Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

alternative protein

The Alt Protein News Round-Up: Cultured Pork in China and McPlant Burger’s Launch

If you haven’t had the chance to check it out, The Spoon was given an exclusive virtual tour of Rebellyous Foods’ production facility, where it manufactures its plant-based chicken. Speaking of which, we have some news about Rebellyous Foods’ school cafeteria launch, CellX’s cultured pork unveil, the official launch of the McPlant burger, and Equinom’s new partnership.

CellX unveils cultured pork and shares goals for price parity

China-based cultured meat producer CellX revealed its cultured pork product this week, which uses cells extracted from the country’s native black pig. The alternative pork product was incorporated into various dishes and served to potential investors. Pork is the most consumed meat in China, but the country has experienced supply chain issues due to the pandemic and an outbreak of African Swine Fever amongst herds. The company’s goal is to reach price parity with conventional pork by 2025.

Rebellyous plant-based chicken nuggets to be served in public schools

Rebellyous Foods, a producer of plant-based chicken tenders, nuggets, and patties, shared this week that its alternative nuggets will be making their way into public school cafeterias in Washington and California. The first school to supply the nuggets was Ramon Valley Unified School District (SRVUSD) in Northern California last year, and the five new school districts to do so are Dublin Unified, Livermore Joint Unified, Santa Ana Unified, Pleasanton Unified, and Everett Public Schools. The “Kickin Nuggets” were developed specifically for K-12 food service and are made from a base of soy protein.

McPlant burger launches in McDonald’s throughout the UK

Starting September 29th, select McDonald’s locations in the UK will begin rolling out the highly anticipated McPlant burger, which is now 100 percent vegan. The meat-free patty was made in partnership with Beyond Meat, and the burger will also include vegan cheese, mayo, lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup, and pickles. McDonald’s previously ran trials of the McPlant in 2020 in various countries, and at that time, the burger was vegetarian but not vegan. The McPlant will become available nationwide starting in 2022.

Equinom to partner with Meatless farms as a supplier

Equinom, a nutrition company that uses AI to improve the nutrition content of seeds, disclosed this week in a press release sent to The Spoon that it will begin supplying Meatless Farm, a plant-based meat brand, and its ingredient subsidiary Lovingly Made Ingredients. Meatless Farms will use Equinom’s pea protein concentrate in a variety of its products, boosting the protein content by up to 50 percent. This is the first plant-based company that Equinom has partnered with.

Wild Earth Launches Cell-Based Petfood

Plant-based pet food brand Wild Earth has announced plans to expand its product line into pet food made with cell-based meat. The announcement comes on the heels of a new $23 million funding round from a group of investors that includes Mark Cuban and the star of Vampire Diaries, Paul Wesley.

Led by alternative protein entrepreneur and investor Ryan Bethencourt, Wild Earth has been one of the early leaders in creating pet food from plant-based ingredients. With products like Clean Protein dog food (which uses pea and potato protein) and Superfood Dog Treats With Koji (Koji is a fungi protein used in fermented food in Asia), company sales have grown more than 700% year over year, according to a release sent to The Spoon.

The Alt Protein News Round-Up: Cultured Crab Meat & Groundnut Milk

This week, a big announcement was made in the alternative protein space: Eat Just announced that it partnered with Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA) to build a cultured meat facility in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region. The region is soon set to become the second in the world to grant regulatory approval for the sale of cultured meat.

In addition to this news, we found some other interesting pieces, including Shiok Meats’ recent unveil, Nature Fynd’s retail launch, a study on the scent of plant-based burgers, and a new plant-based milk made from groundnuts.

Photo from Shiok Meats’ Website

Shiok Meats showcases the world’s first cultured crab meat

Shiok Meats, a cultured seafood company, unveiled its most recent product at a private tasting event in Singapore: cultured crab meat. The alternative seafood product was served in two dishes, including crab cakes and chilli crab. Additionally, the company’s other cultured seafood was featured in lobster-flavored potato chips and tom yum shrimp soup. Shiok Meats is currently building a cultured seafood manufacturing plant in Singapore, and has the goal of bringing its products to market by 2023.

