Meat processor JBS likely to set up plant-based food company

Brazilian meat processor JBS is likely to establish a new global company dedicated to the manufacture of plant-based food products.

In an interview, JBS CEO Gilberto Tomazoni told Bloomberg that meat from animals will become expensive and people need to turn to cheaper, vegetable-derived alternatives.

Tomazoni was quoted by the news agency as saying: “Plant-based will help us to reduce this protein gap with more affordable products compared with animal protein, which will be more premium. We see plant-based as an independent business in the future.”

It is estimated that by 2050, the world’s population would reach ten billion, and the meat from the animal will not be sufficient to meet the world’s protein requirements.

In 2019, JBS forayed into the plant-based meat market and is currently estimated to have 57% of the plant-based burger market in Brazil.

In Europe, JBS supplies faux chicken burgers through its Moy Park subsidiary.

The company currently offers ten plant-based products in the US under the OZO brand, which are presently retailed at more than 3,000 stores in the US.

Last year, the sales of OZO brand is reported to have increased by 300%.

Tomazoni added: “We have the basis to grow on plant-based: innovation capacity, investments in research, agreements with global companies for ingredient supplies, presence in retail.”

Demand for the faux burgers is reported to have increased after they were introduced by the plant-based meat substitute producers Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.

By setting up a dedicated plant-based company, JBS plans to up its meat-substitutes business.