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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

alternative protein

‘Premium’ Cultured Meat Company Orbillion Bio Joins Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 Class

Startup accelerator Y Combinator has made its first investment in a cultured meat company with the addition of Orbillion Bio to the Winter 2021 cohort. Prior to joining YC, Orbillion participated in both the Brinc accelerator and Big Idea Ventures NYC program.

Orbillion’s focus is on cultivating higher-end meat products such as elk, lamb, and Wagyu beef. To develop these products, the company runs multiple cell lines through bioreactors, screening the cells and isolating those best suited to commercial food scale production. Machine-learning software helps pick out the best tissue and media combinations with which to make meat analogues.

The company told TechCrunch this week that its first product will be a Wagyu beef product that will be more of a minced product than a whole cut of steak. Orbillion plans to get that product into the market in 2023, though in what capacity (e.g., a restaurant) the company did not say, nor did it elaborate on which market.

The goal is to eventually provide the kinds of craft meats one would purchase not from the grocery store but from a high-end butcher shop. 

The focus on high-end meats may allow Orbillion’s products to reach price parity with their traditional counterparts sooner than other cultured meat companies. The company also says it wants to bring the cost of its products down even further, so that they actually become more affordable than traditional high-end meats. That idea is in keeping with recent comments entrepreneur/investor Jim Mellon shared with The Spoon, that meat made via cellular agriculture will eventually become more affordable than traditionally farmed meat.

Nor is Orbillion the only company veering away from the usual chicken, pork, and beef staples and developing premium cultured meats. Vow, in Australia, develops cultured meat products from a library of cells that includes kangaroo, alpaca, and lamb, among others. The company raised $6 million at the beginning of 2021.

For its part, Orbillion aims to get a pilot plant up and running by the end of 2022, which the company says will take roughly $3.5 million.

Alt-Protein Could Be a $290B Market by 2035. Parity Matters for That Growth

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The market for alternative protein, including meat, eggs, dairy, and seafood products, could reach at least $290 billion by 2035, according to a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Blue Horizon Corporation (BHC). The report, entitled “Food for Thought: The Protein Transformation,” was released this week and finds that the market for alternative proteins — including plant-, microorganism-, and cell-based analogues — will grow from its current 13 million metric tons per year to 97 million metric tons by 2035.

In a best case scenario, the report also said alt-protein will make up 11 percent of the overall protein market by that time. However, to hit that point, and to realistically compete with the multi-trillion-dollar traditional meat market, alt-protein sectors have more work to do when it comes to reaching parity, and not just around price, either.

Parity, both in terms of price and in the taste and texture of the products, is essential for alt-protein gaining wider acceptance among mainstream consumers, and “Food for Thought” sees the sector achieving it in three different stages: 

  • Plant-based alternatives, including meat, dairy, and egg substitutes, will achieve parity in 2023 or possibly sooner.
  • Alt-proteins made from microorganisms, such as fungi, yeast, and algae, will reach parity by 2025.
  • Cultured proteins are slated to reach parity by 2032.

Price parity comes up a lot in conversation these days. The plant-based protein sector, for example, is well on its way to achieving it, as evidenced by Impossible’s recent price slashing of its products and its chief rival Beyond Meat doing something similar last year.

For cultured meat, too, many are saying products will reach price parity with traditional meat sooner rather than later. Longtime investor and entrepreneur Jim Mellon, for example, recently told The Spoon he believes cultured meat will achieve price parity with traditional meat within five years. And we have seen a few announcements from cultured meat makers in the recent past about bringing production costs down. At the beginning of this month, Hong Kong-based Avant Meats said it had achieved a 90 percent reduction in the cost of producing cultured functional proteins. Earlier this year, Future Meat’s CEO Rom Kshuk told me his company has decreased production costs “by 1,000 times over the last three years,” with a quarter-pound serving of its cultured chicken breast now costing $7.50 to produce.

Lower production costs can lead to lower prices for consumers, but it’s important to reiterate that in the context of BCG and BHC’s new report, parity encompasses more than price. Speaking of the report, in it BCG managing director and partner Benjamin Morach referenced taste and texture in addition to price when discussing parity. “Alternative proteins must taste and feel as good as the conventional foods they replace and cost either the same or less,” he said.

