2022 Alt Protein Trend Predictions: HOW DID I DO?

🧐 🤔 2022 Trend Predictions: HOW DID I DO?

Well, it's fair to say that when 2022 began, I had no idea that the year would end on such a low. From geopolitics to volatile markets to the looming recession to incessant inflation, it's been ROUGH folks.

For the past 5 years (2023 will be my 6th) I have made health and food industry predictions (3 years for alt protein specifically). And my record has been pretty good. I have been right 80-90% of the time (makes sense given that I live and breathe this space LOL!).

Before I sat down to review my 2022 list my expectation was that this year would be the first where I got a lot wrong, given how unexpected the past 12 months turned out. I even considered not doing this post...But in the end, I still have to hold myself accountable because, well, that's the point. Also, it's fun to review this as I think about my 2023 list (STAY TUNED) :)

Overall, I think I still managed to do pretty well...but no doubt many of my predictions ended up muted, as the alt protein industry faced many headwinds.

So here's how I did:

➡️ 1) Private Label Plant-Based Matures > PARTIALLY. In the UK and the EU, private-label PB is going strong and we celebrated many launches. In the US and Asia, not so much. Supermarkets definitely need to invest more here- consumers are looking for more accessible and affordable options.

➡️ 2) Regulatory Approval For Cultivated Meat in US or Israel > PARTIALLY. While there was no full-blown approval, UPSIDE Foods 's earned FDA GRAS status late last year, which many pundits take as a sign that regulatory approval is on the way. No moves from Israel though. With a new far-right government in place, will be interesting to watch what happens. We just did a piece on the top 10 govts supporting cultivated meat if you are looking to see where there is movement: https://lnkd.in/guQtPx7X

✅ 3) Cultivated Meat/Seafood Supporting Tech Takes Off > CORRECT. Too many headlines to name here but this really came true. Finally, the industry understood that without the right machinery, and serums, and nutrients, 3D printing tech, matrix tech-we can't scale this thing. Shoutout to Micro Meat (YC S21) Arkeon Steakholder Foods and too many more to name!

⛔ 4) Plant-Based Seafood Claims Larger Market Share > WRONG. While there is no shortage of existing plant-based seafood brands around, market share has not really moved much. This is part of a bigger slowdown in plant-based foods. Here's hoping this changes.

➡️ 5) Other Plant-Based Meats Gain Traction PARTIALLY. There are some great headlines from plant-based lamb maker Black Sheep Foods, whole-cut meat pioneer Juicy Marbles, and Beyond Meat's steak chunks (which are getting rave reviews), but it's been quieter than hoped due to market slowdown.

✅ 6) Precision Fermentation Dairy Continues To Explode  > CORRECT. Looking retrospectively, I think 2022 could be considered a banner year for animal-free dairy. So many exciting moves, all of which we summarized here: https://lnkd.in/gSdjA6Du

✅ 7) The Rise Of (Better) Plant-Based Convenience Meals > lots has happened in this space. Impossible Foods launched a range of ready meals, and startups like India's Vecan Foods and Singapore's Faba Food are part of a larger trend that I don't think is going away - consumers are looking for budget-friendly, convenient, innovative meals that meet their health, nutrition and moral goals.

⛔ 8) Much Better Plant-Based Creamy Dairy > WRONG. In line with the general dearth of new plant-based launches, vegan dairy was a sector that did not see much action. Sure a few brands debuted some new products, but nothing groundbreaking. Climax just announced their products so maybe that's about to change.

⛔ 9) New Gen Milks Steal Headlines > WRONG. The title could arguably be considered CORRECT- Oatly has been battered in headlines all year. But my prediction was around new alt milk category launches, and that has not panned out, as brands retracted from new launches and R&D as funding dried up.

✅ 10) The Other Fermentation Takes Off > CORRECT. Anyone else's feed overloaded with #fungi news? Mine certainly was. From Meati to The Better Meat Co. to Nature's Fynd to Mycorena- the sector even got its own trade group @The Fungi Protein Association.

✅ 11) ROW (Rest Of World) Rising > CORRECT. 2 of the biggest funding rounds ever came from Asia-based companies (Vow, TiNDLE Foods) last year. 2022 brought significant alt protein moves across the region (Green Queen Media has a whole report about it, check it out:) 's Latin America's plant-based industry is definitely blowing up. Africa made moves to with the first cultivated beef burger (Mzansi Meat Co.). More to come from ROW as that it where future demand will come from.

✅ 12) Vegan Fine Dining FTW > CORRECT. Definitely some big headlines here including NYC's Eleven Madison Park keeping its 3 The MICHELIN Guide stars after going 100% vegan and Copenhagen's meat-free @Geranium named World's Best Restaurant 2022.

Next week, I will publish my 2023 Alt Protein Trend Predictions so we can keep this tradition going, stay tuned!

Original 2022 Trends article: https://lnkd.in/g7QMCR3C

#foodtech #food #altprotein #plantbased