Californian plant-based meat company Impossible Foods has raised approximately $500 million in its recent funding round, led by existing investor Mirae Asset Global Investments. The round also included previous investors such as Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures, UBS, Viking Global Investors, Temasek, Sailing Capital, Coatue and Open Philanthropy Project. The company has now raised close to $2 billion since its inception, which includes a $200 million round in August last year, led by Coatue. The Impossible Food brand portfolio consists of animal-free meat alternatives, including burgers, ground sausages, chicken nuggets, pork and meatballs. David Borecky, Impossible Foods’ chief financial officer, said: “We’re fortunate to have great investors who believe in our long-term mission. The latest round of funding allows us to further accelerate our product innovation and global expansion efforts as we continue to leverage the power of the food system to satisfy consumers and fight climate change.” Impossible Foods plans to use the investment to support its continued growth in retail and across its supply chain, product portfolio, technology platforms and international expansion plans. You may also like to read: Impossible Foods’ meat alternative enters Asian retail market Home Chef partners with Impossible Foods to offer plant-based meals Impossible Foods receives $500m in Series F funding round #ImpossibleFoods #US

Oatly is expanding its US offering with the introduction of non-dairy frozen dessert bars, featuring a chocolatey coating. The new dessert bars will be available in four flavours, including: vanilla, chocolate fudge, salted caramel and strawberry swirl. “Our new non-dairy frozen dessert bars are fantastic, and I can’t wait for people to try them,” said Mike Messersmith, president, Oatly North America. “We’re proving that oat milk is not just for coffee, cereal or cooking, but can also be the foundation for great-tasting treats to be enjoyed during celebration moments or when a pick-me-up reward is needed. We are so proud of this product and are very excited to bring it to many frozen aisles across the country soon.” Oatly non-dairy frozen dessert bars will be available at national and regional grocers, including Target, Wegmans, Schnucks and Harris Teeter. Sold in three-count packs, with an SRP of $5.99, the bars will begin rolling out in the US next month. #Oatly #US

Ice cream and sorbet producer New Forest Ice Cream has added a new flavour to its vegan ice cream portfolio: Vegan Raspberry Ripple. The 120ml tub features a “scarlet red” raspberry ripple, dairy-free vanilla ice cream and a fruity flavour. The offering is free from dairy, gluten and egg. New Forest’s director, Christina Veal, said: “All our vegan recipes have been carefully developed so the flavour, texture and ingredients are spot on. We already know how popular these flavours are in our dairy range and we are confident that they really shine through with these new recipes too.” #icecream #NewForestIceCream #vegan

US plant-based meat company Sundial Foods has raised $4 million in a seed funding round for its whole-cut vegan chicken wings. The Californian firm will use the funding to expand its team and initiate production at the Rutgers Food Innovation Center in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The seed funding round included participation from Nestlé, Food Labs, Clear Current Capital, SOSV/IndieBio and others. According to Sundial, its chicken wings contain more fibre, less saturated fat and around the amount of protein as chicken. Sundial is using proprietary technology to make vegan meats that contain no artificial flavours or synthetic chemicals. The company’s technology enables the simulation of whole-cut products that mimic the taste and texture of traditional meat. “Our goal is to make meats that replace the butcher, so our product can be enjoyed as a centre-of-plate experience,” said Sundial’s co-founder, Jessica Schwabach. “We want to give consumers – whether vegetarian, vegan, flexitarian or meat-eating – a plant-based meat-eating experience that’s interesting, craveable and versatile.” Sundial’s vegan chicken wings are expected to be released in the US in spring 2022. #funding #plantbased #SundialFoods

Livekindly Collective brand, LikeMeat, has released its new plant-based chicken alternative, Like Chick’n Wings, to add to its portfolio. The ‘chicken wings’ feature a crispy coating and a meaty texture. Each pack includes a pouch of vegan buffalo sauce to dip. Emily Klooster, vice president of marketing for LikeMeat, commented: “Like Chick’n Wings are delicious, gameday-worthy, plant-based wings that everyone at the party can enjoy. This launch is iconic, not just for LikeMeat, but for the whole category. We’re the only brand making plant-based wings with a taste and texture guaranteed to leave even the biggest meat-loving sports fan craving more.” The new chicken alternative is gluten-free, certified plant-based and made with non-GMO ingredients. The release is available in a family-sized pack for $16.99 in the US in the freezer aisle at Sprouts. They will also be available in additional pack sizes in January 2022 at major retailers nationwide. #LikeMeat #LivekindlyCollective #US

Oatly has announced the opening of its first manufacturing facility in China, as it looks to expand its production capacity in Asia. Located in Ma’anshan, Anhui province, the facility has the potential to produce an estimated 150 million litres of oat-based products annually at full capacity. The opening comes just a few months after Oatly – which claims to have established a new Chinese character for ‘plant-based milk’ – inaugurated its first Asian factory in Singapore. “Oatly has grown to be the leader of the plant-based milk category in China and around the world, enabling people to switch from cow’s dairy to oat drink,” said Oatly CEO, Toni Petersson. “To meet the demand and to be a leader in the shift to a more plant-based future, Oatly expects to continue to grow and expand our production capacity with factories closer to our consumers.” He added: “We are confident in the continued growth of the Chinese market and that the new Chinese factory will accelerate our mission to drive a societal shift towards a plant-based food system for the benefit of people and the planet”. David Zhang, Asia president of Oatly, said: “Following the debut of our first factory in Asia, in Singapore this July, the opening of the first factory in China provides more capacity for Oatly in Asia, supporting the global expansion and meeting the increasing market demand”. “With the opening of this new factory, we are extending the world-class oat drink production process from Sweden to China, making plant-based diets accessible to more people to address the climate challenges that mankind faces.” #China #Oatly #plantbasedmilk

