This new vegan cottage cheese packs 17g of protein – and it’s made from a surprising ingredient

From veganfoodandliving.com

Austrian food-tech company Revo Foods has launched a new high-protein vegan alternative to cottage cheese, and it’s made from a rather unexpected ingredient

COTTAGE PROTEIN+ is made using fermented apricot kernels and contains more than 17g of protein per 150g pot, alongside just four ingredients.

The new vegan cottage cheese alternative launches this September in EDEKA and REWE supermarkets across Germany, with UK shoppers also set to be able to get their hands on it through Vegan Wholesaler.

Rather than relying on coconut oil, starches and thickeners to recreate the texture of dairy cottage cheese, Revo Foods has taken a different approach.

COTTAGE PROTEIN+ is made with 40% soft apricot kernels, alongside water, salt and vegan fermentation cultures.

Live cultures ferment the apricot kernels, naturally developing the slightly acidic flavour and distinctive grainy texture associated with traditional cottage cheese.

According to Revo Foods, the process results in a protein content of 11.5%, delivering 17.2g of protein in each 150g pot. The product contains no added fats, with its fat coming naturally from the oil found within apricot kernels, which is rich in unsaturated fatty acids.

And despite its unusual base ingredient, the company claims its vegan version performs well against the dairy original. In a blind taste test conducted by Revo Foods, 60% of participants reportedly preferred its apricot kernel version to dairy cottage cheese for flavour and taste.

Photo © Revo Foods

“We stand for healthy proteins,” said David Petuzzi, CEO of Revo Foods. “That is the thread running from our fungi protein through to COTTAGE PROTEIN+: We use fermentation as a tool to turn natural raw materials into foods that deliver real nutrition and taste great.”

Turning a food by-product into a high-protein ingredient

The use of apricot kernels isn’t just about nutrition. Revo Foods says it also offers an opportunity to make use of a food industry by-product that might otherwise go to waste.

Large quantities of kernels are left behind when apricots are processed to make products such as jam, juice and dried fruit, and many are currently discarded or incinerated.

By turning this existing side stream into the primary ingredient in COTTAGE PROTEIN+, Revo Foods says it can create a new protein source without requiring additional farmland to grow the raw material.

The launch comes as demand for protein-rich foods continues to grow, with cottage cheese sales in Germany almost doubling over the past three years.

Niccolò Galizzi, Head of Food Tech at Revo Foods, said the company wanted to offer an alternative to plant-based chilled products that rely heavily on added fats and thickeners.

“With COTTAGE PROTEIN+, the fermentation cultures do the work for us,” he explained. “Texture, acidity and flavour develop in the fermenter, not on the ingredient list.”

Revo Foods use apricot kernels (a by-product of the jam, juice and dried fruit industries that would otherwise often go to waste) to make COTTAGE PROTEIN+ a more sustainable alternative to dairy. Photo © Revo Foods

3D food structuring

While vegan cottage cheese might be new territory for Revo Foods, the Austrian food-tech company has already made a name for itself by recreating animal products that have traditionally been particularly difficult to replicate.

Founded in Vienna in 2021, Revo Foods uses technologies including fermentation and 3D food structuring to create alternatives designed to closely recreate the taste and texture of meat and seafood. Its current range includes THE FILET, inspired by salmon, alongside THE PRIME CUT and THE FILETEL POLLO, its takes on beef- and chicken-style fillets.

Perhaps its most eye-catching creation to date is The Kraken, a hyper-realistic fungi-based vegan octopus alternative, complete with tentacles and visible suckers.

Originally launched as a limited edition in 2024, the unusual product sold out within just 48 hours and was later brought back following customer demand. When Vegan Food & Living put Revo Foods’ vegan octopus to the test, we were particularly impressed by its firm, bouncy and fibrous texture, which proved surprisingly similar to the real thing.

Its salmon-inspired THE FILET similarly uses fermented mycoprotein to create a juicy, fibrous texture, with Revo Foods using its food-structuring technology to mimic the flakiness and mouthfeel of animal protein.

