Plant Based Meat
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PLANT BASED MEAT Consumer Insights | Social Media Research Objective and Scope —To evaluate the growth drivers of ‘plant based protein’ segment. —To classify the Plant Based Burger growth trend as a passing fad or futuristic status quo. —To understand consumer perception and needs based on the recent launches of plant based protein. Findings • Health conscious consumers looking for protein & meat alternatives are the focal point of the new trend. Sustainability aspects like environmental concerns, animal welfare are the additional factors driving positive segment growth. • The social chatter continued to grow as more and more new product lines evolved due to increase in demand and continued support. Two major suppliers, Beyond Meat & Impossible Foods, effectively engaged with key opinion leaders and got celebrities to endorse / invest in their business. • 89% of the social chatter was supportive of the new trend displaying consumer readiness to embrace the change. Excitement to try the new products, especially the Impossible Whopper from Burger King was seen. • Taste, texture, flavor, smell, sustainability, healthy meat alternatives were the topics of interest for the consumers online. • 11% of the conversations had opposing views on the plant based protein burgers. Questions around GMO, pesticide usage, high sodium content, and price had recurring mentions. Consumer Insights • The plant based protein segment is being driven by the awareness around its health benefits, ongoing environmental concerns, support from the vegan community, and celebrity influence and endorsement. • The consumer sentiments are largely positive for the segment with the new launch line-ups adding to the positive buzz and supplier camps maintaining it. • The segment’s new launches meet two primary unmet needs of consumers – being healthy and protein rich beef alternatives. • Consumers welcomed the new plant based burger launches and shared their experience on social media often recommending it to others. A few expressed concerns about the pesticides usage, real beef taste, and sustainability features of the product. • Consumers were excited to try out the new product. Some even travelled to specific stores of Burger King in search of Impossible Whopper. Product innovation, differentiation, and positioning will be key for suppliers to grow in the segment. Restaurants will have to undertake product assortment and menu revamp to address the cater to this emerging segment. Stakeholder Observations 01. Suppliers Beyond Meat & Impossible Foods have been working hard to improvise the patty and make it as close to meat as possible. They have been innovating with ingredients and protein. Tyson Foods has already started creating their own plant based products. Tyson Foods had a 6.5% stake in Beyond Meat which they sold to develop their own line of alternative protein products. Nestlé's brand ‘Sweet Earth’ is all set to launch its plant based burger – Awesome Burger later this year. 02. Consumers Consumers are mostly excited, with many pointing out about having tried cooking the patty at home. Active discussions on cooking techniques and best methods for cooking the alternate meat were noted. For consumers Beyond Meat & Impossible Burger have become synonymous of the newly emerged plant based burger category. Vegans and vegetarians have been very active when it comes to plant based burger. Even though most of them are happy with it, there still is some skepticism. 03. Restaurants Taco Bell & McDonald’s are playing the ‘wait and watch’ act. However, Burger King plans to roll out ‘Impossible Whopper’ nationwide by the end of 2019. Impossible Whopper’s launch on April 1st 2019 has been very successful. Many customers who tried the Beyond Burger at Carl’s Jr. were raving about it in their feedback. 04. Grocery Stores Beyond Meat burger patties can be found in grocery stores. However Impossible Burger is not yet available in grocery stores. Beyond Meat and grocery stores have been struggling to figure out where the Beyond Meat should be placed in grocery stores. Alternative Meat: Finds Market’s Acceptance Insights —The strategic growth plan, boosted by celebrity engagement, turned out to be successful for suppliers. —Restaurants have joined in the alternative meat trend to address the consumer needs. —Healthy, tasty, and innovative meat alternatives have met the consumer preferences and needs. —Meat eaters and flexitarians form the core group of the customer segment. Impossible Whopper: The Perception Changer of Plant Based Burger 4000 Impossible Whopper Conversation Trends: Before & After debuts at Burger King, 3500 St. Louis 3348 Before the Impossible Whopper launch, conversation volumes around the topic of 3000 ‘plant based burger’ were minimal. 