MingsBings and Just Egg has launched four new plant-based breakfast Bing Pockets. Chef Ming Tsai and Just Egg, a US egg brand made entirely of plants, announced the launch of four new plant-based breakfast bings from Chef Tsai’s frozen food line. The MingsBings food line aims to help make the first meal of the day more convenient. The breakfast bings represent the brand’s first entry into the breakfast category. Each flavour features Just Egg alongside other plant-based ingredients to create breakfast offerings that are vegan and made without gluten or nuts. The four gluten-free flavours include: Plant-Based Egg and Cheese, Plant-Based Sausage, Egg and Cheese, Plant-Based Chorizo, Egg and Cheese and Plant-Based Veggie, Egg & Cheese. MingsBings Breakfast Bings will be available online for $74.99 (12-pack) and $119.99 (24-pack) and will be rolling out in US stores for $6.99 MSRP (2-pack). #plantbasedegg #US #plantbasedbreakfast #JustEgg #MingsBings

Beyond Meat and Don Lee Farms remain in a legal battle five years after a contract lawsuit was filed against Beyond Meat (Savage River). In the lawsuit, Don Lee Farms filed complaints for the following: breach of contract, unfair competition under the California business and professions code, money owed and due, declaratory relief, and injunctive relief. A new federal lawsuit was filed in June against Beyond Meat and its CEO, Ethan Brown, alleging “false advertising and unfair competition”. The suit, filed in the Central District of California on behalf of Don Lee Farms, claimed that “Beyond Meat overstates the protein value of its products by up to 30% and has falsely represented that its products are free from ‘synthetic’ ingredients”. The jury trial continued on Tuesday where the motions in limine were heard and argued, according to a court filing. Don Lee Farms was previously a supplier of Beyond Burger and Beyond Meat products. In a 10-K SEC filing from May 2022, Beyond Meat stated: “If Don Lee Farms succeeds in the lawsuit, the company could be required to pay damages, including but not limited to contract damages reasonably calculated at what the company would have paid Don Lee Farms to produce the company’s products through 2019, the end of the contract term.” LA county superior court documents showed that another hearing will take place today. FoodBev has contacted Don Lee Farms for comment. #BeyondMeat #DonLeeFarms

Israel’s Redefine Meat has launched an array of new plant-based meat products while also announcing its new partnership with importer Giraudi Meats. The partnership is set to drive the European distribution of Redefine Meat’s plant-based meats. The company launched five new products today, including: Redefine Tenderloin and Redefine Striploin premium cuts and an entirely new category of Pulled Meat in beef, lamb and pork varieties. The collaboration with Giraudi Meats, an importer of high-end meats, marks a milestone for both companies and is indicative of the meat-like quality of Redefine Meat’s products. “Having such a prestige meat importer as Giraudi Meats – working with the best chefs and butchers all over Europe – integrate our New-Meat into its portfolio of exclusive high-end meat alongside the likes of Angus and Kobe beef, exemplifies why New-Meat is defining a new category of high-end product in the meat industry,” said Eshchar Ben-Shitrit, CEO and co-founder of Redefine Meat. Giraudi Meats operates in over 30 countries and comprises over 300 meat distributors and wholesalers. Its expansive network will facilitate the rapid expansion of Redfine’s New-Meat across Europe. Riccardo Giraudi, CEO of Giraudi Group, said: “We’re seeing fast-growing demand for more flexitarian products to satisfy the needs of meat lovers. We’ve been searching for a high-quality meat alternative to add to our high-end meat portfolio to address this growing market, and I have to say that New-Meat is in a category of its own. Redefine Meat’s new 3D printed Redefine Tenderloin. He continued: “We believe that with this level of quality, combined with the product versatility across beef, lamb and pork, will enable us to drive significant new revenue streams in the high-end meat market.” Redefine Meat uses a mix of pea protein, soy, beetroot, chickpeas and coconut fat to make its meat replicas. The New-Meat portfolio is made using the company’s additive manufacturing technology, accurately delivering the texture and characteristics of a beef steak. Redefine Meat’s Pulled Meat range has been created with chefs and fulfils an unaddressed market need from chefs for high-quality plant-based pulled meats. The Pulled Meat range is said to deliver the full sensory experience of the animal-based equivalent with clear culinary advantages. The need for slow cooking is abolished, reducing cooking time from hours to minutes, and slashing associated energy costs and resources. “By combining a true love of meat with breakthrough technologies including additive manufacturing, AI and machine learning, Redefine Meat has achieved a level of product quality comparable to animal meat,” added Ben-Shitrit. #GiraudiMeats #Europe #RedefineMeat #Israel #Pulledmeat

