French Company Opens Plant-Based Meat Facility

French company Tereos opened its first plant-based meat-making facility in Alsace, France last week. The facility will produce plant-based protein under the name Le Sauté Végétal, which will be made from wheat proteins and chickpea flour that will be sold in shredded form. “The inauguration of this industrial pilot unit is an important step in the work Tereos has been conducting around plant proteins for many years,” Tereos CEO Alexis Duval said. “It demonstrates the Group’s great capacity to innovate and develop new products that cater to the world’s evolving food needs.” The company is a founding member of European innovation coalition “Improve”— financially backed by France’s Investment for the Future program—that aims to shift protein production away from animal agriculture. Several companies focused on developing plant-protein alternatives have recently expanded production capabilities—including another French company, Roquette, which announced in January that it plans to build the world’s largest pea protein (a key ingredient in plant-based milk and meat) facility in Manitoba, Canada.