vegconomist - the vegan business magazine

Happy World Egg Day! Though perhaps it is not such a happy day for the approximately 9 billion chickens killed in the US every year. There are, however, signs of change with recent surveys revealing up to 30% of consumers are likely to buy plant-based eggs instead of conventional poultry eggs. The global egg substitutes market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 5% until 2026, when it will be worth $2.1 billion, with many new companies entering the space to meet demand. Market leader JUST Egg is the most funded among them and has recently expanded into both South Africa and South Korea, as well as launching an ad campaign voiced by Curb Your Enthusiasm star J.B Smoove.  US plant-based brand Crafty Counter recently announced plans to launch WunderEggs, unique to the market as a hard-boiled egg alternative that offers a superior nutrition profile while maintaining the look, feel, and taste of a traditional boiled egg.  Israel’s Millennium Food-Tech and SavorEat will be the main investors in the $2 million Series A financing round for new company Egg’n’up – a SavorEat subsidiary that plans to develop plant-based egg substitutes, without detracting from the original taste of the egg and its nutritional values.  Piperleaf, the company that made “India’s first” plant-based milk chocolate has launched its Plant-Based Egg Alternative, a legume-based, soy-free, long-life premix for cooking scrambled eggs, omelettes and for use in baking.  Canadian plant-based producer Nabati Foods has announced the North American launch of Nabati ...

India is well-known for having a large vegetarian population, and many Indians have been turning to veganism recently. In addition, India offers a wide variety of agricultural products. Two facts that the Indian company BVeg Foods wants to take advantage of by having build the first dedicated plant-based meat facility. We talked to BVeg Foods Co-Founder Akanksha Ghai about the current state of the venture, the market for plant-based meat, and what kind of partnerships they are currently seeking. What is BVeg Foods? BVeg Foods is an innovation-driven sustainable food company venturing into the development and manufacturing of plant-based meat products. We aim to be a trusted enterprise for producing sustainable, high-quality and accessible plant-based foods, that are healthy, delicious and planet-friendly, for our clients and consumers worldwide. Today, BVeg is well-positioned to be a pioneer in the plant-based ecosystem by setting up India’s first dedicated plant-based meat facility with an extended product line that envision to cater to a vast variety of consumers and their meat preferences. We are creating an integrated center of excellence to provide a complete end-to-end solution – from extrusion to finished products. We strongly believe that plant-based is the future of food, and we are doing our part to accelerate the incoming revolution. Click here to display content from YouTube.Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy. Always display content from YouTube What makes you unique, especially compared to other producers in India? What products can you develop and produce? The USP we have not only ...

Nestlé has launched vegan alternatives to egg and shrimp in London. Garden Gourmet vEGGie is made with soy protein and can be scrambled and fried like poultry eggs. Garden Gourmet Vrimp are made with seaweed, peas and konjac root and are said to have the taste and texture of shrimp. This follows the news from July, when Nestlé confirmed it is working with Future Meat Technologies in Israel, to enter the cultured meat category. The multinational conglomerate can evidently see the benefits of funding alt protein and is keen to enter the various segments. Stefan Palzer, Nestlé Chief Technology Officer, says: “Our new plant-based shrimp and egg alternatives have authentic texture and taste, as well as good nutritional profiles. This makes them an ideal alternative to animal originals for many dishes. Our years of expertise in plant, protein and nutritional science have enabled our teams to develop these great innovations in less than a year. Our research team is already preparing to launch the next vegan innovations.” Both Garden Gourmet Vrimp and vEGGie will be launched later this year for a test period at selected supermarkets in various European markets. ...

