Explainer: EU meaty names ban and hybrid meat
- Proposed EU rules require meat products to contain exclusively meat
- Hybrid meat products would not be able to use protected names under proposals
- Hybrid meat market could grow at 10.5% CAGR by 2036
- Naming restrictions may slow launches and complicate consumer understanding
- Companies may emphasise flavour, benefits and ingredient transparency instead
The EU’s ban on ‘meaty’ names such as ‘chicken’ and ‘steak’ for meat-free products was agreed earlier this year. The ban, originally included in proposals to update the EU’s Common Market Organisation (CMO), will severely restrict what plant-based meat products can be called.
However, the story is not over yet. Further proposals to update the CMO are in the pipeline, suggesting an expansion of banned terms to include the previously exempt ‘burger’ and ‘sausage’.
Whether or not the initial ban also applies to hybrid meat products remains a topic of debate, says Rafael Pinto, senior policy manager at the European Vegetarian Union. Some legal experts believe that it does but, he says, this was not policymakers’ original intention.
One thing is for sure, though: if the new proposals go ahead, hybrid meat will definitively be included in the ban.
The new proposals have made it explicit that, barring substances necessary for production, a meat product must be composed “exclusively from meat”. This, of course, includes hybrid products.
How the ban could impact hybrid meat
Hybrid meat has already seen significant interest from both consumers and the food industry. It is considered by some consumers to have a better texture than wholly plant-based foods, according to the organisation EIT Food, and appeals to health and sustainability-minded consumers who don’t want to eat fully meat-based products. For the food industry, hybrid is valuable for a number of reasons, such as its ability to reduce costs.
Hybrid meat has the potential to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5% by 2036, according to market research company Future Market Insights.
The new additions to the meaty names ban, if they go ahead, could significantly affect the introduction of hybrid versions.
Such a ban could influence how consumers understand the category, or even prevent them from discovering it, suggests Nandini Roy Choudhury, principal consultant for food and beverage at Future Market Insights.
It may also prevent the sector from communicating its key selling point – the presence of meat. “Hybrid products are intended to offer a familiar meat experience with less meat, so removing the familiar format name makes that proposition more difficult to explain.”
Manufacturers may be forced to redesign packaging and change listings in retailers. They may even have to adopt different names in different EU countries, as one proposal keeps the option open for Member States to introduce their own protected terms.
Choudhury does not believe that the ban would eliminate the hybrid category entirely. But it would substantially alter it.
“It could slow launches, discourage smaller companies and shift innovation towards foodservice, private-label and business-to-business channels, where the product can be explained through menus, procurement specifications or retailer communication.”
How can food manufacturers adapt?
If the hybrid meat sector is to adapt, it will need to develop workarounds.
Much like the plant-based dairy sector before it, which is affected by a similar naming ban, it may need to develop alternative product names, says Martine van Haperen, food industry expert at non-profit advocacy group ProVeg International.
This, she says, could make it harder for consumers to recognise products and how they can be used. Yet the plant-based dairy sector has been successful with alternative names.
One approach that companies could take is to focus on flavour, Haperen suggests. This is the approach that plant-based dairy took after its own naming ban.
Furthermore, familiarity would likely be on companies’ side. “Despite different product names, consumers would still see familiar sausage and burger shapes, particularly as these products are likely to use the transparent packaging commonly used for meat products.”
Finally, hybrid products would have one advantage that solely plant-based meat doesn’t: the ingredients list. EU regulation ensures that meat would still be listed as an ingredient, even if meat-related terms are prohibited as a product name.
Products affected by the ban must establish three things very quickly, says Future Market Insights’ Choudhury: what the product contains, how it’s prepared and why consumers should choose it.
The inclusion of additional benefits such as protein and fibre content, lower saturated fat, affordability and verified environmental benefits could add more reasons for consumers to buy the product.
Furthermore, Choudhury stresses, companies would have to be careful not to replace one prohibited term with another that authorities might consider equivalent.
What unique problems would hybrid face?
Of course, the naming ban will affect fully plant-based products as well. But some problems could be unique to hybrid meat.
While the two segments will share many of the impacts of the ban, says Haperen, there is one key difference. Plant-based substitutes are often marketed, at least in part, towards vegetarians and vegans. By definition, hybrid products are targeted at meat eaters, often meat-loving flexitarians.
Therefore, the entire pitch is different. It is more important for the packaging and marketing to reflect the product’s adjacency to the meat that the consumer knows and loves.
A hybrid product is based on “familiarity and moderation rather than complete substitution”, says Choudhury. If it cannot use meat-based terminology, this will make it harder to classify, potentially leaving consumers confused about what, precisely, it is – whether it’s meat, a meat substitute, or something else entirely.
“Hybrid products may therefore be more commercially exposed, even though they contain meat.”
The expansion of the naming ban, if it goes ahead, will likely hit hybrid products with many of the same challenges as plant-based, and a range of new ones besides. But if this change does happen, the sector must adapt to survive.
