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TOP 5 Plant-Based Foods You Should Check Out!
Plant-based foods that are spreading widely and mainly in Europe and the US, are rushing their wave to Japan. Following the new trend in the food industry, there are several leading companies in the plant-based food industry.
Today, we introduce 5 brands (companies) in the vegan food industry with the most searched on Google. These 5 companies are analyzed and announced by Maxima Kitchen Equipment.
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5th Follow Your Heart
Follow Your Heart was founded in 1970 in the US and has been at the forefront of the industry as a plant-based brand for over 50 years, with monthly searches is around 32,000. In addition to their product lineup, that is including vegan cheese and vegan mayonnaise, they offer powdered products that can create vegan eggs. In the US, their products are available in Walmart, Whole Foods Market, Target, and Sprouts Farmers Market.
In 2021, the company was acquired by Danone, which is familiar for its yogurt among Japanese people.
4th Eat Just
Eat Just is a food tech brand in the US established in 2011, that develops egg substitute “JUST Egg” worldwide with monthly searches is about 94,000. They use mung beans as the main ingredient in creating vegan eggs. Their products are available at Walmart, Food Lion, Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Kroger.
Besides the news that the parent company is currently preparing for an IPO of 30 billion yen, they are a leading plant-based food company that makes breakthroughs continuously by building international-scale factories in South Korea and South Africa, etc.
3rd Quorn
Quorn is a plant-based food brand based in the United Kingdom that launched the world’s first product using mycoprotein*. Entering the market in 1985, its presence is still visible in nearly 95,000 monthly searches. Their products are available at TESCO, Sainsbury’s, ALDI, Morrisons, and ASDA.
They announced that they are willing to strengthen its expansion in the United States, enter the food and beverage sector, and establish a research center in Dallas, Texas. Can’t wait for their announcement of chicken products that will come up!
*Mycoprotein is a filamentous fungus made from glucose and other nutrients, which was developed in the United Kingdom in the 1980s due to concerns about the food crisis.
2nd Oatly
The top runner in the plant-based milk industry, a Sweden-based company Oatly comes in second place. Boasting 200,000 monthly searches and 2 million annual search hits, the company that was established in 1993 has been successful in business with sales of US $ 146 million in its second phase (up 53.3% year-on-year), the IPO exceeding the target of US $ 1.65 billion, securing the US $ 2.12 billion, and planning to build the world’s largest oat milk factory in the United Kingdom. Their products are being used at Starbucks, Dunkin’, and Peet’s Coffee in the US, in addition to availability in some supermarkets in the US such as Costco, Sprouts Farmers Market, Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods Market. In Japan, their products are available at Rakuten, Amazon, and some retail shops.
1st Beyond Meat
Maybe we can mention them as the most famous plant-based brand in the world!
Established in the US in 2012, Beyond Meat gains a lot of attention worldwide which can be seen from the fact that the number of searches is three times the average value of the seven brands. Boasting more than 422,000 monthly searches, their new product that launched this year “Beyond Chicken” has already been introduced in more than 400 restaurants.
In the US, their products are available at some restaurants such as Del Taco, Denny’s, Dunkin’, KFC, and Subway, and supermarkets such as Costco, Sprouts Farmers Market, Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods.
In addition to the acquisition of 109 trademarks, products from fish and shellfish, dairy products, eggs, and more will be added to the product lineup.
Summary
Besides these 5 companies, other plant-based brands attract attention worldwide, such as Impossible Foods and OmniFoods.
International-scale plant-based companies that enter Japan’s market are still very few and we can’t wait for their expansion to Japan! If you happen to go abroad in the future, make sure to check out their products!
See Also
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6 Best Vegan Cakes in Tokyo for the Sweet Toothers!
