Increasing the share of plant-based foods is inevitable if we want to achieve both health and environmental goals. Excessive consumption of animal proteins is associated with various diseases, while plant proteins and fibers reduce health risks.
Despite growing interest in plant-based alternatives, sales figures have not yet skyrocketed. The reason is simple: products that taste good are often too expensive, while cheaper options often fall short in flavor.
Kaupo Reede, Head of Biorefining at Metrosert, explained in an article published in Äripäev that traditional product development is fragmented, linear, and opaque. Scientific solutions often do not take into account the specific characteristics of individual crops or energy-efficient production possibilities, making production costly. Retailers do not provide product developers with real-time information on consumer taste preferences and price sensitivity, so products may enter the market in the wrong position. This creates a vicious circle where high development costs lead to high retail prices and low sales, hindering the achievement of climate and health goals.
According to Reede, the solution is a new strategic model in which the entire value chain—retailers, scientists, farmers, and processors—collaborates transparently with a shared vision. This way, each link knows its role and the next client, reducing risks and bringing a more affordable, healthier, and tastier plant-based product to market.
Metrosert coordinates such a model in Estonia, and it is already being tested through the Plant Protein Innovation Cluster. The cluster brings together scientists, farmers, processors, and retailers.
The first success stories have already emerged: TERE Deary plant-based milk alternatives and Thormi plant-based patties have attracted significant attention. The goal of the Innovation Cluster is to bring scientific expertise into industry decision-making and to bring new solutions quickly to store shelves—competing in price and taste with animal-based products.
The market potential for products based on plant proteins is enormous. As Kaupo Reede emphasized, this potential can only be realized if the entire value chain works in much closer collaboration than before. Metrosert’s Biorefining Unit within the Applied Research Center is specifically designed to support this value chain, helping companies develop new plant protein-based technologies and products, and bringing scientific expertise into industry and retail decision-making.
Full article in Estonian was published in Äripäev and Põllumajandus.ee.