Delegates discuss the potential of and trends in plant-based products at a seminar held by the Business Association of High Quality Vietnamese Goods in HCM City on Thursday. — VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Demand for meat alternatives and plant-based products has grown significantly and will continue to rise in the global market, including Việt Nam, experts have said.

A study by US market intelligence and consultancy firm Polaris Market Research said the global plant-based meat market is likely to grow at 15.8 per cent a year to reach US$35.8 billion by 2027 compared to $11.1 billion in 2019.

The main factors driving the trend are health concerns due to the upsurge in food-borne illnesses through animal meat, awareness of food safety and nutrition and environmental concerns. 

In Việt Nam, according to global data and consulting company Kantar Worldpanel, consumers are eating and drinking plant-based alternatives that are perceived to be natural and healthier.

Speaking at a seminar on green food potentials and trends in HCM City last week, Hồ Thanh Nhiên, founder of Bewina Company, a plant-based food supplier, said with their living standards rising Vietnamese are increasingly concerned about the safety of their daily meals and drinks.

Consumers have in recent years become interested in safe, organic and plant-based foods, with many opting for a vegetarian diet, she said.

Vũ Kim Hạnh, chairwoman of the Business Association of High Quality Vietnamese Goods, said: “The plant-based food market is attractive.

“Being an agricultural country, Vietnamese firms could exploit this niche market at home and abroad.”

Nhiên, saying the global plant-based meat industry has become lucrative in the last five years, hoped that one day it would source everything from Việt Nam.

With more people shifting away from meats towards cleaner, plant-based protein alternatives, many food manufacturers ranging from start-ups to leading consumer goods, and even meat companies, are embracing plant-based meat products to meet the demand, she added.

Firms are also conducting research to come up with kitchenware that help retain the nutrition and colour of foods and do not generate toxins during cooking, speakers told the seminar.

Lý Ngọc Minh, general director of Minh Long I Co Ltd, said kitchen utensils help increase the taste of food, but cooking also affects the quality of food, directly affecting human health.

That is why his company constantly researches and develops premium porcelain cooking product lines (macrobiotic cookware) which do not need water when stir-frying or steaming food, he claimed. — VNS