HONG KONG (Reuters) – Impossible Foods is rolling out its meatless pork product in Hong Kong in October and Singapore later in the year as it tries to bolster its footprint in the fast-growing plant-based food space.
The California-based company said the ground minced pork substitute would be available in 120 restaurants in Hong Kong from Oct 4.
The product will also be sold in some Hong Kong grocery stores as ready to eat meals. The company is also debuting the product in New York’s Manhattan restaurant Momofuku Ssam Bar from Sept. 23.
Reuters reported in April that Impossible, which makes faux beef products, is preparing for a public listing which could value the U.S. company at around $10 billion or more. Impossible is exploring going public through an initial public offering (IPO) in the next 12 months or a merger with a so-called special acquisition company (SPAC).
“It’s a natural step in evolution and growth of our business but the timing is really (to be decided) and we will see how it goes over the course of the next year,” Dennis Woodside, president of Impossible Foods, told Reuters in an interview.
Impossible’s pork product, which is made from the same key ingredient as its beef product– soy -enters the Hong Kong market at a time when homegrown brands, including Green Monday’s Omnipork have already made inroads into the pork substitutes market in Asia’s financial hub.
Impossible’s product will be priced higher than animal pork to start with but the company said it aims to continually drive down prices as it has done for its Impossible Beef products.
“We are optimizing our manufacturing process, really every month, and continually growing our manufacturing footprint and as we fill up our factories that is when we can lower unit cost,” Woodside said.
(Reporting by Farah Master; editing by Aurora Ellis)
