![]() “This rationalisation is very typical of high-growth and emerging categories” The symptoms of a consolidating categoryĪndy Shovel, co-founder of plant meat brand THIS commented to vegconomist today, speaking to the possible bankruptcy of Meatless Farm: “It goes without saying that our thoughts as a team, go out to everyone who works at – or with, Meatless Farm. What we’re seeing is a levelling and a correction. Yes, heritage brands such as Quorn or Tofurky have been operational for decades, but the new wave, plant-based 2.0, and along with it plant-based tech, only emerged a few short years ago. The real catalyst to category growth is ultimately building more, and new demand for what is today, an ultra-nascent category.”Īnd nascent is the keyword here. They want tasty, accessible, versatile, and competitive offerings, a variety of them from a seamless source, to meet their existing eco-conscious and eco-curious consumer interest – pretty simple. ![]() The foodservice industry doesn’t want the next buzzy thing. Allen Zelden, cofounder of Boldly Foods, comments on the situation: “After speaking to so many prolific foodservice operators in Chicago at NRA, I’ve never been more excited and confident. This sentiment is also felt in foodservice. Allen Zelden, founder of Boldly, image supplied Despite the overload of negative headlines recently, the space is still poised for significant growth over the coming decade, and with a recent drop in valuations, now is the best time to capitalise on this by investing in the future of food, “ adds Alexandra. “This means we can better identify the companies addressing these barriers, with sensory experience, nutrition, and price being at the top of the list. “…now is the best time to capitalise on this by investing in the future of food” From a VC point of view, we better understand the barriers to consumer acceptance and adoption of these products,” she explains. “We are feeling more optimistic than ever about the animal alternative space. We spoke with Alexandra Clark of impact investment firm Sentient Ventures to obtain the point of view of a VC firm in the space. © Sentient Ventures “We are feeling more optimistic than ever” Sentient Ventures co-founders Alexandra Clark and Manish Karani with La Fauxmagerie’s co-founder sisters Charlotte and Rachel Stevens. “Let’s not talk about boom and bust, because from a consumer engagement perspective, we haven’t even started yet,” said Tseng. In fact, history promises that we’re just getting started,” echoing exactly what others in the space have also urged, such as Albert Tseng of Dao Foods in our recent discussion of the plant-based industry in China. Most pertinently, Bayer adds, “The current landscape does not spell trouble for most companies in the space. The excitement dies down as early industry leaders are met with pushback, challenges, and original shortcomings of the innovation are brought to light.” The graph “does a terrific job of defining how a promising innovation enters the market with a bang, quickly gaining momentum, investments, and like-minded innovators. “As a long-time problem solver and innovator, I’ve found guidance in a tried and true model explaining the arc of innovation - the Gartner hype cycle,” explained Eben Bayer, founder of Ecovative Design and MyForest Foods, in an Op-Ed for vegconomist. ![]() The cycle represents the maturity, adoption, and application of new technologies and offers a conceptual presentation of their maturity, and is certainly worth revisiting in this context. ![]() The Gartner cycle has been referred to several times as an accurate explainer of our current situation, as recently cited by ex-Impossible Foods and Tesla exec Rachel Konrad here. And there’ll be a couple of players left standing.” © Gartner The Gartner Hype Cycle Chief Executive Steven Cahillane told analysts: “We see an imminent shakeout coming. revealed that it was to retain its plant-based-food operations. “Though we remain the category leader in refrigerated plant-based meat the volume of competition has eroded some of our share…a shakeout does appear to be underway, and we expect more brands to either retreat or consolidate a less cluttered playing field to emerge in the midterm,” Brown commented at the time.Ī few short months later, in a strategic U-turn, Kellogg Co. © Beyond Meat The shakeout was always predictedīack in November 2022, Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown reported company losses in an earnings call, stating that inflation had taken a heavy toll on sales, with price-weary consumers opting for cheaper proteins as the cost of living soared around the planet.
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