IFSA EXPO Newcomer Meatless Farm is Hoping to Appeal to Flexitarian Airline Passengers
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Meatless Farm made its debut at IFSA EXPO this year showcasing a host of in-flight-ready meatless menu items.
There was much talk about sustainability at this week’s IFSA EXPO in Long Beach, California, and Meatless Farm is hoping to become a central part of the conversation.
Founded in 2016 in the UK by Danish entrepreneur and self-described “non-genius” Morten Toft Bech, Meatless Farm has been selling vegan, plant-based meat products in grocery stores around the globe for years, but is now looking to take flight with some airline customers.
Sampling an array of meatless products including burgers, chick’n cutlets and nuggets made with their signature mix of plant-based vegetable and pea proteins, Meatless Farm hopes to appeal to carriers wanting to cater to increasingly health-conscious and environmentally-conscious passengers moving forward.
“Basically, this is a product line that offers similar texture and flavor to meat, without the greenhouse gas-producing animal component,” Meatless Farm’s Business Development manager Leone Camerana told APEX Media. “The consumer we’re aiming our products at is this new category of consumer called flexitarians. They’re not vegetarian or vegan, they’re just individuals that are actively trying to reduce their meat intake.”
While that might sound like a niche market to some, Camerana said the number of even casual meatless alternative customers has grown exponentially over the past five years.
“I’d say the demographic that is probably most receptive to our products right now are millennials aged 25 to 40 years-old, but it really is for everyone. For example, people that are maybe being told by their doctor that they’re eating too much red meat that have never eaten salad in their life. So this is, for the first time, an option for people of any age range, and it tastes great too.”
Another benefit to airlines, noted Camerana, is the easy, galley-friendly preparation time for most of Meatless Farm’s products, as well as the “cool factor” associated with being an airline that offers sustainable meatless menu items in-flight.
“With increasingly more meatless products and brands coming up right now, ourselves included, it’s become almost an expectation for the consumer to have healthy, meatless options on the menu,” said Camerana. “And that is something that we believe is going to trickle down into airlines as well.”