Proform Foods, an Australian business specialising in plant-based meat alternatives, has gone into voluntary administration.
Administrators from the local arm of UK financial advisory firm KPMG were appointed on 22 May and Proform will continue to trade while they assess the business.
Proform is behind the brand Meet, stylised as MEET, which offers beef-free mince and burgers and chicken-free tenders. Its products are sold via the country’s largest supermarket groups, Woolworths and Coles, and via food delivery service Hello Fresh.
It also owns the Protein Plate and Bad Hunter brands and supplies foodservice operators, including burger chains.
It is one of the oldest Australian alt-meat businesses, having been established in 2005 by Stephen Dunn, initially as a research and development company providing protein ingredients.
The Meet brand was launched in 2008.
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Proform claims that its “competitive edge” is its PHMC Proform High Moisture Cooking technology, which delivers plant-based cuts of meat with “superior taste and texture”.
KPMG administrators Gayle Dickerson and James Dampney said in a statement carried by Australian media outlets that Proform is a “well-established business in a sector with compelling medium-term growth prospects”.
Confirming KPMG will immediately begin a sale process for the Sydney-based business, which has around 30 employees, they added: “We will be working with all stakeholders, including employees, suppliers and customers, to maximise the outcome for all parties.”
Just Food has contacted Proform, asking for a statement, outside of Australian office hours.
In late 2021, Harvest Road, the Australian beef and seafood processor, bought a minority stake in Proform, a year after it opened a new manufacturing facility.
Alt-meat product manufacturers have found the going tough of late as they tackle headwinds, including increased competition from supermarket own brands, rising costs in their supply chains and cash-strapped consumers reluctant to pay a premium price for meat-free brands.
The Good Food Institute reported this month that sales in this category in the US were down in 2023 in both value and volume terms.
Just Food has reported on a number of business failures in this sector, including The Meatless Farm Co. and Tattooed Chef.
