Future Food Quick Bites: Beyond Meat x Taco Bell, Crowdfunding Galore & Marigold Protein

From greenqueen.com.hk

By Anay Mridul

New products and launches

Fast-food giant Taco Bell has teased a new partnership with vegan giant Beyond Meat to create a new plant-based protein that will be tested within this year. The chain said it chose the latter due to its track record of attracting young consumers. They previously tested a meat-free carne asada steak quesadilla and tacos offered at price parity.

Courtesy: Beyond Meat

US vitamins brand Perelel has launched Daily Resilience Complex, a new daily supplement featuring TurtleTree‘s precision-fermented lactoferrin ingredient, LF+. It isn’t vegan, however, since the powder also contains bovine collagen.

In time for grilling season, whole-food brand Actual Veggies has rolled out a 10-pack of its vegan black bean burger at most Costco locations across the US.

Likewise, whole-cut plant-based meat pioneer Chunk Foods has gained a listing at Whole Foods Market across the Northeast for its steak filet, pulled steak and a new Moroccan Cubes SKU with 19g of protein.

Speaking of vegan steak, Dutch start-up Rival Foods‘s clean-label alternative has landed in its home country. The pulled beef is available in 2kg packs for foodservice operators on InstockMarket, and contains 31g of protein per 100g.

Courtesy: Jay&Joy

Weeks after securing $2.3M in fresh funding, French vegan cheesemaker Jay&Joy has expanded its footprint through a listing at 400 new points of sale at German organic retailer Denns BioMarkt.

Fellow French company La Vie‘s plant-based ham, sandwiches and snacks are now being stocked at 180 TotalEnergies service stations across the country.

In more good news for France’s plant-based shoppers, a new fully vegan grocery store, Herbivores, has opened on Lyon’s Rue Pasteur street.

Singaporean bean-free start-up Prefer has brought its coffee alternative to Japan, launching an iced black coffee using its PreferRoast ingredient in collaboration with Tokyu Land, a member of local conglomerate Tokyu Group.

And in the UK, Shicken Foods has launched plant-based kofta kebabs into Costco stores. They feature 21g of protein per serving and are high in fibre.

Company and finance updates

Swedish pea milk start-up Sproud has achieved its lowest-ever average carbon footprint, reducing its emissions by 11.45% to reach 0.301kg of CO2e per litre of product. Moreover, annual sales hit a new record, growing by 28% to reach 74.9 million kronor ($8.1M), with volumes up by 33%.

Courtesy: Sproud

Californian cultivated seafood start-up Finless Foods has opened a crowdfunding campaign on Republic, with a goal of securing $75,000. It has already entered the pre-market consultation process with the US Food and Drug Administration for its cultivated tuna, with approval expected in 2027.

Weeks after receiving $700,000 in seed funding, Danish mycelium meat maker Tempty Foods has kicked off a crowd investment round on Republic. It has already landed nearly all of its €355,000 ($415,000) target.

Courtesy: Tempty Foods

In more investment news, British eco material player Ponda has also launched a crowdfunding effort on Republic with the aim of raising €230,000 ($270,000) to build out its capacity and expand production of BioPuff, a bulrush-based alternative to goose down and polyester fibres.

Speaking of eco materials, Australia’s Uluu has moved into a new industrial facility in Henderson, Western Australia, which will allow it to scale up production of its seaweed-derived bioplastics. This follows a $10.5M investment round in November.

US industrial biotech start-up Fermeate has raised $2M in seed funding to advance its optogenetic control tech for precision-fermented products and accelerate price parity for them.

Belgian beanless coffee start-up Koppie has reached a major milestone in its scale-up efforts, producing 12 tonnes of its fermentation-derived alternative.

Climate advocacy group Madre Brava has closed its Thailand programme, according to its former director.

Policy, research and awards

Dutch start-up NoPalm Ingredients – which makes palm oil alternatives from food waste, yeast and fermentation – has been named as one of the four finalists of the 2026 Food Planet Prize.

Catering giant Sodexo has become the first employee restaurant chain in Poland to monitor the share of plant-based proteins on offer, with analysis using the Protein Tracker tool revealing that 30% of its 2024-25 protein portfolio was sourced from plants.

