Plant-based pioneers and supply chain experts to share insights at Chicago summit

05 Jun 2023 --- As more consumers choose plant-based meat over animal products, industry faces a major challenge – how to scale up its supply chain to meet the increasing demand. The upcoming Plant-Based Protein Manufacturing Summit in Chicago, US (July 26 to 27) will bring industry manufacturers and suppliers together to share their latest strategies.

The event will also address the challenges and opportunities of the plant-based protein industry, from securing quality ingredients to delivering appealing products. It will also showcase the latest processing methods, technologies and equipment innovations.

Improving logistics is vital in a growing environment. 

Plant-based is accelerating 6.8% globally, according to Innova Market Insights (CAGR 2021-2023). Some subcategories are significantly gaining momentum, with fish and seafood substitutes growing 68% CAGR between 2020 and 2022, soy and tofu products accelerating by 60%, poultry substitutes by 46% and red meat and pork substitutes at 42%. 

Non-dairy-cheese is also poised to grow in key markets, such as the US, Germany and the UK, by 29%, 22% and 17%, respectively (CAGR 2021 to end 2023). 

Pea protein concentrate in the percentage of meat substitute launches in meat substitutes grew 152% CAGR between 2018 and 2022.Driving forward plant-based logistics
The event organizers affirm that for plant-based to keep growing, companies need to invest in ingredients, infrastructure, services and manufacturing that can deliver tasty and affordable alternatives. 

The summit is presented as “an opportunity for investors, ingredient processors, extrusion equipment providers and co-manufacturers to join forces and reap the benefits of building a robust plant-based supply chain.”

Dr. Priera Panescu, senior scientist at the Good Food Institute and one of the speakers at the upcoming event, reveals to FoodIngredientsFirst, what she will present. 

“I’ll be speaking on a recent report the Good Food Institute (GFI) launched with Bright Green Partners that demonstrates that with current manufacturing capacity, even moderate market growth will cause plant-based meat demand to outpace supply capabilities. 

“The report also emphasizes that retrofitting existing facilities is an agile and affordable solution for quick plant-based meat extrusion and post-processing capacity expansion.”

GFI recently flagged that plant-based products also need more specialized scientists and engineers to propel alternative proteins.

Bottlenecks by 2030
Long-term growth of plant-based foods might lead to overdependence on some ingredients. The roadmap to 2030 will be one of the opening topics discussed at the event. 

“I’ll be speaking of potential ingredient supply bottlenecks given our current use of these ingredients and their projected volumes in 2030,” Panescu states. 

“We demonstrate that some cornerstone ingredients could be limited in 2030, but ingredient processing capacity expansion could help alleviate these bottlenecks.”

Coconut oil and pea protein are some ingredients that she highlights might face excessive demand by the decade’s end.

Pea protein concentrate in the percentage of meat substitute launches in meat substitutes grew 152% CAGR between 2018 and 2022, according to Innova Market Insights 

As some producers move away from unsustainable soy, the demand for peas will only keep expanding.

Bringing down costsNon-dairy-cheese is poised to grow in key markets, such as the US, Germany and the UK.
According to Innova Market Insights, with budgets stretched and supplies under strain, brands must be flexible and open to connecting more with consumers while taking full advantage of rapidly emerging technologies. The market researcher crowned “Redefining Value” as its top F&B trend for 2023.

“Manufacturers are focused on lower production costs to create more affordable products. This can be done through manufacturing automation, developing innovative low-energy manufacturing technologies, and retrofitting existing facilities to expand capacity,” notes Panescu.

The summit will also delve into the possibility of achieving price parity with animal-based meat by 2024. 

Government collaboration
To make plant-based proteins more affordable and accessible, industry will need to work closely with both private and public sectors to lower production costs and increase consumer demand.

“In the past couple of years, governments have really stepped up to support infrastructure expansion for plant-based meat production,” she continues.

Among recent government-driven funding initiatives, last month, the UK government committed US$15 million to grow sustainable proteins. However, globally, more investment is still needed.

“Even so, these public investments are just a fraction of the amount of investment needed to scale plant-based food production so it can truly become a solution for climate change. Governments interested in becoming sustainable climate leaders should consider supporting plant-based food markets,” Panescu concludes.

By Marc Cervera