Greenleaf Foods, the plant-based arm of meat giant Maple Leaf, is to exclusively provide un-breaded, plant-based chicken produced by subsidiary Lightlife to all Whole Foods Market prepared foods departments across North America. Whole Foods Market will be the first national retailer to offer the pea protein-based “whole cut” at over 500 prepared foods departments in the United States and Canada. Lightlife Plant-Based Chicken is now available and will be used in a variety of recipes across its popular hot bar, cold salad bar, and grab-and-go offerings.  “Whole Foods is known for its high-quality, nutritious and convenient meal options, and we are excited to partner & launch this innovation to satisfy their customers. This unique, versatile design is the result of collaboration with the Whole Foods Market’s culinary team that has a taste, color and pull-apart texture that delivers on chicken experience,” said Jitendra Sagili, Chief Research, Development and Food Technology Officer of Greenleaf Foods, SPC.    “Chicken is the most popular animal protein in the U.S. because it can be used in a wide variety of different dishes,” said Tommy McDonald, Executive Chef of Greenleaf Foods, SPC. “This product performs well in hot or cold food applications, and one of my favorite dishes is the new Whole Foods Market Classic Vegan-Chicken Salad.”   ...

Colorado-based Hope, a leading brand of hummus and other plant-based dips and producer of the #1 organic hummus in the United States, has been acquired by SAVENCIA Fromage & Dairy. The acquisition includes the Hope Foods’ plant in Louisville, CO.   “Our core business remains cheese and dairy products, but we want to develop new offers in the plant-based category with taste differentiation and premium brands. Hope is a strategic fit for us to drive growth in premium natural food products” said Jean-Paul Torris, Chief Executive Officer for Savencia Fromage & Dairy. “Hope enlarges our brands portfolio in the USA into fast growing, ‘better-for-you’ products and provides an excellent opportunity to expand consumer options for great tasting, plant-based products.” “Hope has always stood for much more than just great-tasting products, it is a mission driven brand” said one of Hope’s founders, Robbie Rech. “We’re thrilled to be partnering this great brand with a company like Savencia, known throughout the world for some of the best-tasting products on the market. We believe this partnership represents a terrific opportunity to realize Hope’s potential for leadership within the plant-based products space.” ...

In today’s most unlikely news, a collective called Sound Ventures led by actor Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary, the Israeli-American businessman and investor known for Maverick Records and his work with Madonna and U2, has announced a partnership with Israel’s cultivated meat leader MeaTech, the world’s first publicly traded cultivated meat producer. Sound Ventures describes itself as “an investment vehicle dedicated to the next generation of clean, circular and sustainable businesses. Anchored by a partnership program with some of the world’s leading brands and corporations, our unique investment thesis is focused on sustainable supply chain management. The partnership aims to accelerate growth and expedite the commercialization of MeaTech’s proprietary cultured meat production technologies. Ashton Kutcher commented: “We are delighted to partner with MeaTech and assist it in its journey to become the market leader in cultured meat production. We are excited about MeaTech’s innovative technologies, which we believe position MeaTech to be the leader in industrial scale production of cultured meat, a key for a more sustainable and clean meat production. We intend to work closely with MeaTech’s management to help MeaTech implement its strategy and achieve its goals and global success by leveraging our marketing, strategic expertise, and network. The engagement with MeaTech is in line with our group’s mission to provide sustainable solutions through company building, investment, and acceleration of companies and technologies across various sustainability domains.” Sharon Fima, CEO of MeaTech, said, “We are extremely excited to announce our strategic collaboration with such an entrepreneurial, visionary group. ...

Last year we wrote that around 10% of Russians were already eating plant-based alternatives and 54% were willing to include them in their diet. A new study made by Eating Better shows new encouraging results. According to the study, for a year and a half, residents of Russian cities began to consume meat and milk alternatives three times more often (the share of consumers in the “meat” category increased from 10% to 34%, in the “milk” category – from 9% to 31%). Such plant-based alternatives are in the greatest demand among young people and people with high incomes. Meanwhile, the majority (95%) of Russian citizens are aware of the availability of plant-based substitutes to meat and milk on the Russian market. Health concerns are still the main reason why Russians are ready to include plant-based substitutes in their diets (56%). Consumers also value natural taste (49%) and lower price (33%) of the alternative products in comparison to their traditional counterparts. At the same time, the cost of plant-based analogues on the market remains quite high on average, meaning that meat and dairy alternatives are most often purchased by people with high incomes. Thanks to an increase in the number of local producers, prices are gradually decreasing. For example, the price of EFKO group plant-based burger patties is already close to the price of beef.  Meanwhile, environmental and ethical concerns are still the most unpopular topics among Russian consumers.  Interesting results were obtained with regard to the attractiveness of different labels. ...

