US plant-based beverage brand Kiki Milk has announced the launch of Kiki Milk Protein, an innovative new alt-milk offering made from the ancient Amazonian seed sacha inchi. Kiki Milk Protein embraces the 3,000-year-old seed’s rich nutritional profile, offering a source of complete plant protein, healthy fats and fibre. Sacha inchi is minimally processed and contains all nine essential amino acids, along with 4g of fibre, omega-3 fatty acids and naturally occurring antioxidant compounds. Each serving of Kiki Milk Protein provides 10g of plant protein, primarily from sacha inchi, and contains no gums, seed oils or flavourings. Like all of the brand’s products, the new offering is Certified Organic. Alex Abelin, co-founder of Kiki Milk’s parent company PlantBaby, said: “The problem with most protein beverages is the quality of the protein. When you create a protein isolate, the ingredient typically goes through significant processing to separate the protein from the rest of the seed.” “In that process, you can lose naturally occurring components like fibre, healthy fats and other nutrients that are part of the whole food. We started with sacha inchi because it’s naturally rich in high-quality protein, and our goal was to preserve the seed as close to its original form as possible – delivering protein in a way that works with the whole-food nutrition of the plant.” Kiki Milk Protein will be available in 32 oz six-packs on the company’s website for an MSRP of $49.99, as well as through Amazon. The launch builds on the brand’s recent momentum, with Kiki Milk having significantly expanded its distribution over major national chains over the past year. Founded in 2020 in Hawaii, PlantBaby launched Kiki Milk in 2021 and has since grown to offer a wider portfolio including Original, Chocolate, Unsweetened and Mac Nut varieties.

Japanese biotech company Spiber has announced the launch of Spiber Biofoundry, a contract development and manufacturing service for strain development and advanced fermentation. The company has built its expertise in strain engineering and fermentation over nearly two decades and is now offering its high-yield strain development services to customers targeting proteins. Founded in Yamagata, Japan in 2007, the company develops structural proteins produced by microbial fermentation from plant-derived sugars. It operates an R&D site in Tsuruoaka, Japan and a commercial production plant in Rayong, Thailand. The new Spiber Biofoundry provides process development and contract manufacturing at every scale, from 1-litre fermenters to commercial facilities of over 100 kL. Target products include industrial enzymes and food ingredients, as well as research reagants and diagnostic raw materials. The service is targeting companies facing challenges surrounding low yields and scale-up, with start-ups facing barriers around taking a recombinant protein of their own from laboratory yields to commercial production. Spiber has achieved this with its Brewed Protein innovation, which is used as a material for textile applications. The company can optimise the gene sequence for the customer’s target protein, then introduce it into its proprietary microbial host strains and evaluate expression in culture. In case studies, Spiber designed five sequences for each target protein and tested them against a control: the same gene optimised and supplied by a commercial gene synthesis provider. According to Spiber, for human FGF-2 protein, all five of its sequences outperformed the control, delivering 5.9 to 9.4 times its yield. In broader benchmarking, Spiber-optimised sequences reportedly outperformed the benchmark for over 90% of target proteins tested, with improvements averaging four-fold and reaching 40-fold. The benchmark was each protein’s original sequence before optimisation. For customers who already have a production strain, Spiber develops the fermentation and purification process and manufactures under contract at whatever scale is needed, from 1-litre bench fermenters to 2,000-litre vessels at its R&D site in Tsuruoaka, or commercial fermenters of over 100 kL at its plant in Rayong. Each stage can be commissioned on its own, from a single lab-scale evaluation to full production runs. The service covers proteins, other fermentation products and microbial biomass. Maya Kawana, CEO of Spiber, said: “Developing diverse structural proteins has enabled us to build the technology, expertise and facilities needed to scale fermentation from the lab to commercial production”. “Our work with strategic partners already extends beyond apparel textiles. This service may also create new opportunities for collaboration across industries. By helping more companies bring their technologies to market, we aim to accelerate progress toward a world where we no longer compete for finite resources.”

