Meat- and Fish Alternatives

shelf-stable vegan chorizo

© RollinGreens

RollinGreens Debuts Shelf-Stable Vegan Chorizo as Shark Tank Appearance Boosts Sales

US plant-based convenience foods company RollinGreens has announced the launch of shelf-stable vegan chorizo, the second product in its Plant-Based ME’EAT line. The first product in the range, Plant-Based Ground Taco ME’EAT, launched last year and quickly saw explosive growth. Following this success, RollinGreens has revealed it will be introducing several more shelf-stable meat alternatives later this year. The brand was previously best known for products such as Millet Tots and Cauliflower Wings, but has decided to pivot to focus on alt-meat. All products in the range are soy-free and made with just a few simple ingredients. The Taco ME’EAT and Spicy Chorizo will be available at Kroger from April, adding to the Taco ME’EAT’s existing listings at Thrive Market, QVC, GMA’s Deals and Steals, …

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Like Meat BBQ Chicken Sandwich

© LikeMeat

LikeMeat Will Feature Innovative Plant-Based Chicken at Expo West 2022

LikeMeat, a LIVEKINDLY Collective brand, announces the company will showcase its authentic plant-based chicken products at this year’s Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California. Throughout the event, LikeMeat will be sampling a full lineup of its popular products including Like BBQ Chik’n, Like Chik’n Pieces and LikeWings. The brand will be servings its vegan chicken in a variety of snacks and dishes such as Like Nuggets, Like Chik’n tacos with salsa and guacamole, Like Wings tossed in buffalo sauce and Like BBQ Chik’n Sandwiches topped with coleslaw. On Thursday, March 10, LikeMeat’s booth will also host a special LikeWings and Beer happy hour from 3:30 pm to 6 pm. According to the brand, its products are created to offer the same tastes and textures …

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BK katsu royale

©Burger King

Burger King UK Launches Vegan Katsu Curry Burgers

Burger King UK has added two new vegan burgers to its expanding plant-based menu. The new vegan offerings are part of a Japanese-inspired Katsu Curry range, available as of today until September 2022 in participating restaurants.  The Plant-based Katsu Chilli Whopper and the Katsu Vegan Royale feature Burger King’s signature plant-based patties with chilli sauce, crispy onion, pickled slaw and katsu curry sauce. Both burgers are served in vegan-friendly buns and cost the same as their meat-based counterparts; The Katsu Royale is £6.29 and the Katsu Chilli Whopper £7.29. 50% plant-based by 2030 In 2021 Burger King’s UK CEO made the announcement that the fast-food giant’s menu would be 50% meatless by 2030. The company has added Vegan Society certified menu items across the world, …

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Peet's Coffee Spring Menu

©Peet's Coffee

Peet’s Coffee is Launching New Plant-Based Drinks and Sandwiches

American coffee chain Peet’s Coffee announces a new Spring plant-based menu that will officially launch on March 9. Rather than offer a single vegan option, Peet says the new menu is a fully dedicated selection crafted with Beyond Meat, JUST Egg and Violife cheeses, plus several specialty drinks.  The new items include:  Plant-based Mediterranean Flatbread wrap – Crispy lavash bread with warm JUST Egg and Violife vegan smoked provolone cheese, wrapped with pesto, kale, tomatoes and bell peppers.  Everything Plant-Based Sandwich – The return of a fan favorite, now a permanent menu item. Seasoned Beyond Breakfast Sausage, folded JUST Egg, and melted vegan cheddar on a toasted bagel. Three made-to-order plant-based beverages, including the Hazelnut Oat Latte, Vanilla Almond Latte (available hot or iced) and …

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Goiko vegan burger beyond meat

©Goiko

Spain: Goiko Goes Vegan with Three New Plant-Based Burgers 

Edit 7th March: these burgers can be made vegan if ordered without mayonnaise. Goiko, one of Spain’s largest burger chains, has launched three new vegan burger options on its menus featuring Beyond Meat and Violife. Goiko’s new plant-based menu offerings also include a new starter and a salad, as alt meat continues to grow in popularity across the country.  As well as two restaurants in Paris, France, Goiko has over 80 locations across Spain, making it one of the country’s most popular premium burger restaurants which has until now been almost exclusively focused on animal products. The new vegan creations include the Edamami – a veggie burger made with edamame, broccoli, couscous and rice, the Pollotariana – a plant-based chicken burger with roasted peppers, and …

