March highlights from the plant-based and cultured-food sector: investment in the alt-protein sector continues to accelerate.

As the demand for plant-based and cultured foods increases, investment in the sector is continuing to accelerate. From the food-service giant that is trialling an entirely plant-based restaurant to Leonardo DiCaprio investing in a cultured-salmon startup, everyone wants a piece of the alt-food action.

TRENDS & PROJECTIONS

• Figures provided by The Good Food Institute indicate that global investments in alt protein increased by 60% in 2021, to $5 Billion 
• A survey by the Vegan Women Summit found that 48% of female founders face bias when fundraising.
• Natural-foods broker Presence reveals mushrooms and regenerative agriculture as the top natural trends in their latest report, supported by research from SPINS. 
• According to Quorrn, 49% of 18-24-year-olds in the UK are limiting their meat consumption, as demand for plant-based chicken on the country’s menus rises.  
• The Vegan Society conducted a study showing that the majority of UK parents and guardians support the introduction of more plant-based meals in schools.

RETAIL FOODS

• Retail giant Kroger is partnering with Impossible Foods to create new private-label meat substitutes.
• Amazon has launched a new plant-based range under the brand Amazon Fresh and will be kicking off with 15 plant-based products. 
• British supermarket Iceland is attempting to trademark the term ‘Flexitebruary’ in order to extend the increase in plant-based sales that takes place the month before due to the success of Veganuary
• Aldi UK has launched a Vegan Favourites Wine pack after its plant-based sales increased by 500% in Veganuary. 
• Leading dutch supermarket Albert Heijn has committed to 60% of its protein sales being plant-based by 2030.

FOODSERVICE CHAINS/CATERERS

• Burger King in Leicester Square, London, is trialling a fully plant-based menu for a month, becoming the first Burger King worldwide to do so.  
• Canada’s Odd Burger, the first publicly listed fast-food chain, has announced 36 new locations.
• Disneyland Paris is increasing its vegan range in its food outlets as it celebrates its 30th anniversary.

FOOD MANUFACTURERS

• Nestlé has joined forces with Corbion to develop microalgae-based ingredients for future plant-based products. 
• Spreadable cheese brand Primula has revealed plans to enter the plant-based sector.
• Nestlé has announced a new $73-million production plant in Serbia solely for its plant-based Garden Gourmet brand, .
• Dutch brand Vivera has launched a new plant-based salmon fillet at a lower price point than conventional salmon. 
• Natural-ingredients supplier CP Kelco is creating a clean-label ingredient portfolio for plant-based meat alternatives in order to appeal to flexitarians. 

INGREDIENTS SUPPLIERS/NEW TECHNOLOGIES

• GoodMills Innovation recently unveiled new plant-based texturates that promise meat-like formulations. 
• Israeli cultured-meat firm, Aleph Farms is pioneering the production of cultured collagen. 
• The EU-funded ProFuture project is developing microalgae with a new, improved taste for use in plant-based protein.

ONES TO WATCH OUT FOR

• Mumbai startup, Evo Foods, has debuted its heat-stable plant-based boiled egg. 
• Opalia (formerly BetterMilk) has produced a cultured milk using bovine mammary epithelial cells. 
• Startup Nature’s Fynd is launching new products featuring its nutritional fungi protein and expects to scale up production in 2023. 
• Mexico’s first cultured-meat startup,  Micro Meat, is developing a scaffolding system that offers cultured-meat manufacturers a faster way to scale. 
• Cultured-salmon startup Wildtype has raised $100 million from investors including Leonardo DiCaprio. 
• Berlin-based alternative-protein brand Perfeggt has raised $4 Million in a pre-seed-funding round for its egg-substitute product.

STARTUP & FINANCIAL

• VC firm Better Bite Ventures has announced a $15-million alt-protein fund for startups in the Asia-Pacific region
• ProVeg Incubator alumnus ProProtein has opened a seed-funding round of €700,000 to develop its alt-dairy precision-fermentation tech.
• Barcelona biotech startup Libre Foods has closed a $2.5-million seed round to scale its mushroom-based bacon.
• Israeli startup Plantish has raised $12.5M for its whole-cut plant-based fish in alt-seafood’s “largest ever” seed round. 
• Mycelium pioneer Bosque Foods unveiled its whole-cut chicken and pork fillets to investors at a private tasting event at the ProVeg Incubator.
• Hong Kong startup Good Food Technologies has received HK$12 Million in seed funding round for its plant-based pork startup. 
• Finless Foods has closed a $34-million funding round for its plant-based and cultured tuna, with plans for a new production plant. 

STAKEHOLDER INTERVENTIONS

• Skinny Butcher, Wow Bao, Golden West Food Group, and Valor Siren Ventures have formed a coalition to launch an alt-poultry brand. 
• The Dutch House of Representatives has voted in favour of cultured-meat producers conducting tastings of their products. 
• Foodtech company SuperMeat has announced a partnership with Japanese food giant Ajinomoto to accelerate the development of cultured meat.
• Australian Plant Proteins is leading an AU$378-million project to increase South Australia’s plant-protein manufacturing capabilities. 

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