Future Food Quick Bites: Cinnamon Miyoko’s, Vegan Euro 2024 & Fighting Florida

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 Upside Foods’ cultivated meat tasting in Florida, a fermented sweetener from upcycled fruits, and Impossible Foods’ patent dispute with Motif FoodWorks.

New products and launches

Californian cultivated meat giant Upside Foods is fighting back against Florida’s ban on these novel proteins with a public tasting event in Miami on June 27, four days before the law comes into effect.

It has been a big week for Californian precision-fermented egg producer The Every Company. After forming the Fermy brand with Landish Foods for beverage mixes, it announced a partnership with Spain’s Grupo Palacios, which will incorporate the animal-free egg in its Spanish omelettes.

More news from California: nut-free spread maker Voyage Foods‘ peanut and hazelnut butter innovations are now available in bulk sizes on Amazon to support the needs of foodservice operators.

Plant-based dairy pioneer Miyoko’s Creamery has launched two new versions of its oat milk butter in Garlic Parm and Cinnamon Brown Sugar flavours, which are priced at $4.99 per 6oz tub at Whole Foods.

Dutch plant-based ingredient company Fooditive Group has introduced a low-calorie, sustainable sugar substitute called Keto-Fructose in the US. It’s made from upcycled apples and pears via a fermentation process, which is now undergoing FDA GRAS assessment.

In the Netherlands itself, retail giant Jumbo has replaced gelatin with plant-based alternatives in all its fresh pastries. The renewed lineup is now available at all 700 locations in the Netherlands and Belgium.

In search for plant-based M&M’s? UK vegan chocolatier Mummy Meegz has rolled out dairy-free M’z Gems in chocolate and peanut flavours, joining its range of alternatives to classics like Cadbury’s Creme Eggs and Freddo bars.

Swiss plant-based meat company Planted has entered the foodservice market in the Middle East, with its products being featured on menus of certain UAE restaurants. It now plans to expand into hotels.

German ingredients firm Loryma has introduced Lory Bind, a wheat-based binder intended as a clean-label alternative to methylcellulose in plant-based meat formulations.

Fellow German company Billie Green has debuted a plant-based mortadella range in classic, garden herb, and cherry pepper flavours.

And in Singapore, oat milk startup Oatside has expanded its ready-to-drink coffee line with Caramel Macchiato and Mocha flavours, which will be available at NTUC FairPrice, Don Don Donki, Shopee and other retailers from Friday at S$1.80 per pack.

Finance and company updates

Canadian plant-based producer Phytokana Ingredients has announced that it’s initiating a C$38M ($27.7M) Series C investment round, just as it introduced a new 70% faba bean protein concentrate that provides emulsification and gelling properties to vegan meat formulations.

Australian plant-based startup The Leaf Protein Co has brought in $850,000 in pre-seed funding to develop nutritional additives for food applications with rubisco protein.

Mycoprotein giant Quorn has added egg white to the three new flavours of its previously vegan Sweet Chilli Mini Fillets, with no plant-based variants of the snack available.

Fellow mycoprotein player Mycorena, meanwhile, has discontinued its large-scale factory project for one of its core ingredients to focus on a long-term circular upcycling production model, citing an “unfavourable investment climate” and an unsuccessful Series B fundraising effort.

Israeli cultivated meat producer Believer Meats has signed an MoU with Abu Dhabi’s brand-new AgriFood Growth and Water Abundance cluster to establish research opportunities, pursue regulatory advancements, and explore commercial facilities.

Global investor network FAIRR and Tufts University have released Protein and Nutrition: Research Overview, a factsheet for investors to gain more knowledge about sustainable nutrition, the scientific evidence of the health impacts of different proteins, and the risks and opportunities involved with the protein supply chain.

Also at Tufts University, the Center for Cellular Agriculture has received an “unprecedented investment” from the institute to hire five new dedicated cellular agriculture professors.

Policy and event news

Impossible Foods has been dealt a blow in its legal battle with Motif FoodWorks over precision-fermented heme proteins. The US Patent and Trademark Appeal Board has invalidated one of the former’s patents, which covers a plant-based “ground beef-like food product” that “results in the production of at least two volatile compounds which have a beef-associated aroma” when cooked.

In Spain, a coalition of over 20 seafood producers is accusing plant-based seafood companies of misleading consumers via their product labelling. The companies, which include Apromar, Interfish and Conxemar, intend to join SAFE Food Advocacy Europe to lobby for stricter regulations on vegan seafood, citing “unfair competition”.

UK biotech firm Sun Bear Biofuture has announced that its precision-fermented alternative to palm oil is safe to eat, with independent research showing its product outperforming conventional palm oil on flavour.

Italian cocoa-free chocolate maker Foreverland won the inaugural FoodTech World Cup at the HackSummit in Lausanne last week, beating out eight other finalists.

German food trade show Anuga has announced a new event for alternative proteins in 2025. Called Anuga Alternatives, it will feature cultivated, plant-based and fermentation-derived proteins, alongside ingredients like algae, mushrooms and insects.

Israeli alternative protein companies Imagindairy and Wanda Fish have been selected as the 2024 Global Technology Pioneers by the World Economic Forum.

Finally, UK plant-based meat startup THIS has partnered with former England footballer John Barnes, to release THIS Is The One, a new parody track for Euro 2024, which features vegan food at stadiums across Germany.

Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.