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Sunfed Bull Free Beef Raw Prime Diced

©Sunfed

Sunfed Launches Bull Free Beef Raw Prime Diced Across New Zealand 

Sunfed – one of New Zealand’s leading plant-based brands – has launched its latest raw alt meat cut. The latest offering, Bull Free Beef Raw Prime Diced, will launch this week through Countdown, New Zealand’s largest supermarket chain.  Sunfed, founded by Shama Sukul Lee in 2015, offers a range of “meat-free meat” cuts, opting for raw plant-based ingredients rather than the processed products which dominate the market. As the foodtech brand has emerged as a major player in the antipodean vegan meat industry, vegconomist takes a look at its biggest moves so far. Chicken Free Chicken After raising $10 million in Series A capital, Sunfed expanded its popular Chicken Free Chicken across Australia. Taking over three years of product development – and a lot of …

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vegan garlic kyiv

© Finnebrogue

Better Naked to Donate 50% of Vegan Garlic Kyiv Profits to Ukraine Relief Effort

UK plant-based brand Better Naked, owned by Finnebrogue, has announced that 50% of profits from its vegan Garlic Kyiv will be donated to the humanitarian effort in Ukraine. Better Naked has also renamed the product, formerly called the Garlic Kiev, in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Chicken kievs originate from the Ukrainian capital, which was known as Kiev in the days of the Soviet Union but is now often spelled Kyiv at the request of the Ukrainian government. Better Naked’s vegan Garlic Kyiv contains a pea-protein-based chicken alternative covered in plant-based garlic butter sauce and coated in breadcrumbs. Finnebrogue will split half of the profits from the product between Unicef and the Red Cross. Ukraine conflict The conflict in Ukraine has had serious consequences for …

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IMPOSSIBLE_PATTIES

©Impossible Foods

Kroger and Impossible Foods Partner to Create Co-Branded Meat Products

Kroger, America’s largest grocery store chain, announced on Friday the company will partner with Impossible Foods to create meat alternatives for Kroger’s private label, reports CNBC.  Kroger revealed the big news during an investor meeting; a representative for Impossible Foods confirmed the collaboration but declined further comment. Though details are still limited, a co-branding partnership between the two companies could have huge implications for making Impossible’s products more accessible and affordable.  Impact on Beyond Meat? The news rattled Beyond Meat’s stock, with shares falling more than 7% in afternoon trading. The event is the latest in a series of financial troubles for the company, which has lost 68% of its stock value over the past year due to increased competition and a slowdown in retail …

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Nasoya Plantspired Plant-Based Steak

©Nasoya

Nasoya Announces National Launch of Plantspired Plant-Based Steak

Nasoya, a top-selling brand of tofu and plant-based foods, will launch its premium Plantspired Steak in US grocery stores beginning this spring.  The plant-based steak, which will initially roll out at Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores, first debuted at more than 200 WaBa Grill locations in 2021, in the fast-casual chain’s healthy rice bowls.  Made from non-GMO soy, Plantspired Steak offers marinated steak-like strips that are char-grilled over an open flame. Containing 14 grams of protein, the plant-based steak can be quickly warmed and served alone or with an endless variety of dishes such as rice, noodles, soup, salad and veggies. The product is available in a Korean BBQ flavor paired with a sweet and smoky bulgogi sauce, and can be found in the produce …

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Vivera salmon

©Vivera

Vivera Launches Plant-Based Salmon Fillets at Lower Cost to Real Salmon

Vivera, the Dutch plant protein producer acquired last year by Brazilian meat giant JBS, this week unveiled a plant-based salmon fillet which will be sold at €3.49 for two fillets, making the product cheaper than conventional salmon fillets, according to the brand. “Price is one of the major barriers for consumers of meat substitutes, and where they are usually more expensive than meat, it is now the other way round. I am curious to what extent this will drive trial,” says Karin Löwik, international marketing manager at Vivera. The salmon alternative, said to have a “fatty bite and flakey structure which falls apart like normal salmon,” was launched in the Dutch fishing village of Volendam where it was served to “the most critical fish lovers” …

