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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

plant-based

Yofix Raises $2.5M to Reinvent Plant-based Yogurt

Israeli startup Yofix Probiotics announced today that it had closed a $2.5 million Series A with participation from investors Müller Ventures, the French Bel Group, and U.S.-based LionTree Partners. This brings the company’s total funding to $4.5 million.

Founded in 2014, Yofix makes a range of plant-based yogurts made with natural ingredients such as oats, lentils, and sesame. It differentiates itself from other vegan yogurts by prioritizing clean label ingredient lists (many plant-based options contain chemical stabilizers for thickness), skipping soy and fermenting its product to give the same probiotic makeup of regular dairy yogurt. Yofix launched its first product — plant-based yogurt — in 2019 under the Only brand.

With its new funding, Yofix will focus on global expansion and R&D for new soy-free plant-based dairy products, including cheese and frozen desserts. Previously, the company was the first participant in the Israeli foodtech incubator The Kitchen Hub. The company also snagged a €100,000 (~$110,000) grant from the PepsiCo 2018 Nutrition Greenhouse program.

I haven’t had the chance to taste Yofix’s yogurt yet, so I don’t know how it stacks up against its other plant-based competitors. And boy does it have a lot of those. There’s Lavva, whose pili nut-based ‘gurt I tried and really liked. Other startup like Ripple, Kite Hill and Coconut Collaborative also have plant-based yogurt offerings, as do Big Dairy corporations like Chobani, Yoplait and others.

In short, it’s a crowded shelf for plant-based yogurt, and many of them are also clean label and soy-free, so that particular pitch doesn’t exactly distinguish Yofix from the pack.

What will? Taste. There may be lots of options out there but, judging from my tests and internet reactions, a lot of products fall short of the mark when it comes to taste. The plant-based yogurt market is growing by 40 percent year over year (according to the Good Food Institute), which means there’s plenty of room for high-quality options out there. With some fresh funding in its piggy bank, we’ll see if Yofix can rise to the be the (plant-based) cream of the crop.

Noquo Foods Raises $3.6M to Make Plant-based Cheese That Actually Tastes Good

Today Stockholm, Sweden-based Noquo Foods announced it had raised a €3.25 million ($3.6 million USD) seed round. Investors included VC firms Astanor Ventures, Northzone, Inventure, Purple Orange Ventures, and Creandum. Henry Soesanto, CEO of mushroom-based vegan food line Quorn, and a handful of angel investors also participated.

Noquo Foods was founded one year ago by Anja Leissner and Sorosh Tavakoli. The company has a singular goal: make vegan cheese that actually tastes good.

As it turns out, that is surprisingly complicated. (If you don’t believe me, go and taste some of the plant-based cheeses currently on the market — there’s a lot of room for improvement). During a phone call yesterday Tavakoli told me that current vegan cheese offers are usually made from coconut oil and plant starch, or else nuts. Both fall short when it comes to emulating cheese, and nuts have the added burden of being expensive. Animal-free cheese made from fermentation — like that from Perfect Day, Legendairy and New Culture — is certainly promising, but it may be a while before it’s widely available (or cost competitive).

Instead of coconut or cashews, Noquo Foods is making their cheese out of legumes that are formed into what Tavakoli calls a “stable matrix.” This, he claims, will allow their cheese to slice, melt, and taste like the real thing, and also have more protein than some other vegan options.

Nuquo Foods’ cheesy prototypes [Photo: Nuquo Foods]

The key word in that sentence is will. Despite their notable fundraise, Noquo Foods actually doesn’t have a product to market yet. They’ve developed a few prototypes — including one for a feta-like cheese — but haven’t even done a significant public taste test. Tavakoli is aware that they have a ways to go, and told me that the company will funnel most of its new capital into R&D. “We haven’t totally cracked it yet,” he added. At least at first, they’re focusing specifically on cheddar-like cheese meant for melting and slicing. He hopes to bring a product to market by the end of the year.

