Can meat-loving Chinese consumers be convinced to switch to plant-based substitutes?
- China, which consumes 27 per cent of meat produced globally, is now being heralded as the next target market ripe for entrepreneurs and investors to get on board
- Market observers say a lot still needs to be done as most Chinese consumers are not aware of the science, health benefits and environmental impact of plant-based meat products
Meat has long been central to traditional celebrations worldwide: millions of turkeys are gobbled up at Christmas and Thanksgiving, and pork filled dumplings are commonly eaten to ring in Lunar New Year.
This year meatless food products began to shake up the mainstream food industry, offering a environmentally friendly and healthy alternative to traditional diets. Currently worth US$18.8 billion, the global meat substitute market will grow 21 per cent to reach US$22.8 billion in 2024, according to Euromonitor.
In January, Californian trailblazer Impossible Foods launched a new signature burger. By August, Burger King began serving the Impossible Whopper throughout America using patties from Impossible Foods, and in September the patties hit grocery store shelves for the first time. Meanwhile in May, competitor Beyond Meat raised US$240 million from its Nasdaq IPO, and surged 160 per cent on debut.
China – which consumes 27 per cent of meat produced globally – is now being heralded as the next target market ripe for entrepreneurs and investors to get on board, with a huge trend-loving consumer base predicted to copy their US counterparts.
But not everyone is convinced China – with a long history of Buddhist mock meat and tofu – will demand new meat substitutes, and even industry players say it will take time to overcome huge hurdles if plant-based products are to take off there.
“China is tricky and different from the US market in the sense that it already has a long history of plant-based food, especially with mock meat,” said Tao Zhang, co-founder of Dao Foods International, which invests in early stage start-ups focused on plant-based meat and alternative protein products. “I wouldn’t say [there is] positive association with this kind of food, the mindset of the mainstream consumers [is] they don’t find it tasty and think it’s just for the religious, Buddhist market.”