Can meat-loving Chinese consumers be convinced to switch to plant-based substitutes?
According to a report by New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research, 39% of Chinese consumers are reducing their meat intake in favor of vegetables, tofu and vegan meat substitutes.
LOUISE MOON: ‘China – which consumes 27 per cent of meat produced globally – is now being heralded as the next target market ripe for entrepreneurs and investors to get on board, with a huge trend-loving consumer base predicted to copy their US counterparts… But not everyone is convinced China – with a long history of Buddhist mock meat and tofu – will demand new meat substitutes, and even industry players say it will take time to overcome huge hurdles if plant-based products are to take off there…
According to a report last year by The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research, 39 per cent of Chinese consumers are reducing their meat intake in favour of vegetables, tofu and vegan meat substitutes, while 42 per cent want to purchase and consume foods that are healthy or low-risk to the environment. While more than 60 per cent of Chinese consumers intend to eat more fruit and vegetables, they do not think these provide protein, and a shift towards a solely plant-based diet is not expected, the report said…
“China is tricky and different from the US market in the sense that it already has a long history of plant-based food, especially with mock meat,” said Tao Zhang, co-founder of Dao Foods International, which invests in early stage start-ups focused on plant-based meat and alternative protein products. “I wouldn’t say [there is] positive association with this kind of food, the mindset of the mainstream consumers [is] they don’t find it tasty and think it’s just for the religious, Buddhist market”…
Tao said a lot still needs to be done in terms of educating Chinese consumers as they are not aware of the science, health benefits and environmental impact of these products. Environmental and animal welfare concern is leading to some demand for plant-based products, he said, but the key is for domestic companies to produce foods suited to the Chinese palate which will convince people to become repeat customers and grow the industry…
According to Euromonitor, China accounts for 53 per cent of the global meat substitutes industry, by value this year, compared to America’s 5.5 per cent. The market research firm expect China’s portion to fall by 2024, by less than one per cent, while the US’ will grow to take up 7 per cent of the meat substitute pie. The figures include chilled, frozen and shelf meat substitutes from vegetarian burgers to tofu, soy and texturised vegetable protein’. SOURCE…
RELATED VIDEO: