Oliver Fuss’ Post

Hot off the press: EU Fermented Foods Consumer Report 🖨 Across 7,800 EU consumers in eight EU Countries and Switzerland. 🌍 What are some surprises and key takeaways? 1. Consumers trust precision #fermentation more than biomass or traditional 🎯 This is a confusing outcome, as precision fermentation is the most closely related topic to GMOs, which are controversial to consumers and often misunderstood. Perhaps the word 'precision' elicits trust. 2. Taste is still No. 1, followed by health & animal welfare 😝 Usually it's Taste, price, convenience (the latter two are not in focus). 3. Consumers prefer fermented meats at price parity, not cheaper vs. animal 💲 Prevailing thought is usually that lower = better; however, it seems that lower prices communicate a perceived lesser value to consumers 4. Yeasty was the least desirable product attribute 🍞 Despite yeast being a big part of our diets in other areas, consumers do not want its aftertaste overpowering products. Next to that, "bitter, sour and beany" were strongly undesirable off-notes. 5. Product color, evenness and shape are "paramount" in chicken & yogurt research 🥣 For yogurt, the most desirable property was a consistent white color, whereas light brown and yellow tones were highly off-putting 🍗 For chicken, "even brown color" was the most important visual attribute, with "saltiness" winning the taste component Link in comments below for download and more insights. #foodtech #consumer #fermentation #altprotein

Alt protein #egg 🥚 replacers are not just for alternatives. 🤔 This is something visionary startup founders are slowly realizing... Seeing many startups pivot from B2C towards B2B shows the disconnect between the vision of passionate founders and where the public is at. Why do they pivot? 💹 They follow the path towards #demand and #profitability, which is essential for survival and food system improvement. Competing with traditional eggs toe-to-toe in the eyes of the consumer is difficult. However, convincing CPGs to adopt upcycled egg-white replacer ingredients may be the easier solution. Here are some B2B examples: 🥚 Aquafaba 💧 Fabumin's aquafaba egg white replacer, based on chickpea wastewater OGGS® - aquafaba Chickpea & mung bean 🍃 Evo Foods - mung bean, chickpea and peas Angry Camel - chickpea protein Duckweed & water lentils 🍀 Plantelo - duckweed DryGro's sustainable water lentils Simply Eggless - lupin beans 💛 Microalgae 🌿 Algrow Biosciences - microalgae Precision fermentation: 🎯 OTRO Foods - precision fermentation egg white Onego Bio - precision fermentation egg white The EVERY Company - precision fermentation egg white Undisclosed ❓ UOBO - undisclosed ingredient (recently pivoted to B2B in January) Neggst - undisclosed cholesterol-free ingredient (spinoff from Fraunhofer) Egg'n'Up - undisclosed, plant-based ingredient Although even egg white replacement has its own host of challenges, it's an important category with wide-ranging potential. Many corporates are interested in this type of solution with Häagen-Dazs Shops and Grupo Bimbo being recent examples. Where do you think lies the biggest potential for these replacers?

Our microalgae bioreactor retrofit startup pitch “BioReFit” placed 2nd out of 12. ⭐️ Thanks to the amazing team for going on this #hackathon journey with me, Technical University of Munich, The Good Food Institute and ERIDIA for the challenge. As runner ups, we now have the chance to become part of the venture studio at TUM and make this pitch project a reality. Whether we go down this road or not is to be determined, but nevertheless it’s shown what we can accomplish in only a few days of intense hacking. If you haven’t tried something like this, I definitely recommend it. 🙏

The most likely transition to a #sustainable #food future is the one you won't see. Minor ingredient swaps in BIG products have huge impact (that consumers are often not aware of and /or don't care about). Let's look at some recent examples 👀 1. 🌰 The impact of a CPG like Ferrero replacing milk powder in Nutella globally. Nutella sales annually = ~250,000 tons It contains 8.7% skim milk powder That's 21,750 tons of skim milk powder annually 2. 🍳 Spanish Grupo Empresarial Palacios Alimentación will use precision fermentation eggs from The EVERY Company in its omelettes 3. 🍰 Dutch retailer Jumbo Supermarkten swaps gelatin in pastries for plant-based alternatives - reducing the need for 13,000kg of gelatin annually Meanwhile in Spain, authorities are pushing back against misleading labels - another issue not faced by companies replacing individual #ingredients. Though minor ingredient swaps require major effort (as seen by Jumbo's 18-month R&D process to replace gelatin), it's the little swaps that will make the biggest collective impact.

