News Roundup: Impossible Founder Pat Brown Takes Leave; Boosh Raises Capital

Impossible Foods Founder Taking Leave Of Absence

Pat Brown is reportedly taking a leave of absence from Impossible Foods, the plant-based meat company he founded in 2011, and will return in March 2023, according to a report in Business Insider.

Effective last week, Brown’s leave comes just two months after he stepped down from his role as chief science officer to lead a new innovation arm, Impossible Labs. Company employees were reportedly informed of the planned break in an internal email.

Impossible Foods declined to comment on the report.

Brown founded Impossible Foods in 2011 and served as the CEO until April when he handed the reins over to former Chobani president and COO Peter McGuinness. The company has undergone a number of executive changes this year with two new faces – new SVP of international sales Noel Clark and new chief marketing and creative officer Leslie Sims – joining the team just in the last week. To compound things, Impossible announced in October that the company was cutting about 6% of its workforce.

Boosh Plant-Based Raising Capital To Support Beanfields Brand

Vancouver-based food maker Boosh Plant-Based Brands Inc. is raising $500,000 to increase production of the company’s Beanfields brand. Boosh announced the non-brokered private placement as a way to bring the Beanfields brand back up to pre-pandemic sales levels of $15 million per year. The 10,000,000 units in the placement are being offered at $0.05 each.

The capital infusion is aimed at helping Boosh support current product lines by purchasing raw materials, Boosh founder and CEO Connie Marples told NOSH. “We are not spending money on marketing, innovation or equipment at this time because we currently have retailers waiting in line to get the products.”

The company reports it receives “close to $1 million monthly in purchase orders” for the chips, and is planning to release additional SKUs in 2023.

Boosh acquired Beanfields, which makes a number of gluten-free plant-based meals, vegan cheeses and veggie patés, in February in exchange for 8 million common shares of stock and a $400,000 promissory note to sellers. Since the deal, Boosh’s share price has plummeted from $0.80 in mid-February to about $0.03 at the time of publishing.

The company has brought on three new people to help consult on the business in recent months. David Kerbel, a former senior manager at energy drink brand Celsius, was just announced as a special advisor for North American operations and sales development last week. In October, Robert Hall was named special advisor for corporate development and Mike Lund joined the company as a consultant and new board member.

Green Giant and The Corn Kid Take on Thanksgiving

Vegetable brand Green Giant has tapped corn enthusiast and seven-year old viral social media star Tariq, better known to online audiences as “Corn Kid,” for its upcoming Thanksgiving campaign. The week-long event will feature a cooking show-style video series showcasing corn-filled side dish recipes made by Tariq.

“We are very excited to partner with Corn Kid this Thanksgiving as his enthusiasm for corn rivals that of the Green Giant himself,” said Kristen Thompson, SVP and president of Frozen and Vegetables at Green Giant parent company B&G Foods, in a press release. “Corn Kid has a giant heart and we are thrilled to help him share his love of corn with his community this Thanksgiving with an enormous donation of our canned veggies.”

In addition to the recipes, Corn Kid and Green Giant created a limited-edition apron with a message from Corn Kid wishing consumers a happy Thanksgiving. On Monday, Corn Kid will also join the company in donating 90,000 cans of Green Giant veggies, including 50,000 cans of corn, to Brooklyn, New York food rescue nonprofit, City Harvest.

To culminate the week of events, Corn Kid will ride on Green Giant’s float during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“What is Thanksgiving without corn?” said Tariq in a press release. “Thanksgiving is practically a holiday about corn. I mean, every day could be a holiday if you get to eat corn at some point – but this is the one day that we get to stay home with family, watch a big parade, and then eat corn. Lots and lots of corn. It’s my favorite day of the year!”

Edible Garden Acquires Pulp Flavors

Controlled environment agricultural (CEA) and produce company Edible Gardens announced on Tuesday its acquisition of Pulp Flavors, a sustainability and chili-focused sauce brand. The deal will see Pulp’s full lineup join Edible Garden’s portfolio of salad greens and herbs.

Pulp currently makes a range of refrigerated hot sauces in flavors like Hungarian Wax, Poblano Serrano Jalapeno, Fresno Chili and Habanero Carrot in addition to Salsa Macha, Chili Crisp and a Chili Oil. Pulp’s full lineup is non-GMO, preservative free and will be rebranded under its new parent company.

“We believe this is a significant opportunity for [Edible Gardens] to take a unique brand in a trending category and bring it to a mass market of consumers within Edible Garden’s growing network of major retail supermarkets and distributors across the country,” said Jim Kras, the company’s CEO, in a press release. “These fermented sauces are located in the refrigerated section of supermarkets, typically adjacent to the produce section, allowing us to leverage Edible Garden’s growing brand recognition within this new category of products.”

Nonprofits Petition USDA For More Pulses In School Lunch

Over 100 school districts, nonprofit organizations and the USA Pulses Association have signed a joint letter requesting the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) update the K-12 meal pattern guidance to align with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) which would eliminate barriers to serving a higher volume of pulses (beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas) in school meals.

The request aims to promote more plant-based eating and would allow for ingredients like beans, peas, lentils, tofu and soy products to qualify as meat alternatives. An update from the DGA cited that 80% of Americans do not currently meet their recommended intake of pulses, which are a significant source of nutrients like fiber, folate, potassium, iron and zinc.

“Removing barriers to serving healthy, fiber-rich options like beans, chickpeas, and lentils is a no-brainer, especially at a time when schools districts are struggling with supply chain shortages, rising food costs and still recovering from a pandemic,” said Adriane Busby, senior food and climate policy analyst at Friends of the Earth, in a press release. “We urge USDA to create more flexibility for our school food professionals who are working to meet the increased student demand for climate-friendly, plant-based options, and increase healthy food choices and fiber intake for students.”

Cultivated Meat Maker Vow Raises Over $49 million

Australia-based cell-grown meat maker, Vow, announced the close of a $49.2 million capital raise this week. The round was co-led by Blackbird and Prosperity7 Ventures and saw additional participation from Toyota Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Peakbridge and Tenacious Ventures.

The funds will be used for product development, manufacturing expansion and hiring and the news comes ahead of its planned launch in Singapore next month. The company also noted it plans to bring its Japanese umai quail to the U.S. and its home-country markets next year.

Earlier this week, the FDA announced its approval of the consumption of cultivated chicken, however Vow will still likely face regulatory hurdles prior to entering the market. The company has produced a range of cultivating the meat varieties, including kangaroo and alpaca, and has mentioned an interest in cultivating zebra, yak and Galapagos tortoise meat products.