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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

alpha foods

Food Tech News: Grow Your Own Burrito, Hard-Boiled Eggs Made From Mycoprotein

Alpha Foods is enabling you to grow your own burrito

It would certainly be convenient if comfort foods like burritos and chicken nuggets grew on trees, so Alpha Foods is trying to help you do this (kind of). The company produces a variety of frozen plant-based meals (like burritos, breakfast sandwiches, etc.), but this week the company announced that it is giving away free packages of seeds. Specifically, the packages are comprised of seeds for crops used to make Alpha’s burritos, chik’n nuggets, and pot pies. For example, the chicken nugget seed pack contains corn, soy, sunflower, wheat, and onion seeds. It would be undeniably easier to buy an Alpha pot pie or burrito from the frozen aisle, but the company apparently wants to provide transparency in its ingredients. The seeds are available for free for a limited amount of time on Alpha Food’s website.

Airly Foods provides snacks while simultaneously removing carbon emissions from the atmosphere

Airly Foods recently launched its first snack called Airly Oat Clouds, and as the name suggests, the main ingredient in the whole-grain crackers is oats. The oats used in the snack are grown on zero carbon emission farms that use farming practices to sequester carbon in the soil. The company also purchases carbon credits, which benefit a variety of agricultural and forestry projects, to offset carbon released from production and transportation processes. To educate consumers, Airly prints the carbon footprint of its Oat Clouds on the packaging, which is roughly 18-21 grams of carbon.

Whole vegan hard boiled egg made from mycoprotein

OsomeFood, a startup based in Singapore, launched its newest product this week: a vegan, whole hard-boiled egg. The egg is made from fermented mycoprotein, seaweed, algae, and contains essential amino acids. Most vegan egg products on the market come in a liquid or powder form, but according to the company, this is the world’s first vegan hard-boiled egg that is in whole form. In addition to this latest offering, OsomeFoods also produces several other interesting plant-based products, including fish balls, fish cakes, and noodles.

Goldbelly raises $100M USD for expansion of specialty food platform

If you have a very specific and eccentric food craving, chances are that Goldbelly carries it on its website. The online marketplace sources artisanal food products from restaurants, bakeries, and delis throughout the U.S., and offers shipping to 50 states. After growing exponentially during the pandemic, the company announced that it has raised $100 million this week in its Series C round of funding. The round was led by Spectrum Equity with participation from Intel Capital. This latest round of capital will be used to expand its operations, onboard new chefs and restaurants, and launch an interactive cooking series.

Alpha Foods Raises $28M to Expand Frozen Plant-based Meats

Today Alpha Foods, a company making meatless proteins and frozen plant-based heat-and-eat meals, announced that it has raised $28 million. The funding round was led by VC fund AccelFoods with support from Alpha Foods’ existing partners New Crop Capital, Green Monday, and Blue Horizon.

As of today Alpha Foods has raised a total of $41 million. The company will channel its new funding into marketing, new hires, and product R&D.

Founded in 2015, Alpha Foods sells a range of plant-based food options, from frozen premade meals like burritos and pot pies to standalone meat alternatives like ground “beef” and fried “chicken” patties. They currently offer 27 SKUs, which range in price from $3 to $6 and are sold in 8,000 retailers nationally.

Though their first products were frozen plant-based grab-and-go meals, Alpha Foods is currently pivoting to focus more heavily on what Cole Orobetz, Co-Founder and President of Alpha Foods, calls “center of the plate” proteins. When I spoke to him over the phone last week he said that the brand would emphasize their frozen meat alternative line going forward.

These standalone proteins are sold chiefly through retail but made their foodservice debut last year. Orobetz told me that foodservice would actually be more of a focus for the company in 2020, specifically around sales of their plant-based meats. “We definitely see an opportunity in fast food,” he said. Orobetz also mentioned fast-casual chains and foodservice operations like cafeterias as potential partners.

Last March after Alpha Foods had raised $7 million, I wrote:

… what sets Alpha Foods apart is the convenience factor. They make complete, ready-to-eat meals, most of which — like handheld pot pies or vegan burritos — are meant to be eaten on the go. No extra preparation or ingredients needed.

Back then, I thought that Alpha Foods could stand out from its better-funded companies — like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat — by emphasizing its grab-and-go factor. However, it looks like the company is now pivoting away from that model to get more into the cutthroat world of base plant-based meats ingredients, which means it’s going to have even more competition to deal with.

That said, Alpha Foods makes an array of products that bigger companies like Impossible and Beyond don’t — specifically plant-based chicken nuggets and patties. Given the number of QSR’s jumping on the alternative meat bandwagon, Alpha Foods still has a chance to establish a foodservice market for its products. And an additional $28 million in funding could help give them the extra muscle they need to carve out its place in the game.

Frozen Plant-Based Meal Co. Alpha Foods Raises $7M

Today Alpha Foods, a plant-based meal company, announced that it has raised $7 million in funding, led by New Crop Capital and AccelFoods (h/t Fortune). The Glendale, CA-based companies makes frozen meat-free meals, like chik’n nuggets and vegan pot pies.

In a world where companies like Impossible Foods have raised over $387 million in funding and Beyond Meat is preparing to go public, a $7 million raise for a frozen plant-based meat company isn’t all that much. It just goes to show what we already know: investors are eager to get in on the exploding popularity of meatless proteins.

But Alpha Foods has an added draw — its products are frozen. Frozen foods are having a renaissance: consumers love the convenience of being able to stockpile frozen meals to heat and eat when they want, without being beholden to the expiry dates of fresh food. Frozen food offerings have also expanded, going way behind frozen pizza and microwaveable mac & cheese with higher-quality offerings and even meal kits (though I still love me some Stouffer’s).

Alpha Foods isn’t the only one in the frozen meat-free food space. Just last week mega frozen food company Bird’s Eye launched Green Cuisine, a new line of plant-based meats like sausages and meatballs. Freezer section standbys like Annie’s, Weight Watchers and Lean Cuisine also offer frozen vegetarian meals.

However, what sets Alpha Foods apart is the convenience factor. They make complete, ready-to-eat meals, most of which — like handheld pot pies or vegan burritos — are meant to be eaten on the go. No extra preparation or ingredients needed.

For consumers convenience is king, and Alpha Foods seems like it’s in a good place to capitalize on that as well as the plant-based eating trend.