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Each week Plant Based News publishes a roundup of the latest vegan food launches. Here are this week’s new plant-based products.
United States
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Chipotle Mexican Grill is now testing vegan chorizo in Denver and Indianapolis. It’s the restaurant chain’s first plant-based protein option since it introduced Sofritas in 2014.
Chipotle crafted the Plant-Based Chorizo with pea protein, Chipotle peppers, and Spanish smoked paprika, among other ingredients. The chorizo offers 20g of protein per serving.
“Plant-based lifestyles have continued to accelerate in popularity, and as a longtime leader in the category, we are exploring ways to give more variety to our fans,” Chief Marketing Officer Chris Brandt said. “We used real ingredients to create a plant-based protein with a deep, rich Chorizo flavor that can be enjoyed by everyone.”
OmniFoods
Vegan pork created by OmniFoods has launched at Whole Foods and Sprouts Farmers Market in 23 states. The range is now available at all of Sprouts Farmers Market’s 371 locations.
The line features plant-based pork strips, vegan ground pork, and vegan SPAM. The latter was the first of its kind worldwide.
David Yeung – Founder of OmniFoods and Green Monday Holdings – revealed that OmniFoods is now available at around 40,000 point of sale locations worldwide.
“By providing our growing consumer base with a healthy and delicious plant-based pork alternative, we continue to fulfil our mission to construct a multi-faceted global ecosystem of future food that helps to combat climate change, food insecurity, public health crisis, planetary devastation, and animal suffering,” he said in a statement.
Canada
Nabati Foods’ vegan egg
Nabati Foods’ new vegan liquid egg product is now on the market.
The chicken-free egg is made from lupin and pea protein. It offers 6g of protein and 2g of fiber per serving. Like all vegan food, it also has no cholesterol.
“We are excited to be the first Canadian company to launch a plant-based liquid egg product that offers the same consistency, taste, and texture as a traditional chicken egg,” CEO Ahmad Yehya said. “I believe we are giving breakfast back to so many people who want to enjoy these traditional recipes, but without consuming animal-based products or products with allergens. It’s about time we all get to enjoy breakfast again!”
Nabati Plant Eggz are now available at Nabati.ca. The company will roll the product out at Sobeys in Quebec and at Whole Foods stores across British Columbia and Ontario shortly.
Oat Canada
An oat milk brand has significantly increased its availability in Canada.
Oat Canada has rolled out its sugar-free oat milk to 1,000 locations. The Oat Canada Zero Sugar Barista Oat Milk, thought to be the first of its kind, is available at supermarket chain Loblaws throughout Canada, including Loblaw’s brands Superstore, Valu-Mart, and Zehrs.
It will also be available at select Costco warehouses in Ontario and Quebec.
“To be honest our goal was 100 stores in our first year and we’re proud to say we completely blew past this goal thanks to you. We couldn’t have done it without the number of people who’ve filled out our Store Request form on our ‘Store Locator’ page on our website,” Oat Canada wrote online. “Our inbox was flooded with so many recommendations!”
Europe
Freshkia
Health-focused Spanish food brand Freshkia has introduced a vegan ready-meal range. Freshkia teamed up with dairy-free cheese brand Violife and plant-based meat brand Heura to create the range.
Called Buddha Bowl, the plant-based line is available in four varieties: Karma, Nirvana, Namasté, and Mantra. The dishes include ingredients like tri-color pasta, apple, mango, nuts, Heura Mediterranean Bites and dairy-free cheese.
Freshkia commented that the vegan options can help consumers ‘feel good and achieve inner harmony’, per Fruitnet.
“Innovative and sustainable food has the power to change health, life and the environment. That is why the Buddha Bowls take care of the individual and society’s health, responding to the needs of a consumer who is increasingly aware of the environment and responsible consumption that demands healthy and high-quality products,” Freshkia added.
Asia
Nestlé
Rising demand for plant-based food has motivated the world’s biggest food company to increase its vegan options. Nestlé said it is expanding its Singaporean R&D facilities to build up its plant-based portfolio.
Thomas Hauser, Head of Global Product and Technology Development, spoke to ABS-CNB News about the ‘massive’ investment. He revealed that Nestlé is forking out 1.6 billion Swiss francs for the R&D efforts, as well as employing 300 researchers in Singapore.
Hauser didn’t clarify how much of the investment will be used for plant-based options.
“It is an important field, yes, it is a massive investment. Also in Singapore, we have created a team to cater to the specific needs,” he said. “We have basically started to build up this competence in the past couple of years.”
