NEW TECH FOODS

Here’s our round-up of the top 10 stories that shaped the new tech foods landscape this year – showing how science, sustainability and creativity are changing the way our food is made.

It’s easy to get caught up in the news and activities of the industry’s global giants, but what about the smaller firms pushing boundaries with bold ideas? In this instalment of start-up spotlight – which celebrates lesser-known companies and their innovations – we speak to Shen Ming Lee, co-founder and CEO of Terra Oleo.

Arsira Thumaprudti, head of business development at Acclym, explains how farmers can unlock the power of Regenerative Agriculture to avoid supply chain issues, create a more reliable food system and help the environment recover.

Arevo has introduced a new crop nutrition system designed to reduce reliance on mineral fertilisers and improve yield consistency.

Tate & Lyle has announced a new regenerative agriculture programme aimed at helping corn growers in France farm more sustainably.

GoodLeaf Farms has completed a CAD 52 million (approx. $37 million) equity financing round to scale production at its facilities in Alberta and Quebec and to build a new research and development centre in Ontario.

Re:meat has rebranded as Curve, marking a strategic shift toward enabling scalable and cost-efficient biomanufacturing of proteins across multiple industries.

French start-up Green Spot Technologies has raised €5 million to expand its industrial operations and introduce Milatea, a new brand of fermented ingredients designed for bakers, pastry chefs and chocolatiers.

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has awarded $32.3 million in research funding to 11 projects under the second phase of the Singapore Food Story R&D Programme, aimed at advancing innovation in future foods and food safety.

Almost four in ten UK consumers (38%) say they would support the development of chocolate made using precision fermentation, according to new research commissioned by science marketing consultancy Diffusion.

Kingdom Five has launched K5 Radical Protein, a new solid-state fermentation platform that grows whole-food mycoprotein using the edible filamentous fungus Neurospora.

Nutriearth has opened its first commercial manufacturing facility in Carvin, France, for the production of natural vitamin D3 made from edible insects.

Copenhagen restaurant Noma has announced a partnership with bio-solutions company Novonesis to explore how biology can be used to create new flavours, ingredients and sustainable food products.

EIT Food has awarded a total of €600,000 in Tech Validation Funding to 18 start-ups across Europe, supporting early-stage AgriFoodTech innovators in validating their technologies and preparing for market entry.

Agriculture company Alltech has begun construction on a new $4.6 million manufacturing facility at its Kentucky headquarters.

StartLife and EIT Food have announced a strategic partnership aimed at supporting early-stage agrifood start-ups across Europe.

Cocoa tech start-up Celleste Bio has introduced what it says is the world’s first chocolate-grade cocoa butter made using plant cell culture technology.

Asterix Foods has emerged from stealth with $4.2 million in seed funding to scale a new, low-cost alternative to precision fermentation.

Biomaterials developer Marine Biologics has entered into an exclusive partnership with Molecular Quantum Solutions (MQS) to accelerate the discovery and commercialisation of next-generation, seaweed-derived functional ingredients and biomaterials.

Innovative methods of producing food through fermentation could add nearly £10 billion to the UK economy by 2050, according to new analysis.