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Domino’s vegan pepperoni pizza to be available nationwide at 1,200 UK outlets  Domino’s Pizza has added a new plant-based pepperoni offering for Veganuary 2022. The Domino’s Vegan PepperoNAY pizza is made with a vegan pepperoni made by The Vegetarian Butcher and is available at UK stores and online.  The pizza is 100% suitable for vegans, made with a plant-based cheese developed in-house by Domino’s and served with the chain’s famed vegan Garlic & Herb dip. The Vegetarian Butcher’s pepperoni offering is said to be both smoky and highly realistic. Unilever-backed Vegetarian Butcher has been rapidly expanding its food service footprint after the success of  its Burger King partnership.  The new Vegan PepperoNAY pizza is just the latest plant-based addition to Domino’s UK  vegan options. In 2020, Domino’s launched its first vegan-friendly range across the UK in response to the rising demand for vegan fast food. For Veganuary 2021, Domino’s also launched a vegan chicken-topped pizza along with Southern-fried vegan chicken nuggets.  Veganuary 2022 UK high street food chains are launching more plant-based options than ever this Veganuary, following the movement’s two millionth sign-up. Domino’s joins Wagamama, Costa Coffee, Burger King, KFC, and M&S to name just a handful of the companies launching new products this Veganuary.   ...

Good Catch, which is owned by Gathered Foods, is releasing plant-based salmon burgers through a new partnership with UNFI, one of North America’s largest distributors. According to Good Catch, 30% of American seafood consumers purchase salmon each month, and it currently ranks as the most widely eaten fish in the US.  Good Catch says the new salmon burgers are the first such item produced entirely within the US. The product offers a realistic, flaky texture and mild salmon-like flavor seasoned with citrus juice. Each burger contains 16 grams of protein, is simple to prepare, and lacks any unappealing “fishy” smell once cooked.  Propelling plant-based seafood  The burgers will be available through a new partnership with United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), the largest natural grocery wholesale distributor in North America.  The products can also be purchased online through the company’s e-commerce platform, shop.goodcatchfoods.com. Co-founded by top plant-based chef Chad Sarno, Good Catch describes its products as  “culinary-driven” innovations, and salmon burgers are the latest example of the brand’s relentless work to transform plant-based seafood.  “Culinary innovation is at the forefront of everything we create at Good Catch and this new salmon will be an absolute game-changer in the market that boasts incredible flavor and texture,” said Sarno. “We are excited to see consumer response to our Plant-Based Salmon Burgers, which provides a convenient meal solution without the harm.” A phenomenal year The salmon burgers kick off a new year for Good Catch, which in 2021 achieved an incredible number of successes. ...

DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The “Plant-based Beverages Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Soy-based, Oats-based), By Product (Plain, Flavored), By Region (Europe, Asia Pacific), And Segment Forecasts, 2021 – 2028” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering. The global plant-based beverages market size is anticipated to reach USD 66.53 billion by 2028, registering a CAGR of 14.3% over the forecast period, according to this report. Companies Mentioned Danone S.A Pacific Foods of Oregon, LLC Blue Diamond Growers Inc SunOpta The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. Freedom Foods Group Limited Califia Farms Harmless Harvest Koia Vitasoy International Holdings Limited Major manufacturers are introducing new plant-based beverages and other products to cater to the increasing consumer demand. For instance, in January 2020, The Hershey Company launched a new digital film in the Indian market for ‘Sofit’ to encourage consumers to live their passions and an active lifestyle. Moreover, the dairy industry is known to have an adverse impact on the environment, which is compelling more and more consumers to switch to non-dairy alternatives like vegan foods and beverages. According to the World Wildlife Fund, millions of farmers worldwide tend approximately 270 million dairy cows to produce milk. Dairy cows and their manure produce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, which contribute to climate change. Poor handling of manure and fertilizers can degrade local water resources and unsustainable dairy farming & feed production can lead to the loss of ecologically important areas, such as prairies, wetlands, and forests. On the other hand, the ever-growing population poses ...

