US start-up Eat Just Inc yesterday said that Dicos (德克士), one of China’s largest fast food chains, has added plant-based egg products supplied by the San Francisco-based firm to menus at more than 500 outlets across China.
Dicos would replace its conventional egg patty in items such as breakfast burgers and bagels with the US firm’s “Just Egg” — made from mung beans — at restaurants in cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, Eat Just cofounder and chief executive officer Josh Tetrick said by telephone.
Although still a tiny business compared with China’s giant animal-based supply chain, vegetarian alternatives to meat, dairy and seafood are rapidly gaining in popularity.
Photo: Aly Song, Reuters
Euromonitor International, a market research provider, predicted that China’s meat-substitutes market would be worth US$12.3 billion by 2025, up from US$10.8 billion last year.
Tetrick did not disclose financial terms of Eat Just’s deal with Dicos, but he said that the COVID-19 pandemic had renewed concerns about domestic food safety in China.
“There is more awareness in China on safety, on clean protein and protein free of antibiotics,” Tetrick said, adding that his firm was in talks with other Chinese restaurant chains to supply Just Egg.
Dicos confirmed its cooperation with Eat Just on microblogging site Sina Weibo, saying that it was “an innovative new food that helped to support sustainable development for humanity in future.”
Last year, brands such as Starbucks Corp, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Beyond Meat Inc and Oatly rolled out plant-based food and beverage offerings in China, aiming to attract more curious and environmentally conscious diners.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in