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The role of major retailers and supermarkets in the transition from industrial animal agriculture to alternative proteins in low- and middle-income countries: The case of Brazil

Dec 15, 2022 | by
Germano Glufke Reis
  • Description

  • This report analyzes how supermarkets in Brazil promote plant-based "meat" compared with animal-based products. It also compares plant-based products coming from companies that also offer meat (i.e. meat processing companies) with products from companies that only manufacture plant-based products (plant-based "exclusive" firms).
  • The findings are as follows: 1. Plant-based meat is less widely available in supermarkets than animal meat. 2. Plant-based meat is significantly more expensive than animal meat. 3. Animal products are more often promoted through price reduction and multi-buy offers than their plant-based analogues. 4. Products from plant-based exclusive firms have higher prices, more fragmented availability, and lower discounts compared with plant-based products from meat processor companies. 
  • To discourage the production and consumption of meat in Brazil (a country that is the world's top producer and consumer of industrial meat), and encourage the transition to alternative protein products, one should:1. Increase the availability of plant-based products in supermarkets. 2. Lower plant-based meat prices. 3.Increase the presence of smaller and purely plant-based companies in retail outlets. 4. Reduce the promotion of animal meat products. 
  • To achieve the above outcomes, one should: 1. Reach out to retailers (e.g. to propose that they make alternative protein products more visible and available). 2. Invest in research (e.g. to find alternative protein sources that have cheaper ingredients). 3. Raise consumer awareness of the benefits of plant-based products and the importance of plant-based exclusive firms. 4. Empower smaller and plant-based exclusive firms. 5. Reach out to policymakers (e.g. for financial support for plant-based meat research, for transferring subsidies away from animal meat, for strengthening alternative protein sector's entrepreneurial ecosystem).

The role of major retailers and supermarkets in the transition from industrial animal agriculture to alternative proteins in low- and middle-income countries: The case of Brazil
  • Copyright
  • Copyright 2022 by Tiny Beam Fund. All rights reserved.
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