July Highlights from the plant-based and cultured-food sector: Burger King makes plant-based the new normal

While plant-based options are becoming the new normal thanks to Burger King Austria’s latest campaign, the Turkish government has taken the extreme step of banning the production of dairy-free cheese entirely. Read on to find out about all this and more in our July highlights from the plant-based and cultured-food sector. 

TRENDS & PROJECTIONS 

• Digital sustainability platform Abillion has announced the ten winners of its World’s Best Vegan Ice Creams 2022 awards. 
• According to Cargill’s Cocoa and Chocolate President, there is increased demand for sustainable chocolate and transparency in the cocoa industry. 
• A new report from the Boston Consulting Group states that a plant-based diet is the best investment to reduce the impact of climate change. 
• Research from The Vegan Society has found that around 25% of UK consumers are eating less meat than they were before the Covid-19 pandemic. 
• According to a survey by baby-food company Gerber, 55% of new parents in the US would like their children to consume more plant protein. 
• An article by ProVeg International highlights the impact that ‘vegan’ or ‘plant-based’ labelling can have on a product’s mainstream appeal. 

RETAIL FOODS

• Alt-protein brand OmniFoods’ new seafood line is now available in the US through online retailer GTFO It’s Vegan.
• Fungi-based protein brand Meati Foods has launched its Eat Meati line at three Sprouts Farmers Market locations in Colorado. 

FOODSERVICE CHAINS/CATERERS

• Burger King Austria has launched a campaign with the slogan, ‘Normal or with meat?’, making plant-based the standard option and meat available upon request.
• Starbucks Japan has launched five new plant-based options as part of its initiative to reduce its global carbon emissions. 
• McDonald’s has launched its McPlant burger across Australia, but it is not suitable for those following a vegan diet. 
• Canadian fast food chain Odd Burger has secured land to construct a large manufacturing facility.

FOOD MANUFACTURERS

• Dutch dairy company FrieslandCampina has joined forces with plant-based company De Nieuwe Melkboer to develop a local supply chain for plant-based milks. 
• French cheese brand Bel Group has partnered with Superbrewed Food to develop dairy-free cheese made through biomass fermentation.
• Plant-based meat producer Beyond Meat has partnered with Disneyland Paris to offer its products across the resort. 

INGREDIENTS SUPPLIERS/NEW TECHNOLOGIES 

• A new clinical study has found that BC30, a patented spore-forming probiotic, can improve protein absorption from plant sources. 
• The CEO of Thailand-based company Sesamilk believes that the properties of sesame seeds give them the potential to be one of Asia’s biggest dairy-alternatives.  
• Food-tech startups NoPalm Ingredients, Kern Tec, Cubiq Foods, Lypid, and  Mission Barns are all developing ingredients to replace animal-based fats. 
• Swiss researchers Severin Eder and Lukas Böcker are investigating the potential of using microalgae to create seafood alternatives. 

ONES TO WATCH OUT FOR

• Chicago food company Nature’s Fynd and NASA have conducted a study to develop new sources of sustainable protein for growing in space. 
• The Plant Based World Expo taking place in London in October will feature speakers from Quorn, JUST, Hlthpunk, and Willicroft.
• Japanese cultured-meat firm Integriculture has developed a co-culturing technology that could reduce the costs of cellular agriculture.

STARTUP & FINANCIAL

• Food tech startup SCiFi Foods has revealed that it can grow edible beef cell lines in single-cell suspension, allowing production costs to be significantly lowered. 
• Venture Capital Sentient Ventures has launched a £30m fund to support plant-based and fermentation-based companies that are looking to scale up.
• International food-tech company MeaTech and Singapore-based cultured-seafood company Umami Meats have partnered to develop 3D-printed cultured structured seafood together.

STAKEHOLDER INTERVENTIONS

• California’s Budget Act of 2022 has allocated  $100 million toward securing plant-based ingredients for its public schools. 
• The Turkish government has placed a ban on the production of plant-based cheese alternatives. 
• India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority has issued regulations for the labelling of plant-based products for the first time. 
• The first European Parliament debate on cultured meat discussed the risk of the EU falling behind in the race to commercialise cultured food. 
• The French high court Conseil d’Etat has suspended its ban on the use of ‘meaty’ names for plant-based products, which was set to come into effect from October.

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