US plant-based meat maker Impossible Foods launches Impossible Sausage in Hong Kong, reveals appetite for China market
- Impossible Sausage is available at Starbucks starting Wednesday, to be rolled out to other restaurants such as Fini’s and Triple O’s this month
- A big win for China and us if we can replace its animal-based meat supply, founder says
US plant-based meat maker Impossible Foods has launched a pork sausage in Hong Kong with the aim of eventually building an entire production ecosystem in China.
The Impossible Sausage will be available in new sandwiches at Starbucks starting Wednesday, and will be rolled out to other restaurants such as Fini’s, Frank’s Italian American, Triple O’s and Urban later this month, the company said on Thursday.
“Pork is the most consumed meat pretty much throughout Asia – and definitely in China,” Patrick Brown, the company’s founder and chief executive, said during a virtual media briefing.
Brown said building a China-based industry and ecosystem was “absolutely at the heart” of the company’s plans. Impossible Foods hoped to set up a manufacturing facility in the country, and build a domestic supply chain for ingredients upon receiving regulatory approval.
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“The demand for meat in China basically creates a kind of food security issue, because there’s not enough arable land in China to produce the meat that Chinese people want to consume,” Brown said, adding that with the technology that Impossible Foods had developed and with its current efficiencies, the company could produce all the meat currently consumed in China with about half of the country’s arable land.
“[It’s a] big win for China and … us too, [if we] replace its animal-based meat supply, which is an environmental disaster and a public health nightmare, with plant-based meats that can and will be produced domestically, not requiring imports or even imported ingredients. [It] can all can be produced in China by Chinese farmers and Chinese workers, with us providing the technology and working with Chinese partners to set this up,” he said.
Impossible Foods has recorded 150 per cent growth in the number of restaurants using its products in Hong Kong and Macau since the beginning of the year, Nick Halla, its senior vice-president, said. The company plans to start selling its products in retail outlets such as grocery stores in Asian markets in the fourth quarter this year, he added.
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“China is one of the world’s largest markets for animal-based meat products, and potentially for plant-based meat [as well],” Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat’s chief executive and founder, said in a statement.
