Future Food Quick Bites: Vegan Uggs, Plant-Based Stroopwafels & Beer from Pasta Waste

In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Alpro’s new flavoured barista milk, vegan footwear wins, and Violife’s latest marketing campaign.

New products and launches

South Korean vegan cheesemaker Armored Fresh has announced that it will release a vegan grated parmesan made from oat milk in the US this fall.

Alpro has released a 750ml caramel-flavoured barista milk made from soy and oats in the UK, which is available at Sainsbury’s for £1.75.

Another flavoured milk comes from Mighty, which has announced a Gingerbread Oat Barista milk as part of the UK’s annual tradition of releasing Christmas-themed products from September.

In more alt-dairy news, Cathedral City has added a Plant-Based Smokey cheese block to its lineup, which will be available at Tesco soon.

Also in the UK, Beyond Belief Brewing Co, a subsidiary of pasta supplier Ugo Foods, is launching a line of beers made using waste pasta in grocery, including a Pale Ale, IPA and Vienna Lager, which will be available at Ocado for £8.50-£8.75 this month.

Barefoot shoe maker Vivobarefoot has introduced the Gobi Sneaker Premium Canvas, a Vegan Society-certified sneaker made from 98% natural materials. Instead of plastic, the brand is using a bio-based alt-leather from Natural Fiber Welding called Mirum.

In more footwear news, sheepskin boot manufacturer Ugg has announced a vegan version of its signature shoe, partnering with New York label Collina Strada. The vegan Uggs are made from recycled polyester microfibre and corn leather, and are available in the UK on both brands’ websites.

Texas-based startup Stroop Club has rolled out its vegan stroopwafels in Europe. Using sunflower oil and cacao fats, the products are available as two- or eight-packs at Ankorstore.com and Faire.com, and on its website.

Speaking of Dutch delights, plant-based giant Vivera has launched Protein Bites in the Netherlands, described as “plant-based meal enrichers” made from vegetables, grains and legumes. The whole-food product line is available in TexMex, Thai and Green flavours, and can be found at Albert Heijn, Jumbo and Plus stores.

In the US, TiNDLE Foods‘ chicken tenders are now available on the menu of AI-driven meal kit and grocery solutions platform Hungryroot.

Meanwhile, Rich Products Corporation‘s F’real has debuted the first non-dairy edition of its DIY shakes, an oat-milk-based Choco Choco Chip flavour.

Plant protein company Havredals has expanded its fava bean meats on the US east cost through a distribution partnership with Performance Food Group.

And Slovenia’s Juicy Marbles is also hoping to ‘steak’ a claim in the US with a 2025 supermarket launch for its whole-cut meat analogues. It’s working on a more accessible product line to widen its customer reach.

Finance and company updates

Plant-Ex Ingredients, a British supplier of plant-derived flavours, colours and extracts has raised £9M in funding from BGF to expand internationally, with the US a key focus market.

Canadian vegan meal replacement beverage maker Sperri has attracted new funding to spur its US expansion efforts. It has just entered the D2C channel via Amazon.

Swedish investor Kale United has announced a new €50M Kale Growth Fund for alternative protein startups.

Vegan honey maker MeliBio has been granted a utility patent in Germany, which it hopes will fuel its expansion in Europe.

Meanwhile, Copenhagen-based Meat Tomorrow, which is developing pluripotent stem cell lines for cultivated meat, has raised 4.1 million kroner ($610,000) to expand R&D efforts and establish partnerships.

As election season rages on in the US, vegan cheese giant Violife has debuted a new marketing campaign dubbed America Has Voted, after its product was voted the best dairy-free cream cheese. The company will take over bagel shops on election day (November 5) and offer samples in grocery store parking lots in Austin and Miami.

Givaudan‘s food innovation platform MISTA has chosen biomass fermentation as the central theme for the 2024 Growth Hack event.

Research and policy developments

As US lawmakers continue to find ways to try and ban cultivated meat, a federal judge in Florida has set a date for a hearing about the state’s ban on cultivated meat. In its lawsuit, Californian startup Upside Foods asked the court for a preliminary injunction, which Chief US District Judge Mark Walker will hear arguments for on October 7.

In a new research partnership, Indian cultivated meat startup ClearMeat will join forces with Melbourne’s La Trobe University under the Indo-Australian research corridor. It was announced as ClearMeat unveiled ClearX9, an FBS-free powdered growth medium.

Also in India, the Good Food Institute India and the state-owned CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology have signed a research agreement to advance the country’s alternative protein sector. The latter will provide scientific support and access to state-of-the-art labs and instrumentation facilities for GFI India’s research fellows.

If it manages to meet the taste and nutrition requirements, plant-based dairy could be 10% cheaper than cow’s milk by 2030, a new report shows.

Finally, in the UK, conservation agency the National Trust is looking to make half of its food in cafes meatless as part of its net-zero pledge for 2030, with its 2.6 million members set to vote on the proposal. Around 40% of its current catering is plant-based.

Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.