US hybrid meat startup SciFi Foods has appointed an advisory firm to sell its assets as cultivated meat continues to face a bleak investment landscape.

San Francisco-based startup SciFi Foods, the maker of hybrid meat from cultivated beef cells and plant-based ingredients, is shutting down its operations.

The news comes months after the company successfully completed its first commercial-scale production run in a 500-litre bioreactor. It had also been in consultation with the FDA over its regulatory approval path in the US.

“Given challenges in the fundraising market, we’ve appointed an advisory firm to run a sale process,” co-founder and CEO Joshua March told AgFunderNews.

“Given the nature of the process, I can’t really say much more beyond this,” he added.

SciFi Foods had achieved price parity with conventional beef

Founded in 2019 as Artemys Foods, the startup rebranded in 2022 with a cultivated beef product to be used in hybrid meat formulations. Backed by Silicon Valley VC Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and other investors like Coldplay, SciFi Foods has brought in over $40M in total financing.

Hybrid meat, which combines cultivated proteins with plant-based ingredients, is aimed at enabling scalability and driving down the high costs of cultivated meat. Investors say this is the only way it is currently commercially viable – Eat Just, the first company to ever sell cultivated meat, has previously rolled out versions with about 60-70% of cultivated cells, and its latest innovation is a retail offering with 3% of chicken cells.

Startups like Aleph Farms, Meatable and Vital Meat – which are all expecting regulatory approval in various markets over the next few months – are also using the hybrid approach for their products. Aleph Farms, which received the go-ahead from the health ministry in Israel in January, will soon roll out its hybrid beef at restaurants in the country.

Late last year, SciFi Foods opened a 16,000 sq ft pilot facility in San Leandro, California, where it began growing beef cell lines in single-cell suspension, in a 100% serum-free process. This is where it had finished its first run in the 500-litre bioreactor.

Single-cell suspension allows cells to be grown in any standard, stirred-tank bioreactor, without the need to try and scale up novel hardware. It also does away with the need for expensive substrates like microcarriers or scaffolding, which is crucial for cost control.

SciFi Foods, whose hybrid burger was a 90/10 mix of a soy protein base and cultivated beef, announced that it had achieved price parity with conventional beef using a combination of its proprietary high-throughput cell line engineering and CRISPR technology in 2022.

Cultivated meat feels the heat

The development comes amid what has been a highly turbulent time for the cultivated meat industry. As March alluded to, fundraising has been a mountain to climb – according to the Good Food Institute (GFI), investment in cultivated meat companies nosedived by 75% from 2022 to 2023. This came amid a wider decline in food tech funding (-61%), with alternative protein financing dropping by 44% to $1.6B.

The loss of faith among VCs has continued for cultivated meat startups this year, with Q1 witnessing merely 5% of the $226M invested in the sector in all of 2023. It’s why AgFunder has earmarked cultivated meat as a “category to watch” this year.

It has become a major headache for companies in this sector. Just last week, Aleph Farms confirmed it had laid off 30% of its local staff in Israel due to difficulties in securing capital amid its scale-up process, and as part of its asset-light growth strategy. Californian cultivated seafood producer Finless Foods had similarly carried out two rounds of layoffs in less than 12 months.

Also in California, cultivated pork startup New Age Eats ceased operations in March 2023. Eat Just, based in San Francisco, has been caught up in a lawsuit against its former contract manufacturer ABEC, which has claimed over $100M in payments for changes to the scope of the work and unpaid bills in relation to its cultivated chicken arm Good Meat. A judge has sided with both entities in several matters, and the case will now proceed to trial.

Another Californian startup, Los Angeles-based Omeat, has had its workforce cut by 80%, with its founder stepping down as CEO amid allegations of creating a hostile work culture.

Apart from the financial headwinds, the industry has also been met with legislative challenges. Italy became the first country to ban the production and sale of cultivated meat last year, with France and Romania contemplating the same. And last month, the US states of Florida and Alabama both passed similar bills, which were heavily criticised even by the meat industry.

Company closures were predicted to continue this year by alternative protein experts, and SciFi Foods has become the latest on that list. “We are in a phase of consolidation and correction that isn’t over yet. Given that venture capital is so scarce, fundraising and due diligence processes are taking extremely long, and especially lead investors are so hard to find, we expect to see more businesses going down,” Albrecht Wolfmeyer, director of ProVeg Incubator, told Green Queen in April.

He added: “At the same time, we are seeing a lot of exciting innovation in the ecosystem and also growing consumer and corporate interest in markets like Germany. This and parts of next year will be tough, then we’ll see more light at the end of the tunnel.”

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Some of the world’s richest and most polluting companies have been investing in carbon offsets that are “likely junk”, according to a new analysis.

In 2023, non-profit Corporate Accountability and the Guardian undertook a joint investigation analysing the top 50 carbon emissions projects globally, based on the number of credits sold. They found that 39 of these 50 (78%) were “likely junk” or worthless, owing to failures that undermine the promised emissions cuts.

Now, an update of the database has shown that, despite multiple reforms and updated initiatives, things have regressed further. Carbon offset projects with one or more fundamental failings were classified as likely or potentially junk, depending on the number and gravity of the failings, with strong evidence of even one failing meaning promised emissions can’t be guaranteed. These failings include whether emissions cuts would have happened anyway, or if the emissions were just shifted elsewhere.

These top 50 projects represent nearly a third of all the credits retired in offset schemes globally. They include forestry schemes, hydroelectric dams, solar and wind farms, waste disposal and greener household appliances schemes across 20 nations – most of which are developing countries – according to data from emissions trading database AlliedOffsets.

The investigation has found that, now, 42 of the 50 projects (84%) are likely junk, and seven (14%) potentially junk – the latter means there’s at least some evidence of a failing. These carbon credits were purchased by some of the largest companies in the world, including Disney, Nestlé, Gucci, Volkswagen, Delta Air Lines, easyJet, and ExxonMobil.

“These findings shed further light on the dangerous distraction that the voluntary carbon market remains, despite multiple reforms, new initiative launches, and rolling out of updated principles,” said Rachel Rose Jackson, Corporate Accountability’s director of climate research and policy.

