Cargill, a privately-held food and agriculture company, said Monday it will launch new private label plant-based patties and ground products in order to meet the growing global demand for protein. The new products will hit retailers and restaurants in early April.
Cargill said that the plant-based protein products were developed through extensive consumer research and innovation. The products are made in Cargill’s own facilities.
The new offerings are part of Cargill’s efforts to advance both animal and alternative protein products to meet the expected 70 percent growth in global demand for protein over the next 30 years.
The new plant-based products will bring more protein options to retail stores, cafeterias, fast food outlets, restaurants and other global locations.
“Cargill has a strong history of providing high-quality protein products to customers. Producing plant-based products across our global supply chain is the logical next step to expanding our ability to meet consumer needs and bring new value to this category,” said Elizabeth Gutschenritter, managing director of Cargill’s alternative protein team.
Cargill said it has invested $7 billion globally in animal protein in the last five years, while making strategic investments in the alternative protein space.
More companies are launching alternative protein products to capitalize on the rising popularity for plant-based meat alternatives, which are intended to satisfy the global demand for meat at a fraction of the environmental impact.
In January, grocery chain Kroger Co. launched new private label plant-based fresh meat, saying that the new pea-based meatless burger patties and grinds sold under the Simple Truth Emerge brand will be available exclusively at Kroger stores.
Simple Truth, Kroger’s organic brand, recorded sales of more than $2.3 billion in 2019. Kroger said it will add 50 new products to its plant-based collection this year.
Also in January, alternative meat producer Impossible Foods launched Impossible Pork, a plant-based pork substitute, following the success of its plant-based beef substitute Impossible Burger. In addition, the company launched Impossible Sausage later in the month.
Impossible Foods’ rival, Beyond Meat, also sells plant-based ground meat and sausages. The company is in partnership with fast food giant McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC to test plant-based burger and plant-based fried chicken, respectively.
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