This was a very meaty week for food tech! No — literally. From Crowd Cow’s $8 million fundraise to our Future of Meat meetup last night, there was plenty to sink our teeth into. Plus we wrote about a French pizza-making robot and Microsoft’s visual food logging patent.
But now it’s (almost) the weekend and time for our food tech news roundup! And since Monday is a holiday, you have plenty of time to sit back and peruse at your leisure.
Photo: Beyond Meat.
Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods unveil news (and new products)
This week at the National Restaurant Association Show Beyond Meat debuted a new product: breakfast “sausage” patties. According to Food Business News, the patties, which are made of pea, mung bean, sunflower and rice protein, as well as sage and nutmeg, cook just like a pork patty and have twice the protein. This is the latest product from Beyond Meat, who already offer Beyond Sausage, Beyond Chicken Strips, and Beyond Beef Crumble in addition to their iconic Beyond Burger. It’s expected to hit grocery shelves in fall of this year.
Another plant-based meat company also unveiled some news this week. Impossible Foods announced on Tuesday that its “bleeding” vegan burgers are officially kosher. They announced this after they received their official kosher certification from the Orthodox Union, the world’s largest kosher certification agency. Which means that those who keep kosher can now officially have a cheeseburger — sort of. Impossible is hoping to get their Halal certification later this year.
Craft beverages snag serious funding
Two non-alcoholic drink companies — High Brew Coffee and REBBL — announced $20 million investment rounds this week, according to BevNet. This was the Series C funding round for Austin, TX-based High Brew, whose canned cold brew coffee attracted investment from celebrities like the band Kings of Leon and former MLB pitcher Huston Street. High Brew is part of the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group allied brands family.
One of High Brew’s investors, CAVU Venture Partners, also contributed to REBBL’s recent fundraise. Their coconut milk-based beverages are infused with natural supplements like matcha, turmeric, and maca. REBBL (which stands for roots, extracts, berries, bark and leaves) also has a philanthropic bent; it donates 2.5% of its net sales to efforts by Not For Sale to end human trafficking in the places where it sources ingredients.
Miss Jones debuts healthy, convenience-focused dessert
Millennial-targeted baking mix company Miss Jones Baking Co. announced this week that it will be rolling out a new product at Whole Foods: Desserts-in-a-Cup. We’ve all had a microwaved mug cake before (and if you haven’t, you should), but the Miss Jones version come already mixed and pre-packaged — all you have to do is add water and zap for 30-40 seconds. At 150-250 calories per single-serve cake, they’re targeting the health-conscious, convenience-seeking millennial audience that wants to satisfy their sweet tooth, guilt-free.
Did we miss some food tech news? Leave us a comment or tweet us @TheSpoonTech!
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