Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

alternative protein

Five Plant-Based Meat Predictions for 2022

Food tech prediction week continues here at the Spoon, and today we’re looking into our crystal ball to predict what 2022 holds for plant-based meat.

After you’re done reading this, make sure to check out my predictions for restaurant tech and food robotics!

Let’s do this.

The Year of the Whole Cut

After years of countless plant-based burgers and other minced alt-meat product introductions, the plant-based meat industry will see lots more whole cut analogs make it to market in 2022 and beyond.

We first got a hint at CES 2019 that Impossible was interested in whole cuts when The Spoon broke the story the company was working on a steak, but since that time we’ve seen a bunch of companies announce they are working on building whole cut alternatives.

Juicy Marbles, Novameat and Redefine Mean are also working on whole cut steak analogs. Others like Atlast are offering mycelium-based whole cut bacon. Then there are those making whole-cut seafood analogs like that from Plantish.

Many of these companies are looking to deliver their products in 2022, and you can expect a wave of new plant-based whole cut concepts introduced throughout the year.

Fungi-Powered Meat Alternatives

As we enter 2022, a whole crop alt-meat startups are rolling out a variety of meat analogs powered by fungi. One is Meati, which has developed prototypes of steak and chicken using mycelium grown using a submerged fermentation technique. Then there’s Nature’s Fynd, which debuted its breakfast patties which use its novel mycelium last fall. And in early January, MycoTechnologies debuted its meatless crumble brand Goodside Foods at CES.

The rise of myco-powered meat products shouldn’t be all that surprising since fungi, after all, is a lot closer in its molecular makeup to mammals than plants. For this and other reasons, fungi-based meat products don’t need as much high-tech trickery and processing to create a realistic meat analog. I predict this is only the beginning and we’ll see more fungi-based meat products debut throughout 2022.

Clean Label Enters Alt Protein

One criticism of some early plant-based meats is the long list of ingredients. While these alt-meats are no doubt miracles of modern food science, the unfamiliar ingredient list has scared away some customers concerned about eating exotic or genetically modified ingredients.

Enter the clean label. We started to see some startups begin to offer new plant-based meat analogs with simpler (and shorter) ingredient lists in 2021 and I expect to see more of this this year. Nowadays offered up their new pea-protein-based chicken nugget with seven ingredients, and Daring launched their soy-based nuggs that have a fairly straightforward recipe label. And then there’s No Evil Foods, which is leaning heavily into the whole plant-based clean label with a lineup of alt-meats ranging from chorizo to jerky. Expect to see these companies and other new ‘clean-label’ alt-meat startups push their simple (and understandable) recipes as a primary point of differentiation between themselves and those built with more (and more processed) ingredient lists

The Rise of the Plant-Based Meat Building Block

While many early-stage alt-meat companies have built much if not most of their end product in-house, nowadays there’s a growing cohort of new companies providing plant-based meat building blocks to enable others to get to market faster.

Take Motif. Last month, the Ginkgo Bioworks spinout announced the commercial launch of their yeast-derived heme protein HEMAMI, an umami-flavor and texture building block for alt-meat makers trying to produce a realistic alternative. This is good news if you’re a maker of alt-meat products who wants to replicate Impossible’s proprietary plant-based heme, because now instead of spending tens of millions trying to build it yourself, now you can buy a similar technology from Motif.

There are others making building blocks to get to market faster, whether that’s Jellatech and Geltor with their animal-free collagen, Hoxton, Melt & Marble and Nourish with their alt-fats, Umiami making a plant-based fibrous muscle alternatives, or Kingdom Supercultures creating the next great novel ingredient.

Forget Burgers, Let’s Eat Some Fish

While companies like Good Catch and Ocean Hugger have been at the plant-based seafood game for a while, others are diving in with new offerings: Asia plant-based giant Omnifood launched their line of plant-based seafood last summer, Plantish came out of stealth with their whole cut salmon last week, and Madrid-based Mimic recently launched its tomato-based alt-tuna. If 2021 was a big year for alt-fish, expect 2022 to be even bigger.

Bonus Prediction: Plant-Based Meat Consolidation

How many plant-based burger and chicken nugget brands can we expect to make it?

