Morning Folks,

It’s so gloomy out there on mainstream news channels. What else is there left to say about the dominating story that hasn’t already been said?

So let’s change the subject, shall we?

So many folks out there think foodtech funding is dead. Climate tech too for that matter. But the reality is that there are still deals happening for the right kind of startup, ones that deliver market-leading solutions with class and quality.

Take PROJECT EADEN, a Berlin-based company that has cracked the code for ultra-realistic pork-free ham using fiber spinning tech. Yesterday they announced a $15.6 million Series A with blue-chip investors.

The truth is, smart investors always have time and money for:

• Experienced teams of executors (one co-founder is a PhD in textile engineering, the other is ex-Rocket Internet MD)

• Underserved categories with a major health problem (pork ham is a carcinogen; their only competitors are France’s LA VIE and Spain’s Heura)

• Outstanding products with ultra-realistic taste and texture

• In-built offtake agreements with leading retailers > Eaden is launching nationwide at REWE supermarkets

• Solving the Scope 3 emissions regulatory problem for Big Food > European retailers must decarbonize their supply chain

Also, what do German startup founders put in their morning protein shakes?

Their politicians might be having a rough go of it lately, but from where I'm sitting when it comes to solving for food system resiliency, the country's foodtech startups are world-class in terms of execution, quality and scale-up.

Thinking here of micro fermentation cheese purveyor Formo (secured $35.8M in debt funding earlier this month) or cacao-free chocolate maker Planet A Foods (raised $30M Series B last month).

I happen to know all these teams, and I will tell you, they are among the most impressive I have come across in my ten years of working with startups.

Attention food tech founders: be more like the Germans.

LOS GEHT'S!*

-Sonalie

*’Let’s Go’ in German

💡 Only on Green Queen

🌱 Interview: Indy Kaur Of Plant Futures Collective
The founder and CEO of Plant Futures Collective tells us why ‘open omnivores’ – meat-eaters open to eating plant-based alternatives – will lead the future food revolution.

🍔 OP-ED: Why McDonald’s Is Losing To Plant-Based Rivals In Europe
Sustained high meat prices on both sides of the pond are changing the burger business – for the benefit of people and the planet. But here’s why McDonald’s might not be able to adapt quickly enough to the changing times.

🇺🇸 Deep Dive: What California’s War On UPFs Means For Plant-Based Brands
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order to crack down on ultra-processed foods – will plant-based meat get caught in the crossfire?

🇬🇧 Trends: UK Food Retailers Get Trendy
From gut health to brain food to ’30 plants a week’, health-forward eating is at the heart of new product development at some of the largest supermarkets in the UK this year.

📈 Must-Read Headlines

💰 German startup Project Eaden secured €15 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round to launch its fibre-spun whole-cut plant-based meat in retail.
💡It will start with 3,800 REWE supermarkets nationwide in early 2025.

🇳🇱 Netherlands-based Mosa Meat has filed a novel food regulatory application in the European Union for its cultivated beef fat.
💡Mosa Meat CEO Maarten Bosch also teased submissions in “two other geographies” imminently.

🧀 Californian plant-based food maker Misha’s Inc acquired fellow vegan cheese producer Vertage for an undisclosed sum.
💡Misha’s takeover seeks to leverage Vertage’s ongoing collaboration with Fresh Del Monte Produce, a distributor of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. 

🇪🇺 Plant-based meat leader Impossible Foods has had a patent for its heme protein reinstated in the EU.
💡The approval means a European launch is likely on the cards sooner rather than later, opening up a major opportunity for Impossible.

🇸🇬 Singapore-based cellular agriculture pioneer Umami Bioworks introduced its latest product, cultivated caviar, for high-end restaurants, retailers and consumers.
💡Caviar is a $402 million market, and its sales have been exploding thanks to Gen Z influencers driving the #CaviarTok trend on TikTok.

🚫 Nebraska Senator Barry DeKay has introduced a bill to ban cultivated meat in 2025, months after Governor Jim Pillen signed an executive order to take this action.
💡Pillen said that 95% of livestock producers in Nebraska are family-owned and that he wants to keep it that way; this is the same rhetoric used in other states with a similar approach to novel foods.

🏷️ Hot Topic - Labelling

🧀 As it gears up for commercialisation, San Francisco’s New Culture has submitted the product label for its animal-free casein mozzarella for review to the state of California.
💡The startup claims this is the first instance of an animal-free casein submission to the agency.

🥩 US food tech startup Chunk Foods received a Ketogenic Certified label for its whole-cut vegan steaks, playing into a major dietary trend, and is targeting a global expansion.
💡According to the company, it is the first time a plant-based whole-cut has been keto-certified, a level through which it is hoping to access the $12.5 billion keto diet market.

🇫🇷 The French government’s proposed labelling ban on plant-based meat products could be cancelled by its top court, echoing a similar decision by its EU counterpart.
💡If the judge abides by the recommendation, it would be a “landslide victory” for the plant-based industry, said the European Vegetarian Association.

❓ Hot Topic - UPFs

⛔️ Meati Foods CEO Phil Graves says there should be no place for ultra-processed or factory-farmed meat on consumer plates, as the mycelium protein maker doubles revenue and rolls out a new product line.

🔗 Dr Michael Greger, founder of NutritionFacts.org and author of How Not to Die, spoke to the Good Food Institute about misinformation and the link between ultra-processed foods and plant-based meat.

Want to know more about UPFs? ➡️ Read our FAQ.

🍔 Everything Else in Future Food

🇺🇸 The US Food and Drug Administration has banned Red Dye No. 3 after it was found to cause cancer in rats – a positive move for food safety, and alternative food coloring brands. Here are the startups that could win big.

📉 Willicroft, a Dutch plant-based startup that evolved from a decades-old dairy company, has shut down after failing to meet its fundraising goals.

🇩🇪 German discount retailer Lidl is set to increase the share of plant-based food sales by 20% across all 31 countries it operates in by the end of the decade, with support from the WWF. Here’s how.

📊 GLP-1 drug users initially spend less on groceries, but that impact levels out over the course of a year, according to a new report from market insights firm Circana.

🇨🇭 A survey from Swiss retailer Coop reveals that consumers in Switzerland are reducing their meat consumption, but also buying fewer plant-based analogues, opting instead for whole foods.

🌱🍔  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 Lidl’s new plant-based range, a vegan workplace canteen, and the UK House of Lords’ nod to cultivated meat.

📆 Scene & Heard

The Asia-Pacific Sustainable Foods Summit Returns Next Month

🇸🇬 The Asia-Pacific edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit returns to Singapore on 25th-26th February 2025. It will feature speakers and panels covering a whole host of topics, including the potential of regenerative agriculture, upcycled ingredients, and cultured foods. Get your ticket here.

🇬🇧 In partnership with the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency, 5050 is coming to the UK. The first UK cohort runs from March to June ‘25. Sessions are held in London and online. Find out more and apply here.

🗓️ Don’t miss Food Security SummitX 2025 on May 28th-29th in Dubai. Designed to drive impactful change, the event will welcome over 1,000 attendees, 300+ companies, and 70+ expert speakers to discuss cutting-edge solutions for today’s most pressing food security challenges. Sign up 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. Find out more and apply here.

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