Food From Thought: October 2021
DiCaprio invests in Mosa Meat and Aleph Farms, Dao Foods welcomes Rich Products, and more.
What’s in a name? A lot more than you might think.
Consider the fact that, as recently as the early 20th century, the common term for an avocado was “alligator pear.” Sound appetizing? It didn’t to California’s avocado farmers, which is why they lobbied for a name change back in the 1920s. They prevailed, and sales surged over the next century thanks in part to the more customer-friendly name.
Over the last few years, we’ve watched as the industry at large has moved away from “cellular agriculture” to embrace “cultivated meat” as the accepted term for meat produced through cellular means.
Why? Because, as Bruce Friedrich, founder and CEO of The Good Food Institute, explains: “Words matter, especially when it comes to food. Not only must food taste, look, and smell delicious, but the name needs to be appealing too. Nowhere is this discussion more salient than in the nascent industry of cellular agriculture.”
And, as with the alligator pear, consumers prefer cultivated meat over terms such as “lab grown” or cellular anything. It’s clearer, more descriptive and is reported as feeling less clinical in consumer surveys.
We’re pretty happy with that, and view this as another step in the journey toward wide customer acceptance. What do you think?
Alpeh Farms
Leonardo DiCaprio invests in cultivated meat firms Mosa Meat and Aleph Farms
Cell-based meat firm Aleph Farms eyes Asia launch after MOUs with Thai Union, CJ CheilJedang
Aleph Farms Pursues Asia Expansion as Lab-Grown Meat Attracts Investments
Alpha Foods
Dao Foods
Geltor
Huera
Matrix Meats
Israeli start-up working on technology to produce “Holy Grail” of plant-based whole cuts (Also mentions Aleph Farms)
Miyoko’s Creamery
Miyoko’s Creamery’s Pizza Tour to Give Away 10,000 Free Vegan Pizzas
Does Miyoko’s Creamery’s recent financial and legal successes mark the rise of non-dairy dominance?
Miyoko’s Liquid Vegan Pizza Mozzarella Arrives to Change the Future of Pizza
Secretly Good: this vegan cashew cheese is so tasty that it meets even my dairy-purist standards
Mosa Meat
NUMU
Oatly
Wicked Kitchen
CNBC: Asia’s food spending is set to double to more than $8 trillion by 2030, report finds
CNN: Plant-based meat was all the rage. Now plant-based seafood is taking the spotlight
Ellen MacArthur Foundation: The Big Food Redesign
Falstaff: The New Veggie Boom
Food Dive: How Aqua Cultured Foods plans to own the whole cut seafood analog space
Globe & Mail: Why the cultured meat industry needs its own Elon Musk
Green Queen: Dutch Scientists Are Making Cell-Based Caviar A Reality
Green Queen: Dutch Government Plans To Slash Livestock Numbers By 30% To Cut Emissions
New Food: “And, and, and” – the role of alternative proteins in feeding the future
NYTimes: Calling ‘Code Red’ on Climate, Biden Pushes for Infrastructure Plan
Bridge2Food Summit + Expo, Plant-Based Foods & Proteins Americas 2021: Senior Associate Juliana Green recently participated in a panel discussion with Kitty Liang from Big Idea Ventures entitled “New Consumer Brand Propositions in Fish-Free, Meat-Free & Dairy-Free. Learn More
Future of Fish: Our own Chris Kerr recently participated in a panel discussion with Ali Tabrizi, the director of “Seaspiracy”, and Elise Bernal, Impact Finance Advisor with The Greenbaum Foundation. Watch Below.