Below is DigitalFoodLab’s updated view on the trends shaping the AgriFood innovation ecosystem (with a global perspective). Compared to last year’s trends curve, the main evolutions are:
- Rationalisation of many “hypes”, notably related to alternative proteins and sustainability.
- Focus on profitable scalability for many technologies, notably for sustainable ingredients (alongside rising doubts on their ability to do so fast enough). This has led in turn to the emergence of new trends that are supposed to answer these challenges (molecular farming, protein discovery).
- Emergence of multiple sub-trends in the healthy ageing space, which in most instances remain very early-stage, and should not be relied upon for immediate product release.
As for the topics covered in this fourth watch, here are the top insights that caught our attention:
- A wave of consolidation in the cultivated meat sector with multiple bankruptcies. In the meantime, the most well-positioned players raised (limited) funding rounds. This could mean that we are near the end of this consolidation, with players now ready to move forward again with more positive news in 2026 (product launches, price and scale-up announcements).
- Similarly, multiple positive signs in dairy/egg alternatives (precision fermentation and plant-based)
- Significant number of product launches across different alternative protein categories in multiple markets
- Multiple news on the increased availability of GLP-1 in new formats (pills) and markets (India, China) which should make 2026 the year where the drug become really mainstream.
- Four noticeable startup funding news for Symrise:
- Bactolife (Denmark) raised €30M to scale precision-fermented proteins targeting harmful gut metabolites
- All G (Australia) raised $6.6M and partners with Armor Protéines (subsidiary of Savencia) to scale precision-fermented lactoferrin
- Chromologics raised €7M to bring precision-fermented red colourant to market
- EvodiaBio raised €6M to expand its precision-fermented natural aroma portfolio for food & beverages
Watch: categorisation by product type
Alternative proteins (meat, dairy, coffee, cocoa)
Taste enhancers (sugar, fat & beyond)
Optimising-scaling technologies & AI
Regulatory updates & government support
Consumers insights Q4 2025
Natural ingredients
Health-driven innovations
Investments & state of the ecosystem
Top news from all the different categories
Categorisation by technology
Tags used to categorise some of the watch items by technology rather than product type