Core tips
In the past, fast food that was considered "unhealthy" played a health brand, created a concept from the perspective of "reducing the risk of animal disease transmission", and stepped up the layout of conceptual foods such as "artificial meat" and "plant meat" in the domestic market. In the afternoon of April 23, the artificial meat sector strengthened collectively, Shuangta Foods and Beijing Food Holdings successively set daily limits, Fengle Seed Industry and Dakang Agriculture rose more than 9%, and Laiyifen, Beidahuang, Weiwei and other stocks strengthened.
A reporter's investigation found that the taste of artificial meat was not as expected, but the price was twice the price of meat. The consumer market in the early war was not in flames. Recently, an announcement by the artificial meat supplier has caused investors' attention. Industry sources said that the current standards for the artificial meat industry are still blank, and the future prospects are promising, but must cross several barriers such as price, taste, and industry regulations.
Consumer rollover
Not chewy, not too hot
Recently, KFC and Starbucks have announced the launch of vegetable meat products in the Chinese market. The reporter tried according to the official promotion channel guidelines:
The Starbucks sales page shows that there are 3 related meals, namely: Beef Pasta with Green Sauce, Classic Lasagne and American Chutney Roll. The price range of these three meals is between 59 yuan and 69 yuan, which is about 20 yuan more expensive than other similar products on the market. The sales page also announced that milk-free latte using oat milk will be launched. These products are said to be all produced by Beyond Meat, the US's "first stock of artificial meat," which has created a lot of momentum.
KFC sells 1.99 yuan / 5 pieces of plant chicken nuggets, relatively few categories, and relatively affordable prices. On the morning of the 23rd measured by the reporter, 400 pre-sale coupons have been "second light".
The reporter then found a single product of vegetable meat sold at an imported commodity supermarket in Guangzhou. The commodity label shows that a vegetable protein-based vegetable meat is priced at 28 yuan / 230 grams, which is nearly twice the price of pork.
On the day of the visit, the product showed a status of "Hot Selling", and several other plant protein products not far from its shelves did not have the blessings of plant meat and artificial meat, but displayed "promotion".
Artificial meat is so expensive, is it true that it is not fragrant to eat real meat? With the promotion of merchants and online red card punching activities, recently, evaluations of plant meat and artificial meat have appeared on social platforms such as Weibo, Moments, and Live Broadcasting, but the style of painting is not uniform, and netizens have released many "large rollover sites" ":" It tastes a bit heavy, it seems to try my best to tell me that it is meat "" The beef in the meat roll is all "minced meat", there is no real beef chewy "" So many side dishes put together , Is it to conceal the true identity of 'artificial meat' ... "
Some netizens posted that "the fouls are not delicious, and they are not much different from real meat." "It feels like ordinary meat, do I usually eat fake meat ..."
In the recent few days of sales promotion, online evaluation and consumer feedback, the reporter combed and found that many consumers have an attitude of early adopters and surprises, and the evaluation is relatively objective and tolerant, but a relevant person in charge of brand marketing told reporters : "I did not receive the expected consumption frenzy, which may be related to the fact that everyone's consumption has not been fully released during the epidemic."
Capital force
"Outbreak" outbreak in the domestic market, the volume is still small
Why is artificial meat suddenly on fire? The reporter learned from the marketing department of a foreign fast food brand that introduced the concept of artificial meat that artificial meat has been in the United States for more than a year, and now it is getting together in the domestic market, or it is related to the recent epidemic situation and the new actions of food giants in China. related.
Artificial meat companies step up their domestic market
The move of artificial meat to step up the domestic market is a bit obvious. In November last year, Tmall appeared on the shelves of artificial pork and artificial chicken sold by Canadian artificial meat brand Omni Pork, of which artificial pork sold for 60 yuan per catty.
Almost at the same time, some domestic companies also aimed at this huge market: in November last year, the domestic plant-based artificial meat company Week Zero (STARFIELD) and milk tea brand Nai Xue jointly launched a series of artificial meat burgers, and the Western food chain "Bon! John" The joint launch of "Future Meat Pizza"; last month, on week zero, it announced the completion of tens of millions of yuan in financing.
"The epidemic has caused people to worry about animals acting as parasitic hosts and infecting humans. The market demand for artificial meat as a substitute for meat will continue to increase." Zhu Danpeng, an analyst of the Chinese food industry, told the Guangzhou Daily Daily media reporter that the popularity of artificial meat is Recent global warming, outbreaks and other issues are related. With the superposition of multiple factors, coupled with the strong promotion of Starbucks, KFC, Beyond Meat and other giants, the domestic artificial meat market is expected to expand further.
