Plant Based

Last week, plant-based cheese and butter maker Miyoko’s Creamery emerged victorious in what could be a landmark legal case for dairy and meat alternative CPG brands. Citing the company’s first amendment rights, a California judge ruled the company can continue to use terms such as “butter,” “lactose-free” and “cruelty-free.” However, while the case could provide plant-based brands with some much needed legal precedent to defend the practice of using meat and dairy terms on their labels, the fight ahead is anything but cut and dried.

Meat Snacks brand Country Archer is making moves from grass-fed beef to mushrooms, announcing today the launch of a new line of plant-based jerky. The launch comes after the company also added new CPG leaders to its executive team in preparation for its next phase of growth.

Nearly a year after being formally separated from Dean Foods, plant-based food and beverage company Good Karma is beginning a new chapter. The Colorado-based company announced today a brand refresh accompanied by the launch of a new line of refrigerated plant-based milks and a direct-to-consumer ecommerce platform.

Yogurt giant Danone has acquired plant-based brand Earth Island, maker of the Follow Your Heart line of condiments, yogurts and breakfast items, the company announced last night. In a press release issued last night, Danone noted that the acquisition would give the company “a unique opportunity to strengthen its plant-based business.”

After 150 years in business, Graeter’s ice cream CEO Richard Graeter says he’s still committed to using the same process his great-grandmother Regina used in the 1900s.But that doesn’t mean the family business is resistant to change: the Ohio-based company announced last week that it would launch a vegan version of its ice cream in collaboration with food tech company Perfect Day.

Latin American company NotCo, which earlier this fall raised $85 million, announced last week it was launching a new non-dairy milk in Whole Foods nationwide — part of the company’s strategy to enter the US market. NotCo also hopes to launch cheese and other meat replacements next year as well.

While the meat alternative set is dominated by burgers and sausages, seafood company Van Cleve sees an opportunity to be a big fish in the small pond of plant-based seafood. Last month the company launched The Plant Based Seafood Co., a spinoff from its (also newly launched) clean label seafood brand Wild Skinny Clean.

After spending almost a quarter of a century at General Mills, Pete Speranza wants to “change the food system.” The former business development principal at 301 Inc, General Mills’ venture arm, left the company on August 14 and will join venture firm Unovis as an operating partner.

Frozen plant-based chicken brand Daring Foods this week announced the close of an $8 million round of funding led by venture capital firm Maveron, with participation from GoodFriends, Stray Dog Capital and Palm Tree Crew Investments. Stitch Fix CFO Mike Smith and Sweet Earth president Brian Swette, who previously sold his plant-based company to Nestle, also took part in the round as private investors.

As the assets of dairy conglomerate Dean Foods continued to be divided up following the company’s bankruptcy filing, plant-based dairy brand Good Karma announced today that it has repurchased the majority of the company once owned by Dean and also closed a “significant” amount of capital through new strategic partners.