Initially Noquo Foods will sell its plant-based cheese to foodservice providers in Sweden in a similar model to Impossible Foods or Oatly. Down the road Tavakoli said they would create their own branded product line for retail.

Having $3.6 million in their pocket is certainly helpful, but Noquo Foods still has an uphill battle ahead of them. The company is quite small; Tavakoli and his cofounder just hired their first two employees — food scientists — in November. There’s also the fact that making cheese from plants is hard. If companies with even larger warchests and teams of R&D scientists are struggling to make vegan cheese that tastes like the real thing, I’m guessing Noquo Foods will also face plenty of hurdles.

There might not be many tasty vegan cheeses available right now, but consumers are hungry for them. A study by the Good Food Institute showed that sales of plant-based cheese grew by almost 70 percent from 2017 to 2019.

Looking at Noquo Foods’ seed round, I’d say that investors are pretty hungry for the next generation of vegan cheese, too.

JUST to Launch Plant-based Omelet. Will It Attract Fast Food Partners?

Today, alternative protein company JUST announced its newest product: a pre-cooked plant-based omelet. The so-called “folded egg” will be made from mung beans, similar to JUST’s liquid eggless scramble.

I’m currently in the midst of Veganuary, so I’m personally bummed that JUST’s eggless omelet won’t be available until April. The new folded egg will be sold as boxes of four and will roll out in the freezer section of 5,000 retailers, including Whole Foods. They will also be sold in restaurants and other foodservice providers for the SRP of $4.99.

Photo: JUST

JUST’s original liquid egg is also getting a makeover. In May, the San Francisco-based startup will begin selling a new version of JUST Egg, which, according to a press release emailed to The Spoon, is “cleaner, creamier and more egg-like than many chicken eggs.” I’m not sure how an egg can be more egg-like than eggs, but having tasted JUST Egg myself recently, I can say there’s definitely room for some improvement in the flavor department.

This flurry of news comes just a few months after JUST announced it had acquired a manufacturing facility to turn up the dial on its production capacity. As a result, the company noted in the aforementioned press release that its liquid egg will undergo a price reduction to a $4.99 SRP.

As more and more fast-food and fast-casual chains begin testing out plant-based breakfast options, the time is ripe for a pre-made vegan egg patty. Unlike the JUST Egg scramble, which was already sold in the JUST frittata at Le Pain Quotidien last year, the folded option is premade and only needs to be heated up. The new omelet is more similar to the JUST Egg patty, which JUST’s Head of Global Communications Andrew Noyes told me is sold at more than half of JUST’s foodservice partners. IMHO, the fact that both the patties and the omelets are pre-made (just heat and serve) makes them a much a pretty appealing option for quick service restaurants.

In fact, I could see Dunkin’ adding the folded JUST Egg to its Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich, or Burger King listing it as an option for its new Impossible Croissan’wich. JUST Egg could even fit the bill for Starbuck’s, which is reportedly looking to expand plant-based menu offerings.

The question will become whether or not JUST can produce enough mung bean eggs to meet the needs of a massive fast-food operator. Something tells me that before the end of the year, we’ll find out.

Food Tech News: Califia Farms Raises $225M, Tyson Instant Pot Kits and Corn Fiber Chocolate

After a week of frigid winds and school closures in the PNW, we at the Spoon are looking forward to a long weekend. Hopefully you have a break too.

But before you start queuing up a Netflix series to binge, catch up on our latest food tech news roundup. We’ve got stories on Tyson’s new Instant Pot meal kits, a patent to reduce the sugar in chocolate, and a massive fundraise for plant-based dairy. Enjoy!

Tyson rolls out Instant Pot Kits
This week Tyson and Instant Pot announced their new speedy-cook collaboration: Tyson Instant Pot Kits. The kits contain prepped ingredients, including Tyson chicken. You dump all the ingredients into an Instant Pot and the meal is ready to serve in 20 minutes. Tyson Instant Pot Kits are currently available at select retailers and will roll out nationwide this spring. Pricing has not been disclosed.

