Last Week in Foodtech – Week of June 17, 2024

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There is so much innovation happening in the food and beverage world today that it’s often hard to keep up. That’s why each week we’ll be bringing you highlights of the latest research and developments in food technology, new products, and food and beverage trends affecting the industry in Canada.

Here’s a few stories you should know about:

Empire Co. Ltd., the parent company of Sobeys, has paused plans for a new customer fulfillment center in Vancouver, citing a smaller-than-expected market for grocery e-commerce in Canada.

  • The company has faced higher losses from its existing warehouses in Toronto, Montreal, and Rocky View County, Alberta, impacting its overall profitability.

  • Empire Co. says that subpar performance of grocery e-commerce providers during the pandemic limited the adoption and subsequent growth of the service in Canada.

  • The company will end its exclusivity agreement with an e-commerce platform from British online grocery company Ocado Group Plc.

The Canadian Impact: The challenges faced by Empire Co. Ltd. highlight the complexities that established players face in scaling grocery e-commerce in Canada, along with opportunities for customer service-oriented providers to establish consumer confidence and thrive in a market with high growth potential.

For more on the topic on YODL: Are Screens the New Stores?

The Bezos Earth Fund, the philanthropic organization backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has announced a $30 million investment over five years to establish the Center for Sustainable Protein at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. This initiative aims to develop cheaper and tastier alternative proteins to sustainably support the planet’s growing population.

  • The Center for Sustainable Protein will leverage the NSCU’s strong engineering, agriculture, and food science programs, along with collaboration from nearby universities to encourage breakthroughs in alternative protein production and product development.

  • Andy Jarvis, Director of Future of Food at the Bezos Earth Fund, emphasizes the Center’s eagerness to engage farmers and other stakeholders in North Carolina’s sizable animal agriculture industry to improve the sustainability of both alternative proteins and conventional meat.

The Canadian Impact: The establishment of such research centers in North Carolina highlights the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and stakeholder engagement in developing novel sustainable food solutions, potentially inspiring similar initiatives in Canada prioritize building consumer trust and industry support for new methods of protein production.

For more on the topic on YODL: Company Spotlight – Liven Proteins

The US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has invalidated 23 out of 24 claims in an Impossible Foods patent following a challenge by competitor Motif FoodWorks, but denied requests to review six other patents also at issue in a high-profile legal dispute between the two foodtech firms.

  • The legal battle focuses on the use of heme proteins in plant-based meat alternatives, with Impossible accusing Motif of patent infringement and IP theft.

  • Motif argues that the parties’ proteins are different, and that many of the inventions claimed in Impossible Foods’ patents are obvious and previously disclosed. Both are produced via precision fermentation using a genetically engineered strain of yeast.

  • PTAB ultimately ruled most of Impossible’s claims in its heme protein patent to be “unpatentable.”

The Canadian Impact: This high-profile dispute is still far from resolved, but the outcome of this case could influence IP regulations and innovation strategies in Canada's burgeoning plant-based foodtech sector.

For more on this topic on YODL: Intellectual Property Resources

Algae is already renowned for its health benefits and versatility as a functional food ingredient. Recent scientific discoveries are advancing the potential for this nutritional powerhouse as a high-yield plant protein source.

  • Microalgae used for protein production have a higher yield than crops such as soybeans and wheat while requiring far less water and land.

  • A recent report by Allied Market Research, projects the global algae protein market will be worth $709 million by 2028, but extracting and processing suitable algal proteins remains difficult.

  • Researchers in India and the Netherlands recently achieve breakthroughs in isolating two high-quality proteins: Chlorella Growth Factor and Galdieria sulphuraria.

The Canadian Impact: Strengthening Canada’s food innovation ecosystem and R&D investments could connect researchers, manufacturers, and innovative brands to fully realize the potential sustainability and nutritional benefits of microalgae-based proteins.

For more on the topic on YODL: In 30: The Plant-Based Food Market