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Canada's No Meat Factory closes US plant-based facility, laying off over 120 workers. By Anay Mridul Published on Jul 27, 2026 Last updated Jul 28, 2026 3 Mins Read Canadian plant-based meat startup No Meat Factory has shuttered its $19M facility in Stanwood, US, laying off 123 employees and leaving its British Columbia site as its only production hub. The contraction of the North American plant-based market has brought unprecedented challenges for companies in the sector, from product rationalisation to workforce cutbacks to manufacturing shifts. No Meat Factory is the latest meat alternative maker to feel the effects. The Canadian company is closing its factory in Stanwood, Washington just over two years after its opening, it said in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice filed with the US state last week. Under the WARN Act, employers are required to provide 60 days' notice before mass layoffs or plant closures affecting 50 or more employees, to give workers time to seek alternative employment or retraining opportunities. No Meat Factory's decision to shut its Washington plant is set to affect 123 employees across multiple departments, including senior leadership, with the layoffs taking effect on September 16. Affected employees include No Meat Factory CEO. No Meat Factory was founded in 2019 by MD Veggie Food founder Dieter Thiem and former ADM executive Leonidas Bell, two experts with over 65 years of combined experience in the plant-based industry at the time. The company manufactures chicken, pork, lamb, beef and fish alternatives for B2B partners, including meatballs, crab cakes, whole-muscle strips, and bacon, as well as whole-food products such as cauliflower burgers and spinach-broccoli popcorn. In early 2023, it closed a $42M Series B funding round, a month before purchasing the 200,000 sq ft Stanwood plant from its previous owner, Twin City Foods, in a $19.4M deal. Twin City Foods, which processes frozen vegetables, had been operating in the city since 1943, but closed the Stanwood site in 2018. In 2023, the Washington state department announced that No Meat Factory would take over the facility, supported by a $200,000 state grant for upgrades. The site features a 55,000 sq ft freezer capacity, processing capabilities for ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat foods, production lines for sausage and deli alternatives, packaging facilities, and pasteurising and co-extrusion capabilities. According to the WARN notice, the employees set to be laid off include 61 production workers, 14 night sanitation technicians and the CEO, Michael Parks. "The company will provide affected employees with information regarding available benefits, final pay, continuation of health coverage, unemployment insurance, and available workforce transition resources," the notice reads. Lack of sales and funding drive closures and layoffs. The US production hub's closure means that the 40,000 sq ft co-manufacturing plant in Coldstream, British Columbia will serve as No Meat Factory's sole facility now. The development reflects a tough landscape for plant-based meat in the US, where year-on-year sales of these products dipped by 10% in retail and 7% in foodservice in 2025. Meanwhile, investment in these startups has fallen off a cliff, from $1.5B in 2022 to just $450M in 2025 (when it witnessed a slight year-on-year increase). The challenges have underscored the wave of consolidation in the alternative protein segment. Since September 2024, more than 80 players involved in this space have been bought out or acquired, merged, fallen into insolvency, or shut down. And 72% of them were focused on plant-based technologies. Apart from No Meat Factory, several other companies have been forced to make cutbacks. Industry giant Beyond Meat, whose stock fell to an all-time low last year, laid off 44 employees in North America (6% of its workforce in the region). Meati Foods came close to the brink before being saved by a $4M takeover, but that followed its dismissal of all 150 employees. This trend can be seen globally, too. Nestlé announced it will let go of 80 employees at its Krupka factory in Czechia, in response to slowing demand for plant-based meat. * Anay Mridul Anay is Green Queen's resident news reporter. Originally from India, he worked as a vegan food writer and editor in London, and is now travelling and reporting from across Asia. He's passionate about coffee, plant-based milk, cooking, eating, veganism, food tech, writing about all that, profiling people, and the Oxford comma. View all posts