Now, with COTTAGE PROTEIN+, the company is applying its fermentation expertise to the dairy aisle – while finding an inventive new use for an ingredient that might otherwise go to waste.

UK shoppers will be able to get their hands on COTTAGE PROTEIN+ through Vegan Wholesaler, with the new vegan cottage cheese launching from September 2026. Photo © Revo Foods/VFL

Where can you buy Revo Foods COTTAGE PROTEIN+?

COTTAGE PROTEIN+ launches in September 2026 in 150g pots and will be available from EDEKA and REWE stores across Germany.

For UK shoppers, Revo Foods says the new vegan cottage cheese will also be available through Vegan Wholesaler soon.

Can’t wait to try the new vegan cottage cheese? Satisfy your cheese cravings with the UK’s best vegan cheeses

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/news/revo-foods-vegan-cottage-cheese-fermented-apricot-kernals/ 

Future Food Quick Bites: Better Nature Tempeh, Protein Cereals & Vegan-Friendly Bundesliga

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 Better Nature’s tempeh expansion in Germany, Jay&Joy’s crowdfunding round, and Peta’s vegan-friendly Bundesliga ranking

Courtesy: Wholey/Better Nature/Aakash Shah/LinkedIn

New products and launches

British tempeh maker Better Nature has expanded its presence in Germany via a listing in Edeka, growing its footprint in the country after witnessing a 362% value growth at Rewe in the last two years.

Indian-American food tech start-up High Time Foods has teased a new product lineup for its plant-based proteins, switching from vegan chicken to a range of consumer products that boost protein in familiar products like tikkis, momos and samosas. The new lineup is set to launch in Mumbai soon.

Estonian yeast fat producer Äio has entered an exclusive distribution partnership with Focus Química, which will see its fermentation-derived cosmetic ingredients introduced to the Brazilian market.

German breakfast foods start-up Wholey has launched plant-protein-boosted cereals in chocolate and cinnamon loop variants and granolas in chocolate brownie, coconut crunch, chocolate chip-almond, and salted caramel-cashew. They feature 16-24g of rice protein per 100g.

Courtesy: Wholey

US vegan pet food brand Virtuous Vittles has rolled out its Bountiful Land Food for Dogs product, a morsels-in-gravy wet food, on online store Chewy in both samplers and 12-packs.

In the UK, Tofoo & Co has signed a deal with The Salad Project to make its sesame chilli tofu available on the salad bar chain’s menu.

And Indian meat-free restaurant chain Greenr has opened its 12th outpost, which is situated within the International Business Park at Oberoi Garden City in Mumbai’s Goregaon suburb.

Company and finance updates

Finnish gas protein start-up Solar Foods has been granted the Nasdaq Green Equity Designation – which recognises companies that derive more than 50% of their turnover from activities deemed green – for the third time, making it one of only eight businesses to receive the honour this year.

French vegan cheesemaker Jay&Joy has kicked off a crowdfunding round on Crowdcube, after recording a record 40% growth in sales in the first half of 2026.

The UK’s National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre has invested more than £1M across 33 collaborative projects to translate research into real-world solutions, boost industry-academia collaboration, and support a more sustainable food system.

Policy, research and awards

Finnish food tech startup Happy Plant Protein, which has developed a one-step extrusion tech for textured vegetable protein, has been named the winner of the Food Replacement Innovation of the Year award at the 2026 AgTech Breakthrough Awards.

Animal rights charity Peta has released its latest ranking for the most vegan-friendly stadiums in the Bundesliga, the German football league, with FC Schalke 04‘s Veltins Arena topping the list.

The Vegan Society has unveiled the new design of its Vegan Trademark logo, featuring interconnected ‘V’ shapes that also resemble ticks. The move comes ahead of the implementation of the EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, or EmpCo.

Finally, Thai future food ecosystem platform TasteBud Lab and its innovation space Future Food Hub have joined the Asia-Pacific Society for Cellular Agriculture as strategic members.

