Future of Food · Issue 03 · May 2024

Will new and novel proteins eat New Zealand's conventional lunch?

Or is there room for both traditional and new and novel proteins?

The race is on to find the next scalable source of sustainable protein. New Zealand needs to decide what part it wants to play.

When Beyond Meat listed in 2019, its shares soared and forecasters talked about a market worth hundreds of billions. By 2023 revenues were falling, Sunfed Chicken had closed here, and plant-based sales had stalled. In this issue Vincent Heeringa used that boom and bust to ask a calmer question: if new and novel proteins are not about to replace dairy, meat and seafood, what role should New Zealand play?

My view, which I shared for the piece, is that demand for protein keeps growing, so there is room for both. Rather than feeling threatened, we can experiment with new technologies and find ways for novel proteins to sit alongside animal proteins. Our unique flora and marine environment give us a shot at differentiated proteins and bioactives, and the issue sets out four types of new and novel protein where New Zealand could be genuinely competitive, and others we should avoid.

What the issue covers

  • Global demand for protein continues to grow.
  • Fast growth in alternatives, especially to dairy, shows real consumer appetite, but McKinsey found 44 percent of people drink the same or more dairy after trying them.
  • The failure of some high-profile companies shows displacing conventional protein is harder than predicted.
  • New Zealand is well placed in some classes of novel protein and should stay out of others.

A question to take to your next board or leadership meeting

Which new protein would complement what you already produce, rather than compete with it?

Work through it with me
Written by
Vincent Heeringa
With contributions from
  • Dr Victoria Hatton, FoodHQ
  • Toby Lane, NXW Nutrition From Water

The Future of Food series was originally published by FoodHQ Innovation Limited between 2024 and 2026, while I was Chief Executive. Each issue is reproduced here in full, with thanks to my co-authors, the contributors and FoodHQ's partners.