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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

plant-based

In Earnings Call, Beyond Meat Claps Back Against Critiques that It’s Too Processed

Yesterday Beyond Meat reported its Q2 2019 earnings. Over the call, the plant-based meat company touched on its high revenue growth, new fast-food partnerships, and product revamp — but CEO Ethan Brown also touched on a recent spate of criticism leveled against the company regarding its products.

From the earnings call transcript:

In my hope that as a company we are helping consumers to understand that there are at least two processes, both of which begin with the same inputs. At a high level, the traditional proteus are in plant material at the form of feed or grasses along with water through an animal. The animal’s biology works from the digestive tract through to the muscular system to convert these inputs to muscle, which are then harvested for meat in processing facilities.

At Beyond Meat, also at a high level, our processes start with the same inputs, plant material, from which we gather protein, lipids, trace minerals and vitamins, and combined with water, run these through a system of heating, cooling, pressure and mixing that build meats directly from plants.

This statement seems to be in direct response to recent pushback Beyond has been getting against its processing methods. Some consumers are put off by the new crop of meatless meat, preferring simpler alternatives like black bean burgers or grass-fed beef. Apparently, that feeling is shared by some restaurant groups. Last week Chipotle’s CEO Brian Niccol said that they didn’t want to serve Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods products because they are too heavily processed.

During the earnings call, Brown was clearly addressing Niccol and others hesitant about Beyond’s production methods.

We offer the consumer transparency. They are welcome to visit our production facilities in Missouri to learn more about how we build meat. It is my belief they will leave inspired and with a stronger understanding that when it comes to meat, it’s not a question of processed or not no matter which process they prefer.

Despite defending Beyond’s processing, well, process, Brown did state that the company is moving towards a more clean-label approach. “The simpler and cleaner the ingredient list, the better, and we’re constantly striving in that direction,” he told investors during the earnings call. He also pointed out that Beyond Meat is free of genetically modified or artificial ingredients.

At the same time, he noted that Beyond is trying to close the taste gap between their product and meat from a cow. Brown estimated that their product tasted roughly 80 percent identical to beef right now, but that bridging that final 20 percent would be a difficult push. Odds are, the solution will lie in even more processing.

Chipotle joins other fast-food chains, such as Taco Bell and Arby’s, who are also choosing to eschew meatless meats. But plenty of others QSR’s — from Dunkin’ to White Castle to Burger King — are hopping on the plant-based protein bandwagon.

Since consumers aren’t typically expecting clean label ingredients when they eat out at fast food, I don’t think that controversy around Beyond’s processing methods will negatively affect future QSR partnerships — especially since meatless meat is having quite the moment in quick-service dining. But when it comes to fast-casual restaurants with a healthy spin, like Chipotle, anti-processing pushback could be a real concern.

Right now, Beyond is stuck between a rock and a hard place. They want to make their plant-based meat taste even more like the real thing, but they also want to make it out of simple, minimally-processed ingredients. I don’t think the company will be able to have their cake — er, burger — and eat it, too.

Smart Move: Dunkin’ Now Offers Beyond Meat Breakfast Sandwiches in NYC

Now you can eat Beyond Meat products morning, noon, and night — as long as you live in Manhattan, that is.

Today Dunkin’ announced that it has teamed up with Beyond Meat to launch the Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich in 164 Manhattan locations, with plans for a national rollout. Served on an English muffin with egg and American cheese, the press release notes that the Beyond breakfast sausage patty has a particular mix of spices created especially for Dunkin. It will cost $4.29 and is available starting today.

This is the first time Beyond has served its breakfast sausage in the U.S. It’s currently available at almost 4,000 locations of coffee and donuts chain Tim Hortons in Canada. However, this new patty seems to have been created especially for Dunkin, so it’s likely not exactly the same product.

My colleague Chris got to try a Beyond breakfast patty (maybe even the one being developed for Dunkin’?) when he toured the El Segundo, California-based company almost a year ago. He loved the taste and texture, noting that it was a “game changer in the alterna-meat category.” He also correctly pointed out that introducing a plant-based sausage patty is a smart play on Beyond’s part to enter the breakfast category. Updated: Bolstering their breakfast play, Beyond is also reportedly developing plant-based bacon. 

Today’s partnership is also a clever move on Dunkin’s part. By adding a Beyond Meat product they can surf the wave of plant-based meat popularity and potentially lure consumers away from competitors like Starbuck’s or McDonald’s who have yet to add meatless meat to their menus.

