Eating plant-based seafood is one of the top trends for the summer, according to Whole Foods Market, as the number of new plant-based seafood analog products available at retail continues to increase.
“Get ready for a new wave of seafood substitutes that will be sure to surprise and impress! Ingredients like legumes and banana blossoms are being used to mimic the flaky texture of the real thing,” Whole Foods said in a press release. “This means alternative fish sticks, no-tuna sandwiches and a whole new depth of flavor in an otherwise simple fish dinner.”
The Austin, Texas, U.S.A.-based grocery chain, owned by Amazon, is touting plant-based seafood analog products including Upton’s Naturals Banana Blossom, a flower that is a fish alternative; Good Catch Fish-Free Tuna; and vegan tuna offered through Whole Foods Market’s Chef’s Case.
“Plant-based is the grocery category to watch right now as brands continue to innovate by using new ingredients and processes that make plant-based products exciting for shoppers,” Whole Foods Senior Global Category Merchant for Plant-Based Parker Brody said. “And in the laid-back days of summer, we find that customers are breaking out of their routines and are more open to trying something new, whether they’re longtime vegans or just starting to experiment with plant-based eating.”
Nearly half (48 percent) of consumers look for products labeled as “plant-based,” according to a recent Hartman Group study.
New plant-based seafood analog products available in the U.S. and Europe include:
- Gathered Foods-owned Good Catch's new line of breaded fish sticks, breaded fish fillets, and breaded crab cakes;
- Seasogood's first plant-based canned tuna analog product, now available in the Netherlands, per Vegconomist;
- Iglo’s Green Cuisine line launched vegan “fish fingers” in Germany, per Vegcomonist;
- Planteneers, part of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe, new plant-based salmon fillet analog and new range of textured vegetable proteins and plant-based binders – fiildTex and fiildFish – to help manufacturers develop vegan sushi, salmon and tuna alternatives, according to Food Ingredients 1st.
