Retail

Netherlands Flag

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Retail & E-Commerce

Meat Sales in the Netherlands Decline for Nine Consecutive Quarters

According to new research by ABN AMRO, supermarket sales in the Netherlands have fallen significantly — and the drop is especially notable for meat sales. Retailers have reportedly seen declining sales of meat products for nine consecutive quarters, with a 13% drop compared to the first quarter of 2019. Higher prices and lower purchasing power are believed to be a major cause of the change. Sales of dairy and fresh fruit are also down, falling by 6% and 4% respectively compared to 2019. However, fresh vegetables are up 4%. Though supermarket sales are falling on average, this has been offset by rising prices, with consumers now paying a quarter to a third more for food than in 2019. As a result, sales measured in euros …

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Beyond Burger in Store

© Beyond Meat
Company News

Beyond Meat Hires Red Bull Exec as New Head of Marketing, Reveals New McDonald’s Nugget

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND) announced Thursday it is hiring Akerho “AK” Oghoghomeh, formerly Senior Vice President of Marketing at Red Bull, as its new head of global marketing. In addition, the company outlined a new series of strategic plans, including a more focused US retail strategy, to increase sales in 2023. Leading the brand As the VP of marketing for Red Bull North America, Oghoghomeh led advertising and other initiatives for Red Bull’s US business, a Beyond spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal.  Oghoghomeh will join Beyond as the company seeks to reverse sales declines amid a highly challenging economic environment – data from market research firm IRI shows US sales of refrigerated meat alternatives fell by 15% in 2022.  Targeted strategy Seeking to reverse …

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Impossible Burger at Applebee's

© Impossible Foods
Company News

Impossible Foods to Cut 20% of Staff, Plans to Launch Major Marketing Campaign in ’23

Impossible Foods is reportedly planning to reduce its workforce by one-fifth as the company contends with a difficult economic environment, as well as an overall slowdown of the plant-based category.  According to Bloomberg, the California-based company employs about 700 workers, which could lead to the layoff of over 130 employees. A source also revealed the company offered employees “voluntary separation payments and benefits” at the end of 2022.  Last fall, Impossible cut 6% of its workforce (about 50 employees) – at the time, CEO Peter McGuinness said the cuts were necessary to help the company re-organize in order to focus on future growth. With the latest round of layoffs, Impossible joins a growing list of companies, along with Beyond Meat, that have been forced to reduce …

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VFC Vegan Chicken

©VFC
Products & Launches

VFC Expands US Retail Presence to Over 100 Raley’s Stores, Adds Fried Chick*n Tenders to Line

Vegan fried chick*n brand VFC announces it is expanding its US retail presence by launching into over 100 Raley’s grocery stores. Described as an “exciting milestone” for VFC, Raley’s markets on the US West Coast will carry several of the brand’s plant-based products, including Chick*n Filets, Tenders and Popcorn Chick*n. Founded in the UK, VFC aims to revolutionize the plant-based food market with fried vegan chick*n offerings it says don’t sacrifice on flavor. The brand’s products, which are high in protein and feature a crunchy cornflake coating, include: Chick*n Filets – For burgers, sandwiches and more Chick*n Tenders – For dipping and dunking Popcorn Chick*n – For a light, sharable snack Phenomenal success Following tremendous success in the UK and Europe, VFC entered the US …

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Toni Vernelli Veganuary

Toni Vernelli ©Veganuary
Interviews

Veganuary: “Businesses That Do Not Embrace Plant-Based Products Are Simply Not Going to Survive”

Veganuary, as surely all of our readers will be aware, is already in full swing and promises to be far bigger and more impactful than ever before. As we reported just yesterday, one person is signing up every 2.4 seconds to take part in the vegan pledge, and, impressively, 9% of UK adults have tried the challenge at least once, which based on the current population, is estimated at approximately six million people. Not forgetting that in the US, Billie Eilish recently supported the campaign and asked her 107 million followers to sign up! It’s been two years since we last chatted with International Head of Communications and Marketing Toni Vernelli, so we had to grill this busy lady on what’s happening now and upcoming …

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Target Tabitha Brown

©Target
Products & Launches

Target Launching New Tabitha Brown Food Collection Featuring 40 Vegan Products

US retail chain Target announces it is partnering with superstar influencer Tabitha Brown to launch the Tabitha Brown for Target Vegan Food and Kitchen Collection. The limited-time collection features nearly 100 items covering grocery, tableware, linens, food storage and cookware. Debuting January 8th, Brown’s vegan grocery range includes 40 different selections of plant-based meats, spreads, pasta, snacks and more. The extensive collection includes: BBQ Seasoned Patties Garlic Plant-Based Patties Plant-Based Sausage with Mushrooms Sausage w/ Jalapeño & Cilantro Sausage w/ Mango, Basil & Cilantro  Strawberry Cream Cheese Caramelized Onion Cream Cheese  Garlic Cream Cheese Cilantro Lime Aioli  Spicy Cilantro Garlic Spread Truffle Garlic Spread Roasted Garlic & Parmesan Organic Popcorn  Vegan Potato Salad Garlic Pasta Salad Vegan Pizza Ravioli  Polenta & Wild Mushroom Ravioli Vegan …

