Going off – has fake meat reached its peak ?
by Karsten Smet , CEO of ACI Group
As far as appetising names go , ‘ fake meat ’ is one that hardly gets the mouth watering .
Perhaps that ’ s part of the problem . Even as vegetarian and vegan lifestyles are more popular than ever and more than 61 % of
22 FDPP - www . fdpp . co . uk consumers want to increase the number of plant-based foods in their diets , almost 40 % are cutting out meat alternative products . Increasingly , fake meat is not on the menu .
Just a few short years ago , fake meat was the next big thing in food . Today , it is reporting falling sales and tumbling revenues . So , can the plant-based meat industry stem the bleeding and find its place in a world increasingly open to vegan food , or is it simply a flash in the frying pan ?
Leaving a bad taste in the mouth
While it ’ s easy to write off fake meat as all sizzle and no artificial steak , the scale of its early success would indicate that it was more than a simple fad . The environmental angle – livestock rearing and meat production account for a huge chunk of global carbon emissions – means that alternatives to traditional meat are necessary . But , before plantbased products can become a true alternative to meat , they must become more appetising .
In the short term , the cost-ofliving crisis cannot be overlooked . Plant-based meat is a relatively young industry and its products are still being refined with new innovations . This means R & D costs continue to eat into margins , and the economies of scale have not yet been optimised . In short , fake meat tends to be priced at a premium when many consumers are finding their budgets squeezed . However , the industry still has some more fundamental problems that must be solved before it can reach its full potential .
Notably , the quality of the products on offer is yet to truly match consumer expectations . Some of this can be resolved