Vegetarian Dishes Go Mainstream

May 2003

For years, vegetarian cooking languished as the entrée stepchild. Neglected, unwanted and considered more troublesome than their worth, vegetarian dishes historically were relegated to the lesser position of side dish.

But the times, they are a-changin’. Amid the shifting currents of culinary fashion, vegetarianism has sharpened its image, gained a following and become a powerful force in the industry.

“Companies are confronting several new realities,” says Ray Sierengowski CCE/CCC, corporate research chef and lead scientist of culinary development with Kellogg Company in Battle Creek, MI. “There’s slow growth in many of their core businesses. People are adopting healthier eating habits as part of a lifestyle change, not a fad. And vegetarianism of one sort or another is spreading. The food industry, from manufacturers to independent restaurateurs, has had to stand up and take notice.”

Vegetarian cuisine clearly translates into good business. According to Mintel Consumer Intelligence, a Chicago-based market-research firm, the total vegetarian-food market segment is worth about $1.25 billion today, and sales of meat-alternative products (retail and foodservice) alone have surged nearly 40% annually for the past eight years, reaching $500 million per year.

The bottom line: Items once considered part of a small product current are now part of the main product stream. And it’s a powerful one, given the number of consumers who claim to be total or partial vegetarians.

Based on a 2000 survey of 968 adults by the Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) in Baltimore, 2.5% never eat meat, poultry or fish, the classic definition of a vegetarian — which translates into some 5 million vegetarian adults in the United States. Many more, 4.5%, eschew only meat and/or poultry. Young people are also taking up vegetarianism in growing numbers. A survey of 1,240 6- to 17-year-olds indicated that 2% — about 1 million school-age kids — do not eat meat, poultry or fish. In fact, the Centennial, CO-based National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is so concerned with the trend that it has responded by launching a website, www.cool-2b-real.com, encouraging teenage girls to “Keep It Real” by eating beef.

But don’t be fooled by those statistics: The market for vegetarian products is even higher than the numbers would indicate. As a result of today’s health and wellness focus, vegetarian products are not just for vegetarians anymore, and an increasing number of carnivores are purchasing meat-alternative products. According to another VRG poll, 57% of the population “sometimes,” “often” or “always” orders a vegetarian item when dining out. These vegetarian-wannabes-when-they-want-to-be are helping push meatless cuisine to the forefront. Gardenburger, Inc., Portland, OR, whose soy-based meat alternative products garner a 22% market share, estimates that four-fifths of its customers are not vegetarians.

“There are large numbers of equal-opportunity consumers who eat stir-fry with tofu one day and steak the next day,” says Terry Trice, vice president of marketing for Riceland Foods Inc. in Little Rock, AR.

Company line
A wide array of vegetarian items are currently available in supermarkets and are being marketed by some of America’s largest food companies, such as Kraft, Kellogg, ConAgra, General Mills, Heinz, Unilever and Dean Foods. These names join well-established vegetarian food companies such as White Wave, Nasoya, Eden Foods, Vitasoy, Westbrae and LightLife in bringing the vegetarian message to the masses.

Kellogg took an early stand in the growing vegetarian movement, buying Worthington Foods, Inc. in 1999. Worthington’s Morningstar Farms brand is the country’s largest manufacturer of soy-based meat alternatives, dominating the field with an almost 50% share. Since its purchase, Morningstar Farms has increased its product line with such frozen-food items as vegetarian stuffed sandwiches and bite-sized corndogs. Acquisition, however, is only one way in which Kellogg is embracing the trend. Sierengowski now spends about 20% of his time developing vegetarian products, such as the soy (or veggie) burger sold at Burger King units, and mock-chicken dishes currently under development for several quick-service operators.

Other companies are hot on the acquisition trail. In 2000, Kraft Foods International Inc., Northfield, IL, acquired Boca Burger Inc., a manufacturer of soy-based meat alternatives with an 11% market share. Kraft views the purchase as a platform for a greater presence in soy-based products. General Mills Inc., Minneapolis, has purchased Small Planet, a producer of organic foods, and Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Co. invested nearly $100 million for a minority stake in The Hain Celestial Group Inc., Garden City, NY, whose brands include Arrowhead Mills cereals, DeBole’s pastas, Terra Chip snacks and Westsoy soy beverages. Heinz also acquired the U.K.-based Linda McCartney brand of frozen vegetarian meals. MasterFoodServices in Vernon, CA, now owns Seeds of Change, an organic line of frozen and shelf-stable products. The company also markets vegetarian rice bowls under the umbrella of its Uncle Ben’s product line.

