Plant based diets continue to be on the rise in the United States with consumers citing a healthier life style, reducing meat consumption, and sustainability of the protein supply as the motivation behind this trend. According to health data research 17% of US consumers aged 15 to 70 claim to eat a predominantly plant based diet, while 60% report to have cut back on meat consumption. Plant based proteins have made their way into almost every facet of the US food market being found in a variety of categories including beverage, dairy alternative, meat alternatives, supplement, yogurt, bakery, pet food, snacks, and cereals.[1]
Plant based proteins have become big business in both the food ingredient and consumer packaged goods spaces with pea protein leading innovative growth. In 2017, 21% of all food & beverages launches tracked in the US with plant protein by Innova Market Insights featured pea protein. The ingredient still lags behind soy protein (61%), but it has been gaining ground and the gap in NPD is tightening.[2] In 2018, Cargill announced a joint venture with Puris Pea in order to expand plant protein offerings in North America. Ingredion recently announced a $140M joint venture with Verident Foods stating that they have identified plant-based proteins as a high-growth, high-value market opportunity that is on-trend with consumers’ desire to find sustainable and good tasting alternatives to animal-based proteins.[3]
Food ingredient companies aren’t the only ones taking advantage of this trend in plant-based proteins as in 2016 Tyson purchased the innovative plant-based meat alternative company, Beyond Meat. While Tyson is the first major meat company to invest in the plant-based space it certainly will not be the last. Perdue announced in late 2018 that it plans to investigate options in the plant-based meat alternative space.1 Traditional dairy companies are also investing in this space. The acquisition of White Wave by Danone in 2016 positioned the company as a market leader in plant-based dairy alternatives such as milks, yogurt, frozen desserts, whipped toppings, and creamers. Other dairy companies are following suit and investing in research and development of plant-based products as well as expanding production capabilities.
Where does the plant-based trend go from here? Grains and legumes are the preferred sources of non-traditional proteins. Peas, for example, are a natural source of protein and are a familiar vegetable that will resonate with consumers as healthy and safe. Recently, growing attention is being given to the nutritional value of algae, including protein content. These plants represent a promising future protein source, although further research is needed to realize the full potential of this innovative source of protein.[4]
[1] Food Dive “Why Ingredion is Investing $140M in Plant-Based Protein.” https://www.fooddive.com/news/.
[2] Food Ingredients First “Pea Protein Surge: Cargill Invests in Puris.” https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com.
[3] Food Business News “Ingredion Investing in Plant Based Protein.” https://www.foodbusinessnews.net.
[4] Mintel Blog “Plant Based Proteins on the Rise.” http://www.mintel.com/blog/.