Hence, cultured meat not reaching full parity until 2032, according to the report’s predictions. While this is definitely longer than five years, it’s actually shorter than the “north of 15 years” figure Eat Just CEO Josh Tetrick offered up last year when talking about the time frame for cultured meat being available everywhere and for a low cost.

Expect more, not fewer, predictions around parity as investment in alt-protein, and especially cultured protein, continues and more companies bring products out of the lab and into the consumer realm.

As to why we need all this alternative protein, the BCG/BHC report highlights some important factors, including its role around more environmentally responsible production and consumption. According to information provided to The Spoon by BCG/BHC, a $290 billion alt-protein market will free up 240,000 square kilometers of land, decrease the number of chickens in factory farms by 50 billion, reduce water use by 38 billion tons, and drop CO2 emissions by 1 billion tons. Producing more alternative protein is also in alignment with multiple of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The BCG/BHC report comes on the heels of recent numbers from The Good Food Institute, which found that $3.1 billion was invested in the entire alternative protein sector in 2020. That’s triple the amount invested in 2019, and an encouraging sign for a sector whose role in the global food system is no longer a nice-to-have but a must-have in order to feed 10 billion people while attaining net-zero emissions by 2050.

In Other Alt Protein News . . .

Netherlands-based cultured meat startup Meatable raised $47 million in Series A funding this week. It will use its new funds to advance small scale production at the Biotech Campus Delft and diversify its product lineup.

Eat Just closed a $200 million funding round and will use the new funds to build out its cultured meat products as well as accelerate research and development while expanding internationally.  

Alt-protein investment firm Big Idea Ventures is taking applications for Cohort Four of its startup accelerator program. Companies developing either alternative proteins or supporting technologies and ingredients are encouraged to apply.

Food Tech News: Electrolyte Beer and Food Waste Jet Fuel

Welcome to the weekend, and your weekly Food Tech News round-up. If you indulged in too many Irish stouts this past Wednesday for St. Patrick’s Day, you might want to try some electrolyte-infused beer over the weekend. In addition to health-conscious beer, we also have news on food waste being considered for jet fuel and a plant-based egg company in Singapore.

Breweries are infusing beer with electrolytes and healthy ingredients

Do you like your beer with a twist of lime? Or how about with an infusion of electrolytes? A few breweries in the U.S are offering low-ABV beers infused with electrolytes and other nutritious ingredients. Zelus Beer Company (Massachusetts) was founded by a triathlete, and the brewery produces low-alcohol beer made with calcium, potassium, and different salts. Harpoon Brewery (Massachusetts) makes a beer with Mediterannean sea salt, chia seeds, and buckwheat. Mispillion River Brewing (Delaware) has a Berliner Weisse on tap that is infused with berries and a variety of undisclosed electrolytes. These beers are geared towards those who follow an active and healthy lifestyle but still want to enjoy a beer without feeling the negative side effects of alcohol. We’re not sure if they will actually rehydrate lost electrolytes, but an ice-cold beer after a hard workout is delicious regardless.

Photo from Unsplash

Commercial aviation industry considers using food waste for fuel

Taking a trip by plane adds a lot to your carbon footprint, especially if that trip is international. To combat the unsustainable nature of traveling by plane, the commercial aviation industry is looking into alternative options for jet fuel. One that has been presented in a study conducted by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is the use of volatile fatty acids derived from “wet waste.” Food waste, animal manure, and wastewater are the components of wet waste, and researchers extracted volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from this mix. This possible alternative can reduce food waste going to the landfill, carbon dioxide emissions, and soot released into the air by 34 percent.

Photo from Float Foods’ Instagram

Plant-based egg start-up Float Foods receives Temasek grant

Float Foods is a Singapore-based start-up that has developed a whole plant-based egg product, and this week the company received a grant from the Temasek Foundation. The amount of the grant was undisclosed, and it came from Temasek’s Ecosperity Innovations Grant, which aims to assist start-ups with an emphasis on sustainability in Singapore. The company’s proprietary product is made from legumes and called OnlyEg. Float Foods says it is the first to create a whole plant-based egg product in Asia; other plant-based eggs typically come in a powder or liquid form. Float Foods aims to bring its product on shelves in Singapore in 2022.

