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“Plant-based is an unstoppable trend, its time has come”
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Monday, 04 April, 2022, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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 Plant Based Foods Industry Association (PBFIA) supports and helps develop India's nascent plant-based food ecosystem. Headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, PBFIA aims to highlight and promote the benefits of plant-based industry to improve health, food security, fair practices and meet sustainable development goals. Sanjay Sethi, executive director, Plant Based Food Industry Association, in an email interaction with Manjushree Naik delves deeper into what the organisation is about, how plant-based meat business in India is doing and more. Excerpts:
How big is the plant-based meat business in India? At what rate is it growing?
Indian plant protein market captures about 10% of Asia Pacific (APAC) plant protein market. With the APAC region poised to see the largest growth of the plant-based food sector, we could expect a rise in startups which will only add to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and sustainable development. Plant-based market is expected to grow from $347.1 million in 2018, $565 million in 2023 to $650-700 million by 2025 in India. Meanwhile, the Indian meat substitute market is expected to reach $47.57 million by 2026, growing at a rate of 7.5% annually from 2021-2026.
How is the Indian business of plant-based meat compared to developed markets such as the US?
The global plant food/alternative meat market looks very alluring. It’s estimated reach by 2035 is around $350-400 billion, whereas in Indian market it is projected to reach $650-700 by2025. Data from Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), Good Food Institute (GFI) and SPINS display the growth in sales of U.S. plant-based foods by 6.2% in 2021 bringing the plant-based market value to $7.4 billion. In 2020 major expansion of this sector happened: 8 of 21 plant-based meat alternative Indian startups were launched during 2019-20 and 5 major International and Indian players entered this segment during 2020-21. The growth when compared to the US market is lower as of now. But when the US market saturates, more companies will be looking into a populous and educated country like India. While APAC region is poised to take over the highest growth in the coming years, it is clear that India will play a pivotal role in this market.
Most brands in India are from abroad. Why is it so?
Only a very few international brands are in India at a premium. Considering the price and convenience factor, startups like Good Dot are leading the race. Another important consideration is relevance to the local cuisine. Indian brands understand the nuances of the cultural role in the diet of the people, and vast regional variances in the cuisine. Deeper understanding of these specificalities by these brands will target the consumer in a more effective and appropriate way. Technology is progressing rapidly in the plant-based food industry. Despite the fact that India is yet to acquire the pace and expertise in new technologies coming up and evolving, the Indian startups have turned the heads of some of the biggest VC’s and investor’s names. With increased interest from the government and conductive startup environment in the nation, more Indian startups will come to light. Many startups and big players ventured into this domain recently. The innovations in the next few years would be crucial in understanding how the plant-based meat industry is able to disrupt the $ 1 trillion global meat industry.
India has a huge meat market. Do you think this will switch to plant-based meat?
The Indian diet has always been plant-heavy. By some estimates, India consumes the second-lowest quantity of animal-based foods in the world. We see this as an advantage since the average person already knows that plant-based foods are a necessary part of our diets. The Indian Market Research Bureau suggests that protein deficiency in Indians is more than 80 per cent, and as per the recent National Sample Survey, India has a declining per capita protein consumption in both urban and rural areas. This survey was done about 10 years ago and we do not know if the increased prosperity indeed reversed the trend and protein consumption is rising now.
Indians are becoming increasingly aware of the health risks and environmental impacts that come along with the consumption of animal products. With this improving awareness, meat eaters are more than ready to shift to plant-based diet while still indulging in its taste, guilt-free.
As the world moves towards a more plant-focussed diet, Indian consumers are becoming more upwardly mobile, allowing them to afford these plant-based alternatives. Also, the price of the alternatives is decreasing slowly, with the increase in production capacity. This will ultimately make the plant-based alternative products feasible to people of a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds.
What makes people change to plant-based meat - is it a concern for the planet or something else?
The shift to plant based diet is triggered by three reasons – concern for the environment, health concerns associated with meat and dairy, and ethical and humane feelings for the animals.
Increasing consumer demand for these products due to their perceived health benefits, including the prevention or reduction in risk of non-communicable diseases, digestive disorders, and obesity. Covid-19 has also fueled the rising popularity of these products because they are viewed as ‘immunity-boosting’, while also reducing the risks of transfer of zoonotic diseases from domesticated animals to humans (preventing an outbreak/ epidemic/pandemic).
