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UK-based brand Shicken has launched allergen-free plant-based chicken tikka kebabs made using domestically-produced ingredients.
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Shicken says that its new Tikka Kebab is a first-of-its-kind, free from all 14 top allergens, and made with British ingredients. The product is produced at a newly certified, allergen-free site in Kent and swaps soy and wheat for East Anglian-grown peas.
Shicken, a fast-growing, family-owned challenger brand, offers a range of Pan-Asian, chef-prepared ready meal curries and plant-based kebab skewers in different flavors, including Karahi, Teriyaki, and the original soy and wheat-based version of Tikka.
Six percent of the UK population has some kind of food allergy, equating to around 2.4 million adults. Soy, most commonly associated with plant-based products and alternative proteins, is actually present in as much as 60 percent of all manufactured foods.
“As a business, we are committed to making plant-based food delicious, inclusive, and ethical,” said Shicken co-founder Parm Bains, as reported by The Grocer. “Our next-generation recipe has been developed to taste even better and opens the Shicken range up for everyone to enjoy – whatever their dietary requirements are.”
The company says swapping soy and wheat for pea protein will improve product taste and texture, but using home-grown ingredients instead of imported ones will also reduce Shicken’s carbon footprint. Furthermore, up to 95 percent of all energy used by the upgraded Kent factory is renewable.
“Sustainable sourcing is essential to the future of food and the planet,” added Bairns. “And reducing the food miles of our ingredients is a key part of our mission and purpose.”
Read more: Veg Capital Invests Millions In SHICKEN
Shicken aims for profitability by next year
In March of this year, Shicken received GBP £4 million in a second round of funding from the vegan investment fund Veg Capital, which also contributed £2 million back in 2022. This latest funding was used to help upgrade Shicken’s now allergen-free production facility in Kent.
“The SHICKEN range is simply delicious, and their curries and kebabs are flying off the shelves – it was a no-brainer for Veg Capital to reinvest,” Matthew Glover, Veg Capital Director, said in a statement at the time. “We’re excited to play our part in helping this family business go global over the coming years.”
In April, Shicken told Just Food that it hoped to be profitable by 2025 after launching in the US earlier this year. Shicken’s products are now available in 410 Sprouts Farmers Markets throughout the US, in addition to Costco and Tesco in the UK. They have also appeared on supermarket shelves in Iceland, Sweden, and France.
Shicken’s allergen-free Tikka Kebab will launch nationally at Costco this week before introduction throughout Shicken’s entire range at other retail and food service outlets by the end of May.
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