Green Monday CEO David Yeung introduces his social venture's products to a global audience as part of the "Hong Kong Climate Day" series of dialogue organized by the Hong Kong Ambassadors Club on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Dec 8, 2023. (JAN YUMUL/ CHINA DAILY)

DUBAI – Award-winning Hong Kong social venture Green Monday is looking to expand its plant-based offerings in the Middle East next year with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a key market.

The expansion also potentially unlocks a global multi-trillion-dollar halal market opportunity globally. 

In an exclusive interview with China Daily on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, Green Monday CEO and Co-founder David Yeung said he was in talks with up to 10 potential partners in the retail or supermarket chains as well as big restaurant chains in the UAE, but declined to name them.

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“Definitely (we will have something concrete) within the next six to eight months,” Yeung said.

I actually believe this is a unique new business opportunity, a new market. For them (halal consumers), this is a whole new genre of food that didn’t exist before.

David Yeung, CEO, Green Monday  

On a global standpoint, Yeung said they were also continuing to enter into the United States, the United Kingdom and European markets. Green Monday’s foray into the UAE will not only expand their plant-based and alternative protein offerings, but also allow them to tap into the enormous potential of the halal market. 

Green Monday already holds a Halal Certificate issued by the Central Islamic Council of Thailand, or CICOT, a government-appointed body responsible for the certification and supervision of Halal products in the kingdom. 

Yeung said the social venture’s OmniFoods products are already available in Muslim-majority countries like Malaysia, and in Singapore where Islam is one of the top three religions.

“There’s definitely a very stable and growing demographic of people who are looking for these kind of products and the Singapore government has been very active in terms of promoting alternative protein and food safety overall on food security,” said Yeung.

As for Indonesia, where more than 80 percent of the population are Muslim, Green Monday is just starting as they need time to find local partners. But Yeung said they “would not need to wait long”, probably only a couple of years.

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“Obviously with a global market, there are many different opportunities so we are in talks. But relatively speaking, for example, this time because of COP28, many people are in the UAE. And the UAE is such an international place now,” he added.

Green Monday CEO David Yeung holds up his social venture's Halal certificate to signal they are ready for the UAE and halal market in the region, on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai on Dec 8, 2023. (JAN YUMUL/ CHINA DAILY)

According to a report by Emirates News Agency in October, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE minister of state for foreign trade, said that the halal market had “transcended the borders of Islamic and Arab countries” and that the market value of halal trade was estimated at more than $2.2 trillion. 

He added that halal products represent 3.7 percent of total global trade. 

According to German market intelligence platform Statista, the market revenue of global halal food was forecast to increase to $2.04 trillion by 2027.

"I actually believe this is a unique new business opportunity, a new market. For them (halal consumers), this is a whole new genre of food that didn’t exist before,” Yeung told China Daily.

"But at the same time this is a food solution for the world, for everyone who wants to eat healthier, for everyone who wants to make an impact. Ultimately, all age groups, all ethnic backgrounds, all dietary choice, this is something for all,” he added.