vegconomist - the vegan business magazine

Under this year’s key theme “Transform,” Anuga 2021 will focus on the future of the international food industry and the development of a more sustainable and efficient global food system. Plant-based or purely plant-based products and other alternative protein products play an important role here. The many national and, above all, international exhibitors from these sectors are already extremely satisfied with the course of the trade fair so far and are enthusiastic about the great interest shown by buyers and investors at Anuga. The world’s leading trade fair for the food and beverage industry also clearly demonstrates how much the international food industry needs trade fairs to do business again. As a hybrid event, this year’s Anuga also offers a digital platform with a comprehensive event and congress program in the form of Anuga @home. In addition to the New Food Conference organized by ProVeg, the live-streamed Newtrition X conference is particularly popular. At this year’s trade fair, the private dairy Naarmann will also be represented with its new vegan product line WE ♥ PLANTS. Naarmann has incorporated its many years of experience as a producer of high-quality dairy products in the development to produce high-quality plant-based products specifically for the needs of bulk consumers. The Dr. Mannah`s brand from Cuxhaven presents its unique plant-based cheese alternatives at Anuga. The cheese manufacturer`s innovative vegan Camembert alternative made from cauliflower was named “Top Innovation 2021” at the Anuga taste Innovation Show. followfood, the sustainable food pioneer from Lake Constance, Germany, announced ...

Philippines-based Century Pacific, a global producer of conventional fish and dairy products, is to launch its plant-based range unMEAT for retail in the US. The rollout will begin on the West Coast. Called unMEAT, the range currently consists of burgers, nuggets, sausages, and ground meat, which are now available at Seafood City Supermarkets in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. According to Century Pacific, unMEAT is differentiated from other alt-meat products by its lower price and shorter ingredients list. The brand uses just seven easily recognisable ingredients — soy protein, vegetable oil, onion, wheat, salt, vinegar, and soy sauce. Century Pacific first announced it would be introducing a plant-based range in November of last year. unMEAT was then launched in the Phillippines in March, becoming the first plant-based brand in the country. At around the same time, unMEAT burgers became available at Jeepney, a Filipino gastropub in New York. However, the Seafood City launch is the first time the brand has been available for retail in the US. “The West Coast is a natural place for us to launch unMEAT in the United States, based both on the interest in plant-based products and the Filipino populations in these markets,” says Gregory Banzon, Chief Operating Officer, Century Pacific Group. “We’re proud to partner with Seafood City to offer our range of plant-based products to these communities and look forward to expanding to additional key retailers in the coming months.” ...

2021 lists of Best Vegan Burgers and Best Classic Plant-Based Restaurants also published BOULDER, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Vegetarian Times, owned by Outside Inc., announced its first Best New Plant-Based Restaurants list, starting a new annual tradition for the 47-year-old magazine. The list features restaurants that set a new standard for vegan and vegetarian dining across the United States.   “When I took over as editor of Vegetarian Times in the summer of 2021, I realized we needed to provide our readers with a list of the best plant-based restaurants in the country,” said Brittany Martin, editor of Vegetarian Times. “It particularly makes sense to do a best new restaurants list now, to celebrate the resilience and innovation of the hospitality industry and serve the surge in diners now seeking meat-free dining.” Given the pandemic’s toll on restaurants, Vegetarian Times took a broad view of “new” when reviewing candidates for inclusion in the list. Where future years will focus on openings from the prior twelve months, this special inaugural edition includes restaurants that opened from September 2019 to September 2021. To find the picks, the Vegetarian Times team put out calls to friends, food writers, and scouts across the country, and then personally visited as many places as possible. The list is not ranked and includes full-service, fine dining restaurants, casual neighborhood spots, and take-out only windows. Vegetarian Times Best New Plant-Based Restaurants 2021 Bloom Plant Based Kitchen – Chicago Cadence – New York City Fat Choy – New York City Lion ...

