American Hellenic Chamber of Commerce | American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce

The battle between the beef industry and Silicon Valley’s lab-grown meat startups is heating up

The US Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) has filed a petition to the USDA arguing that lab-grown meat startups should not be able to call their products “meat,” since they do not come from slaughtered animals.
Though so-called “cultured meat” products are not available in restaurants or supermarkets yet, a number of startups are attempting to make it more commercially feasible.
The debate will likely intensify.

For the first time, a major part of the US beef industry is taking aim at tech startups creating cultured meat — also known as lab-grown meat or clean meat — that’s grown in a lab using animal cells.

The US Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) has filed a 15-page petition to the USDA asking the agency to strictly define “meat” and “beef” as animals raised and slaughtered.

The group, comprised of farmers across the US, argues that lab-grown meat does not meet that definition, and that labeling cultured products as “meat” will confuse consumers.

By filing an official motion, the country’s ranchers are showing cultured meat startups that they are prepared to fight for that definition.

In the petition, the USCA mentions Memphis Meats, Just (formerly called Hampton Creek), and Mosa Meats, — three startups that are racing to bring lab-grown meat to market.

Recent venture capital investments could make that more commercially feasible. In January,Tyson Foods announced that it had invested in Memphis Meats, joining the startup’s list of prominent backers, including Bill Gates, the food giant Cargill, and Richard Branson. In 2016, Tyson also bought a 5% stake in Beyond Meat, a company that makes plant-based burgers, chicken, and sausage.

Just could be the first to get its meat to stores. Last year, the company said it plans to do so by 2018. Memphis Meats and Mosa Meats say they will start offering their products to the public in 2021.

“We have made progress in all areas that needed improvements — creating fat tissue, creating color, moving towards serum-free culturing — but we’re not there yet,” Mosa Meats CEO Peter Verstrate previously told Business Insider.

Proponents of meat-mimicking foods like cultured meat and plant-based “meat” argue that it’s more environmentally friendly than raising traditional livestock. Globally, traditional animal farming accounts for about 18% of greenhouse emissions, uses 47,000 square miles of land annually, and exhausts 70% of the world’s water.

As startups improve their meat alternatives, the debate over what can legally be considered meat will likely continue to intensify.

Source: Business Insider

Grocery shoppers could move online twice as fast as originally anticipated

The majority of U.S. grocery shoppers could be buying online within five years, according to a joint report from Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen.

That timeline represents a faster pace of adoption than previously believed, as both organizations originally estimated it could take up to 10 years for consumers to warm up to buying groceries on the web.

According to projections, 70 percent of shoppers will be buying some portion of their groceries online within five to seven years. That could equate to $100 billion in total spending. The shift online will impact grocery shopping in stores, where consumers are still expected to spend 80 percent of their grocery dollars.

“There is a fundamental shift in retail, and we are seeing an acceleration,” said Thom Blischok, global retail strategic advisor to Nielsen. “You can now find the basics of living online pretty easily.”

Traditionally, the grocery industry has been more insulated from e-commerce disruption than its peers in the apparel and book sectors. Shoppers tend to be loyal to their grocers, and the grocery supply chain is so complex.

However, the rise of meal kits and delivery services has helped to change shoppers’ expectations. Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods, which threatens to combine data, logistics and automation in a way the industry has not seen, has put the entire industry on notice. Earlier this month, Amazon launched its first automated grocery store.

The shift is already evident: 49 percent of all shoppers bought a packaged good online within the last three months. That includes 61 percent of millennials and 44 percent of baby boomers. It also includes 54 percent of affluent households and 40 percent of low-income households.

Grocery stores, cognizant of the price transparency the web affords, will feel the pressure to keep prices low. The largest ones, like Walmart, are expected to put an extra focus on low prices to help win their battle for market share. To help keep prices down and make shopping an event in itself, they will continue to invest in automation and grab-and-go technology.

Both large and small stores will continue to emphasize fresh and prepared foods, as well as meat, in an effort to compete with goods not easily ordered online.

Changes will also transpire behind the scenes, as brands and retailers look to use data they get through new technology to inform pricing, selection and promotion. Albertson’s launched a new service this month to use shopping data in its stores to better assess online ads.

Source: CNBC

WFFS18: Disrupt or Be Disrupted

Η χειμερινή έκθεση “Fancy Food” της Specialty Food Association μόλις ολοκληρώθηκε, αλλά η αίσθηση που άφησε στους επισκέπτες είναι ότι όλα τώρα αρχίζουν ή μάλλον ότι έχουν ήδη αρχίσει. Παρά τον τοπικό χαρακτήρα της χειμερινής έκθεσης-σε αντίθεση με τον διεθνή χαρακτήρα της καλοκαιρινής στη Νέα Υόρκη- διοργανώνεται σε μία από της ηγέτιδες πόλεις στον χώρο της γαστρονομίας, παρατηρώντας και την υψηλή ποιότητα των εστιατορίων. Δεν συνδέεται με το κόστος, αλλά και τη διεύρυνση και προσαρμογή που πραγματοποιούν οι λιανέμποροι στη διάθεση τροφίμων στα ράφια τους. Το κλίμα ήταν ανατρεπτικό με ματιά στο μέλλον στην προσπάθεια των εκθετών να βρεθούν στο επίκεντρο των εξελίξεων.

