This week's top stories from 27 June-3 July
The Future of Protein Production
Connecting organizations to successfully commercialize sustainable protein at scale
Happy Fourth of July to all of our American readers! Welcome to another action-packed edition of The Future of Protein Production newsletter. And the hits just keep on comin'!
The below nine stories have received an astonishing number of views this week, so they're here on merit. If you would like to be featured next week, please scroll to the bottom to find out how you can get in touch with the editorial team so we can tell our 5,842 subscribers your good news!
Six weeks ago, you simply would not have believed that cultivated meat would already be on sale in the USA, but it's happened! Just this past weekend at Bar Crenn in San Francisco, consumers got to taste a chicken dish (and it is chicken!) without a single chicken being harmed in the process. The event held special significance as it marked the reintroduction of meat to Chef Crenn's menu since its removal from Crenn Dining Group's restaurants in 2018. "It's the first time meat has made it back on my menu since 2018, because UPSIDE Chicken is the first meat that I feel good about serving," she said.
Hoping to eventually follow suit is a Czech company with its pork product.
Elsewhere, a Swedish retail giant has put a plant-based twist on its famous hot dog, while we discuss the promises and potential of rubisco, microalgae as a plant-based ingredient in ice cream, and a friend of our platform has just announced a newly launched VC fund, aimed at propelling the sustainable protein sector and reimagining the animal protein industry toward sustainable, regenerative food solutions.
It's all been happening!
See you next Tuesday!
Industry News
UPSIDE Foods has launched at the renowned Michelin-starred Bar Crenn in San Francisco, California. The historic event, held on Saturday 1 July, was the first-ever consumer sale of cultivated meat in the USA, representing a historic milestone for the food system. "The landmark sale of UPSIDE's cultivated chicken at Bar Crenn officially marks cultivated meat's debut into the US market," said UPSIDE's CEO & Founder, Dr Uma Valeti, MD . "It represents a giant leap towards a world where people no longer have to choose between the foods they love and a thriving planet. I can't wait for more people to get their first bite – it's a magical moment that inspires an exciting world of new possibilities"
Joyful Ventures, a new pre-seed and seed stage venture capital fund, has raised US$23 million of its US$25 million fund. The fund is aimed at propelling the sustainable protein sector and reimagining the animal protein industry toward sustainable, regenerative food solutions. “This new chapter marks the beginning of a more humane and sustainable future for all,” said Jennifer Stojkovic , Co-founder & General Partner at Joyful VC . “The more we can invest in the future of food and support the development, production, and distribution of sustainable, scalable proteins that outcompete animal-based products on cost, taste, and convenience, the more likely our food system is to adopt it”
The iconic hot dog has been a part of the IKEA shopping experience for more than 40 years. Now, IKEA has developed the hot dog in a modern way. With great taste and texture, the plant-based hot dog is the latest, innovative addition to the family of plant-based products at IKEA. “IKEA is driven by a vision to create a better everyday life for the many people," said Helene von Reis , Food Manager at 宜家 of Sweden. "Through the food business, we can contribute to this by offering a tasty, healthier, and more sustainable food option"
One of the most abundant plant proteins on earth, rubisco, may be coming to a plate near you soon. But the enzyme that plays an important role in photosynthesis will look less plant-like and more like a steak or egg and may even be an ingredient in cookies and cakes. With the rubisco hype heating up,?Northeastern Global News?spoke with 美国东北大学 food policy safety expert Darin Detwiler on the promise and potential pitfalls of consuming the plant-based protein. "When we're talking about plant-based meats, we're talking about highly processed foods. We're also talking about many more ingredients. It's not just the rubisco. It is all the other ingredients that are being put into it to give it shape, form, taste and texture and all these different things"
Mewery unveils world's first cell-cultivated pork burger and looks to enter US and Singapore markets
Czech startup, Mewery , has introduced the first-ever burger with cell-cultivated pork – and plans to enter the US market. Uniquely, Mewery’s product combines porcine cells with microalgae cells. "We have managed to get the price of the culture medium down to a few dollars per liter, which allows us to gradually increase the testing of our co-culture in larger volumes and to expand our parallel sensory laboratory for the final texture and taste of our products," said Roman Laus , Founder (who is also one of +65 speakers at this October's Future of Protein Production LIVE! conference and exhibition)
