Century Pacific Food, Inc., one of the Philippines’ leading branded food companies, has started selling plant-based meat alternatives overseas.
CNPF said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Monday it launched its unMEAT brand in United Arab Emirates in June and was exploring other international markets.
“We are quite thrilled with the global development of ‘unMEAT’. The United Arab Emirates is a promising market for us, with its diverse and progressive population and its strong Filipino community,” said CNPF executive vice president and chief operating officer Gregory Banzon. “Over the years, our company, together with our partner distributor, has built an extensive distribution footprint here, and we plan to leverage that network to scale up fast.”
The company’s unMEATproducts has a store footprint in over 200 outlets in UAE. The unMEAT is also available at online retail platforms.
“We are greatly encouraged by UAE’s reception of ‘unMEAT’, both from end consumers and retail partners. We will continue to strengthen the business here, working on further expanding our listing in the country. At this point, we aim to learn as much as we can, keeping our ears on the ground and being agile with our growth plans,” said Banzon.
The entire line of ‘unMEAT’ is available in the UAE, consisting of meat-free burger patties, Hungarian sausages, nuggets and minced meat.
All products are made with 100 percent plant-based ingredients and are great sources of fiber and protein, and free of cholesterol, transfat, egg and dairy.
CNPF said ‘unMEAT’ is being marketed competitively, with a suggested retail price of around 30 percent lower than other international brands.
The production of plant-based alternatives requires lower consumption of natural resources, including water, land and energy, and generates less greenhouse gas emissions compared to that of animal-based meat.
‘unMEAT’ is CNPF’s foray into the fast-growing plant-based food category in response to the rising consumer demand for healthier and products.
The brand was first launched through a partnership with Shakey’s Pizza in 2020. Since then, it has expanded its institutional footprint and entered the retail market.
Shares of CNPF on Monday slipped 0.8 percent to P24.80.