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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

alternative dairy

Noquo Foods Rebrands as Stockeld Dreamery, Readies Launch of Its Plant-Based Cheese

Noquo Foods has rebranded itself as Stockeld Dreamery the company announced today, as it prepares to launch its plant-based cheese product in a little over a month from now.

The Stockholm, Sweden-based startup’s first product will be a feta-like cheese made from fermented pea protein and fava beans. Stockeld Dreamery cofounder and CEO, Sorosh Takavoli, told me by phone last week that his company’s vegan cheese will have a similar nutritional profile to traditional feta in terms of protein and fat, and won’t have any carbs.

Stockeld’s product is beyond the prototype phase and doing a factory launch. Initially, the production run will be limited and sold to foodservice companies and restaurants in Stockholm.

Stockeld raised a $3.6 million seed round a little more than a year ago, and as it re-brands and launches, the company plans to expand its operations as well. Takavoli said they plan to grow the headcount from six to roughly 20 over the next 18 months, and relocate to bigger facilities.

Sales of plant-based cheese lag behind other plant-based categories like milk. But creating a good plant-based cheese to replace traditional dairy cheese is a tricker proposition. In addition to flavor, non-dairy cheese needs to melt properly and have the right texture and mouthfeel. But there are actually a number of startups working to overcome these obstacles. Grounded Foods is using cauliflower to make camembert, guyere and roquefort. GOOD PLANeT makes mozzerella from cocount and potato. And Climax Foods is using data an AI to create new types of plant-based cheese.

While we won’t see plant-based cheese go mainstream this year, both Stockeld Dreamery and Grounded Foods have their cheeses coming to market, so we will definitely get a taste of what is to come.

JOI Provides Plant-Based Milk Without the Carton

If you’ve been to the alternative milk section of your grocery store recently, then you aware that there is an almost overwhelming number of options. The fact that alternative milk now has its own robust section is significant, and according to the Good Food Institute, 41% of all households in the U.S. purchase plant-based milk. This is a crowded space, but JOI is diversifying this space with its nut pastes that can be blended into fresh plant-based milk at home.

I spoke with the CEO of JOI, Hector Gutierrez, by phone this week to hear more about the company and its products. JOI was founded by three students attempting to solve the issues they found with almond milk, namely that almond milk they found in stores tasted watery, had little nutritional value, and the cartons could not be reused or recycled. To address these issues, the founders created a shelf-stable, smooth paste (called Plant Bases) from different nuts that could be blended with water to create fresh plant-based milk at home. Gutierrez said he could not disclose the exact details of the process behind JOI’s pastes, but essentially unroasted, organic nuts are broken down into particles that are smaller than what you would find in nut butter to create a smooth, creamy paste.

None of the pastes contain gums or other additives, which are typically added to prevent separation in plant-based milk. Therefore the JOI milk must be shaken prior to each use. The Plant Bases are just made from one to three ingredients and come in varieties like almond, cashew, and cashew hazelnut oat. Besides plant-based milk, the pastes can also be used in smoothies, soups, drinks, and desserts.

Gutierrez said that shipping JOI’s Plant Bases in a small container saves a significant amount of shipping energy and space. Other plant-based milk is shipped as a liquid and typically comes in tetra-pack cartons, which makes these products heavier and requires a greater number of shipping pallets than JOI’s products. Additionally, JOI’s plastic containers are reusable and recyclable, while tetra-pack cartons typically are not.

Although there are many plant-based milk options on the market, plant-based milk pastes are not as common. Daily Harvest sells almond paste cubes that can be blended into fresh almond milk. Modern Mylk also produces nut and coconut pastes, and uses a variety of different nuts like macadamia, cashew, and almond.

JOI’s products are currently available for purchase on its website, and a single container has 27 servings (which equates to seven quarts of milk) and retails for $24.99. The Plant Bases are being used at 300+ coffee shops, cafes, and smoothie bars across the U.S., and several undisclosed companies use JOI’s products as an ingredient for their own products.

