Philippines

© Quorn
Investments & Finance

Monde Nissim CEO Provides Financial Support to Quorn from Family Fortune, Confident Growth Will Return

Henry Soesanto, CEO and major shareholder of Monde Nissim Corp., has announced he is to provide financial support for its alternative meat company Quorn via MNSG Holdings, a family business.  In April, Monde Nissin took an impairment charge of over $350 million on Quorn (acquired in 2015) due to the plant-based industry’s headwinds in the UK and globally. Now, Soesanto has pledged to backstop new impairment losses by backing the Quorn with his family’s fortune for the next ten years. The meat-free market is encountering challenges, due to macroeconomic conditions affecting Europe and the USA. However, it is reasonable to assume that growth will come back, he told Inquire.Net.  The news comes only months after Marlow Foods, the parent company of Quorn, launched its ingredients …

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Umani to launch new seafood made with microalgae

© WTH Foods
Meat- and Fish Alternatives

Philippines’ WTH Foods to Launch New Microalgae-Based Seafood Overseas

WTH Foods, a food tech startup based in the Philippines, has expanded into the plant-based seafood category with new frozen microalgae-based products enriched with Omega-3. The company, which already introduced its NPDs in the country, has plans to launch its vegan seafood products — crab cakes and plant-based tuna —  in Europe and South East Asia, reported Food Navigator ASIA. WTH Foods claims its new products use microalgae biomass to deliver seafood flavor and provide DHA and Omega-3. They are said to be clean-label, with microalgae and oil as the main ingredients, 100% fishless, without heavy metals or microplastic. In January, the company launched Umani, a frozen plant-based meat brand made with microalgae, soy, and wheat proteins. The new seafood products join the Umami range, which includes sausages, meatballs, mince, …

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A range of different legumes

© Equinom
Market & Trends

Philippines to Import More Legumes as Consumers Turn to Plant-Based Diets

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has predicted that the Philippines will import more legumes in the coming years, as diets in the country become increasingly plant-based. In a report, the USDA said the Philippines was expected to increase its imports of leguminous vegetables by 5-7% per year for the next five years. It added that legume imports have already risen by 48% in the past five years, reaching a value of $88 million in 2022. Mung beans are by far the most significant type, accounting for 90% of the 111,000 MT of pulses brought in. A growing trend towards plant-based foods has been credited for the rise in legume imports, along with the increasing cost of animal protein and a greater reliance on imported …

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with foods plant-based sausages on a plate

© WTH Foods
Products & Launches

Philippines: WTH Foods Launches Frozen Plant-Based Meat Line

WTH Foods, a food technology startup based in the Philippines, has launched a 100% frozen plant-based meat line called Umani. The company claims its NPDs are high in proteins and fibre, free from cholesterol and trans fats, and made using microalgae, soy, and wheat proteins. Based in Manila, the food tech aims to lead Asia’s transition to meat alternatives by innovating with sustainable ingredients and taking inspiration from local flavours. “We have taken the challenge of turning vegetables into something fit for meaty cravings that are healthy and kind to all,” commented WTH Foods co-founder and CEO Carissa Lim. Feeding 10 billion by 2050 WTH Foods was founded in 2019 to help feed the world’s population — set to rise to 10 billion by 2050 …

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unMEAT Fish-Free Canned Tuna

©unMEAT
Food & Beverage

unMEAT Launches Fish-Free Canned Tuna in Online Retailers and Select US Supermarkets

unMEAT, a plant-based protein brand owned by seafood giant Century Pacific Food, is launching its new fish-free canned tuna into online retailers and select supermarkets across the US.  Made with non-GMO ingredients, unMEAT says its tuna exceeds traditional tuna in taste, texture and nutrition, with zero mercury or trans fats. The brand’s current line features three varieties – Tuna in Sunflower Oil, Tuna in Water and Tuna Hot & Spicy.  According to unMEAT, canned tuna is the top-selling canned food in the US, with tuna products making up four of the top 25 best-selling canned food items. However, consumer concerns about mercury, pollution and heavy metal contamination has opened the tuna market to new diets and consumers seeking healthier options, unMEAT says.  Preferred 3-to-1 To …

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WTH Foods

©WTH Foods
Investments & Finance

WTH Foods, Creator of Plant-Based Filipino Dishes, Closes $1.2M Seed Round

WTH Foods announces a raise of USD $1.2million in seed funding, the launch of an R&D facility, and expansion plans to Singapore as well as other markets across Southeast Asia and globally. The company uses over 60 types of plants in the creation of 60 dishes, aimed at the more than 2.2 million Filipinos living away from home. WTH Foods has also developed a new line of products called Unami, featuring plant-based versions of popular Asian processed meats such as sausages and luncheon meat, due for a 2022 launch. Additionally, the company reports it has co-developed a seaweed-based chicken product with Singapore Institute of Technology food scientists. Investors in the round include Big Idea Ventures and Henry Soesanto, CEO of Monde Nissin, a Philippines based …

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©Quorn

Stock market

Monde Nissin Corp Set for Philippines’ First Billion Dollar IPO as Part of Plant-Based Expansion 

One of the biggest companies in the Philippines, Monde Nissin Corp – which acquired plant-based meat brand Quorn in 2015 for £550 million – is aiming to list its shares as the company hopes to attract investors to its expanding overseas plant-based business. The IPO would be the largest by a Philippine company and is reportedly set to raise up to $1.5billion.

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© Century Pacific Foods
Products & Launches

Fish and Dairy Giant Century Pacific Rolls Out unMEAT Plant-Based Range 

Century Pacific Food, owner of Century tuna and one of the biggest fish and dairy producers in the Philippines, has rolled out unMEAT, its new range of plant-based meat alternatives. Nicole Ponseca of New York Filipino Gastropub Jeepney and winner of the Time Out New York Battle of the Burger, is serving the first unMeat burgers in the US.

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