Weekly Roundup: 3D food-printing tech in outer space, Barentz in baking & food enzymes deal

17 Feb 2023 --- This week in industry news, Fooditive is the first food company to sign up to principles for how businesses should conduct themselves in outer space as it is currently developing a 3D-printing technology that can produce food from plastic waste. AB Enzymes and Barentz signed a distribution agreement extension for bake and food enzymes in most of Europe and Kirin Beverage Company plans to revise the prices for certain products from May.

In brief: Business moves
British confectionery companies are celebrating a potential export boost for Valentine’s Day 2024, with tariffs on exports to Australia and New Zealand set to be removed under the UK’s new Free Trade Agreements. The UK-Australia and UK-New Zealand trade deals are the first the UK has negotiated from scratch since leaving the EU. They are set to come into force this year and boost the UK economy by £2.3 billion (US$2.7 billion) and £800 million (US$962 million), respectively. With Valentine’s Day spending in Australia increasing year-on-year, British bakeries and chocolate manufacturers could see Valentine’s sales boom after the deals come into force.

Fooditive has signed a new agreement outlining non-binding principles for how businesses should conduct themselves in outer space. The company is the first and currently the only signatory from the CEO and founder of Fooditive, Moayad Abushokhedim.global food production sector. Fooditive is currently developing a 3D printing technology that can produce food from waste plastic called BioPrint. It is planned to be ready for use for the first mission to land humans on Mars, which is expected to launch in the late 2030s or early 2040s.

AB Enzymes and Barentz signed a distribution agreement extension for bake and food enzymes in most of Europe. The five-year deal further strengthens AB Enzymes’ ambitions in the European markets. Besides the Veron baking enzymes for bread improver and premix manufacturers, flour mills, biscuits, crackers, wafers, noodles and pasta, the deal  also focuses on the distribution of the food enzyme portfolio for protein and modification as well as grain and fruit processing.

Darling Ingredients agreed with Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Company to purchase the off-take from its planned 2,000-head-per-day beef-processing facility in Mills County, Iowa. Darling Ingredients also announced that it intends to expand its nearby Bellevue, Nebraska, rendering plant to increase receiving and processing capacity.

Kirin Beverage Company will revise the prices for certain products delivered from May 1, 2023. The company has been making corporate efforts and management rationalizations to improve productivity and reduce costs in all aspects of the business. However, the sharp depreciation of the yen, among other economic factors in recent years, has significantly increased all costs, including raw materials, Kirin Beverage implemented price revisions for some products effective last October. 

Unilever continues to condemn the war in Ukraine as “a brutal and senseless act by the Russian state.” Unilever says it remains focused on ensuring the well-being of its Ukrainian employees and their families by helping them find safety in nearby countries and setting up accommodation in the west of Ukraine for those who have chosen to stay. In March 2022, Unilever ceased importing and exporting its products into and out of Russia and stopped all media and advertising spending.

In brief: Financing news 
Food inflation in Spain decreased by 0.3% in January, compared to December, but remains historically high at 15.4%. A civil society coalition is calling on the Spanish authorities to “guarantee access to healthy food” amid the cost of living crisis.The organizations have sent the government ten policy measures for a fair and sustainable agri-food system to transform the food model and adjust it to the planetary limits and the economic needs of people.

Subway’s shareholders are exploring a possible sale of the company. There is no indication of timing or assurance that a sale will occur. The company does not intend to make any further public comment regarding the process until it has been completed. AB Enzymes and Barentz signed a distribution agreement extension for bake and food enzymes in most of Europe.

Prime Roots has become the first mycelium-based food company to receive B-Corp certification. Certified B-Corps are businesses leading the future of a sustainable and equitable economy. The brand’s meats made from koji mycelium result in 92% less water use, 91% less land impact, and nearly zero byproducts while replicating an umami-rich flavor and meaty texture.

Elo Life Systems completed series A financing, raising a total of US$24.5 million. Existing investors, including AccelR8, Novo Holdings and DCVC Bio, led the financing, enabling Elo Life Systems to accelerate the development of its natural, plant-based sweetener products by advancing US regulatory approvals, building pilot-scale processing capabilities, and market-testing its sweetener with consumers. Elo also expects to open a series B financing round later this year to scale further and commercialize its sweetener products and expand its R&D pipeline.

IngredientWerks, an ag-tech ingredient company developing high-value plant-based proteins for the alternative protein markets secured its seed round of funding. Molecular Farming uses plants as “manufactories” to produce high-value proteins and achieves an unparalleled low cost of production through the economies of scale afforded by the immense cultivation and food processing infrastructure of traditional farm production in the US.  

In brief: Acquisitions
Zamaz, a London-based international e-commerce and retail technology brand aggregator revealed that its wholly owned subsidiary, Bella Dispensa, has acquired the entire issued share capital of Dallatte Italia (Dallatte). Dallatte, based in Piedmont, Italy, is a manufacturer and distributor of premium dairy products using natural ingredients, including ice cream and pastries, milk, butter and cooking cream, fresh and dry pastries and frozen filled pasta. 

By Elizabeth Green