Vegan Pork Leader OmniPork Launches Across UK At 119 Sainsbury’s Supermarket Outlets

Green Monday’s OmniFoods alternative protein brand has officially launched its OmniPork product range in the UK in the chilled foods aisles of leading UK supermarket Sainsbury’s. This retail launch is part of Hong Kong-based OmniFoods’ larger expansion plan for getting its vegan meat analogues to more locations around the world and follows the company’s recent debut in the US market.

OmniFood’s OmniPork Mince product as well as the newer OmniPork strips are now available at 119 Sainsbury’s locations across the UK. Both products are made using OmniFoods’ 100% vegan pork analogue and include ingredients such as soy, peas, shiitake mushrooms, and rice. The company says its products contain less saturated fat and fewer calories than animal-based pork. They are also free of cholesterol. 

A ‘new dimension’ of plant-based foods

The first OmniFoods product, OmniPork Mince, originally debuted in 2018 in Hong Kong and quickly expanded to other markets in Asia, including China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, among others. The products made their first US retail appearance this past August when they landed in Sprouts and Whole Foods stores nationwide.

The company slashed retail prices of OmniPork by double-digits this year, with OmniPork Mince seeing a 22% drop and OmniPork Strip and OmniPork Luncheon lowering 22% and 17%, respectively.

OmniFoods launched OmniPork in the UK in January of 2021, to coincide with the Veganuary campaign. The company is currently running its Big Vegan Pig Out event in which 21 different restaurants across the country are serving up limited-edition OmniPork dishes. 

“Together with our many restaurant partners, we believe we are bringing a whole new dimension of plant-based offerings that will accelerate the movement.” David Yeung, founder and CEO of Green Monday Holdings and OmniFoods, said in a statement.

Cutting down meat consumption

Recently released data from an Oxford study says meat consumption in the UK has dropped 17% over the last decade. However, the same study, which surveyed more than 15,000 participants, noted that a much larger decrease is needed in overall meat consumption if the UK is to reach its national food strategy goal of cutting meat intake by 30% over the next 10 years.

“Our current appetite for meat is unsustainable,” the report stated, adding that 85% of farmland is used to feed livestock, but animal protein only provides 32% of the calories consumed.

Having more plant-based options available to consumers on retail shelves could help UK consumers cut down on traditional animal meat. OmniPork’s versatility as a product could work in its favor, too. Like traditional animal-based pork, the OmniFoods version can be seasoned, steamed pan-fried, deep-fried, stuffed, or crumbled.

There isn’t yet a major plant-based pork brand dominating British grocery store shelves. Spain’s Heura, which is developing vegan pork products, has done a British expansion. For the most part, however, the market is fairly wide open at this point, which is good news for OmniFoods and its OmniPork expansion to retail.

Elsewhere, OmniPork is available at a variety of stores, restaurants, and other hospitality venues around the world including Woolworth, Sainsbury’s, Starbucks, McDonald’s Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific Airlines, Disneyland Hotel, Four Seasons Hotels, Conrad Hotels, Grand Hyatt Hotels, and Pizza Express.  

Lead image courtesy of OmniFoods.