September highlights from the plant-based and cultured-food sector: the plant-based sector continues to explode into the mainstream and more

As the plant-based sector continues its relentless rise, it is exploding into the mainstream. While supermarkets’ plant-based sections are expanding on an almost monthly basis, mainstream fast-food chains such as KFC, McDonalds, and Burger King are getting in on the action, along with restaurants all along the value chain. This is great news for the planet, consumer health, and, of course, plant-based investors. Read on for more news about developments in the plant-based sector.

TRENDS & PROJECTIONS 

• As cultured meat gets closer to market in the US, the USDA and FDA are aiming to nail down the labelling terms.
• According to a new study by Appinio, 51% of Brits say that they are willing to replace meat with plant-based alternatives.
• In Spain, sales of plant-based meat rocketed by 31% between 2019 and 2020.
• According to a new report from the GFI, there is vast growth potential for the alt-seafood sector.
• According to recent Google search data, Beyond Meat is the world’s most Googled vegan food brand.

RETAIL FOODS

• In the US, NotCo’s milk-alternative product Not Milk has launched in Stop & Shop, the largest retailer in the Northeast.
• Beyond Meat is rolling out its chicken tenders into US retail outlets.
• Wicked Kitchen had launched the first whole-cut lamb roast made from plants.

FOODSERVICE CHAINS/CATERERS 

• Impossible has launched its chicken nuggets in restaurants in the US, with retail soon to follow.
• McDonald’s is finally set to launch its vegan McPlant burger in the UK, after a months-long search for the perfect plant-based cheese.
• In the wake of the pandemic, the presence of alt-meat on US restaurant menus has surged by 1320%, according to a study by Tastewise.
• KFC is developing plant-based versions of its trademark fried-chicken products.
• Burger King is launching several vegan options in South Africa.
• Impossible is set to launch its pork product in the foodservice sectors in the US, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
• OmniFoods, the producer of OmniPork has launched the Big Vegan Pig Out, a series of restaurant partnerships across the UK.
• Cultured-dairy company Perfect Day has made its first move into the foodservice arena via a partnership with Villa Dolce.

FOOD MANUFACTURERS

• Impossible Foods has started working on ‘whole-muscle meats’ such as bacon, chicken breasts, and steak.
• Impossible Foods has launched its version of vegan chicken nuggets.
• In the US, beef giant Jensen Meat has launched its new plant-based division, which will produce about 11 million kilograms of vegan products annually.

ONES TO WATCH OUT FOR

• Leading food-tech pioneer Eat Just to construct the Middle East’s first cultured-meat facility, in Qatar.
• MeaTech’s cultured chicken fat is beginning to scale.
• Bluu Bioscience’s Sebastian Rakers (who will appear at the New Food Conference, which takes place on 10-11 October) talks about the future of cultured fish.

STARTUP & FINANCIAL

• Shiok Meats has unveiled the world’s first cultured-crab meat at a private tasting in Singapore.
• Precision-fermentation innovator Formo celebrates a record funding round of 50 million Euros.
• BlueNalu is set to bring cultured seafood to Europe, in partnership with Nomad Foods.
• Eat Just‘s Good Meat division receives an additional $97 million in funding.
• Leonardo DiCaprio invests in Mosa Meat and Aleph Farms.
• Scientists at Wageningen University & Research and Dutch startup Geneus Biotech have formed a new research partnership to produce cultured caviar.
• Hong Kong-based startup Avant has partnered with Singapore’s tech-innovation agency A*STAR to work on cultured-fish production.

STAKEHOLDERS INTERVENTION

• In Switzerland, Givaudan, Bühler, and Migros Industrie have joined forces to launch the Cultured Food Innovation Hub just outside of Zurich.
• In a similar vein, Switzerland’s leading alt-protein companies have joined forces to found The Swiss Protein Association.
• Alt-protein venture-capital fund Lever VC has announced the completion of an $80 funding round which attracted investment from some of the world’s largest conventional meat companies.
• The Good Food Institute has called for massive public funding into R&D around alternative proteins.

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