Nestlé carves out waters business. By Kim Berry | 27 July 2026 Nestlé will spin its waters and premium beverages business into a 50:50 joint venture with Platinum Equity, as the group reported a 31.4 per cent fall in first-half net profit. Its Asia, Oceania and Africa zone, which includes Australia and New Zealand, delivered the strongest growth of its three geographic regions. The JV, to be called Peranel, includes S.Pellegrino, Sanpellegrino and Maison Perrier. The deal has an enterprise value of EUR 4.9 billion (AU$8 billion), with Nestlé expecting cash proceeds of around CHF 2.8 billion (AU$5 billion) by the end of the first half of 2027. The waters business is not the only unit heading out the door. Nestlé has classified its mainstream and value vitamins, minerals and supplements brands as held for sale, expecting to lose control of that business by the first half of 2027, and booked a CHF 1.3 billion (AU$2.3 billion) write-down on the disposal group. During the half it also sold Blue Bottle Coffee to Centurium Capital, completed the acquisition of the remaining 51 per cent of German meal replacement company yfood Labs, and is transferring its remaining ice cream assets to the Froneri JV. The write-down and a jump in restructuring costs to CHF 469 million (AU$820 million), up from CHF 101 million (AU$176 million) a year earlier, drove net profit down to CHF 3.5 billion (AU$6.1 billion). The restructuring spend is linked to the Fuel for Growth program, which targets CHF 3 billion (AU$5.25 billion) in procurement and operational efficiency savings by the end of 2027 and has delivered CHF 1.7 billion (AU$3 billion) to date. Total sales for the half were CHF 43.1 billion (AU$75 billion), with organic growth of 3.6 per cent. Reported sales fell 2.5 per cent on a 6.2 per cent currency headwind. Underlying trading operating profit was CHF 7.1 billion (AU$12 billion) at a margin of 16.4 per cent, down 10 basis points on a reported basis and flat in constant currency, with higher coffee and cocoa prices and the infant formula recall weighing on margins. The Asia, Oceania and Africa zone posted the strongest volume performance across the group with organic growth of 4.3 per cent for the half, accelerating to 6.5 per cent in the second quarter with real internal growth of 4.8 per cent. Zone margin held flat at 21.4 per cent, the highest of the three zones, with cost savings offset by increased brand investment and the recall impact. Food and snacks grew double digits in the zone in Q2, led by KitKat, Maggi and Milo, while infant formula brands affected by the Q1 recall showed what the company called a good recovery. Nestlé chair, Pablo Isla, and CEO, Philipp Navratil, told shareholders the company said it is "sharpening our portfolio focus and driving further efficiencies to reinvest". For the full year, Nestlé expects organic growth of 3-4 per cent and an improved underlying trading operating profit margin versus 2025, with free cash flow above CHF 9 billion (AU$12 billion). It flagged higher transport and energy costs in the second half arising from the Middle East conflict.

Nestle expands its Volyn factory with new investment and export plans. by Roman Cheplyk Friday, July 24, 2026 The company has already invested 230 million hryvnias and plans another 600 million by the end of 2026 New production capacity in Volyn. Nestle has invested 230 million hryvnias this year in expanding the production capacity of its pasta factory in Smolyhiv, Volyn region. By the end of 2026, the company plans to invest another 600 million hryvnias in the site, according to Roman Yanovych, CEO of Nestle in Ukraine and Moldova. The next stage of development includes the installation of a second and third production line. The expansion should create 250 new jobs, while the factory already employs about 380 people. For the region, this turns the facility into a larger food-industry employer and strengthens Ukraine's manufacturing base during wartime. Export potential and the Mivina brand. By the end of 2027, Nestle expects total investment in the enterprise to reach about 70 million euros. The factory in Smolyhiv already exports to 19 countries, and the company is considering entry into the US market with Mivina instant noodles. Yanovych said there is demand for more production and that the product can meet not only European but also American market expectations. This is important for Ukraine because processed food exports carry more added value than raw commodity sales and help keep jobs inside the country. Why the investment matters. In the first half of 2026, Nestle invested 5 billion hryvnias in Ukraine across production, marketing, consumer communication and new product categories. The Volyn expansion shows that large international companies still see practical production logic in Ukraine despite logistics, security and energy risks. For investors, the case is a useful signal: when a factory has an export base, a recognizable product category and room for automation, Ukraine can remain competitive in food processing. The main challenge is to keep infrastructure, labor and energy conditions stable enough for producers to scale. Roman Cheplyk You will be interested No spam, good-time-invest promise