As with any market moving beyond adolesence, don’t be surprised to see some consolidation in plant-based meats. And if we’re being honest with ourselves, there are simply too many offerings in many of the same categories to survive. In 2022, I expect we’ll see some market consolidation as bigger players scoop up smaller players either to kickstart their plant-based lines or to shore up holes. And, sadly, some companies simply may not survive.

That’s it for today. Tune in tomorrow when I make predictions about the future of consumer kitchen tech!

Investor Look: 10 Trends to Watch in Ag + Food Tech in 2022

Food, ocean and agtech venture fund S2G Ventures released a report citing ten catalysts that will shape intersecting industries including agriculture, food manufacturing, nutrition and food retail in 2022. The report examines the trends that are driving the transition to a climate-smart, healthy food system.

S2G — investor in several food and agtech startups — looks at technology disruption in three major categories including agricultural innovation, supply chain disruption and personalized food and nutrition.

“The food transition is still in its infancy but is being propelled by seismic tailwinds: massive demographic change spurring new consumer demand, significant advancements in the biology, chemistry and physics of food production to create new choices and now capital markets anchored by ESG that want to fund high growth, disruptive companies,” commented Sanjeev Krishnan, S2G Ventures Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer.

Farmers in the US are facing new challenges every day from nutrient-challenged soil to lack of access to capital. The S2G report describes the ways that innovation in fintech, robotics and biotech along with an increase in socially and environmentally conscious investing (ESG) will lead to the “fourth industrial revolution” in farms across the country.

The drivers of innovation in farming include:

  • Robots will increase efficiency while reducing labor needs across the food system.
  • The rise of ESG will help to digitize the farm.
  • Fintech will transform opportunities in agriculture, just as it did for the student loan and mortgage markets.
  • RNA technology that saved lives during Covid-19 will be applied to farms to save soils.

Supply chain disruptions experienced over the past two years have catalyzed both governmental institutions NGOs and the private sectors to fund and drive innovation in biotech, cellular agriculture and food waste solutions. The result according to S2G Ventures will be supply chains that are more nimble, sustainable, localized and less wasteful.

Innovations that will revolutionize supply chains include:

  • Fermentation will power the next generation of alternative protein products.
  • Cellular protein will provide consumers around the world with safe, sustainable food.
  • Adoption of food waste solutions will be recognized as both a good business practice and an essential tool for feeding the world.

Even prior to the pandemic, consumers were demonstrating a desire for better food choices and a renewed focus on ways to personalize their nutrition and healthcare. To answer this demand, food and nutrition startups are using cutting-edge bio and food science as well as AI and machine learning to develop nutrient-dense, functional and personalized food products.

Personalized food & nutrition catalysts include:

  • AI and machine learning platforms will unlock greater understanding of and use cases for plants and fungi.
  • Food will become central to the effort to prevent chronic disease and improve health outcomes.
  • Food brands and grocers will have to “personalize or perish.”

To dig into more details on areas to watch in food and agtech this year, download the full report from S2G Ventures.

Plantish Comes Out of Stealth Mode to Unveil Plant-Based Salmon Fillet

Salmon is one of the most popular fish choices to consume, and in the U.S., it is estimated that Americans eat a total of about 450,000 pounds of it a year. Unfortunately for vegans and vegetarians, there has not been a plant-based salmon product that has the ability to directly replace real salmon in all of its classic applications. Plantish, a start-up based in Rehovot, Israel, is looking to change that, and unveiled its plant-based salmon fillet this week.

Plantish is a newer company in the food tech space that was founded six months ago in 2021. Despite being so young, the company raised a pre-seed round of $2 million USD, led by TechAviv Founder Partners, in the middle of 2021.

The company’s first product is called Plantish Salmon, which will be a fully structured, boneless, plant-based salmon fillet. Although the company could not disclose what exactly the ingredients the fillet is made out of, they did state that it will have the same nutritional value as real salmon, including high protein content, B vitamins, and both Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.

According to the company, its alternative salmon fillet can be used in any application that conventional salmon is used in. The whole-cut fish analog aims to achieve the same flavor, structure, and texture as a regular salmon fillet.

What Plantish guarantees that it salmon fillet doesn’t have is mercury, microplastics, antibiotics, or other toxins. Sadly, this guarantee cannot be made with all wild-caught or farmed raised salmon. Farmed raised salmon can be fed large amounts of antibiotics, while wild-caught fish raises concerns about overfishing and being contaminated with microplastics.

