1 - Marcela Naves Costa Ribeiro Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo - FEA - FEA
3 - Paulo Roberto Feldmann Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo - FEA - Administração
Reumo
Given the possibility of the impact that the plant-based meat can cause in the current market of meat and, consequently, in the agroindustrial system, it is necessary to analyze in more depth if this product has the characteristics of a disruptive innovation, which means, if it has the potential to interrupt the trajectory of the traditional meat and the companies that produce it, causing a discontinuity of the normal course of a process and a disruption in the market, eliminating companies that were considered dominant (BOWER; CHRISTENSEN, 1995; CHRISTENSEN, 1997).
The main purpose of this article is to verify if the plant-based meat has the characteristics of a disruptive innovation. In addition, this study has as specific objectives analyze the companies that are producing the plant-based meat and to find out if this companies have something in common.
Competitive companies are always ahead of their competitors in the development and commercialization of new products, and because they are so focused on meeting the current needs of their customers, they do not give due attention to new technologies that seem to be geared to other markets, small and emerging. Usually, these technological changes are not radically new or difficult, but they present a package of attributes of performance different from the one that the traditional client values historically.
As to its nature, the study is classified as applied research, whose results can be applied in solutions of real problems, being directed to commercial objectives and to the development of new products oriented to the needs of the market. As for the objectives, it is a descriptive and exploratory research. Descriptive research has as main objective to describe the characteristics of a certain population, phenomenon or the establishment of relationship between variables. It is also characterized as an exploratory research.
It was possible to verify that plant-based meat has the main characteristics of a disruptive innovation. But some aspects are not yet a disruptive innovation, mainly: the meat is not yet priced lower than the traditional beef burger, but as companies began to have a higher production volume, this may occur; traditional meat customers have not yet adopted meat as the main product compared to traditional meat.
When compared to the disruptive theory from Christensen (1997), it is clear that the plant-based meat has many characteristics of a disruptive innovation, therefore it can be considered a disruptive innovation. It is a new product and many consumers have not had access to it yet. But it is not yet possible to assess whether it will replace traditional meat consumption or whether it will be used as a food supplement. A new market brings with it new needs and requirements, making it necessary for organizations to seek new management structures in order to achieve leadership in this market.
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