Author

Anay Mridul 3136 posts 0 comments

Anay is Green Queen's resident news reporter. Originally from India, he worked as a vegan food writer and editor in London, and is now travelling and reporting from across Asia. He's passionate about coffee, plant-based milk, cooking, eating, veganism, food tech, writing about all that, profiling people, and the Oxford comma.

Funding News

California Cultured, UC Davis Get $2.8M in Govt Grants to Cut Costs of Cell-Cultured Chocolate

Anay Mridul May 15, 2026

Food tech startup California Cultured and UC Davis have partnered on a project to reduce the production costs of cell-based chocolate, backed by $2.8M in US government funding. Months after obtaining clearance to sell its cell-based…
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Chocolate

Cargill, Voyage Foods Debut Plant-Based, Cocoa-Free Chocolate in US

Anay Mridul May 15, 2026

Food industry behemoth Cargill and ethical pantry startup Voyage Foods are bringing their cocoa-free chocolate range, NextCoa, to North America. Two years after forming a partnership to help decarbonise the cocoa industry with bean-free…
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Alt Protein

Heura Turns Profitable & Unveils White-Label Strategy for Plant-Based Meat

Anay Mridul May 14, 2026

Spanish plant-based meat leader Heura reached profitability for the first time in Q1 2026, and is now opening up its production tech to other players in markets where it doesn't compete directly. Two years ago, after raising €40M in…
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Funding News

Perfect Day Alums Raise $2M for New Precision Fermentation Startup Melazyme

Anay Mridul May 14, 2026

US precision fermentation startup Melazyme, founded by two former Perfect Day executives, has raised $2M in seed funding to advance its melanin and sweet protein platform. Melazyme, a startup using precision fermentation to develop…
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Alt Protein

Italian Poultry Major Amadori Snaps Up Plant-Based Meat Brand Unconventional

Anay Mridul May 14, 2026

Italian meat giant Amadori Group has acquired Bologna-based plant-based protein player Unconventional, making it the country's third-largest vegan brand. With an expansion in both sales and the consumer base for plant-based products in…
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Alt Dairy

Inside Oatly’s Drive to Redefine Cold Foam with Barista Plant-Based Milk

Anay Mridul May 13, 2026

Oatly's hotly anticipated cold foam barista milk is officially invading coffee shops, heralding a new era for non-dairy versions of the viral topping. I feel like a failure. As a chronically online, coffee-obsessed Gen Zer who spends…
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Cell-Based News

Forza10, BeneMeat Launch EU-First Cultivated Dog Food Under Coolty Meat Brand

Anay Mridul May 13, 2026

Italian food company Forza10 has debuted the Coolty Meat brand of cultivated dog food, made with cell-cultured protein from the Czech startup BeneMeat. Cultivated meat is rapidly entering the pet food market. After launches in the UK…
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Future Food Quick Bites

Future Food Quick Bites: Karen Carney Goes Beyond, Carbon Butter & Billie Eilish

Anay Mridul May 13, 2026

Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Beyond Meat's partnership with Karen Carney, a wave of British launches, and Savor's bakery debut. New products and…
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Pets

Bond Pet Foods Gets US FDA Nod for Yeast-Brewed Lamb Protein Created with Hill’s Pet Nutrition

Anay Mridul May 13, 2026

US company Bond Pet Foods has obtained a 'no questions' letter from the FDA, enabling it to sell the precision-fermented lamb protein it developed with Hill's Pet Nutrition for use in dog food. Five years after they first joined forces,…
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Funding News

SuperMeat Bags $6M in Funding & Eyes Switzerland Launch of Cultivated Chicken

Anay Mridul May 13, 2026

Cultivated meat startup SuperMeat has raised $6M in fresh financing, as part of a targeted $10M Series A4 round, and filed for regulatory approval in Switzerland. Six months after securing $3.5M in funding, Israeli food tech startup…
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Pets

As Asians Choose Dogs Over Babies, Mars & Big Food Players Hunt Next-Gen Pet Food Innovations

