Hello All,

We’ve got so many terrific reads this week—most of which are exclusive to Green Queen, I might add—and while I invite you to read them all, I want to highlight a few in particular.

Over in the UK, there are some really interesting changes happening in the plant-based protein space. Product innovators are looking to fill the gap for healthy centre-of-plate protein products made from plants that are neither attempting to mimic meat nor overly processed. Leading player THIS has come out with a whole plant product that promises to be ultra-healthy and non-UPF, while Oh So Wholesome (run by food industry veterans), which pioneered the category, has also debuted their Veg’Chop whole foods plant protein. Both are now available at UK supermarket giant Tesco so these are not small launches. I’m fascinated by this turn of events, and I see the UK as a bit of a test market here. The anti-UPF backlash is getting louder and more global, so it’s interesting to see how startups are evolving. On the other hand, I’m intrigued as to how THIS will walk the line between its two ranges- are they meeting their existing customer where they are? Or are they innovating for an entirely new customer?

I likely wasn’t the only person who was slightly surprised by a new GFI report series showing that plant-based industry sales went up 5% in 2024! It’s a global number and it encompasses meat, milk and everything else, but still. Given the relentless media backlash, it’s good to see the data.

I really enjoyed Anay’s in-depth interview with Rudy Yoo of Armoresh Fresh and Pureture. It feels like Rudy is creating a blueprint for the CPG food company of the future, with product launches in multiple categories and formats, all united by one defining factor: decarbonized production. I’ll say this for Rudy- the man is ambitious. Which is great to see in this era of retreating food tech.

We have a really strong piece about why meat sales are booming in the US that’s very much worth your time as we navigate an entirely new cultural paradigm that is spreading far beyond American shores.

I’ll be in sunny California next week for the first time in a while for Synbiobeta 2025, where I am the Food & Ag track chair and where I will host a fantastic discussion on the future Future-Proofing Caffeine Commodities and while I am already worried about how much I will miss my kiddos, I’m psyched to finally be stateside again and get to experience to be at an event where the combined IQ is probably in the trillions. For those who don’t know, Synbiobeta is a conference dedicated to the convergence of biological science, engineering, and entrepreneurship (now all supercharged by AI), so you can imagine the profiles. I will be a humble listener and hope to have many awe-inspiring things to share when I’m back. Also, do reach out if you will be there!

-Sonalie

PS- Did you see that we now have protein powder made from air? Congrats to Solar Foods on this awesome milestone. It’s hard not to be a little bit excited about the future of food sometimes. Am I right?

💡 Green Queen Originals

📈 Key Founder Insights: Shiru Hits Commercial Scale
AI protein discovery platform Shiru is producing its animal-free fat ingredient at commercial scale - here’s why CEO Jasmine Hume calls it a “turning point” for the food industry.

🧀 Key Founder Insights: Meet The Man Taking On Dairy, Coffee & Protein
Rudy Yoo, co-founder of Armored Fresh and Pureture, has big plans for the future food industry, featuring yeast-based casein, barley-derived coffee, and clean-label, complete plant proteins.

🥩 Consumer Trends: Why Meat Is Booming Again In America
Americans’ appetite for meat is increasing, with sales reaching record highs in 2024 amid a cultural shift and changing political landscape. Here’s what’s going on.

🌱 Exclusive Plant-Based Market Insights

🥛 Industry Insights: Plant-Based Milk Brands Are Going All-In On Replicating Dairy
A wave of ‘not milks’ is on the rise, attempting to replicate dairy instead of merely replacing it. Previous efforts have seen mixed success, so we’re asking: will these products help turn the tide for plant-based milk? 

📊 New Report: Global Plant-Based Sales Up By 5% in 2024 Despite US Setback
The Good Food Institute released its latest State of the Industry series of reports for 2024. Here’s how plant-based, fermentation-derived and cultivated proteins fared.

🌱 Consumer Insights: The 6 Types of Plant-Based Meat Consumers, and How Brands Can Attract Them
New data from GFI reveals that the “addressable market” for plant-based meat and dairy in the US is large, with potential consumers largely omnivores. What does it say about the industry’s future?

