Century Pacific Food, Inc. (CNPF) is now exporting its plant-based products under the unMEAT brand to the United States, starting with its launching in top retail chain Walmart.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, CNPF said, the unMEAT Meat-Free Luncheon Meat-Style product has been available since last January in more than 2,000 Walmart stores across the US where plant-based products are enjoying greater acceptance.

“This vote of confidence from Walmart affirms that we are heading in the right direction with respect to our plant-based business,” said CNPF Chief Operating Officer Greg Banzon.

Aside from Walmart, unMEAT is distributed in the United States through HEB, Harris Teeter, Meijer, and select natural and grocery stores. It is also available in specialty e-commerce sites such as GTFO, It’s Vegan, Weee! and Vegan Black Market.

Banzon added that, “We believe in the long-term potential of plant-based alternatives, and brands like unMEAT have a role to play to sustainably address the food requirements of an increasingly growing global population.”

“Consumers are looking for healthier and better-for-the-planet food options. As a protein delivery company, we need to be present in the plant-based segment and innovate in this space to democratize the category,” he noted.

Banzon said “Introducing an accessible shelf-stable format priced at parity to meat analogs can change the game, attract more users, and hopefully unlock the segment’s potential.”

In response to current skepticism after the initial hype around the category, Banzon said “we knew there was a lot of noise and high expectations about alternative proteins in the past few years. Now expectations are having to be tamed.”

“We never bought into the growth-at-all-cost mantra, but we still believe in the tremendous opportunity, and we think the plant-based meat market will have a long term double-digit growth rate. Our business plans are calibrated for this kind of market environment, and we believe we can provide delicious but more affordable options to this market,” he stressed.

Starting with a refrigerated line in 2020, CNPF has expanded its unMEAT portfolio to include new plant-based food formats.

The company rolled out a shelf-stable unMEAT luncheon meat line and a plant-based dairy alternative unCHEESE in 2021, while it launched a domestic breakfast range and a seafood alternative unMEAT Fish-free Tuna last year.

“We are continuously developing and testing out new unMEAT products to expand the range and to provide consumers with more plant-based options. As we work on increasing our reach in key international markets to further grow the brand, we are also looking to develop products that would cater to local tastes” Banzon said.