The integration of plant-based and traditional food pairings is a staple in the American diet.
The integration of plant-based and traditional food pairings is a staple in the American diet. For instance, for breakfast I had almond milk on my cereal then put real dairy in my coffee. At lunch, I may have a veggie burger that I top with real cheese. Confused? Dont be. Consumer behavior is filled with contradictions and Barkley research shows that what consumers say and what they actually do will often diverge.
In fact, many consumers arent all or nothing when it comes to meat or dairy on any number of food topics. Think: 23% of Americans are eating more plant-based diets during COVID. Integrating plant-based options as well as traditional animal/dairy options feels like the new normal for those that arent all plant or no plant but rather blended diets. For example, Dunkin has recently released a Southwest Veggie Power Breakfast sandwich that has plant based protein patty as well as an egg. "Dunkin' continues to be a leading innovator in the plant based category. Jill Nelson, Vice President, Marketing & Culinary at Dunkin' says. we continue to provide menu options that meet the needs of our on-the-go guests."
Many consumers are unaware that the ag industry is investing heavily in sustainability. Modern food brands are innovating at the intersection of flavorful and sustainable. They are looking for new ways to make their products more earth, people and community friendly. And brands have to make it affordable to gain scale.
I spoke with Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board, on how they are investing in scientific research around egg nutrition and sustainability, as well as in partnerships to help deliver nutrition at scale.
Jeff Fromm: How is the American Egg Board thinking about creating a more sustainable footprint?
Emily Metz: We have now launched a brand new strategic vision and five-year plan to make eggs an indispensable part of the everyday lives of global consumers. Sustainabilityand the scientific measurement of sustainabilityare core to that plan.
To develop this new strategic vision and plan, we conducted more than 40 interviews with industry leaders. And one of the things that came up consistently was the desire to measure all of the good work that is being done on egg farms today. Sustainability has always been a big focus. Measuring it and capturing those outputs in a scientifically valid and meaningful way is critical. The egg industry recognizes that we need to shore up the science, and that this is something that the AEB can and should lead.
We're doing a couple things in that arena. Number one, we're expanding our Egg Nutrition Center which has historically focused on nutrition research. Our future focus will encompass sustainability research and sustainable nutrition. We're going to work to drive that sustainability research forward. To that end, we will undertake a first-ever, comprehensive lifecycle assessment for the egg industry. We're going to look at things like a carbon calculator, a GHD calculator, and really to capture the continuous progress occurring on egg farms across the country.
Its worth noting that how we think about sustainability is broadening, as well; as far as the consumer is concerned, sustainability is not just about environmental impact. Recent studies show that consumers' definition of sustainability has dramatically expanded, and three quarters of U.S. consumers now associate sustainability with safety, recyclable or reusable packaging, economic viability, food production including less food waste, and environmental protection. Another component of our new strategic plan, which focuses on innovation, will address these areas in what we believe will be significant and even transformative ways.
One of our most exciting initiatives is to stand up a brand new innovation center for the egg industry that will trial and pressure test new ideas for products or packaging for a host of applications across food service and CPG manufacturing. This will be accomplished at the industry level, in a pre-competitive space. There's a huge opportunity for the egg industry to advance by leaps and bounds toward satisfying all the evolving conditions for sustainability as defined by the consumer while innovating around unmet or undermet consumer needs. We aim to put a stream of exciting new products in front of consumers that not only meet their tastes and meal preferences, but that also hit on their ideals of sustainability.
Fromm: How are you thinking about sustainability and innovation together?
Metz: They're absolutely intertwined. The industry wants to see eggs be the solution to a lot of challenges facing our consumers and our world. When we look at innovating and what we want to trial, there will obviously be certain criteria that need to be met in order for the AEB to invest in or pilot a given product or menu item, or to work on a specific partnership. Sustainability will certainly be a factor or a criterion in those project evaluations.
We're also going to be doing a lot more outreach to major customers that want to talk about what egg farmers are doing around sustainability. We will support those customers with the scientific proof points that they need to show their customers that whatever item they're purchasing is, in fact, sustainable. We're looking to really be problem solvers in collaboration with those customers to say, "What information do you need?" Whatever that information needed is, we will provide the answer. We envision data collection and the scientific validation process to be collaborative with the customer base, because that's how we'll most effectively help them achieve their goals.
Fromm: Where do you see plant-based trends going within the innovation space over the near term, let's say three to five years?
Metz: We can't look at plant-based as the enemy, nor should we. There is a lot we can learn from the plant-based sector. It's one of the things that has driven my motivation around innovation. There's a reason that they get a lot of media attention; it's because they're positioning new products that are grounded in science that are doing exciting new things. Agriculture is doing many exciting things that we could do a much better job of communicatingand that is also a priority for my team at the AEBand, importantly, we have the potential to do great new, exciting things when it comes to product innovation and development. Our new strategic plan takes a consumer-centric approach at the industry level that comes down to everything from the product, to the packaging, to the story behind it and beyond.
This is also an opportunity to partner with our customers in the food industry on an entirely new level to truly maximize opportunities. Much of the AEB's new strategic plan centers around collaborations and partnerships. If you look at my membership and how my membership has changed, I now have members that are investing in the plant-based space as well; they're diversifying their portfolio. We must explore and invest in those opportunities to innovate, to produce something new and different and to meet consumers where they are. I believe strongly that there's a huge partnership and collaboration opportunity, and a shared learning opportunity, as well.
Do I think at the end of the day that people are going to replace eggs entirely with a plant-based version? I don't. We've seen this trend in other commodity sectors. I look at my friends, my millennial mom friends, and when we talk about other replacements, it's an and/or situation.
This isnt an all-or-nothing proposition. And that's really the trend. We might have a plant-based sausage product paired with a real egg on a breakfast sandwich. The point is that we need to be careful not to see plant-based as a threat. This will spur us on in traditional agriculture as well as in using eggs to innovate with new and different combinations to continue to meet evolving consumer preferences.
For questions about this interview please contact Jeff at jfromm@barkleyus.com
Read the original post:
Flavorful Sustainability: On The Reinvention Of The Egg And Why It Matters Now - Forbes