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Kroger/ PFBA Plant-Based Meat in Store

© Plant-Based Foods Association
Society

New PBFI/Kroger Report Shows Health Remains Top Purchase Driver for Plant-Based Foods

A new report by the Plant-Based Foods Institute and Kroger shows health concerns remain US consumers’ top motivator for purchasing plant-based products. Among other insights, the report also reveals sales of plant-based foods are beginning to slowly displace the purchase of animal products. According to survey data, 54% of consumers said health is their primary reason for purchasing plant-based products, while 49% believe plant-based alternatives are healthier, and 39% like the taste or flavor of plant-based foods. Just over one quarter, or 26%, cited animal welfare as their top motivation, while 23% named environmental concerns.  “What is unique about this research, in terms of health, is that we learned specifically that consumers associate chronic illness with animal-based foods versus simply improving their overall health,” Julie …

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Great Foods Research & Advisory

©GTFO It's Vegan
Company News

GTFO It’s Vegan Launches GreatFoods Research & Advisory to Help Plant-Based Brands Compete in the Marketplace

Online retail platform GTFO It’s Vegan announces the launch of GreatFoods Research & Advisory Services to help companies in the plant-based market achieve greater levels of success. GreatFoods’ solutions, combined with a team of industry experts, are designed to help food and beverage companies navigate the complexities of developing, launching, and growing plant-based products and brands. Launched in 2020, GTFO has sold more than 500K items across 50K orders from tens of thousands of customers. The company says it now maintains one of the largest proprietary databases of plant-based sales data and consumer preferences; it also boasts thousands of product reviews and social media comments from 150K Instagram followers.  According to GTFO, it spent many months planning the launch of GreatFoods Research to provide advisory …

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Fairs & Events

Discover the Next Generation of Plant-Based Food

Is your organization keeping up with consumer demand for plant-based? Are you looking for the latest products before they hit menus and shelves? Plant Based World Expo North America is the only professional 100% plant-based focused event for foodservice and retail professionals, distributors, investors, and manufacturers.  The demand for plant-based foods has never been stronger, and shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, the total plant-based market value in the U.S. is now around $7 billion, according to data from the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), The Good Food Institute, and SPINS. Consumers are hungry for healthier, more humane and more environmentally friendly options, and new and exciting products are hitting shelves every day to help meet that demand.   The Plant Based World Expo …

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One of Narayan Foods’ production facilities in Slovenska vas
Startups, Accelerators & Incubators

Sponsored Post

Narayan Foods Opens Scaling Platform for Plant-Based Protein Innovations

One of the largest European organic food producers, Narayan Foods, is addressing the growing gap in demand for plant-based proteins and sustainable, healthy food choices by providing a scaling platform to bring new food tech solutions to the market faster. The scaling platform is a one-stop shop enabling both industrialization and commercialization for startups and scale-ups with innovative solutions for meat, fish, dairy and other animal protein alternatives. Mario Brumat, founder and CEO, explains the rationale behind the business: “Alternative-proteins will be a $162bn market by 2030, but we see start- and scale-ups lacking the necessary production capabilities to capture this market opportunity, nor do they know how to effectively commercialize their products.” The innovative food industrialization takes place in two food production certified facilities, …

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Asda Korean Style Chicken Wings

© Asda
Products & Launches

Asda Launches Vegan BBQ Range Including Korean Wings

UK retailer Asda – the 8th most popular supermarket in the UK – has launched a vegan BBQ range with prices starting from £2, rolling out into brick and mortar stores and online retail from this week. Asda’s vegan firsts Asda first launched its first own-brand vegan range — Plant Based — in January of 2020. And in the September of the same year, the retailer went on to launch over a hundred new vegan products, placing them together with the existing plant-based range to create the first dedicated vegan aisle in a UK supermarket. In Veganuary 2021 Asda even trialled the first vegan butcher counter in a UK supermarket, adding vegan bacon, bean burgers and meat-free meatballs added to its product range. The new …

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Vurger Cheese sauce

©The Vurger
Company News

The Vurger Launches Cheezy Vegan Sauce Into 635 Co-Op Stores

The Vurger Co., the UK based plant-based QSR chain which recently announced the opening of its newest location in Manchester, today reveals a national retail deal for its Cheezy Vegan Sauce which is launching into 635 Co-op stores nationwide from this week. The Vurger says it is “on a mission to revolutionise fast-food through the power of plants”, serving dishes and products sourced only from 100% plant-based & ethically sourced products. Having launched in London and expanded into Brighton, the new Manchester location will serve as the chain’s first northern restaurant as well as its biggest location yet. The brand’s range of vegan sauces and mayos first launched in 2020 as a business pivot during the first phase of the pandemic, and are now successful …

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One Planet Pizza Launches at Asda

© One Planet Pizza
Interviews

One Planet Pizza: “We’re Not Your Typical Company. We’re Mission Led and Purpose Driven”

