A brief alternative-meat history
Alternative meats gained broad consumer awareness in the early 1990s, when vegetable-based patties from brands like Boca Burger appeared in the freezer aisle. Those products marked the first iteration of plant-based meats.
Plant-based opportunities for grocers
Given that shoppers are largely driven by an interest in health and wellness when shopping for plant-based meat and dairy, it’s important that grocers communicate those attributes, experts say.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, plant-based foods must taste good for shoppers to keep buying them. But about half of all consumers said they’re at least “somewhat open” to trying plant-based alternatives, according to “The Power of Plant-Based Foods and Beverages” report released last year by FMI – The Food Industry Association.