The high level of interest in plant proteins in the U.S. is attributable to the convergence of several factors, but increased consumer awareness and demand for dietary protein in general play key roles. A growing number of health benefits are associated with plant-based diets, and greater affordability of vegetarian protein options are important drivers, especially among trendsetting Millennials.

Heightened consumer interest in flexitarian, vegetarian and vegan lifestyles is also fueled in part by concerns related to meat production and consumption, including environmental and economic sustainability, the presence of antibiotic and hormone residues, and inhumane treatment of animals.

Celebrity Status
Current interest in plant proteins can be seen as an intensification of America’s love affair with protein in general, rather than as a departure from a meat-, poultry- or seafood-centric center plate. Broadly speaking, protein benefits from association with positive health effects, and unlike carbohydrates or fats, protein has not specifically been implicated as a contributor to chronic diseases or to obesity.  

Commissioned by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation, the “2015 Food & Health Survey,” conducted online with 1,007 Americans ages 18 to 80 in March 2015, found that 54% of Americans are trying to get a certain amount of protein or as much as possible. Only two other dietary components, fiber (55%) and whole grains (56%), slightly outranked protein as nutrients consumers actively seek out. 

Protein’s near celebrity status among nutrients over the last few years has resulted in more consumers associating protein with providing a source of energy, helping with weight management, promoting satiety (or a feeling of fullness) and building muscle mass and strength. Consumer interest in plant protein specifically is being fueled in part by both research findings and popular belief that a diet containing more plant-based foods and beverages, including plant protein, is associated with better health.

In addition to making it possible to avoid the saturated fat associated with animal proteins, plant proteins are a safe option for consumers with dairy or egg allergies or sensitivities. Millennials in particular are more often foregoing meat. About 10% of this demographic consider themselves vegan, and a survey conducted by 210 Analytics found that more than 60% of Millennials consume meat alternatives, products once almost wholly ignored by the majority of consumers. 

Market Options
Plant protein ingredients are available both as fractionated concentrates and isolates (including powders used specifically for fortification), and as whole food ingredients inherently high in protein that contribute flavor, texture and color attributes to food and beverage products. These protein ingredients are being leveraged in a wide range of food and beverage categories that have in common their association with healthful protein, sometimes explicitly stated as a nutrient content claim such as “good source” of, “excellent source” of, or “rich in” protein. 

Soy continues to dominate the plant protein ingredient marketplace in terms of volume. However, desire for clean label, vegan protein ingredients that are non-GMO, gluten-free, highly sustainable and contain no major allergens—while also providing variety in taste, texture, appearance, nutrition and cost—is driving interest in a wide range of plant protein ingredients.

Product developers rarely aim to identify or select one superior “winner” ingredient, but rather to best harness benefits from the great diversity of plant protein ingredients available. The effect of combining plant protein ingredients is important, both nutritionally in terms of protein quality and quantity, and also in terms of sensory appeal related to flavor, texture and appearance in application. 

Several recently launched ingredients feature blends of plant proteins—some of them whole food ingredients—to deliver more targeted amino acid profiles and sensory characteristics in application. These new ingredients include Terasante from FutureCeuticals and barGain plant protein blends from Glanbia Nutritionals.

A high level of interest in pea protein concentrates and isolates continues, with a growing number of companies already offering pea protein ingredients on the U.S. market or considering adding them to their line-up. Several pea protein suppliers claim to offer unique benefits. Axiom Foods features the use of a low-heat water extraction process that the firm claims results in a good-tasting pea protein that offers a mild flavor, light color and is also available in organic versions. AIDP’s PeasiPro XS claims to be the only U.S. grown and manufactured pea protein, having utilized its own seed breeding tailored to local growing conditions. 

Packaged Facts anticipates the surge in demand for pea protein concentrates and isolates indicates the future for pulses in the coming years is generally strong. Recent data suggest that 26% of U.S. households regularly purchase hummus.  Hummus has become so popular that Boar’s Head, predominantly a deli meat company, has introduced its own line. Sabra, generally credited with teaching America how to love hummus, now has mounting competition from brands seeking to offer unique points of difference, such as Tribe Mediterranean Foods Tribe Swirl, Hope and Eat Well Embrace Life, in addition to store brands. With hummus popularity already at an all-time high in the U.S., the United Nations declared 2016 to be International Year of Pulses, helping to increase consumer awareness of chickpeas and other pulses. (For more insight on pulses, click here.) 

