Foodiq has developed a new ingredient that “unlocks the potential of fermented fava beans”. The Finnish company says that Fabea+ contains high levels of protein and fibre, while the use of fermentation helps create a neutral taste profile. Available as a powder and as a block, the fava bean ingredient can be used to make products such as meat substitutes, baked goods, dairy alternatives and pasta. In addition, it is said to be highly malleable and “can take any shape…desired”. “We turned fermented fava beans into a Nordic magic powder able to upgrade your product to the next level, whether it’s dairy, grain or meat,” said Pasi Raito, chief business officer at Foodiq. “Thanks to our unique, industrial-scale manufacturing process, combined with natural fermentation, Fabea+ has a neutral taste and no odour. It is vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO and suitable for [the] FODMAP diet.” #favabean #fermentation #Finland #Foodiq

Misfits Health is expanding its portfolio with the addition of a new plant-based protein bar to mark Veganuary. The Chocolate Cookie Dough bar features notes of vanilla and high-protein choc crispies. The soft and ‘squidgy’ offering is low in sugar and certified vegan. Launching this January, the new variety joins other chocolate-coated bars, including Choc Caramel and Choc Speculoos, as part of Misfits’ portfolio. The brand’s co-founder and CEO, Henry Sether, commented: “I couldn’t be more excited about launching Chocolate Cookie Dough this January. We have applied all our customer feedback and learnings into this product, perfecting the texture…alongside the indulgent flavour profile, to deliver the experience of eating chocolate cookie dough.” #MisfitsHealth #proteinbars #UK

Plant-based beverage maker Good Karma Foods has announced the appointment of Mike Murray as CEO and a new round of funding. Murray joins Good Karma with more than 25 years of CPG experience, which includes his most recent role as CEO of grass-fed beef company, Teton Waters Ranch. He has also held senior-level posts at Free2b Foods, So Delicious Dairy Free and Lärabar. “I am looking forward to leveraging my experience and passion for galvanising food system change to help the team bring Good Karma’s portfolio of delicious and sustainable plant-based solutions to more households,” said Murray. “Our team has a compelling opportunity to build upon the strong equity of Good Karma to deliver a variety of solutions that help people do good every single day with their consumption choices.” Good Karma has also announced that it will close on a new funding round in the “near future,” led by Valor Siren Ventures – which first invested in the brand in 2020 – and Loft Growth Partners. The raise comes as the company looks to expand distribution and increase consumer awareness. Brian King, chairman of the Good Karma board, said: “As our investors renew their partnership with Good Karma and Mike joins the team, we are all looking forward to the brand realising its leadership position in a variety of growing plant-based categories”. #GoodKarmaFoods #milkalternatives #US

Future Food Group-owned brand Plnt has introduced three new vegan products to its plant-based meat and fish portfolio. © FFG The offerings include: chicken nuggets, chicken tenders and salmon fillet. Plnt’s chicken nuggets, tenders and salmon fillet will be available for food service and retailers. “We enter a new phase,” said Marleen Kolijn, senior brand manager at Plnt. “Consumers in many countries agree that we need to eat less meat and fish because of the environment and personal health and demand meat and fish successors to adhere to those standards.” She added: “Our new products are 100% plant-based, and our new Salmon fillet is completely allergen-free. We source our ingredients as close to home as possible, with wheat from Denmark and the Netherlands, and soy from Austria, which are just two examples. It’s our mission to develop products that are identical to the original in taste and mouthfeel. This is a conscious choice, because we focus on (future) flexitarians that want to eat less meat but don’t want to make any concessions.” “They are perfect to use in meals, as snacks, but can also be meal components in salads or wraps. The possibilities are endless.” #FutureFoodGroup #Plnt

