December Highlights from the Plant-Based Sector 01/21

With the unprecedented and game-changing year of 2020 having come to an end, we look towards the future of the plant-based sector, from AI analysis to Cloud Biology to the ever-expanding horizons of the cultured-meat industry.

TRENDS & PROJECTIONS 

• According to an AI-powered audience intelligence platform, the alt-milk category has reached mainstream status in people’s minds, with Oatly leading the conversation.
• More consumers are going plant-based for the holidays, according to a poll commissioned by Eat Just.
• Interest in plant-based alternatives is growing in the Czech and Slovak markets, according to a new study.
• According to the China Daily website, Chinese consumers are developing a taste for meat alternatives.

RETAIL FOODS

• The UK’s fastest-growing plant-based meat company, the Meatless Farm, is expanding to mainland Europe with its products available in innovative online supermarkets.
• The UK chain Boots has launched a limited-edition plant-based sandwich range.
• Startup brand Crackd has launched its long-awaited cold-pressed egg substitute in Marks and Spencer stores across the UK.
• British retailer Iceland is launching Greggs frozen vegan products across the UK, including its famous vegan sausage rolls and steak bakes.

FOODSERVICE CHAINS/CATERERS 

• Fast-food chain Wimpy will be serving plant-based Beyond Burgers in the UK at select locations as part of a trial period.
• Burger King has launched its Plant-Based Whopper in Japan, also for a limited trial period.
• IKEA has pledged that 50% of its restaurant dishes will be plant-based by 2025.

FOOD MANUFACTURERS

• US plant-based seafood-brand Good Catch is expanding in Europe, having secured listings in the Netherlands and Spain.
• Meat giant Tyson Foods, which entered the plant-based sector this year, is eliminating eggs from its Raised & Rooted nuggets and dropping its ‘blended’ burger, which was made from meat and plant-based ingredients.
• US food-giant Cargill is scaling up its European plant-based portfolio with the addition of a pea-based protein.
• Plant-based food producer Plant & Bean will be opening a factory in the UK which will be Europe’s largest plant-based food-production facility.
• Veganuary founder Matthew Glover, together with renowned chef and restaurateur Adam Lyons, is launching a bold, edgy, vegan fried chick*n company, under the brand VFC.

INGREDIENTS SUPPLIERS/NEW TECHNOLOGIES 

• Ingredient producer Biospringer is introducing an innovative new yeast-fermentation protein for use in milk and meat alternatives.
• Crop-improvement company Benson Hill has bred a variety of soy beans that contain higher protein and oleic acid, thanks to its Cloud Biology platform.
• GFI Asia-Pacific has released a report that explores new ingredients which could be used in the production of alt-protein products in the region.

ONES TO WATCH OUT FOR

• Cultured-seafood trailblazers Avants Meats, Shiok Meats, and Hooked weigh in on how cell-based seafood can reach the scale required to truly disrupt the conventional market.
• Nick Hazell of Australian plant-based producer V2Food dispenses some lessons on how to help plant-based products hit the mainstream.
• Research from cultured-fat producer Peace of Meat finds that 68% of plant-based meat producers are keen on using cultured fat in their products.
• The UK is backing the development of novel animal-free growth media for cell-based meat.
• The Netherlands continues to be a hotspot for plant-based research and innovation according to Vegconomist.
• FoodDive takes a look at what the regulatory approval of cell-based meat in Singapore means for the industry.

STARTUP & FINANCIAL

• Mosa Meat has raised another $19.7m in order to scale up and continue moving toward cell-based meat products.
• ProVeg and Beyond Animal will be collaborating on the first virtual edition of New Food Invest, the world’s first online conference focusing exclusively on bringing together international plant-based and cultured food startups, investors, and key stakeholders in the food industry.
• China’s Nanjing Weilai and CellX have raised millions for the development of their cell-based products.

STAKEHOLDER INTERVENTIONS

• France has launched an €100m plant-protein strategy to “regain agri-food sovereignty”.

In a visit to Israeli cultured-meat startup Aleph Farms, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he “can’t taste the difference”. Netanyahu has also called for a national body to be set up to serve the burgeoning cultured-meat industry.