Beyond Meat unveils plant-based pork for burgeoning Chinese market

18 Nov 2020 --- Beyond Meat has revealed its latest product innovation, Beyond Pork. Designed to imitate the umami flavor, juicy texture and culinary versatility of traditional minced pork, Beyond Pork was created specifically for the Chinese market and is dubbed the “next step forward” for the plant-based giant.

“This marks a milestone for Beyond Meat as we are not only launching an entirely new product innovation, but our first plant-based meat product created specifically for the Chinese market,” says Candy Chan, China general manager, Beyond Meat. 

“With Beyond Pork, Beyond Meat is providing even more delicious options for consumers to continue to eat their favorite dishes while enjoying the added nutritional and environmental benefits of plant-based meat.”

The introduction of Beyond Pork follows the launches of the Beyond Burger and Beyond Beef in mainland China through Alibaba Group’s Freshippo, a retail platform.

Last September, Beyond Meat’s CEO called China a “vital” market for plant-based meat growth in an interview with FoodIngredientsFirst.

Mimicking a national staple
Pork is the most popular meat in China and the country ranks among the highest pork consumption rates globally.

To celebrate the launch of Beyond Pork, Beyond Meat is partnering with five popular restaurants in Shanghai, a “food capital” of China.The development of Beyond Pork was a global collaboration between Beyond Meat teams in Los Angeles and Shanghai. In addition, Beyond Meat conducted multiple sensory tests in China to get direct consumer feedback toward perfecting the product. 

Minced pork is featured in many Chinese dishes including dumplings and mapo tofu to zhajiang noodles and lion’s head meatballs. 

Beyond Pork is formulated to contain 50 percent less saturated and total fat than actual pork. 

Made from simple plant-based ingredients, such as rice and soybeans, Beyond Pork is pegged as a rich source of protein with 18.5 g per 100 g serving and contains no antibiotics or hormones.

Foodservice debut
To celebrate the launch of Beyond Pork, Beyond Meat is partnering with five popular restaurants in Shanghai, a “food capital” of China.

The roster of partner restaurants features popular names in the city’s food scene, including Egg, Moménti, RAC, Solo X and Tun Wang. 

By working with five restaurants at the same time, Beyond Meat showcased the variety of dishes that Beyond Pork can be used in. 

Chefs from the five restaurants all joined a special VIP launch event to unveil their dishes at the TX Huaihai Mall in Shanghai.

Each chef was tasked with using Beyond Pork as they would animal-based minced pork, and their dishes ranged from RAC’s Beyond Pork Spicy Bolognese to Tun Wang’s Beyond Pork and Shiitake Wonton Noodles.

The move closely follows the company’s foodservice launches with Yum China in June and Starbucks in April.

By Benjamin Ferrer