Bangkok-headquartered Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods) has introduced Meat Zero, Thailand’s bestselling plant-based faux meat brand, to retail stores in Singapore and Hong Kong. This is the first time the frozen and refrigerated product range has been officially launched abroad.
Prasit Boondoungprasert, CP Foods’ chief executive officer, said the company sees significant opportunity in meatless meals, with the number of vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians altogether constituting an estimated 29% of the global population. Vegans and flexitarians reportedly account for around 40% of Hong Kong population. However, while there are already meatless options in the market, most of them are pricey and variety in choice is lacking.
“Meat Zero’s affordable price point will make this lifestyle more accessible to those who are looking to adopt a sustainable diet. The incredible taste will also convert sceptics,” said Prasit.
CP’s aim is for Meat Zero to become the No.1 plant-based brand in Asia within three years. It also plans to export such products to North America, Europe and other markets later on.
It took more than three years and 2,000 experiments conducted by hundreds of researchers and teams from CP Foods Food Research and Development Centre to perfect the plant-based meat products. Meat Zero partnered with Fuji Oil from Japan, as well as experts from the USA and Taiwan to develop PLANT-TEC innovation.
“The innovation makes our nutritious brand is as tasty as real meat, and consumers are barely able to tell if they are eating plants or real meats,” said Prasit. “The products contain health nutrition from high fiber plant-based protein, which is low in cholesterol and good for intestine and bowel health.”
The brand has been well received in Thailand, where over 4,000,000 packs have been sold following launch in May of 2021. It also won Best Plant-based Branding from Root The Future Plant-Based Food Awards 2021.
In Singapore, Meat Zero products are available at Cold Storage, NTUC FairPrice, FairPrice Online, RedMart, Amazon, Caltex, SPC and Sinopac Petrol Kiosks. In Hong Kong, they have been listed at Wellcome Stores, Aeon Stores, YATA Department Store, Abouthai Stores, Fresh Stores, Pandamart and HKTVmall.