In 2022, you can find a good plant-based burger (and many other meat analogs) in grocery stores or a restaurant with ease. Vegan seafood? Not so much. Compared to the plant-based meat category, the plant-based seafood category is significantly smaller, and the Good Food Institute has called the plant-based seafood space a “white space“. On top of this, many alternative seafood products come in an minced form, rather than a whole-cut fillet.

Good Catch is one company that produces vegan seafood products, and it launched a new plant-based salmon burger product last week. One other company working towards a plant-based salmon fillet is Revo Foods, which is based in Austria and is using bioprinting technology for some of its alternative products.

As exciting as Plantish Salmon is, the company shared that it is planning for the official launch of the product in 2024. Until then, Plantish will be executing tasting pop-ups that are slated to begin towards the end of 2022.

Alt. Protein Round-Up: Wildtype’s Sushi, Cultivated Dokdo Shrimp

Ask any cultivated meat startup in the US and they’ll tell you it’s only a matter of time before the U.S. government grants regulatory approval to sell cell-cultivated meat in the United States. Given their vested interest in this rapidly changing market, many of these same startups had something to say as part of the USDA’s recent public comment period on labeling standards for cultivated meat and poultry products. Some 1,700 total comments were received and The Spoon sifted through many of these comments and connected the threads so you don’t have to. You can read Camille Bond’s summary here.

There was lots of other news this week in the alternative protein space, including Wildtype’s distribution agreement, CellMEAT’s new FBS-free growth serum and cultivated shrimp prototype, Eric Jenkusky’s thoughts on the cultivated meat space, and GOOD Meat in Singapore.

Wildtype to bring cultured seafood to retailers and restaurants in the U.S.

In the United States, we will likely be seeing cultivated seafood in sushi bars, restaurants, and grocery stores within the next year. Wildtype, a company based in San Francisco, California, signed an agreement this week with Pokéworks, a restaurant operator with 65 locations, and Snowfox, a sushi bar that operates within grocery stores with 1,230 locations. The intention of the distribution agreement is to allow the masses to get a taste of cultivated seafood in an affordable and accessible manner. Due to the fact that regulatory approval has yet to be granted, it is currently unclear when this distribution will occur.

CellMEAT’s FBS-free growth serum and cultivated Dokdo shrimp

CellMEAT is a cultivated meat/seafood company based in Korea, and this week, the company announced two different pieces of news. First off, the company has successfully developed a growth serum for animal cells that does not require the use of Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS). This particular ingredient raises concern amongst animal welfare groups and activists (because it is harvested from the fetuses of pregnant cows during slaughter), and it is extremely expensive. FBS is one reason why cultivated products have continued to have such a high price tag, but many companies in this space have been working towards changing the ingredients found in their growth serums.

The second piece of news from CellMEAT is that the company unveiled a prototype of its cultivated Dokdo shrimp. The shrimp was actually created with the company’s new FBS-free growth serum. According to CellMEAT, the alternative shrimp was created in a variety of different shapes and sizes for a diversity of cooking applications.

Eric Jenkusky of Matrix Meats calls for transparency in the cultivated meat space

In September, the USDA opened a public comment period to solicit input about the labeling of cultivated meat products. The move was widely seen as an important step forward in the regulatory approval process for the commercial sale of cultivated meat products in the United States, which many anticipate will happen soon. When cultivated meat finally does make it to market, it’s important that consumers know exactly what’s in the product, at least according to Eric Jenkusky. Read the full article here.

Eat Just’s GOOD Meat granted regulatory approval to sell new cultivated chicken products in Singapore

Today Eat Just announced its GOOD Meat division has received the regulatory go-ahead to sell new types of cultivated chicken products in Singapore. The company will debut one of the new formats, a chicken breast, at the JW Marriott Singapore South Beach next week. The green light comes just over a year after the company received the world’s first approval to sell cultivated meat from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Singapore’s regulatory authority for food safety. Read the full article here.

Eric Jenkusky of Matrix Meats Calls for Transparency in the Cultivated Meat Space

In September, the USDA opened a public comment period to solicit input about the labeling of cultivated meat products. The move was widely seen as an important step forward in the regulatory approval process for the commercial sale of cultivated meat products in the United States, which many anticipate will happen soon.

