What is the protein revolution? Plant protein has been identified as a major source of future foods that could help prevent the complete collapse of the food system amid covid. By changing the way we produce food and offering consumers more sustainable options, we could save the crisis from buckling our food supply chains completely.
The Good Food Institute established 4 main pillars of the future of our food:
Sustainability
Food safety
Efficiency
Profitability
These pillars have buckled under the pandemic and highlighted a bigger need than ever to protect our planet and offer more sustainable food production. As consumers become more concerned about the safety and traceability of their food as well as what they are eating, they are seeking clean label, “better for you” products that can easily be traced back to their origins.
Thankfully it seems that the European Commission has listened and recently pledged 10 billion euros to help further our green transition with the aim of solidifying and advancing the researching of alternative foods.
This means more investment into the development of alternative proteins and meat substitutes, promising to make them a cornerstone of their research agenda.
The need for more sustainable-based products has created a new gap in the market for innovative startups with new solutions. Even larger companies aren’t shying away at their opportunity to get their foot in the plant-based door. Industry pioneer Cargill is focusing on the US and Chinese markets, which have been showing huge consumer interest for alt proteins in the past few years.
There have been a few new players in the cultured meat space demonstrating the importance of this type of meat substitute. Cultured meat is that produced by in vitro cell culture of animal cells. However, before you get excited about seeing it on your shelves there are a few more barriers to be knocked down before startups can even consider commercialisation; 1. How do they reproduce the taste and texture of the “real thing”? 2. How do they market it at a reasonable price? The truth is it wont be cheap, so how do they reach consumers?
In our next webinar with partners Eatable Adventures “Riding the Plant Based Wave: Leading the Food Revolution”, which will take place on Thursday, June 4 at 5:00 p.m., we will be joined by Nir Goldstein, Managing Director at The Good Food Institute Israel and Elizabeth Gutschenritter, Managing Director Alternative Protein at Cargill who will offer their insights into the world of plant-based and the companies leading this new food revolution.
Secure your place and sign up here!