Οι 1600 περίπου εκθέτες παρουσίασαν προϊόντα, που ακολουθούν τις τάσεις της αγοράς και πιο συγκεκριμένα την υγιεινή διατροφή, την ασφαλή μέθοδο παραγωγής των προϊόντων και την εμπειρία που απολαμβάνουν οι καταναλωτές. Το κυριότερο, βέβαια χαρακτηριστικό, είναι ο παραδοσιακός και εξειδικευμένος τρόπος παραγωγής τους από βιοτεχνίες και μικροπαραγωγούς. Τα κυριότερα προϊόντα ανήκαν στην κατηγορία “free-from”, αρκετά προϊόντα εμπεριείχαν φυτική πρωτεΐνη και ακόμα περισσότερα ήταν σε “on-the-go” συσκευασίες καλύπτοντας, τόσο την ευκολία προετοιμασίας, αλλά κυρίως την ανάγκη για ένα ολοκληρωμένο γεύμα υψηλής διατροφικής αξίας.

Amazon – Alibaba & Corner Store

Πλέον η στρατηγική κίνηση της Amazon εξαγοράζοντας τη Whole Foods, αποτελεί “old news”, διότι θα πρέπει να εστιαστεί η προσοχή μας στις επερχόμενες αλλαγές που θα “μεταμορφώσουν” την Αμερικανική αγορά. Αυτό που δεν είναι ευρέως γνωστό, και συμβάλει και στον ανταγωνισμό αλλά και στη μεταμόρφωση της αγοράς, είναι το γεγονός ότι η Alibaba είναι ο μεγαλύτερος online retailer παγκοσμίως και η δυναμική του ξεπερνά τόσο τη Walmart όσο και όλες τις υπόλοιπες online/offline αλυσίδες λιανικής. Για παράδειγμα, κατά την Black Friday η Alibaba σημείωσε $25Μ πωλήσεις, έναντι της δεύτερης Amazon που έφτασε τα $5M πωλήσεις. Η δυναμική της Alibaba προέρχεται από τη δυνατότητα που δίνει σε «μικρομάγαζα» να πουλήσουν τα προϊόντα τους. Η δυναμικής – και συνεπώς η ανταγωνιστικότητα της– μπορεί να αυξηθεί ραγδαία, δεδομένου των ποικίλων και διαφορετικών αναγκών των αμερικανών καταναλωτών.

Buyer Panel: Selling Specialty

Οι αμερικανοί buyers είναι πλέον αναγκασμένοι να προσαρμοστούν τόσο στις ανάγκες των καταναλωτών όσο και της αγοράς. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, εκτός της ανάγκης για διαφορετικές γεύσεις, η ανάγκη για “on-the-go” κατανάλωση είναι απαραίτητη. Τον τρόπο κατανάλωσης έρχεται να συμπληρώσει και η διατροφική αξία των προϊόντων, οπότε οι buyers «κοιτούν» και τα φρέσκα προϊόντα για την “on-the-go” κατανάλωση, τα οποία θα πρέπει να προσφέρουν ένα ολοκληρωμένο «γεύμα». Με αυτό το στρατηγικό μοντέλο, οι buyers και οι αλυσίδες λιανικής θα μπορέσουν ανταγωνιστούν το “discounter” μοντέλο της Lidl, με την είσοδό της στην αγορά των ΗΠΑ, περιμένοντας να δουν τα πρώτα σημάδια συμπεριφοράς των καταναλωτών, αλλά και αντίδρασης της αγοράς συνολικά.

Disrupt or Be Disrupted

Κι ενώ όλα τα παραπάνω συμβαίνουν στη αγορά των ΗΠΑ και όλες οι αλλαγές έχουν ήδη επέλθει και θα επέλθουν και άλλες ακόμη, η τεχνολογία έρχεται να αλλάξει – σιγά σιγά – ακόμα περισσότερο τα δεδομένα και την οπτική γωνία των γεγονότων. Συγκεκριμένα, προϊόντα φυτικής πρωτεΐνης – ως συστατικό – όπως για παράδειγμα το μοσχαρίσιο μπιφτέκι ή πρωτεΐνη προερχόμενη από τον γρύλλο είναι πλέον γεγονός και προστίθενται στις καταναλωτικές επιλογές.

Ταυτόχρονα, η ανάγκη των καταναλωτών για υγιεινή και “on-the-go” κατανάλωση έχει αναδείξει και επιχειρηματικές ευκαιρίες, όπως για παράδειγμα τη δημιουργία fast-food αλυσίδας όπου προσφέρονται υγιεινά γεύματα όπως σολομός με λαχανάκια Βρυξελλών. Η νέα αλυσίδα Grown στους πρώτους 17 μήνες ζωής έχει ήδη φθάσει τα 6 σημεία πωλήσεων στην πολιτεία της Φλόριντα με τζίρο τα $2.2Μ.

