Plant-based: The Canvas for Innovation
17 Mar 2022 | Innova Market Insights
With personal health and global sustainability proving to be strong drivers of consumer choice, plant-based R&D has refocused from mimicking meat, fish and dairy, to optimizing options that stand on their own merits. “Plant-based: The canvas for innovation” is #2 of Innova Market Insights’ Top Ten Trends for 2022. Join Myrthe de Beukelaar, Sr. Market Analyst, as she elaborates on the evolution of plant-based options in the food and beverage industry.
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Welcome everyone.
Thank you for joining.
My name is Mirta de Beler.
I've been doing data analysis for Enova Market Insights for about 3.5 years, and today I hope to inspire you with some key trends impacting and shaping plant-based innovation.
So my team prepared about 20 minutes of content for you, and even if you're already closely following plant-based trends, this might just give you the refreshing perspectives you need.
And I also want to make sure that if you see anything you'd like to know more about, or if you're seeking for, you know, maybe a double click on your key market categories when looking at these slides, please don't hesitate to reach out to me, so together we can then figure out how Enovas data and services can help you reach your targets.
All right, let's get started.
So just to give you an idea of where our trends come from and how our teams work together, our key focus in this webinar lies on food and beverage trends.
Let's not forget about the bigger picture.
We have an entire team dedicated to identifying the macro context.
So these are trends that really shape our food and beverage trends, and our macro trends combine global mega trends and consumer trends, and together with these food and beverage trends, they form Enova's vertical trends intelligence.
Our global mega trends are really major global forces impacting industry and consumers.
Our consumer trends are macro trends in consumer lifestyles, attitudes, and consumption behavior.
So we have 5 macro drivers shaping food and beverage trends featured on this slide, and if we zoom in on one of the consumer trends, The feel-good consumer.
So this is a trend that's really about increased awareness of the importance of managing climate change combined with greater engagement with social issues that is really impacting consumer choices.
And it's a really broad theme.
It's about a more holistic view of -being that is emerging.
We see that today's feel-good consumer has an awareness of the broader context when it comes to health and -being issues.
We also see a new consciousness in taking personal control and action on issues such as food waste.
And there are also signs of a moderation in consumption habits as a way to manage that impact.
We also see a greater focus on community, on local increased trust in smaller brands, also connected to the, the global pandemic.
For example, 1 in 3 consumers globally have shopped locally more, and these are all insights that you will probably recognize in the following slides that I will show you, and you will see how this feel-good consumer really lies at the root of some of our key top 10 trends.
For example, back to the roots and upcycle redefined.
So this is an overview of our top 10 food and beverage trends identified for 2022.
Most of you probably recognize this type of infographic, but if you're not familiar with Enova's top 10 trends wheel, every year we release a range of reports that are dedicated to the top 10 food and beverage trends identified for each upcoming year, and today I'm going to tell you more about our number 2 trend identified for 2022, plant-based decanvas for innovation.
So one of the questions that could come from you, what's shaping the canvas?
So we've been tracking the plant-based trend for some years now, and a fun way to look at this is just by looking at our top 10 trends.
In 2019, we had the Plant Kingdom, in 2020, the Plant-based revolution, in 2021, Plant Forward, and now we have identified Plant-based, the canvas for innovation for 2022.
And so this is just a way to, to see how we are tracking trends, how we see them evolving over time, and how they are further impacting the food and beverage industry.
So we also see that plant forward innovation is setting the pace for a wider food industry, and this is when we put forward a statement in a consumer survey.
I am more open to new technologies now that I have seen where it has brought plant-based innovation.
And 2 in 5 consumers globally agreed with that statement, just saying how important the whole plant-based evolution has been to the acceptance of new technologies.
It also shows how important consumers are in shaping the canvas for innovation and a big shift that we have been seeing when asking consumers for what reasons would they consider plant-based alternatives is that while health is still a key driver, planet, so environmental sustainability has moved up one ranking, so it is now the 2nd.
The second driver, in, in 2021 and expected to become even more important to consumers, becoming a possible tiebreaker even in consumer decisions.
