Billions of dollars have been invested by companies using precision fermentation to make "animal-free" dairy proteins in a factory. Around 40 companies are aiming to replace large parts of the dairy industry and they claim that their alt proteins behave in the same way in the human body as real dairy proteins. However, a recently published scientific study suggest that these animal-free proteins in fact don't. They may have a different effect on the gut and immunity. Meanwhile no alt protein company has been able to produce a single study that backs up their claim of equivalence to the natural dairy matrix. Time: 16 minutes
For a growing number of consumers "grass-fed" is one of the strongest health and sustainability messages. So it's no surprise that demand for foods from grass-fed sources is growing steadily. In the US, for example, sales of grass-fed meat are three times those of the much-hyped plant-based substitutes and grew by 31% last year. And at least one former vegan ice cream brand is now thriving by offering grass-fed dairy ice cream. If you are thinking about the future of food, this development and what it says about humans is one you have to understand. Time: 25 minutes
Our first podcast about food history. Why history? Because if you're involved in producing food and in innovation, it's good to have a handle on the history of food and the timeless lessons about humans that food history can teach us - and that we can still apply today. Time: 15 minutes
A fall in the breakfast cereal market in Europe has led to Nestlé closing a factory, with the loss of hundreds of jobs. It's an illustration of what happens when consumer trends reach a tipping point. Rising consumer preferences for eggs, dairy protein and health-centred, small entrepreneurial brands have sealed the fate of traditional breakfast cereals. More in this podcast. Time: 14 minutes
Animal protein has become the most important growth trend in the business of food, nutrition and health. Consumer demand for dairy protein has been growing strongly – witness surging demand for cottage cheese – and red meat is now on the same path. Meat snacks are a hugely successful category in the supermarket, and one of the fastest-growing brands in America is a meat snack. Consumers are putting the brakes on meat-reducing, veganism is shrinking back to its niche, and cardiologists and doctors are re-thinking the role of red meat in a healthy diet. We're not alone in spotting rising demand for animal protein; Whole Foods Market, the leading natural foods retail chain in the US, reports that health-conscious consumers are now prioritizing animal protein. But how is this possible, after years of plant-based push? Dairy protein and red meat tick many boxes for consumers: “real” whole foods, nutrient-dense, versatile and good-tasting. Tune in to learn more! Time: 38 minutes
Quorn has been - for over 30 years - the case study that everyone in the food industry can learn from. Quorn's successful creation of a new category, based on patented technology, was a rare and inspiring example. Now it's a case study of how, when consumer trends turn, even successful businesses can hit trouble. Despite that, Quorn can still have a future. But for the many companies who have invested hundreds of millions of dollar to copy Quorn's mycoprotein meat substitute technology, the outlook is bleak. Time: 16 minutes
Humans don't want to eat technology. They prefer to eat real food. That's why the most successful strategy in the food industry, for the past 25 years, has been taking traditional foods and adapting them to the needs of modern consumers. One of the best examples is in Japan, where falling sales of tofu were reversed by a company figuring out how to reinvent tofu as a convenient and good-tasting snack for younger consumers. It's a strategy that also explains the success of Greek yoghurt, skyr, kefir and many others. This podcast sets out the success factors for reinventing a traditional food. Time: 19 minutes
Do you want to know how to create a successful healthier food product? Here are my favourite Seven Steps for Success, created as a result of our 20+ years of research, creating case studies and advising companies. Take these into account and you will be making a good start! Time: 20 minutes
The failure of the meat substitute business will be the must-read case study for the next decade. It shows what happens when companies make assumptions about consumers and their motivations instead of doing deep research and thinking. It shows what happens when products fail the taste test. And it shows what happens when you don't give anyone a compelling reason to buy your product. As the economic outlook darkens, the future isn't bright for this stumbling category. Time: 11 minutes
A press release from Harvard stated that a new study had found that consuming meat increases your risk of diabetes. It was reproduced - almost word-for-word - by hundreds of media outlets within a few hours of its publication. Did the media follow up and report the tens of nutrition experts who raised question marks over the study? Not so much. When the media slavishly reproduces a press release right after publication it tells you that the journalists haven't actually read the study or done any investigation. Research by New Nutrition Business found that's normal practice now in mainstream media, much of which exists to reproduce press releases. And that means they are often producing misinformation. Time: 15 minutes
This podcast provides lessons you can use about innovation, new health benefits and reinventing a traditional food, told through the frame of three probiotic success stories. One is the story of how a trusted brand in Japan brought a sleep and anxiety benefit and created the most successful product launch - anywhere in the world - of the last 20 years. Two are from the US, where innovative and hard-working Turkish and Russian immigrants used tradition and technology to create something totally new for Americans. Time: 25 minutes
Oatly's classic Silicon-valley inspired business model from 2012 is facing nemesis. Oatly aimed to get to $1 billion in sales. Unfortunately, in focusing on a big sales number the company seems to have forgotten that it's a good idea to make a profit now and again. In the first six months of 2023 each $1 of product it sold cost it $1.38 to make. With the oat milk business changing and the global economy facing tough times, it's hard to see when, if ever, Oatly can get to break-even. Time: 20 minutes.
