Marja-Liisa Meurice, Director for EIT Food North and East Region, and Lorena Savani, Mission Lead (Healthier lives through food), at EIT Food discuss how Europe’s protein supply can be diversified to meet the increasing demand for non-meat protein.
As consumers strive to make more conscious decisions when it comes to food for the health and environmental benefits, the demand for plant-based proteins is continuing to rise. With the global population expected to increase from eight billion today to almost ten billion by 2050, it is clear that the world needs sustainable ways of producing new high-quality, safe and healthy proteins to ensure adequate nutrition for the planet.
EIT Food accelerates innovation to build a future-fit food system that produces healthy and sustainable food for all. The organisation invests in projects, connects stakeholders across the food system, and focuses on innovation to help make our food system more sustainable. Protein diversification, including plant-based and alternative proteins, is a large focus of EIT Food’s work, and it runs and supports various initiatives to enhance research and drive innovation in this area.
To learn more about the future of plant-based and alternative proteins in the EU, Editor Georgie Purcell spoke to EIT Food’s Marja-Liisa Meurice, Director for EIT Food North and East Region, and Lorena Savani, Mission Lead (Healthier lives through food).
How has demand for plant-based proteins increased in Europe in recent years? What factors have influenced this?
Marja-Liisa Meurice (MLM): Consumer perception is changing. Younger generations are keen on exploring other ways of consuming protein rather than animal-based proteins. Having said this, demand for animal-based proteins remains the strongest for many reasons, including health factors, availability and price.
Many people are now starting to examine the shift we can make towards reducing our consumption of animal-based protein and finding a balance. At EIT Food, we created the Protein Diversification Think Tank to look at how this can be achieved. Most consumers will not want to go to extremes, but are open to ways in which they can reduce their consumption of animal-based proteins. In addition, there is the question of what food producers, scientists, and innovators can do to create more diverse access to plant-based protein that is affordable, tasty, and has a positive impact on our environment and health globally.
Lorena Savani (LS): We have seen that demand for plant-based protein in Europe has significantly grown in recent years. This is mainly due to increased consumer awareness of health and environmental benefits, as well as concerns about animal welfare and a desire for more sustainable food options. Plant-based stands out amongst the different protein sources currently. As Marja-Liisa mentioned, the younger consumers are driving this trend. The change is influenced by the media coverage of climate change and sustainability, as well as increased improvement in recent years in the taste, texture, and availability of plant-based products.
A study conducted by the Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) found that sales of plant-based food grew 5.5% in value and 3.5% in volume in 2023. The study, which analysed retail sales data from Circana covering six key European countries, also found that 37% of households in Germany and 19% in Spain bought plant-based meat at least once in 2023, while more than a third of the German household and 40% in Spain bought plant-based milk at least once.
Is the EU’s plant-based product supply currently enough to sustain demand?
MLM: Currently, it is satisfying demand but it is certainly not enough to support the growing population and its changing needs. We need to think about the future with a broad approach. We must address what we are growing today and look at what we could be growing in the future. To make products that are tasty, good value, and accessible for everyone, we need to gear up our production and our approach.
LS: EU supply of plant-based products is currently insufficient if we consider the growing population. The EU currently relies heavily on imports for plant-based protein sources, such as soy and other legumes. We must start the local production and diversification of plant-based protein sources within Europe to meet this consumer demand and achieve food security. We are sustainable at the moment, but we need to be prepared for the future.
How can the EU diversify its plant-based and alternative protein supply?
MLM: There are several ways this can be done. When we are looking at the future of proteins, we must consider the food strategies in the different Member States. Innovation is also key here and we need to focus on the areas where we want to drive innovation. For example, in cell-based agriculture – the production of animal-based proteins from cell cultures.
We must determine what the approach is on national strategies in terms of food security, food resilience, and competitiveness. As Lorena mentioned, we are heavily dependent on, for example, certain crops from abroad. This is not sustainable, and we must make changes to reduce this dependency.