Much-loved UK brand One Planet Pizza has gone from strength to strength since launching in 2016 as the UK’s first producer of frozen vegan pizzas. Having smashed its recent Crowdfunder campaign, the father and son team has just secured its first major UK supermarket listing with a rollout into 75 ASDA stores across the UK. Four varieties of OPP’s wide product portfolio — Mediterranean Veg, Three Cheeze Margherita, Spicy Peppernomi, and Hawaiian — launched into ASDA on April 14th, placed on gondola ends for increased visibility, as part of the supermarket’s aim to increase flexitarianism. We caught up with Mike and Joe as they celebrate this most recent achievement. What’s the history of One Planet Pizza and how did the company evolve? Father and Son …

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alt meats

Image courtesy of ProVeg International
Studies & Numbers

Give up Animal-Based Shelf Space for Plant-Based Alternatives to Improve Your Bottom Line

A new report has highlighted why it is in retailers’ best interests to sell more plant-based products and how alt meats can drive turnover and profit. In partnership with vegconomist, food awareness organization ProVeg International has revealed how retailers can improve their bottom line through plant-based profits.  Revealing that 86% of plant-based consumers are flexitarians and that demand for plant-based alternatives has doubled in the last two years, the new ProVeg report shows how plant-based can be more profitable for retailers than animal-based, while also boosting sustainability and net-zero targets. Retailers can see increased overall profits of up to 37% by following the strategy outlined.  Leading retailers are moving away from the conventional segmentation of animal-based and plant-based products and are embracing consumer demand for …

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Investor reading a vegan newsletter

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Marketing & Media

The Vegan Society and RangeMe Partner to Help Retailers Discover Vegan Products

The Vegan Society and RangeMe have announced a collaboration to help vegan brands showcase their products to global retail buyers.  The two organizations’ partnership will make it easier for Vegan Trademark holders to enter new market territories, including the US, and introduce their products to brand new stores and customers. RangeMe in turn will gain new exposure from a wealth of diverse labels and businesses. RangeMe is a discovery platform that enables retail buyers to quickly search new products while providing an array of tools and services to help businesses grow their brands.  Created in 1990, The Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark is the world’s oldest and largest vegan verification program. The Trademark label can currently be found on 58,000 products worldwide including food, drink, cosmetics, …

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Tattooed Chef bankruptcy

©Tattooed Chef

Products & Launches

Tattooed Chef to Expand Into 1,800 Kroger Stores Across the US This Summer

Tattooed Chef, Inc. a producer of vegan frozen foods such as ready-to-cook bowls, zucchini spirals, riced cauliflower, acai and smoothie bowls, and cauliflower pizza crusts which became publicly listed last year, today announced it expects to launch its branded products across multiple categories in approximately 1,800 Kroger stores nationwide later this summer. “We are thrilled to announce our expansion into Kroger which demonstrates our ability to expand Tattooed Chef’s distribution into conventional grocery,” said Sam Galletti, President and CEO of Tattooed Chef. “Kroger is one of the largest food retailers in the United States and we are excited to offer consumers more access to our innovative portfolio of plant-based products.” By September, consumers will be able to purchase a total of 12 SKU’s nationally across …

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supermarket trolley

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Society

Research Reveals Which US States Have Highest Number of Grocery Stores Catering to Vegans

With an estimated 9.7 million Americans switching to a plant-based diet, new research has revealed the top ten states to live in as a vegan, based on the number of grocery stores catering to vegan diets. “Safeway, Kroger, Albertsons, Whole Foods and Publix are leading the way in adapting for shifting consumer needs” The Food Specialty Index looked at the number of popular US grocery stores in each state which offer the most gluten-free, lactose-free, dairy-free, organic, vegan and sugar-free products. The study found that Safeway, Kroger, Albertsons, Whole Foods and Publix rank as the top five grocery stores to offer the most alternatives for those with food sensitivities and those following a vegan diet, and analysed the number of specialist grocery stores catering to …

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Rebellyous Foods Safeway

©Rebellyous Foods
Products & Launches

Rebellyous Foods Rolls Out Award-Winning Chicken Range in over 200 Safeway Stores

Seattle startup Rebellyous Foods has announced the expanded availability of its award-winning plant-based nuggets, as well as patties and tenders. As of this week, the products will be available at more than 200 Safeway stores in the Pacific Northwest.  “We look forward to bringing the Rebellyion to all four corners of the U.S. and beyond in the months to come.”  Founded by former Boeing engineer Christie Lagally, and backed by the vegan Saudi Prince Khaled amongst other high profile investors, the brand recently pivoted into retail as the consequences of the pandemic took their toll on the foodservice sector. Last month, Rebellyous Nuggets were awarded the New Product Award in the Plant-Based Protein category as part of the Specialty Food Association’s (SFA) 2021 sofi™ Awards. …

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©Vejii
Company News

Vejii Announces Strategic Partnership with Leading Marketing Agency Strawhouse

Vejii Holdings Ltd. announces that it has signed a digital marketing agreement with an industry-leading marketing agency, Strawhouse, which scales customer acquisition and top-line revenue for high growth companies. It has accelerated its partners’ growth in eCommerce categories such as health, wellness & better-for-you food.

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