Moving into meat alternatives: Vion switches beef facility to plant-based operation

31 Oct 2019 --- International food producer Vion is investing in a dedicated plant-based site in the Netherlands as part of the company’s strategy of building food chains based on market demands. It follows Vion’s decision earlier this year to move into meat alternatives and will see the company’s Leeuwarden site, which is currently operating as a beef facility, adjusted to become suitable for plant-based production.

The market for meat alternatives has been growing over the past few years and it is expected to continue to grow, notes the company.

Next to Vion’s home markets in the Netherlands and Germany, other parts of Europe such as the UK, Italy and France are also expanding markets for meat alternatives. “This is mainly the result of eating habits of so-called flexitarians, who regularly buy these products,” it says. 

The Vion site in Leeuwarden was built in 2017 according to the latest standards, which means it can be easily transformed for plant-based production. The site can be scaled up to add more production lines, freezing facilities and a larger storage capacity. The current employees will not be affected by the change, notes the company. 

“The capacity for livestock processing in the Netherlands has grown significantly in the past two years, and has proven to be more than sufficient to meet the demand,” says Vion CEO Ronald Lotgerink. “Given the knowledge we gained from our investment a few years ago, we are now making the strategic choice to invest in a dedicated plant-based site in Leeuwarden. We look forward to continuing our relationships with our livestock suppliers at other Vion sites and welcome arable farmers as new suppliers in our plant-based chain.”

Edited by Gaynor Selby