Quorn UK retail recovery is helping the meat alternatives maker edge out of a prolonged downturn, with modest second-quarter sales growth and improving margins attributed to restructuring and stronger performance in UK supermarkets, even as foodservice sales remain weak.
The company, owned by instant noodles group Monde Nissin, said its protein segment, which includes the Quorn and Cauldron brands, generated revenues of ₱7.38 billion ($120 million) in the first half of 2026, up 2.2% on a constant-currency basis compared with the same period in 2025.
Core net income reached ₱106 million ($1.7 million), reversing a core net loss of ₱215 million ($3.5 million) in the first half of 2025, CFO Nick Cooper told analysts on the firm’s earnings call.
Cooper said momentum in UK retail is building and could strengthen in the second half. He cautioned that foodservice remains a headwind and could deteriorate further before improving.
Quorn UK retail recovery and new product trends
New products tap into protein snacking trend
CEO David Flochel pointed to early traction from Protein Bites, a recent launch placed in both meat-free fixtures and food-to-go zones in UK retail, which is now being introduced to the foodservice channel.
Flochel said the product’s rate of sale is encouraging and has helped secure additional distribution for the second half, supporting double-digit growth in snacking during the second quarter.
Monde Nissin CEO Henry Soesanto said the format broadens appeal beyond the traditional meat-free aisle, supports higher price points, and enhances margins. He added that single-serve, convenient snacking products such as Protein Bites are showing scalable potential beyond the UK and Europe, with taste, convenience, and health supporting margin accretion across the protein portfolio.
Quorn reported progress on two pillars of its “Transform to Win Together” plan, citing gains in UK retail and margin recovery from supply-chain improvements.
However, foodservice, which makes up 18% of the protein business, declined 5% in the second quarter, a result CEO David Flochel described as disappointing. He said the company is applying a back-to-basics approach in foodservice similar to UK retail, seeking to expand beyond education and healthcare into higher-margin business and industry channels.
Flochel added that Protein Bites and a blended meat offering that combines meat with mycoprotein are opening new opportunities, with hybrid products gaining traction in several markets. He expects the channel to contribute positively over the long term, while acknowledging short-term fixes are still required.
Foodservice remains the problem child
Looking ahead, CFO Nick Cooper warned that the improving trajectory will not be linear. He noted that second-quarter performance benefited from a soft comparison period and said higher input costs linked to the Iran war are expected to weigh more heavily on gross margins in the third and fourth quarters.
Management expects additional supply-chain savings to offset much of that pressure, according to the company, which has undertaken several rounds of restructuring and layoffs over the past two years as part of an organizational right-sizing effort.
Quorn’s mycoprotein is a filamentous fungus, Fusarium Venenatum, first identified in Buckinghamshire in the late 1960s and produced at scale via controlled fermentation in large steel tanks.
Launched in the UK in 1985 and introduced in the US in 2002, Quorn’s parent Marlow Foods was acquired by Philippines-based Monde Nissin in late 2015 for $831 million, alongside the UK-founded Cauldron Foods brand.
According to Monde Nissin’s 2025 annual report, the UK represented 79.1% of the meat alternatives division’s sales in 2025, with 5.5% from the US and the remainder from the Republic of Ireland, mainland Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australasia.
In UK grocery retail, Cauldron held a 3.5% value share in 2025, while Quorn led the category at 27.8%, based on Circana data cited in the report. For broader context on how companies are navigating shifting conditions, see Managing risk in volatile markets: analyst’s advice.