UK – Plant and Bean, a prominent UK-based plant-based co-manufacture has co-opted new administrators to explore options for the sale of the business and its assets.

According to a statement from the company handling Plant & Bean’s administration, Interpath Advisory, the UK meat-alternatives company has experienced significant inflation across its cost base, primarily increases in food and energy prices.

Interpath added that the business has recently suffered from operational issues which has resulted in periodic interruptions to its production processes.

“The plant-based group is carrying out limited trading while the administrators explore options for the sale of the business and its assets,” the advisory reported.

The company, which annually produces 55,000 tonnes of plant-based meat substitutes from its expansive Lincolnshire facility, is a significant player in the global market.

Despite their standing as a supplier to numerous major retail markets, Plant and Bean filed the Notice of Intention to appoint administrators (NOI) at the end of May 2023.

This action was aimed to offer temporary protection from creditors for a period of ten days, but it often suggested considerable business financial issues.

 “Businesses across the food and drink sector, and especially those in highly competitive sub-sectors such as alternative protein, are facing immense pressures at the moment, with rising costs impacting profitability,” James Clark, managing director at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, said.

He added that over the coming days, the team will be working with key stakeholders to explore the possibility of a sale of the business.

Currently, around 25 employees have stayed at the plant-based company to continue day-to-day operations, following the appointment of James Clark and Howard Smith from Interpath.

The company prides itself on its mission to promote global health, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare through the provision of tasty and nutritious plant-based meats.

Their goal, as stated on their website, is to make these alternatives universally accessible to help positively influence the universe.

According to the industry market study, plant-based products have become sought-after in minimizing the issues of dependence on livestock production for meat products.

The study shows that clean meat substitutes will gain further traction with the rising trend of vegan and vegetarian diets and environment-friendly food products.

Meanwhile, the meat substitute market has been experiencing significant growth in recent years, driven by a rising awareness of the negative environmental impact of meat production and consumption.

As a result, there has been a surge in demand for plant-based protein sources and meat alternatives, which offer similar taste, texture, and nutritional value as meat, but without the associated environmental and ethical concerns.

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