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Maiko Van Der Meer, Co-Founder of Novish, joins Elysabeth Alfano on The Plantbased Business Hour to discuss the state of plant-based seafood and the Novish U.S. launch. Specifically, they discuss: Why he started Novish and how he quickly accomplished global distribution. The reactions of consumers and distributors, The biggest challenge for the alt seafood industry which grew approximately 23% last year according to GFI. Current goals for market share, predictions for price parity and growth, and the importance of cultivated seafood. 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: There is a bit of a headwind right now for alternative seafood. I’ll say that the Good Food Institute just launched their State of the Alternative Seafood Market Report and it says that in 2019 alternative seafood, we keep using that word but I’ll just say plant-based seafood in all forms including fermented and cellular options which really aren’t in market yet, was about ten million in 2019. It’s twelve million in 2020. So it’s a 23% increase but we are talking about tiny, tiny numbers.  The global seafood market is almost $160 billion so we’re not even really on the map yet. Maiko Van Der Meer: Well, if we get ten percent of that I’m happy. Elysabeth: I would be happy with ten percent as well. Maiko Van Der Meer: Plant-based is going to lag behind a little bit because ...

Australian plant-based startup MEET was established in 2008 by Vogel Cereals Founder, Stephen Dunn, whose son and triple Olympian swimmer Matthew Dunn is the brand’s CEO and co-founder. The company, which describes itself as Australia’s next-generation of plant-based protein, has launched a new chilled range for Coles, including what it claims to be Australia’s first Plant-based Beef style strips. The new refrigerated range also includes Plant-Based Italian Meetballs. The launch of the two new chilled products follows the news that home delivery service HelloFresh will be including MEET’s new Plant-Based Southern Style Tenders in its upcoming meal kits. According to the company, MEET’s products caught the attention of HelloFresh and Coles as they are the “closest meat-free option to animal meat available in Australia today”.  Olympian Matt Dunn comments: “MEET isn’t just for vegans or vegetarians. All types of Aussies are incorporating plant-based products into their diets, so we’re thrilled to expand our already popular Coles range and to be included as part of the Hello Fresh meal kits. “Our new Plant-Based Beef Free Strips, which are part of our new Coles chilled range, are the first of their kind in the Australian market. The Strips’ taste, texture and structure is unlike anything else available on shelves across the country and will open the door to hundreds of new recipes, like curries, stews and stir fries, which have not previously been possible to create using chilled plant-based products like burgers or mince,” he added. Aliette Errington, Category Manager, Chilled Meat ...

OmniFoods‘ plant-based pork products, OmniPork Mince and OmniPork Strips, have expanded into Sainsbury’s stores across the UK and are now available in the chilled aisles in 119 locations. The news follows its initial entry into the UK this March with VeganKind, and the recent Big Vegan Pig Out, a series of partnerships with restaurants in 21 UK locations. After dominating the Asian market, OmniFoods has seen successful recent retail expansion into Woolworth’s in Australia and into Whole Foods and Sprouts in the US as well as 25 food service locations in the US as listed here. The Hong Kong based pioneer even had time this June to enter the growing alt seafood category with the launch of the OmniSeafood line which includes Omni Classic Fillet, Omni Golden Fillet, Omni Ocean Burger, OmniTuna and an upcoming OmniSalmon product. OmniPork is created with a proprietary blend of plant-based protein from non-GMO soy, peas, shiitake mushrooms, and rice, and is said to have a tender and juicy texture similar to conventional pork. “After the successful launch in the U.S. and Australia, we are thrilled to announce that OmniFoods is officially arriving in Sainsbury’s in the UK.  Together with our many restaurant partners, we believe we are bringing a whole new dimension of plant-based offerings that will accelerate the movement,” said David Yeung, founder and CEO of Green Monday Holdings and OmniFoods. ...