Mondelez patents tech to reduce sugar in chocolate
If you’re trying to cut down on sugar in the new year, we might have good news for you. Mondelez has patented a process to reduce the sugar content in chocolate by up to 50 percent (h/t GroceryDive). The new technology uses soluble corn fiber as a stand-in for sugar, and apparently does not significantly affect chocolate’s sweet taste or physical appearance. Mondelez owns brands Cadbury, Toblerone, Chip’s Ahoy and more, so we could see reduced-sugar chocolate popping up in those products sometime soon.

Califia Farms raises $225 million Series D
Plant-based food & bev company Califia Farms announced this week that it had completed $225 million in Series D financing. The round was led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) with participation from Temasek, Claridge, Green Monday Ventures, and more. This brings the company’s total funding to a whopping $340 million. Founded in 2010, Califia Farms is known for its dairy-free milks, yogurts, and cold-brew coffee blends. The company will use the new capital to build on its popular oat-based platform, increase production, and ramp up global expansion.

Future Food: Impossible’s Plans Post-CES and Snoop D-O-Double G Sandwiches

This is the web version of our weekly Future Food newsletter. Be sure to subscribe here so you don’t miss a beat!

Anyone who follows the alternative meat space even a little knows that last week Impossible Foods unveiled its latest product — plant-based ground pork — at CES 2020.

You can read our post (including a taste test) on the event here. But during the ensuing press conference with Impossible CEO Pat Brown, several interesting tidbits about Impossible’s strategy — regarding R&D, expansion, mission, and more — came to light. Here are some of the most intriguing plant-based nuggets from the evening:

Impossible goes international
“International markets, as they grow, will be a very important part of our future,” Brown told the crowd at CES.

One market in particular: China. Brown has already stated that Asia — and China specifically — is a major area of focus for the company. And how could it not be? After all, China is the world’s largest consumer of meat and is struggling as the African Swine Fever is causing pork prices to skyrocket.

The scene is set for plant-based pork to make its move, but Impossible isn’t the only one making its move. Omnipork, based in Hong Kong, just began selling its plant-based pork on the mainland, including in several Taco Bells.

I’ve tried both Omnipork and Impossible Pork and have to say that I preferred the Impossible version; it was juicier and fattier with a bit more flavor. However, Omnipork’s alt-pork was developed specifically to the tastes of Asian consumers, which could give it an edge over Impossible when both begin selling in China.

That said, with a population of 1.4 billion and the African Swine Flu still looming, there’s ample opportunity for multiple plant-based pork options to court Chinese audiences. (Beyond Meat, time to make your move.)

The Impossible Cheesesteak [Photo: Impossible Foods/LIveNation.]

What’s next?
Last year at CES Brown told us in an interview that next up the company would develop “whole cuts of meat,” AKA steak.

I’m sure Impossible scientists are hard at work on that right now, but steak ain’t all they’re making. “If it’s a food that comes from animals today you can be sure that people on our R&D team are working on a more delicious, healthier, and vastly more sustainable plant-based alternative,” Brown said during the Impossible Pork conference this year.

He mentioned steak, fish, and, a crowd favorite, bacon. “We’ve already played around with it,” Brown said. But he added that they wouldn’t release a product until it was so good that even “the most hardcore bacon worshipper thinks it’s awesomely delicious.”

Considering that bacon presents a much harder textural challenge than ground meat, like beef and pork, that could be a while. Especially since bacon requires differing strips of meat and fat, which cook to distinct textures. But once they do achieve it — and considering their massive warchest and heavy R&D focus, I really think they will — Brown mentioned another first for the company: “the world’s first kosher bacon cheeseburger.”

