly using large metal vats built for making something other than meat. “Existing bioreactor systems haven’t been and weren’t developed specifically for the cell ag industry,” said Reid. Read The Spoon’s story about how Unicorn is working to build purpose-built bioreactors for cell-based meat here.

The Alt Protein News Round-Up: Cultured Pork in China and McPlant Burger’s Launch

If you haven’t had the chance to check it out, The Spoon was given an exclusive virtual tour of Rebellyous Foods’ production facility, where it manufactures its plant-based chicken. Speaking of which, we have some news about Rebellyous Foods’ school cafeteria launch, CellX’s cultured pork unveil, the official launch of the McPlant burger, and Equinom’s new partnership.

CellX unveils cultured pork and shares goals for price parity

China-based cultured meat producer CellX revealed its cultured pork product this week, which uses cells extracted from the country’s native black pig. The alternative pork product was incorporated into various dishes and served to potential investors. Pork is the most consumed meat in China, but the country has experienced supply chain issues due to the pandemic and an outbreak of African Swine Fever amongst herds. The company’s goal is to reach price parity with conventional pork by 2025.

Rebellyous plant-based chicken nuggets to be served in public schools

Rebellyous Foods, a producer of plant-based chicken tenders, nuggets, and patties, shared this week that its alternative nuggets will be making their way into public school cafeterias in Washington and California. The first school to supply the nuggets was Ramon Valley Unified School District (SRVUSD) in Northern California last year, and the five new school districts to do so are Dublin Unified, Livermore Joint Unified, Santa Ana Unified, Pleasanton Unified, and Everett Public Schools. The “Kickin Nuggets” were developed specifically for K-12 food service and are made from a base of soy protein.

McPlant burger launches in McDonald’s throughout the UK

Starting September 29th, select McDonald’s locations in the UK will begin rolling out the highly anticipated McPlant burger, which is now 100 percent vegan. The meat-free patty was made in partnership with Beyond Meat, and the burger will also include vegan cheese, mayo, lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup, and pickles. McDonald’s previously ran trials of the McPlant in 2020 in various countries, and at that time, the burger was vegetarian but not vegan. The McPlant will become available nationwide starting in 2022.

Equinom to partner with Meatless farms as a supplier

Equinom, a nutrition company that uses AI to improve the nutrition content of seeds, disclosed this week in a press release sent to The Spoon that it will begin supplying Meatless Farm, a plant-based meat brand, and its ingredient subsidiary Lovingly Made Ingredients. Meatless Farms will use Equinom’s pea protein concentrate in a variety of its products, boosting the protein content by up to 50 percent. This is the first plant-based company that Equinom has partnered with.

Wild Earth Launches Cell-Based Petfood

Plant-based pet food brand Wild Earth has announced plans to expand its product line into pet food made with cell-based meat. The announcement comes on the heels of a new $23 million funding round from a group of investors that includes Mark Cuban and the star of Vampire Diaries, Paul Wesley.

Led by alternative protein entrepreneur and investor Ryan Bethencourt, Wild Earth has been one of the early leaders in creating pet food from plant-based ingredients. With products like Clean Protein dog food (which uses pea and potato protein) and Superfood Dog Treats With Koji (Koji is a fungi protein used in fermented food in Asia), company sales have grown more than 700% year over year, according to a release sent to The Spoon.

Pepper the App Aims to be the Instagram for Cooking

Jake Aronskind realized that every time he went on a social media platform, most of what he was seeing was food. After the pandemic began, this was amplified. Seeing people he never thought would be cooking and baking made him realize that there needed to be a more specialized platform for sharing food and recipes. This resulted in him and several cofounders developing the Pepper app.

Specialized social media platforms exist for activities like running (Strava), reading (Goodreads), and hiking (AllTrails). Still, most foodies share their culinary creations on the most popular platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, TikTok, and Pinterest. I recently spoke with Aronskind prior to Pepper’s Labor Day weekend launch, and he said, “It’s this idea of building a platform for a specific niche in your life. At the end of the day, Instagram, Facebook, all these other platforms, are simply not made for niche activities.”

