Last Wednesday, Beyond Meat introduced a new product to the Chinese markets: meatless minced pork. Dubbed the "Beyond Pork”, the plant-based alternative is available at five restaurants in Shanghai for a limited time, with Beyond Meat China general manager Candy Chan stating that it is the company’s “first plant-based meat product created specifically for the Chinese market”.
Source: Fickling, 2020
This is not, however, the first time Chinese consumers are offered pork substitutes. Companies such as OmniFoods and Whole Perfect Food have already been offering consumers their take on plant-based pork products before the official introduction of Beyond Pork in China. And while Beyond Pork will continue to compete with more rival products as the meatless industry continues to expand, it may have a much more contender with an existing dominant role in Chinese cuisine since the ancient times: tofu. Used extensively in imitation poultry dishes, tofu comprise 1/5 of a typical Shanghainese’s diet; this trend, according to Bloomberg Opinion columnist David Fickling, remains unchanged since several decades ago. While the introduction of the Beyond Pork is welcome, it may be interesting to see how it fares in a country that has already had its own meat alternative hundreds of years ago.
Source: Fickling, 2020