(AFP) – “Veggie slices” from Fleury Michon, “Knaggies” from Aosta, shredded vegetable “beef flavor” from Redefine Meat: the range of alternative products to meat has expanded in recent weeks in the shelves of French supermarkets, even if the market still remains modest.
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This sector, which aims to seduce meat lovers by offering them products as close as possible to rare burgers, crispy bacon or juicy sausages, is already showing signs of running out of steam in the United States.
The start-up Beyond Burger, which made its mark by entering into a partnership with the fast-food chain Burger King in 2019, saw its sales decline by 18% in 2023.
“Small and large companies have rushed into this market, which has become saturated in the United States,” analyzes Arun Sundaram, agri-food specialist for the CFRA firm. The sector “is doing better in Europe”, he believes.
“I’m not worried at all” about its potential given that the global meat market is worth $1.5 trillion, notes Edwin Bark, head of the Israeli company Redefine Meat. Since the end of April, the latter has been distributing five products described by the company as “new meat” to Monoprix.
If alternative foods manage to eat up 10% of the meat market within 10 or 20 years, that would already represent 150 billion, argues Edwin Bark during a press briefing.
No more meat already cooked
For the moment, the share of products of animal origin in the diet of the French has been fairly stable for ten years, indicates David Lecomte, of the NielsenIQ firm.
Those under 35 certainly buy less dairy products, more cereals and processed products than their elders. But “the weight of meat and fish remains the same”, with a slightly stronger appetite for aperitif cold cuts and already cooked meat, such as in lasagna.
Substitutes for animal proteins have still seen “their turnover increase over the last three years”, the leading market being that of plant-based drinks such as soy milk (205 million euros), followed by ultra-fresh products such as coconut yogurts (157 million euros) and the plant-based catering section including imitation bacon (139 million euros), details David Lecomte.
This growth is mainly linked to inflation, with sales being stable in volume.
“A sign of any emerging market”, according to him, “the offer has developed a lot”, coming both from start-ups like HappyVore and La Vie, or from agri-food giants.
But demand is not exploding. Plant-based versions represent 11% of milk sales, 3% of ultra-fresh and 6% of self-service meat.
Animal products not worried
“It would be wrong to think that plant products will replace animal products,” believes David Lecomte while the semantic debate has not yet been legally resolved: the Council of State once again suspended at the beginning of April a government decree prohibiting manufacturers of meat substitutes to use the words “steak”, “escalope” or “ham”.
The growth of plant-based milks, for example, only offsets 15% of the decline in milk sales, mainly due to the fact that young people eat breakfast less, he explains.
Businesses are not discouraged.
By presenting at the end of March three “vegetable slices” to be consumed like ham, with chickpeas, coral lentils and white beans, Fleury Michon said it wanted to “remove the brakes” on this type of product by meeting expectations “in terms of taste , simplicity of ingredients, ultra practicality (…) and affordable price.
According to David Lecomte, buyers of meat substitutes are motivated by animal welfare, the environmental impact of livestock farming and health.
Wouldn’t it then be easier to eat more fruits, vegetables and cereals?
“It is easier to move from a beef mince to a similar-looking vegetable steak than to ask people to change their eating habits and cook more raw products, which is less practical,” responds a study by the British think tank Green Alliance, financed by the Good Food Institute lobby.
Alternative proteins “are more likely to contribute to reducing the consumption of meat and dairy products,” the study finds.
Relax