Check out last week’s Future Food Quick Bites.

https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/future-food-quick-bites-better-nature-tempeh-protein-cereals-vegan-friendly-bundesliga/

Menus in German university canteens change fundamentally

From eurekalert.org

Researchers from the University of Konstanz and the HTW Berlin University of Applied Sciences analysed around 3.7 million menu options from 340 German university canteens 

What people eat does not just depend on their own personal preferences. It is also important which foods are offered to them. German university canteens are thus far more than places where people eat together: They are part of the food environment, which encompasses all factors that influence how and what we eat. These include, for example, how easy it is to access certain food groups, which options are offered most commonly, how foods are priced, what advertisement we see, as well as the situations where we eat and with whom. As part of this food environment, German university canteens can have a long-term effect on which dietary choices are visible, available and considered normal in everyday life.

A surprising shift

A recent study by researchers at the University of Konstanz and the HTW Berlin now shows how the menus offered by German university canteens changed between 2015 and 2024. The researchers examined around 3.7 million menu options from 340 German university canteens over a period of ten years – the most comprehensive analysis of its kind.

The results show a significant shift: While 54.3 % of main dishes offered in 2015 were either vegetarian or vegan, this amount increased to 65.1 % in 2024. Growth in vegan options was particularly striking. The share of vegan options increased from 10.7 to 39.7 % – nearly quadrupling.

The substantial expansion of vegan main dishes did not primarily come at the expense of meat-based dishes. Instead, it was mainly the proportion of vegetarian dishes that decreased from 43.6 to 25.4 %, while the proportion of meat-based main dishes declined from 39.9 to 30.3 %. Main dishes with fish remained rare at around 5 %.

"The strong expansion of vegan options cannot be explained by price trends alone", says Julia Koller, co-first author of the study. She conducted the study during her time at the University of Konstanz and now works at the Ministry for Social Affairs, Labour and Health in Baden-Württemberg. "Throughout the entire study period, plant-based main dishes were less expensive than meat-based ones. However, the relative price difference between categories remained largely unchanged. On average, vegan and vegetarian main dishes were equally priced."

A contribution to more sustainable food environments

The researchers estimate that, depending on canteen size, the observed changes could lead to annual reductions of about 8,000 to 40,000 kilograms of CO₂ equivalents per university canteen. The decline in meat-based main dishes accounts for the largest share of these estimated reductions, while the shift from vegetarian to vegan dishes contributes to this reduction to a lesser extent.

The calculations are based on emission values from scientific literature and on modelled assumptions about how changes in supply translate into changes in the number of meals actually served. Thus, they should be taken as illustrative estimates and not as direct measurements of the emissions saved.

The data include the meals offered, not the actual purchasing and eating behaviour of canteen guests. It is therefore possible, for example, that a particular dish appeared less frequently on the menu but was selected often, or vice versa.

The overall trend was evident in every German federal state included in the study: The share of vegan main dishes offered increased everywhere while the share of meat-based main dishes decreased. University canteens across Germany are thus among the country's institutions that have shifted early and clearly towards more plant-based food environments. Not only do they reflect societal changes, but they can shape these changes through the food they offer.

Britta Renner, Professor of Psychological Assessment and Health Psychology at the University of Konstanz, who led the study, emphasizes: "A sustainable dietary transition does not mean that everyone eats the same food. The deciding factor is that food environments offer more attractive plant-based options, and thus more choices at the common table."