Photo from Nature’s Fynd’s website

Nature’s Fynd launches two new products in first retailer location

Nature’s Fynd applies a fermentation process to Fusarium strain flavolapis, a microbe found in the geothermal pools of Yellowstone National Park, to craft its proprietary Fy Protein. Using Fy Protein and other plant-based ingredients like coconut oil and soy protein, the company launched plant-based breakfast patties and cream cheese earlier this year. This week, the company announced that it has released new flavors of its original products: maple-flavored meatless breakfast patties and dairy-free chive and onion cream cheese.

The first products from Nature’s Fynd were only available on its website, but as of September 1st, the plant-based alternatives can now be purchased at Berkely Bowl in Berkely, California. In the promotional email sent out, Nature’s Fynd disclosed that they will be bringing their products to more stores by the end of the year.

Photo from WhatIF Foods’ website

An alternative milk made from groundnuts launches in Singapore

WhatIF Foods, a Singapore-based food tech company, recently launched a new alternative milk called BamNut Milk made from Bambara groundnuts, coconut oil, and shea butter. Bambara groundnuts, native to West Africa, contain 20 percent protein and the crop is resistant to extreme heat and dry weather conditions. The plant-based milk has no added sugars, and one serving boasts 7 grams of protein. One carton costs $5.99, and the product is currently only available for Singapore residents.

Photo by amirali mirhashemian on Unsplash

Study analyzes which plant-based burger smells the most like a beef burger

A chemistry professor at Eastern Kentucky University, LiLi Zyzak, led a project that studied which plant-based burgers had the closest scent to traditional beef burgers. Cooking a burger, specifically raw hamburger meat, releases volatile compounds that can be challenging to recreate in plant-based alternatives. In the study, eight of the leading brands of plant-based burgers were cooked up. Zyzak and her colleagues identified compounds being released from the cooking burgers through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The best smelling burger went to Beyond Meat’s pea protein burger patty, with Nestlé’s Awesome Burger coming in second.

The USDA wants to know what people think about cell-based meat

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced it had opened a 60 day period in which it will solicit comments to questions put forth in an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR). The move is significant because it signals that the US government is getting serious about developing a regulatory framework for an industry that has changed significantly since the USDA and the FDA first announced they were looking into meat created by cellular agriculture.

Food Tech News: Subway Station Greens and Moolec’s Joint Venture

Moolec and Grupo Insud launched a joint venture

Moolec, a food tech company that develops animals proteins through plants, and Grupo Insud, an ingredient manufacturer for the pharmaceutical industry, shared this week that they will partner together for research. The two companies will focus on developing solutions for the alternative protein industry, using fungi, yeast, and microorganisms to create animal-free ingredients. Their goal is to develop products with upgraded nutritional value, improved organoleptic properties, while still maintaining affordability for the ingredients.

A protein bar that might help with hangovers

We were recently sent an email regarding a new protein bar that is supposed to do more than keep you full and taste good. A company called SoBar produces protein bars that they claim help you reduce alcohol absorption when consumed prior to drinking. The company produces three flavors – Carmel Macchiato, White Chocolate Almond, and Honey Peanut, all of which are gluten-free and 130-calories.

Reducing the negative effects of alcohol is always a plus, but SoBar seems to be banking off the common knowledge that eating basically any food helps slow down the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream. However, SoBar’s parent company, Zeno Functional Foods, holds a patent for something called Alco-HOLD. One of the main ingredients of Alco-HOLD is protein, and this is the component of SoBars that is intended to reduce the effects of alcohol.

