Miyokos cheese wheels board

by Debra Wasserman

One of my many hats at The Vegetarian Resource Group is Managing Director of Vegan Journal. In that role, I often scan through different types of publications to see what the general population is thinking. For example, I read a Hindu magazine, a Kosher magazine, and food sections in various newspapers. Recently I was glancing through the spring edition of Deli Business magazine and was delighted to read the publisher’s message titled “An Explosive 2025.”

Ken Whitacre states, “The three areas of innovation will be in prepared foods, plant-based items and vegetarian/vegan alternatives … Innovation is changing the makeup of many products. Plant-based foods are gaining traction. It’s important for buyers to recognize that plant-based and vegetarian or vegan are very different.”

He then goes on to say, “Plant-based means common items are not produced with the use of animal products. As an example, plant-based cheeses are growing in popularity. The early examples were mainly a failure, featuring an overwhelming flavor of chemicals and plastic, and the texture was even worse. Even more distasteful were vegan meats.”

Whitacre then adds, “However, plant-based cheese and dairy products have gotten very good. No, they do not taste like dairy-based cheese, and some people debate whether they should be called “cheese,” but the quality is high, and they are very tasty. They should be included in every cheese department. Additionally, plant-based meats are increasingly becoming popular, although the location maybe in the frozen food aisle.”

All this is being stated in a magazine that generally is focusing their promotion on standard deli department items such as cold-cuts and sliced dairy cheese. In fact, this editorial was published in the same mailing that included an entire separate insert featuring varieties of dairy-based cheese. Whitacre also urged deli managers to consider adding healthy vegan-stye salads not using tons of added mayonnaise, etc. Consumer demand certainly continues to evolve!