The top 100 hottest global F&B start-ups

TRIP (#1)

The CBD-infused drinks brand was founded by husband and wife team Daniel Khoury and Olivia Ferdi six years ago.

“TRIP sits at the intersection of wellbeing, culture, and community. We’re shaping conversations around self-care and creating products that offer real solutions to everyday wellness needs,” a spokesperson for the brand said.

To find out more about TRIP, head over to our ‘Hottest UK Start-ups’ article.

Future Fields (#2)

Canadian company Future Field uses a proprietary fruit-fly-based biomanufacturing system called EntoEngine, which relies on Drosophila melanogaster (a species of fly) to efficiently produce recombinant proteins.

It was founded by Matt Anderson-Baron and Jalene Anderson-Baron in 2018.

“Our proprietary EntoEngine turns transgenic fruit flies into biofactories. This fly advantage sets us apart from other expression systems by unlocking orders of magnitude in cost and scale while reducing its environmental footprint,” explained CEO, Matt Anderson-Baron.

“We used to produce off-the-shelf reagents and recombinant proteins for our audiences. We have since realised the market need for custom protein services, specifically one that tackles large volumes of difficult-to-express proteins. Our business model evolved to deliver this need, producing bespoke targets for our clients at prices that make sense.”

The business has recently launched Instar 1.0, its 6,000 square-foot biomanufacturing facility.

“Scaling our EntoEngine to new heights, Instar has 30 times the output of conventional protein technology. This supports our clients who have been increasing consumption of our products 200% quarter over quarter, and helps address the global challenge of limited biomanufacturing capacity. We’re ecstatic for Instar to continue being a positive force for global protein production,” said Baron.

Shiru (#3)

Based in the USA, Shiru was established in 2019 by Dr. Jasmin Hume.

It employs an AI-powered discovery platform (Flourish) plus bioinformatics and precision biology to identify and optimise proteins (e.g. OleoPro, uPro).

Flourish is built on the “world’s largest and most comprehensive” database of natural proteins, containing over 77 million proteins from plants and other sources.

“The primary driver of our recent success has been our ability to rapidly solve critical consumer demands through strategic brand partnerships, enabled by our proprietary AI-powered discovery platform, Flourish,” a spokesperson told Food Manufacture.

“This technology has been a game-changer, enabling us to drastically accelerate the ingredient innovation timeline. Where traditional R&D can take between five to 15 years, our platform reduces that to just one to two years. This speed and efficiency allow us to meet the rapidly growing consumer demand for natural, more sustainable ingredients with unprecedented agility. Basically, we’ve upended the traditional path for ingredient discovery by using AI as a force multiplier.”

Rather than working in isolation, Shiru actively partners with brands to co-develop solutions that address their most pressing formulation challenges. This year, its discovery efforts have focused intensively on two major consumer demands: natural sweetener replacements and natural appetite regulation through GLP-1 activation.

“In January 2025, we launched a global search for beverage partners to discover and scale natural sugar replacements, leveraging our library of over 77 million uniquely functional, nature-identical proteins. In June 2025, we established the GLP-1 Innovation Alliance, a first-of-its-kind industry consortium that allows Fortune 500 CPG companies and emerging brands to collaborate on discovering natural proteins that bind to GLP-1 receptors.”

NotCo (#4)

Headquarted in Chile, NotCo uses the proprietary AI platform Giuseppe to analyse plant ingredients and create formulations that match the sensory and functional attributes of animal-based foods.

The business was founded by Matias Muchnick, Karim Pichara and Pablo Zamora in 2015.

“We are at a critical point in the food industry, as climate pressure, ingredient shortages, new regulatory movements, and rising input costs are forcing companies to rethink how they innovate,” said Muchnick, the CEO of NotCo.

“The ‘MAHA’ [Make America Healthy Again] movement and increasing restrictions on artificial additives are reshaping product portfolios, while the surge in cocoa, hazelnut, coffee, and orange juice prices adds further strain. As a result, the world’s largest CPGs are being pushed to reformulate products and deploy substantial R&D budgets to address supply chain disruptions and safeguard long-term resilience.

“In this context, NotCo AI, the first foundational AI platform for CPG innovation, represents a unique technology, specifically designed for CPG product development with 10 years of proven experience.

