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One Planet Pizza, the UK’s much-loved frozen vegan pizza specialist, launches the Wicked-Planet Pulled Mushroom Pizza, in collaboration with highly regarded mushroom pusher, Wicked Kitchen’s Derek Sarno. The limited-edition Halloween pizza features One Planet Pizza’s family recipe tomato sauce, topped with BBQ pulled oyster mushrooms, black olives, vegan cheeze, spicy sriracha mayo and a Violife cheezy ghost. Every pizza sold helps them plant trees with reforestation partners One Tree Planted.   The launch follows a long line of collaborations from OPP with vegan brands such as with THIS for the first vegan Hawaiian pizza in UK retail; a collab with vegan fried chick*n pioneers VFC for the No Clucks Pizza; and last year’s partnership with plant-based brands Meatless Farm, the legendary Applewood® Vegan cheese, and Mooshies vegan burger bar for the limited-edition Meatless Farm Cheezeburger Pizza.   Joe Hill, co-founder of One Planet Pizza, says: “It’s been a plant-based dream come true to collaborate with Derek Sarno, whose innovative creations have proved that eating plants can be even more exciting and tasty than meat and dairy products. Our Wicked-Planet Pizza is the first pizza in retail to feature a cheeze shaped ghost and we know vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike will be delighted with the epic flavours in every slice.” Derek Sarno, Co-Founder of Wicked Kitchen, says: “One Planet Pizza has been on my radar for a while now, always happy to work with great teams such as theirs. So when they approached me to help them craft a Wicked Pizza, ...

Next Meats Co Ltd, a food tech company based in Tokyo and now operating in the US, has recently announced the launch of a new version of its popular short rib product: the Next Yakiniku Short-Rib 2.0. Last month, the pioneering Japanese brand announced it has developed three new products: “NEXT Pork”, “NEXT Tuna”, and “NEXT Milk”, set for imminent commercial release. In June, the company announced a new collaboration with Wayback Burgers, a popular US burger chain and one of the fastest-growing burger franchises in the country. The “Next Yakiniku” range includes Short-Rib and Skirt-Steak variants, attracting keen fans and strong media interest since it was launched last year at Yakiniku Like, a popular barbecue franchise with branches all over Japan. Previously, plant-based meat was not widely available in restaurants in Japan. Now, Next Yakiniku is available in supermarkets nationwide and is offered in a variety of other restaurants. It is also now available in other countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The revised Short-Rib 2.0 has a firmer texture and the shape has been flattened and enlarged so that it looks even more like sliced beef. It also contains 5% more protein than before and the sauce is tastier, making it even closer to the taste of a real Japanese beef steak. Next Yakiniku Short Rib 2.0 will first be available in Japan through the company’s e-commerce website, then in retail stores and restaurants, and finally overseas. Next Meats plans to continue selling the older Short ...

ADM released its second annual list of global consumer trends this week, with the number two spot dedicated to plant-based lifestyle, which it states has been catalysed by the pandemic, and two sections relating to the “humanization of pets” and a focus on the health and wellness of our companion animals. “COVID-19, which has accelerated interest in plant-based, as a health-forward alternative for consumers who are paying close attention to their body’s nutritional needs” Below are the eight key consumer trends fueling current and future global growth as described by ADM: 1. Nourishment for the Whole Self  “Consumers want to be more proactive about supporting their mind and body through a balanced approach to diet and lifestyle. While this is a long-term trend, the recent global pandemic has placed renewed interest on mental well-being, with many looking for more effective ways to cope with stress and anxiety. Wholesome nutrition is one important way consumers are looking to support their holistic well-being. In fact, ADM Outside VoiceSM finds that 37% of global consumers expect the snacks they eat to improve their mental well-being.” 2. Plant-based Lifestyles  “A flexitarian approach to eating has become mainstream as consumers look to functional, wholesome, plant-based nutrition to support healthy, environmentally friendlier lifestyles. In fact, it is expected that alternative proteins will very likely account for 11% of the total protein market in 2035. This is being fueled, in part, by COVID-19, which has accelerated interest in plant-based, as a health-forward alternative for consumers who are ...

