One week in a post #29: The Business of Fat, a New Philly, The Bacon Crises, Climate Smart Milks.

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 personal research and work with organizations such as 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.

My word of the week

Plastic. NOUN. A synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers such as polyethylene, PVC, nylon, etc., that can be molded into shape while soft and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form

Food, Climate and Innovation: three highlights of the week

1/ The business of fat

The search of animal fat alternatives is taking off. Demand for flavourful cultivated meats, realistic plant-based options, and palm oil-free products is increasing, and in parallel, a variety of fats are being developed to cover a spectrum of needs. What’s interesting about it, is that animal fat alternatives could have countless applications, scoping out a huge market opportunity. The companies working in the space are increasing in number, tackling the challenge from a variety of angles. The Austrian startup Kern Tec for example, saw the potential in food side streams to provide sustainable and cost-effective ingredient oils. The take fruit pits and thanks to their technology they’re able to convert them into raw ingredients for the F&B industry. Netherlands-based biotech startup NoPalm Ingredientshas instead risen to the challenge of replacing environmentally damaging palm oil using their fermentation technology to obtain a similar oil to the palm, sunflower and coconut ones. Finally, the Silicon Valley based Mission Barns just raised $24 million in funding to build their pilot plant for cultivating animal fat.

2/ Please don’t make cheese cake!

Last December a cream cheese crises hit the market. The New York Times reported that delis across the city were scrambling for schmear. And it definitely didn’t help when the popular chain Junior’s Cheesecake said it was periodically pausing production of its signature product, citing insufficient supply of the key ingredient. As often happen — this is clear sign of a problem (for our food system) and an opportunity (for alternatives to cream cheese). To understand the size of the challenge, Kraft Heinz — which owns the Philadelphia brand — decided to offer $20 to holiday shoppers for each desserts they baked or bought that don’t contain any cream cheese. THAT WAS A MOVE. “You may not be able to find Philly to make a cheesecake,” read its website. “So get any other dessert on us.” Kraft Heinz has therefore moved into the alternative offering, launching its first Philadelphia Plant Based. The Philadelphia launch comes on the heels of another big dairy-free cheese launch this year. Babybel, the popular snacking cheese brand debuted its first vegan offering ahead of Veganuary as well.

3/ Waiting for the Great California Bacon Crisis

On November 6, 2018, California voters approved Proposition 12, the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative which establishes minimum requirements for confining certain farm animals, and prohibits sales of meat and egg products from animals confined in noncomplying manner. Under the new rules, pigs must have 24 square feet for each sow — not much bigger than a moderate-sized dining room table. For the industry, it’s a big shift. Big shortages where expected starting from January 2022 (what was supposed to be the enforcement date), but still we didn’t see them on the market. Shortages or not, pork prices are expected to rise as a result of Prop 12 compliance — estimates suggest a 15% increase per hog, which could translate to about an 8% increase for the consumer. This could accelerate the shift toward plant-based alternatives. Impossible Foods debuted its vegan sausage last year, Asian-based OmniFoods brought three varieties of vegan pork to the state, and U.S. sales of the McDonald’s McPlant burger have exceeded expectations by three-fold, the company said last week.

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.

NUDE

Nude is a carbon neutral oat-based dairy founded in Brazil by Giovanna Meneghel and Alexander Appel.

• Market / They are starting from Brazil, a pretty untapped market which reports very big challenges related to cows raised for meat and dairy.

• Comms / With a very clean branding. Nude is the first food company in LATAM to highlight its carbon emissions on product packaging. It is a UN Global Compact signatory, registered B-Corp, and certified organic company.

• Financials / They just raised a $5 million Series A led by Vox Capital and Lever VC. Other notable participants include Endeavor Scale-Up Ventures and Mexico’s Angel Ventures. Funding brings the company’s valuation to $22.5 million.

TCHO

• Vision / While some brands are beginning to work towards offering plant-based options, Tcho chocolate, the Berkeley based chocolate brand, has opted to make a complete makeover. Their goal is that by the end of 2022, all of the chocolate it makes for professional bakers will be plant-based and by 2023 the entire product line will be plant-based.

• Purpose / TCHO’s decision to remove dairy follows the growing trends away from traditional milk chocolates as Grand View Research found that the vegan chocolate confection market is projected to grow at a rate of 14.8 percent from 2021 to 2028, reaching $1.4 billion. The confectionary chocolate industry is moving more and more plant-based resulting in more sustainable changes.

• Branding / A vibrant, fun and colorful rebranding is hitting the shelves. Impossible not to notice it!

---

One week in a post #29: The Business of Fat, a New Philly, The Bacon Crises, Climate Smart Milks. was originally published in FUTURE FOOD on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.