Tokyo, Japan-based Next Meats Co. has announced that it will introduce plant-based milk, pork, and tuna analogs in October.
NEXT Pork will be available as a ready-to-eat meal, with the imitation pork sliced and sautéed in a shoga-yaki (ginger pork) sauce. Details of the NEXT Tuna and NEXT Milk have not yet been released.
Ryo Shirai, co-founder of Next Meats Co. and CEO of Next Meats Holdings, said in a 3 September press release the companies are responding to "myriad" requests they received to develop a pork alternative, and to also release the company's first alternative fish product. Next Meats said the release of the NEXT Pork and NEXT Tuna is "an important step towards a more-sustainable future."
The company specializes in the research and development of Japanese-style meat alternatives, mainly made of textured soy and pea protein. Its current product line-up includes a NEXT branded burger, tandoori-flavored chicken analog, harami (Japanese for beef outside skirt), kalbi (beef short rib), and gyudon (a rice bowl topped with beef brisket and onion). The meat-free packages are made from processed soybeans, seasonings, and rapeseed oil.
In Japan, the company’s products are currently sold on its website and at seven supermarket chains, including major chains Ito-Yokado and Life; and at three restaurants, including in the furniture store IKEA. It has also collaborated with the algae product-maker Euglena to make NEXT-branded euglena, and its plant-based protein is used in Albirex retort-packed curry.
The company, established in June 2020, partnered with trading company Toyota-Tsusho Corporation in December. In January 2021, NEXT Meat Holdings began trading on the Over-The-Counter Stock Exchange in the United States under the symbol NXMH. News of the impending releases sent the stock up from USD 3.60 (EUR 3.06) per share to USD 4.15 (EUR 3.53), but it has since fallen back to USD 3.71 (EUR 3.16).
The company's products have been released in Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, and Hong Kong, and it is making preparations for future releases in the U.S., China, India, France, Italy, Spain, and Russia.
Photo courtesy of Next Meats Co.