The third day of the world’s leading trade fair for the food and beverage industry is over and Anuga is already drawing to a close. But there is still time to explore, inform and network, and there is still more than enough to explore in the plant-based sector. Our vegconomist team on-site also continues to be excited and fascinated by the wealth of vegan innovations presented by both national and international exhibitors. One of the most popular exhibitors of vegan food this year is Berief Food GmbH from Beckum, Germany, which has brought its entire range of innovative milk alternatives. The Rücker family dairy is presenting its new vegan alternative brand “Vega Lecker” at this year’s trade fair. The young startup vly Foods from Berlin specializes in vegetable drinks based on pea protein. Italian food manufacturer International Food produces a whole range of plant-based product alternatives and has several brands in its portfolio. Natrue from Spain has been producing plant-based clean-label drinks for many years and already offers a wide range of different varieties. As an Austrian manufacturer of vegan alternative products, Mona Naturprodukte GmbH from Vienna is represented at the fair. Scandinavian exhibitors at the show include Danish startup True Gum with its range of vegan chewing gum alternatives. Another herbal manufacturer from Italy at the show is Valsoia, with its extensive range of high-quality, herbal products. The young Asian food startup HerbYvore from Singapore presents a range of newly developed alternative products. The third day of the trade ...

In 2017, Vegan Junk Food Bar opened its first location in Amsterdam, serving colourful and sustainable plant-based meals. Four years and several restaurants later, the franchise is about to open its first German location. Five Vegan Junk Food Bar locations are already operational in the Netherlands, and last year the chain opened its first Spanish store in El Born, Barcelona. More Spanish locations are to follow, starting with Madrid. Vegan Junk Food Bar is now expanding into Germany following high demand from customers and numerous franchise requests. The Cologne location will be the first of several in the country, and the franchise will also be expanding further into Europe in the near future. The new store will be at Hohenzollernring 21-23 in the centre of Cologne, with the opening date to be revealed soon. The area is a popular shopping and nightlife zone, and the restaurant will have plenty of seating both indoors and outdoors. Vegan Junk Food Bar offers dishes such as burgers, vegan seafood, and plant-based ribs, as well as salads, nachos, pizza, and more. After launching in 2017, the franchise received extensive media coverage and soon went viral. The following year, it won two awards at the Dutch Vegan Awards. “We love the planet and we have a strong belief that a sustainable plant-based lifestyle is the only ethical option,” says the company on its website. “Plant-based alternatives prove to have the largest benefit for the planet and our health. And of course, we know that eating ...

After being named at PETA’s Vegan Food Award 2020 as the most vegan-friendly supermarket, ALDI has now launched its new Ultimate No Beef Burger into UK stores nationwide, as reported first by Vegan Food & Living.  Priced at £1.99, the patties are 60% cheaper than those of alt protein leader Beyond Meat, in keeping with ALDI’s budget supermarket strategy. The new pea-based burger comes as part of ALDI’s successful Plant Menu range, which includes vegan burgers, alt chicken, sausages, power bowls, and more.  Aldi continues to offer plant-based products at accessible price points across the globe. In the US, ALDI offers a wide range of products with the Good Housekeeping seal, including the recent addition of 34 Earth Grown products – the ALDI US plant-based product line. In China, ALDI has partnered with Asian alt meat sensation Omnipork.  “ALDI recognizes that consumers today care about animal welfare, their own health, and the impact that a meat- and dairy-heavy diet has on the environment — and it deserves to be recognized for offering shoppers a host of tasty vegan foods,” states PETA President Ingrid Newkirk previously.  ...

North Carolina-based No Evil Foods recently opened a bridge note round of financing to expand its growth strategy. The funds will help to bring long-term stability to No Evil Foods, the first Certified Plastic Negative plant-based meat company, as it looks to grow its environmentally sustainable, socially conscious plant-based food footprint. The round, led by early-stage alt protein investor Big Idea Ventures, is currently open and No Evil Foods reports that it is seeking additional partners as it pivots into a new stage of growth. The company has nationwide distribution in the natural and traditional retail channels, and will now look to expand distribution partnerships, product launches, and manufacturing strategy. With a focus on maximum nutrition through its utilization of blended proteins, fermentation, and upcycled ingredients, No Evil Foods became the world’s first Plastic Negative Certified plant-based meat brand in 2020 and is available nationwide in retailers like Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Walmart, as well as co-ops and independents. “We’re very excited to kick off this current round of investment. As the 2nd fastest growing brand in conventional and 7th ranked brand in natural, No Evil Foods has a lot of potential and momentum to really take off. If you believe food has the power to change lives and think disrupting an industry is fun, then we want to talk to you about our ambitious plans to shape the future for the better,” commented Sadrah Schadel, Chief Creative Officer at No Evil Foods, to vegconomist today. “This round of bridge ...