“What the evidence increasingly points to is that this scheme effectively operates to evade, not guarantee, meaningful climate action, and to greenwash further fossil fuel use and pollution. We shouldn’t be plugging holes in a sinking ship, not when millions of lives are at stake.”

Fossil fuel and travel industry lead junk carbon credit purchases

The database shows that, for 33 of the top 50 corporate buyers, a third of their offset portfolios are likely junk. The fossil fuel industry is the largest investor in these schemes, with 43% of the 81 million carbon credits purchased by these companies found to be probably junk.

ExxoMobil, for example, bought 3.7 million credits, of which 49% were for two projects classified as worthless. “Carbon offsets are a viable way to [reduce emissions and reach net zero], which is why we continue to evaluate them. We’re working to verify the claims cited in this analysis,” the company told the Guardian.

Meanwhile, the transport industry is also relying on dubious carbon offsetting projects to curb their climate impact, which accounts for a fifth of all emissions. But over 42% of the credits bought by airlines and 38% by automotive companies for the analysed projects were likely junk.

Outside fossil fuels, Delta has purchased more carbon credits than anybody else, but 35% of these were from 11 projects deemed worthless or junk by the analysis. The carrier is in the middle of a lawsuit that alleges it misrepresented itself as carbon-neutral, though it has rejected the allegations and filed to dismiss.

Meanwhile, 72% of all the credits purchased by easyJet in its history were for projects classed as likely worthless. The airline announced plans to transition away from offsetting in 2022 for its net zero goal for 2050, suggesting it would work on more fuel-efficient aircraft, carbon capture and storage, and so-called sustainable aviation fuels – but these practices aren’t necessarily climate-friendly, and could even exacerbate the crisis.

“In the short period we did offset customer emissions, we had robust due diligence processes in place, with all projects recommended by expert partners and all required to meet the highest standards available,” easyJet said.

Both easyJet and Delta have previously been found to use ‘phantom’ carbon credits to claim carbon neutrality.

“These findings add to the mounting evidence that peels back the greenwashed facade of the voluntary carbon market and lays bare the ways it dangerously distracts from the real, lasting action the world’s largest corporations and polluters need to be taking,” said Jackson.

Food industry a major investor in worthless carbon credits

The food and beverage industry is a major polluter, too – agriculture is responsible for a third of all emissions. But 37% of the credits purchased by this sector are likely junk, according to Carbon Accountability.

Similarly, 36% of carbon credits bought by Nestlé – the world’s largest food company – came from five projects deemed likely junk. Nestlé claimed it had stopped purchasing carbon credits from these projects in 2021/22. “Reaching net zero emissions at Nestlé does not involve using offsetting: we focus on GHG emissions reductions and removals within our value chain to reach our net zero ambition,” the company said.

In the entertainment world, nearly 62% of Disney’s retired credits are from two ‘likely junk’ projects. And fashion giant Gucci has an even higher proportion of worthless carbon credit investments (75%) – it has now dropped its carbon neutrality claim and is finalising new commitments.

Such moves are part of a larger shift from companies that are realising the inefficacy of carbon offsetting projects. This is why the voluntary carbon market, which was valued at nearly $2B in 2022, fell to $723M last year (a 61% drop).

Last week, the Biden-Harris administration in the US published new guidelines on responsible carbon offsets, which the government says would drive credible climate action – but experts have criticised the move. However, not all policy interventions have been bleak: last year, the state of California passed climate laws designed to curb greenwashing from the voluntary carbon market.

“Research demonstrates over and over that carbon markets are fraudulent, prolong the fossil fuel industries, accelerate climate chaos and violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples,” said Tamra Gilbertson of the Indigenous Environmental Network. “Keeping fossil fuels in the ground stops climate change, not incentivising pollution.”

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German national rail company Deutsche Bahn has partnered with Planet A Foods to offer cocoa-free chocolate shortbreads during the Euro 2024 football championship and beyond.

As fans travel to Euro 2024 stadiums across Germany, those taking Deutsche Bahn (DB) trains will now be treated to free chocolate shortbreads, but with a twist. The cookies will feature cocoa-free chocolate from ChoViva, the sub-brand of German food tech startup Planet A Foods.

First-class passengers aboard DB’s Intercity Express (ICE) and Intercity (IC) trains will be offered the heart-shaped shortbreads as part of a multi-year collaboration between the two companies, but starts with a Euro 2024-centric version.

Germany is hosting UEFA’s inter-Europe football championship this summer (June 14 to July 14), and, to mark the occasion, the shortbread will be called Lieblingsfan (favourite fan) for the duration of the tournament. The initiative is designed to raise awareness among millions of football fans about chocolate’s impact on deforestation and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

“Deutsche Bahn is the perfect match for us as a partner. We both pursue the same mission: to save several million tons of CO2 per year,” says Planet A Foods CEO Maximilian Marquart, who co-founded the brand with his sister Sara in 2021. “One by offering sustainable mobility solutions, and one by producing sustainable food ingredients that are decoupled from limited resources. It only makes sense that together we can achieve even more.”

Climate-friendly chocolate goes beyond Euro 2024

The collaboration is a summer version of the Lieblingsgast (favourite guest), a small chocolate handed to DB passengers, which is made from fairly traded cocoa and wrapped in FSC-certified recyclable paper. Part of the rail operator’s climate commitments, the initiative has been ongoing since March 2023.

“The goal is to show appreciation, with sustainability being a central focus for both DB and us,” says Maximilian, whose startup participated in a bidding process to win the DB contract. He cites the brand’s taste and sustainability credentials as the reasons why it was selected.

It means the ChoViva chocolate alternative – made from a base of fermented oats and sunflower seeds – will be part of DB’s lineup on the long-distance trains over the next two summers.

“The cookie is a specific development for the German Railway together with one of our partners,” says Sara, the company’s CTO. “We chose a cookie instead of a chocolate bar as they are distributed over the summer months. The idea was to avoid any problems that might occur with melting and distribution.”

