Meat processors say they are not worried over growing number of non-meat alternatives
By Martha Mueller Neff
Janet Riley's reaction to meat substitutes, or meat analogues, typifies at least the initial reaction many Americans have to meatless products. "If that's what consumers want, I'm glad these products are around," she says. "But I don't like them at all."
Granted, Riley perhaps is biased in her role as AMI director of public affairs, but she has tried some of the vegetable-based products and finds she prefers the real thing.
"I don't think anyone feels threatened by them, but there is a small product niche that these products are filling," she points out. "But 95 percent of Americans are meat eaters, and I doubt that meat processors will get into these products. Hamburgers and hot dogs are staples of the American diet."
A growing market
Staples, yes, but the niche market for meat substitutes-whether it be for strict vegetarians or for those who are simply trying to cut back on the amount of fat and cholesterol in their diet-is solid and growing.
According to Chicago-based Information Resources Inc., shelf-staple meat substitute and vegetable protein product sales increased by 26.4 percent to $5.3 million from January 1993 to January 1994.
LaLoma, one of the two top brands made by Worthington, Ohio-based Worthington Foods Inc., had sales of $2 million in 1993, up 28.4 percent from the previous year. Worthington's other products also saw increased sales last year from the previous year, with total sales of $79 million in 1993 alone, 55 percent of which came from supermarket distribution and retail sales.
Although some meat analogues may sound unappetizing at first, new advances in production have made many of them smell, look, feel and most importantly taste like real meat for customers who don't eat meat because they are vegetarians, because they have been told by a doctor to avoid meat, or because they object to eating animal flesh.
Most varieties of meat analogues are made from vegetable sources such as tofu, rice, nuts and seeds and other grains. Traditionally marketed strictly to vegetarians in health food stores, meat substitutes more and more are increasingly turning up in large- and medium-sized grocery stores, and are finding their way onto the tables of consumers.
Although these substitutes are lower in fat and cholesterol than the real thing, they also can be lower in protein. And vegetables do not contain all the amino acids necessary for building muscles, blood and other organs. The body does not absorb iron from vegetables as quickly as it does from other sources, such as meat.
The meat substitutes do not have large quantities of Vitamin B12, and can have high levels of sodium, said Pat Harper, a nutrition consultant in Pittsburgh who owns her own healthy cuisine restaurant, White Oak Express.
"None of [the meat substitutes] have cholesterol; that's one of their big advantages," Harper points out. "There's a growing interest in [meat substitutes], but I don't think it's mainstream. They're appealing to people who are looking to reduce the cholesterol in their diets."
Public perception
Will the public pick up on the merits of meat substitutes? Will Not Dogs and Harvest Burgers replace lean ground chuck and bacon in our refrigerators and kitchen cupboards?
"It's going to depend a lot on how the technology improves, whether the products look and taste more familiar," Harper notes. "Also, it depends on how it is marketed. The companies are not marketing it to the average person. It can happen if it's done right."
Ronnie Cummins, a spokesman for Beyond Beef, perhaps the meat industry's No. 1 critic, agrees.
Restaurants like Taco Bell that serve limited amounts of beef in other dishes, and other fast-food restaurants, such as Burger King where officials are test-marketing a veggie burger, are responding to a demand, he points out. And the market for organic products and humanely-raised beef is growing.
The trick is to convince people that meat does not necessarily make the meal, Cummins says. He adds that in today's society, young people are programmed to eat meat, and that if meat is not in the meal, they do not think it's a real meal.
Some of the more successful meat substitute products, according to Naples, N.Y.-based Marketing Intelligence Service include:
-- Harvest Burgers and Harvest Burger Patties on the Green Giant label, made by Archer Daniels Midland Co., through Pillsbury. The all-vegetable, cholesterol-free patties are soy-based, like so many meat substitutes, and are available in many flavors, like Southwest style, Italian style and the breakfast patties varieties.
-- The Better Than Burger? in the Naturally Tofu line marketed under the Sovex brand name by Sovex Natural Foods Inc. of Collegedale, Tenn. According to Marketing Intelligence, the "dehydrated product is said to, when prepared (baked, fried or broiled), look like real meat, have the savory taste of fresh ground beef, and is to be used in place of meat." It is made of soy flour, oats, tofu powder, garlic powder, dried onion, vegetable gum and other spices.
-- Wheat Balls, made by Knox Mountain Farm in Franklin, N.H., is a dry mix that makes a "dynamic veal Parmesan, a succulent wheat loaf or the one meatless burger you can throw on the grill that won't fall apart," according to the company.
