Meat Free Strategies Conference 2022
The Chelsea Harbour Hotel
7th-8th September, 2022
Meat Free Strategies Conference 2022
DAY 1|7th September 2022
DAY 2|8th September 2022
8:50 am Chairman’s opening remarks

Mark Dempsey
Consulting Director
GlobalData Consumer & Retail
9:00 am Keynote address ‘I can’t believe it’s not meat!’ …and it is Made in Italy
- Taste and texture: the ins and outs of creating a realistic plant-based meat substitute
- Breaking down the tried and tested proteins, flavours, and formulation processes, and new technology emerging on the scene
- Market leaders – who are the industry players leading the way with meatless meat substitutes?
- How to thrive in a competitive landscape and make your meat-free product stand out from the crowd

Sandro Sabelli
Export, by-products and Business Development
Amadori

Fabio Beninati
Product Innovation Leader
Amadori
9:30 am Session available for Lead Sponsor
10:00 am For the Love of Food: How Leading with Taste First is How the Plant Based Industry Captures Market Share
- Top 3 reasons consumers are choosing meat free options
- The 4 essential pillars of meat-free product replication – How brands should prioritise the sensory experiences
- Why focusing on the complete consumer experience is critical for converting consumers

Monica Talbert
Co- Founder & CEO
The Plant Based Seafood Co.
10:30 am Session Reserved for Reiser
11:00 am Morning refreshments and networking
11:30 am Leveraging partnerships in the meat-free space: fuelling innovation with M&A
- Working together – how can plant-based brand owners thrive by sharing resources, knowledge, and talent?
- Should food and drinks giant takeover smaller sized companies or will the plant- based USP be lost in all the noise?
- Which market leaders are making traction in covering all categories of plant-based?
- Benefit of being small – unearthing the pros and cons of small-scale production from local operations to sustainability and community impact
12:00 pm Session Reserved for GEA
12:30 pm Seafood alternatives: the growth category making waves in the plant-based market
- Fruits of the sea: how plant-based fish, prawns, and seafood are rising the ranks and entering the vegetarian and vegan diet
- Why there is a need for seafood alternatives to promote marine conservation and sustainability
- Asian flavours in western diets: key ingredient and flavour trends that suit seafood-inspired plant-based products
- What kind of product innovation is out there and where are the gaps in the market?

Theresa Rothenbücher
PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
Revo Foods GmbH
1:00 pm Lunch and networking
2:00 pm What’s in a name? Navigating packaging and labelling for meat alternatives
- Vegan bacon’ in the UK, ‘bacon flavour’ in France – why the name of your product matters on the packet
- What are the rules and how can Meat-Free brand owners think long-term when labelling their product range?
- Do consumers expect a food product that imitates meat to be labelled the same?
2:30 pm The Rise of Flexitarianism: How to Cater to a Growing Market of Meat Moderating Consumers
- Market trends – looking at key motivators for consumers to reduce their intake of meat and fish
- From health and wellness to environmental sustainability – the growing awareness fuelling more plant-based dietary lifestyles
- Customer behaviour: what do flexitarians want to eat on days when they eat meat and days they don’t?

Sharad P. Barlingay
General Manager, Research and Development
Tasty Bite Eatables Limited
3:00 pm Session Reserved for Relative Insights

James Cuthbertson
CRO
Relative Insights
3:30 pm Afternoon refreshments and networking
4:00 pm PANEL DISCUSSION Plant-based or vegan? Does it matter which one your meat-free brand falls under?
- Plant-based diet or vegan lifestyle – does the former connote health and the latter connote ethical living?
- Consumer needs – thinking about which boxes the customer expects to tick when they see a meat-free product’s branding and messaging
- The king of meat-free: is the term ‘vegan’ a one-size-fits-all surefire way to attract every time of customer?
- Meat alternatives, dairy alternatives, to coincidentally plant-based snacks – looking at the full spectrum of meatless food products out there and how they fit into the category

Katharina Eist
, International Business Development Manager
The Vegan Society

Monica Talbert
Co- Founder & CEO
The Plant Based Seafood Co.
4:30 pm From source to fork: achieving end-to-end sustainability in your brand’s offering
- Be green or fall behind: why consumers expect more than sustainable ingredients
- The road to net-zero: from sustainable ingredient choices to sustainable transportation
- How can brand owners expand their products overseas and retain locally-sourced, small-scale production models?
5:00 pm Close of Day One
8:00 am Registration and networking
8:50 am Chairman’s opening remarks

Mark Dempsey
Consulting Director
GlobalData Consumer & Retail
9:00 am Keynote address Protein spotlight: which protein alternative is best?
- Uncovering the different types of plant-based proteins on the market, from well-known staples to up and coming newbies in the protein alternative scene
- Lactose intolerance to gluten sensitive – what do consumers with allergies and intolerances look for in a protein-based product
- The golden ticket to customer success – which protein wins for health and nutrition?
- The sustainability angle – how source, production process, and transport mileage affect how ethical ‘sustainable’ protein really is – which is the least damaging?

