The food-service and retail sectors create a critical feedback loop. Restaurants experiment and showcase the potential, while retailers make them accessible. This combined force fuels consumer awareness, acceptance, and ultimately, the success of the alternative protein industry. In this panel discussion, featuring leaders from the retail and food-service world, we will address innovative strategies for making plant-based products the standard, rather than the exception. When plant-based products are presented as the default option, sales go up significantly, finally reaching the much-needed volumes required to scale up production and bring down the cost. Driven by sustainability goals, a growing number of retailers and foodservice companies are currently exploring this approach, which comes with significant challenges.

Given the current price premium for many alternative proteins, what innovative pricing strategies can be used to make them more accessible to budget-conscious consumers? With a growing variety of alternative protein sources and ingredients, how are retailers better educating consumers about the different options and addressing potential confusion at the point of purchase? How can the industry address consumer skepticism or misinformation surrounding the safety, health aspects, and processing methods of alternative proteins?

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