Startups: Applications Are Open for Big Idea Ventures’ Alt-Protein Accelerator

Alt-protein food tech accelerator Big Idea Ventures (BIV) announced this week that it is now taking applications for its fourth cohort. According to a press release sent to The Spoon, the five-month-long program will take place in three locations this time: New York, Singapore, and Paris.

For these accelerators, Big Idea Ventures looks for companies developing both plant-based and cultured protein products and ingredients. Food tech companies related to the alt-protein space are also encouraged to apply.

Beside $125,000 in cash investment and $75,000 on in-kind investment, chosen companies also get access to coworking space, including test kitchens, for the duration of the program, as well as mentorship and networking opportunities. Companies will also get to interact with BIV’s limited partners, a group that includes AAK, Bühler Group, Givaudan, Tyson Ventures, and others. 

Chosen companies will ideally have an initial product already validated through sales and ready to scale. On the program’s website, BIV says it is looking specifically for companies developing plant-based products, cellular ag companies, ingredient creators, and those making enabling technologies. 

Because of the pandemic, cohort four will be remote as of this writing. This is a tactic that’s been used by other food tech accelerators over the last year, and a trend that will likely continue for the foreseeable future. For BIV participants, this is actually advantageous, as the organization says companies can leverage resources from all three programs, even if they are only enrolled for one.  

Those interested in applying to BIV’s program can do so here. Applications are taken on a rolling basis, which means the sooner the better in terms of turning one in.

GFI: $3.1 Billion Invested in Alternative Proteins in 2020, Tripling the Money Raised in 2019

While 2020 was a tumultuous year we’d all rather forget, it was actually a banner year for investment in alternative protein. According to new data released today by The Good Food Institute (GFI), there was $3.1 billion in disclosed investments in the alternative protein space in 2020. That figure is more than three times the amount raised by the sector in 2019.

GFI used PitchBook‘s data, and includes investments in startups working on plant-based meat, egg and dairy; cell-cultured meat; and fermented protein. Alternative protein is relatively new in the food-tech world, and investment in the space is definitely a steep hockey stick shape. The $3.1 billion raised in 2020 is more than half of the $6 billion alt protein companies raised between 2010 and 2020.

GFI broke down the data further, finding:

  • Plant-based meat, egg and dairy companies received $2.1 billion in investments in 2020, up from $667 million raised in 2019. The $2.1 billion in 2020 included the $700 million figure Impossible Foods raised, as well as LIVEKINDLY‘s $335 million in VC financing and Oatly‘s $200 million private equity financing.
  • Cultivated (a.k.a. cell-based) protein companies raised more than $360 million in 2020. This included the sector’s first two Series B rounds: Memphis Meat‘s $186 million raise and Mosa Meat‘s $75 million. GFI also included cell-based dairy companies such as Turtle Tree Labs and BIOMILQ.
  • Fermentation, the third pillar of alternative protein, pulled in $590 million in funding in 2020. This included Perfect Day‘s $300 million raise and Nature’s Fynd‘s $45 million debt round.

That the alt protein space was able to raise so much money in 2020 isn’t that surprising. First, there are just a ton of startups working in the space, so there is more opportunity for investment. And in areas like cultivated and fermented protein in particular, that technology is maturing, achieving more yield at lower costs.

GFI also noted that larger, existential factors helped drive investment in alternative protein. The pandemic highlighted issues with zoonotic disease transmission as well as ethical complications surrounding the production of animal-based meat. These pandemic-related issues along with problems with the animal meat supply chain helped drive a surge in plant-based food sales in 2020.

While 2020’s investment figures were impressive, I’m actually curious how this year will turn out. As we noted in our Future Food newsletter this week, there has been a raft of investment just in the cultured meat space since January. Will 2021 be another record breaking year for the alt protein space? Check back in next March to find out.

Plant-Based Food Producer NotCo Granted U.S. Patent for Its AI Technology

Chile-based alt protein company NotCo announced today it has been granted a U.S. patent for its artificial intelligence (AI) tech. 

