News & Analysis on Food & Beverage Development & Technology
3D food printing is moving rapidly into commercial applications, but scientists stress that the next breakthroughs will depend on advances in printability, adaptability, safety, and consumer trust
The winner of a major, global packaging innovation competition headed by Kraft Heinz has been announced
Cultivated meat and fat edge closer to scale and shelves worldwide
Sustainability
Connecticut-based healthy snack food brand GoodSam Foods has announced a new venture with Colombian chocolate manufacturer Luker Chocolate to boost educational programmes in cocoa communities.
Moolec Science – which has developed a ‘molecular farming’ platform to produce plants that express animal proteins – is going public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)* in a deal expected to close later this year.
Santiago-based food tech company NotCo has raised $235m in a Series D round led by Tiger Global and supported by DFJ Growth Fund, ZOMA Lab, athletes Lewis Hamilton and Roger Federer, and musician and DJ Questlove, taking its cumulative funding to $350m...
From the Mexican bakery delivering cook-it-yourself experiences to nutrition apps advising the healthiest meal plans during quarantine, Latin American start-ups and SMEs are adapting their business models to survive the coronavirus crisis.
Chile's Algramo sells branded goods in reusable packaging, saving money for manufacturers - such as Nestlé and Unilever - and reducing plastic waste. “We keep packaging in the economy and out of the environment,” it says.
A Brazilian biotech start-up is custom-designing novel, natural yeast strains that can be used to make plant proteins, replace artificial additives and boost the bioavailability of minerals.
Ice cream is a treat for most children, but a startup in Chile is incorporating a strain of probiotics as a healthy supplement in the form of a daily snack.
Brazilian plant-based startup Fazenda Futuro, recently valued at US$100 million, will launch vegan sausages made with a seaweed skin for crispiness next month. “We came to revolutionize this outdated, animal meat market," says its founder.
Made with vegetable extracts, a natural coating for fresh produce means people can eat just fruit, not synthetic chemical waxes, says the Chilean start-up behind the product, PolyNatural.
Sustainability
New data shows women could be struggling on just 23p (29c) a day, well below the extreme poverty line of £1.40 ($1.81) and organisation calls on government and chocolate companies to join the Alliance on Living Incomes in Cocoa, a new international...
A nonprofit dedicated to fighting poverty through private enterprise is changing the way that women farmers cultivate cacao in Peru.
Cell Farm Food Tech is developing stem cell lines to provide cultured meat companies with a high-quality starter material from “champion” Argentine Hereford and Angus beef.
An Internet of Things (IoT) kitchen appliance that cooks gourmet desserts made with clean label ingredients in minutes is looking to shake up the dessert category, says its Argentinian founder.
Grupo Bimbo is looking to scale up innovative startups throughout Latin America with the launch of two accelerator programs, Eleva and BakeLab. “We're looking for the next great ventures in Latin America,” it says.
Tomorrow Foods says its turnkey protein isolates made from sustainably sourced pea, rice, mung and chickpea can help Latin American food manufacturers “join the plant-based revolution” without having to invest in R&D.
Operating in both Silicon Valley and Argentina, Michroma uses CRISPR-engineered filamentous fungi to create novel, natural food colors, and is already attracting interest from multinational food manufacturers.
Made from mango seeds and peel that normally go to waste, Manguifer is an insoluble fiber that can partly replace fat and sugar, making processed foods healthier and cheaper, says Genius Foods.
From Brazil's food guidelines - and its advice to avoid 'ultra-processed' foods - to the influence of social media, a number of factors are converging to help make the country's food healthier and nutrition-based, says one expert.
Brazilian company NoMoo says it tricks bacteria to feed on the sugar molecules in cashew milk instead of dairy lactose - "a game-changing find" that has allowed it to create an entire portfolio of plant-based, fermented products.
GriYum and Hakkuna, two cricket companies from Mexico and Brazil, talk to us about why they think insect protein has the potential to make food in Latin America more nutritious and sustainable.
Brazilian consumers are embracing JOMO - the joy of missing out – and this is helping premium beverage brands find their mojo. "Consumers want to disconnect... and this is impacting the brands they consume," says one analyst.
