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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

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Food Tech News: Vegan Waygu Beef, Coca-Cola Transitions To New rPET Bottles

If you haven’t heard, The Spoon is hosting the Food Tech Job Fair. If you feel like you need to get up to date on news and information in the world of food tech before attending, the Food Tech News round-up is a great place to start. This week we have news on vegan wagyu beef, Coca-Cola’s transition to rPET bottles, a new whole cut plant-based chicken product, and an engagement program for snack startups.

Plant-based waygu beef to be trialed throughout US

Canadian-based Top Tier Foods, a manufacturer of plant-based sushi items, announced that it will be trialing vegan waygu throughout the US. The company has partnered with Advanced Fresh Concepts for the rollout, which owns over 4,000 sushi locations in the US. The vegan waygu will be trialed at only certain locations owned by Advanced Fresh Concepts (locations were not disclosed), as well as inside of Rouse supermarkets located in Louisiana. The wagyu will be soy protein-based, and seasoned in a teriyaki marinade.

LIVEKINDLY Collective partners with Rival Foods to create whole cuts of plant-based chicken

LIVEKINDLY Collective, a collection of plant-based start-ups, and Rival Foods, a plant-based meat alternative producer, announced at the beginning of this week that they will partner to create plant-based chicken. Rival Foods has the technology and capabilities to produce whole cuts of different meat analogues, so the new product will be a whole cut of plant-based chicken. It was undisclosed what the plant-based chicken will be made from, or when it will be available.

Samples of the new rPET bottles

Coca-Cola and brands begin transition to r-PET bottles

Coca-Cola announced this week that it will begin the transition to using rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) bottles starting in February. Initially, 13.2 oz Coca-Cola and Sprite bottles will be available in California, Florida, and the Northeastern US. Coca-Cola sent me samples of three bottles with the new rPET packaging, and I honestly could say I would not have been able to tell the difference between the rPET packaging and virgin plastic. The corporation aims to make 50% of its packaging from recycled materials by 2030.

Photo from Unsplash

Mondelez launches program to support snack start-ups

Mondelez’s International innovation and venture lab, called SnackFutures, just launched an engagement program for early-stage snack start-ups. The program is called CoLab, and it will support snack start-up brands targeting the well-being sector. Up to ten snack food start-ups will be selected for the 12 week program. Start-ups accepted into the program will receive a $20,000 grant, and receive customized support and a curriculum. Applications are open now.

LIVEKINDLY Raises $135M to Expand Its Alt-Protein Operations in the U.S.

Alt-protein collective, LIVEKINDLY, told The Wall Street Journal this week that it recently raised an addition $135 million in funding (hat tip to Food Dive). The round was led by Blue Horizon Corporation, with Trustbridge Partners, EQT and Griffith Foods participating. This brings the total amount raised by the LIVEKINDLY collective to $335 million.

LIVEKINDLY was formed in March of this year when Foods United bought vegan media company LIVEKINDLY. The new entity re-branded as LIVEKINDLY CO. Brands in the LIVEKINDLY portfolio include alt-protein companies such as Like Meat, Fry Family and Oumph!, which LIVEKINDLY acquired in June of this year.

LIVEKINDLY is certainly striking while the plant-based iron is hot. In many ways, alternative proteins have had a banner year. Sales of plant-based meats have surged in the U.S. this year as the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted inefficiencies and inequalities in our animal-based meat production system.

Plant-based companies such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have responded with rapid expansion at grocery retail as well as their own direct to consumer channels. Additionally, plant-based food companies like NotCo, Climax Foods, and Better Meat Co. have all raised funding.

The alternative chicken and egg space is getting crowded. Eat Just continues to innovate its plant-based eggs, while both Simulate and Rebellyous offer plant-based chicken nuggets. Though there is still plenty of room left for more competition, especially one with the deep(er) pockets of LIVEKINDLY.

According to The WSJ, LIVEKINDLY plans to use the new funding to expand its products into the U.S. and China. Food Dive reports LIVEKINDLY will also focus on developing new plant-based chicken and eggs.

New Plant-Based Group The LIVEKINDLY Co. Announces $200M Investment in Alt-Chicken, Digital Media

There’s a new plant-based powerhouse on the block. Today Foods United announced that it has bought vegan media platform LIVEKINDLY and rebranded as The LIVEKINDLY Co., creating an alternative protein group which will focus chiefly on plant-based chicken. The group is backed by Swiss investment firm Blue Horizon, which has previously invested in both Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. As it came out of stealth, LIVEKINDLY Co. also announced that it has raised $200 million in capital from 10 to 15 investors, including its founders.

The LIVEKINDLY Co. has already made two large alt-poultry investments: it holds the majority stake in South African company Fry Family Food Co, which makes meatless burgers, chicken and seafood for retail and foodservice, and the German startup LikeMeat, which makes plant-based chicken products.

Judging from these investments it’s clear that The LIVEKINDLY Co. is thinking globally. It seems the company will continue to do so: according to Reuters, the company has already signed with a partner in Asia and are about to sign with two more in the U.S.

In addition to plant-based meat and media, The LIVEKINDLY Co. also has an equity stake in PURIS Holding, a purveyor of plant-based ingredients (specifically pea protein). According to a press release from the company, this makes The LIVEKINDLY Co. “the only company in the plant-based food sector to own and operate the entire value chain of production.”

That could help their portfolio companies scale quickly and cut costs in order to stand out from other alternative chicken players on the retail shelves. Blue Horizon, The LIVEKINDLY Co’s chief backer, has also invested in numerous plant-based chicken startups, including Planted and Rebellyous, so we’ll see if those companies get folded into to the LIVEKINDLY portfolio as well.

Perhaps the most intriguing move by The LIVEKINDLY Co. is its purchase of its namesake: LIVEKINDLY (which Blue Horizon has also invested in). The digital media platform, which has been a source for plant-based news for years, wrote in a blog post that their mission as journalists would “stay the same.” With an entire media platform at its disposal, it’s not hard to imagine that The LIVEKINDLY Co. could use the website as a tool to grow their portfolio company’s brand recognition and reach, especially in the U.S. market. However, LIVEKINDLY’s association with the brands could be a knock against the publication’s journalistic independence.

The LIVEKINDLY Co’s C-suite certainly has the experience to help give the company’s brands an edge in the retail and foodservice world. CEO Kees Kruythoff was formerly President of Unilever North America. The leadership team also includes veterans of Nestlé and food investment firm Blue Horizon Corporation, which has invested in dozens of alternative protein companies. A good team doesn’t guarantee success, of course, but these veterans could leverage connections in retail, foodservice, and supply chain providers to optimize distribution and avoid pitfalls like production shortages.

Considering the ever-growing popularity of plant-based meat, it’s not necessarily surprising that we’re starting to see this type of umbrella parent company form. In fact, it’s like we’ll see more of them companies pop up as alt-meat competition heats up and companies vie for a bigger piece of the market.