CJ CheilJedang vows to become food market game changer with meat alternatives

[Photo by Park Hyung-ki]

CJ CheilJedang has vowed to boost its plant-based meal product sales by 20 times by 2025 to lead the global meat alternative market set to burgeon on growing demand for sustainable and healthier foods.

The South Korean food giant said on Monday that it will develop plant-based food business as its future growth engine and aims to increase meat alternative sales to 200 billion won ($151.7 million) by 2025 from current about 10 billion won. It sets a goal to generate more than 70 percent of the sector’s total sales from overseas markets.

Demand is rising for vegan and vegetarian food as health-conscious consumers seek more eco-friendly and sustainable ways to consume food. Bloomberg forecasts the global market size for plant-based processed meals will grow to $162 billion by 2030.

CJ Cheiljedang pins high hope for its textured vegetable protein (TVP), a high-quality meat alternative product with a firm meat-like texture, for its future business.

The company recently completed a new production line dedicated to plant-based products with an annual capacity of 1,000 tons at its Incheon Plant 2 site. Additional facility expansion will be planned according to the progress of its global business.

CJ Cheiljedang’s goal is to become a game changer in the food industry like Tesla which is leading the auto industry’s shift to electrification. Currently, Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat are two of the biggest plant-based meat-substitute companies in the world. Nasdaq-listed Beyond Meat expects its sales to grow 33 percent on year to $620 million this year.

CJ CheilJedang recently launched new food products under its vegan brand PlantTable. The PlantTable business is led by Lee Sun-ho, the eldest son of CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun.

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