Plant-based food manufacturer Planteneers has announced the launch of its latest innovation, Culinary Balls – a texture-focused concept designed to give plant-based products a new identity rather than imitating familiar animal products. The savoury solution contains a base, filling and coating, designed to offer ‘multi-layered indulgence’ in each bite. The base can be ‘juicy or soft,’ combined with an aromatic filling and crispy coating. Extra texture can be added to the coating with sesame, hemp or chia seeds, while the light mousse filling contains 40% vegetables. “The special appeal comes from the contrast – crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a creamy filling,” said Pia Meinlschmidt, head of product management at Planteneers. “Multi-layered textures are seeing continued growth in the confectionery space, and the same principle is increasingly also interesting for savoury products.” The concept is customisable when it comes to flavour. Examples highlighted by Planteneers include a Mediterranean profile with dried tomatoes, black olives and white beans; an earthy, nutty combination of beetroot and walnuts; or a sweet and savoury creation with pumpkin, apricot, curry and ground ginger. Fermented flavours such as pumpkin kimchi are also possible. The product concept is freeze-thaw and bake-stable, making it suitable for various applications. Free from artificial additives, the solution also responds to demand for clean-label, high-protein and high-fibre products. Additionally, the solution can be extended to hybrid products that combine mushrooms with meat protein, as demonstrated by Planteneers in a Kebab Balls concept. The Culinary Balls can be cooked in air fryers or eaten hot or cold, designed to meet demand for modern convenience options, sharing occasions and health-conscious eating.

Edonia, a food-tech start-up based in France, has raised €15 million to fund the industrial scale-up of its microalgae-based protein ingredient, Edo. The functional ingredient offers manufacturers and foodservice a new whole food source derived from spirulina, suitable for use as an alternative to traditional, animal-derived protein sources like meat, cheese and seafood. Going beyond mimicking animal products, the high-protein ingredient can also be used to boost the nutritional value of everyday foods, responding to industry demands for multi-functional ingredients that are minimally processed. The funding round was led by Swen Blue Ocean 2, Asterion Ventures and EIT Food. It also includes non-dilutive funding from Bpifrance under the France 2030 plan and bank financing. Benoît Lelong, senior investment manager at EIT Food, said: “This investment demonstrates not only the strength of Edonia’s technology, but also the growing market demand for innovative protein solutions that combine nutrition, affordability and sustainability”. Edonia's co-founders (L-R): Pierre Mignon, COO; Hugo Valentin, CEO; and Nicolas Irlinger, CTO Edonia will use the funds to scale-up industrialisation of its ingredient and open a dedicated new facility through a partnership in an existing shared location in France. It will also seek to grow its B2B foodservice sales model in Europe, Japan and the US. The company has currently secured €30 million in pre-orders, through around 20 contracts signed with industry players. Edonia’s ingredient was made using its proprietary Edonization technology, a patented process developed in partnership with AgroParisTech. The tech transforms spirulina into a tender grain, with the functional ingredient’s carbon footprint ‘up to 27 times lower than meat’ according to EIT Food. Hugo Valentin, co-founder of Edonia, said: “We firmly believe that microalgae can feed the world in a different way, and our successful step from pilot to large-scale production proves that there are applications far beyond nutraceuticals, particularly in the ready-to-use protein ingredients market”. “Edonia is developing the new category of nutritious, minimally processed whole foods plant-based proteins. These essential and versatile ingredients can be used by industrial manufacturers on a large scale and at competitive prices.”