Acquisition is a smart first step for entering the vegetarian category, according to Peter Hsia, a director at Swander Pace & Co., a San Francisco-based strategy consulting firm specializing in the food, beverage and consumer packaged-goods industries. Kraft’s acquisition of Boca Burger, for example, gives the company, which already has good coverage in distribution channels and geographic territories, a credible, unique, nonproprietary entrance into the soy market. “Boca brought in an important ingredient, soy, to the company,” says Hsia. Heinz’s purchase of an interest in Hain was also a good business move because Heinz has coverage in mainstream distribution channels, such as supermarkets. In addition, Hain brings nontraditional channels to Heinz, including natural-foods stores, foodservice operations and department stores.

“Many of the big food companies have a couple of pieces of the puzzle, and are buying small companies to fill in the gaps in their portfolios and build up leadership positions,” says Hsia. “They’re willing to do smaller acquisitions because they recognize that instead of buying a stand-alone business, which needs to grow on its own, they can just acquire the element that they need for their health and wellness stable of products.”

Smaller companies also thrive in the increasingly competitive field of vegetarian food products. Rosina Foods in Buffalo, NY, recently revamped its line of frozen vegetarian entrées. Opting to concentrate on those products that meet the USDA-established organic-certified regulations, the company pared down its entrées from 15 to nine items. Three of those, including lasagna primavera, and spinach-and-broccoli stuffed shells, are USDA-certified organic (95% or more organic); two, including penne with roasted vegetables, are made with organic ingredients (70% or more organic); and four, including eggplant medallions with garbanzo-bean filling, are vegan (no ingredients from animal sources).

“Sales in the natural-foods category is outpacing sales in the general-foods category by five times,” says Darcy Schlee, marketing manager of consumer products for Rosina. “That clearly indicates that there’s a wider audience out there than ever before. ”

Entrées are not the only items gaining favor in the vegetarian arena. Appetizers and hors d’oeuvres are also drawing consumers. The Fillo Factory, Dumont, NJ, has some 15 natural-food snacks in its line, including organic spelt-flour-based phyllo dough with spinach and tofu, and hors d’oeuvres for both vegetarians and vegans. “Natural is definitely the trend, with more and more meat-eaters substituting vegetarian dishes for meat,” says Tony Falletta, Fillo’s vice president of marketing. “That holds true for appetizers and hors d’oeuvres, as well as entrées, but those first courses have not kept up with the rest of the meal as far as innovative vegetarian options are concerned. There’s a lot of room for growth in that area.”

The Fillo Factory is not alone in bringing health to the appetizer and hors d’oeuvres segments. Health is Wealth Foods, Inc., Williamstown, NJ, manufactures egg and spring rolls, in addition to chicken-free nuggets, meat-free Buffalo wings, potstickers with tofu and meatless pepperoni-style pizza snacks.

Campus craze
Activity in the supermarket aisles is spilling over into college and university cafeterias. According to a 2001 survey of 4,000 foodservice directors by the American School FoodService Association, Alexandria, VA, 60% offer special menus, including vegetarian, to students — up from 40% in 1999. A recent study from the National Restaurant Association (NRA), Washington, D.C., indicates that 15% of college students select vegetarian options daily.

“Students are much more interested in vegetarianism these days, but the institutional-foodservice industry has lagged behind in meeting the demand,” explains Dean Lowden, corporate chef of Chartwells Educational Dining Services, a division of Charlotte, NC-based Compass Group North America. “Offering basic vegetarian plates doesn’t cut it anymore when such a large percentage of the campus population is following a vegetarian lifestyle of some sort.”

