Unlimit, Entering All Stores of US No.2 Retailer Albertsons

- Starting January 2023, steady-selling 3 products launched at Albertsons nationwide stores
- Recognized for competitiveness of Asian plant-based meat in the growing US plant-based meat market

Unlimit, a leading brand in the Asian alternative meat market, is accelerating its entry into the U.S. market. Unlimit announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with Albertsons, a major U.S. supermarket chain, and will begin selling its products in stores nationwide starting in early 2023. The products launching include three of Unlimit’s signature steady sellers: plant-based slices and pulled barbecue.

Albertsons operates over 2,300 stores across 34 U.S. states and Washington D.C., making it one of the country’s leading supermarket chains. In addition to Albertsons, the company owns 20 retail brands including Safeway, VONS, and Tom Thumb, and has recently been expanding its sales of plant-based foods. Unlimit will launch its products in 1,500 Albertsons-owned stores.

Unlimit Slices are alternative meats targeting beef chuck. While most plant-based products sold in the U.S. are beef patties, chicken nuggets, or sausages, Unlimit Slices can be enjoyed in various stir-fry dishes or grilled, and are suitable for a wide range of cuisines from East to West. Pulled pork is also gaining attention as a new form of alternative meat that is not commonly found in the market.

Unlimit products are made using upcycled raw materials such as defatted soy powder left after oil extraction from soybeans and rice bran, the husk produced during rice milling. The defatted soy powder is rich in protein, and rice bran contains 90% of the nutrients found in rice. Although these ingredients are highly nutritious, they could easily be discarded; however, with added technology, they have been reborn as upcycled products. Food upcycling, which adds value and ideas to by-products generated during food manufacturing to create new products, is becoming a new trend in the food industry. The global market size for upcycled foods reached approximately $53 billion (about 70 trillion KRW) in 2022 and is growing at an average annual rate of 4.6%. Unlimit is the only alternative meat brand utilizing upcycled ingredients.

Since entering the U.S. market earlier this year, Unlimit has shown remarkable progress. In a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign held last May, the company reached its funding goal within three hours and achieved over 1000% of the target amount. Following this, Unlimit continued sales on Amazon, receiving positive reviews with an average rating above 4.5. The brand has also been available through various online and offline channels such as H Mart, Grocery Outlet, and GTFO it’s vegan, connecting with U.S. consumers. Starting with sales at Albertsons, Unlimit plans to expand its retail channels further. A Unlimit representative stated, “The plant-based food market in the U.S. is the largest in the world. In particular, sales of plant-based meat have grown by 74% during the same period, leading the growth of the plant-based food market.” They added, “We are pleased to introduce Korea’s representative plant-based meat alongside pioneering food tech products like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. Moving forward, we plan to diversify our channels by expanding into retail as well as food service to meet U.S. consumers.”