Plant-Based Meat Could See Boost Post COVID-19 Outbreak

Plant-based meat alternatives could see sales increase once the COVID-19 epidemic has subsided, an industry analyst has suggested.

Andy Coyne of GlobalData Food noted an uptick in plant-based protein sales in China, where the virus first originated, and where industry is starting to return to relative normality.

“The food industry will be looking to China for future trends because it was first into the Covid-19 crisis and is one of the first to emerge from it,” Coyne said.

“US ‘alt-meat’ company Beyond Meat has just launched in China, through the Starbucks chain, and fast-food giant KFC is offering meat-free ‘chicken’ products there made by US agri-food giant Cargill. This seems to be indicative of a wider trend in the country of looking for protein alternatives to meat – and of companies looking to tap into that interest.”

ESM