Plant-based protein navigates market reckoning

Plant-based protein navigates market reckoning

PROTEIN | Improved taste, texture and value are hoped to make the sector more competitive

Lessons have been learned from the downturn in the plant-based protein marketplace, including what could have been done differently when it came to marketing, product development and consumer expectations.



Brasathe Jenathan has developed a more sustainable version of a process used to extract protein from faba beans.

Faba bean research means high protein, less gas

The process of breaking down faba beans is an important sustainability tool, scientist says

[UPDATED: Mar. 5, 2024] Let’s get the obvious part out of the way. By separating “the good stuff” (protein, starch and dietary fibre) from faba beans, a University of Alberta researcher has improved on a process that minimizes human flatulence from eating them. That issue has long been a deterrent to mass acceptance of the

photo: yana tatevosian/istock/getty images

Researchers call for more pea acres

Peas are a powerhouse. Not only do they sport a low carbon footprint and contain a high amount of protein, but they come with their own nitrogen. So why aren’t more acres planted? Why it matters: Peas have seen a resurgence in Manitoba with the entry of new processors in recent years. The biggest reason is risk of root


(Merit Functional Foods video screengrab via YouTube)

Merit Foods co-owner Burcon partnering on bid for assets

Unnamed 'plant protein company' now in on Burcon's bid

A major shareholder in beleaguered pea and canola protein processor Merit Functional Foods has brought on an unnamed partner in its bid to buy the business out of receivership. After announcing last month it would submit a bid for the next-to-new Merit assets, Vancouver-based plant protein firm Burcon NutraScience said Monday it’s now “participating in

(Screengrab from Merit Functional Foods video via YouTube)

Bidding open for Merit Foods for two more weeks

Stakeholder Burcon plans to put up 'compelling bid'

The fate of Winnipeg pea- and canola-based protein processor Merit Functional Foods won’t be confirmed until the end of April at the earliest. Merit, whose major shareholders include Vancouver plant-based protein firm Burcon NutraScience, U.S. agrifood firm Bunge and former executives of Hemp Oil Canada, was placed into receivership March 1. According to the first


(Screengrab from Merit Functional Foods video via YouTube)

Plant protein processor Merit Foods in receivership

Company owes $95 million to EDC, FCC

The company behind a new Prairie processing plant extracting plant-based proteins from peas and canola has landed in receivership, in the high eight figures’ debt to its secured lenders. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on Wednesday announced it’s the receiver for both Merit Functional Foods Corp. and the numbered company that owns Merit’s processing plant and property in

Fake meat challenges name ban in Paris restaurant debut

The arrival of veggie meat dishes on Parisian steakhouse menus with names such as “tenderloin” and “flank” poses a challenge to French government efforts to ban meat names for plant-based products. The global market for plant-based meat-like food has been booming, attracting major investment from global agri-food groups that hope to capitalize on a trend


(Ozo Foods video screeengrab via YouTube)

Meatpacker JBS to close U.S. plant-based foods business

Chicago | Reuters — Brazilian meatpacker JBS is closing its U.S. plant-based foods business, Planterra Foods, after about two years, the company said on Monday. The closure signals increasing troubles in the plant-based protein sector, where U.S. sales are flattening. Colorado-based Planterra sold fake meat under the Ozo brand, but JBS will now focus on

Filiz Koskel, recipient of the Terry G. Falconer Memorial Rh Institute Foundation Emerging Researcher Award in the Applied Sciences.

Playing with food never gets old

FACES OF AG | Filiz Koskel continues a family tradition of working in food and agriculture

A Manitoba researcher specializing in plant proteins has won an award for emerging researchers. Filiz Koskel was one recipient of the Terry G. Falconer Memorial Award from the Winnipeg Rh Institute, aimed at rewarding early-career researchers. She is a food science researcher at the Food and Human Nutritional Sciences Department at the University of Manitoba