Plant-based F&B packaging innovation driven by booming alt-meat and dairy demand

11 Aug 2021 --- Plant-based alternative F&B products are disrupting the traditional animal-based space as globally consumers consider shifting their diets to include more “alt” products. As consumers turn to plant-based alternatives to reduce their reliance on meat and dairy, packaging manufacturers are innovating to meet a myriad of new demands from industry.

Imitating traditional animal-based product packaging, conveying health and environmental sustainability messages, and facing legislative battles are some central challenges arising for packagers in this growing area. 

PackagingInsights sits down with experts from GEA, Multivac and Wipak to discuss how they are tackling these difficulties and what the future holds for plant-based alternative F&B packaging. 

They explain one key aspect; how environmentally sustainable materials and designs are being developed to entice consumers to purchase sustainable products.

A plant-based meat tray by Multivac, designed with 85% less plastic.The boom in plant-based demand 
Meat and dairy alternatives are no longer niche products. Where a select category of F&B was once reserved for those following specific diets, now a majority of consumers consider it normal to replace animal products on a regular basis, explains Mikko Kettunen, Wipak’s regional R&D manager. 

“We see plant-based protein products as a growing trend. Environmental sustainability is a big driver for this plant-based segment, and it’s becoming a more visible option for meat products.” 

“Today, traditional vegetarians are not anymore the only target consumer segment for these products. For meat-eaters, it has become more normal to eat plant-based alternatives every now and then. Food producers are developing plant-based alternatives to taste more like meat products.” 

A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found that 55 percent of US Midwest university students have tried a plant-based meat alternative and attributed this choice to the enjoyment of new food, curiosity about the products, and environmental concern. 

Marina Dodel, project manager for Multivac’s Corporate Innovation Center, says this trend is being felt throughout many parts of the world, saying the demand is “increasing steadily.” 

Getting competitive with the meat industry 
A central challenge for plant-based alternative producers is ensuring the message of environmental and health benefits comes across easily on packaging for consumers, asserts Kettunen. 

“Consumers’ self-awareness about the environmental impacts of food and the food industry has grown rapidly over the past few years, specifically among the younger generation.”  

“As an influencer, product marketing/social media have a big responsibility to provide fact-based information as this topic is sensitive for greenwashing as well. People’s personal opinions are strongly guiding their buying behavior, and it can be difficult to change it to one direction or another.” 

However, research also shows that while many consumers have a desire to reduce their meat intake, they find it difficult to do so. A study by the Wageningen University and Research, Netherlands, showed that meat consumption is rising despite Dutch consumers increasingly identifying as flexitarian or vegetarian. 

Packaging has a central role to play in aiding this situation, says Kettunen, who notes there is “a lot of discussions and work to be done” in designMultivac’s paperboard sandwich pack. and marketing. 

“Due to increasing competition with plant-based products, differentiation from competitors is very important for brand owners. Pack design must correspond/ highlight the brand image.” 

Sustainable packaging for sustainable products 
Beyond design and messaging that can communicate the benefits of the contents, packaging for plant-based alternatives also needs substantive advantage within itself, says Dodel. 

It should not only look sustainable, she says, but be sustainable. “The requirements regarding the packaging design or material might change a bit over time, but our portfolio includes various packaging concepts that contribute to being more sustainable.”  

“Together with leading manufacturers of packaging materials, we are working on the development of new packaging concepts, for example, using recyclable materials such as monomaterials or fiber-based packaging materials,” Dodel says. 

Kettunen echoes this, saying that eco-conscious F&B “deserves” eco-conscious packaging, and this is a market that taps deeper into trends that are currently permeating the entire food packaging industry.

“Topics like material optimization, recyclability, recycled- or bio-based raw material content are often highlighted as main drivers in packaging material development.”  

Plant-based dairy
Massimo Nascimbeni, product manager, blowing and filling at GEA, explains that rising concerns over milk-protein allergies and lactose intolerance, as well as the shift to veganism and vegetarianism, have sent plant-based dairy alternatives booming.

The success of companies like Oatly, which has been estimated to value as much as US$5 billion, are a case in point.

However, dairy producers wishing to expand into the plant-based dairy alternatives market should expect to face additional challenges over and above those associated with conventional milk, Nascimbeni asserts. 

“One such hurdle is product formulation. Considering the wide range of available raw materials and their very different characteristics, it is important to take into account potential combinations as well as seasonal influences, growing and local production conditions of individual ingredients.”  

The GEA aseptic blow fill system for plant-based dairy products.

“These factors can impact nuts’ and seeds’ microbial loads, which are transferred to the beverage after extraction. The microbial load is key to determining the requisite level of decontamination and how much protection the packaging must provide.”

In response, GEA created the state-of-the-art GEA ABF 2.0 Aseptic Blow Fill platform, which was created specifically to ensure product safety when manufacturing highly sensitive items. 

“Thanks to fully automated monitoring of the entire operation, which eliminates any semi-automatic or manual interventions, producers are assured of absolute reliability and end-to-end aseptic conditions.”Oatly is thought to be worth up to US$5 billion.

Legislative battles 
A point of contention arising from the success many plant-based alternative producers are facing has come from labeling challenges pitted against them by the meat and dairy industries. 

Recently, Oatly faced down an EU amendment that sought to restrict descriptions comparing its milk replacement product to traditional milk. 

This would have joined a raft of other measures approved by the European Court of Justice, which stipulates that “purely plant-based products cannot, in principle, be marketed with designations such as ‘milk,’ ‘cream,’ ‘butter,’ ‘cheese’ or ‘yogurt’” – terms reserved by EU law for animal products.

Similar battles have been fought over labeling for meat replacement products, including attempts to ban plant-based producers from using terms like “burger” or “sausage” for their products. 

What does the future hold? 
Dodel asserts the packaging industry must continue to prepare for the rise of plant-based alternatives. 

“While the consumption of conventional meat will presumably decrease, the consumption of novel vegan meat replacement or even cultured meat will increase.”  

“Packaging concepts for plant-based meat should be further developed or adapted, as a sustainable product requires a sustainable packaging concept. Another important topic for the future is a carbon-neutral product and package,” she says. 

This rise in consumer demand will drive a greater number of meat producers to expand into the segment, adds Kettunen. 

“Over time, increased competition in the plant-based products segment will have its effect on cost levels and generally we already see that some traditional ‘meat-houses’ are expanding their product offering to plant-based alternatives as well.” 

By Louis Gore-Langton