Sweet treats with functional benefits took home the four finalist spots this week in the Real California Milk Excelerator product innovation competition created by the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) and VentureFuel.

Nexira, a leader in acacia fiber and natural plant-based ingredients for the food, nutrition and health industries, announced its acquisition of the Swiss company UNIPEKTIN Ingredients AG, a specialist and leader in natural hydrocolloids and premium ingredients. 

Deerland Probiotics & Enzymes is a trusted global provider of probiotic and dietary supplements using probiotic, prebiotic, and enzyme technology, including 12 branded product lines serving customers in areas including digestive health, immune health, women’s health, food intolerance, sports nutrition, cellular repair, and systemic and cardiovascular health. 

In 2018, Coca-Cola initially acquired a 15% stake in BODYARMOR with a path to full ownership, based on a pre-determined discount. Coca-Cola is paying $5.6 billion in cash for the remaining 85% of the company.

The company's patent-pending discovery platform combines machine-learning algorithms and a precision biofermentation process. The result is a spectrum of novel plant-based ingredients that require a small fraction of the land, energy, and water footprint of animal-derived eggs, meat, milk, and gelatins. 

Food tech startup Aqua Cultured Foods announced it has closed an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round of $2.1 million, a high-water mark in the category of seafood alternatives, and one of the largest pre-seed rounds for companies using fermentation for alt-proteins. 

Dr. Kiss has three decades of industrial biotechnology experience and will oversee all of the company's technical operations and processes for producing cultivated meat at research through commercial scales.

CuliNex, a clean label food product consultancy, introduced two new members of the expanding product development team. 

The finalists were chosen amongst the cohort of 45 global startups previously selected as participants in FoodBytes! Pitch 2021, Rabobank's multi-week food and agriculture innovation program that drives collaboration between startups, corporate leaders and investors to develop solutions to food system challenges.

Kemin Industries has released a new video, “The Journey to Sustainability,” which highlights the importance of sustainability, particularly for the Kemin Food Technologies – Americas business unit, and the ways Kemin practices and measures company efforts