Differentiating NZ's meat in flexitarian market worthwhile

• Published date: 07 July 2021
• Date: 07 July 2021

He is on his third start-up, his first company failed, the next company he sold for a tidy sum, and he has raised $US50million ($NZ70.5million) for his third company, "Simulate". Simulate is taking "fake chicken nuggets" to the market. They intend to develop a number of new food categories, and have hired a bevy of scientists and engineers to do this.

Techy food companies are springing up everywhere. Competition and clutter will see a number of them fail. It is relatively fast to generate new protein products from shredded wheat, soy, peas, mung beans or lentils — whatever can be bought as commodities. Chicken nuggets are an obvious target. Crumbed and dipped in tomato sauce, who can tell what they are eating? The test will be in who can gain scale in the market.

What made me chuckle when reading Mr Pasternak's story was that Simulate's tagline is "Kills you Slower". They are trying to stand out in a crowd, which means outrageous taglines will become the norm. Apparently, one of their company's core values is "non-preachiness," which is a far cry from the rhetoric coming from many of the other alternate protein companies who tout lines like "Good Clean Food", "Made from Plants," "For You and For the Planet". You can even purchase these products from the "The Cruelty Free Shop".

Does the "non-preachiness" signify a change in positioning for the alternate protein industry, to a more mainstream, palatable message?

Extreme messaging appeals to the more extreme consumers, but consumers who eat alternate proteins are an increasingly diverse group. Is the rise in veganism growing faster than the rise in flexitarianism? It's hard to find up-to-date statistics on this, but from all I read, flexitarians are winning the race.

What exactly is a flexitarian? Well, this is where the rules get blurry. We have 21 meals a week, then a "beginner flexitarian" has seven meatless meals within that, an "advanced flexitarian" has 14 meatless meals and an "expert flexitarian" eats meat six or fewer times a week. Really, is that even a shift from what most people do anyway?

I absolutely believe there are opportunities for New Zealanders in the alternate protein space, but if flexitarianism becomes as mainstream as predicted, quality, well produced meat products will still...