delegates were also given a major research and development insight into the world of plant-based meat production. With retail sales of such meats set to grow by 7% annually in
both the US and Europe over the next few years, the event message was highly focused on what alternative protein producers are capable of achieving and how their ambitions may impact on traditional farm- raised meat. Current estimates suggest the US plant-based meat market will be
worth $6 billion by 2022, double its current value. Growth projections for Europe are equally bullish, with developers confident of achieving sales worth around $700 million over the next five years. Agri-business investors are certainly interested in backing non-
animal meat developments according to Niccolo Manzoni, co-founder of Paris-based Five Seasons Ventures, one of the earliest foodtech venture investors in Europe. He told delegates that looking at just the first six months of this
year alone, no fewer than five start-ups using cellular agriculture, the science behind cultured meat, have successfully raised new funding for their developments. These are SuperMeat, Memphis Meats (with Tyson Foods participating in their funding round), Perfect Day, Wild Earth and The Wild Type. Dan Altschuler Malek, venture partner with New Crop Capital,
Washington DC, was equally upbeat about the sector, telling delegates that one third of consumers are actively interested in reducing their intake of traditional meat. “This is creating a demand for the use of alternative proteins that
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is far greater than many people understand,” he said. “As such, we’ve committed to 28 investments in companies involved in cultured and plant-based proteins in the last two years, backing projects in New Zealand, India, Israel and many parts of Europe. In addition, we’re now looking at investment proposals in Latin America and the US.” The question of whether or not plant-based meats should be
seen as complementary to traditionally grown meat or as a wholly competitive movement, inevitably produced supporters on both sides of the debate. Lining on the complementary side is the giant US meat business,
Tyson Foods, whose involvement with Memphis Meats and their alternative ideas was reported to delegates as ‘not presenting a threat to their traditional existence’. Didier Toubia, discussion panel member in Wageningen and CEO
of clean meat developer, Aleph Farms, also saw room for everyone within his future vision for meat production and sales. “We are not intending to replace conventional meats,” he said,
although he did qualify this comment by adding that his view applied in the context of extensive farming systems only. “We see clean meat very much as an additional proposition for consumers, not a replacement.” However, even calling the alternative option ‘clean meat’ is a pretty
significant image challenge for those who currently depend for a living on real animals producing real meat for people to enjoy. Asked to explain the term, Mr Toubia replied: “The production
of clean meat is based on taking isolated natural cells from cows to produce a meat product in three weeks instead of two years, with no antibiotics, full production control and full traceability. We believe this is a more efficient production of meat than traditional methods.” He also gave delegates a fascinating insight into his sales
approach, including not using vegan or vegetarian messages as part of his marketing strategy. “We shy away from this in most countries, such as Mexico,
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where a vegan message carries a negative image for 99% of the population, something we don’t see when we deliver a simple plant- based message,” he said, adding that the skill with which alternative protein developers position their products with consumers will affect their eventual success. “We need to be very mindful of this as we go into new markets,
always asking what our proposition is for each market and what our value offer is for each consumer. Food attitudes are very local, after all, so sometimes we have to address flavour while in other situations it’s more about presentation. “To be successful, alternative protein developers must make
their products available to consumers in as frictionless a method as possible. If you ask consumers to switch too much in their habits, you won’t get anywhere. It’s better to seek a slight change. As such, we’re not rejecting animal proteins as part of our proposition, just seeking to reduce their impact a little.” Clearly, this is a meat sector development which none of us can
afford to ignore. 30/11/2017 09:50:36
Comment section is sponsored by Compound Feed Engineering Ltd
www.cfegroup.com
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