And before I forget, this webinar will follow the flow of these 4 consumer drivers featured on the previous slide.
So that would be health, planets, diet variety, and values and beliefs, and you can check this out in the lower left corner of each slide and compare it to all the insights and the product examples that I'm showing.
So starting with health, so there are different ways of approaching nutrition and health in plant-based substitutes.
And on this slide we've highlighted a few interesting ones, whether it is an inherent nutrition approach, enhanced nutrition, or superior nutrition.
So it's inherent nutrition, it's, it's a less is more approach, very clean label with no health benefits beyond the inherent nutrition from key ingredients.
Then enhanced nutrition, a more mainstream strategy aimed at mimicking the animal-based counterparts to reach a similar nutrition value.
And we also see a move towards, creating superior nutrition, so aimed at optimizing, the quality and the nutritional value compared to the animal-based counterparts.
Now we see many examples.
One that I liked was the Wedg Plant Earth-Owned Naked organic oat milk.
It features just four ingredients, as is clearly mentioned, front of back.
The ingredients used are filtered water, gluten-free oats, sea salt, and amulas.
And then enhancing nutrition in the products.
So this was done, for example, in this cheddar cheese alternative launched by Only Meat.
Onlymeat is, by the way, a South Korean market challenger, but it recently entered the US market as.
And then we have superior nutrition aimed at optimizing, which can be done by adding more calcium, adding more vitamins, minerals, or using different ingredients to reach a better nutritional value compared to the animal-based counterparts.
And no matter the strategy, the nutrition strategy used in products, it's always interesting to look at ingredients.
So what are the the latest ingredients out there?
Are there maybe ingredients that are used in a different format, anything that can push plant-based innovation forward.
So what we've been doing here is stepping into the potential of nutrient nutrient dense ingredients, and we see that there's a growing appetite for fungi.
There's this plant-based startup that we've been tracking for quite some years now.
It's a US based startup called Meaty Foods.
It's a startup developed by 2 PhD students and they're tapping into the potential of fermented mycelium and the development of meat alternatives including whole cuts.
Another news article highlights from Food ingredients First includes basket Foods.
They unveiled their first mycelium-based pork and chicken options lately.
And I also found it interesting to look at ingredients from a more, you know, storytelling perspective.
So here on the right, cutting veg used artichoke as their star ingredients.
They say that there's a new veg in town.
And all their meat alternatives are really powered by these artichokes.
Now, if we zoom out on the whole concept of health, it may not only be about the nutritional aspects when you ask consumers.
So, one of the statements that we put forward in our consumer surveys is I include environmental -being when thinking about holistic health, and 28% of consumers globally agreed to that statement.
This is really where our number one trend for 2022, Shad Plant, comes into play as.
So health, including a healthy planet.
And as as shown in our top 10 trends webinar, a major shift that we're seeing from a consumer perspective is health of the planet now being a top global issue for consumers, even higher than health of the population.
And this shift is also highly visible when we look around us and one of the, examples, spotted from our side is from a restaurant chain in the UK, Wagamama.
They launched this whole campaign, with, this dinosaur that you see hiding behind the building.
And it's a dinosaur that is angry at the state of the world.
It's saying that our planet is burning and we should do something about it.
So Wagaamamma actually did something about it and turned 50% of their menu plant-based, to really answer, that consumer demands, consumer need for, , a better health of the planet.
And when looking at product launches all over the world, it's really striking how much more focus is being put on the sustainability and planet aspects and taking many different shapes and forms.
Of course it is something that is, let's say more, , driven from Western countries, but we do see it on a global level, with products also catering to local tastes.
And , just take your time and look at the many examples featured on this slide.
We have a launch from the US as featured in one of our food ingredients first articles, very recent in March 2022.
So this is a collaboration between upcycle foods company Renewal Mill, with Miyoko's Creamery, and they created this new line of climate-friendly, vegan and gluten-free cookies, which is of course super indulgent, super appealing to, US consumers.
It has solid peanut butter, as the flavor and so it's also upcycled, so thereby, , really having a, a, a sustainability focus as.
