Shaky Ground

It’s hard to think about anything else but the tariff insanity- all my conversations center around this madness, and everything in my inbox is about it in some way or another. The last time I was feeling this level of collective uncertainty and worry amongst all my networks was the beginning of Covid.

I don't have anything very clever to share right now- I've been in gathering mode, talking to as many people as I can, both in person and via Zoom (and you'll soon see the fruits of this in our reporting). I've been catching up with investors, founders, corporates and even government officials to ask them how they are managing right now. The overriding message? The ground is way too shaky to make any major moves or long-term decisions. The unpredictability of the US government's decisions do not allow for any kind of planning. Things can, and do, change hourly. Most of us are waiting this out, folks, and it's painful.

In the meantime, this early March piece we did on how tariffs will affect food tech and alternative proteins companies is worth a re-read.

-Sonalie

💡 Green Queen Exclusives

🇦🇺 Green Queen broke the exciting news that Sydney-based Vow received regulatory approval from Food Standards Australia New Zealand for its cultivated quail, marking a first for cultivated meat in the region.
💡Vow plans to launch into high-end restaurants and elevated fast-casual concepts in Australia first, as it did in Singapore, “followed by retail partnerships later in the year”.

🐟 CEO Insights: Plant-Based Seafood Has A ‘Comms Problem’
Austrian 3D-printed seafood startup Revo Foods has witnessed rapid growth since opening its mycoprotein facility in September, and its CEO Robin Simsa believes vegan seafood has a communication issue.

💵 Industry Insights: How This Animal-Free ‘Designer’ Fat Maker Is Reshaping Future Food Economics
Australian firm Nourish Ingredients has completed an industrial-scale production of its animal-free, meat-like fat while keeping costs low – here’s how it’s doing it.

😋 Expo West 2025 Tried & Tasted: Our Favourite Future Food Eats
From animal-free egg salad to a milk alternative made from corn, here are the future food products that stood out most to our expert reviewer at Expo West 2025.

💰5 Minutes With A Future Food VC: Grey Silo Ventures’ Matteo Leonardi
In our new interview series, we quiz future food investors about the solutions that excite them the most, their favourite climate-forward restaurant, and what they look for in successful founders. Here, Matteo Leonardi, Investment Manager at Grey Silo Ventures, shares why he finds precision fermentation so fascinating, and the deal that got away.

❓Op-Ed: Can ‘Equivalency’ Carbon Labels Help Us Make Better Food Choices?
Behavioural Scientist Dr. Sophie Attwood asks: what’s the best way to relatably communicate the carbon footprint of food products on their packaging?

✅ Must-Read Headlines

🇸🇪 The European Investment Bank has provided Swedish agricultural cooperative Lantmännen with €50 million in part financing for a pea protein isolate factory.
💡The site would be able to process up to 40,000 tonnes of peas grown by the group’s members every year, producing around 7,000 tonnes of protein.

🇨🇳 Exclusive: Chinese food tech player CellX self-determined its first-of-a-kind morel mycelium ingredient as safe in the US.
💡The company is launching high-protein snacks under its new consumer brand Mourish on Amazon and in supermarkets later this year.

🥕 New York-based Actual Veggies has become the exclusive veggie burger supplier for Compass Group-owned Eurest, the caterer for some of the biggest companies in the US.
💡This move could signal a shift in consumer preferences, especially in light of consumer sentiments about UPFs and plant-based meat.

🌱 New Product Launches

🇸🇬 Singaporean startup TurtleTree unveiled a new consumer-facing brand for supplements made from animal-free lactoferrin protein in the US. The brand’s first product, IronKind, combines lactoferrin with prebiotics to support iron regulation helping to meet a significant (female) consumer need.

☕️ Precision fermentation pioneer The Every Company released a protein-boosted sugar-free syrup made from its recombinant egg protein, specifically formulated to blend seamlessly into coffee and tea-based drinks, as well as other popular beverages.

🇯🇵 Japan’s first cultivated meat company, IntegriCulture, unveiled several prototype dishes and products made from duck liver cells.

🇨🇭 Swiss fermentation firm Cultivated Biosciences unveiled a new brand identity and its debut product, a yeast-derived ingredient to replace animal-based and industrial emulsifiers.

🌱 Spanish plant-based meat leader Heura Foods and French vegan whole-cut specialist Swap Food have partnered to launch a Suprême chicken fillet in three European markets.

🧫 Everything Else In Future Food

👩🏻‍💻 Scientists at Finland’s Tampere University and the VTT Technical Research Centre are using extended reality to create a multisensory eating experience and enhance the appeal of plant-based meat alternatives.

🇺🇸 A bipartisan bill in the US is calling on Congress to provide non-dairy milk options in the national school meal programme to cater to lactose-intolerant and diet-restricted students.

🥛 Analysis by European consultancy firm Roland Berger reveals that dairy-free milk is the most evolved market in the plant-based industry, and a majority of non-drinkers show a potential to switch if certain barriers are removed.

🇧🇷 Polling conducted by the Datafolha Institute shows that health concerns are the biggest consumption driver in Brazil, potentially pushing 74% of its population to reduce or eliminate meat from their diets.

🌱🍔  Future Food Quick Bites 

In our weekly column, Future Food Quick Bites, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Bold Bean Co’s Ottolenghi collaboration, Beyond Meat’s new documentary, and Miyoko Schinner’s upcoming vegan cookbook.

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📆 Scene & Heard

🚀 Calling Agritech Climate Innovators in Asia-Pacific 🌱

🌏 The Agritech ClimAccelerator Singapore is launching its first agritech programme in Asia-Pacific, powered by Better Earth Ventures. The initiative aims to empower climate-focused startups and drive bold agritech solutions in one of the most climate-vulnerable and agriculturally critical regions. Applications close 30th May; learn more and apply here.

🧀 Lidl Germany and ProVeg Incubator have partnered to find innovative cheese alternatives in a new competition for startups. Find out more here.

🌏 The 9th edition of the Future Food Asia Awards has officially launched. This year, ten exceptional finalists will be selected to pitch their innovations at the Future Food Asia Conference, held on 21st-22nd May 2025 in Singapore. Apply here.

🇨🇭Whether you’re looking for new talent to add to your radar, find your next investment, or seal your next partnership deal, you’re sure to find a whole host of opportunities waiting for you at the HackSummit in Lausanne on May 15-16th. Sign up here.