Welcome from the editor: business as usual

Welcome and thank you for joining me this weekend.

The news of a couple of plant-based brands on the cusp of closing down or being rescued after running into financial troubles many have made some wonder if the sector is indeed in trouble or if this is a market fluctuation. Possibly all we are seeing is consolidation, maybe the cost-of-living crisis has forced consumers to cut down on their plant-based meat purchases, and perhaps we should accept that the market is a little overcrowded, but that eventually it’s going to level out and stabilise itself. There is still much demand, innovation and investment into this sector, so whilst some businesses may be experiencing difficulties, it doesn’t mean that the whole industry is no longer viable.

When it comes to the plant-based sector, there is certainly a huge amount to unpack. And so we do in this week’s analysis: Is the demise of the plant-based meat sector as hyped as its launch?

In January we brought you the plant-based trends for 2023. Seven months on we look at where we are at in the second half of the year, and what innovations have appeared on the market in 6 plant-based trends and innovations we’ve seen so far in 2023.

More and more companies are reporting on their carbon emissions, but the issue is that there isn’t a standard way to do so. Kate Norgrove, Executive Director of Advocacy and Campaigns, at WWF-UK joins the Food Matters Live podcast to discuss A measure of success? New initiative to standardise emissions reporting.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Stef