The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has funded the Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA) led by the University of Bath. The EPSRC is the main UK government agency for funding research and training in engineering and the physical sciences and is part of UK Research and Innovation, the national funding agency investing in science and research in the UK. The hub, which will run for seven years, will investigate how to manufacture cultivated meat at scale. Researchers will also look into developing foods such as sustainable palm oil through precision fermentation. According to international food sustainability nonprofit, the Good Food Institute Europe (GFI), a peer-reviewed study recently found that cultivated meat can cut the climate impact of meat by up to 92%, reduce air pollution by up to 94% and use up to 90% less land. In addition to helping tackle climate change, the GFI says that these foods can protect public health as they do not require the use of antibiotics. The GFI states that CARMA is the largest single investment the UK government has made to date in sustainable proteins, and follows the government’s promise to support these foods as part of £120 million of research and development earmarked in last year’s Government Food Strategy. Experts from the University of Birmingham, the University of Aberystwyth, University College London and the Royal Agricultural University will partner with the University of Bath, while UK-based cultivated meat companies including Hoxton Farms and Quest Meat will also be part of the hub. Linus Pardoe, UK policy manager at the GFI, said: “Today’s announcement is a seismic move in the development of a UK sustainable protein industry and I want to praise the government for investing in the extraordinary potential of these new ways of making meat”. He continued: “This landmark investment is a strong indication that the UK government recognises the importance of cellular agriculture and the need to invest in the R&D necessary to help British companies scale production, bringing down costs and making this food available to everyone”.

Dow and Avery Dennison have co-developed a new hotmelt label adhesive solution that enables polyolefin film labels and polypropylene or polyethylene (PP/PE) packaging to be mechanically recycled together. The adhesive is the “first of its kind” on the label market and is approved by Recyclass for recycling in the HDPE coloured stream, Class B. When the olefinic hotmelt is combined with a polyolefin facestock, the label and packaging can be treated as a mono-material and recycled together, offering better recyclability than standard hotmelts without compromising performance. Jarkko Pitko, senior research associate at Avery Dennison Materials Group EMENA, said: “The joint launch of this new olefinic hotmelt is a great example of how collaborating with partners across the supply chain, like Dow, is key to deliver innovations that help reduce waste, enable the circularity of plastics, and advance the circular economy”. Imran Munshi, global marketing manager, Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics, added: “It is Dow’s goal to deliver 3 million metric tons per year of circular and renewable solutions by 2030. Collaborations like this will help accelerate our contributions towards a circular economy for plastic packaging.”

US kitchenware brand, Dash, has introduced a new cold brew coffee machine ahead of National Cold Brew Day. Dash is a housewares brand produced by StoreBound. Using Dash's patented VacuPress technology – a pressurised brewing process – the Rapid Cold Brew Coffee Maker extracts the maximum amount of flavour for a smooth batch of mild, regular or bold cold brew in as little as nine minutes, using the ground coffee or tea leaf of consumers' choice. Currently available in black, the machine is distinguished by "its clean, sediment-free finish, ensuring less acidity and a smooth sip experience for those with sensitive stomachs," said the company. Evan Dash, StoreBound's founder and CEO, commented: "As warm weather rolls in, we know our consumers are craving cold drinks but don't always have the time or budget to run out and grab a coffee shop cold brew on the daily. To alleviate this stressor, we wanted to give them a product that addresses these needs while delivering a true cold brew taste and experience at home." He continued: "Our Rapid Cold Brew Coffee Maker marks a new venture into the ever-growing coffee space and fuels our consumers who seek to live out their best lives in an accessible way that's good for both their wallets and bodies".