Dairy-free chocolate brand Dirty Cow has released a flavoured plant-based cream liqueur to appeal to its vegan alcohol consumers. Caramel Bombshell Cre*m Liqueur consists of flavours French caramel and wild vanilla. The new beverage is 100% vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free and comes in fully recyclable packaging. The liqueur has an ABV of 15% ABV per 70cl. It is available from 1 December on the Dirty Cow website and in selected UK retailers. #DirtyCow #UK

Roquette has opened what it claims is the world’s largest pea protein plant, to serve growing global demand for alternative proteins. With capacity to process 125,000 tons of yellow peas each year, the new 200,000-square-foot plant in Manitoba, Canada, marks Roquette’s biggest North American investment to date. Roquette works with food companies to develop new plant-based products and solutions, and is aiming to help meet ‘surging’ global demand for alternative proteins with its new facility. The company’s Nutralys pea protein can be used to make a range of food products, including meat alternatives, nutrition bars, and plant-based biscuits and beverages. The new pea protein plant is situated in Portage la Prairie, just outside Winnipeg, in a region the company says “produces more peas than any other in the world”. Roquette – which also has a pea protein plant in France – now has capacity to process 250,000 tons of peas every year. “We see this as a transformational event in our history and a boost to the global plant-based food sector,” said Pierre Courduroux, CEO of Roquette. “Diets have changed considerably in recent years, and the desire for alternative proteins continues to grow. Our company is proud to bring this amazing new facility online to serve demand in North America and around the world.” Jeremy Burks, senior vice president of plant proteins at Roquette, added: “The pandemic has led to stronger consumer demand for plant-based proteins while also disrupting global supply chains. This plant will help our customers move forward rapidly on product development.” #Canada #Roquette

Danone is planning to convert its Villecomtal-sur-Arros dairy plant in France into a plant-based production site. This is in an effort to seize growth opportunities in plant-based products and meet new consumer expectations. The dairy giant has announced it will invest €43 million to convert the facility in southern France into a plant-based site for its Alpro brand that will supply the French and European markets. François Eyraud, managing director of Danone fresh products France, said: “We are observing the enthusiasm of consumers for vegetable recipes, which constitutes a simple solution for those who wish to adopt a more varied and diverse diet. More than ever, we believe in vegetable and dairy offers.” He continued: “This project would allow Villecomtal-sur-Arros to support a growing market by becoming a benchmark site in Europe for the production of vegetable drinks mainly based on oats”. The factory will be converted in the autumn of 2022 and will begin to produce its first Alpro-branded drinks from the second quarter of 2023. Danone also plans to invest €24 million in its sites in Bailleul (Hauts De France), Paysde Bray (Normandy) and Saint-Just-Chaleyssin (Auvergne Rhône-Alpes). Earlier this year, Danone launched Alpro drinks production at its Labinsk plant in the south of Russia. #Alpro #Danone #France

British plant-based chocolate brand Raw Chocolate Company has released spiced chocolate almonds in time for the festive season. The new launch is made with 100% organic ingredients and is gluten-free, palm-oil free and refined sugar-free. The chocolate almonds are sweetened with coconut blossom sugar and 66% cacao butter and are prepared with festive mixed spices including cinnamon, clove, allspice and nutmeg. The product is available in the UK on the Raw Chocolate Company website for an RRP of £9.95. #RawChocolateCompany #UK

Israeli 3D-printed meat alternative company Redefine Meat has launched plant-based lamb and beef whole cuts, which the company says are comparable to high-quality animal meat. The whole cuts, launched under the company’s New-Meat range, will first become available in high-end restaurants in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Isreal. The meat substitute is made from a mix of “soy and pea protein, chickpeas, beetroot, nutritional yeasts and coconut fat, it mimics flank steak, which is also known as bavette,” according to Reuters. The New-Meat range also includes burgers, sausages, lamb kebabs, and ground beef, which the company claims will allow chefs to achieve “culinary versatility to incorporate plant-based meat into their menus”. Eshchar Ben-Shitrit, CEO and co-founder of Redefine Meat, said: “Over the past few weeks at COP26, we’ve seen world leaders commit to landmark goals such as the elimination of all deforestation by 2030, which requires a significant reduction in global meat consumption. Redefine Meat has its eyes set on the real problem – not meat, but the way it’s produced. We have a genuine solution that today, not in 2030, preserves all the culinary aspects of meat we know and love, but eliminates cattle as a means of production. “We’ve achieved a level of superiority in taste and texture that surprised even some of the most recognised chefs in the world, and our unique technological capabilities enable us to replace every part of the cow for the first time. By continuing our close collaboration with the top-tier culinary world, we will accelerate our product rollout in the coming months – beginning with Europe and followed by the US and Asia – and launch within multiple distribution channels next year,” he added. #RedefineMeat #meatalternatives #Israel #plantbasedmeat #UK #hospitality

Chinese yeast company Angel Yeast Co has launched AngeoPro F80, a vegan-friendly, natural-origin yeast protein. The allergen-free ingredient has a high protein content and can be used in a wide range of plant-based foods, including vegan fish, meat and cheese alternatives. Angel Yeast says that yeast protein – derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae – offers a balanced amino acid composition and high digestibility. Yeast protein is made using an eco-friendly fermentation process that requires limited land use. According to Angel Yeast, research shows that the carbon emissions generated during the production process are 20 times less than those of beef. “As a unique microbial protein, yeast protein can not only provide similar nutritional value to animal protein, but also address the concerns involving plant-based protein such as genetic modification and shortage of land resources,” said Eric Ao, general manager of Angel Yeast’s Europe division. “We believe yeast protein is one of the best alternative protein sources in the market now.” #AngelYeast #plantbased