The European plant-based protein industry is currently experiencing an unprecedented degree of competition and disruption. Companies across the globe are now investing aggressively in the development and creation of new products and brands that appeal to increase market demand for plant-based food products. Despite the low level of awareness among Italian consumers, the innovative plant-based sector is experiencing an increasing number of projects and products.
Italy is currently at the product awareness stage when it comes to plant-based proteins. Plant-based food products are not known to many Italian consumers. It is important to raise awareness of these plant-based products to allow them to integrate into the consumer's consumption habits.
Plant-based companies join forces with supermarkets and retailers to sell their products
The plant-based companies are partnering with supermarket chains, grocery retailers, restaurants, and hotels to raise awareness among the Italian consumers and gain their market share.
To raise awareness amongst the Italian consumers and to gain market share, the plant-based companies are partnering with supermarket chains, grocery retailers, restaurants, and hotels. For instance,
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JOY Food S.r.l., an Italian plant-based meat producer offering clean label products, commercialized under the brand Food Evolution, joined forces with Esselunga, Italy's first and leading supermarket chain, to gain market share by guiding consumers towards more sustainable diets.
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Beyond Meat, a Californian plant-based company operating in Italy as BMFOOD Italia, has also signed an agreement with Alì Supermercati, an Italian chain of supermarkets, hypermarkets, and shopping centers, to distribute company’s Beyond Burgers.
Innovation, superfoods, and sustainability- the winning mix
Growth in the plant-based sector was primarily guided by the mainstream emergence of the 'flexitarian,' and the situation in Italy is no different. The country's plant-based companies are seeking to improve their market positions and draw more customers through product creation innovations.
In addition to high quality meat substitutes, the product's taste and texture often play a significant role in attracting consumers. Despite the significant improvements in the taste and variety of plant-based alternatives, it remains a barrier for meat-eaters. To meet this requirement, a few of Italy's plant-based companies have begun using superfoods in their recipes to improve the flavor of the ingredients further.
In the last few years, Italian consumers have begun to add greater importance to the elements of sustainability in their food buying decisions. For this reason, companies operating in the plant-based segment need to value food safety, packaging, processing, and nutritional value, among the most investigated food product quality attributes.
ConsumerIntel360 expects that plant-based products with a high degree of innovation in combination with superfoods have all the credentials to outperform the Italian plant-based market in the next few quarters.
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