What Does the Plant-Based Trend Mean for the Food Industry and for Consumers?

MRM's "Ask the Expert” features advice from Consolidated Concepts Inc. Please send questions to Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine Executive Editor Barbara Castiglia at bcastiglia@modernrestaurantmanagement.com.

Q: Given the recent surge in demand for alternate meat products, what does this trend mean for the food industry and for consumers? 

A: Plant-based proteins seem like the one trend that the foodservice industry just can't seem to stop talking about.  It's officially the biggest deal since the cronut. 

For starters, I should remind you that the alternate meat market is a tiny drop in the overall bucket of the foodservice industry.  Meat alternatives make up a mere fraction of a percentage of the total protein market and we’re not seeing these alternative meat sales cut into the animal protein market in any way.  That said, the largest meat producers in the country, such as Tyson, have made investments into alternate meat production, so they…