So what’s the difference between the Euro and post-Euro versions? “The cookie itself stays the same,” she says. “What changes is that after the European Football Championship is over, we’ll switch to the Lieblingsgast version again with a new branding in terms of packaging design.”

Maximilian adds that ChoViva is already working on a second iteration of the cookie to further its planet-friendliness. He remains tight-lipped on the details, but says the team is “working on improving different areas even further”.

DB’s track record of climate-friendly food

This is far from the only planet-friendly food offering at DB. The railway company has partnered with multiple companies over the years to cater to consumers’ growing demand for more sustainable catering options.

In fact, since March 2022, more than half of the food offered at its onboard eateries has been meatless, featuring vegan meat analogues, vegetarian snacks and seasonal produce. A few months before that, DB introduced Oatly’s barista oat milk for coffee orders.

Over the last few months, it teamed up with two local vegan seafood brands. The first entailed a chilli-cheese-style baguette with BettaF!sh’s tuna, and the other a noodle stir-fry with Happy Ocean Foods’ soy-based shrimp. The latter was introduced during Veganuary, and featured prominently at the beginning of the menu, which extolled the benefits of a plant-based diet.

Cocoa’s climate impact is a problem

But, while meat is the most destructive food for the planet – releasing twice as many greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere than plant-based foods – chocolate itself has a sizeable footprint. Dark chocolate, for example, is the second most polluting food, second only to beef. Intensive deforestation plays a big part here, and the countereffects of climate change mean a third of all cocoa trees could die out by 2050.

By using traditional fermentation and roasting methods – but eschewing the cocoa bean – ChoViva (formerly NoCoa/QOA) manages to bring down carbon emissions by 90% per kg of chocolate. This has been recognised by CPG behemoths like Lindt, Kölln, Rewe, and Griesson de Beukelaer, which have released various products using the cocoa-free chocolate.

However, ChoViva’s chocolate for the DB cookies does still use palm oil, though this is RSPO-certified, which suggests it’s sourced from certified production units and is produced according to strict ecological and social criteria. In an interview with Green Queen last year, Maximilian explained that palm oil can become essential for some of its collaborations. “If we [use it], we support sustainable palm oil cultivation and work with partners who do the same,” he explained.

“For some special applications, we couldn’t yet get rid of palm oil due to technical reasons. We try to limit those applications,” added Sara. She had revealed that the company was working on its own alternatives to palm oil and other cocoa fats.

Asked about progress on this front, she now says: “We put a lot of effort and budget into our cocoa fat alternative. We’re progressing according to our time plan right now, in terms of development.”

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Global plant-based food leader Wicked Kitchen has been acquired by the newly formed Ahimsa Companies, which seeks to lead an “industry-wide consolidation effort”.

Ahimsa Companies, a newly formed holding company by the Ahimsa Foundation, has acquired vegan food brand Wicked Kitchen and its subsidiaries Good Catch and Current Foods for an undisclosed sum.

With global plant-based sales flatlining last year, investment on the decline, and meat analogues facing a downturn in purchases in the US, many have suggested that consolidation could be key to the future of the category. This is Ahimsa Companies’ aim too, leading a sector-wide consolidation effort to generate opportunities for vertical integration and scale-up.

“We’ve said all along that consolidation will drive success for the plant-based industry,” said group CEO Matt Tullman. “As Ahimsa Companies brings together more brands, it can leverage this strength to help stabilise and shape the new landscape for the plant-based industry.”

Why Ahimsa Companies acquired Wicked Kitchen

Wicked Kitchen, a maker of plant-based ready meals, desserts, snacks and ingredients, was founded by brothers Derek and Chad Sarno in 2016. Until last year, the former was head of plant-based innovation at Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, which brought the brand to market in 2018.

The startup has since grown internationally, with products available in over 20,000 retail locations and a roster of more than 150 offerings. And, as it began to expand, Wicked Kitchen itself brought other brands into the fold. In September 2022, it acquired vegan seafood producer Good Catch, another company founded by the Sarno brothers.

Last year, it bought another plant-based seafood startup, Current Foods. This came amid a rollercoaster-like period for seafood analogues, which made up just 1% of sales of the overall meat analogues category. While brands like Konscious Foods and Hooked Foods expanded their footprint, others were forced to shut, such as Ordinary Seafood and New Wave Foods.

Consolidation has been pinpointed as a solution to the volatility. Peter McGuinness, CEO of plant-based meat giant Impossible Foods, alluded to this in a recent interview with Bloomberg. “There are a lot of companies that are making food that’s not great food. There’s 200 plant-based companies in America – probably only need three, or two. So there’s a lot of small companies making not-so-great food and people are having bad first impressions,” he said.

“You’re going to be left with a couple of brands and private labels, and that’s going to be the category.”

Ahimsa Foods similarly believes consolidation is “critical to the growth and success” of the sector, and now plans to add multiple brands, as well as manufacturing and sales enablement businesses, to its roster, with the goal of vertically integrating and leveraging resources.

Wicked Kitchen, meanwhile, will expand to additional retailers, add to its foodservice offerings, and invest in further product innovation following the acquisition. “We are aligned in our mission, and we believe that Wicked Kitchen is stronger today and better positioned to serve the health and environmentally conscious consumer who does not want to sacrifice on taste or convenience,” said Pete Speranza, who has been the brand’s CEO since 2020.

He and the Sarno brothers will remain shareholders in the new business.

Plant-based M&A deals ramp up

This is far from the only consolidation deal in the vegan sector recently. In fact, last year saw M&A deals in the overall food industry jump by 57%, according to one report, with the estimated value climbing by 20% to reach £2.1B.

“There is potential for increased M&A activity in areas of the plant-based market that are showing resilience or growth, such as indulgent categories or products offered by discount retailers,” said Sam Sharp, senior associate and food and drink head at British-Irish law firm Browne Jacobson. “Companies might look to acquire or invest in brands that have successfully navigated the current economic climate or are aligned with consumer trends towards healthier and more sustainable options.”

