Swiss food-tech start-up Planetary has successfully raised around $28 million to support the growth of its global fermentation platform. The company, based in Geneva, successfully raised CHF 16 million (approx. $20 million) in a Series A equity financing round, supplemented by CHF 6 million (approx. $7.5 million) in credit. This brings its total funding to CHF 32 million (approx. $40 million). Radikal Capital and Oetker Ventures led the funding round, with participation from Royal Cosun, Arc Investors, Green Generation Fund, AgriFoodTech Venture Alliance, Astanor Ventures and XAnge. Planetary operates a full-stack platform spanning bioprocess design, scale-up and industrial manufacturing via its BioBlocks system. The system aims to support partners in bringing fermentation-based food ingredients to market efficiently. The company licenses its technology to agro-industrial players, particularly sugar companies, to enable conversion of low-value side streams into high-value proteins, fibres and enzymes. Following the nationwide launch of its mycoprotein fillet with retailer Aldi Suisse last year , at price parity with the retailer’s conventional chicken products, Planetary is rolling out additional launches across Europe under its B2B brand Libre. Innovations span categories including meat and dairy alternatives, meat hybrid products, and fibre- and protein-rich products. Planetary is also expanding its sugar-to-protein upcycling technology globally, including initiatives to enable ‘ultra-low-cost’ mycoprotein production – below $1 per kg – through partnerships with agri-food players in sucrose-rich and protein-deficient regions. Industrial-scale production is already operational in Aarberg, Switzerland, and the company is actively welcoming new partnerships to join its growing pipeline of collaborators. David Brandes, CEO and co-founder of Planetary, said: “Raising capital outside AI and defence now requires far more focus and resilience than it did just a few years ago. Yet, recent geopolitical turmoil and commodity volatility only strengthen the case for a sovereign, circular, and high-quality food system: stay the course and hold the line, nothing worth building comes easy.”

In this exclusive piece, Thomas Bowman, co-founder and CEO of dairy-free milk brand Eclipse Foods, argues that the plant-based industry should move away from the limitations of making dairy 'alternatives' and instead develop products that truly replicate traditional milk in order to win new consumers. Thomas Bowman The word 'alternative' has left a bad taste in consumers’ mouths. It is a word that signals compromise before a single bite or sip is taken. It tells the consumer: this is a substitute, a workaround, something you choose when you can’t have the real thing. The plant-based dairy industry built its identity around that word, and then we wondered why adoption plateaued? The 'alternative' framing trained an entire generation of consumers to lower their expectations. It taught them to tolerate plant-based products, not prefer them. And tolerance is not a growth strategy. When your category promise is 'good for what it is,' you’ve already given people permission to rank you second. When my co-founder and I started Eclipse Foods, we made a deliberate choice to reject that framing entirely. We weren’t building an alternative to dairy. We were building dairy, just made differently.  Eclipse was built inside a fine dining and food science framework where performance is the only currency. Chefs don’t accept workarounds. They need ingredients that behave, consistently, predictably and exactly. That discipline shaped our approach from day one. The benchmark was never 'good for plant-based.' It was simply: be good. True dairy category disruption doesn’t come from alternatives, it comes from replication. Consumers don’t want a substitute for the ice cream they love, they want that ice cream, made without dairy. That requires getting the science right at a fundamental level: fat behavior, protein structure, melt dynamics, emulsification, freeze-thaw stability. These aren’t minor refinements. They are the entire product. If you don’t nail them, you’ve built an alternative. If you do, you’ve built something people reach for without thinking twice. Nowhere is the cost of 'alternative' thinking more visible than in foodservice. Ask any barista about oat milk that splits under heat, or any pastry chef about plant-based creams that won’t whip past a certain temperature. These examples aren’t the exception. They are daily friction points that erode operator confidence and push non-dairy options off menus. Operators don’t have time for workarounds. They need products that perform the same way, every shift, every season. Poor steaming, weak mouthfeel, inconsistent behavior under heat, these are not plant-based problems. They are formulation problems, and they are solvable. But only if you hold yourself to the right standard. When non-dairy performs like dairy something important happens: the label stops mattering. The consumer stops making a trade-off. The operator stops making a substitution. The product simply works, and it gets chosen on its merits. That’s the moment real adoption begins. Not when plant-based is the virtuous choice, but when it’s the obvious one. The plant-based dairy category doesn’t need more alternatives. It needs products that eliminate the distinction entirely.

