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supermarket, retailers are challenged to ensure plant-based produce is accessible and easy for shoppers to locate. Clearly defining segments and having strong in- store signage helping shoppers find these new to market products offers is essential. “Strong pack branding with clear labelling helps shopping choices, while marketing support to drive awareness and profile is \[also\] helping to translate general interest into week-in-week- out sales. Strong supplier-retailer relationships can further build on this to drive category appeal and growth.” Addressing price, v2food, according to Mr Hazell, is “determined” to match animal meat on price, launching a 500g v2mince pack at an RRP of $8.50 – in between mid-tier and premium mince offerings. “Most plant-based products are yet to achieve competitiveness in terms of scale and cost with a price premium relative to their conventional meat counterparts – between 25 per cent and 50 per cent more on a dollar per kilo basis.” Nestlé’s Harvest Gourmet brand is providing a range of “innovative products” in the plant-based meat space. Among these are Incredible Burger, Incredible Mince, Classic Falafel, Mince Balls, Gourmet Sausages, Vegan Burger, and Chargrilled Strips. According to Nestlé Head of Marketing Foods Nicole Fox, these products improve flavour and texture delivery for a better consumer experience – to retain them in the category. “By bringing our global insights to the Australian market, we’re optimising planograms and aiding the path to purchase for Aussie consumers,” she said. “We’re \[also\] supporting the brand out of store to engage consumers on the benefits of plant-based eating and the delicious offers available to attract consumers to the category.” On a similar note, Fry’s is said to be constantly working with retailers to ensure its store placing works, with packaging developments and clear planograms. “There are many more brands fighting for shelf space in Australia, compared with other territories, which is something we’re acutely aware of in all our brand planning,” Ms Fry said. “Packaging is key. It has to reflect the brand, which in turn means that the brand ethos/brand story has to stand out from the others. “Fry’s has been producing plant-based foods for almost 30 years. We’re truly a family business. This is what sets us apart. We’re not chasing trends. I believe this is what comes across in how we present ourselves in stores, and in our relationships with retailers.” Ms Fry urges retailers to embrace the fact that plant-based is now a mainstream movement. “Consumers want to see a variety of good quality meat alternatives on supermarket shelves,” she said. “I also suggest that retailers work with brands to find ways to educate consumers on plant-based meat alternatives: show real solutions with cooking demos, in-store recipe promotions, tastings, etc (safely within Covid-19 limitations, of course).” MEAT & POULTRY V2FOOD’S CSIRO-BACKED MEAT ALTERNATIVE Australian plant-based meat start- up v2food, a partnership between CSIRO, Main Sequence Ventures and Competitive Foods Australia, officially launched late last year. The company was formed by CSIRO’s Innovation Fund, managed by Main Sequence Ventures, a part of the Australian government’s National Innovation and Science agenda. Competitive Foods Australia, the company behind Hungry Jack’s, also contributed seed funding to help launch v2food. The v2food product is sold predominantly in foodservice at such outlets as Hungry Jack’s and Soul Burger. In April, v2food announced a partnership with Marley Spoon, allowing Aussies to order new plant-based dishes every week, offering them an exclusive chance to experience how plant-based v2mince cooks and tastes like meat. Following this, v2food announced a partnership with Deliveroo in June. This partnership, during ‘Meat Free Week’, offered the chance to order plant-based versions of favourite meat meals (using v2food products) from more than 70 restaurants. Last month, v2food made its supermarket debut, launching into Drakes Supermarkets. The brand’s v2mince and v2burgers are now available at all 61 of the retailer’s outlets across South Australia and Queensland. launch into retail, v2food CEO Nick Hazell says its first job is to establish the brand in Australia and build the plant-based meat category to be an acceptable mainstream offering – to satisfy “half of Australians” who are looking to reduce meat consumption for health and sustainability reasons. “Critical to the success is to start with the key SKUs in mince and burgers, which allow consumers a low-risk way to trial the brand in their favourite meals,” he said. “As consumer acceptance grows, the brand will be able to stretch into a wider range of products, creating plant-based options for any type of product that includes meat.” Mr Hazell adds that the launch of v2 in retail will be supported by heavy in-store support in all retailers, with ATL campaigns and the use of influencers, partnerships and a range of tactics designed to drive awareness of the new generation of plant based products and convert to trial. As the company continues to SEP, 2020 RETAIL WORLD 33