In February, Vegan Food Group – another recently formed holding company evolving from the plant-based meta brand VFC – acquired Germany’s TofuTown, months after buying Clive’s Purely Plants and Meatless Farm. The company is continuing to explore further acquisition opportunities, with the goal of becoming a “vegan Unilever”.

A month earlier, US non-dairy coffee creamer brand Nutpods was acquired by newly formed CPG investment arm MPearlRock, around the same time Australian plant-based meat maker v2food took over ready meal brands Soulara and Macros. Meanwhile, vegan fast-casual chain Next Level Burger purchased restaurant group Veggie Grill (alongside its Más Veggies taco chain) in January as well.

This followed Indian superfood brand Nourish You’s acquisition of alt-dairy startup One Good in late 2023, in one of the country’s largest plant-based M&A deals. British artisanal vegan cheesemaker Palace Culture was taken over by The Compleat Food Group (formerly Winterbotham Darby) a month earlier, just as Canada’s Protein Powered Farms bought Lovingly Made Ingredients, a plant protein extrusion facility.

And, in October, Finnish alt-dairy brand Oddlygood acquired Nordic brand Planti, while recently founded US company Superlatus agreed to buy plant-based dairy and egg startup Spero, months after it agreed to purchase precision fermentation dairy leader Perfect Day’s consumer arm The Urgent Company.

That month, German food conglomerate Pfeifer & Langen also earned a majority stake in Rügenwalder Mühle, which produces vegan sausages. And Australia’s All G Foods spun off its alt-meat brand Love Buds, which merged with Fenn Foods’ vEEF to form The Aussie Plant-Based Co.

“In the context of flat or declining category demand, consolidation, and M&As are vital for rapid growth in the plant-based sector. These strategies allow companies to scale, innovate, and navigate through resilience challenges more effectively,” Vegan Food Group co-founder Matthew Glover told Green Queen in February. “Combining resources and expertise through M&As enables businesses to expand their market presence and improve supply chains efficiently, which is crucial when organic growth is hard to achieve.”

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As part of its Champions Innovate initiative, UEFA has introduced a slew of sustainability measures for the 2024 Champions League final, which includes carbon labelling and plastic-free packaging.

Fans watching Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund battle it out for the 2024 Champions League tomorrow will be eating carbon-labelled food in seaweed packaging, as UEFA – European football’s governing body – aims to amp up its sustainability credentials.

As part of its Champions Innovate initiative (announced in September), all menu boards at Wembley Stadium and food trucks at other Champions Festival sites across London will feature carbon labels from UK startup My Emissions. It’s an extension of the latter’s ongoing partnership with Dutch food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway.com, a UEFA sponsor since 2021.

“Partnering with UEFA and Just Eat for the Champions League Final is an incredible opportunity to showcase our carbon labelling solution on a global stage,” said My Emissions co-founder Matthew Isaacs, who was selected for Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe Class of 2024 alongside his co-founder Nathan Bottomley. “Through Champions Innovate, we’re bringing our solution to one of the largest sporting events in the world.”

UEFA’s Champions Innovate sustainability initiative

Champions Innovate is UEFA’s collaborative programme to address key challenges around the 2024 final beyond just what happens on the pitch. It was created by the UEFA Innovation Hub in collaboration with English governing body the Football Association, the Greater London Authority, and its media house London & Partners.

The goal for the Wembley final (June 1) is to enhance the ESG impact of the competition, according to UEFA, which partnered with three of its sponsors, each of whom worked on different challenges with the selected startups.

PepsiCo – responsible for the six-minute kickoff show – is working on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of the show, with the long-term goal of organising a net-zero show by 2030. For this, it was teamed up with kinetic energy startup Pavegen, which generates electricity from people’s footsteps. UEFA aims to use this smart flooring tech to power the pre-match show.

Meanwhile, Mastercard is working alongside sports sustainability charity Pledgeball to boost the adoption of the former’s carbon calculator, and create a league for fans who can most effectively reduce their carbon consumption.

Just Eat Takeaway has been working with UEFA to reduce single-use plastic packaging over the last two years, bringing in Notpla’s seaweed packaging at several matches and reusable packaging as part of a circular initiative. Now, its collaboration with My Emissions, which began in September last year for businesses to put emissions information on their in-app delivery menus, has become part of the UEFA Champions Innovate portfolio too.

As part of this, My Emissions will calculate and communicate the carbon footprint of food offerings with a simple A-E rating system on all menus at UEFA sites.

Two days before the Champions League final, each startup demonstrated their pilot at a showcase event at London’s City Hall. An expert jury then awarded an additional €45,000 to the competition’s winner.

Carbon labelling a good step, but UEFA’s climate footprint is enlarging

My Emissions’ carbon labels will be displayed across all concession boards at Wembley Stadium, in partnership with caterers Delaware North. “Given the results, Delaware North will use My Emissions to create the carbon ratings for the UEFA Champions League final and season menus into 2025 and beyond,” revealed Andrew Wilkinson, procurement systems manager at the catering company.

All food trucks at the Champions Festival sites – Regents Street, Somerset House, Potters Field and Trafalgar Square – will also sport the labels. They’ve been open to the public since Thursday, and will remain so until Sunday.

Meanwhile, packaging at all these sites will be provided by Notpla, and will include a QR code to a landing page on Just Eat Takeaway’s website. This page will aim to educate fans about the environmental impact of food, providing them with an opportunity to win tickets to matches in next year’s UEFA Champions League.

“We’re able to talk to fans about the carbon footprint of food on a scale that we’ve never achieved before and encourage consumers to make more conscious choices,” said Isaacs. My Emissions has previously also added carbon labels to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium for World Earth Day, working directly with the same caterer.

“In addition to Wembley Stadium and the Emirates Stadium, Delaware North also cater food at the London Stadium (West Ham), as well as other sites across the UK,” he said. “Due to the success of labelling, Delaware North is already looking to make carbon labelling a permanent fixture on menus at Arsenal and other stadiums for next season.”

