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BREAKING: Domino's Pizza Launches Plant-Based Meat Pizza In India
December 22, 2020
Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd launches a plant-based meat pizza at all Domino’s locations across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, & Bangalore.
THIS PIZZA IS NOT VEGAN - IT CONTAINS DAIRY-BASED CHEESE. BUT IT'S A STEP TOWARDS A PLANT-BASED WORLD!
In a milestone for India, the country’s largest foodservice company and operator of Domino’s India, Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, has launched a pizza with ‘plant-based meat’ toppings. The ‘Unthinkable Pizza’ is topped with a 100% plant-based protein mince, which is aimed at delivering the taste of chicken without the guilt of its environmental or public health impact. It is being launched in a pilot across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, and Bangalore, in an attempt to conduct further testing of the market.
The sector of plant-based meats is soaring globally, with research from the global non-profit network Good Food Institute showing billions of dollars have been invested in the category over the last few years. These products are meant to replicate the sensory and cultural experience of meat, but are made from plant or crop ingredients like pea protein, coconut oil, and beetroot juice - thereby saving huge quantities of land and water and vastly reducing the greenhouse gas impact of meat production. Globally, companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have scaled to hundreds of thousands of retail and restaurant locations, with Beyond Meat also going public in a hugely successful listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019. In India, the sector is picking up steam, with several entrepreneurs working on bringing plant-based meats to market, including Bollywood celebrities Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh with their new venture Imagine Meats. Consumer research from the Good Food Institute India reveals that the category could find broad acceptance with consumers in India, with 62.8% of Indian consumers being very likely to regularly buy plant-based meats - but only if they are able to match the taste of conventionally produced meats like chicken and mutton.
“Plant-based meats are at the forefront of food innovation globally, and hold tremendous promise to fight back against climate change, zoonotic diseases, and food insecurity” said The Good Food Institute India Managing Director Varun Deshpande. “The Indian plant-based industry is still being established, and we applaud Jubilant FoodWorks for taking this important step and testing the market. There is plenty of work to do to deliver consumers products that taste the same or better than the meats they know and love, without the guilt of negatively impacting planetary health - but this is a major step in the right direction. ”
(From the JFL Press Release: Talking about the new launch, Mr Pratik Pota, Chief Executive Officer & Whole-time Director, Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, said, “We are delighted to launch India’s first plant protein based product, The Unthinkable Pizza. This innovative and 100% vegetarian product will allow Indian consumers to experience the plant-protein wave sweeping across the world. Domino’s has always brought pioneering innovations to the Indian market, and we are happy to once again be the first to bring this trend to India.”)
Domino's India's new vegetarian pizza with plant-based meat topping
Jubilant FoodWorks Limited (JFL/Company) is part of Jubilant Bhartia group and is India’s largest foodservice Company. Its Domino’s Pizza franchise extends across a network of 1,264 restaurants in 281 cities (as of September 30, 2020). The Company has the exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza brand in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. At present, it operates in India, and through its subsidiary companies’ in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The Company also enjoys exclusive rights to develop and operate Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in India, has in operation 26 restaurants across 8 cities in India (as of September 30, 2020). JFL has ventured into Chinese cuisine segment with its first owned restaurant brand, ‘Hong’s Kitchen’, which serves 2 cities with 5 restaurants in India (as of September 30, 2020). Recently, the Company has added Indian cuisine of biryani, kebabs, breads and more to the portfolio by launching Ekdum! with 3 restaurants in Gurugram. In accordance with shifting consumption habits, the Company has also begun offering their brand-owned ready-to-cook range of sauces, gravies and pastes, ‘ChefBoss’.
The Good Food Institute India is part of an independent global network of non-profits which builds the alternative protein sector across science, business, and policy, in order to make protein delicious, affordable, and accessible. GFI India advances open-access research, mobilizes resources and talent, and empowers partners across the food system to create a sustainable, secure, and just protein supply. Read more here.
More on plant-based meats: The global demand for plant-based foods is driven by a group called 'flexitarians' - those who already eat meat, but who are reducing their consumption for reasons of health or sustainability. 90% of sales for the major international companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat therefore come from meat eaters, which is a big win for sustainability and public health. Similarly, India has a large cohort of people that falls into this 'flexitarian' category - which we could also call 'guilty non-veg' here. We know that over 70% of Indians identify as non-vegetarian, but meat consumption in India is constrained by income and cultural factors. Our cultural background, the guilt associated with eating non-vegetarian on religious days (including Tuesdays and Saturdays!) and, most importantly, the fact that many cannot afford to eat animal meat as often as they may want to - these factors all contribute to our protein deficiency as a population. Plant-based meat offers an opportunity to supply all the taste and indulgence of meat, without the guilt. So while there may be a few curious vegetarians who try these products, ultimately the goal is for them to taste, sizzle, and have all the cultural resonance of their animal-sourced counterparts, to satisfy a core audience of meat eaters. All the early studies point in this direction - our cross-country research reveals 62.8 percent of Indian consumers would be very likely to regularly buy plant-based. These are very encouraging signs that there is a group of early adopters in the country - people who care about eating for the planet and public health, and who will drive the sector forward initially. But will the sector be able to tap a broader base of consumption among middle- and lower-income eaters in the future? That hinges on when companies bring to market products which compete with animal meat on taste and price, so that it feels like a simple switch and not any sort of sacrifice.
This pizza is not vegan - it contains dairy-based cheese. But it's a step towards a plant-based world!
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