To drive further growth and accelerate innovation within the plant-based foods market, AAK AB, Malmö, Sweden, said it joined the MISTA innovation platform, based in San Francisco.

Established in 2018, MISTA is an initiative that brings together the expertise of larger food and ingredients companies and selected startups to optimize ideas, products, people and investments and to solve current and future challenges within the ever-changing food and beverage industries. The startups within the MISTA platform include clean meat, plant-based food, biotech and technology companies.

“Plant-based food is not just a trend; rather, it is rapidly becoming a mainstream lifestyle choice given its growth trajectory,” said Niall Sands, president, plant-based foods at AAK. “Driven by sustainability, nutrition, wellbeing and animal welfare concerns, it has also cast light on challenges in the current food system. With our specialty oils and fats knowledge and application expertise, we very much look forward to collaborate with the other MISTA members to respond to the rapidly changing needs of consumers.”

Scott May, head of MISTA, said, “We are excited to welcome AAK as a MISTA member and a key contributor to deliver on our purpose to transform the global food system and meet the needs of the future. With its global presence and focus on sustainability, AAK will have a significant impact on delivering consumer-preferred solutions that require speciality oils and fats for optimal taste, texture and appearance.”