Solar Foods has been granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering the production process of its protein ingredient Solein. The patent gives the company exclusive rights to produce Solein for use in food products using its gas fermentation organism and process. The production method has already been patented in Europe, as well as in markets including Canada, Australia and China. Solar Foods positions itself as a developer of sustainable protein, offering an alternative to conventional animal and plant-based sources. Solein is derived from a naturally occurring microorganism discovered in the Finnish wilderness, and is designed to combine nutritional attributes associated with both protein categories. The company’s production method enables Solein to be manufactured independently of land use, weather and climate conditions. The process runs continuously, allowing for year-round output and consistent supply and quality. Juha-Pekka Pitkänen, chief scientific officer at Solar Foods, said the US represents a key market for the company and one of the world’s largest consumers of protein. He added that the patented process allows the company to produce the microorganism through gas fermentation across major global markets. Pitkänen added that Solein is intended for use across a range of food applications, describing it as a safe, nutritious and functional ingredient. He added that the technology offers a new way to produce protein while supporting more sustainable food systems. The company said rising global food demand, alongside increasing pressure on land, water and climate resources, is driving interest in alternative production methods. Gas fermentation enables protein production without farms or animals by converting gases into food, and can be scaled for use in regions where conventional agriculture is not viable. The process involves cultivating a single microbe using carbon dioxide and hydrogen as primary inputs. Solar Foods notes that microbes are already widely used in food production, such as in yoghurt, bread and beer, but can also serve directly as a source of nutrition. Solar Foods began operations at its first commercial-scale facility in Finland, Factory 01, in 2024. It is now designing a second facility, Factory 02, which is expected to increase production capacity from 160 tonnes to 6,400 tonnes annually. An investment decision is anticipated in 2026, with the first phase of the plant planned to be operational by the end of 2028. The company is also planning a wider network of Solein production facilities globally. The company has started commercialising Solein in the US, initially targeting the health and performance nutrition segment. Products containing Solein have already been launched in Singapore, and the company expects regulatory approval in the EU and UK during 2026.

Beyond Meat – otherwise known as Beyond The Plant Protein Company – has announced the nationwide roll-out of its new Beyond Breakfast Sausage line-up at major US retailers. The new line-up includes Beyond Breakfast Sausage Links and Beyond Breakfast Sausage Patties in Original and Spicy varieties. Beyond describes the products as ‘crafted with simple ingredients’ including avocado oil, pea protein and brown rice protein. They contain 7-9g of protein per serving, with just 0.5g of saturated fat and no cholesterol. Made without GMOs, the new products are the first plant-based breakfast sausages to earn Clean Label Project Certification, which recognises products that meet high standards of ‘purity and transparency’. Beyond has undergone significant reformulation efforts in recent years in an effort to clean up the labels of its products as consumer awareness of ‘ultra-processed foods’ has stirred discussion around the health credentials of plant-based meat alternatives. The Beyond Breakfast Sausage products are also certified by the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check programme. Ethan Brown, founder and CEO of Beyond Meat, said: “We’re thrilled to bring our new Beyond Breakfast Sausage line-up to retailers nationwide, giving consumers more opportunities to fuel their bodies with these Clean Label Project Certified products”. The company’s recent rebrand, including the new alternative name Beyond The Plant Protein Company, comes as it diversifies its portfolio to include functional beverages alongside its core plant-based meat line-up.

