‘Hyper-real’ meat brand hits NZ shelves

A new plant-based meat has launched in New Zealand, but have we reached peak fake meat? And more importantly, are New Zealanders actually buying it?

Local meatconsumption data from the OECD shows that Kiwis continue to love their meat, despite a decline in red meat consumption. In 2019, New Zealanders ate 74.9kg of redmeat, sheepmeat, poultry and pork per capita. This is up significantly from 66.7kg in 2010.

What these numbers show is that New Zealanders aren’t necessarily changing their carnivorous ways; it’s simply a case of our animal preferences changing. Chicken is the meat of choice these days.

Despite the numbers showing New Zealand’s enduring affinity withmeat, the newest plant-based “meat” manufacturer to stock our supermarket shelves says the country is an ideal market for meat-free alternatives.

Vegan startup Next! Foods, which produces what it brands as hyperrealistic “meat” that sizzles like bacon and pulls apart like chicken, has launched its product down under.

The Singapore-based company manufactures its soy-based meat in the Netherlands and its product hit the market 10 months ago. It has recently gone on sale in New Zealand, with its bacon product sold in over 100 Countdown supermarkets. Its chicken product is expected to go on sale next year.

Available in 1500 stores worldwide, it first started out in the meat section of Coles in Australia. It is now also available in France and Spain, and company founder Biren Doshi says Next! Foods is now focusing its efforts on the New Zealand market.

“New Zealand is a key market for us because it is a food-loving nation ... and we feel that New Zealanders are [very open] to the idea of plant-based meats,” Doshi told the Herald.

Doshi estimates that New Zealand’s plantbased meat market has recently grown quickly to an estimated $30-40 million annually. When viewed against the over $10 billion contribution of the New Zealand beef and lamb industry in terms of local and export revenue or the billion-dollar chicken industry, it’s clear the fake meat industry still has some way to grow out of its niche. Colleen Ryan, partner of consumer insights agency TRA, says she does not believe that sales of vegan meats will ever outstrip those of traditional meat products, but she said the prospect of alternative protein had got consumers and businesses excited.

“We’ve got it in fast food now, we can buy it in supermarkets, and very often it looks like meat products — like a burger patty. Wemay see those proteins getting more experimental in terms of . . . whether it has to replicate something that is a meat product or can it just be something in its own right. The interesting space will be innovation.”

We feel that New Zealanders are [very open] to the idea of plant-based meats. Biren Doshi, founder, Next! Foods