Companies see lucrative prospects in country with 2.5 million vegetarians

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/10/11
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Coffee and convenience store chains are looking to tap into Taiwan’s faux meat market, which they believe has tremendous potential in a country with a NT$60 billion (US$2.09 billion) per year vegan meals industry.

In September, Starbucks added three items to its Taiwan menu from Beyond Meat, a U.S.-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes. Following the move — after similar launches in Canada, China, the U.S., and Hong Kong this year — there has been 10 percent sales growth in such meals at the coffeehouse’s Taiwan branches, reported CNA.

FamilyMart, a major convenience store franchise chain in Taiwan, is also cashing in on the growing popularity of meat alternatives. Buoyed by the well-received Beyond Meat burgers launched in November 2019, it introduced vegan meat frozen food in March, with sales of over 10,000 units a day.

Retailer Carrefour has five mock meat items in stores, including chicken nuggets and sausages. The main consumers of the products are people in their 20s or 30s, a tech-savvy group inclined to try out new foods, the company observed.    [FULL  STORY]