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June/July 202 2 IV MAGAZINE AT PAGE 18 FOCUS ON Menu, the new frontier is called plant-based FOOD COMPANIES ARE RESPOND- ING TO THE GROWING DEMAND FOR VEGETABLE-BASED FOODS THAT IMITATE THOSE OF ANIMAL ORIGIN BY LAUNCHING DEDICATED PRODUCT LINES. BUT THE LARGE RESTAURANT CHAINS ARE ALSO EQUIPPING THEM- SELVES WITH SPECIALLY DESIGNED OFFERINGS. INCREASINGLY, THESE ARE ALSO APPEARING IN THE KITCH- ENS OF TRADITIONAL RESTAURANTS. WITH PROMISING RESULTS by Manuela Falchero Vegetable-based menus are making their way into the Italian daily diet. Proof of this are the moves made by the big names in the food industry who are riding the growing wave of the latest generation of plant-based products, in other words, those that imitate the look and taste of foods of animal origin, but which are packaged with strictly vegetable ingredients. The list is extensive and of absolute importance: to give just a few examples, names of the calibre of Nestlé , which presides over the market with its Garden Gourmet brand, and Nomad Foods , which has just launched its Findus rice flake chopsticks. But we should also mention Granarolo , which has entered the meat alternative with its vegan burger Unconventional, and Amadori , which at the end of May launched its ‘Ama Vivi e Gusta’ line, consisting of three references - Le Birbe, Cotolette and Burger - based on pea protein and without soya. On the cold and irrefutable evidence of the data, after all, this category offers truly interesting performance: suffice it to say that, according to the latest Coop report, sales of ‘alternative meat’ alone increased by 25% in 2020 compared to the previous year. THE MOVES OF INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS The market for plant-based products therefore seems to have what it takes to grow and to grow fast. It is therefore a market that we should start thinking about in order to expand the veggie offer also at the bar or restaurant. And indeed, some large chains are already moving in this direction. This is the case of Burger King, which, after the ‘experimental’ and eventual introduction of the Rebel Wopper in 2019, is now offering its plant-based burger and meatless nuggets, produced by Unilever ’s The Vegetarian Butcher, in all its restaurants. But that’s not all. Qsrp, the group to which the chain belongs, has also partnered with Novish to supply plant-based fish products. McDonald’s, on the other hand, is testing its McPlant, produced by Beyond Meat , in the United States, with very promising results: according to research carried out by the company BTIG in the eight points of sale that took part in the pilot project, in fact, several restaurants sold around 70 McPlants per day, compared to an estimate of between 20 and 25. And its arrival in Italy seems only a matter of time: “What we are evaluating is not ‘if ’ to include McPlant on our menus, but ‘when’,” McDonald’s Italy CEO Dario Baroni recently stated.