Earlier this week, actress Anushka Sharma and cricketer Virat Kohli invested in Blue Tribe, a plant-based meat startup, and became its brand ambassador. The couple, who are vocal advocates of healthy living and hard-core animal lovers, had adopted a meat-free lifestyle for over a year.
“The collaboration with Blue Tribe is a step to tell people how they can be more conscious and leave less impact on the planet by switching to a plant-based diet. We hope that more people would like to understand the need for it and thus, help the planet and the life in it,” Sharma said.
Virat added that he’s a foodie who wants to enjoy the kind of food he loves at the end of the day without leaving a huge carbon footprint. “I know a lot of people feel the same way, which is why I believe, if we can have a lower dependence on meat, without shortchanging our taste buds, there is potential for a planet-changing impact.”
A growing number of people echo these sentiments, wanting to strike a perfect balance between tasty and healthy food, which is also good for the planet. It has resulted in restaurants reinventing meat-consuming methods and making dishes with ingredients like pea, soybean, lentils, grains and other vegetarian ingredients that mechanically extract proteins, vitamins and other nutrients.
However, does this growing inclination for plant-based meat warrant widespread customisation of menus in restaurants and large-scale rollout of products by brands? Pradeep Rao, Co-founder and CEO, Evolved Foods, thinks it does. What’s more, he explains why these stakeholders should not design their meat-less food philosophy to appeal to vegans; instead, they should work at getting regular consumers to adopt this as part of their normal lifestyle.
He might not be way off the mark – the concept of meat alternatives is not new; it has been around since the ninth century. The Chinese and other Asian communities consumed wheat gluten and early forms of Tofu as meat analogues. And since vegetarianism is a mainstay in Indian food habits and culture, this could be the perfect meal ticket for most brands.
From 2016 to 2021, the plant-based meat market has grown from $3.6 billion to $13.28 billion. This figure is steadily inching upwards as concerns about animal welfare, food security, elevated levels of antibiotics used in animal agriculture, and combating the ill-effects that animal agriculture inflicts on the climate.
Evolved Foods is one of the many guests in this meat-free party – other brands rocking include Wakao Foods, Meatigo and Good Dot. And more are joining in drawn in by the growing demand for these products. Rao explains why it is pertinent for hotels and restaurants to embrace this trend, and now!
Why should hotels and restaurants consider stocking and selling plant-based meat?
Plant-based meat is for everyone – vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians, fitness enthusiasts, etc.- seeking healthier food alternatives and willing to pay a premium for it. With this increase in demand, plant-based options are becoming commonplace across every segment of the hospitality industry.
For HoReCa businesses, it is an excellent opportunity to differentiate themselves by recognising the changing market needs and offering consumers a wider variety of choices. They can curate a new experience for their existing customers and capture the fast-growing health and environmentally-conscious audience.
Plant-based meat in the menu offerings can replicate the meat experience without sacrificing the taste. Many popular QSRs, restaurants, and well-known chefs let their creativity flow by creating plant-based meat specials for their menus. These are exciting times for experimenting with newer dishes or giving your twist to your favourite traditional dish, as there are credible alternatives available in India now.
Aren’t many potential consumers wary of savouring this option due to the price differential?
While growing at an exponential pace, the plant-based meat industry is still a developing one – even more so in India, with some of the base ingredients having import dependencies. However, significant investments are being made to improve this aspect of the ecosystem. The industry is constantly looking to improve the supply chain bottlenecks and overall economics to make it more affordable.
In addition to focusing on this critical aspect, companies should achieve price-parity, which is a big challenge – unless the hormone manipulations in the meat industry are simultaneously arrested. However, Indian consumers today are aware of the big picture of climate change and the urgency to adopt more sustainable alternatives and are willing to spend more than traditional meat.
What is the other big challenge for stakeholders in this sector?
The plant-based industry has been under stress due to the limited availability of raw materials and long procurement periods, given the shortage of shipping containers and many such reasons. This is true for most plant-based meat companies, so the agility to respond to any potential surge in demand will be somewhat restricted. However, this allows the industry stakeholders to build a collaborative value chain and scale together.
Moreover, plant-based meat products, similar to animal-based meat, come with an expiration date. If refrigerated, the products must be consumed within a few days of opening the packet. However, the shelf life can be extended longer when the products are frozen.
Is it expensive to produce plant-based meat on a commercial scale?
Evolved Plant Meat has a texture and flavour modelled after whole-muscle mutton. It is currently expensive to produce plant-based meat because of the high input costs, limited infrastructure, R&D costs etc.
Evolved Plant Meat is priced at INR 1355/kg in retail, whereas the consumers pay between INR 1100 to 1200/kg for mutton on most popular platforms. As the industry matures, the costs will moderate.
How are you educating HoReCa players on ways to include plant-based meat in their inventory?
Experimentation of plant-based meat can be a dish-specific offering or a versatile one. For the latter, restaurants can use this alternative in dishes that their customers are familiar with and price them the same or within a palatable-premium price compared to their conventional meat dishes.
We organise training sessions for the kitchen staff and service team to educate them about plant-based meat. Here we highlight the taste and texture of these dishes and print collaterals that explain what plant-based meat is and its benefits. We could get dishes featuring Evolved offerings on par with their standard menu prices in most restaurants.
