Plant-Based Seafood – Future Market Potential

The last few years have seen the unprecedented rise of the plant-based seafood market, and people love it more than ever! On top of that, Netflix’s Seaspiracy has garnered celebrity support as it shows the dark side of commercial fishing. 

Even pescetarians are left distraught about how the fishing and catching is done! Hence, people are turning their backs toward seafood and leaning towards plant-based and vegan seafood alternatives. Due to this, the plant-based seafood market will witness impressive growth and the future market potential is exciting!

Companies like Good Catch, New Wave Foods, Jinka, and Sophie’s kitchen – plant based seafood have captured the customers’ imagination and delivered amazing vegan and plant-based seafood options to the people.    

Companies are being reactive to what they are seeing in the seafood industry and providing tools to fuel the trend of vegan and plant-based seafood. However, the road is not as smooth and sophisticated as they think as there are some challenges they have to conquer and prove that they are as sustainable as their food! 

Now, let’s see some plus points and challenges these plant-based seafood companies will face and what the future holds for them. 

The Challenges and Opportunities: 

Shrimps, tuna, and crabs complete most of the seafood menu of lots of people. According to the UN, nearly 90% of marine fish stocks are fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted due to commercial fishing. 

So, the demand is more than what can be produced. To help save the ocean ecosystem, various companies have come forward and shown great interest in plant-based and vegan seafood. The plus points of this initiative are: 

A Boatload of Options

More than 200 edible species are present in the ocean, and people have just started to cook only some of them. As mentioned before, tuna, shrimps, salmons, and crabs made up the bulk of our seafood diet. 

Hence, plant-based seafood brands like Sophie’s Kitchen have played with already-popular species to help people adjust to the alternative easily and take pressure off of overexploited fishing. In the future, they will try some exotic species and let people enjoy something they have never tried before!  

Healthy and Nourishing

Plants are full of nutrients, and other ingredients that include various proteins and veggies present in these plant-based food items will give people a healthy alternative to typical seafood. You will get mercury and other contaminants with sea animals on your plate.  

However, that will not be the case with plant-based seafood as it would be made with proper care.   

Now, let’s see the challenges these companies can face. 

Mimic the Taste and Texture 

The flaky texture and salty taste of the seafood are the things that make it unique and delicious. If these companies want to make a point to pescetarians, they will need to mimic the taste and texture of the seafood. 

If they fail to fetch the desired texture and taste, then the future will be bleak. 

The Disruption to the Supply Chain and Employment

When the demand for seafood decreases with time, the supply chain will be disrupted, and that will cause unemployment in the sea and fishing industries. Families depending on this industry will suffer from this, and it can cause hunger problems. So, it is necessary to find a solution for them before expanding this industry. 

Final Words

If companies can overcome the challenges, the future market potential will be as endless as the sea. The future is very bright for plant-based companies, and they can make senseless money and save the ocean ecosystem.