Omnipork – vegan pork in China
David Yeung wants to take a bite out of China’s massive market for pork. As founder of Green Common, a vegetarian grocery store and casual dining chain in Hong Kong, he started bringing plant-based burgers and other meatless products to Asia, and he saw an opportunity. According to Yeung, “One of the most consumed meats in the world is actually overlooked – that is pork”. Pork accounts for nearly 40% of worldwide meat consumption, and in China it’s by far the highest consumed meat. With this in mind, he launched a new product called Omnipork which he hopes will change people’s diets in mainland China.
Omnipork is made from soy, pea, mushroom and rice proteins, but it tries to mimic the taste and feel of real pork. Yeung hopes to tap into China’s changing diets. “You can use this ingredient many ways, steam it, cook it, fry it, pan fry it, stuff it in dumplings. ” Yeung said, “this is something that we want to be really all purpose.” His goal is to convince people who grew up chowing down on pork dumplings and sweet-and-sour pork to choose meatless alternatives. Omni pork has the same taste and texture of pork. It contains about a third of the calories and saturated fat of traditional pork, as well as more fiber, calcium, or iron. And, since it’s not made from an animal, it doesn’t have any antibiotics or hormones, and carries less of a risk of foodborne illness.
Yeung is joining other startups that are looking to shake up the global meat industry. They include Beyond Meat, which is bankrolled by actor Leonardo di Caprio and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. China currently eats 55 million tons of pork every year but, if Yeung has his way, not for long!