Football has a major impact on the climate crisis, with the global industry generating over 30 million tonnes of CO2 per year, about the same as Denmark. UEFA, meanwhile, aims to cut GHG emissions in half by 2030, and reach net zero by 2040. In March, it launched a carbon calculator for football stakeholders to help reduce the sport’s climate impact.

That said, the organisation is also changing the format of its club competitions from next season, which will see teams play 177 more matches across the three tournaments. It means teams and fans will be flying two billion air miles in 2024-25 (33% higher than 2022-23), equating to 4,000 journeys to the Moon and back. Travel alone will be responsible for over 480,000 tonnes of GHG emissions (a 30% increase).

So while it uses carbon labels and taps into kinetic energy for a one-off final, UEFA’s emissions are continuing to increase, taking it further away from its 2030 goal. Football and its stakeholders need to do a lot more.

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Alternative protein network GlassWall Syndicate will now be hosted by global venture capital and accelerator firm Brinc, expanding its realm in Asia-Pacific and towards other sub-verticals.

Hong Kong-headquartered VC and accelerator firm Brinc has announced that it will now host GlassWall Syndicate (GWS), a non-profit network of alternative protein investors.

The development will allow GWS to propel itself into its next phase of growth, expanding beyond alternative proteins into other climate-aligned verticals, and connecting with businesses outside North America. The investment group is open to individuals looking to make investments as low as $1,000, all the way to growth-stage firms exploring Series D deals upwards of US$100M.

“Collectively along with [executive director] Macy [Marriott] and the GWS leadership team, we will work to drive our joint mission forward of removing animals from our agricultural system and working on decarbonising our food systems,” said Manav Gupta, founder and CEO of Brinc, which now sits on GWS’s board.

Outlining the importance of investment syndicates, he added: “Syndicates can bridge during market downturns and ensure stable capital continues to flow into the right companies that are working to make a change, while macro factors continue to evolve and institutional investors become active again.”

Going beyond alternative proteins and spotlighting Asia

Founded in 2017, Kansas-based GWS was initially spearheaded by Stray Dog Capital and comprises high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), and VC and private equity firms, supporting investors in the sustainability space through deal flow access, early-access industry data, exclusive reports, trend analysis, and networking opportunities.

Last year, it launched the Emerging Growth Consortium, a body of late-stage industry investors, with alternative protein think tank the Good Food Institute as a knowledge partner.

Brinc, meanwhile, is a global VC leader with offices in India, Singapore, China, Japan, and the Middle East and North Africa. It operates 10 multidisciplinary accelerator programmes across seven countries, helping startups focused on climate and agritech, blockchain tech, AI, robotics, and more. Since its inception in 2014, Brinc has invested in 241 startups across 48 countries.

By combining their services, Brinc will support GWS’s strategic expansion beyond alternative proteins to include sub-verticals like climate adaptation, advanced materials, circular economy, carbon capture, utilisation and storage, clean energy, mobility, and agriculture. GWS aims to uncover new investment opportunities to increase capital towards the climate tech sector, where funding declined by 40% last year.

It will also leverage Brinc’s extensive network in Asia-Pacific, India, and the Middle East to build connections with startups and investors outside North America. “It will complement our joint networks in the US and beyond, as we can scale existing Brinc community members to learn about GWS and join the platform as members, actively contributing to the mission and also investing in deals,” Gupta told Green Queen.

“Asia is a rapidly growing market – scaling urbanisation presents a more urgent need for sustainable and secure food solutions. Asia is a very diverse and fragmented market as well, with unique and distinct cultural preferences requiring more tailored and targeted solutioning,” he added. “Brinc and GWS believe that investing and supporting Asia’s growth is challenging but if done right, it can create solutions that will scale and have a far-reaching impact not just regionally, but globally, as the region also possesses all the natural resources and manufacturing capabilities for scale.”

“We must continue building a platform that serves the unique needs of founders, investors, nonprofits, and other collaborators who drive transformational change,” said Marriott. “Just as the problems we’re collectively tackling are ever-evolving, so are the needs of the people at the forefront.”

Food tech investments will recover in the long term

Brinc’s partnerships entail large corporations, government bodies, and academic institutions, which it says emphasises its ability to adapt to different ecosystems. The VC firm is hoping to expand its network and double down on other verticles that tackle decarbonisation.

The agrifood tech sector witnessed a significant downturn in VC funding last year, decreasing by nearly 50% as it reached a six-year low, according to one estimate. Separate research put that decline at 61% for food tech, and 44% for alternative proteins. Gupta ascribed this to “macro and perceptionary factors” in a still-evolving sector.

“A lot of capital has transitioned to the decarbonisation/climate umbrella, of which food is a major part,” he said. “Deals are still getting done, but not at the speed and scale at which they were being done a few years ago.” But he pointed to the “positive regulatory movement towards adoption and good R&D progress” in the industry as a sign of its long-term potential to fix the food system and enhance food security across the world.

“Regulatory support, R&D progress and price point obtainment will continue to drive long-term consumer interest and adoption, which, in turn, will bring more financing to the sector,” he suggested. “Further alignment of this category under a climate umbrella, and a recognition that we cannot address the challenges of climate change or needs of decarbonisation without transforming our multitrillion-dollar food industry, are also key. Deforestation, animal grazing, etc. all need to end for a true and meaningful impact to carbon emissions.”

He added: “Founders and stakeholders need to continue to focus on innovation, consumer and regulatory education and provide transparency in product development. Investors will continue to look at long-term market demand, strong R&D capabilities and robust business models.”

And as for the short term, that’s where the private market comes in. “Private market investors including HNIs, angels, etc., who are also mission-driven and aligned towards this change they want to see,” he said. “And this is one of Brinc’s main motivations around bringing GWS into the fold and also launching its AngelList syndicate recently, as it will permit scalable funding into good quality deals through distributed funding.”

Now, Brinc is raising a Series C round with a $50M target, which is expected to close this year. It will use the capital to scale its tech platform and services, enter new markets and scale further into fund management through acquisitions.

Disclaimer: Brinc is a sponsor of the Green Queen Future Food Weekly LIVE podcast.

