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FoodTech 500 2025 & The Survivors of the Protein Reset

FoodTech 500 2025 & The Survivors of the Protein Reset visual media slide

The 2025 FoodTech 500 reads less like a hype parade and more like a post-mortem. Plant-based hasn’t vanished, cultivated meat hasn’t collapsed, but the centre of gravity has shifted. The companies still standing are quieter, more technical, and far less interested in convincing consumers to “change behaviour”. Infact Next-Gen food & drinks fell to ~23.6% of FoodTech 500 finalists. This year’s list rewards those building infrastructure, ingredients, and systems slotting into existing food supply chains.


Precision fermentation has emerged as the clear winner of this reset. Fermentation-driven protein companies now outnumber classic plant-based brands, reflecting a market prioritising functionality, cost curves, and B2B scalability over retail storytelling. Dairy proteins, fats, and functional ingredients are increasingly being rebuilt molecule by molecule and sold upstream, not pitched to supermarket buyers.


Cultivated meat, meanwhile, has entered its adult phase. The FoodTech 500 shortlist is tight, disciplined, and execution-led. Australia’s Magic Valley makes the cut alongside global heavyweights like Mosa Meat and UPSIDE Foods, clearly signalling cultivated meat isn’t dead, but now a category reserved for those with manufacturing reality, regulatory strategy, and capital discipline firmly in place.



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