Cellular agriculture for pet food? We observed noticeable developments in the cultivated meat ecosystem, with companies displaying increasingly reasonnable pricing. Interestingly, there is a growing sub-trend around cultivated petfood, which could be a viable go-to-market strategy for this technology. If it works there, it could then find a path to the human market.
Nestlé and precision fermentation for infant formula: Nestlé announced a partnership with Helaina (a US-based precision fermentation startup working on lactoferrin for infant formula) while also filing a patent for PF-produced donkey whey protein, hence addressing allergy issues. Again, as for cultivated meat, instead of the “general public”, it seems that applications of precision fermentation will initially be targeting more focused segments as baby formula or athletes (for performance).
Key partnerships with startups in sweeteners and cacao:
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Tate&Lyle announced the expansion of its partnership with BioHarvest (Canadian startup) for sweeteners developed through plant-cell culture.
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Döhler acquired Nukoko (UK startup) a cocoa alternative, and Cargill expanded its partnership with Voyage Foods (US startup) to commercialise its cocoa alternative.
GLP-1 drugs for weight-loss are still rising across the US, their effect is increasingly visible, and people keep using them: through a combination of recent studies, we learn that now:
- 11% of US adults are using GLP-1 medication for weight-loss.
- While the number of active users is rising, very few of them are stopping .
- The use of GLP-1 drugs is creating a vast group of consumers which are now keen to use other injectables for health and appearance.
The U.S. adult obesity keeps declining since its 2022 peak, and is now at 36.4%.