Major Agribusiness Giant Is Developing Vegan Turkey Lunch Meat

Major food company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has revealed that it is developing a plant-based turkey lunch meat. The development also includes the creation of savory turkey flavoring ingredients for a range of products. ADM’s new 2021 Food Trend Report shows that plant-based proteins are one of the top five trends that will dominate the food industry next year, and its research indicates that interest in vegan turkey is there. When consumers were asked what meat alternatives they have not yet tried but would like to, 30 percent of consumers in the United States, 36 percent of consumers in the United Kingdom, and 46 percent of consumers in China expressed interest in trying plant-based turkey.

“While the market is expanding beyond burger analogs to new and novel products, there are some challenges with plant-based turkey specifically,” John Stephanian, Vice President of Global Culinary & Innovation at ADM, told VegNews. “Replicating turkey’s unique flavor and texture remains a key challenge, and no ‘full bird’ turkey analog has managed to dominate the category to date. Indeed, turkey flavors differ from other poultry, leaning more heavily into gamey, smoked, gravy, and umami notes.”

ADM’s vegan turkey product is currently in the prototype stage and the company is not providing an official launch date at this time.