ADM and Believer Meats have signed a non-exclusive memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on driving the development and commercialisation of cultivated meat products. Nutrition company ADM will work with Believer, formerly known as Future Meat Technologies, to explore new ingredients and solutions for the cultivated meat market. Leticia Gonçalves, ADM’s president of global foods, commented: “With a global population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, ADM is working with partners across the value chain to meet food security and sustainability needs by expanding the protein ecosystem”. She added that cultivated meat represents an "exciting evolution" and another way of meeting long-term food security needs, alongside other traditional and novel sources of protein. Gustavo Burger, CEO of Believer, said: "Believer is thrilled to partner with ADM in driving innovation to expand the emerging cultivated meat industry”. He added: “By pairing ADM's leading expertise in ingredient application development, and complete nutrition solutions they bring to their customers, with our groundbreaking cell cultivation technology…we aim to accelerate the development and commercialisation of high-quality, safe and delicious meat products that deliver on the increasing demands of our growing global population. Together, we have a unique opportunity to shape the future of the protein industry and create a more sustainable food system for generations to come." The MOU follows recent news of a bill backed by the Italian government to ban the use of cell-based food, as the country's authorities look to safeguard Italy’s agri-food heritage.

In an increasingly competitive market, nutraceutical brands must work harder than ever before to carve out a niche. A growing consumer focus on health and wellbeing now means that comprehensive selections of supplements and functional can be found almost everywhere, with new products launching all the time. Nutraceutical brands wishing to innovate in this space must be willing to evolve quickly in order to understand and develop new market opportunities and remain competitive. By gaining a clear picture of consumer needs and preferences, brands can identify the right ingredients, formulations and delivery methods to create experiences that deliver something unique at every stage of life. In such a challenging and ever-evolving ecosystem, success is dependent on how effectively brands can merge science-driven solutions with appealing and creative concepts to differentiate their products from their competitors. In this article, Kinga Wojcicka-Swiderska, head of content of Vitafoods Europe at Informa Markets, examined the key trends shaping nutraceutical innovation in 2023. Leveraging market insight A brand’s ability to effectively interpret and act upon consumer research is essential to its success. Nowhere is this the case more than in the competitive world of nutraceutical products, where accurate, actionable data is the single most effective way to inform both new product development and the delivery of these products to market. Brands that have built consumer trust are better placed than ever before to directly connect with their consumers – often via social media channels – gaining in-depth insight into trends, behaviours and health goals. A new opportunity for this comes in the form of wearable technology. Here, data can be shared by consumers and analysed by brands to help solve future needs and develop new products. This live data is especially helpful for brands looking to enhance their sports and active nutrition product categories, but as this type of technology matures, it also offers opportunities to further explore the needs of consumers across a wider range of demographic categories, giving valuable insight into healthy ageing, as well as metabolic and immune health. By gaining a clear overview of the current market through accurate, real-time data, brands ultimately gain a more precise picture of the current challenges and, therefore, the immediate opportunities that exist within it. A science-led approach The power of the internet means that today’s consumer is increasingly sophisticated, with access to an unprecedented level of knowledge. This naturally influences purchasing decisions, with products that promise tangible health benefits increasingly commanding significant market share. However, it is no longer sufficient for brands to simply offer health claims on their labelling; to maintain credibility, they must also actively demonstrate the efficacy of their formulations. This drive towards demonstrable health benefits opens new opportunities for brands to incorporate scientifically proven ingredients that target specific customer segments in their formulations. For example, consumer research is increasingly highlighting the differing health needs between women and men. Here, brands can leverage scientifically proven ingredients to align with areas of interest to women or to address health issues they experience disproportionally in comparison to men – including collagen for skin health, cranberry extract for UTIs or probiotics for IBS. Elsewhere, brands might focus on researched natural ingredients such as tart cherry juice or saffron to help promote sleep, relaxation, and overall mental wellbeing to tap into consumer desire for natural but effective non-pharmaceutical sleep solutions. Such ingredients must be carefully selected for their efficacy, consumer appeal and credibility. Close consultation with scientists and other health experts, along with clear on-pack and online communication, offers the reassurance that consumers require when making these purchasing decisions. The importance of experience As important as it is to understand market data and offer science-backed formulations that meet consumer needs, it is arguably just as important to create experiences that are positive and memorable – for all the right reasons. Nutraceutical brands must now take an innovative approach to meeting consumer demand for new products, looking beyond optimised health benefits and towards ground-breaking new formulas, improved textures and appealing flavours to keep ahead of the curve. Convenience is also an increasingly crucial factor in how well a product is received – consumers across all market segments lead busy lives, and ease of use can often be the key factor that differentiates one product from another. Examples of this might be a protein-enhanced meal replacement shake in a grab-and-go format at the chiller counter; a complete multivitamin delivered in an appealingly flavoured gummy, or a sleep supplement that is administered sublingually via a handy spray bottle. By developing new products that not only meet health needs but also offer a point of difference and convenience, brands can create meaningful long-term relationships with an engaged and sophisticated consumer market. Inspiring sustained innovation Consolidating these NPD principles and working across the entire value chain is key to creating innovative efficacious solutions that will meet consumer needs, both now and in the future. The upcoming Vitafoods Europe Conference offers many more ideas around new product development for the nutraceuticals market. This two-day conference will focus on current challenges and opportunities in sports and active nutrition, cognitive and emotional health, metabolic and immune health, life stages and healthy ageing, offering valuable insights into the cutting-edge trends, innovations and research that is informing new nutraceutical solution development. In addition, Vitafoods Europe 2023 offers a valuable space for learning and collaboration, setting the pace for the future of nutraceutical innovation and product development. By truly understanding the demands of the modern consumer, brands can move quickly to both meet and exceed them.