If you’re in Manhattan and get your hands on a Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich, drop us a line and let us know how it is!

Tofurky CEO Explains Lawsuit, Says Arkansas Meat Labeling Law is “Unconstitutional”

“Free speech” is an argument that has justified a myriad of historic cases. Now it’s being used by plant-based meat producers to protect their right to call their products what they want.

This week the American Civil Liberties Union, The Good Food Institute, Animal Legal Defense Fund, and ACLU of Arkansas filed a lawsuit on behalf of alternative meat company Tofurky to challenge an Arkansas law that restricts meat labeling terms. Under the law, which was signed this March and is scheduled to go into effect on July 24, using words like “veggie burgers” or “plant-based sausages” on food could incur fines up to $1,000 per package (seriously). Alternative milks would also be considered mislabeled and subject to fines.

According to its press announcement, Tofurky is arguing that the Arkansas law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments by “improperly censoring truthful speech and creating consumer confusion in order to shore up the state’s meat and rice industries.”

This law may sound like an almost silly attempt on Big Meat’s part to quell the uprising in plant-based meat popularity. That’s probably because it is. The law’s main argument is that alternative meat companies using terms like burgers, hot dogs, and the like — even when accompanied with words like vegan or plant-based — are confusing consumers. However, Tofurky and others fighting the law think that’s a load of, well, baloney.

“It’s a pretext to say that this law is about consumer confusion,” Tofurky CEO Jaime Athos told me over the phone. He argues that continuing to label plant-based burgers and sausages as such is less confusing to the consumer. “We’ve been buying veggie burgers for decades,” he said. “It’s important to preserve our use of language.” In fact, the alternative terms for these products — such as veggie “pucks” or “discs” in lieu of “burgers” — are not only unappealing, they could actually end up being more confusing in the long run.

The idea of buying plant-based “pucks” may seem ridiculous, but repercussions to the meat labeling laws passed by Arkansas and twelve other states could be quite serious indeed for alternative meat companies. Missouri’s law is a criminal statute, which means that each violation — so, each package of veggie “sausages” or “ham” — could cost up to $1,000 or one year in jail. “That’s scary once you start doing the math,” said Athos.

So far, no actions have actually been taken to fine or jail offending plant-based meat companies. If and when they do, it’s not even clear who will pay. Will it be the maker of the “meat” in question, the supplier who sells it to the retailer, or the retail who sells it to the consumer? “We don’t know who’s on the hook for it,” said Athos. “It’s really convoluted.”

Despite the potential repercussions, Tofurky has yet to pull its products from any shelves. Athos is confident that they will come out on top. “This law is an inappropriate use of government power. It’s ultimately unconstitutional and will be found to be so,” he told me.

Tofurky and its posse is fighting a plant-based war on several fronts. In addition to Arkansas, over a dozen other states have passed similar meat-labeling restriction laws. Tofurky is currently also suing Missouri (the case is ongoing) and is involved in a similar case against Mississippi. They’re out to not just to protect its own rights, but that of all plant-based meat companies: “We’re hoping to set a precedent,” Athos told me.

It’s interesting that Tofurky has been the one to step up and make a stand against these laws. After all, they’re not among the newer raft of companies trying to make plants so meat-like that they’re indistinguishable from the real thing, like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. It seems that Beyond Meat, which aims to be sold alongside beef in the meat section of grocery stores, could more easily lead to customer confusion than Tofurky (though the risk of customers missing the “plant-based” label is still pretty slim).

The labeling issue will become even more contentious as cultured or lab-grown meat enters the scene. Unlike plant-based meat, which is made of plants, cultured meat is made of actual animal tissue. Theoretically, it will be indistinguishable from meat got from a slaughtered animal.

The FDA has already had several meetings to try and nail down regulatory frameworks around cell-based meat. While they’ve decided that the new food will be jointly regulated by the FDA and USDA, they have yet to land on how exactly it will be labeled — as plain-old meat, cell-based meat, or otherwise. We still have a few years until cultured meat gets to market, but as that day draws closer they’ll need to decide where to draw the line on what gets to call itself meat, lest they bring on even more lawsuits.

In the end, passing laws the one in Arkansas make meat producers look more running scared than anything else. And they should be. The plant-based meat market is growing at 6.8 percent CAGR and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. “This is coming from their own fears,” Athos told me, referencing the pressure meat companies are under as of late.

Passing a law isn’t going to stop people from wanting plant-based burgers, sausages, and pulled pork. It just might end up costing both sides a lot in legal fees.

