Future Food Quick Bites: Vegan Doner Kebabs, Wild Salmon & Mayor Battles

In our weekly column, we round up the latest news and developments in the alternative protein and sustainable food industry. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Revo Foods’ new salmon analogue, a new vegan doner kebab, and Good Eating Company’s impact report on plant-based nudges.

New products and launches

German startup Revo Foods has updated its plant-based smoked salmon. The new SKU, called Smokey Slices, has higher omega-3 fatty acid content than some conventional salmon products, and is said to be the first plant-based alternative to wild salmon on the market. It comes in original and dill-lemon variants.

In the US, frozen food giant Dr. Praeger’s will roll out two new snack SKUs – Southwestern Black Bean Crunchy Stars and BBQ Black Bean & Sweet Potato Slider Patties – at 475 Target stores. It has also added a Smoky Chipotle Sweet Potato Burger exclusively at Costco.

California’s Oobli, which recently earned FDA approval for its Oubli-fruit-derived precision-fermented sugar alternative, has established its first B2B partnership, with Mexican food manufacturer Grupo Bimbo set to launch products with the sweet protein by the end of 2024 or the start of next year.

At the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago, local startup Land Lovers showcased Land Lovers X, a concept born out of a link-up with AI-driven kitchen solutions provider Botinkit, which will use robotics to produce the company’s vegan steak.

Ahead of World Ocean Month (June), The Plant-Based Seafood Co has expanded its collaboration with PLNT Burger to unveil a Crab Cake Sandwich using the former’s Mind Blown crab cake at locations in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

Fellow US startup Barvecue has earned a listing at Whole Foods, which will see its vegan Pulled BVQ and Carnitas in the retailer’s freezers nationwide.

Shark Tank success RollinGreens has unveiled a line of shelf-stable vegan ready meals, all of which contain rice and plant-based meat in classic, teriyaki, Mexican or stir-fry variants. The startup received a $500,000 investment by Robert Herjavec for a 20% stake on the show in 2020.

Dutch alt-dairy producer Boermarke has developed a new range of vegan cheese with added vitamins and 10% protein. Available in Gouda, Cumin, and Mediterranean flavours, the Vairy slices will be launched at select European retailers in June.

In the UK, free-from brand Crave has introduced vegan and gluten-free frozen doughnuts that can be cooked in air fryers in five minutes. Called Dodoughs, they’ll be in Sainsbury’s and Morrisons freezers from June 2.

London-based Better Nature has scaled up the distribution of its tempeh products at Tesco and Asda, reaching a total of 1,000 stores among the retailers after a 250% annual sales growth.

And fast-casual chain German Doner Kebab has launched its first plant-based option in the UK, in partnership with Nestlé Professional. The new product is called OV Kebab and replaces pulled chicken with a soy-based doner.

Policy and finance developments

In New Zealand, Daisy Lab has received approval from the country’s Environmental Protection Agency to build its first pilot facility for precision-fermented dairy proteins and scale up production to 5,000 litres.

Also in the precision fermentation world, Chicago’s Hydrosome Labs has developed a new H2O technology that can double precision fermentation yields and decrease production time by up to 25%, addressing scale and cost bottlenecks.

In the UK, the Lancaster University Students’ Union has voted for a transition to a fully plant-based menu on-campus dining services, with a 50% target for 2025, followed by a 100% shift by 2027.

On the contrary, Worcester City’s new Liberal Democrat mayor Mel Alcott has reversed her predecessor’s decision to remove meat from the council’s receptions. In February, Green Party’s Louis Stephen had taken the measure to highlight the climate impact of animal agriculture.

German alt-seafood company BettaF!sh has joined the EU-wide FunSea research project to advance the nutritional quality of cultivated brown and green seaweed and develop novel food products over a three-year period.

Whole-food plant-based company Actual Veggies has brought in a seven-figure sum in a new round of funding, and will soon expand its products’ retail footprint, with the business now profitable.

Research and company updates

A major review of 49 studies spanning 23 years has shown that vegan and vegetarian diets have a robust link to better health, with reduced risk of heart disease, and gastrointestinal and prostate cancer. Plant-based diets were found to have significant health benefits.

Israeli alternative protein startup Steakholder Foods has partnered with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute to develop and commercialise foods using the former’s 3D-printing tech and plant-based premises tailored for Taiwanese cuisine.

Thailand-based CP Foods has received a Crystal Taste Award for its Meat Zero Chicken Nuggets, a recognition awarded for earning a three-star rating for three consecutive years.

Contract caterer Good Eating Company and behavioural science firm Greener by Default have released an impact report for their initiative to nudge plant-based choices. Switching to an oat milk default decreased dairy consumption from 70-18% at one site, while 74% of Good Eating Company’s menu is now meatless.

Speaking of health, Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown has called for more unity in the plant-based meat sector, suggesting the divide between whole foods and ultra-processed foods is hurting the industry and further driving the meat sector’s misinformation campaign against it.

Finally, Beyond Meat has also suffered setbacks in its foodservice footprint, with Carl’s Jr taking the Beyond Burger off the menu from its 1,000+ locations, and Del Taco removing the meat analogues from its nearly 600 sites, citing low sales. However, the latter is exploring other plant-based dishes with Beyond Meat.

Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.