SAN FRANCISCO — Creating satisfying tastes and textures remain elusive for the plant-based meat sector, according to new research from Nectar, a nonprofit initiative from Food System Innovations.
The company's Taste of the Industry 2025 report utilized a blind sensory study to evaluate the performance of 122 plant-based products across 14 categories.
"Our comprehensive research confirms that taste remains a decisive factor in driving mainstream adoption of plant-based meats," said Caroline Cotto, director of Nectar. "By publicizing rigorous sensory data and recognizing exceptional products, we're giving alternative protein innovators the roadmap they need to accelerate market adoption and meaningful climate impact."
The report identified several categories where plant-based alternatives performed competitively against traditional meats based on consumer's preferences. Over 40% of respondents rated their preferences for plant-based products as the same or better than animal products in chicken filets, breaded chicken filets, burgers, nuggets and breakfast sausages.
Outside of the five categories, the performance of plant-based products took a markedly negative turn. The plant-based products in categories like bacon, bratwurst, steak filets, hot dogs, chicken strips and chunks, and meatballs were disliked more frequently than liked and were vastly outperformed by their conventional counterparts.
Despite the poor performance of average products, products from "category leaders" identified by Nectar performed well against the animal product benchmark in the some of the same categories. More than 40% of shoppers "liked or liked very much" the meatball, hot dog and bratwurst leaders, indicating a performance gap between category leaders and other manufacturers. Flavor provided an opportunity for leading products to differentiate, according to Nectar, and categories with bolder flavors had bigger gaps in preference between the average and leading products.
Flavor and texture remained the key areas of complaint from respondents. Plant-based flavors and textures were on average disliked more than liked, though consumers were more positive about the appearance of the plant-based products. Areas where manufacturers can improve on flavor include better aftertaste and savoriness, reduced off-flavors and chemical-like flavors, and increased fattiness and saltiness. Texture improvements also should focus on increased juiciness, moistness and tenderness while reducing mushiness, dryness and crumbliness.
Looking at the impact of nutritional content on plant-based performance, claims such as low calorie (between 0 and 120), high protein (more than 15 grams) and low sodium (between 150 and 330 mgs) were among the factors that resonated highly with consumers. Lots of ingredients, unrecognizable ingredients, total fat over 12 grams and sodium over 600 mgs were identified as the factors most likely to sway consumers from purchasing plant-based products.
Source: Food Business News
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