The Rise of Alternative Proteins

Shannon Falconer Ph.D. didn’t set out to build a company — she set out to solve a contradiction. As a Ph.D. biochemist, she spent years in the lab studying life at the molecular level. But outside the lab, she was a passionate animal advocate — and couldn’t ignore the disconnect between her values and what filled most pet food bowls: meat from industrial slaughterhouses So in 2016, she made a bold move — leaving academia to launch a company that didn’t exist yet: one that could grow real meat for pets without killing animals. That company is now known as BioCraft — and it's doing exactly what she envisioned. 🐁 What makes BioCraft different? It grows cultivated meat for pets — real animal protein from cells, not slaughter. Its first product? Cultivated mouse meat for cats — aligning with the natural feline diet. It's reached price parity with premium pet foods — a huge milestone most cultivated meat companies haven’t cracked. It’s backed by over $10M in funding, including support from investors betting on a more sustainable, ethical future for pet nutrition. 💼 BioCraft recently announced a partnership with Romania’s Prefera Petfood to bring its first cultivated cat food to market, made from 99% animal cell-cultured meat. This isn’t a science fair experiment. It’s a commercial play, and Shannon Falconer is at the helm. 🌱 Falconer is part of a new wave of scientist-founders rewriting what it means to lead a mission-driven company. She’s not just developing product — she’s questioning the entire system of how we feed the animals we love. Other alternative proteins on the rise in pet food: 🐛 Insect protein (like black soldier fly larvae) 🍄 Yeast and microbial fermentation 🌱 Plant-based blends 🧫 Cultivated meat, like BioCraft’s While the pet food industry scrambles to respond to new consumer demands, Shannon Falconer is already there, turning deep science into real-world impact. One bowl at a time.

Multiple startups are now making dairy proteins with microbes in fermentation tanks instead of cows. But if the marketing and positioning of these ingredients is too narrowly focused on the ‘animal-free’ aspect, says Netherlands-based startup Vivici, it could limit their market potential. “What we see is that customers are looking for better nutrition, better functionality, as well as a greater sustainability footprint,” Stephan van Sint Fiet told us at the Future Food-Tech conference in San Francisco last week. “If we assume that the number one reason to buy these products is to avoid animals, we’re missing out on some of the main drivers. For example, we make pure beta-lactoglobulin and with that pure protein we get functionality that we don’t get with the full whey complex." Take clear protein beverages, he said. “The industry has been trying for a long time to put high protein, clear protein waters on the market. But with whey protein isolate, it’s not possible. It’s turbid, it doesn’t become clear. With pure beta-lactoglobulin you get this beautiful clear beverage, and so now suddenly, all of those brands have an ingredient at their disposal that allows them to get to the product appearance that they want, while also having a high protein concentration." Watch the full interview at AgFunder News here: https://lnkd.in/g2uucH7z #animalfree #aninalfreedairy #alternativeproteins #foodtech #futurefoodtech #precisionfermentation #syntheticbiology #fermentation #microbialfermentation #dairy #wheyprotein Rethink Events

On this episode of WellBuilt, I sat down with Phil Graves, CEO of meati™, to explore how mycelium-based protein is reshaping the future of food 🥩🦠 Phil’s background spans corporate finance, sustainable venture investing at Patagonia’s Tin Shed Ventures, and leading regenerative agriculture efforts at Wild Idea Buffalo Co. His journey to Meati wasn’t a typical one—moving from grass-fed bison ranching to an alternative protein startup was a leap that initially surprised even him. But at its core, his work has always centered around rethinking food systems for sustainability, scalability, and health. We dove into: 🍄 The rise of mycelium-based protein and why it’s different from Plant-Based 1.0 🔬 How Meati grows its protein—a fermentation-based process that can scale to produce the equivalent protein of hundreds of cows in just days. 🕵️♂️ Challenges in the food system, from greenwashing to ingredient transparency, and how consumers can shop more consciously. 🐮 How Meati can fit into an omnivore’s diet alongside responsibly sourced animal protein 🥗The future of food tech, what’s next for Meati, and how they plan to drive down costs to make clean, scalable protein even more accessible through partnerships with fast casual restaurants like sweetgreen. Phil also shared leadership lessons from Patagonia, insights into building mission-driven companies, and how he balances life as a CEO, triathlete, and dad of three. Link to our full episode in the comments! #foodinnovation #cpg #protein #sustainbility #nutrition #mycelium #regenerativeag #entrepreneurship #podcast #expowest #foodscience #vegan #plantbased #mushrooms

This entrepreneur is growing bacon from mushrooms 🍄🥓 (And recently raised $28M to scale further) Eben Bayer grew up working on a small family farm in Vermont… …now MyForest Foods' plant-based bacon is flying off shelves as fermentation startups capture investor attention. 🥩 The Challenge: ↳ Traditional meat production accounts for ~15% of global GHG emissions ↳ Alternative protein funding dropped 44% in 2023, with many plant-based startups struggling to recover 🍄 The Innovation: ↳ MyBacon strips made from mycelium, coconut oil, sugar, salt, and natural flavors ↳ Proprietary AirMycelium technology creates perfect texture that other alternatives lack 🎯 How It Works: 1) Grow specialized oyster mushroom roots in controlled environments 2) Process into bacon-like strips with authentic texture 3) Package at new Green Island headquarters facility 4) Distribute to 600+ retailers including Whole Foods & Erewhon 5) Scale production through expanded Canadian manufacturing plant 📈 The Impact: ↳ Fastest-growing plant-based meat brand Northeast US, selling 3X faster than its competitors ↳ Adding 1,000,000+ lbs of production capacity by 2025 Would you try mushroom bacon? (N.B. This is just one of Ecovative's many brands - Keep an eye out for our full Mushroom-Tech market map coming soon!) 📥 Like this post? Follow me for more insights on NatureTech and Nature Finance