US plant-based nutrition brand Aloha has offered its own take on one of the food industry’s biggest viral trends over the past few years, Dubai chocolate, with its new Chocolate Pistachio protein bar. The bar’s core gets its green hue from spirulina and turmeric. It is made with real pistachio pieces and Aloha’s brown rice and pumpkin seed protein blend, and is coated in dark chocolate with a hint of sea salt. They are made from whole-food ingredients and contain no artificial additives. Each bar delivers 14g of plant-based protein and 10g of fibre, with just 5g of sugar. The brand’s entire line-up is also USDA-certified organic. Aloha highlighted NielsenIQ data showing that dollar sales in ‘super-premium’ chocolate – the category in which Dubai chocolate sits – were up 16.7% last year despite mainstream chocolate sale declining. While indulgent flavour often comes at the expense of health, with added sugar and artificial ingredients frequently used in the confectionery space, Aloha aims to close this gap with a clean-label option designed to satisfy cravings. Brad Charron, CEO of Aloha, explained why the brand waited to jump on the Dubai chocolate trend – which first went viral on social media in December 2023: “We watched Dubai chocolate for over a year before we touched it,” he commented. “We wanted to know if this was a real shift in what people want from chocolate, or just a moment in time. Once the consumer data told us it wasn't fading, we built the version that could actually hold up to our brand promise and strict food philosophy: real ingredients, real protein and fibre, and a taste that earns hype instead of borrowing it.” The Aloha Chocolate Pistachio bar is available in Albertsons Safeway Banners, beginning in November, for a limited time. It can also be purchased online via Aloha’s website.

Venture studio Food Founders Studio has closed an oversubscribed €4 million funding round, supporting the development of innovative food-tech start-ups designed to address unmet needs across the food and beverage industry. Securing investment has been notably challenging for the European food-tech industry in recent years – investors are becoming more selective and demanding stronger proof of commercial value, with many start-ups struggling to bridge the gap between pilot-scale lab innovation and commercial viability. Despite this, Food Founders Studio noted that investment is ‘beginning to return,’ with European food-tech start-ups raising €401 million in the first half of 2026 – nearly 18% more than a year earlier, though the number of funding rounds fell by 12%. Food Founders Studio, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, works with food and beverage manufacturers to identify key challenges for the industry, then searches for technologies that can address them. Its boards assess technical performance, the commercial case, and the viability of the intellectual property. It then recruits experienced leadership and co-founds the selected venture, working alongside the team on industrial validation, partnerships and fundraising. The studio has already scouted more than 100 technologies and advanced nine to validation before launching its first venture, SentaNovia. SentaNovia is built around neutral plant protein technology licensed from a European university, with the tech designed to remove unwanted off-flavours at the source rather than masking them. Within a year of launch, it has now recruited a CEO and is working toward commercial production while closing its own funding round. The €4 million, raised by family investment offices and angel investors, will support the studio’s next ventures and the work of identifying and securing the technologies behind them. It is currently recruiting a CEO and co-founder for its second company. Additionally, the firm is expanding its search for technologies beyond universities and research institutes – it will now open its sourcing to start-ups and corporate R&D teams who cannot take technologies forward. The studio will assess those opportunities against the same industrial, technical and commercial criteria it applies to academic research. Alexandre Morel, CTO and co-founder of Food Founders Studio, said: “A technology can be technically strong and still lack a route into the food industry”. “We want to find that technology wherever it sits, secure what is needed to build on it, and put the right team around the opportunities that meet a tangible industry need.”

US plant-based milk specialists New Barn Organics and BAM The Brand have partnered to launch a buckwheat-based milk alternative product at Whole Foods Markets. The collaboration was established through Whole Foods Market’s Local and Emerging Accelerator Program, where BAM – a producer of functional, regeneratively farmed buckwheat ingredients – was chosen to participate and paired with plant-based beverage producer New Barn as a mentor. The partnership sees BAM’s buckwheat platform combined with New Barn’s expertise in organic, regenerative food production and retail distribution. It aims to support BAM in expanding its buckwheat ingredients, making them more scalable across various F&B categories and helping to expand them into new formats. New Barn acquired BAM’s buckwheat milk recipes as part of the collaboration, and is now launching New Barn Organics Buckwheat Milk to market, powered by BAM’s shelf-stable Buckwheat Milk Powder innovation. “The CPG industry is competitive, and we saw a unique opportunity to be stronger together,” said Paige Hansen, founder and CEO of BAM the Brand. “Plant-based milk remains a core category, and Buckwheat Milk is a natural next step as consumers seek regenerative, delicious ways to diversify their diets.” “This partnership accelerates category growth and enables BAM to expand buckwheat into new formats.” The newly launched Buckwheat Milk is free from gluten, dairy, nuts, seed oils and GMO ingredients, and is Regenerative Organic Certified. It is available now at regional Whole Foods Markets stores across Southern Pacific, Northern California, Southwest, Rocky Mountain and Florida.

