March highlights from the plant-based sector: The key importance of price parity, and other news from the sector.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”page-lid”]The plant-based sector looks set to continue accelerating in 2021, with price convergence with traditional animal-based products a key factor. Read on to find out more, along with a wealth of insights about developments in the plant-based space.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

TRENDS & PROJECTIONS 

• In an opinion piece for Plant Based News, Dr Alex Lockwood suggests that price parity with animal-based products is vital to ending animal agriculture.
• India is seeing a huge growth in vegan options as plant-based eating continues to rise.
• Green Queen takes a deep dive into consumer behaviour, looking at who is buying plant-based meat and why.
• Food safety and nutrition are the top motivators for Chinese consumers to adopt cell-based meat, according to a recent study.
• Vegan and flexitarian consumers are digging deeper when making plant-based purchases, according to FoodIngredientsFirst.
• The Australian plant-based meat industry grew exponentially in 2020, a new report reveals.
• COVID-19 is accelerating the collapse of meat and dairy according to RethinkX founder James Arbib.

RETAIL FOODS

• Hong Kong-based brand OmniPork, owned by Green Monday, is now available in Japan.
• Omnipork also made its debut in the UK via plant-based e-commerce platform TheVeganKind.

FOODSERVICE CHAINS/CATERERS 

• Starbucks has added Oatly’s oat milk to its US menus in response to increased consumer demand for more plant-based choices.
• Burger King will be gradually dropping meat items and has committed to a 50% plant-based menu by 2030.

FOOD MANUFACTURERS

• Oatly is on track to build the world’s largest plant-based dairy factory in the UK.
• Danone has debuted its Honest to Goodness plant-based creamer.
• FoodDive explores the question of when will dairy companies get into the plant-based-cheese sector?
• Bel Brands has launched its first 100% plant-based cheese, under the Nurishh label.
• Juicy Marbles has launched the world’s first plant-based filet-mignon steaks.
• Rebellyous Foods aims to make plant-based eating more affordable and thus more accessible to everyone.

INGREDIENTS SUPPLIERS/NEW TECHNOLOGIES 

• Unilever is looking to plant-based fat alternatives in its quest to hit €1bn in plant-based sales.
• Wheat gluten is the key to creating softer and less chewy texture in plant-based foods, according to a new report.
• Global ingredients supplier Ingredion has added two new plant-protein products to its roster.

ONES TO WATCH OUT FOR

• Food Navigator looks at ‘white space’ opportunities in the plant-based cheese sector.
• Plant-based tuna featuring protein-packed red algae from Triton Algae Innovations could hit the market by the end of the year, says the San Diego-based firm.
• The USDA has tentatively accepted ‘cell-cultured’ as the accepted term for lab-grown meat in the USA.
• Cultured meat could be part of the climate solution, according to the BBC.

STARTUP & FINANCIAL

• The alt-protein sector received a record of $3.1 billion investment capital in 2020, three times more than in 2019.
• Aleph Farms is partnering with global Brazilian food company BRF to pilot its cell-based steak in meat-loving Brazil.
• Israel cell-based Meat-Tech 3D made its US IPO earlier this month, with sales of its shares approved by NASDAQ.
• Cultured meat produced using renewable energy is likely to compete on costs against conventional meat production in under ten years, reveals new research.
• Zürich-based plant-based meat startup Planted has closed its Series A funding round with $18M in order to fuel global expansion.
• Avant Meats says it has achieved a 90% reduction in cost for the production of its cultured protein.
• Bluu Biosciences, Europe’s first cultured-fish biotech company, has secured €7M in an oversubscribed round of seed funding.

STAKEHOLDER INTERVENTIONS

• Cargill is investing $475M to increase soya-processing capacity, as demand surges.
• Venture capital firm Big Idea Ventures has forged a new partnership with AAK, the Swedish-Danish specialty oils and fats giant, in order to speed up the development of alternative-protein ingredient solutions.

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