{"id":2267,"date":"2021-04-18T21:49:37","date_gmt":"2021-04-18T19:49:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.v-label.com\/?p=2267"},"modified":"2022-09-15T22:04:26","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T20:04:26","slug":"the-future-is-tasty-and-fair-a-big-overview-of-innovation-in-meat-alternatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.v-label.com\/be_fr\/news\/b2b-blog\/the-future-is-tasty-and-fair-a-big-overview-of-innovation-in-meat-alternatives\/","title":{"rendered":"The future is tasty (and fair!): A big overview of innovation in meat alternatives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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While the popularity of meat alternatives has grown, for reasons ranging from environmentalism and ethics to intolerance, trendiness or holistic health, the reality is that vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians still form a small minority globally. To move the actual masses, the transition needs to be super convenient in terms of taste, mouthfeel, texture, and price. What innovation is already cooking in the alt meat industry? How can 3D printing, biotechnology or mixing plant-based proteins disrupt this whole segment? And what business opportunities do all these entail?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Veganism is on the rise while masses still eat meat. The most exciting news in this decade? Innovation in vegan meat is going to bridge the gap!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Economically, vegan meat is leading the plant-based industry in overall growth.\u00a0The global plant-based ingredient market announces record sales year after year and is\u00a0expected to grow<\/a>\u00a0at a 9% rate during the 2019-2025 period, with the plant-based\u00a0protein<\/em>\u00a0market accelerating at an 18% rate. In the past decade alone, the plant-based market in Western Europe has in fact doubled in size. According to Euromonitor, Europe was accounting for 38.5% of the total global revenue in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The numbers go hand in hand with the rise in preferences. In 2021, over 580,000 joined\u00a0Veganuary<\/a>, an annual challenge which seems to rise by 200,000 participants year after year. Meat eaters, too, are drawn by the lower health risks associated with non-animal sourced proteins, a desire to reduce the environmental impact of their food choices, and concerns about animal welfare,\u00a0The Conversation<\/a>\u00a0informs. Yet\u00a0the mass habitual consumption of meat still occurs on a daily basis\u00a0\u2013 including red meat. According to\u00a0Good Food Institute<\/a>\u00a02020 data, 98% of people in the U.S. who buy plant-based meat\u00a0also purchase conventional meat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of the alternative meat movement is to make the transition for these consumers, from flexitarians to hard-core meat eaters, as seamless as possible \u2013 bridging the gap between the accustomed taste, texture and experience of meat and their current experience when consuming plant-based protein alternatives. In other words,\u00a0the missing piece in the sustainable future for mankind could easily lay in the innovation of vegan meats.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What makes meat meat?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For reasons ranging from psycho-social (habit, composition of meals we are used to eating as well as our parents conditioning us to \u201cat least finish the meal\u201d before leaving the table) to nutritional (protein source), eating meat has been ingrained in our modern culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Jacy Reese\u2019s book The End of Animal Farming<\/a>, the \u201cfour Ns\u201d are the main reasons people stick with meat consumption: <\/p>\n\n\n\n