As "alternative foods" made from plant-based ingredients are spreading in Japan, competition in development and sales is becoming even more intense, with new American start-up companies entering the Japanese market.
A startup company in California, where alternative foods are more popular than in Japan, has developed an ice cream that does not use milk at all, and has announced that it will be entering Japan by starting selling it at major convenience store chains from March. I made it.
The product is characterized by a technology that analyzes milk in detail for each component and extracts components that perform the same function from various types of plants, such as cassava and potatoes, and has brought the taste and texture closer to that of dairy products.
Eilon Steinhardt, CEO of Eclipse Foods, said, ``We need to change our food supply to alternative proteins and plant-based sources.''
Meanwhile, DAIZ, a venture company in Kumamoto City, has developed an alternative food that uses soybeans instead of meat or fish, and it will be used in tuna rice balls and nuggets at major convenience store chains starting in the summer of 2023.
The company's strength lies in its technology of finely adjusting oxygen, temperature, moisture, etc. when germinating soybeans, increasing the amount of amino acids, and maintaining the same level of nutritional value.
Against a backdrop of technological advances in alternative foods, competition in development and sales is becoming even more intense in Japan.