Scientists at Heriot-Watt University, Scotland, are exploring next-generation vegan cheese designed to tackle one of the category’s most persistent challenges: high saturated fat content. Backed by new funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the project is now moving from lab-scale development toward consumer taste testing. Led by Professor Stephen Euston, in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, the research has been underway for nearly a decade in collaboration with a food innovation company. The team’s goal is to reformulate plant-based cheese to better align with health and sustainability expectations, without compromising functionality. Traditional vegan cheese alternatives typically rely on coconut or palm oil to replicate the firmness and melt of dairy cheese. However, these ingredients contribute to saturated fat levels that can reach up to 25%, raising nutritional concerns and sustainability issues linked to deforestation. Euston’s team is instead working with UK-grown sunflower and rapeseed oils, which are significantly lower in saturated fat. The challenge lies in replicating the solid-fat behaviour needed for slicing and melting. To address this, researchers are applying oleogelation, a structuring technique that transforms liquid oils into gel-like solids using oleogelators. These molecules create a three-dimensional network that traps the oil, enabling it to mimic the physical properties of solid fat. In lab tests, the reformulated cheese demonstrated improved meltability compared to several commercially available coconut oil-based products, an important functional gain in a category often criticised for poor 'ooziness.' The prototype also achieved a significant nutritional improvement, reducing saturated fat content to as low as 3%. According to Euston, while the taste is expected to be comparable to current market offerings, the product’s health and environmental profile could offer a strong point of differentiation. With new funding secured, the project is entering a critical phase: translating lab results into real-world applications. Over the next ten months, the team aims to produce kitchen-ready prototypes for evaluation by consumer tasting panels. The research aligns with broader industry trends toward cleaner-label formulations, reduced reliance on tropical oils, and localisation of supply chains to cut food miles. In addition to EPSRC backing, the work has previously received funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and industry partners. Findings have also been published in the peer-reviewed journal Food Chemistry.

UK biotech manufacturer Clean Food Group (CFG) has raised £4.5 million in fresh investment to accelerate the scale-up of its fermentation-based oils and fats platform. The funding round was led by Clean Growth Fund and New Agrarian, with additional backing from existing investors, including SEED Innovations and strategic partner Döhler Group. Clean Food Group also secured a £700,000 non-dilutive grant from Innovate UK. The capital injection will support the scale-up of CFG’s recently acquired one million-litre fermentation facility in Knowsley, Liverpool, positioning the company to expand production capacity and accelerate the commercial rollout of its yeast-derived oils and fats. Tom Ellen, chief financial officer of CFGsaid: “We are extremely pleased to have the continued support of Clean Growth Fund and a new partner in New Agrarian, two highly respected specialist investors in sustainable food and industrial biotechnology." He added: “Their support, together with the Innovate grant, represents a strong endorsement of Clean Food Group’s significant progress and the scale of the opportunity ahead. The capital raised will enable the company to bring on stream the world’s largest yeast-derived oils and fats facility and to deliver on our long-term vision for sustainable food manufacturing.” CFG is targeting growing demand for sustainable, locally produced alternatives to traditional agricultural oils, particularly those linked to environmentally sensitive supply chains such as palm oil. The company’s fermentation platform uses food waste feedstocks and engineered yeast strains to produce functional lipids designed for food, cosmetics and pet nutrition applications. With the Knowsley site, CFG claims to operate the world’s largest facility dedicated to yeast-derived oils and fats, enabling production at a scale intended to meet industrial demand while reducing reliance on imported raw materials. Rodrigo Hortega de Velasco, managing partner at Döhler Ventures, the strategic investment arm of Döhler Group, commented: “The acquisition of the Knowsley facility marks a significant milestone, enabling production at a scale that brings these innovative products closer to widespread commercial reality. We look forward to continuing our collaboration as Clean Food Group advances towards full-scale market deployment.” The global sustainable food market, valued at $315 billion in 2024, is expected to reach $524 billion by 2032, underlining the commercial opportunity for companies developing next-generation ingredient technologies. Jim Mellon, chairman and founder of New Agrarian, said: "Supply chain fragility is one of the defining risks of our time. War, climate volatility, and trade disputes are presenting a huge challenge to manufacturers; the ingredients we assumed would always be available are no longer guaranteed. Clean Food Group is addressing this problem head-on, using scalable science and technology to build genuine resilience and sustainability into the way we produce and source key ingredients used in everything from food to cosmetics." Founded in 2022 following eight years of research and development, CFG has focused on bridging the gap between lab-scale innovation and industrial production. The latest funding positions the company to move from pilot and early commercial phases into full-scale manufacturing, an inflexion point for fermentation-based ingredient start-ups seeking to compete with established agricultural supply chains.