When cultivated meat finally does make it to market, it’s important that consumers know exactly what’s in the product, at least according to Eric Jenkusky. Jenkusky is the CEO of Matrix Meats, a company that makes plant-based scaffolding for alternative protein and cultivated meat products. I caught up with Jenkusky last week to talk about the cultivated meat market, the regulatory approval process, and the role he saw his company playing in all of it.

In the past year, Matrix has had contact with 50 plus companies in the cultivated meat industry, and is currently engaged with 22. It is also now offering companies a wet lab research contract, where it will assist interested cultivated meat companies with the feeding and scaffold protocols.

After a busy 2021, next year will be even busier for Matrix; according to Jenkusky, “We are looking at assisting a few companies in achieving a product, a cultivated food product with at least 50 percent cultivated cells in the paid product by quarter two of 2022.”

When cultivated meat products are unveiled by various companies, Jenkusky said an important question is never asked, “How much of this product is cultivated cells, and what type of cultivated cells are those?” For the sake of the industry’s reputation and the consumers who care about what they’re eating, transparency will be crucial. We are often shown photos are videos of different whole cuts of cultivated meat products, but the composition of these products is rarely disclosed.

As Matrix Meats works with companies to achieve a cultivated meat product, Jenkusky said, “One of the things that we plan on doing is when our product comes, is we’re going to be completely transparent to the world as to what and who we’re working with.” Although the USDA and FDA will be regulating the labeling and overseeing the production of cultivated meat products, it is currently unclear what level of transparency they will demand of these products.

About 40 percent of surveyed consumers expressed that they were afraid of lab-produced products such as cultivated meat. Fear like this often stems from not knowing or understanding what a product is made of and how it was produced. In the plant-based space, alternative meat sales may be dropping to the lack of ingredient transparency. For consumers to adopt cultivated meat, it will be critical to disclose ingredients, cell composition, and the production process.

Alt. Protein Round-Up: Red Algae “Blood” and 3D-Printed Sea Bass Fillets

In such a fast-paced industry like future food, news can fly right by you, but we have you covered with this week’s alt protein round-up where we’ve gathered some of the most interesting news of the week.

About Ounje by Yemoja LTD
Yemoja introduces its new ingredient, “Ounje”

Yemoja uses red algae to make burgers bleed

Israel-based Yemoja, a marine ingredient start-up, has discovered a novel way to use red algae (which is grown in photobioreactors) to cause plant-based burgers to “bleed”. The ingredient is called “Ounje”, and not only does it look like blood, but it acts as a binder and allows plant-based meat analogs to brown and sizzle like real meat. On top of improving the texture and appearance, the algae additive contains 20-25 percent protein. Ounje seems to function like Impossible’s plant-based heme, which is instead made from a base of soy.

3D-printed scaffolding used for the structure of the fish fillet

Scientists are working with algae to develop a cultivated sea bass fish fillet

A team of scientists, led by Associate Professor Frederico Ferreira from the University of Lisbon’s Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, are spearheading the project called Algae2fish. The project is funded by The Good Food Institute, and its goal is to develop sea bass fillets made with algae, cultivated cells, and 3D-printed scaffolding. Algae and other plant ingredients will be used as the base for the edible 3D-printed scaffolding. The fish stem cells will be enhanced using electrical stimulation to create muscle and fat components. These components will then be used as bioinks in a 3D printer to create patterns and the texture of a fish fillet.

Spent Brewer’s yeast gets a second life as vegan protein

Sacca, a German-based start-up, is using spent Brewer’s yeast from the brewing industry to develop vegan protein. The company extracts proteins from the yeast byproduct to create a powdered protein product containing 80 percent protein and 20 percent fiber. According to Sacca, the protein is completely flavorless, but the company can add an tural umami flavor if this is desired by the customer. The protein will have many applications, ranging from alternative dairy, meat analogs, baked goods, and sport nutrition products.

Real Deal Milk hopes to use precision fermentation to make animal-based dairy obsolete

When asked if it’s possible to fully replace animal-based dairy, Zoltan Toth-Czifra, the founder and CEO of Real Deal Milk, doesn’t hesitate. “I think the question is not if, but when?” he told me. I had caught up with Toth-Czifra this week to learn more about his Barcelona-based company, which uses precision fermentation to create bioidentical milk proteins. The company, which Toth-Czifra founded in February 2021, is currently in its research and development phase and was recently accepted into the Pascual incubator program, an incubator program focused on innovation in the dairy industry is run by a large dairy producer. Read the full article here.