Tastes Like Chicken: Planted Makes Clean Label Plant-based Poultry From 4 Ingredients

When you consider what goes into making plant-based meats, generally the thing that comes to mind is, well, plants. But take a closer look at the ingredient list of most meatless meats, and you’ll typically see a long list of other ingredients, including protein isolates, stabilizers, natural flavors, and other add-ins like dye and minerals.

That lengthy ingredient list is one of skeptics’ biggest beefs (sorry) with the new wave of meatless proteins. But one company trying to address those concerns is Swiss startup Planted, whose realistic meat analogs are completely clean label — no artificial ingredients or synthetic chemicals. They’re starting with chicken.

In a phone conversation this week, Planted co-founder Pascal Bieri told me his company’s products only contain four ingredients: pea protein, pea fiber, sunflower oil, and water. When Bieri first tasted plant-based meat two years ago, he liked it but was confused as to why the ingredient list was so long and confusing. So he and co-founders Lukas Böni and Eric Stirnemann, through a partnership with Swiss university ETH Zurich, began to develop a plant-based chicken analog with the absolute minimum of ingredients.

Planted’s first product is about as pared-down as it gets: a chicken chunk. They currently sell to 17 restaurants in Switzerland and next month will announce a partnership with a local foodservice provider to expand their distribution. The chicken chunks are currently priced below organic chicken, though Bieri pointed out that poultry is actually quite expensive in Switzerland.

No matter how simple the ingredient list, Bieri knew he’d never get people to buy his product if it didn’t taste excellent. With that in mind, Planted focuses less on flavor — the company keeps products intentionally neutral so they can be a blank canvas, sort of like real chicken — but on texture. To do so, Planted uses a special machine to extrude “chicken” pieces that realistically mimic the fibrous texture of real poultry.

Planted still does all its R&D and production at ETH Zurich, which, due to the university’s space limitations, strictly limits their capacity. The Swiss company is currently searching for a separate manufacturing facility around Zurich so they can scale up production and provide to more restaurants and retailers. He said they’ll probably focus on Europe for a while, especially since, as he put it, “Europeans are a little more skeptical when it comes to long ingredient lists.”

I haven’t tasted Bieri’s products yet and likely won’t be able to anytime soon, unless a very odd twist of fate sends me to Switzerland. But I can say that Planted’s choice to focus on chicken is a solid strategy. As we covered in yesterday’s Future Food newsletter (you subscribe, right?), the plant-based chicken space is far less crowded than, say, plant-based burgers or hot dogs.

Bieri is very conscious of the opportunity. “There’s so much room out there,” he said, referencing the alternative chicken market. Now he’s hoping Planted’s realistic texture and clean-label approach can help the company stake their claim before the plant-based chicken space is too pecked-over.

Future Food: Why Are Companies Chicken about Plant-Based Poultry?

This is the web version of our weekly Future Food newsletter. Be sure to subscribe here so you don’t miss a beat!

Hi guys. Seeing as it’s summertime, the season for grilling, lately I’ve had some deep thoughts about (plant-based) burgers. Specifically, why they’re one of the only options in the meatless meat section of my grocery store.

Like the Little Mermaid, I want more. Chicken is the most popular meat in America, so why can’t I find a decent plant-based version of it?

Tastes like…
There’s clearly a demand for plant-based poultry. KFC in the U.K. recently tested out a plant-based chicken patty called the Imposter Burger that sold out in just four days.

But considering the popularity of chicken, innovation has been surprisingly slow when it comes to finding an alternative to the real thing. Perhaps that’s because poultry has a far smaller environmental cost than cattle, so companies have prioritized beef over chicken. Or maybe the texture of chicken is harder to emulate than that of ground beef.

Nonetheless, we are starting to see a few leaders hatch:

  • Poultry processing giant Tyson launched its Raised & Rooted line last month. One of its first two products was a vegetarian “chicken” nugget made of pea protein and egg whites.
  • Swiss startup Planted makes meat-free chicken from pea protein, pea fiber, water and sunflower oil.
  • Last week NUGGS launched its plant-based chicken nuggets, which it delivers in boxes right to consumers’ doorsteps.
  • Rebellyous, formerly called Seattle Food Tech, also makes vegan chicken nuggets. It sells them wholesale to large-scale foodservice providers like schools and hospitals.
  • In the U.K., THIS, whose chicken “chunks’ are pictured above, just launched its plant-based poultry in stores yesterday.
  • Meatless meat veteran Quorn, which is available in 18 countries, has a variety of vegetarian and vegan chicken products.
  • Freezer aisle staples Morningstar Farms and Gardein offer plant-based nuggets.