There needs to be more national strategies that reflect EU policies and strategies. They must also reflect the agrifood system and its stakeholders throughout the whole value chain, from farmers to consumers. To enhance innovation in these areas and allow innovation in, for example, cell-based agriculture to take place, we also need to make sure that the novel foods align with EU-level strategy.
The EU can also improve its funding schemes with increased funding. For example, food should definitely be part of biotechnology funding schemes.
LS: Of course, the EU needs to support the development of alternative protein sources. Biotechnology will be a big enabler in this. For example, it presents the possibility for crop improvement and yield enhancement. Fermentation-derived protein is another amazing opportunity.
For example, we have been seeing some startups that are using natural resources to create proteins from materials such as wood. There are different types of technologies that can boost the diversification of plant-based and alternative proteins into the market. For these technologies to flourish, investment support and regulatory support is fundamental.
How is EIT Food supporting innovation in plant-based protein? Can you share any examples of key projects in this area?
MLM: From an investing and funding standpoint, at EIT Food we have an Impact Funding Framework instrument. Through this, we finance projects and innovations that align with three of our missions: Healthier Lives Through Food, A Net Zero Food System, and Reducing Risk for a Fair and Resilient Food System. Within these missions, we have three priority areas: Regenerative Agriculture, Protein Diversification, and Labelling, Packaging and Transparency.
LS: As we have previously mentioned, the Protein Diversification Think Tank is a very important action that we are doing. Through this, we have provided recommendations, actions, and policy for protein diversification to drive the system transformation.
Another example is the Marketed Innovation Prize, which rewards innovative food organisations that have successfully brought products into the market. Last year, we provided an innovation prize of €10,000 to Austrian alternative protein startup, Revo Foods. Revo Foods has developed a plant-based alternative to soy food using pea proteins, algae extracts, and plant oils. The company has been very successful in bringing the four products into the market over 20 European countries, including fish-free alternatives to smoked salmon and tuna spread.
There are also three other startup winners of our 2024 EIT Food Accelerator Network Tech Validation Awards that we announced during our flagship event in October 2024, Next Bite. One was Esencia Foods, which is pioneering the way for sustainable and healthy food options in Europe by developing whole-cut, mycelium-based fish and seafood alternatives.
Another was Typcal, which works with mycelium fermentation to create new ingredients for the food industry. Another example is Quest Meat, which is developing ingredients that will make cultivated meat affordable, scalable, and sustainable – three very important aspects that we need to tackle in the plant-based sector.
What hurdles need to be overcome to ensure a sustainable and secure plant-based food system in the EU moving forward?
MLM: Innovation needs to have the intake of the consumer but that will not happen unless the products are corresponding to their consumer needs and wants. With cell-based food, for example, it is difficult because very few people have ever tasted it. It is very important that we prepare the consumers in this journey and that we understand their expectations.
The EIT Food Consumer Observatory seeks to do just that – by regularly consulting European groups and developing insights and resources for food system stakeholders on topics such as trust and cultivated meat. We must communicate to dispel people’s fears and concerns surrounding new, novel foods.
With our knowledge base from our expert partners, EIT Food is working to provide information and transparency around the ingredients in such foods and break down the myths that this is ‘Frankenstein food’. This is not only our responsibility, but also that of our industry and policymakers moving forward.
LS: Regulatory challenges are one of the biggest problems we face because novel food and alternative protein sources often have very lengthy approval processes. There is also a need for investment in infrastructure and supply chains to be able to handle this process and for Europe to distribute these new products effectively.
Cost-effective processing technologies are also very important because we need to make products that are affordable for the mass population. In addition, to increase consumer acceptance, the products must be tasty and have the right texture. EIT Food is currently funding several projects committed to improving the texture and taste of these new plant-based alternative proteins.
Please note, this article will also appear in the 20th edition of our quarterly publication.
