In Europe, many consumers associated seaweed with the rotting, smelly kelp that washes up on beaches. How can industry cultivate consumer appetite for marine plants?
After decades of ‘very little’ innovation by heritage brands, is butter (and its plant-based counterparts) having a moment? FoodNavigator investigates.
A report finds that plant-based burgers, meatballs and bacon alternatives are healthier than their meaty counterparts, but animal meat scores better for chicken chunks, chicken fillet, and schnitzel.
As surveys find that Gen Zs are drinking less than any other age group, new data also shows a significant decline in chart-topping songs that reference being drunk.
Consumers are adapting their attitudes about food to a changing climate and aiming for more sustainable eating habits, research in Tetra Pak’s 2023 Index suggests. The research also indicated that consumers are gravitating towards healthier products,...
By René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager
To successfully launch a plant-based product onto the market today, businesses have to go above and beyond in flavour to stand out. How can a new, more holistic flavour approach put an end to organoleptic compromise?
French plant-based whole-cut chicken producer Umiami has secured a further €32.5 million Series A funding, bringing its total raised to date to over €100 million.
Mycoprotein and fungal proteins hope to offer a solution to the negative impact to the environment associated with industrial farming, heard FoodNavigator’s recent Climate Smart Food digital summit.
Ivy Farm Technologies sounded the warning it will look to open its first production facility in another country, likely the US, if the Food Standards Authority drags its feet on giving regulatory approval to this fledgling industry.
This week, it was announced that revenue for plant-based meat brand Beyond Meat had fallen by more than 30%. Does this say more about Beyond Meat or the plant-based sector in general? Why are some consumers rejecting plant-based meat?
Faced with a global market slowdown, plant-based meat players are looking is renew demand and encourage repeat purchases of their vegan beef, pork, and seafood alternatives. Pulling levers from taste to texture and nutrition, how can plant-based meat...
The purpose of alternative dairy products, such as milk and cheese, is to act as a substitute for animal-based dairy. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it must taste exactly like the products it is replacing.
This week, we have a range of products aiming for sustainable packaging: from wine and spirits, to coffee, to ketchup. We also have kombucha made from watermelons grown in Italy, honey from the UAE, and bread from Danish bakery Ole and Steen.
German ingredients company Döhler has announced plans to acquire SVZ, a Dutch supplier of fruit and vegetable ingredients, from Royal Cosun. The move is expected to buildout Döhler’s portfolio, notably in red fruit and vegetable ingredients.
MycoTechnology says it is ‘standing on the brink of a sweet revolution’ having discovered a sweet protein derived from honey truffle. “Proteins are widely recognised as the future of sweeteners,” says MycoTechnology CEO Alan Hahn.
The popular sweetener is ‘possibly carcinogenic’ according to the World Health Organization, who has also reaffirmed it is safe to consume within current permitted use levels.
Israeli start-up MAMAY Technologies has developed an AI-powered algorithm capable of determining the ‘objective’ sweetness of a food or beverage product.
The algae spirulina has a wide range of health benefits. Now, a start-up is exploring its potential as a clean-label meat substitute, with flexibility in flavour and in use.
Ireland’s dairy cows are famous for their grass-fed diet. But this diet isn’t just about giving the cows a tasty meal – it affects their health, has strong benefits for sustainability compared to other feeds, and creates better quality milk as an end...
The sought-after chicken fillets, drumsticks, and wings only account for around 50% of the bird. How can technology help valorise the other half for use by the food industry?
Our latest NPD Trend Tracker looks at a range of new fruit juices, healthy snacks and interesting beverages. From historic tea and ocean conservation-supporting wine to vegan protein powder and paper-packaged straws, scroll through the gallery for more....
A new project is harvesting broccoli stems, stalks, and leaves – which would otherwise be left in the field – and upcycling them into an alternative protein ingredient for food and beverage makers.
As alternative protein develops, brewer’s yeast is emerging as a strong driver of the market. Start-up ProteinDistillery has created a protein, developed from brewer’s yeast, that can not only be used for meat and dairy alternatives, but also to replace...
Italy is famous around the world for its food, and for many, food is an important part of its culture. The UK, however, is often stereotyped as having no food culture at all. As simplistic and unhelpful as these stereotypes often are, food culture - of...
Israeli start-up More Foods, which makes ‘meaty’ products made from pumpkin seeds, is announcing a strategic collaboration with Osem-Nestlé Group subsidiary Tivol.
Does Meatless Farm’s decision to send employees home for good suggest a particularly challenging period for the plant-based meat sector? Are industry experts hopeful for the future of meat alternatives in the UK and further afield?
In the highly competitive, complex landscape manufacturers are now in, product acceptance is more than ever about the emotions a product generates, FoodNavigator hears.
The company says its plant-based butter is already as good as its conventional counterpart, and plans to close any taste and texture gaps in dairy-free creams and cheeses within the next three years.
A ‘ground-breaking’ £1 million project has been announced in the UK, which aims to both produce peas that are tasteless but retain nutritional value and have a significant impact on reducing the need for UK imports of soya.
Henry Dimbleby is bleak in his stinging assessment of the food system’s current ills, namely diet-related disease and environmental destruction, which are damaging both our dietary and planet’s health. But we can look to the past for solutions, he says,...
With the global dairy alternatives market projected to reach over $61bn by 2029, what started as a niche offering is now commonplace in household fridges. Innovators are leaning into new product formats and category expansion to grow alt dairy, so what’s...
Israeli sugar reduction pioneer DouxMatok is going through a period change: the company is rebranding to Incredo LTD, has secured $30m (€27m) in Series C funding, and working to expand its reach on both sides of the Atlantic.
Libre Foods is working with both fungi fruiting bodies and mycelia to boost diversity, functionality, and taste in meat-free offerings, CEO Alan Iván Ramos tells FoodNavigator.
In a post-pandemic world, consumer relationships with sweetness are changing, according to Kerry Group, who in new consumer research reveals that ‘sustainable health’ is the primary motivator for sugar reduction.
It is estimated that two-thirds of European countries now use whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in food safety programmes. But it is time the technique is used to bring greater health benefits to functional foods, Dr Thomas Gurry, co-founder and CEO of gut...
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a new guideline on non-sugar sweeteners (NSS), which recommends against the use of NSS to control body weight or reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
One year after DSM and Firmenich announced plans to combine their food, beverage, and taste businesses, the merger is complete. The new company, dsm-firmenich, launches today.
Danish maker of bio-based ingredients Octarine Bio and US cell programming company Ginkgo Bioworks have partnered up to engineer a strain for producing violacein and its derivatives.
Using Mediterranean almonds predominantly grown with rainwater, rather than their ‘intensively produced’ Californian counterparts, Italian start-up Dreamfarm is development plant-based alternatives to mozzarella and spreadable cheese.
Nestlé will use Airbus’s Pléiades Neo satellites in an effort to ensure transparency in its reforestation efforts. The satellites will provide high-resolution images in order to help Nestlé demonstrate that the trees it plants are thriving. This is a...
It’s time plant-based manufacturers stop talking about the healthy nutrients that plants don’t have and focus on those they do have, says influential Wageningen food scientist Atze Jan van der Goot.
Fresh research suggests consumers struggle to distinguish between ultra-processed and other processed foods, but want to cut back on both. Is a lack of trust at play?
CSM Ingredients wants to uncover ‘sustainable frontiers’ in fats and oils – including plant-based oil replacements made from microorganisms – with the inauguration of a new Innovation Center in Delmenhorst, Germany.