Photo: Beyond Meat

There’s the Beef

That’s not to say alterna-beef is going anywhere. In fact, it’s only going to get eerily closer to the real thing.

I found that out the hard way when I cooked up a package of Beyond Beef, the new, “meatier” ground beef product from Beyond Meat. I haven’t eaten meat in quite a while, but dang — this took me back. The flavor was full of umami and the texture really mimicked the juicy give and bounce of ground beef.

As a vegetarian, that verisimilitude grossed me out. But my colleague Chris Albrecht and my carnivorous roommate were both big fans, though my roommate noted it had a slightly “chemically” taste.

Despite the positive reviews, I think it’ll take a while before people flock to Beyond Beef like they did to the original burger. Right now it costs $9.99 for one pound. That’s roughly on-par with organic, grass-fed beef. Most people I know would rather spring for higher-quality beef — which has a smaller environmental footprint than industrial beef and, some actually argue, a critical role in the ecosystem.

In fact, with its new ground “beef,” Beyond Meat may be entering the Uncanny Valley, something we’ve referenced frequently for humanoid robots but not for meat alternatives. Beyond Beef is almost indistinguishable from beef. But it’s just different enough — slight discrepancies in flavor, aftertaste, and texture — that it could be off-putting.

All that said, I’ll reiterate that I’m a vegetarian and Beyond Beef was too much like the real thing for me to enjoy it. It’s still quite new so we’ll have to see if flexitarians have beef with Beyond’s new offering.

Where in the world is Impossible Foods?

With all this talk about what will be the next hot plant-based meat, it’s easy to overlook the where piece. This week Impossible Foods’ SVP for International made the location question pretty clear when he laid out the startup’s expansion strategy.

One word: Asia.

We’ve seen this coming for a while now. Asia is the new hotspot for alternative protein innovation, both plant- and cell-based. It’s got a ton of consumer demand, a relatively open playing field, and ample manufacturing power. Add to that mixture the recent outbreaks of African swine fever, and Asia seems primed for an alt-meat revolution.

There are also a few local plant-based protein companies gaining traction there, including Omnipork and Phuture Meat. But there are currently lots more U.S. and European players, and they have more funding. We’ll likely see quite a few of them trying to carve out a piece of the Asian alt-protein market before the competition gets too fierce.

Photo: Business Newswire.

Protein ’round the web

  • A new food hall is opening in Providence, RI. The draw? All the businesses inside are entirely plant-based (h/t Forbes).
  • Beyond Meat will be popping up in Blue Apron’s meal kits this summer. Will the plant-based darling’s fame help the struggling meal kit company? Probably not.
  • Integriculture, the Japanese cellular agriculture company, is launching a joint research project with food processing giant NH Foods Ltd. to develop large-scale production processes for cell-based meat.

If you happen to be in Tokyo in August, you can see the founder of Integriculture, Yuki Hanyu, speak on a panel at SKS Japan about the future of protein. Tickets here. 

Be careful what you wish for. Finally, remember how Arby’s made meat into vegetables as a cheeky response to the rise in plant-based meat? Apparently, they got a lot more than they bargained for.

Eat well,
Catherine

Impossible Foods Says after 4 Months, Its Product Shortage is Over

The wait is over. This week Impossible Foods sent a memo to its restaurant partners announcing that its much-publicized product shortage, which began in March, is officially over. The company informed restaurant partners that they now have ample stock of the Impossible Burger and are lifting allocation caps.

In the aforementioned memo, Impossible noted that they produced a record amount of plant-based beef in June and are on track to make even more in July. In an email to The Spoon, Impossible’s Chief Communications Officer Rachel Konrad also stated that since March the company has doubled staff and tripled production rates at their plant in Oakland, California. They’ll also soon announce a partnership with a “major manufacturing operator” to increase production capacity even further and accelerate the pace of innovation for new products (like fish!).

When we reported on the shortage last month, the company seemed to think Impossible burgers would be back in stock by mid to late June. Clearly that timeline was a bit ambitious, but not too much so. Impossible has put in some serious hustle to ramp up manufacturing lately. An Impossible spokesperson told The Spoon that the company was “literally working 24-7” to amp up production.

Interestingly, Impossible is only producing five-pound bricks of their meatless meat “to keep manufacturing efficiency,” so restaurants will have to form their own patties in-house. This shouldn’t be a huge hurdle for smaller mom & pop restaurants, but I wonder how major chains are reacting to this extra task (assuming the brick rule applies to them as well). For high-volume restaurants, having to divide and shape the bricks of meat could be a significant time suck.