Canadian restaurant chain Copper Branch, which operates 40 locations around the world,  is launching a Nashville Chicken Sandwich by best-selling vegan brand Atlas Monroe.  The debut marks the first time Canadians can buy the popular chicken product, which frequently sells out online. Based in California, Atlas Monroe is reportedly the largest producer of vegan fried chicken in the world.  Deborah Torres, Atlas Monroe’s founder and CEO, won the first pitch competition held by Copper Branch and The Vegan Women Summit, leading to an opportunity for Torres to partner with the Canadian fast-casual chain.  Success after Shark Tank Atlas Monroe first gained national notoriety when Deborah and co-founder Johnathan Torres appeared on an episode of the investment pitch show Shark Tank in 2019. During their appearance, the pair famously turned down a $1 million dollar offer from Mark Cuban and Rohan Oza to acquire 100% ownership of the company.  Despite not making a deal, the company has gone on to thrive. In early 2021, Atlas Monroe opened a two-story, multi-million manufacturing plant in San Diego, CA capable of producing one million pounds of plant-based chicken every year. There are also plans for a second facility expansion.  The company has reportedly achieved $2 million in online sales since the Shark Tank appearance, and increased the menu offerings to include plant-based ribs, bacon, lasagna and mac ‘n cheese.  Next stage of growth Bringing Atlas Monroe’s beloved chicken to Canada represents the next stage of growth and success for the ambitious young brand.  CEO ...

The Chinese subsidiary of Munich-based NOIX AG has been awarded the Good Food Award by China’s Good Food Fund for its almond-based yogurt brand Jooma, which it produces at its state-of-the-art plant in Tianjin, China. As such, NOIX becomes the only foreign producer to receive this award other than Oatly. The company says that it was honored due to the exceptionally high product quality it achieves sustainably and without artificial additives, which in the opinion of the Good Food Fund makes it an exemplary product for China. To produce the yogurt, NOIX uses a unique proprietary technology, originally developed together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging in Freising, Germany, which it subsequently supplemented and refined. This technology allows NOIX to process and ferment a wide variety of plants or nuts to produce yogurt and cheese. NOIX AG was founded in Munich in 2018 by Dr. Stefan Schmale, previously CEO of Meggle, and Managing Director of Paulaner, Munich, and Ran Guo, a Chinese-born German food manager. Shareholders include experienced European entrepreneurs and ALPMA Hain GmbH & Co. KG, a specialist in innovative dairy machines. In 2019, NOIX AG established its subsidiary NOIX Foods (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. in China as its first investment and built a state-of-the-art plant in Tianjin, which has been in operation since the beginning of 2020. As its first product NOIX launched almond-based yogurts under the brand JOOMA. The company’s plan is to become the market leader in China for innovative, healthy plant-based snacks and ...

As we step into 2022, Elysabeth Alfano discusses climate change and our animal-based food supply system with Raphael Podselver of ProVeg International, Lasse Bruun of 50by40 and Carrie Varoquiers of Cool Planet Food on The Plantbased Business Hour.  These experts share what we can all do to mitigate climate change and their predictions for when governments will get serious about addressing animal agriculture, one of the main greenhouse gas emitters impacting climate change. Specifically, they discuss Their experience at COP26, how it was organized and who decides what is on the agenda? Why wasn’t animal agriculture on the agenda, but it was on the menu through carbon footprint pricing? Biden and 100 other countries are saying 30 by 30: reduce GhGE by 30% by 2030, but they still aren’t talking about animal ag.  Is it possible to do 30 by 30 without animal ag? There was a mention of changing the feed for cows to create fewer emissions.  Is that smart or a ridiculous idea? Their predictions for when governments will get serious and what we can do to mitigate climate change. 2022 is the year to get active! A clip and transcript from their long-form conversation is below.  The podcast is here.  Click here to display content from YouTube.Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy. Always display content from YouTube Elysabeth: Biden came out really making a strong case for why climate change impacts our bottom line and I thought that was the first time I’ve ever heard him speak like that, unless ...

KFC Canada announces the company is making vegan fried chicken, using Lightlife plant-based fillets, a fixed menu item. The product will also be available as a new popcorn chicken option, available for a limited time.  Having made headlines in the US after announcing a national rollout of Beyond Meat’s fried chicken this week, KFC in Canada is also actively expanding the chain’s plant-based chicken menu.  “A month’s worth of sandwiches in six hours” KFC Canada first tested a Lightlife-based chicken sandwich in 2019 to resounding success. At the time, a KFC spokesperson said the company sold “a month’s worth of sandwiches in six hours” and the huge demand for plant-based menu items compelled the chain to “quickly to bring these menu items to our restaurants across Canada.”  The sandwiches have become a fixed part of the menu, and can be purchased individually, in a combo or a boxed meal. Lightlife Chicken Expands to More Canadian Outlets Lightlife – which is owned by Greenleaf Foods, SPC, a subsidiary of Maple Leaf Foods – has also partnered with popular Canadian chain Mary Brown’s Chicken. Starting yesterday, the 200-location Mary Brown’s will feature Lightlife’s products in Chicken Sidekick Snack Sandwiches and tenders.  The new menu items represent Mary Brown’s first plant-based chicken options, and are designed to appeal to the fast-growing demographic of flexitarian consumers.  Hadi Chahin, Mary Brown’s President and COO, commented, “We’re listening to what Canadians are saying and how their food tastes are changing. So while chicken is at the ...

