Plant based diets and economics

A couple of years ago, there were some new players in the plant based category. They had VC funding and had products who more closely resemble meat in texture and flavor.

The other players in the "vegetarian" category up their game to do similar products and go further.

Some of these players got involved with the fast food companies. Tests are run, and success is there, though not overwhelming so. A few fast food places drop items, some add more.

It was unclear how this might play out. Would this amount to anything?

And then McDonald's tries out a product … it looks like a failure. Until McDonalds discusses their product at an investor forum.

In short: The cost of doing business is high. Rising wages. Demand for quality ingredients. Other factors. They had to discard the dollar menu because the economics dictated it.

And then there's the cost of  meat and getting it to stores. The financial part of it suggests it's not a good long-term strategy. Meat is expensive and getting more so. The supply chain costs are going way up. And it's extremely perishable being fresh (or quick frozen). And there's the cost from an environmental standpoint. More land is needed. Destroying more of the environment.

McDonald's realizes that this isn't sustainable and they have to move to something other than traditional meat.

They'll be expanding their offerings to include more plant-based options. Then the cost shift will happen, where meat based products will cost more than plant based. And it will evolve to make items that you might not be able to tell the difference between…

Burger King also started talking about making their products more accessible, so they might use machines just for plant-based rather than sharing.

So the success of plant based will be driven by economics.

And ultimately we all may win. And have better products available. Sure the plant based ingredients are processed. And may not be "health foods" but it is progress toward a better future and sustainability.