Retail sales of plant-based meat alternatives reflect a shift happening in a dynamic category, as consumers bypass frozen products in favor of convenient, refrigerated plant-based offerings, Kemin reveals in an interview with FoodIngredientsFirst.

“Many consumers want to reduce meat intake while maintaining protein consumption, so they are substituting with plant-based meat alternatives that offer a taste and texture similar to meat,” says Courtney Schwartz, marketing director, Kemin Food Technologies – Americas. 

“While shoppers are looking for these ‘better-for-you’ products to promote health and well-being, they are also mindful of choosing products that are convenient and easy to prepare,” she adds.

“As manufacturers move from solely frozen, plant-based meat alternatives to new refrigerated options, protecting product integrity is critical to ensuring taste and meat-like texture remain intact.”

Refrigerated plant-based burger sales surge
The Good Food Institute shared recent SPINSscan data reflecting rapid growth, as sales of refrigerated plant-based burgers grew 123 percent over the past year and a massive 555 percent over the past two years. 

By comparison, frozen plant-based burger growth declined by four percent over the past year and grew at only one percent over the past two years.

“This shift toward fresh versus frozen leaves brands facing product quality challenges, as oxidation becomes an issue,” says Schwartz. 

“Now, you have a refrigerated product that is exposed to light oxidation, decreasing shelf life and quality much quicker.” 

Fat systems are a key component of great-tasting, plant-based meat alternatives, yet the oxidation of fat and oil components in these products is a common challenge for brands, she highlights. 

“It can be very difficult to deliver the texture and flavor consumers desire, if your product isn’t properly protected from oxidation.”

Kemin offers a portfolio of clean-label solutions to help brands control oxidation and maintain the freshness and quality of these products. Fortium R rosemary extract offers many benefits for oxidation control of plant-based meat alternative products, including:

• Label-friendly oxidation control.
• Shelf-life extension.
• Delay of flavor degradation to maintain taste and texture.
• Color retention to maintain visual appeal.
• Domestically grown, organic options available.
• Oil- or water-dispersible and dry or liquid forms in a variety of concentrations.

Proprietary rosemary extraction process
Kemin is one of the largest growers of vertically integrated rosemary in the world and the only supplier that is Sustainably Grown Certified by SCS Global Services. 

With a proprietary rosemary extraction process that delivers a highly refined, homogeneous solution, Kemin offers a consistent extract that contains standardized levels of carnosic acid. 

“Each plant-based application is unique in its formulation, meaning the ingredients and shelf life goals differ. Because of this, it is necessary to have a variety of rosemary concentrations available, which is exactly what Kemin offers with our Fortium R line,” Schwartz further explains. 

Kemin offers a range of concentrations and carriers to meet the shelf-life and label demands of each product. The company also offers organic varieties as well as application support to determine the appropriate formulation and point of application for formulators.

Additionally, Kemin offers in-house customer laboratory services (CLS) to help customer-partners get to market faster.

“Our CLS team provides dedicated support throughout all phases of testing to understand the influences of all food ingredients on the stability of your final product,” says Schwartz.

“Plant-Forward” was recently pegged a Top Trend for 2021 by Innova Market Insights, as a natural progression of this year’s “Plant-based Revolution.”