Coca-Cola and Lime partner to encourage recycling

This week Coca-Cola and Lime, an electric bike and scooter company, announced that they have partnered to encourage their customers to recycle plastic bottles. Cola-Cola transitioned its 13.2 oz bottles to 100% recycled plastic material (rPET) earlier this year, and aims to promote this through the partnership. Anyone who purchases the rPET sip-size bottles can sign up on CokePlayToWin.com/endlesslyrefreshing and pledge that they will indeed toss spent bottles in the right bin. Those who sign the pledge will receive a promo code via email for a free, 10-minute scooter or bike ride through Lime.

Subway station vegetables in Seoul

Hydroponic greenhouses can be placed in unlikely places, like in the middle of a bustling city or in an abandoned building. This week, Gastro Obscura posted about another improbable place to find fresh vegetables: Sangdo Station on Line 7 of the Seoul Metro. Appropriately called Metro Farm, it is owned and maintained by Farm8, a South Korean agricultural company. Metro Farm supplies fresh greens and sprouts to Farm8’s next-door organic cafe for salads.

Plant-Based News Round-Up: OmniPork in America, $3M for Alternative Cheese

Earlier this month, Bloomberg Intelligence released a report called “Plant-Based Foods Poised for Explosive Growth” that stated the alternatives proteins and dairy market could increase to $162 billion in the next decade. The plant-based space is seemingly always expanding, innovating, and churning out news. To keep you updated, we’ve gathered recent updates on companies in the space, including Omnipork, Hooray Foods, and Misha’s Kind Foods.

Omnipork launches in Sprouts and whole foods locations throughout the U.S.

Omnipork, a China-based brand owned by OmniFoods, announced this week that it has brought its alternative pork products to America. The company’s alternative pork strips, grounds, and luncheon products at now available at all 371 Sprouts locations and 200 Whole Foods Market stores. In addition to America, Omnipork has also recently expanded throughout Asia, Australia, and the UK. The alternative pork product is made predominantly from pea protein, soy, rice, and shitake mushrooms, and was originally crafted for the Asian market.

Left: Founder of Hooray Foods Sri Artham

Hooray Foods partners with Imperfect Foods

Hooray Foods, an alternative meat company, shared with The Spoon that it has partnered with Imperfect Foods, an online grocer focused on reducing food waste. Starting September 2nd, Hooray Foods’ bacon will be available for purchase on the grocer’s site as an add-on to shoppers’ weekly subscription boxes. The alternative bacon is made from a base of coconut oil, rice flour, tapioca starch, and can also be found at select Whole Foods and independent grocery retailers throughout the U.S.

In 2020, the plant-based bacon category doubled from 2019, increasing to a value of $267 million. Hooray Foods currently faces competition in the alternative bacon space from Prime Roots and AtLast.

Misha’s raises $3 million for alternative cheese

Misha’s Kind Foods, the California-based alternative dairy company, announced this week that it has raised a $3 million seed round. The round was led by Jay-Z’s Marcy Ventures Partners Fund ll, L.P., Lisa Shamus & Partners, and Chris Paul. This new capital will allow the company to focus on product development, retail expansion, and growing its team. Misha produces non-dairy cheese products made from a blend of almonds and cashews, as well as herbs, vegetables, and spices.

The plant-based cheese category alone has experienced a 70 percent growth in the past two years. Although this category is not as mature and large as alternative dairy, Misha’s faces an abundance of competition from well-funded companies like Miyoko’s Creamery, Nobell, and Grounded Foods.

IndieBio Cofounder Ron Shigeta Launches Virtual Accelerator

Longtime food and biotech investor and entrepreneur Ron Shigeta is rolling out a new virtual accelerator called iAccelerate.tech.

Shigeta established himself as a food tech pioneer as a cofounder of one of the very first future food and ag accelerators in IndieBio, where he helped some of today’s biggest names in future food such as Geltor and Upside Foods (then Memphis Meats) get off the ground. Since that time, Shigeta helped launch plant-based pet food company Wild Earth and more recently has been acting as an independent investor and advisor to various biotech and food tech startups.

