This week, Hard Rock Cafe partnered with British food-tech company Moving Mountains to launch a plant-based hamburger in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Natural coloring ingredients that meet China’s Group Standards for Coloring Foods will be showcased by food coloring specialist GNT Group at the upcoming Food Ingredients Asia-China expo. COFCO NHRI (Nutrition and Health Research Institute) has entered into a partnership agreement with Chinese food-tech venture capital fund Bits x Bites. Mondelēz International has announced it is investing US$6 million in its Reading Science Centre in the UK to support the development of new chocolate, biscuit and candy products, serving over 150 different countries. Food research and science organization Campden BRI is celebrating its 100-year anniversary year. Food-tech company Motif Ingredients has appointed food business leader and nutrition expert, Michele Fite, as its new CCO, and global food processor Bühler will add a new member to its Board of Directors with the nomination of Rainer Schulz, former CEO of the REHAU Group. Students from University of Reading have won the gold prize at the food innovation competition Ecotrophelia for their vegan energy sweets for endurance athletes.

In brief: New product developments
Hard Rock Cafe partnered with British food-tech company Moving Mountains to launch a plant-based hamburger – The Mighty 6oz Meatless Bleeding Burger – in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The vegetable burger patty was innovated to sizzle, smell, taste and “bleed” like regular meat, offering a suitable option for flexitarians, vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters. The “bleeding” characteristic of the imitation meat is achieved through the use of beetroot juice. Other natural ingredients include succulent oyster mushrooms, peas, wheat and soy proteins, antioxidant-rich coconut oil, oats and the recommended daily allowance of vitamin B12. “Our mission is to expand into new restaurants and cities and to make truly inspiring flexitarian dining available to everyone using the most up-to-date food technology,” says Simeon van der Molen, founder of Moving Mountains. “Our launch in the world famous Hard Rock Cafe, known for its legendary hamburgers, certifies the Moving Mountains Burger as a truly delicious hamburger that can compete with beef.” 

Natural coloring ingredients that meet China’s Group Standards for Coloring Foods will be showcased by food coloring specialist GNT Group at the upcoming Food Ingredients Asia-China (June 19-21, 2019, Shanghai). GNT will highlight how it can help manufacturers replac artificial colors and animal-based colors such as carmine with EXBERRY Coloring Foods, which fully comply with the standards drawn up by the China National Food Industry Association. The standards stipulate that food coloring must be produced from natural raw food materials, such as fruits, vegetables, plants and algae, using only physical processes. Additionally, the characteristic properties of the raw materials such as flavor, nutrition and coloring constituents must be retained. EXBERRY colors meet these criteria and can be declared on labels simply as, for example, “Coloring Food (Concentrate of Carrot),” the company notes.

In brief: Partnerships
Chinas COFCO NHRI (Nutrition and Health Research Institute) has entered into a partnership agreement with Chinese food-tech venture capital fund Bits x Bites. Bits x Bites invests in 6-8 early-stage food tech startups a year to tackle systematic food system challenges in China. To date, Bits x Bites has funded Chinese and international companies advancing technology from gene editing to cellular agriculture to clean-protein pet food to smart packaging and low-GI rice. This engagement will be COFCO NHRI’s first with a startup investor. Its goal is to power the development of agriculture and food tech innovation in China by opening up its resources to qualifying tech companies. In addition, it aims to bring more creative startups and technologies into the COFCO organization. COFCO Group is China’s state-owned and largest food processor, manufacturer, and trader for rice, oil, corn, sugar and other staples. The Group’s portfolio also includes Mengniu Dairy, Womai.com, and joint ventures such as COFCO Coca-Cola. In 2018, total revenue of COFCO was US$70 billion. COFCO NHRI is the R&D engine to help COFCO develop new technology, products, services, and food experiences. With a goal to elevate health and wellness in China and improve efficiency of agricultural and food processing, its research spans across consumer preferences, human nutrition and health, animal feed, food formulation and food safety, as well as biotechnology and chemical engineering. 

