This week brought big news about a very big acquisition as Mars agreed to purchase Kellanova for $35.9 billion. Privately held Mars’ CEO Poul Weihrauch said, “We will honor the heritage and innovation behind Kellanova’s incredible snacking and food brands while combining our respective strengths to deliver more choice and innovation to consumers and customers.” More to come in Plated’s next edition, as more influential commentary shakes out. In the meantime: 

  • Alternative protein returned to the spotlight.
  • Corporate leaders played musical chairs.

Cultivated Concoctions

After an uncharacteristically quiet period, alternative protein reclaimed the center of food production conversations. It only took a pair of lawsuits and several brand launches.

  • On August 13, the Institute for Justice filed a lawsuit against Florida’s ban on cultivated meat. Joined by processor UPSIDE Foods, the law firm called the ban “old-fashioned economic protectionism.”
  • Meanwhile, French cultivated foie gras producer Gourmey is attempting to simultaneously clear regulatory hurdles in the U.S., U.K., Switzerland and Singapore. Food Navigator reported that the company is the first to seek a novel food application in the E.U.
  • Food Ingredients First covered developments in precision fermentation, a process used in manufacturing plant-based and lab-grown proteins, as well as cheese and beverage production.
  • Impossible Foods opened a pop-up restaurant, Impossible Quality Meats, at the XMarket Food Hall in Chicago (Forbes). Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness emphasized the brand’s foodservice-first strategy, calling the move “A natural evolution for us to create our own branded dining experience.”
  • Cultivated meat producer CULT Food Science submitted an approval request to the FDA for its lab-grown chicken products to be used in pet food. That’s one way to bring the cost down.
  • Alongside a seed funding round, California-based Plonts debuted a plant-based cheddar product on August 7 (Food Business News). The company’s name prompted Eater’s Jaya Saxena to comment: “There’s a growing list of plant-based products that make me feel like I’m gargling leeches every time I say their names.”
  • Further down the alternative dairy aisle, AgFunderNews shared SPINS data on August 14 that showed U.S. sales of milk alternatives fell 5.2% in the past year and cow milk fell 2.1%. Among the offerings, coconut was up, almond down, soy and oat flat. 

Our Takeaway: Plant-based proteins have lost their shine, but that hasn’t stemmed the tide of new entrants into the market. In comparison, cultivated meat and dairy producers are focused solely on R&D with no transition to scalability in sight. For both categories, ingredient innovation may be the real winner.

Up, Down and Sideways

We’ve seen a very active round of musical chairs in corner offices lately as major industry players ascend or shift or step down. With publicly held companies, there’s renewed hope for stock prices; with policy and industry groups, there are new openings for the next generation of leadership.

Worth Reading

Saving Tiny-box Food Retailers

State and federal governments have invested millions of dollars over the last decade to create grocery stores in food deserts — urban and rural areas with limited or no access to affordable, fresh food. However, as detailed by ProPublica and Capital News Illinois, many of the stores receiving subsidies close their doors soon after opening if they open at all. The issue stems from pricing competition versus big-box retailers, which grant money can’t solve. 

Wage Laws: McDonald’s is Not Lovin’ It

McDonald’s has long lobbied on Capitol Hill on issues like nutrition and employment. In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Heather Haddon reported how McDonald’s political spending has recently shifted to focus on labor issues, including lobbying against California’s wage laws. The company spent $5.7 million dollars lobbying in California last year, making McDonalds the state’s fourth-biggest such spender. Meanwhile, it’s replaced its Dollar Menu with $5 Value Meals so …

Parental Guidance Suggested

ScienceDaily unpacked research findings from Aston University that address how four common parental eating styles can shape their children’s eating behaviors. Lead researcher Dr. Abigail Pickard said, “Parents have the perfect opportunity to encourage a balanced diet and healthy eating from a young age in their children.”

Gamers Galore

Referencing Datassential insights, Progressive Grocer highlighted how brand and gamer partnerships might be the secret to capturing Gen Z and Millennial dollars. Offering a sense of simplicity and nostalgia, brands and retailers are tapping in to gaming opportunities. According to Jaclyn Marks, a senior publications manager with Datassential, it’s a smart move: “The video game sector is a bigger moneymaker than the global food and sports industries combined.”

Pots, Pans and Produce

The Washington Post addressed a persistent bit of social media silliness, methodically debunking a popular myth that kitchen dishwashers provide a time- and energy-saving food-prep hack for cleaning fresh fruits and vegetables. Setting aside cynical assumptions that people regularly find themselves tasked with cleaning bushels of produce for home use, writer Lindsey Bever takes a methodical, scientific approach to debunking the notion and concludes by offering tips that are logical and sane. Lindsey is far more patient than the Plated staff.

Family filling dishwasher with vegetables
No. No, Chloe. The yams go on the lower level, next to the chives in the cutlery bins.
Midjourney illustration by Ryan Smith