Tyson Foods, one of the world’s largest meat manufacturers, is launching its plant-based meat brand “First Pride” line in Asia. This is the U.S.-based meat producer’s first venture with plant-based meat into the Asian market, which has seen a growing demand for alternative proteins.
The launch will begin in Malaysia with First Pride plant-based bites, nuggets and strips, which are halal-certified and made from regionally sourced ingredients such as bamboo, soy and seitan.
Tyson Foods Asia Pacific president Tan Sun says the Asian market is a natural fit for meat alternatives because the region’s diet already includes traditional plant-based products such as tofu.
Asia is a driving force in alternative protein demand as reported in Food Frontier’s 2020 State of the Industry, which points to a 200% percent increase in demand in China and Thailand by 2025. . Population growth and rising incomes are among the reasons for the increasing demand for protein in the Asia Pacific region.
Mr. Sun says the First Pride plant-based meat products will deliver on taste, texture and local flavours, in line with the company’s vision is to make protein production more sustainable and tailor food to suit the local tastes for everywhere it’s available.
“We’re experts in the protein industry with a diverse, multi-protein portfolio.” Mr. Tan explained. “We have the capabilities to produce great tasting plant-based products for the region.”
He said the launch of plant-based products would “complement” Tyson Foods’ broader protein portfolio in Asia Pacific, where retail sales of meat alternatives reached US$16.3 billion in 2020 and are expected to exceed $20 billion by 2025, according to Euromonitor.
Read more: U.S. meat giant Tyson Foods to launch plant-based food in Asia-Pacific [Reuters]