“Giuseppe AI is the first patented, multidimensional end-to-end system that treats food and beverage innovation as a data problem, transforming concepts into market-ready products at unprecedented speed and scale.

“Today, NotCo AI delivers end-to-end B2B innovation, using consumer insights to create market-ready products from food to beauty, with concept generation and testing for new products, formulation, optimisation in revamping existing ones, and staying ahead of consumer trends.”

The business has driven transformation for seven of the world’s top 20 CPG companies. For example, its joint venture with Kraft Heinz, The Kraft Heinz Not Company, has brought products like NotMac&Cheese and NotMayo to market.

More recently, NotCo announced a partnership with Magnum Ice Cream to accelerate demand-driven innovation in the US market.

THIS (#5)

THIS uses plant-based extrusion, proprietary texturising processes, and nutrient fortification (B12, iron) to make plant-based meat that closely simulates conventional meat in cooking and texture.

The business was founded by Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman.

To find out more about THIS, head over to our ‘Hottest UK Start-ups’ article.

The EVERY Company (#6)

The EVERY Company was founded by Arturo Elizondo in 2014.

It uses precision fermentation to create animal-identical proteins such as EVERY EggWhite and EVERY Pepsin using engineered microorganisms as production hosts.

“Our recent success comes down to focus, execution, and timing. We doubled down on our core ingredient, OvoPro, where demand has been strongest -from independent bakeries to global CPGs - and reached steady-state, scaled manufacturing that delivers consistent, high-quality product every run,” explained Corrine Williams, product marketing director for The EVERY Company.

OvoPro is a single-ingredient solution (bio-equivalent ovalbumin) that delivers the core functionalities that bakers need (binding, gelling, foaming, whipping) without compromising taste or texture. The product also has an 18-month shelf life and does not require cold chain.

“Because our team has a deep understanding of how OvoPro performs as a replacement for whole egg and egg white across applications, we’re able to help customers switch without compromising taste, texture, or process.

“At the same time, the market has been rattled by avian-influenza-driven volatility. When egg shortages start disrupting production schedules, stability becomes a strategic need, not a nice-to-have. OvoPro gives manufacturers a reliable, cost-predictable option. Put simply: the right product, produced reliably, arriving when the industry needs resilience most.”

One product using OvoPro hit US Walmart shelves nationwide in late October 2025.

“Over the past year we’ve concentrated on scaling manufacturing to reliably meet forecasted demand for 2026 and beyond, so customers can count on consistent quality and supply.

“We’ve also been refining pack sizes and formats to fit how different partners actually operate - from pilot runs to full-scale production - so it’s easy to trial, adopt, and integrate into existing lines without disruption.”

Plantible Foods (#7)

Based in the US, Plantible Foods was founded by Dutch entrepreneurs Tony Martens and Maurits van de Venin in 2016.

It uses a vertically integrated system to grow lemna and extract RuBisCO, one of the most functional plant proteins, offering high solubility, neutrality in flavour, and strong binding/emulsifying properties.

“We focused on developing ingredient solutions that are better than the status quo: focusing on enhancements vs alternatives. Working backwards from customer pain points is critical to develop products that have the right product market fit,” commented Tony Martens, co-founder of Plantible Foods.

Martens says its success can be partly owed to the resilient and renewable supply chain it offers, helping companies to “stabilise their operations”.

Its most recent product is called Lemna Leaf Greens, a green powder that has superior macro-, micro-, and phytonutrients.

“Given the rise of green product solutions in the health and wellness space, and the increased volatility in the supply chains of traditional green powders (kale, spinach, and broccoli), we have seen increased demand coming from the various players in this market,” he added.

Martens told Food Manufacture the business is “aggressively” expanding its capacity over the next 12 months, tripling its output at its Ranchito and preparing for the build out of its second facility.

Top 100 hottest global F&B companies:

The methodology

The data identifies the fastest-growing start-ups in F&B through a structured, data-led evaluation framework.

Start-ups were assessed across key growth and innovation parameters – including financials, funding momentum, investor quality, technology maturity, IP strength, and digital traction. This multi-dimensional assessment enabled us to pinpoint the Top 100 emerging players driving transformation across the food value chain.