Impossible isn’t the only plant-based meat company to struggle with production problems. Last year Beyond had some supply issues of its own — so much so it had to delay entry into the U.K. market until it could make more product. However, since then it hasn’t had any production hiccups. In fact, on its first-ever earnings call Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown said the company would have no issues providing product for new high-volume QSR partnerships.

It’s too early to tell if Impossible has similarly put a similar end to its own struggles. Dennis Woodside, President of Impossible Foods, was hesitant to say that the production problems were behind them. “I can’t say 100 percent with certainty that in nine months — if there’s a massive spike in demand — that we won’t see some spotty shortages, he told CNN Business.

Based on Impossible’s roadmap, some sort of spike in demand could very well happen. It’s currently in the process of rolling out to 7,200 Burger King locations and is simultaneously gearing up for a retail launch this fall. Plus, consumer demand for plant-based meat is on the rise with no sign of slowing down.

But for now, at least, Impossible seems to be out of the woods. Now excuse me while I go get pick up one of their burgers for lunch.

Prime Roots Makes Super Protein Building Blocks (and Bacon) from Mushroom Roots

If you’re biting into any sort of plant-based meat these days, odds are its main ingredient is soy, peas, or wheat. But that might not be the case for long if Prime Roots has its way.

The company’s cofounder and CEO, Kimberlie Le, got the inspiration for the company back in 2017, when she began questioning why alternative meats were made from the same few plants. “I wondered — why aren’t people looking at not plants?” she told me in a recent phone interview. So she began experimenting in the Berkeley Alternative Meat Lab with co-founder Joshua Nixon, looking for a plant-free protein building block to upend the meatless status quo.

Eventually, they found it in mushrooms. Or more specifically, mycelium: mushroom roots. (No, mushrooms are not technically plants — they’re fungi.) These roots, which are produced in a process akin to beer brewing, can be used to make any manner of meat substitutes, from shrimp to bacon to crab cakes.

Mycelium have a few advantages over other plant proteins. According to Le, the fungi they use are tasteless, so they don’t have to mask any off plant flavors (like the tongue-coating bitterness that comes with pea protein.) Mycelium require minimal resources to grow and are a more efficient source of protein than plants, which often require solvents to fully extract all the protein. Prime Roots can also tweak the fungi’s nutritional content, adjusting its levels of protein and fat. “We can make our product have 50 percent more protein than meat,” Le said.

Most importantly, though, mycelium have an extremely versatile flavor and texture, meaning they can be used to make any manner of meat or seafood substitutes. While still operating under their former name of Terramino Foods, they were focusing on fish-free salmon burgers. Now they’ve taken a step back to re-evaluate.

To narrow down the choices, they’ve posted a voting page on their website with 12 meaty and protein-heavy options — from chicken tenders to protein bars — all of which Prime Roots has already tested internally. Anyone who casts their vote will have early access to the products at a discounted price.

When they do launch, which Le anticipates will be around 2020, Prime Roots will be sold exclusively online. Le said they’re waiting to start selling their products until they’re priced competitively with meat. Which they’re actually not too far from — as of now — Prime Roots can make their mycelium for only a few dollars a pound.

Prime Roots currently has a team of 10. Last year they participated in the prestigious IndieBio accelerator program and raised $4.25 million.

By choosing to use mycelium as a meat substitute, Prime Roots is going up against one of the highest-grossing meat alternative companies in the world: Quorn. The company uses fermented mycoprotein, a type of fungi, as the base of their meat-free products. Per Le, Prime Roots’ advantage comes down to the unique properties and simplicity of their mycelium. “The fungi that [Quorn] uses has only been in the diet the last 50 or so years,” she said. “We looked at what protein people have been using a lot longer.”

Prime Roots is also hoping that their emphasis on community — putting the product choice in the hand of the consumers — will help them stand out as the alt-protein space gets more crowded. That way Prime Roots can sniff out gaps in the market and develop new products accordingly using their mushroomy building blocks.

It’s a clever idea. But Prime Roots will need more than just catchy marketing strategies to go up against a behemoth like Quorn, which has a sizeable range of products, global name recognition and a widespread retail footprint. To stand out, Prime Roots will have to not only make a product that tastes excellent, but also one that consumers don’t already see in the grocery aisle.

I just cast my own vote — bacon all the way. If Prime Roots can nail the taste of a product as popular (and, in the meat alternative space, as underrepresented) as that, they’ll have more than just a shot at carving out their own space in the alt-protein market.

