Proform Foods has officially gone into liquidation after the Australia-based alternative-meat business appointed administrators in May.
Following a final meeting of Proform Foods’ creditors on 28 August, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) declared that it had been “resolved that the company would be wound up voluntarily”.
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A separate noticed filed by the ASIC the next day said liquidators had been appointed for Proform Foods, as well as Proform Food Group, Proform Gourmet and Proform Innovation.
Sydney, New South Wales-based Proform Foods was set up in 2005 by Stephen Dunn, initially as a research and development company providing protein ingredients. It was later led by Dunn’s son, former Olympic swimmer Matt Dunn.
The MEET brand of meat alternatives was then launched in 2008, a range that included beef-free mince and burgers, along with chicken-free tenders. Other brands in the portfolio were Protein Plate and Bad Hunter.
Proform Foods’ customer base included the retailers Woolworths and Coles, food-delivery service Hello Fresh and burger chains in the foodservice channel.
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By GlobalDataAdministrators from the local arm of UK financial advisory firm KPMG were appointed on 22 May. At the time, Gayle Dickerson and James Dampney at KPMG were quoted in Australia media as saying that Proform Foods is a “well-established business in a sector with compelling medium-term growth prospects”.
Proform Foods’ website says its products are based on “a proprietary and patented protein process – our competitive edge is our PHMC Proform High Moisture Cooking technology, which delivers plant-based cuts of meat with superior taste and texture”.
In late 2021, Harvest Road, the Australian beef and seafood processor, bought a minority stake in Proform Foods, a year after it opened a new manufacturing facility.
KMPG noted the business employed around 30 people.
The global meat-free market has undergone a consolidation process of late after a year or so of slowing growth and waning demand. A number of companies have gone to the wall but others that are employing new technologies such as precision fermentation are evolving.
Planted in Switzerland, for example, has this week announced expansion plans with a second factory in Germany.
However, some have not been so fortunate. Akua, a New York-based start-up making plant-based foods from kelp seaweed, pulled the plug on the business in August.
Co-founder and CEO Courtney Boyd Meyers said in a post on her LinkedIn profile page that “our board reached the very difficult decision to wind up company operations”.
A number of other companies in the plant-based protein category have failed over the past 12 months or so. Tattooed Chef in the US is one such case, while in neighbouring Canada The Very Good Food Co. shut its doors last year.
Over in Europe, other examples include The Meatless Farm Co., Plant & Bean and LoveSeitan.
Meanwhile, amid a downturn in demand for protein alternatives, the Quorn meat-free brand owned by Monde Nissin has also been facing headwinds on volumes due to continuing “softness” in the category.
Similarly, Beyond Meat, a more established player in meat-free over in California, is also struggling to shore up volumes and to turn a profit.