Kerry Group has developed and released a plant-based dairy alternatives toolkit. This virtual toolkit is designed to give innovators, initially in the US only, the simple, scalable and sustainable solutions they need to accelerate their plant-based food and beverage product development and growth prospects. Kerry‘s toolkit offers innovators a number of benefits: a research-based checklist for building your brand, information on the five key considerations in product development, guides to help product developers create consumer-friendly taste experiences, and tips for formulating with exciting flavours that build consumer loyalty and drive repeat purchases. Importantly, it also mentions scientifically-backed digestive and immune-boosting ingredients that can successfully differentiate a product from the competition. A series of videos will feature plant-based insights from Kerry experts – from taste researchers and sensory scientists to dairy formulators, marketers and sustainability officers, all of whom have extensive experience in product development and innovation and can help new products and brands shorten their path to commercial success. Developing a plant-based product starts with answering questions on a variety of topics and the Plant-Based Product Toolkit Checklist provides a roadmap for developers to ask the right questions and accelerate a product’s innovation journey. What flavours and texture should the new product have? What about claims, nutritional values and local and international regulations? These and other important product questions are answered by Kerry’s food scientists and application experts to provide clear and experienced support to customers as they tackle plant-based challenges. Commenting on the release of the toolkit, Elizabeth Horvath, ...

Following this week’s European regulatory approval of mung bean as a novel protein, enabling the launch of JUST Egg in Europe in mid-2022, Eat Just today announces that its popular liquid egg is launching across Canada, where according to Mintel, 55% of consumers identify as flexitarians and 62% of those plan on eating more plant-based products in the future. Interest in plant-based products is certainly on the rise in the world’s second-largest country, where both the folded egg product which was made available in Canada last summer and the liquid product are manufactured. Eat Just reports that Canada continues to be one of the most requested and strongest market launches for its products, and that after only a few weeks of launch, the folded egg product achieved sales velocities that took more than a year to achieve in the US market. Speaking to vegconomist regarding the newly announced European regulatory news and the Canada launch, Eat Just’s Andrew Noyes said, “This week’s safety approval in Europe and nationwide launch of our pourable product in Canada are major milestones for our company, the food industry and, most importantly, for consumers. It means that Canadians who’ve already been enjoying our folded product for six months are now able to purchase our original pourable product and make delicious scrambles, omelets and more. It also means that Europeans who’ve been craving plant-based eggs will soon have their needs met when JUST Egg launches in key markets there next year. While 2021 has been a ...

Following its recent partnership with Chinese plant-based producer HEROTEIN, cell cultivated fat producer Mission Barns has announced a similar partnership in the US. Berkeley-based Mission Barns will team up with fellow Californian brand Silva Sausage to create a plant protein sausage using cultivated fat. “This ground-breaking partnership and production run is an important milestone toward cultivated meat technology becoming a reality” The landmark deal marks the first-ever scaled-up manufacturing of a product containing cell-cultured meat, according to the brand. The Cultivated Chorizo Sausages are a hybrid of plant-based protein and Mission Barns’ proprietary cultivated fat; Mission Fat.  Due to issues of costs, scalability, technology, and regulations, plant-based protein with cultivated fat hybrid meat products are far more likely to hit the market than full-cut cell-cultured meats anytime soon. A recent survey revealed that up to 68% of plant-based meat producers would be likely or very likely to incorporate cultivated fat into their products. The Best of Both Worlds As regulatory approval for cell-cultured products has not yet been given, there is no date yet for the sausages to roll out into foodservice or retail. However, importantly the company has proven that Mission Fat can be used in a large manufacturing process. Mission Barns is enjoying rapid growth over 2021, recently raising $24 million in a Series A round to upscale its cell-cultured fat technology and build a pilot factory in the Bay Area.  “We see it as the best of both worlds, where sustainability and deliciousness intersect,” stated Eitan Fischer, ...