NotCo, sometimes referred to as the Impossible or Beyond of Latin America, first launched its plant-based milk alternative, NotMilk, in the U.S. at the end of 2020. The company said it will soon open an office in NYC, and already has offices in San Francisco. The company also has U.S.-based retail deals with Sprouts, Wegmans, and online grocer Imperfect Foods.

The company makes a plant-based milk from pea protein. In Latin America, it also sells a plant-based mayo, a burger-like item, and ice cream in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.

The company’s AI platform, named Giuseppe, sifts through huge datasets (for example, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Library), to find ingredient and processing combinations that would best mimic the elements (flavor, texture, etc.) of real meat or dairy in plant-based analogues. The idea, of course, is to find the types of combinations that can create a product that completely mimics traditional meat and dairy — a feat few if any plant-based protein-makers have yet to achieve.

From the patent:

A formula generator learns from open source and proprietary databases of ingredients and recipes. The formula generator is trained using features of the ingredients and using recipes. Given a target food item, the formula generator determines a formula that matches the given target food item and a score for the formula. The formula generator may generate numerous formulas that match the given target food item and may select an optimal formula from the generated formulas based on score.

NotCo said in today’s press release that the AI platform also looks for “unexpected plant combinations” that could also achieve the desired taste and texture of the real thing. 

NotCo is not alone in this AI-based approach to plant-based proteins. Climax is another notable company in this space, and is currently crunching data sets to find the most appropriate ingredient combinations for plant-based cheese. In the wider food industry, Spoonshot uses AI to identify novel flavor combinations, and Brightseed leverages the tech to uncover phytonutrients in plants.

The company has raised a total of $120 million so far from a pool of investors that includes Jeff Bezos, Kaszek Ventures, and Maya Capital. It is also expanding to further international locations, including Colombia, Mexico, and Canada.

Swiss Startup Planted Raises $18M for Plant-Based Meat Alternatives

Switzerland-based alt-protein startup Planted has raised $18 million in Series A funding, according to TechCrunch. The round was co-led by Vorwerk Ventures and Blue Horizon Ventures, with participation from soccer player Yann Sommer as well as previous investors.

Zurich-based Planted makes meat alternatives from pea protein and other plant-based ingredients, such as sunflower and oats. Currently, the company’s lineup includes chicken, kebab, and pulled-pork products. A steak analog is also on the way. 

The company sells to around 3,000 food retail locations across Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, in addition to having a direct-to-consumer e-commerce site for those markets. Additionally, Planted has numerous restaurant and foodservice partnerships.

Part of the company’s new funding will be used to expand into other markets. Planted told TC that said expansion will first be into neighboring countries before moving further into Europe and then overseas. At this time, the company hasn’t named any specific countries.

Worldwide, the plant-based protein segment is expected to reach $85 billion by 2030. While Europe doesn’t yet get the same attention the U.S. or Asia do, its market for plant-based meat is growing rapidly and expected to reach €7.5 billion (~$8.9 billion USD) in the next five years. The number of startups in the space is growing, too, and now includes The Meatless Farm Company, THIS, and Vivera, among many others. International giant Beyond Meat also has a sizable presence in that region, recently boosted even more by a partnership with QSR giant McDonald’s.

Planted said today that in addition to expansion, its new funding will also be used to further build out the company’s tech stack and increase the manufacturing capacity of its products to half a ton per hour. 

Peet’s, Eat Just, and Beyond Meat Debut a Fully Plant-Based Breakfast Sandwich

Peet’s Coffee, Beyond Meat, and Eat Just have joined forces to launch a fully plant-based breakfast offering dubbed the Everything Plant-Based Sandwich. The item is available as part of Peet’s Spring 2021 menu.

The product launch makes for one of the first breakfast offerings on a QSR menu to be made entirely of plant-based foods. Up to now, meat, cheese, and egg analogues have been been paired with their  traditional counterparts for these meals. See examples like Impossible’s sausage sandwich at BK and Starbucks or Beyond’s sausage breakfast sandwich at Dunkin’.

This new breakfast sandwich iteration is, by comparison, fully vegan. The sandwich includes a Beyond Sausage patty, a folded egg from Eat Just, and a plant-based cheddar cheese on an everything bagel. According to the press release, the item contains 21 grams of protein.

