No silver bullet in plant-based innovation, Kerry flags

28 Apr 2022 --- As the plant-based arena sees rapid expansion, industry is capitalizing on innovative food technology to remedy consumer boredom. “The appetite for plant-based alternatives remains high, but with consumers becoming more familiar with plant-based products, they are also becoming more skeptical,” David Hamilton, creative insight officer, Kerry Group, tells NutritionInsight, ahead of the webinar titled: The Journey of Plant-based Innovation; Future Opportunities & Challenges.

“Consumers are becoming bored of products that fail to replicate the real thing. They want to see a change of direction. They now have higher expectations of taste, clean label, transparency, choice and (environmental) sustainability.”

Consumers are increasingly concerned with price and taste in plant-based foods.Overcoming hurdles
Currently, innovators and manufacturers are dealing with a complex range of challenges such as new processing techniques, new proteins, taste, masking, texture, preservation, costs and (environmental) sustainability, Hamilton adds. 

“It seems there is no silver bullet; winning continues to require agility and a focus on continuous improvement linked to up-to-date consumer and market insight, processing knowledge, ingredients and application expertise.” 

While health and environmental concerns bring consumers into the plant-based food category, taste and price are key factors influencing trial or continued consumption, Dr. Liz Specht, vice president, science and technology atThe Good Food Institute, tells NutritionInsight.

Perceived taste and price are among the top reasons consumers either do not eat or do not try plant-based foods, she adds.

“This suggests that plant-based food companies should focus on creating high-fidelity plant-based products that closely mimic the sensory attributes of animal-based foods as well as develop affordable products with lower prices.” 

Scaling to market
According to Hamilton, innovation in the alternative protein space is a journey. Technologies such as cell cultivation and precision fermentation are seen as “exciting developments.” 

Nonetheless, these developments are still in their early stages and need sizable investments to scale the technologies for market readiness. 

“Reaching price parity with animal-based meat and dairy is an important step toward widespread adoption of plant-based products and can help earn a larger share of the total market,” Hamilton says. 

The webinar is set to take place on May 4 at 16:00 EST. Registration for the webinar is possible here.

By Andria Kades