Meatballs made with Impossible Pork at CES [Photo: Catherine Lamb]

Mission: Impossible?
Brown has often repeated Impossible’s lofty and very ambitious mission: to make animal agriculture as food production technology obsolete by 2035. The company is trying to do that by replacing animal meat with plant-based in flexitarians’ diets. “A sale for us only counts if it comes at the expense of the animal-based food production industry,” Brown said at the press conference last week.

There’s no question that Impossible is selling a significant amount of its plant-based meat; it’s available at over 15,000 restaurants globally, including more 7,000 Burger Kings (some of which will soon begin selling Croissan’wiches made with Impossible pork sausage). It’s also sold in retailers in eight regions.

But does Impossible’s rise actually take away from meat sales? Sure, if a flexitarian decides to buy an Impossible burger instead of a beef one, that’s one less burger consumed at that juncture.

However, meat consumption is at an all-time high and projected to rise, especially in developing nations (where, admittedly, plant-based meat is not widely available). In short: just because consumers are demanding more plant-based options doesn’t mean they are necessarily using them to replace meat. We don’t have the data on how rolling out Impossible Whoppers impacted Burger King’s beef sales, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

As the dangers of climate change loom, it’s hard not to root for solutions, like Impossible’s, that can reduce our environmental impact — especially if they taste d**n good. But the statistics are daunting. If Impossible has a prayer of achieving its goal by 2035, it’ll have to double down on production capacity and keep forging new retail & foodservice partnerships, especially in fast food.

And get to work on making bacon, stat.

Photo: Sweet Earth Foods

Protein ’round the web
– Nestlé-owned Sweet Earth Foods, maker of the plant-based Awesome burger, has announced its inaugural national restaurant partner: Ruby Tuesday.
– Select Tim Horton’s locations in the U.K. will begin selling sandwiches made with meatless sausage from company Moving Mountains (h/t VegNews).
– This, a U.K. startup that makes plant-based chicken and pork (including bacon), just raised £4.7 million ($6 million) in seed funding (via Agfunder News).
– Good Catch Foods, maker of plant-based seafood including fish-free tuna, announced its $32 million Series B.

Photo: Beyond Meat

Finally, if you live near a Dunkin’ and do not care about your arteries, you might want to try the new ‘Beyond D-O-Double-G Sandwich,’ which consists of a Beyond sausage patty, egg, and cheese served on a sliced glazed donut. Then please tell me how it tastes so I can live vicariously through you.

Nestlé Launches Awesome Burger at Ruby Tuesday, Announces New Plant-based Sausage

Nestlé has seriously beefed up its plant-based meat initiatives this week. Today Sweet Earth Foods, which is owned by the Swiss CPG company, announced that it would begin selling its plant-based Awesome burger at Ruby Tuesday’s. The Awesome burger launched in U.S. retail this October, but the Ruby Tuesday’s deal marks its first time sold in a national restaurant chain.

The pea protein burger will be available for $5 at all Ruby Tuesday’s locations for tomorrow only. After that diners can substitute an Awesome patty on any burger on the menu for $10.99 (which I’m assuming includes all the toppings). Sweet Earth’s burger will be available through mid-March, after which it has the “potential” for it to become a permanent item.

The Ruby Tuesday’s partnership will certainly expand the Awesome Burger’s footprint, but it has a long way to go if it wants to catch up to competitors Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods, both of whom have already established extensive fast-food partnerships. Maybe set your sights on McDonald’s, Sweet Earth?

Photo: Sweet Earth Foods burger/Ruby Tuesday

While its plant-based burger is making its U.S. national restaurant debut, Nestlé is also cooking up a brand new alt-meat product. Over the next few months the CPG giant will launch plant-based sausages in Europe and the U.S.

In Europe the soy-based Incredible Sausage will join the Incredible portfolio of meat alternatives by Nestlé-owned company Garden Gourmet. The Incredible burger is already sold across Europe, including as a vegan option at McDonald’s in Germany and Israel. The Incredible Sausage will hit retailers in 11 European markets, including Switzerland and Germany, this March.

