This week in industry news, Impossible Foods launched a bite-sized steak product, and the Finnish government backed Solar Foods with a US$10.6 million investment to commercialize its Solein protein. Meanwhile, Bioceres Crop Solutions secured patent protection for a drought-tolerant wheat variety, and Hilton Food Group expanded into the Middle East.

Launches and innovation

Plant-based meat formulator Impossible Foods launched its pre-cooked steak product, Impossible Steak Bites, at the ongoing Natural Products Expo West in the US. The company says this is its first steak product, and it has a succulent, meaty flavor with 21 g of protein. Compared to animal-based steak, Impossible Steak Bites contains zero cholesterol and 80% less saturated fat.

Biomaterials company Marine Biologics unveiled SuperCrude, which it claims is the world’s first programmable biomass. The proprietary macroalgae solutions are designed using seaweed to work with the company’s open-source cheminformatics models and enable manufacturers to develop natural emulsifiers for clean label products across the food, agriculture, and health industries. The company leverages machine learning and green chemistry to create customizable, clean ingredient systems at scale.

Business highlights

Finnish start-up Solar Foods received a €10 million (US$10.6 million) grant from Business Finland, the country’s official government agency for trade and investment promotion. The funding will support the company’s entry into the pre-engineering phase of its commercial-scale plant. This follows a €33.6 million ($35.6 million) investment in 2022 to help construct its demo plant near Helsinki, which produces 160 metric tons of the company’s Solein protein annually.

Additionally, Solar Foods started commercializing Solein in the US to focus on the Health and Performance Nutrition market with the product concept Solein Protein Bites. The snack is bite-sized and is claimed to be a good source of protein, containing iron and vitamin B12. Its ingredients include real peanut butter and crunchy hazelnuts enrobed in a smooth, chocolate-flavored coating. 

Argentina-based Bioceres Crop Solutions received patent protection for its HB4 wheat variety until 2042. The company claims HB4 wheat provides better tolerance to drought and enhanced weed management options compared to conventional wheat. The approval is the first of four potential patents the company is pursuing for this product in the US. The USDA has already approved the technology for cultivation, and the FDA has authorized it for food and feed use in the US. 

Hilton Food Group entered into a Joint Venture (JV) with The National Agricultural Development Company (NADEC) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to expand its market reach into the Middle East and support food security in the region. The partnership aims to combine Hilton Foods’ expertise in meat processing and packaging with NADEC’s extensive local cattle operations. While Hilton Foods will develop new facilities in the country, NADEC will supply the JV and integrate its red meat products into its distribution network.

Mexico-based Alsa Ingredients collaborated with Vaess, Dutch food engineers, to enhance their position in the European and Latin American markets, expanding their expertise in beef, pork, and poultry meat. The move aims to combine Alsa’s expertise in functional solutions for meat products and marinades with Vaess’s technological innovations in poultry and advanced functional meat solutions.

Actual Veggies, which produces vegetable-forward products, received US$7 million in a Series A round of funding led by Relentless Consumer Partners. Its flagship product, the Actual Veggies Black Bean Burger, will launch in retail outlets this month. The US-based firm aims to tap the growing consumer demand for clean label, whole-food alternatives with its vegetarian burgers and high-protein fries made with added vegetables and without seed oils.

Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn announced plans to display the Nutri-Score on all the products in its stores, which it already does for its own brand products. It will display the Nutri-Score logo to indicate the level of nutrition for a product within its category on electronic price tags in its stores and webshop. The logo will be added in phases, starting with dairy products, breakfast cereals, and snacks.

Culinary solutions provider Woodland Gourmet acquired Sevillo Fine Foods, which manufactures ready-to-eat frozen ingredients. The move aims to enhance Woodland Gourmet’s product portfolio and expand its presence in the food service, retail, and industrial markets. Sevillo is based in Utah, US, and provides innovative, flavor-forward culinary ingredients like fire-grilled vegetables, slow-roasted tomatoes, pickled vegetables, spreads, and sauces.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) announced it is looking for host farms for RamCompare, the UK’s national progeny testing initiative. The aim is to gather valuable performance data from commercial lambs to drive improvements in the sheep industry. The AHDB has invited commercial farms from across England and Wales to provide around 300 commercial ewes of the same breed type. These ewes will be mated with terminal sire rams supplied by the project, either through natural mating with a single ram or artificial insemination.