On Beyond Animals: Consumers Flock to Plant-Based Alternatives
By Lorrie Baumann
Market strength created by consumers who are seeking plant-based foods because they think they’re better for their health, for animal welfare and for the health of the planet is motivating grocers to make room on their shelves and in their cases for a rapidly expanding range of these products. Catering to these products’ popularity, though, comes at a price.
According to market research firm SPINS’ data, dollar sales of plant-based foods grew 11 percent in the past year and 31 percent over the past two years, and the retail market for plant-based foods is now worth almost $4.5 billion, said Julie Emmit, Director of Retail Partnerships for the Plant-Based Foods Association. The trade association, founded in 2016 and now comprising 166 member companies, defines “plant-based foods” as those that are substitutes for animal-based meat and dairy products rather than as any foods made from plants, she said.
The growing market strength of plant-based foods isn’t taking sales away from grocers’ meat cases, according to Erin Ransom, Vice President of Marketing for Tofurky. Bill Puza, Category Manager for Meat at Hannaford markets, an Ahold Delhaize banner based in the northeastern U.S., agrees. Hannaford caters to a demographic whose median age is older than the average American, but the chain is responding to its shoppers’ demands for plant-based alternatives with plant-based sets throughout its stores, he said. Beyond Meat’s market success last year has helped drive the market for plant-based burger products, so the chain is expanding that set and has placed the plant-based product next to the ground beef, which is a staple for the chain’s shoppers, he said.
But although the chain is experiencing success selling plant-based products, particularly in areas of the store that receive the highest foot traffic, the effort to meet shoppers where they are with plant-based products has some drawbacks too, according to Puza. “Our biggest concern right now is shrink,” he said. “This is the grace period, where everybody wants to try everything, but the grace period has an ending.” After a careful analysis of which products are moving and which aren’t, Hannaford will soon respond with an adjustment of its product assortment after taking into account the importance of its relationships with its various vendors, Puza said.
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The most effective sampling is likely to take place by incorporating the item into the prepared food menu, since the product is most likely to shine when it’s prepared by a trained chef, noted Adrienne duBois, Vice President of Global Sales for Follow Your Heart. Customers who are curious about plant-based foods may be encouraged to try them when they see them on the menu of a restaurant, and then they may be more likely to look for those products in their grocery markets, she added.
In their grocery store, consumers may find that the prices of plant-based meat alternatives are a deterrent to purchase. Some of those price disparities occur because many plant-based foods are being made by companies that earned their start in the natural foods channel, which means that the products had to be made according to an ethic that met the standards of the natural foods shopper, according to duBois. Meeting the expectations of those shoppers adds constraints that often involve higher costs, she said. She noted that the expanding market for plant-based foods is attracting interest from other companies with a history of operating in conventional channels, where consumers have different expectations that could be met with a lower cost structure.
The resulting entry into the market of cheaper plant-based alternatives will drive both the affordability of the products and the diversity of the product range, according to Ransom. That will, in turn, increase sales, and that could lead to supply chain issues and spot shortages that create a start-stop pattern of product availability, she said. Tofurky, in particular, is already taking a hard look at its supply chain to make sure that it has the capacity to supply enough product to meet rapidly growing demand, according to Ransom.
“Plant-based foods are becoming more mainstream with respect to price and selection,” said duBois. “If we’re trying to mainstream, it’s about improving performance of the product for various use occasions. It’s getting better over time.”
Ice Cream for All: Van Leeuwen Launches New Vegan Line
By Lorrie Baumann
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream came to the Winter Fancy Food Show this year ready to win the dairy avoidant back to the pleasures of ice cream with seven flavors of its new oat milk frozen desserts. Van Leeuwen Ice Cream has been making vegan ice creams since 2013, but with its new oat milk ice creams, the company is ready to offer a vegan ice cream that Ben Van Leeuwen, the company’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer says has a texture and taste that wows even dairy lovers. “The mission is to make ice cream for everybody. We’ve got you covered,” he said. “Our dairy customers switch between both, which is really exciting to us. To us, this is the ultimate vote of confidence that the vegan is just as good as the dairy.”
