WunderEggs Costco Roadshows

© Hema Reddy - LinkedIn

Fairs & Events

Crafty Counter Teams Up With Costco to Showcase WunderEggs at US Roadshows

Crafty Counter, the producer of vegan hard-boiled egg alternative, WunderEggs, has announced a strategic collaboration with retail giant Costco to showcase its products at three Costco roadshows in the United States. After attending the Fearless Fund VC Summit in Atlanta, which was sponsored by Costco, Crafty Counter received purchase orders for Costco’s roadshows in Atlanta and Orlando throughout the month of January. Hema Reddy, founder, and CEO of Crafty Counter, shared her vision on social media, stating, “I had heard that roadshows were a vehicle to test your offering, price propensity, insights on the club shopper, and get tons of feedback while of course selling your products to an entirely new customer base. Therefore that was a key part of my pitch.” Although WunderEggs are …

more

New Beyond Burger at CostCo

© Kred Sterns (@bigboxvegan on Instagram)

Products & Launches

Beyond Meat Introduces New Beyond Burger and 10-Packs Exclusively at Costco

Beyond Meat has announced the launch of its new and improved Beyond Burger, now available exclusively at Costco stores across the United States. Closely mimicking the taste of beef and designed to cook from frozen in just 10 minutes, the new burger aims to cater to Costco’s clientele of families and busy individuals. The company says its revamped Beyond Burger offers a juicy, flavorful interior with a perfectly seared exterior, achieving the classic griddled burger experience. With 19 grams of protein per patty, it has 35% less saturated fat compared to a standard 80/20 beef burger, without any cholesterol, added antibiotics, or hormones. The burgers still contain clean, simple, non-GMO ingredients like brown rice and pea protein, but Beyond says the new burger is even …

more

KLIMON Morning Brew Ice Cream

©KLIMON

Sweets & Snacks

KLIMON’s Innovative Almond Milk Ice Cream Launches into US Costco Stores

Dairy-free brand KLIMON announces the launch of its popular almond milk ice cream at all Costco stores in Northern California, Central California, and Northern Nevada. The brand’s ice cream is now available for purchase in 4-pint variety packs.  “Decadent texture” KLIMON (pronounced “klee-mohn”) only launched in 2022, but it has already garnered a huge fan base for its innovative plant-based ice cream, which it says offers the same texture and creaminess as dairy. Using a proprietary blend of almond milk, coconut oil, proteins and stabilizers, KLIMON produces ice cream in five flavors: Morning Brew, Caramel Brûlée, Sunrise Bang, Mint Condition and Cherry Bomb. At Costco, the product will now be available in a 4-pint pack with Cherry Bomb, Mint Condition and Morning Brew varieties.  KLIMON …

more

Beyond Sausage and Burgers at Costco

© Beyond Meat

Retail & E-Commerce

Beyond Meat’s Popular Sausage Debuts at Select US Costco Stores

Beginning this week, Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND) announces it is expanding its Costco portfolio with the debut of Beyond Sausage. In addition, the brand’s Beyond Burger will be a featured item at Costco stores from now until July 23, offering the product at a more approachable price point ahead of the July 4th holiday.  Made for grilling According to Beyond Meat, the new “even meatier” Hot Italian Beyond Sausage will be sold in a 12-link pack at select Costco warehouses in US West, Southwest and Hawaii regions. As America’s “top-selling” plant-based dinner sausage, Beyond Sausage now features a new recipe with an enhanced flavor and meatier taste and texture. Each link contains 16 grams of protein and 40% less saturated fat than a leading brand of …

more

Skinny Butcher

© Skinny Butcher

Retail & E-Commerce

Retail Expansion for Skinny Butcher’s Plant-Based Chicken in 3 Major Michigan Stores

Michigan-based Skinny Butcher is expanding throughout its home state with launches at three major chains. The brand’s plant-based chicken products — which include Crazy Crispy Chick’n Breasts, Tenders, Nuggets, and Patties — will be available at Costco Wholesale, SpartanNash corporate stores, and all Gordon Food Service locations. The chicken alternatives are made from vegetable fibres, which are combined with pea protein and a proprietary spice blend. The products are then coated using a double-breading method. According to Skinny Butcher, the finished plant-based chicken has “the crispiest, closest to real fried chicken taste and texture on the market”. Successful debut Skinny Butcher previously launched at Costco stores in Northern California, the Midwest, and selected Utah locations. The brand also arrived at Walmart stores nationwide through a …

more

Actual Veggies Clean-Label Burger Range

©Actual Veggies

Retail & E-Commerce

Actual Veggies Launches Chef-Crafted Vegetable-Based Burgers at 57 Costco Stores

Actual Veggies, which produces plant-based burgers from real vegetables, announces it has launched into 57 Costco stores in the San Francisco Bay Area.  For the first time, the brand’s burgers will be sold in bulk packs of eight patties each. Based in New York, Actual Veggies seeks to “put real vegetables back into veggie burgers” and produces a line of gourmet, thick-cut patties made with wholesome, plant-only ingredients.  The range of ¼ lb Actual burgers includes:  The Green Burger (Kale, broccoli, peas, zucchini, spinach) The Purple Burger (Beets, carrots, red onions, peas) The Orange Burger (Sweet potato, carrots, red pepper, cauliflower) The Black Burger (Black beans, parsnip, red pepper, oats) Each serving contains about 9 grams of protein and fiber with zero cholesterol or saturated …

