Tyson Foods Inc. debuted its first alternative protein products on Thursday, including nuggets made from plants.
Food producers like Tyson, Hormel and their competitors have all been developing new product lines as meat substitutes made from plants continue to gain market share.
"Today's consumers are seeking more protein options so we're creating new products for the growing number of people open to flexible diets that include both meat and plant-based protein," Noel White, Tyson's president and chief executive officer, said Thursday. "For us, this is about 'and' -- not 'or.'"
Along with Tyson's line of Raised & Rooted nuggets, the Springdale company has crafted a blended burger made with Angus beef and pea protein, and blended sausages and meatballs made with chicken, beans, and grains. Tyson said the nuggets will be in U.S. stores by summer's end and the blended patty products by fall. Aidell's Whole Blends sausage links and meatballs are in stores now.
"We remain firmly committed to our growing traditional meat business and expect to be a market leader in alternative protein, which is experiencing double-digit growth and could someday be a billion-dollar business for our company," White said.
Tyson shares rose 63 cents to close Thursday at $82.53. They have been as high as $84.30 and as low as $49.77 in the past 52 weeks.
While there is demand growth for meat alternatives, Jayson Lusk, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, said "we haven't yet seen big reductions in demand for traditional meat products."
In a recent consumer studies, Lusk found that if shoppers had the choice between beef, plant-based or cell-based alternatives, and they were all priced the same, 80% chose conventional beef.
"I think all the signs are there for alternative protein products," he said. "I think these new products, like all new products, are trying to tap into emerging trends and while a lot of the activity has been around new technology startups, some have been traditional meat and protein companies."
"It was only a matter of time before something like this happened," Lusk said about Tyson's announcement.
Tyson began developing alternative proteins last year, while it held a minority stake in Beyond Meat, a producer known for its plant-based patties that are designed to cook and taste like real beef. Tyson also has startup investments in cell-based meat producer Memphis Meats and mushroom-based food producer MycoTechnology.
After holding its position for over a year, Tyson sold its shares of Beyond Meat, worth about $23 million, a week before the company went public on May 2. Since then, Beyond Meat shares have risen as high as $186. They fell 58 cents to close Thursday at $141.39.
Companies in a rush to get their own alternative proteins to market unveiled new such foods this week. Perdue debuted a line of Chicken Plus nuggets made of chicken and vegetables. Kentucky Fried Chicken is testing a vegan chicken patty that the "Colonel would be proud of" in U.K. stores next week. Also, Beyond Meat is developing a "beefier" patty made of mungbeans, peas and rice proteins, and a plant-based product created to resemble ground beef, called Beyond Beef.
"It's funny," Lusk said, thinking back to when cafeteria meat was questionable at best. "The rumors were, this isn't really meat," he said. "They are blending it with soy ... mainly to reduce costs ... and often seen as an inferior thing."
Now the script is flipped.
"I think there's some rebranding of that idea to bring down costs and keep margins higher," he said.
Business on 06/14/2019