Meat and dairy products in recent years have battled plant-based alternatives for consumer dollars. Now, another competitor looms. 

“Major disruption is coming to protein ingredients,” said Stephanie Mattucci, associate director, global food science for Mintel. “Clean meat or lab-grown meat is expected to disrupt both the meat industry and the plant-based meat industry.”

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Taste and texture still rank as barriers to plant-based meat alternatives while clean meat faces hurdles in price, scale and regulatory approvals, she said.

Lab-grown proteins already are featured in products sold at retail. Brave Robot, an animal-free ice cream brand, incorporates non-animal whey protein isolate from Perfect Day, a startup based in Berkeley, Calif. The product label reads, “a simple, animal-free treat that uses less land, energy and water.”

Lab-grown proteins could find a home in other categories, like cheese alternatives and sports nutrition products.

“Ice cream is really just the beginning for these non-animal whey proteins,” she said. “Of course, pending regulatory approval, synthetic non-animal dairy proteins offer new solutions in categories where nutritional or technical challenges have really limited vegan innovation.”

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