Barvecue, known for its popular wood-smoked plant-based meats such as its Pulled BVQ and Carnitas, this week announced the launch of its latest NPD — Crumbled Bacon Toppings — entering the shelf-stable “Toppings” category from November.
The North Carolina B-Corp, which set the world record according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY for operating the world’s largest plant-based smokehouse for which it raised funds in early 2023, says that introducing a bacon product made perfect sense. The toppings offer a clean label and are made from US-grown and processed ingredients such as pea protein, sweet potato, organic apple cider vinegar, expeller-pressed canola oil, and a blend of spices.
Initially, the bacon toppings will be available through the Barvecue online store and at WebstaurantStore in early November. Chase Slenker, plant-based category manager at Clark Associates, the parent company of Webstaurant store, explained to vegconomist last year that a key aspect of its growth strategy revolves around the expansion of plant-based product offerings, and that demand in the plant-based category through the online store had increased with a YOY growth rate of almost 110%.
Authentic texture leaves a lasting positive impression
Speaking at the time, Slenker described that plant-based dairy, butter, and eggs are the platform’s fastest-growing categories, although there is high demand for plant-based meat, seafood, condiments, and desserts. “We’re working to provide new and innovative plant-based products and plant-based products with clean labels that chefs across the US would feel comfortable serving to patrons, and at a reasonable price-point that operators can also make money while retaining a customer base,” he explained. Other notable vegan brands available on the platform include Pleese Cheese, Yo Egg, and ISH Foods.
Commenting this week on the Barvecue product launch, Slenker said, “Barvecue’s new plant-based crumbled bacon is an innovative new product in the plant-based space and is a much-needed improvement to traditional bacon bits and existing “flavored” plant-based bacon products. The real smoke flavor and authentic texture leaves a lasting positive impression and I’m excited for foodservice operators across the US to be able to try this product in their recipes.”
Retail packs are available online at Barvecue.com and will be available in US retailers soon.