In the U.S., Sweet Earth Sausage, part of the Sweet Earth brand, will be available in retailers this April. Soon after a foodservice version will roll out. Sweet Earth will follow that with a line of plant-based deli meats, which the company states will be sold at retail deli counters.

Judging by the photo (see above), Nestlé’s new plant-based sausages look an awful lot like the meatless brats from Beyond Meat. Like Beyond Meat, the Sweet Earth sausages are also made with pea protein and they both resemble uncooked sausage (though Sweet Earth’s seem to have vegetables incorporated into the links themselves). These qualities will distinguish them in the grocery aisle from sausages by Tofurky and Lightlife, both of which are pre-cooked and made with soy and wheat protein.

Details on pricing and availability for the Sweet Earth and Incredible sausages are still a mystery. We’ve reached out to Nestlé and will update the post when we hear back.

General Mills Invests in Good Catch’s $32M Series B to Expand Plant-based Seafood

Today Gathered Foods, makers of Good Catch plant-based seafood, announced it has closed a $32 million Series B round. Led by Stray Dog Capital and Rocana Ventures, other participants included Greenleaf Foods, New Crop Capital, Almanac Investments, CPT Capital and 301 INC (the venture arm of General Mills).

Good Catch’s plant-based tuna — made with 6 different plant proteins and algal oil — is currently available at 4,500 retail locations in the U.S., including Whole Foods. It will be moving into the U.K. market over the next few weeks.

This Series B builds on a $10 million convertible note round that Gathered Foods closed back in June 2019. Combined with its $8.7 million Series A, which it announced in August 2018, the New York-based startup has raised just under $41 million.

According to a press release, the net proceeds from the investment will go towards expanding Good Catch’s retail footprint across North America and Europe, as well as a push into Asia. The company will also use its fresh capital to develop new products — like the line of frozen entrées and vegan “crab” cakes it had previously teased for release later this year.

Just after news of the convertible note broke last year, Chris Kerr, co-founder and CEO of Gathered Foods, told NOSH that their upcoming larger round would include a “game changing” new investor.

That’s got to be 301 INC. The Good Catch investment is not the CPG giant’s first foray into the plant-based marketplace. 301 INC has already invested in Kite Hill, maker of animal-free dairy products, and vegan protein bar startup no cow. They were also an early investor in a little old company called Beyond Meat.

301 INC’s investment in Gathered Food certainly beefs up the CPG giant’s plant-based portfolio. It could also offer significant benefits to Good Catch; the startup will be able to leverage General Mills’ manufacturing expertise, R&D resources and retail relationships to accelerate new product development and gain placement on more grocery shelves.

Alternative seafood will also have the chance to play a larger role as fish stocks dwindle due to overfishing and the rise of ocean mercury levels. Good Catch isn’t the only one trying to get ahead of the curve. Sophie’s Kitchen makes vegan canned tuna and Ocean Hugger Foods turns tomatoes and eggplant into plant-based raw fish for sushi (and is also sold at Whole Foods). Back in September, New Wave Foods, which makes ‘shrimp’ from plants, snagged an investment from Tyson.

The rising investor interest in seafood alternatives mirrors consumers’ rising demand for plant-based everything. While grocery shelves are filling up with meatless burgers, hot dogs, and soon, ground pork, vegan seafood is an area that still has relatively few players — and lots of room for improvement. With this Series B round — and especially General Mills’ participation — Good Catch just got a significant leg — er, fin — up.

Unlimeat, a Beef Alternative from South Korea, to Launch in U.S. Market

Zikooin, a South Korean food manufacturing company, today announced it would bring its plant-based Unlimeat to the U.S. market this year. Unlimeat is made from grains, oats and nuts and is meant to look and taste like thinly-sliced cuts of beef. It’s currently sold exclusively in South Korea.