Two new studies by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine show that low-fat plant-based diets cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55-57% and cumulative energy demand by 44-55%.

Courtesy: ACS Food Science & Technology

A study led by scientists at the University of Georgia suggests that dried marigold flowers – 40% of which end up wasted – show potential as a sustainable plant protein source, exhibiting high levels of glutamic and aspartic acids, greater heat stability than peas and chickpeas, and excellent emulsifying capacity.

Researchers at the University of Warwick have published the results of their meta-analysis of clinical trials involving 541 participants, finding that plant-based eaters were associated with significantly lower levels of C-reactive protein – a widely used marker of systemic inflammation – than omnivores.

Courtesy: Veganuary

Finally, in Veganuary‘s 2026 participant survey, a third (32%) of those who weren’t vegan before said they planned to continue following a plant-based diet after the monthlong campaign, while 79% intended to halve their intake of animal products.

https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/future-food-quick-bites-beyond-meat-taco-bell-crowdfunding-marigold-protein/

Future Food Quick Bites: Tempeh Protein Bites, Dairy-Free Cold Foam & Garden Gourmet

From greenqueen.com.hk

By Anay Mridul

Our weekly column rounds up the latest sustainable food innovation news. This week, Future Food Quick Bites covers Tiba Tempeh’s protein bites, Prefer’s Brazilian bean-free coffee collab, and Garden Gourmet’s vegan tilt.

New products and launches

British plant protein firm Tiba Tempeh has unveiled Protein Bites, a chilled snack range delivering 12g of protein and 3.5g of fibre per 60g pack. It will be available in roasted and Southern-style flavours at Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Ocado from May 6, priced at £1.50 per pack.

                                                                                                     Courtesy: Tiba Tempeh

Fellow UK start-up Drink Lomi has debuted 10g vegan cold foam toppers for its single-serve matcha sachets, tapping into two of the biggest trends in the drinks category. The “cloud foam” contains a base of coconut oil and glucose syrup.

Also in the UK, The Coconut Collab has launched a gut-friendly Natural Kefir drink made by fermenting coconut milk and water. It’s available at Sainsbury’s and Ocado for £3.45 per 500ml bottle, with more retailers to follow in May and June.

                                                                                       Courtesy: The Coconut Collab

French foodservice brand Tipiak has introduced a new Vegan Canapé Selection for the UK market, comprising 36 bites like falafels, tartlets, crackers, blinis, shortbreads, and carrot cakes.

A double launch for Beyond Meat this week. The Californian giant rolled out its spicy Buffalo-flavoured chicken pieces at over 2,000 Kroger stores, and its Korean BBQ-flavoured burger at retailers in Germany and the Netherlands.

                                                                                                  Courtesy: Beyond Meat

Canadian chain Panago Pizza has rolled out Daiya‘s reformulated oat-cream-based cheese alternative across all its stores, with customers able to swap it in for dairy on any pizza at no extra cost.

Also in the Netherlands, The Vegetarian Butcher has unveiled a new BBQ-ready burger and chicken tenders at Albert Heijn, Dirk, Vomar, Boon, Dekamarkt and Hoogvlie.

German mycoprotein start-up Nosh.bio’s blended beef mince is now officially listed with Artland Foodservice and live on the Transgourmet system, enabling foodservice providers to directly order the product into their kitchens.

                                                                                                     Courtesy: Nosh.bio

Over in India, plant protein shows no signs of stopping, with RiteBite Max Protein launching a range of pea protein powders delivering 22g of the nutrient per serving. They’re available in seven flavours, including Alphonso Mango, Digestive Masala and Banana Caramel, for ₹2,499 ($26.50) per kg.

And Singapore’s Prefer, known for its bean-free coffee and chocolate, is expanding its horizons through a partnership with Sapiens Global. The two companies unveiled Sapiens Cafe, which blends 60% arabica with 40% PreferRoast, at FHA Singapore (April 21-14), ahead of rollouts in Brazil and Japan.

Company and finance updates

Nestlé-owned meat-free brand Garden Gourmet has turned its portfolio 100% plant-based after phasing out some vegetarian products.

Dutch manufacturer Van Loon Group has announced that its share of blended meat products increased from 3% in 2024 to 11% last year, with associated revenue growing from €31M to €122M. This has allowed the company to save one million kg of animal-derived raw materials.

