San Diego’s Jensen Meat, a privately held processor of ground animal beef which supplies large US retailers such as Walmart and Kroger, is expanding both its facilities and its team to manage co-packing opportunities for plant-based beef and has already broken ground on its new processing plant, which will create jobs in the region.
“With sixty years’ experience, Jensen Meat has perfected how to process and pack quality ground beef,” said Abel Olivera, CEO of Jensen Meat. “We now want to leverage our world-class knowledge to create a cost-effective process for producing plant-based products.”
In 2019, Jensen Meat’s owners, brothers Gregg and Jeff Hamann, acquired plant-based producer Before the Butcher, in a deal that provided BTB with access to a 90,000-square-foot production facility and cold storage warehousing facilities. Speaking at the time, Jeff Hamman noted, “It’s clear that plant-based meats are on a growth trajectory”.
Jensen Meat products belonging to brands including Fat Burger®, Great Value®, Kroger®, Sam’s Choice®, and Sysco®, are sold through retail, foodservice, and club store channels throughout the US.
The company’s new facility will include multiple capabilities such as blending, cooking, dry mixing, emulsifying, and hydrating. Jensen states that the plant will be completed by April 2021 and will “allow the company to increase production of affordable protein sources and work towards the goal of making the global food system sustainable.”
“We can create, process, and pack plant-based products in ways that are cost-effective and innovative,” added Mr. Olivera. “We want to help bright minds out there that have the same goal of creating healthy, low-cost foods from alternative sources of protein, which also play a part in reducing world hunger.”
