Green Monday to expand plant-based footprint with Thailand and China launches

The firm recently won the start-up award at THAIFEX-World of Food Asia trade show.

Speaking to FoodNavigator-Asia​ at the event, co-founder of Green Monday, David Yeung said it would officially launch Omnimince, the minced version of Omnipork in Thailand by the end of Q3 and in China during the end of Q3 or early Q4.

Famous for introducing the Beyond Meat plant-based burger, Green Monday is already working with restaurant partners in Singapore and Taiwan, and Green Common – its retail and café arm – is also available in Hong Kong.

“We are bringing this whole portfolio of plant-based brands throughout Asia, in Hong Kong where we are based, in Macau, Singapore, Thailand, China, Taiwan, and the Philippines. All these countries will have these products by the end of this year with Beyond Meat and of course Beyond Burger,”​ Yeung said.

In Thailand, the firm will kick off the launch with Beyond Meat, Omnimince, and vegan cheese with a list of hotels, restaurants, and retail partners.

During the second phase of the launch, it will offer more types of plant-based products, including Gardein’s Fishless fish.

As for China, the firm plans to bring the products to the hotels, restaurants, big catering companies which serve corporate cafeteria, supermarkets, and online shops.

Depending on the country, Yeung added that it usually took three to six months to enter a new market.

As for home ground Hong Kong, Green Common’s outlets will be expanded from nine to about 12 or 13 locations this year.

“Green Common is not just a supermarket, but a cafe and restaurant, we define and create a new lifestyle and by doing that, we also create a new market.”​

Production sites​

Omnipork is one of the main products targeting the Asian market.

Currently, the R&D and upstream work is done in the North America, while the downstream production is done in Thailand.

“Because Omnipork targets ​Asian market, we know from day one that China and Asia are our main market. Of course, we want the production to be in Asia as ​well…Once we know the demand, we will be constantly exploring that,”​ Yeung said.

As for challenges faced when introducing plant-based products in Asia, he outlined a number of key points, including regulatory and cultural aspects.

“For example, the Thais’ palettes are different from the Chinese and Korean, so it requires a lot of effort to think of how to adapt locally…which is a huge factor to determine how successful the product launch will be.”​

He hoped to accelerate the uptake of plant-based foods with Green Common acting as a one-stop hub for a range of innovative vegan offerings.

“For example, if customers want ​dressing, we also carry "Follow your Heart" dressing, everything we do is vegan.​

“This makes us a very simple solution for all the partners who want to launch plant-based in their menu or in their supermarkets. That is a huge benefit.”​