SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: Meat Alternative Trends and Technology - May 2022 - 6

PRODUCT PROFILE
taking extremely processed pea protein or soy
protein and then you have to extrude them and
then make them into something that's more
spongy or mushy, " Le said. " Whereas we started
with the building blocks of something that is textured
like meat and are building meat from that.
So, it's a very similar process to making meat. "
The biggest difference in the process of fabricating
the koji meat comes in the form of efficiency
and environmental impact, Le said.
" The animal is just the protein, the muscle
and the fat, " she said. " The majority of the koji,
compositionally, is protein. So, we can get a very
similar input without having the animal involved,
and it's very efficient. Our process is between
90% and 99% more efficient and better on a variety
of different environmental factors whether
it's water usage, land usage or just energy usage
in general. "
DELI DISRUPTION
Prime Roots' decision to move into the deli meat
category did not occur on a whim. The strategy
was well thought out and based on testing and
feedback from consumers over the past year.
Prime Roots learned that consumers did love the
koji meats, but there were other factors as well.
" It's also that the behind-the-glass, bulk deli
category is somewhere where there are no alternative
meat players today, " Le said. " So, it is
really interesting to think about being the first
and really forging a path where we're making
something that is high quality that you can
feel great about eating, that's immediately
swappable. So, for deli operators,
for grocery stores and for restaurants,
it really slices the exact
same way, it cooks the exact same
...it's really
made for
people like
us, who eat
meat. "
Kimberlie Le
way, and you don't have to change any of your
recipes or anything like that. We can swap very
seamlessly into their program. "
Le added that the koji meats from Prime
Roots expand the deli meat market. Consumers
have a variety of reasons for not eating deli
meats, according to Le, and she believes Prime
Roots' products address that market, including
the population of people who love deli meats
who want options that are hormone free or antibiotic
free, the leading product claim within the
whole industry.
" Live better products is what consumers are
craving and we're able to be a part of that in a
very real way, " Le said.
Listening
to
Prime Roots'
move into deli
meats was a
strategic decision.
consumers
solidified
Prime
Roots' future in the deli case and gave it an edge
in establishing the quality aspects of the koji deli
meats. The data gleaned in the last few years
has allowed the company to respond to different
requests and prove its platform can support
a variety of products.
" Deli is one of those categories where there
are so many different types of products, " Le
explained. " There are many different flavors,
there's chicken, there's beef, there are pork products
across the category. We're able to create all
those from the koji. That really highlights one of
the core capabilities of the company; we are a
protein company. "
Prime Roots has received good receptions
from the retail and foodservice markets and others.
The products are currently prelaunch with a
large-scale launch scheduled for later this year.
" We're really excited to be building a household
name because deli is a product that people
consume almost every single day, " Le said.
6
2022 MEAT ALTERNATIVE TRENDS + TECHNOLOGY MEAT+POULTRY
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: Meat Alternative Trends and Technology - May 2022

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