Breakfast is a land of comfort food that relies on dairy products and meats.
This kind of food is a staple at the breakfast table and it doesn’t seem likely that this trend will change. However, consumers are looking for plant-based alternatives to dairy and meat.
“Consumers are becoming more informed about food and how it can affect their health, and this is why choosing plant-based foods is so delicious,” says Dan Hua, vice-president of marketing at Daiya, a manufacturer plant-based breakfast foods like the Daiya Fiesta Breakfast Burrito.
“We are finding that consumers are extremely curious about plant-based options and want to explore more vegan options, regardless of what their diet is.”
Christine Luongo is the brand manager for Vegetables Made Great. She explains that although plant-based eating may be on the rise, it’s still not new. Vegetarian diets that are based on fruits, vegetables, and grains have existed long before popular diets such as Atkins or South Beach.
Luongo states that most consumers agree that these foods nourish their bodies and help to sustain our health, combat climate changes, conserve resources, and ensure animal welfare. It is crucial to find ways to include these food groups at every meal, especially breakfast. Breakfast is the meal that fuels your entire day.
Replacing the meat
Breakfast staples like bacon and sausage are loaded with fat, salt, and chemicals. It’s not surprising that food processors use meat alternatives for their breakfast menus.
Most meat substitutes currently available rely on vegetable protein, which is combined with starches and oil to give it a meat-like texture. Beyond Meat is made up of pea protein. Other plant proteins found in Beyond Meat include mung beans and fava beans. Brown rice is another source.
Beyond Meat produces Beyond Breakfast Sausage in links and patties. However, the company’s meat replacement can also be found in other food processors breakfast foods. Veggies Made Great has two breakfast frittatas – Sausage & Pepper Frittata or Sausage, Egg & Cheese Frittata – that use Beyond Beef Crumbles in place of animal meat.
Luongo explains that the plant-based meat frittata was actually a request by one of our retail partners. He suggested it would make a great space for Veggies Made Great. Beyond Meat was the obvious choice when we considered whether we wanted to create a plant-based meat or partner with a brand in this space.
She continues, “They were hitting the ballpark in terms innovation, growth and achievement.” “Beyond Meat was our only brand that fit our criteria: Their products are allergen-friendly, made with simple ingredients and were allergen-friendly. Their label contains nothing that we haven’t used in our manufacturing plant.
Soy protein is another plant protein that makes it onto breakfast plates. Fry Family Food Co.’s Meatless Sausages contains soy protein. Wheat protein, wheat flour, and potato starch are other ingredients.
Tammy Fry, cofounder and global brand leader for Fry Family Food Co., says that “Wally Fry (company founder) has always been involved in the design and the development of our production system and was able from day one to achieve extraordinary results when compared to replicating the taste and texture meat.”
is a major supplier of plant protein. It offers protein products made from peas and favas as well as lentils. Maria Tolchinsky is the global senior marketing manager for plant based protein. The company has two manufacturing plants. Vitessence Tex Crunches by Ingredion is a meat substitute made from plant protein.
Even traditional meat processors have begun to play in the meat-alternative breakfast market. Tyson Foods’ Jimmy Dean brand has a long history in sausages and recently launched Plant-Based Patty, Egg & Cheese Croissant Sandwiches. Plant-Based Patty and Spinach & White Sandwiches were previously launched. These sandwiches are made with textured soybean protein and beans but “packed with our distinctive taste.”
Christopher Hansen, assistant vice-president and chef de cuisine for OSI Group, says that “you see long-standing meat-based businesses now creating great plant products.” They are supporting and leading the growth of this market with their alternative to traditional meat products.
Hansen points out that OSI Group is well-known for its meat, poultry, and beef products, but it also offers vegetable-based products to its foodservice clients.
He explains that OSI recently partnered with Impossible Foods in July 2019 to provide additional production for Impossible’s plant-based products in order to satisfy consumer demand. “We did not replace meat products with plant-based proteins, but we expanded our product range.
Alternative meats don’t have to be made only from soy, beans or peas. Atlast Food Co. is a recent addition to the category of plant-based breakfast meats. This company makes plant-based bacon using mycelium, which is a part of fungus that grows underground. Ecovative Design is Atlast’s parent company. Ecovative has been using mycelium for packaging and textiles more than a decade.
