November highlights from the plant-based sector: Unilever sets ambitions and more

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”page-lid”]As the shift towards plant-based eating continues to accelerate, major actors in the global food sector, including McDonalds and Unilever, are committing to the plant-based space.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

Do you want to get the latest insights into the plant-based sector but don’t have time to read all the important B2B-Magazines? ProVeg compiles the latest news from key publications, ensuring that you never miss out on the most important news. Below, we take a look at the biggest developments from the month of November.

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TRENDS & PROJECTIONS

• Plant-based-dairy pioneer Califia Farms is doing big business in China, where the plant-milk sector has grown by a spectacular 800% in the last year.
• Ingredients-supplier Kerry is drawing attention to viable new territories for meat alternatives in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, where regional plant-based appetites are developing.
• According to a new study by German plant-based chainstore Veganz, less than 42% of Europeans will consume meat and dairy in the near future.
• A new report from Dutch multinational financial firm ING predicts that the market for plant-based meat and dairy in the EU and the UK will balloon to €7.5 billion over the next five years.
• According to a study by American multinational food-processing corporation ADM, 92% of US consumers who bought plant-based meat for the first time during the Covid-19 pandemic plan to continue doing so.
• One in three European consumers want ‘better-tasting products’ in the plant-based category, according to new research from Kerry Taste and Nutrition.
• Despite higher interest in plant-based eating, Generation Z consumers are less likely to shop, prepare, and eat fresh vegetables than any other generation, according to research from Mintel.
• Unilever has set a global sales target of €1 billion by 2027 for plant-based meat and dairy alternatives.

RETAIL FOODS

• Iglo‘s plant-based frozen-food line, Green Cuisine, is now available in over 25,000 supermarkets in Europe, with Sweden and Finland upping the brand’s footprint to 12 European Countries. 
• ‘Hyper Realistic’ plant-based meat-producer THIS has launched in UK supermarket-chain ASDA, giving it shelfspace in three of the country’s four biggest supermarkets.
• Japanese retail giant Muji has launched a shelf-stable plant-based-meat range amid surging demand for vegan products.

FOODSERVICE CHAINS & CATERERS

• Deliveroo has reported 115% year-on-year growth in plant-based orders in the UK.
• Plant-based-pudding manufacturer Freaks of Nature has launched a food-service range in Europe, building on its strong consumer profile.
• McDonald’s will be rolling out a plant-based burger – coined the McPlant – in selected markets next year.
• Pizza Hut is partnering with Beyond Meat to roll out two ‘Beyond’ pizzas, featuring the company’s plant-based meat, at 7,000 of its US stores.

FOOD MANUFACTURERS

• Vivera is partnering with ProVeg to promote the ProVeg Veggie Challenge in Europe, with a call-to-action on 40 million of its packs.
• Food Drive speaks to Hooray Foods’ Sri Artham about his plant-based bacon, which will soon be hitting 300 Whole Foods stores.
• British plant-based-egg brand Crackd, dubbed the country’s first liquid vegan egg replacement, will be launching in stores this month.
• Plant-based pioneer Quorn Foods is expanding its culinary innovation team in order to help develop future product opportunities.
• Next year, Beyond Meat will gradually replace its flagship plant-based Beyond Burger with two new variants, both with substantially less saturated fat. The company will also be unveiling its plant-based pork product, aimed at the burgeoning Chinese market.
• Oatly‘s North America President Mike Messersmith talks to Food Dive about why the brand has seen such explosive growth during the pandemic.
• Clear Meat, an Indian cell-based meat company and an alumni of the ProVeg Incubator, has developed cultured chicken mince that it claims is already as affordable to produce as conventional processed chicken.

INGREDIENTS SUPPLIERS/NEW TECHNOLOGIES

• US cultured-meat company Eat Just’s ‘chicken bites’ have passed a safety review by the Singapore Food Agency. This regulatory approval could open the door, worldwide, to a future in which most meat is animal-free.
• Memphis Meats Vice President KC Carson talks about the commercial viability and scalability of cultured meat.
• Next Gen, a food-tech firm headed by the execs who pioneered plant-based sausages in Germany and propelled Impossible Foods’ launch in Singapore, are now looking for global manufacturing partners for their new plant-based chicken.
• Plant-based-meat brand Heura has developed a fat analogue using extra virgin olive oil that it claims allows it to launch the ‘world’s healthiest burger’.
• Danish startup Rootly have developed a recipe for plant-based skinless sausages, made from upcycled juice pulp, that deliver that ‘snap sensation’ when bitten into.
• Aleph Farms has unveiled its cultured-beef prototype as the company edges closer to commercialisation.

STAKEHOLDER INTERVENTIONS

• The Good Food Institute is partnering with the World Sustainability Organization to create a certification program for plant-based seafood, marking the first time that plant-based alternatives have been officially recognised as seafood.
• Canadian food manufacturer Top Tier Foods has created a plant-based wagyu (beef from a Japanese cattle breed), which has divided opinion among the food industry in Japan.
• A coalition of UK health professionals is calling for a carbon tax to be levied on all food producers.
• The Canadian government has launched a consultation aiming to provide more clarity regarding regulations for meat alternatives.

ONES TO WATCH OUT FOR

• Toronto-based Mother Raw has raised $6.1m to accelerate its plant-based mission.
• Israeli startup SuperMeat has launched the world’s first-ever cultured-chicken restaurant.
• Singapore-based cultured-meat firm Shiok Meats has unveiled a prototype of the world’s first cultured lobster.

STARTUP & FINANCIAL

• Israeli 3D-printed cultured-meat company Meat-Tech 3D (which is already traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, making it the world’s only publicly traded cultured-meat company) has begun the process for an initial public offering in the United States. The company has also invested an initial 1 millions Euros in Belgium-based cultured-fat producer Peace of Meat.
• The ProVeg Incubator has announced its latest batch of startups. With 10 of the 17 entrepreneurs in the group comprising women, it marks the first time the Incubator has welcomed a female-majority cohort.
• Colorado-based food-tech firm Meati Foods has secured 28 million USD in funding, following a secret restaurant trial of its plant-based steaks, which are made from fungi. 
• Food-tech startup Moolec Science is developing alternative proteins that are a hybrid of the plant-based and cultured approaches, using the new technology of molecular farming.

 

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