The role of fats in plant-based meat alternatives – white paper

With the growing popularity of plant-based meat alternatives among consumers, Bunge is producing products that replicate the taste, texture and cooking experience of meat. Oils and fats play a foundational role in driving great sensory experiences in meat alternatives. They enhance taste, texture, appearance, aroma, and cooking. This is true whether your brand replicates the animal meat experience with 10-20% fat or features the flavors and textures of plant-based ingredients with 3-5% fat. Each of these sensory features are optimized through particular oil and fat ingredients. Additionally, consumer label preferences are a key consideration for which oils and fats used in meat alternative applications – nutrition, free-from, sustainability, and simplicity criteria such as GMO-free, vegan, allergen-free, organic, and sustainably made. 

As the meat alternative category continues its explosive growth, product differentiation will be key to gaining share. Innovation in oils and fats will be a fundamental enabler of this, whether the focus is making new types of oils and fats more accessible, developing new formats to maximize sensory experience, or collaborating to optimize the functionality of an application.