The Week In Food Tech: Impossible And Buitoni Vegan Ravioli, Plus New Foods From Ritter Sport, Blue Tribe, and Barvecue

Just a few short years ago, it was unusual to get more than a handful of stories each week about meat analogues, dairy alternatives, and other alt and/or vegan foods. Nowadays, the opposite is true. In fact, there are so many developments in the alt-protein and food tech space we decided to create a weekly column that gathers all the various bits of news out there into one single place for easy reading

This past week, news of companies releasing vegan and plant-based products came from all over the world, from Impossible’s collaboration with pasta-maker Buitoni to a new vegan chocolate bar from Germany’s Ritter Sport and v2foods’ vegan mince meat heading to South Korea.

US: Impossible collaborate with past-maker Buitoni for plant-based ravioli

A “beef” and “sausage” ravioli will first be available in the refrigerated pasta section of Publix, Sam’s Club, and Hannaford stores across the US. A wider expansion to other stores is slated for 2022. This is the first retail-level collaboration with a CPG for plant-based protein giant Impossible. 

India: Blue Tribe to launch plant-based Chicken Nuggets and Chicken Keema in Indore

The plant-based food maker is heading to the “street food capital of India” with this latest launch, with products available through the Blue Tribe website. Indore joins the growing list of cities in which Blue Tribe’s alt-protein foods are available, including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, among others.

UK: Oatly adding a vanilla oat drink flavor to its product lineup

The new Oat Drink Vanilla Flavour is made with rapeseed oil and includes vitamins D2 and B12. Customers in the UK can find the new product at Tesco stores across the country as well as at various independent grocery retailers. The launch comes despite Oatly’s recent news of its shares dropping nearly 20% due to lost sales and delays in orders.

Australia: v2food launches mince product in South Korea

The Australian alt-protein company will bring its popular v2mince product to South Korea via a partnership with the restaurant BESPOK’eat. The launch is part of v2food’s large expansion across Asia, which comes on the heels of the company’s recent $54 million Series B round.

US: Kids believe meat comes from plants

A new study asked 176 American children to categorize foods into two groups, plant-based and animal-based. Thirty-six to 44% of children labeled bacon, cheese, hamburgers, and hot dogs as plant-based, while roughly one-third incorrectly categorized eggs, and 38% said “chicken nuggets” was a plant-based product.

UK: Violife launches a vegan camembert

The vegan cheese-maker has unveiled its new Le Rond Camembert Flavour, which is free of soya, dairy, gluten, nuts, preservatives, and emulsifiers. The cheese is now available at Waitrose stores across Great Britain.

Germany: Ritter Sport releases vegan chocolate bar

With Veganuary just around the corner, the chocolate manufacturer will release new additions to its “Vegan Pure Without Moo” line of vegan chocolates. The new bars contain just four ingredients — cocoa mass, almond flour, cocoa butter, and sugar — and is part of the company’s push towards more sustainable chocolate options.

US: Follow Your Heart launches vegan mac ’n’ cheese

The Danone-owned company’s first-ever vegan boxed mac ’n’ cheese is now available at Whole Foods stores across the US. Flavors include Cheezy Carrot and Creamy Caulifredo, and both products include natural ingredients such as carrots, butternut squash, navy beans, and cashews as a nutritional base.

US: Whole Foods and Chloe Coscarelli unveil vegan holiday meal

The grocery retailer and chef have collaborated on a vegan holiday meal for two that will be available throughout Whole Foods stores and online during the 2021 holiday season. The menu puts a vegan twist on classic American holiday season foods.

US: Barvecue launches plant-based carnitas in retail stores

Plant-based meat-maker Barvecue is set to launch a plant-based take on carnitas when it releases a new product at more than 380 Lowes Foods, Earth Fare, and Safeway stores in December. The new product is produced in the company’s new 10,000-square-foot plant-based smokehouse.

Canada: CULT Food Science to give $1m prize for cultured protein

The investment platform has launched a two-year global competition where teams will develop novel cell lines, scaffolding, and growth media as a means of advancing cellular agriculture, with the winner receiving CAD $1 million (USD $797,375). Registration runs through Jan. 15, 2022.

Lead image courtesy of Impossible Foods/Buitoni.