World meat industry news

The founders of the Greenwise company (Russian producer of plant-based meat substitutes) established the first in Russia and CIS Association of Alternative Food Producers (AAFP).

AAFP is a non-profit organization that brings together producers and developers of animal-based product substitutes.

“In the spring of 2020, we decided to establish AAFP in response to the rapidly growing market of plant-based substitutes which is still young and requires support”, said Artiom Ponomariov, the Head of AAFP.

According to the plan of the founders, this organization should bring together like-minded individuals for an optimal development of the plant-based substitute market in Russia and CIS.

This association will support entrepreneurs working in the field of alternative nutrition, promote the products of the Association’s members and partners in the domestic and foreign markets, and provide technological, legal and marketing consulting services. One of AAFP’s most important goals is the participation in the development of legislation for a better legal regulation of the alternative and innovative food sector.

Moreover, the partnership of the Association with the Business Development Agency of Kaluga Region (BDAKR) will allow AAFP’s members to use the support tools prepared by the Agency’s experts.

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The first pool of the participants in the Association of Alternative Food Producers will be established by late December of 2020, and in 2021, the first offline event is planned as part of the “Retail Week” business forum which is a key industry event for the identification of main areas of retail business development, the government approaches to the development of the modern and civilized retail market, as well as for the solution of industry issues.

Another, no less important activity of the Association will include the establishment of a start-up incubator for food-tech projects in the area of food production. AAFP will be directly involved in their development. Currently, the plant-based meat substitutes include plant-based analogues of animal products (meat, fish, dairy products, etc.), cultured meat, fish, milk and hybrid products (plant-based cultured products).

The results of the 2020 study of NAFI Analytical Centre and “Eat Better” project show that 54% of Russians are willing to include plant-based meat substitutes in their diet. Moreover, 10% of Russians are currently consuming plant-based meat substitutes.