Pulmuone Bolsters University Food Operations in US to Secure Growth Momentum for US Business

◦ Pulmuone now supplies plant-forward foods including plant-based meat to campuses of 18 U.S. universities in addition to its first signing of a deal with UMass Dining last year

◦ Pulmuone enters its plant-based meat in a large U.S. taco franchise and plans to expand food service business for restaurants

◦ Pulmuone to target B2C and B2B markets simultaneously to become a trendsetter in the U.S. plant-based food market, aiming to secure mid- to long-term momentum for US business growth

▲ Students of the University of California, Riverside line up for lunch served with Pulmuone's plant-based foods at the school cafeteria.

SEOUL – December 13th, 2022 – Pulmuone accelerates the supply of plant-forward foods for its university food operations in the U.S. and aims to secure mid-to long-term growth momentum for its U.S. business by targeting both B2C and B2B markets.

Pulmuone announced on 13th that the world’s largest tofu company net deals with 18 campuses of U.S. universities including University of Massachusetts and University of California and supplies various plant-forward foods including plant-based meat.

After entering in the U.S. food service market in 2019, Pulmuone has set food service operations for universities and restaurants as the core target channels for mid-to long-term growth of its U.S. business and made relentless efforts to secure nationwide distribution coverage in the country.

To date, these efforts have led to a signing of a deal with UMass Dining, the largest collegiate dining program in the U.S., to supply plant-based foods for the University of Massachusetts Amherst from November last year, and now 18 campuses of universities in the Eastern and the Western part of the U.S., with an average of nearly 30,000 students at each, are featuring products from Pulmuone. Supplies for restaurants have also been steadily expanded after the entrance of its plant-based meat in Waba Grill, one of the nation’s leading healthy rice bowl chains, in November last year and the recent signings of contracts with quick-service and fast casual restaurants including stores of a major taco franchise.

▲ Pulmuone's plant-based steak is ready to be served on the dinner menu at the school cafeteria of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Plant-based foods are no longer a vegan exclusive in the U.S. market. The plant-based market has grown 16% annually over the past three years from 2018 to 2021 with an all-time high value of $7.4 billion in 2021*. Sales of plant-based meat, in particular, has increased over 74% in the same period to lead the overall growth of the plant-based market*. Faced with the increasing consumer interest in healthy foods and the post-pandemic transition, Pulmuone has led the plant-forward market trend and tapped retail and food service channels simultaneously, establishing its position as a representative plant-forward foodmaker in the U.S.

*source: Plant Based Foods Association

“Our plan is to leverage the steady demand from university food service chains and the recovering industry of restaurants to expand the overall volume of our B2B business in the U.S.,” said KS Cho, CEO of Pulmuone Foods USA. “The extension of our local tofu production capacity and the rapid sales increase of our Asian noodle products will also accelerate the quantitative growth and the profitability improvement.”   

Meanwhile, Pulmuone expanded its production line of tofu at its plant in Fullerton, CA in November last year and its tofu sales posted a year-on-year increase of 17 percent in the first ten months of 2022. In the same period, Pulmuone’s Asian noodle products saw a 86% increase in sales to continue its sharp growth. The lineup of convenience foods including plan-based steak and tofu of Pulmuone’s plant-forward food brand ‘Plantspired,’ a compound word of ‘plant’ and ‘inspired,’ has also grown rapidly since its launching in the second half of 2020.

The steady growth of Pulmuone’s U.S. business was based on its aggressive local marketing to promote plant-based healthy foods among U.S. consumers. Pulmuone participated in the 2022 Global Agricultural & Floral Show, which was held in Orlando, FI from October 27 to 29, to introduce its innovative new plant-forward food items including plant-based steak and tofu bites. In April this year, Pulmuone sponsored the Global Plant-Forward Culinary Summit 2022 hosted by the Culinary Institute of America, one of the world's leading food research institutions, for four consecutive years to showcase its sustainable, plant-based food recipes.

▲ Three representative products of Pulmuone USA's plant-based food brand 'Plantspired'. From the left, plant-based steak, tossables, superfood skillet