Mind Blown Plant-Based Seafood launches scallop analog; Six in 10 households purchased plant-based foods in 2022

SeafoodSource is closely following the plant-based and cell-based seafood alternatives market by compiling a regular round-up of updates from the sector.

- Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S.A.-based Global Seafood Alliance released its latest Aquademia podcast episode on 13 April, 2023 covering the vitality of the plant-based seafood industry. 

“Not everyone is a vegetarian. Not everyone is a vegan. Or a flexitarian. Or a climatarian. It’s a personal choice,” Finless Foods Chief Strategy Officer Shannon Cosentino-Roush said on the podcast. “Foodservice operators are menuing plant-based alternatives because they see that there’s a percentage of their customer base that either demands it or has circles of friends [that demand it]. It’s called the veto vote. You go to dinner, and there’s the one friend who says, ‘There’s nothing for me to eat there. Can we go somewhere else?' And so foodservice operators are trying to make sure that they have options that tailor to the [entire] group.”

- Gwynn’s Island, Virginia U.S.A.-based Mind Blown Plant Based Seafood Co. has launched a new addition, Shelf Stable Sea Scallops, to its line of plant-based seafood analogs.

“We’ve been thrilled with the responses world-wide from our ‘sneak peeks’ and are excited to launch them online for consumers to order directly to their door. Unlike all of our other plant-based seafood products we can ship them out without the coolers and dry ice! This is a real game-changer!” Mind Blown Plant Based Seafood Company CEO and Co-Founder Monica Talbert said in a press release. “Our new Mind Blown Shelf Stable Sea Scallops can now be enjoyed by anyone who loves seafood and wants to enjoy a seafood experience anytime, anywhere.” 

- NielsenIQ, a global consumer intelligence firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois U.S.A.,  released a report showing increased consumer interest for plant-based alternatives in 2023, Supermarket News reported. The survey found 17 percent of respondents  are currently eating plant-based or “plant-forward” diets in 2022, with more than 691,000 consumers seeking plant-based products online.

“The top 20 growing categories are across all departments, showing consumers are looking for plant-based alternatives in grocery, dairy, meat, baby, and even health and beauty,” Nielsen IQ Vice President Sherry Frey said. 

 - A new report from the Good Food Institute and the Plant Based Food Association found six in 10 U.S. households purchased plant-based foods in 2022.  The report found plant-based seafood sales grew 53 percent between 2019 and 2022, and that sales of plant-based seafood sales grew 15 percent by value and 5 percent by volume.

Photo courtesy of Mind Blown Plant Based Seafood Company