While growth in US retail sales of refrigerated plant-based meat has slowed, investors are still pouring large amounts of cash into startups creating alternatives to meat, eggs, and dairy products with plant-based and fermentation-based approaches, and they were out in force at the Natural Products Expo West show this year...
Plant-based dairy brand Miyoko’s Creamery showcased an industry-first at this year's show: plant-based cottage cheese. The product, made from watermelon seed milk and sunflower seeds, will launch early next year, and contains 10g plant protein per serving, said founder Miyoko Schinner, who noted that most plant-based cheese contains very little protein.
Schinner recently discontinued a line of shreds and blocks launched a couple of years ago with oils, starches, some fermented oat milk and some legumes for protein, adding: "I wasn't proud of the products, people don't want to eat oil and starch from us, they want nutrient dense foods that honor the art and craft of cheesemaking, made with natural fermentation, coagulation, and aging."
Miyoko's - which initially produced all its wares in-house, but has started working with co-packers over the past few years as it has expanded its portfolio beyond artisanal cashew-based cheeses to a broader selection of products - experienced a slower rate of growth in 2021 than in 2020 owing to supply chain challenges, but still posted a double-digit increase in sales, said Schinner.
Califia Farms is outperforming the plant-based milk category, claimed CEO Dave Ritterbush: “We’re one of the fastest growing [brands] in oatmilk, and we’re slightly above [the category] in almond milk, and growing slightly [whereas the overall almondmilk category was slightly down last year].
“In oatmilk, every brand is offering some level of differentiation, from clean label to price points to nutrition. So our core oatmilk product has about half the amount of sugar vs a lot of the other ones [4g sugar vs 7g for Oatly, for example], plus we have a no sugar version, a barista product and an oat and almond blend.”
Asked about supply chain issues, he said: “We were able to go all of 2021 with a customer service level of greater than 98% because of some planning we did with redundant manufacturing sites and our raw material contracts, although it’s come at a cost, so if we have to pay a premium to get a truck, we pay the premium.”
As for soaring oat prices, he said: “Oats are at a five year high, maybe an all-time high with the [2021] crop down almost 50% in Canada. There's enough for everyone globally, but costs have gone up as people have been sourcing from Europe. Everybody's paying more, so we have oats that are mostly from Canada, but we do have some European oats as well.”
Oatly - which was showcasing its new frozen novelties at the show - is also facing higher costs thanks to surging oat prices, and still dealing with capacity constraints as it ramps up production at its new manufacturing site in Ogden, Utah, with demand continuing to outstrip supply.
Full year 2021 revenues were up 52.6% to $643.2m, with net losses topping $215m, said the Malmö-based firm, which said the conflict in Ukraine "brings additional uncertainty with energy prices increasing and the broader implications of Ukraine being a large exporter of grains, as well as vegetable oils."
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The Violife plant-based cheese brand - now part of Upfield - is “innovating beyond the core” (Cheddar, Colby Jack, Mozzarella) with a full range of dairy-free cheeses from shaved Parmesan to smoked gouda slices to Mexican style shreds, said general manager Andy Reichgut.
“The hardest [animal] product to replicate is probably cheese, and I would say we're probably leading when it comes to product, but we're not all the way there, and we’re always looking at the next generation of technology to make it better,” said Reichgut, noting the Upfield has recently started collaborating with startup Change Foods, which is developing ‘animal-free’ cheeses featuring casein made via microbial fermentation (not cow’s milk).
The brand - which recently teamed up with coffee chain Peet’s for the launch of a Mediterranean Flatbread with plant-based egg and cheese - is seeing growing opportunities in foodservice as well as retail, as brands seek vegan cheese, eggs, and mayo products to accompany plant-based meat offerings, said Reichgut.
While the US plant-based milk category is pretty crowded, Danish brand Naturli reckons it can stand out in the category with blended products (soy, oat, rice) containing protein levels matching dairy.
The term ‘animal-free’ - which brands such as Brave Robot are using to differentiate their products (which contain ‘real’ dairy proteins made without cows) from plant-based products - is starting to appear on more products, although it’s still a new concept for consumers, acknowledged August Vega, president of frozen and indulgence products at The Urgent Company.
“I think delineating between plant-based and animal-free is very important because our products contain milk allergens and they are dairy products.”
