Clean label sales in the plant-based sector are increasing.
Kansas City Businesses in the plant-based industry should brace themselves for heightened consumer and rival scrutiny on their clean label policies.
Tom Vierhile, vice president of strategic insights for Innova Market Insights, stated during the virtual “Advances and Innovation Seminar” held by Food Business News on August 26 that “we think you’re going to see a much bigger focus on clean label in this space in 2020, 2021, and beyond.” Attention will shift to ingredient lists’ names and lengths.
He stated, “You are starting to notice a higher degree of scrutiny when it comes to claims.” “Business organisations are beginning to criticise one another.” One example would be plant-based burger substitutes. Mr. Vierhile cited a Wall Street Journal advertising for the Lightlife brand, which contrasted its plant-based burger substitute with the Beyond Burger and the Impossible Burger. There are eleven components in the Lightlife product, twenty-one in the Impossible Burger (which includes bioengineered soy leghemoglobin), and eighteen in the Beyond Burger. The advertisement claimed the components of the other burgers were “hyper-processed.”
“I noticed that the ingredient profiles of Lightlife and Beyond Meat are not very dissimilar,” stated Rachel Cheatham, PhD, the founder and CEO of Foodscape Group, LLC, a Chicago-based nutrition strategy consultancy, during the “Trends and Innovation Seminar.”
Both of the burger substitutes have natural flavours. Methylcellulose is listed as an ingredient in the Beyond Burger, however plant fiber-based modified cellulose is used in the Lightlife Burger.
Zinc gluconate, niacin, vitamins B1, B2, B6, and B12 are among the components found in the Impossible Burger.
Dr. Cheatham stated, “You could argue that a lot of the ingredients are good for health because they are vitamins and minerals.” You most likely require vitamin B12, particularly in the case of vegetarian and vegan goods, however that makes the list of ingredients appear longer.
The entire plant-based category may be affected by the clean label movement.
“Companies will also talk about simple formulations and ingredients—ingredients you already know and can find in your pantry,” Mr. Vierhile stated. “As we advance in the plant-based space, companies will emphasise all of these points.”
Despite being a plant-based substance, carrageenan is being investigated. The Netherlands-based Innova Market Insights, located in Arnhem, has been monitoring the use of hydrocolloids in new dairy substitute products. Carrageenan was present in 13% of launches in 2019, compared to 21% in 2017 and 25% in 2015.
According to Mr. Vierhile, “carrageenan is an ingredient derived from algae.” In actuality, it is plant-based. Most customers are ignorant of that. They raise doubts when they read ingredients like carrageenan on a product label.
The category of plant-based foods is expanding overall. According to a 2019 Innova Market Insights report, three out of five worldwide consumers are adding more plant-based foods to their diets. Plant-based claims grew at a compound annual growth rate of 57%, vegan claims of 22%, and vegetarian claims of 8% globally between 2015 and 2019.
Plant-based claims are the “sweet spot,” according to Mr. Vierhile.
He claimed that “a lot of the new product innovation is really taking place here.” “Many larger companies are also drawing attention to the fact that plant-based ingredients are listed directly on the front of product packaging.”