Sophie's BioNutrients , a B2B food-tech company, has collaborated with the Teknologisk Institut to produce its first chlorella-based ice cream. Made with Sophie's dairy-free chlorella protein concentrate, the new vegan ice cream boasts a complete nutritional panel, with more B12 and iron than most dairy and plant-based alternatives. "Microalgae is one of the most nutrient-rich and versatile resources on the planet," commented Eugene Wang , Co-Founder & CEO of Sophie's BioNutrients. "Microalgae is definitely part of the future," added Anne Louise Dannesboe Nielsen , Director of Food Technology at the Danish Technological Institute. "It is a sustainable ingredient with a lot of potential in multiple food applications. At DTI, we are increasingly experiencing interest in microalgae and are eager to help grow, understand and explore its potential"
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As it continues unprecedented company growth to meet the demand for more flavorful plant-based foods, Wicked Kitchen , a 100% plant-based, flavor-forward global food brand, has announced that 10-time National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Chris Paul has joined the Wicked team as an investor. "It's really exciting to have more and more influential and inspiring people choosing to eat plant based. By working together, we can continue to make massive change," commented Pete Speranza , CEO of Wicked Kitchen. "With investors such as Chris Paul, our momentum as a global-impact brand is undeniable and we are uniquely positioned as more consumers and top-performers are recognizing the difference plant-based eating can have on their health and wellness. This helps make the demand for chef-crafted, cravable plant-based foods unstoppable"
The science-based food ingredient company focused on producing animal proteins in plants through molecular farming technology, Moolec Science , has announced a milestone achievement in its Meat Replacements Program for the Soybean platform, as its new 'Piggy Sooy' produced a significantly high amount of pork protein.?"Piggy Sooy represents tangible and visual proof that Moolec's technology has the capacity to achieve significant yields in plants to produce meat proteins," said Moolec's CEO & Co-Founder Gastón Paladini . "With this groundbreaking achievement, Moolec consolidates its position as a category creator and a pioneer in Molecular Farming for the food industry. Our plant biology team is writing the history of science in food, I couldn't be prouder of them"
BLUU Seafood, a European food biotech producing cultivated fish, is continuing its growth path and has successfully closed its Series A. By raising €16 million, the German start-up has secured the capital to further advance the work on its technology and the market launch of first products.?The Series A funding was led by Sparkfood and LBBW VC. Further participants in the round were SeaX Ventures, Manta Ray Ventures, Norrsken VC, Delivery Hero, Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg and Dr Oetker. In total, BLUU Seafood has raised more than €23 million since its founding in 2020. "Our successful Series-A demonstrates the enormous potential that lies in cultivated fish as a platform technology for sustainable animal protein and underlines the strong scientific development that we at BLUU Seafood have delivered so far," commented Dr. Sebastian Rakers , Co-Founder & CEO of BLUU Seafood . "Together with our strong, international investor base, we can start the next stage of development and bring our first products to market"
In Other News
Our News
This third edition of PPTI is packed with more than 100 pages of the latest breakthrough innovations, with deep dives on waste to proteins, plant-based innovations, alternative seafood, and much, much more! The July/August 2023 edition will be published on 26 July, and features alternative cheese, bioreactors, air proteins, global harmonization of cell ag regulations, supply chain collaboration, plus some amazing exclusive interviews with key figures driving this industry forward
Click?here ?to read the April/May 2023 edition
In this episode of the Future of Protein Production Webinar Series, the panel discussion, moderated by Nick Bradley, Editor of Protein Production Technology International, explores the significance of bioreactors in the sustainable production of alternative proteins. Experts include Yash Mishra ( Cellcraft ), Arpad Csay ( GEA Group ), Jack Reid ( Unicorn Biotechnologies ), and Yossi Quint ( Ark )
The above are just a few of the stories that we have brought to you this week – there are plenty more on?www.futureofproteinproduction.com ?– and they're published daily. Plus, don't forget, we are now in the process of interviewing all 65 speakers appearing at?The Future of Protein Production LIVE! . You can see the preliminary agenda?here ?and full speaker line-up?here .
And remember, if you have a story that you would like us to share with the industry, please get in touch with the editor by emailing [email protected].
We look forward to reporting back to you next time. Here's to another successful week and plenty more good news to come!
The Future of Protein Production news team
Sales Associate at American Airlines
1 年Thanks for sharing