The plant-based meat analog explosion started out as a disruptor in the prepared foods field and is currently going through some serious growing pains. But the idea of crafting meat, poultry, seafood, and dairy replacers derived from plants and other non-animal sources goes back centuries. Think: tofu. While there’s no argument that the main driver of the consumer love affair with meat-free options has been the technological boom that allowed for meat, poultry, and seafood mimics that have become increasingly close in flavor, texture, and other organoleptic aspects of their animal-based counterparts, the catalyst was also the demarcation between meat analogs and meat replacers.

Prepared Foods speaks with Susan Guerin, CEO of World Finer Foods, Inc. and Cutting Vedge, Inc., makers of burgers, meatballs, crumbles, and sausage replacers from artichokes.

Natural products industry sales were expected to hit nearly $320B in 2024 with growth across virtually very department. In advance of Natural Products Expo West, Prepared Foods covers everything from innovation to ingredients with Scott Dicker, market insights director at SPINS LLC, Chicago.

How does the nation’s largest refrigerated foods processor mine the relationship between culinary inspiration and R&D innovation? Prepared Foods talks trends and tastes with Reser’s Fine Foods executives Chef Sean Dwigans, Culinary Business Development Manager; and Chef Todd Ketterman, Culinary Manager.

The replacement for Natural Products Expo East, Newtopia Now, launched in the center of the country, kicked off last August in Denver, Colorado. Prepared Foods’ contributing editor Kerry Hughes, MS, ethnobotanist and principal for EthnoPharm covered the inaugural show, sharing highlights of the botanical ingredients as well as other ingredients and CPG products showcased there in the Mile-High City.

Trends in ethnic flavors and flavor fusion in new product development continue to grow and expand as we move deeper into the 2020s. We seem to be entering a period of culinary development when the flavors and culinary traditions from more countries and regions than ever before are making their way into America's culinary patois. This presents opportunities as well as challenges for the research chefs and R&D experts creating the next generation of foods and beverages with a pan-global appeal.

Interview with Adam Maxwell, CEO and Founder of Voyage Foods, Inc., and Kelsey Tenney, founding team member and VP of R &D of Voyage on their creation of a cocoa-free, allergen-free chocolate analog that perfectly recreates the flavor and organoleptic qualities of real chocolate.

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