vegconomist - the vegan business magazine

The Vegetarian Butcher has called on mainstream dating apps such as Hinge, Bumble, and Grindr to allow users to specify dietary preferences on their dating profiles. According to new research by the plant-based meat brand, three-quarters of Brits feel it’s important to date someone with the same dietary preferences. 9% said they would be completely turned off if a potential date followed a different diet, and 56% said it would be a dealbreaker if the other person’s values didn’t match their own. But 75% of dating apps don’t give users the option to specify their dietary preferences, despite having the functionality to list factors such as star signs, views about Brexit, and Covid vaccination status. The Vegetarian Butcher’s findings echo results from a German study in 2018, which found that 79% of vegans would not date a meat-eater who had no plans to give up meat. Two-thirds of vegans in the study said it was important that their partner was also vegan. As veganism and vegetarianism grow in popularity, dating apps are springing up to cater to those who avoid meat. The most popular, Veggly, celebrated over a million matches earlier this year. Another app, Vegandr, launched in 2020 and features a built-in restaurant finder for dates. “At The Vegetarian Butcher, we believe that we must sacrifice nothing when it comes to enjoying our food,” said Inna Elwell, Senior Marketing Manager at The Vegetarian Butcher. “What we choose to eat can be a crucial part of our identity and should ...

Laws and policies affecting factory-farmed animals tend to lack coherence, varying widely from country to country. To address this, the UK’s Jeremy Coller Foundation has launched a new interactive database called CALF. CALF will bring together legislation and policies relating to all aspects of industrial animal agriculture, including animal welfare, antibiotics overuse, sustainability, and international trade. By viewing the database, users will be able to compare approaches around the world — for example, they will be able to see which countries recognise animals as sentient. The Jeremy Coller Foundation hopes that the increased coherence provided by the database will make it easier to transform the food system, since users can take inspiration from progressive laws in other jurisdictions to help them draft new legislation. Additionally, the database will help users analyse the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Changing legislation Historically, agricultural laws have offered limited protection to animals and the environment. But the tide is slowly beginning to turn — earlier this year, the EU voted to entirely phase out cages for farmed animals. Legislation is also beginning to shift to favour the production of plant-based foods and beverages. Attempts to restrict the marketing of alt-protein products have repeatedly failed, and a new landmark political agreement in Denmark will see subsidies given to farmers who grow crops instead of rearing animals. “Without goals and direction, there will be no green transition of the food industry,” said Frederik Madsen, Head of Secretariat at the Danish Plant-Based Food Association. “Going forward, ...

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Take Two is the first company to utilize upcycled barley into nutritious plant milk. Holding the claim that its milk outperforms other plant-based milks when used in recipes, Take Two is on track to upcycle at least 500,000 pounds of spent grain this year. With the company recently launching its new Barista Barleymilk for coffee aficionados, we thought it was a good time to meet Jerek Theo Lovey, Co-founder and CEO of Take Two. Can you give us Take Two’s elevator pitch? Take Two is championing the upcycling movement by transforming the billions of spent grain wasted each year into great-tasting, nutritious, and sustainable barleymilk. Upcycling is at the core of Take Two. What are the benefits of this business model, and do you think it will spread into different business areas? The upcycling movement is growing quickly across industries such as fashion, building, and even transportation. From an environmental and sustainability perspective, it’s becoming all the more essential for businesses to reimagine the potential of “waste,” and transform it into value. For example, approximately 1/3rd of our food supply goes to waste, which contributes roughly 8% of global emissions. The impact on the environment is real and we can help mitigate it through this model. “The possibilities are limitless.” How does Take Two manage to source the barley from beer in order to upcycle it? We’ve partnered with EverGrain, a company that produces upcycled barley protein and fiber, made from Anheuser Busch InBev spent grain. The protein and fiber can be used ...

