If you hadn't already realised it, then you will now because the closure of Sunfed Foods should have brought you up to speed - the plant-based food craze is over.

I don’t wanna be the one to say- "I told you so", but I did.

February 2020, I basically said fake meat is not a thing, it's not going to catch on. And that is when I met the woman from Sunfed, who actually tried to change my mind.

Shama Sukul Lee came into the studio with some meat-free bacon, and it was actually delicious. Credit to her, she had a great product. And she had money behind it, she has $10 million worth of investment, which included some pretty high profile backers.

But she couldn't turn a profit. And she says it’s because the "plant-based bubble burst".

She's right. Look around the world, Nestlé withdrew its vegan ranges from sale in the UK last year, British sausage company Heck reduced its range of meat-free products, and the most famous one, Beyond Meat - which had Bill Gates’ money in there - reported that sales fell by almost a third last year.

You know what the problem is, don't you?

It's the same problem I think the EVs have got. Consumers en masse will only switch if what you give them is better.

Case in point, we’ve switched from linear TV to Netflix because it’s got better content and it’s more convenient, we've switched the landline to the cell phone because you can take it with you- that's more convenient.

And we switched from the horse and cart to the motor vehicle because it’s more convenient not having to keep a horse alive.

But plant-based food is not better than a steak. And frankly, not enough of us think about the climate deeply enough to do it for moral reasons.

There's a lot of this going on at the moment, there's hype about new products that we will switch to for moral reasons, EVs being the most obvious example right now.

But look what’s happening to the EV market, there's a massive slump. And why? Because they’re still not better than petrol and diesel vehicles, particularly over longer distances.

If there’s one lesson from this, it’s that moral motivation is not enough. The product you give us has got to be better.

LISTEN ABOVE

If you hadn't already realised it, then you will now because the closure of Sunfed Foods should have brought you up to speed - the plant-based food craze is over.
I don’t wanna be the one to say- "I told you so", but I did.
February 2020, I basically said fake meat is not a thing, it's not going to catch on. And that is when I met the woman from Sunfed, who actually tried to change my mind.
Shama Sukul Lee came into the studio with some meat-free bacon, and it was actually delicious. Credit to her, she had a great product. And she had money behind it, she has $10 million worth of investment, which included some pretty high profile backers.
But she couldn't turn a profit. And she says it’s because the "plant-based bubble burst".
She's right. Look around the world, Nestlé withdrew its vegan ranges from sale in the UK last year, British sausage company Heck reduced its range of meat-free products, and the most famous one, Beyond Meat - which had Bill Gates’ money in there - reported that sales fell by almost a third last year.
You know what the problem is, don't you?
It's the same problem I think the EVs have got. Consumers en masse will only switch if what you give them is better.
Case in point, we’ve switched from linear TV to Netflix because it’s got better content and it’s more convenient, we've switched the landline to the cell phone because you can take it with you- that's more convenient.
And we switched from the horse and cart to the motor vehicle because it’s more convenient not having to keep a horse alive.
But plant-based food is not better than a steak. And frankly, not enough of us think about the climate deeply enough to do it for moral reasons.
There's a lot of this going on at the moment, there's hype about new products that we will switch to for moral reasons, EVs being the most obvious example right now.
But look what’s happening to the EV market, there's a massive slump. And why? Because they’re still not better than petrol and diesel vehicles, particularly over longer distances.
If there’s one lesson from this, it’s that moral motivation is not enough. The product you give us has got to be better.
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.