Motif Foodworks’ New HEMAMI Receives GRAS Status From FDA

Motif Foodworks is on a mission to improve the taste and texture of plant-based foods, and in June 2021, the company raised $226 million USD to do exactly that. This week, the food-tech company made its most recent product called HEMAMI commercially available for large-scale distribution to its customers. HEMAMI appears to be the combination of the words “umami” and “heme”. This novel ingredient is a heme protein derived from yeast, created via precision fermentation. Read the full article here.

Motif Foodworks’ New HEMAMI Receives GRAS Status From FDA

Motif Foodworks is on a mission to improve the taste and texture of plant-based foods, and in June 2021, the company raised $226 million USD to do exactly that. This week, the food-tech company made its most recent product called HEMAMI commercially available for large-scale distribution to its customers.

HEMAMI appears to be the combination of the words “umami” and “heme”. This novel ingredient is a heme protein derived from yeast, created via precision fermentation. Heme is a molecule that contains iron, and it is found in high concentrations in the blood of animals and humans. According to the company, HEMAMI can be used to improve the aroma and flavor of plant-based meat analogs likes burgers, sausages, chicken, and more.

Plant-based heme (made from a base of soy) is what gives Impossible Burger the realistic meat flavor and its “bleeding” texture. A Chicago-based start-up called Back of the Yards Algae Sciences developed spirulina-derived heme that can be sprayed onto plant-based burgers and other analogs to provide a meatier flavor.

Motif Foodworks’ HEMAMI also received the FDA’s GRAS (generally recognized as safe) letter. In the letter, the yeast-based heme was approved as a flavor and aroma additive for plant-based meat. Motif also submitted a Color Additive Petition for its new ingredient to be used as a color additive, and this is still pending approval.

Many consumers have swapped out meat for plant-based alternatives due to health, environmental, and ethical reasons, but flavor and texture may still be holding them back from doing so. According to the report, “Climate Change and the American Diet”, two out of three Americans would eat more plant-based alternatives if they tasted better. Ingredients like HEMAMI may be the key to unlocking better plant-based meats. Motif has also created an ingredient called APPETEX that mimics the texture of animal tissue using plants, spearheading the common complaint of alternative products having an unrealistic texture.

Interested in trying HEMAMI? Motif Foodworks will be offering samples of plant-based burgers made with HEMAMI at the Plant-Based World Expo in New York on December 9th and 10th.

Alt. Protein Round-Up: Labeling for Cultivated Meat & the Desire for Greater Transparency

Despite how rapidly the plant-based space has grown in the past few years, plant-based meat has hit a sales slump. Market watcher SPINS shared recent data detailing how sales in the overall plant-based meat market dropped 1.8% year over year for the four-week period ending October 3rd. Why is this so? Read more here.

Regardless, the alternative protein space remains robust and constantly evolving. This week, we’ve gathered news from this space on Paleo’s funding round, UPSIDE Food working with the USDA, consumers’ desire for more transparency, animal-free milk at Starbucks, and a plant-based labeling law in Oklahoma.

Alternative protein startup Paleo raises €2M in seed round, prepares series A round of €40M

Paleo, a Belgian-based foodtech start-up, announced in a press release sent to The Spoon that it has raised €2 million (~$2,256,480 USD) in a seed round as it prepares for a future series A round of €40 million (~$45,128,600). Using precision fermentation, the alternative protein start-up develops meat and fish protein that are intended to be used as ingredients in plant-based meat and fish products. The funding will be put towards research and development, and used to open up an R&D center, pilot plant, and experience center.

UPSIDE Foods responds to USDA’s request for comment

Cultivated meat company UPSIDE Foods responded to the USDA’s recent advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) titled “Labeling of Meat and Poultry Products Comprised of or Containing Cultured Animal Cells.” The FDA and USDA are working together to oversee the production of cultivated meat and seafood in order to develop regulations and standardize labeling. UPSIDE, which recently opened a 53,000 square foot production facility, has been working closely with the agencies as its technology is pending regulation. In response to the USDA’s ANPR, UPSIDE said it believes that “cultivated” is the appropriate terminology for meat made from cells, that labeling should be truthful and transparent, and that it should be mandatory to disclose the production process of cultivated meat products.