Swedish Startup Sproud Raises £4.8M For Pea Protein Milk

Swedish-based Sproud, producers of pea protein milk, recently announced that it has raised £4.8 million (approximately $6.6 million USD) for the production of its pea protein milk (news from Dairy Reporter). The funding was led by UK-based early growth capital investor VGC Partners.

The funding will be used for brand building in core markets, increasing distribution, and expanding Sproud’s team, The company launched in Sweden in 2018, and since then, it has launched in 15 different markets globally, including core markets of the US, UK, and Canada.

Sproud’s plant-based milk uses pea protein as the main ingredient, as well as rapeseed oil and oat oil to provide a creamy consistency. To boost the nutritional content, Vitamin A, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D are added. The pea protein milk is offered in four different varieties: barista, original, unsweetened, and chocolate.

One concern plant-based milk skeptics hold is that non-dairy milk cannot compare to the nutritional value found in dairy milk. Certain ingredients like oat, coconut, and almond that are commonly used for plant-based milk may not contain the same high amounts of protein that dairy contains. Sproud boasts that its milk contains two times as much protein as oat milk; oat milk contains around 1 gram of protein while Sproud’s milk contains 2 grams per serving. However, dairy milk contains 8 grams of protein per cup, so there is still a disparity here.

Pea protein has become the beloved ingredient in the world of plant-based products and is commonly found in meat alternatives (like in Beyond Meat) and other dairy alternatives like milk, creamers, and ice cream. In the US, Ripple Foods also produces pea protein-based milk, as well as alternative dairy products including creamer and ice cream. Boulder, Colorado-based Good Karma makes a variety of flax and pea protein alternative dairy products, including milk, dips, and sour cream.

Sproud’s pea protein milk is available for purchase online on its website, as well as on Amazon or Vitacost. It can also be purchased in-store at UK retailers such as Waitrose and Ocado, and a variety of independent retailers and cafes.

Better Dairy Raises £1.6M for Animal-Free Dairy Production

U.K.-based startup Better Dairy announced today it has raised £1.6 million (~$2.1 million USD) in seed funding for its animal-free dairy production. As first reported by TechCrunch, the round was led by Happiness Capital with participation from CPT Capital, Stray Dog Capital, Veg Capital, and undisclosed angel investors. 

Better Dairy says it will use the funding to increase R&D efforts of its animal-free dairy production, which uses yeast fermentation and biology to produce dairy products that are “molecularly identical” to dairy made from animals. Speaking to TC, Better Dairy cofounder Jevan Nagarajah likened the process to beer brewing, with the end result being “large vats of dairy instead of beer.”

The company has produced its first lab samples. The big challenge, Nagarajah said, will be scaling up manufacturing capabilities in order to create a product that has price parity with traditional dairy. 

That’s a challenge a growing number of companies are tackling right now. But while there are plenty of plant-based options available right now (and relatively comparable in price to traditional dairy), 2020 has also surfaced a number of companies making dairy in the lab. Perfect Day, which uses fermentation to make animal-free dairy microbes, is probably the most well-known name at this point in that area. The company already has a product, Brave Robot Ice Cream, in the market via its Urgent Company imprint. Remilk, which just raised $11.3 million, is based in Israel and also uses microbial fermentation to make cow’s milk without the cow.

For its part, Better Dairy hopes to commercialize its first products by early 2022. Longer term, the company has big plans for food products outside of dairy.

Food Tech News: $45M Raised for Mycelium Leather, Pistachio Milk Launches in U.S.

With COVID-19 cases spiking once again and winter creeping in, today might be the perfect time to get cozy and catch up on some Food Tech News. This week we have stories on mycelium leather, pistachio milk, a seasonal Pepsi flavor, and a line of formal wear created by your favorite stuffing brand.

MycoWorks raises $45m Series B round

MycoWorks raised a $45m Series B funding round this week, led by WTT Investment and DCVC Bio. New investors include two celebrities, John Legend and Natalie Portman, as well as Valor Equity Partners, Humboldt Fund, and Gruss & Co. MycoWorks makes an animal-free leather from mycelium, which is essentially the root system of mushrooms. In addition to the funding news, the company announced the opening of a new manufacturing plant in Emeryville, California. This funding round will be used to open several more manufacturing plant locations.