According to a press release, Zikooin uses ingredients that would typically be thrown away due to cosmetic imperfections. Those ingredients are combined through Zikooin’s patented “protein compression” technology, which apparently gives the finished product a very meat-like texture. The company has stated that this manufacturing process is already approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Obviously I haven’t tasted Unlimeat yet, but I do think there’s a significant market opportunity in the U.S. for plant-based meats that aren’t burgers, sausages, deli meats or chicken nuggets. Americans demand diverse cuisines and ingredients — and that expands to meat alternatives, as well. Impossible is already rising to meet that demand for the new with its latest product: plant-based ground pork. But when it comes to meatless whole cuts of beef, there are very few options out there.

Zikooin is smart to bring its plant-based beef filets to the U.S. market before it becomes crowded with competitors making a similar product. As of now there are very few alt-steak offerings already available, mostly because of the textural challenge of making whole-muscle “meat” from plants. Some are developing more sophisticated 3D-printed or cell-based versions, which truly emulate the texture of beef, but it’ll be quite a few years before you can pick up those options in a grocery store.

Zikooin’s choice to use upcycled ingredients is also an interesting one. Not only is it a smart environmental and economical choice to make use of often-wasted foods, but it can also help sell to more sustainability-minded consumers — just ask Misfit Foods, Imperfect Foods (formerly Imperfect Produce) and Full Harvest. To tap into growing demand for sustainable ingredients, Zikooin would be smart to emphasize the whole “ugly produce” angle on its packaging when it does hit store shelves.

We’ll soon find out. Over email Keum Chae, CEO of Unlimeat, said that the product is already sold in SUPER FRESH MART in NYC and will be featured for a limited time in several San Francisco restaurants. In April, the company will begin selling Unlimeat online and later this year they plan to selling Unlimeat BBQ and Dumpling products at Costco and Whole Foods. The plant-based beef will sell for around $9 per pound, which is on par with a package of Beyond Meat sausages.

Unlimeat isn’t only expanding into the U.S., however. Chae said that the product will soon launch in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and China.

If you’re in San Francisco, you can give this alt-beef an early taste test: the company is holding a free pop-up event on January 19th at the Ferry Building where it will be grilling up samples of Unlimeat in a Korean-style barbecue. If you hit it up, be sure to let us know what you think!

It’s Official: Impossible Will Not be On McDonald’s Menus (but Beyond Will)

After months of wondering which fake meat McDonald’s would finally put on its menus, we’re one step closer to an answer. Today Impossible Foods told Reuters that it was no longer trying to win a deal to supply the largest fast-food chain in the world, stating that it could not produce enough “bleeding” plant-based meat to keep them supplied.

Production is a looming concern for Impossible. At the unveil of its new plant-based pork at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, CEO Pat Brown told the audience that production capacity was the company’s “biggest challenge right now.” Nonetheless, Impossible is expanding its partnership with Burger King, which will begin serving the Impossible Croissan’wich, featuring Impossible’s new faux sausage, this month. It also told CNBC that it’s doubling its R&D team over the next year to speed up new product releases.

But that’s not all. The day after this news broke, McDonald’s and Beyond Meat announced that they were expanding their partnership in Canada. McDonald’s began testing the PLT (Plant, Lettuce, Tomato) sandwich, which is made with a Beyond Meat patty, at 28 restaurants in Southern Ontario last September. Starting this week they’re almost doubling that test to fifty-two restaurants in the Ontario area. The test will last for the next three months.

Put all of these clues together, and it doesn’t take a genius to guess that McDonalds’ in the U.S. could soon be rolling out a Beyond Meat burger. If they do, it would be a smart move for Mickey D’s. Burger King has benefitted enormously from its partnership with Impossible Foods. As more and more fast-food chains embrace plant-based meat — on all parts of their menu, including breakfast — the more notable it is that McDonald’s doesn’t have a meatless meat offering

The big question on my mind — besides when this new menu item will launch — is what a McDonald’s Beyond burger might be called. As I’ve written previously, I have some issues with the name P.L.T. because a) the sandwich doesn’t have any bacon, faux or otherwise, and b) it doesn’t leverage the Beyond brand. If they launch a Beyond offering in the U.S., McDonald’s would be smart to follow Burger King’s lead and put the Beyond name in it.