From Shigeta’s Linkedin post announcing the move:

It’s a big day! I’m rolling out my advisory work as a virtual accelerator and I’d like to invite my network and their friends to join us!

Building at IndieBio has created a $4B+ portfolio. in the past 2 years TurtleTree, Inner Cosmos, SolarBioTech, Orbillion Bio (YC W21) , BloodQ, Inc, Juicy Marbles, Finless Foods (and some who are not out in public yet) has taken things to a new level for me and the #BioTech Startup world.

With iAccelerate, Shigeta is essentially taking his consultancy and investing work and formalizing it.

“I worked to find what I thought would be a next-generation accelerator structure,” Shigeta told me over Linkedin. “It’s a very small operation – 5-10 companies a year with lots of attention to detail.”

According to Shigeta, his new accelerator will take in 1-2% in equity for each company, a significantly smaller share than a traditional accelerator like TechStars that typically takes roughly 5% of a company.

As part of the launch of iAccelerate, Shigeta is also launching an investor syndicate.

“My latest stage in the evolution is to offer some investments on AngelList,” said Shigeta. “The Syndicate just lets investors elect to take the deals they like and offers the terms that the VC sees.”

While Shigeta has made a name for himself helping biotech-focused startups get up and running, his new accelerator shows he will look beyond the future food space. One of the first companies in the accelerator is Bite Ninja, a startup from Memphis that helps staff quick service drive-thrus with remote workers via telepresence.

“I really like to work with companies who are are just wrestling with an outrageous idea and we work together sometimes for months just to get it together to present and show MVP,” said Shigeta.

San Francisco Restaurant to Serve UPSIDE Foods’ Cultivated Chicken

Berkeley, California-based cultivated meat company UPSIDE Foods, announced today that it has partnered with Dominique Crenn, the co-owner and chef of the three Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn restaurant in San Francisco. Crenn will assist with recipe development for the company, and, pending regulatory review and approval, will serve UPSIDE’s cultivated chicken at her restaurant in the future.

Previously known as Memphis Meats, UPSIDE Foods unveiled its first cultivated meatball in 2016 and its first cultivated piece of poultry in 2017. This past May, the company announced that its first consumer-facing product will be cultivated chicken. However, none of UPSIDE’s wares are on sale yet, since the company has yet to gain regulatory approval to sell these and other cultivated meat products.

At the moment, Singapore is the only country that has approved the sale of cultivated meat, and it isn’t clear who will be the next. In the U.S., the FDA and USDA will oversee the regulation of cultured meat, and figuring out this framework is still a work in progress. As a result, UPSIDE’s restaurant partnership won’t come to fruition until the company gets regulatory approval to sell its cultivated meat.

If and when that happens, it will be a big switch for Crenn’s restaurant, too. Because of environmental concerns around the production of meat, Crenn made the decision to remove all meat from Crenn Dining Group’s restaurants in 2019. Since UPSIDE’s cultivated chicken is actual meat made from harvested animal cells, the restaurant group will be deviating from that stance for the first time in a few years. Of course, one of the benefits touted by cultured meat industry is that its products are more environmentally friendly than conventionally raised meat, since no animals are slaughtered in the process.

Putting cultured meat on a restaurant menu is one way to introduce it to consumers. Other food tech start-ups like Impossible Foods and Meati have presented their products through restaurants first, before going diectly to consumers. This is one way to garner interest from the innovators and early adopters who are eager to try new products.

After getting regulatory approval, UPSIDE Foods will continue to partner with other chefs and restaurants throughout the U.S. The company has begun building a production facility in the San Francisco Bay Area, and eventually plans to roll out its cultivated meat in grocery stores.

Singapore-based Shandi Raises $700,000 Seed Round

Shandi, an alternative protein company based in Singapore, announced this week in a press release sent to The Spoon that it has raised $700,000 USD in a second seed round. The round was led by Tolaram, and also saw participation from SparkLabs Cultiv8 and other private investors.