With a 100 square metre art installation made of real plants arranged in the shape of a chicken, the Swiss startup Planted is causing a stir in Berlin in a campaign that has been running since 8th October and will continue til 11th November. Under the title “Better than”, Planted encourages people to critically question the way meat is perceived and consumed. For its mission to make the world a better place one bite at a time, the start-up actively promotes environmental protection and resource conservation with a series of different actions as part of the campaign. While the installation catches the eyes of people passing by, Planted online allows consumers to find out how much carbon dioxide, water and animal life each individual can save in a year by switching to plant-based meat using the “Better than Calculator”. “If we want to continue to have a comfortable life on this planet in the future, we must act now. We have no more time for excuses – now is the time to reduce the devastating impact of livestock farming on our planet. Choosing not to eat animal meat is a crucial step in the right direction and it has never been easier. Our “Better than” campaign aims to inspire people to rethink and take them on a journey towards a livable future,” says Christoph Jenny, Planted co-founder. Planted’s vision is to develop sustainably produced products from as little as possible and 100 per cent natural ingredients, but with full flavour. ...

Looking to revolutionize the ambient ready-to-eat sector, plant-based brand VegaBytz has launched a new range of innovative shelf-stable products. Claiming to be a vegan first-of-its-kind, the new VegaBytz range includes ready-to-eat combo meal packs with an ambient shelf life of up to 12 months. Based in Chennai, India and with offices in the US and UK; VegaBytz products use functional selective ingredients including plant-based proteins, fibre, vitamins and minerals. The products are Vegan Certified, and were shortlisted at the World’s Best Plant-Based Awards 2020 by Food&Bev London. The new VegaBytz product line includes:  Vegan Egg premix  Vegan Coffee premix  Avocado Sandwich Spread & Avocado Beverage with MCTs. Ready-To-Eat Meal range, including Vegan Meat Balls with Spaghetti, Vegan Thai Red/Green Chick’n curry with Quinoa, and Vegan Butter Chick’n curry with Quinoa. More information about the brand’s full product line, which includes canned curry, pasta, cereals and snacks, can be found here https://vegabytz.com/ ...

Grounded Foods, which makes innovative plant-based cheeses from upcycled cauliflower and hemp, has raised $2.5 million in a pre-Series A round. The company uses fermentation to harness the proteins and fats in hemp, achieving a taste and texture that recreates dairy cheese without the need for artificial additives. Grounded says this approach gives it an advantage over conventional vegan cheese brands, which typically use either coconut oil or nuts and often struggle to live up to consumer expectations. Speaking to vegconomist regarding new fund round, Co-founder Veronica Fil said: “From day one, our goal has been to create products that taste incredible — and genuinely appeal to non-vegan consumers who aren’t willing to compromise. In order to achieve that, we looked at how vegan cheese is currently made — then threw away the rulebook and started again from scratch. New ingredients, new process, and a focus on flavor and texture first.” Grounded’s cheese was a success from the beginning — an investor offered co-founders Veronica Fil and her husband Shaun Quade $2 million for the business before they had even launched. When pre-sales were launched in April of last year, the cheese sold out within three minutes, before finally launching online in March of this year. Two months later, it rolled out across 160 brick-and-mortar retailers such as Whole Foods Market, Bristol Farms, and Harmon’s. Participants in this recent round included previous investors Big Idea Ventures and Stray Dog Capital, as well as Route 66 Ventures, Nucleus Capital, Kale United, ...

After announcing its ambition to become a market leader in the vegan fast-food sector, McDonald’s has rolled out the long-awaited McPlant at 250 locations across the UK and Ireland. “Whether you’re vegan or just fancy a plant-based patty, we’re confident you will enjoy the McPlant” As reported by vegconomist, the vegan McPlant burger uses a plant-based cheese – made in collaboration with Irish food company Kerry, as well as a McDonald’s exclusive Beyond Meat patty. The alt meat giant signed a coveted 3 year deal with McDonald’s earlier this year, making it plant-based supplier of choice with the fast-food icon, as well its primary developer of new plant-based products.  The McPlant is £3.49 on its own or £4.89 as a meal, and will not be available from every McDonald’s in the UK and Ireland until January 2022. However, it can now be found in the 250 locations listed below. “We are always looking for different ways to innovate and meet our customers’ needs, and with McPlant we have a delicious plant-based burger that will appeal to everyone. Whether you’re vegan or just fancy a plant-based patty, we’re confident you will enjoy the McPlant,” commented Michelle Graham-Clare, Chief Marketing Officer, McDonald’s UK and Ireland. McPlant New Locations: Abbey Centre Abbey Lane Anniesland Antrim – The Junction Retail Park Asda Longbenton Asda Morley Asda Norwich Barton Mills Beaumont Leys Beccles Bedminster Belfast – Boucher Road Belfast – Mckinstry Road Belfast Knocknagoney Road Belfast Shore Road Birmingham – Chelmsley Wood Birmingham – Small ...