Pepper most closely follows the format of Instagram. The app features a newsfeed where you can see the posts from friends and the people you follow. Instead of just adding a caption to go along with a photo, the poster can add a full recipe or list of ingredients. Similar to hashtags, there are options to categorize the recipe with different tags, including different diets (i.e., vegan, keto, gluten-free), difficulty level, and meal type.

From the app’s explore page, trending recipes can be seen from other users. If you find a recipe you want to make on the explore page or newsfeed, you can click the “save” button on the photo. The “saved” section on your personal profile hosts these posts, acting almost like a digital cookbook.

Pepper the App Animation Video
Pepper’s how-to video

Social media is how many of us stayed connected with others during the pandemic, and in 2020, Americans spent an average of 82 minutes per day on social media platforms. Cooking and “stress-baking” became coping mechanisms for dealing with the negative psychological effects of the pandemic, so it’s no surprise that food posts have dominated social media platforms in the past year and a half.

Recon, a food social media app that launched at the beginning of summer (founded by former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff), connects users through photos of homemade dishes and restaurant reviews. Whisk, a recipe-sharing app, partnered with TikTok at the beginning of the year to trial run the integration of its recipe saving and grocery list features. Foodqu!rk is an online platform where users find their food personality and connect with others through dietary preferences.

The Pepper app launched this week, and it is available for free in the iOS App Store. It will likely be available for Android phones by the end of the month.

Are Squares the Future of Food? SquarEat Thinks So

When you hear the phrase “future food”, your mind might go to cell-based meat or meals cooked and served by robots. You may consider a more dystopian direction and remember the square-shaped wafers in the film Soylent Green (set in 2022), or the company called Soylent (which took inspiration from the movie’s title) with its meal replacement shakes intended to replace food altogether. Although we don’t know what exactly our food will look like in the next 25-50 years, we do know we need creative solutions to feed a population that is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050.

A Miami-based company called SquarEat has joined this “future food” category with its full meals that come in the form of multiple 50g squares. The start-up aims to simplify nutrition for those who have a busy lifestyle or struggle to consume enough calories and proper nutrients.

It operates as a meal plan service that delivers to your house on a weekly basis, but unlike other similar services, all of the food arrives pre-cooked, vacuum-sealed, and in the shape of a square. Currently, 15 different squares are listed on SquarEat’s website, ranging from chocolate pancakes, sea bass, basmati rice, vegan burger, and asparagus.

The company is gearing up for its upcoming launch and is accepting investors through its WeFunder campaign. I recently interviewed Maria Laura Vacaflores, the CMO of SquarEat, to discuss the inspiration behind the company, the sustainability of the squares, and the upcoming launch.

This transcript has been lightly edited for the sake of clarity:

Ashlen: Do you want to start by discussing the inspiration behind launching SquarEat? 

Maria: Of course. So the idea behind SquarEat comes from one of the most common issues, people who often struggle to deal with a busy lifestyle, trying to keep up with a healthy and proper diet. So we have experienced firsthand the inefficiencies of the tradition of meal plan services. And we have seen a clear possibility of disruption by bringing a complete transformation to the sector that is growing tremendously fast, introducing a brand new concept, that is 100% natural food. The only thing is the shape, the square shape, is simply the result of the cooking process needed to achieve our goals, or ensure convenience and guarantee taste. And you know those are really practical. Our goal is to make people’s lives easier without sacrificing taste. 

Ashlen: How are the ingredients cooked to form a square?

Maria: We use all-natural ingredients. For example, our chicken square is called 95% chicken breast, and then you have a little bit of rosemary, and salt and pepper. We just use normal, natural food, and the way that we cook it is low, you know, at a low temperature. We put it on the blast cooler that is thermal shocking, and that’s the way we make the form, we get the square shape. 

Ashlen: Okay, okay, that makes sense. It sounds like it’s all-natural and simple ingredients, everything you can pronounce easily. Are there any preservatives in there?

Maria: The way that we make our product last longer, is because we vacuum seal everything individually. So there’s no oxygen in the squares, like you know, completely sealed, and you can have it for up to two weeks in your own fridge. That’s also really good because you know all the foods right now, like a normal traditional meal plan, if you’re okay I’m gonna describe it. On Monday, they deliver it to you, and you have to eat it then or by Wednesday because it’s not going to be good. Sometimes they put sauces on the top or they mix it up, and it looks awfully bad. I’m telling you this because I’ve done these meal plans before. 

