This week in NPD news, Bio&Me launched a FODMAP-friendly and gluten-free addition to its granola range and Eighth Day Foods raised US$1 million in seed funding for their primary product Lupreme, made from sweet lupins for plant-based formulations.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) invested US$50 million in grants through the Seafood Processors Pandemic Response and Safety Block Grant Program (SPRS), and Bord Bia joined forces with retailer Spinneys to promote Irish brands and their participation in the Origin Green sustainability program.    

In brief: NPD
UK gut health food brand, Bio&Me, created by The Gut Health Doctor Dr. Megan Rossi, launched a FODMAP-friendly and gluten-free addition to its granola range, to be rolled out this month. The offering was created in response to the growing consumer trend toward personalized nutrition solutions for specific health concerns. The launch is targeted at the 20% of British adults who have sensitive stomachs, including those who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). 

Ornua, an Irish exporter of dairy products, significantly expanded its products in the Middle East with its Kerrygold butter sticks range in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, in addition to extending its pizza cheese portfolio to quick-service restaurants in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The product range expansion coincides with the company’s return to Gulfood after a pause due to COVID-19.Bio&Me launched Seed and Nut gluten-free granola range. 

Kulmbach-based spice expert RAPS expanded its portfolio of barbecue seasonings with the launch of eight dry rubs featuring international flavors. Botanicals are featured in the Rose Meets Malabar pepper rub. The Green Malabar pepper rub combines rose petals and ginger for an aromatic flavor. The Peruvian rub features hemp nuts, black cumin and sesame seeds, while the Rustic Bush rub features bush herbs and lemon notes for that authentic South African barbecue flavor. Fennel, cinnamon and chili, red Kampot pepper from Cambodia and smoked spices are other ingredients featured. Each rub contains a touch of sugar, which caramelizes during the cooking process and creates a crust on meat, vegetables, potatoes and cheese. Brown demerara sugar, characterized by large crystals and a subtle hint of caramel, is used.

Puratos UK and Fourayes partnered to launch Utterly Fruity, a collection of natural fruit and vegetable pieces formulated to overcome moisture migration issues for the bakery sector. The new range allows the inclusion of fruits and vegetables in baked goods without compromising product texture, flavor or shelf life. The product is available in four varieties: Bramley apple, cranberry, carrot and beetroot. 

Eighth Day Foods, the company that won “Best Protein” at the World Plant-based Food Awards in 2021, raised US$1 million in seed funding for their primary product Lupreme, which allows manufacturers to create new products or replac expensive ingredients, at a price on parity with meat.

Plant-based start-up Meati launched its initial offerings, chicken cutlet and crispy cutlet marking the first step in its objective to deliver scalable, dense whole food protein to market. Meati sold 1,116 cutlets in the first hour and sold out its entire pre-order inventory in a day. The Boulder-based company delivers minimally processed nutrition from mycelium, mushrooms’ muscular root structure. Its goal is to be the US market share leader in plant-based meat by 2025 with a revenue run rate of US$1 billion.Lupreme is made from sweet lupins.  

 In brief: Sustainability efforts
The USDA invested approximately US$50 million in grants to support seafood processors, processing facilities and processing vessels through the SPRS. The grant funding will be distributed through state agencies. It will help defray costs incurred by seafood processing facilities and processing vessels preparing for, preventing exposure to, and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. SPRS recipients include state agencies, commissions, or departments responsible for agriculture, fisheries, wildlife, seafood, commercial processing, or related commerce activities. The program is funded by the Pandemic Assistance provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

Kellogg Company unveiled InGrained, a five-year program worth US$2 million in support of its Better Days global purpose platform. The company will partner with Lower Mississippi River Basin rice farmers to reduce their climate impact, rewarding them with US$20 per ton of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction their practices achieve.   

Bord Bia partnered with Spinneys, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) retailer, to promote Irish brands and their participation in Origin Green, its food and drink sustainability program. The three-week promotion was launched on February 14, day two of the Irish government’s trade mission to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, led by Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM), Charlie McConalogue. This trade mission is the first in-person trade mission by Bord Bia and DAFM in two years and builds on a previous ministerial-led trade mission to the region in 2017.

In brief: COVID recovery
According to the NPD Group, China’s foodservice industry showed signs of recovery at the end of 2021 after an uncertain two-year period brought on by COVID-19 and lockdown measures. Vaccination rollouts and easing restrictions across the country meant that China could report a recovery in the first half of the year across the 22 cities tracked by NPD for the foodservice industry. 

There was growth in foot traffic and spending over the first two quarters of 2021. Regional outbreaks throughout the second half of 2021 caused a downturn in year-end results for foot traffic and spending, with each declining by 2%. 

Restaurants, including full-service restaurants (FSR) and quick-service restaurants (QSR), reported strong growth in the first half of 2021, driven by small chains and independent stores. However, due to regional outbreaks throughout the country in the second half of last year, both FSR and QSR experienced declines in the second half, with the highest losses occurring in the fourth quarter. 

Western QSRs in China, led by large global chains such as McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, and Subway, fared better due to expanding their already high capacity for off-premises volumes. 

In brief: Agriculture and livestockNew findings have been published on how to deter "late blight" disease from setting into potato crops,
The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences developed an environmentally friendly method to control “late blight,” potato disease. The research findings have been published in “Spray-Induced Gene Silencing as a Potential Tool to Control Potato Late Blight Disease,” Phytopathology. Late blight, caused by the fungal-like Phytophthora infestans, is one of the most devastating diseases affecting potato and tomato crops. Intensive fungicide spraying remains the only effective way to control the pathogen as it effectively overcomes plant resistance. Spray-induced gene silencing to restrain the pathogen is an alternative method to achieve this, which was crafted using double-stranded RNA, which is known to trigger a process that removes similar molecules from recipient cells. Researchers sprayed the double-stranded RNA onto potato leaves infected with P. infestans. They found a reduction in late blight, showing that spray-induced gene silencing inhibits the development of the disease.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) launched an open consultation on the draft guidance methodology for a series of scientific opinions on the welfare of farmed animals. The views were requested by the European Commission as a critical component of its Farm to Fork strategy. They will cover the welfare of animals during transport and on-farm welfare of specific species – calves, laying hens, broilers, pigs, ducks, geese and quail, and dairy cows. In addition, it lists and describes the welfare consequences of husbandry conditions known to affect animals. The document includes a new methodology for assessing welfare by comparing the conditions that animals experience on farms to “natural” conditions.