Appetite for plant-based meat is growing in China
Taste and price will be the dominant features in expanding the Chinese plant-based meat market over the next 10 years but, nonetheless, it will grow. "Taste is the king; price is the queen," explained Saurabh Bajaj, Asia CEO of Just Asia, in a Rabobank podcast. Therefore, products need to get better and less expensive to move from niche to mass consumption. Chinese consumers' appetite for plant-based meat alternatives is growing. The demand is buoyed up by, among other things, the increasing preference for healthier diets, novelty products and uniqueness, and the need for sustainability. "The plant-based meat alternatives market, including traditional tofu and meat imitation products, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.4% to 9.4% between 2021 and 2030, reaching $17 billion to $24 billion in 2030. Meat imitation products will drive such growth. We expect meat imitation to reach $2.1 billion to USD 9 billion in 2030, representing a 54% to 81% growth (CAGR) in value", said Michelle Huang, Rabobank Analyst – Consumer Foods.
The Chinese plant-based meat industry was worth 6.1 billion yuan ($910 million) in 2018 with a 14.2% year-on-year increase, according to Daxue Consulting. Although some European countries and the US are showing faster growth, China is one of the largest consumers of vegan meat, representing about one-fourth of the world's market.
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