[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] As food companies are rapidly entering the 'alternative meat' market, Neocrema is showing strong performance. Neocrema has developed a cultured meat medium with enhanced safety.
As of 10:13 AM on the 20th, Neocrema is trading at 16,700 KRW, up 700 KRW (4.38%) from the previous trading day.
CJ CheilJedang announced on the 18th that it has positioned alternative meat and plant-based foods as future growth engines. The company plans to achieve sales of 200 billion KRW in this sector by 2025.
Shinsegae Food also entered the competition by opening a temporary store called 'The Better' in Apgujeong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 15th, selling alternative meat. Nongshim is also developing alternative meat and selling menu items using it at its vegan restaurant 'Forest Kitchen.'
Due to the spread of health awareness, animal protection, and vegetarianism, related demand is expected to continue increasing. Accordingly, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is reportedly positive about establishing guidelines for labeling alternative meat.
Cultured meat is produced by proliferating cells in a culture medium.
Recently, Neocrema introduced the world's first 'culture medium exclusively for cultured meat production' that improves food safety by applying new technology. This medium replaces the basic medium used in the proliferation and differentiation stages of muscle stem cells with food-grade ingredients.
The company explains that this is the world's first medium that can overcome food safety issues related to consuming cultured meat. Additionally, Neocrema is expected to launch four types of alternative meat products this year.
According to the Korea International Trade Association's International Trade and Commerce Research Institute, alternative meat is expected to account for 30% of the global meat market by 2030 and more than 60% by 2040, surpassing the size of the traditional meat market.
According to the global market research firm Euromonitor, the global plant-based food market reached 26.4 trillion KRW in 2020.
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