Táche launches “first true” pistachio milk

Táche, a New York-based startup, made its pistachio milk available for purchase this week. The milk is the first to be made purely from pistachio nuts and is free of other nuts and added oils; the milk also comes in a sweetened and unsweetened version. During the past few months, the company has raised $1.1 million through angel investors and friends, with one notable investor being the former CEO of Stonyfield Farms. A 32-ounce carton of Táche’s pistachio milk costs $7.99, and customers can purchase a six-pack of the milk on the company’s website. The milk is also available in some coffee shops and cafes in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and California.

Pepsi releases limited addtion apple pie flavor

Pepsi’s release of this seasonal special aims to emulate all of the goods things in a fresh-baked apple pie: cinnamon, a buttery crust, and warm apples. The company wanted to provide an option for those who don’t have baking skills but want to enjoy the flavors of an apple pie. However, there is a catch; not everyone can get their hands on a bottle of this limited-edition soda. In order to enter for a chance to receive a free 2-liter bottle, participants must share a photo of their baking fails on Twitter or TikTok with the hashtag #PepsiApplePieChallenge.

Stove Top creates a line of formal wear for Thanksgiving

Stove Top, a brand of Kraft Heinz known for it’s packaged stuffing mixes, created a line of formal wear for Thanksgiving. The line includes items such as “Stufflinks” (featured above), a stuffing-print shawl, and a headband. Surprisingly, many of the items have sold out already, with the exception of the $30 crushed velvet jacket with a stuffing print lining. The line of formal wear can be found on LetsGetStuffy.com.

Anova Launches New Line of Plastic Neutral Vacuum Sealer Bags

Sous vide specialist Anova announced they had launched a new line of plastic neutral vacuum seal bags through a partnership with Plastic Bank, a social enterprise focused on reducing the amount of plastic entering the waste stream. Companies within the Plastic Bank program become plastic neutral goal through the purchase of plastic reduction offset credits from the Plastic Bank, which use the funds to reclaim ocean-bound plastic and recycle it. Anova’s new bags also feature an accelerated degradation additive so they break down faster when exposed to air and light.

ChickP Releases New Starch For Food and Beverage Applications

ChickP Protein, an Israeli-based food tech startup, announced the release of its chickpea isolate starch today. The product is called “ChickP Native Starch” and contains 98% pure starch.

The chickpea starch is the most recent product from ChickP and is made with the same technology used to create the company’s isolated chickpea protein (which was launched last year). It is non-GMO and has a neutral taste and aroma. Compared to pea and potato starches, the chickpea starch is actually better at thickening products due to the narrow granule size of a chickpea

Last year, we covered how ChickP’s protein isolate could be used to make creamy plant-based milk or other dairy products. The new chickpea starch can also be used to thicken alternative dairy, as well as plant-based meat analogs, desserts, soups, and baked goods.

Chickpeas show a lot of promise for plant-based alternative products, and several other companies are capitalizing on the potential of this legume. Innovopro, also based in Israel, raised $15 million USD earlier this year for its chickpea protein powder. US-based Nutriati produces chickpea protein and flour through its Artesa brand. With these new technologies, chickpeas may be showing up as the main ingredient in products like plant-based milk, ice cream, and alternative meats.

Earlier this year, the Growthwell Group invested in ChickP to use its chickpea protein isolate to develop alternative meats products in the Asian market. ChickP is currently in the process of developing food applications for its chickpea starch.

Change Foods Creates Cheese Through Fermentation

Add Change Foods to the growing list of companies using fermentation to recreate dairy products without the cow. The company’s headquarters are based in Palo Alto, and it is currently in its R&D phase at its Australian subsidiary. To learn more about their product, I spoke with David Bucca, the Founder and CEO of Change Foods last week.

Bucca has worked for companies like Boeing, Hemple, and Hungry planet; after transitioning to a plant-based diet, he wanted to start a company that addressed the issues of climate change and animal welfare. To start Change Foods, Bucca brought on co-founder and now CTO Associate Professor Junior Te’o from the Queensland University of Technology to develop the fermentation techniques.

