vegconomist - the vegan business magazine

Eat Well Group’s FoodTech Portfolio Company is led by Dr. Gino Bortone, one of the world’s preeminent food scientists and the inventor of Frito-Lay’s Twisted Cheetos VANCOUVER, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Eat Well Investment Group Inc. (the “Company” or “Eat Well Group”) (CSE:EWG) (US:EWGFF) (FRA:6BC0) is pleased to provide an operational update on Sapientia Technology LLC (“Sapientia” or “Sapientia Technology”), a food technology (“FoodTech”) portfolio holding of the Company, since completing its acquisition of Sapientia on July 30th, 2021. Led by Dr. Eugenio Bortone, one of the world’s most preeminent food scientists, extrusion processing experts, and inventor of Frito-Lay’s Twisted Cheetos, Sapientia has created and filed four foundational patents revolving around the “protein curl” and crispy puff style snack. By focusing on the texture and crunch, Sapientia’s disruptive patents solve one of the major problems large-scale snack-food companies have struggled with for years; the utility of the snack; including texture, flavour, and offering a guilt free, not fried, natural and healthy alternative to the majority of snack food products on the market today. “Innovation to date in the snack food sector has been through products that are essentially less bad for you; however, consumers are about to learn that through proprietary formulations, novel IP and trade secrets, Sapientia is developing products that are in fact healthier, and actually better for you,” commented Dr. Gino Bortone, Founder and CEO of Sapientia. “I am thrilled to disrupt the multi-billion-dollar snack category with products that support the best of health & wellness.” Innovation: Sapientia is ...

UK supermarket Tesco has announced the lowering of prices for dozens of vegan products in its Plant Chef ranges. The price slash is part of the supermarket’s strategy to democratize the category and remove one of the biggest barriers for customers to buy plant-based. Timed to coincide with COP26, the supermarket has launched an ad campaign to advertise such savings as Plant Chef sausages down to £1.45 for 6 and Plant Chef burgers down to £1.30 for 2. Prices have been lowered across the whole range, which includes an array of products from alt meats to vegan coleslaw and dips.  Click here to display content from Twitter.Learn more in Twitter’s privacy policy. Always display content from Twitter The biggest supermarket in the UK, Tesco was named recently as the number one supermarket for vegan food, both for its own budget-friendly Plant Chef range as well as the highly successful Wicked Kitchen plant-based line. Major UK meat producer and Tesco supplier Samworth Brothers has recently opened a dedicated plant-based facility to cope with demand.  Tesco also recently became the first major retailer to stock vegan fried chicken sensation VFC, hitting the shelves as of World Vegan Day on 1st November.  ...

Cultivated meat is the next big thing in the food industry – and the highlight of this year’s Anuga trade fair, which hosted ProVeg’s New Food Conference. Food-tech pioneers provided insights into the evolving cultured food sector, which will soon be producing meat, poultry, fish, milk, and eggs without the need for animals. In the future, it’s possible that nine billion people will be able to enjoy steaks, fish, and cheese without causing harm to animals, the environment, or their health. This is the vision of the nearly 20 industry representatives, investors, and scientists who spoke at the New Food Conference (NFC) in Cologne on 10–11 October. Food organisation ProVeg organised the international conference as a hybrid online and in-person event for the first time, within the framework of Anuga, the world’s largest food fair. Cellular agriculture looks set to make the vision of ‘animal products without animals’ possible. From animal cells or microorganisms such as yeasts, bacteria, and fungi; products are created that are completely identical to those from conventional livestock farming, except that they are produced not by the body of an animal but in a bioreactor – with the help of groundbreaking biotechnology. The NFC gave visitors a first taste of the future: David Brandes from Peace of Meat, which was recently acquired by MeaTech, served meatballs made from a blend of soy and cultured chicken fat. The Belgian startup extracts specific cells from hen’s eggs and processes them with the help of bioreactors until a fat ...

