Bringing the latest in the plant-based, sustainability world! Get your biweekly news digest covering the latest vegan product launches, sustainability trends, and industry updates from around the globe.
We’ve got lots of big news this week:
- A global popstar just pulled off the ultimate vegan takeover at one of London's biggest venues
- JUST has been quietly working on something beyond eggs
- PETA takes firm actions to ensure safe due process for cruelty-free certifications
- A prestigious NYC restaurant just made a decision that has the plant-based community bereft
📣 BREAKING NEWS SPECIAL
When big news breaks in the plant-based world, we're always watching—bringing you the updates that matter as they happen, so you never miss the stories shaping our community!
Photo: Eleven Madison Park’s Chef-Partner, Daniel Humm
NYC’s Eleven Madison Park Steps Back From Its All-Vegan Menu as Restaurant Brings Back Meat
NYC's prestigious Eleven Madison Park has ended its four-year commitment to plant-based dining, bringing back meat and animal products to its menu. While this represents a setback for the plant-based movement, it's not entirely surprising given the difficult restaurant landscape in recent years.
Chef-Partner, Daniel Humm reflected:
"My team and I felt liberated and cracked open. The journey proved richer than any before. We created a new culinary language: mille-feuille without butter, meringue without eggs, almond-milk ricotta, sunflower butter, koji stocks, whipped cashew cream, even 'land caviar.'"
The restaurant made history as the first vegan establishment to earn three Michelin stars after reopening plant-based in 2021 following COVID closure. Their $335 nine-course vegan menu was booked weeks in advance. However, the restaurant expressed a struggle to capture their more profitable returning private event bookings– typically of a fully omnivore clientele.
🏆 Vegan Wins Worldwide
Celebrate the victories worth sharing—inspiring progress in veganism, sustainability, and the positive changes creating a kinder world.
Photo: Billie Eilish at her London O2 Arena Concert
Billie Eilish’s Takes Over London’s O2 Arena With All Vegan Food Stands
Global superstar and passionate vegan champion, Billie Eilish recently made every food vendor at London's O2 Arena completely plant-based for her Hit Me Hard and Soft concert series. What's most remarkable is how Eilish doesn’t stop at vocal advocacy but intentionally targeting industry-wide systems to create real systemic changes.
While tabloid headlines focused on a few 'fuming' meat-seekers, social media overwhelmingly praised the venue's all-vegan menu. This contrast highlights how mainstream media often frames plant-based initiatives as controversial despite largely supportive public sentiment.
From her six-day climate summit in 2022 partnered with Impossible Foods to her recent upcycling merch initiative with Universal Music Group's Bravado, this was not the Gen Z pop star’s first large-scale climate initiative and it’s certainly far from her last.
⚡️ Plant-Based Product Pulse
Discover which brands are going vegan, what's launching near you, and the sustainable innovations expanding their reach across the globe.
Photo: Just Meat Plant-based Chicken Original
JustEgg Quietly Launches Their New Plant-based Chicken Alternative: JustMeatChicken
In case you hadn’t caught them already, JustEgg has begun quietly distributing their very first plant-based chicken product, JustChicken at select Sprouts Farmers Markets stores and the HEB website.
While no official company announcement was made, they previewed the premier three flavors at the Natural Products Expo West 2025 in March:
- Original
- Buffalo
- Sesame Ginger
How does it taste? The newly minted JustChicken took home two sensory awards for taste and texture at a public tasting event last May at Franklin Barbecue in Austin–prevailing victorious against both animal-based and plant-based competitors.
Eat Just's strategically understated release reflects insightful market positioning in the challenging plant-based landscape. Rather than flashy marketing campaigns that sometimes trigger backlash, they're letting the product speak for itself while building consumer trust through quality and availability.
📰 Industry News Digest
Stay ahead of the trends and developments shaping the plant-based and sustainability sector—from breakthrough policies to game-changing moves by industry leaders and rising startups.
Photo by balesstudio
PETA Suspends ‘Beauty Without Bunnies’ Cruelty-free Stamps To Address EU Testing Loophole
PETA has temporarily suspended its "Beauty Without Bunnies" cruelty-free certification program for most of its global markets to address a significant regulatory loophole in its EU testing requirements.
They identified a separate law called REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) that imposes a contradictory requirement to conduct animal testing for certain cosmetic ingredients in workplace safety assessments.
During this "policy overhaul," PETA will only certify companies selling exclusively in the US, Canada, Germany, or India—countries where PETA entities can directly verify cruelty-free commitments remain intact.
Caroline Rainsford, Director of Science at the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association, responded:
“The cosmetics industry is committed to working with partners to ensure the safety of the chemicals we use without the need for animals, under other chemicals legislation, and we continue to work with the regulatory authorities to promote the acceptance of non-animal tests.”