To create its cheese, Change Foods uses a fermentation technique, called precision fermentation, that is actually used to make insulin and animal-free rennet. Change Foods takes a variety of microorganisms (including yeast and filamentous fungi), genetically modifies them, and then ferments them with sugar. In turn, this produces key compounds like casein that are nearly bio-identical to those found in dairy and then can be combined with plant-based ingredients to create different products. The production cycle takes about one week to complete.

Companies in the plant-based cheese space are using cashews, legumes, and tapioca as the key ingredients in plant-based cheese products. However, for those who are omnivorous or flexitarian may not find that these alternative cheeses get the flavor, texture, or “meltability” right. Companies that create a hybrid dairy protein and plant-based cheese may be the solution to these particular consumers. San Francisco-based start-up Perfect Day ferments microbes and released a flora-protein based ice cream through the brand Brave Robot. Legendairy in Germany also ferments microbes and created a prototype for feta and mozzarella.

Change Foods is focusing on creating cheddar and mozzarella cheese, and the initial products will be priced about the same as artisanal cheeses. The company aims to be at market by 2022.

The Real California Milk ‘Snackcelerator’ Opens Applications for Dairy Startups

You’ve heard about the uptick in snacking thanks to the pandemic. But perhaps no one is taking the rise of snacks more seriously than the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB). Today, the organization announced the return of its product innovation competition dubbed the Real California Milk Snackcelerator. 

The competition looks for food producers that integrate the flavor and functionality of California dairy products into snacks. A blog post outlining the contest lists several products that “speak to the type of innovation” CMAB “is looking for.” Those products include a Keto- and diabetes-friendly ice cream treat, probiotic snack bars, Kombucha yogurt, and something called “cheese wraps.”

“The goal of this competition is to tap into our global obsession with snacking to inspire new ideas and help clear the hurdles to bringing these products to market,” CMAB CEO John Talbot said in today’s press release. 

As of the end of June, snack consumption was up 8 percent, according to NPD. And in today’s press release, CMAB cites Mondelez International, which recently found that 59 percent of adults worldwide prefer snacking to meals.

Companies interested in CMAB’s competition should have products that use cow’s milk as their first ingredient and making up 50 percent or more of their formula. Companies that win must commit to producing their products in California, using California dairy farms for milk. 

Up to eight companies will get “up to $10,000 of support” to develop a prototype as well as mentorship and guidance around packaging, distribution, marketing, and other areas of running a food business. They also receive an all-expenses-paid “business development trip” where they will tour dairy farms and meet individuals in that industry. The overall winner gets “up to $200,000 worth of support to get their new product to market.”

While the snacks market is thriving, the dairy industry has had a rougher time of it lately. U.S. milk sales have been declining for decades, especially with the rise of plant-based alternatives. Two major milk producers so far, Dean Foods and Borden Dairy, have filed for bankruptcy.

However, sales of dairy rose thanks to the pandemic: From January through July 18, U.S. milk retail sales were up 8.3% to $6.4 billion, according to Nielsen. And the sector definitely has its pockets of innovation, with a notable example being the Dairy Farmers of America’s startup accelerator, which has a similar mission statement to that of CMAB: to bring more agility and innovation into the dairy sector.

Still, dairy companies have a long haul ahead of them. Finding nimble, innovative startups with new approaches to dairy products could help the industry stay relevant at a time when alternative protein is steadily on the rise. Feeding into the highly popular market for snacks doesn’t hurt, either. 

Applications for the Snackcelerator are open until August 28, 2020.

Check Out This Insanely Detailed Market Map of the Alt-Dairy Landscape

Sometimes a picture tells a thousand words.

And in the latest alt-dairy landscape map from NewProtein.org, there’s a whole industry wrapped up in one highly detailed image.

NewProtein.org, which is run by Olivia Fox Cabane, has been creating these market maps for a few years, and just like those of our friend Brita Rosenheim (see Brita’s food tech market map from last year), they are amazingly detailed and help you to get an idea of the scope of this fast-growing industry.

