Alternate Protein in India - Viscofan highlights the Challenges and Opportunities

9 November 2021

India boasts of a variety of languages, cultures, and ethnicities. Food is no exception to this. With the advent of the global culture and rise in per capita income, more and more Indians have started to experiment with their food choices. While traditional foods are still the primary choice, millennials are constantly exploring multiple cuisines. A large-scale survey found that only 28% of Indians identify as vegetarian, while 72% reported eating meat. 

This makes India a big enough market for meat alternatives, points out Pedro Sinus who works with one of the world’s largest suppliers of plant-based sausage casings - Viscofan. Pedro Sinus, India head, Viscofan adds ”The potential to innovate in India is huge.” According to research firm Euromonitor, meat substitutes is a $20 billion market globally expected to touch $23 billion by 2024

THE OPPORTUNITY THEY PRESENT

Sausages are a high protein low price entry product. A product that is loved by kids as well. They are very versatile as they can be easily customized with different toppings and different sizes. They can be pan-fried, barbecued, grilled, or boiled. Many cities in India thrive with street foods and vending machines that offer quick-cook solutions for hungry customers when it comes to delicacies. With Viscofan, vegan sausages can see the light of the day soon. We are going to have to work intensively on using cost-effective ingredients in order to get to the street food price level without compromising the quality of the product. Anyhow, some promising movements are happening with 24 seven outlets in North India already offering over-the-counter plant-based sausages. 

This is another channel that can contribute to making plant-based meat sausages mass adopted as we can see in 7/11 convenience stores around Asian countries. Innovations and some promising movements are happening round the clock by many outlets in north India in offering plant-based sausages. With Viscofan, this is only going to become even easier and better. Viscofan has actively acted as a prominent player to develop and exploit the convenience store channel as far as sausages are concerned across the globe.

WONDERING WHY HOT DOGS NEVER PICKED UP IN INDIA?

Until 2008, there were no sausages or hot dogs in China, but now they have become one of the biggest markets to demand casing for hot dogs. Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam had the same story as well. Indonesia´s sausage market grew by seven times from 2010 to 2020. Many other countries in Asia will soon adapt to such trends. In countries like India, the demand for such products will arise from street foods which never happened before in the case of sausages. It is just about understanding the ground and creating solutions where suppliers and the demand meets.

UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGES AND GAPS IN THE MARKET

According to a recent study, sausages are one of the non-native foods in India that are slowly seeing popularity. The traditional sausage market has never been developed in India. Though there are some renewed players and brands, none have been able to cater to the expectations that a sausage product category generates in other countries. While Indian consumers are not into sausages, which is a significant factor in determining its popularity and market, there is no doubt that it will become widely accepted with better production and taste profile. If the target demographic is health-conscious and plant-based or vegans, then the product should be close to how it resembles a traditional sausage. 

So if the product is made chewy, tasty, and accessible to middle-to-low income consumers, we can see adoption and repeat purchases of plant-based sausages. “To scale this sector in India, a major hurdle is in creating a fully vegetarian or plant-based sausage range. Lack of know-how, equipment, and consumer expectations are just some of the problems that Indian manufacturers presently lack. Viscofan has taken up the initiative to proactively build capacity in this sector.” adds Pedro. In March this year, Viscofan partnered with Blue Tribe Foods to supply them with plant-based sausage casings. Mr.Sandeep Singh, CEO of Blue Tribe Foods who is also the founder of Alkem Labs is bullish about the market. 

HOW VISCOFAN TACKLES AND SOLVES SOME OF THESE CHALLENGES

Viscofan offers an entire techno-commercial team to help, assist and advise those companies who are interested in developing the sausage product category. Expertise that has been accumulated over the past 45 years producing sausages in the five continents is now at the disposal of each company that wishes to develop plant-based sausages. Viscofan will shortly announce its plans to become the Sausage company in India to further support innovations in the plant-based sphere. The objective is to proactively help develop the market with the sole intention of letting players know about the different products that can be developed using different casing technologies. Viscofan serves as the industrial partner for those companies that are interested in developing foodstuff products.

VISCOFAN'S INITIATIVES IN SUPPORTING ENTREPRENEURS AND MANUFACTURERS IN PRODUCING PLANT-BASED SAUSAGES

The traditional sausage market has really never been developed in India. Though there are some renewed players and brands, none of them have been able to cater to the expectations that a sausage product category generates in other countries. The market is there, the demand is there,… Viscofan is and will be here in India to support & assist all the companies that show interest in developing plant-based sausages and foodstuff products such as pepperoni, ham, salami, and many others. Viscofan means much more than the Casing Company. 

Pedro adds, “It’s not enough that the casing should be edible and vegan, developing sausages of different textures, bites, firmness, and tastes which appeal to the price-conscious Indian consumer is imperative. We have set up our own test plant in Hyderabad which will allow manufacturers to run trails and produce test products in small batches. We are at the cornerstone of this innovation in India.”

Although this is not their primary offering, active knowledge sharing by Viscofan in India puts the sausage industry light years ahead. With the advantage of decades of experience in sausage development and working with some of the major plant-based meat brands worldwide. They are also collaborating with different ingredient suppliers, machine manufacturers, retailers, or food processors worldwide to contribute to developing the market for plant-based and alternate proteins. 

THE VISCOFAN SUCCESS STORY

Viscofan is collaborating with different ingredient suppliers, machine manufacturers, retailers or food processors worldwide so that we all can contribute our bit to develop the market from our areas of expertise. In Viscofan India we believe that collaboration is key for innovations. The market is so big that everybody can make a tasty and juicy piece of the market pie.