INDUSTRY TALK – PLANT-BASED ALTERNATIVES
Companies scramble to develop egg-citing new plant-based products South African companies across several sectors have jumped onboard the alternative protein movement, with many making great strides in plant-based meat, milk and cheese. However, the next opportunity seems to be winking from the horizon, and it is something that companies might not have egg-spected.
C
ompanies have been producing
or ethical reasons, there is one product
soy and almond milk for as long
whose replacement is not freely available,
as we can remember, with newer
and that has created potentially huge
Donovan Will, Director of ProVeg SA
options like pea and potato milk emerging
opportunities for local food manufacturers.
improves shelf-life and
only recently. On the meat side, many
That product is the egg.
reduces input costs.
would argue that at least some options,
For baking applications, there are
When consumers think of eggs though,
like Beyond Meat’s beef-style burger or On
already many well-known alternatives
they think of fried, poached, scrambled
The Greenside’s chicken-style fillets, are
like banana, flax seeds, chickpea flour
eggs or omelettes. Like milk, cheese and
indifferentiable from the products they
and packaged egg replacers like NoEgg.
meat, there is a growing demand for plant-
replace (and some have gone as far as to
Using these replacements not only allows
based alternatives that mimic these foods
say that they are improvements).
food companies to appeal to health,
at a reasonable or equal cost. This creates
environmental and ethical considerations,
a potentially huge opportunity for local
but also removes an allergen, and often
food manufacturers.
For those who are looking to avoid animal products, for health, environmental
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March 2022 | FOOD RE VIEW
