What is Plant-Based Meat?
Plant-based meat was developed as a substitution of animal meat products; targeted specifically vegans and vegetarians. Meat substitutes were created from early to mid-1900’s where the Americans looking to cut back on meat are following a movement forged by a groundbreaking book, ‘Diet for a Small Planet’. In 1889 Dr. John Harvey Kellogg together with his brother William created hundreds of different products.
In past years, the range of plant-based meat included tofu, tempeh, seitan; burgers and patties focused on vegetable/rice. Over time, more variants have been introduced on the market: plant-based sausages, deli slices, crumbles, and varieties of chicken nuggets.
Rising Popularity of Plant-Based Meat
Meat alternatives are becoming a more popular choice for consumers around the world, especially among non-vegetarians. Health and food safety concerns in relation to GMOs appear to be the driving decision-makers for meat alternative buyers. According to Mintel Food and Drink Analyst, Beth Bloom, “Health perception plays a large role in use of meat alternatives.”
Due to the demand of fake meat, few brands have introduced their alternatives. Thus, for example, Impossible Foods, which makes a popular plant-based burger, says plant-based meat alternatives are better for consumers and better for the planet, requiring less land and water and producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions than meat from cattle. Beyond Meat also promotes the healthy aspect of plant-based meat as well as the environmentally-friendly factors.
“Health perception plays a large role in use of meat alternatives.” – Beth Bloom, Mintel Food and Drink Analyst
So how about the Asian market?
According to a report consumers in India and China show more interest in plant-based meat than the U.S. The researchers say their findings suggest that consumer demand in China and India, as well as the U.S., will be ready when producers supply plant-based foods to them. In Beijing, start-up Zhenmeat has created a plant-based mincemeat alternative using pea protein that can be used to make dishes such as dumplings and meatballs, says its co-founder, Vincent Lu. However, Zhenmeat faces competition from the U.S. Both Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, focusing on selling their burgers in U.S., hence they also distribute burgers in Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore, and Beyond Meat also operates in 50 countries across the world, including Taiwan and Korea. In 2019, Chinese consumers were also introduced to Hong Kong-based start-up Omnipork. Omnipork was the first plant-based pork substitute that bleeds and tastes like ground pork. It is made from pea, soy, mushrooms, and rice. It is also served in restaurants in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Challenges with Plant-Based Meat
However, some plant-based meat products may face issues on the retaining texture and stabilizing the taste as it may be affected by the protein from the plant. Mixtures of plant-based protein to make mock meat may interfere with taste due to the natural taste that arises from raw materials, thus becoming the barrier to have meaty taste. Other than that, some plant-based meat cannot have the meat-like elasticity due to the nature of the raw materials that are not able to bind with each other. Colour may also be one of the challenges as its characteristic is one of the most important attributes in consumer needs.
Key to overcoming these challenges is to find the right ingredients to get that meat-like elasticity and natural reddish colour.
