
News & Announcements
The latest from NECTAR and our partners.
The best plant-based meat products, according to a huge blind taste test
One company dominated the competition: Impossible Foods.
People say plant-based burgers and nuggets taste just as good as the real thing. So why aren’t they buying them?
A new study shows how psychological and social forces may have more bearing on consumer food choices than price, taste, and convenience.
Here's What a 2,700-Person Taste Test Tells Us About the Future of Plant-Based Meat
Plant-based meat isn’t just struggling with taste — it’s losing the vibe war too.
A massive blind taste test fed people real and vegan meats. It revealed something surprising.
Some of your feelings about meat are just in your head…
These vegan meat brands taste almost as good as the real thing Taste tests prove it.
New research shows which products are closest to "taste parity" — and which need more work.
Cracking the taste code: Overcoming innovation whitespaces, taste and texture challenges in plant-based meat
Plant-based meats currently face challenging market conditions. Consumer adoption is weakening, with 46% of US buyers not making repeat purchases claiming “taste dissatisfaction,” Caroline Cotto, director of sensory research initiative Nectar, tells Food Ingredients First.
Is plant-based meat performing? What consumers make of meat substitutes
A new report finds out which plant-based products consumers like as much as meat
Texture is the key opportunity to improve taste of meat alternatives – but mimicking not the main priority, report reveals
Nectar, a non-profit organisation aiming to accelerate the protein transition, has launched what it claims is the largest publicly available dataset on the taste of plant-based meats.
Taste Still A Barrier for Plant-Based Meat, But Top Brands Show the Way Forward
Meat-eaters find most plant-based alternatives inferior to animal protein in taste and texture, but some industry-leading products show how to bridge the gap.
NECTAR unveils Taste of the Industry 2025, highlights key areas for plant-based meat improvement
NECTAR, a non-profit dedicated to accelerating the protein transition through taste, has launched Taste of the Industry 2025, claimed to be the most comprehensive publicly available dataset on plant-based meat sensory evaluation. The study, which assessed 122 plant-based products across 14 categories, provides a detailed analysis of how these products compare to their animal-based counterparts in flavor, texture, and overall consumer appeal.
This food researcher is on a mission to make fake meat taste better. Will she succeed?
Caroline Cotto’s research group taste-tests meat alternatives so plant-based companies can attract new customers – and help the climate
What is Plant-Rich Meat and is it a Sell Out or a Way Forward?
Caroline Cotto of NECTAR Research and Tim Dale from Food System Innovations join CEO of VegTech Invest and host Elysabeth Alfano on The Plantbased Business Hour to discuss the results of a recent study around consumer perception of blended (or plant-rich) meat.
NECTAR Acquires Taste Like’s Comprehensive Data on Alternative Protein Products
Publisher of the world’s largest plant-based meat sensory analysis gains access to novel datasets to enable further data-driven research.
Americans Like Blended Meat Burgers & Nuggets More Than Their Bestselling 100% Animal Counterparts
In a comprehensive survey about blended meat, Americans were found to prefer half-meat, half-plant burgers and nuggets more than the market-leading, fully animal-derived products.
Report: 74% of American Consumers Are Interested in Blended Meat
A new report by NECTAR, a philanthropic initiative working to accelerate the protein transition with taste, has found that 74% of US consumers surveyed are interested or extremely interested in blended meat products.
Report finds ‘plant-rich’ meat products score high on taste
In a blind taste test, a group of 1,192 omnivores and flexitarians found food products containing a 50/50 blend of animal and plant ingredients to be the most appealing.
Quorn CEO on Blended Meat: ‘It Doesn’t Matter How People Join the Meat Reduction Journey’
“Taste is a primary purchase driver for all food products. If blended meats can offer better taste profiles for omnivores today, they have a significant role to play in the protein transition,” Caroline Cotto, director of Nectar – which carried out the research – told Green Queen.
Plant-based Nuggets Outperform Meat In ‘World’s Largest’ Taste Test
Plant-based chicken nuggets outperformed meat in a blind taste test