AFRICA'S NO.1 FOOD, BEVERAGE & MILLING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

Plant-based company NotCo raises US$235 million to bolster expansion into new categories

Jul 27, 2021Jul 28, 2021 Editor

CHILE — Latin America’s fastest-growing food company NotCo has raised US$235 million to bolster its expansion into new categories in North America. The funds were raised in a Series D funding round led by Tiger Global and participated in by DFJ Growth Fund, ZOMA Lab, athletes Lewis Hamilton and Roger Federer, and musician Questlove. According to a report by FoodBev, the Plant-based food technology company has raised more than US$350 million to date with the recent funding round taking NotCo’s valuation to US$1.5 billion. Launched five years ago, NotCo uses a proprietary artificial intelligence platform to create new…

ADM to acquire soy ingredient company Sojaprotein to bolster position in alternative proteins market

Jul 26, 2021Jul 26, 2021 Editor

SERBIA – Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has announced plans to acquire Serbia-based non-GMO soy ingredients group Sojaprotein even as it looks to strengthen its position in the alternative protein sector. Founded in 1977, Sojaprotein offers a variety of non-GMO soy ingredients for European and global customers in the meat alternative, confectionery, protein bar, pharmaceutical, pet food and animal feed segments. Its acquisition will accelerate ADM’s growth in the alternative proteins space where it already has an impressive portfolio which includes a soy protein complex in Brazil; a pea protein plant in the US ; its PlantPlus Foods joint venture; and partnerships…

US Plant-based startups Nobell Foods, Urban Remedy raise funds to accelerate growth

Jul 23, 2021Jul 26, 2021 Editor

US – Plant-based startups Nobell Foods and Urban Remedy have raised new funds to build internal capacities, accelerate growth, and fund expansion into new markets. Nobell Foods, a California-based Plant-based cheese startup, raised US$75 million in a Series B funding round that was led by venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz. Investment groups Breakthrough Energy Ventures and FootPrint Coalition Ventures, as well as several other participants also participated in the round that raised Nobell Food’s total funding secured so far to over US$100 million. Nobell plans to use the funding to increase its internal team, expand farming partnerships,…

Impossible Foods to debut plant-based chicken nuggets as competition in alternative protein market heats up

Jul 19, 2021Jul 21, 2021 Editor

US – Impossible Foods has announced plans to launch a plant-based chicken nugget, a few weeks after its competitor Beyond Meat launched its meat-free chicken tenders in more than 400 stores across the United States. Impossible Foods said its nuggets, which are soy-based and use sunflower oil, will first launch in restaurants and then roll out to grocery stores. According to the meat alternative startup, the chicken nuggets will not use any of Impossible Foods’ plant-based heme — the company’s ingredient that replicates the meaty taste of beef and pork. Impossible Food’s chicken nuggets are…

Alternative protein university course launched in Singapore to drive innovation in plant-based proteins

Jun 22, 2021Jun 27, 2021 Editor

SINGAPORE – Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU)—one of the top universities in Asia—has approved a new undergraduate course titled “Future Foods – Introduction to Advanced Meat Alternatives,” to help drive innovation in plant-based foods. The course which will be launched in August this year was created in collobaration with the Good Food Institute Asia Pacific (GFI APAC), a global nonprofit headquartered in Washington DC that works to accelerate alternative protein innovation. According to a statement from GFI APAC, the course aims to equip NTU students with expertise and knowledge of the food industry focusing…

Danone offloads US plant-based nutritional products brand Vega as part of portfolio review

Jun 18, 2021Jun 18, 2021 Editor

FRANCE -French dairy giant, Danone is selling Vega, Canada, and U.S. plant-based nutritional products brand, as part of a strategic portfolio review announced in October last year. According to a statement from Danone, Vega will be sold to funds managed by WM Partners, a US-based private equity investment firm focused on the health and wellness industry. WM Partners said the acquisition was made through the HPH II Investments Master Fund. Over the last two years, the HPH II fund has acquired hydration brand Ultima Replenisher, collagen business Great Lakes and…

Plant-based foods startup Motif FoodWorks raises US$226m in Series B funding round

Jun 17, 2021Jun 17, 2021 Editor

US – Motif FoodWorks, a fast-growing food startup spun out of Ginkgo Bioworks in 2019, has raised US$226 million in a series B funding round led by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board participated in the seed funding round through its Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP). Other participators in the round included AiiM Partners, Wittington Ventures, Rethink Food, Rage Capital and Rellevant Partners. Existing investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, CPT Capital, General Atlantic, Louis Dreyfus Company and Viking Global…

Nestlé launches plant-based variant of Kitkat chocolate to meet customer demands

Jun 14, 2021Jun 14, 2021 Editor

EUROPE – Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, is taking another industry leap with the launch KitKat V, a new plant-based variant of its popular 5-finger chocolate brand-Kitkat. According to a statement from the company, the new vegan version of the iconic KitKat will be on shelves from mid-June in the United Kingdom, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Plans are also underway to roll out the new variant in other countries, including Australia and Brazil. Replicating the taste experience from a standard chocolate is however not easy task when using…

Nestlé launches ‘Harvest Gourmet’ plant-based range for restaurants in South Africa

Jun 14, 2021Jun 14, 2021 Editor

SOUTH AFRICA – Nestlé Professional, the Nestlé arm committed to foodservice operations has introduced its plant-based range ‘Harvest Gourmet’ for restaurants in South Africa. According to the Swiss food manufacturing giant, the launch is a heed to the call of flexitarians who want to eat less meat but don’t want to feel like they are eating vegetables While South Africans continue to identify themselves largely as a meat loving nation, a significant proportion of people would like to eat less than they currently consume. And, almost half of those who…

Bühler, Hosokawa Alpine partner to develop technology for high value protein concentrates

Jun 10, 2021Jun 10, 2021 Editor

SWITZERLAND – Swiss technology group Bühler has partnered with Hosokawa Alpine Group from Germany to development technology for the production of high value protein concentrates. Bühler, as a leader in pulses processing, offers solutions for the intake, cleaning, dehulling and grinding of pulses. The company also has offers extrusion technology which facilitates further processing of the grains, texturizing plant-based proteins into products with a fibrous texture similar to meat. Hosokawa Alpine complements the production process by adding its technology for the dry separation of pulses’ protein – fine grinding and…