China has taken a significant step into the plant-based food sector with the launch of the Plant-based Food Innovation Contest in Shanghai. The contest, which is the first-of-its-kind in Asia, is a collaboration between food awareness organization ProVeg International and the Shanghai Society of Food Science. It seeks to accelerate the innovation of sustainable and healthy plant-based food in the region. The move comes at a time when the plant-based market in the country is growing significantly.

“China has a long history of vegetarianism of over 1,400 years and the current vegetarian population is estimated at 3.5 percent. Globalization and increased affordability has driven the consumption of meat in China over the last three decades. Still, now we see fast-growing numbers of flexitarians and ‘reducetarians,’ primarily for health reasons,” Shirley Lu, Executive Director, ProVeg East Asia, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

“China has a distinctive and rich food culture. With soy products and tofu already so ingrained in its society, we now expect China to develop a new plant-based culture, version 2.0, full of innovative and unique plant-based and cultured meat products,” explains Lu. 

“We are honored to collaborate with the Chinese educational system as the country moves toward a food system that combines sustainability and public health. China’s embrace of innovation will be conducive to making the country a key driver of global progress,” adds Sebastian Joy, CEO of ProVeg. 

An increasing number of people in China are now beginning to realize that animal agriculture and meat consumption have a substantial impact on the environment, climate change and public health, Joy notes. “A food awareness organization such as ProVeg that is fact-based and dedicated to promoting innovative plant-based and cell-based food alternatives can fill important niches in China, and sustainably support economic growth,” he says.  

Teams of participating students will compete in three main categories: pre-packaged foods, main-course recipes and animal-free ingredients. Ten teams will then be seleced as finalists to submit a business proposal. 

Finalists will be regularly coached and mentored by industry experts from market-leading companies, including Bright Dairy – a dairy manufacturer in China – Lee Kum Kee, Danone, Beyond Meat and Oatly, all of whom will provide lab facilities and materials for prototype development, and a budget for market research.

Three prize winners will be announced later this year. The winner will receive a cash prize of €10,000 (US$11,300), while second-place will receive €5,000 (US$5,677) and third-place €3,000 (US$3,400). 

“We are excited to work with leading universities and food corporations in Shanghai. We are pleased to be collaborating with the Shanghai Society of Food Science to accelerate the development of plant-based foods and support the Healthy China 2030 campaign,” adds Lu. 

Amid the plant-based revolution, Chinese consumers are also becoming more health-conscious. According to Innova Market Insights, 55 percent of Chinese consumers are actively increasing their consumption of fruit and vegetables in order to be healthier.

The rise of plant-based meat in China
The contest has been launched at a time when the plant-based meat market in China is growing steadily, now at a faster rate than the growth in GDP. In 2018, the domestic plant-based meat industry was worth approximately €760 million (US$863 million), an annual increase of 14.2 percent, while China’s GDP growth reached its lowest level since 1990 at 6.6 percent, according to ProVeg. 

This month, Yum China partnered with plant-based innovator Beyond Meat to introduce the Beyond Burger as a limited-time offering at selec KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell locations in mainland China. The partnership marked the introduction of Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger in China and provides consumers with a plant-based twist on the iconic beef burger patty.

Before partnering with Beyond Meat, KFC and Taco Bell had previously conducted tests of plant-based meat products in China. In April, KFC tested plant-based chicken nuggets at selec stores in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, while in December 2019, Taco Bell tested a plant-based pork taco at selec stores in Shanghai. 

Yum China’s in-depth market understanding and consumer insights, accumulated over the past 30 years, offer a strong foundation for establishing plant-based meat in China. KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell are among the first Western restaurant brands to introduce a plant-based meat product in China and with this test, they are joining their global counterparts in helping to popularize plant-based meat products.

Meanwhile, in April, Beyond Meat, through a partnership with Starbucks, rolled out its plant-based meat analogs in China. The company began by introducing its plant-based ground “beef,” branded Beyond Beef, to the new market. The move was spearheaded by 3,300 Starbucks locations across China and comes amid a shift in consumer preferences for plant-based products spurred by the coronavirus outbreak.