Kencko Raises $3.4M Seed Round for Powdered Fruit and Vegetable Packets

Kencko, a nutrition startup making direct-to-consumer packets of powdered fruits and vegetabes, announced today that it has raised $3.4 million in seed funding. The round was led by NextView Ventures, Kairos Ventures, Techstars, LocalGlobe, Max Ventures, and more.

My colleague Jenn Marston wrote about New York- and Lisbon-based Kencko last year:

Kencko’s current product is simply fruits and vegetables in powdered form, which consumers then mix with water and drink. It’s not a meal replacement like Soylent, but rather, an alternative to whole fruits and veggies that manages to keep nutritional elements intact.

So basically it’s powdered produce that, when mixed with water or milk, makes something between a cold-pressed juice and a smoothie.

Currently Kencko makes its packets in six blended flavors, like so-called “purples” (which includes blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, cranberry, banana, strawberry and dates) and “greens” (which has spinach, kale, kiwi, pineapple, apple, banana and ginger). By flash-freezing and slow drying its produce, Kencko can purportedly retain all of the vitamins and fibers of its ingredients. Each 20-gram packet contains two of the recommended five-a-day servings of fruits and vegetables and has a shelf life of nine months.

Kencko CEO and co-founder Tomas Froes told me over the phone that they plan to use the funding to become fully plant-based. That includes the material used for making the packets themselves. Froes said that they want to exchange the plastic they currently use for a compostable alternative. They’ll also use the new capital to add more flavors to their lineup.

Kencko is currently only available via the company’s website in packages of 3, 20, and 60, which will cost you $16, $60, and $130, respectively. Each shipment comes with a reusable plastic water bottle.

That shakes out to $2-$5 per packet, which isn’t super cheap. However, it starts to look prettyyyy reasonable when compared to pricey cold-pressed juices and smoothies, which can set you back at least $10 per serving.

Kencko also has the added appeal of convenience. Its packets are shipped directly to consumers and can hang out in a cabinet or desk drawer for months until you need them. “We’re not replacing cold-pressed juice or smoothies,” Froes elaborated. “We’re adding another layer of convenience to them at a better price point.”

For now, Froes said they’re happy sticking with the D2C model. “Consumers are getting a better experience through us,” he explained. But I actually think the grocery store would be an opportune sales channel. Imagine checking out at the supermarket and, alongside the Snicker’s bars and Doublemint gum, there’s a packet of freeze-dried fruits and vegetables ready to be turned into an afternoon pick-me-up. I’d definitely be tempted to grab one, especially if I realized I’d been lax about eating my veggies that day.

Kencko seems to be unique in terms of its dehydrated produce packets. But it won’t necessarily be for long. With its new funding, Kencko would be smart to continue diversifying its offerings and retail options to keep ahead of the pack.

NUGGS Launches Mail Order Plant-based Chicken Nuggets

Ben Pasternak first gained media attention when he became one of the youngest people ever to get venture capital at the age of 15 for his gaming app. Four years later, he’s started a company focusing on a totally new (but no less viral) type of technology: alternative proteins.

His company NUGGS makes vegan “chicken” nuggets out of texturized pea protein. The nuggets have 22g of protein per serving (twice as much as animal nuggets) and are free from eggs, wheat, soy, and cholesterol. Today, NUGGS is launching the nuggets with a direct-to-consumer model.

The nuggets are currently only available to consumers in the U.S. through NUGG’s website. One box of 40 nuggets will put you back $24, but two boxes (80 nuggets) costs you $29. That seems crazy expensive for one box but pretty reasonable for two, so we’ll see if NUGG’s pricing strategy ends up pushing consumers to buy double. The company eventually plans to expand into retail and foodservice.

So far NUGG has raised $7 million in funding led by Canadian potato processor McCain Foods, who also manufactures the nuggets. Other investors include Greylock Discovery Fund, Rainfall Ventures, and the former president of Tumblr John Maloney.

In an email to The Spoon NUGG claimed to be the world’s first “chicken” nugget startup, but that’s not exactly accurate. Seattle-based startup Rebellyous has been selling its plant-based chicken nuggets wholesale to cafeterias, schools, hospitals, etc. for quite a while. Larger companies have also been embracing plant-based chicken options. Tyson recently released a vegetarian nugget, and Burger King in Sweden has rolled out its plant-based Rebel Chicken King throughout the Scandinavian nation.