The most important thing for me is: keeping the learning curve steep 🎢 That's why I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Project Lead at Naked Innovations! I will be working 3 days per week on challenging corporate #foodtech engagements alongside this group of creative and innovative thinkers. 💡 I'm very excited for this opportunity where I get to combine my previous learnings from strategy consulting in a new context with a more holistic, ecosystem approach to impact. Time to get back in the sandbox and learn about new perspectives.

I will be taking part in an exciting alt protein hackathon thanks to The Good Food Institute and TUM Venture Labs. The goal is to help solve some of the industry's toughest challenges: 🧀 clean label, non-dairy casein 🥩 marbled plant-based meat 🐟 plant-based seafood clean label 🔥 heat integration for cultivated meat production 🍯 retrofitting microalgae bioreactors 🥓 texture improvement of plant-based concentrates 🥜 allergen-free alternatives of nut-based applications 🍥 edible polymers for cultivated fish stem cells 📈 bioreactor modalities for scalable and efficient cell cultures My challenge? Retrofitting microalgae bioreactors from other industries. Thank you ERIDIA for the exciting challenge. If this is something you would like to contribute your insights to, please let me know and I'd be happy to get in touch. #hackathon #altproteins

3 incredible years at Bright Green Partners have finally come to an end... Here are my top 5 personal & professional highlights. Personal: 💼 1. Having a positive, professional and flexible work environment The freedom to work remotely and adjust your schedule an hour or two ahead was always a big plus for me. I took 6 months to work and travel one time. Next to that, I've found that help is there when you need it and everyone is ready to roll up their sleeves. 🚄 2. Company meet-ups Although we avoided excessive traveling for sustainability reasons, we did meet up 4x per year for company reunions, which were always in exciting locations. 🏭 3. Company visits We visited several companies and even got to walk the production floor of a plant based meat factory - which was a definite highlight. 😋 4. Incredible team I've gotten the pleasure to work closely alongside brilliant minds like Gabrielė Angelytė, Matevž Schweiger, Naomi Kelliher and Fleur van der Linden whom I've learned a lot from and kept pushing me. Thank you, team! 📈 5. Developing my mindset Being surrounded by people I look up to and being challenged by them has enabled me to develop my own mindset. Today, I am always looking for opportunities, highly growth oriented and curious. Professional: 🍃 1. Working on the important topic of #altproteins and #sustainablematerials to improve our planet, with a dedicated and passionate team The leadership, passion and vision of individuals like Floor Buitelaar, Dr. Alex Hein and (before Géza Molnár) is remarkable. If anyone can tackle the complexity of the industry, it's them. 👨🏫 2. Having the chance to learn from consulting veterans I have benefitted a lot by being exposed to top consultants from different firms like McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Bain & Company and Monitor Deloitte. The mentoring I have received from individuals like Dr. Heinrich von Jagwitz, Lorenzo Lombardi, Heiko Huber, Pawel Zoltko, Ruben Smouter and Owen Ensor has shaped me into the professional I am today - thank you all (also for the direct feedback)! 📝 3. Being part of the entrepreneurial journey I joined as the first employee and have therefore had the chance to contribute to shaping various aspects of the business, which I enjoy. 👨🔧 4. Working together with top industry experts Through our expert network, we sourced from a list of 2,500+ top industry professionals with real, hands-on experience. Their deep know-how affords a level of insight that is unparalleled - you know who you are ;) 🌟 5. Becoming a thought leader Over the years, I have not only absorbed tons of information, but begun forming my own opinions and insights. I will look to share some of those (non-confidential ones) with my network and give back in a small way. I couldn't have asked for a better kick start to my career. Thank you Bright Green Partners. It's been a blast. I will be cheering from the sidelines 🚀 See you at the next event!