2500 After Burger King’s Impossible Whopper launch in April, the segment saw a revival 2000 and a positive buzz around the category +76% growth in conversations in social media. 1500 in last 6 months ending Jun’19 ~31K social posts vs. Prior period 1000 Latest 12 months ending Jun’19 664 500 538 515 0 01-Jan-19 01-Feb-19 01-Mar-19 01-Apr-19 01-May-19 01-Jun-19 -500 Plant Based Protein: Journey So Far January 2019 February 2019 Impossible Burger 2.0 debuts at CES (Consumer Celebrities continue to support plant based meat. Electronic Show) 2019. - Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio along with many athletes invest in Beyond Meat. Carl’s Jr. starts selling Beyond Meat vegan burgers. Tyson Foods plans to focus on vegan protein and March 2019 production of plant based meat “in a significant way”. McDonald’s starts testing vegan McNuggets at few April 2019 locations in Norway. Burger King starts selling ‘Impossible Whopper’, Food Industry leaders decide to come together at the debuting in St. Louis. Plant Based World Conference & Expo (PBW) to be Tyson Foods sells its stake in Beyond Meat. held in June 2019. MorningStar Farms announces its commitment to Sobeys becomes the first retailer to bring Beyond transform all its portfolio into 100% plant based by the end Meat at grocery stores across Canada. of 2021. Burger King announces its nationwide launch of Impossible Whopper by the end of the year. May 2019 Share value of Beyond Meat more than doubles after June 2019 its Nasdaq debut. Burger King expands ‘Impossible Whopper’ Celebrities back Impossible Food and Beyond Burger. footprint in San Francisco. Burger King launches plant-based burger in Europe, Beyond Meat launches a ‘meatier’ version of its starting with Sweden. Beyond Burger. Beyond Meat unveils plans to begin making its plant-based Impossible Foods experiences supply shortage as it meats in Europe from 2020. attempts to stock thousands of fast food chains. KFC rumored to add plant-based meat substitute to its North American Cannabis Holdings and Kali-Ex- menu. However, the brand clarifies that it is in no rush tracts announce their plans of introducing meatless to ‘test’ it out right away. hamburger infused with CBD. They would release this in partnership with West Coast Venture Group. Celebrity Support & Endorsements Beyond Meat • Beyond Meat raised $241 million through an IPO at its Nasdaq debut. • At its IPO, the shares, which opened at $46, closed their first day of trading up by 163%, at $65.75. • Beyond Meat products are currently available in more than 32,000 grocery stores, including Kroger, Safeway, Publix, Target, and Wegmans. • It is also featured in the menu of TGI Fridays, Carl’s Jr., Del Taco, A&W among others. Celebrities Supporting Bill Gates Leonardo DiCaprio Don Thompson Jessica Chastain Impossible Foods • Impossible Burger has raised $750 Million since its launch in 2011. • Approximately 5,000 restaurants and food chains sell Impossible Burgers, including Qdoba and Red Robin. • Burger King plans to roll out Impossible Whopper in all its 7,200 outlets by the end of 2019. Celebrities Supporting Jaden Smith Serena Williams Jay Z Trevor Noah Innovative Plant Based Burgers Beyond Meat (A&W) A Beyond Meat sausage patty made from plants, topped with real cheddar cheese and a freshly cracked egg from hens fed a vegetarian diet July 9, 2018 Impossible Slider (White Castle) The Impossible Slider with Smoked Cheddar Cheese that sizzles, tastes, and smells just like real beef September 12, 2018 Beyond Famous Star (Carl’s Jr) The Beyond Burger® Looks, cooks, and satisfies like beef, and is made without soy, gluten or GMOs. It has 20 grams of plant-based protein January 2, 2019 Impossible Whopper (Burger King) 100% WHOPPER® 0% BEEF. Contains mostly soy protein, potato protein, coconut oil, sunflower oil, and heme April 1, 2019 Awesome Burger (Nestle) The non-GMO Awesome Burger made with yellow pea protein, water, coconut oil, wheat, canola oil and vegetable/fruit juice for color. The patty is high in protein, fiber, iron and vitamin C, and contains no artificial colors, preservatives, trans fat or cholesterol Launching in the fall Social Media Discussions Themes Identified Stakeholder Triggers Identified Sharing New Launch Information More than half of the social chatter from consumers was around new launches. Sharing Experience 44% of the conversations were around product experience - taste, smell, flavor, texture. Out of these, many were trying plant based burgers for the first time. The vegan community was excited and listed the benefits of plant based protein. They also shared their experi- ence with the new launches. Recommendations Excited consumers recommended plant based burgers from their favorite restaurants. Seeking Information Few were seen enquiring