Ancient grains, seeds and nuts, along with pulses, continue to be protein ingredients of choice for many processors looking for whole food protein sources that add desirable textural characteristics and enhance overall appearance. Brown rice protein, in addition, is picking up steam. Rice protein concentrates and isolates offer protein levels in the range of 70% to 90%, and sprouted versions tout more lysine than their unsprouted counterparts. Recent rice protein entrants strive to provide a smoother texture in beverage powder applications, where they are often used instead of, or in addition to, soy or whey.

Recent Ingredients
Newer to the U.S. market, plant protein ingredients gaining attention for their nutritional value and sustainability include hemp, sacha inchi and aquatic plants.  Hemp seed protein is gaining traction, appearing in more products and offering a broader array of amino acids than other plant proteins. It’s also often promoted for being more easily digested. Hemp-containing product sales increased more than 20% between 2014 and 2015, with cereal bars the leading category. Canadian hemp producer and processor Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods plans to move aggressively to supply hemp ingredients to the U.S. market in 2016. 

Sacha inchi is often referred to as the Inca nut or Inca peanut. A less familiar plant protein than hemp, Label Insight data indicate that 62 U.S. food and beverage products include sacha inchi. Typical applications include smoothies, bars, desserts and baked goods. AIDP sells a 60% protein concentrate of sacha inchi with a stated PDCAAS value of 0.87, which compares favorably with pea protein concentrate at 0.70 and rice at 0.50. Incatein, a defatted protein meal of sacha inchi sold by Axiom Foods, is made by cold-pressing seeds to remove most of the oils. The remaining protein meal is marketed as a premium plant protein, promoted for adding texture and stabilizing emulsions, for ease of digestion and high quality amino acid composition, providing 81% complete protein.

Newly emerging, tiny aquatic plants—including Mankhai from Hinoman and Lentein from Parabel—are sustainable whole protein sources that can grow rapidly in all weather conditions, year-round, while requiring little water and no land. Nutritionally, both boast that they contain high levels of all essential amino acids and branched chain amino acids associated with muscle building. 

Future Foods
Whatever the ingredients or ingredient combinations, plant proteins are playing an increasingly important role in a wide range of food and beverage products flagging protein content. The use of plant ingredients to boost the protein content of everyday foods is readily apparent in nutrition and energy bars. Recent introductions have started to leverage plant proteins less commonly used in this category, including hemp seeds, hemp protein and legumes.

In addition, a growing number of salty snack brands feature higher levels of protein from pulses. SPINS data indicate that the bean, lentil and pea snacks subcategory grew three times faster than the overall salty snack category between 2014 and 2015. Evidence of the popularity of bean snacks includes store brand snacks launched in a range of pulse-based flavor varieties. 

Plant proteins are also fundamentally important to a new crop of “future foods,” traditional products being reinvented by Silicon Valley startups and local entrepreneurs. With strong financial support from backers including Bill Gates and General Mills, for example, Beyond Meat is a biotech-oriented supplier of meat and poultry analogs. Using the tagline “The Future of Protein,” the mission is to develop product solutions that make it possible to replace animal protein with plant protein.

Targeting carnivores, not vegetarians or vegans, the company’s goal is to reduce global meat consumption by 25% by 2020. Its products are widely available in major conventional and natural and organic retailers including Wal-Mart and Whole Foods Market. With a similar product focus—“creating uncompromising meats for people who love meat, directly from proteins and other ingredients found in plants”—biotech startup Impossible Foods has also received considerable financial backing.

Also in this vein, independent retailer The Herbivorous Butcher, selling a long list of meat-free “meats” and cheese-free “cheeses,” opened in Minneapolis in January 2016. The Herbivorous Butcher has garnered international attention with its positioning as the world’s first vegan butcher shop.

Criticisms and concerns surrounding the efforts of these “future food” firms and others with similar goals include lengthy ingredient statements with unfamiliar terms associated with disassembling and reassembling the building blocks of plant proteins, as well as the underlying premise that meat flavor and texture profiles can be satisfactorily replicated using plant components.

Another concern is how to produce these new biotech-dependent meat analogs at reasonable cost, particularly given that affordability is one of the trump cards of basic plant proteins. Despite these doubts, Packaged Facts anticipates that this new breed of meat analog will raise the bar on sensory characteristics for the entire category, further mainstreaming plant-based meat alternatives.