Image Credit: IntraFish

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

In recent news, France’s Agriculture Ministry is making headlines with a bold proposal to ban the use of meat-related terms such as ‘Steak,’ ‘Ham,’ and ‘Grilled’ on plant-based products, alongside a stringent condition of vegan protein content. Meanwhile, the ag sector is abuzz about the forthcoming $147 million public debut of container farming startup, Freight Farms, as it plans to go public through a SPAC merger.

In other news, we’ve wrapped the first season of our podcast in partnership with AgFunder: New Food Order, a nuanced investigation into the business of tackling our climate and social crises through food and agriculture. Read all about why we launched the podcast, and be sure to subscribe and share!

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1. France’s Agriculture Ministry Proposes Labelling Ban for Plant-Based Meat Terms Like ‘Steak’, ‘Ham’ and ‘Grilled’ – Green Queen

The government has also listed over 120 meat-related terms that can be used only if products have a maximum share of vegan proteins between 0.5% to 6%.

2. Container Farming Startup Freight Farms to Go Public for $147M Via SPAC – AFN

Freight Farms sells its modular container farms to other entities that handle the growing and selling of the produce.

3. Netherlands: Leonardo DiCaprio-Backed Mosa Meat Becomes World’s First B Corp Cultivated Meat Company, Eyes Regulatory Approval – Green Queen

The company is planning to apply for regulatory approval in countries across the world.

4. UK: Butternut Box Wolfs Down $354M for Subscription Canine Cuisine – TechCrunch

Butternut Box prepares and ships healthy food and supplements for dogs.

5. Israel: The Kitchen Foodtech Hub Announces $70M Fund, Unveils the Kitchen Labs Innovation Center – AFN

The fund will focus on four verticals: enabling technologies to support players in the alt protein space; alternative ingredients; food as medicine; and food security and food waste reduction.

6. US Plant-Based Meat Sector Worth $2.2B, As Foodservice Sales Reach All-Time High – Green Queen

The foodservice sector saw an all-time high of $730m in sales, while the retail industry flatlined at $1.4b.

7. Carrefour Leads New Plant-Based Food Coalition to Fight France’s Anti-Vegan Labelling Law – Green Queen

The group aims to reach €3b in revenue by 2026.

8. How Momofuku CEO Marguerite Zabar Mariscal Created a $100M Food Empire – Fast Company

After taking over from founder and chef David Chang, Mariscal has grown the company’s Momofuku Goods food brand into a grocery store staple.

9. The Troubles Continue for Uber Co-Founder’s CloudKitchens – Eater

After exploding at the start of the pandemic, Travis Kalanick’s ghost kitchen business is laying off staff and shuttering warehouse locations.

10. Fish, Flies and Algae Outshine Crop Cea in the $600M+ of Novel Farming Systems Funding So Far in 2023 – AFN

This is a 180-degree turn from 2022, when crop CEA startups accounted for 60% of deal numbers. The novel farming systems category has raised $826m so far in 2023.

11. How Essential Workers Are Fighting for Safer Grocery Stores – Forbes

Amidst a wave of violence in grocery stores and pharmacies, retail workers are demanding greater safety measures.

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