Our line on plant-based nutrition

Published On:
February 10, 2022

Faced with environmental challenges and the boom in health nutrition, new demands emerge leading to a growing veggie diet and an associated decrease in meat protein. (1) In this food rebalance, consumers are making the agro-food industry evolve while inciting professionals to develop alternatives respecting human health and our planet…

 

 

Towards food sustainability: the veggie trend

 

Over the past years, many campaigns and initiatives have denounced the negative effects of raw material of animal origin by revealing the health risks of a diet higher in meat (cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes) but also the environmental impact from its production.


Consumers fully understand and are turning toward plant-based alternative products, sometimes deeply changing their eating habits by becoming flexitarians (24% of the French) or pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan (2.2% of the French). (2) For good reason, 88% of French are convinced that plant proteins are good for health, 76% think they are good for the environment (3) and 41% of them declare having increased their consumption of plant products over the past two years. (4) This trend is reflected on the stalls with the sale of vegetarian and vegan products, which have generated a 24% increase in turnover in large and medium-sized supermarkets (5).


This increasingly veggie diet is not a fad but rather a fundamental issue which questions our diet but also society directing us towards a sustainable diet… (6)

 

 

A boost in plant-based alternatives: an agro-food industry in total turmoil

 

The plant-based world market has a value in excess of 18 billion euro and sales have literally taken off in the USA and in Europe with a growth rate of 27% in 2020 (7). New ingredients (legumes, seeds, micro-algae…) are increasingly popular; originally directed toward vegetarian and vegans are henceforth addressed to the population as a whole and concern all categories of food.


Industrials therefore have two challenges because they must:

 

  • Find alternative plant-based alternatives adapted to all populations,
  • Reassure customers on the composition of their formulas.


We have noted that the labelling system allowing customers access to nutritional data is a real success and influences their final purchase decision. Professionals appropriate these codes to accompany buyers and add information to the packaging on the benefits of their products. We can note, for example, that 53% of the delicatessen food department’s plant protein-based articles mention nutritional claims such as "protein rich" or "source of fibre" (8).


This movement, initiated by society and the State, encourages brands to develop more balanced preparations and to accentuate their efforts to promote health benefits and the origin of their ingredients to their customers.

 

So, in a world where diet is going through such a transition, how to remain innovative in this veggie-based race?

How to stand out and propose adapted sourcing with real values?

 

Natural Origins deals with this issue from a botanical expert standpoint and provides solutions to food manufacturers on their evolution towards plant-based alternatives.

 

Don’t miss out on the presentation of these new Nutridense product range ingredients in our coming publications…

 

 

Please feel free to contact us for any additional requests.

To see our entire product range, check out our online catalogue available 24 HOURS A DAY 7 DAYS A WEEK.

Nouveau call-to-action

Sources:

(1) https://www.gouvernement.fr/sites/default/files/contenu/piece-jointe/2021/10/hcp-consommation_et_pratiques_alimentaires_de_demain.pdf

(2) https://www.ifop.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Synthese-_-Vegetariens-et-Flexitariens-en-France-en-2020-IFOP.pdf

(3) https://lebienetrepourtous.com/2019/02/18/la-vegetalisation-alimentation-en-marche/

(4) https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2017/06/15/2594470-les-francais-consomment-de-plus-en-plus-de-produits-vegetaux.html

(5) https://www.snacking.fr/actualites/tendances/4171-Le-boom-attendu-du-marche-vegetal-et-vegan/

(6) http://www.senat.fr/rap/r19-476/r19-47612.html

(7) https://www.xerfi.com/blog/Alternatives-vegetales-de-nombreux-defis-a-relever-pour-les-industriels_1316

(8) https://lebienetrepourtous.com/2019/02/18/la-vegetalisation-alimentation-en-marche/

Food & Beverage, Life Science & Nutrition

  • Share this article on:
Chloé Blanchard

Chloé Blanchard

Life Science & Nutrition Product Manager

Leave a comment

Related Articles