Lever Foundation

09/05/2026

MTR Foods is one of India's best-known convenience food brands, born out of famed South Indian restaurant chain Mavalli Tiffin Rooms. Its new Protein Breakfast range puts plant protein into everyday staples rather than asking consumers to change what they eat.

The move reflects a broader shift: 37% of Indians want to add more plant protein to their meals, and a larger share of consumers want to increase plant protein intake than animal protein. Nearly 60% of urban Indians don't consume enough protein — making familiar formats a more practical entry point than supplements or speciality products.

Orkla India has given a facelift to six popular breakfast products under its MTR Foods brand, including dosa and poha, which now feature 10g of plant-based protein.

09/02/2026

A Tufts University analysis of dietary data from 185 countries found that children as young as infants are falling short of recommended plant food intake, and in high-income countries, consumption actually declines as children get older. In the US, children eat the most plant foods as infants and among the least by adolescence.

More than half of the world's children don't meet WHO and UNICEF guidelines for fruit and vegetable intake. Two-thirds fall short on beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds. The eating habits built in childhood tend to stick, which is what makes this gap matter.

A global study has revealed that young populations are consuming low amounts of plant-based food, pointing to a critical nutrition gap among children.

08/29/2026

A higher additive count doesn't tell you anything about a food's health risk on its own. That's the message from the authors of a UK study that some outlets ran as bad news for plant-based eating.

The study found plant-based alternatives used more additives than their meat and dairy counterparts, but it didn't measure how much of each additive was used, how often people eat these products, or any actual health outcomes, and every additive involved is approved and regulated. Many are the reason these products are fortified in the first place: vitamin B12, vitamin C, and functional ingredients like citric acid and pectin.

The researchers' real takeaway is simpler. What matters isn't the length of an ingredient list, but the overall quality of what you're eating.

A new study shows plant-based alternatives contain twice as many additives as meat and dairy, but its experts say this doesn't translate into greater health risks.

08/24/2026

PT Widodo Makmur Unggas is one of Indonesia's publicly listed poultry companies, currently supplying cage-free eggs to hotels, restaurants, catering companies, and fast food chains across the country.

The expansion will bring its total cage-free flock from 200,000 to 500,000 hens — meaning hundreds of thousands more birds able to walk freely, stretch their wings, and engage in natural behaviors. A retail brand is also in development to bring cage-free eggs directly to Indonesian consumers.

While these changes are promising, reducing or eliminating egg consumption remains the most direct way to support hen welfare.

POULTRYINDONESIA, Jakarta – Kesadaran masyarakat terhadap produk pangan yang tidak hanya sehat dan aman, tetapi juga memperhatikan kesejahteraan hewan, terus meningkat dalam beberapa tahun terakhir. Sejalan dengan tren tersebut, permintaan telur cage-free pun menunjukkan pertumbuhan yang konsisten...

08/21/2026

Lever Foundation is bringing its plant-based policy work to India and Thailand, partnering with restaurants, hotels, and retailers to make plant-based options more visible, affordable, and part of everyday dining.

Both countries have deep plant-forward culinary traditions, but protein consumption is rising fast, and how that growth is met will shape public health, food security, and emissions for decades.

In India, more people say they want to increase their plant protein than their animal protein. In Thailand, one of the world's most-visited destinations, hotels and resorts serve tens of millions of guests a year, and the country's hospitality industry sets trends across the region.

08/17/2026

When you ferment soy, you're left with byproducts that usually go to waste. A Seoul-based company called SOYFT BIOME is turning them into something useful instead: a dairy-free ingredient that mimics the taste and texture of cream and sauce, with no added sugar.

The company already sells two plant-based brands in South Korea, and fresh funding will help bring its cream and sauce to cafés and bakery chains across the region.

South Korean foodtech company SOYFT BIOME has closed an undisclosed funding round from MYSC via its ExtraMile Lycon Fund, with plans to scale its plant-based

08/15/2026

Thailand's Ministry of Commerce is looking at a technology that captures CO2 from power stations and factories, feeds it to microbes in sealed fermentation tanks, and turns the result into a protein-rich ingredient for food and meat alternatives.

The appeal is that it makes protein without farmland or crops, using a waste gas as the raw material. For a country already building up its 'future food' exports, that's a potential new frontier.

For now it's an early-stage idea rather than a working industry: no company or facility has been named, and the plan sits at the policy stage. But it's a striking signal of where governments are starting to look for protein.

Thailand's Ministry of Commerce is exploring carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technology as a route into the global alternative protein market, according

08/10/2026

Founded in Shanghai, Dufengxuan is a leading broth ingredient supplier, holding over 30 invention patents and serving catering and food processing enterprises across multiple global markets under brands including Tangshidai, Tangleshi, and Zhongaotangye.

The new commitment builds on an earlier pledge covering cage-free eggs and chicken meat, making Dufengxuan the first broth ingredient brand in China to extend cage-free goals to ducks.

While these changes are promising, reducing or eliminating animal product consumption remains the most direct way to support animal welfare.

08/08/2026

India already has one of the largest populations that regularly eats plant-based meals. Among those who haven't fully shifted, half said they were likely to adopt a plant-based approach within the next year, and 53% believed their parents were likely to do the same.

The biggest barrier wasn't cultural attachment to dairy or family pressure. It was simply not knowing enough about how to eat plant-based practically.

A lack of practical information about plant-based eating is a bigger obstacle to veganism among young Indians than cultural attachment to dairy, according to

08/03/2026

Lever Foundation's 2026 retailer scorecard ranks 27 of the Philippines' largest supermarket and grocery chains on how much of their egg supply now comes from cage-free farms.

Three chains have finished the switch entirely: Heyday, Healthy Options, and FreshStart now stock only cage-free eggs. Others are well on their way, with MetroMart at 90% and committed to 100% by 2025, and Metro Supermarket, one of the country's major nationwide chains, targeting a full transition by 2033.

This progress reflects years of engagement between Lever Foundation and retailers across Asia. Corporate commitments like these move the market, but the surest way to protect hens is to reduce or eliminate the eggs we buy in the first place.