The food and drink sector naturally changes and innovates due to different factors including changing customer tastes, education and availability of products. One area of the food market which has seen huge growth is the global plant-based meat market and it is set to only get bigger as consumer awareness grows. Polaris Market Research shines a light on the plant-based meat market and Intelligent CXO looks at businesses which are pushing the change.
Polaris Market Research said the global plant-based meat market was valued at US$11.1 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.8% between 2020-2027. The factors responsible for the growth of plant-based meat across the globe is due to a growing vegan population and plant-based meat products, rising consumer awareness regarding its nutritional benefits and increasing health concerns due to COVID-19 concerns.
The research from Polaris showed that consumers around the world are reducing animal meat, owing to growing awareness of a link between high meat consumption and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), as supported by scientific evidence over the years. According to the research published in the British Medical Journal, elevated rates of red meat intake related to a 26% enhanced likelihood of developing more than nine NCDs, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, strokes and Alzheimer’s. Another growth driver is innovation in food technology and the ability to produce food more efficiently, at a fraction of the expense and with much less detrimental effects.
The research showed that on the basis of product, the global market is categorised into burger patties, strips and nuggets, meatballs, sausages and others, with the burger patties product segment expected to be the largest among all the segments. Based upon the source, the global market is categorised into soy, wheat, pea and others, with the soy segment expected to dominate due to its protein richness and widespread popularity.
Geographically, North America is the largest revenue contributor in the plant-based meat market. Europe’s growing trend of veganism has pushed the growth of the meat industry based on plants. The UK hosts the world’s largest vegan population, further boosting demand for vegetable-based meat products in Europe.
In North America, three entrepreneurs have recognised and acted on the plant-based food trend. Jeffrey Harris, Mitch Wallis and Zach Vouga founded the vegan fast food restaurant, Plant Power Fast Food, in 2016. It has rapidly expanded to eight locations throughout California, with more planned to open in 2021.
Plant Power Fast Food aims to change the conversation about fast food by offering the same familiar items leading chains sell, but with a selection that is entirely plant-based. So, when someone is craving a bacon cheeseburger, they can get one that doesn’t actually contain any beef, bacon or cheese. In this way, the all plant-based selection caters to the average consumer and the brand isn’t specifically targeted to vegans or vegetarians: it’s for everyone. The goal of Plant Power Fast Food is to reduce animal suffering and decrease the environmental impact of animal agriculture while keeping hungry people happy. As Harris puts it: “We aren’t a business with a mission statement, we’re a mission statement with a business.”
Key players operating in the plant-based meat global market include Impossible Foods, V2food, Beyond Meat, Garden Protein International, Zhenmeat, Morningstar Farms, Novameat, Quorn Foods, Amy’s Kitchen, Omnipork, Maple Leaf Foods, Zikooin, The Vegetarian Butcher, Greenwise, Tofurky, Gold & Green Foods, Sunfed and VBites.
Beyond Meat is one of the fastest growing food companies in the United States, offering a portfolio of revolutionary plant-based proteins made from simple ingredients without GMOs, bioengineered ingredients, hormones, antibiotics or cholesterol.
Founded in 2009, Beyond Meat products are designed to have the same taste and texture as animal-based meat while being better for people and the planet. Beyond Meat’s brand commitment, Eat What You Love, represents a strong belief that there is a better way to feed our future and that the positive choices we all make, no matter how small, can have a great impact on our personal health and the health of our planet.
As of March 2021, Beyond Meat had products available at approximately 118,000 retail and foodservice outlets in over 80 countries worldwide. It has just announced the appointments of Phil Hardin as Chief Financial Officer, Deanna Jurgens as Chief Growth Officer and Margaret ‘Jackie’ Trask as Chief People Officer to support the company’s continued growth and innovation-focused culture.
Impossible Foods, whose products include burgers, sausages and pork made from plants, is another American company which has seen huge growth. It recently announced that it has secured Child Nutrition Labels (CN Labels) for its Impossible Burger products, clearing a hurdle towards widely entering the K-12 [the K-12 system stands for ‘from kindergarten to 12th grade’] market in fall 2021.
CN Labels are voluntary food crediting statements authorised by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) that make it easier for schools participating in federal Child Nutrition Programmes, including the National School Lunch Programme and School Breakfast Programme, to determine how much a particular food contributes to federal meal pattern requirements for nutritionally balanced meals for children each school day.
The programme is run by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), which must evaluate a product’s formulation to determine how much it contributes to federal meal pattern requirements. The submission process not only includes evaluation of a product’s formulation, but also inspection and evaluation of quality control procedures and manufacturing operations. FNS determined that Impossible Burger products met the quality control programme requirements and approved Impossible Foods’ CN labels in the Alternate Protein category in April 2021.
“Making Impossible products available everywhere people consume meat, which for kids often includes schools, is key to the mission of the company,” said Pat Brown, CEO and Founder of Impossible Foods. “Schools not only play a role in shaping children’s dietary patterns, they play an important role in providing early education about climate change and its root causes. We are thrilled to be partnering with K-12 school districts across the country to lower barriers to access our plant-based meat for this change-making generation.”
Besides plant-based meat products, the food industry is also seeing cultured meat production increasing. Magic Valley has announced the launch of the world’s first cultured lamb company in Melbourne, Australia. Quickly gaining attention globally, cultured meat offers a safe and healthy slaughter-free alternative to traditionally farmed meat.
Founded by passionate vegan, Paul Bevan, Magic Valley brings together a team of Australia’s leading scientists with extensive experience in both stem cell biology and livestock production.
Cultured meat is produced from a small sample of animal cells which are grown in a nutrient-rich culture medium where they can easily multiply and expand in order to create real meat products.
When compared to traditionally farmed meat, it is estimated that cultured meat will also result in a 96% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 99% reduction in land use and a 96% reduction in water use.
Magic Valley is currently raising a seed round from investors to complete prototype development with the first products expected to be available on shelves in the next 12 to 24 months.
Bevan said that Magic Valley’s initial focus will be on developing the world’s first cultured lamb products including mince, strips, steaks and chops.
“Given Australia’s excellent reputation for food safety, security and producing quality sheep, lamb was the obvious choice for the company’s first product range,” Bevan said. “Not to mention the fact that lambs are also currently slaughtered at an incredibly young age using traditional farming methods. Magic Valley’s cultured meat products will provide Australians with a slaughter-free alternative to factory-farmed lamb.”
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