Infinite Roots attracts Haribo, Rewe €53 million investment for mycelium-based proteins

Last week was all about regulatory breakthroughs, and this week it’s all about investment. Big investments!

Kicking off, one German company has scooped an enormous €53 million Series B funding round, marking the largest investment in mycelium technologies in Europe to date. The funding round was oversubscribed and led by Dr Hans Riegel Holding (HRH), a holding company of the renowned confectionery group Haribo!

Meanwhile, Mexican meat and dairy company, Sigma Alimentos, has made an undisclosed investment in a USA-based meat alternatives producer to create a new line of plant-based whole-cut meats. The CEO of his innovative food-tech anticipates business revenue exceeding US$10 million in the next 12 months, with his company currently selling its products in over 30 fine dining and casual restaurants across seven US states.

Elsewhere, the news of the Netherlands now allowing tastings of cultivated meat just missed last week’s newsletter, but it’s too good - and too big - a story to let go by the wayside. This makes the country the first in the European Union to make pre-approvals of cultivated food tastings possible, even before an EU novel food approval.

Equally innovative, a 3D food-printing specialist from Israel has announced that it has further expanded its 3D-printing capabilities with the world's first plant-based, 3D-printed shrimps, expertly designed to mimic the authentic texture and flavor of conventional shrimps. The shrimp market is worth more than US$60 billion, and is projected to continue growing substantially over the coming decade!

Before we go, we’d like to let you know that the Q1 edition of Protein Production Technology International will be published this week, featuring articles on precision fermentation, regulations, ingredients, scaling cultivated meat, and more. If you don’t receive the magazine, click here to subscribe free of charge, and let us know what you think after you’ve had a good read. It’s another 100-pager and we’re pretty proud of it…

For now, though, read on to find out who made this week’s Top 4… and more…!

• Infinite Roots attracts Haribo, Rewe investment for mycelium-based proteins

• Team develops a non-allergenic wheat protein for growing better cultivated meat

• USA's Chunk Foods secures investment from Mexico’s Sigma Alimentos

• Dutch cultivated meat and seafood companies gear up to hold first legally sanctioned tastings in the Netherlands