For several years now, New Wave Foods has been working on the development of entirely plant-based shrimp products that serve as an ethical, sustainable alternative to real seafood.
There are many mock meat products that are created to mimic the look, taste and texture of real meat products, and New Wave Foods began by looking at real shrimp muscle at a molecular level. As co-founder Dominique Barnes describes: "we then used that data to select plant and algae ingredients, which gave us the same texture as shrimp."
New Wave Foods' plant-based shrimp is currently available to foodservice operators (post-secondary institutions, restaurants, resorts, food trucks, caterers etc.) and will be accessible for retail in select states as of 2018.
Ethical Imitation Shrimp
New Wave Foods Creates 100% Plant-Based Shrimp
Trend Themes
1. Plant-based Seafood Products - New Wave Foods' development of plant-based shrimp demonstrates the growing trend of ethical and sustainable alternatives to real seafood.
2. Imitation Meat Substitutes - The mock meat market continues to expand, with New Wave Foods utilizing molecular-level research to create a plant-based shrimp with the same texture as the real thing.
3. Alternative Protein Sources - The use of plant and algae ingredients in creating plant-based shrimp highlights the trend towards diversifying protein sources beyond traditional animal products.
Industry Implications
1. Foodservice - New Wave Foods' plant-based shrimp is currently available to foodservice operators, providing them with a sustainable alternative to real seafood for their menus.
2. Retail - New Wave Foods' plant-based shrimp will soon be accessible for retail, addressing the growing demand for ethical and sustainable seafood options in select states.
3. Mock Meat Production - The development of plant-based shrimp by New Wave Foods contributes to the mock meat industry, which aims to offer consumers a variety of meat substitutes with similar taste and texture to real meat products.