Consumers want clean label foods they can trust, along with an expressed desire to include more plant-based foods in their daily diets for health and sustainability reasons. This “flexitarian” approach of the Transitioning Omnivore creates a dynamic intersection of clean label, plant-based ingredients and nutrition. Rachel Cheatham, Ph.D., Founder & CEO, Foodscape Group, LLC, spoke on this topic in her presentation “Omnivores Shift to Plant Based Diets” at the 2019 Clean Label Conference.
This presentation covered key Foodscape METATRENDS™ – the trends of the trends – including plant-based interests along with a marketplace look at how clean label is playing out. Comparative product examples, with an emphasis on meat and dairy alternatives, were used to explore and examine ingredient choices, nutritional differences and marketing approaches.
Excerpt from the presentation summary: “From this foundational analysis, Cheatham segued to her organization’s Top10 Metatrends Report, a meta-analysis that draws a picture of a global omnivore diet transitioning away from animal proteins to plant-based diets, the subject of her presentation. She claimed that, today, “2-10% of any developed country’s population” is vegetarian, while estimating that “0.5% of the global population is vegan.” These numbers grossly underestimate the overall trend toward increased plant-based food consumption, she argued, as even dedicated omnivores are replacing more meat products with plant-based products in their daily diets. This trend has spurred the development of new, technology-based alternatives to harvested animal proteins.”
A short summary of the presentation “Omnivores Shift Toward Plant-Based Diets” can be accessed here.
