Meal replacement, as the name suggests, is to replace the people of a meal and the existence of the product, initially in the form of energy bars in foreign countries. 90 years later, energy bars are no longer the only form of energy products on the market, a variety of concentrated drinks, nutritional shakes began to appear. After recognizing the importance of nutrition, now on the market meal replacement products began to add a variety of nutrients, often in the form of powder mixed together, just add water can become a cup of nutrient solution.

With the accelerated pace of life, the meal replacement market has become hot. Mengniu, COFCO and other domestic traditional food giants, Nestle, Pepsi and other international brands, have launched corresponding meal replacement products. Tencent Investment, Source Capital, Zhenge Fund, Junlian Capital, IDG Capital and many other well-known investment institutions have also entered the game.

Today, we pay attention to meal replacement. I hope this article can bring some inspiration and help to the relevant business people and readers.

Slow food vs. meal replacement

Didn’t we agree on the ” slow food” movement? What may have started out as an attempt to revitalize local and traditional eating styles has turned into shorthand for slowing down when it comes to eating a decent meal.

All of this seems a bit anachronistic in the days before the new crown pandemic. Speed, convenience and technological innovation were at the forefront of people’s minds, so much so that investors poured millions of dollars into meal replacement startups, vowing to bring a revolution to the way we eat as we know it.

But there’s no doubt about it: slow food is still alive and well, and in some ways in the midst of a renaissance, as consumers trapped by COVID-19 begin to use their newfound free time to rediscover their kitchens.

But modern meal replacements also still exist. For Jakub Krejcik, the food is not letting a global infection get in the way.

I think the rise of meal replacements is related to cultural and technological developments,” declares the CEO and co-founder of Mana, a European meal replacement manufacturer. They used to be something out of a sci-fi movie, but as new food production technologies enabled us to eat healthy, fast and tasty meals at an affordable price, people started to accept them.”

So not only are meal replacements important today, but they are setting the trend and becoming trendy.

What makes meal replacements modern?

Of course, before any discussion about modern meal replacements can begin one needs to first determine what exactly meal replacements are circa 2020/21. While there’s still room for debate on the definition of popular, we’re definitely not talking about SlimFast shakes or lightweight candy bars.

In fact, according to Krejcik and Mana, a modern meal replacement has a lot more hurdles to clear than trying to win over today’s consumers.

For starters, he argues, the first requirement for a 21st-century meal replacement is that it be “a convenient food that provides all the nutrients the body needs to be healthy-not just highly nutritious but completely nutritious.” He said. “People should be able to consume it at any meal without having to worry about getting the energy they need.”

Beyond that, Krejcik adds, modern meal replacements should have a formula that is based on the latest nutritional and compositional science and be produced using methods that respect environmental sustainability. In the end, it must still offer the most basic of conveniences, which is why the category of food exists in the first place.

Sunshine under the new crown virus

But is portability and convenience still an important attribute at a time when most of us are sheltering in our homes with enough time to spend in our kitchens as the neo-crest pandemic continues?Krejcik’s experience tells him that it still is.

In fact, he and his Mana colleagues have seen the COVID-19 attract a whole new set of consumers: not just busy techies and businessmen, but moms, active seniors, and even healthcare professionals. krejcik says, “we’ve witnessed a surge in in-home orders.” Krejcik says he sees several reasons for this.

One is the consumer’s urge to stock up on goods before the next crisis hits. After all, since meal replacements like Mana have a long shelf life and don’t require refrigeration, they’re ideal for emergency food stockpiling.

Krejcik continues, “Another reason is that, at least in Europe, there is an increased demand from people involved in relief efforts, such as emergency responders and healthcare professionals.” It makes sense: with time constraints and a high demand for nutritious energy, it’s natural for them to opt for meal replacements.

Last spring, Mana even had to more than triple its production to meet demand and donated nearly 50,000 meals to local hospitals and relief organizations.Krejcik adds, “Based on current indications, we expect the same surge in demand this fall and winter, which just proves that when the going gets tough, the benefits of meal replacements are extremely important.”

Evolving added ingredients

When it comes to the relationship between the Mana formula itself and its popularity, Krejcik cites ingredient selection as “one of the main frontiers in the development of whole-food meal replacements.” At the heart of Mana’s continued development, therefore, is the essential need to seek out a wider range of nutrient sources to update the formula with each iteration of the product. He added: “And thanks to new technologies, this can now be done without compromising on flavor.”

However, as environmental sustainability is also a core value of the brand, the company does not allow any animal-sourced ingredients to be added to its products. So this presented a challenge when it wanted to add large amounts of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. But the company has since found a plant-based solution in the form of algae oil.

“Algae is rich in EPA and DHA, and it’s very difficult to find such a suitable ratio in the plant world,” Krejcik explains, “People usually get these omega-3 fatty acids through fish oil, but fish actually get them from algae.”

Future Developments

This just goes to show that the future of meal replacement will indeed rely on ever-innovative ingredients, Krejcik says: “As nutritional science and food production technology evolve, the possibilities for this format are virtually limitless.”

Consider that when Mana launched its first product in 2014, it was a powder that users could mix with water and served with a blend of oils on the side. It evolved into a ready-to-drink model three years later, and after another year, “we were awarded a patent for a blending technology that allows us to mix oils and powdered ingredients into a single dry substance.”

Krejcik even believes that meal replacements can coexist with “slow food”. In fact, he says, “They already do. We recently launched the world’s first whole plant-based burger patty. It’s not a ready-to-eat food, but it’s an alternative to a traditional beef burger and can be cooked in minutes.”

The secret to success

So what is the key to making meal replacements consistently successful?Krejcik concludes, “If I could sum it up in one word, I would say accessibility.” While meal replacements have evolved into clean, plant-sourced, fully nutritious products, they still have to make nutrition itself easier. He says, “So if they’re not accessible in that way, then they’re not going to win over consumers.”

This goes a long way toward explaining why Krejcik bets that the term “meal replacement” itself “is actually becoming a misnomer. Above all, he says, “people are busy, and if a meal replacement saves them time, fills them up, and provides them with the nutrients they need, I think it’s just as important as a real meal. Lifestyles are changing and so are our views on food and meals. As our culture and technology continues to evolve, so will meal replacement.”