UK plant-based brand Gosh! has expanded its portfolio with the launch of a new Super Plants Sausages range, tapping into growing demand for functional, nutrient-dense meat alternatives. Rolling out in Tesco stores nationwide from 13 April, the new products are positioned as a next-generation offering that combines plant diversity with targeted nutritional benefits. The range includes two variants, Parsnip, Leek & Pea with Linseed and Mushroom, Wild Garlic & Chia Seed, both developed using vegetables, pulses, seeds and herbs to deliver what the brand describes as “plant-powered” nutrition. Each product contains a minimum of 15 plant points and is naturally high in both fibre and protein, aligning with increasing consumer interest in gut health, energy support and overall wellbeing. With around 7.8g of fibre and 8.4g of protein per 100g, the sausages are designed to offer a balance between nutritional value and everyday convenience, without high calorie density. Gosh! partnered with registered nutritionist Becca Meadows and chefs to develop the range, ensuring both flavour and nutritional integrity. The brand emphasises the use of 100% natural, minimally processed ingredients, free from artificial additives or preservatives. Speaking about the range, Becca Meadows said: “Understanding what is in your food is more important now than ever before. The new Super Plants Sausages are naturally rich in nutrients, with an ingredients list you can understand. It’s a great way to support your overall fibre and protein intake to support your health, without compromising on flavour.” Caroline Hughes, marketing director at Gosh! added: “Consumers today are driven by more than just taste, they’re looking for food that delivers real value to their health and wellbeing. With our new Super Plants Sausages, we’re leading with this health-first mindset, creating a product that helps people feel their best without compromising on flavour." Priced at £2.99 for a pack of six, the Super Plants Sausages will debut in Tesco, with additional retail listings expected to follow.

Few ingredients in the functional nutrition space have attracted as much research interest as lion's mane ( Hericium erinaceus) . For product developers and formulation teams, that growing body of scientific literature has made it one of the most discussed species in the category, and one of the most commercially relevant for brands building in the cognitive wellness segment. From research interest to formulation reality The bioactives hericenones and hericenes, found in lion’s mane, are considered important for cognition. A recent peer-reviewed human clinical study, published in an open-access journal by MDPI , using NordRelease lion’s mane, found that it “helped improve working memory, complex attention and reaction time two hours post ingestion and perceptions of happiness over a two hour period”. The commercial momentum behind lion’s mane is real. It is increasingly appearing in supplement formulations, functional beverages and active nutrition products. Brands entering or expanding in this space are looking for ingredients that can support credible product development backed by verifiable quality, consistent bioactive content and documentation that holds up to regulatory review. The challenge is that the ingredient supply has not always reflected the seriousness of that demand. Much of the lion's mane available on the market varies significantly in sourcing, extraction methodology and analytical verification. For manufacturers where batch consistency and label accuracy are non-negotiable, that variability creates real risk in quality control, in supplier reliability and in compliance across different regulatory environments. This is the problem Kääpä Biotech was built to address. Standardisation as a competitive advantage Standardisation is where Kääpä's proprietary NordRelease mushroom extraction technology provides direct value to manufacturing partners. With full EFSA approval backing it, this groundbreaking technology has been developed by Kääpä exclusively for its partners. NordRelease produces lion's mane organic extracts with verified, consistent bioactive compounds across all batches. Every batch is analytically tested, with full documentation available to support quality control processes, regulatory submissions and technical due diligence. The brands driving serious growth in this category are not sourcing commodity powders. They are building formulations that require ingredient partners who can deliver technical data packages, supply chain transparency and the kind of documented quality that withstands scrutiny from regulatory bodies, retail partners and increasingly rigorous market standards. This is where NordRelease slots in to provide just that. Kääpä's R&D and formulation teams work tirelessly to support partners' needs across capsules, powders, functional foods and beverages, gummies and emerging delivery formats. They work closely with partners to develop products from ingredient specification through to finished format requirements. As the functional mushroom category matures, the gap between low-quality commodity supply and properly developed, analytically verified ingredients will only widen. Brands that build on credible ingredient foundations now will be better positioned as regulatory and market expectations continue to rise. Kääpä exists to be that foundation: consistent, transparent and built for partners who take ingredient quality seriously. Meet the Kääpä team at Vitafoods Europe, booth 6D67. To learn more, get in touch here .

