Coefficient Giving Opens $10M Funding Call for Alternative Protein Taste Research
San Francisco-based philanthropic funder Coefficient Giving has launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) through its Farm Animal Welfare Fund, offering up to $10 million for research and development projects targeting the sensory shortcomings of alternative proteins. Applications are open until August 10, 2026, with awards to be announced on a rolling basis and no later than November 30. The fund has identified taste as the central barrier to mainstream adoption …
Cell Farmers Symposium Draws Cross-Sector Crowd in The Hague
The inaugural Cell Farmers Symposium took place on June 4 in The Hague, bringing together farmers, policymakers, scientists, and industry representatives to examine how cellular agriculture could integrate into existing agricultural systems. Organized by RespectFarms and the Province of Zuid-Holland, the event was held at the Provinciehuis Zuid-Holland. RespectFarms had designed the symposium specifically to position farmers as active participants in cellular cultivation, rather than bystanders to it. Speakers and …
Investment Climate Podcast: Lauren Abda of Branch Venture Group Shares How to Get Funded in 2026
In this podcast series, Alex Shandrovsky interviews investors about benchmarks for funding Alt Proteins in 2026 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including alternative proteins and cellular agriculture leaders. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. This podcast is syndicated through …
Ayana Bio and Brevel Win BIRD Grant to Test Light-Enhanced Plant Cell Culture
US biotech Ayana Bio and Israeli fermentation company Brevel have received a $1.25 million grant from Israel’s BIRD Foundation to investigate whether Brevel’s light-integrated fermentation technology can improve output in plant cell culture systems. Ayana Bio, a Boston-based spinoff from Ginkgo Bioworks, grows plant cell lines in bioreactors to produce high-value botanical ingredients, with current development focused on sage for rosmarinic acid, saffron for crocins, and marigold for zeaxanthin and …
Cellulose Scaffolds Cut Growth Factor Costs Tenfold in Cultivated Whole-Cut Research
Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed a cellulose-based scaffold that reduces the quantity of growth factors needed to produce cultivated meat tissue by up to tenfold, according to a study published in Current Research in Food Science. Growth factors, the proteins that direct stem cells to proliferate and differentiate into muscle tissue, account for more than 95% of media costs in cultivated meat production and remain one …
Netherlands New Open-Access Precision Fermentation Facility is Now Fully Operational
The Biotechnology Fermentation Factory (BFF) in Ede, the Netherlands, has confirmed that its pre-pilot lab is now operational, nearly a year after the facility held its public kick-off event in June 2025. BFF marked the milestone on June 1 with an internal team celebration, announcing that companies can now begin bringing fermentation projects to the facility. The pre-pilot lab operates at 10–30 litre scale and provides an initial entry point …
Construction Begins on Meatly’s London Facility, Set to Be Europe’s Largest Cultivated Meat Site
UK cultivated meat company Meatly has begun fit-out work on a new pilot facility in London, less than two weeks after closing its £10.4 million Series A round. Once complete, the site is expected to house 20,000 litres of bioreactor capacity, which the company says would make it the largest cultivated meat facility in Europe. CEO Owen Ensor confirmed the start of construction via LinkedIn, writing: “Just two weeks after …
Japan Releases Draft Safety Checkpoints for Cultivated Meat and Seafood Products
Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) has released draft guidelines outlining the safety requirements that manufacturers of cultivated meat and seafood must meet before bringing products to market, presented at a May 28 meeting of the Food Sanitation Standards Council’s Subcommittee on Novel Foods. The document covers four areas: cell properties and characterization, manufacturing and quality management, the safety of cultivation inputs, and overall product assessment. Cell sourcing and contamination Producers …
Malt Fermentation Explored as Route to Cocoa Alternatives in New French Research Project
French maltster Soufflet Malt has launched an 18-month research project with Ferments du Futur to produce a cocoa substitute from germinated grains using solid-state malt fermentation. The program, which began at the beginning of this year, will attempt to reproduce cocoa-like aromatic compounds from barley malt, wheat, or other sprouted grains without additional ingredients. The work is partly driven by sustained pressure on cocoa supply chains. Prices rose sixfold in …
Spain’s Foodtech Innovation Awards Name Seven Winners Across Sustainability, AI, and Alternative Protein
Seven companies were recognized at the sixth edition of the Foodtech Innovation Awards, held on May 28 as part of Expo Foodtech 2026 and Pick&Pack for Food Industry at the Bilbao Exhibition Center in Spain. The awards, selected from more than 200 applications, span categories including digitalization, sustainability, healthy food, automation, packaging, and startup innovation. Plant-based protein from beverage sidestreams Noiet Foods took the AZTI Award for best healthy food …