Thailand-based CP Foods believes that over the next 10 years, the trend of alternative protein will continue to grow in importance within the global food and beverage sector, but traditional animal meat is not set to disappear off the books just yet.
“The key thing with animal meat products such as chicken and pork today is that the general public is concerned about the potential food safety issues associated with these,” CP Foods Executive Vice President for International Trade and Business Development Anat Julintron told the floor at the recent ThaiFex-Anuga Asia 2022 event via a live virtual spotlight session.
“The main worry is about things like hormones, antibiotics and other modifiers, and CP Foods has thus taken special care to use none of these when rearing the animals and producing our meat.
“[We are certain that animal meat] will continue to be an important source of protein in the near future and have worked hard to produce fresh meat with high food safety and high nutritional value, such as our Benja Chicken and Cheeva Pork which are known as award-winning items made from superfood-fed animals raised with high animal welfare standards.
“In addition to antibiotics-free meat, we have also developed probiotic-fed meats under the CP SELECTION for consumers that are in search of that extra healthy quality in their meat, so that probiotics can be gotten without needing additional medication or supplements.
“Feeding the animals with these good ingredients such as brown rice or fish oil is key, as it will help to develop good quality meat and also good, healthy fat – and the fact is that many consumers still tend to want to eat fat when they eat pork, so to maximize the health value, it is important to have good fats.”
That is not to say that the firm is taking its foot off the pedal when it comes to alternative protein, as despite its traditional meat focus, it has also launched its own plant-based line of products dubbed Meat Zero.
“We do realise that alternative proteins are coming up as a very major trend and segment in the F&B industry, so we definitely want to lead in this area as well,” said Julintron.
“So for our plant-based alternative protein products we strived to ensure that these have the same taste, texture, flavour and so on with regular meat items, but with less cholesterol. We have a wide range including common favourites like chicken nuggets, burger patties and also a unique crispy pork product which has been said to have 90% similarity to conventional crispy pork.”
Convenience and more
CP Foods has also made a name for itself in the convenience foods category, especially when it comes to ready-to-eat (RTE) meals including shrimp wonton, spaghetti, chicken products, rice dishes and more.
In this sense, the firm also believes that convenience is also going to continue to be an important trend driving consumer purchases over the next decade, and has no intention of slowing down innovation in this area to cater to these demands.
“RTE and RTC products are definitely gaining a lot more consumer interest for their convenience benefits, and it has also become increasingly important to ensure that these products are also healthy and nutritious to keep consumers coming back,” he said.
“CP Foods is the global leader in terms of RTE shrimp wontons, and our wonton noodles are in the top spot in the United States, which is one of the major F&B trend-setting markets globally.”
In addition, the firm also highlighted that items such as healthy functional drinks and jelly products, as well as products that aid home cooking (e.g. sauces and seasonings) will continue to play an important role over the next decade.
Stay tuned for our exclusive interview with CP Foods on its Meat Zero range, coming soon.