#Food strategy is now being affected by Ozempic 💊 How big is this trend? What is an 'ozempic-friendly' product⁉ Weight loss drugs are not a new thing, but more and more people are either overweight or obese. Here are some quick facts: - 73.1% of Americans are now overweight or obese - 631 million adults globally are obese, that's 13% of the adult population - according to the CDC, 65% of adults say will-power alone is not enough to fight it BUT: I assume many more non-obese people are using it to reach body goals 🎯 The sales numbers have recently exploded. This is also why Novo Nordisk is worth more than the entire Danish economy. 🤑 For international sales numbers of Ozempic & similar drugs, see the graph below. One stark comparison: it looks like NVIDIA's share price. Millions of people are using Ozempic, which has caused CPGs to take notice. J.P. Morgan predicts that 9% of the US population will be on it by 2028 - making it a $100B market. I feel that this is not unrealistic, given the US's affinity to pick up new drugs quickly. Obtaining a prescription is also relatively easy, as Costco Wholesale recently rolled Ozempic out in its pharmacy and can prescribe it via a video call consultation. 📲 Big brands like Nestlé are launching Vital Pursuit, a line of frozen 'ozempic-friendly' products that are high in protein and fiber. 🥘 The meals have a suggested price of $4.99 or less, are made with whole grains or protein pasta, and consist of sandwich melts, pizzas, and bowls, enriched in nutrients like potassium, calcium and iron that the prescription drug users might miss from eating less food overall. This kind of product line is adapted to smaller portion sizes, focusing on nutrients to complement the drug. What are some other potential food modifications you can imagine to better cater to Ozempic users? See comments for sources ⬇ #foodtech #ozempic #obesity #strategy #foodtech

Together with Ryan Edwards, I talked to 12 leading #altprotein startups in Spain about their challenges. Here are their top 3. 😤 #1 Fundraising #2 Finding commercial partners and/ or customers (B2B) #3 Growing the Spanish market & volumes The first one is no surprise, given that funding is down overall vs. last year. 💵 According to The Good Food Institute, globally, here are the numbers: Plant-based: -31% Fermentation: -34% Cultivated meat: -75% Clearly, it's been a tough fundraising year across the board. However, it's good to see this in context, as overall funding by VCs in Spain has halved during the same period. 🏭 Finding commercial partners - and favorable terms(!) Many of the startups reported that there was little-to-no access to infrastructure or partners with manufacturing capacity. Either there was no capacity, or it was too expensive to access. Co-manufacturers unfortunately are not cooperating with the local startup ecosystem, know they have all of the leverage and are using it. 🛒 Growing the Spanish market & volumes This comes down to many factors, including consumer awareness, education, food culture, attitudes, and affordability. Spanish consumer adoption has been relatively flat compared to other countries in Europe. Heura Foods is looking to change that with their innovative marketing campaigns like Heura Fest, where they handed out hundreds of free meals to their target audience. An analogy that I personally witnessed is the fact that my local Mercadona grocery store has cut back from 4 meat alternatives to only 3 in their assortment in the last few months. Other grocery stores may be more open to innovation, but given that Mercadona is the fastest growing (~10% CAGR), most profitable (~25% margin) and biggest (~30% market share) retailer in Spain, it makes a big difference. P.S. If you have any ideas or leads on solving any of the above challenges here in Spain, or would like to bring those ideas to the startups, please reach out and I'd be happy to facilitate or include you in a future FoodHack event. Pictured here is the 3rd edition, with Marc Coloma sharing learnings about his recent $40M raise. Find the alt protein club website and participants below: https://lnkd.in/dGvV_Kjq A big thank you to Naked Innovations for facilitating. #altproteinchallenges #Spain #startups #foodtech

What key challenges are various alt protein #stakeholders facing? 🏃♂️💨 Starting with R&D / innovation managers at $10B+ corporations... 🏢 These are the most common, given the current #funding environment: Note that they are not MECE (mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive). 1. How do I convince my board to continue believing in the #altprotein trend and pushing for investment when the numbers just aren’t there? 2. How do I unlock #demand in a different part of the supply chain? For example, a processor unlocking demand for their products at the QSR level 3. What is X technology and what can we do with it? How far out is it from commercialization? Who are the key players and what unique capabilities do they have? 4. How do we build a $XM+ business in a given alt-protein vertical by 2030? 5. What role can we play in a sustainable future, and what are the industry needs we can cater to best? Of course there are many nuances to these questions and many more questions asked, but these are quite common at the moment. Which challenges are you facing today? Let's talk about them. Next week, I'll post about investor challenges. #altprotein #foodtech #futurefood #challenges #corporate