Anay Mridul May 13, 2026

Mars Petcare has launched another edition of its global pet food innovation programme for sustainable proteins and fats, with an amplified focus on Asia-Pacific. The market for sustainable pet food solutions has never been hotter. …
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Alt Dairy

Chilean Court Lets NotMilk Keep Its Name, But Hands Big Dairy A Win Too

Anay Mridul May 12, 2026

Chilean food tech unicorn NotCo can continue using the trademark 'NotMilk' on its plant-based milk, but can't use 'milk' and related imagery anywhere else on its packaging, the Supreme Court has ruled. A glass (of milk) half-full or…
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Funding News

Adamo Foods Gets €10M EU Grant to Bring Whole-Cut Mycelium Steak to UK in 2027

Anay Mridul May 12, 2026

UK startup Adamo Foods has won a €10M ($11.7M) grant from the EU's Horizon Europe programme for a project to use industry sidestreams to scale up and launch its whole-cut mycelium meat. The EU is backing a three-year project to convert…
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Pets

Enifer Brings Pekilo Mycoprotein to Dog Treats with Rovio Pet Foods

Anay Mridul May 12, 2026

Finnish startups Enifer and Rovio Pet Foods have teamed up to launch a semi-moist dog treat made with Enifer's Pekilo mycoprotein ingredient. Enifer, a food tech startup producing proteins from mycelium, has entered the canine nutrition…
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Alt Protein

Impossible Foods Must Pay Lawyer Fees to Influencer for Forcing Trademark Trial, Rules Judge

Anay Mridul May 12, 2026

A US federal judge has asked Impossible Foods to pay the attorneys' fees incurred by influencer Joel Runyon and his company Impossible HQ after his $3.25M trademark victory in March. Plant-based meat giant Impossible Foods has been…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

The Every Company Asks Court to Sanction Onego Bio Over ‘Duplicative’ IP Lawsuits

Anay Mridul May 12, 2026

The Every Company has filed a motion asking a Delaware court to sanction Onego Bio for "improper duplicative litigation". The latter, in turn, accuses The Every Co of contradicting statements made under oath. Finnish startup Onego Bio…
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Future Foods

Moolec Science Advances GLA-Rich Safflower Oil for Use in Pet Food, Nutrition & Green Energy

Anay Mridul May 12, 2026

Molecular farming pioneer Moolec Science has completed the first phase of the industrialisation of its GLA-rich safflower oil, and has kicked off a new sowing campaign and a move into renewable energy. Moolec Science, a company using…
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Alt Dairy

Danone to Lay Off 114 Employees After Shutting Plant-Based Dairy Factory

Anay Mridul May 11, 2026

Danone is closing its plant-based dairy facility in New Jersey, which made products for its Silk and So Delicious brands, laying off 114 employees amid a slowdown in its non-dairy business. Despite dominating in Europe, Danone's…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

LanzaTech & DTU to Open Biofoundry to Turn Carbon Emissions Into High-Value Products

Anay Mridul May 11, 2026

US synbio firm LanzaTech has partnered with the Technical University of Denmark’s Bright hub to set up a biofoundry that can recycle waste CO2 emissions into biofuels, sustainable materials, and more. LanzaTech, a US startup…
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Fermentation-Based Alt Protein

Ruby Bio Hits Fermentation Breakthrough for Clean-Label Emulsifiers

Anay Mridul May 11, 2026

Californian food tech startup Ruby Bio has demonstrated fermentation titers above 100g per litre for its clean-label emulsifiers, paving the way for large-scale, cost-competitive production. With consumers turning away from…
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Sugar

Prodalim Acquires Better Juice to Drive Sugar Reduction in Better-For-You Beverages

Anay Mridul May 11, 2026

Better Juice, a startup that uses microbial enzymes to turn fruit sugars into dietary fibre and non-digestible molecules, has been acquired by Dutch juice giant Prodalim. The number-one ingredient Americans want to avoid this year is,…
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