And then a launch from Brazil, Amazonica Mundi, which, , features a type of fiber, cashew fiber, upcycled from cashew fruit juice, so also an upcycled product, and many local ingredients that are familiar in Brazil, asisi pepper, acai.
And thereby forming this, this plant-based product that is not only for the people but also for the planet.
And then a really interesting example from Finland, and really aimed at mimicking the the type of dairy, , shots, for, heart health, but this one is totally plant-based, made from Finnish oats.
Another example, from, food tech startup Next Meats.
They, they started in, in 2020 and they have been releasing meat alternatives, chicken, beef, but also egg, tuna, and different types of meats as , so, so very specific.
But they now also successfully commercialized Next Milk in Japan.
And these products, they all have the same philosophy, of not, letting the earth and, and it really reinforces the commitments to promote a sustainable ecosystem that treats the planet, animals, and, us, right?
And the last example featured on this slide is a product from Australia, called Vef, and they really have this big, carbon neutral positioning, on pack.
Something that is, very usual in Australian launches is that it's featuring 100% Australian products or ingredients.
But thereby also showing the importance of, locality, in all these launches.
And with all these new product launches, it's just so amazing to see how the plant-based trend shows no signs of slowing down, and it's really important when you want to make plant-based eating more accessible to the mainstream consumer.
And this brings me to our 3rd consumer driver highlighted in this presentation, diet variety.
So this is a driver where consumers seek more variety in their diets, but in order to make it happen, there has to be something available, of course, and the Dutch supermarkets, Albert Hein really plays a big role in making this possible.
They recently pledged to go majority plant-based by 2030.
And they aim to ensure 60% of consumed proteins are plant-based by 2030.
So this is really a way to support, the movement towards a more plant-based diet, and they are doubling the number of alternative meat products with a price that is equal to or cheaper than conventional counterparts.
And it's so, , a colleague of mine showed this.
They have and also this magazine that is dedicated, to all the plant-based, options that I that I have already on the shelves.
It's called Beta 8 Faker Plantara, and it really shows a nice overview of what , what, what they currently have, but they do plan to expand.
Even more, and I just have some, some examples, highlighted on this slide of, of products that they that they want to, to launch, and it includes an exclusive bean burger made with locally grown Dutch beans.
So again highlighting the appeal of locally grown products, , from a consumer perspective.
And they also have mushroom shawarma, but also vegan salmon burgers, etc.
So many, new products to look forward to, and with a total of 150 new products added to the more than 1000 products that they currently have available, they really are playing a big role in the Netherlands at least and hopefully, pushing, other retailers to do the same.
Important to mention is that plant forward innovation is not only about getting the the quantity out there, so having enough products available to the consumer, but also more about quality.
A question that we asked consumers was what reasons would keep you from buying plant-based alternatives, and a key answer was poor taste and texture.
So this, this definitely says that there is an increasing need for plant-based food optimization to get the quality of meats, dairy, and other alternatives right.
So there's a lot of potential to optimize across categories, whether it's for plant-based eggs, plant-based cheese, we even see liquid formats right now.
And, and, and something that is also important to, to, to capture, improved taste and texture is in fact storytelling.
And storytelling is a must if you want to connect with consumers and addressing the lifestyles that they care about, especially in a world where these lifestyles intertwine with purchasing decisions more and more.
This also reflects a piece of the the 4th consumer driver theme for plant-based, values and beliefs.
So it's, it's a shift from targeting consumers by adapting to consumption related preferences to targeting consumers by reflecting their values and beliefs, and I think that that these product examples did that, did capture that really.
Whether it's women owned or, addressing a pandemic situation and thanking local heroes, or capturing, , a value within the branding itself as it's done with the humanity example here.
These are always er to come closer to the consumer er and er letting them feel connected to the the values and beliefs that they already care about.
So what's next?
And it's always interesting to, to look at how trends are interlacing er when trying to figure out what's next and what's shaping er the canvas for innovation in the future.
Amplified experiences is, is one of these trends that are interlacing with the plant-based trend, and this is a trend that is accelerated by the pandemic where consumers are hungry for new food and beverage experiences and depending on the country which you're in, if you just got out of a lockdown like we did here in the Netherlands, and we see that consumers are expecting more of their products.