Karl Williams
Global Technical Director
Meatless Farm
9:30 am Session available for sponsor
10:00 am Branding 101: should healthier plant-based ‘junk food’ keep the unhealthy image?
- Fast food, junk food, snacks – should plant-based food products designed to imitate junk food be branded the same way as the originals
- Nutrition versus taste – what is the priorities when consumers purchase plant-based fast food – health or flavour appeal?
- Reverse psychology – is the idea that a plant-based food product is healthy damaging to a brand that mimics processed meat products when targeting consumers who crave the real thing?
- Brand and marketing – how packaging design, brand identity, and marketing language shape how the consumer sees your product

Mark Laponder
Commercial Director
Evolution Meats
10:30 am Morning refreshments and networking
11:00 am Roundtable
Roundtable 1: Reserved for Relative Insights
James Cuthbertson, CRO, Relative Insights
Roundtable 2: Reserved for Mark Laponder, Commercial Director, Evolution Meats
Roundtable 3: Reserved for Sponsor
Roundtable 4: Reserved for End-User
12:30 pm Healthy product, healthy brand: why nutrition matters in food plant-based food advertising
- Stay ahead of the game: the latest updates on how the UK’s ‘High in Fat, Salt and Sugar’ (HFSS) Compliance determines where your product can be sold and advertised in retail
- From product development to front-of-pack nutrition labelling – why to put health and nutrition at the heart of your product strategy
- Health and wellness: why healthy eating is a key driver for the rise in plant-based eating and reduced meat consumption
- The processed food debate: are there too many junk food imitation food products out there for vegans, and should there be healthier plant-based products available?

Hannah Theobald
PhD, Head of Nutrition
Quorn Foods
1:00 pm Plant-based milk and drinks: exploring innovation in dairy-free beverages
- Vegan lifestyle or health reasons – what are the key drivers for plant-based milk sales?
- Regional trends – identifying key market for growth opportunities and increased sales
- Latest technology- uncovering new ingredient bases such as potato, and innovative flavour profiles for creamy beverage experiences
- Oat, almond, or hazelnut: what milky beverages are consumers craving right now?
1:30 pm Lunch and networking
2:30 pm Direct-to-consumer: taking plant-based food into the digital age with online distribution
- Looking at the recent success of plant-based food product sales in ecommerce
- Consumer profiles – which customers are using D2C platforms and what kind of products do they want for convenient dining?
- Which meat-free products are best formulated and designed to into an online delivery model?
- Innovative distribution – how to think outside the box when it comes to ecommerce, from subscription models to party packs for different social occasions
3:00 pm Foodservice: an untapped market for meat-free dining
- A glance at consumers habits post-pandemic with the rise in eating out and increased demand for plant-based food options in the foodservice industry
- How can brand owners ensure their products end up in the right establishments to increase sales?
- Which meat-free products do consumers want on-the-go, and which should be sit down dining experiences?
- Is nutrition or taste the priority for consumers eating out?

Mitch Lee
UK Food Service Sales and Development Chef
Heura Food
3:30 pm The key to success: creating an efficient supply chain in the meat-free industry
- Processed meat’s next big contender – how the plant-based sector can keep up with the affordability and availability of meat
- How can plant-based brand owners increase efficiency and bring the cost down?
- What key decisions can you make in your supply chain that will make the customers understand a premium price?
- Creating transparency – how to retain brand integrity and a sustainable end-to-end supply chain while optimising production
4:00 pm Afternoon refreshments and networking
4:30 pm PANEL DISCUSSION Meat-free NPD: How to come up with a hit launch that suits your product range?
- Creating a strong USP for a meat-free product – sharing strategies for defining you pant-based product’s value proposition
- Market insight – how to balance what your existing customers want from your product range versus where the opportunities are in the plant-based market as a whole
- Lessons learned – offering tips on achieving portfolio growth
- Latest technology – which sub-categories are thriving right now, and where should meat-free brands focus their attention to meet consumer demand?

Ash Parkes
Category Manager – Plant Based
Classic Fine Foods UK
5:00 pm Meat-Free Future: Capitalising upon the developing trends in the plant-based food and drink sector
- An overview of how plant-based food, dairy alternatives, and free-from product ranges can cater to growing niches
- Unpacking latest trends in ingredients, flavours, product formats, and eating occasions for plant-based food and drinks
- Understanding consumer habits to successfully communicate meat and dairy alternative options to the best fitting occasion and diet
- Looking at the challenges and opportunities in the foodservice, retail, and ecommerce to push plant-based products into a space of growth and demand

Mark Dempsey
Consulting Director
GlobalData Consumer & Retail
5:30 pm Close of Day Two
Sponsor Information
To enquire about sponsorship opportunities for the conference, please contact:
Valentin Gerasimuk
Head of Business Development – Consumer
T: +44 (0)207 936 6794
E: Valentin.Gerasimuk@arena-international.com
Speaker Information
We identify and invite individuals we believe to be the best speakers in the market, if you think you can make a difference to the quality of our events please contact the programme director of the event:
Edwin Boadu
Conference Producer
E: Edwin.Boadu@arena-international.com