Danish Crown, the largest pork company in Europe, is entering the plant-based protein industry.
According to a LiveKindly report, the company said it would start producing plant-based beef and vegan burgers. The key ingredients of the new products will be peas and beetroot.
The announcement comes just a few weeks after the company announced it would stop pig slaughter at one of its facilities in Germany.
Danish Crown’s decision to enter the plant-based protein market follows that of other traditional meat and poultry companies.
Last week, Brazil-based Marfrig Global Foods, a global leader in the beef industry, announced it had entered a partnership with Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) to begin producing alternative protein products. Another Brazil-based company, JBS, which is involved in poultry, beef and pork production, earlier this year launched a plant-based protein product called the Incredible Burger.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Maple Leaf Foods, previously known as a pork and poultry company, is in the process of building a new alternative protein plant in Shelbyville, Indiana, United States. When the company released its quarterly financial results on August 1, it was stated that Maple Leaf Foods is “pursuing aggressive new growth goals in plant-based protein, leveraging our market leadership.”
Tyson Foods, headquartered in the United States, has developed its own brand of plant-based protein products, Raised and Rooted. Tyson is the largest broiler company in the United States, and also a major producer of turkey, pork and beef products.
Danish Crown, according to the WATTAgNet Top Companies Database, is owned by 8,300 farmers in Denmark and holds a 1.9% share of the world pork market and 8.9% share of the European market. It is also the largest world pork exporter.
The company, which also does business in the beef sector, has operations in Denmark, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Poland.