This new influx of capital will allow Shandi to build out a production facility in Singapore, as well as scale and commercialize its alternative protein products. Additionally, the company will focus on innovating new products and developing partnerships in the food sector.

Shandi’s offerings include various chicken analogs, including shreds, pieces, strips, and drumsticks. All of the products are made with a combination of non-GMO chickpeas, pea protein, quinoa, flax seeds, brown rice, and coconut oil. The company has not disclosed much about its production process, but it does have a pending patent for its technology involving the extraction of amino acids from various plants. This process is used to replicate the amino acid profile found in chicken to provide a similar nutritional composition and flavor.

Alternative chicken has popped up nonstop in the news during the past few months. Chicken is one of the most consumed meats in the world, and recently, there have been global supply chain shortages of it. Plant-based chicken could offer a solution for filling in these shortages. Shandi is another example of an alternative protein company opening a production facility in Singapore. Avant Meats, Perfect Day, and Next Gen are just a few other alternative protein start-ups that have built out production facilities in the city-state.

Shandi aims to launch a range of products during the first quarter of 2022 in foodservice channels. After this, it plans on releasing a B2C product.

Nowadays’ Alternative Chicken Nuggets Taste Like the Real Thing

If you keep up with news in the plant-based space, then you might be aware that there’s somewhat of a “chicken war” going on. Big players like Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, and others have now turned their attention to bringing alternative chicken products to market. A new company called Nowadays recently joined the alternative chicken space with its first product: plant-based chicken nuggets.

Nowadays raised $2 million in a pre-seed round several months ago, which is being used for the rollout of its first product. Due to the buzz around alternative chicken products, I was excited when Nowadays sent me samples of its nuggets to taste test.

Upon opening the box and inspecting the product, the nuggets passed the first test; they definitely looked like real chicken nuggets. The company recommended that I throw the nuggets in an air fryer for seven to nine minutes at 370 degrees. For those who don’t have an air fryer, the product can also be cooked in an oven, on a skillet; however, a microwave is not recommended.

I pulled the nuggets out of the air fryer and they were golden brown and crackling. I served them with a side of vegan ranch and took my first bite. Right away, I loved the crispy breading on the nuggets. They did not taste like a fried fast-food chicken nugget, but more of a healthy, baked chicken nugget (which is a good thing).

The inside of the nugget was moist and fatty, and there was the familiar chewiness that you would find in your standard chicken nuggets. The texture was also spot-on. Although I could tell that the product was not actually chicken, I found it to be a great alternative to real chicken nuggets.

Nowadays boasts of its minimal ingredient list, which consists of only water, organic yellow pea protein, whole wheat flour, sunflower oil, yeast extract, maple fiber, and mushroom extract. I’m definitely used to seeing longer lists on alternative protein products, so it’s impressive to see what can be done with so few ingredients.

Multiple companies have brought plant-based chicken nuggets and tenders to market already, including Rebellyous, NUGGS, Beyond Meat, Target’s Good & Gather, and Tyson’s Raised & Rooted. Max Elder, the founder of Nowadays, previously shared with The Spoon that he doesn’t necessarily consider these other companies as competition. This is because, according to him, Nowadays’ the nuggets ingredient list is cleaner and simpler than those from other companies.

If you’re interested in trying Nowadays’ alternative chicken nuggets for yourself, the product is currently only available on the company’s website. One box of 50 nuggets costs $39.99, and two boxes cost $49.99.

Shiok Meats Acquires Gaia Foods, Will Add Beef to Its Cultured Meat Lineup

Shiok Meats, a company best known for its developments in cultured seafood, has acquired a 90 percent steak in Gaia Foods, according to Tech in Asia, which broke the news. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Through the deal, Singapore’s Shiok Meats will add “a variety of red meat products” to its roster, since the company will be able to draw on Gaia Foods expertise in developing cultured beef. Gaia, also based in Singapore is also developing cultured pork and mutton.