Finnish foodtech innovator Happy Plant Protein is taking a significant step toward commercial scale, with its patented dry extrusion technology set to be deployed in a new agriculture-based production facility in Latvia. The greenfield project, developed in partnership with Latvian agricultural company Agrofirma Lobe, represents a shift toward decentralised protein manufacturing by enabling the processing of locally grown crops into high-value plant-based ingredients directly at the source. The facility will process crops such as faba beans, oats and peas into textured vegetable protein (TVP), targeting customers across the Baltics, Nordics and broader European markets. Unlike conventional protein isolate plants, which can require investments of up to €150 million, the Latvian site is being developed with an investment of approximately €6 million, supported in part by EU funding. The project signals three key industry milestones: the establishment of industrial-scale plant protein production in Latvia, the introduction of a simplified and scalable production model, and the first industrial deployment of Happy Plant Protein’s proprietary technology. At the core of the project is Happy Plant Protein’s dry extrusion technology, a single-stage process that converts flour directly into textured protein. The system eliminates the need for chemical inputs, reduces water and energy usage, and produces no side streams, addressing both cost and sustainability challenges associated with traditional processing methods. The technology also tackles a longstanding issue in plant-based formulation: off-flavours. Developed from research originating at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the process is designed to deliver cleaner-tasting protein ingredients suitable for a wide range of applications, including plant-based and hybrid products. For food manufacturers, this could streamline R&D and accelerate product development cycles, particularly in categories where taste and texture remain barriers to adoption. A central ambition of the project is to rebalance value creation within the supply chain. By enabling protein production closer to primary agriculture, the model allows farmers and cooperatives to move beyond commodity crop sales into higher-margin ingredient production. This localisation strategy also strengthens regional protein self-sufficiency, an increasingly important consideration as Europe seeks to reduce reliance on imported protein sources and build more resilient food systems. Construction is expected to take around one year, with production scheduled to begin in early 2027. Once operational, the plant will have an annual capacity of approximately 5,000 tonnes.

US snack brand Khloud is expanding its footprint in the functional snacking space with the launch of Khloud Protein Chips. Founded by Khloé Kardashian, this is the first new product launch since the brand emerged in the snacking space with protein popcorn in 2025. Following rapid growth in the functional popcorn segment, Khloud’s latest launch signals a deliberate move toward becoming a cross-category snacking player. The new Protein Chips deliver 7g of protein per serving and are made with non-GMO corn masa and avocado oil, aligning with the brand’s “clean ingredient” positioning. The chips are also formulated without seed oils and incorporate pea protein directly into the tortilla base, an approach designed to combine familiarity with added nutritional value. Launching in three flavours, Sweet Heat and Buffalo, which are plant-based and Nacho, which features dairy ingredients, the chips are available as a retail exclusive at Target, both in-store and online. According to CEO and co-founder Jeff Rubenstein, the move into tortilla chips reflects both category scale and cultural relevance. As the second-largest segment within salty snacks, chips offer significant headroom for brands that can differentiate on nutrition without compromising taste.

