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OmniFoods

OmniFoods Plans to Launch Its Plant-Based OmniPork Products in the U.S. This Year

OmniPork, the plant-based meat line from Green Monday subsidiary OmniFoods, will launch in the U.S. later this year, according to an article from Food Navigator. 

OmniFoods launched its OmniPork line in 2018 in Hong Kong, where the company is also headquartered. As its name suggests, the line features various plant-based replacements for pork, which is the most widely consumed meat in the world. As of now, the OmniPork line includes grounds, lunch meats, and strips as well as OmniPork buns and dumplings. 

Products are made from a proprietary blend of pea and soy protein along with shiitake mushroom and rice. 

The OmniPork line debuted on mainland China in 2019. For its U.S. expansion, OmniFoods will maintain its Asian-inspired focus for its products, rather than creating meat analogues of American staples (e.g., bacon). That said, OmniPork products are, in the company’s own words, “a relatively bland flavor,” which ensures a certain amount of versatility in the products.

Speaking to Food Navigator, OmniFoods founder David Yeung, said its ready meals (dumplings, stir fry, dim sum) are also “extremely well received,” and that down the line, the company may work with U.S.-based food manufacturers to develop meals in addition to the protein products. 

OmniFood debuted products in the U.S. at eight different restaurants across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Honolulu. The company used this same strategy — launching in restaurants before expanding across retail outlets — with its U.K. launch earlier this year. 

The U.S. retail launch doesn’t yet have a specific date applied to it, but will happen at some point later in 2021.

OmniPork Parent Green Monday Raises $70M to Expand Its Plant-Based Food Enterprise

Plant-based food company Green Monday Holdings has raised $70 million in new funding led by TPG’s The Rise Fund and Swire Pacific, according to a press release sent to The Spoon. The round also includes participation from CPT Capital, Jefferies Group, Sino Group’s NG Family Trust, artist Wang Leehom, and Room to Read founder John Wood. Existing investors, including Lee Kum Kee Health Products Group’s Happiness Capital and individual investorsJames Cameron, Mary McCartney, and Susan Rockefeller, also participated.

The Hong Kong-based Green Monday enterprise has multiple branches. It operates OmniFoods, which makes plant-based meat alternative OmniPork, as well as Green Common, a retailer and restaurant for plant-based foods. The Green Monday Foundation, meanwhile, is a charitable organization that aims to raise awareness about the importance of living more sustainable lifestyles. The enterprise as a whole reaches multiple countries, including Japan, China, the U.S., the U.K., and Thailand. 

OmniFoods debuted OmniPork on mainland China a little less than one year ago. Since then, the company has expanded across that market, landing in both retailers and QSR chains like Taco Bell and Starbucks. 

This new funding round comes at a time when both investment and interest in plant-based meat is up worldwide. In a recent report, investor network FAIRR said that while the U.S. is still the largest market for alternative proteins, China, along with the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, is catching up. 

Not surprisingly, that means Green Monday is not the only company expanding its alt-protein business in that region. Beyond Meat just announced it will build production facilities in China. Starfield, which recently raised $10 million and launched in 20 restaurant chains across China, is another established player to contend with.

Green Monday said this funding round is the largest of its kind to date in Asia. It will use this new capital to expand research and development as well as its retail networks, and boost its production, distribution, and supply chain capabilities. It plans to increase global operations to over 20 markets across Asia, EMEA and North America, as well as open Green Common flagship stores in China and Singapore.