Neggst, a producer of plant-based egg alternatives based in Berlin, has announced its acquisition by fellow German plant-based brand Greenforce. Established in 2021 by co-founders Verónica García Arteaga and Patrick Deufel, Neggst’s has developed what it claims is the first whole plant-based egg platform – complete with ‘whites, yolk and shell’. The innovation is designed to closely mimic the taste, appearance and functionality of traditional eggs while made entirely from plant ingredients including pea protein, fava beans and sweet potatoes. In a statement on LinkedIn, García Arteaga confirmed that Neggst is now part of Greenforce, though specific financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. She indicated that she will leave the business under the deal, thanking the team and stating: “We chose the wiser route for the product”. Greenforce, headquartered in Munich, was founded in 2020 and produces a range of plant-based food products including meat, cheese and egg alternatives. It was acquired by international food group LiveKindly Collective in July, with Greenforce becoming part of LiveKindly’s plant-based portfolio among brands such as Fry’s Family Foods, Like, and Oumph!. LiveKindly, founded in 2020 by Roger Lienhard, has broadened its offering with several milestone acquisition and partnership announcements in recent years. The company, headquartered in New York, US, is expanding its presence across Europe, with its international footprint including manufacturing facilities in Sweden and the Netherlands. In August, LiveKindly snapped up meat and seafood manufacturer Hilton Foods’ dutch vegan and vegetarian business, Dalco Food, for £5.4 million. Mergers and acquisitions across the plant-based industry have become more frequent in recent years as the industry undergoes a period of consolidation following the pre-pandemic boom – a time when numerous new innovations and companies were entering the market with plant-based alternatives to meat, seafood and dairy, many of which have since faced challenges remaining profitable as the initial hype levelled out and the market became more crowded. In Germany, other recent notable acquisitions in the space include Bayou Best Foods’ acquisition of alt-seafood brand BettaF!sh, announced in July; Infinite Roots’ acquisition of fellow fungi-based food start-up Bosque Foods in June; and Müller’s purchase of German plant-based beverage producer Berief Foods in May. Top image: © Neggst

Glebe Farm Foods’ PureOaty beverage brand has announced the launch of a new Coconut Oat Drink innovation, alongside a refreshed identity for the wider line-up. Based in Cambridgeshire, UK, Glebe Farm Foods produces its PureOaty range with 100% British oats grown on a family farm, then milled and manufactured locally. The new Coconut Oat Drink combines British gluten-free oats with real coconut cream, creating what it describes as a ‘naturally creamy’ offering with a subtle coconut flavour. It is made with just four ingredients – water, oats, coconut cream and salt – and contains no gums, stabilisers, flavours or added sugars, catering to rising clean-label demand in the dairy-free beverage space. The new addition to the range aims to give consumers a ‘fresh, tropical twist’ on oat drinks, with Circana UK data showing that coconut is the second-largest plant-based alternative in the space, growing volume sales by 3% in the last 52 weeks. Oat leads the way at 4.8%. The drink can be served chilled, blended into smoothies and shakes, mixed into cocktails and mocktails, or added to coffee, aiming to provide a versatile choice for various everyday usage occasions. Philip Rayner, MD and co-founder of Glebe Farm Foods, said: “Today’s consumers want more from the food and drink they buy. They’re looking for products that deliver on taste, quality and nutrition, made with simple ingredients.” “Because we grow, mill and manufacture our oats ourselves, alongside working with trusted British growers, we know exactly what goes into every carton. That control is central to what we do and helps us deliver the quality and consistency our customers know and love.” The packaging refresh across the line reflects this focus on transparency and British provenance, featuring a new strapline: ‘Delicious oats. Made simply.’ PureOaty Coconut Oat Drink is now available via Amazon and the brand’s website, sold in cases of six for £12.30. The rest of the range is also available at additional locations including Morrisons retail stores and foodservice partners.

