Unilever, Nestlé, EUDR, UPF and commodity hikes. FoodNavigator reviews 2024
Food and beverage was not short of drama or two in 2024, with some of the biggest stories gripping the sector almost from day one.
Food tech
Start-up pitch
How HydroWatt Zero is supporting innovators to protect food security
Future food security is under serious threat. But industry innovators are fighting to revolutionise the food system and change the story. Discover more...
Finnish start-up making mycoprotein more sustainable and affordable
Mycoprotein is one of the most popular alt protein sources on the market. Now Espoo-based start-up, Enifer, wants to take it to the next level.
The biggest food tech trends for 2025 and beyond
Robot use will increase, more food deliveries will be made and food waste will be consigned to the past… how food tech will evolve.
Start-up pitch
How New Wave Biotech is using AI to make biotechnology scalable
Developing and scaling the production of new food and beverage technologies is a major focus for the industry. But it can be complex and extremely costly. Enter New Wave Biotech.
K-pop, AI and the future of food tech – how Gen Alpha will lead the change
Tomorrow’s food technology is happening right now, a leading food futurist has claimed in his assessment of what tech is and will drive Europe’s food and drink sector forward.
Top food tech trends for 2025 revealed
Innovation in the food space has seen a boom in recent years. But this is just the beginning.
Start-up pitch
How MicroHarvest is making sustainable protein from microorganisms
Climate change is threatening existing food sources, making the discovery of viable alternatives essential. MicroHarvest believes microorganisms to be a sustainable, scalable solution.
Cultivated freshwater eel tech opens new opportunities in Japanese market
A cultivated seafood tech business has developed a system of cell cultivation to allow for commercial freshwater eel farming.
Start-up pitch
How Senoptica Technologies is fighting food waste with smart packaging
Food waste is a serious issue for the planet and a major threat to food security. Senoptica Technologies claims to hold a solution to one of the many flaws in the food system – ‘use by’ dates.
Why understanding allergens should be top priority for F&B manufacturers
Undeclared allergens in food and beverage products can be deadly. So why are allergen-related recalls still happening? What is industry doing to prevent them? And what NPD opportunities are being missed?
Top tips to successfully market your brand
Marketing can be complex, time consuming and costly. We run down the top tips and tricks to successfully market a food and drink brand on a tight budget.
UPF debate not black and white
There's a lot more to the UPF debate than just 'good' foods and 'bad' foods. We dive into the great UPF debate to discover more.
How F&B is reformulating to make nutrition more affordable
Food and beverage is evolving to make nutrition affordable for all incomes. And it’s using reformulation to do it.
Protein Vision 2024
Protein Vision 2024: Big name speakers reveal inside story
Quorn, Redefine Meat, THIS, La Vie and Rude Health are among the high-profile brands providing their valuable market intelligence at this year’s Protein Vision digital event.
Lack of imagination to novel food blocks – food and drink industry challenges
Red tape, lacking investment and negative connotations around new and novel food types are just three of many issues standing in the way of Europe’s food and drink sector progress, experts have warned.
Top technologies food and drink makers are using now
Using the best technologies can help food and drink businesses stand out from the competition. But what’s out there and how are companies using tech in different ways?
Innovation watch: Spotted at SIAL 2024
Edible cutlery, reimagined sushi, and vitamin-enriched cheese are just a handful of exciting food and drink innovations entering the market.
Video
Ask the experts: What do F&B start-ups get wrong?
What do food and drink start-up businesses get wrong? It’s the big question facing many fledgling businesses. FoodNavigator speaks to nine industry experts to find out.
Protected cheeses and vineyards receive €6.8m EC ‘resilience’ funding
Protected cheeses and world-renowned vineyards will take a share of the European Commission’s new €380m support package to help build climate resilience.
Replacing oils and fats with water: Deep-tech start-up secures €4.2m
Healthier food-tech business MicroLub, which uses tech to replace fats and oils with water – while claiming sensory retention – has closed a €4.2 seed investment round to commercialise.
Start-up pitch
How BettaF!sh is creating seafood from seaweed
The plant-based seafood market is underserved – enter BettaF!sh. This week we're discovering how founder, Deniz Ficicioglu, is revolutionising the fish-free fish space in the first edition of FoodNavigator’s start-up pitch series.
Future Food-Tech 2024
How two start-ups are improving food safety and quality with innovation
Food safety and quality are two sides of the same coin. But how is the process of making food not only safe but beneficial for the consumer being made more efficient?
Future Food-Tech 2024
Do consumers want alternative raw materials?
Alternative raw materials aim to provide sustainable versions of commodities, including cocoa, coffee and palm oil, that are both integral to food and linked to deforestation. Will consumers accept them?
UK Government to create regulatory sandbox for cultivated meat
With £1.6m funding, the new regulatory sandbox aims to streamline the novel food application process of cultivated meat in the UK.