Austrian mycoprotein start-up Revo Foods has kicked off a new crowdfunding round at a €7.2M valuation, aiming to raise €1M in total funding.

                                                                                                Courtesy: Revo Foods

New Zealand-based Nutrition From Water has completed its tech transfer to commercial scale, making its microalgae-derived Marine Whey Gold ingredient available for mass production.

C-suite veteran Karuna Rawal, whose most recent permanent role was chief revenue and marketing officer at Nature’s Fynd, has joined the board of directors of Finnish gas protein firm Solar Foods.

Molecular farming start-up Alpine Bio has appointed Matt Crisp, CEO of Ichor Agriculture and co-founder of Quercus Biosolutions, to its board.

Fellow Californian firm The Every Company, which sells precision-fermented egg proteins, has brought on former Siemens Energy engineer Mario Patiño as its new chief revenue officer.

GNT Group has opened a sales and application office in Shanghai to meet demand for its plant-based food dyes under the Exberry brand in China.

Research and policy developments

Dutch ingredients specialist Corbion has been awarded a US patent for a liquid suspension of algal biomass with a distinct DHA-rich omega-3 profile.

A case study for New York startup Helaina shows that its precision-fermented lactoferrin ingredient, effera, significantly improves blood iron markers. This signals that iron homeostasis is a core lever and could be especially relevant for populations where traditional iron supplementation falls short.

                                                                                                          Courtesy: Helaina

Researchers at the University of Helsinki have developed OatGuard, an oat-based clean-label solution to mask the bitterness and off-flavours found in plant-based proteins.

Finally, a team of scientists led by the Technical University of Denmark have identified three lactic acid bacteria isolated from vegetables and fermented foods that are highly suitable for producing soy yoghurts with improved digestibility.

https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/future-food-quick-bites-tempeh-protein-bites-dairy-free-cold-foam-garden-gourmet/ 

Beyond (Meat) On Why It Rebranded & What’s Next For Plant Protein

From greenqueen.com.hk

By Anay Mridul

Beyond Meat has rebranded to Beyond The Plant Protein Company as it expands into whole-food proteins and drinks – is the vegan pioneer having an identity crisis reflective of the times?

As with many food businesses post-pandemic, stability has been hard to come by for the pioneer of the modern meat-free burger.

Over the last year, on the back of decreasing sales, Beyond Meat has significantly expanded its distribution, relaunched its Starbucks collaboration in the UK, and raised more money than any other plant-based company.

Concurrently, the plant-based meat giant has witnessed its share price fall to an all-time low, to the point that it became a meme stock, received a delisting warning from Nasdaq, and was forced to deny rumours of bankruptcy.

The firm’s turnaround plan has hinged on a move, well, beyond meat, with a new fava bean mince that doesn’t intend to mimic animal protein, and a line of sparkling protein drinks that sold out quickly in the initial drop.

All this is wrapped neatly in a rebrand for Beyond Meat, which is now called Beyond The Plant Protein Company – although the change has officially yet to be announced and reflected on its social channels.

“We plan to use ‘Beyond’ more frequently as our primary brand name going forward. We’ve already been using the shorter name in some places, and we think it better reflects who we are today,” a spokesperson for the company told Green Queen.

“It puts less focus on mimicry, an increasingly complicated and limiting frame, and more focus on the high-quality plant protein products we offer. It also gives us room to grow beyond centre-of-the-plate protein and meet a broader range of consumer protein needs over time,” they added.

“In the coming months, we’ll share more about how we’re continuing to roll this out and expanding our use of the Beyond brand.”

Beyond Meat’s rebrand has been rolled out in phases

                                                                                  Courtesy: Beyond Meat/Green Queen

The first time Beyond Meat publicly announced a rebrand was in July 2025, when founder and CEO Ethan Brown told Fortune that he planned to drop the word ‘Meat’ from the company’s name to spotlight traditional plant proteins and reflect its forthcoming product diversification.

“If you’re the best in the world at making plant proteins, why confine yourself to the centre of the plate?” he said. “Instead of thinking about a simple replacement for animal protein, what if you just thought about your daily protein consumption, and I started to try to replace as much of that as I can with plant protein, any form that I could?”

