ACI Group’s Briony Sayers on hybrid meat: Why partial substitution could scale sustainable protein faster than replacement

Hybrid meat is gaining traction as a practical, scalable approach to reducing emissions and costs, with ACI Group’s Dr Briony Sayers arguing that incremental reformulation may deliver greater real-world impact than full protein replacement

The future of protein has often been discussed in terms of replacement. From cell-cultivated meat to precision fermentation and plant-based alternatives, much of the industry’s focus has centred on what comes next.

Dr Briony Sayers of ACI Group has argued that this framing overlooks a more immediate opportunity. “When you talk about replacement, you can build a category around it, assign it a value and market it as innovative and future-looking,” she said. “Hybrid is neither a new category nor a clean break, but rather an optimization strategy.”

• Partial substitution of meat with plant proteins has been presented as a scalable route to emissions reduction without requiring changes in consumer behavior
• Ingredient systems based on soy and pea proteins have already been developed to function within existing meat processing infrastructure
• Industry adoption has moved beyond experimentation but has yet to reach full portfolio-level scale across major manufacturers

The concept behind hybrid meat is straightforward. Rather than replacing meat entirely, a defined portion is substituted with plant-based proteins, delivering incremental improvements at scale. Sayers argued that this approach aligns more closely with how food systems actually operate.

“The food industry has spent considerable time and energy debating the future of protein,” she said. “It asks what, if anything, comes after meat, and when. It is a legitimate question, but in the meantime, there is a more immediate approach that tends to get less attention.”

The impact potential lies in scale rather than novelty. Analysis from the World Resources Institute has suggested that replacing 30% of beef with mushrooms across 10 billion burgers could deliver emissions savings equivalent to removing around 2 million cars from the road. Similar logic can be applied to everyday formats such as sausages, mince, nuggets, and ready meals.

“You do not need a dietary revolution to move those numbers; you need reformulation at volume,” Sayers said.

This approach also reflects a broader definition of sustainability. Rather than focusing solely on emissions, Sayers emphasized the need for food systems that can feed growing populations reliably and affordably without exhausting resources.

You do not need a dietary revolution to move those numbers; you need reformulation at volume

“Those two definitions of sustainability are inseparable, and any serious strategy must address both,” she said.

Despite this, hybrid approaches have often been overlooked. Sayers pointed to structural reasons within the industry. “Reformulation for hybrid formats is often seen as a cost engineering exercise or a regulatory response, not strategic innovation,” she said. “That means it sits lower in the hierarchy than breakthrough product development, even when its real-world impact is greater.”

From a technical standpoint, the required ingredient systems are already available. Through its partnership with IFF, ACI Group has supplied soy and pea protein solutions designed for meat-containing applications. These systems deliver functionality such as gelling, emulsification, and water binding, enabling hybrid products to maintain structure and juiciness during processing.

“The protein systems needed to execute partial substitution at commercial scale exist and are performing well,” Sayers said.

Textured soy proteins have been used to deliver a meat-like bite in applications such as burgers and meatballs, while pea protein has offered flexibility and a neutral flavor profile. Its environmental performance has also been a factor, with a carbon footprint significantly lower than that of beef.

Scalability has been central to the argument. Ingredients must be consistently available, compatible with existing equipment, and cost-effective enough for mainstream products. According to Sayers, this is already the case.

“The options on the market are not exotic materials requiring specialist infrastructure, but robust, well-characterized proteins with established supply chains,” she said.

However, implementation at scale has required alignment across the value chain. “When manufacturing to scale, three areas must align across the value chain,” Sayers said, pointing to upstream supply, midstream manufacturing, and downstream retail integration.

At the supply level, plant proteins must be treated as core inputs rather than secondary ingredients. In manufacturing, reformulation must run on existing lines without disrupting throughput. At retail, products must remain within their core categories.

Sustainable food systems are built through accumulation. The transition does not depend on convincing a committed minority to eat differently; it depends on quietly improving what the majority already eats

“What’s really required is system-wide acceptance of incremental change at scale,” she said. “That’s harder than it sounds because most of the industry is optimized to avoid even small risks to established products.”

Consumer acceptance has also set clear boundaries. “Taste and texture remain non-negotiable for consumers,” Sayers said. “If a product underperforms, a brand can run the risk of repeat purchases disappearing immediately.”

She noted that substitution thresholds vary by product format, with processed products offering more flexibility than whole cuts. Beyond a certain point, performance can decline.

“You can substitute a meaningful percentage of ingredients before a consumer notices,” she said. “However, once you cross the sensory threshold, acceptance does drop quickly.”

Labeling has further influenced perception. “If a hybrid is framed as less meat or modified, it can trigger scepticism,” she said. “But if positioned or simply experienced as the same product, that issue largely disappears.”

Commercially, hybrid reformulation has operated within existing systems rather than creating new categories. “It works by improving the economics of products that already exist and already sell at scale,” Sayers said.

This has become increasingly relevant as cost pressures and supply chain volatility have intensified. By partially replacing animal inputs, manufacturers have been able to reduce exposure to price fluctuations while maintaining familiar formats.

“Cost reduction is not always the headline driver, but it is often the factor that makes large-scale adoption commercially viable,” she said.

The industry has already moved beyond early experimentation, but full-scale adoption has yet to be realized. “Most large manufacturers have already validated hybrid formulations technically,” Sayers said. “We are, however, seeing increasing commercial traction, especially in food service and private label products, but this can still be fragmented.”

For hybrid to reach meaningful scale, she argued that it must become a standard formulation approach rather than a series of one-off projects.

There have been early examples of this transition. Retailers in the United Kingdom, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, and Marks & Spencer, have introduced hybrid meat products that blend plant and animal proteins while remaining within core categories. In the USA, Live Real Farms has applied a similar approach to dairy.

“What is becoming clear is that successful hybrid products are less about standout innovation and more about how seamlessly they fit into existing consumer habits,” Sayers said.

Looking ahead, hybrid is likely to coexist with emerging protein technologies rather than being replaced by them. “It’s often framed as a transition from one technology to another, but the reality is more likely to be a layered system,” she said.

“Hybrid addresses the existing meat supply by making it more efficient today, using infrastructure that is already in place,” she added. “Over time, those newer technologies are likely to integrate into hybrid systems as ingredients rather than replacing them outright.”

For Sayers, the conclusion is clear. The opportunity lies not in waiting for a complete transformation of the food system, but in making measurable improvements now.

“Sustainable food systems are built through accumulation,” she concluded. “The transition does not depend on convincing a committed minority to eat differently; it depends on quietly improving what the majority already eats.”