Future Food Quick Bites: Yeast Protein Bar, Baftas & Milan Fashion Week
Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Yeastup and Weena’s yeast protein bar, Forager Project’s Greek yoghurt expansion, and Oatly’s Milan Fashion Week appearance.
New products and launches
Yeastup, a Swiss startup that turns beer waste into yeast protein, has partnered with Weena to incorporate its Yeastin Nutra ingredient in its line of protein bars, which are available in original, vanilla-caramel, and raspberry flavours. Each 50g bar contains 12g of protein.
Speaking of fermentation-derived proteins, Austrian mycoprotein startup Revo Foods has launched its vegan salmon filet, black cod, and mince at Lidl stores across the country.
German plant protein startup Veggiecus will debut its ready-to-cook range of frozen and dry products, like doner strips, burgers and schnitzels, at the Internorga trade fair in Hamburg (March 13-17).
In more plant-based meat news, The Green Mountain has unveiled a vegan steak called Plant Cut, which was developed in collaboration with Swiss chef Mario Garcia. It will launch this month in Switzerland, followed by a rollout in Germany and Austria next month.
In the US, dairy-free company Forager Project has expanded its Greek yoghurt line with new 5oz cups in four flavours – strawberry-rhubarb, mango-passionfruit, vanilla-cinnamon, and summer berry – each with 10g of rice protein. It has also launched a 24oz vanilla tub with 11g of protein per serving.
Fellow non-dairy pioneer Elmhurst 1925 has added a cashew barista milk, an unsweetened coconut-cashew barista milk, and a brown sugar oat creamer to its coffee lineup.
California’s CV Sciences has rolled out Empowr, a plant-based powder featuring 20g of protein from pea, hemp and sunflower seeds, as well as 5g of creatine monohydrate, per 36g scoop. It’s available on its website in vanilla and chocolate flavours for $39.99 per 720g pack.
Lorissa’s Organic Snacks has introduced Protein Straws, a new plant-based snack line to complement its meat sticks in the US. Made from cassava flour, brown rice protein, and avocado oil, they’re available in original, salsa fresca, and jalapeño-lime flavours, packing 7g of protein per serving.
Plant-based seafood company Oshi is debuting its retail packs at the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California, featuring a salmon fillet, a whitefish fillet, and a Surf & Turf product housing its salmon and Offbeast’s vegan filet mignon.
Also in the US, plant-based company Yo Egg has brought its vegan sunny-side-ups and poached eggs to 50 H-E-B stores in Texas.
And Beyond Meat has redesigned its website to fit its evolving portfolio, dropping the ‘Meat’ from its name – as promised by CEO Ethan Brown last year. The new homepage labels it as ‘Beyond The Plant Protein Company’.
Company and finance updates
Swedish oat milk giant Oatly‘s love affair with fashion continued at the Milan Fashion Week, where it teamed up with designer brand Avavav to pair its Autumn/Winter 2026 collection with three signature drinks: New Fashioned (a clarified old fashioned), Lace Bottoms Up (a non-alcoholic drink laced with cocoa butter), and Jell-Oat Shot (a Jell-O shot with Oatly’s matcha).
Guatemalan sugar giant Magdalena has announced plans to build a 650,000-litre precision fermentation facility next to its sugar mill to convert spent yeast into high-value ingredients.
Sustainability was on the menu at last month’s Bafta awards, where caterers Caper & Berry served a largely plant-based menu, featuring vegan canapés, starters and mains like celeriac and apple mille-feuille and a caramelised leek and pumpkin pithivier. However, much of the food was left untouched and wasted.
Macadamia milk maker Milkadamia has hired Neil Cox as its new CEO. He has held leadership roles at Kerrygold, Schuman Cheese and Diana’s, and replaces founder Jim Richards, who has moved into an advisory role.
Dutch fungi protein startup The Protein Brewery has appointed Bas Jürgens, a former DSM manager and Protix CEO, as its new COO.
Meanwhile, Tom Rossmeissl has announced that he left his role as CMO of vegan egg and cultivated meat leader Eat Just last August.
Elsewhere, Dutch plant-based meat leader The Vegetarian Butcher Collective and Germany’s The Nature’s Richness Group (parent company of Rügenwalder Mühle) have joined the European Alliance for Plant-based Foods.
Research and policy developments
A study by the Technical University of Denmark found that not a single participant from the 4,000-strong cohort met all seven of the national dietary guidelines, with plant-based foods and fibre consumption especially low, and meat intake above the recommended levels.
Researchers at Cornell University have suggested that fungi fermentation can help upcycle low-value agricultural and food waste into nutritious, sustainable foods, but its success depends on incorporating advanced processing technologies and enhancing yield, functionality and product quality.
Another study reveals that plant-based diets rich in staples like vegetables and legumes are more cost-effective than omnivorous diets, based on an analysis of food price data between 2000 and 2025.
The Financial Times has ranked the ProVeg Incubator third in the Food & Agriculture category of its 2026 startup hubs ranking.
Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.