Shicken

SHICKEN founders

© SHICKEN
Interviews

SHICKEN: “Aiming to Become a Household Name in Plant-Based and a £5M Food Brand”

SHICKEN Foods, the fast-growing ready meal producer specialising in plant-based Indian cuisine, was created during the pandemic in its founders’ kitchen, and since then has seen staggering growth, raising over £2 million from investment fund Veg Capital and upgrading to larger manufacturing sites as demand soars. SHICKEN secured its first retail launch at Costco stores across the UK in early 2022, before rolling out at hundreds of Tesco locations this January. The company is now said to be on track for ten times its current growth, with a significant increase in exports expected in 2023. We spoke to founders Parm and Satvinder Bains to find out what’s next for SHICKEN. How did SHICKEN Foods start and what is the role of your Indian family in …

more

Bookmark
ClosePlease loginn

Topics:

© SHICKEN
Facts & Figures

SHICKEN On Track for Tenfold Current Growth With Rollout Into 471 Tesco Stores

SHICKEN, a producer of Indian-style plant-based ready meals, has gained its first major UK supermarket listing. Three of the brand’s products are now available at 471 Tesco stores nationwide: SHICKEN Tikka Masala — plant-based chicken pieces marinated in a vegan yogurt and spice mix, then covered in a creamy sauce. SHICKEN Korma — a sweet and spicy curry with all dairy ingredients swapped for coconut cream and vegan yogurt. SHICKEN Tikka Kebabs — spicy vegan skewers suitable as a snack or as part of a barbecue. Initially, SHICKEN began life as a a D2C brand, then went on to secure retail listings at 29 UK Costco stores last year as well as three of Iceland’s biggest grocery retailers (Hagkaup, Kronan, and Netto). The brand’s rapid …

more

Bookmark
ClosePlease loginn

Topics:

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

Bookmark
ClosePlease loginn
Satvinder Bains, Home Chef and Founder of Plant Alternative

©Plant Alternative
Interviews

Plant Alternative: “Our Products Make Choosing Plant-Based Alternatives Easier; Because Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference”

Plant Alternative is absolutely unique in its USP: veganised versions of the UK’s favourite Indian ready meals, products that stand far out from other ready meals on the market due to their restaurant quality and authentic flavours, as well as their vegan “Shicken” meat which is quite unlike others on the market. The London-based family brand has seen huge success since catching the attention of Matthew Glover just last year and has already bagged its first retail partnership with CostCo. We caught up with founder Satvinder Bains to find out about the background to the product range and her passion for bringing authentic Indian flavours vegan-friendly dishes.  What is the background behind Plant Alternative/Shicken?  Having grown up as a vegetarian in Nottingham with a North …

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

Bookmark
ClosePlease loginn

Topics:

Satvinder Bains & Matthew Glover Veg Capital Shicken

Satvinder Bains & Matthew Glover ©Veg Capital
Investments & Finance

Veg Capital Invests in Plant Alternative, Pioneer of Frozen Indian “Shicken” Curries

Veg Capital, the UK vegan investment fund, has invested in plant-based frozen meal service Plant Alternative. Producers of the highly realistic “Shicken”, Plant Alternative creates vegan alternatives to a wide range of Indian food favorites and offers a DTC service.  “We think there is a real opportunity for frozen Indian meals in the curry-loving UK market and beyond” – Matthew Glover, Veg Capital Founded by head chef Satvinder Bains, Plant Alternative will be teaming up with Veg Capital to strategize scale-up through food service, retail, and export. A deal with a major UK retailer is expected to be made soon.  After discovering the Shicken products and being highly impressed by the quality, Veg Capital’s Managing Director Matthew Glover knew the fund had to invest in …

more