Plant-based products ‘meat’ consumer demand amid health concerns

International alternative meat brands are racing to feed the appetites of Chinese consumers, with two US-based food industry giants, Beyond Meat and Cargill, announcing new moves to push into the online and physical markets this week, as customers might be more open to plant-based meat amid rising concerns over meat safety and COVID-19.

US industry bellwether Beyond Meat announced its retail debut in cooperation with Alibaba on Tuesday. Its signature Beyond Burgers will be available in 50 Freshippo stores under Alibaba in Shanghai from this weekend.

The company also plans to bring Beyond Burgers to Beijing and Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province in September, in 48 Freshippo stores and the company’s online app.

Its partnership with Alibaba is Beyond Meat’s latest move to take on the Chinese market. The meat alternative company cooperated with KFC China, owned by Yum China Holdings, to test its plant-based chicken nuggets in April. It also worked with Starbucks to introduce a plant-based menu in China in the same month.

Beyond Meat is not short of competitors. Another US-based company – Cargill – on Tuesday said it will introduce its alternative meat brand PlantEver to China. There are already two plant-based products under the brand, including chicken alternative nuggets that are already on the market and a fake chicken product to be introduced this month.

International brands have accelerated their push into China

since April, probably driven by increasing concerns over meat products since the outbreak of the COVID-19, Zhu Danpeng, a food industry expert told the Global Times.

“Chinese customers are more inclined to choose real meat products over synthetic ones, in terms of their habits,” Zhu said.