Morning Folks,

Nicola here, keeping Sonalie’s seat warm while she’s off having a well-deserved break.

We’ve been saying it for a while, but consolidation in the alt protein sector will be key to its success. The industry spent years believing every startup needed its own technology, factory, supply chain, brand and, ideally, several hundred million dollars (ah, the glory days of 2021). But capital is harder to come by these days, and so the mood has shifted from empire-building and space-racing to something much more sensible: sharing.

Companies are shutting down, being acquired or joining forces. That part is somewhat painful, we admit. But fewer startups trying to do absolutely everything alone may not be the worst outcome.

This week alone, look at The Every Company, which is bringing its precision-fermented egg protein to ADM’s industrial facility in Iowa. Every has the tech; ADM has the tanks, expertise and manufacturing clout. No shiny new mega-factory required. 

Or Happy Plant Protein, which announced its partnership with heritage ingredients giant Crespel & Deiters to scale its dry-extrusion technology at an existing site in the Netherlands. Scaling without crazy investment? Marvellous! And these are just the latest examples; we write these stories every week (in fact, Green Queen’s lead reporter Anay Mridul wrote a fantastic deep dive that you should definitely read).

The next phase of alt protein may be less about who can raise the most money and more about who can find the right partner. Who has spare capacity? Who knows how to scale? Who owns the clever bit, and who already has the machinery? None of this is as sexy as another billion-dollar valuation, but it is how products actually get made.

TL;DR: The future belongs to companies that know what to own, what to share and who to call.

-Nicola

PS: Reminder that we’re taking our annual summer break next week; catch you on 30th July!

💡 Only on Green Queen

🤠 Exclusive: Those Vegan Cowboys Launches Animal-Free Casein Protein Discovery Programme
Dutch-Belgian precision fermentation startup Those Vegan Cowboys has established Margaret’s Finest, a collaborative discovery programme to explore the potential of animal-free casein proteins.

📈 Key Founder Insights: Chunk Foods Set to Double Sales & Defy Plant-Based Meat Slowdown
New York-based plant-based meat startup Chunk Foods expects to double its sales and reach profitability next year. Its CEO, Amos Golan, explains why demand isn’t the main problem facing this sector.

📊 Deep Dive: What’s Driving the Consolidation Wave in Alternative Protein?
More than 80 alternative protein startups have experienced M&As, insolvency, or closures over the last two years – and investors and founders don’t expect this consolidation trend to stop. Read our deep dive and key founder insights.

 💰 Funding News

🧈 US alternative fat startup Savor closed a $32 million funding round, with participation from Swedish speciality fats leader AAK, to scale up from a few tonnes of product a year to a couple hundred tonnes. 
💡AAK has also signed a deal to develop dairy alternatives and bakery applications with Savor’s carbon-derived fats.

🍫The EU has invested €5.5 million ($6.3 million) in the Coco-AI project, which aims to use artificial intelligence to develop a plant cell culture platform to grow sustainable cocoa.
💡The initiative will develop open-source AI tools, tested methods, and public datasets to help smaller companies and other industries build on its results.

💷 NFX UK, a dedicated network of experts backing the novel foods sector, secured $650,000 in funding to accelerate regulatory approvals in the UK and expand its work into Europe.
💡Since its launch in September 2025, the network has engaged stakeholders across 14 countries, built a community of over 260 organisations and individuals, and driven two-way engagement with the FSA and Food Standards Scotland.

💵 Chipotle Mexican Grill’s food tech venture fund, Cultivate Next, has made investments in six agrifood tech companies, including regenerative farming company Simpli.
💡Explaining why it decided to invest in Simpli, Chipotle noted: “Consumers want greater visibility into where their food comes from and how it was produced.

 🤝🏼 Big Food Partnerships

🥚 Californian precision fermentation leader The Every Company has partnered with ADM to expand the production of its animal-free egg white protein to the US.
💡According to The Every Co, the new plant, set to come online next year, will be the first US site with precision fermentation capacity at this scale. 

🍰 Singaporean allergen-free patisserie brand Róa is expanding its vegan cakes, cookies and treats to Japan through a partnership with Tokyo-based legacy food group Tomizawa Shouten.
💡Róa’s expansion comes amid growing demand for plant-based bakes in Asia-Pacific, where 68% of consumers are interested in these products (outpacing the global average).

🌱 German ingredient giant Crespel & Deiters has teamed up with Finland’s Happy Plant Protein to deploy its one-step dry extrusion technology at commercial scale.
💡The deal represents the first commercial-scale implementation of Happy Plant Protein’s tech by a major European manufacturer. 

🚀 Everything Else In Future Food

🇫🇮 Finnish oat producer Raisio Group has completed a $1.7 million expansion of its Nokia Mill, which produces gluten-free oats for its sister plant-based facility and international customers.

🇬🇧 The UK’s Food Standards Agency has published the second tranche of guidance documents for cultivated meat regulation via its ongoing cultivated meat sandbox programme, which runs until February and houses some of the industry’s leading startups. However, it is also pursuing an EU trade agreement that could jeopardise approvals.

🏥 The US Department of Health and Human Services has launched a pledge to ”make hospital food healthier”, encouraging healthcare facilities to limit processed meat and prioritise non-UPF options like plant proteins.

🌱🍔  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 Wicked Kitchen’s UK return, Tetra Pak’s new bioreactor, and the Green Party’s plant-based policy proposal.

📆 Scene & Heard

🇸🇬 The Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit will unite hundreds of international stakeholders across the value chain to build agri-food agility and resilience in Asia-Pacific. It’s happening in Singapore 27th-29th October; secure your spot here.

🤖 Coefficient Giving is launching a $10-30 million RFP for work to help ensure AI improves human health and wellbeing, with particular attention to risks for and benefits to the global poor. Find out more and apply here.

🇪🇺 Food Ingredients Europe, taking place 17th-19th November, will bring together over 24,500 attendees and 1,500+ exhibitors from more than 135 countries to showcase industry advancements, network, and discover emerging trends. Sign up here.