Companies, investors will want animal-free protein

Abstract

In the world’s grocery stores, alternative meat, egg, and dairy products are moving into space once occupied by animal-derived foods. The trend, which began with revamped plant-based burgers and milk, will accelerate this year—powered by investments in production and technology, industry experts say. The market for plant-based meat in the US reached $939 million in 2019, up 18% from 2018, according to the Good Food Institute, an industry trade group. The investment bank UBS says the global plant-based meat market could be worth $50 billion by 2025. Plant-based meat has already captured 2% of the US packaged-meat market, though it has yet to make a dent in sales of animal meat, which are growing, data from the US Department of Agriculture show. And the multinational food firms JBS, Nestlé, Tyson Foods, and Unilever have all recently launched or acquired plant-based meat businesses. Meanwhile, alternative-protein companies such as Impossible Foods, Perfect