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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

alterna foods

Perfect Day Founders Set Up The Urgent Company, Launch Brave Robot Ice Cream

You would think that raising more that $360 million to magically transform yeast microbes into realistic (and delicious) dairy-like products would be enough for Perfect Day Co-Founders Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi. But you’d be wrong, evidently.

TechCrunch was first to report that Pandya and Gandhi have teamed up with Paul Kollesoff to launch The Urgent Company, a new umbrella company that is, according to the new company’s website, “… in the business of using science, engineering, technology, social awareness and some common sense, to create safe, natural, healthy and delicious consumer products which support a more verdant planet.”

The Urgent Company’s first product is Brave Robot ice cream, which will use Perfect Day’s flora-based protein in flavors like Vanilla, A Lot of Chocolate, and Raspberry White Truffle. Initially available in California before rolling out nationally, pints of Brave Robot ice cream will sell for $5.99.

But according to the TechCrunch piece, not all of The Urgent Company’s brands will use Perfect Day’s proteins. The company is looking to create products using the latest technology in plant-based ingredients, modified proteins (outside of Perfect Day’s), as well as more sustainable packaging solutions.

You should read the TechCrunch piece for the full background on how The Urgent Company came together. The story didn’t mention how much money Pandya and Gandhi are directing towards the endeavor, but with just eight full-time employees, Urgent seems to be running a lean operation.

For what it’s worth, this is Perfect Day’s third trip to the ice cream parlor. The company launched its own brand of flora-based ice cream last year that was available for a limited time. In May of this year, Perfect Day partnered with San Francisco ice creamery, Smitten, for line of ice creams under that brand.

How to Host a Meatless (and Delicious) Super Bowl Party

My eating habits have been on a roller coaster so far this year. From discovering I am gradually turning vegan to switching over (temporarily) to a full-on keto diet, my eating has certainly boomeranged.

With Super Sunday almost upon us, I thought it would be a fun exercise to meld the two opposing lifestyles and create a “beefy” menu of snacks for the big game without using actual meat. This is actually easier than ever, thanks to innovations in the alterna-foods category that make meat substitutes closer to the real thing.

Here’s what I would serve:

Get more out of those (expensive) Beyond Meat burgers by breaking them apart and forming li’l meatless sliders. Beyond actually has a nice video showing you how to do just that on its site. Sadly, Impossible’s killer new burgers aren’t coming to retail until later this year, so maybe they can be on the menu for Super Bowl LIV.

Staying on the “meats,” I really like the LightLife Smart Ground crumble. It’s pretty versatile and can be used in chilis and sauces, but I would load them up on some hearty nachos, smothered in something cheese-like. Check out their recipe section for directions and more ideas.

You could also use the Smart Ground as a topping for a CauliPower pizza to spice up the plain ole cheese version. I’ve become a huge fan of the cauliflower pizza. I don’t think this is actually healthier for me (especially since I could eat an entire pizza in one sitting), but it is just as tasty as other frozen pizzas and, you know, cauliflower. If you’re feeling spicy, you could also make your own tofu-based pepperoni.

For a more snacky-snack type of food, maybe grab a handful of Coconut Jerky. I haven’t tried it, and it would be hard to get in time for the game, but if you can find it, going coconuts might be worth a try.

You can also go the way of Swedish McDonald’s and serve up falafel nuggets instead of chicken ones. Falafel is delicous! It’s just too bad Frecious veggie spreads aren’t widely available in the U.S. (yet) to serve as a dipping sauce.

For something sweet, the JUST eggless cookie dough is fantastic. Serve it raw in little spoons or whip up a mountain of freshly baked cookies for all your friends.

And finally to wash it all down, give the Bud Light a break and crack open a bottle of Kombrewcha (see what they did there?), the alcoholic kombucha. Though, I can’t imagine drinking more than one of them.

Do you have any tips, tricks or hacks for making it a meatless Super Bowl bash? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Food Tech is Gradually Turning Me Vegan

Without getting too far into the philosophical weeds, the Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment about identity. If you gradually replace all the rotting boards of a boat one at a time over a period of year, at what point is it a new ship?

I thought of Theseus’ ship after I went grocery shopping this morning, and looked down to see that most of the traditional products I had been buying for years had been replaced one by one with vegan substitutes.

  • Oat milk is in, cow milk is out
  • Ripple’s pea creamer has replaced dairy creamer
  • Beyond Burgers replaced beef burgers
  • Smart Ground instead of ground beef or pork
  • JUST eggless cookie dough is way better than Tollhouse
  • If I could afford it, Frankie and Jo’s vegan ice cream would have a permanent spot in my freezer instead of Ben & Jerry’s
  • And although it isn’t any more vegan than the regular kind, cauliflower pizza is now our go-to frozen pizza of choice

Am I becoming a full-on vegan? Kinda? I still eat chicken, the occasional fish, and plenty of eggs. I love my Fage yogurt and am hesitant to try a non-dairy yogurt after my colleague Catherine’s bad experience. However, I’m looking forward to replacing these with plant-based alternatives as well.

Despite the fact that scientists say eating meat is dire for the planet, I’d be lying if I said that I was turning into a vegan to make the world a better place (I mean, I’m not trying to make it a worse place). And I wouldn’t even identify as “vegan,” even if I gave up the chicken and the eggs and the other stuff, because I don’t feel like I’m adopting a particular philosophical stance. For me, eating more plant-based foods isn’t a way of life, it’s just that food tech and food innovation has made all of these more delicious than their predecessors.

I think what surprised me was how quickly things have changed. I couldn’t have written this post a year ago. But in that short time, so many alternate products have come to market and immediately made it on to my grocery list. Before I knew it, I was shopping vegan without even trying.

Writing for The Spoon I get a front row seat to all this innovation, so I know what’s coming down the pike. I also know that this is just the beginning. All these alterna-products are only going to get better and cheaper and more abundant. Chicken nuggets, your days are numbered. Impossible is coming to grocery stores, big food is muscling its way into burgers and we haven’t even touched on the vegan questions that arise from lab-grown meat.

With all this innovation, I’ve slowly become a brand new type of grocery shopper, at some point I’ll have to ask if I’m becoming a whole new me.