Over the past month, the leading voices in food production took time to reflect on the past year and establish priorities for the new one. For many, sourcing policies were top of mind as indicators of a food producer’s values. Whether the priority is cost, quality or sustainability, it pays to communicate those values to consumers.

In other trending conversations, attention to foodservice menus picked up when KFC partnered with Beyond Meat and Chipotle offered its own plant-based chorizo nationally. Additionally, activist groups recommended plant-based protein foods as part of Veganuary and formally supported cultured proteins.

This content was developed in partnership with Alt-Meat, a multimedia brand covering a myriad of topics in the meat alternatives market from a business point of view. For more information, visit Alt-Meat.net.

In the past month, influential figures in alt. meat production devoted their attention to sourcing decisions — particularly the environmental impact of such choices. Climate policy negotiations (COP26) held in Glasgow, Scotland, served as a uniting factor for these topics.

Additionally, foodservice outlets garnered attention for product tests: Burger King piloted Impossible Nuggets mid-October, and McDonald’s tested its McPlant offering (from Beyond Meat) beginning on Nov. 3. Meanwhile, conversations around investment and food trends fell relative to the previous month.

This content was developed in partnership with Alt-Meat, a multimedia brand covering a myriad of topics in the meat alternatives market from a business point of view. For more information, visit Alt-Meat.net.

Lofty brand ambitions don’t matter if your supply chain can’t back it up. The alternative protein industry has had to reckon with this reality as much as any during the pandemic. And, in the past month, sourcing emerged as the leading topic among influential discussions of alternative proteins.

The healthiness of alternative proteins also garnered more attention this month. On Oct. 13, the FDA published final guidance on reducing sodium in processed foods. Foods Ingredients First highlighted how this could pose a difficult challenge for the industry.

This content was developed in partnership with Alt-Meat, a multimedia brand covering a myriad of topics in the meat alternatives market from a business point of view. For more information, visit Alt-Meat.net.

Influential conversations about cell-cultured products took a turn in September as labeling policies moved a step closer to reality. Previously, discussions had concerned regulation, with FDA and USDA splitting responsibility in 2019. Since then, manufacturing news about new products and facilities dominated.

In the past month, conversations around sourcing for both plant-based and cell-culture proteins grew in volume, while channel availability and food safety concerns dimmed slightly. Impossible Foods’ much-heralded plant-based nuggets lacked immediate partnerships.

This content was developed in partnership with Alt-Meat, a multimedia brand covering a myriad of topics in the meat alternatives market from a business point of view. For more information, visit Alt-Meat.net.

Policy is often slow to catch up to new products and technologies; for alternative protein, labeling is the biggest sticking point. Given the importance of labeling for brand management, companies should closely monitor developments in the state and federal rules.

In the past month, analysis of Intel Distillery data showed that health and sourcing concerns took a back seat to channel availability.

This content was developed in partnership with Alt-Meat, a multimedia brand covering a myriad of topics in the meat alternatives market from a business point of view. For more information, visit Alt-Meat.net.

Analysis of Intel Distillery data shows that health concerns drove the most influential conversations around alternative proteins this month. Although the bulk of attention focused on nutritional differences between meat and plant-based proteins, health-related messaging may resonate better as part of a “plant-based diet” than as a “meat substitute.”

Additionally, several other topics moved up and down in our rankings of the marketplace’s top topics. Innovation in the sector piqued interest as companies developed new ingredients, while environment and sourcing claims fell from relatively high volumes of discussion last month.

This content was developed in partnership with Alt-Meat, a multimedia brand covering a myriad of topics in the meat alternatives market from a business point of view. For more information, visit Alt-Meat.net.

Analysis of Intel Distillery data shows that policy topics led recent influential conversations. Much of the attention stemmed from ongoing efforts to clarify marketing terms and production methods.

Sourcing of protein ingredients returned to force after taking a back seat to investment and innovation in the previous month. The most-discussed examples both focused on mycoprotein fermentation:

This content was developed in partnership with Alt-Meat, a multimedia brand covering a myriad of topics in the meat alternatives market from a business point of view. For more information, visit Alt-Meat.net.

Intel Distillery data indicates that the health aspect of alternative proteins permeates industry leader conversations, in contrast to the mainstream focus on environmental benefits. The fact that the category is referred to as “alternative protein” positions products in a nutrition-forward light. Brands that overlook this miss out on a built-in marketing advantage. Recent events that drove health conversations include:

In the past month, discussions about investment in the category and channel availability gained steam:

This content was developed in partnership with Alt-Meat, a multimedia brand covering a myriad of topics in the meat alternatives market from a business point of view. For more information, visit Alt-Meat.net.

Believe it or not, consumer attention to alternative protein topics follows big policy talk in Washington. Mirroring the change of administrations, we found that mainstream social media attention to alternative proteins shifted substantially in the first quarter compared with last year. After President Biden put climate policy in the spotlight, discussions of the environmental impact of food followed. Articles covering Bill Gates’ recommendation of meatless burgers (Popular Mechanics) and McMaster University research on cultivated meat (CTV News) garnered more than 12,000 shares on social media.

Channel availability remained a vigorous topic of discussion, even if the topic lost momentum from being the primary focus in 2020, when meat supply chain failures directed extra attention to the availability of alternative proteins. However, a continued string of new partnerships — such as Beyond Meat inking deals with McDonald’s and Yum! Brands — drove consumer excitement.

This content was developed in partnership with Alt-Meat, a multimedia brand covering a myriad of topics in the meat alternatives market from a business point of view. For more information, visit Alt-Meat.net.

Bill Gates’ book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster” inspired heavy discussion about the environmental benefits of plant-based proteins. In the book, Gates paired environmental concerns with the importance of investment to enact change. On the investment front, Danone’s Feb. 18 acquisition of dairy-free cheese brand Earth Island overshadowed all other transactions in the space, positioning the company to “strengthen its plant-based business.” Other notable investments included capital rounds for startups Mosa Meat and Redefine Meat.

Thanks to a Good Morning America segment that shared an American Heart Association study touting the health benefits of a plant-based diet, the health conversation got an uptick for both consumers and industry leaders. Dean Ornish, MD, president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, commented: “The TYPE of protein you consume is important, not just fats vs. carbs.”

The topic of innovation fell from the top spot in January as discussion about new products gave way to raising funds. Attention to safety also fell in February compared with January’s headlines about pending lawsuits against FDA approval of Impossible Foods’ coloring ingredient.

This content was developed in partnership with Alt-Meat, a multimedia brand covering a myriad of topics in the meat alternatives market from a business point of view. For more information, visit Alt-Meat.net.