Monde Nissin-owned Quorn Foods has announced that it will invest £7 million (US$9.2 million) to construct an innovation factory at its headquarters in the UK. With the growing trend of plant-based products, the meat-free food manufacturer maintains that investment in ongoing innovation and technological capability is key to the companies’ growth strategy.

The new Global Innovation Centre, at its headquarters in the North East of the UK, will create a British high-tech powerhouse and maintain Quorn’s innovation leadership in the meat-free industry, according to the company.

The innovation hub is scheduled to break ground later this year, with the development of new products being the ultimate goal. Quorn also wants to enhance its capabilities in both core protein fermentation and develop new and better products.

Quorn states that it is responding to the current global trend towards meat alternatives, as consumers continue to become more concerned with health and environmental issues associated with excessive meat consumption. There is a clear global trend towards meat alternatives as consumers grow concerned about the health and environmental issues associated with excessive meat consumption. Around the world, the meat-free category is increasing, typically between 10 percent and 20 percent, and even a developed market like the UK is up 15 percent, according to Quorn.

The trend in plant-based foods is not slowing down either. A CAGR in products featuring the plant-based claims such as “plant-based” and “100 percent plant,” has been +60 percent from 2012-2016, according to data from Innova Market Insights. There has been a 45 percent average annual growth of food and beverage launches with a vegan positioning (CAGR, 2013-2017). New launches with a vegan positioning increased its market penetration in Europe from 1.5 percent in 2013, to 7 percent in 2017. There has also been a 55 percent average annual growth for new food & beverage launches tracked with vegan positioning in Europe (CAGR, 2013-2017), according to the market analyst.

Kevin Brennan, Quorn Foods Chief Executive, says: “With category momentum, we are confident we can become a US$1 billion business in the next ten years. We see lots of Silicon Valley investments and hype in this space, but we have already built up 30 years of expertise in the meat-free category. With our renewed investment in R&D, we expect to lead the way for decades to come.”

“In the US supermarket giant Kroger, we now have the fastest selling product in the category. With continued investment in this area, we believe we can continue this level of performance.”

“We already see amazing growth internationally, Australian sales are up 50 percent and US sales are up 23 percent. With continued investment, we believe we can sustain this level of performance,” he adds.

The announcement of the new development follows the release of Quorn’s half-year financials which saw the company increase its sales by 12 percent resulting in the most profitable year for the company so far. With like-for-like sales totaling £112 million (US$147 million) for the first six months of the year, this growth builds on Quorn Foods’ strongest ever year of growth in 2017 and sees the company stay on track to become a billion-dollar business by 2027.

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