Replacing processed meat with plant-based alternatives could significantly improve overall diet quality, according to two new studies led by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Published on 9 April in Current Developments in Nutrition and Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , the research provides fresh evidence that plant-based meat can play a meaningful role in improving public health outcomes, while also highlighting the need for clearer fortification standards across the category. The first study, the first of its kind to assess whole-diet impact, examined what happens when UK consumers swap processed meat for widely available plant-based alternatives. The findings suggest that even a simple substitution can deliver measurable benefits. Researchers reported that replacing processed meat with plant-based options increased overall fibre intake by 4-6%, reduced saturated fat by 6-7%, and lowered salt intake by 3-4%. These shifts are particularly significant given current dietary trends. According to national data, 81% of UK adults exceed recommended saturated fat intake, while 96% fall short on fibre. Importantly for the food and beverage sector, the study also challenges assumptions around ultra-processed foods (UPFs). While plant-based meat is often classified as a UPF, the products analysed did not exhibit the typical nutritional drawbacks associated with the category. Instead, all evaluated items met “healthy” thresholds under the UK Food Standards Agency’s Nutrient Profiling Model. Despite nutritional advantages, affordability remains a key challenge. The researchers found that while plant-based dairy alternatives, such as drinks and yogurts, are often price-competitive with, or cheaper than, conventional options, plant-based meat products continue to carry a price premium. This cost gap could limit widespread adoption, particularly at a population level, an issue with implications for both public health and sustainability targets. The second study reviewed broader evidence on plant-based meat and dairy, confirming that these products generally contain more fibre and less saturated fat than their animal-based counterparts. However, the researchers identified inconsistency in micronutrient fortification as a critical issue. While fortification with nutrients such as iodine, calcium, iron and vitamin B12 can help plant-based products match the nutritional profile of conventional meat and dairy, practices vary widely between manufacturers. The authors argue that national guidelines are needed to standardise fortification, improve product reliability and support informed consumer choices. The Netherlands offers a potential model. Following the introduction of voluntary standards within its national dietary guidelines, more than three-quarters of plant-based meat products are now fortified with key micronutrients. Dr Sarah Nájera Espinosa, lead author of both studies, said: “Plant-based whole foods should be prioritised, but plant-based meat and dairy alternatives, when carefully selected, can serve as a key transitional bridge to transform food systems.” She added that without policy intervention to improve affordability and fortification standards, the sector risks missing an opportunity to contribute to both public health improvements and net-zero goals. Amy Williams, nutrition lead at Good Food Institute Europe, added: “Plant-based meat provides a simple swap to help people reduce their consumption of processed meat. Public health bodies should introduce guidelines to ensure these foods consistently provide a reliable source of micronutrients, while retailers and manufacturers must expand efforts to ensure they are affordable and appealing.”

This is targeting the growing demand for convenient, high-protein meat alternatives with the launch of two ready-to-eat deli slice products. The new lines, This Isn’t Roast Chicken Slices and This Butter Bean, Garlic and Paprika Slices, are set to hit shelves this spring, offering retailers a plant-based upgrade to the traditional deli counter. Designed for immediate consumption, both products require no preparation, positioning them squarely within the fast-growing food-to-go and snacking segments. The This Isn’t Roast Chicken Slices aim to replicate the bite and texture of traditional chicken deli meat, addressing a common consumer complaint around rubbery or overly processed plant-based slices. Meanwhile, the Butter Bean, Garlic and Paprika variant taps into evolving flavour trends and ingredient innovation, using butter beans to deliver a more distinctive, “from-scratch” profile. The 95g packs will launch at an RRP of £2.95, debuting in Morrisons stores from 22 April. Distribution will expand to Waitrose (chicken slices only) and Sainsbury's (both SKUs) from 6 May. Both SKUs are positioned as high-protein, low-saturated-fat options and provide a source of vitamin B12 and iron, key nutrients often associated with animal-based products. The products are being marketed for multiple usage occasions. from premium sandwiches to snackable formats, highlighting their versatility in both retail and potential foodservice applications.