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Germany’s Kynda has broken ground on a 6,200 sq m commercial facility that will allow it to produce 2,000 tonnes of mycelium meat each year.

Hamburg-based biotech startup Kynda, which makes plug-and-play bioreactors, starter cultures and mycelium protein ingredients, has begun work on a commercial facility to scale up production of its Kynda Meat.

The development comes two months after the company received planning permission for the new factory, a 6,200 sq m site with two production halls sprawling 720 sq m each. Equipped with 30,000 litres of fermentation capacity, the facility will allow Kynda to manufacture 2,000 tonnes of mycelium protein annually, which can be used to make products like chicken and pork analogues, and even dog food.

“We’ve outgrown our current lab and fermentation facilities which were, ironically, based in a former pig barn,” said CEO Daniel MacGowan von Holstein. “We’re therefore thrilled to witness the expansion of our production facilities to continue shaping the future of food production.”

Sustainable, nutritious and affordable mycelium meat

Founded in 2019 by von Holstein and COO Franziskus Schnabel, Kynda makes use of fungi and food industry sidestreams like soy-, oat- and rice-okara. These byproducts undergo a submerged biomass fermentation process, where microorganisms are rapidly grown in a liquid medium, and the entire biomass becomes the end product.

Alongside its proprietary process, Kynda’s fungal strain – which is already compliant with the EU’s novel foods regulations and presents no major regulatory hurdles – allows it to produce mycelium protein in just 48 hours, compared to seven to 10 days for the industry standard.

The resulting ingredient is a raw material that is cheaper to produce than plant-based texturates, and boasts environmental and nutritional aspects that will entice manufacturers. Kynda Meat emits 700% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than pea protein, an ingredient used by industry giants like Beyond Meat.

It also has a protein content of 37% in dry matter and comprises all nine essential amino acids. Plus, it’s low in fat, rich in fibre and vitamins, and allergen-free. These attributes make the meat suitable for use in both plant-based and hybrid meat applications.

“From the outset, our focus has been on crafting a product that is nutritious, sustainable, and accessible to consumers seeking environmentally conscious options,” said Schnabel.

Kynda Meat was unveiled at the Internorga trade fair in Hamburg in March, as part of a collaboration with plant-based pork producer The Raging Pig Company, which swapped 17% of the high-moisture-extruded pea protein in its burger with Kynda’s mycelium meat.

“By replacing highly processed raw materials with Kynda’s fermentation solution, we are answering the call of many consumers for healthy meat alternatives,” Raging Pig co-founder Arne Ewerbeck said at the time. He added that the partnership enabled his company to significantly lower production costs and be “finally able to compete with heavily subsidised meat producers”.

Kynda goes global as fungi protein flourishes

The mycelium burger patties showcased at the event served as a precursor to Kynda Meat’s market launch in Germany later this year, with further deals with B2C companies in both foodservice and retail soon to follow. Beyond Europe, Kynda is also in discussions with potential partners in Asia and North America.

“With the new production capacities, we strengthen our cooperation with industrial food companies and thus further expand our growth course – and respond to the increasing global demand for sustainable proteins,” said von Holstein.

Kynda is in the middle of a $4M seed funding round, and, last year, it received a non-dilutive grant from Germany’s food and agriculture ministry to scale up its fermentation platform and produce mycelium protein more efficiently. It’s one of several fungi protein producers in the country, including Nosh.bio, Bosque Foods and Infinite Roots (which closed a $58M Series B round in January, claimed to be the largest mycelium investment in Europe). Like Kynda, all these companies are valorising industry sidestreams.

Interest in fungi proteins has been expanding lately, with US mycelium producer Meati bagging $100M in Series C1 financing earlier this month, the biggest alternative protein investment since 2022. And last week, Finnish mycoprotein startup Enifer received €24M in new funding to build a commercial-scale factory.

Mycelium proteins have been acclaimed for their environmental and nutritional prowess, superior taste and texture, and potential to address food insecurity and global hunger. Companies like Kynda, which are leveraging agricultural byproducts, are advancing these claims by tackling food waste, which results in $1T in annual economic losses and contributes to 8-10% of global emissions.

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In the last week, two new centres dedicated to smart proteins have opened in Bengaluru, India, aimed at incubating alternative protein startups and helping them manufacture and commercialise their products.

India has the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, but it’s also the third-most polluting country in the world. As its record population continues to grow, so do its protein needs – however, food accounts for a third of its GHG emissions, and the need for alternative proteins has never been more apparent.

Research suggests that, by 2060, 85% of India’s protein production must come from novel and traditional plant-based sources if the country is to decarbonise. Its current pledge of net zero by 2070 is wildly off-target, with emissions expected to double instead by 2040.

To help the nation on its protein transition path and meet its climate ambitions, a wave of startups and facilities are innovating with alternative proteins, which represent a burgeoning industry in India. But these startups need help, as a report released last week by think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI) India and Bengaluru’s IKP Knowledge Park suggested.

These players need specialised equipment, infrastructure and mentorship to scale up from lab production to commercial levels, and a heavier capital flow to realise their technologies. And now, two new smart protein centres have opened specifically to support these startups.

Incubation hub combines modernised equipment and mentorship

During the unveiling of the joint report, GFI India and IKP announced the establishment of the Centre for Smart Protein and Sustainable Material Innovation in Bengaluru today. Located in the city’s southeastern tech neighbourhood, the facility was born out of an MoU signed by the two organisations last year, aiming to support startups with incubation and product development.

The hub will provide plant-based, cultivated and fermentation companies with access to state-of-the-art equipment and expert mentorship to turn early-stage ideas into innovative protein products. The centre is equipped with biosafety cabinets, shaker incubators, freezers, homogenisers, and ISO7 ‘cleanrooms’ (utilised in the biotech sector for CPG manufacturing). It can support up to 20 startups, who will have round-the-clock access to the amenities.

The GFI India-IKP report explained that an incubation ecosystem was imperative for Indian alternative protein startups across the value chain – as of 2022, at least 113 companies were working on novel foods in the country, in a market that was worth $42M.