Alice Grahame, a London-based freelance journalist, Guardian contributor, and ex BBC journalist, here talks about her experience of the recent Plant-Based World Europe Expo, which was Europe’s first plant-based-only trade show, and some of the innovations unveiled at the event. I was very excited to learn that Europe’s first-ever 100% plant-based trade fair was taking place not far from me, at the Business Design Centre, in Islington, north London. I don’t work in the food industry but as an enthusiastic consumer and passionate advocate of plant-based food, I am always keen to learn about new innovations and products. I was not disappointed: the event highlighted some exciting new developments, giving me a glimpse of how plant-based eating is becoming ever more sophisticated. It was a chance to see the massive range of plant-based foods that are already available and some that could be in the shops in the near future. The atmosphere in the hall was buzzing. Strictly B2B, the 2000 attendees included retailers like Tesco and Ocado, caterers, distributors and investors and lots of serious discussions could be observed. Exhibitors generously plied visitors with samples: after completing a circuit I was happily stuffed with mini burgers, cones of crispy vegan fish, chewy mushrooms and skewered chunks of cheese. The focus was very much on recreating the animal part of the meal – meat, fish, cheese, eggs, and dairy, reflecting the current target market for plant-based fare: flexitarians, meat reducers and mixed vegan/non-vegan families. “in 20 years of organising events ...

GEA, one of the leading suppliers of processing and packaging solutions for food, which reportedly “plays a part in producing every third chicken nugget, one quarter of the processed milk, and every other litre of beer in the world”, says it is becoming increasingly involved in the production of alt protein. The German company says it has significant experience in extracting protein from plant material and processing a mixture of high-quality ingredients. Its technology portfolio helps processors to create meatless foods based on various sources, including: Frozen vegetables or vegetable-based mixes Texturized vegetable protein (TVP) Soy or wheat-based protein Single-cell protein (e.g., mycoprotein) Other plant-based protein In the meat-free segment, customers’ needs are different compared to the demands of the original meat processing business, explains Marcel Janssen Vice President Product Management and Sales at GEA. “This has to do with the large number of different ingredients for meat-free products. It is no longer sufficient just to provide the right technology. In-depth expertise and experience with all types of food and raw materials that go into this production is needed. GEA has this expertise and offers food producers the possibility to work hand in hand at our different technology centres, either in person or remotely, to determine the optimal combination of ingredients, equipment and line set-up. Furthermore, in our technology centres, we can transition from a laboratory environment to industrial production.” Janssen adds: “It’s absolutely vital for processors not just to extend their production facilities for the additional meat-free product in ...

CEO and Co-founder of Melibio, Darko Mandich joins me on The Plantbased Business Hour to discuss making honey without the bees and why this is mission critical. Listen in to learn about the secret life of bees and plant-based and fermented honey – yes, it’s a thing. Specifically, Darko and I discuss, Why he decided to make plant-based honey, Is there a difference between a honeybee and an essential bee/native bee? A pollinating bee and a honeybee? What are the issues with commercial bee farming? What do we do to encourage the population of native bees? How is Melibio made? Having recently done a tasting in San Francisco, can you scale this for B2B? And would there be interest in this? Below is a clip and transcript from their passionate conversation. The podcast is here.  Click here to display content from YouTube.Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy. Always display content from YouTube Elysabeth: Can you talk to me about commercial farming? All factory farming is just overpopulated and so it’s easy to transmit disease whether that be African Swine Fever with pigs or the African honeybee or what have you, the European honey bee or crickets for that matter which is another show. In short, factory farming can give way to disease. Talk to me a little bit about that and what that means for bees and us. Darko Mandich: I mean in 2021 if anyone needs any proof that intersection of humans and animals at the level that we allow to happen…if ...

Born in the south-west of France, Aberyne aims to revisit a local product that is emblematic of French gastronomy. The Biarritz-based company is part of a new line of meat alternatives, offering the best of plant-based products. Born into a family of restaurateurs in the south-west of France, Mikel, an entrepreneur at heart, has always had a passion for cooking. He discovered the possibilities of vegetable cooking thanks to his father. After a serious heart problem, his doctor banned him from eating meat products; his son then set about looking for vegetable alternatives to foie gras, but the substitutes did not satisfy his keen palate. With his 10 years of experience in the kitchen, Mikel decided to create a replica foie gras using only vegetable ingredients, as close to traditional foie gras as possible. After six months of tests in the kitchen, and with the help of a chef, he finalised a first version based on cashew nuts. Thus Aberyne was born. In autumn 2019, Aberyne was selected to be part of the world’s first plant-based food business incubator, ProVeg, based in Berlin. This incubation allowed the recipe to be finalised with the help of food scientists and to prepare for commercialisation. For the first market test, Aberyne worked with a restaurant in Biarritz during the summer of 2020. The experience turned out to be a great success, as it was the best-selling dish on the menu. After this positive experience and the feedback received, Aberyne started to be distributed ...