They want to celebrate, they want to, , an experience after being locked down for so long.
And this is, for example, where we see premiums and indulgence continuing to gain ground.
In plant based.
We see a + 46% growth in food and beverage launches with a plant-based and a premium indulgent claim when comparing 2018 and 2021 data.
And one of the, the, the, the trendspotting, output that we have here is a South African cream liquor brand Amahula.
They are using real mahula spirits and coconut as the base of their new vegan variants launched in November 2021.
It's available for order in global travel retail, so that's also interesting, but just to look beyond, what's available in, in retail, we also see, , plant-based experiences, widening to hospitality concepts, for example, we see Costa Rica getting its first vegan hotel.
We see also more instant customization possible.
So Saver Eats is a system that offers a solution for fast moving kitchens.
It's based in Israel.
And they try to recreate the unique experience, taste, and texture of meat without a single animal in sight, and they use a combination of chef robots of 3D printing, but also, non-GMO plant-based ingredients so that consumers can enjoy, the different textures, that normally characterize, traditional meats, but now tailored to their specific tastes, diets, and lifestyle.
Taking the plant-based trend even a step further, and it's interesting to see how it is expanding from human trends to being applied in the pet food industry as.
And with some higher-end products in particular.
So an example of a higher-end product for me would be the, the launch that was done by Ben and Jerry's in December 2020 in the US and they launched a super indulgent frozen dog treat with a sunflower butter base.
This type of product, it sounds really a or, you know, people can be familiar to them, and.
A driver for consumers to seek out plant-based pet food more often.
So 16% of consumers globally say that they're looking forward to plant-based pet food in the upcoming years, and the industry is definitely responding to that in terms of, of growth in launches.
We see a +34% of average annual growth in pet food launches with a plant-based claim over the past 5 years already, really showing promising growth for plant-based offerings in the future as.
And then particularly interesting is to look at the type of ingredients that are being used, for example, plant-based proteins, which we know that consumers strongly want to include in pet food.
And just a final highlight of this table scraps product that not only uses superfood ingredients like sweet potato, flaxseed, and chia seeds, but also claims to be made with upcycled ingredients and thereby again intertwining with one of our key trends identified for 2022.
We talked about amplified experiences.
Many consumers also who are seeking out a back to the roots experience.
So this is a trend where consumers are increasingly valuing the functionality, freshness and authenticity of local food.
And we see aspects like freshness, flavor, and nutritional benefits, that became increasingly important to consumers amid the pandemic.
And we also see an expectation of, from a consumer perspective to buy and source more local produce, also after the pandemic.
And this also translates to what we're what we're seeing in the industry across many categories, but one category that we're highlighting here is the baby and toddler segments, where we see new avenues for future generations with really exciting products that are, around, this, , concept of localness and shark planets.
So, we have, a product that is called Rooted, in South Africa, launched in September 2021.
It combines locally and natural source food combinations and is even developed by a professional chef and registered dietitian.
So this is really tapping into both freshness, freshness, flavor, and nutritional benefits, all of them actually.
And then we have our organics happy baby products with the farms for our future positioning front of pack.
It uses organic and regenerative agriculture, featuring ingredients like pears, squash, and oats.
And all having, , a key role in, in the in the aspects of freshness, flavor, and nutritional benefit as.
Another trend that we see intertwined with our plant-based trend and for which we see a lot of potential for new product development is upcycling redefined.
And if you don't know upcycling, upcycling is about using ingredients that were once considered waste into entirely new products.
And although it's a trend that we've been tracking for some years now, we definitely see that this trend is being redefined.
It's becoming more mainstream.
We see more product launches, so we see a +69% average annual growth in food and beverage launches with a food waste or recycling claim over the past 5 years.
But we also see how it is impacting consumer perceptions.
From our consumer surveys, we can see that , it can be associated with a higher, product quality when it's using upcycled ingredients.
So we also asked consumers, if you prefer recycled ingredients, what makes them better in quality, and top reasons that we're giving were sustainability, healthiness and freshness, which are also aspects that we previously saw in our back to the roots trend.