I know people need to eat healthily, that’s why you’re doing a meal plan, right? You can cook but you also want to be healthy and you want your food to taste good. So we came up with this idea. If you can’t eat your food by Wednesday, like I said, right so you don’t need to worry with a square. You can eat it Friday, Saturday, etc. you just, decide you don’t want the chicken, just the vegetables, and that’s okay. You have this flexibility that no other company allows you to have.

Ashlen: And so you said, it can store up to two weeks in the fridge. Can it be put in the freezer, and thawed out and eaten at another time or do you recommend that people eat the squares fresh?

Maria: Yeah, if you want you can, but you don’t need to because they’re going to be completely fresh. If you want to put food in the freezer because you want to eat it like a month later, you know, that’s up to you but I recommend always to leave the squares in the fridge. Two weeks that’s perfect timing, but it’s gonna be fresh, you’re gonna feel it. It’s gonna be fresh, like the first day you receive it. 

Ashlen: So has it been a challenge to convince people to eat food in the form of a square?

Maria: We’ve gone through some resistance. A lot of haters. However, we got a lot of love from the ones that are excited about our idea, as the squares are highly digestible and practical. For example, they are intended for people who suffer from autism who might have a sort of aversion to food. I’ve had a lot of friends, for example, they suffer because they can’t gain weight. They can’t eat the protein they need, or the calories they need, because they can’t eat that much. They’re really skinny, or they have this problem with the food. So my friend called me the next day, like, Oh, my God, this is a solution in my life. Finally, I can get my food properly, I can get my calories, I can eat healthily, I can, you know, have a healthy body. And I mean, it’s the food that you need, that your body needs, but it comes, you know, in a more digestible, practical way. And you just eat it like, like a little snack. 

Ashlen: I’ve often heard for people who are struggling to get enough calories, a nutritionist often recommends eating protein bars, but those can be kind of gross.

Maria: Yes, those are. Those are meal replacements, not ours. Yeah, for example, I can tell you that it fills my heart with joy, knowing that people with more specific needs may have found a solution that can improve their lives, you know? We are compared to the SnowPiercer and Soylent Green movies, you know, where they do the square shape of the food. The shape of the food is often associated with this dystopian future, where people are oppressed and forced to eat disgusting things. But we’re not going to force anyone to use squares. You know, we are only proposing a solution. A tasty meal for children, adults, women, men, any age, we’re seeking a healthy lifestyle. Imagine all the children who don’t want to eat their veggies. And the moms are like, Oh my god, you know, they want to do everything for the kids. You know, to eat the vegetables, they need vegetables. You need those vegetables when you’re a kid. So imagine you’re given something like the food they wouldn’t eat doesn’t look like broccoli. You know, and you’re like, my kid is now eating broccoli.

Ashlen: Yeah, that’s really interesting. Okay, yeah, I didn’t even think about using that for children. Because you’re so right. If a kid sees something that looks like food they have an aversion to they’re not going to eat it. But you know, in a different form, it might be convincing. 

Maria: That was me. Because my mom, many times, said to me, I couldn’t eat fish. I would always say it is fish, and she lied about it to me. And now you can get them to eat right, to eat healthily and all the nutrients they need.

Ashlen: So kind of going off of, I guess, the dystopian future you mentioned, do you see what SquareEat is doing kind of as the future of food? Do you see more companies doing this? I guess, processing food in the way you do and making it more convenient and simple? Or what do you see?

Maria: First of all, I strongly believe that there is an attractive and futuristic shape that communicates exactly the soul of our project, we want to revolutionize the ready-to-eat meal plan delivery service industry by giving our customers something that they never had, that they haven’t tried before. But you know, think about portion control, already seasoned and portable, long-lasting, tasty, with all the nutrients being preserved. So I think people are gonna copy these in the future, I’m telling you, and we have to re-envision a future where people don’t necessarily have to cook, where houses are built with, you know, with different comforts. And what a full kitchen may not be necessarily a future that everyone can afford. That’s what we want, not like the movies you know. We want everyone to have a better life than they can afford.