To meet the demand, Chartwells has established the Terra Ve program designed to meet the nutritional needs of students. Two years in the making, the program consists of manuals, mechandising aids, banners, nutritional information, and POS and other materials, as well as more than 200 recipes. Soups include Asian velvet corn soup, pumpkin-corn chowder and okra gumbo. Entrées include acorn squash stuffed with millet, lentils and tofu; a sloppy joe made with seitan; and rye grit polenta cakes with roasted root vegetables. Likewise, numerous side dishes exist, such as bulgur wheat with garbanzo beans and roasted garlic; orzo vegetable salad; and chipotle mashed potatoes. Students are offered at least one entrée and one side dish per meal, although some larger campuses provide as many as three entrées and a variety of side dishes. Specialty salad dressings, sauces, relishes and condiments, as well as sandwiches, wraps, pizzas and desserts, are also available.

Creating a program flexible enough to fit the needs of students provided the biggest challenge for Lowden and his team. Another hurdle was training personnel and chefs in the ways of vegetarianism. “It was uncharted territory for all of us,” says Lowden. The learning curve also involved finding out where to track down the appropriate products and the vendors with the highest-quality vegetarian goods.

Terra Ve, the latest component of Compass Group’s Nurture Our World program to promote a balanced approach to nutrition, environmental awareness and community initiatives, has now been expanded beyond the initial recipes and 200-plus colleges and universities that adopted the program. Other market sectors have also picked up the program. Eurest Dining Services, a corporate-dining specialist, has adopted Terra Ve and set it up for numerous clients, including Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, WA.

“We believe that Terra Ve has broad appeal as an alternative to the daily standard fare,” says Brigit Silvestri, creative development director for the Compass Group. “It’s our way of staying ahead of the needs of our customers.”

Restaurant reaction
Based on a recent NRA poll, which found that as many as 30% of people dining out want to eat vegetarian meals, it’s no surprise that chain restaurants have responded to the growing interest in, and demand for, vegetarian fare.

Some of that response is based on the particular demands of vegetarians. For example, when vegetarians realized that McDonald’s Corp. was using beef-derived flavoring for its french fries, the Oak Brook, IL-based burger giant eliminated the offending ingredient. Similarly, Taco Bell Corp., headquartered in Irvine, CA, removed chicken broth from its seasoned rice and reformulated its refried beans to eliminate animal fat based on requests from vegetarian customers. And Dallas-based Pizza Hut Inc. recently responded to a lawsuit filed in Seattle that claimed the cheese used on the chain’s Veggie Lover’s pizza had trace amounts of beef flavoring. Pizza Hut proved the pizza contains no beef products.

Recipe adjustments, full disclosure of food ingredients and additives, and carefully worded marketing materials are among the ways foodservice operators are addressing vegetarians’ concerns. Kellogg’s Sierengowski first developed Miami-based Burger King Corp.’s veggie burger as a vegan product, but changed its status to vegetarian because the buns contain eggs. In addition, the preparation of the finished sandwich includes mayonnaise. In fact, when Burger King launched its veggie burger last year, marketing materials didn’t label the product as “vegetarian” but trumpeted “the first veggie burger with the great taste of flame-broiling.” (Marketers rarely mention soy in chain restaurants’ meatless burgers because they believe the ingredient lacks consumer appeal.) Since cooking the vegetable-and-grain patty on the same broiler used for beef and chicken can make the veggie burger unacceptable to strict vegetarians, store managers received information on using microwave ovens at customer request as an alternative to flame broiling. Consumers who phone Burger King’s customer information center or who access the nutrition pages on its website are informed that the company’s fries, while cooked in vegetable oil, contain trace amounts of a poultry-based amino acid for flavor.

Cost-effectiveness is certainly a concern when it comes to major chains revamping their kitchens when only a minority of their customers are strict vegetarians. As Kim Miller, Burger King’s senior director of corporate communications says: “We’re Burger King. We’re known for meat.”

Landry’s Restaurants, Inc., Houston, whose chains include Rainforest Cafe, Joe’s Crab Shack and Landry’s Seafood House, has focused on training staff, rather than reorganizing its kitchen. “We’re making a real effort to train our staff about the menu items, so there’s no ‘let me go check with the kitchen’ responses when a customer asks what’s in a certain dish,” says Kathy Ruiz, Landry’s vice president of culinary operations and executive chef. The Rainforest Cafe outlets feature scratch-prepared dishes so modifications can be made easily. In fact, when Ruiz and others began to rework Rainforest Cafe’s menu last year, she felt there was “no need to add more vegetarian items because it’s very easy for our staff to accommodate requests.” Rainforest Cafe’s lettuce wraps, for example, may be ordered with grilled vegetables instead of lime-grilled chicken, and pasta dishes can be prepared without the protein component.

