Following today’s news that BRF has partnered with Aleph Farms to bring cultivated meat to Brazil, Jim Toy, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“Following Aleph’s joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan, Aleph’s latest partnership with BRF now gives them potential to disrupt the food industry in Brazil too, especially if the products are made available through popular foodservice outlets.

“In fact, according to GlobalData’s latest 2021 Q1 consumer survey, three times the number of Brazilian respondents claimed that they are spending and buying more on plant-based meat alternatives, when compared to Japanese respondents. Brazil’s consumers may also be particularly critical when trying new foods, as GlobalData’s survey also showed that two in five (40%) of respondents abide to some form of low or less meat intake diets*.

“Up until the COVID-19 pandemic, Latin American consumers didn’t have anywhere near the demand seen today for meat substitutes, omitting a small number of exceptions like Revolution, Marfrig and Future Farm. However, the region’s appetite for the global trend has hit new heights and emerging brands are certainly taking advantage of that.

“The success of smaller companies has shown that there is a now a significant demand for beef alternatives. Retailers will have seen demand spike in 2020 as consumers have already adopted new dietary habits in Latin America thanks to disruptor brands.

“All things considered, it is only by leveraging both its own global footprint and Aleph’s know-how in this growing sector that the tenth largest meat supplier in the world can expect success in this highly competitive sector – even if it is competing on home turf.”

*Combined responses: ‘Flexitarian’, ‘Low meat diet’, ‘Pescetarian’, ‘Vegan’ or ‘Vegetarian’