Harvest B has opened an ingredient facility that will supply meat alternative manufacturers with plant-based proteins from Australian-grown grains. Located in Sydney, the facility will initially produce up to 1,000 metric tonnes of product. Supplied to food brands, manufacturers and foodservice providers, the proteins will be used to make items such as sausages, patties and mince, as well as the company’s own whole meat products. Through the local manufacturing capability, Harvest B hopes to displace imported plant protein while growing exports. The company says that the facility will add value to locally grown grains, while generating high-skilled local jobs. “When investigating the plant-based protein market, it became apparent that there was not a single large-scale ingredient brand supplying high-quality, locally made plant proteins to Australian food manufacturers,” said Harvest B co-founder and CCO, Alfred Lo. “Now food manufacturers have the option to source locally developed products leveraging local inputs rather than resorting to international suppliers.” Harvest B co-founder and CEO, Kristi Riordan, added: “It made absolutely no sense that high-quality, Australian-grown produce is shipped offshore to be processed only for us to buy it back at higher costs as finished consumer products. It became quickly evident to Harvest B that there was a significant opportunity for this value add to be done in Australia, creating local jobs and greater export opportunities.” With backing from the federal government’s Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and industry partners, including Woolworths’ venture fund (W23), Harvest B intends to initially develop ten different product lines. #Australia #HarvestB #plantbasedprotein

Pieminister has launched Classic Gravy cartons, a gluten-free and plant-based gravy that is rich, full-bodied and ready to heat and serve. According to Pieminister, the gravy has a deep flavour and velvety consistency. It comes in 250ml two-serving recyclable cartons. Tristan Hogg, Pieminister’s co-founder and managing director, said: “We’ve been serving our own recipe gravy in our restaurants since 2003 and now we’re bringing it to your homes. Delicious poured liberally over our pies, we’re also discovering from our customers that the ‘goes-with-gravy’ list is endless…We also know that differing opinions on the correct consistency can stir up a lot of emotion, which is why our website offers suggestions of how to personalise your pour.” The new gravy cartons are available in select Waitrose stores and online at Ocado, for an RRP of £2.25 per 250ml.

Barilla has agreed to acquire the Back to Nature snack brand from B&G Foods, as it looks to strengthen its position in the North American bakery market. In November, B&G Foods announced that it was seeking to sell the brand, which it said was “no longer core to the company’s overall business or long-term strategy”. Back to Nature offers a range of snacks, granolas and trail mixes. With the exception of honey, the company says that it avoids any ingredients sourced from animals. Barilla says that the deal supports its aim to build a strong multi-brand bakery platform in the US. Chairman Guido Barilla commented: “At Barilla, we aspire to build a long-term and significant presence in the US baking industry, and this operation reminds me of when we first started our journey with pasta over 25 years ago and we are now the market leader. The acquisition of Back to Nature is a key step for this exciting journey. “We focus all our business activities and products on health and indulgence and hence Back to Nature was a natural choice. We are excited to see how our efforts will evolve in the future.” Casey Keller, president and CEO of B&G Foods, added: “The divestiture will…allow us to reduce long-term debt, while providing Barilla America with a great brand”. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. #BampGFoods #BacktoNatureFoods #Barilla #US

Plant-based meat brand, This, has launched a streaky bacon-alternative, made using the brand’s Fat 2.0 innovation. The high protein and low-fat streaky bacon alternative is said to be more “hyper-realistic” in taste, texture and appearance, than the brand’s existing bacon. The streaky bacon has three patent applications, combining the brand’s plant-based fat, Fat 2.0, made with olive oil, with its pea- and soy-protein-based meat, resulting in a smoky, meaty bacon alternative. Fat 2.0 has the ability to hold its shape and remain succulent when faced with high heat, and like animal fat, it can even turn crispy and brown. It has 89% less saturated fat than animal fat, resulting in the streaky bacon having only 17 calories per rasher, providing a good source of fibre fortified with vitamin B12 and iron. Andy Shovel, co-founder of This, said: “It’s taken two years of cutting-edge research and development to launch this. Not to mention the 1000s of taste tests […] We couldn’t be happier with where we’ve landed. Our new streaky rashers can easily trick a meat-eater into thinking they’re pork bacon. They’re awesome.” The streaky bacon rashers will be available to buy in retailers nationwide from January 2023. #plantbasedbacon #This #UK