Brown hinted at everything from a centre-aisle offering with 30g of protein and zero fat to post-workout products inspired by Roman gladiators. “You’ll see us come out with things like, maybe, lentil sausage,” he said. “Or chickpea hot dogs.”

His comments were followed by the launch of Beyond Ground, the first product to be marketed under just the ‘Beyond’ label. Almost as a reinforcement of its original identity, it was rolled out alongside the much-anticipated whole-cut mycelium steak on its new Beyond Test Kitchen website.

The accompanying press release referred to the brand as ‘Beyond’, but the rebrand still hadn’t been made official, and subsequent announcements – whether it was a partnership with Hard Rock Café or the launch of a new value pack in Canada – continued to use the full Beyond Meat name.

Beyond Meat ‘remains committed’ to meat alternatives

                                                                                                Courtesy: Beyond Meat

This was true even for the January introduction of Beyond Immerse, a range of protein-infused carbonated beverages that marked the firm’s second foray away from meat-mimicking proteins. The announcements for the initial launch and the flavour expansion last month both spotlighted ‘Beyond Meat’ as the brand name.

“We plan to bring our pioneering expertise in unlocking the power of plants to a variety of categories to meet today’s consumer needs, starting with a functional beverage line,” the spokesperson said when asked about Beyond Meat’s future product plans.

Despite the diversification, meat is still very much in its sights. “As the company expands into new categories, Beyond remains committed to category leadership in plant-based meat,” they said.

“Our expansion into additional protein categories builds on our core competencies in an innovation-first approach, culinary standards, and sustainability principles that define us, and strengthens our ability to meet more consumer needs.”

The rebrand raises some largely unanswered questions about its future direction. Does it now change its logo, which features a cow? Is the refresh only for the US and Canada, or its international business too? The company’s representative did not respond to these questions when approached by Green Queen. As it stands, its websites in other countries still have the Beyond Meat name.

Marketing experts are divided over Beyond Meat’s rebrand

                                                                                          Courtesy: Damian Dovarganes/AP

Some marketing experts remain sceptical about the name change. “‘Beyond Meat’ told you what it was straight away. ‘Beyond The Plant Protein Company’ feels much looser,” Anita Moorthy, co-founder of B2B marketing solutions platform RockSalt, said in a LinkedIn post.

“It could cover meat alternatives, drinks, bars, supplements, pretty much anything in the protein aisle. Maybe that breadth is the point, but it also strips out a lot of the distinctiveness the original name had,” she added.

“They’re distancing themselves from the category while still playing in it. How’s that going to work?” commented Archana Kalegaonkar, a brand strategist. “The name is clumsy, so ding on the memorability and mental availability.”

She continued: “And what happens when protein is no longer the flavour of the day? They could have just kept it to Beyond, in my opinion – that would have retained their core promise of a brand that goes beyond existing options and allowed flexibility to evolve the product portfolio without losing brand equity.”

Others laud the move. “I think it’s very smart. It’s reality,” Lu Ann Williams, co-founder and president of Innova Market Insights, told Green Queen at the Future Food-Tech conference in San Francisco this month.

“I don’t know if it’s going to work because it comes down to the execution. What’s the price? How do they communicate to consumers? What’s the nutrition?” she said. “But in terms of a total pivot, I think they were going to have a hard time trying to just do a pure meat mimic.”

Not the moment for plant-based meat?

The most prominent instance of Beyond Meat’s drive to reshape its identity came during Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California, earlier this month, when the company overhauled its website to largely remove the ‘Meat’ moniker and introduce itself as Beyond The Plant Protein Company, or simply Beyond.

Still, the shift doesn’t seem to have fully been implemented yet. The company’s stall at Expo West featured the new branding, though the business’s legal name remains Beyond Meat.

Curiously, its social media accounts still carry the original name. That wasn’t always the case – when Beyond officially announced its new identity online, it altered its name to Go Beyond (at least on LinkedIn), before changing it back to Beyond Meat.

The move indicates an evolution of the company’s mission from feeding a better future by shifting from animal- to plant-based meat, to doing so with “clean plant-based protein”. Its motivations – or at least the ones it thinks consumers care about – have shifted from a focus on the climate and animal rights to centring human health.

