Tyson Foods, America’s largest meat producer, plans to develop its own plant-based protein products which could be available this calendar year, according to the company’s president and chief executive. As announced to arkansasonline.com, Tyson will reveal further information in the coming weeks as to the food innovations which are in development.
Tyson Foods’ Venture Capital arm, Tyson Ventures, has invested in several plant-based companies in the past few years, including Beyond Meat and Memphis Meats. In addition, two weeks ago Tyson Ventures raised $30million in an investment round for MycoProtein, producers of mushroom protein products. And now it seems they want to launch their own-brand protein product, as soon as possible, in order to cash in on the growing market.
“It’s growing rapidly,” Tyson’s CEO and President Noel White said of the plant-based market: “There’s a growing number of people that want to eat a product that they view as being healthier for them and it may be non-animal protein, it may be a blended protein.”
During Tyson’s first-quarter earnings call, White commented that the company is using all its resources to make “great tasting protein alternatives that are more accessible for everyone.”
He further commented that, “What I was signaling today is that it is coming,” White said. “And we will do it in a significant way.”
