As the market for animal-free food products continues to expand at an accelerated pace, the space for cultured meat, fish, and dairy products is growing exponentially. In this month’s Highlights, we explore the growth of the cultured sector, along with developments in the plant-based sector.

TRENDS & PROJECTIONS 

• FoodNavigator looks at the impact of meat-reduction policies on meat-industry workers.
• The regulatory approval of cultured meat remains the biggest obstacle for the industry, according to a new report covered in Green Queen.
• FoodNavigator explores the question of which market segments in South Africa will be the first to adopt cultured meat.
• According to think tank RethinkX, precision fermentation and cellular agriculture can directly eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions worldwide by 90% by 2035.
• The terms ‘cell-based’ or ‘cell-cultured’ should be used when labelling and talking about cultured-seafood products, according to a new study from Rutgers in the Journal of Food Science.
• Green Queen looks at the rise of the vegan and alt-protein scenes across the African continent.

RETAIL FOODS

• In the US, Planterra Foods, the plant-based division of meat-giant JBS, is moving into the frozen aisle with Ozo, its plant-based meat product.
• Lidl is expanding its budget-friendly vegan range Vemondo to the UK and France.
• The Impossible Sausage, a soya-based ground-sausage product from Impossible Foods, will launch in the US retail market this month.

FOODSERVICE CHAINS/CATERERS 

• Wildtype plans to serve up sushi-grade cultured salmon by the end of the year.
• Tripadvisor has revealed its list of the world’s best vegan restaurants.
• Flemish chef Nicolas Decloedt has created his take on plant-based mussels.
• The Nestlé-owned meal-plan service Freshly is launching its first 100% plant-based menu in the US.
• In the US, Pizza Hut and Beyond Meat have announced a new collaboration, with the debut of the Beyond Pepperoni pizza.
• Upside Foods is partnering with chef Dominique Crenn to serve its cultured chicken.

FOOD MANUFACTURERS

• As Danone continues to grow its plant-based beverage business, the company plans to expand its market share still further through the development of new technologies that deliver ‘dairy-like’ drinks.
• Crafty Counter has launched a ready-to-eat plant-based boiled egg.
• Beyond Meat’s trademark applications highlight the broad scope of its innovation pipeline.

ONES TO WATCH OUT FOR

• South Africa’s Mzansi Meat Co. is on a mission to improve food security and bring subsistence farmers into the formal economy through its production of local cultured delicacies.
• Food Navigator looks at how many factories would be required to supply 10% of the global meat sector.
• Because Animals unveils the world’s first cat treats made with cultured mouse meat.
• Matrix Meats CEO Eric Jenkusky predicts that plant- and cell-based hybrids will lead the cultured-meat revolution.

STARTUP & FINANCIAL

• Four major actors in the food industry have launched the ‘Scale It Up’ innovation challenge in order to bring sustainable products to market.
• Swiss vegan-meat startup Planted has secured US$21M in a pre-Series B financing round in order to launch its schnitzel and whole-cuts products.
• Miyoko’s Creamery has raised $52m and is developing the world’s first plant-based cottage cheese.
• Bluu Biosciences is ramping up production of the world’s most popular edible fish species: salmon, trout, and carp.
• TurtleTree has joined forces with Solar Biotech to accelerate the scaling up of its cultured-milk product.

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