Simpleat delivers healthy, home-made meals to consumers' doors and is gearing up to launch in Chile and beyond. "We validated our business model in Argentina; it’s time to take it to the rest of Latin America,” says its co-founder.
As Mexico becomes the latest country in Latin America to set national plastic-reduction goals, increasing numbers of Latinos are looking for plastic-free packaging options, according to market analysts. But how feasible is going plastic-free?
A gastronomy student and agro-industry analyst in Fortaleza, Brazil have developed a biodegradable dish made from banana crop residues.
Fruit-based syrups, enriched with inulin fiber and diluted with water, are an ideal way to get Chileans to drink less sugary soda, says French-Chilean start-up Siröpa that wants to create a new category in the country.
A division of JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, is producing vegetable protein from an advanced food tech hub called the Incredible Lab in Brazil.
Many Latin Americans see Western brands as aspirational and the region offers big opportunities - but a tailored export strategy is key to success, says one US-LATAM distributor.
With a rise in ketotogenic-friendly product launches to a recently launched low-carb front-of-pack logo, Brazil's keto market may be small but it interest is growing.
Nestlé is investing in Angel Ventures, a Latin American venture capital firm based in Mexico in order to fuel start-up innovation in Latin America.
PepsiCo and humanitarian organization CARE recently announced the launch of the She Feeds the World program in Peru to improve gender inequality in the agricultural sector.
Exponential market growth in Mexican pork and Peruvian fruits and vegetables highlights how firms and governments can work together successfully in the modern agri-food industry, says a new report from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Often hailed as Latin America’s oasis of stability, Chile has been rocked by violent social protests and nation-wide strikes for over a month. We look at how the food industry has been affected.
The business developer behind Oatly and a team of Bolivian scientists have developed Quiny, a patent-protected and naturally sweet quinoa powder for plant-based milks, and are gearing up for a Latin American launch.
The consumer goods giant says it has embraced a start-up culture and values of purposefulness to unlock growth.
Pesquera Lacks is making it easy and convenient to eat fish and seafood with its healthy on-the-go snacks and gourmet smoked salmon pieces that are colored with natural vegetable extracts.
Hemp and CBD have caught the public's imagination as ingredients offering a host of health benefits. But, from regulatory ambiguity to consumer confusion, uncertainty remains. FoodNavigator speaks to Agropro - Europe's largest hemp grower – to learn more.
Uber is moving into grocery delivery with a majority stake acquisition of Chilean Cornershop.
Freeze-dried fruit and vegetables are light, nutrient-packed and tasty meaning healthy eating is more accessible than ever, says Brazil's QPod.
LiveKuna is blending native superfoods, such as chia seeds and quinoa, with probiotics and adding them into convenient formats in order to expand their reach.
The problem with most plant-based products is they use synthetic additives, highly processed ingredients and plastic packaging, says Chilean start-up Live Green Co, which aims to make low-impact, everyday products the norm.
On-demand grocery delivery app Cornershop has expanded its services to Lima, Peru and Toronto, Canada, after Mexican regulatory authority COFECE blocked its potential sale to Walmart in June this year.
Dairy-free start-up Zahini wants to grow Mexico's domestic free-from sector, starting with its range of coconut yogurt alternatives fermented with live cultures.
Fortified chocolate and artisan vodka distilled from native varieties of potato are just two products to hit the market with the support of Peruvian investment program Innóvate Peru.
Argentinian start-up Carnes Validades is creating a Blockchain-based service to tighten traceability in the meat supply chain. "Consumers can see the Curriculum Vitae of the meat they eat: what, who, where and how it was produced," says its co-founder.
Brazilian chocolate maker Casa Lasevicius has launched four new bean-to-bar chocolates in partnership with NGO Solidaridad using almonds from Tuerê, one of the largest settlements of family farmers located in the Amazon region of Brazil.
Costa Rican insect protein supplier CRIC will kickstart its sales next month by exporting half a metric ton of its whole, protein-rich cricket flour to Mexico.
'Margarita', a social project launched by Danone in 2010 to support and develop Mexico's network of small milk producers, has received US$1.3m in funding from a collaboration agreement with IDB Lab (Laboratorio de Innovación del Banco Interamericano de...