Strong Roots has expanded its frozen plant-based foods portfolio with the launch of a new range of single-serve entrées. The range of “Good Made Easy” entrées includes 14 flavours: Thai green veg curry, Greek orzo pasta bake, veggie masala, chickpea and red lentil saag, spinach and white bean tomato broth, black dahl, basil and spinach pomodoro, creamy cauliflower fusilli, white bean and lentil goulash, root vegetable casserole, baked bean and red lentil bowl, creamy mac, chipotle mac, cauliflower cheese casserole. Each entrée contains under 450 calories and has up to 24g of protein, as well as 0g of trans fat and less than 350mg of sodium per 100g. The meals are also low in saturated fat and sugar and high in fibre. Samuel Dennigan, CEO and founder of Strong Roots, said: “Single-serve meals have had a bad rap, but we’re reinventing their potential with our ‘Good Made Easy’ entrées. Consumers demand convenience to fit with their drastically changing lifestyles but still want foods that are healthy and balanced. So we’ve done all the hard work for them.” Dennigan added: “We’re solving for the salt-packed, nutrient-lacking, ultra-processed frozen entrées currently plaguing the freezer aisle. There’s a huge gap in the market for nutrient-focused frozen meals. We’ve used the best quality ingredients, and with profiles like our Thai green veg curry and Greek orzo pasta bake, these meals are comforting while still being better for you.” The entrées will be available online at Strong Roots’ website and in US Whole Foods stores from January 2023, with more retailers to follow in the first quarter of 2023. #StrongRoots #US

Bunge has announced plans to invest around $550 million to build a soy protein concentrate (SPC) facility in Indiana, US. The facility, which will be adjacent to and integrated with the company’s soybean processing plant in Morristown, is expected to be commissioned in mid-2025, creating around 70 full-time jobs. “As the world’s largest oilseed processor, plant proteins are a natural extension of our industry-leading oils, fats and speciality ingredient portfolio,” said Bunge CEO, Greg Heckman. “This new facility is an important step in our long-term strategy to strengthen our capabilities in downstream higher-value food ingredients.” With construction set to begin next year, the Morristown facility is expected to ultimately process an additional around 4.5 million bushels of soybeans, producing SPC and textured SPC for markets such as plant-based foods and processed meat. Bunge also recently invested $10 million to enhance its plant protein technical capabilities at its Creative Solutions Center near its St. Louis headquarters, and the site now offers commercial pilot plants for meat and dairy alternatives. “Creating authentic meat and dairy experiences from plants requires specialised teams, high-quality ingredients and strong innovation capabilities,” said Kaleb Belzer, vice president and general manager, protein ingredients. “At Bunge’s plant protein R&D facility, our experienced scientists and technical team test, develop, enhance and modify products alongside our customers so they can deliver food products with exceptional sensory, nutrition and sustainability benefits to consumers around the world.” #Bunge #plantprotein #US

Danone-owned brand Alpro has launched a new line of Barista plant-based organic milk into UK coffee chain Pret A Manger. The range, which includes oat, soya and rice-coconut, has been developed to give baristas “optimum performance in coffee and hot drinks”. Lois Beswick, brand manager at Alpro said: “Plant-based drinks are bought and enjoyed by almost half (48%) of UK households, and 20% are opting for more plant-based coffees out of home than last year”. She continued: “We’re thrilled to be supporting Pret to meet the ever-increasing demand for plant-based, helping even more customers to enjoy the delicious benefits of plant-based.” #Alpro #Danone #UK

Oatbox has announced a CAD 7.1 million (approx. $5.2 million) financing round to finalise the construction of its oat base manufacturing facility. Financial partners included Desjardins Group, the government of Quebec through Investissement Québec, and Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. Located in St-Damase, the plant will support Oatbox in developing a wide range of plant-based oat products, such as beverages, as well as allow it to partner with companies requiring oat base for their operations. Marc-Antoine Bovet, co-founder and president of Oatbox, commented: “This funding is a strong endorsement of our business plan and will allow us to have excess production capacity in order to sell oat base to other food processors in Eastern Canada or the Northeastern part of the US”. “There is a shortage of quality oat base on the market. However, it is a perishable product. Both food processors and consumers will benefit from a fresher product, as it is processed locally and transported over shorter distances.” Oatbox says that it has been working on the development of its Canadian oat milk for the last two years. In this new financing round, Desjardins, which has been supporting Oatbox for several years, has provided capital for production equipment as well as an operating credit to the company. Jean-Yves Bourgeois, executive vice president of business services at Desjardins Group, said: “With this new product, Oatbox meets a need in a booming industry, where supply is struggling to meet demand. Consumers and processors can now count on a new, high-quality, local source of supply.” Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy for the Metropolis and the Montréal Region, said: “This new plant will allow Oatbox to achieve two important goals for our government: innovate through product development and increase our exports. The market for oat-based products is growing, and Oatbox stands out.” #Canada #Oatmilk #Oatbox