“we Don’t See Chilled Working. We’re More Bullish On Frozen” – V2food’s Tim York Sees Opening In Us Plant-based Meat

V2Food CEO Tim York. Credit: V2Food

With nan prospects for plant-based nutrient successful nan US successful question, Australian master V2Food has snapped up California-based alt-chicken patient Daring Foods.

V2Food, which started business successful Australia successful 2019, has built a starring position successful its location marketplace and, contempt nan challenges facing plant-based nutrient successful nan US, remains a believer successful nan class there, CEO Tim York tells Just Food.

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York, a erstwhile CEO astatine Australian confectioner Darrell Lea, explains wherever he sees committedness for plant-based nutrient successful nan US and sets retired why V2Food has besides teamed up pinch Japanese group Ajinomoto successful Africa and Asia.

Dean Best (DB): What sparked nan move for Daring? How agelong was V2Food moving connected nan deal?

Tim York (TY): We astir apt first started looking astatine it successful November past twelvemonth and then, benignant of March, sewage rather superior connected it, did owed diligence and nan proviso chain. We past needed to spot a mates of impervious points successful nan proviso concatenation up until July. Once we knew that we could negociate nan proviso concatenation modulation that we’re looking for, everything happened beautiful quickly.

DB: What parts of nan proviso concatenation were you looking at?

TY: We were looking astatine really we could bring much of nan manufacturing into nan US. At nan moment, nan proviso concatenation is predominantly retired of Europe.

DB: Have immoderate changes started?

TY: It’s successful nan process of happening now, truthful wrong nan adjacent 3 to six months.

DB: How would you picture Daring’s beingness wrong nan US plant-based nutrient market?

TY: It’s really strong, pinch astir 45% marketplace stock but only successful nan tiniest conception successful nan plant-based nutrient marketplace there. In uncrumbed chickenhearted products, it’s ascendant but uncrumbed chickenhearted products equates to astir 3% of nan full plant-based market. We spot a really beardown opportunity to return a really beardown marque and turn nan formats and macromolecule types that it sells.

DB: It’s a tricky clip to beryllium investing successful plant-based nutrient successful nan US.

TY: Why do you opportunity that?

DB: The caller capacity of nan category, request slowing, location has been a number of companies that person travel retired and said it’s go a tougher spot to do business.

TY: Yes, I mean, if you look astatine nan US market, nan caller chilled class has surely had a batch of headwinds and you’ve seen that conception driblet by 20% per annum, astir apt for nan past 3 years successful a row. Fundamentally, we don’t really spot nan chilled class moving successful nan US. We’re overmuch much bullish connected frozen. If you look astatine nan stiff category, mostly it has been successful either single-digit maturation aliases single-digit diminution for astir of that clip and it’s surely held up a batch amended than fresh.

DB: Why hasn’t nan stiff conception faced nan aforesaid headwinds and what gives you assurance that portion of nan plant-based nutrient marketplace successful nan US tin prime up?

TY: The stiff portion of nan marketplace was much of an improvement than a revolution. You’ve had brands for illustration Morningstar and Quorn successful that portion of nan shop for many, galore years, whereas nan chilled class benignant of had nan large hype rhythm of 2015 to 2020 and past nan regression station that. We do deliberation stiff is surely a overmuch much unchangeable benignant of single-digit-growth area of nan shop but nan portion of nan class we deliberation is going to turn faster than thing is successful nan cleaner-label products. Daring is simply a leader successful that abstraction wherever each of its products mostly person 5 ingredients successful them, which make them 1 of nan shortest ingredients lists successful nan category.

DB: That speaks to immoderate of nan macro issues nan full class is facing complete really processed nan user perceives nan products are, rightly aliases wrongly.

TY: Yes. It’s been good spoken by galore group that taste, price, nutrition, convenience are nan 4 cardinal drivers of nan category. Fundamentally, we spot nan sensation of products is mostly location aliases thereabouts. Price is still a problem and needs much work, which is astir apt going to beryllium solved done scale. Nutrition – and nutrition intends galore things to galore group – but fundamentally, a shorter constituent database does look to beryllium shorthand for a simpler, healthier product.

The only 2 brands of standard that are increasing successful nan US are Impossible and Daring.

DB: Many of Daring’s products person sewage 5 ingredients but will further renewal of nan scope beryllium connected your to-do list?

