Food & Beverage Asia April/May 2022

INGREDIENTS 31
and opening up of the 1970s. In recent
years, meat consumption has also been
linked with the maintenance of the Chinese
middle-class image 6 . To date, China has
accounted for 28% of the world's meat
consumption 7 . However, these figures do
not necessarily translate directly into a
potential market for plant-based meat.
Although China's meat consumption
market share is large, China's current meat
consumption per capita is not as high as
that of Western countries, and according
to the Food and Agricultural Organization's
(FAO) projections 8 , China's annual meat
consumption per capita will grow modestly
until 2028. At the same time, China has
a rich daily dietary structure with many
vegetarian alternatives. Tofu and beans,
for example, have been a common source
of plant-based protein in the Chinese diet,
but choosing plant-based protein does not
mean they will use it as a substitute for meat
protein, and the vast majority of Chinese do
not identify as vegetarians 9 . It is, therefore, a
huge challenge for plant-based meat brands
to convince Chinese consumers to choose
plant-based meat instead of meat protein.
More importantly, the imagined plant-based
meat boom did not come as quickly as
expected. This may be due to the failure
of the product to meet consumers' taste
expectations. At the same time, its higher
price has also deterred repurchases 10 .
Furthermore, those trying to capture the
Chinese plant-based market share are not
only overseas plant-based meat brands
that already have market experience and
more mature products but also local players
from China. This includes many Chinese
meat industry leaders and emerging brands.
Therefore, it might be challenging for both
alternative protein brands and tastes to
develop quickly and acquire faster returns than
Europe and America in the Chinese market.
THE GROWING OVERSEAS MARKET
According to The Good Food Institute,
plant-based foods in the US have grown into
a US$7 billion market, with a plant-based
product penetration rate of 56.8%, indicating
that the general household acceptance of
plant-based products far exceeds that of the
Chinese market. Between 2019 and 2020,
retail sales of plant-based meat increased
by 45% to $1.4 billion. With a penetration rate
of only 17.6%, and accounting for only 1.4%
of overall meat sales, the potential for plantbased
meat products in the US is clear.
The Good Food Institute reported that there
are still market and product gaps for plantbased
meat products, such as vegetarian
seafood products. A market research report
by Changing Tastes, a restaurant strategy
consulting firm, also showed that US
consumers are looking to further reduce their
consumption of red meat in their daily meals,
with seafood products ranking first in popularity
among a variety of alternatives. In addition, the
current product and consumer groups of plantbased
meat are still relatively homogeneous in
the general direction, and competition is still
focused on limited consumption scenarios,
such as specific menus in the general retail
and fast-food restaurant industries, which
still have room for improvement compared
to the development of consumption
scenarios for traditional meat products.
In the face of the massive US market, US-based
brands are becoming more competitive. In
the past year, Beyond Meat launched its third
iteration and secured a three-year strategic
partnership with McDonald's to roll out the
McPlant veggie burger, while Impossible
Foods not only introduced new products such
as chicken nuggets and sausages but also
partnered with several offline restaurants to
launch special menus to expand brand reach.
Meanwhile, overseas brands are
jumping into the market. Future
Farm, from Brazil, has launched
a product portfolio including
burgers, sausages,
patties, and meatballs
at a price advantage,
and is leveraging its
partnership with food
distributor Superior
Foods to enter
multiple channels
including retail, clubs,
and foodservice.
Singapore's NextGen
Foods, which has
long focused on
the poultry market,
hopes to open up the US market with its
chicken products. Next Meats, which focuses
on Japanese food, has further expanded
its product portfolio following the success
of its e-commerce channel by introducing
special products such as Japanese roast ribs.
These brands have a global vision from their
inception and are equipped with experienced
overseas leadership teams, but the overall
brand strategy is more convergent.
CHINESE ALTERNATIVE PROTEIN
BRANDS ABROAD: A CASE STUDY
Unlike other overseas brands that have
entered the US market with great fanfare,
Chinese plant-based meat brands have
focused on the domestic market and kept a
low profile overseas. After testing in Australia
and UK, OmniFoods announced to enter the
US market with their OmniPork products.
David Yeung, founder of Green Monday and
OmniFoods, expressed a desire to launch a new
seafood line in the US in 2022 11 . As of now, 15
operating countries and regions are available
on the OmniFoods website, with each market
having a slightly different product matrix.
In general, OmniFoods has adopted a product
development strategy that combines basic
products and special dishes. OmniPork, which
includes minced meat, shredded meat, and
luncheon meat, and
FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA APRIL / MAY 2022