 

Key facts:

• Original publication: Kevin N. Röhl, Julia E. Koller, Jana Straßheim, Johanna Köchling, Christophe Bousquet, Jan Wirsam, Britta Renner: Decade-long shift toward vegan meal options as part of dietary transition in German university canteens. Commun. Sustain. 1, 135 (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s44458-026-00138-3
• Method: The study analysed the menus of 340 German university canteens using data from the OpenMensa database. The dataset consists of around 3.7 million menu options from 2015 to 2024 and represents over one third of German university canteens. Data processing and classification were conducted in close collaboration with Kevin N. Röhl, co-first author, and Jan Wirsam from the HTW Berlin University of Applied Sciences.
• The work conducted at the University of Konstanz was part of the "Collective Appetite" project in the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, an interdisciplinary research centre that studies the principles behind the collective behaviour of animals and other systems.
• Dr Julia E. Koller worked until April of 2026 as a health psychologist at the University of Konstanz. She now works at the Ministry for Social Affairs, Labour and Health in Baden-Württemberg.
• Professor Britta Renner has led the research group Psychological Assessment and Health Psychology at the University of Konstanz since 2007, and is co-speaker of the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour.
• Kevin N. Röhl worked until May of 2026 at the HTW Berlin.
• Professor Jan Wirsam is a professor at the HTW Berlin.
• 
  

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1141565

Josh Tetrick of Eat Just: “When You Don’t Burn Money, You Have More Power to Do Good”

From vegconomist.com

At Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, vegconomist caught up with Josh Tetrick, CEO and co-founder of Eat Just, on the sidelines of a busy show floor. With Just Egg now in over 500 REWE stores across Germany, and a second retail launch underway with Edeka, Tetrick spoke candidly about what the German market has taught him, how his company has defied the industry’s difficult moment, and why the path to transforming the food system runs through financial discipline as much as innovation.

Nils:  You launched Just Egg in Germany in January with REWE. How has it gone?

Josh:  We launched in January with REWE, and it sold well enough that they’ve expanded the number of regions we’re in. We’re now north of 500 stores with them. A couple of weeks ago we also launched with Edeka. I’ve been following the progress of our launch through the German vegan Reddit boards.I translate them and read everything people like and don’t like. They seem to like the product. They seem not to like the price.

Nils:  That sounds very German.

Josh:  I get it. Germans are spoiled for good quality. We’re producing out of our manufacturing facility in Lüneburg, Germany. We have 90 people there, a full line. We’ve invested a lot of capital getting that line set up.

“If someone is putting a perishable item in their suitcase when they travel to the US, that is a good sign the market wants it.”

Nils:  How is consumer response in Germany different from the US?

Josh:  Much better. I’m not sure if it’s because Just Egg is just more established in the US and people are more aware of it, or if there’s simply more appetite for what we’re doing in Germany. Just Egg is currently the highest-selling plant-based protein item in the United States in terms of units per store per week. But in Germany, there’s a very active conversation on the Reddit boards about Just Egg specifically. We’re seeing things like, “Now I don’t have to pack this in my suitcase when I visit the US.” If someone is putting a perishable item in their suitcase, that is a good sign the market wants it. I don’t need any McKinsey consultant to tell me anything. If that’s happening, that’s all I need to know.

© Just Egg

Nils:  Why did you choose this particular partnership structure for the European launch?

Josh:  We partnered with the Vegan Food Group, which is backed by Ahimsa, one of the largest investors in the plant-based protein space and also one of our larger investors. The manufacturing facility in Lünerburg is owned by Ahimsa, and we wanted to launch in a facility where we have more autonomy and agency. The retail partnership flows naturally from that larger relationship.

Messaging for Germany: Vegan over Plant-Based

Nils:  You’re relaunching your website in Germany at ju.st/de. Did you change the positioning and messaging for the German market?

Josh:  Yes. We’re definitely using the word “vegan” more. In the US, I would say “made from plants” or “plant-based.” In Germany, I’m much more explicit: vegan. It’s a word that doesn’t seem nearly as polarizing in Germany as it can be in the United States. And there’s also much more emphasis on impact, on animals and on the environment. In the US, I’d lead with health. In Germany, it’s animals first, then environment, then health.

Defying the Industry Downturn

Nils:  There’s been a lot happening in the alt-protein market: companies filing for bankruptcy, headwinds across the board. What gave you conviction to keep going?