VeganBurg, which was the world’s first plant-based burger joint back in 2010, is celebrating its 11th anniversary by opening its third location in Berkeley, California. The brand, currently located in San Francisco and Singapore, reports that it has plans for international expansion through its franchise scheme. VeganBurg now opens its third location next to Berkeley University, aiming to inspire more science-forward food technology in the progressive district. This July, the Berkeley City Council voted to shift 50% of its current food expenses from animal-based to plant-based before 2024, and has committed to fully omitting animal products in the long term. The city will start serving vegan food at public events, jails, senior centers and other city buildings. VeganBurg, which has been offering the Impossible Burger since 2019, describes itself as a combination of eastern flavours and western marketing. It introduced ground-breaking marine plant-based protein and nutrients made possible by partnering with Australian listed company Stemcell United (ASX: SCU) and SIT (Singapore Institute Technology), a leader in the research into harnessing ocean nutrients using marine plant biotechnology. “Over the past years, we’ve invested time in perfecting the ultimate plant-based burger recipe and gold-standard customer service! VeganBurg has a one-of-a-kind concept that has differentiated itself from other industry brands and we’re committed to growing the brand nationally. And every day, we strive to uphold VeganBurg’s ethos through our food, whether that’s protecting our planet or giving back to the community – it’s all reflected in our franchise. VeganBurg is a very inclusive ...

One of the hottest brands in vegan fast food, Slutty Vegan, has announced a new location in Duluth, GA, to be opened in late 2021. The new spot will be the fourth location for the Atlanta-based eatery founded by activist and entrepreneur Pinky Cole.  “Our goal is to reinvent vegan food culture” – Pinky Cole Slutty Vegan, the black-owned, female-owned fast-food specialist started out as a food truck and has since taken the plant-based world by storm, with customers often queuing round the block for the brand’s vegan burgers, sandwiches, and meals made with Impossible meat.  Activism is at the heart of Slutty Vegan and The Pinky Cole Foundation, with campaigns ranging from a collaboration with Impossible Foods to boost voter turnout, to teaming up with PETA in the fight against food deserts and for food justice.  “A “Slutty Vegan,” in my mind, is someone who eats vegan but enjoys junk food. Our goal is to reinvent vegan food culture, where vegans and meat-eaters can break free from kale and quinoa salads and enjoy creative takes on plant-based burgers, sandwiches, and meals. If we can get people to try vegan options, I believe we are taking a step in the right direction.” Pinky Cole previously told Hello Beautiful in an interview. ...

Blue Horizon, a pure play impact investment firm based in Zurich, has announced the appointment of financial law expert Ela Musat as General Counsel to further expand operations.  Blue Horizon has raised over $850million for more than 50 companies in the alt protein field. The appointment of Ms Musat is the latest in several strategic hires by Blue Horizon as part of the company’s mission to accelerate a sustainable transition in our global food systems through the funding of alt protein, agriculture and innovation. Last November saw the hiring of Przemek Obloj as a Managing Partner in the Executive Team; in January former Olympic windsurfer and ex Executive Director at Goldman Sachs Sedef Köktentürk joined Blue Horizon’s management team; five new Board Directors were appointed in April; and in June Marc Duckeck was appointed as Head of Communications. Anela (‘Ela’) Musat will join Blue Horizon’s Executive Team from Partners Group, where she was Global Head of Legal. With a passion for impact investing, Ms Musat has over 15 years of legal expertise with a focus on private equity and venture capital. Ela Musat, General Counsel of Blue Horizon said: “I am very excited to join Blue Horizon at this early stage in its journey. It is not often that you get to shape a fast-growing business that in turn is leading the charge in shaping a whole new industry. It used to be that “positive impact” and “attractive returns” were never mentioned in the same breath, but that is changing ...