Photo by Szabo Viktor on Unsplash

Curious What’s in That Faux Sausage? You’re Not Alone: Consumers Want Greater Transparency With Alt-Protein Ingredients

C.O.nxt and Menu Matters recently conducted a survey to analyze consumer opinions and alternative protein trends. One of the main takeaways of this survey was that almost half, or 41.3 percent of consumers, want total ingredient transparency before committing to alternative proteins. Before replacing meat products with alternative protein products, consumers desire to know how exactly alternative products are produced and what goes in them. Read the full article here.

Starbucks is Trialing Animal-Free Milk. I Decided to Try it Out to See If It Tastes & Foams Like Regular Milk

In case you haven’t heard, Starbucks is trialing animal-free milk in the Seattle market. No, we’re not talking Oatly or another plant-based milk, but a milk with cow milk-identical proteins made in a lab. The alt-milk is from Perfect Day, a company that uses precision fermentation to create its proprietary β-lactoglobulin animal-identical milk protein. The company’s protein, which received GRAS approval from the FDA last year, has primarily been sold to consumers in the form of ice cream (and soon cream cheese), but not in the form of a milk product. However, this move could signify that one could be on the way. Read the full article here.

Tofurky and the Plant Based Foods Association Are Challenging an Oklahoma Plant-Based Labeling Law

The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a complaint this month against an Oklahoma plant-based labeling law on behalf of Tofurky and the Plant Based Foods Association. It’s not the first time Tofurky and the Fund have teamed up to challenge plant-based labeling legislation: In the last couple of years, they’ve also filed suits in Louisiana and Arkansas. But there’s something different about the Oklahoma law—and that difference could make it trickier for plant-based producers to challenge. Read the full article here.

Curious What’s in That Faux Sausage? You’re Not Alone: Consumers Want Greater Transparency With Alt-Protein Ingredients

The past few years have been explosive for the entire plant-based and vegan market. Particularly so for the plant-based meat sector, which was valued at $1.06 billion USD in 2020. Most people don’t strictly follow a vegan or plant-based diet; however, nearly all consumers are at least willing to try alternative protein products. The rise in novel plant-based protein products has also coincided with the rise in consumers desiring more transparency in the products that they consume. Now, customers want to know what exactly goes in the vegan burgers they’re gobbling up.

C.O.nxt and Menu Matters recently conducted a survey to analyze consumer opinions and alternative protein trends. One of the main takeaways of this survey was that almost half, or 41.3 percent of consumers, want total ingredient transparency before committing to alternative proteins. Before replacing meat products with alternative protein products, consumer desire to know how exactly alternative products are produced and what goes in them.

Where does this skepticism arise from? Many processed alternative protein products contain ingredients like pea protein isolate or methylcellulose that are not commonplace in the average consumer’s kitchen. Many turn to plant-based or vegan food for health reasons, and it is unclear whether these ingredients are healthy or not.

Some consumers, especially older generations, have health concerns around alternative protein products. Specifically, the survey makes clear this demographic has questions about the long-term health impact concerns from these products. They also were not clear on if these products are “natural” and are actually better for the environment.

Overall, younger generations are most open to trying all different types of alternative products, including cultivated and precision fermentation products. Environmental concerns are also a motivator for trying plant-based proteins, and 91 percent of consumers reported that planned on reducing some of their consumption of animal proteins in the near future.

The Spoon recently published a piece analyzing why plant-based product sales have been taking a nose dive as of lately. This could be because consumers satiated their first-taste curiosity with plant-based products, or possibly because not enough consumers fully transitioned to a plant-based diet.

If this survey is any indication, increased ingredient and production transparency may be crucial for this category to continue to grow.

MOOLESS: The First Animal-Free Whey Protein Powder Created By Perfect Day & Natreve

Perfect Day, a company that makes animal-identical proteins using precision fermentation, and Natreve, a wellness and nutrition company, have partnered to produce MOOLESS, a protein powder made with animal-free whey protein.

In 2020, the FDA approved Perfect Day’s animal-free whey protein made from β-lactoglobulin (the company’s proprietary protein) for human consumption. This GRAS letter allowed the start-up to sell its alternative dairy protein to CPG companies to create novel products – and that’s exactly what Perfect Day has been doing as of recently. Last month Perfect Day launched a cake mix with animal-free whey through its Urgent Company.

