The Sustainable Restaurant Association added a 30% plant-based menu question to Food Made Good, a standard that certifies over 15,000 venues [44].
02
Dutch startup Qorium renamed itself Reyva and expects its first cultivated-leather reveals in the first half of 2027, with costs still above conventional leather [45].
03
Beyond Meat's mycelium steak filet is now in every Sprouts store, days before earnings that analysts expect to show another revenue drop [46].
04
Mondelēz is suing a small UK vegan chocolatier over the shape of its O'Bar, and Moo Free says it has been threatened too, according to Vegan Food & Living [36].
05
In a randomized crossover trial of 31 older adults, 60 g of peanuts a day for 16 weeks increased brain blood flow by 3.6%; the Peanut Institute Foundation funded it [16].
The Stories: the day’s biggest developments, in the sources’ own words
01▲Law & PolicyStory
Sustainable Restaurant Association adds a 30% plant-based menu policy question to Food Made Good
Photo: green queen
The Sustainable Restaurant Association updated Food Made Good, which certifies over 15,000 hotels, restaurants and foodservice venues, so applicants must say whether they have a written, time-bound policy to make at least 30% of their menus fully plant-based [44]. Friend of the Earth, Friend of the Sea and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council have set the same 30% threshold, so the number now appears across three certification schemes [44]. The standard rolls out in full in January 2027, and it asks about a policy rather than requiring the 30% outright [44].
“The new criteria on plant-based foods and on the welfare of farmed and aquatic animals reflect the direction the industry needs to move in”
Ribbin Nichapa, corporate engagement manager at Lever Foundation · [44]
By the numbers
over 15,000hotels, restaurants and foodservice establishments certified under Food Made Good [44]
80-95%of a restaurant's scope 3 emissions come from food sourcing, per the SRA's figures [44]
70%of those sourcing emissions come from animal-derived ingredients, per the SRA's figures [44]
WatchFull rollout of the 2027 standard is set for January 2027 [44].
FromGreen Queen
02▬InnovationStory
Qorium renames itself Reyva and readies a limited first supply of cultivated leather
Photo: green queen
The Maastricht startup Qorium is now Reyva, and it is moving from development batches toward commercial volumes for luxury fashion and automotive interiors, with first product reveals expected in the first half of 2027 [45][52]. Its sources disagree on production time: Green Queen reports about five weeks per batch, vegconomist reports six to seven [45][52]. The 87% carbon cut comes from a CE Delft model of full-scale production in 2029, and current laboratory-scale output was not measured [52].
“Our production costs are currently higher because we have not yet reached commercial scale.”
Beyond Meat puts its mycelium steak filet in every Sprouts store days before earnings
Photo: green queen
Beyond Meat's whole-cut mycelium steak filet is now sold at all Sprouts Farmers Market stores in the US, joining Wegmans, H-E-B, Meijer and Erewhon [46]. The rollout comes after six consecutive quarters of shrinking revenue, and analysts forecast another decline in the Q3 report due this week [46]. The cuts are frozen and each 127g piece carries 28g of protein; the source gives no price [46].
“We’ll get through it.”
Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat CEO, to the Wall Street Journal · [46]
By the numbers
$62Mforecast Q3 turnover, an 11.6% drop according to analysts [46]
Mondelēz sues a small UK vegan chocolatier over the shape of its O'Bar
Photo: vegan food
Vegan Food & Living reports that Mondelēz International has taken Catherine's Originals to the UK High Court, alleging its O'Bar infringes the Toblerone shape trade mark, which has been protected in the UK since 1994 [36]. Moo Free, another dairy-free chocolatier, says Mondelēz has also threatened action over its White Choccy Snowballs, claiming they infringe Cadbury Snow Balls [36]. Catherine's Originals disputes the claim, and a trade mark attorney says proving consumer confusion will not be straightforward [36].
“Even with a trade mark registration in place protecting the shape of its Toblerone chocolate bar, it could be challenging for Mondelēz to prove that the bar made by Catherine’s Originals is sufficiently similar in shape that it would cause customer confusion.”
“Being a smaller business does not mean being afraid to stand up for what we’ve created.”
Catherine Dodd, founder of Catherine's Originals, to The Guardian · [36]
By the numbers
1994the year the Toblerone shape has been protected in the UK [36]
USD $38 billionin annual revenues for Mondelēz, against a family business founded by Dodd at 18 [36]
FromVegan Food & Living
Worth Knowing
Food & Recipes
Plate pick: Frugal Vegan's southwestern sweet potato boat takes one microwaved sweet potato (8 to 10 minutes) topped with mashed avocado, black beans, corn and salsa [30].
Innovation
Lidl's Vemondo won four categories and the Private Label Award at the V-Label Awards Germany, where a record 98,347 votes were cast [53].
Biospringer bought dsm-firmenich's ModuMax, an ingredient that masks bitterness in plant-based milks and high-protein drinks [54].
Savor, a carbon-to-fat company, signed on to Helios AI's forecasts, which warn that an El Niño peaking between November 2026 and January 2027 will hit the 2027 cocoa and palm harvests [50].
Research & Nutrition
Among 485,934 adults in China's Kadoorie Biobank, regular tea drinking was associated with an 11% lower risk of vascular disease, while "burning hot" tea was associated with higher risk [12][14].
A lab study from Nanjing Agricultural University found that cell-cultured pork biomass heats into a firmer gel than pork myofibrillar protein at low salt, though weaker than egg and whey protein gels [24].
One Good Thing
The Bangka slow loris, a small venomous primate listed as possibly extinct since 2015, is alive on Indonesia's Bangka Island [56]. Researchers analyzed more than 90 animals rescued by the local Alobi Wildlife Rescue Center, and Alobi has released 86 recovered lorises into remaining protected forest [56]. The authors call for a formal reassessment of its Red List status, and for habitat protection against tin mining and oil palm clearing [56].
vegconomist the vegan business magazine