Whatever they call it, Beyond better wait to make that leap until it’s sure that it can do what Impossible could not: keep up with the massive demand of the number one fast-food chain in the world. At this stage, when alternative meat is starting to gain new audiences from QSR partnerships, a supply hiccup could put off consumers — and it might be hard to get them back. Especially with a fast-food chain that’s pretty much ubiquitous with burgers.

Beyond’s CEO Ethan Brown has previously stated that they were prepared to supply even very large restaurant partners. But will that include the largest restaurant chain in the world? With McDonald’s slowly (but surely) expanding its test of the PLT — and Impossible out of the picture — I’m betting we’ll soon find out.

Burger King to Launch New Impossible Sausage Croissan’wich to Compete with Dunkin’

When it comes to breakfast, Burger King diners will soon be able to have it their way with meatless Impossible sausage.

Last night at CES, Impossible Foods unveiled its plant-based pork, its second product since it launched its meatless “bleeding” beef in 2016. (We tasted it, and it was awesome.) Amid samples of meatless banh mi and dumplings, the company dropped one more doozy of an announcement: It had also developed plant-based pork sausage, which would start selling at select Burger King locations later this month.

Impossible sausage, which is essentially a pre-seasoned, pre-formed patty of its plant-based pork, will feature in the Burger King Impossible Croissan’wich, which will also include egg and cheese (so it’s not vegan). It will hit the menus of 139 Burger Kings in Savannah, Georgia; Lansing, Michigan; Springfield, Illinois; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Montgomery, Alabama starting on January 13. Pricing was not disclosed, though it’s worth noting that the Burger King’s Impossible Whopper is priced at only $1 more than a meaty Whopper.

This move is almost a no-brainer for Burger King. The fast-food chain has benefitted from media buzz plus increased foot traffic and check size ever since it unveiled the Impossible Whopper back in August 2019. It’s no wonder that the fast-food giant wanted to expand that popularity to its breakfast menu.

It’s also a way for them to challenge Dunkin’, which rolled out its Beyond Breakfast Sandwich nationwide a full three months ahead of schedule due to high demand. As I’ve noted before, breakfast is a lucrative, relatively un-crowded space primed for plant-based products. 2019 may have been the year many fast-food restaurants introduced meatless burgers, but I think 2020 will be the year they expand the offerings to vegan sausage, eggs, etc. Impossible also has an advantage since Burger King is a national chain, while Dunkin’ is mainly on the East Coast.

Those eager to try the Impossible Croissan’wich will have to hope that Impossible won’t run into production issues, which the startup has struggled with in the past. Impossible is very aware of the risk. At CES Pat Brown admitted to the audience that “production capacity is our biggest challenge right now,” but was confident that the company wouldn’t face a shortage again.

That remains to be seen, as does the quality of the Impossible Croissan’wich. But what’s not in question is that breakfast is a hot play for the meatless market — and Impossible/BK are smart to tap into it sooner rather than later.

Impossible Foods Reveals New Plant-based Pork at CES 2020, will Sell Sausage at Burger King

Today at CES 2020 Impossible Foods, maker of the plant-based “bleeding” burger, unveiled its newest product: pork. Impossible’s plant-based pork is gluten-free and has 16 grams of protein and 13 grams of fat per 4-ounce serving. The company also announced its plant-based sausage, which will debut later this month at 139 Burger King restaurants, which already sell the Impossible Whopper, in the form of a sausage croissan’wich.

