Deliciously Ella CEO: Mimic meat in decline, but there’s still life in plant-based industry
Deliciously Ella CEO has said mimic meat brands will continue to struggle, but there are still plenty of growth opportunities in the natural plant-based industry.
Speaking to Grocery Gazette, Deliciously Ella chief executive Matthew Mills said the plant-based industry has undergone a “bifurcation”, where products that aim to mimic meat brands are in “substantial decline”, following investors over-estimating consumer demand.
In contrast, the health and nutrition brand boss said the natural side of the plant-based sector continued to be in “strong growth”.
Mills said: “When people were building investor decks five years ago for mimic meats, they were suggesting that there was going to be a market size that was going to be enormous, and I think it’s turned out to be much smaller than people had hoped it to be.”
“We think meat mimics will continue to serve a purpose and there will continue to be a market for those, but I think it’s much smaller than a lot had predicted it to be. Whereas we think that the move in natural plant base will continue to grow as it currently is.”
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Speaking about future growth opportunities for Deliciously Ella, which earlier this month was acquired by Swiss manufacturer Hero group, Mills added that the wane in consumer demand for meat alternative products would not impact the brand.
“We’ve never played in mimics, so we haven’t been exposed to that. We wouldn’t be able to make a mimic using the ingredient decks that we have. And we think that ultimately, that will continue,” Mills added.
The chief executives comments come as Quorn-owner Marlow Foods last week posted a £63m loss over its 2023 financial year, as sales fell by 6.9% to £205m, its lowest levels since 2017.
It is not the only plant-based food brand to face turbulence in recent years, with Meatless Farm and Heather Mill’s VBites falling into administration, while others such as Beyond Meat are attempting to arrest a slump in sales.