But the plant-based protein space isn’t a zero-sum game — especially when it comes to chicken. True, there are a few veteran plant-based companies like Quorn and Gardein who have had frozen vegetarian nuggets to market for a while. But when it comes to the recent wave of companies developing more realistic meat alternatives, most of the innovation has been around burgers, not chicken, leaving ample opportunity for new players.

That might be starting to change. KFC in the U.K. sold out of its vegan Imposter Burger in four days. Chick-fil-A is reportedly looking into alternative protein options. Plus there’s the fact that consumers are hungrier than ever for plant-based protein of all stripes — including chicken.

As of now, NUGGS is untested. I have some skepticism over whether it will succeed. NUGGS’ team of eight are quite young (three of its leaders are 20 and under, including the CEO) and have relatively little experience in plant-based food manufacturing and scaling — issues that are tripping up even veteran, well-funded players like Impossible Foods.

That said, NUGGS is coming to market at an opportune time, before there’s too much competition. If they can deliver on taste (admittedly a big ‘if’), Pasternak and his team might find themselves winning a very different sort of game.

Is That Whopper Made of Meat or Plants? Burger King in Sweden Wants You to Guess

Within the past few years, companies making plant-based meat have shifted from trying to make passable alternatives to making products so good, consumers can’t tell they’re not from an animal.

Burger King in Sweden is now putting their product to that very test. The chain recently launched a “50/50 menu” to promote sales of its new plant-based sandwiches: the Rebel Whopper and the Rebel Chicken King. According to advertising agency lbbonline, customers ordering off the menu have a 50 percent chance of getting the vegetarian sandwich, and a 50 percent chance of getting a meat one.

The only way they can tell for sure which one they got (unless their taste buds reveal the truth) is to scan a code on the sandwich’s packaging with the Burger King app. They have to input their guess before the app reveals whether they’re eating meat or plants.

The Rebel Whopper and Rebel Chicken King hit Burger Kings throughout Sweden last month after a successful pilot in May. They were originally called the Unbelievable Whopper and Unbelievable Chicken King but abrupted changed to Rebel (perhaps due to pushback from similarly-named Impossible Foods?). The chain has been tight-lipped about where they’re sourcing their new vegetarian options. Over email, BK Sweden’s General Manager Iwo Zakowski would only reveal that the producer of the plant-based chicken and burger patty were based in Europe. So, not Impossible or Beyond. It could be using the Incredible Burger from Switzerland-based Nestlé, though that seems unlikely since it’s already sold in McDonald’s in Israel and Germany.

Sadly I haven’t had the chance to taste Burger King’s new Rebel sandwiches, so I can’t speak to how will they mimic the real thing. If they’re a good substitute, this marketing gimmick could be a smart way to entice hesitant customers to try plant-based options. But if they’re not very realistic, this could spark some backlash for BK, especially on social media.

Regardless, this is an obvious way for Burger King to gather valuable data on its new plant-based offerings. It will get a record of every consumer’s reaction to the sandwiches, and be able to quantify how often people are actually duped by the vegetarian alternatives. I’m not sure if the app offers a section for feedback, but if it does that could help BK optimize the sandwich to make it even more meat-like.

Burger King is betting on meat alternatives around the globe. In the U.S. they’re currently rolling out the Impossible Whopper made with the popular “bleeding” plant-based patty. Just today, Burger Kings in the U.K. began serving halloumi (a firm cheese) burgers after a successful trial run in Sweden. The new 50/50 menu shows that BK is confident that plant-based meat is good enough to attract not only vegetarians but carnivores — so confident they’re willing to put their menu where their mouth is.

Future Food: A Very Plant-Based Fourth of July, Plus a Glimpse Into Our BBQ Future

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If you live in ‘Merica, it’s very likely that you will be partaking in some grilling at some point today. Maybe there will be some meaty plant-based meat options on the menu? You’ve got plenty to choose from, but if you’re bringing Beyond burgers or sausages to the party and aren’t exactly sure how to cook them, don’t worry — we’ve got the guide.

If you’re one of the lucky ones that already has Beyond Beef in their local grocery store, you could even form your own burger patties, maybe stuff them with cheese (vegan or otherwise) to make a Jucy Lucy? For those that do, be sure to send us a Tweet or a photo and let us know how it goes.

Impossible burgers aren’t available in retail yet, so you won’t be able to toss one on the grill today. But if you’re craving that “bleeding,” heme-heavy umami flavor, you could order one for delivery (assuming all the restaurants around you aren’t closed). According to a recent Grubhub report, Impossible Burgers are experiencing a huge boom in popularity for delivery — especially on late-night orders. Plant-based nightcap, anyone?

