One week in a post #26: Healthy Gummies, Tiredness Hacks, Ice-creams 2.0, The Power of Beens.
One week in a post #26: Healthy Gummies, Tiredness Hacks, Ice-creams 2.0, The Power of Beens.
Now that climate beneficial eating is becoming more popular, and a number of individuals and organizations are getting into the space, I feel called to share with a broader audience what I encounter every single day through my work at Future Food and Food for Climate League. Weekly, I share startups I read about, products I tasted, founders I met (and a bit of personal life!). Every single concept I mention will be tracked on a public database we’re populating. The overarching goal is to increase the general interest in this topic, acknowledging that the challenge is too big not to work cooperatively.
This initiative is possible thanks to our amazing Future Food Ecosystem, where our team is working head-down every single day to research, design, create, and commercialize new food solutions to help our planet.
My word of the week
Omicron. NOUN / a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 reported to the World Health Organization on November 24, 2021.Food, Climate and Innovation: three highlights of the week
1/ Fungi is the next minimally processed meat alternative?
Increased consumer awareness on the nutritional quality of overly processed plant-based burgers has resulted in a recent decrease in plant-based meat sales. Chris DuBois, senior vice president of IRI’s protein practice, said in an interview to Food Business News, plant-based meat alternatives are not meeting the consumer’s definition of clean label, “There are a lot of different oils and complicated ingredients used in meat substitutes…When you look at the ingredient list of a McDonald’s burger, like a Quarter Pounder or Big Mac, it’s phenomenally simpler; it reads a lot simpler than traditional plant-based meats.”
While we applaud the environmental benefits of the meat-alternative world, a need for more minimally processed meat-alternatives has been created leaving an opportunity for fungi-based meat to transition into the market.
Prime Roots, founded by Kimberlie Le and Joshua Nixona in San Francisco, makes meat and seafood alternatives from mycelium, the vegetative part of a fungus consisting of branching, thread-like fibers. Naturally having a superior nutritional profile to plants, Prime Roots’ products match or exceed the protein level of traditional meat while offering many of the fibers, vitamins and minerals found in plants.
Another fungi-based meat alternative utilizing mycelium is Meati: their fungi is grown indoors in stainless steel tanks, similar to beer brewing. They grow the mycelium using only water, sugar and nutrients. Grown indoors, Meati is ultra-clean, pure and unexposed to external elements like pollutants, pesticides, antibiotics or growth hormones resulting in a product based only on natural ingredients. The company plans to launch to consumers early next year online DTC and in the future at retail locations. According to Mr. Tassani, the new President of Meati Foods, “Our goal is to rapidly scale to drive accessibility across the United States, with plans to achieve a category-leading $1 billion in sales by 2025.” See here for more updates on Meati.
Naturally meat-free, high in protein, and minimally processed, fungi seems like the perfect future alternative.
2/ Candy for the “Healthy” Adult
This may or may not be a stocking stuffer idea. Yes, “healthy” candy is in fact a delicious trend I wouldn’t knock. Although not labeled as “healthy,” many brands are looking to differentiate themselves from others by offering “better for you” options to appeal to adult consumers looking for a treat that won’t lead to a crash.
One of the leaders in this low-sugar candy niche is Smart Sweets, a female-founded brand that launched in 2016, and is available in over 20,000 stores across the USA & Canada. Smart Sweets boasts many claims: No Added Sugar, No Artificial Sweeteners, Naturally Flavored & Colored, Non-GMO, No Sugar Alcohols, High in Fiber, and Free from Common Allergens. While most candies they have released, their recently launched Cola Gummies are 87% less sugar than other cola gummies.
Also female founded, New York based Behave Foods is a keto-friendly candy that’s low-sugar and gluten-free containing no artificial ingredients. Developed by founder and chief executive officer Mayssa Chehata in partnership with celebrity chef Elizabeth Falkner to develop the recipes for the brand’s reduced-sugar gummy bears, which are sweetened with monk fruit and chicory root fiber and feature lychee, passionfruit and raspberry flavors, the brand has announced the release of a new product, Behave’s Pink Pineapple Sour Stars. Sold at locations such as Urban Outfitters and Erewhon, these candies are the new “modern candy brand” for adults.
