5 Mins Read
It’s been a huge year for alternative protein – here, we dive into the 20 most-read food stories on Green Queen over the last 12 months, which range from national policy actions and product launches to marketing narratives and regulatory developments.
1) Upside Foods and Eat Just earn US regulatory approval
The biggest alternative protein story of the year was also one of our most read, with Californian duo Upside Foods and Eat Just becoming the first companies to earn USDA approval to sell cultured meat in the country.
2) The 10 most supportive governments for cultivated meat
We listed out 10 governments leading the way for cultured meat progression, in terms of funding and policy support, including the likes of Singapore, the US, Japan, the Netherlands and China.
3) Italy bans cultivated meat (against EU law)
After months of speculation, Italy made the local sale and production of cultivated meat illegal (against EU law), alongside a plant-based meat labelling ban.
4) Denmark’s world-first national plan for a plant-based transition
In October, Denmark became the first country in the world to release a national action plan to facilitate the transition towards a plant-based food system.
5) South Korea announces its own national plant-based plan
Shortly after Denmark’s announcement, South Korea became the second nation to announce a national plan to boost local plant-based food production and promote alt-protein consumption.
6) Mosa Meat opens the world’s largest cultivated meat facility
Dutch cultured meat pioneer Mosa Meat opened the world’s largest facility (and its fourth) to make cultivated meat, sprawling over an area of 2,760 sq m.
7) Superlatus acquires Perfect Day’s consumer brands
The world’s largest precision fermentation player, Perfect Day, agreed to sell its consumer-facing brand The Urgent Company (and subsidiaries including Coolhaus and Brave Robot) to newly formed food tech firm Superlatus. At the time of writing, the sale has not been confirmed by either company.
8) Comparing precision-fermented dairy LCAs
Speaking of, we explored the handful of life-cycle assessments conducted for precision fermentation dairy companies (yes, Perfect Day was on this list), alongside independent scientific research.
9) Remilk earns Israeli regulatory approval
Israeli precision fermentation Remilk received the country’s first regulatory approval for precision-fermented dairy. It has also obtained clearance from Singapore’s regulator, and FDA and USDA GRAS approval stateside.
10) Formo breaks down its ‘lab-brewed’ egg
In an exclusive interview with Green Queen, German precision fermentation startup Formo revealed the details behind its soon-to-launch egg alternative, its regulatory compliance and research into consumer acceptance.
11) Pureture’s cheaper-than-dairy fermented vegan casein
New York-based biotech company Pureture made waves with the announcement of a traditionally fermented vegan casein that could be supplied at a rate “20% and 30% lower than the existing dairy ingredients”.
12) A deep dive into Oatly’s many struggles
In August, we deep-dived into what has been a tumultuous couple of years for the world’s largest oat milk company, Oatly, featuring leadership changes, ad bans, product recalls and withdrawals and a stock crash.
13) Alpro redesigns its brand and packaging to better reflect its sustainability mission
Danone’s global plant-based marketing director chatted with Green Queen about Alpro‘s brand refresh and the thinking behind the new packaging, as well as upgrading core recipes.
14) The ins and outs of alt-protein’s design aesthetic
Zoran Svetličić, co-founder and senior brand strategist at design agency Shift, explored three emerging patterns in design aesthetics for alternative protein marketing and branding.
15) The 10 biggest challenges facing the plant-based sector
We outlined 10 of the most pressing obstacles facing the plant-based industry, touching upon marketing, pricing, product innovation and quality, sustainability messaging, and marketing.
16) Revealed: the meat and dairy lobby’s immense power
A study revealed just how massive the influence of the animal agriculture lobby is across different fronts like public funding, labelling, marketing and policies, which is blocking the rise of alternative protein.
17) Tasting Finnish startup Solar Foods’ air protein
What does protein made from thin air taste like? We attended the world’s first tasting of Finnish startup Solar Foods‘ microbial-fermented protein Solein.
18) Singapore debuts gelato made from Solein protein
It was a big year for Solar Foods, with Solein appearing on the menu of Singapore eatery Fico, as part of a vegan gelato made from captured carbon.
19) Oatside launches ice creams in Singapore
Also in Singapore, oat milk company Oatside entered the frozen category with three ice cream flavours, along with a public sampling event to promote the launch.
20) Austria’s Revo Foods launches 3D-printed whole-cut salmon
In Austria, Revo Foods launched its whole-cut salmon filet Vienna-based vegan supermarket Billa Pflanzilla, marking the 3D-printed meat’s European retail debut.
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