Hamburg, July 2024 – This year once again plant-based is naturally one of the Top Ten Trends of Innova Market Insights. But the category has not stood still. “The Rise of Applied Offerings” is the trend to new, pre-prepared offerings. According to Innova, convenience formats are the next step in the evolution of plant-based foods. Florian Bark, Senior Product Manager at Planteneers, can confirm it: “At this year’s Future Food-Tech in San Francisco we set out to provide new inspiration and show the potential that functional systems offer for the production of plant-based alternatives.”
Together with the Marriot Hotel kitchen team, Planteneers prepared an entirely plant-based Italian buffet for the approximately 1450 trade show attendees, with plant-based Caesar salad, focaccia, pizza pieces, whitefish filet in tomato sauce, and plant-based tiramisu. “The response was overwhelming. The idea of presenting our powdered systems in the form of finished, prepared dishes got the attention of visitors,” says Bark. “Visitors were particularly surprised by the tiramisu made with our new premix for plant-based mascarpone. The vegan mortadella alternative in the focaccia sandwich was also widely praised. Most visitors confirm that ‘this is how the future will taste’.”
This culinary lineup under the umbrella of “Italian Cuisine” shows that for dairy and meat product manufacturers, the range doesn’t end with alternatives to mascarpone or salami, but can also be extended to include tiramisu and pizza. Innova Market Insights reveals the same thing. Asked in what format consumers would try plant-based meat or poultry, most respondents answered with finger food, followed by fried breaded foods. Ready meals came in third. “This corresponds exactly to what we saw at Future Food-Tech,” says Florian Bark. “Product preparation needs to be foolproof, and address consumers’ accustomed food habits.” Like conventional foods, the market for plant-based products like this offers enormous potential for new ideas.
Italian cuisine is just an example. Ethno-food and other trends provide the framework for further food concepts. “Independently of regional and culinary influences, it makes sense to focus on classics like meatballs, that are known around the world in many variations and enjoy correspondingly high consumer acceptance,” says Bark.
In addition to powdered functional systems, Planteneers also has new, contemporary ideas for creative product preparations. With the help of the Plantbaser product configurator, for example, manufacturers can assemble the components for a plant-based pizza, from topping with the right stringiness to heat-stable salami alternatives. With the familiar Planteneers modular system for meat and fish alternatives, and its functional systems for plant-based alternatives to dairy products, cheese, and deli foods, many new ideas can be implemented.