The rapid change of food styles

In the "New York Times" Julie Creswell, who covers health and well-being for the New York newspaper, tells us some stories that are emblematic of a change that we could define as epochal in the food industry and in the diet of Americans. A change that can be equated to what is happening in the automotive industry with the challenge of the advent of the electric car.

The vegan pastrami

In the fall of 2018, Jenny Goldfarb felt the urge to make herself a pastrami sandwich.

For Goldfarb — who grew up in a Jewish family in New York — it was the classic sandwich of her youth. But her desire for her hit a snag: she is now vegan.

So he started working on making pastrami a vegan version. To wheat proteins, she added red beets to recreate the flesh of the dish and then dipped the mixture in various spiced brines. After a bit of trying she found what she was looking for: a vegan substitute for pastrami.

He then took the vegan pastrami to a Los Angeles deli, which placed a 22-pound order of the product. She shed tears of joy when she got back in her car.

These days, Goldfarb has received orders for 230 quintals of its vegan overcoat from every grocery store in the country.

“We just got the green light from Publix (a supermarket chain) – reported Goldfarb – They want to sell it canned, but they also want to put it in their delicatessens.

The cavalry arrives

Riding the wave of success of soy, oat and dairy alternatives, as well as vegan burgers from Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, a compelling variety of plant-based foods is appearing on restaurant menus, supermarket shelves and at grocery store counters.

And now a staggering number of companies, from small start-ups to super-established brands, are getting in on the action.

This summer, Panda Express (a fast food chain) began offering Beyond Chicken and Beyond Meat chicken substitute on select restaurant menus across the United States.

Peet's Coffee (Starbucks competitor) is offering a vegan mung bean breakfast sandwich made by Just Egg.

A New York City soft-serve store, 16 Handles, has partnered with popular beverage Oatly (made from oats) to create a line of vegan desserts with chocolate, chai tea and iced latte flavors.

And seafood chain Long John Silver's experimented with plant-based crab fritters and fish fillets at five outlets in California and Georgia this summer.

High-end catering is also on the move

When Eleven Madison Park, a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York's Manhattan, reopened in June after more than a year of lockdown due to the pandemic, with the introduction of a new plant-based menu.

“It started with the vegan burger, but now plant-based options are becoming available for all kinds of food categories. We think plant-based chicken is really taking off."

reports Marie Molde, a dietician and trend analyst at research firm Datassential.

Get away from the meat

Restaurants and grocery stores are facing new demands from consumers who are moving away from eating meat. Since 2019, according to Nielsen IQ, the sale of fresh fruit has increased by almost 11% and that of fresh vegetables by 13%.

When you consider that only a small percentage of Americans are true vegans or vegetarians — in a 2018 Gallup poll, only 5 percent said they were vegetarians — that's not the audience these new companies and new products are targeting. .

Rather, they are hunting the taste buds of experimental non-vegans or so-called flexitarians, a very large segment of consumers who are looking to reduce the amount of meat in their diets.

Some abandon meat for ethical reasons, related to animal cruelty, others do it for the environment or for health.

Now whether plant-based foods, many of which are highly processed, are actually healthier and greener is the subject of lively debate.

The target is not vegans

“All this ambaradan is not for vegans, it would be too small a market”.

That's the opinion of Mary McGovern, the CEO of New Wave Foods, whose shrimp made with seaweed and plant protein will be on restaurant menus this fall.

Ms. McGovern sees a much wider audience, an audience of millennials, flexitarians and other shoppers interested in trying plant-based foods.

“I've been in the food industry for 30 years, and I've never seen anything like what I'm seeing now. It is an earthquake that shakes the market”.

Beyond burgers

Just a few years ago, plant-based burgers were a novelty. These days, the Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger appear on 5 percent of all restaurant menus in the country, and 71 percent of Americans have tried a plant-based burger or other meat alternative.

Over the past two years, according to Nielsen IQ, sales of alternatives to cheese, milk and fresh meat in grocery stores have grown by double-digit rates. Almonds, oats and other non-dairy products make up a 14% share of milk sales.

Restaurants are jumping bag and baggage on the bandwagon. According to the NPD Group, orders for plant-based products from major food retailers increased by 20% in June compared to the same period in 2019.

However, targeting flexitarians or casual vegans can be risky. These consumers know the taste and texture of real shrimp or turkey and if the vegan alternatives aren't as appetizing, they won't go back to eating them.

The cheese

Chicago's Megan Schmitt made the switch from vegetarian to vegan four years ago and recalls her disappointment with the vegan cheese available on the market then.

“That stuff tasted like cardboard or plastic, he said. If I hadn't eaten cheese in years, it might have been fine, but it couldn't satisfy anyone's taste buds coming from the real stuff."

So Megan Schmitt started fermenting a variety of nut-based doughs, then switching to soy to create her Cheeze & Thank You artisanal cheeses, including truffle fontina, black garlic and dill havarti . They'll be on shelves in most Midwestern Whole Foods stores this fall.

“I like to see my cheese like a painting. It's my art form. I want my product to be a feast for the eyes and the mouth”.

Mrs. Schmitt says proudly.

The pork

Reina Montenegro found itself in a similar situation. For six years she has been trying to create a vegan version of it Spam (spiced ham). She grew up eating this sort of spiced ham.

"Spam was the last thing I ate before becoming vegan, because I knew it was something I would never taste again."

He told the NYT reporter with some nostalgia.

Then he heard about OmniPork Luncheon, a plant-based pork loin that looks like Spam and is produced by Hong Kong's OmniFoods. For an entire year, Ms Montenegro says she harassed company executives to get the product to the United States.

Finally, in April, his restaurant, Chef Reina in Brisbane California, which specializes in vegan “Filipino comfort food” became one of twelve restaurants in the United States serving OmniPork products.

“Right away we ran out of all the product. The only thing that's different about OmniPork is the sodium level, which is lower than that of the original. But in terms of taste and texture, it's perfect."

Ms. Reina said.

OmniFoods said in July that its vegan pork products are now available at Sprouts Farmers Markets (organic supermarkets) and Whole Foods stores (ditto) in 16 states.

The challenge of the new industry

Jenny Goldfarb of Unreal Deli had originally thought about distributing her vegan deli meats through restaurants. As of early 2020, she already had supply deals for a number of restaurants, sports venues and universities. But when the pandemic hit, she quickly changed plans to sell to grocers instead.

Now Ms. Goldfarb said she is back in talks with a number of restaurant chains.

“Vegans and vegetarians already know where to find us. Flexitarians are the group we're trying to capture. "We're trying to talk to someone who has eaten meat all their life, but is now looking for an alternative at least two or three times a week."

This is Mrs. Jenny Goldfarb's program. She also spotted her next vegan meat product: ham.

From: Julie Creswell Plant-Based Foods Expand, With Consumers Hungry for More, The New York Times, September 8, 2021