Blackbird Foods, a plant-based start-up and producer of local frozen pizzas and plant protein products, has launched a new line of Wings. Blackbird Wings resemble the look and taste of traditional wings with their crispy outside and tender inside. The Wings are made from seitan, a wheat-based protein. Blackbird’s method of producing seitan results in protein with a tender and meaty texture. After hand-battering and coating each one in sauce, Blackbird’s Wings look similar to traditional wings. Each bag comes with 10 ounces of frozen Wings and a sauce packet. Consumers can bake the Wings in an oven or air fryer until they are crispy and then coat them in the sauce provided. As with all of Blackbird’s products, the wings are plant-based, vegan, non-GMO, kosher, and cholesterol free. #BlackbirdFoods #plantbasedwings #US

United Soybean Board (USB) has awarded a $1.1 million grant to Purdue University Food Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing Institute (FEMI), in partnership with the Universities of Arkansas and Missouri. The award is for a joint project that aims to build infrastructure and connectivity for small and medium-scale processing of soy-based value-added products. The project was co-founded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a federal organisation that supports research activities focused on addressing key agriculture problems, including plant health and production, agricultural economics and rural communities, and food security. Dharmendra Mishra, associate professor and director of FEMI, will lead the project that was born out of a national discussion on the soybean value chain. The project began on 1 October with a planned one-year time frame. It will focus on phenotyping for compositional traits in novel value-added applications, conduct trials to eliminate pressure on small to medium-scale industry sectors and carry out final product quality and sensory evaluations. “Soybeans currently produce the highest protein yields per unit area compared to all other plant-based sources. The major challenge is that quality issues with flavour and functionality have impacted the utilisation of currently available soybean protein products for food,” said Mishra. He continued: “There was a critical need to help the soybean farmers and soy processors. Our project proposes to solve the bottleneck of small- and medium-scale processing and facilitate the scale-up of identity preserved systems through our multistate team.” Purdue team member, Senay Simsek, added: “Soy-based products have continued to grow over the past years and are expecting continued growth into the future. With this grant, Purdue Food Science will be a hub for research, development and education that will make connections and bridge the gaps between growers, breeders, researchers, students, the food industry and consumers.”

Quorn’s latest addition to its vegan takeaway range, the new Spicy Buffalo Fillet, is high in protein and low in saturated fat. The fillets are made with Quorn’s mycoprotein and encased in a spicy, crunchy coating with smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, onion and garlic. The fillets are designed to be built up with toppings to create a ‘fakeaway’ burger. Gill Riley, marketing director at Quorn Foods UK, said: “Crispy coated meat-free chicken is becoming increasingly popular both in retail and out of home, with the trend for messy burgers seeing a big uplift across all sectors.” The Quorn takeaway range launched earlier this year and is aimed at shoppers looking for a quick treat they can have at home, offering a relaxed meal that caters for everyone and is better for the planet. “As concerns around the cost of living increase, more shoppers are turning to the at-home ‘’fakeaway’’, looking for a quick and tasty solution that also saves some money. We’re committed to providing products with the tastiest flavour combinations and an exceptional meat-like texture, that help shoppers easily transition into more meat-free eating.” added Riley. The fillets come in packs of 2 and will be available in Tesco stores from November. #QuornFoods #UK

Plant-based ready meal company, The Brook, is set to close following a “challenging” six months. The announcement was made via social media by CEO Thea Brook. The Brook was founded by Thea and Andy Brook in 2013 and over the years it developed from an arts café, into a plant-based restaurant and then into a meal delivery company. When the pandemic forced The Brook restaurants to close their doors in 2020, the founders began working on ideas to reach people at home with their innovative dishes. The meals were stocked in co-op stores until, determined to reach more people, the founders launched home delivery in 2021, delivering the five-minute meals and menu ideas direct to customers’ doors. In a statement on LinkedIn, Thea said: “Over the past 2.5 years, we have battled hard through one economic crisis after another. Over the past 6 months, the market has become more than ‘challenging’. We have seen many of our fresh ingredients double in price, our transport costs almost triple and our energy bills more than quadruple.” She added: “Together we achieved so much in such a critical area of development. We changed thousands of minds about what it meant to eat a plant-based diet. And we challenged the bigger companies to do better in this space. These impacts will live on and continue to positively impact the planet, long after we close our doors.” The company had an acquisition set in motion but when the buyer pulled out last minute, The Brook was forced to stop trading. #Plantbasedreadymeal #TheBrook #UK