Some chains have responded to vegetarians’ concerns by reorganizing back-of-the-house food production. Last year, Scottsdale, AZ-based P.F. Chang’s China Bistro realigned wok stations to include vegetable broth and vegetarian oyster sauce. Nonmeat ingredients are prepared on work surfaces reserved for vegetable and tofu prep. And, while the company has no vegetable-only woks, the high heat used to clean woks between food items is considered sufficient to burn off any animal residues.

But use of imported foods requires special caution. P.F. Chang’s will not state that its food is vegan because many of its products imported from China are made with sugar that cannot be certified as meeting the standards acceptable to vegans. “We cannot state with 100% certainty that particular sugar did not come in contact with animal products during processing,” says Laura Cherry, national public relations manager for P.F. Chang’s.

In the Golden, CO-based Boston Market units, the Side Item Meal that includes a choice of three side dishes plus cornbread is a vegetarian menu option. While no specific marketing efforts have been directed toward nonmeat-eating customers, the Side Item Meal has been a draw for vegetarians since it was introduced in 1985. Boston Market’s side dishes vary regionally and include squash casserole, black beans and rice, penne marinara, and herbed sweet corn. Some choices are vegan and some include dairy products.

“More and more restaurants will offer the vegetarian option and it won’t be any more unusual than having a salad on the menu,” says Ron Paul, president of Technomic, Inc., a Chicago-based consulting firm that tracks restaurant trends. “We don’t foresee stand-alone vegetarian restaurants as a trend, but it’s become just as important for restaurants to offer vegetarian options as to provide beef or chicken choices.”

Main ingredients
The verdict clearly favors catering to the burgeoning vegetarian segment. Pleasing vegetarians, however, takes more than just salads, cheese pizzas and pastas these days. Not only do food retailers and foodservice companies have to understand the dietary restrictions and needs of this group, they also have to recognize that the consumer, vegetarian or not, who chooses a meatless dish is most likely a sophisticated diner who expects a well-balanced and flavorful meal.

“You have to come up with imaginative ways to combine produce, starches, seasoning and protein,” says Schlee. “You also have to know how to work with meat alternatives, like soy, and meaty vegetables, like eggplant and portobello mushrooms.”

Producing good-tasting vegetarian foods may be the greatest challenge to food formulators. Toward that end, dairy alternatives and meat analogs are gaining in popularity because of their convenience, taste and nutritional makeup. In addition, spices, flavors, masking agents and processing techniques are creating bolder flavor profiles and reducing undesirable ones.

Soy products account for three-quarters of the half-billion-dollar meat-alternative category, including retail and foodservice. Soy-based food products were valued at $3.5 billion in 2001, compared to $2.0 billion in 1999, and sales are growing at a rate of 25% annually. In the last two years, 400 new soy-food and 100 soy-beverage options have been introduced. In fact, the soy category overall is expanding at 10 times the rate of non-soy food products. “We’re seeing increased interest from a wide array of manufacturers, in large part because soy is the major carrier of vegetarian products,” says Max Maxwell, strategic marketing manager with Beloit, WI-based Kerry North America, whose products include meat analogs. “Soy is easy to work with and, because it absorbs like a sponge, it takes on the flavor of whatever spice or sauce is used with it. It’s incredibly flexible and adaptable.”

Rice, of course, continues to be a staple of vegetarian main dishes, but rice starch is also gaining popularity as an alternative to gelatin (an animal-based ingredient) in vegetarian cuisine, allowing manufacturers of yogurts, whipped desserts and other products to produce vegetarian-acceptable items. Although not clear like gelatin, rice starch acts similarly to it — by binding water, producing a rigid gel that sustains a large deformation before breaking, and preserving the sheen, smooth texture and creamy structure associated with gelatin.

But ingredients notwithstanding, vegetarian fare is no different than any other cuisine when it comes to gaining consumer favor. Creativity and product quality are the keys to success. “A vegetarian dish should be no different in terms of inventiveness, taste, flavor, appearance — all the standards that we use to judge whether a dish is up to par or not,” says Sierengowski. “Good vegetarian cooking is just good cooking.”