Supermarket Perimeter - March 2023 - 19

T
echnological advancements in the seafood industry
are sparking new trends, and consumers are
deciding whether they are on board.
" Younger consumers are driving trial in food
Last month, the Madison, Wis.-based International
Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) hosted a webinar
titled " Consumer Attitudes, Behaviors and Aspirations in
the Emerging Food Tech Space " led by Laurie Demeritt,
owner and CEO of The Hartman Group, Bellevue, Wash.
In the Feb. 7 session, Demeritt presented key findings
from The Hartman Group's Food & Technology 2023
report covering the following topics:
* The tension consumers see between nature and
science/technology
* Which food tech benefits are most compelling to
consumers
* Implications for food producers and retailers
When it comes to the hesitation consumers may have
with accepting new food technology, Demeritt said that
" the level of concern with various food tech applications
varies by how novel it is and whether it seems overly
manipulated. "
One example she provided within the seafood industry
was the development of cell-based seafood. The
Hartman Group's report found that 42% of consumers
expressed concern toward cell-based seafood.
That concern can be lessened as consumers are made
aware of the added value the new technology provides.
In the report, 80% of consumers answered that healthrelated
benefits would motivate them to try a new food
technology.
" While many start-ups in the food tech space are
leading with ethics, benefits related to health are the
strongest purchase drivers, " Demeritt said.
However, ethics-related benefits were still reported
to motivate 64% of consumers to try a new food
technology, and 62% said they would be motivated by
experience-related benefits.
" Ethical consumption is the backbone of food tech
benefits, even if it's secondary to health, " Demeritt said.
The top five reported ethical benefits driving
consumers to try food technology are the following:
1. Good for the environment
2. Improves food security/food supply
3. Improves animal welfare
4. Improves farmer livelihoods
5. Causes less pollution
Different generations have different feelings about
these ethical benefits, as they are are even more
influential for Gen Z and Millennial consumers.
tech ingredients/products, especially in more novel
applications, " Demeritt said.
The report showed that 55% of Gen Z and Millennials
have already tried or are somewhat very likely to try
cell-based seafood, which was 35% more than the overall
adult population.
As for the overall adult population of consumers,
Demeritt shared the following five ways to communicate
the benefits of new food technology:
1. Demonstrate that the ends justify the means.
2. Empower (and allow for) informed choices.
3. Create value at the intersection of 'Good for We' and
'Good for Me.'
4. Enhance connections to the human side of food.
5. Ensure new technology provides consumer value, not
just flash.
For people working in the food industry, it is easy to
" geek out " on new technology, Demeritt said, so it is
important to take a step back and figure out the value.
Cell-based seafood
Rehovot, Israel-based Steakholder Foods Ltd., a food
tech company specializing in cultured meat, has recently
expanded its business to the United States.
Among the company's offerings are cell-based seafood
products, available as both raw materials and whole cuts,
as an alternative to industrialized farming and fishing.
" The Steakholder Foods' biology team is pushing the
boundaries of cell production methodologies to optimize
our yields and enable the food tech revolution, " said Orit
Goldman, vice president of biology at Steakholder Foods.
On Jan. 25, Steakholder Foods announced the success
of its newly developed filtration system, which yields 50
times more cell production than its previous method,
according to the company.
" Achieving a high growth yield with minimal use
of growth media is an industry-wide goal, due to the
current high cost of growth media, " the company said.
" The filtering system maximizes the usage of growth
media by enabling the separation of cells from the media,
continuously removing the used media and replacing
it with fresh media. The removed media can then be
refreshed and reused to enable circular solutions. "
Plant-based seafood
In a Q&A following Demeritt's presentation, she said that
plant-based protein is a great case study for what works
when it comes to food technology.
supermarketperimeter.com
MARCH 2023 - 19
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Supermarket Perimeter - March 2023

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