There have been several confirmations of the market failure of plant-based alternatives to meat. This is only the latest, but perhaps the biggest: after the failure of many startups, Unilever and Nestlé are also divesting from the sector. Or rather: they would like to disinvest. First, they need to find buyers interested in taking over their companies. By La Conceria.

The divestments

The promoters of so-called veg meat in the 2010s promised to revolutionize the food market. And therefore, interestingly from our perspective, to influence slaughter rates and the consequent availability of raw hides. Well, the revolution is over. According to anonymous sources spoken to by Reuters, Unilever would like to sell The Vegetarian Butcher, which it acquired in 2018, but “the company has a turnover of just 50 million euros and does not produce profits”. Similarly, Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe has publicly admitted that the holding company has exposed itself too much to meat alternatives, since ” the market is not as big as we thought “. For this reason, he wants to review the strategies of the brands it controls, such as Garden Gourmet and Sweet Earth Foods. The problem for the two giants, as we understand, is finding possible buyers.

The revolution that failed

The comments collected by Reuters do not sound brand new. Some blame market failures on a change in consumer perception, who do not see plant-based alternatives as a healthier product, but simply as more processed. Cost issues also play a role: it is impossible for new products to have a retail price competitive with that of natural meat. The fact is that the curtain is falling on the veg revolution.