Background Merunas UAB
Are meat substitutes on the rise in China?
The Chinese government wants to halve the country's average meat consumption. This can greatly reduce CO2 emissions. Vegetable meat substitutes can offer a solution, what is the current situation?
In 2016, the Chinese government drafted a plan to cut the country's meat consumption by 10% over the next 50 years. The government argued this choice as an attempt to reduce CO2 emissions and to limit overweight among its inhabitants. If the target were met, China's livestock sector would see a reduction of 1 billion metric tons in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 2030.
In recent years, Chinese meat consumption has not decreased, but it has grown less rapidly than before. According to data from the online platform Statista, the average consumption in 2019 was about 54,3 kilos per capita per year, in 2016 the level was 50,5 kilos.
Vegetable meat substitutes
The willingness of the Chinese population to switch to plant-based meat substitutes is important to achieve this goal. Meanwhile, an industry is growing at home and abroad to help China achieve its goal.
Sales of plant-based meat substitutes in China rose from $7,2 billion in 2014 to $9,7 billion in 2018, according to a report released last year by Euromonitor International. will be worth nearly $2023 billion in 12, in 2018 it was just under $10 billion.
Market players
The number of Chinese plant-based meat companies and start-ups has already reached more than half a dozen. A number of American market players have already penetrated the Chinese market. In April, Beyond Meat made its retail debut in China, a partnership with retail chain Alibaba is an extra step for the company to distribute products. Also, Yum China, owner of the Chinese KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell stores, joined Beyond Meat in June to offer several plant-based meat dishes.
Hong Kong plant-based meat brand Omnipork announced a partnership with Starbucks in April, while Switzerland-based Nestle also announced plans to build a plant-based food factory in China.
Future perception
Market players in the vegetable market are optimistic about the future and confident that change in the Chinese diet is imminent. Whether that will actually be the case depends heavily on the willingness of Chinese consumers to switch to plant-based meat substitutes.
The biggest hurdle for consumers to switch from meat products to meat substitutes is price. Market players indicate that they are convinced that the products will become cheaper as the market grows and increased production will reduce costs. According to a survey, Chinese consumers are also increasingly open to flexitarian or vegetarian products.
Chanti Oussoren
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