Poland, brief agricultural news week 8, 2020

Dutch companies active on the meat substitutes market in Poland

Although the global meat replacement market is expected to be worth over USD 250 billion in 2030, it is a category of marginal importance in Poland at the moment. However, the potential in the supply of vegeburgers has been noticed by meat manufacturers absent in Poland so far, including the Dutch company Vion, which aims to produce meat substitutes for private labels.
In 2019, the management of Vion decided to open a new chapter in its history and expand its activity to produce meat substitutes. The first plant products are expected to leave the production line in Leeuwarden at the end of February 2020, and the manufacturing plant is expected to reach full capacity by mid-2020. Ultimately, there will be as many as five lines inside capable of producing up to 5-6 thousand tons of finished product per year.
the Dutch company Vion does not intend to compete with Beyond Meat (active in Poland) to be recognizable brand but the company sees a niche market in the production of meat substitutes under the private labels. Also, according to Vion’s representatives, their products are less caloric than comparable ones from their competitors.
Beyond Meat introduced its products in Poland in 2019 in two chains: Organic Farma Zdrowia and Makro and in 2020 in Kaufland chain. The European distributor of Beyond Meat is the Dutch company Zandbergen. Perhaps Beyond Meat's policy will change with the launch of the first production facility outside the US, which  is expected to take place in May 2020 in the Netherlands. On the other hand, Polish start-ups are also appearing on the market, e.g. in 2019 products of the brand Bezmięsny were sold in Auchan chain. The Polish meat industry is very cautious about this trend and their focus mainly on vegetable pates, which are offered e.g. by Polish companies Sokołów and Pekpol.
Dutch company Vion can change a lot on the market, especially if they manages to cooperate with one of the biggest chains, such as Lidl or Biedronka. For now, Polish chains are very cautious about introducing meat substitutes but mainly because of the high price.

Source: Portalspozywczy.pl

More Polish consumers interested in plantbased products

The biggest change took place two years ago. Till that time plant based products were seen as products for a small group of vegetarians only. The offer and differentiation of the products was poor. Also the taste wasn’t that attractive as recipes of those products weren’t well developed as vegetarians were the only interested clients and at the same time the amount of vegetarians was limited.

Since few years consumers are more and more aware of the impact of the meat consumption for the environment and the cost in CO2 emission that results in climate changes. This results in more conscious decision with regard to food consumption as well as changes in habits of the consumers in Poland.

According to opinion research center Panel Ariadna 28% consumers in Poland ate meat free products and 30% declares they want to try this kind of products. Based on the results of a different research (Ibris research center) even 59% of the respondents are planning to limit their meat consumption in the coming year. Also so called ‘meat affairs’ changed the perception of meat and meat products. The group of flexitarians is now anyway the key target group for the plant based meat replacements.

There is no doubt that this market will grow in Poland: only last year the amount of vegetarian orders that was delivered by Uber eats grew by 151%. It seems that non meat food is becoming a new norm in Poland. Other companies like ‘Bezmięsny’ also doubled their sells in Poland.

According to diverse data the most desirable products are ‘meat’ minced stripes and ready to eat dishes. Consumers require taste that is similar to the traditional meat taste. The trend for ‘non meat meat’ is so strong that even the longer list of ingredients of such a product indicating greater processing  is seen as healthier by the consumers compared to regular unprocessed meat products. The feeling of taking care of the planet and being responsible for resources is the final win for the new generation of consumers.

WAR-LNV: own report- AM based on presentation of RoślinnieJemy

Irregularities in 25% of checked of fruits and vegetables in Poland

Irregularities were found in almost 25% of the 5500 checked lots of fruits and vegetables in Poland. Most irregularities were due to a lack of information or due to incorrect data regarding the country of origin. A total of 260 fines with a total amount of approximately 200.000 PLN were imposed.

The Polish Trade Inspection carried out over 800 quality and labeling controls in 2019, which is about 10% of all checks in the area of food. These checks took place in stores all throughout Poland, including chain stores such as Biedronka, Auchan, Carrefour, Lidl and Kaufland.

The Polish Trade Inspection only controls fresh fruits and vegetables in stores. The Polish Commercial Quality Inspection of Agricultural and Food Products carriers out checks in earlier stages of the food chain, such as: marketing, imports, packaging, wholesales, warehouses and commodity exchanges. From July 2020, the Polish Commercial Quality Inspection of Agricultural and Food Products will take over the controls of food, ensuring the entire supply chain “from farm to table”.

Source: agropolska

EIB lends € 50mln to dairy cooperative Mlekpol for better production, logistics and storage

The project will enable Mlekpol to introduce the Industry 4.0 concept and to decrease its carbon footprint.

The investment is backed by the Investment Plan for Europe and will strengthen the company's presence in the value chain of the food industry.

The operation targets one of the EU's less developed regions and will create jobs in rural Poland.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is financing Mlekpol, one of Poland's largest dairy cooperatives, to support the company's modernisation and growth strategy.The €50 million loan (equivalent to PLN 212 million) will help finance a series of investments in Mlekpol's Grajewo processing plant – one of 12 plants the company runs across Poland. The operation benefits from the guarantee of the European Fund for Strategic Investments, the financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.

The expansion and modernisation of the production facilities will provide Mlekpol with additional capacity to process fresh milk and to counterbalance seasonal shifts in supply. The investments will also be used to construct a new warehouse and logistics centre, increasing the company's efficiency. Finally, a combined heat and power plant to be built next to Mlekpol's wastewater treatment plant in Grajewo and fully running on bio-gas will reduce the amount of sludge the company produces and eliminate its need to purchase grid electricity.

Full press release can be found here.