The competition for switching from traditional meats to alternative hasn’t taken a break during the coronavirus pandemic with a new entrant to the $25bn market.
The new participant, Crump by Estonia’s The Naturist Co., has launched its alternative to the ever-burgeoning alternative meat sector. The Estonian firm’s claim was that soy alternatives like Impossible Foods worsened gynecomastia cases in men, a claim which has been previously denied by the Soy Industry Associations of America (ASA). While, the new entrant has a new non-meat mix, which it claims is better for the environment and is a sustainable alternative to established players.
Crump’s claim is that its product it takes 400 times less water to produce its meat alternative and creates 24 times less Co2 than traditional beef, and is generally better for production than soy, which is grown on reclaimed jungle in Brazil in the main.
“We believe this will replace all the beyond burgers and the plant-based crap out there already” Siim Land, Founder of the company.
The Indegogo funding page for the product also claims “It also contains all 9 essential amino acids needed for life, which isn’t the case with many other meat alternatives. Our fluffy and crunchy crumbles are made of only 2 ingredients: 100% organic hemp hearth flour and organic peas. No preservatives, No Allergens, No GMOs, No Soy.”
“Compared to meat you don’t get creatin, however it is twice the amount of protein than meat,” he said in a Youtube video. He added, “The environmental aspect of it is very cheap to grow hemp and doesn’t consume a lot of resources, it uses significantly less Co2.”
“The expert goes on to discuss the to talk about the Net-zero positive aspects of the hemp plant where it absorbs four times the amount of Co2 than trees.”
Brands like Crump are part of a growing cadre of different companies looking to tap into the expanding market, however, that industry has taken a hit in the past 2 years from a dip in the market.
Brands like Impossible Foods have now faced the wrath of being shorted on the stock market while the sector as a whole appears to be levelling out for the time being. Others in the meats sector are consolidating their positions like in the case of Canada’s Maple Leaf Foods Inc. which acquired plant-based food maker Lightlife Foods.
“All major brands and products across the category are experiencing similar challenges, which largely seems to be driven by consumers’ experience in terms of taste, price, degree of processing and ease of preparation,” said Curtis Frank, Maple Leaf’s president.”