An interesting consequence of the coronavirus pandemic: a surge in demand for plant-based meat. According to Nielsen, sales of plant-based meat in the US saw a jump of 264% in the nine weeks through 2 May 2020, which was further facilitated by collapsing supply chain of the more conventional meat such as beef and pork. The fact that faux meat facilities are less susceptible to outbreak diseases compared to the usual meat processing plants (primarily due to the former relying more on machinery and less on employees, which turn means that workers are not jam packed in close quarters like the latter) as well as their ability to ramp up production without needing to rely on animals to be ready for slaughter contributed toward the considerable increase in alternative meat options. Impossible Foods is already taking advantage of this opportunity—the company recently introduced its plant-based Impossible Burger at 1,700 Kroger and Kroger-owned stores throughout the United States, increasing its retail footprint by 18-fold.
Interestingly, the data also suggests that American consumers are losing interest in pastries and confectioneries—the sales for doughnuts, cupcakes and bread rolls and dessert platters have declined in the same period, with the demand for doughnuts plummeting the most at -45%. On the other hand, beans and legumes are fair game, with dried beans seeing an increase in demand by 140% in the same period, followed by kidney beans and chickpeas.
Now that many are de-confining and heading back to work, there are restrictions and caution about eating out. What are restaurants doing for the economic recovery? The shift of the best restaurant in the world, the two Michelin-starred Noma in Copenhagen from USD500 tasting menus to c. USD25 takeout burgers is a fascinating snippet. The two burger options are a cheeseburger and a quinoa-tempeh veggie burger.
Noma’s quinoa-tempeh veggie burger. Credit: Ditte Isager