To meet the increase of consumer demand in the alt cheese segment, US vegan heritage brand Follow Your Heart has released three more cheeses to its plant-based cheese lineup. Following the debut of its popular Dairy-Free Feta Crumbles, Follow Your Heart is launching its Dairy-Free Bleu Cheese Crumbles, a realistic blue cheese substitute made for salads, tarts, crostini, or to be sprinkled on pizza. The LA-based brand claims the product is the “first-to-market” dairy-free blue cheese crumble product to hit US retail shelves.  Also hitting the shelves are Follow Your Heart’s Dairy-Free Finely Shredded Cheddar and Finely Shredded Mozzarella products, claimed to be the only dairy-free cheeses on the US market that are finely shredded, offering exceptional melt as well as stretch. Follow Your Heart recently teamed up with New York chickpea specialist Banza and alt protein giant Beyond Meat to produce a vegan, gluten-free pizza using such cheese.  “We’ve rewritten the rulebook with this trio of cheeses to close a wide gap in the dairy-free cheese category and further satisfy the increasing demand for plant-based alternatives,” said Bob Goldberg, CEO and co-founder, Follow Your Heart. “Our new Finely Shredded Cheeses are not only rich and creamy, they have an unbelievable melt. Plus, our new lusciously creamy Bleu Cheese Crumbles are a game changer and will have dairy cheese consumers switching without any sacrifice.” The Dairy-Free Bleu Cheese Crumbles comes in 6 oz. tubs and is available at Whole Foods Market, Stater Bros., and at select Acme and Safeway stores ...

Singaporean alt-protein company Growthwell Foods is to open an Innovation and R&D Manufacturing Centre, which it claims will be the country’s first fully automated large-scale production facility for plant-based products. Located at JTC Foodhub Senoko, the state-of-the-art facility will be able to produce 2,000 tonnes of alt-protein products per year, fuelling Growthwell’s ambition to become the leading plant-based food-tech company in Asia. The centre will feature the first production-scale High Moisture Extrusion line in Singapore, which will significantly improve the texture of Growthwell’s alt-meat products. The fully automated production, freezing, and packaging line will allow for greater economies of scale, helping to reduce prices for consumers. It will also make it possible for Growthwell to produce a wider range of plant-based foods, offering consumers more choice. Meanwhile, R&D activities at the centre will work on improving the taste and nutrition of the products. The new facility has partly been made possible by Growthwell’s recent Series A funding round, where the company raised $22 million to accelerate its expansion. In July, Growthwell also announced a strategic partnership with conventional meat and seafood provider Indoguna to increase product distribution to more restaurants, cafes, and hotels. “Growthwell Foods is driven by an ambitious goal of feeding 100 million people with plant-based foods, and to inspire a billion people to go green,” said Justin Chou, Executive Director of Growthwell Foods. “We will continue to be the leader that drives food sustainability innovation in Asia.” ...

UK vegan restaurant chain Neat Burger, backed by F1 star Lewis Hamilton, has raised $7 million in a funding round led by Rajeev Misra, CEO of Softbank Investment Advisors. Following the round, Neat Burger is now valued at $70 million. The funding will allow the chain to continue with its plans to triple in size — the company states it intends to open roughly one restaurant per month through to the end of 2022. Currently, Neat Burger operates five London locations, but it aims to increase that to 19 dine-in sites and 16 delivery kitchens. The company was able to accelerate its expansion after the pandemic caused rents to fall. As the new locations open, Neat Burger expects sales to increase by 300% YOY, reaching the tens of millions as early as next year. It also has plans to expand into the US, Italy, and the Middle East, as well as launching its burgers at supermarkets in the UK. In January, Neat Burger took on McDonalds by launching what it claimed was the first plant-based fish burger in a UK fast-food chain. Last year, it became the official sponsor of the Extreme E Electric Off-Road Championships, and also had huge success after it began offering deliveries via Deliveroo. “The fact that there is now such a high demand for a totally plant-based offering is really encouraging and exciting to us,” Director Zack Bish told the Evening Standard. “Even meat-eaters are going out of their way to choose plant-based options as ...

Jais Valeur, CEO of Denmark’s largest meat producer Danish Crown, has spoken out about the environmental impact of his industry. Speaking to Berlingske, he voiced particular concerns about the future of beef. “Beef is not going to be super climate-friendly. It’s going to be a bit like champagne, a luxury product,” he said. He envisions that while people won’t stop eating beef entirely, it will increasingly come from former dairy cows rather than animals bred specifically for meat. Meat consumption is increasingly falling in Denmark, and a landmark political agreement at the beginning of the month will see subsidies go towards farmers who produce crops rather than animal products. Over half of Danes now say they are planning on reducing their meat consumption. “It has become clear to me that the way people consume and think about meat is going to change significantly in the coming years,” said Valeur. The company has now begun producing some plant-based products, and he admits it should probably have started sooner. However, Valeur is unconvinced that meat production will need to end entirely. Danish Crown’s primary business is pork, which has a lower carbon footprint than beef (though it is still significantly higher than most plant-based foods). As a result, he believes the company will be able to continue producing pork at its current volume. But Kristine Clement, campaign manager for food and forestry at Greenpeace, disagrees. “It is fantastic that Jais Valeur says that beef is a champagne product. I totally agree. But ...

