NEW YORK — An estimated 4,000 attendees visited the 130 companies displaying their wares along the five aisles of the inaugural Plant Based World Conference & Expo, held June 7-8 at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center, here. There they saw 100 percent plant-based versions of dozens of kitchen staples, including hamburgers, hot dogs, ground beef, luncheon meats, pepperoni, jerky, seafood, cheese, butter, ice cream, “vegan” wine, pastas, cookies, and even dog food kibble and treats.
The growth in the movement, which is transforming consumers’ taste buds, the farming community, CPG manufacturers and the produce aisle, is being driven by the latest consumer group — the flexitarians.
What is a flexitarian?
“A flexitarian is somebody who wants to add plant-based to their diet,” said Douglas Kantner, chief executive officer of Los Angeles-based Longéve. “They may not want to go pure vegan and still want to have meat or fish occasionally, for health, environmental, animal rights or other reasons, and we don’t want to alienate them.”
And they won’t be, once they sample Longéve, a shelf-stable ground beef substitute made from yellow peas available in Plain, Italian, Taco and Curry flavors that turns into “meat” when mixed with water.
“As our business takes off, farmers may wish to add peas to their crop roster because it is also a great rotation crop,” Kantner noted.
People were stopping by the Vegetable Essence Yondu booth to sample the new liquid seasoning sauce, similar to a bouillon. Made out of organic soybeans and eight different vegetables, the fermented Yondu is designed to make produce more flavorful for people who want to cut down on meat and eat more plants. That was buttressed by the free recipe cards for dishes like Savory Sautéed Radishes and 3-Minute Vegetable Soup that are designed to boost produce sales.
“We are placed in stores next to the produce department, because you can buy your produce and make it taste more delicious with Yondu,” said Jaume Biarnés, director and chef of the New York-based start-up.
Yves Veggie Cuisine, a brand of Lake Success, NY-based Hain Celestial, was sampling its Yves Falafel Balls, which are made from chickpeas and no soy. “These are sold in the refrigerated produce section next to the salad bags and tofu,” said Jane Lee, brand manager, adding that the line is carried by Walmart, Whole Foods, Wegmans, H-E-B and Sprouts Farmers Market. “The vegan set is bringing traffic to the produce department because that is where they are finding refrigerated vegan products, and we find the flexitarians are also looking for these products, but they are not sure where to find them.”
Most retailers stock Pan’s Mushroom Jerky — a clean ingredient panel Shiitake mushroom treat originally imported from Malaysia and now made domestically and available in four flavors — in their jerky snacks aisle, but one upscale retailer found it does better merchandised in produce, near the mushrooms.
“Di Bruno Bros. in Philadelphia said they prefer to sell our Mushroom Jerky in the produce section because people are buying vegetables, and they likely see our jerky as produce that they just eat in a different way,” said Shannon Lehotsky, marketing manager, Pan’s Mushroom Jerky, based in Portland, OR.
Many plant-based foods begin life in the produce department before finding a home in other areas of the store. That is the case with plant-based cheese manufacturer Good Planet Foods.
“A year ago, merchandisers didn’t know where to put us, so they were putting us in produce or specialty. Now all the retailers are realizing that plant-based is the fastest growing category, so they are putting it in next to the dairy cheese so the consumer knows they have an alternative,” said David Israel, CEO of the Bellevue, WA-based company. “We’re not here to replace cheese. We’re made out of coconut oil, so we’re completely allergen-free and are made to melt and be an everyday alternative.”
New York-based Pleese is another alternative cheese manufacturer. Its product line is made from beans. “We started this company five years ago,” said Kobi Regev, co-founder. “A year ago they didn’t have any of these products in the supermarket we shop at and literally in the last month or so they started getting them.”
Andy Maslin was at the expo touting his 2445 Organics Super Grow Rack System that promises consumers, restaurants, schools, nursing homes and other facilities home-grown organic produce in just 18 days.
“We’re soil-based that has all living ingredients, like fungi, bacteria, microbes and nematodes,” Maslin, owner/founder of the Massena, NY-based company told The Produce News. “By having all of the living ingredients in there and putting minerals in there, this allows the plants to take on the nutritional value for human consumption,” he said, pointing to the radishes, lettuces, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, beans and strawberries lining the booth. “There is no limitations to what we can grow. The earth takes hundreds of years to do an erosion; we do it in minutes with mechanical grinders.”
Because the plants are growing in a controlled environment they are never shocked or stressed, offering the highest nutritional value possible, Maslin noted. “When people taste our produce they notice the difference. The difference is not the seeds; you can buy seeds at Walmart or Home Depot. The growing system is what’s special, allowing the plants to take on a nutritional value ideal for humans 24/7,” he said.
According to Maslin, the USDA says $800 billion is spent annually on foreign foods. “Our theory is that if America can start growing its own food again, we’ll be a healthier nation,” he said.
