Everyone has heard of French mustard, Japanese wasabi, and Mexican hot sauce - but what about Brazil? SoulBrasil Cuisine is on a mission to create condiments that reflect Brazil's biodiversity and culinary heritage.
BioZen, which claims to be the first company to make kombucha in Brazil, is launching fruit kefir. We talked to its co-founder about low-sugar drinks, gut health and reaching male consumers.
São Paulo start-up Mun is bringing tempeh - a protein made from whole, fermented pulses that originates from Indonesia - to Brazil. We caught up with the co-founder at BioBrazil last week.
'The future of food is unlocking the potential of proteins’ says CEO
Protera Biosciences enzymatically engineers the proteins in food to make them healthier and more functional; turning saturated fats into healthier, unsaturated ones is just one possibility. We caught up with its CEO and founder to find out more.
Barack Obama: ‘Laboratoria's success rate has been extraordinary’
Peruvian start-up Laboratoria trains Latin American women in tech, addressing the region's digital skills gap, helping companies hire diverse workers, fighting the macho mindset - and winning praise from Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg.
Mexican start-up Xilinat has won first prize at Chivas Venture for its natural sweetener made from 'upcycled' agricultural waste thanks to a patent-protected process .
Nutrient-packed fresh spirulina has a neutral taste, creamy texture and is ideal for modern Mexicans to get the nutrients they are not finding in processed food, says supplier Spirulina Viva.
Rappi, an on-demand food delivery service, has received an investment of "up to $1bn" from SoftBank and its 'Vision Fund', marking the largest technology investment made for a Latin America-based company to date.
Ecuadorian start-up Takay sources fruit that has been rejected by buyers for aesthetic reasons to create its healthy, ready-to-blend smoothie and ice cream mixes.
The Cuban government wants more international investment in the country's food industry - a tempting proposition given there are few foreign competitors. But how easy is it to do business in a communist country?
Regenerative agriculture can be productive and profitable, according to Brazilian producer Rizoma, which aims to regenerate one million hectares of land in Brazil by 2030. “Simply sustaining is not enough,” it says.
Argentinian scientists and tech firm EnyeTech have optimized the production process for mycoprotein, allowing for cheaper production both industrially and in the home. "We are decentralizing the production of protein in the world," says the...
Start-up accelerator TIC Colombia is on the hunt for innovative food, nutrition and agriculture start-ups to accelerate in its 2019 nationwide competition.
Mexican start-up Bio B uses locally-sourced ingredients in smoothie mixes and protein bars, such as inulin from agave cacti, cocoa from Tabasco, and Mexican-grown moringa.
We hit Mexico's ANTAD Alimentaria last week to seek out the latest trends in finished products. From cactus snacks to green banana flour; matcha horchata to lemon popcorn, this is what we saw.
'What we're wrestling with is whether CBD is an ingredient play, or something huge brands can be built around'
The fact that CBD is not a legal ingredient in foods and supplements - at least not yet - did not deter scores of exhibitors at Expo West, who added it to everything from soda to protein bars (absent any claims), with some opting for isolates, but most...
Bezos Expeditions and ethical investment firm The Craftory will give Chilean plant-based start-up The Not Company US$30 million. “NotCo has the energy and capabilities to topple the traditional food production giants,” says The Craftory.
Búho Soda is Mexico's first all-natural, low-sugar soft drink made using locally-sourced ingredients, according to its manufacturer - and inspiration came from the country's booming craft beer movement, the start-up founder says.
In a global ranking for CBD potential and cannabis market 'readiness', Latin America ranks second. We spoke to experts about how big a role Latino countries could play in an industry predicted to be worth US$2.5 billion by 2026.
Brazilian craft chocolate brand Mestiço was founded by a Bahian cocoa farmer who saw artisan chocolate as a way to escape the uncertainty of the fluctuating cocoa commodity market. We spoke to its founder and CEO.
Mexican social enterprise SmartFish is driving both supply and demand for sustainable fish and seafood by teaching local fishermen to use artisanal methods and selling their produce. “We are creating a market for sustainable fish in Mexico,” it says.
With a healthy growth rate, boosted investor confidence and government commitment to innovation, Colombia is re-branding itself as a nation open to business - and, despite challenges, it is "well positioned to move forward", says a report by...
