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Feb 21 (Reuters) - Canadian meat packaging goods company Maple Leaf Foods Inc MFI.TO said on Tuesday it would buy U.S.-based Lightlife Foods Inc, a manufacturer of plant-based protein foods, for $140 million and related costs.
Lightlife Foods reported 2016 sales of about $40 million and has a 38 percent market share in the U.S. refrigerated plant proteins market, Maple Leaf said in a statement. on current operating results, the acquisition is expected to add to Maple Leaf's earnings in 2017, the company said.
Some major North American meat producers have been shifting to plant-based substitutes to create meat alternatives that taste like the real thing. (http://reut.rs/2lDWgqh)
Maple Leaf, which raises and processes pigs as its main business, said last October it dedicated several staff members to work on innovating plant-based protein products in its kitchens, focusing on improving taste. Europe, sausage-maker Rügenwalder Mühle added meat-substitute dishes in 2014 as German meat sales declined.
Meat substitutes are not a risk-free investment as consumer tastes could eventually turn against them. Some meat alternatives are made from genetically modified crops opposed by some environmentalists.