The product is good news for the vegan crowd or those wanting to replace more of their traditional meat diet with plant-based options. More importantly, it’s another shift in the larger movement towards the plant-based QSR.

Consumer demand for plant-based meat alternatives is only going to get bigger. Restaurants have been incorporating plant-based meat analogues into their products for the last couple years. Now, we appear to be at a point where it’s no longer enough to have one element of a food item plant-based; the whole thing needs to be vegan. Starbucks, for example, hinted at this sort of future with its recent test of a fully plant-based breakfast sandwich with Impossible meat, a JUST egg, and a plant-based cheese from an unnamed manufacturer. Starbucks is also testing a fully plant-based menu at a location in Seattle.

And it’s not only coffeeshops getting onboard. In China, fast-food chain Discos outright replaced their traditional eggs with plant-based counterparts from Eat Just. Meanwhile, last week, Beyond announced deals with both McDonald’s and Yum Brands (Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell). which will majorly boost plant-based meat’s visibility in QSRs.

Peet’s may be headed in that direction. The company also announced some new beverages made with oat milk to go along with the vegan breakfast sandwich. It seems like only a matter of time before it and other quick-serve coffees chains roll out full menus for plant-based wares.

For now, the Everything Plant-Based Sandwich is available nationwide at Peet’s locations.

Ocean Hugger Will Re-enter the Plant-Based Seafood Space Via a Partnership With Nove Foods

Plant-based seafood maker Ocean Hugger is relaunching via a partnership with Thailand-based Nove Foods, according to a statement on the Ocean Hugger website.

The venture comes after after the pandemic forced Ocean Hugger, which previously sold products primarily to foodservice businesses, to cease operations.

Part of Ocean Hugger’s plight in 2020 was the fact that the company’s plant-based tuna and eel products were primarily used for sushi. But in the U.S., most consumers get sushi either at restaurants or at prepared foods counters. The pandemic devastated both those avenues, leaving Ocean Hugger with little choice but to close up shop for a while. 

However, the company came back in September 2020 with an announcement that it planned to re-enter the plant-based protein market, though no further details were given at the time.

Now, the plan is to launch “an expanded portfolio” of plant-based seafood products via a joint venture with Nove Foods, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of sustainable food manufacturer NRF. New York-based Ocean Hugger’s mission to produce a more ethical, environmentally friendly seafood is in line with NRF’s overall business, which has extended in recent years to include plant-based foods and functional foods.

The plant-based seafood market is still fairly wide open in terms of opportunity for companies. While New Wave Foods makes a plant-based shrimp analog and Good Catch has a “tuna” product on the market, there are not yet plant-based seafood companies that have the status that, say, Beyond or Impossible do with with beef analogs.

Ocean Hugger’s re-entry into the market gives the company another shot at becoming such a company. The company plans to release its expanded portfolio into retail and foodservice businesses later in 2021. Whether that will be in the U.S., Asia, or Europe is still to be determined. 

Moku Foods Makes Jerky from King Oyster Mushrooms

Beef jerky is a salty, chewy, and high-protein snack best eaten on road trips. However, with one in four Americans reporting that they have cut back on eating meat, several companies are offering plant-based alternatives to classic beef jerky by using ingredients such as soy, wheat protein, mushrooms, and more.

Moku Foods is a Hawaiian-based start-up that produces plant-based jerky made from mushrooms to create a texture similar to traditional beef jerky. The company recently raised its first round of funding with participation from Siddhi Capital, Vanterra Capital, KBW Ventures, Mana Ventures, and Barrel Ventures.

The amount of funding was not disclosed, but I spoke with Moku Foods CEO, Matt Feldman this week to learn more about the company and its plant-based jerky products. Feldman started developing jerky made from mushrooms in his home kitchen with the goal of creating a sustainable jerky alternative made from clean label ingredients. When asked about the sustainability aspect of using mushrooms over beef, Feldman said “If you compare one bag of Moku Jerky to beef jerky, you’re saving 12 square feet of land, 107 gallons of water, and 11 pounds of methane.”

Moku Foods’ jerky is made from marinating and cooking King Oyster mushrooms, which have a naturally meaty texture. Feldman said the product is cooked several different times to achieve a chewy texture similar to beef jerky. The mushroom jerky is both soy and gluten-free and comes in three flavors: Original, Hawaiian Teriyaki, and Sweet & Spicy. Each serving contains 4 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber.

