February Highlights from the plant based sector: cultured-food products continue to accelerate and more

11 March 2021

The cultured-food sector is growing exponentially as more and more companies begin to recognize the potential for cultured and fermented alternatives to conventional animal-based products. Read on to find out more about this exciting development, along with other highlights from the plant-based sector.

TRENDS & PROJECTIONS

China’s alternative-protein space is set to grow significantly due to the rise of flexitarianism and plant-based eating, according to a new report from Beijing- and Singapore-based Asymmetrics Research.
A new report from MarketsandMarkets states that the global plant-based-protein sector is now worth US$10.3 billion.
Plant-based food boards are tipped to be one of the biggest food trends in 2021.
Food Ingredients First looks at some of the other leading plant-based trends for 2021.
In Israel last year, sales of plant-based protein grew 13 times faster than that of animal-based products.
Plant-based producers looking to take a larger chunk of the US$1.3 trillion meat sector will need to strengthen their appeal to flexitarian consumers, according to Food Navigator.
Food Ingredients First explores the dynamic state of the plant-based-dairy sector.
Cultured-milk producer Perfect Day weighs in on what the dairy aisle will look like in 2030.

RETAIL FOODS

Heura, Spain’s leading plant-based-meat brand, is entering the Italian Market.
UK vegan-fried-chicken brand VFC has experienced remarkable success in the two months since its launch.
Impossible Foods has again slashed its retail prices as it gradually moves towards price parity with conventional ground beef.
Perfect Day has launched a cultured-dairy ice-cream product in Hong Kong.
PepsiCo is partnering with Beyond Meat to create plant-based drinks and snacks.

FOODSERVICE CHAINS/CATERERS

Fast-food seafood-chain Nordsee has launched two plant-based-fish menu items made by Dutch producer Novish.
McDonald’s has officially debuted its vegan McPlant range in Denmark and Sweden in order to gage consumer interest.
Starbucks Indonesia has launched a plant-based menu created by Green Butcher.
New US plant-based-chicken chain Next Level Clucker plans to open in 1,000 locations in next 10 years.

FOOD MANUFACTURERS

Danone has added the Follow Your Heart brand to its plant-based portfolio.
Nestlé CEO says plant-based innovation can ‘reinvigorate’ broader food categories.
Thai Union, the world’s largest tuna brand, is launching a plant-based shrimp product.
Cargill’s new red seaweed powder, which accentuates smoothness and creaminess of texture is tipped to make a splash in the dairy sector.
Big Idea Ventures, which is involved in early stage investment in the food technology sector, is strengthening its presence in Europe.
Unilever is focussing its investment on functional nutrition and plant-based products, with a view to long-term sustainable growth.
Spanish cultured-meat producer NovaMeat has developed the world’s largest piece of cultured meat.

INGREDIENTS SUPPLIERS/NEW TECHNOLOGIES

US-based startup Geltor has developed a plant-based collagen for use in the food, beverage, and nutrition sectors.
In the US, Clara Foods is leveraging precision-fermentation technology in order to develop animal-free egg proteins.
Israeli start-up Kinoko-Tech is tapping fermentation to produce new alternative protein products from fungal mycelium growing on legumes and grains.

ONES TO WATCH OUT FOR

Singapore’s TurtleTree Labs has launched TurtleTree Scientific to produce food-grade and pharma-grade growth factors and cell-culture media.
Wageningen University in the Netherlands will soon be offering a specialized module on the shift to alternative proteins.
Shanghai based alternative meat startup, Hero Protein, has closed an $850K pre-seed funding round, aiming to become the leading plant-based brand in China.
Aleph Farms has unveiled a thicker cut of its cultured ribeye steak.
Israel-based Future Meat Technologies has gotten the price of a cultured-chicken breast down to about $7.50.

STARTUP & FINANCIAL

Oatly has filed for an initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Redefine Meat, a producer of 3D-printed alt meat, is looking to expand its product line and roll out its plant-based beef alternatives into Israel, Germany, and Switzerland, before moving into the Asian and US markets.
California’s New Age Meats has announced a US$2M seed extension to fund the manufacture of its hybrid cultured/plant-based meat-alternative products.
UK-based cell-culturing startup CellulaREvolution has raised £1m for its continuous cell-culture technology.
Legendary Vish has rebranded as Revo Foods and plans to host tastings of its 3D-printed salmon this month.
German biotech firm LegenDairy is combining precision fermentation and the heritage of European cheesemaking to develop “stretchable, meltable and delicious” cheese alternatives.
Russia is set to host its first plant-based incubator program. The newly-formed Association of Alternative Food Producers is a collaboration between ProVeg International and Julia Marsel and Tim Ponomarev, two of the founders of Greenwise, a ProVeg Incubator alumnus startup.
Zurich’s Mirai Foods, the first Swiss clean-meat startup, has raised $2.4 million in first-round financing.