Agri-tech start-up AgroNetica has announced plans to advance toward commercial deployment of a transgene-free, gene-edited cacao with improved disease resistance, aiming to tackle one of the cocoa supply chain’s biggest challenges. AgroNetica is a US-based subsidiary of BetterSeeds, an agri-tech company headquartered in Israel. It was established based on BetterSeeds’ second-generation gene editing platform, adapting the technology to cacao specifically. According to the company, its gene-edited cacao has improved resistance to Phytophthora, the pathogen responsible for black pod disease. Its work builds on research conducted by scientists in Penn State University’s Department of Plant Science. In controlled disease assays, the transgene-free edited cacao plants reportedly showed approximately 42% less disease damage following Phytophthora infection. The edited trait was successfully transmitted to the next generation, paving the way for multiplication and commercial planting material, AgroNetica highlighted. Climate change and disease have put significant pressure on the chocolate industry. African cacao-producing countries, which account for more than 60% of the global cacao supply, expect a major production decline through 2027. Experts have cited the impact of the strengthening El Niño weather event, which occurs due to warming ocean temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific, as well as disease risk. With cocoa prices remaining well above pre-crisis levels, AgroNetica noted the chocolate industry’s need for cacao genetics capable of maintaining yields under harsher growing conditions. Ido Margalit, CEO of BetterSeeds and AgroNetica, said: “The cocoa industry does not only have a supply problem – it has a plant problem”. “Disease, heat and drought all begin at the farm. Our objective is to use gene editing to build cacao trees that can perform better under the conditions growers are facing today and will face in the years ahead.” BetterSeeds has already developed, patented and implemented its second-generation technologies and trait solutions in other crops. Relevant existing capabilities include heat and drought tolerance, improved yield and agronomic performance, accelerated maturation, plant architecture and synchronised pod formation for more efficient and mechanised harvesting. Additionally, ArgoNetica is planning more cacao-specific traits, including reduced heavy metal uptake and caffeine-free varieties. Conventional breeding can require decades to introduce and validate new traits, as cacao trees take years to mature. By combining an advanced disease-resistant cacao line with BetterSeeds’ technologies, AgroNetica believes it can substantially shorten the timeline. Field validation, multiplication and commercial development are the immediate focus, with commercial stages targeted during 2027. Notably, AgroNetica also aims for improved economics and ethics of cacao production – which is linked to sustainability and social responsibility challenges around deforestation and child labour. When disease, drought and heat reduce yields, farmers face less pressure to produce more from additional land. More productive and resilient cacao trees can help growers produce more from land already under cultivation and reduce the economic pressure to expand into new forests, the company noted. This is particularly relevant as the EU Deforestation Regulation begins applying to large and medium operators on 30 December 2026, with cocoa that enters the EU subject to deforestation-free requirements. Additionally, healthier trees, lower crop losses, stronger yields and more efficient harvesting can improve farm productivity and income. AgroNetica hopes this will contribute toward addressing some of the economic pressures that lead to the use of child labour in cacao-growing communities. In June 2026, the EU adopted a new framework for plants developed using new genomic techniques, such as gene editing. AgroNetica believes that evolving regulatory approaches in Europe and other markets will support gene-edited cacao in moving from research into real agricultural use. The company is pursuing collaborations and joint ventures with chocolate manufacturers, processors, growers and other stakeholders across the cacao value chain. Margalit commented: “The industry has made enormous progress in tracing and measuring the sustainability and ethical challenges around cacao. We believe the next step is to improve the plant itself - so growers can ethically produce more reliably, on existing land, with fewer losses and a stronger economic foundation.”