more

Jenny Goldfarb/ Unreal Deli

Jenny Goldfarb ©Kathleen Lantos Photography

Investments & Finance

Unreal Deli Announces Series A Round and $50M Valuation

Plant-based brand Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli announces a Series A fundraising round with investors Mark Cuban and the Getty family. Cuban and Getty kicked off the round, which the company is keeping open to allow other plant-based investors to join. Both parties reportedly valued the company at $50M, with Cuban re-investing $500,000 in addition to his original seed investment of $250,000. The strong start to this round is the latest success for the company, which first gained national fame following a 2019 appearance on the Shark Tank television show. Created by Jenny Goldfarb, the brand went on to quickly expand and enter thousands of retail locations across the US, including Publix and Whole Foods Markets. In May, Unreal officially launched at 40 Costco locations with …

more

Skinny Butcher Chick'n Patty

©Skinny Butcher

Food & Beverage

Skinny Butcher Accelerates US Retail Growth to Costco and Safeway Stores

Plant-based poultry brand Skinny Butcher announces its line of Crazy Crispy Chick’n products are now available in hundreds of US Costco and Safeway locations, in addition to Walmart locations nationwide.  Shoppers can now find Skinny Butcher’s Chick’n in the following stores: Costco – Northern California, Midwestern United States and select Utah locations Walmart – all US locations Safeway – Mid-Atlantic, Seattle and Intermountain Love at first bite According to Skinny Butchers, its breaded chicken products are consistently wowing key decision-makers at major retailers, who are excited to learn about and sample the brand’s proprietary recipes. “Major chains were eager to learn about our proprietary formula of plant-based products that are virtually indistinguishable from their animal-based comparables,” explains Dave Zilko, CEO of Skinny Butcher. “Once they …

more

Unreal Deli Trio

©Unreal Deli

Food & Beverage

Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli Launches into Costco with New Bulk Packs

Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli announces its plant-based deli slices are now available in 40 Costco locations across Southern California and Hawaii. For the launch, the brand has created an exclusive combo pack featuring all three of its signature meats, and will host in-store product sampling in June.  The new 1 ½ lb combo packs include 8 oz each of Unreal Deli’s Steak Slices, Corn’d Beef, and Roasted Turk’y slices, allowing customers to enjoy the full product line at a bargain value. On June 6, 10, and 11,  Unreal Deli will be present at all 40 store locations to sample its products prepared with Vevan dairy-free cheese.  From Shark Tank to sub chain “It’s now going to be easier than ever to stay stocked up on …

more

Plant Alternative co-founders with Veg Capital's Matthew Glover. © Plant Alternative

Investments & Acquisitions

Plant Alternative Secures Further £2M From Veg Capital for SHICKEN Indian Ready Meals

The UK’s Plant Alternative, which produces the SHICKEN range of chef-made Indian ready meals, has received further funding from Veg Capital. The nonprofit impact fund led Plant Alternative’s recent round with a £2 million investment, which will be used to scale up production. The company will also be expanding its team, launching at Costco stores across the UK and internationally, and moving to a larger production facility. The new factory will allow Plant Alternative to produce 10 tonnes of product per day, as demand from retailers, foodservice outlets, and DTC customers continues to soar. Costco launch SHICKEN Tikka Kebab Skewers launched at Costco UK in January to huge success — according to Plant Alternative, they have been “flying off the shelves”. “We’re really keen to …

more

Satvinder Bains, Home Chef and Founder of Plant Alternative

©Plant Alternative

Products & Launches

Plant Alternative Launches [SHICKEN] Indian Kebabs into Costco UK

Plant Alternative, a London-based producer of 100% plant-based, restaurant quality Indian dishes called [SHICKEN], containing a realistic chick*n meat created from textured soya fibre, announces a retail agreement with Costco across the UK. Plant Alternative’s range of authentic Asian dishes caught the attention of Vegan investor Matthew Glover last year, who was “blown away” by their quality, resulting in an investment from his VC firm Veg Capital which helped propel the brand’s success.  Founder Satvinder Bains spent two years developing [SHICKEN] curries with a team of chefs to ensure that while using only plant-based ingredients there would be no compromise on taste. The final recipes, combining marinated and flame grilled [SHICKEN] vegan pieces and hand-crafted Indian sauces, resulted in the closest vegan match to some …

more

Field Roast

©Field Roast

Products & Launches

Field Roast Brings Plant-Based Nuggets to Costco as “Chicken Wars” Continue

Plant-based producer Field Roast has partnered with Costco to launch a 24-ounce club pack of plant-based chicken nuggets. The Field Roast Plant-Based Nuggets will now be available at over 50 Costco locations in the LA metropolitan area and is the first time that the product will be sold at any Costco store in the US. As part of Field Roast’s growing frozen portfolio, the Plant-Based Nuggets were first introduced to conventional retailers in January 2020 and have proven highly successful, selling nearly 1.75 million plant-based nuggets in the last 12 months. The new Costco collaboration contains twice as many nuggets as the regular retail pack, as well as a new-and-improved formula that utilizes several relevant food technologies including high moisture extrusion (HME) technology. Chicken Wars …

more