Food Entrepreneur - March 3, 2020 - 7

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Washington, likened plant-based alternatives to dog food in recently published
full-page newspaper ads. A television ad
that aired in a local market during the
Super Bowl called attention to ingredients
used in some meat alternative products,
like methylcellulose, with the message, "If
you can't spell it or pronounce it, maybe you
shouldn't be eating it." (Impossible Foods,
the maker of the plant-based Impossible
Burger, quickly responded with a parody
video suggesting the presence of fecal
bacteria in ground beef and the statement,
"Just because a kid can spell 'poop' doesn't
mean you or your kids should be eating it.")
"There's definitely a segment of
March 3, 2020

consumers who will look at an ingredient
list, and if they don't recognize what's on
it, it will give them reason to pause," Mr.
Seifer said. "When we look at the growth
of plant-based, it seems that the fact it's
based on plants, that word makes consumers feel comfortable so far."
The buzz generated by the Beyond
Burger and Impossible Burger on national restaurant menus has prompted
significant investment in new product
development by many established food
companies, including Nestle, Conagra
Brands and Tyson Foods, attempting to
engineer imitations that similarly offer a
"real meat-like experience."

But for many entrepreneurs in this
segment, plant-based alternatives represent
not merely a market opportunity but a solution to large-scale issues. Four prominent
founders interviewed recently discussed a
shared passion to create a positive impact
on the environment, animals and human
health through plant-based innovation.
"You're not going to solve a global
challenge like, 'how do you feed 7 billion
people high-quality protein' with a shoestring budget and small thinking," said
Ethan Brown, founder and chief executive officer of Beyond Meat, Inc., based in
El Segundo, Calif. "It's a big, big problem,
and you need big solutions."
Food Business News

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Food Entrepreneur - March 3, 2020

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