UK plant-based brand Symplicity has debuted its new Cranberry & Sage Roast at Waitrose stores, described as an indulgent centrepiece with ‘deep umami flavour’ built through slow fermentation.

The European Commission has this week unveiled its Communication on a new Strategic Approach to Research and Innovation for agriculture, forestry, rural areas and food systems.

New analysis of Net Zero Insights figures from the Good Food Institute shows that European alternative protein companies raised €236 million in private investment in the first half of 2026.

Maash – a start-up with operations in Belgium and France, focused on developing mycoprotein ingredients for the food industry – has secured a €12.5 million funding package to accelerate its next phase of growth.

Swedish food-tech start-up Millow has closed a €2 million funding round to support the expanded production capacity of its clean-label protein made from oats and mycelium.

US-based animal-free dairy company New Culture has strengthened its intellectual property portfolio after securing a second US patent covering cheese made with animal-free casein.

Tetra Pak has announced the launch of its first industrial bioreactor, designed to enable scalable fermentation with reduced operational cost.

Biotech specialist NXW Nutrition From Water has invested an equity stake in PhycoFerm, a Portugal-based microalgae strain development company.

Precision fermentation is often framed as a competitor to plant-based food, but the reality may be far more collaborative. CPI's Suzanne Robb explores how fermentation could enable the next phase of alternative protein growth.

Food-tech company Phytolon has secured $23.6 million in Series B financing to accelerate the commercialisation of its fermentation-derived natural food colours in the US.

Soufflet Malt and Ferments du Futur have launched a new research initiative aimed at developing next-generation food ingredients.

Biospringer by Lesaffre, a global player in the food fermentation space, has agreed to acquire selected intellectual property and technology of bacteria fermentation specialist PTX Food.