Thoughts on our meatless future…
From the Plant Based World Expo, London Business Design Centre, October 22nd, 2021
It’s been a week since the first European edition of the Plant Based World Expo took place in London — a showcase for the drastic change we are witnessing in supermarket aisles, where a plethora of pork-free sausages, chicken-free nuggets and cow-free burgers are slowly yet surely taking over their ‘meat-full’ counterparts… But what about the rest of our plates and the wider protein shift that is taking place and fundamentally changing the way we eat, shop and consume?
Meat-free bonanza
October 15th, 2021, LONDON, 9AM — upon setting foot in Islington’s grand Business Design Centre hall, a first following a lockdown era in which events were synonym for Zoom and muted microphones, I was at once struck by the glaring and now all-too familiar logos of the likes of Beyond Meat, Meatless Farm, THIS, Heura, VFC, Quorn, OmniFoods, Planted… These 40+ companies (out of the 90 present at the conference) represent a fragment of the buoying alt meat industry projected to represent a $450Bn market by 2040 (according to consulting firm AT Kearney). Ever more numerous, these actors are finding cutting new edges to tackle the industry:
THIS is one of my favorite companies (admit I am biased here) with its ever brilliant marketing (left with a “THIS isn’t for spanking” spatula) and founder Andy who has embarked on a mission to mimic the whole range of delicious products consumers are familiar with. Think THIS isn’t bacon, THIS isn’t chicken, THIS isn’t pork sausages…They even had to change the packaging to make it more visible that the products were plant-based as they looked so close to the real thing!
La Vie (77 Foods) has taken on the fat challenge heads on! Their bacon slices were the talk of the show, so much so that they won the best bacon prize of the Conference… Their consumer panel tests reveal that 92% of blind tasters prefer their bacon to pork bacon!
Umiami is taking the alt meat industry to a whole new level by developing plant-based whole cuts and targeting B2B customers. Through a unique (and top secret) technology, they have found a way to achieve a fibrous texture which will make you forget you are not eating chicken breasts made from hatched chickens!
Although the offer is exploding as competition in the space heats up, I was somewhat disappointed not to find that many healthy options. We at Five Seasons are determined that nutrition profile will be the next differentiator in this space, together with transparency on emissions saved, and that achieving great taste will no longer be enough to win!
The rest of the plate: fish, eggs and cheese
Their stands may have been smaller, but I did spot a few gems tackling the rest of the protein transition!
On fish, I was positively impressed by Seabloom Food’s tuna free flakes, which taste very close to the real thing in a sandwich with vegan mayo! Made from pea protein and seaweed, their product is on the right path to tackle the $9Bn canned tuna market (which accounts for 80% of total tuna consumption). The company addresses two key challenges in the industry: consumer health concerns (think mercury content in tuna) and preserving ocean ecosystems. Achieving the right taste, texture and price parity will be decisive to win!
I was mind- (or rather taste bud-) blown by Crack’d scrambled eggs, a recent British brand owned by a joint venture between Bingham chefs and Noble Foods (leading British egg brand). Their no-egg egg replacer is made of pea protein and can be used both for baking and fried straight into omelets. Fascinating to see how the traditional egg sector is adapting to its time as ProVeg study recently revealed plant-based eggs to have the largest growth potential (Europe get ready for JUST!) and plant-based cheese to have the strongest potential demand…
Speaking of which… have you ever heard that the one thing keeping vegetarians from going fully vegan was cheese ?… Raised on the dairy Willicroft Farm, Brad has embarked on a mission to make you change your mind! Whereas his grandparents built a farm to feed the nation in the wake of the Second World War, Brad is tackling global warming by producing delicious dairy free cheeses made of white beans. In an industry where melting and stretchiness are king and queen, he has just developed an Italian White that can melt on pizzas and a young Dutch to conquer the toastie market! I am a fan of their Greek white and cannot wait to see exponential consumer adoption on shelf!
And to satisfy your sweet tooth?…
Although I did stop for some of the best tasting vegan coffee ice cream I have ever tried at Beau’s Gelato stand, we were surprised not to see more snacking companies at the expo!
We at Five Seasons believe there is huge opportunity for further disruption and innovation in the space as millennials snack more than ever, all the while craving snacks that make them feel good! This conviction led to our recent investment in the Nu Company, a plant-based snacking company whose ambition is to set new standards for the chocolate industry to promote healthier chocolate (their bars contains on average 65% less sugar than traditional bars), sustainable packaging (all of their packaging is home-compostable and plastic free), carbon-positive and fair labor standards. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out their October campaign where they call on industry leaders to co-write new rules for chocolate! Some big names accepted their invitation to meet them in Leipzig and think about the future of chocolate… I cannot wait to see what comes out of this impactful brainstorming to co-create a better plant-based future!