German plant-based brand Veganz has revealed it is planning an IPO, which will see its shares trade on the Regulated Unofficial Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange within a few months. New shares from a capital increase will be included, as well as existing shares from some shareholders. The company is hoping for proceeds of around €35 million to help it establish a new production site and invest in research and development, marketing, and expansion. Veganz currently has 120 plant-based products across 17 categories, including alt-protein, ready meals, breakfast items, snacks, and sweets. Last year, its revenue increased by 35% as it grew continuously throughout the year. The company’s products are now available in half the countries in Europe, including several major supermarket chains. It has also expanded into the UK and Australia. “With ten years of experience, Veganz is a ‘first mover’ in the plant-based food market. Under the slogan ‘Eating for the climate!’ we believe to offer a highly innovative product range that is able to satisfy consumers’ needs from breakfast to dinner. We also believe that none of our competitors has a comparably broad range as we do,” said Jan Bredack, founder and CEO of Veganz. He added, “We see a positive momentum for purely plant-based food products driven by several trends like the rising consciousness of food sustainability and for animal welfare. But also the aging of younger generations plays an important role since the number of vegetarians and vegans as well as flexitarians is particularly ...

Ilttud Dunsford was born into a farming family and grew up to found a speciality meat processing business. But after learning about cultivated meat, Dunsford’s career path took a complete 180 and he has now founded Cellular Agriculture Ltd. Dunsford first became aware of cultivated meat after attending the first Symposium on Cultured Meat at Maastricht University in 2015. Having always believed people had a duty to use every part of the animals they killed for food, he was intrigued by the idea of producing only the parts that were needed. At the conference, he met Prof. Marianne Ellis from the University of Bath, and from there the two decided to co-found a company and enter the category. “We established Cellular Agriculture Ltd as a company in April 2016, focusing purely on technological bottlenecks for scale, and designing bioprocess technologies for the industry,” Dunsford told ProVeg International. “Our core work to date has been in developing novel bioreactors specifically for the production of cultured meat.” Since the company was founded, the cultivated meat industry has taken off worldwide. Earlier this month, FAIRR declared 2021 the “Year of Cultivated Meat”, as investments in the industry soared to $506 million. And in the UK, a report recently warned that if the government failed to embrace cultivated meat then the economy would lose out on £2.1 billion and 6,500 jobs. “Whether it be farmers or consumers, we have significant changes ahead of us, as our current levels of consumption far exceed what the ...

A new business called The Food Incubator has launched to help companies in the British food industry get their products to market. It will support enterprises across a range of categories, including the plant-based and health food sectors. The incubator will help companies identify the processing options best suited to their product and the size of their business — for example, startups will require small batch runs whereas more established companies may be looking to expand their production capacity. Companies will also be offered product testing and data analysis to help them determine how viable their production runs will be. Additionally, they will be able to take advantage of support for new product development and specialist promotional activities. The Food Incubator will be based at a bespoke facility in Leicester, which will offer pilot food processing equipment for clients’ use. In future, it plans to expand to offer packaging consultancy and implementation. Worldwide, a growing number of incubators are now offering support to plant-based and cell-cultured businesses, though most focus on startups. Examples include the Dao Foods Incubator in China and Spain’s FoodTech Accelerator. Many of these incubators are already producing plant-based success stories. “The food and drink industry represents the UK’s largest manufacturing sector,” said industry expert Tom Russell, who will head The Food Incubator. “It contributes £28 billion to the economy and is growing year on year. Our team has years of industry experience to bring to the table, along with a comprehensive understanding of best-in-class thermal processing ...