“This sunrise sector in India holds immense promise, and with the right support, it has the potential to emerge as a global leader,” said Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, chairperson and CEO of IKP Knowledge Park. “India’s exceptional scientific talent and manufacturing prowess give a headstart in building a transformative industry with the potential to ensure food security for all.”

IKP is offering mentorship programmes across technical, IP, regulatory, marketing and business strategy domains, which will provide comprehensive support to incubated startups. The knowledge park is additionally raising funds to expand the centre’s capabilities, and has signed multiple MoUs to advance the project, including one with the Bühler Group.

“We are grateful to IKP for recognising the sector’s potential and creating a robust platform to plug gaps in infrastructure, specialised guidance, and commercialisation,” said Sneha Singh, acting managing director of GFI India.” Together with the right partners, GFI India is committed to building pioneering smart protein technologies that can have far-reaching impacts on India’s agriculture, climate change adaptation, nutrition security, and economic growth.”

R&D hub aims to help startups launch to market

Just a day earlier, GFI India signed an MoU to help launch the Alternative Proteins Innovation Center (APIC), an integrated facility for ingredient and product development situated on the outskirts of Bengaluru. APIC provides R&D services to help smart protein startups scale up, commercialise and even manufacture end products.

This centre encompasses multiple stages of product development, from lab scale to pilot production – currently, it can support the commercialisation of plant-based products like dairy analogues. Milk is by far the largest segment of India’s alternative protein market, with nearly two-thirds (66%) of startups working on such products. Research by GFI India suggests that about half of the country’s residents are aware of plant-based milk, of which 23% have tried it.

The partnership between APIC and GFI India will involve joint research projects, knowledge sharing, capacity-building programmes like workshops and information dissemination events, and training programmes to upskill and educate stakeholders.

“We firmly believe that this synergy will not only accelerate scientific knowledge building and sharing but also pave the way for innovative solutions that can be readily commercialised, benefiting entrepreneurs, startups, and ultimately, consumers,” said Singh.

Pranesh Sridharan, chief innovation officer of APIC added: “We have an impressive team of experts with the knowhow of plant protein extraction, isolation, application development in plant-based, fermented, and cultivated proteins, and a combined industry experience of over 125 years. We look forward to curating and developing sector-building programmes that can address current gaps in infrastructure access and knowledge transfer in smart protein processing and R&D.”

APIC also intends to sign a deal with climate VC AltX Ventures to support startups in this space – Indian alternative protein startups saw a modest investment of $17M between 2021-22, a small share of the $562M total that was injected into APAC companies in 2022. But an investor survey by GFI India last year indicated that 99% of respondents remain optimistic about the sector’s potential.

Government bodies have invested in this space, too, with multiple research grants for cultivated meat from the Ministry of Science and Technology, and a joint project between the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute and New Delhi-based startup Neat Meatt to develop cultivated seafood. Meanwhile, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is reportedly drafting a regulatory framework for the commercial approval of cultivated meat.

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The Singapore Food Agency has granted a food production licence to ScaleUp Bio’s commercial-scale facility for submerged- and precision-fermented ingredients.

ScaleUp Bio has received a food manufacturing licence from Singapore’s regulatory body to allow companies to produce fermentation-derived ingredients on an industrial scale.

A joint venture between Nurasa (the food innovation platform of state-owned investment firm Temasek) and global nutrition giant ADM, ScaleUp Bio is now one of just a few contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) globally to be approved as a food production facility.

It means food tech startups can use its newly opened 2,300 sq m facility to produce ingredients derived from submerged microbial and precision fermentation technologies. Situated in the high-tech manufacturing district of Tuas in west Singapore, the plant has fermentation and associated downstream processing capacities of up to 10,000 litres.

It represents another major milestone for Singapore’s thriving food tech ecosystem – at least 25 non-local companies have a presence in the city-state for R&D and business development, while it’s home to almost a quarter (24%) of all alternative protein startups in Asia-Pacific.

Advancing fermentation companies’ route to market

First announced in October 2022, the facility houses innovation hubs and technical specialists to ensure quality control and safe production standards, alongside a full suite of business advisory, Asia market entry, and other related services.

The food manufacturing licence signals its fulfilment of the Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA) stringent regulations. These requirements entail adherence to specific infrastructure and facility standards for food safety production, and emphasise training, collaboration, and regulatory compliance to uphold hygiene and operational excellence.

“ScaleUp Bio’s value proposition offers anyone with the next best concept in food to bring that idea to reality, and to pilot stage commercial production in Singapore, backed by a blue-chip corporate ecosystem of support. With this milestone, we are moving one step forward towards enabling the next food revolution,” said ScaleUP Bio CEO Francisco Codoñer. “We are deeply grateful to SFA for this milestone, and we are ready to go.”

“At Nurasa, we are committed to pioneering a new world of sustainably produced nutrition solutions for our planet,” added Nurasa CEO Guo Xiu Ling. “ScaleUp Bio’s milestone from SFA is a pivotal step forward in this journey.”

Last November, ScaleUp Bio secured its first customers to aid process optimisation and scale up production. Australia’s Nourish Ingredients, which makes precision-fermented fats for meat and dairy analogues, teamed up with the CDMO to support its Asia growth. It will be supported by the 10,000-litre fermentation and 100-litre thermal processing capacity provided by ScaleUp Bio. Nourish Ingredient’s Tastilux fat is already undergoing the SFA’s regulatory approval process.

Additionally, it also signed letters of intent with New York-based C16 Biosciences (which makes a fermented palm oil alternative), Malaysian plant-based meat brand Ultimeat, and Singaporean food tech startup Allium Bio, which co-cultures algae and mycelium to turn into functional ingredients like protein isolates.

Twin fermentation facilities represent ‘pioneering initiative’

ScaleUp Bio’s facility complements its Fermentation Joint Lab, part of Nurasa’s 3,840 sq m Food Tech Innovation Centre (FTIC), which was publicly unveiled earlier this month.

