Future Food Quick Bites: Indian Protein Toppers, Planted at Starbucks & Google x Mitti Labs
Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers GoodDot Foods’s plant protein toppers, Truly Indian’s vegan naan range, and Mitti Labs’s Google partnership.
New products and launches
Indian vegan startup GoodDot Foods has launched Jhatpat Protein, a range of plant-based protein toppers made from soy flour, pea protein and gram flour. They’re available in spicy masala and sweet elaichi (cardamom) flavours, offering 10g of protein and 4-5g of fibre per 35g sachet.
Speaking of Indian food, in the US, Truly Indian has expanded its frozen naan portfolio with two vegan options: tikka masala and butter chicken. The former will be rolled out at Whole Foods Market, Meijer and select Sprouts Farmers Market stores, and the latter exclusively at Whole Foods, for $6.99 per three-pack.
Danish food tech startup Tempty Foods has launched Svamperods Chunks, a frozen mycelium protein product exclusively for foodservice. It has distribution deals with Dagrofa Foodservice, Hørkram Foodservice and Dansk Cater.
Swiss meat alternative leader Planted has landed a listing at select Starbucks stores across Germany, with its spicy-herb-flavoured pulled vegan chicken featuring in a Tuscan-style focaccia sandwich.
Planted has also opened its first-ever pop-up at ETH Zürich, turning the university’s Tannenbar into Viola’s Diner at lunchtime for three weeks (until October 2). The menu includes crispy cheeseburgers, pastrami sandwiches, and Philly cheese subs, alongside two brand-new products.
French plant-based meat startup HappyVore, which is outselling everybody else in the category, has released two ultra-protein deli ham slices in tomato and curry flavours, delivering 20g of protein from peas and fava beans per 100g.
Japanese food company Yamaya has unveiled a plant-based spicy cod roe alternative, which has been under development for five years. It contains around half as much salt and zero cholesterol.
And climate non-profit Changing Markets Foundation is releasing its 2024 livestock misinformation report, The New Merchants of Doubt, as a book at Climate Week NYC (September 20-27), updating the text with the latest insights and case studies.
Company, finance and policy developments
UK plant-based startup Bold Bean Co has kickstarted its first out-of-home marketing campaign, featuring real customers, zero copy, and imagery centred on taste and craving.
Trade body Cellular Agriculture Australia has announced that chief programme officer Joanne Tunna has taken over as CEO, succeeding Sam Perkins, who “remains closely involved” through the end of the year and as a strategic advisor into 2027.
Neta Lavon, one of the three co-founders of cultivated meat pioneer Aleph Farms, is transitioning from her role as CTO to senior scientific advisor.
Israeli sweet protein player Amai Proteins, which has secured regulatory clearance for its Sweelin ingredient in the US, Singapore, and its home country this year, has appointed Doug Brown as its new CEO. He will replace Amir Guttman, who will remain an executive board member.
A month after raising $9.5M, US climate-smart rice farming startup Mitti Labs has signed a four-year deal with Google to purchase one million “high-integrity” carbon credits. It will enable the firm to shift 100,000 hectares of rice fields to alternative wetting and drying (a low-water, methane-cutting irrigation technique), and save 1.5 trillion litres of water.
South Korean plant-based beef maker Millennial Flavor Town has signed on to Peta‘s Eat Without Experiments, pledging that none of its ingredients will be tested on animals.
Californian plant-based cookie company Sun Flour Baking has rebranded to Hooray Cookies after nearly three decades, citing consumer confusion as close to 10 US companies now operate under the same or a similar name.
Finally, Carrefour Belgium has become the latest supermarket to announce a goal of achieving a 50/50 split between plant-based and animal proteins by 2030. Its plant protein split was already at 42.2% in 2025.
Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.