And it has to be optional but like I’m telling you, there are so many people right now who don’t like to cook and they don’t have to. So this is the present, imagine the future, how it’s gonna be. I believe that yes, it’s is gonna be like this. Yeah, I’m not, I’m not telling you that I don’t like steak sometimes. Like a nice dinner, a nice barbecue, but you know, in my everyday routine, something healthy and you know, I want something ready. That’s fine.

Ashlen: Yeah, I feel like everyone kind of has like maybe one or even two meals a day we’re just rushing around and we don’t have time to cook or we don’t want to stop and pick up food so I definitely see room for the squares in a very busy lifestyle. But I have a personal question for you actually. How often do you eat the squares yourself?

Maria: Well, well it’s gonna be a year that I’m eating the squares because the project has been developing for more than a year of trying and cooking and discovering new flavors, new things that we can add. I am the person that taste tests and I eat like every day. I will say I eat from Monday to Saturday, for lunch, breakfast I eat the squares. I can cook something maybe myself perhaps sometimes that is not the squares again. But you know what I do, I put them in the air fryer, maybe I do some chicken nuggets with my square. For the vegetable squares, cut them up like in tiny pieces. I do like tacos, I put my meat squares in them because it’s already cooked and I just need to warm it up the way I want it and give it a little flavor, extra fuel that I wanted. So if I want to eat super healthy, okay, then just the squares. I can put them just straight in the microwave. Maybe a little bit of oil. And that’s it, you know, although my mood and my daily routine, but I’ve been eating like every day for a year.

Ashlen: Very cool. Okay, thank you for answering that. So on The Spoon, we like to cover food waste as well. And I believe I read something on your website that was just a brief statement on food waste. So how are do the squares help reduce food waste?

Maria: Okay, our product, our production chain runs on minimal waste in food and energetic resources. We are eco-sustainable from the production stages to deliveries, we don’t use any gas or any other dangerous things that can be combusted into the preparation process. And thanks to our innovative techniques, we are also able to use almost 100% of the food we need to obtain this worse. That’s something unique compared to the availability of alternatives on the market. And they there’s also a significant reduction in terms of waste, both from us and the customer point of view. Because if you can see there that vacuum sealing are squares naturally extends our product shelf life, for up to two weeks. Our sealing bags are BPA-free. And it’s food-safe, and microwavable, and you can also boil them if you want safely. They are 100% recyclable. And as a food manufacturer, we are simply asking our customers to do their part when it comes to taking care of the environment as much as we do.

Ashlen: Great. Yeah, I was thinking about other like meal prep companies and such. And I was just thinking there are things like broccoli stems and peels, even that gets tossed out. So I would imagine that in a square, you could kind of combine all of that, which is also more nutritionally dense incorporating those bits and pieces. So that’s good to know. And then you could have answered this already. But to clarify, the squares, are they a direct meal replacement? And can you replace all three meals with squares?

Maria: Oh, that’s great. It’s not an alternative food. The only difference is our preparation methods and the unique shape that it has. Think of, for example, mozzarella or pasta, yogurt. They’re from soy, milk, or grains, but that doesn’t mean that they lose their natural properties during the transformation process. They are often proof. Our squares are made of 100% natural ingredients, and they are not I meal replacement like I said sorry. And I mentioned the chicken right, and chicken squares have the addition of natural spices. And our innovative production processes allow our products to have a longer shelf life, better preservation of nutrients, and consumption flexibility. So you can definitely have three meal boxes a day. And this is exactly what SquarEat is designed for.

Ashlen: One last question: When did the company launch its first products?

Maria: So hopefully, we’re gonna be ready within a few weeks. We are expecting that because we are finishing the last details for the big opening. And we were expecting that it will be like at the end of September, hopefully, if not at the first week of October, but we’re gonna keep you updated for sure.

Ashlen: Sounds great. For some reason, I thought you had already launched but that’s great that I’m talking with you before the launch. 

Maria: Yes, yes. Perfect. We’re right now running our crowdfunding campaign. When it’s closer to the end of this campaign, we’re gonna launch if that makes sense.

SquarEat’s WeFunder campaign is still active, and has so far raised a total of $165,905.

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.

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.

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.

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.