Agriculture and food conglomerate DaChan Great Wall Group (大成集團) on Friday announced a NT$1 billion (US$36.1 million) investment in the development of a “neo foods” line of plant-based meat substitutes, seeking to increase its share in the rapidly expanding meat alternative market.
DaChan said it would set up a production facility in Taoyuan’s Yangmei District (楊梅), with production to start in two to three years.
The maximum annual output of the plant would be worth NT$2 billion, the firm said.
Photo courtesy of DaChan Great Wall Group
DaChan subsidiary Neo Foods Co (新食成) produces plant-based meat alternatives such as “chicken nuggets” and “burgers,” as well as mapo tofu or kung pao chicken, at its facilities in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢) and Tainan’s Yongkang District (永康).
About 13 percent of Taiwanese are vegetarians, DaChan chairman Charles Han (韓家宇) said, adding that he does not see Neo Foods’ market limited to that demographic.
Plant-based meat alternatives are a “new protein choice” for everyone, he said.
“Our neo meats have just as much protein as real meat and less additives compared with traditional meat substitutes,” Han said. “It tastes almost like meat. It is even more delicious and nutritious, and comes at an affordable price.”
DaChan’s neo meats are available on its Web site and on local e-commerce platforms, it said.
They would soon become available at convenience stores and restaurant chains, DaChan said.
The company said it expects rapid growth in the international meat substitute market.
Its plant-based products would debut at US supermarkets later this month, while an expansion to Europe and the Middle East is planned, DaChan said.
“DaChan will not miss out on the plant-based meat market,” DaChan vice president Dennis Han (韓家寅) said. “If we don’t do it, somebody else will.”
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