NEW YORK/BEIJING – LIVEKINDLY Collective, a collection of brands on track to become one of the world’s largest plant-based food companies, today announced its launch in China with two new flagship brands, Giggling Pig 咯咭藸 [Ge Ji Zhu] and Happy Chicken 哈皮鸡 [Ha Pi Ji]. Both have been developed and manufactured locally to cater to Chinese consumer tastes and are the first brands created in-house by LIVEKINDLY Collective.
The two new brands cover a portfolio of seven innovative plant-based products based on beloved Chinese dishes, including plant-based dumplings, several mushroom-based dishes and a seasoned minced dish.
These new products will be available across China on June 25. Both brands are targeted at Gen Z, with two adorable cartoon characters, Giggling Pig and Happy Chicken, whose message is that consumers can enjoy great taste, excellent nutrition and a modern twist on heritage cuisine by eating plant-based food. China’s plant-based market was nearly $1 billion in 2018, according to the Good Food Institute, and is projected to grow between 20 and 25% annually.
China is one of the mostexciting and strategic marketsfor the plant-based revolution,and a key pillar of our growth strategy
“China is one of the most exciting and strategic markets for the plant-based revolution, and a key pillar of our growth strategy,” said Kees Kruythoff, CEO and Chairman of LIVEKINDLY Collective. “We are proud to launch these new flagship brands, which have been developed and manufactured for Chinese consumers, by Chinese experts. As we say: China for China, and at China speed.”
“We’re coming off a phenomenal first year, having become one of the top three highest-funded and fastest-growing plant-based food companies in the world,” said Roger Lienhard, Founder and Executive Chairman of Blue Horizon Group and Founder of LIVEKINDLY Collective. “Our portfolio and model are global, and with the launch of our China office and delicious new products, we are closer than ever to achieving our mission of making plant-based living the new norm.”
Since March 2020, in its first 12 months, LIVEKINDLY Collective has raised $535 million to fund its international expansion into China and other growth regions, as well as the company’s strategic acquisitions, partnerships and investments in plant-based innovation.
In addition to the newly created Giggling Pig and Happy Chicken, LIVEKINDLY Collective has five plant-based food brands in its portfolio – Oumph!, The Fry Family Food Co., LikeMeat, No Meat, and The Dutch Weed Burger – as well as digital media company LIVEKINDLY.
“We are thrilled to launch in China with these incredible brands and delicious innovative products that we have crafted from scratch, in China for China,” said Joanna LiuQiao, Regional Director, Greater China at LIVEKINDLY Collective. “China has a long history in plant-based cuisine and has been cooking with ingredients like seitan, tofu and tempeh well before it was mainstream. We understand what works and doesn’t work for this market, and our new brands are delicious, high-quality and tailored to local consumer tastes.”
Today also marks the adoption of China’s first standard for labeling “plant-based meat products,” which are now defined as food products that use plant-sourced materials or their processed products as sources of protein or fat. This standard, issued by the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology (“CIFST”), signals the rapid growth in demand for plant-based meat in China.