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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Sunbasket

Food Tech News: Compostable Milk Packaging, Vegan Fast Food Goes Public

Happy weekend, and welcome to the Food Tech News round-up this week. This week we have news on JOI’s new compostable packaging, Sunbasket’s single-serving prepared meals, and a vegan fast-food company that’s gone public.

If you haven’t heard, The Spoon is on Clubhouse! “Food Tech Live” is the name of the room, and every Friday The Spoon team discusses news in food tech.

JOI launches zero waste oat milk

JOI produces nut paste concentrates that can be blended at home to make fresh plant-based milk, and the company just released a new product, an oat powder concentrate in fully compostable packaging. The powder contains only one ingredient, oats, and the 12 oz container produces a gallon of oat milk when blended with water. Once used, the packaging can be composted at home or at a commercial composting center. Many other plant-based milk packagings cannot be recycled, nor composted, According to the company, this is the first fully compostable plant-based milk product on the market.

Sunbasket launches single-serving prepared meals

Sunbasket, a subscription-based meal delivery service, just released single portion sizes of its Fresh & Ready prepared meals. The Fresh & Ready meals do not require any prep like the company’s meal kits, and can be heated up in a microwave or oven within a few minutes. The prepared meals are delivered fresh, not frozen, and start at $8.99. Starting April 25th, the single portion meals will be available for purchase on the company’s website. Throughout 2021, 65+ new meals will be released.

The first vegan fast-food company to go public

Globally Locally, a vegan fast-food chain based in Canada, began publicly trading TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GBLY yesterday, April 16th. Rather than IPO, the company entered an agreement with Black Lion Capital Corp to consolidate as Globally Local‎ Technologies Inc. Globally Locally manufactures and distributes its own plant-based protein and dairy alternatives, and can therefore offer prices comparable to other fast-food chains at its restaurants. Menu items include traditional fast-food fare made vegan, including burgers, wings, fries, shakes, and breakfast sandwiches. The eight restaurant locations primarily operate as smart kitchens offering pick-up and delivery. Within the next 12 months, the company aims to open at least 20 locations across North America. A few other vegan companies trade on the Canadian stock exchange, including The Very Good Food Company, Eat Beyond, and Modern Meat.

Sunbasket Transitions from Meal Kit Player to ‘Full-Service Meal Delivery Company’

Sunbasket, best known for its meal-kit subscription service, announced today it is broadening its product line and evolving to become “a full-service food delivery company.” The newly revamped service will offer a range of different food items to consumers, from full meals to snacks and pantry staples.

Reaching more potential customers, including those who need something more convenient than a full-on meal kit, seems to be at the heart of this transition. “The onset of COVID-19 forced consumers to quickly adopt new habits when it came to food, and Sunbasket was inspired to reflect on our company’s values to better serve our customers,” said Don Barnett, CEO, Sunbasket, said in a statement. Barnett added that he believes the company’s “refreshed emphasis on convenience will be appealing to even more people.”

To that end, the Sunbasket site now carries a mix of meal kits, heat-and-serve meals, meats (plant-based and traditional), dairy products, pantry staples, and snacks.

What is not completely clear from Sunbasket’s revamped website is whether a user still has to sign up for a subscription in order to get the pantry staples. From the looks of it, you would still need to sign up for a meal plan (either a meal kit or the heat-and-serve option), at which point you could add other staples onto your existing order. As has always been the case with Sunbasket, the commitment is month to month.

Today may be the official announcement for Sunbasket’s expanded roster of foods, but the company has dropped hints of such a transition for some time. In 2019, it expanded its dinner-only lineup to include breakfast and lunch meals, as well as add ons like granola butter and single-serving snacks.

And while the traditional meal kit is seeing some resurgence because of the pandemic (everyone’s eating at home), the sector’s ongoing struggles are well-documented. Most meal kit companies, including Kroger-owned HomeChef, Purple Carrot, and Blue Apron, have added a wider variety of food items as well as some customization features.

Sunbasket’s move to offer grocery items is a first in the meal kit sector, but it’s one of many examples of previously narrowly focused food companies expanding to incorporate online grocery into their wares. Misfits Market and Imperfect Foods, both companies that originally focused on rescuing cosmetically “ugly” fruits and veggies, have since expanded their services to include online marketplaces where all manner of pantry goods and food supplies can be bought. As a meal kit company, Sunbasket’s core business differs from these two companies, but it’s newly announced expansion appears to be similar.

With online grocery shopping expected to hit $250 billion and account for 21.5 percent of all grocery sales by 2025, it wouldn’t be surprising if other meal kit companies soon follow Sunbasket’s lead.