The company’s new oat milk ice creams are offered in seven flavors: Chocolate Oat Milk Cookie Dough Chunk, Oat Milk Brown Sugar Chunk, Brownie Sundae Raspberry Swirl, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl, Oat Milk Mocha Latte, Oat Milk Caramel Cookie, and for the traditionalists, Strawberry. “With ice cream, we want to do flavors that are familiar, but made in our way, sourcing the best chocolate, the best strawberries,” Van Leeuwen said, adding that the familiar flavors add a level of comfort for customers who are uncertain about trying a non-dairy ice cream. “Vegan ice cream is new to a lot of people,” he said. “Even the term ‘vegan’ is not fully understood by everybody.”
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The ice creams, like all of the Van Leeuwen products, are made in small batches in the company’s Brooklyn, New York, facility, from premium ingredients, so it competes directly in the ultra-premium space, as it has since Van Leeuwen and business partners started making ice cream and selling from their truck on the streets of New York in 2008, Van Leeuwen said. “We added vegan ice cream in 2013,” he said. “Our customers were asking for it, and we obviously wanted to serve them…. We were never trying to make good vegan ice cream; we were just trying to make more good ice cream that happened to be vegan – just as good as the best dairy ice cream.”
In those early days in business, Van Leeuwen was inspired both by the summer job he’d had in college, when he drove a Good Humor truck, and by his experience traveling around the world after leaving college. “I was going around the world to countries where high-quality food was more widespread, and I was really excited about the accessibility of good food. The ice cream truck seemed like a really good model to launch into because it’s so accessible…. That was before food trucks were cool,” he said.
While he was driving ice cream in those early days, it’s the ice cream that drives him now, he says. “It’s an overall love for food that’s made with a lot of care and intention and with quality as a number-one goal,” he said. “My favorite part of the business is the sourcing and visiting the farms and learning how the food is grown.”
Nellie’s Free Range Eggs Launches Grass-Fed, Slow Churned Butter
Nellie’s Free Range Eggs is expanding beyond the egg aisle for the first time with the launch of Nellie’s Free Range Butter, the first and only free range butter item on the market. Containing 84 percent butterfat and made with cream from humanely raised cows who are free to roam on pasture, Nellie’s Free Range Butter offers a notably richer flavor and a softer, thicker, creamier texture than traditional butters.
Nellie’s Free Range Butter addresses changing consumer perceptions regarding the consumption of fat, which shifted after studies indicated that there are lower health risks from consuming dairy-fat than alternative trans-fat. A higher butterfat content is a key factor in creating superior flavor, texture, quality and the result is a better butter that offers nutrients such as vitamin A and E, and calcium.
In keeping with its commitment to humane farming practices, Nellie’s Free Range is working with more than 100 small family dairy farms in Wisconsin and Minnesota to produce its free range, grass-fed, slow churned butter.
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“Whether it be butter or eggs, we remain committed to both the humane treatment of animals and supporting small family farms,” said Jesse Laflamme, Chief Executive Officer of Nellie’s Free Range Eggs. “Not only will consumers love the rich taste and texture of our new grass-fed butter, but they can also feel confident that this product was sourced with a stringent standard of practices to ensure the animals, and those who care for them, are treated humanely and with respect.”
Nellie’s Free Range Butter is offered in two varieties: Sea Salted and Unsalted. Unsalted is perfectly suited for recipe creation and is a great ingredient for a variety of dishes like scrambled eggs, Mexican Breakfast Salad, or something for your sweet tooth, like Baked Alaska Cupcakes. Nellie’s Salted Butter is best used on ready-to-serve dishes like toast and pancakes, or to whip up your favorite style of Nellie’s Free Range Eggs!
