Beyond Meat had global revenues of $343 million last year but suffered a net loss of $338 million. Global sales were down 18 per cent from 2022.  |  File photo

Plant-based food comeback?

WINNIPEG — The stock chart for Beyond Meat Inc. is not a happy story. In October 2020, Beyond Meat was trading around US$190 per share. This winter and spring the stock was $7 to $9 per share, which means the California company is now worth about $500 million. That’s down from $12 billion in 2020. […] Read more

The plant protein industry says companies that remain after the current market upheaval will have to be more focused on markets that matter and products that people are excited to keep eating.  |  Getty Images

Plant-based protein sector learns from recent downturn

Industry officials say they have learned lessons from recent marketing challenges and remain positive about the future

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. Attendees heard that message during a panel of industry representatives in the plant-based ingredient space at the recent Agri Tech Venture Forum in Toronto. “The problem […] Read more


It’s hoped that growth in the protein sector will result in more investment by governments and businesses into plant breeding, agronomy and other areas of research, especially for fababeans.  |  File photo

New project puts fababeans in the spotlight

Companies sign onto Protein Industries Canada initiative to boost plant protein, and fababeans are one of the stars

Glacier FarmMedia – A new $24.5-million project backed by Protein Industries Canada includes a group of plant protein companies working to tackle some of the sector’s biggest hurdles. The national cluster for protein is teaming up with Roquette, Prairie Fava, BioNeutra and Plant Up to improve innovation, come up with more diversified products and improve […] Read more

GFI has headquarters in Toronto and has several facilities in Saskatchewan, including elevators in Zealandia and Lajord. | Screencap via Youtube.com/ Global Food and Ingredients Inc.

Grain commission revokes GFI licenses

Global Foods and Ingredients shut down operations May 7

UPDATED – to include new information from the Canadian Grain Commision – May 16, 2024 – 1305 CST WINNIPEG — The Canadian Grain Commission has revoked six licenses for Global Food and Ingredients, a plant-based and plant protein company with facilities in Saskatchewan. The CGC pulled the licenses as of May 16. “We’ve revoked Global […] Read more


A growing market for plant-based protein products has riled a French livestock sector facing steady loss of cattle farms and stiff competition from cheaper imported meat. | Getty Images

France issues new ban on plant-based ‘meat’

PARIS (Reuters) — France issued a ban in late February on using terms like steak and ham for plant protein products, a second attempt by the government to regulate meat alternatives as it tries to mollify livestock producers at the heart of farmer protests. A growing market for plant-based protein products has riled a French […] Read more

Brasathe Jeganathan has developed a more sustainable version of a process used to extract protein from faba beans. |  Supplied photo

Faba bean research means high protein, less gas

UPDATED – March 25, 2024 – 0825 CST – Glacier FarmMedia – 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 […] Read more

A newly-released report examining companies working in the plant-based protein industry revealed that there are some significant hurdles to overcome for those plants to be successful. | Screencap via smartprosperity.ca

Protein sector faces labour crunch: report

SASKATOON — Government, industry and educational institutes must act now to address the labour challenges confronting the emerging plant-based protein industry in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, according to a new report. “The danger here might be that the sector might not live up to its potential,” said Nicholas Renzetti, research associate with Smart Property Institute, the […] Read more


Beyond Meat Inc., whose market capitalization was pegged at $1.3 billion when it went public in 2018, recently reported April-to-June 2023 sales of $102 million. To a confirmed carnivore, that sounds like a lot of non-meat meat. To the always ravenous Wall Street, however, the number is undercooked: compared to a year ago, net revenue is off 31 percent and U.S. sales are down 40 percent. | File photo

Plant-based meat business remains half cooked idea for now

Beyond Meat, Inc., founded in 2009, has had almost 15 years to build a product line that is — as its name claims — beyond meat and, by some business metrics, it has. After all, the company, whose market capitalization was pegged at $1.3 billion when it went public in 2018, recently reported April-to-June 2023 […] Read more