Swiss food-tech start-up Planted Foods has announced the launch of two new meat alternative innovations, made using its proprietary fermentation platform. The new mince-like Planted.Hack product brings the brand’s fermented Planted.Steak tech to what it describes as a ‘everyday kitchen all-rounder,’ suitable for use across classic mince meal favourites like bolognese, chilli sin carne and lasagne. © Planted Like the rest of the products in Planted’s range, the new Planted.Hack contains no artificial flavours or additives, addressing demand for clean-label options in the plant-based protein category. Planted.Hack comes in 320g four-portion packs, with each sharing pack containing 58g of protein. It launches at retailers Rewe, Edeka, Familia Nordost, V-Markt and Wasgau in Gemany, as well as at selected Coop stores in Switzerland, and Spar and Gurkerl in Austria. Meanwhile, in Switzerland only, the brand has introduced Planted.Filetstreifen Asia-Style – a steak strip-style format described as ‘juicy and tender’ with a sweet and savoury, teriyaki-inspired marinade. The strips are designed for convenience, suitable for dishes such as stir-fries, noodles and rice bowls, and ready within minutes. © Planted The Asia-Style strips are launching in selected Swiss Coop stores. Top image: © Planted

Belgian precision fermentation start-up Those Vegan Cowboys has secured over €1.2m in subsidy through the EU-backed OPZuid programme, together with partners Interfood, HAS Green Academy and XXL Nutrition, aiming to accelerate animal-free casein in sports nutrition applications. The project brings together protein production, nutritional research and consumer insight, aiming to pave the way for new protein-rich products in the active nutrition market. The subsidy comes from the European Regional Development Fund, the Dutch government and the province of North Brabant, via the OPZuid programme. Together with the partners’ own contributions, the total budget comes to approximately €2.58 million. The partners are working on the production and application of precision-fermented casein, studying how it behaves in food products and developing prototypes for the spots nutrition industry. Consumer research will also be carried out, exploring what consumers expect from these products and which applications are most promising. Those Vegan Cowboys is contributing its casein production and scale-up capabilities, while Interfood brings knowledge of dairy proteins and product development, and insights from international nutrition markets. HAS Green Academy contributes practice-based research and knowledge sharing, and XXL Nutrition brings sports nutrition expertise and direct consumer insight. Casein is a protein naturally found in milk and widely used in food applications. Those Vegan Cowboys’ precision fermentation platform enables the high-quality protein to be produced using microorganisms, eliminating the need for animal input. According to Those Vegan Cowboys, its microbes can produce casein five times more efficiently than a traditional dairy cow. It uses its stainless steel ‘cow’ fermenter to produce the ingredient for 24 hours a day, year-round. Hille Van der Kaa, CEO of Those Vegan Cowboys, said: “The next step is translating that protein into products people actually want to use: nutritious, tasty and affordable”. She added: “In this consortium we're bringing together the knowledge to take that step. In doing so, we're also building a new source of protein for a world where food security matters more every day." The project comes as the traditional dairy protein market faces supply chain shortages and surging ingredient prices, driven by the sharp increase in demand for high-protein food and beverage products aligning with global functionality and wellness trends. “Global demand for protein is growing faster than supply,” commented Wouter Berendsen, global F&B director at Interfood. “That's why we're proud to be part of this consortium, which is working on the capabilities that will be needed in the future. From our R&D department, we're looking forward to connecting market insights with science.” The initiative – named ‘Pioneer, Pilot, Powerhouse - Brabant Breaking New Ground in Precision Fermentation’ – strengthens collaboration between companies and researchers in North Brabant. This includes a proving ground at Interfood, where the partners will combine their knowledge of precision fermentation and product development. Precision fermentation, a process that closely resembles beer brewing, has been used in the food industry for decades – most rennet used in cheese sold across supermarkets is already microbially-derived. However, its use to create animal-free casein and whey for food and beverage product applications has become a promising area of focus for the alternative protein industry in recent years, responding to demand for a more diversified protein supply, high-value nutrition ingredients, and ingredients that are independent of animal agriculture – addressing consumer concerns around environmental sustainability and animal welfare. Top image: © Those Vegan Cowboys