Maple Leaf Foods

A new wave of meat, fish, and poultry alternatives are driving this hyper-growth industry into the mainstream.

Plant-based Meat

<div>
 
 MycoTechnology is a startup specializing in functional ingredients extracted from mushroom mycelia via submerged fermentation. The company's primary products are 1) ClearIQ, a clean-label bitter blocker and flavor clarifier used in plant-based foods, energy drinks, and confectionery, and 2) FermentIQ, a high-quality protein source derived from plant protein fermented with shiitake mushroom mycelia, suitable for various applications including nutritional beverages, baked goods, protein-enriched snacks, frozen desserts, and dips. The company has a presence in over 100 countries through its distribution partners in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.
 
 
 The company also offers a fermentation-as-a-service (FaaS) platform, designed to help startups and companies facing challenges in securing fermentation capacity. It supports bioproducts such as proteins, enzymes, and probiotics and features 300-liter, 3,000-liter, and 90,000-liter fermentation vessels, particularly suited for low oxygen transfer rate (OTR) fermentation.
 
 
 MycoTechnology's facility spanned 86,000 sq ft and could produce up to 4,000 metric tons of FermentIQ protein annually (as of 2019). The company asserted that FermentIQ is 2.5x more soluble than unfermented pea and rice blends, 2x as soluble as pea protein, and over 8x as soluble as rice protein. The company held a total of 109 patents worldwide for both products, as of October 2023.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10147">
 May 2022
 </a>
 , MycoTechnology and the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) formed a partnership to produce a mushroom-based protein by upcycling locally sourced dates, which are in excess. The two parties will also work together to build a modern production facility in Oman, with a capacity to process 16,000 metric tons of dates annually, which is set to begin construction in H1 2023 and will be used for scaling up and commercializing the new protein. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14988">
 November 2022
 </a>
 , the company partnered with IFF to co-develop mycelia-based alternative proteins for the European market.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In March 2022, the company 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9467">
 raised USD 85 million
 </a>
 in a Series E funding round led by an affiliate of Oman Investment Authority, bringing its total funding to over USD 200 million. Proceeds will be used to accelerate the company&rsquo;s growth by capitalizing on its proprietary fermentation platform and expanding its global presence by launching products in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
 
</div>

Making meat sustainable over the long term.

Cell-cultured Meat

Evolved Meats (formerly Caro Meats) is a Canadian biotechnology startup focused on producing whole cuts of meat using cell sheet tissue engineering technology. The company has developed a species-agnostic platform to grow whole cuts of meat, which is both structurally and biochemically identical to real cuts of meat. According to its claims, its provisionally patented technology can replicate the fibrous texture, marbling, taste, and mouthfeel, among other variables of real meat without any scaffoldings or binders.Funding and financialsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10591">May 2022 </a>, the company raised CAD 2 million (~USD 1.56 million) in a seed funding round led by Maple Leaf Foods. Other participating investors included Big Idea Ventures, Garage Capital, Saltgen Ventures, and strategic angel investors (names undisclosed). The funds were earmarked for accelerated product development and initial scale-up efforts, as the company moved from prototyping to scaled production.

