Innovation Is Still Needed in the World of Plant-based Meat

By now we’ve all heard of the Impossible Burger or Beyond Meat. Maybe you’ve even tried some of these plant-based meat alternatives. But where is the market heading next and is there room for further innovation?

Ed Dudley, Director of Technical Innovation and Analytical Chemistry for Griffith Food, joined MarketScale from Supply Side West to share his insights on the current state of the industry.

“I’m personally surprised with how fast [the industry has] grown and how much traction it’s gotten within the past couple of years,” said Dudley. “You see big brands, even traditional meat companies that have sold animal protein are now in this space.”

Even with this explosion in popularity, Dudley said there’s still room for the industry to grow and for new product development.

“There’s definitely room for innovation. One of the areas I see as sort of a holy grail would be if we could come up with some type of plant nutrition that actually looked, tasted and ate like whole muscle protein. For example, like a chicken breast or a steak.”

Dudley said he can foresee a day where more people adjust their diets and are less reliant on medications for their health. “I think the best is yet to come in terms of people embracing food as a way to live their best life,” he said.