Developed and operated by ScaleUp Bio and the state-owned Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR), the food-grad lab has bioreactors with a capacity of up to 100 litres and enables startups to foster their ideas via R&D.

This is, in fact, one of two facilities operated by ScaleUp Bio within the FTIC. The second one is home to its new headquarters, and focuses on high-moisture extrusion (HME) for plant proteins to make meat analogues with superior texture and mouthfeel.

The CDMO has also penned deals with partners for its Fermentation Joint Lab, which sees fellow Singaporean companies Allozymes and Algrow Biosciences accelerate the development of their precision-fermented engineering platform and algae protein pigment, respectively. Meanwhile, Canada’s Terra Bioindustries, which upcycled agrifood products into sustainable inputs, and the UK’s Argento Labs, which uses biotech to develop high-value products, have signed letters of intent too.

These clients will benefit from the nutrition and innovation expertise provided by ADM too. “ScaleUp Bio stands as a significant joint venture with Temasek’s Nurasa, demonstrating our commitment to meeting Asia’s unique food needs.,” said Gary McGuigan, ADM’s Asia-Pacific president. “We look forward to continuing our support for ScaleUp Bio and aspiring food-tech companies as we collectively pave the way for a more sustainable food system.”

Codoñer said the two fermentation facilities “represent a pioneering initiative for Singapore and globally”. “From R&D to pilot scale, our fermentation expertise ensures excellence,” he stated, inviting food tech startups to engage with its facilities. “Transitioning from bench to market? Our collaborative ecosystem – including parent and sister companies, research institutions, and industry partners – offers guidance.”

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Taiwanese hospitality chain Silks Hotel Group has pledged to transition to cage-free eggs across all its sites by 2030, following a partnership with the Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan.

Silks Hotel Group, the largest publicly-listed hotel group in Taiwan, has introduced a 100% cage-free egg sourcing policy, which is set to come into effect at all its locations by 2030.

The announcement comes as part of a partnership with animal rights charity the Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) and the Taiwan Mennonite New Dawn Educare Center for people with disabilities, which is centred on promoting sustainable practices in the country’s agriculture sector.

As part of Silks Hotel Group’s corporate social responsibility efforts, all restaurants in the luxury chain Regent Taipei will transition to using only cage-free eggs by the end of 2026, with implementation beginning this year.

The decision to do so was born out of a chance meeting between Silks Hotel Group COO Simon Wu and EAST deputy CEO Chen Yumin in December, where they discussed sustainability-related topics. Wu then assigned sustainability director Sharon Liao to carry the conversation forward, which resulted in the cage-free policy.

Why Silks Hotel Group decided to go cage-free

In Taiwan, 70% of egg-laying hens are confined in battery cages throughout their lives. This prevents them from exhibiting their natural behaviours, leading to physical and mental health issues. Keeping hens in these cages subjects them to respiratory, digestive, immune system and skeletal problems – and, to tackle these issues and avoid economic losses, prophylactic antibiotics are routinely administered in their feed.

This means hens struggle to adapt to climatic changes and disease threats, leading to mass culling due to illness and weakness. That puts Taiwan at risk of prolonged egg shortages, as well as the spread of zoonotic diseases that affect both humans and animals. Avian flu is an ever-growing problem globally, recently being detected in cattle in the US too.

This is why Regent Taipei began using free-range eggs from a nearby farm where hens are cared for by employees living with disabilities. The hotel plans to implement this next at its Gallery Lounge and the Robin’s Steakhouse and Teppanyaki, and estimates total annual consumption of 52,000 kgs across all its restaurants.

But does Silks Hotel Group have transparency and certification checks in place? “As a first step, Regent Taipei’s specialty restaurants are sourcing eggs from farms that have achieved EAST Certified certification,” Wu told Green Queen.

“This means that the farms that supply our eggs are subject to strict annual and unannounced audits by EAST to ensure they adhere to comprehensive, evidence-based animal welfare standards and we can be confident that animals in their care are able to exhibit their natural behaviours,” he added.

Calls for better cage-free policies in Taiwan

Cage-free eggs have been a topic of discussion in the Taiwanese government ever since a report by the Open Wing Alliance (OWA) in February, which evaluated policy frameworks around this subject. Of the 17 Asia-Pacific countries analysed, Taiwan ranked sixth, scoring 29 out of a possible 140 points on three pillars: the use of cages, policy frameworks, and welfare standards.

It prompted a group of lawmakers from across party lines to call for accelerated efforts to phase out battery cages and build better environments for egg-laying hens, in a press conference co-hosted with EAST, which is a member of the OWA.

The report said Taiwan met six of 11 established on-farm welfare criteria, and is the only East Asian country with both publicly documented enforcement procedures and financial penalties for violators. Its labelling requirements have legal force, with fines of between NT$30,000 and NT$3M ($950-$95,000). And, in 2019, the nation’s Food and Drug Administration launched a special operation to investigate the coherence between egg labelling and official laying hen welfare standards.

“We applaud Silks Hotel Group for making a commitment to eliminate the cruel confinement of egg-laying hens in its supply chains,” Noa Limpoco, senior Asia lead at the OWA, told Green Queen. “As a leading hotel management company in Asia and the most profitable group on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, it is encouraging to see Silks Hotel Group align with consumer and investor expectations by embracing ethical supply chain practices and ESG principles.”

Upon announcing the cage-free policy, Silks Hotel Group emphasised its commitment to sustainability and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. A key tenet of such aims is a shift away from animal products altogether, considering that livestock farming alone emits up to 20% of the world’s greenhouse gases.

“As our hotels are hosting international travellers from all over the world, we will still need to prepare food with great varieties to cater [to] our guests,” Wu said when asked if the hotel operator had any plans to cut back on meat or dairy in its offerings.

“However, at the same time, we will be offering more diverse vegetarian cuisines as well as increasing our percentage of using animal-friendly food sources,” he added. For example, in February 2023, the hotel company partnered with Michelin Green Star eatery Little Tree Food to launch a Plant-Based Cuisine venture, with the aim of providing guests with “even more healthy and sustainable meal options”.

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