Source: Meatless Farm

Decupper will be the brand’s first global CEO, in a role created especially for her

Meatless Farm has appointed a new global CEO, The Grocer can reveal.

Dior Decupper, formerly Upfield GM for Benelux and France, has taken the helm of the plant-based pioneer.

The role, which was created especially for her, would see her “lead the company’s quest to create a sustainable global food system”, said Meatless Farm, overseeing its “global growth strategy and excellent market execution”.

Its founder, Morten Toft Bech, meanwhile, would focus on “the company’s long-term sustainability impact agenda and investment” going forward.

Toft Bech called Decupper a “refreshing leader” with “a deep understanding of the plant-based category”.

”The company has grown to a size which needs someone with Dior’s experience and ability to lead multiple territories. I am extremely excited and can’t wait to work alongside her. Next year will be an important stage in our growth,” he added.

“The ingredients are here to build the brand and business into not just a market leader but a world changer,” Decupper said. “I’m very much looking forward to working with Morten and the team to fight for that status.”

The news comes on the back of a busy year for the brand, which has steadily expanded its range with launches such as its recent chicken breast alternatives, sausage patties and vegan sausage rolls.

It has also moved into the ingredients sector: March saw it open a separate plant-based protein supply division called Lovingly Made Ingredients, which is based out of a CAD$15m (£8.53m) factory in Calgary, Canada. Meatless Farm claims the facility is the first of its kind at scale.

It is currently expanding abroad with growth in Germany, Spain, the US and the Netherlands in 2021. Having lived in both Germany and Spain, Dior had a ”deep understanding of the cultural nuances” of those markets, it said.