Functional food trends are driven by more than just taste: they’re driven by human need. With AI, the market can be analysed and the needs driving consumption understood.
Two producers of precision fermentation-derived dairy – developing products within the same category – have decided to work together, rather than in strict competition with each other.
Award winning actor Gillian Anderson is harnessing the power of botanicals to cater to an underserved market. We ask which ingredients align to which need state.
You’ve heard of plant-based burgers, vegan nuggets, and perhaps even fish-free tuna. But whole cut meat-free octopus tentacles, with ‘distinct suckers’ to boot?
It’s very difficult to ‘crack’ better-for-you indulgence, according to maker of HFSS compliant doughnuts Urban Legend. Here’s how founder and ex-Graze CEO Anthony Fletcher claims to have done it.
Although developing meat alternatives from a single ingredient was not Nosh Bio’s initial aim, the start-up very quickly realised it had something ‘super powerful’ on its hands.
Affordable, better-for-you and flavourful salty snacks lead producers’ formulation considerations in 2024, while creating resilient crops and exploring the metaverse landscape drive the wider value chain.
Israeli start-up Day 8 has emerged from stealth mode with plans to disrupt plant-based food and drink. Its secret weapon? A protein derived from leaves: Rubisco.
Fermentation is, alongside plant-based and cultivated meat, one of the driving forces behind the alternative protein sector. A new investment from the UK Government aims to boost fermentation innovation.
Insects are not only thought to contain at least as much protein as conventional meat, but are also more environmentally sustainable. However, their novelty on the market poses challenges in consumer acceptance. How do start-ups persuade consumers to...
A fermentation bottleneck still exists for the microbial fermentation sector, according to Swiss biotech Planetary, who is working to optimise protein and fat production with not just ‘overall infrastructure, but correct infrastructure’.
Gluten-free substitutes such as rice and corn flour have for decades aimed to take the role of wheat flour in baked goods, so that those with coeliac disease can consume them. Now there is a new substitute: wheat flour itself.
With climate change exacerbating water stress and scarcity, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is backing new tech solutions to help future-proof the beverage industry.
Broth has been used for centuries as a component of traditional meals such as soups and stews. But many consumers are now attracted to it for a different reason – it has a range of health benefits, and is non-UPF (ultra-processed food). Startup Freja...
The world’s first regulatory approval for cultivated beef has been granted in Israel. For EU cultivated meat stakeholders, is the greenlight yet another sign the EU – which has yet to approve such a product – is falling behind? Or does it hold promise...
According to delegates from Italy, France and Austria, cellular agriculture practices represent a threat to primary farm-based approaches and ‘genuine’ food production methods.
Austrian start-up Revo Foods is well known for its 3D-printed fish and meat whole cuts. Now, it has announced technology that can work continuously and produce a variety of products simultaneously, introducing significant flexibility into the production...
A collaboration between two Finnish companies – Solar Foods and Fazer – has seen protein ‘made from air’ added to a chocolate snack bar for consumers in Singapore.
Eel meat is unlike any other: it is fatty, tender, and ‘almost melts in your mouth’, explains Roee Nir, co-founder and CEO of Forsea Foods. The start-up is working to mimic these attributes with stem cells in a lab.
Increased production costs and changes in consumer preferences have both played a key role in how the industry evolved and developed in 2023, so what are these changes and how will they affect the industry going forward?
While the alternative protein scene continues to pursue widespread uptake and acceptance, in 2024, expect to see new and evolving concepts, technologies and regulatory support to progress towards attaining resilient food systems.
From Q2 2024, Ingredion will begin marketing Better Juice’s sugar reduction technology to its customer base. It’s a ‘win-win situation’ that leverages each company’s strengths, Better juice co-founder and co-CEO Gali Yarom tells FoodNavigator.
European cultivated chicken ingredients may soon be winging their way to Asia if Vital Meat is successful in its novel food regulatory submission to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).
Finnish biotech start-up Enifer will open its first factory in order to develop its mycoprotein ingredient, following its receiving of €12m in funding. To develop these ingredients, it will use PEKILO fermentation, a process developed in the 1970s by...
January is a time where many people abstain from indulgent things, from alcohol to chocolate. Meat and dairy, increasingly linked to climate change and animal suffering, are other products those taking part in 'Veganuary' also abstain from at...
Spurred on by a drive to pursue positive impact and leave the corporate world, four founders came together to launch their Mediterranean cacao-free chocolate brand.
With the increasing emphasis on consumer health and wellbeing, a food futurologist shares the top 2024 dietary trends that will make a big impact—and interesting fruit and veg choices and eating occasions are getting a big appearance.
At Food Ingredients Europe this year, the ‘Plant-based Innovation Award’ went to MirrorTissue, a plant-based ‘fatty lipid solution’. Here the producers discuss their triumph
Farmless, a startup producing protein using a feedstock which combines hydrogen, nitrogen, CO2 and renewable energy, is planning to build a pilot plant after a new injection of funding. Its purpose is simple – cutting down on the land used to create protein,...
From upcycling ‘spent hens’ into flavour enhancers to recreating breast milk in a lab, we round-up five of the most innovate start-ups we interviewed in 2023.
After decades of ‘very little’ innovation by heritage brands, is butter (and its plant-based counterparts) having a moment? FoodNavigator investigates.
Vegetables grown indoors, without any soil, may not sound as appealing to consumers as their sun-blushed counterparts cultivated in open fields. But according to fresh research, they taste just as good.
Food tech company Nourish Ingredients launches its animal-free fat, Tastilux, calling it a “world-first” and “breakthrough” new product development designed to enhance global food security.
As part of Mars Inc.’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the confectionery major is optimising product recipes to include more environmentally friendly ingredients.
Climate impact labels are being applied to 2,500 food items across five Carrefour stores in Dubai, including at Expo City, in time for the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference.
Can the complexities of breast milk be replicated by cows? France-based Nūmi doesn’t think so. The start-up is turning to cell culture to develop the ‘closest thing possible’ to breast milk.
The Aptamil owner has signed a letter of intent with Else Nutrition, a start-up making formula for babies and kids from almonds, buckwheat and tapioca.
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is launching a food and drink incubator programme for entrepreneurs, open to ‘anyone in the wider London F&B fraternity’.
Mars Inc. plans to purchase British chocolate retailer Hotel Chocolat for £534m. Although under Mars initial focus will remain on the UK market, both parties have hinted to potential international expansion.
The Future Ocean Foods association has several activities on the agenda, including improving the nutritional profile of alternative seafood, with a particular focus on protein and omegas.