One of Europe’s largest plant-based food producers, Plant & Bean, has unveiled plans to open a manufacturing site in Boston, Lincolnshire.

The new 65-acre site will be Europe’s largest plant-based ‘meat’ facility and will have a planned initial capacity of 55,000 tonnes, which the company says will help it accelerate its global expansion.

Plant & Bean said it will aim to replicate the new UK site with additional production facilities in the USA next year, and then Asia in 2022.

Edwin Bark, CEO of Plant & Bean, commented: “Right now, sixty-five percent of consumers do not eat plant-based meats due to price and quality. With our two-pronged approach, we believe we are best placed to make the meaningful change required to tackle these issues. With our progressive global manufacturing strategy, brands will finally have the means to scale high-volume product ranges in order to lower the price-point for consumers.”

Partnerships confirmed

Plant & Bean also revealed new strategic partnerships with global food product development company, Griffith Foods, as well as ingredients supplier Gushen.

The company has also formed ties with the Wageningen University & Research (The Netherlands), and the food and sustainability focused Singapore Institute of Technology.

Commenting on the partnerships, Bark added: “In the past year, I believe there has been a realisation amongst the plant-based meat industry that if we’re to penetrate the mass-market, the speed of innovation needs to increase dramatically, and that no one company can do it alone.

“Our collaborative approach has garnered significant interest across the food ecosystem, and we will continue to grow our network of industry-leading expertise in order to achieve this objective.”