Spanish sauce producer Musa has launched a new vegan mayonnaise in a top-down PET format. The new mayonnaise is gluten- and preservative-free and contains 0% of animal-origin ingredients. Musa says the product is developed to reach a larger number of consumers, including consumers who are egg- or lactose-intolerant, as well as vegans and flexitarians. The company said: “This product meets the expectations and demand of a large part of vegans, vegetarians and “flexitarians”, who seek authentic and homemade flavours for their dishes”. #Musa #Spain

Plant-powered chocolate brand, Buttermilk has released two new festive products specifically for the Christmas season. The family-run, plant-based business, with 60 years of confectionary expertise, is launching Orange Choccy Segments and Choccy Truffles with Spiced Caramel Speculoos flavour. Powered by plants, the knock-out bite-size slices of thick, dairy-free milk chocolate, with zingy citrus flavour are here to bring a new creation of what chocolate orange should be about. Buttermilk Choccy Truffles with Spiced Caramel are created with dairy-free chocolate and a plant-based shell. Buttermilk founder Tracy McDonnell-Goad commented: “We believe that everyone should be able to enjoy exceptional tasting treats, without compromising on taste, quality or value. Our consumers tell us, they want delicious choccy treats that just so happen to be dairy-free, plant-based and made with no nasties.” McDonnell-Goad added: “For an easy way to help look after our planet, swapping your treats for plant-powered choccies is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Better for you, better for the planet. And of course, deliciously indulgent treats.” Both of Buttermilk’s new offerings are plant-powered, vegan, dairy free, gluten free and palm oil free. Buttermilk Orange choccy segments is available in the UK at an RSP of £3 for 100g. #Buttermilk #chocolate #plantbased #snackbar

Plant-based dessert brand Bon Dévil has announced the appointment of Adam Lowry as its new executive chairman. Lowry has extensive experience in the plant-based food industry, most recently as co-founder of dairy alternatives company Ripple Foods. He said: “I am looking forward to leveraging my experience in building businesses that offer all-natural, comprehensive solutions for consumers. Bon Dévil follows this trend by offering a product that allows consumers to achieve dietary balance and not feel deprived of the joys in life.” Bon Dévil, the brand formerly known as The Coconut Collaborative in the US, offers dairy-, gluten- and lactose-free ganache desserts made from coconuts. “Bon Dévil is an impressive brand in the plant-based food category with a great trajectory for growth,” added Lowry. “My interest in building businesses with sustainability principles while generating strong shareholder returns meshes perfectly with Bon Dévil’s mission.” #BonDévil #RippleFoods

Pangea Natural Foods has announced the launch of plant-based chicken nuggets made with three types of pea protein. The company’s natural Chikken Nuggets are free of GMO and bioengineered ingredients, antibiotics, hormones and fillers. Pangea CEO, Pratap Sandhu, said: “We are excited to launch another plant-based product given the immense growth that the sector is experiencing globally. The Pangea Chikken Nuggets are the perfect meat alternative because they taste great, they are healthy, and are packed with iron, and calcium. Plus, each nugget has 21 grams of protein.” The pea protein chicken nuggets are the latest addition to Pangea’s portfolio of natural and healthy foods that are sustainably sourced. Pangea products are available on the company’s website and in over 250 national retail food stores across Canada and the US. #PangeaNaturalFoods #peaprotein #plantbasedchicken

Good Planet Foods has announced the launch of new plant-based snack packs, which were created for on-the-go occasions. Good Planet Foods’ snack packs feature two flavours: smoked gouda with dried cranberries and almonds and cheddar with dried cranberries and cashews. Good Planet Foods co-CEO Bart Adlam said: “As the demand for plant-based cheese continues to grow, consumers have been vocal about not having enough quality options. At Good Planet Foods, we are constantly looking for ways to bring the joy of cheese to more consumers who are looking for ways to eat more plant-based foods.” He continued: “With snacking continuing to grow quickly in the US, our new snack packs are a delicious, healthy and satiating alternative. We are committed to growing the plant-based cheese segment and confident that this innovation will bring new consumers and eating occasions to the segment.” The snack packs will be available for an SRP of $1.99 at grocery stores nationwide from this month. #GoodPlanetFoods #US