3/ Functional Energy Drinks for a Tired Population
The post-pandemic world is nearly at pre-pandemic speed with most settling back into their on-the-go lifestyle. According to a global survey of 13,000 people across 16 countries conducted by ingredient supplier Kerry (Beloit, WI), more than 4 in 10 consumers have increased their purchases of functional foods, beverages and supplements since the start of the pandemic: When asked for what reasons they were buying wellness products, 39% picked improved energy.
Food Business news reported energy drinks have emerged as a driver of basket growth, especially during the early morning: New energy drinks on display at the 2021 National Association of Convenience Stores Show featured sugar-free formulations and functional ingredients promoting added health benefits. Mintel, a marketing intelligence agency that provides expert analysis of consumer trends, market statistics and industry reports, released that the U.S. energy drink sector is one of the strongest performers in the nonalcoholic space. Retail sales of energy drinks totaled $10.43 billion in 2015 and are projected to nearly double to $19.15 billion in 2024.
In order to meet the demand for clean energy drinks, food innovators are exploring next generation ingredients from guarana extract to coffee fruit. Beliv, a global beverage company, recently collaborated with Magnus Media to develop an organic energy beverage called OCA, a plant-based energy drink powered by tapioca, an extract from the cassava root, giving a long-lasting boost. Coming in three flavors, Mango, Berry Acai, Guava Passionfruit, the organic, vegan, gluten free, and low in sugar drink will be available at more than 2,000 retail stores across the country as well as online.
Climate Friendly products of the week
CHKN Not Chicken
CHKN Not Chicken offers a plant-based chicken alternative made with pea protein.
Market / According to statistics from market analysis provider SPINS, plant-based chicken is growing at a rate of 18%. This is lower than the average for the whole plant-based meat category, but more than four times higher than chicken from animals, which has grown at a rate of 4%.
Nutrition / CHKN Not Chicken is vegan, soy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, containing 20 grams of protein per 8 oz serving and has only 140 calories.
How-to / CHKN Not Chicken can be used as an alternative to chicken in recipes including stir fry, rice bowls, tacos, sandwiches, salads, soups, pastas, and more.
Dream Pops
Dream Pops makes 100% plant-based, packed with superfoods & adaptogens, icecream.
Market / The $210.3 Billion global confectionery market is expanding rapidly, and is expected to reach $270.5 Billion in sales by 2027, registering a CAGR of 3.6% during the forecast period, according to Allied Market Research.
Allergen Friendly / Dream Pops plantbased icecream are dairy, gluten, and soy free.
Concept Background / The initial spark for Dream Pops came after David Greenfeld, co-founder and CEO of Dream Pops, took a trip to Cartagena, Colombia, where he saw paleta shops on every corner. He impressed by some of the frozen innovations coming out of the region and started to do some digging and market research on frozen confectionery products over the last 100 years.
Cool Beans
Cool Beans makes vegan burritos using whole food ingredients with global flavors to create clean, balanced eating.
Market / The global burritos market is expected to grow by USD 1.44 billion during 2021–2025 as per Technavio.
Climate Neutral / Cool Beans is a Climate Neutral certified company, offsetting their carbon footprint. Those offsets are used to fund several green projects, including reforestation projects in South America and solar projects in China.
Biodiversity / Plant diversity incentivizes farmers to grow a variety of plants and is a key tenet behind regenerative agriculture; each plant puts different nutrients into the soil for other plants. Cool Beans first five Cool Beans wraps contain 24 different plants.
The Future Food Institute believes climate change is at the end of your fork. By harnessing the power of our global ecosystem of partners, innovators, researchers, educators, and entrepreneurs, FFI aims to sustainably improve life on Earth through the transformation of global food systems.
Learn more at www.futurefoodinsitute.org, or join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube.
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👉👉 Thank you Natalie Brandenburg for the priceless help putting this article together!
One week in a post #26: Healthy Gummies, Tiredness Hacks, Ice-creams 2.0, The Power of Beens. was originally published in FUTURE FOOD on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.