The meat production does impact the planet as whole in which livestock sector is major stressor according to various reports released by Food and Agriculture Organization. Globally, it is one of the largest sources of GHG and one of the leading causal factors in loss of biodiversity, and in developed and emerging countries it is the leading source of water pollution. While derived animal foods may contain more protein density per gram, plant proteins can avoid the numerous pitfalls associated with consuming animal-based proteins. Plant proteins stand out because they are healthier and more sustainable in the long run. Hence, consumers are acknowledging the environmental effect of meat and looking for options of value-based purchases.
There seems to be a specific reason for Indians to buy plant-based meat. The impact of conventional meat on the environment and animal suffering it causes are driving the consumer awareness and ultimately the purchase of plant-based meat.
Plant-based meat is expensive. How would people from a cost-conscious market like India opt for it?
Numerous protein alternatives developed from plants like peas, rice and even indigenous millets are gaining popularity on the grounds of being equal in the nutritional profile to meat, whey or even eggs and without the side effects of consumption of the animal-based proteins. Price parity can be achieved very easily for plant proteins as is being seen with the growing demand. This issue of price parity becomes even more insignificant in case of snacks and processed foods where the cost of raw material has a lower impact on the final product cost, because other distribution costs are the same. This is the reason plant protein is indeed economical. Even with comparatively less production of plant-based foods, the plant-based proteins are offered at similar pricing to that of whey proteins in the market. With the growing demand among the flexitarian population of India, the demand and production will shoot up while eventually, the price will fall. One thing we must understand that true cost of meat and dairy should indeed be much higher for the havoc it causes to environment and subsidies these sectors enjoy.
According to one study Witte et al. (2021) (https://doi.org/10.1089/ind.2021.29245.bwi), within a year’s time (2023) it is expected that price parity will be reached for plant-based meat (depending upon the type of animal protein that is being replaced). The price of the alternatives is decreasing slowly, with the increase in production capacity. This will ultimately make the plant-based alternative products feasible to people of a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds.
Also awareness of plant-based meat is poor so making people switch is difficult. Comment.
In the digital world of today, the knowledge dissemination is taking place at a breathtaking pace. Something which is known to a few scientists and industry people today, is likely to percolate down to masses very quickly. It is already happening, with scores of new cafes and restaurants in major cities starting to offer soy, oat milk and other plant based foods as a choice to customers.
Plant proteins either in a properly planned diet or in any protein alternative (e.g. protein powders, tofu) are easily able to avert the need to include animal-based proteins.
80 per cent of the Indians are protein deficient which is to be taken into consideration while developing new plant-based alternative products. All the fundamental nutrients present in animal-based foods are also available in plant-based foods, provided it is balanced diet.
Plant-based foods give us a way to bypass the undesired compounds like cholesterol, and high amounts of saturated fats that are present in animal foods. Enhancing the nutritional properties of plant-derived proteins is also possible by various methods. One, for example, is by traditional fermentation which is especially true in the case of increasing the levels of B vitamins.
Imparting more awareness of the above, by celebrities, trendy restaurants, social activists, health advisors and organisations like PBFIA and government is fast bridging the information gap and it is serving us so well.
Plant-based is an unstoppable trend, its time has come.
How was the response from the ministry when your delegates met the concerned minister recently?
Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Prahalad Singh Patel patiently listened to the delegates’ representation on the state about this nascent but rapidly expanding plant-based food sector, in order to understand the challenges faced by the industry in India. He sought the PBFIA's help to initiate and organise two major events, one involving all the Indian stakeholders in the plant-based ecosystem, and another where international players would be invited. This initiative will uplift the confidence of the industry and will provide a voice to the industry.
What more needs to be done to make plant-based meat popular in India?
The food processing industry is one of the few sectors for which the government allows 100 per cent foreign direct investment, and that has spurred a growing number of joint ventures between Indian firms and international food processors in the area of plant-based meats. To make plant-based meat popular, there is a need to skill the manpower by way of establishing seamless linkages between research and academic institutions and industry. Establishing Centres of Excellence like NIFTEM Thanjavur, NIFTEM Sonipat, ICT Mumbai and many other government and private institutions focused on food technology. HBTI Kanpur and CFTRI have already begun on this path, we need many more institutions with the similar standards as seen in the top IITs to enable food innovation and talent development.
To enable ease of doing the business, PBFIA proposed to form a MoFPI led Task Force for the plant-based food promotion under the National Mission and targeted support through major schemes to build a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem for plant-based foods.
Plant-based protein/meat is required to be made more acceptable, the industry must educate the consumers about the attractions of plant-based diet. It is important to note that alternatives like soya chap, soya keema, kathal (jackfruit), tofu have been embraced by several Indians and are recognised as alternatives.
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