MOOLESS is the most recent product to make use of Perfect Day’s animal-free whey protein, which is molecularly identical to conventional whey protein. According to the companies, this will be the first animal-free whey protein powder on the market that also provides the same nutritional benefits of whey, while also offering a lower environmental footprint. A single serving of the alternative protein powder will provide 20 grams of protein

Whey protein is commonly found in meal replacement shakes, protein powders, and protein bars. Dairy-free and vegan products often use pea, soy, rice, and hemp to boost their protein content, but the protein content can sometimes fall short of what whey protein is able to provide. MOOLESS is a vegan product because it is not animal-based, but it is not suitable for those with dairy allergy.

Perfect Day has proven that precision fermentation is a viable technology for creating alternative protein products that are identical to their conventional counterparts. Other companies, like Formo, Imagindairy, and Change Foods, are also using precision fermentation to produce, but have yet to bring any products to market.

MOOLESS will come in four flavors: Vanilla Bean Cupcake, Cookies and Cream, Strawberry Shortcake, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. The alternative protein powder is set to launch in early 2022 with a major U.S. retailer as well as on Natreve’s website.

Perfect Day has been on a hot streak as of late. Not only did the company launch their new cake mix last month, but their partnership with Natreve comes just weeks after the news that Starbucks would trial the company’s precision fermented milk at two Starbucks locations in the Seattle market.

Big Idea Ventures Unveils Start-ups in Newest Accelerator Cohort

Big Idea Ventures is an early-stage investor in food technologies, and this week the firm announced the list of start-ups that are a part of its bi-annual accelerator program.

For this cohort, 17 start-ups focused on food and climate challenges were selected to receive pre-seed investment through the firm’s offices in New York, Singapore, and Paris. This is the first cohort for the Paris program and the fourth cohort for the New York and Singapore programs. The accelerator program is part of Big Idea Venture’s New Protein Fund, which invests in alternative protein products and ingredients.

Here’s more info about the selected companies:

New York Program

Fybraworks Foods – grows real animal meat proteins with microbes and is the first company to develop recombinant muscle protein for food applications.

De Novo Dairy – the first African company to use precision fermentation technology, this start-up is replicating dairy to create animal-free cheese, yoghurt, and ice cream.

Prosel Biosciences – uses microalgae to produce bioidentical food proteins and selenoprotein-modified industrial enzymes.

BetterMilk – using mammary cells and a genetic engineering platform, the B2B company will sell their alternative milk and milk ingredients to companies in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry.

Liven Proteins – produces animal-free protein ingredients through the fermentation of agriculture and food industry by-products (gelatin is the company’s first product).

Maya Milk – uses precision fermentation to produce animal-free dairy proteins and fats with the same sensory experience that animal-based dairy provides.

Singapore Program

Phyx44 – using precision fermentation, the start-up is producing animal-free dairy proteins & fats to recreate milk.

LILO Desserts – sourcing fruit waste and low-grade fruit not fit for grocery stores, LILO is creating snacks and desserts, such as plant-based cheesecake.

Fisheroo – the first to use cellular agriculture technology to create surimi, a minced fish paste commonly found in East Asian cuisine.

Mogale Meat – with its proprietary biobank of stem and satellite cell lines, Mogale is producing cultivated meat analogs, with a focus on African game meat.

Paris Program

Bright Biotech – with the goal of bringing cell-based meat to consumers quicker, this start-up has developed a plant-based technology that uses chloroplasts as chassis to manufacture large amounts of affordable growth factors.

Green-On – developing saturated fat and fatty acids to replace palm oil using only carbon dioxide, electricity, and, water. 

Little Bandits – developing non-dairy, soy-free products for children.

Luyef Biotechnologies – a cell-based meat company that has developed myoglobin protein to provide the flavor and aroma of real meat for plant-based meat alternatives.

The VERY Food co. – creating plant-based ingredients for cooking, including eggs, cream, and butter.

YOFI – creating organic plant-based milk alternatives with peas.

MOA foodtech – transforming food waste and agriculture byproducts into a “next-generation protein” through the use of artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

Maya Milk’s milk protein product

Amongst the selected start-ups, developing alternative dairy is one of the predominant focuses. The alternative dairy market is the most developed category in the plant-based space, and it is expected to reach a value of $54 billion by 2028. YOFI, The VERY Food Co., and Little Bandits are entering this crowded space using explicitly plant-based ingredients to develop their alternative products. On the other hand, Maya Milk, Phyx44, and De Novo Dairy are each using precision fermentation to create animal-free dairy products, while BetterMilk makes alternative milk using mammary cells and its’ genetic engineering platform.