In brief: New investments
Mondelēz International has announced it is investing US$6 million in its Reading Science Centre in the UK to support the development of new chocolate, biscuit and candy products, serving over 150 different countries. The Reading Science Centre is currently home to over 290 scientists, chemists, food technologists and other specialists. The announcement is aligned with the company’s strategy to develop a global network of state-of-the-art technical hubs strategically positioned around the world. These technical centers support the company’s growth-oriented innovation agenda as they improve speed, efficiency and effectiveness, while enabling the company to address evolving consumer needs more quickly. The new Reading investment comes on top of the company’s previously announced global investment of US$65 million in its eleven technical centers around the world. “Reading is our largest global R&D center dedicated to research work and, as such, it’s a central hub for food testing and analysis for all our product categories. This new investment will enable us to further accelerate our understanding of the science behind our products,” says Louise Stigant, UK Managing Director at Mondelēz International. 

In brief: Anniversaries
Food research and science organization Campden BRI is celebrating its 100-year anniversary. To mark the occasion, the Annual Campden Lecture was delivered by representatives of Tesco and Danone, who also celebrate their centenaries this year. Campden BRI’s beginnings go back to the First World War, when the UK government wanted to develop ways of preserving food to ensure food security in times of conflict. A milling facility for pheasant feed, next to Chipping Campden railway station, was chosen as the base for this critical endeavor as it was located in the Vale of Evesham, a major area of fruit and vegetable production. The war ended before the facility was established, but the project continued, and the Campden Experimental Factory came into being in 1919. It started off developing canned food processes and over the years its work spread into all areas of food production including scientific, technical and consumer research and testing. Today, as Campden BRI, it is the world’s largest independent membership-based food and drink research organization, serving food and drinks companies across the world. It currently has over 2,500 member companies from 80 countries, including all of the top 10 UK retailers, the top 15 global food and drink manufacturers, and many of the world’s biggest brands. 

In brief: New executive hires
Food-tech company Motif Ingredients has appointed food business leader and nutrition expert, Michele Fite, as its new CCO. Fite will lead commercial strategy and execution for Motif, building and leading teams in business development, marketing, sales and product management. She brings nearly 30 years of diverse experience across food and consumer goods, including infant formula, weight management, sports nutrition, medical foods and dietary supplements. She has held leadership roles at a number of companies including DuPont, Solae and Nestle. Fite was the founding CEO at Cadena BioSciences, a start-up focused on gut microbiomes.  Most recently she served as President of Kerry’s Dairy & Culinary division. “I’ve worked with Michele for over 13 years and her experience in both large-scale food businesses and fast-paced start-ups is the perfect recipe to accelerate Motif’s growth.  Michele has the just the right balance of a deep understanding of food science and a proven track record of marketing product breakthroughs” said McIntyre.

At its upcoming extraordinary general shareholders’ meeting on June 21, 2019, global food processor Bühler will add a new member to its Board of Directors with the nomination of Rainer Schulz, former CEO of the REHAU Group. After obtaining a degree in production technology, for which he was awarded the promotion prize of the Association of German Engineers VDI, Rainer Schulz first held various materials management and production supply chain positions in the electronics and mechanical engineering industries. Since 1995, Rainer Schulz has acted as head of production and later as general head of purchasing in charge of global procurement at the jet engine builder BMW Rolls-Royce AeroEngines. In 2001, Rainer Schulz moved on to the global REHAU Group. As Chief Operating Officer, he was in charge within the context of the company management of the engineering, production, and materials management functions. In 2010, Rainer Schulz was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the REHAU Group, a position he held until mid-2018.

In brief: Awards and recognitions 
A team of students from University of Reading has won the gold prize at the food innovation competition Ecotrophelia, organized by Campden BRI and the Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST), for their vegan energy sweets for endurance athletes. The Venergy team has developed lemon and lime flavored energy sweets which provide a vegan sustainable alternative to energy products, by tackling issues with ingredient and packaging sustainability. Each member of the gold-winning team took home a share of £2,000 (US$2,245) and an invitation to become an IFST Young Ambassador. Team Caruffle from Nottingham Trent University secured the silver prize and £1,000 (US$1,122) for their truffle made from carob and hazelnut with a mixed fruit jelly center and rolled in popped and ground quinoa. The bronze prize and £500 (US$561) was awarded to the second team from University of Reading for their vegan, gluten-free and reduced fat quiche-like product made of a sweet potato base packed with roasted vegetables in a chickpea flour filling. All three prize-winning teams will also receive a one-year IFST membership. Venergy team will go on to compete against 16 other national teams from across Europe for the chance to win up to €6,000 (US$6.772) at the Ecotrophelia European final, which will take place during ANUGA in Cologne, Germany on October 6-7, 2019.

By Benjamin Ferrer