Impact investor Blue Horizon has released a new report titled Food For Thought: The Protein Transformation. It examines how the alt-protein market will evolve in the coming years and what that means for investors. According to the report, every tenth portion of meat, eggs, and dairy eaten worldwide will probably be alt-protein by 2035, with revenues for alt-protein companies reaching $290 billion. This shift would save a gigaton of carbon dioxide — the equivalent of Japan going carbon neutral for an entire year — and enough water to supply London for four decades. If certain conditions are met, alt-protein’s market share could be even greater. Matching the price, taste, and texture of conventional animal protein, along with improved efficiency and support from regulators, could lead consumption of alt-protein to increase by 22% by 2035. Currently, alt-protein makes up just 2% of the global protein market. However, the Blue Horizon report cites a recent study which found that 77% of consumers are at least somewhat open to trying alternative proteins. For many respondents, reduced cost and improved taste would convince them to make the switch. Already, a huge number of companies are working on alt-protein innovations. Last year, investments in the industry soared by three times to hit $3.1 billion, and a report recently predicted the alt-protein market would be worth $155 billion by 2027. “2020 was a breakout year for alternative proteins, with record investment flowing into all segments of the industry,” said GFI Director of Corporate Engagement Caroline Bushnell. ...

Plant Based World Expo North America (PBW), a plant-based event designed exclusively for a B2B audience, returns to New York on December 9-10, 2021 at the Javits Center, with more than 3,000 attendees expected to take part in plant-based networking and tasting opportunities. The inaugural event took place in 2019, with trade show management company JD Events stating that 3,737 attendees had participated, and this being prior to the global health crisis which of course has accelerated interest and demand in plant-based across the planet. Attendees at the return show this year will have the opportunity to experience an exhibition showcasing thousands of innovative plant-based products and brands from around the world. The opening keynote panel, Growth of the Plant-Based Industry, will be moderated by Nil Zacharias, host of the Eat for The Planet Podcast and features Rachel Dreskin, CEO, Plant-Based Foods Association; Susie Weintraub, CEO, Envision Group, A Division of Compass Group; and Holly Adrien, Natural and Organics Strategy and Innovation Manager, Kroger. They will discuss the progress and growth of the plant-based category and preview what’s ahead. In addition to conference keynotes and sessions, attendees will have the opportunity to: Learn about the latest consumer trends, data, and research on plant-based foods. See, taste and experience new product innovations and solutions. Return to in-person networking with industry colleagues. Become an expert on plant-based food and help shape a healthier, more sustainable food system. “The plant-based industry continues to grow and innovate at a breakneck pace, and  Plant-Based World ...

MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#MONAT–Global healthy-aging innovator MONAT Global Corp (MONAT) officially announces the debut of MONAT Vegan Protein, the latest addition to the company’s fast-growing wellness portfolio. Representing the brand’s unwavering commitment to quality, MONAT Vegan Protein is a deliciously smooth blend of plant proteins and superfoods, delivering twenty grams of satisfying protein in each serving with zero grams of sugar and 100 calories. “The launch of MONAT Wellness last year was met with extraordinary success, and we’ve sold more than 750,000 units of product to date,” said Ray Urdaneta, MONAT Co-Founder and CEO. “Seeing the collection’s ability to fill a need for an uncomplicated approach to inner health, we knew the next step on our path of innovation was to create a 100% plant-based protein powder that is highly effective, easy-to-use, and tastes amazing.” Created in partnership with holistic expert Dr. Brent Agin, MONAT Vegan Protein offers an excellent way to easily meet the daily protein requirements of an active lifestyle by supporting post-workout recovery, a leaner body, and healthy weight in combination with diet and exercise. “MONAT Vegan Protein strategically combines six different proteins including pea, pumpkin, sunflower, chia, watermelon, and rice,” said Dr. Brent Agin. “This creates an essential combination of amino acids that equal the protein-synthesizing power of an animal protein in a totally vegan formula.” In addition to plant proteins and superfoods, the dynamic formula also includes a custom blend of unique mushrooms, each of which have been long valued in traditional medicine for their powerful properties. ...