Plant-It, an Irish alt protein company, recently debuted at the Plant Based World Expo to an “overwhelming” positive response as it readies to enter the US market.
The company, which offers a wide range of meat-free beef, chicken, and vegetable-based products, identified the US as a top goal for expansion and is currently building a team to help scale distribution. At the Plant Based World Expo — Plant-It’s first international trade show — the company attracted a large number of key buyers and leads impressed by both the products line’s taste and the brand’s Irish heritage, according to a press release.
Incorporated in 2019, Plant-It founder Declan Gallagher was determined to make plant-based foods go mainstream. He was soon joined by Irish food entrepreneur Tadgh Gearyfood and Gallagher’s sister, Noreen Gallagher, who became Plant-It’s CEO following a strong corporate career at McCain Foods, Nike and Glanbia. “I have enjoyed working with global leading brands and look forward to building Plant-It to be a global player in the plant-based category over the coming years,” Noreen stated.
The company’s plant-based products are created using proprietary Texsol ™ technology, inspired by bakery science, which can transform fiber and protein strands from various beans and lentils into useful formulas. Plant-It also says the company owns fully independent R&D and production capabilities.
Embracing reforestation
Beyond food, Plant-It is a highly mission-driven company that plants native trees in every country where the brand’s products are sold. Plant-It has so far partnered with multiple organizations to plant 20,000 native trees across Ireland, the UK and Finland, with new projects already planned for future regions.
Noreen Gallagher, CEO of Plant-It, stated, “Put simply, we make great tasting food that happens to be plant-based! The US was a major goal for this year and being Irish certainly resonated well with our American partners. We kicked the week off with a visit to Bord Bia’s US HQ followed by a meeting with Helena Nolan, the Irish consulate to the US. We also paid a visit to NYSE which further fuelled our ambition to become a global leading food brand”.
