UK – Tesco, one of the largest grocery retailers in the United Kingdom, has collaborated with alternative protein company Beyond Meat  to launch a new line of frozen ready meals in the UK.

The new line is comprised of four meals which include Korean Inspired Bowl, Naked Burrito, Bangin’ Biryani, and Cowboy Chilli.

The meals are under Tesco’s exclusive plant-based Wicked Kitchen range and will be created using plant-based meat alternatives from Beyond Meat.

This is the first time Beyond Meat, which is known for its restaurant-quality vegan food, has collaborated with another food manufacturer in the UK.

The partnership comes in handy as it will bolster Tesco’s existing efforts to grow its plant-based meat-free alternatives by 300 per cent by 2025.

Tesco’s increased investments in plant-based foods is happening at a time when the category is experiencing explosive growth thanks to shifting consumer preferences.

According to data from Kantar data, plant-based food is the  biggest culinary trend this century with current demand for chilled meat free food growing by nearly 40 per cent in the last year at the supermarket.

Globally, the plant-based food market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.9% from 2020 to 2027 to reach US$74.2 billion by 2027, according to Research and Markets.

Growth of this market is mainly attributed to the factors such as increasing incidence of intolerance for animal protein, growing urbanization with new consumer aspirations, increasing vegan population, and significant venture investments in this sector.

As plant-based foods become a things globally, Tesco wants to have a piece of the cake and is betting on Beyond Meat’s assistant to further develop its frozen plant-based food offering

“Both Wicked Kitchen and Beyond Meat have worked hard to create excitement in the world of plant-based food in the UK and we are thrilled to be working with them on this new range,” Tesco Director for Plant-Based Innovation Derek Sarno said.

“As consumers are increasingly looking to include plant-based meals in their diet, Tesco’s new ‘ready meals’ featuring Beyond Meat, offer a simple and delicious solution without having to sacrifice on flavour or convenience,” added Chuck Muth, Chief Growth Officer at Beyond Meat.

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