Imagine Meats, a venture by actor couple Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh, is the latest brand on the block offering plant-based meats. Under the brand, the actor couple has plans to introduce a variety of products tailor-made for the Indian palate. Thus competition is set to hot up in this fast growing space in the coming months.
The space has seen brands such as Veggie Champ, Vezlay and Gooddot that have made a mark in this space in the recent past with India taking to plant-based meat alternatives in a big way.
Abhishek Sinha, co-founder and CEO, Gooddot India, explains the rise in popularity of plant-based meats: “It’s correct that India is primarily perceived as a vegetarian country. However the reality is that 72 per cent of Indians eat meat. There is an increased awareness amongst meat eaters even in India about the health and environmental benefits of plant-based meat. Moreover, the ethical side of plant-based meat is also an appealing factor for an average Indian consumer.”
Chips in Sagar Neve, owner, Mondo Fine Dine and Health By Mondo: “We all know that protein is the building block of the body and subsequently, amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Some can be produced by the body but some need to be consumed. Almost 9 out of 10 consumers have a protein-deficient diet, regardless of gender or socio-economic status. Perhaps unsurprisingly, vegetarians have a higher protein deficit than non-vegetarians, hence the demand for plant-based meat has seen a rising trend over the years.”
Thus, experts in the field not only regard plant-based protein to be growing in popularity but they also perceive it to be superior to meat-based protein for human consumption. Perhaps, the reason why it is finding favour during the current Covid-19 pandemic as a safer alternative to tainted animal meat.
According to Sinha, plant -based proteins are healthy with higher protein, dietary fibres, low fat and zero cholesterol. There are no antibiotics and growth hormones in plant-based meat which are normally present in animal meat. Moreover the environmental footprint is much better in the case of plant-based meat.