Thai pork and poultry giant Charoen Pokphand Foods PLC (CPF) has unveiled its new plant-based range called MEAT ZERO. As Thailand’s largest agro-industrial food business, CPF has lofty goals of making MEAT ZERO the top alt meat brand in Asia by 2022 and in the world’s top 3 by 2026. MEAT ZERO ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products will be available at 7-Eleven outlets across Thailand.
“MEAT ZERO will be the world’s top 3 alternative meat brand within 3-5 years”
Manufactured to feel, taste, and appear like real meat thanks to the company’s “PLANT-TEC” innovation, the new products are expected to appeal to health-conscious consumers, taking advantage of CPF’s customer base worldwide and launching in Asian, European and United States markets.
As alt meat gains enormous traction across the globe, Bangkok-based CPF has been developing its plant-based products for over 2 years at its dedicated R&D centre, with the help of experts from around the world and two universities. The demand for plant-based meat in China and Thailand is expected to increase by 200% over the next five years, and CPF is not the only Thai animal meat producer to look towards plant-based, as the world’s largest tuna brand Thai Union is launching vegan seafood products.
With a population of nearly 70 million people, Thailand is seeing significant growth in the plant-based sector, with 53% of Thai consumers wanting to reduce their meat consumption and 45% aiming for a vegetarian or vegan diet. Plant-based producer and jackfruit specialist, NR Instant Produce (NRF) recently launched on the Stock Exchange of Thailand as the first public Thai company in the plant-based category, raising $51.4M in its IPO.
“MEAT ZERO is as tasty as real meat and consumers are barely able to tell if they are eating plants or real meats thanks to the outstanding achievement of CPF RD Center which has worked closely with the world’s leading research houses. We’re proud of this innovation and confident that our product will be warmly received by consumers in Thailand and overseas,” Mr. Prasit said.
“MEAT ZERO will be the world’s top 3 alternative meat brand within 3-5 years. Meanwhile, CPF will pursue the path to become a full-fledged food tech company that responds to the food needs of all consumer groups,” Mr. Prasit concluded.
