Weekly Roundup: PepsiCo unveils Digital Hubs, Fresh Del Monte raises banana prices

29 Oct 2021 --- This week in industry news, PepsiCo revealed its first two Digital Hubs in North America and Europe, with plans to expand to more locations. Palsgaard entered a new local public-private partnership on CO2-neutrality to develop a biogas facility, and Sainsbury’s announced significant headway in its carbon reduction efforts. Also, microalgae milk player Sophie’s Bionutrients plans to relocate to Europe’s alt-protein hub in the Netherlands, and Waitrose published insights into food waste in UK households.

In brief: Business moves
PepsiCo’s Digital Hubs, located in Dallas and Barcelona, are expected to create more than 500 new, data and digital jobs over the next three years. By creating spaces designed for real-time collaboration, these Digital Hubs will drive the company’s digitalization agenda and reinforce its global digital delivery network. The Hubs were designed to accelerate the way PepsiCo develops, centralizes and deploys critical digital capabilities, such as near-instant, holistic, predictive analytics and ecosystem engagement across its global operations. 

Benson Hill has opened its Crop Accelerator, a controlled environment research facility near the company’s St. Louis, US, headquarters. The Crop Accelerator is operational ahead of schedule and under budget, with the facility’s first soybean and yellow pea seeds planted recently. Benson Hill’s CropOS technology platform combines data science, plant science and food science to predict breeding targets that enhance a crop’s nutrition, flavor and sustainability. 

Tate & Lyle has appointed IMCD – a global player in the sales, marketing and distribution of specialty food ingredients and flavors – as its distribution partner in Italy. This agreement comes after the cooperation between Tate & Lyle and IMCD in Sweden, Norway and Denmark since Tate & Lyle has appointed IMCD as its distribution partner in Italy. 2015, and Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxemburg and Morocco since 2021. IMCD will provide Tate & Lyle’s portfolio of ingredients and solutions, including its Promitor Soluble Fibres, Claria Clean Label Starches and Stevia sweeteners, to its customers in Italy from January 1, 2022. 

In brief: Sustainability 
The wastewater treatment facility Hedensted Spildevand and ingredient company Palsgaard have joined forces to develop new technology, to produce biogas from the treatment of wastewater from Palsgaard’s production, which will then be used for heating. This will maintain CO2-neutrality in Palsgaard’s Danish production as it increases toward 2030. The construction of Palsgaard’s new biogas facility began on October 26 as a result of the close public-private partnership between food ingredient/plant-based polymer additives company Palsgaard in Juelsminde and Hedensted Spildevand, the local wastewater treatment plant.

Fresh Del Monte Produce is raising prices on bananas, including organic varieties and plantains, in addition to those on pineapples and fresh-cut fruit, effective November 1. The move comes in response to unprecedented market conditions and inflationary pressures being felt across all industries, affecting Fresh Del Monte, particularly as it relates to production and supply chain. Earlier this week, banana producers in South America urged international retailers to address the global issue of “spiralling inflationary prices” affecting production costs, which they argue are not being reflected in the final purchase price paid by large supermarkets of the EU, US and the UK. 

UK adults estimate that almost a third of what they buy ends up in the bin despite three in four making attempts to get more use out of the products in their fridges and cupboards. The top three food items wasted are salad leaves, bread and milk. Other foodstuffs commonly ending up in the bin are bananas, cucumber, strawberries and potatoes (top 20 list below). The study of 2,000 adults commissioned by Waitrose found one in seven (14%) forget to check use-by dates, while nearly one in ten are guilty of buying more than they need in the first place. 

Sainsbury’s has strengthened its commitment to tackling the climate crisis by accelerating its target to become Net Zero in its operations by 2035, five years earlier than its original ambition and aligned to the UN’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. The retailer has cut its carbon footprint by 47% in the last 17 years despite its space increasing by over 40%. 

In brief: Plant-based strides
Above Food has entered into a binding transaction agreement with Atlantic Natural Foods – a global player in plant-based seafood alternatives, plant-based simple meals and plant-based egg replacements. The deal has been approved by the board of directors of both companies and is expected to close in Q1 2022.The study of 2,000 adults commissioned by Waitrose found that one in seven consumers (14%) forget to check use-by dates.

Shiru, a California-based biotech start-up, has closed a US$17 million series A round led by S2G Ventures and joined by returning investors Lux Capital, CPT Capital, Y Combinator and Emles Venture Partners. They are joined by existing investors XFactor, Area VC and Peak State Ventures. New investors The W Fund, SALT and Veronorte also participated, bringing Shiru’s total funding to date to more than US$20 million.

Singapore-based Sophie’s Bionutrients introduced the world’s first milk alternative made from protein-rich microalgae earlier this year. CEO and founder Eugene Wang aims to shift the business to the Netherlands to tap into its plant-based protein ecosystem. Algae-based ingredients have piqued food industry interest in recent years as a sustainable, animal-free source of protein, lipids and micronutrients. Traditionally grown in open ponds, they are extremely fast-growing and require few inputs – but Wang sees an even better way to grow microalgae for food, based on fermentation using various food industry waste as feedstock.

In brief: Other highlights
EFSA has begun work on a new assessment looking at the risk of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria spreading during animal transport. The evaluation, which was requested by the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), will focus on the risk of resistant zoonotic bacteria spreading among poultry, pigs and cattle during transport to other farms or slaughterhouses. When antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs in zoonotic bacteria – bacteria that can be passed from animals to humans – it can also compromise the effective treatment of infectious diseases in humans.

By Elizabeth Green