Plant experts disagree on the industry’s potential future

The current challenges facing the plant-based sector in Asia amid the current economic climate and overall slow consumer uptake were the main topic of discussion by an expert panel at the recent ReThink SEA agri-food roundtable in Bangkok.

The panel included Maarten Geraets, co-founder of Stealth Food Impact Startup and advisor/consultant/mentor at Alternative Protein and Future Food Space, executive director of China Plant Based Food Alliance Ryan Xue, and managing director of Good Food Institute APAC Mirte Gosker.

The group started by acknowledging that the plant-based sector had seen some initial success at the start of the ‘explosion’ in the region, driven largely by the newness of the sector and the consumer psychology of jumping on the trend as much as it was exciting – but not so much out of willingness. doing good or changing your diet in the long run.

“We need to first address the elephant in the room, which is that here in APAC, and indeed in most markets outside the EU, plant-based products are suffering.”Gosker said in full voice.

“There is a lot of forward thinking that needs to be incorporated into the future of the industry and how to bring it back to the attention of consumers and governments in a positive way, especially as this is a necessity given that there is no other solution for this industry” sustainability issues, that we face.

“There are, of course, many challenges that we will have to face, but solutions may not be as far away as expected – when it comes to the over-processing debate, for example, our research and development in Southeast Asia has shown that this is an issue that is being discussed only by opponents of vegetation or those who are not interested in it, but never by enthusiasts.”

Geraets added that there is certainly much less discussion about the development of the plant sector in Asia than in the EU or the US, but in reality the negative perception of processing may be more exaggerated than it should be.

“Basically, we already consume a lot of processed foods, from potato chips to bottled water.”he said.

“So it’s more a matter of perception than reality, because if the reality of processing as a method was bad, it would have to be across a wide range of foods and beverages, not just plant-based ones.

“It’s important to remember that the focus needs to be on food technologies that can help move consumers towards healthier foods, which will then naturally reduce traditional protein intake – plant-based is just one of the solutions available on the market today.”

Xue offered a different perspective, emphasizing that there is a strong need in Asia to ensure that culture – including food culture – remains part of the industry and any major changes.

“Plant-based is not just about putting labels on everything, promoting technological progress or sustainable innovation – here in Asia, culture is very important and to make a change of this magnitude, it is very important to go back to basics.”he said.

“This means celebrating our cultural heritage and diverse cuisines, and being unique – plant-based still provides an opportunity to do this, but we also know that around 90% of the population will need solutions that break the current focus on plant-based ingredients alone.

“Therefore, in China, companies are generally advised to think about what they can offer locally and do things differently, rather than following what already exists, because imitating the success of Western products will not work in Asia – in short, to position themselves as an Asian food company, not a plant-based company.

“It’s also important to note that in Asia we already eat hundreds of different types of plant-based proteins, so there’s a lot of room for flexibility and to accommodate both – an either/or mentality where consumers have to choose a side or being 100 percent carnivore or vegetarian is a truly Western mentality , which won’t work here.”

Goske expressed strong opposition to this argument, emphasizing that an alternative protein diet is “the only way” to sustain future food systems as well as address the various sustainability challenges facing us today.

“I strongly disagree with the claim that imitation of traditional proteins is not needed because developing alternative proteins as new categories will be less likely to make these products attractive to people who eat animal protein and therefore will not solve the problem (of transforming them into plant protein intakeshe said.

“We know that by 2050 carbon emissions will come mainly from Asia (so this population needs to be convinced) and current products just haven’t managed to convince consumers yet, not even Impossible Foods, which I think has cracked the flavor and texture nuts, but hasn’t they have also solved the price barrier.

“Therefore, I believe this is more of a scientific challenge to solve (and research will take time), so an interim solution before solving it is to mix alternative and traditional proteins.

Better marketing needed

Geraets revealed that the plant-based industry also needs to work on its image and presentation, as this is particularly crucial when it comes to changing human behavior.

“In the beginning, this category was undoubtedly overblown because we all forgot that changing habits is actually very difficult, especially when it comes to food, so it was more or less a dream to hope to make such a radical change in just five or six years,”he said.

“We continue to see positive growth in this category, albeit faster in some markets than others, but to truly accelerate this growth we need to pivot, pivot and adapt to the experience in this region, which means that mimicry (may not be best solution).

“When I was previously director of alternative proteins at Thai Union, we found that we could push plant-based tuna to consumers, but there was always a comparison to the ‘real thing.’

“The lesson was to move away from tuna for now and look at other products on the shelves, while offering new propositions and experiences to consumers, rather than pushing them as ‘plant-based’ products because it could be called ‘lazy marketing’ on the part of the industry, and because it didn’t work, we have to do something else.”