One good way to see just how fast the category is expanding is to compare this version (1.6) to the previous one published just a couple months ago (1.5). Since that last edition Fox Cabane’s team has added algae, amaranth, barley, chickpea, microflora and pumpkin to name a few to alt-milks. Also, the oat milk category has exploded from around 40 to over 50 milks alone!

And it’s not just milk. The map details cheeses by type — wheels, blocks and wedges, sliced, shredded & grated and spreads — and breaks down down alt-butters, creamers, yogurts and frozen desserts.

One concern I had early in the pandemic was what its potential impact could be on alternative, plant-based food; the continued investment in the category has laid any potential concerns to rest. Yesterday morning we heard of another investment in cauliflower cheese startup Grounded Foods and today Oatly announced a monster $200 million round. This type of investment has been repeated over and over in the past few months and, as this up to date market map shows, the space continues to grow at an astounding pace.

You can see the full map in detail by clicking here. And make sure to check out NewProtein.org for this map and others.

Your Next Alt-Milk Latte Could Be Made With Barley

Whether it’s for sustainability reasons or those related to health, more folks nowadays are looking for alternatives to animal-based dairy. Oat milk, chickpea milk, almond milk, and others have all made strides in the alt-dairy market, and now they have a new competitor: barley milk. Plant-based dairy company Take Two Foods just launched its “Barleymilk” product, the first of its kind to use what it calls “rejuvenated barley” to create milk for human consumption.

Portland, OR-based Take Two was founded this year, and launched “Barleymilk” this past March. Right now it’s available in coffeeshops and cafes around the Pacific Northwest and in Los Angeles, according to a recent company press release. 

The company claims Barleymilk is a first of its kind. Over an email exchange with The Spoon, Take Two cofounder and CEO Sarah Pool said that in terms of a source for plant-based milk, “nobody knows about barley because the majority of companies are just fast-following trends.” In other words, plenty of companies are coming to market with almond milks and coconut milks, but barley is an untapped resource in terms of an ingredient for alt-milk.

That’s especially true when it comes to upcycled barley, which is made from the spent grain that goes to waste during the beer brewing process. Pool said about 8 billion pounds of spent barley goes to waste annually around the globe as the result of beer brewing. Take Two “rescues” this grain and uses it to make its Barleymilk, which Pool says can be used for everything from lattes to smoothies. The drink contains about 5 grams of protein per serving and has more than 50 percent less sugar than other milks. 

Of course the acid test for plant-based products these days is taste. And actually, that’s one of the major gripes about plant-based dairy products. They rarely taste like the real thing, and according to Pool, the more nutritious they are, the worst they taste. “Even though the plant-based milk category is booming right now, brands haven’t been able to solve converting the mainstream consumer to non-dairy,” she said. “First and foremost, because plant-based milk doesn’t taste amazing.”

There’s some debate on that point. Plant-based milk is “the most developed of all the plant-based categories,” according to the Good Food Institute, which also notes that plant-based products like dairy are “increasingly competitive with animal products on the key drivers of consumer choice: taste, price, and accessibility.” So plenty of folks are buying alt-dairy products.

That said, taste is subjective, and not everyone agrees on the taste of current plant-based milks. Even my former colleague Catherine Lamb, a die-hard when it comes to plant-based anything, has written about the “bitter aftertaste that comes with, say, pea protein or soy.”

Take Two says its Barleymilk tastes good enough to drink by the glassful, and can also be used as a cooking ingredient. Whether consumers agree is to be determined. The milks currently come in four flavors: original, chocolate, vanilla, and something called “chef’s blend.” Online, a two-pack costs $9.98 (plus $5.99 for standard shipping), and, as mentioned above, the products are also available in cafes in parts of the Pacific Northwest and L.A.

At The Spoon, we haven’t yet gotten the chance to taste Take Two’s take on alt-milk, and we’ll keep you updated when we do. In the meantime, the company says it plans to expand Barleymilk nationally across both retail and foodservice by the Fall of 2020.