4th of July, 2025

Grilling meatless meats is about as radical as we’ll get in 2019 in terms of futuristic food ingredients. But looking ahead to a few years down the road, what sort of newfangled foods will be tossing on the barbie then?

It seems safe to assume there will be even more realistic plant-based meat options in the future, priced roughly on par with (or even cheaper than) traditional meat. We’ll also probably see some better vegan cheese, since the options available now are… not amazing. I’m really excited for the day when I can taste cheddar made from dairy by Perfect Day or New Culture, two startups creating animal-free milk. Unlike current vegan cheese options, their offerings will melt and taste exactly like cheese because, well, they are cheese. Just without the cow.

But let’s consider an even more out-there vision of future Fourth of July barbecues. There’s a very real chance we’ll see alt-meats made with protein created from CO2. That’s what Finnish company Solar Foods is working on. They plan to have solein — their protein made through a technology called gas fermentation — to market by 2021. That timeline strikes me as overly ambitious, but by 2025 I wouldn’t be surprised if solein makes an appearance on our grills in the guise of alt-meats.

Then of course there’s cell-based meat. By 2025 at least a few cultured meat products will hopefully already be to market, so we could theoretically be barbecuing chicken, steaks, pork sausages and salmon filets grown entirely in bioreactors. Chances are, cell-based meat products will still be relatively expensive, but also worth it for the thrill of asking your BBQ guests how they like their cultured burger.

Photo: Good Catch Foods

Protein ’round the web

  • American BBQ chain Famous Dave’s is testing out Beyond Meat sliders, tacos, and bowls in five locations.
  • This week a Mississippi law went into effect which stated that plant- and insect-based products can’t be labeled as meat. The Plant Based Food Association and meat alternative company Upton’s natural are suing them (h/t Food Navigator).
  • Good Catch Foods, whose plant-based tuna is available in Whole Foods, just raised $10 million. It’ll use the new dough to develop more fish-free products, like “crab” cakes and “fish” patties.

Finally, if you’re feeling very ambitious you could try cooking a plant-based sausage in a Pringle’s can. PSA: We have not tried this and can in no way promise that it will turn out okay. But it is cool looking.

Eat well,
Catherine

Good Catch Hooks $10M in Funding for its Plant-Based Tuna

Yesterday Gathered Foods, the company behind Good Catch plant-based seafood, announced that it had closed a $10 million convertible note round. According to Forbes, the round was led by animal-free protein funds New Crop Capital and Stray Dog Capital. Along with last year’s $8.7 million Series A, this latest round should bring Gathered Foods’ total funding to roughly $18.7 million.

Good Catch makes plant-based tuna using a 6-protein blend and algal oil to give it that distinct ocean-y taste. Each 3.3-ounce pouch of Good Catch tuna — which comes in three flavors — has 14 grams of protein and costs around $4.99. Gathered Foods is also developing a line of frozen entrées, like vegan “crab” cakes and fish-free “whitefish” burgers, which will be available in spring of 2020.

The company will use its new funds to scale production of Good Catch’s plant-based seafood. No wonder — in February of this year the company started rolling out its products in Whole Foods as well as through online grocery providers FreshDirect and Thrive Market. However, their Whole Foods exclusivity ended on May 1st, so we’ll likely start to see them popping up in even more retailers.

To keep up with increased distribution, Gathered Foods is currently building a $20 million manufacturing facility in Ohio which will be able to make a variety of plant-based proteins. Seeing as Good Catch is coming out with a line of faux crab and fish patties, this flexibility makes a lot of sense. They’re aiming to finish the new facility by the end of this year — hopefully that will help them avoid the supply issues other plant-based meat companies have been struggling with as of late.

Good Catch isn’t the only one trying to disrupt the seafood industry with more sustainable, plant-based options. Sophie’s Kitchen has a vegan canned “toona” from springy Japanese yam, and Ocean Hugger Foods turns tomatoes and eggplant into plant-based alternatives to raw fish for sushi.

As cool as all these are, to me they’re just a stop-gap until lab-grown seafood comes to market. Quite a few companies are working on it — Wild Type makes cell-based lox, Shiok Meats makes cultured shrimp, and Finless Foods is developing lab-grown tuna.

Due to high costs, scaling difficulties and regulatory hurdles, however, it’ll be quite a few years before cell-based seafood shows up at our local Whole Foods. Let’s see how far Good Catch gets before then.