Japan’s Next Meats to construct eco-friendly factory for alt-protein products

02 Aug 2021 --- Next Meats Co, an alternative meat venture company from Tokyo, is set to open an eco-friendly production facility next summer. Dubbed the Next Factory, it will be built in Niigata, Japan, promising to be a “one-stop hub” dedicated to alternative protein products and will include everything from an R&D lab to the production line.

The founders are aiming to stabilize the global supply chain of Next Meats products while lowering retail costs and strengthening the company’s R&D capacities.

A first in Japan
This kind of large-scale facility specifically dedicated to developing alternative proteins is likely to be the first of its kind in Japan, says the founders Hideyuki Sasaki and Ryo Shirai. They also revealed that the Next Factory will incorporate solar panels and other sustainable technologies.

Next Meats is working with a local construction firm that uses materials sourced from the area and is scheduled to co-produce a new product with Kameda Seika – one of the most prominent snack manufacturers in Japan, which is from Niigata.

It has also recently signed a cooperative research and development agreement with Nagaoka University of Technology to study epigenetics and its new applications in developing alternative meat products. 

The Next factory will be a “one-stop hub” dedicated to alternative protein products.Moves in alternative meat
Next Meats hopes to continue collaborating with local entities and keep accelerating the growth of the alternative meat industry in Japan and beyond.

The company is known for commercializing the world’s first vegan Japanese barbecue meat analogs – the Next Yakiniku series and the Next Gyudon, which is a vegan alternative to the traditional Japanese beef bowl.

Next Meats has recently gained attention for successfully developing an alternative egg product, the Next Egg 1.0, also launching the Next Yakiniku in the US and selling out its first release of products in a day.

In April, FoodIngredientsFirst reported that Asia’s rapidly evolving food scene was being revitalized with regional plant-based launches inspiring new iterations of traditional cuisine staples. 

Next Meat unveiled vegan Japanese yakiniku grilled meat in Singapore, while peanut-based chicken from Haofood debuted in Chinese and Indonesian recipes through various partnerships in Shanghainese foodservice.

These moves were reported as timely, as retail sales of meat alternatives in Asia-Pacific grew to an estimated US$1 billion in 2020, according to Innova Market Insights. The market researcher reports robust sales growth in this category, with a projected CAGR of 9.1 percent by value and 8.65 percent by volume forecasted for 2019 to 2022.

In May, Next Meats also collaborated with IKEA Japan for IKEA Japan’s Sustainable Food Fair, with the Next Gyudon. From sourcing sustainable materials to reducing plastic waste, IKEA Japan is aiming to make at least half of its food menus plant-based by 2025.

Edited by Elizabeth Green