The Social Gastronomy Movement, a network of farm-to-fork actors offering solutions to issues such as food waste and poor nutrition, is being rolled out around the world with pilot hubs in Chile and Brazil.
Chile is on a drive to increase investment and innovation by offering tax breaks for research and development (R&D) in any sector. “Chile is the natural laboratory for companies who want to see how the market responds to a product," says InvestChile
Brazilian start-up Plasticor's patent-pending, biodegradable plastic changes color when food begins to perish, reducing food waste without compromising food safety, it says.
Juçaí's juçara berry sorbet may appeal to health-conscious millennials but it also has a more serious agenda: taking the juçara palm off the endangered list by growing demand for its superfruit berries.
Mexican students are transforming acidic agave waste from tequila production into a nutritious high-fiber flour. “We will create a new product to combat obesity and also have a cleaner Mexico,” they say.
By commercializing the Amazon's precious food resources through responsible supply chains, rainforest-to-table movement Cumari hopes to protect the rainforest. "We’ll only conserve what we value," it says.
Israeli ag-tech firm Taranis says its precision agriculture tools can boost yields and cut costs - and is already doing so for millions of hectares of farmland in Latin America. “This is a one-of-a-kind patented technology," says its CEO.
Argentinian start-up The Food Market is an e-commerce platform for local and regional brands, giving producers "an unthinkable growth opportunity" and consumers the chance to buy "honest, transparent" brands.
An extract derived from natural fruit and vegetable compounds can extend the shelf-life of fruit by up to 250%, drastically cutting food waste, says the Peruvian start-up behind it.
From Chobani's new coconut-based range of spoonable and drinkable products to US food tech firm JUST aiming to take its plant-based product, JUST Egg, into China, a lot has happened over the past seven days. Here’s a round-up of the top seven global...
Buenos Aires-based Brød – the first Danish bread factory in Argentina – is looking to expand its distribution across the country, and is eying the export potential of neighbors like Uruguay and Paraguay.
California-based Buddha Teas is venturing into Latin America for the first time, expanding into Mexico with single-herb teas, cannabidiol blends and its ready-to-drink (RTD) matcha beverage.
Two major investors have forked out $400m in additional funding for Brazilian online food delivery app iFood, funds that majority stakeholder Movile says will accelerate growth and speed up innovation.
With sales growing year over year, Argentina’s Dulce Flor is eying further expansion of its range of jams and jellies with added flowers to bring poetry and exclusivity to the category.
La Huerta de Elisa has developed a range of all-natural baby foods made with native fruit and veg and will launch an organic line next year, plugging a significant gap in a monopolized market, its founder says.
After establishing itself in the US, yerba mate brand Guayakí is aiming to expand its availability to Latin America, senior executives tell FoodNavigator-LATAM.
Kallari Chocolate, an Ecuadorian cocoa farmer group that also produces branded chocolate, is to open a chocolate factory near its plantations in Tena next year.
The old strategies of reaping reliable returns by relying on consumer loyalty, incremental investments in established brands, and large-scale distribution and manufacturing are no longer advantageous – making this one of the most challenging times for...
The domination of Brazil’s beer market by big brewers has essentially created a market with ‘bored’ consumers thirsty for innovation, and that’s why its craft beer market is starting to take off, says a Mintel analyst.
The Not Company is using an artificial intelligence algorithm to identify suitable ingredients and blends to replace animal-origin products and will soon launch a plant-based milk in Chile.
With three decades of organic food business under their belts, Argentina’s Schatzi is eying further expansions while staying close to its main aim of “being a family that makes products as a way of life”.
From probiotics “waking up old categories” to Oprah’s new JV with Kraft Heinz, and on staying ahead of the key industry trends, and the rising demand for organic food in Thailand and Cambodia, here’s a round-up of the top seven global food and beverage...
From PepsiCo’s new innovation group (The Hive) to the success of the NutriScore food labeling system in France to drive healthy food choices, here’s a round-up of the top seven global food and beverage news items from the past seven days.
The story of Mate & Co started in 2015 when three enterprising friends perceived that the world was opening up to new tastes and flavors, and so they chose to build a brand around the traditional South America beverage yerba mate.
Young entrepreneurs with bright ideas are critical to the progress of food and beverages and PepsiCo is always on the lookout for innovation within this community, says its president for Latin America Beverages.
