ASIA – Tyson Foods, the world’s second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork, has launched a new line of plant-based meat alternatives across the Asia Pacific to take advantage of increased demand in the region.
The launch under the company’s First Pride brand marks the first time Tyson Foods is introducing plant-based products in the region.
First Pride brand is however not new to consumers in the region as Tyson has offered frozen chicken, beef, and fish products under the brand in Malaysia for nearly 15 years.
According to Tyson, the new plant-based line will initially consist of frozen bites, nuggets and strips, made with regionally sourced ingredients such as bamboo fibre, soy protein and wheat protein.
The halal-certified products will initially launch in Malaysia in retail and via eCommerce and will roll out to other markets in the coming months.
“We’re thrilled to offer Asia Pacific consumers more high-quality protein choices as they explore flexitarian diets,” said Tan Sun, president of Tyson Foods APAC.
“The Asian market is a natural fit for this category with traditional plant-based products like tofu already entrenched in the culture. The key to meeting consumer preferences with new plant-based protein is through innovation and making locally relevant products that taste great, which is our expertise.”
The launch is timely as the Asia Pacific region significant increase in demand for plant-based meat alternatives.
A research by DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences (DuPont N&B) projects a 25 percent increase in the market size for plant-based meat alternatives – to US$1.7 billion – over the next five years.
BiH dairy producers gear up for Chinese market
Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina has made the final step in the process of approving the export of dairy products to the Chinese market, presenting new opportunities for dairy producers in the country.
BiH’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Stasa Kosarac called the Chinese market “a great chance for the domestic agricultural sector”.
According to Kosarac, the export of milk and dairy products to the Chinese market would boost BiH’s milk industry and attract new investments, improve its agriculture policies, raise rural population’s income, and reduce the country’s trade deficit.
Darko Cobanov, a quality manager at cheese factory Eko Sir Puda, said: “We are very interested in trying out any new prospective market, especially as big as Chinese.”
“With existing capacity, we could annually ensure around 200 tonnes of hard cheese for China,” said Cobanov, adding that the cheese factory produces more than 500 tons of cheese annually and has huge potential for expanding its capacity.
The opening of Chinese market to BiH is part of intention to import goods worth more than US$170 billion from the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) in the coming five years.
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