These are the most important plant-based trends for 2022
Although November is known as ‘slaughter month’, we at Schouten prefer to focus on other things. For us, it’s the month in which Innova Market Insights announces the top 10 trends for the coming year. That happened again recently: during a webinar our knowledge partner shared his 2022 expectations. Schouten lists the four most important trends for you.
1. Shared Planet
Caring for the planet
For the first time, global consumers are more concerned with the health of the planet than with their own health. This means we are seeing more and more foodstuffs appearing on the market with claims about the environmental impact of the product. Schouten does not yet work with such claims, but has emphatically included in her vision that in the long term we want to process plant-based meat substitutes less and produce as much as possible with local raw materials.
2. Plant-based keeps on emerging
Looking for quality alternatives to meat
A permanent fixture in the top 10—and what stands out even more this year—is the motivation of consumers to consider plant-based alternatives. After one’s own health, the environment is now the most important driver. Last year, the environment was still in third place. See figure below.
It should be noted that 1 in 3 consumers worldwide are still not considering plant-based alternatives because of ‘a bad taste and texture’.
3. Shifting Occasions
Different and new eating moments
Partly thanks to the pandemic, existing eating patterns have changed and new eating moments patterns have emerged. For example, manufacturers now offer the out-of-home experience at home (think of the KFC bucket in the freezer section). Consumers also have a lot more choice with the many home delivery services.
Also in the plant-based field, the need to cover multiple eating moments is growing. Plant-based snacking is on the rise. Our vegan Chickenless Dippers, for example, fit in seamlessly with this trend.
Trend 4: Amplified Experiences
More adventurous food
Consumers increasingly want to be surprised with innovative food products. More than half of those surveyed indicate that they would like to eat and drink more adventurously after the pandemic. This is a huge opportunity for our category, because consumers find plant-based to be adventurous anyway.
In recent years, we have especially seen that more people try our classics, such as the Vegan Schnitzel, vegetarian Bratwurst or vegan Legendary Burger. Our challenge is to surprise (part-time) plant-based consumers with new concepts that stand out in the growing range. A good example is our tempeh mince, which also appeals to the Shared Planet trend, because we make it from residual flows.