Josh:  At least as it relates to us, the last three months have been our highest-ever revenue months in the history of the company. Just Egg is selling more than it ever has. Just Meat is now launching. Our margins are higher. That’s not speaking to the broader industry situation, but I think the reality is: if we can make things that are really tasty and really different, things that connect with people, we’ll win. And if we’re not making things that taste good enough and aren’t generating profit, it’s probably going to mean we lose.

                                                                                                              © Josh Tetrick

Nils:  What do you do differently from other players?

Josh:  A few things. First: if you’re going to launch something, make it meaningfully different from anything else on the shelf. Different enough that even if you didn’t put a single dollar into marketing, people would still buy it. Second, and this is probably equally important, something someone close to me told me: when you don’t burn money, you have more power to do good. We’ve learned how not to burn money. That was a hard lesson for me. It means an intense focus on every detail: warehousing, our entire bill of materials, whether we’re spending $100 on a software subscription we don’t actually need. You look at every single penny, maximize efficiency at every turn, and then wake up the next day and do it again.

“When you don’t burn money, you have more power to do good. We’ve learned how not to burn money.”

Josh:  And eventually you look at the bank account on the first of the month and then on the last day of the month, and it actually has more money at the end. That feels really good. You want to keep doing that, because there’s a lot of good that flows from that kind of discipline.

The Portfolio: Eggs, Meat, and the Long Game on Cultivated

Nils:  You now have Just Egg, Just Meat, and Good Meat. How does it all fit together?

Josh:  Really, 95% of the focus is Just Egg and Just Meat. Five percent is long-term Good Meat, very long-term. Right now we’re trying to figure out how to build a cultivated meat facility for significantly less cost than it costs to build one today. We’re not close to solving that, so there’s a lot of work ahead. But the strategy is: let the plant-based side drive us, generate cash, and fuel growth in Europe. And then, long-term, we still want to do cultivated.

© Eat Just

Nils:  If Just Egg, Just Meat, and ultimately Good Meat all hit their full potential. What does the food system look like?

Josh:  Full potential would be: on any given day, let’s say Expo West ten, twenty, thirty years from now, the majority of eggs and chicken produced in the world on that day don’t require harming an animal. That’s full potential. Whether it’s us alone (which is very unlikely) or any number of companies collectively making that happen. There are already countries in the world, Norway and Sweden among them, where the majority of cars sold on a given day are electric. Twenty years ago, no one would have predicted that.

The Assumption That’s Completely Wrong

Nils:  What’s an assumption people have right now that you think is completely wrong?

Josh:  Two things. First: a lot of people have tried plant-based products and had a bad experience with one, and then they assume that’s what all plant-based products taste like. It’s like driving one of the first electric cars and concluding that’s what electric vehicles are. Forgetting that a Tesla Model S or a Rivian doesn’t drive anything like that first EV. That assumption is wrong.

Josh:  Second: I think people are genuinely confused about health. One of the most important things we can do for our health is radically reduce saturated fat intake. There are plenty of plant-based products and non-plant-based products that are packed with saturated fat, both will increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. People need to be able to discern which plant-based products are actually healthy, not based on the label, but based on a pretty basic understanding of nutrition that unfortunately gets distorted in the media ecosystem we live in.

Nils:  Do you think consumers are confused?

Josh:  Definitely. I’m thinking of Dan Buettner, the Blue Zones researcher. Someone offered him decent money to write a weekly nutrition column, and he turned it down. He said he’d just write the same article every week: eat lots of plants like kale, broccoli, blueberries. Keep saturated fat under 15%. Get enough protein. If you eat chicken, better to be plant-based than animal-based. That’s it. The same article every week. And because you can’t build an audience writing the same thing repeatedly, people generate new content, new takes, and that creates confusion. Sometimes the truth is extremely boring. But it’s a truthful one.

What’s Next for Europe

Nils:  Last question: where next in Europe after Germany?

Josh:  Germany is the foundation. From Germany we’re going to the UK, then the Netherlands, then the Nordic countries. 

https://vegconomist.com/interviews/josh-tetrick-when-you-dont-burn-money-you-have-more-power-to-do-good/ 

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/