So a really interesting brand that is totally centering around upcycling would be Outkast, which is a sports nutrition brand targeting the mainstream consumer, and they say that they are on a mission to solve the global waste, food waste crisis with a technology that is transforming the upcycled food movements.
So it's definitely pushing something forward here.
And another way of of mainstreaming upcycled food more is, for example, also with the introduction of a private label brand, and this is something that has been done in Japan, for example, by Oiix.
Just if you don't know Oi, Oi6 provides a food subscription delivery service to Japanese homes.
Food security and safety are the main pillars of this service, and it's all part of a broader farm for tomorrow, table for tomorrow philosophy.
And what we see is many upcycled ingredient applications.
So, for example, broccoli stems and plum pulp and banana peel are all types of applications that we that we see under this brand.
And what you see on the slide here is a banana jam made with whole organic banana peel, and I just featured this as an as a key example of how the plant-based trend is not only intertwined here with upcycling redefined.
But also with our back to the roots trend because it uses these fresh and familiar ingredients.
So more tangible storytelling, more tangible communication is super important if you want to build trust with consumers, especially if you want to move from the trying part, so consumers trying plant-based products because they're curious to actually adopting them into their lifestyle.
And this can be a challenging, so very important to to notice how brands can er play a role in this to er make this possible for consumers by connecting with them.
So an example here, last week was the National Week Without Meat in the Netherlands.
This is a national campaign.
Started in 2018 and this year for the first time they also added a dairy aspect to it.
So it's a challenge to go without meat and dairy for a full week.
Of course, all the encouragement is welcomed, so the vege vegetarian butcher helped with that.
They created this pop-up restaurant in Rotterdam, where you could eat plant-based meat alternatives that they normally have available in retail.
So this is why this is also a good example of shifting occasions, one of our top, top 10 trends for 2022.
Where we see products that we normally see in retail also being launched in restaurants.
And technology.
So tech to table is our number 3 trend for 2022 and as mentioned before already, consumers are more open to new technologies now that I've seen where it has brought plant-based innovation.
And here we see we are having a closer look at how technology is expanding the alternative protein horizon.
So Proveeg International, has an incubate an incubator system and it's accelerating the alternative protein sector a lot.
Many examples on this slide on how they are, enabling, , startups to, to grow.
So, cultivated bioscientists from the Netherlands, for example, they are using fermentation to develop a fat ingredients, er, it offers a creaminess needed for plant-based dairy products.
And then in the middle we have a pro protein from Estonia.
They are developing a scalable precision fermentation technology for producing dairy protein from yeast without the need for cattle farming.
And then another example about motif and Solar biotech.
They, so this is an extension of their partnership that began in 2020.
And Motive Foodworks, they use solar biotech development and precision fermentation capabilities for pilot scale production of Haami.
And heyami is a yeast derived heme protein.
So now they're they're, they're, they're bringing this to , an expanded partnership.
Alright, I will wrap up with some key takeaways that will summarize today's webinar.
So starting with what's shaping the canvas, we saw that personal health and global sustainability were key drivers of consumer choice.
Global sustainability becoming a possible tiebreaker in purchasing decisions.
And plant-based research and development has also refocused from mimicking to optimizing options that stand on their own merits, looking more at the quality of products, improved taste and texture, as as again the personal health and global sustainability angles.
What's next?
We looked at interlacing trends, because when launching our top 10 trends, people often ask us which ones are most important, but actually trends are often interconnected.
So it's interesting to see how they then can collide in new launches, technologies, research, etc.
We had a closer look at, premium net indulgence, but also how, amplified experiences, are, are going further than only retail, so also, seen in hospitality concepts, in, customization options in food service, etc.
Etc.
So the sector is really more than an alternative, it's the canvas for innovation.
And then we have this whole part about consumer conversations.
So while innovators embrace new production methods, the key is to communicate honestly and openly with consumers to ensure that there is continued trust in the advances of food technology.
Thank you, and before I go, just a reminder that you can always contact us for more.
So if you have any questions remaining after this webinar, you can send us an email at contact@innovami.com and maybe our paths will cross again.