TY: We surely look astatine nan crumbed products and we spot location are improvements we tin make location done immoderate of nan intelligence spot we’ve got. Then, erstwhile you look astatine moving into a batch of formats, 1 of nan ingredients that everyone has to usage coming is methylcellulose and we’ve been moving connected immoderate methylcellulose-free binders, which we deliberation will really thief to unlock nan clean-label declare into a full batch of caller formats.

DB: Did nan Daring business turn successful its past financial year?

TY: It’s grown each twelvemonth since it launched and grew astatine complete 10% past twelvemonth successful nan US. The only 2 brands of standard that are increasing successful nan US are Impossible and Daring.

DB: Why do you deliberation Daring’s managed to do that?

TY: I conscionable deliberation they’ve had a nicely curated marque and it has a very elemental USP, having a cleaner constituent platform than everyone other and that’s nan portion of nan marketplace that’s resonated astir pinch consumers.

DB: The rising liking successful macromolecule is said to beryllium boosting request for nutrient successful nan US. That’s different challenge, isn’t it?

TY: I deliberation a different measurement of looking astatine it is consumers’ appetite for macromolecule is conscionable increasing and increasing and nan full logic plant-based nutrient was first invented was really to look astatine really do you lick nan increasing needs of macromolecule successful nan world? Fundamentally, there’s conscionable not capable land, fertiliser, etc., to let each that macromolecule to travel from beef. We’ve ne'er sought to beryllium an ‘or’ to animal protein. We’re an ‘and’. We decidedly spot that, arsenic much macromolecule is consumed, plant-based nutrient conscionable has a bigger domiciled successful that, successful that conversation.

We decidedly are medium- to semipermanent large believers successful nan category. We spot nan modulation is going to return longer than I deliberation immoderate of nan commentators felt in, say, astir 2015 to 2020. People were talking astir this replacing up to 30% of animal nutrient successful 5 years. That is fundamentally not true. We spot it arsenic a generational alteration that’ll return 30 years to grow.

Daring plant-based chickenhearted pieces connected waste successful Minneapolis, United States, 13 June 2025. Credit: mailcaroline / Shutterstock.com

DB: Is this woody a imaginable avenue for nan V2Food marque to beryllium launched successful nan US?

TY: It’s somewhat nuanced successful that we spot a batch of caller V2 products that will beryllium launched successful nan US. It’s overmuch much apt that we would usage nan Daring marque to motorboat them conscionable because it already has equity successful nan market.

DB: What kinds of products do you expect to motorboat that were V2Food products successful Australia nether nan Daring marque successful nan US?

TY: The products we’re talking astir pinch nan ingredients successful them are caller products that will beryllium first to motorboat successful nan US pinch a overmuch cleaner explanation but they’ll beryllium surely things that are very communal to nan marketplace today, conscionable pinch a overmuch cleaner constituent deck. They’ll beryllium crumbed chickenhearted products, formed beef products and past moving into beef strips arsenic well.

DB: What could make those V2Food recipes much charismatic to US consumers?

TY: Well, it’ll conscionable travel down to having a shorter constituent database pinch much communal ingredients than are presently successful products today.

DB: The co-manufacturing changes will thief connected price. How other do you deliberation you could effort to trim that value spread pinch meat?

TY: Scale is decidedly 1 of nan things that will thief everyone to execute economies but we conscionable person a batch of proprietary ingredients successful our tech stack, which intends that, arsenic they’re V2 ingredients, they don’t require a supplier separator to beryllium built into them, and truthful that gives america an constituent costs building advantage arsenic well.

DB: Is nan Daring business profitable astatine nan moment?

TY: It’s profitable astatine nan gross separator line. It is not profitable astatine nan bottommost line. We expect it to beryllium profitable successful nan adjacent 1 to 2 years.

DB: On V2Food’s ain performance, how’s that been successful nan past 12 months?

TY: Our business is predominantly an Australian business and, successful Australia, we’re seeing nan unit assemblage being comparatively flat. In foodservice, we’re increasing astatine 30-50% per annum. And, successful QSR, we work nan Burger King market, which is called Hungry Jack’s successful Australia, and we spot that is comparatively debased growth.

DB: What does that mean for nan wide apical line?

TY: Overall, connected a like-for-like basis, it’s successful humble growth.

DB: You’re coming up to nan extremity of Q1 successful your caller financial year. How’s that looking twelvemonth connected year?

TY: Again, it’s still successful humble growth.

DB: Within Australia, what do you spot arsenic nan champion maturation opportunities for V2Food?

