The Checkout: Neat Food Co Secures Leonardo DiCaprio Investment; Mars Uses AI For New Functional Foods

Plant-based Fast Food Chain Neat Burger Adds DiCaprio Investment As It Looks To CPG Launch

U.K-based fast food chain Neat Food Co, also known as Neat Burger, announced this week it has secured actor Leonardo DiCaprio as an investor as it looks to extend its brand into CPG. The food tech company recently launched a Series B round focused on garnering investment in the U.S. which it said it will use to accelerate global expansion, support new product development and grow its team.

“We are using our brand to build community and lead the change for a more sustainable future of food,” said Tommaso Chiabra, co-Founder and chairman of Neat Food Co, in a press release. “Our Series B raise will accelerate our global expansion and entry into the CPG market, so everyone can enjoy alternatives that not only taste delicious but have a positive impact on the planet.”

The company currently operates five locations in the U.K. and is set to open its first Neat Burger store in New York City this Fall. The company is also building out franchise locations in Italy and the Middle East and expects to have a mix of 42 fully-operational, online and offline restaurants up and running by the end of the year.

In addition to its restaurant business, Neat is looking to expand into retail with a fully vegan, non-GMO CPG line this year with products including burgers, fish filets, chicken patties, hot dogs, nuggets and shakes. The company said it is already in talks with major retailers in the U.S and U.K. and explained that it aims to create a loyal following through its on-premise model which it believes will create an audience to support a retail roll out.

“Disrupting our food system with sustainable alternatives is one of the key ways we can make a real difference in reducing global emissions,” said DiCaprio in a press release. “Neat Burger’s pioneering approach to alternative-proteins is a great example of the type of solutions we need moving forward.”

Mars Taps PIPA’s AI Platform To Accelerate Functional Food Discovery

Mars Inc. announced it has partnered with artificial intelligence company PIPA to gain access to its LEAP platform with the goal of leveraging “biomedical databases and innovation pipelines” as the global food company looks to add increased nutritional value to new products in R&D.

“By joining forces with Mars, we are placing AI at the center of food, nutrition, and health,” said George Nikolaou, VP of Product at PIPA, in a press release. “We are bringing to fruition new methods for science discovery that mean business teams empowered by AI can unlock novel, high-quality insights faster and more cost-effectively than previously imagined.”

LEAP has the ability to synthesize food-related information from biomedical databases, scientific publications, clinical trials and datasets that Mars will use to accelerate new product development. The platform will roll out to Mars’ science, technology and innovation teams over the next two years.

“The next decade we will witness a paradigm shift in the way we understand food, its effect to our health and well-being,” said Dr. Ilias Tagkopoulos, founder of PIPA and director of the USDA AI Institute of Next Generation Food Systems (AIFS) at UC Davis, in a press release. “The trifecta of mapping the molecular atlas of food, leveraging state-of-the-art computational methods that learn from data and nurturing a vibrant ecosystem that translates discoveries to practice, creates the perfect storm for an unprecedented disruption and brings us one step closer to the Hippocratic “let food be thy medicine.”

ByHeart Opens New Infant Formula Facility

Food science company ByHeart opened a new infant formula manufacturing facility this week in Reading, Pennsylvania; the company claims this is the first new formula manufacturing facility to open in the U.S. in over fifteen years and also makes ByHeart the fourth “vertically integrated” infant formula brand in the U.S., meaning it has full oversight of its production, supply chain and R&D.

“At ByHeart, we are proud to own manufacturing in the US, and believe our employees are our single most important investment,” said ByHeart President and Co-Founder, Mia Funt, in a press release. “We’re committed to providing excellent benefits and resources to everyone at every level – from operations to the executive team. Just as we hope to set a new standard for infant nutrition with our first of its kind infant formula, we also want to support a new baseline for how manufacturing employees are valued.”

Alongside this announcement ByHeart said it aims to strengthen the category’s supply chain to reduce shortages. According to Datasembly, the infant formula category was hit hard last month, reporting 30% out of stock inventory. Since its purchase in 2019, ByHeart has invested $21.6 million in the new facility to enhance food safety measures, create a proprietary small-batch blending process, in addition to developing other R&D-related functions within the plant.

“We spent two years auditing infant formula plants around the world,” said ByHeart CEO and Co-Founder, Ron Belldegrun, in a press release. “We chose the Commonwealth as our home base because of local expertise, rich agricultural heritage, and a commitment to furthering value-add Dairy, which – together with our expertise in infant nutrition innovation – has the potential to transform Reading into a national and global hub for the export of the most fundamental and vital food in the world.”

IFF Partners With SimpliiGood To Make Alt-Salmon From Spirulina

International food conglomerate IFF announced it has teamed up with SimpliiGood by Algaecore Technologies LTD to develop a smoked salmon analog made solely from spirulina. SimpliiGood will provide the raw material and create the texture and color qualities, while IFF will work on flavor and aroma attributes.

“Our spirulina can act as a complete replacement for animal-based protein or be easily integrated into existing food products as an added-value ingredient, as it has a neutral flavor and maintains its full nutritional value,” said Lior Shalev, CEO and Co-founder of Algaecore, in a press release. “This project marks an exciting milestone in our company’s product line expansion as we enter the fish substitute market.”

The salmon product is expected to launch by the end of 2023 and will join SimpliiGood’s portfolio of spirulina-enhanced products which includes hamburgers, chicken nuggets, popsicles, ice cream, crackers and beverages. The new product development is the result of two new algae technologies that are intended to help replicate the mouthfeel, color and aromas of conventional salmon.

Food Companies Appeal To Congress To Regulate Copycat THC Products

A cohort of food companies and trade associations sent a letter to Congress this week, aiming to garner support around the regulation of THC-infused products under a proposed amendment to the SHOP SAFE Act. Companies like Mondelez, General Mills, PepsiCo and Kelloggs, among others, signed the letter which cited specific instances where edible producers have piggybacked off brands like Trix, Cheetos and Oreos.

“The use of these famous marks, clearly without approval of the brand owners, on food products has created serious health and safety risks for consumers, particularly children, who cannot tell the difference between these brands’ true products and copycat THC products that leverage the brand’s fame for profit,” the letter states.

The letter also cited multiple instances where children have been hospitalized after unknowingly consuming the deceptively-branded products. Earlier this month, fourteen students at a New Mexico elementary school mistakenly consumed THC-infused candy that featured similar branding to a push pop gummy roll.