The Meatless Farm Co is set to create ten new jobs to support exports to the US. The vegan food manufacturer has made the decision on the back of a lucrative new deal with Whole Foods.
US market expansion
The vegan food production company has managed to secure listings in more than 450 Whole Foods Market stores – a brand known for a focus on natural products and popular with vegan customers – across the USA. This deal will commence this summer, and marks the seventh export market that Meatless Farm Co has managed to open since launching just two years ago.
This is no small deal for them – in fact, bringing in ten new staff members will bring their total headcount to 30 people, making this a 50% increase on current numbers. They have not yet revealed the nature of the jobs that they are offering, but be sure to look out for them being listed in our jobs that are advertised.
The Meatless Farm Co expects that by the end of 2019, overseas sales will make up 50% of their overall revenue. That represents very fast international expansion for a company which is still very young.
Eye on flexitarian expansion
CEO Rob Woodall said: “The US meat alternatives market is currently the largest in the world and is strategically very important for the category. In the UK, we’ve seen our products start to become an essential part of consumers’ everyday shop and we are looking to replicate that success with American shoppers.
“In April, a US meat alternatives manufacturer became the most successful listing on the Nasdaq this year, valuing at $3.8bn – a great sign of the market’s potential. This is why we’ve been internationally minded from the start.”
Flexitarianism – the term for people who eat a more flexible diet, experimenting with meatless alternatives as well as meat – has risen in the US as well as elsewhere in the world. This has created a lot of opportunities for companies such as The Meatless Farm Co. Woodall claims that 80% of its consumer base are flexitarians.
Kasper Vesth is the general manager of their North American division. He said: “The response to our products in the UK, Europe and the UAE has been phenomenal, and with the meat alternatives category in the USA moving so quickly, it was a natural choice to expand into the nation and we’re thrilled to be doing this with Whole Foods Market.”
Whole Foods Market’s Global Grocery Category Merchant, Parker Brody, commented that plant-based foods are gaining more and more traction with customers. He also noted that this is one of the most innovative categories in retail at the present moment.
The Meatless Farm Co is not just expanding overseas, either – they are also doing it in the UK. They just recently secured a deal with Morrisons to list their mince and fresh burger patties. We encourage any employers on a similar swift rise to check our details here on what we can do to help speed up the recruitment process.
