‘UnMeat’: Plant-based food even meat-lovers could love
Century Pacific Food brings new product line to the health conscious retail market
At a time when local food prices are surging due to a string of typhoons and the African swine fever-induced pork crisis, affordable plant-based food alternatives have come to the local retail market, especially targeting consumers that have embraced a healthier diet during this coronavirus pandemic.
After late last year’s launch by Century Pacific Food Inc. (CNPF) of the “UnMeat” brand to institutional clients, this new product line—which uses soy as primary ingredient and approximates the taste of real meat— has now been rolled out to the retail market.
“In the Philippines, plantbased food options are limited —they’re usually expensive, not palatable or hard to find. For unMeat, we use simple ingredients by extracting the nutrients from real food rather than using synthetic ingredients and have found ways to make it more affordable and tastier, while retaining all the health-giving benefits of plantbased food,” said CNPF executive chair Christopher Po.
The new brand comes in four variants—Hungarian sausage, burger patties, giniling (minced food) and nuggets. One 226-gram pack of burger patties is priced at P135, same as the price for a 225-gram pack of sausages. A 200-gram of nuggets is priced at P120, the same as the price for a 200-gram pack of UnMeat giniling.
‘Flexitarians’
Globally, the plant-based food market has gone from niche to mainstream, expanding by at least 15 percent annually and is now valued at $20 billion. About half of today’s consumers, especially in developed markets, are “flexitarians” or those who mainly consume plant-based food while still indulging in animal products in moderation. In the Philippines, big food manufacturers are venturing into this space. Aside from CNPF, San Miguel Corp. has also launched its plant-based food offering under the brand “Veega.”
Optimistic about the prospects for UnMeat, CNPF, for its part, is now looking to build a factory dedicated to plant-based food, CNPF general manager Nikki Dizon said in a recent press briefing.
“With pork availability and prices a big concern in the near to medium term, maybe it’s time to consider the inclusion of plantbased foods into the Philippine diet. It will help reduce water stress and reduce ecological miles. Food companies need R&D (research and development) to develop local sources and localize taste buds,” Jose Mari Lacson, head of research at fund management firm ATR Asset Management (Atram) said in reaction to CNPF’s launch of UnMeat.
CNPF is among the 20 publicly listed companies that are included in Atram Philippine Sustainable Development and Growth Fund, a pioneering Philippine fund designed to invest in companies that score high in terms of the integration of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their operations and strategy and have reported attractive returns relative to valuations.
For this venture, CNPF has teamed up with world-renowned companies to help in the development and manufacturing of unMEAT, such as Wenger, which provided the machinery and equipment for producing high quality, plant-based protein. It has also worked with food techby nology experts Exter, and Symrise Flavors to create the meaty texture and flavor of UnMeat.
Crowded space
Plant-based [food] has become quite a crowded space but I think the difference is the understanding on the ‘clean label’ and the taste profile can hopefully be the right one the consumers want. Many of the plant-based are quite expensive but Century positioning their product effectively on cost may be the right position to be successful,” said Lionel Flutto, president for Asia Pacific for Symrise Flavor.
CNPF kicked off this plantbased food business last year initially supplying unMeat burger patties to affiliate restaurant chain Shakey’s Asia Pizza Ventures Inc., which launched “Goood Burger” across all of its outlets late last year. The favorable response to this new offering inspired CNPF to expand to retail formats, both offline and online, CNPF chief operating officer Gregory Banzon said.
“What’s exciting is aside from the first four that we’ve come out with, we can look at opportunities in maybe the ethic space or ethic flavors, particularly Asian or even Filipino and Hispanic offerings,” Banzon said.
One possibility is to offer UnMeat longganisa, which is commonly served by Filipinos at breakfast, Banzon noted.
“Another space that we may be able to enter given the technology that we’ve been able to develop would be in other offering like sauces or even shelf-stable products,” Banzon said.
Further expansion
The next phase of expansion would be in the international market, whereby CNPF could become a toll manufacturer of plant-based food for foreign brands. Overseas partnerships may also be in the restaurant space, by teaming up with chefs who would like to include plant-based offerings.
Dizon said CNPF would harness its network in 80 countries to bring UnMeat to new markets, aside from the United States and Europe. For now, she said the group was looking to bring the brand to Italy, United Kingdom, China, Singapore and the Middle East.
With CNPF’s research and development team supported by an international panel of food technology experts, Banzon said CNPF was exploring new technologies and other materials aside from soy.
“For example, we are doing research on pea-based plant-based food offering. Mushroom is one. Rice is another. We can use a variety of materials,” he said.
Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato de la Peña, who graced the retail launch of UnMeat, said: “I’m very confident that this range of plant-based innovative products which Century Pacific is launching now will go a long way with the considerations that you have given—the taste, the smell, the look and the feel in the development.”
“I’m sure that the goals that we have will be met—food security, zero hunger, sustainable consumption, value addition and an expanded share of international and local market,” he added.