Century Pacific Food Inc. continues to expand its plant-based alternative meat products foot print by securing a deal that makes its “unMeat” brand available in Australia’s largest super market chain Woolworths and making available additional lines in U.S. supermarket chain Walmart.
“The thesis behind plant-based alternatives remains. Consumers want healthier and more planet-forward food choices. As a food company, we need to address these needs through innovation and reduce friction by making options more affordable and accessible,” said Greg Banzon, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Century Pacific, who is in charge of unMeat’s global rollout.
Century Pacific entered the alternative meat market at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with the launch of the unMeat–the first plant-based meat alternative brand in the Philippines.
Despite the health crisis, unMeat continued its roll out in 2021 in the local retail and institutional markets as well as the US, Singapore, China and the Middle East.
Multinational consulting firm Grand View Research projects the global meat substitutes market to grow at a compounded annual rate of 43.6 percent between 2023 and 2030 from a size of $12.95 billion in 2022.
Banzon said Century Pacific still sees favorable prospects. In Australia, for example, he said plant-based food consumption is on the rise, with one in three Australians consciously reducing meat consumption.
He said unMeat is not only available in Woolworths’ 960 stores across Australia but in its e-commerce platform as well.
Over at the 1,800 stores of Walmart, unMeat continues to gain traction after entering the US market earlier this year with its luncheon meat line.
Banzon said three new innovations were added, namely ‘unMEAT’ Meat-Free Chili with Beans, Chicken Style Chunks, and Roast Beef Style to attract potential customers.
“Developing the plant-based alternatives category requires innovation, not just of the protein source but also the variety. Apart from reducing the price friction, we need to give consumers more points of entry through a wider selection,” said Banzon.
Century Pacific said ‘unMEAT’ is present on the shelves of Walmart, Albertsons, Harris Teeter, HEB, and Meijer in the US, Carrefour in the UAE, and FairPrice in Singapore, among others.