Billionaire investors, most of the media, and many environmental activists insist that we will soon all be eating cell-cultivated meat - a substance more commonly referred to as lab meat. Arguments are raging about the technology, its scalability, cost and regulation. But ultimately the decision about whether lab-meat succeeds lies solely in the hands of the consumer. And the evidence from real-world consumer behaviour isn't looking too good for the lab-meat promoters. Time: 24 minutes.
The fantasies of investors have collided with the reality of the supermarket. We are witnessing the long, slow death of the plant-based meat alternatives category. It was the creation of billionaire investors who want to force a 'protein transition' in order to make another billion. In the US and UK sales are falling, despite the billions invested, because the finance bros never bothered to understand the technology or the consumer. Time: 26 mins.
Nuti-Score is a European front of pack labelling scheme which ranks the healthiness of foods on a scale from A (most healthy) to E (least healthy). It's backed by governments in Germany and France. But it's opposed in Italy and Greece. Why? Could it be because it ranks many traditional foods in the Mediterranean diet as D or E? Or could it be because it ranks whole milk (C) as less healthy than Coke Zero (B)? Nutri-Score is flawed. And the evidence suggests that it may not be of much - or any - benefit for public health. It may be the world’s best example of how public health experts’ greatest expertise appears to lie in undermining their own credibility.
We are witnessing what may be the biggest-ever failure in food industry history. The Silicon Valley idea that you can 'grow sales and profits will follow' has slammed into the reality of the food business. Plant-based meat substitute makers have made every strategy mistake in the How-to-Fail Handbook. Sales are falling. Most meat substitute makers are losing money. Products failed to meet consumer taste expectations. They couldn't even prove that they were 'more sustainable'. An echo chamber of investors, consultants and media pushed the idea that 20-ingredient substitutes would have us all ditching meat - and that plant meat companies would be worth billions. But reality turned out to be the opposite of what the billionaire investors thought would happen. Time: 23 minutes.
Oat milk is big and its success is admired! It's the fastest-growing segment of the US plant milk market. Sales jumped by an impressive 72% in 2021. But two-thirds of oat milk's growth came not from taking business from dairy milk, but by taking sales away from other plant milks. Almond, coconut and others all fell in 2021. Meanwhile, there's an even bigger and more successful product than oat - lactose-free dairy milk. It's growing faster than oat and is bigger than any type of plant milk. Time: 10 minutes.
Plant-based dairy is settling down as a niche business – contrary to what consultants and the media have been telling you. There's nothing wrong with being niche! But exaggerated claims that 'plant-based will replace dairy' always ignored food culture and food science, and the simple fact that most plant-based dairy just doesn't taste good enough. This week I focus on plant-based yoghurt and ice-cream, where sales growth is slowing sharply, and look at how plant-based under-performance has already cost one CEO his job. Time: 10 minutes.
Billionaire investors thought they could 'disrupt' livestock farming. They thought that meat substitutes would be an easy way to make their next billion. But they are having a shock encounter with reality. Consumers see meat substitutes as expensive novelties and are sticking with beef and lamb. As a result, losses are up - by 240% - at Beyond, the best-known brand in the substitute sector. Beyond's US retail sales fell by 20% at the end of 2021. Will Beyond become one of the biggest failures in food industry history?
If you want your business to succeed in health and nutrition it’s important to understand economics as much as nutrition science and consumer sentiment. Over the next 18 months we will see the chickens come home to roost for businesses that have neglected to focus on creating a successful economic model.