The reporter found an interesting phenomenon. Most domestic introductions of the concept of artificial meat are fast food brands. In the past, fast food has been criticized as "unhealthy", but this time when artificial meat was introduced, it was "healthy", and there is still a high-profile broker. Expressed the view that artificial meat is healthier: "From a safety perspective, artificial meat can eliminate the threat of ordinary meat parasites and microorganisms, and reduce the spread of zoonotic diseases and animal diseases. From a nutritional perspective, artificial meat is artificially cultivated and composed of ingredients Adjustment, higher nutritional value than ordinary meat. "
In the afternoon of April 23, the artificial meat sector strengthened collectively, Shuangta Foods and Beijing Food Holdings successively set daily limits, Fengle Seed Industry and Dakang Agriculture rose more than 9%, and Laiyifen, Beidahuang, Weiwei shares and other stocks strengthened.
And this time Beyond Meat joined international chain fast food companies to compete for the race track with domestic artificial meat suppliers, to make the real difference: In order to expand the domestic market, Beyond Meat announced the opening of Weibo and WeChat public accounts, and also launched a Chinese website; Starbucks Announced that it has reopened more than 95% of its stores in China, selling new products across the board.
Why the Chinese market is valued
The proportion of Chinese vegetarian consumers is not large. Why does artificial meat value the Chinese market so much?
On the one hand, the demand is increasing, on the other hand, the market volume is small. At present, there is no absolute industry giant in China. Only companies engaged in vegetable meat business, such as Shenzhen Qishan Food, Jiangsu Hongchang Food and Ningbo Sulian Food, etc., and the total turnover of these three companies in 2018 added up, still Far lower than a company in Beyond Meat, the domestic artificial meat market is low in concentration and small in volume.
Listed company
Supplier announcement draws attention
Just as capital is targeting the domestic market and consumers are not buying it, artificial meat suppliers have issued an announcement that has attracted investors' attention.
Among the A-share listed companies, the domestic companies involved in the concept of artificial meat mainly include Shuangta Food, Jinzi Ham, Jinjian Rice Industry, Haixin Food, and Anjing Food. Among them, Shuangta Foods is one of Beyond Meat's pea protein suppliers. 20% of its revenue comes from pea protein. Even the vegetable meat products launched by Starbucks and KFC are indirectly related to Shuangta Foods.
Recently, Shuangta Foods issued an announcement on the delayed share repurchase of some shares of the controlling shareholder, indicating that it has recently received a letter from the controlling shareholder Zhaoyuan Junxing Agricultural Development Center that the latter held part of the former shares for delayed purchase repurchase. Shuangta Foods said in this announcement that its controlling shareholders have no non-operating capital occupation, illegal guarantees and other circumstances that infringe on the interests of listed companies, and as of the date of disclosure, its controlling shareholders ’share pledge matters have affected its production, operation and corporate governance. It has no substantial impact, does not involve compensation obligations, and there is no risk of liquidation.
How do investors view this announcement? Some people in the industry told reporters that this announcement does not represent risk. It can be explained in a popular way, or it can be compared to the meaning of "continue to pledge borrowing money". However, for other investors who are concerned about the artificial meat sector, "On the guise of capital using market sentiment to build momentum, it is necessary to consider that the artificial meat industry track has not yet been on track, and further regulation and deepening are needed."
Industry views
Artificial meat wants to really gain a foothold and has to cross three barriers
At the same time that artificial meat ushered in the highlight, it also caused people to discuss its development prospects. The industry generally expressed long-term optimism, but pointed out that if you want to really gain a foothold, you still need to continue to hurdle.
The first threshold is expensive. The reporter learned that the reason why the price of artificial meat is much higher than that of real meat lies in the high cost of technology and the difficulty of mass production. Guosheng Securities Research reported that the first artificial patties appeared in Professor Mark Post's laboratory in 2013. The cost at that time was $ 325,000; five years later, the cost of artificial meat produced by Future Meat was about $ 10,000 per pound. The research report also said that the key factor to reduce the cost of "cultivated meat" is to reduce the cost of serum, and the current cost of serum alone is much higher than the value of fresh meat, which leads to the lack of price competitiveness of "cultivated meat" and the difficulty of mass production.
The second threshold is "poor taste". Although with the development of technology, the taste of artificial meat has been infinitely close to real meat, but through the promotional activities such as the new test of KFC and Starbucks, it is found that the artificial meat products currently on the market still have a gap with the daily eating habits of domestic consumers. , Doubts about acceptance.
The third threshold is no standard. At present, artificial meat is playing a major role in safety and health in China. However, the reporter did not find an authoritative statement after consulting the relevant standards and regulatory systems of the State Food and Drug Administration and other departments. Recently, Wang Shouwei, director of the China Meat Food Comprehensive Research Center and president of the Beijing Food Science Research Institute, publicly stated to the media that the global market for “artificial meat” is expected to reach 60% by 2040, and the national standard for “artificial plant meat” is currently being formulated At the same time, the Chinese Academy of Engineering has launched the "Chinese Academy of Engineering Strategic Consulting Project Biological Cultivation Meat Development Strategy Research" project, which will study "cultivation meat" from a strategic level.
Text / Guangzhou Daily full media reporter Liu Ranran