Australian alt-meat brand v2food has expanded into China, announcing strategic partnerships with three major Chinese food manufacturers and a food content service platform.
Firstly, v2food will partner with leading steamed bun manufacturer Shuhui, which has 30,000 distribution points across China. Another new partner is Food Vending, a producer of Western-style ready meals such as lasagna and sausage rolls.
Additionally, v2food will collaborate with weight management ready meal brand Dong Chi, which serves 200,000 customers per month. And finally, the company has partnered with China’s first domestic food content service platform Douguo, which helps over 62 million active users discover new recipes each month.
V2food first announced plans to expand into Asia last year, when it raised $55 million to make the move possible. The company’s first Asian launch was at Burger King in the Philippines, which uses v2food’s patties in its Plant-Based Whopper.
“Developing our footing in Asia is a high priority for us, but we also need to build the infrastructure that will enable us to scale quickly,” the company told vegconomist in an interview in September.
Since launching in Asia, v2food has introduced plant-based sausages in Australia, and it also recently became Australia’s most funded alt-protein producer after raising AU$72 million.
“China is the world’s largest consumer of meat, so it’s a very important market for us,” said Nick Hazell, v2food founder and CEO. “As a global player, ensuring we align with like-minded partners is important to us as an organisation. We share our new partners’ ambition to build a better food future while paying homage to China’s rich heritage of Asian cuisine.”
