World meat industry news

In Russia, there are more and more products from plant-based meat. And although the trend emerged only three years ago, with a cost of 40-50% higher than the usual product, large market players were not afraid to start production, says Anna Parpura, correspondent of MIR 24.

Cutlets, sausage, smoked meats - the assortment in a vegetarian store is like in a butcher's shop. You can’t say that these sausages do not have a single gram of meat.

“There are more suppliers and manufacturers, because there is a demand for it, there is interest, as the vegetarian movement is growing. Many people refuse meat either on a permanent basis, or fast, or just experiment, try, ”says Zoya Shchukina, head of the purchasing department of the Jagannat chain.

This is also confirmed by sociological studies. Russians have become three times more likely to eat plant-based meat and milk substitutes. From 2018 to 2021, the proportion of consumers who at least occasionally buy an alternative to meat increased from 10% to 34%. Interest in vegetarianism is noticed all over the world.

“If we talk about the Russian market, then similar products have already appeared on it. It all started with vegetable milk, plant-based meat appeared later. But in general, this market is growing and developing,” emphasizes marketer Oleg Maslovsky.

If earlier you had to go to specialized stores for plant-based meat products, now shelves with such goods appear in many retail chains. Vegetarian products began to produce even large meat production.

“At first glance, minced meat looks like meat, but it contains exclusively vegetable components,” says Andrey Danilov, executive director of the ABI group of companies.

Chickpeas, peas and wheat seasoned with special spices - and you can’t tell the taste from chicken, the producers assure. From such minced meat they make stuffing for chebupels. Previously, these products were prepared only with minced meat. But food trends have pushed to expand production.

“These nuggets are similar in taste, texture, smell and overall feel to chicken nuggets. Chebureks, chebupels and cutlets are similar in taste to pork and beef products,” says Oleg Maslovsky.

The composition was developed so that the nutritional value of vegetarian products is not inferior to meat products. For the preparation of plant-based meat products, it was not necessary to install separate equipment. This made it possible to make their price favorable for the buyer.