Last year at CES, Impossible Foods surprised everyone when it stole the show and won the Best of the Best CES 2019 award for its meatless burger. (We were there at the unveil, and it tasted delicious.) This year they’re hoping to top that by revealing an entirely new product. Like its ground beef, Impossible pork contains heme, a genetically engineered product that gives meat its savory flavor. However, it contains less of the molecule than its beef.

Considering that Impossible is trying to move into the Chinese market, its decision to tackle pork makes a lot of sense. Impossible’s CEO Pat Brown had previously stated that the company already had a “very good prototype of plant-based pork,” though the company has also said it’s developing fish and steak. From a practical standpoint, it’s also a much easier jump to go from ground beef to ground pork than to develop something with an entirely new texture, like chicken.

Impossible is also smart to move into ground pork while it’s still a relative white space. The biggest competitor is probably Omnipork — though not in the U.S. The Hong Kong-based company is developing plant-based pork specifically for Asian palates and doesn’t yet sell outside of the Asian continent. In terms of sausage, adding a plant-based option will help Burger King compete with Dunkin’, which began selling Beyond Meat sausage sandwiches at all of its locations late in 2019.

But I know what you’re all wondering: How did it taste? Honestly, it was awesome — a viable stand-in for ground pork. I sampled the new product in a variety of preparations: meatballs, banh mi, dan dan noodles, and nestled in a bao. It’s slightly less juicy and fatty than traditional pork, and is lacking a distinct, well, porkiness. But the texture and pale pink color are spot-on, and it’s a good neutral palate for a variety of preparations and sauces. I’ll definitely order it when it comes onto menus.

There’s no word on when the Impossible pork will head to menus, outside of the Burger King sausage launch. We also don’t know how much either product will cost. But for the lucky folks at CES this week, you can give the new plant-based pork a try; Impossible will be cooking up samples from January 7-10th in the Las Vegas Convention Center.

NovaMeat Unveils Version 2.0 of its 3D-Printed Meatless Steak

NovaMeat, the Spanish startup which creates realistic meat alternatives through 3D printing plant proteins, has developed a new version of its faux steak. CEO Giuseppe Scionti told me that its new product, which he called Steak 2.0, is “the first to mimic simultaneously the texture and the appearance of an animal whole muscle cut, in this case a beef steak.” The steak cost €1.35 ($1.50) per 50 grams to produce.

Scionti claims this is the most realistic plant-based steak that has yet been developed. Steak and other whole muscle cuts — like chicken breast or pork chops — have a tricky texture that’s much more difficult to make from plants than, say, ground meat. And unlike burgers, there are very few plant-based steak options out there right now, outside of a few smaller brands mainly selling in Europe.

Down the road, however, that will likely change. Redefine Meat is also using 3D printing to make realistic meat alternatives, Atlast Food is developing a mycelium (mushroom root) based scaffold for whole cuts of plant-based meat, and Emergy Foods is creating plant-based steak that looks eerily similar to the real thing — but neither of them have brought a product to market yet. On the cell-based front, Aleph Farms has already successfully grown cultured steak the width and thickness of a credit card (though that’s also a ways from being available).

NovaMeat’s Steak 2.0 has yet to be put to a public taste test, so it’s hard to substantiate Scionti’s claims regarding its superior taste and texture. It’ll be a while yet before we’re able to taste it ourselves. The startup will license its micro-extrusion technology to plant-based meat manufacturers in two to three years. However, Scionti told me that he hopes to start selling his steaks at a small scale to restaurants in Europe by the end of 2020.

By that time, there will likely be a lot more players making plant-based whole muscle cuts that actually look and taste like the real thing. Most notable is Impossible Foods, maker of the plant-based “bleeding” burger. The startup is set to unveil a brand new product at CES 2020 tomorrow, and last year Impossible’s CEO Pat Brown told The Spoon that their next product would likely be steak. Check back tomorrow to see if NovaMeat’s Steak 2.0 is about to get some serious competition!