Unilever representatives expect sales of the company’s plant-based meat and dairy products to reach a value of EUR1bn during the next five to seven years, according to Reuters. This should be achieved with the growth of Unilever’s Vegetarian Butcher brand and the vegan varieties of Hellmann’s mayonnaise, as well as Magnum and Wall’s ice cream.
“It will require really, really high growth rates,” Faber told Reuters. “It’s a scary target honestly, but I think it’s important that we set it.”
While meat and dairy alternatives have seen great success in the recent years, Beyond Meat’s latest sales report, which were lower than expected, brought some concern to investors.
“Scale is going to make a difference over time,” Faber added. Unilever bought Vegetarian Butcher in 2019 and took it to more than 30 markets, turning it into the regional supplier for Burger King’s plant-based Whopper and nuggets.