Boss Of Unilever Says The World Is Shifting To Plant-Based Diet

 One of the biggest food companies in the world Unilever has said that expanding its range of plant-based products is one of its new strategic priorities for 2021.

The corporation, which owns popular brands such as |Marmite, Ben & Jerry, Magnum, Dove wants to make £865m (€1bn) a year on plant-based food products in five to seven years’ time. Today the company makes €200m a year.

Consumers' lifestyle have changed during the pandemic. The number of people reducing meat consumption is growing around the world.  

 Unilever’s chief executive,Alan Hope said the rise of plant-based foods is an “inexorable” trend. 

“We are seeing in every single country in the world a shift towards more plant-based diets, even in emerging markets,” he said.

Unilever has been launching plant-based versions of its existing brands since 2018. The company created vegan Magnum and vegan Ben & Jerry ice-cream, Hellman’s vegan mayonnaise. 

More recently, Unilever also acquired a plant-based maker The Vegetarian Butcher a wellness brand Liquid IV and SmartyPants vitamins to expand on beauty and nutrition market. 

According to Barclays, the value of the global plant-based food and drink market could soar by more than 1,000% to exceed £100bn until 2030.