Vega, who co-founded plant-based dairy brand MALK, added: “What I experienced in the plant-based milk industry is you will not convert everyone, and so if we can convert a dairy consumer to animal-free products, that's pretty impactful.”
Mooless, one of a flurry of new brands featuring Perfect Day's 'animal-free' whey protein (made in fermentation tanks by microbes, not cows) is launching this year direct to consumer and at Vitamin Shoppe, says brand owner Natreve, which markets a variety of vegan protein powders.
Perfect Day – one of a new breed of startups deploying synthetic biology to coax microbes into expressing animal proteins such as whey – has teamed up with betterland foods to launch a ‘cow-free’ milk it claims is “virtually indistinguishable from traditional cow’s milk.” Read more HERE.
Chef Adam Lyons and Veganuary founder Matthew Glover, co-founders of UK-based VFC (strapline: Thanks Colonel, we'll take it from here'), are unapologetic about their mission: to save chickens, who, they observe, tend to get overlooked by plant-based brand marketers, who often shy away from animal welfare issues and focus on environmental benefits.
The wheat protein-fueled brand, which has found a co-packer in Canada and warehousing in the US, is hoping to make a splash in the US market and has just secured distribution in several university campuses for its frozen products (chick'n fillets, bitesm popcorn) and retailers including Wegmans, Bristol Farms and Central Market.
A food-tech company created by Hong Kong-based Green Monday, OmniFoods entered the US market last year with OmniPork grounds, strips, and luncheon meats, which can be seasoned, steamed, pan- or deep-fried, stuffed or crumbled for use in tacos, sliders and other US-style dishes or Asian-inspired dishes, and contain less saturated fat, fewer calories, and zero cholesterol compared to animal-based pork products.
The brand, which is in Sprouts nationwide and 200+ Whole Foods stores in the frozen section, is also launching plant-based seafood products (fillets, sticks, tuna, burgers) in the US, said founder David Yeung. “I think diversity is the word. We’re filling in the blanks [in the US plant-based meat category]. So when we do pork, we’re not talking about sausages or bacon, but pork that can be used as an ingredient in different cuisines.”
As for mimicry, he said: “There are some things that people really like about meats or seafood, but also things they might not like [such as the smell of some seafood], so we can make better products.”
EPG – a plant-based oil restructured in such a way that virtually none of it is absorbed by the body – has demonstrated intriguing properties in plant-based meat applications, where formulators have struggled to find vegan options that behave like animal fat, says Indiana-based Epogee.. Read more HERE.
Santiago-based NotCo - which entered the US market in 2020 with plant-based NotMilk - is gearing up to enter the ultra-competitive US meat alternatives category with NotBurger, a brand that has rapidly gained traction in Latin America with high-profile partners including Burger King.
NotCo is aiming squarely at the mass market with products that can outperform the competitive set on taste and price, while attempting to build familiarity through a suite of products, from NotMilk to NotBurger, that will introduce Americans to the 'Not...' brand, he said.
"This is also why we created the joint venture with Kraft Heinz. We have the ability to become a platform company for innovation for other brands but still get the recognition for our brands.”
While most plant-based brands debut in the natural channel, Alpha Foods’ first three customers when it launched in 2017 were Walmart, Kroger, and Publix, which reflects its focus on mainstream flexitarian consumers who are turned off by "finger-wagging" or "judgment" when it comes to their food choices, said CMO Kierstin De West.
After achieving success with convenient prepared foods such as pot pies, tamales, burritos, nuggets and pizza, the brand has since expanded meal components, offering crumbles, strips, and patties made from non GMO soy and vital wheat gluten, said De West, who noted that retailers want to partner with brands that will help them better understand the plant-based category and consumer.
Daring Foods – a startup seeking to punch above its weight in the plant-based chicken category via a lower calorie product with a shorter, cleaner, ingredients list - is introducing gluten free breaded plant chicken pieces (for the frozen aisle) and a new line of plant chicken tenders targeting retailers' refrigerated sets.
If the alt-meat space is getting pretty crowded, there is still only a handful of players in the plant-based egg vertical, which is growing strongly, says Just Egg maker Eat Just, which has seen a significant increase in distribution, with its mung-bean-fueled products now in 43,000 points of retail distribution and 1,500 points of foodservice distribution in North America. Read more HERE