Η επίδραση της τεχνολογίας, βέβαια, δε φθάνει μόνο εκεί, αλλά επηρεάζει και τους online λιανέμπορους. Η Farmstead, ως νέος online retailer, επιλέγει να αποθηκεύει/πωλεί μόνο τα απαραίτητα προϊόντα που θεωρούνται “commodity”, έχει αυτοματοποιήσει τη διαδικασία αποθήκευσης τους και τον τρόπο παράδοσης ελαχιστοποιώντας την ανθρώπινη επικοινωνία. Το ανταγωνιστικό πλεονέκτημα του μοντέλου της είναι η ευελιξία, δεδομένου ότι μπορεί να «στήσει» εύκολα τα σημεία πώλησής της, διότι εμπορεύεται περίπου 1,000 κωδικούς έναντι 4,000 ενός λιανέμπορου και έχει πολύ μικρότερο κόστος δημιουργίας της κάθε αποθήκης, διότι ασχολείται με το αισθητικό κομμάτι ενός supermarket.

Εσείς πως θα προσαρμοστείτε στην αγορά των ΗΠΑ;

Γιάννης Μωύσογλου
Υπεύθυνος Εξαγωγών “TradeUSA”, Ελληνο-Αμερικανικό Εμπορικό Επιμελητήριο

Export USA Forum 2017

Organic Sourcing: An Asymmetric Challenge of Supply and Demand

The retail market for organic products continues to defy gravity. All indications point to double-digit growth driven by consumer trends around health and wellness, clean label, natural, non-GMO, local and fresh eating. In the United States and Europe, the demand for organic already outpaces the land available to grow organic crops. Even looking more broadly, organic agriculture is still a very small portion of the overall global acreage. This creates an asymmetry of demand and supply, which effectively rests the success of organic retail programs on the shoulders of strategic sourcing.

Organic sourcing and supply chain management are complex processes with challenges at every level. Unlike conventional sourcing – which is largely transactional – retailers, brands and suppliers must be ready to look at both the short-term and long-term view, and make future commitments and investments, starting from day one.

The process of building and expanding an organic brand or line of products is truly a multi-year endeavor. To ensure a larger supply will be available when a retailer or brand is ready to grow, efforts to increase and expand sourcing must begin almost as soon as a new organic product hits the shelf.

Because the organic market is tightly controlled, especially in Europe and the U.S., there can be multiple layers of vetting, qualifying and certification that suppliers, manufacturers, processors and farms may have to go through. What’s more, since demand already exceeds supply, the only way to expand the availability of key organic ingredients is to convert land currently used for conventional crop a process that takes three years. Another complex and challenging component of the organic sourcing process is ensuring the chain of custody.

Things are often grown in one country, then shipped to another for processing, then shipped to yet another for manufacturing and so on. Without the right controls in place, the risk of potentially serious mistakes or even fraud can occur as was reported in May by The Washington Post. According to the newspaper, several shipments of feed crops were imported to the U.S. in late 2016 and sold as organic, but further investigation by the Post found that the organic certification documents had been falsified. If the conventional feed, falsely marked as organic, had been given to organic dairy cows, it would have been a devastating blow to the producer, their retailers and brand partners because the milk could not be sold as an organic product. This is why having quality assurance and trusted partners in place at every step in the sourcing process is critical.

Securing or establishing an organic supply chain and maintaining its integrity is critical to consumer trust and more complex than meets the eye. Given this and the exponential demand for organic ingredients, it is critical for retailers and brands to develop a holistic plan for both the short- and long-term now or risk being pushed out completely by the competition.

Twenty-five percent of the Millennials in America are parents. In the next 10 to 15 years, 80 percent of Millennials will be moms and dads. What this means for the organic market could be transformative.Â A new and expanded survey on the organic attitude of U.S. families released Thursday by the Organic Trade Association shows that Millennials are big buyers of organic, and that becoming a parent will only deepen the strong affinity for organic shared by this powerful generation.â€œ

Source: Supply Chain Management Review

Today’s Millennial: Tomorrow’s Organic Parent

Organic Trade Association survey signals big new wave of organic consumers on the horizon

OrganicParents Twenty-five percent of the Millennials in America are parents. In the next 10 to 15 years, 80 percent of Millennials will be moms and dads. What this means for the organic market could be transformative.

A new and expanded survey on the organic attitude of U.S. families released Thursday by the Organic Trade Association shows that Millennials are big buyers of organic, and that becoming a parent will only deepen the strong the strong affinity for organic shared by this powerful generation.

“Millennials are the largest consumer group in the United States, and they’re choosing organic. As more members of this generation become parents, their presence in the organic market will just get stronger” said Laura Batcha, CEO and Executive Director of the Organic Trade Association. “This year’s survey findings clearly show the positive relationship between organic and parenting. Exciting times lie ahead for the organic sector. Over the next ten years, we’ll see a surge of new organic eaters and consumers — the Millennial parents of tomorow and their children.

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