Mushroom Bras, Metaverse Farmers Markets, John Mackey’s Wellness Play + More

John Mackey, CEO and founder of Whole Foods Market

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Whole Foods’ founder and CEO John Mackey could be opening a line of plant-based cafes and wellness centers soon, according to an article from Food & Wine. The locations would be part of Mackey’s “evidence-based lifestyle company” called Healthy America.

Meanwhile, The Spoon took a spin through a farmers market in the Metaverse recently, where several food and bev CPGs were showing off their wares.

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1. Whole Foods CEO Could Be Opening Plant-Based Cafés, Wellness Centers – Food & Wine

Whole Foods co-founder and CEO John Mackey is reportedly launching “an evidence-based lifestyle company” called Healthy America.

2. Come With Me as I Walk Around a CPG Farmers Market in the Metaverse – The Spoon

The Metamarket has organized a virtual farmers market with over a dozen different CPG brands. All of it happened in the metaverse.

3. Tazo Tea to Transition to Regenerative Agriculture – Food Dive

The company will transition its tea, herb, and spices supply chain to regen ag by 2029, and aims to develop 60% to 80% of its products through regenerative practices by the end of 2023.

4. Seth Goldman’s Eat the Change Raises $14.5M to Launch Just Ice Tea – Food Dive

Eat the Change products will hit the market next month. Funding will be used to set up and scale production and commit to major purchases of bottles, caps, tea and ingredients.

5. Shopic Scoops Up $35M – Tech in Asia

Smart grocery cart firm Shopic will use its Series B funding to expand into additional global markets.

6. Emirates Becomes Latest Airline to Add Vegan Options – Vegconomist

‘Inventive’ vegan dishes, from three-course meals to movie snacks, are part of Emirates $2 billion investment to enhance the in-flight consumer experience.

7. Sports Nutrition Brand MyProtein Taps Perfect Day’s Precision Fermentation Whey – Green Queen

Whey Forward is the first co-branded product in the MyProtein label using Perfect Day’s precision fermentation dairy.

8. Positive Food Co. Raises $7M – TechCrunch

The CPG sells freshly packaged ‘heat-and-eat’ meals and also operates vertical integration tech that helps it manage production and supply chain. Funding will go towards expanding into new channels beyond Whole Foods, where the company currently sells its wares.

9. Scotland’s Single-Use Plastics Ban in Full Effect – Zero Waste Scotland

The ban came into force in Scotland in June of this year, and restricts certain single-use plastic items such as cutlery, beverage stirrers, and plates.

10. What the Historic Climate Bill Means for Farmers and the Food System – Civil Eats

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will incentivize unprecedented shifts toward renewable energy, electric vehicles, and curbing methane emissions from fossil fuel production.

11. Restaurant Meals Become a Relative Bargain as Grocery Prices Soar – WSJ

July saw the biggest inflationary gap between grocery stores and restaurants since the 1970s. In some cases this can be a better deal than cooking at home.

12. Shiok Meats Confirms 2023 Commercial Launch Plans – Food Navigator

The cultivated meat company says its production costs have dropped to $50/kg, a huge milestone compared to the $5,000/kg price point at which the startup previously hovered.

13. Stella McCartney Helps to Launch $200M Sustainability Fund – Vegconomist

Stella McCartney has joined forces with venture capital firm Collaborative Fund to launch a sustainability fund aimed at “cleaner businesses, founders and sustainable solutions.”

14.60% of People Don’t Want Lab Grown Meat – Food Navigator

In a new survey, UK consumers weigh in on cultivated meat, gene-edited modifications, red meat, and alternative proteins.

15. Grow Your Own Bra – The New Yorker

At the Biofabricate Summit in Brooklyn, envoys from Balenciaga, Nike, and Tesla survey the Namibian-mushroom bricks and the plant-waste hoodies worn by the likes of Justin Bieber and Harry Styles.