One week in a post #51: Bill tasting Savor, Breastmilk, Chocolate, more Fats and Oils.
One week in a post #51: Bill tasting Savor, Breastmilk, Chocolate, more Fats and Oils.
Food and climate highlights on my radar!
Thank you to all the people who keep on writing me privately about the newsletter! I really appreciate all the feedback. I’m hearing that most of you like when I share my opinions more than report news (something that is probably overdone in the space). Trying my best!
[Three pieces of news]
🧈 Savor in the news!
I cannot hold myself from starting by featuring the great piece Bill and the whole Gates Notes’ team put together about Savor and C16. And I’m personally so excited to speak on behalf of the whole team alongside with our incredible CTO, Kathleen! Take a look at the video — Bill gets to taste a full menu made with Savor’s fats! From our non-animal butter, to burgers, fries and ice-cream.
🍼 Dairy: more fat + protein solutions
More fat-focused companies have been making the news in the past days. Checkerspot announced what they called “a breakthrough with the development of human milk fat analogue through micro algae fermentation”. And Yali Bio has created what it claims is “the world’s first breast milk fat made from yeast”. Both are working on OPO (Oleic-Palmitic-Oleic), which is an essential component for infant health. On the protein side, New Culture’s animal-free casein protein is now self-affirmed GRAS, hence we’ll get to taste more of it in their mozzarella!
Being now a mom of 2, I find extremely interesting the recent focus replicating breast milk has gotten. If you look at the oil mixes that infant formulas show on their labels, you’ll get why.
🍫 Cocoa, Chocolate, Cocoa, Chocolate..
Cocoa have been hitting the news pretty hard in the past weeks and I’m personally very happy about it. Chocolate's main ingredient reached its highest price in more than four decades, with cocoa bean futures trading at $4,362 per tonne, up 84% from 2022.
California Cultured has announced a partnership with Meiji Ltd. Co., Japan’s largest chocolate company to integrate its cell-cultured cocoa products into Meiji’s lineup of packaged goods. Planet A’s ChoViva chocolate alternative made with oats and sunflower seeds, closed a deal to be in a series of private label products from Rewe and Penny stores within Germany, after announcing a $15.4 Series A two weeks ago. Voyage Foods has released a life cycle assessment on its plant-based cocoa-free chocolate stating that the product consumes 99% less water and produces 81% less GHG compared to traditional chocolate.
[Three raises/M&As]
🍖 Non Animal Meat / In what is called “a challenging moment for the industry” Spanish Heura Foods raises €40m series B. (This is interesting especially because it’s led by plant-based food giant Upfield. When VCs are lacking their dry powder, it seems that some F&B company might feel the push to put some skin in the game.)
🍜 Ramen / Borealis Foods Inc — maker of Gordon Ramsay-backed Chef Woo Vegan Ramen, announces NASDAQ listing. (It’s important to think of how food habits change with the current cost-of-living crisis and food prices raising.)
🔬 Enzymes & Cultures / Novozymes and Chr. Hansen have completed their merger, creating a company called Novonesis. 10,000 employees, and annual revenue of ~$4 billion.
[Three products]
🥛 Better Whey/ animal-free and lactose-free whey isolate made with precision fermentation, launched by Nestlé SA under the Orgain brand.
🌊 Algae Cooking Club/ made from fermented Microalgae (and with ~half the carbon emissions of avocado, canola or olive oil). Just lauched! An 16oz bottle is priced at $25 (I guess not the price we’ll offer to for service operators).
🌱 Manitoba Harvest Bioactive Fiber/ a multi-benefit fiber solution, that leverages Brightseed’s novel ingredient made from upcycled hemp hulls, the outer shells of hemp seeds.