If you’re adventurous with your food, or just like to keep up with the fast-moving food tech industry, here’s a roundup of TechCrunch stories and some notable news we weren’t able to cover.
Plant-based protein finds a plate in foodservice
The Good Food Institute last week unveiled some insights around plant-based proteins being used in foodservice. Here are some highlights:
- 2022 was a strong year: U.S. broadline distributor sales of plant-based proteins reached $304 million in 2022, an increase of 8% from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
- Anything that tastes like animal-based meat is “in”: Analog plant-based proteins — those that most closely mimic the taste and texture of animal-based meat — accounted for 53% of the pound sales in 2022, up from 39% in 2019.
- Plant-based protein buyers come again and again: Buyers of plant-based meat tend to be high-value buyers, making about 30 more trips to foodservice locations per year, and spending approximately $400 more than the average buyer.
Taste is something that continues to be a challenge. Over the past year, we reported on plant-based companies working on that, including Black Sheep Foods, Rebellyous, Planetarians, Chunk Foods and the ISH Company.
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