🥗 The Plant-Based Reset: Can Whole-Food Proteins Like Veg’chop Win Over Consumers?
As sales of meat alternatives continue to slide, a new crop of whole-food plant protein formats is on the rise. Oh So Wholesome’s Veg’chop is among the products spearheading this shift.

📢 Interviews & Opinion

💰5 Minutes With A Future Food VC: FTW Ventures’ Jenn Burka
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, Jenn Burka, Principal at FTW Ventures, shares her view on the food tech sector’s biggest achievement in the past five years, and why startups are the catalyst the food system needs.

☕️ Op-Ed: The Coffee & Cocoa Crisis Is Here. Here’s How Business Can Adapt
Coffee and cocoa are daily rituals for many of us, but behind every cup or chocolate bar lies a fragile system under increasing stress. Maricel Saenz, founder and CEO of Compound Foods, explains why, and what to do about it.

✅ Must-Read Headlines

🤝🏼 Molecular farming company Moolec Science – known for its pork-producing soybeans – announced a merger with Argentina’s Bioceres Group and two other firms.
💡Once the deal is completed, Moolec said it would be “uniquely positioned” in the agricultural value chain.

👩🏻‍⚖ Upside Foods has been handed an initial legal victory after a judge denied Florida’s request to dismiss the lawsuit against its cultivated meat ban.
💡The ruling comes at a time when attempts to ban cultivated meat have become fashionable in the US, just as conventional meat sales reached a record high in 2024. 

🚀 Scientists have launched a miniature lab into Earth’s orbit, which contains microbes designed to produce proteins in space.
💡The lessons from this experiment could speed up developments in space-based manufacturing, pharmaceutical research, and sustainable food production for long space missions.

🚀 Everything Else In Future Food

🇬🇧 THIS, the UK startup famous for its plant-based meat analogues, has introduced a new product format that champions whole foods and has more protein than tofu.

🇫🇮 Finland’s Solar Foods has developed a ready-to-mix powder protein shake, made from CO2 instead of dairy, to help you hit your daily protein goals. 

🎥 One of the world’s largest plant-based meat companies, Beyond Meat, is hitting back at the livestock industry’s negative media campaigns against the category with a new documentary short.

🇪🇺 In a new position paper, trade body Food Fermentation Europe argues that fermentation has transformative potential for the future of the EU’s agrifood system – but industry leaders say they need regulatory and financial support from policymakers.

🇺🇸 Only half of the US’s leading foodservice providers have commitments to reduce animal proteins or increase the share of plant-based food, despite many companies touting ambitious sustainability goals, according to the Humane World for Animals.

🌱🍔  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 Gordon Ramsay’s partnership with Becel, a new vegan egg in Italy, and Spain’s plant-based school meal decree.

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📆 Scene & Heard

Connect With Green Queen’s Sonalie Figueiras At SynBioBeta 2025!

🇺🇸 Green Queen’s Founding Editor, Sonalie Figueiras, is heading to SynBioBeta 2025 next week! Join her on May 5th–8th in San Jose, CA, to meet pioneers, explore innovative breakthroughs, and discuss biotech’s next chapter. Don’t miss your chance; register here and use code SBB25-Future for $100 off.

🧫 The Asia-Pacific Society for Cellular Agriculture and Beyond Impact VC have launched the Cell Ag Investment Forum — a dynamic new platform connecting investors with the most promising cellular agriculture startups globally. Register now to receive programme updates, early invites to startup presentations, and exclusive investment content.

🇳🇱 On 13th May, The Protein Community is hosting Generative ProtAIn, an exclusive acceleration session designed to equip you with practical AI applications in precision fermentation, personalized protein development, and smarter product design. Find out more here.

🌱 ProVeg Incubator’s latest cohort features 10 innovative startups revolutionising the plant-based and fermentation-driven food sectors. These startups are advancing sustainable solutions, from plant-based seafood and precision-fermented proteins to upcycled ingredients and novel fats. Learn more about these stellar companies here.

🇨🇭From the lab to the field, from markets to ministries, science belongs everywhere decisions are made. Don’t miss the HackSummit on May 15th-16th, where you’ll join 850 ClimateTech founders, funders, and operators building what matters most. Get your ticket here.