Both companies are targeting markets in Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan, Taiwan, India, and South Korea. Shiok Meats hopes to blend cultured beef and shrimp in order to create a product that can be used in a variety of dishes, from dumplings and noodles to spring rolls.

Shiok raised an undisclosed round of bridge funding last month that will go towards building out a production facility in Singapore. The company said at the time of the funding that it plans to launch commercially in that market by 2023 at the latest. Speaking to Tech in Asia today, company CEO Sandhya Sriram said Shiok Meats is ready to “power through to commercialization.”

Singapore is currently the only country in the world that has granted regulatory approval to sell cultured meat, and to just one company, Eat Just. Gaining its own approval — in Singapore and elsewhere — will be a major next step for Shiok on its path to commercialization. 

Beyond regulatory approval, Shiok Meats and every other company developing cultivated meat has a host of challenges to contend with before consumers can buy their products en masse at restaurants and grocery stores. Those challenges span everything from making cell lines more available to finding cheaper, less ethically hazy growth mediums, and educating the average consumer about what cultured meat actually is and why we need to consider it as a protein source in the first place.  

Gaia founders Vinayaka Srinivas and Hung Nguyen will lead the Shiok Meats technical team’s development process for cultured red meat products for the company moving forward. Meanwhile, Sriram told Tech in Asia that deals like this one will become “priorities” in the near-term future for the company.

Q&A: Copper Branch CEO Trish Discusses the Intersection of Technology and the Plant-based Food Movement

By some accounts, the QSR is headed towards a future where more of its menu is derived from plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy. Canada-based chain Copper Branch is one such chain leading that shift. 

The company’s franchise locations span Canada and are now making their way into the U.S. and other parts of the world. But bringing more plant-based food to QSRs is only part of the Copper Branch mission. Earlier this year, company CEO Trish Paterson talked about the company’s “triangular focus” when it comes to sustainability. The goal is to strike a balance between human health, animal welfare, and planetary health when it comes to food, packaging, operations, and everything else it takes to run a restaurant. 

Trish will join The Spoon at our upcoming Restaurant Tech Summit on August 17, where she and other panelists will discuss the current state of the restaurant industry and where it’s headed. As a teaser, we recently got some high-level thoughts from her around the future of the data-driven restaurant. Full Q&A is below. And if you haven’t already, grab a ticket to the virtual show here.

This Q&A has been lightly edited for clarity.

The Spoon: What problem does Copper Branch solve for restaurants/the restaurant industry?

Copper Branch: Our restaurant brand provides a 100% plant-based option to our guests in a fast casual format including takeout and delivery. We are also an incubator for new food innovators to launch their products in food service.

What is the biggest change in terms of the restaurant industry’s approach towards technology as a result of the pandemic?

Much more emphasis on third-party delivery apps and proprietary mobile app for geolocation and customer loyalty, and revamping of loyalty programs.

Can tech play a role in moving more people over to plant-based foods and a plant-based diet? If so, how?

By tracking and rewarding sustainability as part of loyalty program. Copper Branch is considering creating a leaderboard across the chain that will reward customers using algorithms to track sustainable metrics.

What is the biggest challenge for restaurants right now when it comes to digitization? 

Cost and maintenance of systems and technology.

What are you most excited about when it comes to the impact of restaurant technology?

Better data and rewarding guests for eco-friendly initiatives.

What do you think the restaurant industry will look like in five years?

There will be a surge in closings once the subsidies end — restauranteurs are focused on considering drive through and mobile pick up spaces for guests. There will be a stronger focus on touch-free technology (menus etc.). Due to labour shortages, there will be more focus on technology (robotics) for back of house and front of house, including self-serve kiosks, order from QR code at the table, etc.

Report: S2G Ventures Talks Alt-Protein, the Digitization of Grocery, and Other Areas of Food the Pandemic is Reshaping

“We continue to see the pandemic act as a catalyzing agent to accelerate trends that were in motion before it began. We believe that food and agriculture has undergone significant structural changes that will alter the course of the industry.” 