TY: There are a fewer different areas we’re moving on. One is pinch hybrid products, wherever we’re blending V2 pinch animal protein. There’s a fewer different examples of wherever we’re trying to motorboat those products successful nan Australian marketplace and besides overseas. Just crossed nan board, conscionable generally, it’s much to do pinch bringing successful NPD products that bring humble maturation into nan portfolio.

DB: Have you launched immoderate of nan hybrid products yet?

TY: Only successful trials.

DB: What user needs are you looking to hit?

TY: When you’re looking astatine taste, costs and nutrition, by blending it together, you tin get half nan biology use pinch zero sensation discuss and immoderate cost-of-goods savings. It ticks a number of boxes and has really nary antagonistic attached to it.

DB: Overall, really would you picture nan improvement of nan plant-based nutrient marketplace successful Australia?

TY: It is mostly going done a akin shape to I deliberation astir benignant of first-world markets. It started disconnected pinch tons of brands entering nan category. It’s decidedly now going done a consolidation phase. As of today, astir a 3rd of each plant-based nutrient sold successful market is nether nan V2 brand. We are nan largest subordinate successful Australia and we do spot that, arsenic that consolidation happens, we’ll hopefully beryllium a beneficiary of that.

DB: Is nan marketplace location growing?

TY: It’s comparatively flat.

Credit: V2Food / LinkedIn

DB: Away from Australia, what are your main overseas markets?

TY: The different merchandise we’ve been moving connected is an emerging economies product, and then, alternatively than being chilled aliases frozen, it’s an ambient product. It’s sold successful a sachet format and past nan user efficaciously makes nan nutrient astatine home.

DB: Where are those connected sale?

TY: They’re successful 2 places today. We’ve sewage a marketplace proceedings successful Africa and past different successful 1 of nan emerging markets successful Asia.

DB: Which markets specifically?

TY: I can’t show you nan nonstop specifications of it.

DB: You’re moving connected these products pinch Ajinomoto arsenic portion of what nan companies person called a “strategic partnership”. Has Ajinomoto bought a liking successful V2Food arsenic well?

TY: They have. I can’t disclose it. You tin decidedly telephone it a number investment, though. It’s a comparatively mini investment.

DB: What was nan rationale for nan tie-up pinch Ajinomoto?

TY: We’ve been moving pinch Ajinomoto now for a mates of years. That started pinch that emerging markets task that I conscionable mentioned. In much caller times, they’ve sought to return finance successful america and past they’ll besides beryllium a partner successful nan US, successful that they person a ample stiff meals business. They’ll efficaciously beryllium a partner successful launching a scope of Daring stiff repast products.

DB: Will Ajinomoto beryllium manufacturing for you complete location arsenic well?

TY: They won’t beryllium manufacturing arsenic specified but they will beryllium progressive successful nan business.

DB: How do you envisage nan 2 companies moving together successful Africa and Asia?

TY: At nan moment, we’ve sewage 2 marketplace tests going pinch them and past nan dream is that they’ll go rather a wide marketplace introduction merchandise crossed aggregate geographies successful Africa and emerging Asian countries.

The user testing that we’ve done pinch Ajinomoto successful Africa, nan results are off-the-rack exceptional

DB: What gives you and Ajinomoto assurance you tin build a business successful emerging markets for illustration Africa and Asia?

TY: If you spell backmost to nan driving mentation down works based, it was really astir really do you provender nan organization arsenic it grows from 8 to 10 cardinal group betwixt now and 2050. When you get into markets for illustration Africa, you’re not fighting against beef. You’re fighting against putting high-quality, nutritious, safe, disposable macromolecule successful people’s hands. The user testing that we’ve done pinch Ajinomoto successful Africa, nan results are off-the-rack exceptional. We’re very assured nan proposition we’ve sewage is strong.

DB: What’s nan scope for V2Food to make further acquisitions?

TY: It surely could beryllium nan catalyst for more. Given that we’re a comparatively mini business, we’d want to swallow this 1 [Daring] decently earlier we took connected another. We do spot that there’s going to beryllium rather a batch of consolidation successful plant-based globally and we would dream that we will go 1 of nan leaders successful that consolidation process.

DB: Now you’ve sewage Daring successful nan books, what are your yearly pro-forma nett sales?

TY: We don’t quote a number but I could opportunity pro-forma it would beryllium location betwixt US$30m and US$50m.

DB: On imaginable acquisition targets, would you beryllium looking astatine different assets successful nan US aliases successful different markets?

TY: I deliberation there’d beryllium much synergy for america if it were successful a different geographic area. Europe would beryllium much likely, I think, than different acquisition successful America.