KBF Enterprises-owned Warrior has added a birthday cake flavour to its Warrior Crunch range of high-protein and low-sugar protein bars. Wrapped in white chocolate, the bar has a "nougat, birthday cake flavoured centre oozing with caramel". It contains less than 2.3g of sugar and 20g of milk protein. Kieran Fisher, founder of Warrior and KBF Enterprises, said: “We are thrilled to be expanding our product offering with the exciting launch of Birthday Cake Warrior Crunch. Our brand’s ethos has always been centred around innovation and commitment to supplying our customers with great tasting, high-quality products that are also good for you and this new flavour launch offers just that.” Birthday Cake Warrior Crunch is available to buy from the brand's website for an RRP of £16.99 for 12 bars.

Minneapolis-based, US Peace Coffee has introduced its first compostable EcoPods, available in its Tree Hugger and Birchwood blends. The pods are made with plant-based material, making them 100% biodegradable in industrial compost facilities and are designed for use with Keurig machines. Available in two of Peace's most popular blends – the nutty dark roast, Tree Hugger and the smooth medium roast, Birchwood, the natural paper mesh retains the coffee's full-bodied notes without altering the taste. Lee Wallace, owner and CEO of Peace Coffee, said: "We are a brand that prides itself in walking the walk. We worked for nearly a year to bring this to market and hope to expand compostable packaging to more of our portfolio as it's the right thing to do." The pods will be sold in boxes of 12 with a suggested retail price of $14.99, available on Amazon and the Peace Coffee website.

Liberation Labs has secured $30 million to advance the development of its first commercial-scale biomanufacturing facility in Richmond, Indiana. The precision fermentation platform developer says that the new facility will have a fermentation capacity of 600,000 litres with a fully dedicated downstream process (DSP). Mark Warner, co-founder and CEO of Liberation Labs, said: “This new financing, combined with our seed raise, allows us to not only secure all the needed equipment but also to continue investing in our team to move the overall project forward at speed”. The company has commenced the design engineering phase and has ordered the major engineered equipment, including its 150,000-litre fermenters and DSP separation and drying units. According to Liberation Labs, the new facility will be the “first” purpose-built commercial-scale precision fermentation plant in the US and the “first” in the US fully dedicated to novel bioproducts. Warner continued: “Traditionally it is challenging to secure this kind of funding for a first-of-a-kind facility, but this lease financing reflects the belief in our vision and strong team by our committed equity and equipment finance investors.” Liberation Labs predicts the new facility to catalyse market demand, commercialising innovation among food, chemical and material biotechnology companies and their associated economic, health and environmental benefits. This equipment financing comes after the company announced the closure of a $20 million seed round of funding in December. Construction of the new facility is expected to begin in June this year, with initial plant start-up by the end of 2024.

