Disruption is Never Frictionless: The Future of Plant-Based Looks Bright

Last week, we announced that Next Gen Foods will be acquiring Mwah! –?a new plant-based dairy startup that has the potential to match cow-derived dairy products on taste, texture, and overall experience. As a fairly young company that’s only three years into our journey, many asked why did we make this decision??

From the start, our intention has always been to offer all types of plant-based versions of the foods we eat and enjoy today, including meat, seafood, and dairy. We began with chicken because it’s the world’s most popular animal protein and has universal appeal when it comes to flavor and culinary applications, while also nutritious and holds importance in many cultural and societal ways. But we have operated since day one with a bigger picture in mind – that we can’t change how the planet consumes and produces food with one brand or one product alone. A transformation in our food system won’t happen with just TiNDLE or just another plant-based burger, but with time and a variety of solutions in the field of food innovation and technology that will allow us to eliminate animal agriculture as a way to produce food.

We know that raising livestock for the purposes of food production is one of the biggest contributors to the warming of our planet, responsible for 14.5% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. The demand for meat is also growing, expected to rise 50% by the year 2050. By this calculation, we won’t be able to sustain the levels of demand through traditional means of producing meat. We’re running out of time.

Yet, we have seen doubt and criticism about the longevity of the plant-based industry in recent conversations – pointing to slow sales, layoffs, and drops in earnings as signals of consumer interest falling. We’re also hardwired to believe change and disruption will happen quickly, especially in today’s society when we’re collecting and consuming information at the fastest we ever have. This all shows only a portion of the bigger picture and discounts that true, transformative change can take more than a few years. I remain optimistic about the future of plant-based foods because I understand that true disruption will not be without friction.

We often forget it now, but humanity has relied on animals for a series of functions for thousands of years. This includes farming (bulls used in early agricultural machinery) and energy (whaling for oil), transportation (horses, bulls, donkeys), and of course as a source for food. For the most part, we’ve grown out of all of these necessities – except for the use of animals for food. We found more efficient ways to farm, produce energy, and travel, so why can’t we also do the same for food production??

If history has taught us anything, it’s that any type of disruption goes through a cycle of adoption. There are countless parallels to other industries in how we are becoming less reliant on animal agriculture for the production of food. We have seen it in the way we mechanized manufacturing, how we ditched horse-based transportation, and how we transformed information technology and communication. Could it have been conceivable even 30 years ago that we all would own individual smartphones with access to data at all hours of the day??

Of course, none of those transitions were quick or frictionless, just as we’re seeing in the current climate with plant-based foods. We face similar challenges and barriers for mass adoption, which include:

• Technological barriers: Just as it took research and development to construct engines that were powerful and reliable enough to motorize personal cars, we are early in our lifecycle for R&D and product development when it comes to contemporary plant-based foods (meat, fish, dairy, etc.) and have a lot of work and testing left to get those products on par with the animal-based ones
• Infrastructure barriers: Automobiles needed paved roads and gas stations – which were non-existent before the technology was adopted – and this is no different when it comes to the complexities of food production and sourcing; for example, we’re currently set up to supply our world’s population with meat from animal farms and slaughterhouses – not from a network of plant-based food suppliers and manufacturers
• Behavioral barriers: The conversation around today’s plant-based alternatives really only began less than 10 years ago, as we’ve learned of its significant benefits; however asking people in that short amount of time to completely change their behaviors and daily eating habits is not realistic

And let’s be honest, taste is one of the most? crucial factors in order for the plant-based category to emerge stronger. To “go plant-based” shouldn’t just be associated with a vegan lifestyle but match or even exceed other animal-based alternatives. According to the Plant Based Foods Association, 52% of the U.S. considers the taste of plant-based foods their top priority when making purchasing decisions. I see it myself when I go to a restaurant and gravitate towards picking the meat or other animal-based food options because of the positive and memorable experience I know it’ll bring. As someone who isn’t completely plant-based, but opts for dining sustainably when I can, I notice that the current plant-based options are good, but are they as delicious as the animal-based foods we’ve spent decades learning to value and choose because of their superior taste, nutritional value, and symbolism? Not yet, but we’re getting there.

The primary reason we’ve acquired Mwah! is because we believe that they’re one of the first in the category to really look at the flavor of dairy and discover how to achieve that memorable and creamy experience at the same level as some of the world’s greatest ice cream makers.

Though, it’s clear that our industry of plant-based food and product development is still quite young and we have yet to discover how to work together in consolidated ways. We have room to grow out of the early stages we’re in now – mostly in our bubble of early adopters and the mission driven vegan and vegetarian set – and use learnings from other industries to grow and outperform. We can do what other disruptive technologies have accomplished in similar amounts of time, and we’ll see plant-based food become mainstream soon enough.