Entrepreneurship Zone: 30 June 2023 :: How Africa can profit from growing demand for plant-based protein

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Entrepreneurship Zone: 30 June 2023 ::  How Africa can profit from growing
demand for plant-based protein

 

	
 


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 <https://www.hyundai.co.zw/> 


The market for meat alternatives is expanding, creating opportunities for
agricultural producers and processors globally and within Africa. In March
2023, Michiel Timmerman founded RIFT Protein, a food technology company
specialising in the extraction of plant-based protein. Timmerman, the
founder and managing partner of Mbuyu Capital, has an extensive background
of investing in Africa. Recently, Jeanette Clark interviewed him to explore
the potential business opportunities in Africa related to the alternative
protein industry.


Can you briefly explain the difference between plant-based protein and
cultured (or lab-grown) meat?


Plant-based protein is the extract you need to provide some of the texture
and nutritional value in plant-based meat substitutes. The most high-profile
meat alternative is plant-based burgers and several companies produce that.
You have a variety of plants that can produce this type of protein extract
and the trick is that you don’t want to retain any plant-based flavour; you
want the extract to be white and not coloured.

There are nine amino acids that the human body needs, but can’t produce
itself. So when you look at protein extracts, you look for a source that has
a good amino acid composition. Different plants have different levels of
these amino acids, and this, along with other properties, determines their
suitability for use in meat substitutes.

Cultured meat is something totally different. That is when stem cells are
taken by biopsy from animals, whether it be chicken, beef, pork, or even
seafood. The cells are taken in a state where they are still replicating and
then encouraged in a lab to continue to replicate multiple times. Originally
a serum from cow foetuses (foetal bovine serum) was used to provide the
nutrients required by the cells to replicate, but recently a synthetic media
has been used to get away from using animal products completely. The meat
grown in the lab is often of a mince-meat consistency. Essentially the
producers then have to find a way to turn that into something that looks
more like normal meat and there are several ways of doing that.

There are many benefits of moving away from the consumption and production
of livestock-farmed animal meat. It would limit the impact of particularly
methane from beef production. In addition, animals are poor converters of
feed protein into protein for human consumption, meaning that we need to
feed animals a lot of crops to produce the meat protein that is then eaten
by humans. Soya, one of the crops used, consumes a lot of water, which is,
again, detrimental to the planet and has led to deforestation in order to
meet demand, for example in Latin America. Then, of course, there is the
topic of animal welfare. While it is nice to see cows roaming in fields, the
majority of meat production is done in a factory setup where animal welfare
is generally not great.


For which of these two products do you see the greatest opportunity on the
African continent?


At the moment, I believe that Africa has an opportunity as a large-scale
source of crops for the extraction of plant-based protein. There are
different peas and beans that are grown on the continent which is ideal. The
refined extract product can then be exported, while the waste left from the
process – e.g. non-extracted protein, leaves, stalks and stems – can be used
to produce animal feed. This is where RIFT Protein sees an opportunity and
is an area we are looking at developing.


Which crops are most suitable for the extraction of plant-based protein?


The most common crop for extraction of plant-based protein is soya, which
is produced in Africa in countries like Zambia by large commercial farmers.

The other crops, which we find more interesting, are mung beans (also
called green grams) and cowpeas. Mung beans are currently being used for
protein extraction by various companies in Asia and Europe that focus on egg
alternatives. They are grown in many places in Africa as a smallholder crop
and there is an opportunity for companies to aggregate these crops at scale
for producers of plant-based protein.

RIFT Protein and others are involved in a project with Wageningen
University from the Netherlands, investigating the viability of cowpeas from
West Africa for the extraction of the protein.

We are also looking at RuBisCO, which is a protein that is part of the
photosynthesis process and found in all plant leaves. The challenge with
RuBisCO is that it is only found in small quantities in the leaf and
therefore you need the source material at scale – you are looking at only 1%
or 2% of the entire leaf that can be extracted. In New Zealand, a company is
growing alfalfa (also known as lucerne) for this purpose while some
companies look at water lentils, and others use by-products such as the
leaves from sugar beets.

The latter is what we want to do – find the crops that have large volumes
of leaves as a waste product and then work on perfecting the extraction
process.


Are there other companies in Africa currently involved in the extraction of
the protein?


There is some technology involved in the extraction process itself, which
is a feasible option to implement in Africa. It is not nearly as complicated
as growing cells the way you have to for cultured meat.

There is also a wide spectrum of demand for plant-based protein extract.
Some companies need the highest quality for the production of meat
alternatives, while others, like those that produce energy drinks, can use a
dried powder version that is easier to produce. As a new entrant in the
market, you could decide to produce these entry-level products.

It is still a very new area and I am not aware of large investments that
have been made in Africa; there are a couple of companies that are raising
some funds. What you need to get right is where you position your product on
the spectrum of plant-based protein needs and then find a way to limit your
cost of production. This is something we are also still grappling with.


Does RIFT Protein envision diversifying into the production of plant-based
meat alternatives, potentially utilising your protein extracts to make
burgers and other similar items?


Where I see RIFT Protein stopping is at the B2B end. We will produce the
extract and sell it to people who make plant-based meat substitutes. We are
not experts in consumer behaviour or FMCG and think that is better left to
other companies who operate in that sector.


There have been concerns about the extensive processing involved in
creating meat alternatives. What are your thoughts on this?


If you look at the average diet in the developed world, there are huge
amounts of processed foods involved. The concerns of the consumers that are
already enjoying a diet filled with processed foods should possibly be taken
with a pinch of salt.

Criticism from clean-living natural-product enthusiasts is understandable,
but that is a small subset of the population. Is it a refined product? Yes,
it is, but people happily eat other refined products.


Do you foresee a future where we won’t need to shape meat alternatives to
mimic traditional meat? In other words, would consumers be satisfied eating
protein sources, such as mung beans, in their natural form?


When we embarked on this path we did ask ourselves why bother with all this
hassle. Why can’t people just eat beans, rather than a plant-based burger,
made from beans, imitating meat burgers? This is why I don’t really want to
do B2C because people are complicated, and consumer behaviour is a bit of a
specialist subject.

In broad terms, changing behaviour around eating is very difficult. Getting
people who expect to eat meat daily to change their food habits is tough and
if your primary motivation is to chip away at greenhouse gas emissions or to
improve animal welfare, providing meal alternatives in a form that resembles
meat is a good place to start. It will always be a limited market, but
people eat an awful lot of meat, so even taking 1% of the market is a
significant opportunity.



Michiel Timmerman

 

 

 


 


 


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