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Taquitos

©Brent Hofacker - stock.adobe.com

Planet Based Foods Will Debut Hemp-Based Taquitos at Expo West 2022

Planet Based Foods, maker of hemp-based meats, is entering the convenience foods category with new taquito products. Set to debut at this year’s Expo West, the taquitos are available in Original and Southwest varieties, and will feature the brand’s nutrient-dense hemp protein crumbles. The soy-free and non-GMO products are now available to foodservice and retail buyers, with a direct-to-consumer launch coming in May.  Additional product descriptions:  Original Taquitos – Hemp-based crumble seasoned with onion and vegan pepper jack cheese in a crunchy taquito shell.  Southwest Taquitos – A zesty Southwestern flavor with seasoned crumble, vegan pepper jack, sauteed yellow onion and serrano chiles.  Both items retail at a suggested price of $6.99 for six taquitos.  Reinventing hemp  In February, Planet Based Foods launched first-of-its-kind burgers, sausages …

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Plantcraft Pepperoni Slices

©Plantcraft

Plantcraft Unveils New, Cleaner-Label Plant-Based Pepperoni

Plantcraft, a plant-based deli meat company, announces the launch of Plant-Based Pepperoni in Spicy and Mild varieties. Made with allergy-friendly green banana flour, the Pepperoni is the first product release from Plantcraft’s upcoming line of deli slices.  The brand says its Plant-Based Pepperoni will provide the same taste as traditional pepperoni with eight grams of protein per serving, five grams of fiber and no nuts, grains, soy, or eggs. The pepperoni also offers a clean label that is free from artificial additives and preservatives, with ingredients such as pea protein, green banana flour, faba protein, sunflower seed oil, salt and spices.  The Plant-Based Pepperoni is now available at Earth Fare Markets, a Southeast US-based chain with 20+ locations, followed by additional retailers. Each seven-ounce package will …

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Umami Meats Team Photo

©Umami Meats

Umami Meats Secures $2.4M Pre-Seed for Cultivated Seafood at Price Parity

Umami Meats, the Singapore-based food tech startup developing cultivated seafood, has secured pre-seed funding of $2.4 million. Umami Meats will leverage its plant-derived growth serum to enable cultivated seafood production at price parity, with the goal of drastically reducing the two trillion fish caught every year.  Creating healthy, sustainable seafood without damage to animals or the oceans, Umami Meats’ new funding will be used to further develop its low-cost production system for cultivated seafood. The brand hopes to pave the way for Singapore to host the leading technology platform for minimizing the cost of large-scale cell-based manufacturing.  The pre-seed funding round was co-led by Better Bite Ventures, an APAC-focused alt protein VC, and CULT Food Science amongst others. Umami Meats claims its low-cost, scalable production …

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Oumph! Chiquito Vegan Burrito Bowl

© Chiquito

Oumph! & Chiquito Burrito Bowl “Out-Performing” Forecasts at 1000 UK Locations 

Oumph!, the Swedish alt meat sensation, has made a retail collaboration with Mexican restaurant Chiquito which is sold exclusively at over 1000 Iceland and Food Warehouse stores across the UK. Supermarket chain Iceland is now reporting the Chiquito Vegan Burrito Bowl’s success as the product out-performs against initial forecasts. “Since launch, the Chiquito Vegan Burrito Bowl is out-performing against our initial forecasts, with some incredibly encouraging reviews from customers both in-store and online” The Chiquito Vegan Burrito Bowl, which contains Oumph! Salty & Smoky soya protein retails at £4.00 (450g) and can be cooked straight from frozen – with the brand advertising it as ideal for snacking and packing on the go. Since 2019 Oumph! has featured in two popular vegan dishes on Chiquito’s menu.  It …

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Mycorena’s mycelium-based protein Promyc

© Mycorena

Sweden’s Mycorena Closes “Largest Ever” Nordic Series A Investment in Alt Protein 

Mycorena – the Swedish startup developing mycelium-based protein from upcycled food waste – has closed what it claims is the largest Nordic Series A funding round in alt protein to date. The fresh €24 million ($26.8 million) Series A funding will be used to upscale and commercialize Promyc – the food tech’s proprietary alt protein product.  Mycorena’s mycelium-based protein Promyc can be used to create realistic alt meats, with the sustainable ingredient developed by upcycling food waste in industrial processing such as bread dough from bakeries. Mycorena has also developed fungi to create a type of fat that behaves in the same way as animal fat, enhancing the flavor of alt-meat products. Mycelium-based foods have emerged as a major category in the development of alt …

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