According to a report from Barclay’s, over the next ten years, the companies emerging in the industry of plant-based or lab-made meat would be able to capture a 10 per cent share of the $1.4 trillion meat market and it total market value would reach an astounding $140 billion.

This fast growing food sector appears to have caught the attention of investors and traditional food companies, said Barclays analysts led by Benjamin Theurer in their new report. The analysts also noted that the huge growth recorded by Beyond Meat Inc. since it went public recently. Beyond Meat ended its first day of trade a full 160% above its IPO price of $25 and is now about 218% higher.

“Although today we believe that there are inherent barriers to successfully replicating certain animal-based consumer favorites (e.g., T-bone steaks), what has been achieved so far in terms of “meatless” ground beef, sausage and hamburger products has yielded positive initial consumer reaction, which should bode well for the alternative meat sector to grab its fair share of the global meat market,” analysts wrote in the report.

Analysts are now drawing analogy of the electric vehicle industry to talks about the alternative meat industry and it is expected that this new food segment would append the industry just as the electric vehicle segment has doe not the auto market. But considering the main stream appeal of the affordable food products and the niche audience that is drawn to electric cars, there is potential for the meat substitutes industry to grow even larger than the electric vehicles industry.

“With that said, we believe taste and price will ultimately dictate whether or not alternative meat gains widespread acceptance,” the analysts wrote. Men aged between 14 and 70 years – the demographic segment that drives meat consumption, has to be targeted by the companies in the alternative meat industry in order to achieve the goal.

It is anticipated that acceptance and popularity would be gained by alternative meats with the consumers becoming more aware of the environmental impact of the traditional meat industry.

However analysts also talk about a number of risks that should be considered by this fast growing industry segment.

One of the key risks is that alternative meat products may not turn out to be as healthy as is being claimed by companies in this segment because the products are being added additives to impart artificial flavor or if regulators intervene to constrain marketing strategies.

“Alternative meat products can only partially address health & wellness concerns, as they have lower cholesterol levels but higher amounts of sodium,” said the report. “With health & wellness top of mind for consumers, food companies still have plenty to do.”

A joint effort between food companies, restaurants and retailers would be required to convert this segment into a mainstream category.

“We believe that a broad marketing strategy educating consumers on the benefits of alternative meat via an “Inconvenient Truth”-style documentary, combined with visually appealing and edgy advertising a la the “Got Milk?” campaign, could be the ingredients that enable alternative meat to become a main course on the menu,” said the report.

(Adapted from MarketWatch.com)