Another company making jerky from mushrooms is Pan’s Jerky, which appeared on an episode of Shark Tank at the end of last year. Akua uses a combination of kelp and mushrooms to create its vegan jerky. In addition to consumers avoiding beef jerky because they are choosing to eat less meat, one may choose to avoid it because beef jerky can also contain an unhealthy amount of sodium (which acts as a preservative) and saturated fats. On the other hand, mushrooms are low fat, still contain a decent amount of protein, and provide a variety of vitamins and minerals.

At the moment Moku’s mushroom jerky is only available on the company’s website and Amazon, but it will soon be available on Thrive Market. A pack of six, 1.5 oz bags of mushroom jerky retails for $40. Feldman also said that plant-based jerky is just the first product from the company, and it plans on developing other product lines in the future.

Singapore’s Next Gen Raises $10M Seed Round for Plant-Based Chicken

Next Gen, a Singapore-headquartered food tech company, announced today it has raised $10 million in seed funding. The round was led by Temasek, K3 Ventures, the New Ventures arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board, and NX Food. Funding follows an earlier $2 million investment from Next Gen’s founder, according to a press release sent to The Spoon.

The company will use the funds to launch Next Gen’s plant-based products brand, TiNDLE, to consumers in Singapore in March 2021. To start, the product line, which will debut with a chicken item, will be available in select restaurants. Other Asian cities will follow. Funding will also go towards further research and development around future plant-based products. 

TiNDLE chicken is made with soy protein, wheat gluten, wheat starch, as well as sunflower and coconut oils. On its website, the company says each each serving contains 17 grams of protein. The first application of the product will be TiNDLE Thy, a plant-based take on chicken thighs the company says can be used in a variety of dishes and cuisine types.

The forthcoming launch is arriving at a time when global demand for alternative protein is higher than it’s ever been before. The plant-based protein segment is expected to reach $85 billion by 2030, according to UBS. Asia is an important market in this growth, and one that is catching up to growth in the U.S. Demand in Asia for plant-based products is expected to jump to over 200 percent within the next five years.  

There is also a growing number of companies bringing products to market in the APAC region now. Some of those companies, like Green Monday in Hong Kong and HERO in China, as well as U.S.-based brands that have recently moved in, notably Impossible and Eat Just. Also, Beyond Meat is building two production facilities in Asia, both in China.

For its part, Next Gen is now looking towards a Series A funding round as well as diversifying its product portfolio and expanding into Europe and the U.S. The company said today it is already “laying the groundwork” for the latter. 

ChickP Expanding to US, Begins Commercial Production of Chickpea Isolate Protein

ChickP, an Israeli-based chickpea protein start-up, announced today that it will be expanding to the US to explore partnerships and that it has started commercial production of its chickpea isolate protein. The company has signed a joint market development agreement with Socius Ingredients, a company that uses food ingredients for different applications, for its US expansion.

ChickP produces a fully plant-based and non-GMO chickpea isolate that contains 90% protein content. Because chickpeas have a neutral flavor, the chickpea isolate is versatile and can be used in protein powders, pastries, snack foods, desserts, creamers, and beverages. Towards the end of 2020, the company announced the launch of an additional product, a chickpea starch called Chickpea Native Starch, for a variety of food and beverage applications.

Currently, ChickP’s facilities are producing 20 metric tons of chickpea isolate every day, and 5,000 metric tons a year. In today’s press announcement, the company said it “is actively seeking new opportunities in the plant-based alternatives industry, especially in the thriving US market,” and that ChickP has already accepted production commitments from several new customers.

Chickpeas are used as the key ingredient in many plant-based foods, in everything from pasta to meat alternatives. In the US, Peggs is making a plant-based powdered egg product using chickpea powder as one of the main ingredients. Another Israeli-based start-up, InnovoPro, raised $15 million last year for its B2B chickpea protein powder. HIPPEAS, which is based in the US, raised $50 million last month for its chickpea puffs and chips.

ChickP didn’t disclose which companies it will be supplying, but it was did say it is already working on several specialized projects for plant-based innovation in North America.