"The CEO of v2food, in reference to the company's expansion into the US market through the acquisition of Daring Foods, stated that it's one of the few brands experiencing significant growth."
The plant-based meat industry is set for a significant consolidation over the next five years, with leading companies coming together to gain scale and provide technical solutions. This trend is exemplified by the recent acquisition of US-based plant-based chicken brand Daring Foods by Australian market leader v2food.
The deal, announced in August 2025, gives v2food a key foothold in the US market, which is much larger than Australia’s. The acquisition aims to expand beyond Daring’s niche un-breaded plant-based chicken category. The move aligns well with v2food’s technological capabilities and its strategic partnership with Ajinomoto, a multinational with deep food science expertise and strong distribution in the US frozen food sector.
Ajinomoto’s involvement is particularly important because it supports v2food and Daring in addressing some of the technical challenges in plant-based meat, such as improving taste, texture, and nutrient density. Ajinomoto’s presence in the US market and its biotech capabilities also enhance the potential scale and market penetration of the combined entity.
This consolidation move reflects a broader trend in the industry, where companies and holding groups like Ahimsa Companies actively seek acquisitions and platform-building opportunities to create efficiencies through vertical integration and scale, consolidating smaller brands into larger entities to improve sustainability and competitiveness.
However, challenges remain for the plant-based meat market globally, such as higher costs compared with conventional meat due to volatile prices of plant-based inputs like peas and soy, and consumer price sensitivity, particularly in developing markets. The current plant-based alternatives often cost significantly more than animal-based products, which limits adoption despite overall market growth projected at over 14% CAGR globally. Strategic consolidation and partnerships like those of v2food, Daring, and Ajinomoto aim to address these challenges by scaling production and leveraging food science innovations.
Tim York, CEO of v2food, stated that the acquisition of Daring was due to the crowded US market and the brand's strong distribution and consumer appeal. The US market has seen a decline in plant-based meats in the chilled meat case, while the frozen section has held up better. Jack Cowin, an early v2food investor and founder of Hungry Jack's, said the Daring acquisition is a logical next phase of growth as the market consolidates.
The consolidation process in the plant-based meat industry is expected to result in a reduction of the number of SKUs stocked. Daring Foods, known for its short ingredients lists and clean label USP, is one of the few brands in growth and is looking like it’ll be a winner in the consolidation process.
The partnership with Ajinomoto will also focus on growing Daring’s frozen entrees business in the US, as Ajinomoto is a large-scale frozen food company. The consumer transition to plant-based meats is expected to take time, with the reality being that consumers are not primarily concerned with the planet when making dinner choices. The partnership between v2food and Ajinomoto represents a current example of market consolidation with a focus on scaling, technology leveraging, and geographic expansion in the competitive and fast-evolving plant-based meat sector.
In other news, v2food has expanded into several markets outside Australia via Burger King, but results have been mixed. v2food’s founder Nick Hazell left to run algae startup Algenie in 2023, and Ross Mackay, former CEO of Daring Foods, left in April 2024 to launch a beverage startup called Cadence. The consumer transition to plant-based meats is expected to take 30 years to happen naturally and gradually, according to Tim York, CEO of v2food. The market transition to plant-based meats will be a gradual process, with consumers not primarily concerned with the planet when making dinner choices.
- As v2food's strategic partnership with Ajinomoto focuses on growing Daring Foods' frozen entrees business in the US, it becomes clear that this consolidation move in the plant-based meat industry is not just about reducing the number of SKUs stocked, but also about leveraging technology and scaling production to address the challenges of high costs and consumer price sensitivity.
- In the competitive and fast-evolving plant-based meat sector, partnerships like the one between v2food, Daring Foods, and Ajinomoto are important, as they represent efforts to consolidate, expand geographically, and improve competitiveness through strategic investments in technology and food science innovations.