Chicago’s Aqua Cultured Foods has developed the first whole-muscle cut sushi-quality seafood through microbial fermentation. The young company, founded only in 2020, closed an oversubscribed round in October in the largest ever pre-seed round in alt-seafood, and one of the largest ever in fermented proteins. Bob Schultz is the company’s new lead scientist. Schultz comes to Aqua Cultured Foods from SIMULATE, an early-stage biotechnology company, where he was lead food engineer and product lead for the NUGGS plant-based chicken nugget, the fastest-growing alternative chicken nugget on the planet. It was time to catch up with Bob and get his insights into the wonderful world of fermentation. Congratulations on joining Aqua Cultured! What made you want to be part of this team and bring this product to life?  I’ve always been enamored with fermentation and its ability to create interesting flavors and textures. Additionally, the rise of alternative proteins has been solely focused on beef, then chicken, with all seafood left on the backburner. Joining Aqua Cultured allowed me to use my interests and skill set to bring about meaningful change to our oceans and eating habits.  “I’ve always been enamored with fermentation and its ability to create interesting flavors and textures” What’s a regular day in the lab for you? What sorts of things are you working on? My day-to-day is centered around optimizing our fermentation to increase the growth rate of our protein. That ends up centering around trying different types and concentrations of nutrients to make our microbes ...

As record numbers of people sign up to go plant-based for Veganuary 2022 across the UK and the world, doctors are taking the opportunity to show how a vegan diet could benefit the economy and save the NHS billions.  Growing fears about the climate crisis have spurred growth in the movement, with a total of two million people officially signing up since the pledge began in 2014. Health concerns also play a central role in the rise of plant-based diets of course, and doctors from the Plant Based Health Professionals network have claimed that a shift to plant-based diets would reduce healthcare expenditure by at least £30 billion, as first reported in the Metro.  The group quoted a recent Taiwanese study that found vegetarian diets to have a 15% lower total medical expenditure per person compared with animal meat diets. The study found that meat-free diets are particularly beneficial for illnesses such as high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, and other obesity-related diseases that are chronic issues in modern society and a drain on NHS resources.  £30 billion a year Medical professional Dr. Shireen Kassam claims that when using figures on healthcare expenditure, the 15% reduction would add up to a conservative estimate of £30 billion a year. In 2021, the same group of healthcare professionals petitioned politician Boris Johnson to go vegan in order to encourage the public to try a healthier, climate-friendly lifestyle, a call later backed up by plant-based brand Heura.  Veganuary is free to join, and ...

DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The “Global Plant Based-Meat Market Overview, 2021-2026” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering. According to this report the plant based meat products market is growing rapidly. It is anticipated that fast food giants will incorporate vegan options into their menu strategy, noting that a chain, Plant Power Fast Food, is already making its mark on the industry. It is expected to see even more well-known restaurant chains and popular dining establishments adopt a more vegan-friendly menu in the near future. Companies Mentioned Amy’s kitchen Beyond meat, Conagra (Pinnacle Foods) Conagra (Pinnacle Foods) Impossible food Kellogg (Morning star farms) Kraft Heinz Company (Boca Burger) Maple leaf Nestle (Garden Gourmet) Quorn Tyson (Raised and Rooted) Unilever (The Vegetarian Butcher) Veganism is much more than a diet, fad, or passing trend. It’s a way of life that many people adopt regardless of their age, race, gender, and even religious beliefs. The adoption of a plant-based way of life started as a fringe movement but is now echoing around the world. Although the U.S. and U.K. top the 3 vegan countries by percentage, India takes the first spot with veganism encompassing 27% of the population. This comes as no surprise, as India has long been known as vegetarian. It’s not just because they were born into the lifestyle, most people probably made an educated, conscious choice to swear off meat and dairy altogether. It doesn’t come as a surprise that health and weight management are the top reasons people are turning to ...