In 2020, the Center for Consumer Freedom, a non-profit group in Washington, D.C., that has advocated for the meat, alcohol and tobacco industries, took aim at a new target: the plant-based meat industryIts Super Bowl television advert showed children at a spelling competition trying to spell “methylcellulose,” an additive used in some packaged foods including fake meat burgers. “If you can’t spell it or pronounce it, maybe you shouldn’t be eating it,” the voiceover opined.The ad hit a nerve.
In August, Beyond Meat launched a campaign with the slogan There’s Goodness Here, which shows farms where the raw material for its products is grown. It has also partnered with various medical institutions including the American Cancer Society and Stanford University to research the health impacts of a plant-based diet.Thanks for signing up!The next issue of Investor will soon be in your inbox.
A 2022 consumer survey carried out by Boston Consulting Group Inc. found that 75 per cent of 3,700 respondents in seven countries said having a healthier diet was the main motivator for them to start eating alternative proteins. Making products more appealing to health-conscious consumers comes at a difficult time for the industry, which originally benefited from the tail end of a stock market boom following a period of record-low interest rates. Shares in Beyond Meat, for instance, surged after its 2019 initial public offering, with the company’s market capitalization hitting almost US$12 billion.After a year-on-year jump of 47 per cent in 2020 and sustained growth through the coronavirus pandemic years, U.S.
Impossible’s McGuinness said the company was in the process of tweaking its recipes to improve taste, texture, flavour and nutritional content, adding that he was prepared to switch out ingredients that consumers had concerns about.