Meat+Poultry - July 2019 - 10

BUSINESS NOTES

CONAGRA BRANDS BREAKS
INTO MEAT ALTERNATIVES
Add Conagra Brands Inc. to the roster
of food companies that see significant
upside in the market for meat
alternatives. Nestle S.A. and Tyson
Foods Inc. both recently outlined the
opportunities they see in the emerging
category. On June 27, Conagra Brands
threw its hat into the ring.
"Based on our analysis of product
substitution in other categories,
almond milk for cow's milk as an
example, we can reasonably predict
the opportunity for plant-based meat
alternatives," said Sean Connolly,
chairman and CEO, during a conference call with financial analysts to
discuss fiscal 2019 results. "And here
is where it gets really exciting because
the opportunity shouldn't be viewed
as just a percentage of fresh meat. We
think the opportunity is a percentage of
all foods that contain meat.
"Based on this view, our analysis
shows that plant-based meat alternatives could achieve a 15 percent share
of both of these market segments. That
means the opportunity here could be
in the range of $30 billion just in the
US. And you know, there's even more
opportunity internationally."
To capitalize on the perceived
opportunity Conagra Brands plans to
leverage the Gardein brand, which was
a part of the Pinnacle Foods acquisition

MEAT+ POULTRY | 07.19 | www.meatpoultry.com

CATTLE CARE PROGRAM GETS
TEMPLE GRANDIN APPROVAL
The long-awaited creation of a Temple
Grandin, Ph.D., certified animal
welfare program has finally become a
reality. Developed with the guidance
of Grandin, Food Safety Net Services
Certification and Audit (FSNS C&A)
announced Nolan Ryan Beef as the
first beef company to implement its
Temple Grandin Responsible Cattle
Care Program. The program claims
to be "driven by science, founded in
practicality and dedicated to continuing
Dr. Grandin's tireless service to the meat
industry," according to a statement.
Grandin, a respected humane
handling consultant, and FSNS
officials agree that livestock handlers
throughout the food chain must be
committed to animal husbandry and
demonstrate their commitment through
third-party verification.
For Nolan Ryan Beef, the new audit
supplements its third-party animal
welfare audits designed to monitor
humane handling at the processing
plant. According to the statement,
"During this audit, animals are
inspected upon arrival to the plant for
lameness, health condition, injuries,
cleanliness, and signs of overall level
of care from their previous point of
ownership. The audit is intended to
ensure the company only sources cattle
from producers that meet established
animal welfare standards."
"We understand the proper care
and handling of livestock is an ethical
responsibility for everyone involved
in this industry," said Perry Coughlin,
president and CEO of Nolan Ryan Beef.
"Not only does it make good business
sense, but it aligns with our mission
and core values." 
Producers' participation in the
program is on a volunteer basis and the
audits are conducted using an objective
scoring system at slaughtering
facilities. Audits provide an assessment
of the animals using criteria that
quantifies factors such as lameness,
injuries, cleanliness and internal health.   

Conagra Brands

10

in 2018. Connolly said Gardein currently
has sales of more than $170 million, is
the second largest brand in the meat
alternative space and that the brand
has quadrupled in size over the past
four years.
The brand has two manufacturing
plants in Richmond, British Columbia,
and Hagerstown, Maryland. Additional
processing capacity is expected to
be operational this fall and will give
Gardein the ability to grow, according
to Conagra.
"We anticipate that capacity will
be used to produce more than just
burgers," Connolly said. "While plantbased burgers are getting a lot of press
these days, it's instructive to take a step
back and look at what's really going on
in meat consumption.
Innovation on tap from the company
includes a meatless burger, which
Connolly called an underdeveloped
part of the Gardein business. Conagra
also plans to introduce meatless hot
dogs and sausage products.
Cobranding also will be central
to Conagra's go-to-market strategy as
it pairs Gardein products with such
brands as Healthy Choice, Birds Eye,
Marie Callendar's and Udi's.
Connolly emphasized that Gardein's
history and established presence in the
meat alternative market makes Conagra
Brands well positioned to capitalize on
consumer interest in the category.
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Meat+Poultry - July 2019

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