In 2020, $366 million in funding flowed to companies developing alternative meat using cellular agriculture. Cultivated meat and seafood, a global market expected to be worth $25 billion by 2030, is another theme in this cohort. Fybraworks Foods, Luyef Biotechnologies, Bright Biotech, Mogale Meat, and Fisheroo fall into this category.

LILO Dessert’s packaged cheesecake made from fruit waste and damaged fruits

Global food waste is a major issue that has garnered attention in recent years, and one that companies in the food and agriculture tech space have attempted to provide solutions to. In this cohort, MOA Foodtech and LILO Desserts are each using some form of food waste to develop new products.

To date, Big Idea Ventures has invested in 65 alternative protein companies, including this current cohort. Currently, the firm is accepting applications for its next accelerator cohorts (beginning in early 2022) in New York, Paris, and Singapore.


Alt. Protein Round-Up: Microalgae Cheddar and Redefine Meat’s Commercial Launch

Many voiced frustrations that at the recent COP26 summit (2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference), food and agriculture were largely left out of the conversation about climate change. In the food tech space, climate change, sustainability, and food security is often the forefront of the conversation. Animal agriculture is known to be harmful to the environment and a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, while alternative protein sources are frequently cited as a potential solution.

One voice at COP26 that made sure to touch on animal agriculture and alternative protein was the CEO and founder of Impossible Foods, Pat Brown. During his opportunity to talk, Brown said that if we end animal agriculture, we will be able essentially to turn back the clock environmentally to the year 2000. Alternative meat analogs (like Impossible’s) offer a solution to make animal protein obsolete (according to Brown).

In other alt-protein news this week, we’ve gathered stories on Sophie’s Bionutrients, Redefine Meat, Helaina, and Next Gen Foods. Read on!

Photo of Sophie’s Bionutrient’s microalgae milk, which is the base of its new cheddar cheese product

Sophie’s Bionutrient’s launches cheese made from algae

Singapore-based Sophie’s Bionutrients grows microalgae in bioreactors, and this week, the company unveiled that it has developed alternative cheddar cheese in partnership with Ingredion Idea Labs innovation center. The cheese is made from a base of the company’s microalgae milk, which was announced in May of this year as the first dairy-free milk made from this ingredient. Alternative dairy and cheese products are commonly made from soy, coconut, cashew, and oats, but as far as e know, Sophie’s is the first to use microalgae for this application. The novel cheese product aims to mimic the sharp taste and texture of semi-hard cheddar cheese, and a single serving of it will offer double the recommended amount of vitamin B12.

Redefine Meat Commercially Launches Plant-Based Whole Cuts of Meat

Israel-based Redefine Meat has created a line of whole cut plant-based meats called New Meat This week, the company parterened with chefs throughout the UK, Netherlands, Germany, and Israel for the initial commercial launch of New Meat in high-end restaurants. The first meat analogs in the New Meat line up include beef and lambs cuts, including kebabs, sausages, ground meat, and burgers. Mimicing the texture of real meat within alternative protein products has been a challenge, and a many companies in this space have been vying to commercially launch a viable product as REdefine Meat has now done.

Precision fermentation company Helaina raises $20 million for breast milk proteins

Helaina uses precision fermentation to create immune-equivalent proteins found in breast milk, and this week the start-up announced that it has raised $20 million in funding. The Series A round was co-led by Spark Capital and Siam Capital along with other investors, bringing the company’s total funding to $24.5 million. The new capital will be put towards itsmanufacturing and commercialization process, building its team, and executing its go-to-market strategy.

Next Gen Foods Launches TiNDLE Plant-Based Chicken in Amsterdam, Opens Innovation Center in Singapore

Singapore-based startup Next Gen Foods announced last week that its flagship alternative chicken product (named TiNDLE) has touched down in Amsterdam restaurants. TiNDLE debuted in Singapore in early 2021 before launching in Hong Kong, Macau, Kuala Lumpur, and the UAE. The Amsterdam launch marks the beginning of TiNDLE’s expansion into Europe and beyond: Next Gen plans to introduce the product in Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. next year. Read the full article here.