Century Pacific Food, Inc. (PSE:CNPF), one of the leading food and beverage companies in the Philippines, unveils its new range of plant-based innovations under its pioneering vegan brand, ‘unMEAT’.
In a bold move to broaden plant-based selections for consumers, CNPF entered the dairy-free category with a cheese alternative called ‘unCHEESE’, made with starches blended with natural flavors and plant-derived oils to closely match dairy cheese.
Nikki Dizon, Vice President and General Manager of Refrigerated Food, said, “Dairy alternatives is one of the fastest-growing segments in plant-based globally. While dairy-free cheese is relatively nascent, it is a critical segment that can unlock usage and trial for the entire category because of its wide range of applications. Of course, like any other plant-based alternative, it has to look, taste, feel and MELT like the real thing, and our ‘unCHEESE’ definitely hits the mark.”
For the initial launch of ‘unCHEESE’, CNPF partnered with affiliate company, Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc. (PSE:PIZZA), one of the leading full-service restaurant chains in the country. CNPF co-created PIZZA’s first plant-based pizza, the ‘Goood Taco Pizza’, contributing its 100% plant-based meat toppings and dairy-free cheese to the development of the new offering.
unMEAT’s new string of innovations also includes an e-commerce exclusive, a 100% plant-based heat-and-eat pizza – ‘unPIZZA’. This new offering comes in three flavors – Margherita, ‘unMEAT’ Lovers, and Sausage & Peppers, all made with unMEAT’s signature meat alternatives and unCHEESE.
On the retail end, CNPF debuted its vegan shelf-stable line with the launch of ‘unMEAT Luncheon Meat’ for export – the first plant-based food company in the Philippines to do so. CNPF leveraged its scale and expertise in shelf-stable food to develop the new plant-based format, using non-GMO plant-based proteins and ingredients.
“The shelf-stable plant-based format plays a huge role in developing specific markets because it drives accessibility. The price point is lower, making the switch to plant-based easier, and it’s less complex to distribute, leading to higher availability,” Dizon said.
To date, unMEAT’s shelf-stable products are already available in Singapore. According to Dizon, these will be made available domestically and in other key markets such as the United States and United Arab Emirates soon.
Dizon added, “The plant-based category has a huge potential, and essential to unlocking that value is through continuous innovation. As the category develops and awareness spreads, consumers will start to look for more. We started ‘unMEAT’ with 4 SKUs, the plant-based starting line. Now, we have a new range and exciting innovations in the pipeline, all designed to add diversity to the plant-based food choices of our consumers.”
CNPF launched ‘unMEAT’ in 2020 in response to the expanding consumer preference for healthier, better-for-you, and better-for-the-planet food choices. The company goes by the philosophy that eating plant-based should be easy, thus offerings are made and priced as close as possible to their analog counterparts.
unMEAT began with an institutional roll out through Shakey’s Pizza, which the CNPF immediately followed up with a retail launch across major supermarkets nationwide. In recent months, CNPF announced the global roll out of ‘unMEAT’ to key international markets, such as the United Arab Emirates. To date, unMEAT has landed in the UAE, United States, China, and Singapore.
