Analysis of market demand for plant protein meat

Consumption levels are rising year by year, animal protein is gradually in short supply, and it has become a trend to seek meat substitutes. “Artificial meat” is a meat substitute that can be produced through scientific and technological means. Its essence is more controllable industrial production, replacing the meat industry’s series of processes from breeding, slaughtering, storage and transportation, which means that “artificial meat” can be It is not affected by environmental pollution and animal diseases, so it is safer and more nutritious so that it can be produced more stably and effectively.

1. Classification of artificial meat

The first category is “plant meat” or “plant protein meat”, which uses purified plant protein as raw materials to produce various simulated meat products. This type of technology has a higher threshold and is more similar to real meat in terms of appearance, taste and nutrition. The market foundation has been established, and the number of commercially available products has increased year by year.

The second category is “cell culture meat”, which usually takes animal stem cells as a starting point and uses cell culture in vitro to differentiate stem cells into animal muscle cells to obtain the main food materials. These products have high production costs and are mainly used in scientific research, large-scale production is difficult.

2. Market status

From the current point of view, there are more and more plant meat products, and the companies involved have transitioned from front-end applications to industrial food production companies. At present, artificial meat is an emerging market, and it takes time to cultivate. According to market research, 80% of catering consumers are non-vegetarian consumers, but 30% of them will repurchase artificial meat products.

The customer’s reason for repurchasing is that under the same price as meat, artificial meat has higher protein content and lower calories, which is a healthy choice. Consumers are very fond of low-processed, nutritious and healthy foods. Market trends indicate that consumers are willing to buy meat substitutes or meat simulation products. According to data, the vegetable protein meat market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.9% from 2019 to 2024. The fastest-growing market is the Asia-Pacific region and the largest market is Europe. Overall, the global plant-based meat industry is expected to reach USD 21.23 billion by 2025.

3. Shortcomings

⑴ Compared with real meat, it has unnatural flesh color, lack of luster, loose structure, poor chew, and big difference in flavor. The food ingredients currently used in artificial meat are darker in color, unnatural, easy to oxidize, and lack the luster of meat color. Secondly, meat texture is the most important indicator for consumers to accept vegetable protein meat. It should have the characteristics of tight tissue fibers, elasticity, tenderness, juiciness and chewiness.

⑵ The high production cost has not yet reached the mass production conditions. Artificial meat is not only expensive in the initial development stage, but also has strict requirements on the production and supply chain.

4. Development trend

Because of their familiarity with soy-based plant foods, consumers have a good cognitive foundation and are more likely to accept artificial meat products. Only when the product is feasible, the variety is abundant, and the cost of large-scale production is reduced, will it usher in great development.