New Food Frontiers
Driven by technological progress and changing consumer demand, the rising popularity of alternative proteins in recent years is already impacting the culinary world. So how do chefs view this development? Are they embracing alternative proteins and helping drive their growth and popularity? The GEA Chef Survey on New Food considers the rise of alternative proteins through the eyes of some 1,000 chefs around the globe.
Chef, Brazil
Conducted in August 2022, the GEA Chef Survey on New Food provides a variety of insights into how chefs are navigating the current food transformation. It sheds light on their familiarity and experience with new food products, the current demand among restaurant guests, and what chefs expect to see in the near future. The results help build a more nuanced understanding of the transition towards new food.
Considering that chefs not only earn their living via food but, in many cases, define themselves in terms of their devotion to food and culinary traditions, one might expect a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to alternative proteins. Sure enough, our Chef Survey on New Food did uncover some skepticism among chefs: a few were dismissive, some had never heard of alternatives proteins, others showed little interest in learning about them. But these were decidedly in the minority. In fact, the large majority of chefs surveyed are familiar with the various types of alternative proteins and already using them in their kitchens.
In the case of plant-based foods and beverages only 2 percent of chefs had “never heard” of them. Another 6 percent had heard about them but had no real knowledge of them. The remaining 92 percent were familiar with plant-based foods and beverages, with a majority of these (63%) indicating that they know a lot about them. This is no huge surprise. Plant-based products like soy drinks and veggie burgers have been around for decades; tofu and tempeh for millennia.
But even in the case of cultivated, cell-based proteins – the most novel of all alternative protein types – a full 80 percent of chefs said they were familiar with them. More specifically, 41 percent of chefs said they know a lot about cultivated, cell-based foods. This is remarkable given that cultured meat is in its infancy, a long way from large-scale production and availability. Yet the survey data suggest that many chefs are keenly aware that cultured meat and similar products might redefine how people will eat in future, and they see the need to closely observe and keep up with such a fundamental trend.
Chefs around the world clearly believe that the trend towards alternative proteins will continue to gain momentum in the years to come. Nearly 95 percent feel that their restaurant patrons will demand more plant-based proteins over the next decade, with half of chefs seeing a strong increase in demand over that time. The numbers are similar for cultivated, cell-based proteins, with 45 percent of chefs predicting strong growth in demand for them. Even for insect-based proteins and foods, 36 percent of chefs believe that their customers will demand considerably more of these over the next 10 years – a result driven mainly by chefs in Asia.
Nearly one-quarter of the chefs surveyed (23%) expect new food to constitute more than 50 percent of all food in 2040. An additional 43 percent of respondents believe that one-quarter to one-half of all food in 2040 will be made with new food products and ingredients. Taken together, this constitutes a remarkable outlook into the next decades. It suggests that many of the surveyed chefs, most of whom are younger than 40, view alternative proteins as a significant and increasingly essential part of their future jobs.
In 2022, GEA partnered with market research agency Lindberg International to conduct the GEA Chef Survey on New Food. The survey team developed the questionnaire based on four in-depth explorative telephone interviews with chefs in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the UK. After creating the survey and translating it into local languages, Lindberg International conducted 1,002 online interviews (in August 2022) with chefs in 11 different countries: Brazil, China, Denmark, Germany, India, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, UK and the U.S.
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