Maple Leaf Foods suggested it is committed to the plant-based meat category in the wake of the spin-off of its pork operations.
Discussing the recent annual results with analysts, president and CEO Curtis Frank said the Canada-based protein business will reveal its aspirations for plant-based at its capital markets day next week.
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Frank did, however, provide some initial thoughts for the category during a follow-up Q&A session.
“I do think there’s a longer-term story to be shared around plant protein. But the punchline is, we continue to be of the view that there’s a pathway to profitable growth,” the CEO explained.
“We should always keep in mind that it’s less than 5% of the revenue in the enterprise today. And I, at this stage, view it more as an upside opportunity than anything else because we have stability in the earnings profile of the business today.”
Frank added he sees “upside potential” in achieving what he deemed as “average margins” for plant-based vis a vis the overall portfolio, “which I’m very confident that we have a pathway to deliver”.
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By GlobalDataFinance chief David Smales gave further backing behind meat alternatives to complement the Canadian group’s poultry and prepared foods businesses, saying “we see it as a very relevant long-term category within the broader demand for healthy protein”.
He added: “And so nothing’s changed in terms of our view of the relevance of the plant-protein business to our overall portfolio.”
Maple Leaf spun off its pork operations last year into a separate entity – Canada Packers – leaving poultry and prepared foods, including the alternative-protein brands Field Roast and Lightlife.
“The spin-off of our pork operations into Canada Packers at the start of Q4 was one of the most significant portfolio transformations in our company’s history,” CEO Frank told analysts.
“The headline for today is that we have reached a clear inflection point. The heavy investment phase is behind us.”
Maple Leaf retains a 16% holding in Canada Packers.
Outlining the plans for the new financial year, adding scale and increasing volume and revenue growth are top priorities, Frank said.
He is also seeking to expand margins and grow “profit faster than sales through mix improvement, productivity and structural cost reductions, as well as pricing to recover the inflationary impacts we felt in the back half of 2025”.
Finally, he said, Maple Leaf will pursue “smart and disciplined capital allocation”.
Pricing was already implemented in February, which will support the outlook for mid-single-digit revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA of around C$520-C$540m ($381-395m).
