Ontological struggle over new product category: Transition potential of meat alternatives

In recent sustainability transitions research, more attention has been called to dynamic relations between regimes and niches in complex processes of systemic change. In this paper, we provide the case of meat alternative markets, which have been expanding rapidly in Europe and in Northern America. During this expansion, animal-free alternatives are in a contradictory situation. In aiming to carve out market space for these products the aim is to be as similar to meat as possible. In this paper we study how, in Finland, the niche actors have situated themselves within the regime by detaching from the first generation of plant-based foods and attaching to shared rules, materialities and cultural meanings in the meat regime. We discuss how the concepts of detachment and attachment can help in understanding further the transitional pathways created as niches aim to fit-and-transform the rules of the market, and the regime. Highlights • Transition potential of meat alternatives in Finnish food markets is studied. • Detachment from niche products required for mainstreaming meat alternatives. • Attachment to values of meat in everyday food practices anchor the niches to regime. • Practices of de/attachment reconfigure the regime-niche relations in food markets