Empowering sustainable food innovation through food engineering tech

Novel Foods

MycoTechnology is a start-up specializing in functional ingredients extracted from mushroom mycelia via submerged fermentation. The company's primary products are 1) ClearIQ, a clean-label bitter blocker and flavor clarifier used in plant-based foods, energy drinks, and confectionery and 2) FermentIQ, a high-quality protein source derived from plant protein fermented with shiitake mushroom mycelia, suitable for various applications including nutritional beverages, baked goods, protein-enriched snacks, frozen desserts, and dips. The company has a presence in over 100 countries through its distribution partners in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.The company also offers a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23191">Fermentation as a Service (FaaS) </a>platform, which is designed to help startups and companies facing challenges in securing fermentation capacity. It supports bioproducts such as proteins, enzymes, and probiotics and features 300-liter, 3,000-liter, and 90,000-liter fermentation vessels, particularly suited for low oxygen transfer rate (OTR) fermentation.MycoTechnology's facility spanned 86,000 sq ft and had the capacity to produce up to 4,000 metric tons of FermentIQ protein annually (as of 2019). The company asserts that FermentIQ is 2.5x more soluble than unfermented pea and rice blends,2x as soluble as pea protein, and over 8x as soluble as rice protein. The company held a total of 109 patents worldwide for both products as of October 2023.In July 2023, the company unveiled a sweet protein derived from honey truffles (a fungus that grows in Eastern Europe), claiming it to be 1,500x to 2,500x sweeter than sugar with a similar calorie content to other proteins. Commercialization was anticipated to start in 2025/2026, beginning in North America and expanding to Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.Key customers and partnershipsIn May 2022, MycoTechnology partnered with the <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10147">Oman Investment Authority (OIA) </a>to produce a mushroom-based protein by upcycling locally sourced dates. In November 2022, the company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14988">IFF </a>to co-develop mycelia-based alternative proteins for the European market. In December 2022, the company entered a supplier agreement with Brenntag, enabling customers in multiple European countries to access MycoTechnology ingredients for various food applications, including protein beverages, baked goods, and snacks.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/28407">April 2024</a>, the company partnered with Macalat, a US-based chocolate brand, to create an organic, sugar-free, vegan dark chocolate bar using ClearIQ.Funding and financialsIn March 2022, the company raised USD 85 million in a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9467">Series E funding </a>round led by an affiliate of Oman Investment Authority to accelerate the company’s growth by capitalizing on its proprietary fermentation platform and expanding its global presence by launching products in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The company had plans to go public in 2026.

CaroMeats grows healthy, delicious meat directly from animal cells. No environmental damage is caused. No animals are harmed.

MycoTechnology utilizes fungi-based food-processing platforms to transform the flavor and value of agricultural products. The platform can be used to solve a variety of challenges faced by the food, beverage, and flavor industries. MycoTechnology has released ClearTaste, an all-natural, GMO-free, organic bitter blocker that is Kosher and Halal certified. ClearTaste improves the flavor of various agricultural products. MycoTechnology also engages in fermenting agricultural products with strains of gourmet fungi. The company offers myceliated chocolate as well as robusta and arabica coffee beans. It develops and licenses technology to the industry to naturally improve the flavor of robusta and arabica coffee.  The company was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Aurora, Colorado.

Entomo Farms mission is to make an important contribution in the feeding of an estimated world population of 9 billion people in 2050 and to establish a new paradigm of perception and desirability as they motivate people across the globe to consume insect protein. They aims to  create a global awareness of the relevance and socio-political impact of each person’s protein ecological footprint.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a leading consumer protein company, making high quality, innovative products under national brands including Maple Leaf®, Maple Leaf Prime, Maple Leaf Natural Selections, Schneiders, Schneiders Country Naturals, and Mina. The Company also operates in the refrigerated plant protein category with the Lightlife brand. Maple Leaf employs approximately 11,500 people and does business in Canada, the U.S. and Asia. The Company is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario and its shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (MFI).

<div> Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a leading consumer protein company, making high quality, innovative products under national brands including Maple Leaf&reg;, Maple Leaf Prime, Maple Leaf Natural Selections, Schneiders, Schneiders Country Naturals, and Mina. The Company also operates in the refrigerated plant protein category with the Lightlife brand. Maple Leaf employs approximately 11,500 people and does business in Canada, the U.S. and Asia. The Company is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario and its shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (MFI). </div>

Q3 2022 Plant-based meat menu: Plant-based meat losing its sizzle

Manufacturer (Beef)

Manufacturer (Poultry)

Manufacturer (Pork)

Lightlife

Brand of premium plant-based pork products

Maple Leaf Foods

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Q3 2022 Plant-based meat menu: Plant-based meat losing its sizzle

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Better Meat Co partners with Maple Leaf subsidiary Greenleaf Foods

Maple Leaf Foods to change its investment approach for its plant-based meat business in response to declining sales

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