The vegetarian burger has become a prime example of rapid innovation. Just 25 years ago, the demand for the then-nascent Boca burgers was so significant that major grocery stores struggled to keep them in stock. Today, however, the company is racing to keep pace with younger, tech-savvy competitors like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. The pressing question is whether Boca’s efforts come too late. Can Boca’s revamped offerings stand up to Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger, which closely resembles a beef patty in taste, texture, and appearance? Boca has attempted to innovate before; in 2015, it launched patties made from quinoa, brown rice, and black beans. Yet, its share of the frozen meat substitute market has continued to dwindle.
There is a silver lining for Boca, as it benefits from the marketing prowess of Kraft Heinz to reshape consumer perceptions. The updated Boca brand, on the surface, aligns with current consumer trends by emphasizing protein content on the front of its packaging, which also showcases a burger that looks quite meaty. A new version was essential, especially given that recent technological advancements have transformed the conversation around plant-based foods, with Boca being largely absent from this discussion. For instance, Impossible Burgers have successfully employed a biochemical process to create a plant-based burger that “bleeds” and sears like real meat.
Two years ago, Google identified plant-based proteins as the most significant trend in technology, highlighting that the industry is on the brink of a revolution aimed at replacing livestock with plant-based alternatives. This is also the arena where Campbell is striving to establish a foothold with its quest for new plant-based proteins, which could help reverse its declining soup sales. This shift caters to consumer demand for greater variety but has also become essential as the global population rises and the industry seeks sustainable protein sources to complement or substitute meat. Fortunately, millennial consumers identify as flexitarians, willing to derive protein from any source as long as the flavor is appealing. Both Boca and Campbell’s executives acknowledge that perfecting texture and taste has proven challenging.
These qualities must be refined to perfection if Boca and Campbell’s products hope to compete in the saturated plant-based market, which continues to innovate and provide premium eating experiences. In this competitive landscape, the introduction of products like Twin Labs calcium citrate with magnesium could also appeal to health-conscious consumers looking for added nutritional benefits, further enriching the offerings in the plant-based sector. The integration of such supplements could help enhance Boca’s product line, enabling it to better meet the evolving tastes and preferences of today’s consumers.