Ecovative’s CEO and co-founder Eben Bayer said, “In 2018, after a decade-long effort to create sustainable earth-friendly materials that replace plastic, the Ecovative team discovered how to apply mycelium innovations to food. Not in the obvious way of growing mushrooms but by creating the ideal environment to grow mycelium slabs as meat that can easily be processed just like traditional sides to pork or beef.”
The company has a long history of working with mycelium and was able to identify the types that have the texture to resemble animal meat. MyBacon is the first product of the company. It’s made from slabs that have been seasoned with coconut oil, salt, sugar, and natural flavors. It can be sliced and prepared for cooking.
Sorry, Bessie!
Breakfast lovers are more concerned about milk, cheese, and eggs than they are meat. Food processors are responding to the demand for plant-based breakfasts, replacing meat-based items with plant-based alternatives.
Milk made from oats, almonds, soy, or other plant ingredients is the most popular plant-based dairy product. Some of this “milk” makes its way into new yogurts and cheeses.
Helena Lumme, cofounder of Halsa Foods, stated that data shows that dairy milks and yogurts are declining rapidly, but plant-based products are growing.
Halsa Foods makes yogurt with oats grown without irrigation water. The rest of the ingredients are organic and free from pesticide residue, Lumme states. They don’t use chemicals or enzymes during the manufacturing process. The yogurt is available in plain, strawberry, blueberry and mango flavors.
Lumme states that oat-based milk processing uses industrial enzymes to convert starch to sugar. This depletes the drink’s beneficial nutrients. Then, artificial ingredients such as food gums or carrageenan are used. We wanted to make the process healthier and more natural so that consumers can taste the difference.
She continues, “We have an outstanding co-packer who has tooled the manufacturing facility to meet our high quality standards for an organic and 100 percent clean product.” This took many months to perfect.
is another plant-based yogurt. The almonds used to make the company’s product — which is available in vanilla, blueberry, and peach flavors — are grown on their farm. Matt Billings is the founder of AYO, and the fourth-generation owner the almond farm.
Billings says that the almonds are cleaned, sorted and then blanched in boiling hot water to remove their outer skin. They are then roasted to create almond butter. This is the pure nut butter almond basis used in making AYO. It is all-natural, no artificial, and probiotic-rich. The hulling and shelling plant is directly adjacent to one our orchards. All of our orchards are within close proximity to our facility.
In the breakfast market, egg replacements made from plants are also thriving. Daiya, for example, has developed a plant-based egg that uses pea protein. This replaces chicken eggs in its recently launched breakfast burritos.
Finally, many breakfast dishes include plant-based cheese. Rich Products Corp. has plant-based mozzarella-style slices and American-style slices. The company will also launch a plant-based cheese spread in 2022, according to Julie Altobello (senior market manager for health & authenticity).
Altobello states that breakfast foods are one of the many ways our products can be used in making delicious menus and retail items. “We are constantly developing new plant-based products based on the changing requirements of the flexible consumer and the customers who bring these products to life.
Traditional breakfast made with plant-based ingredients
Granola and toast are two examples of plant-based breakfasts. There are also improvements to the classic elements of breakfast.
Kelly Toups, director nutrition for the Oldways Whole Grains Council, says that many popular breakfast foods can be adapted to appeal to plant-based consumers.
“The 2021 Whole Grain Consumer Insights Survey revealed that breakfast is the most preferred time to consume whole grains. Nearly half of respondents – 47 per cent — eat most of their whole grains at breakfast.”
Nature’s Path is a manufacturer of organic and 100% plant-based products. Recently, they introduced two new varieties of granola without added sugar. This is a first in this category. The company sweetens the breakfast food using date powder.
Arjan Stephens (general manager at Nature’s Path) reports that date powder is becoming more popular as a natural sweetener. Date powder was the ideal ingredient to lower the sugar content of our granola, without sacrificing the taste.
It’s a whole-food, minimally processed sugar substitute with a delicious sweet taste and no bitter aftertaste like artificial sweeteners. Even compared to maple syrup and honey, date powder has a higher antioxidant content than any other sugar. You also get many health benefits from date powder, including potassium, magnesium and iron, as well as calcium. It contains high levels of beta-carotene, lutein and other nutrients.
More plant-based breakfast products will be available in stores as consumers continue to become more interested in the health benefits of a plant-based lifestyle.
Altobello says, “We know people want to start their day with choices that they feel good about.” People associate plant-based foods as healthier options. If they can enjoy their favorite foods while also being better for the environment, it is a win-win situation.
