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Food From Thought: December 2022

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Food From Thought: December 2022

Black Sheep Foods closes $12.3M funding round, UPSIDE Foods receives preliminary FDA approval, cultivated meat debuts at COP27 climate change conference, and more.

Dec 12, 2022
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Food From Thought: December 2022

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First off, congratulations are in order for Black Sheep Foods, which this month closed a $12.3 million Series A funding round, which we led, joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, AgFunder, and KBW Ventures. The capital will go to support the company’s efforts to scale production for its delicious lamb-flavored products, which set it apart from the many other plant-based companies working on alternative beef, chicken and pork products.

Second, in a long-awaited landmark moment, the FDA recently granted preliminary safety approval to UPSIDE Foods for the production and sale of cultivated chicken in the United States.

While this is a huge step forward for cellular agriculture, the company still needs further formal approvals from both the FDA and USDA before we see cultivated products in North American grocery stores or restaurants. Still, it’s the first open door for cultivated meat in the U.S. and a sign of what’s to come for the alt protein industry at large.

Meanwhile, Mosa Meat is working on a strategic partnership with manufacturing organization Esco Aster, the world’s only licensed cultivated meat manufacturer, to get its cultivated meat products approved for European and Asian markets as soon as possible.

And other activities within the food system at large indicate that big changes are expected that will continue to fuel the need, interest, and capability of alt proteins. A survey by London-based information service group GlobalData concluded that alt proteins saw significant growth in 2022, which is only predicted to continue in 2023. 

Last month, the European Union funded a €13.9 million, 4-year project called Like-A-Pro, intended to take alt proteins from being a niche category to a mainstream food. Part of the project is aimed at getting younger consumers to be curious about and consume alt proteins — and then spread the word. 

There’s also chatter around the 2023 Farm Bill, an update of which is slated to emerge again this month. While the bill unsurprisingly has plenty of lobbying influence from Big Ag, smaller organic and natural companies are hoping for Congress to see the need to focus on what truly needs to happen in food, like bringing more plant-based options to schools. A push for conversations about making the food system more accessible, sustainable, and overall healthier would help to create space to drive curiosity and normalization for alt proteins.

If there’s one thing we can all count on, it’s change. As much as resistance comes with innovation in any industry, success depends on the persistence of changemakers through nonlinear paths.

We’ve seen nothing less in alt protein — which we’re confident could become the predominant players in the protein industry one day, when we look back on today’s animal agriculture as just a page in the history books.

Until then, we’re anxiously awaiting what 2023 has in store.

Portfolio News

Alpha Foods

  • Alpha® Foods Furthers Its Mission of Making Plant-Based Eating Even Easier

Beyond Meat

  • American Cancer Society Focuses Research on Vegan Meat With Help From Beyond Meat

Black Sheep Foods

  • Black Sheep Foods grabs $12.3M to craft tastier plant-based meats

BlueNalu 

  • BlueNalu welcomes its new scientific advisory board as it prepares for consumer launch

Miyoko’s Creamery

  • This Revolutionary Ingredient Is The Secret To A Great Pizza (And Happier Planet)

Mosa Meat

  • Mosa Meat on Cultivated Beef as Top Discussion at COP27

Nobell Foods

  • How your favorite plant-based milk alternative impacts the planet

Super Meat

  • How Israel Became the Global Center For Alternative Meat Tech

Wicked Kitchen

  • Wicked Kitchen lands food service deal to serve its plant-based food at venues worldwide

Zero Egg

  • Zero Egg Partners with Chef Douglass Williams, Food & Wine Best New Chef and James Beard Award Semi-Finalist

  • Plant Based News: Is ‘Hybrid Meat’ The Key To Consumer Acceptance Of Cultivated Animal Products?

  • Atlantic Sentinel: Europe Is Falling Behind in Cultivated Meat

  • Vegconomist: Farm Forward Survey Finds Two-Thirds of Americans are Willing to Eat Cultivated Meat

  • The Beet: This New Vegan Shrimp Looks and Tastes Just Like the Real Thing

  • Food Dive: Plant-based consumers spend less on meat and dairy, study finds

  • Medical News Today: New evidence links healthy plant-based diets with lower colorectal cancer risk

  • Silicon Canals: These 10 alternative protein startups are transforming the food tech space in Amsterdam

  • VegNews: Singapore and Israel Are Alternative Protein Leaders. Where Does Your Country Stand?

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