The first-ever vegan football boot by adidas, the interestingly titled Predator Freak, uses part recycled materials and components which adidas says were “closely analysed to ensure they conform to both vegan and elite performance standards.” The boot is gender-neutral and created with the sustainability ethics which Stella McCartney says she holds close throughout her work. Adidas has been addressing sustainability issues for a few years. Back in 2019, the sportswear giant created a pair of algae-based shoes in collaboration with Kanye West. The following year, it veganised some of its classic shoes and began looking into recycling its materials. In January this year, adidas collaborated with Bolt Threads on shoes made from mushroom leather, then in February, adidas announced a total ban on fur in its product range, making it the 1500th clothing and footwear company to become fur-free. Stella McCartney says of the launch: “Since the start of my collaboration with adidas, we’ve continued to push the boundaries in high-fashion and performance wear so it’s incredibly exciting to be expanding into the world of football with the superstar athlete Paul Pogba.  “Last year during lockdown, adidas brought Paul and I together for The Huddle which is where this idea was first born. Hearing how passionate he was about fashion and learning how much we had in common really sparked the inspiration for co-creating this iconic boot. One comment that stuck with me was how fashion was part of his personality both on and off the pitch, so it was important ...

The Protein Brewery, a Dutch producer of sustainable, fermented protein, is to move into its new headquarters early next year and, concurrently, is to begin construction of an innovative facility of 1,500 m2 with a production capacity of thousands of tons per year for its Fermotein® fungi product. We need a paradigm shift The team of scientists focus on integrating animal-free proteins to feed a world population set to hit ten billion by 2050. “To meet the soaring demand for proteins, we need a paradigm shift. A different solution than the ones we used that caused the problem. So we decided to brew proteins — the sustainable way.” The company’s pilot plant was completed this June following its Series A raise last November totalling 22 million Euros in a round led by Novo Growth. The new plant will be designed to scale up the Fermotein® brewing process in the facility, with commercial production of its Fermotein® projected to begin in late 2022. Wim de Laat, founder of The Protein Brewery, comments: “This is an important milestone in the development of our company, commercializing our first product, Fermotein®. We use innovative fermentation technologies to produce food proteins that can replace animals in the food chain. The amount of Fermotein®, a plant-based ingredient with an excellent nutritional value and a very sustainable profile, we can produce in an hour corresponds with the meat of 10 cows. On an annual basis, you’re talking about approximately 80,000 cows that don’t need to be part ...

DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The “Dairy Alternatives Market Research Report by Type, Distribution, Application, and Region – Global Forecast to 2026 – Cumulative Impact of COVID-19” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering. The Global Dairy Alternatives Market size was estimated at USD 23.16 billion in 2020, is expected to reach USD 25.74 billion in 2021, and projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.44% reaching USD 44.37 billion by 2026. Competitive Strategic Window The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period. FPNV Positioning Matrix The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Dairy Alternatives Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Market Share Analysis The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and ...

Agronomics has led a Seed Funding Round for California Cultured, a food-tech company based in Davis, California, which utilises cell culture technology to produce cocoa products like cocoa powder, chocolate, cocoa butter and flavanols in order to circumvent the serious issues arising from cocoa production such as deforestation and child slave labor. California Cultured was founded by cell-culture technology veterans Alan Perlstein and Harrison Yoon, as a way to address the need for more ethical and environmentally friendly methods of chocolate production. The company says, “We select cacao varieties with the best organoleptic properties, take a handful of cells and keep them growing infinitely. We do this by equipping the cells with a proper set of plant nutrients which allows for rapid growth. We harvest our cocoa cells from tanks, let them ferment to create a rich flavor and employ traditional roasting steps to create even more flavor. Then, out come our cell-cultured cocoa nibs, which can be turned into a variety of cocoa products. The leadership team is rounded out by Head of Commercial Steve Stearns, former chef at Noma, one of the world’s number one restaurants, and COO Debbie Neumann. Agronomics led the round with a US$ 2.2 million investment, and also participating was global venture firm SOSV’s IndieBio. Following the close of the round, Agronomics will have the right to a directorship in California Cultured. ...