Opportunities and challenges of hybrid meat products: a viewpoint article

Abstract Hybrid foods are made by blending animal-based and plant-based ingredients to make food products that are similar to the 100% animal-based ones. Examples include hybrid meat products such as burgers or minced meat with vegetables or more recently hybrid dairy products such as cheddar cheese with oats. While hybrid meat products have been launched in several countries by both retailers and foodservice outlets, there are very few examples of hybrid meat products still available in the market, such as hybrid nuggets targeting children and hybrid minced meat products. This short viewpoint article covers some of the possible reasons this might be happening, presents examples of successful hybrid food products, discusses the importance of sustainability claims and the potential of hybrid meals.