What Mondelēz International will do with Urban Legend doughnuts
Mondelēz International will push to scale healthier doughnuts business Urban Legend following its minority stake investment, FoodNavigator can exclusively reveal.
Opinion
How the food industry can excel – hot takes from Future Food-Tech
What was the gossip and top trends from this year’s Future Food-Tech? The FoodNavigator editorial team reveal their key insights and takeaways.
Future Food-Tech 2024
Future Food-Tech 2024: Exciting innovations from the show
Brands put innovation on centre stage at Future Food-Tech 2024. Here are just a few of our favourites from the two-day food and beverage celebration.
Future Food-Tech 2024
Three hot start-ups designing and creating sector-challenging proteins
There are myriad ways to design and create proteins. We spoke to some of the key players in this varied space.
Future Food-Tech 2024
Mycoprotein’s finished being quiet and about to raise its game
The OG meat alternative mycoprotein is set to retake the spotlight in a sector rife with food start-ups bringing to market products through an increasing array of food-tech innovations.
Vertical farming breakthrough could save industry from failure
Vertical farming has come under fire in the past, with opponents blasting its high energy usage and cost. So, will new findings to mitigate these drawbacks, silence the critics?
Mondelēz International snaps up stake in 'healthier' doughnut brand
Mondelēz International has backed a fresh doughnut and pastry business that boasts custom-designed and patented air frying technology that significantly reduces sugar, fat and calories.
Top food and drinks trends for 2025 revealed – and it’s a big shift
Consumers are shifting towards uncharted food and drink trends territories in 2025, as they straddle health and indulgence and make peace with new origins and ag-tech, including GM.
Big names tie-up to propel cultivated meat sales
Two giants have agreed a partnership with the aim of rocketing cultivated meat production and sales.
Cow-less casein protein 'first' creates full cheese spectrum
A full spectrum of ‘cheeses’ can be made without cows, following the development of a casein that can self-assemble into micelles, the foundation for stretchy, protein-rich cheese alternatives.
Is cultivated meat cost reduction possible? The industry speaks
A recent study suggested that radical cost reduction in cultivated meat production is possible. Ivy Farm, Aleph Farms and Vital Meat speak on the potential of this.
Alternative meat patents are rising, but which country leads the way?
Meat alternative makers are applying for patents at increasing levels, with the US leading the way, FoodNavigator reveals.
Food tech investment slump seeing slow u-turn
Food and drink investors remain cautious over which businesses to pump funds into on the back of a “challenging” market that’s remained stagnant following a steep decline, a banking expert tells FoodNavigator.
How precision tech will reboot dairy industry profits
Dairy value sales will balloon to over $1tr in the next decade as the sector combats myriad issues by adopting emerging food technologies like precision fermentation and cellular agriculture.
Cargill pumps €35m into new facility that reduces cocoa use
Demand to cut cocoa volumes in a turbulent market is one driver behind Cargill’s big spend on its coatings and fillings plant expansion, FoodNavigator can reveal.
€84m profit hike for Europe giant Baker & Baker
European bakery major Baker & Baker has benefited from a business overhaul and restructure, as well as key investments, leading to rocketing 2023 finances.
F&B excluded from European Commission’s competitiveness strategy
Food and beverage – Europe’s largest manufacturing industry – has been omitted from the European Commission’s ‘The future of European competitiveness’ report designed to accelerate the EU’s finances ahead of competing nations.
How is AI helping to unlock hidden opportunities for the food and beverage industry?
From farm to fork, Artificial intelligence is impacting every aspect of food and beverage. But are the changes greater than previously understood and what's next for the technological revolution?
How is the EU supporting innovation in food and beverage?
Climate change is threatening the future of food security making innovation to protect it more important than ever. So, how is the EU working to kickstart creativity and encourage investment?
Industry breakthrough in the fight against fake foods
Counterfeit food and beverage products are a major blight on the industry, and a serious concern for consumers. Now the industry is fighting back and it’s using science to do it.
Europe’s largest food upcycling plant opened for spent grains
A new plant is upcycling spent grains for a whole range of uses.
What are the barriers to innovation in food and beverage?
Many of food and beverage's greatest innovations are born from from start-ups. But why is innovation on a decline and what's the future of food and drink NPD?
Big Interview
Mondelēz Snackfutures’ head on staying attractive to investors
He may well be one of snacking’s most influential men. So, an audience with Mondelēz International’s Snackfutures Ventures boss, Richie Gray, could indeed be the making or breaking of a business.
How food and beverage is innovating to safeguard food security
The food and beverage industry is throwing out the rule book to create new, sustainable systems, which will protect food security for future generations. Discover how at Climate Smart Food 2024.
Profile
How food tech start-ups can attract investors and thrive
How do food tech and alternative meat and dairy start-ups gain the interest of investors? Kim Anders Odhner has his ear to the ground and explains what backers might be looking for.