So says a new report from S2G Ventures, a VC firm based in Chicago, Illinois. The report, titled “The Ingredients for a Food System Revolution,” analyzes eight pandemics and outbreaks throughout history to pinpoint patterns around financial and economic recovery, innovation, and behavioral changes and norms. The analysis gives a clue as to how the current COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping norms, particularly when it comes to how we produce, get, and eat our food.

As an investment firm, S2G focuses mainly on the food and agriculture sectors, and counts AppHarvest, Shenandoah Growers, and Trace Genomics among its portfolio companies. It follows, then, that the new report is largely focused on how pandemics, epidemics, and outbreaks in the past have changed our food system and how the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to do that at this very moment. “More decentralization [is] going to occur, more convergence of food and health, more decommodification as well,” Sanjeev Krishnan, S2G Ventures Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, tells The Spoon.

As the report notes, “While there are many factors influencing the future of our food system, the study of past pandemic economic history is starkly consistent – an innovation cycle begins, and old habits and norms do shift.” 

A couple especially compelling areas where this is happening include alternative protein and online grocery.

As traditional meat-processing facilities face challenges and the unit economics for some types of alt-protein go down, we’re seeing more of the latter make its way into the mainstream. Krishnan explains we are moving more and more towards an “all of the above” view of protein. “I think there’s going to be animal protein, plant protein, and cell protein,” he says. Production of animal protein, in particular, will see “natural momentum around more niche, regional, decommoditized” products. Plant-based proteins, meanwhile, will see an increased focus on nutrition and affordability, while more countries will follow Singapore’s lead when it comes to cultivated meat. China is another important place to watch in this area, according to Krishnan.

S2G’s report also honed in on channel digitization, and specifically on the grocery sector. The report notes that a forced transition to online grocery during the pandemic “exponentially increased penetration from 24% to 49% between 2019 and 2020. Seniors became the fastest-growing segment of online shoppers on Instacart in 2020. In future, consumers will take “a hybrid approach” to groceries, and retailers will start to slightly differentiate what they sell online versus in the brick-and-mortar store.

The report also calls out controlled environment agriculture, a convergence of food and health, and food and agriculture digitization as other key areas to watch in terms of how the pandemic is reshaping the food system.  

“We can build a more resilient and hopeful food system that both addresses planet health and human health coming out of this,” says Krishnan. “Let’s use the pain and the agony and the anxiety that occurred as a call to action.

Japan: Next Meats Announces New Alternative Protein Production Facility

Tokyo-based Next Meats Co. announced today their plan to start construction of their alternative protein “NEXT Factory” in Niigata, Japan. The new, large-scale facility will be dedicated to the development of alternative proteins, feature both and R&D lab as well as a production line, and is scheduled to be completed next summer.

Next Meats makes plant-based meat analogues such as its Yakiniku Short Rib and NEXT Gyudon vegan traditional Japanese beef bowl. More recently, the company announced a newly developed plant-based egg product dubbed NEXT EGG 1.0, which is initially being offered as a B2B ingredient.

In addition to developing its own products, the NEXT Factory will also co-produce a new product with Kameda Saika, a prominent snack manufacturer in Japan, and Next Meats has also signed a research and development agreement with Nagaoka University of Technology to look into epigenetic applications in creating new alternative meat products.

This announcement marks the latest production facility to open up from an alternative protein company, signaling a continued maturation of the space. Companies across the alt protein space have started work on or opened such production factories including cultured meat company Future Meat, mycoprotein company Better Meat, and protein-from-air company Air Protein.

Obviously, a key benefit of having mass production facilities is that they can produce more alternative protein products at scale, thereby reducing their costs and making them more available to consumers around the world.

Fittingly, in addition to producing plant-based meat, Next Meat’s new factory will also be eco-friendly using DX cooling systems, solar panels and locally-sourced building materials. And in a nice touch, the facility is being built in the hometown of Next Meats co-founder Ryo Shirai, who said he wanted to give back to his community.