Entering the main stage: introducing Solein® and the first taste of the future to the United States
INTERVIEW WITH:
JUAN MANUEL BENÍTEZ-GARCIA, CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER AT SOLAR FOODS
The United States is often seen as a promised land for commercializing the latest innovations. For Solar Foods and Solein, the US is stacked with opportunities: we sat down with Solar Foods’ CCO Juan Manuel Benítez-García to get a glimpse into the market.
This September, Solar Foods announced having taken the first major step on a new market by obtaining the so-called self-affirmed GRAS status (Generally Recognised as Safe) in the United States. This enables the company to take the first commercial steps in the US.
When we look to the U.S., what is it that we should expect to see?
East Coast, West Coast – and every place between
First of all, the United States is home to globally recognized trend hubs of food: New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco are engines that foster and drive forward constant culinary innovation. And that’s no wonder.
“The coastal metropolitan areas around these cities are home to masses of trend-aware people with disposable income. There’s a constant interest for new ingredients, tastes and influences. At the same time, there are many U.S. regions which might be less apparent to a foreign observer, but where innovative food brands have room to prosper”, Solar Foods’ Chief Commercial Officer Juan Manuel Benítez-García explains. He takes an example of the Lone Star State: Texas.
“Texas is the second-largest U.S. state by both area and population, so as a market area it’s already interesting. And it’s by no means a monolith: there are diverse urban hotspots such as Austin, full of foodies interested in new tastes.”
Many innovative companies also keep a close eye on and operate in the Midwest. One argument for this is that the region is often considered an ‘American heartland’: what’s successful there also has the potential to succeed across the country.
To use a common metaphor involving food, the U.S. has often been likened to a salad bowl of cultures and influences. This is also reflected in the country’s vibrant and multifaceted, yet always distinctly American cuisine: adventurous fusion cooking in the major cities, soul food and Cajun tastes in the South, Tex-Mex recipes throughout the states bordering Mexico, more Eastern and Central European flavors across the Midwest, and much more.
Italian American, Chinese American, Hispanic and Latino American, Jewish American, African American, and several other cultures have all brought their unique ingredients to the country’s lively food table, adapting and transforming them into something new. No food culture can be observed through a single lens – and that is especially true for the United States.
How Americans eat, home and away
The way Americans enjoy food is in many ways driven by convenience. Fast-food outlets as a concept were popularized in America in the early 20th century and QSR (quick-service restaurants) are a major slice of the country’s food industry.
According to a 2023 US Foods survey, the average American eats out three times a month and orders delivery 4.5 times a month. This is also reflected in spending habits: the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts noted that in 2023, Americans spent 44.3% of their food budget on food at home and 55.7% on food away from home.
When they dine home, Americans still enjoy convenient options: the country’s massive ready-to-eat-meal market grew from $38.2bn to $46.4bn from 2018 to 2023 and is projected to climb up to $53.4bn by 2029.
That said, ease of cooking is just one part of the decision hierarchy. Any food has to first meet obvious primitive criteria to be appetizing.
“Whether we think about it consciously or not, we all crave delicious and nutritious food. These are biological and universal needs, no matter the country or culture: as humans, we gravitate towards foods that please our senses and fulfill us”, Benítez-Garcia lists.
Once these standards are met, more specific questions start to appear and affect choices.
“For U.S. consumers, price factors in. Food should be tasty, nutritious, ideally healthy… but it has to be affordable as well.”
Everything’s bigger in the States – including Solein’s possibilities
In its powder form, the novel ingredient has a mild and pleasant taste, just a note of umami. It doesn’t need to be masked and doesn’t overpower other flavors when used in foods: a Solein-powered dish can taste the same as it does with conventional ingredients.
What’s more, Solein’s versatile techno-functionalities mean it easily vanishes into a wide host of different types of foods. Benítez-Garcia lists a variety of examples of how the novel ingredient could find its way to American shopping baskets and dinner tables:
“Solein is very versatile, it can replace or complement animal and plant proteins in meat alternatives and hybrids. It can replace dairy in ice cream, gelato, cheese and yogurt, where it provides a natural creaminess and mouthfeel. And it can replace egg in pasta or noodles, be used in mayonnaises and dressings, and because it is a fine dispersing powder, Solein can be used in soups, sauces or beverages. These are all big product categories in the U.S. food industry.”
Benítez-Garcia shifts from the dinner table to the gym, where taste gives way to nutritional fortification, both of which Solein offers.
Nutritionally speaking, Solein contains all nine essential amino acids and it’s high in branch chain amino acids and leucine, which are key in health & nutrition products. Additionally, Solein has a high content of iron and B vitamins.
“The U.S. has masses of consumers who live an active lifestyle and want to optimize this part of what they eat. They are interested in health and performance benefits, and Solein is an excellent way to deliver a protein boost and add iron to sports nutrition products.”
Bringing together taste, nutrition, ease of use, and sustainability, the Solar Foods CCO sees virtually limitless options for Solein to entice U.S. consumers.
“We can add sustainability to foods while retaining the taste and respecting different nutritional needs. That’s the key. It’s an opportunity to make sustainable choices tasty and easy across categories, both in restaurants and on supermarket aisles.”
Solein is a natural ingredient, but one which does not require the planting of crops or animal husbandry. It essentially disconnects food production from traditional agriculture and opens the door to making huge parts of the food industry’s offering more sustainable.
“Solein needs just a fraction of the land area and water to produce and creates a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions as conventional plant or animal proteins”, Benítez-García describes. “This makes it the most sustainable protein we know.”
Not just “a” market, but “the” market
United States is the world’s largest food market; as such, it can lift never-before-seen products like no other. This is in no small part thanks to America’s business-friendly regulatory environment: the U.S. is always keen to welcome innovators.
The country’s food business is driven by globally recognized brands who are all fiercely looking for the next big thing. The potential for co-operations is vast: changes that might make a miniscule difference in other markets have the potential to be viable and justified when the advantage can be scaled up through sheer volume.
Cracking the US market holds a certain prestige for any company or brand: it can be seen as a bellwether for commercial potential. For Solar Foods and Solein, the United States represents a springboard unlike any other to help share the future of food.
