'We have failed miserably at getting people to come to the table,' he states.
Whatever became of the forecast for plant-based meats? Around ten years back, predictions suggested that consuming meat might soon fall out of favor as alternatives made from plants replaced traditional animal proteins. We were told these products would rival or even exceed beloved American staples like burgers, chicken tenders, and sausages, all while avoiding the ecological and moral implications linked to slaughtering livestock.
According to Peter McGuinness, the CEO of the company, things did not turn out as planned. Impossible Foods , which produces plant-based alternatives for burgers, meatballs, and steak tips. Its primary rival is Impossible's chief competitor, Beyond Meat, it went public in 2019 with an initial valuation of $1.5 billion, after which its market cap quickly climbed to around $10 billion based on several hundred million dollars in sales.
Currently, with a market capitalization around $200 million, Beyond Meat has yet to become profitable, and its stock value has plummeted by approximately 97% since reaching its highest point. Similarly, various other firms in the alternate protein sector have struggled financially or have withdrawn discreetly due to their offerings not gaining traction in the consumer market.
Mc Guinness points out that some responsibility falls on the industry, which has performed quite poorly in marketing strategies. By portraying plant-based meats as morally superior to animal proteins and concentrating on scientific aspects instead of flavor, these businesses have deterred many possible consumers. Individuals do not consume morality during meals; they seek food that is delicious.
And the emphasis on science created an opportunity for meat industry to come out swinging , calling alt proteins highly processed Frankenfoods and questioning their health value. At the end of the day, he noted, “you don’t eat technology.”
“It was the greatest thing since sliced bread. It was the second coming…It was going to be better for you, better for the planet,” McGuinness said, recalling the early messaging during a conversation at Pawonation.comFounders House At SXSW, "It emerged very forcefully, with investors fully supporting it. These backers weren't concerned whether the firms were turning a profit. Instead, they focused on potential future earnings, confident that profitability would come eventually."
About three years ago, McGuinness became part of the team at Impossible in Redwood City, California. after a decade In executive positions at the Greek yogurt and dairy corporation Chobani During his time in charge, Chobani's income skyrocketed to over $2 billion, transforming a little-known item into a household name found in supermarkets everywhere.
Currently, his role involves steering Impossible along a comparable trajectory. Founded in 2011, this privately-held company has secured over $2 billion in capital from investors such as Bill Gates and Google Ventures.
Plant-based meat "is still a nascent sector," he stated during an interview with Pawnation.com senior editor Tom Foster at Founders House. He noted that it remains relatively undeveloped and has not yet gained significant traction among consumers. Additionally, it suffers from misconceptions that require clarification. Chobani encountered similar obstacles when they first presented Greek yogurt to U.S. customers nearly twenty years back. According to him, at that time, it was often seen as being for women, limited to coastal areas, and catering exclusively to high-end markets.
Before joining Chobani, McGuinness dedicated around twenty years to the advertising sector, which gave him plenty of insights into how the plant-based meat industry could enhance its communication strategies—and emphasized why this improvement is essential for its continued existence.
Don’t Alienate Potential Customers
Mc Guinness states that the sector misstepped by aligning itself against conventional meat consumption, especially considering that in this nation, just a small portion of people identify as either vegan or vegetarian. "We positioned ourselves against the beef industry," he explained, "and against what we called the 'slaughter lobby.' If you consumed meat, you were portrayed as primitive. Essentially, we ended up offending those who enjoy eating meat."
Beyond Meat and the oat milk producer Oatly, which had their initial public offering in 2021, $10 billion valuation , relied on sky-high valuations justified by a total addressable market exceeding one trillion dollars. However, according to McGuinness, tapping into this vast market requires appealing to meat eaters too. He advises, "So you might want to encourage them to sample your product rather than offending them." "This division has led us to create two distinct factions; it has become partisan, political, and highly polarized," he added.
Chobani sets a positive example: Upon introducing their oat milk, they labeled it as lactose-free milk instead of highlighting its non-dairy nature. "Our focus was not on what we were opposing," he stated.
Picking a fight with Big Meat was also a tactical error. “We picked on the biggest bully,” he said. “Why would a $2 billion category upset and piss off a $1.4 trillion category that has tons of money and resources?”
Improve on What’s Out There
One of Oatly’s smartest moves was to persuade baristas around the country that oat milk pairs perfectly with coffee—better in fact than dairy milk because the pH levels offset the acidity in coffee, McGuinness said. Oat milk cappuccinos and lattes took off and now they’re a standard coffee shop order.
He thinks that providers of plant-based meats must identify their distinctive "breakthrough application." According to him, these businesses haven’t succeeded in highlighting the dietary advantages of their offerings. He pointed out, saying, "This meat has no cholesterol whatsoever. Regardless of whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, high cholesterol isn't beneficial for anyone," adding, "We should focus on promoting the merits of our items aggressively."
Lead with Flavor, Not Technology
At Impossible Foods, they've flipped the usual approach to their messaging by starting with flavor instead of focusing primarily on scientific aspects or environmental advantages. "In blind tastings, our chicken products beat out traditional animal-based options 70% to 30%, which is quite remarkable when you consider it," McGuinness mentioned. For beef, preferences were more evenly split at around 50-50 among customers. "Since we're a food business, our top priority has to be producing delicious meals," he explained. "Consumers made it clear: If it doesn’t taste good, I'm sticking with my regular burger."
He similarly wishes for other plant-based meat firms to receive the same communication. "This serves as an urgent rallying cry for every company in the plant-based meats sector," he stated. "Many businesses fail to produce delicious cuisine; hence consumers try these products with high hopes but end up disappointed, thinking 'this was awful.' They won’t stick around for a do-over when their initial experience falls flat."
This posting initially appeared at Pawonation.comcom .
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