Collagen peptide and personalised gelatin manufacturer, Gelita, has launched Confixx, a fast-setting gelatin that enhances the production of fortified gummies. The new gelatin is said to enable the production of starch-free gummies with a sensory profile previously achievable only with a starch-based manufacturing process. By moving from starch-based to starch-free manufacturing, efficiency gains can be achieved in terms of cost and active ingredients. The company says that eliminating starch preparation and gummy drying steps reduces the production time from two days to a few hours and reduces the overall footprint of the process as less space is needed and the faster and simplified process consumes less energy. Dr Johanna Schmidgall, global head of application development at Gelita, said: "The market for functional and fortified fruit gummies offers exciting growth prospects. Until now, product developers in this space have been held back from creativity by practical manufacturing limitations." She continued: “With the introduction of Confixx it is possible to produce gelatin-based gummies with virtually any active ingredient, from collagen peptides to melatonin, vitamins and minerals. We can't wait to see what new innovations this development will inspire." The streamlined process also allows for small batch production, with greater flexibility in terms of product changeovers and tighter control over ingredient dosing. According to the company, this, along with gelatin’s high tolerance to formulation changes and gentler treatment of ingredients, makes it easier to accommodate a broader range of active ingredients, including those that are heat-sensitive.

Benford Capital Partners (BCP), a Chicago-based private equity firm, has acquired baked snack maker Legacy Bakehouse. Founded in 1917, Wisconsin-based Legacy manufactures baked snack products, such as bagel chips, rye chips and pita chips, for CPG and retail customers. Legacy is also the owner and manufacturer of Pinahs Rye Chips and Snack Mixes. President Peter Sardina commented: “We are excited to partner with Benford Capital in our next phase of growth. Our team looks forward to working together to grow with our existing customers, expand our production footprint and remain committed to exceptional customer service.” BCP and Legacy plan to invest in the business's operational capacity and sales capabilities to drive growth. In addition, they will pursue acquisitions of other snack component developers and manufacturers. Ben Riefe, managing director at BCP, said: “Legacy Bakehouse is a great company with a rich history and successful track record. Peter Sardina and the Legacy team have firmly established the company as a leader in baked snack components, and we look forward to executing our value creation plan together.” The financial terms of the acquisition deal were not disclosed.

Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has announced the expansion of its canola processing complex in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. The facility, which employs approximately 120 people and has been in operation since 2009, produces food-grade canola oil and feed meal. According to LDC, the site is located in Canada’s “most productive agricultural zone,” where canola is the dominant crop, and benefits from good transportation links. Michael Gelchie, LDC’s chief executive officer, said: “This investment supports the group’s strategic growth plans by reinforcing core merchandising activities, in this case with additional capacity to originate and process Canadian canola seeds to provide nourishment for people and livestock. It also positions LDC as a strategic feedstock provider to renewable energy producers and accelerates our contribution to a global energy transition that we are excited to be a part of." Brian Conn, LDC’s country manager for Canada, commented: “This project reflects our long-term commitment to North America as a key market for LDC, both in terms of origination and distribution, and is expected to contribute to continued local economic development”. The construction of the additional canola crushing line is expected to start later this year. Upon completion, the facility's annual crush capacity will more than double, exceeding 2 million metric tons per year.

Heineken-owned lager brand Red Stripe has announced that it is rolling out two new canned rum cocktails, in two flavour varieties. The drinks – which contain 5.9% ABV – are crafted with real Caribbean rum, mango and lime juice and natural flavours. They are available in a sweet tropical Rum Punch flavour and a smooth citrusy Rum Mojito variety. Oscar Martinez, senior director of marketing and innovation at Heineken USA, said: “The spirit-based cocktail segment is the fastest growing category within the beer, wine and spirits industry, and with our latest Red Stripe rum innovation, we are able to tap into this trend and introduce this iconic brand to a new generation of consumers”. He continued: “The Red Stripe Rum Drinks perfectly embody the vibrant spirit of Jamaica, and signal a venture beyond beer, no shaker required”. The new beverages are available in select US retailers now, with further roll-out through the spring.