As the meat and poultry industry assesses its future with the emergence of competing alternative protein products, most of the attention has been paid to plant-based proteins. However, Michael Uetz, principal at Midan Marketing, says we shouldn’t write off the viability of cell-cultured meat products.
Uetz, commented about the subject during the webinar, “Keeping it real for tomorrow’s consumers: How can the U.S. animal agriculture industry support retailers, restaurants and e-commerce companies to keep meat on the consumers’ plate?” The webinar was held on April 16 and was hosted by the National Institute of Animal Agriculture (NIAA).
Uetz said he recently attended a cultured meat conference in San Francisco, and he left there believing that the success of cell-cultured meat products in the marketplace does not seem so far-fetched.
“There is a lot of money from venture capital and a lot of very smart people who are working on the cultured meat platform,” Uetz said. “In the next 2 to 3 years, we are going to start seeing these show up, and they are finally getting to the point to where they can be more reasonably priced.”
Such products were earlier projected to be sold for about $300 per pound, but it looks like they could be available for around $10 per pound, he said.
Most companies developing cell-cultured foods are beginning with products like nuggets and grinds, but cell-cultured dog and cat foods are also starting to show up.
Cell-cultured foods’ competitive advantages
For some people seeking alternatives to traditionally produced meat and poultry products, cell-cultured foods could have an edge over plant-based proteins, Uetz said.
“The opportunity here that these companies have over plant-based is I believe that there is probably a group of consumers who are regular meat eaters because they love the taste of meat, and they love what meat does for them nutritionally,” he said.
According to Uetz, it also could be more attractive to some consumers who are concerned about animal welfare, because “cell-based meat is the same product, but without sacrificing the animal.”
Uetz said one survey showed that 40% of consumers said they would be willing to try cell-cultured foods, however, there is still a major roadblock for this protein.
“The question is: Are they going to be able to get over the process that’s used to actually create it, and are they going to become loyal to it over a regular meat product,” he rhetorically asked.
Still room for everybody
While Uetz believes there is market potential for cell-based foods and demand for plant-based proteins will continue, the meat and poultry sectors should not be too worried about losing sales with the emergence of these products.
“I believe there is going to be room for all of us in the marketplace, especially when we think about the fact that we’re going to be feeding a world of 10 billion people,” he said.
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