Axiom Foods enters Brazilian plant protein market
A keen advocate and leader in the plant-based market, Axiom Foods, has entered into a distribution agreement with ingredients supplier, Univar Solutions Brazil.
Plant proteins lead Brazil
With the global plant protein demand expected to reach $14.5bn by 2025, Axiom Foods will present its selection of plant-based ingredients to the Brazilian marketplace. The company will appeal to Brazilian consumers by providing functional plant proteins that offer meat alternatives. In 2018, the Latin American country witnessed exponential growth in the plant-based protein sphere, The Good Food Institute reveals.
Hailed as the 5th most important market in the global healthy food industry, Brazil’s rapidly growing market and its large animal agriculture industry are continuing to create shifts in consumers’ approach to meat.
With health and animal welfare cited as the top reasons for Brazilian consumers reducing their meat intake and turning towards plant-based alternatives, Brazil is a receptive market for new manufacturers and brands on the plant-based scene.
Meat alternatives gathering pace
Univar Solutions Brazil is leading Axiom Foods’ presence in South America. In Brazil, 14% of the population states it is vegan or vegetarian. Reductions in meat consumption, combined with the soy protein market decreasing by an average of 18% a year, indicates the rising demand for plant-based alternatives.
Market intelligence provider, Euromonitor International, revealed that Brazil's plant-based beverage market has also grown more than 40%, highlighting the appetite for plant-based options among Brazilian buyers.
Axiom Foods will now seek to grow its plant protein presence in the rice, pumpkin seed and pea protein segments by promoting their vitamin and mineral-rich contents.
“We're at the forefront of pea and rice protein becoming the new meat,” emphasizes Axiom Foods.
Global roll-out
The nutritional aspect of plant-based food is a strong influencer for consumers who are exploring vegetarianism or flexitarianism. Amid the growing plant-based marketplace, Axiom Foods are expanding production, developing new patents and SKUs, and clinical trials to bring sustainable nutrient-dense ingredients to Brazil.
The deal with Univar solutions Brazil comes after Axiom Foods signed a distribution agreement with Univar solutions for the US, which will see its portfolio of plant-based food and beverage ingredients entering previously untapped and markets.
US-based Axiom Foods has also signed distribution agreements with German food ingredient provider, Brenntag Food & Nutrition, and Europe and China-focused nutrition ingredient supplier, Healy Group.
Commenting on the company’s decision to enter into global distribution agreements, David Janow, CEO of Axiom Foods, enthuses: “The timing is right, as Axiom is uniquely prepared to support the increased pressure on manufacturers to supply large quantities of both nutrient-dense and functional plant-based meat and dairy alternatives.”