As research reveals global sustainability to be overtaking personal health as consumers’ biggest concern, Atlantic Food Labs relaunches as FoodLabs, with a dedicated €100 million food tech fund for investment in food, health and sustainability startups. “The food industry is the largest industry in the world, and it accounts for more than a quarter of greenhouse emissions globally” An offshoot of the Berlin fund Atlantic Labs, and headed by tech investor Christophe Maire, the €100 million Early-Stage fund aims to help European innovators achieve a paradigm shift in the world of food production.  Over the last five years, the VC organization has been building and investing in fast-growth companies with positive sustainability impacts, including Mushlabs and Formo. With its new Food Fund, the brand claims to be ‘doubling down’ on these efforts. Berlin-based alt dairy startup Formo recently completed a $50 million Series A funding round – a record for a European food tech.  Great Momentum in Europe Looking to invest in disruptors along the entire value chain of the food industry, FoodLabs identifies the current food system as; “Messy, wasteful and unsustainable”. At present, there is great momentum in the European food tech ecosystem, with VC firm Five Seasons Ventures also recently announcing a €180 million impact fund for sustainable food tech.  “The food industry is the largest industry in the world, and it accounts for more than a quarter of greenhouse emissions globally. Transforming how we produce and consume food toward more efficiency and sustainability has a major ...

EDINA, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#autoimmune—CLO-CLO® Vegan Foods is unveiling new frozen vegan cauliflower & sweet potato breadsticks. The newest portfolio addition is available in three delicious flavors: cauliflower, cauliflower with garlic & oil and a sweet potato with sugar & cinnamon. With more of us cooking and eating at home than ever before, we have an inclination to give families the alternative to cherish their favorite meals without worry for food allergies or intolerances, while still meeting their dietary and lifestyle needs.   “The plant-based frozen food sector continues to slingshot up. We’re incredibly excited to expand CLO-CLO’s presence in the frozen food aisle with the launch of our vegan Breadsticks. Whether it’s a quiet night in, hosting a group of family and friends for pasta night or a kid’s lunch at school, CLO-CLO Breadsticks are a fast and fun way to entertain and satisfy everyone’s hunger while being allergen & environmentally friendly,” said Wendy Hinnenkamp, Co-founder, CLO-CLO Vegan Foods, LLC. “Breadsticks are a staple in American restaurants, and now it’s even easier to bring a healthy solution into the home with CLO-CLO’s veggie dipping sticks. The perfect way to add more veggies to an appetizer, kids’ lunch or family meal,” said Chef Robert, Executive Chef, CLO-CLO Vegan Foods, LLC. All three breadsticks are made without the top 9 allergens’ (dairy, egg, soy, shellfish, fish, peanuts, gluten, sesame, & tree nuts) with zero cholesterol & zero trans-fat per serving. CAULIFLOWER BREADSTICKS Cauliflower is magically transformed into satisfying breadsticks. The perfect fresh baked ...

New distribution marks first-ever debut of plant-based products in Walmart’s breakfast meat section CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Greenleaf Foods, SPC, owner of leading plant-based brands Lightlife® (“Lightlife”) and Field Roast™ (“Field Roast”), announced today that its Lightlife Plant-Based Burger, Plant-Based Breakfast Links and Plant-Based Breakfast Patties are now available at select Walmart locations nationwide. The plant-based breakfast items will be sold in the refrigerated breakfast meat section, the first time the retailer will offer a plant-based option in this area of the store, and the Lightlife Plant-Based Burger will be available in the frozen aisle. “Flexitarian consumers continue to drive growth in the plant-based category, and we’re excited to expand our partnership with Walmart to make delicious, simple plant-based products even more accessible,” said Dan Curtin, President of Greenleaf Foods, SPC. “As we celebrated in our newest brand campaign, our Plant-Based Burger and breakfast items are part of Lightlife’s commitment to providing people with plant-based options that taste great and are made with cleaner, more recognizable ingredients.” Lightlife Plant-Based Breakfast Links and Plant-Based Breakfast Patties offer the same great taste and juicy texture as traditional breakfast sausages with less saturated fat and 10g and 11g of protein per serving, respectively. Lightlife Plant-Based Breakfast Links and Plant-Based Breakfast Patties are gluten-free, soy-free, and non-GMO. An excellent source of balanced nutrition, these breakfast items help consumers feel confident about their choices without compromising on delicious flavor. The Lightlife Plant-Based Burger is made with 11 simple ingredients, fewer than leading competitive plant-based burgers. Made with pea ...