“Our mission has always been about unlocking the power of plants to transform how we think about protein. As we continue to innovate and expand beyond meat mimicry, this updated positioning reflects our commitment to offering nutritious plant protein options made with clean, simple ingredients across a variety of categories, and designed to meet the evolving needs of today’s consumers,” the spokesperson said.

“For me, it is an opportunity to reshape the company around very real food that is directly from plants,” Brown told the Associated Press. “It’s about delivering all those benefits of the plant kingdom to the consumer in ways that they’re going to be able to easily integrate it into their lives.”

Doubling down on the diversification past meat alternatives, he said these products will be a “much more dominant choice” over the next decade or two. He added that Beyond Meat is currently tackling “a period of confusion” for the sector. “It’s just not the moment for plant-based meat right now,” he said.

He isn’t wrong. Sales of plant-based meat have fallen by 26% over the last two years, according to NielsenIQ data cited by the AP. Beyond itself posted a 13.3% year-over-year decline in revenue in Q3 2025, revising its final-quarter forecast to $60-65M, below analysts’ estimates of $70M.

Can repositioning itself as a plant protein company bring back the fame that engulfed Beyond Meat in the late 2010s?

https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/beyond-meat-the-plant-protein-company-rebrand/

Beyond Meat CEO Says ‘It’s Just Not The Moment For Plant-Based Meat’ After Rebrand

From plantbasednews.org

Beyond recently dropped "meat" from its name and expanded its high-protein fizzy drink line 

Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown has said, “It’s just not the moment for plant-based meat,” following the company’s recent rebrand.

Beyond Meat rebranded as Beyond The Plant Protein Company last week, amid what Brown described as a “period of confusion” around plant-based proteins.

In an interview by The Associated Press and published by Fortune, Brown said, “For me, it is an opportunity to reshape the company around very real food that is directly from plants. It’s about delivering all those benefits of the plant kingdom to the consumer in ways that they’re going to be able to easily integrate it into their lives.”

In a social media post about the long-awaited rebrand, Beyond wrote, “Welcome to Beyond The Plant Protein Company.​ A new chapter begins, rooted in the power of plants.​ Plants have superpowers. Our team is dedicated to unlocking and delivering them to you. We start at the farm with clean and simple, non-GMO ingredients like yellow peas, red lentils, and faba beans.​ We love clean protein and fibre. Protein supports muscle health, while fibre supports a healthy gut.”

‘It’s just not the moment for plant-based meat right now’

                     Ethan Brown, the CEO of Beyond Meat, referred to the rebrand as an "opportunity" - Media Credit: Adobe Stock

Brown told The Associated Press that he still believes plant-based meat could become a “much more dominant choice” in the coming years, but that Beyond has to navigate what he referred to as a “period of confusion” around plant-based foods.

Despite calls for “nuance,” alternative proteins have been under increasing scrutiny over their status as ultra-processed foods. A 2025 report by the UK government found no association between plant-based meat and adverse health outcomes. Meanwhile, research by PCRM found that more than one-third of Americans are unable to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy processed foods.

Brown said, “Hopefully, at some point people will say, ‘Wait a minute, how did we get here, where protein taken from red lentils, peas, and brown rice and oil taken from avocado and mixed together into a burger is somehow not good for you?’”

“It’s just not the moment for plant-based meat right now,” he added.

‘Why confine yourself to the centre of the plate?’

Adobe StockBeyond still produces plant-based meat products, but has attempted to expand into the functional protein segment

Brown first revealed that Beyond would drop the word meat from its name in 2025.

The company introduced a new product, Beyond Ground, at the same time. Beyond Ground is nutrient-dense and made with just four ingredients. According to the company, Beyond Ground is not designed to emulate any one animal protein.

In January, Beyond launched its Immerse high-protein sparkling fruit drinks, and recently expanded the line to include four new flavours following a “strong consumer response.” Speaking to Fast Company last year, Brown said, “If you’re the best in the world at making plant proteins, why confine yourself to the centre of the plate?”

Both Beyond Ground and Beyond Immerse products are exclusively available from the company’s test kitchen. You can find out more here.

https://plantbasednews.org/news/alternative-protein/beyond-meat-not-the-moment-rebrand/