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.
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.
