'Meat That Is Not Meat' on Livestock Store Shelves... The Alternative Meat Market Is Growing

The appearance of a dish using Pulmuone's plant-based grilled bulgogi alternative meat product

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] As interest in the environment grows and the vegetarian population increases, the alternative meat market is becoming more active. Companies that have completed years of research are gradually launching alternative meat products, sparking competition among firms to secure market dominance.

According to the food industry on the 11th, Pulmuone Foods has officially entered the domestic plant-based alternative meat business by launching a home meal replacement (HMR) product called 'Plant-based Direct-grilled Bulgogi Rice Bowl Sauce.' The goal is to dominate the domestic alternative meat market by offering alternative meat tailored to Korean tastes, moving away from patty and sausage forms.

Earlier, Pulmuone began actively selling its 'Pulmuone-style alternative meat' by introducing plant-based alternative meat with a charcoal barbecue flavor to all 200 stores of the American wellness restaurant chain 'Waba Grill' through its local subsidiary Pulmuone USA in the second half of this year.

With this new product, Pulmuone took inspiration from the familiar Korean dishes 'bulgogi' and 'rice bowl' to make it easy for domestic consumers, who are still unfamiliar with alternative meat, to try it casually in their daily lives. Unlike American companies that focus on patty and sausage types, Pulmuone is concentrating on developing alternative meat in the form of Korean-style beef bulgogi to target the global plant-based alternative meat market, including Korea.

Shinsegae Food's alternative meat 'Better Meat,' launched in July, is quickly gaining market traction. Starbucks' 'Plant Ham & Arugula Sandwich,' made using 'Better Meat' cold-cut ham for sandwiches, sells about 2,000 units daily and surpassed 200,000 cumulative sales within three months.

Shinsegae Food analyzed that consumers who have tried Starbucks' 'Plant Ham & Arugula Sandwich' are satisfied with the taste and texture of 'Better Meat' cold cuts, and the product's association with animal welfare and carbon reduction encourages continuous repurchases.

Shinsegae Food has begun actively developing additional menu items using 'Better Meat.' At the same time, it plans to expand consumers' alternative meat experiences through collaborations with various brands in hotels, automotive, fashion, and IT sectors.

Alternative meat can now also be found in the meat sections of large supermarkets. Emart has started selling 'Earth Company' alternative meat in the meat departments of 20 stores in the metropolitan area. Earth Company is a food tech startup that develops and sells plant-based meat as a substitute for traditional meat.

Emart displays and sells alternative meat in the meat section to consider it as one of the livestock categories like beef and pork, rather than as a processed food product. This approach aims to create a customer-centric store for meat shopping and provide customers with new choices.

This reflects the trend in large supermarkets in countries like the United States, where vegetarian culture is well-developed and alternative meat is established, to increase the proportion of alternative meat within the same space while still focusing on traditional meat.

As the vegetarian population grows and consumers' environmental concerns rise, the alternative meat market is expected to grow significantly in the future. According to the Korea Vegetarian Union, the number of people practicing vegetarianism in Korea surged from 150,000 in 2008 to 2.5 million this year. Additionally, market research firm Euromonitor reported that the domestic alternative meat market size grew about 40% last year to 11.5 billion KRW and is expected to increase about 35% this year to 15.5 billion KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.