South Korea: The fast-growing alternative meat market needs to respond with safer livestock products

As social issues such as carbon neutrality and environmental issues are getting more and more attention, the meat substitute market is growing at a rapid pace. According to the Korea Rural Economic Research Institute, the size of the global alternative food market was $9.62 billion in 2018, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% from 2019 to 2025, reaching $17.8 billion by 2025. Accordingly, not only countries around the world but also large domestic companies are jumping into the alternative meat market one after another. All six major meat processing companies, including Cargill of the United States, have entered the alternative meat market. In Korea, CJ CheilJedang launched the plant-specialized brand ‘Plan Table’ in December last year, and Shinsegae Food also launched ‘Bere Meat’, an alternative meat brand in July last year. It is analyzed that the rapid growth of the global alternative food market is growing in terms of providing consumers with more diverse choices and ...