Plant-based brand The Meatless Farm Co is now stocked across the big four mults, after securing a listing for its products in Tesco.
The Leeds-based brand will start rolling out its plant-based 400g mince, 227g two-pack fresh burger patties and 300g six-pack sausages in 117 of Tesco’s largest stores this month – pitching them directly against US rival Beyond Meat’s burgers and sausages in a UK supermarket for the first time (rsp: £3, £2.50 and £2.50 respectively).
The listing comes as the latest Kantar figures [12 w/e 19 April] showed demand for meat alternatives had risen by more than 25% in value terms compared with last year. A third of carnivorous Brits were also eating more plant-based food during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a OnePoll survey of 2,000 UK adults on 20 May for the brand.
With Meatless Farm value sales up 210% year on year [Nielsen 12 w/e 21 March] and the brand expanding into new overseas markets, now was a “crucial moment” in its development, it said as plant-based shifted into the mainstream.
“Tesco is the UK’s largest food retailer, and its support for Meatless Farm shows that plant-based is no longer a challenger category but fast becoming part of daily British food culture,” said Meatless Farm founder Morten Toft Bech.
“Tesco’s reach means more consumers will have the chance to try plant-based alternatives and start to make small changes to the way they eat,” he added. “With more and more people swapping to meat-free, added to our constant focus on innovation, health and sustainability, Meatless Farm is well positioned to continue growing at a phenomenal pace.”
The brand’s expansion into Tesco follows the launch of its first ever national TV advertising campaign last month, and a recipe change in March after it ditched soy from its burgers and sausages and replaced it with a pea-based mix.
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