The purpose of this launch was not only to give our fans a taste of Promyc, but largely to learn more about our consumer. All in all, the launch pro
- Consumers want locally-produced foods made by a company and a technology that they believe in and can trust;
- Consumers want their food to be healthy, protein-rich and climate-friendly; and,
- Our largest market is in fact the growing flexitarian market.
Consumers want locally-produced foods made by a company and a technology that they believe in
As Sweden’s fastest-growing Food Tech company, Mycorena has made noticeable waves in the food industry in just a few short years. As a proud west coast company with a great technology and food ingredient (Promyc), the support that we have received thus far has been extremely humbling. In a survey that we conducted as part of our “Väldigt” Swedish Vego Balls sign-up initiative, our participants voted on the aspects of Promyc that they were most excited about. The two most popular responses were ‘It’s a really cool technology’ and ‘I love that it’s produced locally in Gothenburg’; further solidifying the importance of going “glocal”.
Through our own market research, we have found that Sweden is largely underrepresented in terms of plant-based protein producers, which empowers local production of vegan options to fulfill consumer demands.
Consumers want their food to be healthy and climate-friendly
Steady population growth coupled with socio-economic changes such as rising incomes, has driven the global demand for protein sources to increase. The contribution of protein to healthy aging is also increasingly recognised (NCBI) where the average person needs approximately 7g of protein for every 9kg of body weight (Harvard School of Public Health). Also, as consumers become more aware of their purchase decisions, businesses are forced to follow suit. The bullwhip effect of meat and soybean production and increased environmental concerns relating to current agriculture and aquaculture processes has propelled the growth of the Food Tech industry.
Our Promyc-based Vego Balls have a texture that resembles that of meat whilst the high protein content keeps you feeling satiated. Additionally, compared to that of soybean and pea-based options, Promyc’s protein content is significantly higher with the added bonus of essential amino acids contributing to the protein “package” necessary for good health. Further, in Mycorena’s value of going “glocal”, our simple and local production reduces the need for lengthy transportation while completely eliminating the risk of deforestation, species extinction and freshwater depletion and contamination.
Our largest market is in fact the growing flexitarian market
In our earlier blogpost, ‘The Steady Rise in Flexitarianism’, we discussed how the global uptake of flexitarianism has been fuelled by health and curiosity followed by environmental concerns as a principal driver. As concerns regarding animal welfare enter and grow in the mainstream market, younger consumers especially have started to question how ethical animal-based products really are. Based on the survey we conducted, the primary consumers of our Promyc-based Vego Balls are self-proclaimed flexitarians at 30% of the market share. Following closely behind at 26% of our market are consumers that are trying to reduce their meat consumption. When comparing these two diet categories (56%) with the vegetarian and vegan participants (39%) the difference is significant at 17%. This has once again solidified our strategy of targeting the ever-growing and increasingly important flexitarian market.
Burgers, sausages and ground meats have dominated the market to date. Off the back of our successful launch, our next mission is to create more product lines that our consumers will love whilst offering something new, different and exciting. These products will once again be produced locally on the west coast of Sweden, be environmentally friendly and of course, taste exactly like they should. Watch this space!
Now, our team is back to the kitchen to develop and trial with our very next product!
Authors:
Tamara Adzic
Marketing Intern at Mycorena
Paulo Teixeira
Lead Product Developer at Mycorena