Atlantic Natural Foods (ANF) has become the latest in a long line of brands to be acquired by plant-based foods company Above Food. ANF is best known for TUNO, its vegan canned tuna alternative. Other products offered by the company include Neat, a shelf-stable egg replacer, and plant-based meal starters under the Loma Linda brand. ANF reported accelerated growth during the pandemic, including in international markets such as Thailand and Europe. Earlier this year, the company pledged to save a million fish by 2023. “We are already selling products in Hungary, Sweden, Malta, Switzerland and in major discussions in both Germany and Benelux,” European Sales Director Eric Woods told vegconomist last year. “This shows that the demand is not just limited to the UK but something that we are seeing across Europe.” The acquisition will allow Above Food to move into the alt-seafood and shelf-stable sectors, taking advantage of ANF’s years of experience in these areas. Following the acquisition, ANF’s chairman Douglas Hines will head Above’s plant-based seafood division. Above Food is a vertically integrated company, owning the entire supply chain of several crops such as chickpeas, oats, and fava beans. As a result, ANF will also benefit from the arrangement, gaining access to ingredients such as soy protein. The company is just one of several plant-based brands acquired by Above over the past year, including Only Oats and Culcherd.  Last month, Above finally launched its direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform, with a focus on regenerative, natural, and organic foods. The platform ...

Award-winning Canadian-US actor Noah Schnapp is to launch TBH – a vegan and sustainable alternative to conventional hazelnut cocoa spreads on the market.   “I feel lucky to be in a position where I can help my generation make a difference through simple pantry swaps like TBH” – Noah Schnapp  When the Stranger Things leading actor learned that his favorite snack was destroying the environment, he engaged his entrepreneurial spirit to create TBH. Schnapp also learned that the first ingredient of the conventional hazelnut cocoa spreads he loved was sugar and the second ingredient was palm oil – a leading cause of deforestation and habitat destruction. Most were also not vegan friendly. TBH had to be different.  Generation Z With the title of Founder and Chief Snacking Officer at TBH, Noah Schnapp is a good example of a Gen Z entrepreneur; representing young and conscious consumers who shop with sustainability in mind. Not only does Gen Z have the spending power to make a difference, but the first digitally native generation is influencing the food industry with its choices, namely a shift towards eating more plant-based meals. “TBH is inspired by honesty. It’s about being transparent with ourselves about what we’re actually consuming, and then making a change for the better,” shared Schnapp. “I feel lucky to be in a position where I can help my generation make a difference through simple pantry swaps like TBH.”   TBH will be available exclusively online at www.snacktbh.com and at rotating Showfields locations in NYC ...

Allbirds, marketed as an eco-friendly sneaker brand, is preparing for its New York IPO. The company is aiming for a valuation of over $2 billion, with fans and backers including Leonardo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher, Barack Obama, and Google founder Larry Page. However, as the discourse around “greenwashing” increases in volume, vegconomist takes a look at the brand to ask how eco-friendly Allbirds’ products are. Although the Silicon Valley-based company uses cutting-edge sustainable materials derived from sugarcane and eucalyptus trees, it also champions the use of merino wool in its footwear, even in its bestselling Tree Runner line. Despite being biodegradable, merino wool cannot be viewed as a sustainable fabric when one considers the environmental impact of raising the required amount of animals, not to mention the cruelty inherent in such a system.   Allbirds is a certified B-Corp with a strong focus on sustainability, and earlier this year the brand launched a shoe with a sole made from carbon-negative green ethylene-vinyl acetate. Releasing more vegan-friendly products, moving away from harmful fibres like merino wool, and towards the innovative plant-based materials being developed might make sound business sense for the brand.  The company made the decision to go public following major financial losses — it reported a loss of $21.1 million for the six-month period through to the end of June, and has admitted that it is unlikely to make a profit any time soon. The trend is set to continue in this quarter, with losses of $15-18 million expected — something ...