"There is quite a market for meat substitutes," stresses Patti Laughty, consumer administrator for Knox Mountain Farm, who adds that Wheat Balls have no fat and 19 grams of protein per serving, and product is loaded with herbs and spices.
The Wheat Ball mix can be prepared with tomari, a pure soy sauce. The mixture is dropped in boiling water for 30 minutes and drained. Formed into balls, they are then baked for 15 minutes until crispy.
Seventy-five percent of Wheat Balls' customers are vegetarians, and sales are brisk, Laughty points out. "The Wheat Balls appeal to people who are mainstream and are looking for no-fat foods. I think it's growing tremendously."
-- Another meat substitute-but not vegetable-is surimi. Surimi is usually made of a white fish, such as pollock, that undergoes a process of filleting, mincing, water-washing to remove oils, and extracting of excess moisture and bone. Like tofu, the finished product is neutral in taste and color, and absorbs the taste of foods with which it is cooked. It can be blended with crab, shrimp, lobster and other fish and meat products to cut fat, calories, sodium, yet still maintain a certain level of protein.
-- The Worthington GranBurger, the Natural Touch line of vegetable protein products targeted mainly at the vegetarian Seventh Day Adventists of America, and Morningstar Farms' Meatless Grillers, Meatless Breakfast Links and Meatless Breakfast Patties, are all from Worthington Foods Corp., one of the largest meat substitute manufacturers in the United States.
The ads for Morningstar's line of cholesterol-free products, in particular, are slick, upbeat with Cajun music and feature all varieties of the meat substitutes served in appealing ways with the slogan, "More ways to enjoy meat less."
"These products are aimed at what we call 'meat restrictors,' " says Robert Clark, vice president of marketing for Worthington. "The vast majority are not vegetarians, and surveys show that [the number of meat restrictors] is close to 40 percent of the population."
Of the eight items in the Worthington meat alternative line, seven are direct meat substitutes. One product, the Garden Vege-Patties, does not try to replicate meat, but relies on rice, spices and other binders.
Clark says that although the products have done well in test markets across the country, they are targeted to a specific group of people, not necessarily the general population of meat eaters.
"They do sell well, and it's certainly a growing category," Clark notes. "It provides people with options. We're not trying to put the meat people out of business," he stresses. "People are trying to cut back on their fat. The liquid diets had their heyday about a year ago and now people are looking less for a quick fix and more to an overall change in the way they eat over the long term. That's just going to continue."
Vegetarian growth
A National Restaurant Association-sponsored study conducted by the Gallup organization in 1991 showed 21 percent of American adults are likely, or very likely, to dine at a restaurant that features vegetarian items on its menu.
Interest in vegetarian food in restaurants is evenly distributed across the United States, with a slight increase in the east and southeast. The NRA study showed interest is higher among women and respondents 35 years and older.
Even more interesting, however, is that interest in vegetarian items "does not necessarily stem from a commitment to vegetarianism." When those who said they selected vegetarian items in restaurants were asked why they did so, 88 percent said "health reasons" were important or somewhat important, and 86 percent said "taste preferences" were important or somewhat important.
Thirty-nine percent of those responding said they choose to eat vegetarian for ethical reasons, and 22 percent cited religious reasons, although that figure rose to 43 percent among non-white respondents.
"It would appear that growing concern about reducing cholesterol intake and increasing fiber intake, as well as a natural taste for fresh fruit and vegetables, is driving this trend," says NRA President John R. Farquharson. "We are dealing with 'semi-vegetarians' who are reducing, but not eliminating, consumption of meat, poultry and fish."
By and large, traditional meat processors have steered clear from introducing their own lines of meat substitutes. After all, real meat is their business. Nor do they see the meat substitutes infringing on their business.
"I don't see it as a threat," says Jean Cowden, public affairs manager for Madison, Wis.-based Oscar Mayer Foods Corp. "People are cutting back on meat consumption; meat is now an ingredient in so many other foods and recipes. But people are making tradeoffs. Turkey and ham are now mainstream."
Wendy Webster, manager of media relations for the National Restaurant Association, points out that "there is certainly a profound and growing interest in meatless alternatives, but it could be anything, like pasta, or rice, or cheese and other dairy products."
Joan Lucas, public relations manager for Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Inc., agrees. "There are so many different types of consumers," she says. "There seems to be a market out there for these products but what we're trying to do is meet a demand for our type of product. There really is no threat."